Dawn had curled into a ball to try and defend herself as best she could from the onslaught, and though she wasn't too far gone, the shock had left her slow to react, fumbling to kick back into gear. It was only Kyla's suddenly call-out that brought her back.
After explaining what to do and moving her body with the wind, she felt Kyla's protective enchantment grace the air that she quickly let fly, like a sudden fresh breeze washing over everyone at once--recasting the Wallza buffs from before.
It was about that time that Noelle suddenly channeled her Cura spell through the seeds she'd help spread, and Dawn felt instantly better--but by no means out of the fire.
Everyone was acting. Joe was on the beast in a fury, James was unleashing a massive blast of Light, Noelle and Kyla had worked their buffs, and Sora... seemed to be stuck in thought.
The teen had sustained the damage well enough, but was stuck, it seemed, by indecision. They kept going and going at it, and all he could do was grimace as it sneered at them. More than anything, he felt those eyes boring into his heart, and he knew too well why. It had been a couple years, but he remembered the event all too clearly.
"Dawn, what's the strongest boost you've got?" he asked her, thinking back. Noelle had been the healer, Kyla that defender, and Dawn the enhancer--maybe she had something up her sleeve.
The dancer grinned before charging her magic into the twists and turns of her dance again, this time funneling a large portion of energy solely into Sora--energy intended not buff him, per se, but to forcefully unleash the deepest reserves of his energy, to remove the natural limiters that tended only to break at critical moments. This Last Dance unleashed Sora's inner Aura and, in doing so, gave him access to his Limit energies.
The Keyblade wielder inhaled sharply, then grinned.
A sudden pulse and flash of light later, the fiery light around Sora intensified, and his clothing was suddenly in hues of black and white, as he tapped in to the true power of the keyblade, and his heart. And there, hovering behind him and crossing one another, the empowered Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades replaced his Kingdom Key.
Without waiting another moment, Sora rushed that smirking face of Anima, his body contorting half-way there to unleash an Arcanum combo in such a blur of motion, the keys moving of their own accord, that catching any single movement seemed impossible to the normal eye, and each strike and slash seemed to create a searing blast of Light in its wake, burning into the skin of the aeon.
As he finished, he pulled back a few feet. This was no retreat; he pulled his arms back, hands at his sides and palms facing forward, and as he did, the two Keyblades mirrored his hands, hovering at his sides, tips facing the enemy--and the tips each began to glow with a small point of light, growing brighter and larger. The more they charged, the farther they got from Sora.
In one swift motion, he thrust his arms and hands forward, centered in front of him. Both keys simultaneously unleashed thin, piercing beams of light, angled and pointed directly at the center of Anima's face. As they fired, they began to rapidly spin around Sora in a clockwise fashion, blurring in their speed and making the combined radiant assault look akin to a heavenly drill.
Seconds passed, and seconds more, and the combined energy grew blinding, until finally a roaring explosion of light erupted from the point of assault. Afterward, Sora hovered in wait, staring, Oathkeeper and Oblivion at the ready in case of retaliation.
[[ [Limit Form] Auto : Final - Final Form, Oathkeeper, Oblivion, +3 to PS, PR, MS, MR, AS, OS, ER, for three turns. ]]
"Whatisthemeaningofthis?" the man growled, pressing forward with the key, pushing back against the barrier but never seeming to gain any ground.
"So," Kyle began, his tense expression slowly cracking into a sneer, one hand still stretched out and willing the barrier in place. Sayrike's visage still flickered around his body as he hovered in the air, black and white clothing seeming more vivid over the glowing station. "You have come this far, and still you understand nothing."
Seyhanort's eyes widened in angered realization before Kyle unleashed a small push, causing the barrier to erupt in blinding light which pushed the master back a couple yards on the mosaic floor. In a reflex, he let out a pulse of dark fire around him, hoping to keep back any assault while his vision returned, though it never came.
