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A NIGHTMARE OR AN OMINOUS FUTURE?
(KH:Bonds of Blood)(The entire gang except for Sari.))

Raphael was back in his home world in Twilight Town. Him and the gang had just arrived. They all scattered about to explore the area themselves. Raph went off on his own while the others left in pairs. He wanted to take a stroll down memory lane for awhile. Besides exploring, they all wanted to find the darkness in the world, destroy it, and find Sari.

Raph had his hands in his pockets, walking down an empty street. He sat down on a pair of steps infront of a house. Later he realized that it was his house. "Didn't think it was still here." He lifted up the door mat and found a key, "Right where it always was." The boy didn't waste anytime opening the door and entering the house. The interior was dusty, dark, dirty, and some parts were destroyed or charred. "Just like I left it..." He marched upstairs, heading for his room. Upon arrival he immediately started searching for something. "Not here...not under here...not in there...where is it..AH HA! FOUND IT!" After turning over broken pieces of wood, opening a closet, looking under a bed, and knocking over a lamp he had found what he was looking for in box beneath a table. He took out a photo album, looking at all the pictures; tears were streaming down his cheeks as he witnessed pictures of his friends and family who were all killed by the darkness.

There was a sudden creaking noise. Raphael looked up and saw his chandalier creaking. "Wha...OOF!" It fell on his head and knocked him uncontious. When he woke up, he was outside. There was something different about him, but he didn't know what. The young keyblade wielder began running along some buildings, he had found something or someone. He had tracked down Liri and Kouro. They were talking underneath a light pole. Raph watched them carefully, crawling along the front of a building like a lion stalking its prey. "Why am I doing this?" he said in his head. He couldn't control himself. He wanted to...kill them both and steal their hearts...but why?

Liri and Kouro looked at eachother for a moment before leaning towards eachother as if they were going to kiss. That's when he struck. He rose up behind Kouro plunged his right claw into his back. He shrieked in pain as Liri stumbled backwards and screamed in terror. Raph ripped off his bow so he couldn't retaliate. Kouro winced and growled in agony, reaching out for Liri's help. She had tears in her eyes and cried out, "NO! STOP IT! WHAT ARE YOU!? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?" Raph merely smirked and ripped out Kouro's heart and absorbing it into himself. A lifeless body fell to the ground, a pool of blood engulfing his body. Liri screamed, took out her deck of magic cards, and ran forward charging, her tears flying through the air as she ran.

Raphael dodged to the left, avoiding a THUNDAGA attack and cut down Liri with a powerful slash from his left claw. She fell to the ground, her right sleeve was ripped out and...bleeding? She had a deep gash now. In defense, Liri held up a Fira card and fired a medium sized fireball at him. Raph cackled and caught it in his right claw. He charged it up into a powerful FIRAGA spell and threw it at Liri. Now she was in intense pain and agony, screaming at the top of her lungs as she caught fire and was engulfed in a fiery blaze. Raph dove into the flames, and the screaming stopped. The flames went out and Liri's body was nothing but a charred reminence of her former self. He had stolen her heart as well and killed her. Raph still had his familiar shades, long blood red hair, and facial features. But he still had a vicious, dark look on his face. His body was smoothed out. He looked like he was wearing a special rubber suit, but it was far from it. It was made of red, concentrated darkness. A heartless mark was in the center of his chest.

The turned Raphael sensed two more and dashed off into an ally. He had caught the signals of Grace and Haruka. They were at a diner having lunch. Not talking much since Grace never talked about her past, when she did it was always depressing. Haruka wasn't in the mood for that, so they just talked about somethings during their journey together. Something slithered under their table, snuck up to their chests, tightened, and pulled them out of the diner. They were shocked and struggled to get free. Raphael merely laughed at them as his now snake like claws wrapped around their arms and hands so they couldn't attack. The free thumb claws pointed themselves at their chests, towards their heart region. "RAPHAEL! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!? WHAT DID WE DO!? STOP IT PLEASE! I THOUGHT WE WERE CLOSE!" cried out Grace as tears poured down her soft cheeks. Haruka merely glared at Raphael and yelled at him, "I KNEW YOU WEREN'T ANY GOOD! ALWAYS FLIRTING WITH THE GIRLS AND NEVER PICKING ONE AND NEVER THERE WHEN WE NEEDED YOU! YOU HAD SOMETHING DARK ABOUT YOU AND I WAS RIGHT! I SHOULD'VE KILLED YOU OFF WHEN YOU FIRST SNAPPED AT ME!" Raph just shrugged before piercing right through their chests. Their hearts were attached to the thumb claws and absorbed. A look of shock and horror was on their faces, their eyes then lost their life and closed. The turned one then flung their bodies into an ally by a dumpster. "Why can't I stop? I can't resist! I shouldn't be doing this! They are my friends! So why is this happening!?" he thought. "Because you are the darkness that covers this world, idiot!" responded a dark voice in his head. Did he just...talk to himself? What was wrong with him?