"I'm not all that surprised, really," Kyle said, having vanished in the flash and reappeared near the center of the station, his feet softly touching down--the visage of Sayrike had disappeared. He watched as the guado immediately turned and fired off a bolt of black fire--a literal shot in the dark--which he swatted away with one of his spears. "After all, one who knows nothing can understand nothing, right?"
"Apettydistractiononlydelaystheinevitable,boy," the two voices spoke, their voices lower now as their vision slowly began to return. "Thereisnostoppingthis."
"So you've said," Kyle replied, still smirking. An image of a small flutist appeared now, her eyes narrowed with his own as his spears began to spin wildly in the air around him, faster and faster. Roman numerals, from I to XII, began to appear in golden fire in the air around the weapons, and the sound of a clock's ticking echoed through the station. One set of numerals wove themselves around the dragoon, speeding up to an unseen blur; the other set flew over and around Seyhanort, only to slow down significantly. The ticking sound split as they did, one getting faster and higher pitched, one getting slower and deeper, before the images and sounds stopped all together, Jenny's visage doing the same. "But can you even keep up?"
The guado roared as he launched himself forward to strike at the dragoon--but by the time he was even halfway there, Kyle had disappeared.
Without warning, he was struck from behind by a spine-bending blow, sending him soaring forward and rolling to his feet. Quickly twisting around, he saw Kyle--now with John's specter mingling about him, grinning, and one spear in both his hands, illuminated with light energy with a hammer-head formed on one end.
"There is so very much to learn," he called out, still smirking, as John's image was suddenly replaced by Dawn's. "But you understand so LITTLE!"
With a blurred contortion of his body and spears--made even swifter by the time difference between the two--Kyle unleashed a roaring gust of razor winds at the dark master, who brought his arms up to guard. The entire station was covered like a twister, filled with the energy of light, until once again the dulled embers of the mosaic erupted into a raging inferno of white and gold.
"Youmockme?!" the voices shouted, suddenly reappearing behind Kyle to stab into his back.
However, once again, the time distortion gave the dragoon an unyielding advantage. By the time the blade approached him, he'd turned around fully and parried to the side with a twist--and Dawn's image was replaced by Jon's.
"A meaningless effort!" he shouted, eyes wide and grin wider as his arms stretched and contracted, the two spears--now hovering alongside his forearms, like tonfa--swinging around and striking Seyhanort simultaneously on both sides. The attack momentarily stunned him, long enough for Kyle to pull back, charge the spears up, and lunge forward with a reverse Light-Flare Thrust that sent the guado flying backward through the golden blaze.
"ENOUGH!"
Before Kyle could pounce on another assault, Seyhanort recovered mid-flight with an aerial brace and a pulse of power. The haze that had been Master Xehanort's illusion seemed to grow stronger now, more visible, more enraged, as the Slow was dispelled. He rushed forward in a blur, back to his normal speed, and struck at the dragoon with a powerful downward attack.
Jon's image flickered as Kyle parried the blade with a sideways-swipe before backflipping away. Midair, the image of Jon disappeared, replaced instead with another--and Kyle landed on the edge of the platform, he held his harms straight forward, the spears at either side pointed directly at Seyhanort, and both his own face and Amy's smirked behind the wisps of fire. The spears began to fire small bullets of crystallized light at a superhuman speed, forcing the dark key-wielder to parry in a flurry of motion before dashing sideways.
Kyle's aim followed easily, however, and the guado could only deflect so many so fast, inevitably being riddled with shots as he flitted back and forth. Each directional switch drew him closer to the dragoon, until finally he disappeared in a flash of black smoke. This attack came from above, a swift descent, a powerful burst of darkness charged behind it--
--except Kyle and Bobbi sneered up at him as he fell, pulling back the golden string of light on the "bow" made by the spears touching their points and forming a right angle. With a brilliant flash, the bolt of light fired into Seyhanort's chest, completely interrupting the physical assault. As a result, though, the blast of darkness was let loose as a rain of black projectiles, causing Kyle to brace himself to withstand the damage.
The guado landed a short distance away, but he immediately leapt further back to gain distance, seeming unfazed by the inferno that blazed across the station. Kyle got into a ready stance, any other images dissipating as he spun his spears at his side, waiting.
Without warning, Seyhanort lifted his key and began to sweep it around, sending out black and violet waves and projectiles at the opposing dragoon. Kyle responded by beginning to make his way closer, flitting to and fro to dodge what he could. He contorted one way to dodge a wave only to get hit in the shoulder by three small bolts; he vanished in the flames and reappeared off to the side, closing as much distance as he could before getting hit by a horizontal crescent that made him roll and tumble to his bearings.
By the time he was up, Seyhanort had gone farther back and was just unleashing more and more of the magic.
A specter appeared, a cocky grin, a glint of light--
--and Kyle Burst to the guado, repulsing all the oncoming blasts as a result, and struck him in the gut with both spears held together, the image of Cory flickering momentarily. As a result of the high-momentum blow, Seyhanort went rolling back, barely managing to land on his feet and slide the last few inches to the station's edge.
"Howfrustratingandfamiliar," he seethed, holding his stomach as the two images glared at Kyle, Cory disappearing. "Youchildrenareallthesame,clingingtooneanother,thinkingitmakesyoustrong..."
"Don't bother, old man. Take a look at this tiny place. Look as hard as you are able!" Kyle taunted, standing upright, the fires burning, raging, lighting his eyes. Every word was another jab, another sneering reference. "Behold, no endless abyss! Only a stubborn candle, a flickering light you've tried so hard to snuff--don't you see yet? That's all it ever is!"
The guado said nothing, only grimaced, standing upright and recovering.
"You puppets of the darkness, you think it is you that consumes," Kyle continued, outright laughing. "Behold the light, Xehanort! You've heard, you've seen the flicker deep down that never goes out--how can you resist it? It may be but a spark, but sparks beget fires, fires beget blazes, blazes beget infernos--"
Behind a wisp of fire, Seyhanort disappeared, reappearing behind Kyle for another strike--except Kyle sharply turned around, lit by the visage of Anthony, and roared in fury as he slammed a glowing fist into the guado's face, sending him flying back.
"It is futile!" he bellowed, the fires erupting with more of his righteous anger. "We do not cling to one another, we empower each other. Where are these other children--not here! I face you alone and still, this light BURNS!"
Already on his feet, Seyhanort was forced to brace himself as the inferno was fueled by the air itself beginning to twist and spiral--something suddenly shocked him, and he uttered a single name under his breath, though it went unheard--
"But if I've learned one thing from monologuing villains, it's that words don't change s**t," Kyle said, his voice suddenly calm as the station raged and howled. Three particular lights flickered in the blaze, but they only did so for a moment. "So let me show you."
*
At that moment, Kyle suddenly vaulted into the sky, rising, rising, a trail of light following him as his rocketing ascent went higher. Every few meters, large, circular glyph of gold appeared in horizontally in the air, each varying in size. Some were about half the diameter of the station; others, twice its width; others, identical in size; and still others of sizes between.
Finally, at the peak, easily over a dozen glyphs high, he flipped upside down, formed a final glyph at his feet, and pushed off, shattering it as he began his descent. Every glyph he passed shattered, one after the other, each creating a larger and larger aura of white around him, an ethereal blaze all its own. Halfway down, the aura was already as big as the station itself--and from there it grew detailed, like massive wings at either side of him, still growing, still roaring and blazing--
When he landed, he did so in a kneeling position, and the aura seemed to descend into the mosaic itself, disappearing out of sight, but causing the towering Station of Awakening to tremble violently, forcing Seyhanort to brace his footing just to stay standing.
Kyle finally looked up into the two-fold piercing eyes--and the station grew still, save the fires around them.
Anima's head seemed to flinch back away from Joe's assaults, though it remained unblinking, unwavering, even as its gnarled flesh grew bruised under his attacks. James' massive Elemental Burst then washed over Joe and the entirety of the aeon's corrupted face, causing it to screech as the light seared it.