Raphael leaped up onto a high building and looked around for the last two...Shoden and Kip. They were busy training on the roof of a wide building. Their weapons clashed and clanged against eachother as they fought. "Which one to kill first? They are both good choices...maybe Shoden? Yes, he will be first..." hissed the dark voice that came from Raph's mouth. He leaped up into the dark sky and divebombed for Shoden. When Kip was pushed back by Shoden's attack he noticed Raph coming down at them. But he looked more like a heartless at the moment due to the darkened sky. "SHODEN! ABOVE YOU!" Shoden looked up and brought up his sword quickly to parry Raph's slashing groping claws. He pushed him off. Raph landed on his feet with ease. "I don't know who you are, but you just made a big...Raph? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE...AH!" Shoden was blasted back by a dark energy ball. His sword went flying over the edge of the building. Before Shoden could get up, Raph was glaring down at him.

He was about to plunge his claws into his chest, when Kip slashed at his back and kicked him. Raph rose up slowly, his back sealed itself shut as he cracked his neck. Shoden was helped onto his feet by Kip. Raph turned towards them and glared. He had such blood lust in his eyes, it would frighten any man that looked directly into them. "He's become one of the heartless...but...different. What is he?" muttered Kip as he handed Shoden a dagger. "I don't know...and I don't care...he's gone and he has to die!" growled Shoden before running towards him, his deck ready. "You both will die just like Liri, Kouro, Grace, and Haruka. You will lose your hearts!" roared Raph as he moved around the area like a spectre ignoring time itself. "What!? You...killed...them all? YOU b*****d! WE'LL DESTROY YOU!"

The two were back to back as they watched Raphael dart around them. He then stopped and shot two dark balls of power at them. The two rolled out of the way and countered with two FLARE blast cards. Raph was blown backwards, but he pushed back and swiped them away. He then held out his right claw, a dark,twisted, ominous keyblade appeared in his crunching grip. "Now...you're dead!" He unleashed one of his sleights, BLOOD BATH!. Raph flew forwards and whipped around him and dark flashes. Shoden and Kouro flew back and forth, left and right. They were being tossed around like rag dolls, deep gashes appearing all over their bodies. Raph finished up with a double power kick to their faces, sending them flying into a water tower. Their backs hit the wood with a loud "CRACK!" before they fell. Water gushed down on them. It went from clear and clean to pink, taking the pigment of deluded blood.

Raphael walked towards them slowly, his keyblade disappeared from his right hand. He cracked the joints in his hands by making them into fists. He then released his grip when he was finished. Kouro and Shoden stood up shakily and pulled out two ultima cards. They were going to obliterate Raphael. "DEATH AWAITS YOU!" he roared. "No...stop! Don't kill them! They are my friends. Stop! Don't kill them like you killed my old friends and family!" shouted Raph in his head at the dark one. "Too bad little boy!" it responded. Raphael raised his hands and began to laugh like a maniac. The clouds parted into a circle as he looked back at Shoden and Kip. "GRAVITY CRUSH!" A dark ball of great pressure assended down on them. They screamed as their bones and organs began to flatten...then..."SPHIRCHLCRICKLSHLICK!" They were turned into bloody pulps of bone and flesh and blood. "HAHAHAHAHA...WHAHAHAHAHA..." he laughed as their hearts flew into him, "I GOT THEM NOW TO GET THE REST OF THIS WORLD! HEHEHEEHEHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

"NO!" shouted Raph as he sat up. He looked around, his clothes clung to him by cold sweat. He rubbed his forehead before getting up on his feet from his bed. He was back in his hotel room in Twilight Town. There was a knock on the door, "Come in..." The door opened and his friends stepped inside. "Will you shut up, Raph! We're trying to sleep!" grumbled Haruka.
"Yeah Really! I need my beauty rest you neandrithal!" added Liri. They were all dressed in their sleeping attire.
"Sorry everyone, I was having a bad dream."
"A bad dream..Look if you want some bad dreams, come visit my head. I'll show you some bad dreams!" yelled Grace before she and the two other girls left.
"Don't worry about Raph. Just go back to sleep...and wear a muzzle please," said Kouro calmly before following the girls. Shoden and Kip gave him angry looks then left, closing Raph's door.
"Yes...a dream...just a dream...I hope..." he mumbled before laying back down and turning on his side. Raphael's eyes slowly closed and he drifted off just as quick. Behind him was his closet that doubled as a mirror. In the reflection it showed him huddled in his bed, the blankets off since he felt hot. But it really wasn't him in a way. If one would look closer...you'd see a creature sleeping. A creature with a dark heart, red;tough skin, and sharp claws that could just rend your flesh like a diamond edged knife through tissue paper. Was this just a dream, or foreshadowing of the future?