By the time the blast ended, Sora was already seizing upon the monster's vulnerability, unleashing a flurry of magic-imbued strikes in rapid succession. It writhed, it recoiled, and hissed as the light and blades gashed and scarred its face. The finale laser assault brought it back to its agonized screeching, heard even as the light erupted and blinded all around.
As it shouted in the dazzling display of light, however, it reached out with its hand once more, moving faster than visible, and grabbed none other than Sora, pulling him close--at which point, it roar, unleashing a shockwave of dark magic that sent anyone nearby (namely Joe) flying backward, stunning the rest momentarily.
"O, prodigal vessel, the time has come."
Darkness began to rapidly spread up and down Sora's body from the point of contact with Anima's grip. His eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to shout--only for the darkness to overtake his face, his head, his entire body.
"So light shall give way to darkness once more."
All fell silent, save a deep, slowing heartbeat that all could hear, the Keyblades that were attempting to defend him slowly losing their glow, getting slothful---
--and then one loud, reverberating heartbeat echoed throughout the chasm as light began to crack through the dark corruption, piercing its shell in brilliant beams. Finally, with a growl of anger, Anima was forced to let go, and Sora erupted with light, dispelling the poison entirely.
"Not this time," he said, narrowing his eyes, pulling his hands back to prepare another attack as Anima reached forward, still ready to fight...
... and stopped, as if frozen in place. Cracks began to appear along its skin, like webbing of glimmering light, where the Witch's Hair had infested and grown, having siphoned the final dredges of life. Anima groaned, its inhuman voices growing weak, as its entire body began to break down, starting from the tips of its fingers and working down the arms.
"We are out of time... with but one vessel."
The massive void itself began to tear apart, cracks of light shining in from all sides and spreading rapidly down past them, toward the original drop point, the cracks following a trail of black veins.
"One more feckless shard of light by our will."
The groaning turned into laughter. Thousands and thousands of ethereal, inhuman laughs echoed from all sides as Anima's very body began to disintegrate. A keyhole appeared just above its center, but the laughing never stopped.
"The fall is nigh--go bid your last farewells!"
With the last remnants of the aeon turning to dust, and the void around them beginning to tremble as light led a purge, Sora quickly grabbed the Oathkeeper, beginning the tell-tale flourish. Each twist and turn charged more light into its tip until finally, he unleashed a piercing beam of energy into the Keyhole.
With an echoing click, light slowly overtook them, blinding them, and they would feel as if they were swiftly pulled out of space all together.
[[ Translations: O, prodigal vessel, the time has come. So light shall give way to darkness once more. We are out of time... with but one vessel. One more feckless shard of light by our will. The fall is nigh--go bid your last farewells! ]]
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:54 pm
[ Yen Sid ; Merlin ; Riku ; Sora ; Dawn ; Others : Hall of the Cornerstone ]
"Look!"
Merlin excitedly pointed to Kyle's hand, watching as the glyph seemed to glimmer gold and white momentarily before seemed to break away from the back of his hand all the way up to his shoulder, pulling up from his skin and disintegrating like ash and embers being blown into the wind. It was gone.
It was at that moment that all six of the fighters would feel pulled back into reality, like waking from a deep sleep. Inevitably, Sora yawned, blinking heavily for a moment before jumping out of his chair.
"Wha--" he stammered before realizing where he was, looking to the two wizards and Riku. "Did we do it?"
"Yep," the silver-haired teen replied, smiling before hearing an odd sigh from Yen Sid. Immediately, the smile faded. "What's wrong?"
"The fight continues."
Indeed, Kyle remained in slumber. Concerned, Riku turned his attention back to the viewing globe as Sora rushed--likely along with the others, as they would have been up by that point--over to watch. Apparently, they were just in time to see Kyle take off into the sky, leaving glyphs behind.
[[ I've gone back into Kyle's post and added an asterisk (*) and an extra line break where you all would have started viewing. ]]
The fighter made a noise that could only be described as a 'snrk', hand instinctively going up to wipe away drool that wasn't there as his eyes tried to focus on the light after opening them.
He got up with a stretch, scratching the stubble on his cheek and he looked around. Well, they must have done it, considering they came out of it after Sora did the keyblade thing. He managed to catch what Yen Sid said.
The fighter looked at the screen, watching Kyle as his eyes seemed to focus more, the 'sleep' leaving him as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching, the toe of his boot tapping against the ground.
Come on, Kyle. Take too long and and I'm going to have to make fun of you or something... He had faith, sure, but he was still worried.
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 9:37 pm
{James : Core -> Hall of the Cornerstone}
The corsair felt that he wasn't regaining mana anymore, which meant either the effect of Noelle's plants had worn off, or she had cut off the flow for some reason. However, it didn't seem to matter as after this powerful Limit Break, Sora managed to deal the final blow, though not without resistance as the beast tried to envelope Sora in the darkness, there was nothing any of them could do though it seemed nothing needed to be done as Sora broke free, which seemed to be the end of the darkness as the creature began cracking and then the void around them began cracking as well. James listened to the thousand voices last foreboding wordsas it vanished revealing the Keyhole which Sora instinctively locked with the all too familiar click. The group's nightmare ended as blinding light overtook them and they were pulled out of their drop.
The corsair's eyes opened to reveal they were back in the Chamber of the Cornerstone and he slowly got out the chair he was sitting in with a stretch and a crack of his neck. The thoughts regarding the mistake he had made earlier in the fight still weighed heavily on his mind as he made his way over to the viewing globe, avoiding eye contact with the others, as Yen Sid stated that the fight was continuing. The gunner looked over at Kyle's sleeping form in the chair and then back to the globe as Kyle vaulted to the heavens, in what the corsair anticipated would be the final blow, or close to it.
"He's got this, I'm sure of it," the corsair muttered as he focused on the globe, his right hand holding his chin, clearly deep in thought.
It wasn't just his screw up that was on his mind, or the evident tension between Noelle and Kyla, there was something else too. Something he had felt right at the end of the fight, after his limit break. He knew that Limits depleted all remaining energy that he had, yet he had felt more there. A different energy, more primal in nature.
'Fen? What was that?' He asked his summon.
'A secondary pool of energy that is charged through moonlight. It is not mere coincidence that you feel invigorated after being being in it. You just never noticed it until now because you had never fully depleted your normal mana reserves. It is a limited pool though, no where near as deep as your normal one, so use it wisely when you tap into it again, Fenrir explained, with a great deal more insight than the corsair had expected.
'You didn't tell me about this second pool before now... why?
'Because you didn't ask, and because it is something that while useful, has it's limits. It shouldn't be used just to use it,' The Lunar wolf replied with a bestial chuckle.
{{James has now discovered and unlocked the Lunar Charges}}
That voice would ever echo in the girls mind like a dark after thought, a constant reminder- a haunting companion.
When she woke up her whole body felt sluggish, like she had run a million miles in a moment. Whether it had something to do with the dive, or just the mental exhaustion, now that it was coupled with the physical finally catching up again- She was so tired she felt dizzy. Even as she slipped onto her feet, Kyla’s gate was slow, and her eyes half open. Her arms fell slack to her sides. She vaguely could hear Merlin and Sora and Wen Sid and Riku respond, but by the time the wizard spoke again that when she finally heard coherent voices again.
Kyle wasn’t’ awake yet. As the other would cluster by the viewing ball Kyla stood there by her chair looking across at his prone form a moment.
The things that entity spoke to them- or perhaps, one specific person, rang in her mind again and she tried to contemplate their meaning.
O, prodigal vessel, the time has come. So light shall give way to darkness once more. We are out of time... with but one vessel. One more feckless shard of light by our will. The fall is nigh--go bid your last farewells!