THE DAY OF THE ENCOUNTER...*Bonds Of Blood*
There were only a few left now, two boys and four girls. The others had either died or were taken away. All the worlds they had visited had been conquered. All of their memories had awakened once again, the good ones and the most painful ones. The last task left was to conquer the castle...Castle Oblivion. The group of kids cut down heartless left and right. The Neo-Heartless were relentless in their hunt for their hearts as they raced through rooms and up stairs. They would destroy the order even if it were to be the last things they'd ever do, for the universe...for their fallen comrades. It had to be done or mayhem would rule and precious lives would stay lost in vane.

They all entered a large room and saw a set of stairs leading up to the next. Not wasting anytime, they all began running towards it. There was a burst of lightning suddenly infront of them. They backed up to see who made the attack. As the cloud of dust and rock cleared, Larxene stood in the blasts wake.
"You can't go up there now. You have to play with me first, babies."

One of the girls stepped infront of them, "Everyone go on ahead. I'll take care of her." It was Sari that spoke those words. She brought up a sharp dagger and her deck. Everyone nodded and ran past them heading for the staircase except for a red haired kid.
"You better not die. I will never forgive you...hmhm...PRINCESS!" yelled Raphael at the end before running of towards the stairs. She glared at him in an angry stare.
"I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT WHEN I'M DONE WITH HER!" She had some motivation to live now.

The stairs led through a series of three halls all filled with heartless. Firaga blasts flew about, thundaga shocks paralyzed the dark ones, blizzagas pierced through black skin. The halls were trashed after they left them and went up another set of stairs. There was a room with a platform that was held up by chains over a pool of lava. They hopped onto the platform and made their way towards the next stair case when a black robbed figure rose out of the ground. He removed his hood to reveil a spikey, red haired kid.
"Can't get away that easily!" sneered Axel.
Haruka stepped forward this time, "I'll take it from here. I have some business to take care of with this jerk!" She took out her equip before the others gave their thanks like they did Sari and left them to fight.

There were four left now which included: Kouro, Raphael, Grace, and Liri. But how many fleights of stairs were left? How many floors did they have to conquer? What enemies were awaiting them? The only way to find out was to proceed with confidence.

They walked out onto an large outter balcony. Flying heartless swooped down at them. Kouro took out his bow and began to strike them down. Liri helped with healing and defense. Before long the heartless were all slain and they procceeded...but were stopped at the door to the next hall while they were still outside.

"YOU'LL ALL DIE HERE AND NOW! HAHAHAHAHA!!! I'LL TORMENT YOU ALL SLOWLY JUST TO HEAR THE MUSIC OF YOUR SCREAMS!" cackled Grave.

Grace looked very furious. She took out her deck and used "Shimmer Light" to blast him away from the door behind him. "I'll get him...I won't be his pawn any longer! You all take care of the rest!"

Kouro and Liri gave her quick hugs before dashing through the door. Raph walked over to her. "I'll be seeing you again. I promise you that. This will all end and we'll all be back together. Everyone." As he spoke a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Yes...now go...GO NOW!" she shouted. He grasped her shoulder then ran off after his remaining two friends.

The next room was just a long bit. Kouro stepped forward, strung and arrow with a long rope attached, and shot it towards the ceiling. It pierced through. "Okay, hold on to me as I swing us across," said Kouro before both Liri and Raph latched onto him. He kicked off the ground and swung to the ledge. The arrow gave way and they all let go to grab onto the ledge. Kouro pulled himself up first and helped Liri and Raph get on as well. There was no time for a break despite the princess being tired. "I'm out of breath...but I'll be fine. Let's just get this over with so I can finally get out of this horrid castle."