Was it really talking to Sora then? Or was it talking about Kyle? Timidly she approached the sleeping shell of their former leader and checked with her own eyes if the mark was truly gone. It's absence did not bring the relief she thought would come- it was withheld by the steadfast close of Kyle's eyes.
"...be careful."
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 11:49 pm
Joe : Disney Castle Town : Fairgrounds
"It's...no problem." Joe said, collecting himself.
He had to keep calm and levelheaded. Had to make good impressions. There was no reason to get so angry, this was no different then dealing with annoying people back home.
Sure, the most reasonable person in this situation is a talking cat-wolf thing, and the person annoying him was a miniature hell-spawn from his most-annoying-video game characters list, but still. He was going to be the mature one here, desire for blood be damned. "So, what exactly are you all doing? And why am I being dragged into it?"
Cloud's smile grew one or two sizes, if only, and only for a moment, before he shrugged and tossed his popsicle stick away. His tone dropped back to the normal... well, lack of one. "Maybe I'll be a comedian, then."
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:06 am
{Bobbi, Demyx, Zell, Red XIII .:. Disney Castle Town .:. Fairgrounds .:. Dancing Area}
"This is a fair," Zell said. "Kinda celebrating everything the Earth kids have been doing for the last week. Let me tell ya, even though I was only with them for a few days, they totally earned it. And you will, too, bud, if you stick with 'em." Zell reached out on pure instinct to clap Joe on the back, but stopped halfway through at a reproachful look from Nanaki. "Oh, right, no touchie. Sorry."
{Yuffie .:. Disney Castle Town .:. Fairgrounds}
"Oooh, and I could be your assistant!" Yuffie exclaimed enthusiastically, crumpling the disposable dish as she spoke. "Do comedians have assistants?"
On the side of his desk, Rufus' phone lit up, a bright red light blinking in the corner, indicating someone was attempting to reach him. From the line number, he would notice that it was his assistant, Stephanii, specifically.
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:13 am
[[Rufus : Shinra Headquarters : CEO Office]]
A pile of paperwork and a dozen monitors returning feedback of several projects throughout the company made the office more a central hub of information. Rufus sat at his desk thumbing through another report before his eye was drawn to the blinking light from his phone. He took a deep breath placing the report down, dog eared to the page he had reached, "Yes," he asked simply as he pressed the button down, speaking to the speaker rather than picking up the receiver to speak privately.
"Mr. ShinRa, sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's a situation in the hangar," Stephanii said, and her normally stressed voiced sounded half a pitch higher, more strung. "Someone has docked in, and the ship isn't ours, or anything we've seen--they claim to be from the Archadian Empire, and peaceful, but they're insistent on meeting with Doctor Hojo."
If he, by chance, had turned one of his monitors to the hangar camera feeds, he would have seen the airship in question, certainly not one of theirs, and standing outside--surrounded by ShinRa guards on high alert--was a small platoon of armed soldiers*, led by a scholarly man looking quite amicable, despite the situation.
[[ *--First image, helms on ]]
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 1:12 am
[[Rufus : Shinra Headquarters : CEO Office]]
The CEO's eyes widened slightly, before he let out a quiet, subtle sigh. He turned to his computer and typed in a quite pass-phrase, bringing up an image of the hangar. Upon seeing the men in armor, he let out a heavier sigh, "Let them in, but send some men down there to collect their weapons and escort them to the lab. Take caution and please post up a reminder in the hangar break room about the employee confidentiality contract."
As he flicked off the monitor again, he added, "And page our dear Doctor to let him know of his visitor. Have him come to my office after our visitor has been properly entertained."
"Yes, sir," she replied, and the connection immediately cut off.
A minute or so passed, and the red light returned. After Rufus' understandably-terse greeting, she spoke up again. "Sorry, sir. The soldiers are refusing to stand down, but they've also been ordered by their commander to remain with the ship. The man requesting Doctor Hojo's audience has identified himself as Doctor Cidolfus, and he is being escorted to the doctor's lab alone. Doctor Hojo has been notified to meet you afterward."
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