"Right, we have no time to lose," agreed Raph before the three pressed to the next hallway. It was long with a marble, checkered floor. Crome plants hung down from ledges and pots. Their footsteps made loud clattering noises as they ran down the corridor. Raph pushed open the doors to reveil a twisted, black room. Spikes jutted out from walls. Lit torches were the only source of light. They walked up a long black carpet before stopped to see Zaki fase into existence. "It's my turn to play now. Once I take care of you three, I'll go help MY AXEL. I'm sure he's doing fine against that hussy Haruka. But I will get down there nevertheless just to see for myself."

"That's greaattt...Just get out of the way, kid, we have an appointment to make," commented Raphael. Zaki ignored the hated keyblade wielder and lunged for him. Liri just then jumped infront of him and used "PROTECT" to parry Zaki's strike.

"I'll take care of this wench of a woman. Time to show that a princess isn't just for show and appearance," she said in a determined tone as Zaki slid back on her feet.

"No, I should take care of her. I don't want you to die. Everyone else keeps being taken away. But I can't let that happen to you," said Kouro as he walked up to her. Raph already knew what had to be down. He patted her cheek before running down the next hallway.

"KOURO! WE HAVE TO GO! THERE'S NOT TIME FOR REMORSE!"

"He's right. You need to go. Please, I'll be fine," said Liri as she looked up at her prince. Zaki was charging up for a devasting flame attack.

"But...I...um...Okay. I trust you," he said as both them teared up a bit. They gave a quick kiss before Kouro followed after Raphael, the door behind him shutting with a loud slam.

It was just Raph and Kouro now. They were almost to the top. "They better make it, we should all leave this place together. We have to."

"Yes...I know. I also wish to be with Liri. If she does I don't know what I will do," mutter Kouro as they approached a spiralling staircase.

"Don't think like that now. If you doubt then we're both death," replied Raphael as they began ascending up the stairs. Barrel Spider heartless began tumbling down the stairs at them. On impact they would explode. They had to duck every now and then and blow some up with a spell care or two.

The roll under a barrel spider to reach the next room. They got onto their feet and proceeded through room. They noticed that they were walking on a clear, flat surface. Electricity bolted from the bottom. Some struck the four electrodes that made a square formation around the platform. There was even a cloudy storm about them with lightning flashes and thunder cracks.

Two lightning bolts struck down infront of them. From the ground came two young girls "I'm Cali!"
"And I'm Kaori!" They said before summoning forth their magic powers. "AND WE'RE HERE TO KILL YOU AND STEAL YOUR HEARTS!" they said in unisen.

"Great, we get the doublemint twins," sighed Raphael as he brought up his keyblade.

Kouro stepped forward and stopped him though. He brought up two arrows. He strung them up and powered them up with some spell and attack cards. The arrows glowed a bright white. With light-speed and pulled back the arrows and shot them at the girls. They hit them straight in their hurts. The girls screamed in pain before white light engulfed them. When it was over, the girls were one and the same. "No, just one nasty juicy fruit."

"Kouro you're not going to fight them like that are you? They must be loads stronger when they are together!"

"I don't care, you go on, Raph. After I take care of them I'll go back for the others. You keep going. Something is waiting for you up ahead. Something you have to do on your own."

Raphael looked down then grasped Kouro's shoulder. He squeezed it a bit then made himself smile. Kouro nodded and Raph ran past "Cari". Though he did kick her down before he leaped into the doorway to the next hall.

The young keyblade wielder walked onto an elevator platform. It started up and began bringing him upwards towards the top of the castle. Spell casting heartless came down after him, but he disposed of them with STOP and attack cards. There was no time to be badly injured now. The elevator stopped at the tallest tower. There were two floors left. At the very top was a flat arena where a sinister, dark presence was awaiting. Raph hurried up inside.

He walked up some stairs until he ran into a room. Everything was dark. The only light visible was the light that shown down on a circular, concrete battle arena. He walked to the center and began hearing some insane laughter. He looked all around but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. "Where the...? Huh...Wait! IT'S COMING FROM MY...AAAAAHHHAAAAAAA!!!" he screamed as he held his head in pain. Dark flashes burst out of his body. He held his head as he fell to this knees. Raphael let go of his head, leaned back, and roared in pain before a dark explosion burst out of him.

When it all cleared, Raph was on the ground. He stood up slowly, wobbling a bit. "Wha...? Huh? What's happened?"

"I'm free from you! That's what happened!" shouted a dark, manical voice. Raphael looked ahead of him to see...Himself. No, his dark, heartless self. "That can't be! How could this happen?"

"Easy. With so much darkness around, I gathered it all up and finally freed myself from your pitiful body. Now I can cause all the chaos I want...Right after I kill you. But you'd like a name wouldn't you? I guess you can call me Rocza."

"I don't care what the hell your name is. I'll be the one to kill you. I'll be the one to conquer myself!" shouted Raph. He reached for his keyblade, but it was gone. Rocza held it in his right hand. It transformed into a dark, sharp, twisted, spiked keyblade.

"This is the true form of your our keyblade. Meet 'The Tainted Blade'," he hissed as he held it infront of him.

Raphael took out Sari's dagger that she had given to him. "Fine, then I'll...I'll just defeat you with this!" Rocza just laughed and shook his head at him. "You were always a bit stupid and hopeless."
Black wings burst out of Rocza's back. They outstretched themselves. each were about twelve feet in length. Raphael stepped back a bit.

"So they were your wings? Those feathers...THEY WERE A SIGN OF YOU COMING OUT!"

"Bingo! Took you awhile. So stupid...You couldn't even quite tell that Sari and Grace were in love with you! HAH! I know it from the beginning that they were growing on you. But you were too retarded to notice!"

"What? But I...How come..." Rocza didn't give Raph enough time to finish. He flew forward and smashed his dark keyblade into Raph's stomach, sending him flying into the air. Rocza then flew up and slammed his elbow into Raph's back. He fell to the ground with a loud crash, a little crater where he fell. Cracks surged through the battlefield as Rocza landed. Raph coughed up some blood before rising to his feet slowly.

"Looks like I broke or tore something? Your lungs? Your liver? Pancreas? Please tell me. I'm want to know where to hit you next so you die more painfully you pathetic dork of a weakling!" taunted Rocza as he began moving towards Raphael. Raph gritted his teeth before running forward and slashing at Rocza's chest with Sari's dagger. Rocza caught his wrist and held him up off of his feet. Rocza's keyblade morphed into his right hand, creating a dangerous looking claw. "Having fun yet?" he asked before slapping Raph across his face, "Answer me when I'm talking to you worm! Answer quickly since you're always to eager to rush into a fight despite the dangers. You'd do it even if it jeopradized your life or a friend's life. What can you prove from that? How stupid you are? How stupidly brave you are? Worthless!" Rocza let go of Raphael just then but used his right claw to power punch him in the chest. Raph rolled across the ground before laying down on his back. He coughed a little more blood up. It hit his face and trailed down his cheeks. The boy was about to get up but couldn't. A sharp pain was on his chest. So much pressure. It was hard for him to breathe.

Rocza had his right foot on his chest, pressing down with only a portion of his might. "You were never strong to begin with. All your power came from me. You were just a vessel to contain me. What Larxene failed to tell you was that you were always a dark child. Always causing trouble and mischief. You would hit everyone and want them dead. Well more like I did. You weren't there yet. After having enough of it our parents decided to create you. Put a light side in our body, put you into our body so is to supress me. After that you took over. Loveable, gentle, fun, kind, everything they wanted. It made me sick. So one day I decided to try and get out. I succeeded. So I killed our parents, our friends, everyone close to us. Then I erased parts of your memory just to toy with you. That old b***h didn't have the heart to tell you everything. When you went to Halloween Town, those were just portions I decided to let you have back. Just enough to make you keep going to make me stronger. The more heartless you killed and anger you had, the stronger I got. I strong enough to make my own body. And since I'm out there is no longer a purpose for you to go on. How does this make you feel, Raphael? Sorry, I gave you that name. They always called you Rocza, but that belonged to me. So when I erased your memory, I gave you a name. You never had a name to begin with."

The entire time Rocza was explaining himself, Raphael had tears streaming down his cheeks. He finally knew it all. He was nothing, nobody, a tool. He had no power, no real life. He was just solidified magic. How could he beat Rocza if he had no real power? His deck was even at Rocza's side. The only thing he had was Sari's dagger. "I...I...Hate you! I HATE YOUR GUTS! You toyed with me for so long just to get what you want. You turned me into a LIE! If I could I would kill you right NOW!" he said angrily as he raised his right hand and was about sink the dagger's blade into Rocza's left leg, but he stomped on the wrist and made Raphael drop it.

"Aww...you're gonna make me cry if you keep that up," said Rocza in a sad tone but laughed afterwards, "What do I care what a 'Nobody' thinks or says? The fact is that I could steal your fake heart for myself or let you die on your own. You see without me you will slowly disappear. I was the component that kept you together. Without me you will die...well more like be destroyed. Things that aren't alive can't really die afterall." He stepped off the body that had already started losing power. Little white particles were leaving the body slowly. Rozca picked IT up. His right hand ensnared IT's legs, arms, torso, and neck so IT couldn't move. Rocza's left hand was pulled back a bit as he glared up at IT. "I think I'll make your body lose more power faster so I can watch you vanish. Taking your fake heart isn't worth the time. It would vanish anyway within me. So I'll just take your magic. After that, I'll go and steal the hearts of all your friends. Then the I'll still the hearts of all that oppose me. Then the universe will plunge into chaos and darkness before ceasing to exist. I'll die of course, but I just love to destroy things. Once the universe is gone, time will repeat itself and make a new one. Then the same thing will happen again and again. Life will forever be trapped in this never ending killing spree."

"You...can't do that! You can't! You will fall and..."

"And what? With me absorbing so many hearts and commanding the heartless. I can't be stopped and I will destroy all...starting with you!" Rocza hit IT's chest and slowly sank his left hand into IT's chest, squeezing the life out of IT's chest. IT refused to scream in pain, spending the time IT had left glaring down at Rocza. "Hmph...just for that look. You will die now, 'Nobody'!" Rocza crushed IT's fake heart. IT's body dispersed in a flash. The magic mist swirled around Rocza and was absorbed into his body. "Hmhmhm...that felt good. Now to make my way down and...Huh...Erg! Why does my chest hurt?" he said as he clutched his chest...

FIN: The End of Castle Oblivion! (Bonds of Blood)
FIN: The End of Castle Oblivion! (Bonds of Blood)
Rocza shook his head and put a serious look back on. "No matter. It must be gas." The dark incarnate of Raphael opened a door at the end of the battlefield and walked on up a set of stairs. A few minutes passed and he was in the tallest tower of Oblivion Castle. He looked out a window and laughed. Rocza had killed the owner of the castle already with his bare hands. He lay there against a broken bookcase; bloody books laid buried over his body. The man had a horrid, twisted expression across his pale face and gray lips. It seem he had his heart taken already and would be a Nobody soon. "This castle is all mine now. All there is left is to take control of this world then the ones closest to it. I'll plunge each world into darkness, making more breeding grounds for Heartless and Nobodies. All is going according to my original intensions from the moment I took on the power of darkness within me," he said grimly, a smirk of pure evil across his lips that craved that blood of others against them.

There was a sudden explosion. Brick, wood, stone, and other debris flew forward and scattered across the room. Rocza repelled any debris that flew at him with a barrier generated by his right hand, which was held up in front of him.
"Right on time. I was getting a bit bored waiting for you all." Sari, Haruka, Kouro, Grace, and Liri emerged from the dust. Each was a bit battle torn and bruised, but they were standing.

"What? I thought you were extinguished, Rocza, with the help of my pendent to Raphael and his will! Why are you back! Bring us back Raphael!" demanded Grace with her fist held up. She had angry tears in her eyes.

"He won't be coming back ever again. He's gone. Simple as that," said chuckling Rocza with his hands held up like he didn't care.

"That bull, Rocza, now where is he? Raphael couldn't have been defeated that quickly. I mean come on, he's pretty strong with what cards he wields," said a cocky Kouro.

"Cards? Oh! You mean this deck here?" he smirked as he held out Raph's deck in his left hand. "I took them before he could use them. He only had Sari's dagger to defend himself, completely useless to him."


"What do you mean when you say 'I took them before he could use them'?" asked Sari as she stepped forward, a worried look upon her pretty face.

Rocza stepped down from the windowsill. He had a confident, smug look on his sinister facade. He placed his hands behind his back and began to pace back and forth. "To put it simply so you all can understand, we separated. I gathered up the darkness in this castle and from each of your hearts to create my own body. I became from free that prison. The amulet you gave Raphael, Grace dear, actually help me push myself out of his body to make my own," he said before tilting his head towards her, "I thank you from the bottom of my black hole for a heart. Perhaps you wanted that anyway since you yourself have a dark heart that is trying to grasp onto the light."

Grace grasped her heart as she went to her knees. Her golden curls covered her face, as she wept a bit. "So it's my fault he's gone then. It's my fault he got out and killed our Raphael...my Raphael." Sari turned her head away, refusing to cry. She wanted to stay strong. Liri hugged Grace as Haruka and Kouro stepped forward.

"Alright, buddy! I have just have had enough out of you! We'll make you pay for killing our friend!" said an angry and bitter Haruka as she took out her rapier.

Kouro took out his bow and aimed an arrow for Rocza. "Yeah, we'll skewer you and put an end to your hunger for blood!"

"Well it is more like destroyed him. I mean he wasn't real to begin with. He was just a prison to lock me up. I was very dark when I was born. So my parents and relatives made Raphael to lock me up and have the son they all wanted. But now that is all over now. So..." said with a humorous tone in his voice, "Let's get this over with." Rocza snapped his fingers and the area around them shattered like glass. They were all standing on a church like pillar.


The pillar was jutting up from a dark abyss. A beckoning, ebon void was above them. The pillar had a hard, stain glass top. It had beautiful designs. In the center were a few figures. The right side had heartless shapes and Rocza himself clawing out towards the left side. The left side was lightly colored with Raphael and his friends with their weapons drawn going towards the right side. "You will all die here!"

Grace took out her sword, Liri had her keyblade out, and Sari took out two sharp, long daggers. They stepped forward and stood next to Kouro and Haruka. "WE WON'T LOSE TO YOU!" they called out in unison before they charged forward, except for Kouro. He stood back since he fought with a long-range weapon.

Rocza just smirked at the warriors. Liri went forward first, "I'll make you pay for taking another friend from me!" she cried out as she slashed down at him. Rocza caught the keyblade by the neck, whirled her around as she held on to the keyblade fore dear life, and then threw her at an on coming Sari. The girls tumbled back as Grace took out a card that could shoot a beam of light. "PRISM BEAM!" a rainbow of color flew out a then crystallized to shoot out a beam of white light. Rocza vanished then appeared next to Grace.

He was took his elbow and smashed it into the small of Grace's back. She went forward, he kneed her in the stomach, pushing her into the air, and then roundhouse kicked her into Haruka. Something stung him in the right shoulder suddenly. He turned to see a sparking arrow and ripped it out of his dark red flesh. The wound sealed itself quickly as Rocza turned towards Kouro. "Was that it? You all are not strong enough to handle me!!" he growled as he held out his clawed hand and fired a Shadow Flare at Kouro. The entire area around him grew white before a dark ball of raw power blasted him. It almost flung him off the pillar, but he caught the edge and flipped back onto the surface.

Kouro's safety on the ground didn't last long, Rocza was right there waiting for him. He grabbed him by his neck, sinking his claws into the flesh. Blood flowed from the wounds that were inflicted by Rocza's talons. He began to rapidly smack Kouro across the face ten times before throwing him up in the air and kicking him into Grace who was about to get up. They both skidded across the glass and stopped five feet from the edge. Sari, Haruka, and Liri rose up and held up a STOPGA card, an AEROGA card, and GRAVIJA card. The girls threw them up into the air and pointed their weapons at them. A sudden gust of wind flung Rocza in the air. He was a bit surprised by this before being frozen in mid-air. There was a sudden pressure around his body before he was slammed down threw the glass surface of the pillar. There was a hole where he fell that looked like nothing would support them if they fell through.

The friends gathered together and looked at the hole. "Did we do it?" said Liri with a slightly frightened look on her facade. There was a flash of dark energy and Rocza rose out of the hole. He extended his wings and cracked his neck.

"Not bad, you took me by surprise. But that won't work a second time. Now I know what to expect if you do try that again. So, ready to continue round one?" He landed ten feet away from them and crossed his arms, a serious yet proud look on his face. The friends put forth their weapons and readied themselves for another attack. Rocza drew forth Tainted Blade; it was brimming with dark energy. He threw up two aero cards and one attack card to increase his speed. He flew forward and began his attack, but it was being repelled by two protect cards that Grace and Liri were using to put up a barrier. This gave them time to set up their decks for some powerful attacks instead of the small scale ones used earlier.

The barrier went down when Rocza's attack was finished. Right when the barrier went down, he was blasted back by a THUNDAGA charged arrow, a FIRAGA wave from a sword stroke, BLIZZAGA icicles from two weapon sources, slammed down by a GRAVIJA ball, then blown up into the air by rapid HOLY explosions beneath him. Kouro took that opportunity to fire arrow after arrow at Rocza. They struck him in the back. Sari then leaped up, landed on his chest, and began to beat down on him with her feet. He was slammed through the glass again next to hole he went through before; Sari had leaped away from Rocza before his body fell however.

There was blast of dark energy beneath the group and they were blown towards the two holes, but stopped before any of them went through. They rose up in pain, but Liri used a CURAGA card on them all to heal their wounds. Rocza flew at them when the spell was over and slashed at them all rapidly. Sari was thrown up into the air then was struck by Thundara bolts on all sides of her before punched towards the right. She was then held up on a pinkish red energy cross.

Grace, Kouro, Haruka, and Liri were about to recover, but Rocza came down on all threw smacked them away with a powerful sweep of his twisted keyblade. Grace was about to fall through the first hole, but Rocza grabbed her by the back of her shirt. She was then thrown up into the air and rapidly hit by FIRE attacks. Her backside was completely burned. Her screams of pain were accompanied by the shouts of agony that Sari was feeling from the surges of power that the energy cross was sending through her. Before Grace fell, she was power kicked in her burnt back next to Sari where she spun a bit and was held by an energy cross like Sari's. They cried out in pain, but they both refused to she tears.

Kouro, Liri, and Haruka had gotten up quickly. They looked up to see two of their companions held up on an energy cross. They were horrified to see how much pain Grace and Sari were going through. Stricken with rage, the three threw out fire cards to launch three fireballs at Rocza. He flew out of the way of each one. So they tried blizzard attacks, he melted them with two fira blasts. Thundara strikes were next, but he turned the bolts direction with three aero cards. Nothing elemental was working on him. "Let's try some Flares," whispered Kouro as they bolted at Rocza when he began to swoop down at them. He was going to blow them away with Black Firaga shots, but he was taken by surprise when they revealed their Flare cards. The first one blew him into the air, the second knocked him to the right, and Kouro leaped up and shot his from an arrow to blast him through the glass again. Rocza went right through the middle. The three friends then hustled towards Sari and Grace whom were still in the air being held up by energy crosses.

Liri was going to try an enchantment card when the glass beneath them began to crack all around them. The glass was then lifted up, beneath them was an angry Rocza. He flew up then threw them down towards the bottom left portion of the stain glass field. Liri still had the enchantment card and used it to transport them to the top right side of the field. The glass shattered and spread out all over the bottom when it hit the floor. There were five holes in the platform now. Any hard movement would surely cause the entire frame to shatter and fall through. Sadly, Rocza knew that.

The darkness mad fiend cracked his neck back, and began to laugh with a sick smirk upon his lips. His fangs were sharp and white as he bared them. He took his clawed right hand and slammed it in the glass. Cracks surged through out the platform. Haruka was going to try to seal them back up with Firaga shots, but it fell through before she could take the cards out of her deck. They plummeted into the darkness. Screams of terror and anguish filled the hollow pedestal. The dark void above flashed with menacing power. Grace and Sari were watching the fight the entire time was they screamed and trembled with pain. When they saw their friends fall they called out to them and tried to get free. They struggle was all in vain. They didn't fall all they way, however. They stopped and were hurled back up to where Sari and Grace were. The three then shared their fate and were held by energy crosses. The friends looked at one another, smiling a bit because they were glad that they were okay for the most part. Sweat covered their bodies from the fight and pain inflicted upon their tortured bodies.

The surges stopped as Rocza flew up to their level. "That was fun. Too bad we won't get this chance again. I'm surprised you all even lasted this long. You should be honored to partake in this little event I have set up for you all," the crazy b*****d sneered. They all glared at the monster as he hovered in front of them. He flew over to Kouro and looked him over. "Hmm... You look strong, but let's just test that," he snickered with a mad expression. Rocza dismissed Tainted Blade from his left hand; the evil weapon vanished in a poof of black smoke. Afterwards he took his index claw and ripped the top of Kouro's shirt down the center.

Liri then suddenly burst out, "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM! LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU...YOU...YOU FREAK!" Tears flew forward, but not out of sadness but sheer anger. She was struggling to get a good swing at Rocza. Rocza himself thought the display was quite amusing and decided to humor her.

"Okay then, should I start with you? You all will get your turn. It doesn't matter to me who goes first. But with that sudden display of courage and protectiveness, maybe I should make your trial more painful. How does that sound, Princess?" he teased her as he hovered over in front of her.

"NO! I...I was chosen to go first, so I'll do it. You've suffered enough, my dove," pleaded Kouro. This time Liriope did cry with sadness. Rocza just shrugged and floated back over to Kouro. He took his claw and carved a heartless mark into his chest slowly. He made it deep so it might scar. Blood trickled down the boy's chest as he kept in his screams of agony. Rocza then took this blood claw up to his lips and licked it clean.

"Hm... A bit tart. You'll make a fine heartless," he smiled devilishly as he floated on to Haruka. He looked at her then cut down her blouse so her breasts were visible; the fronts covered by her satin, blue bra. Haruka glared into Rocza's eyes. The others averted their eyes from her cleavage.

"You touch me, you perverted b*****d, and I'll make you regret it! I'll make you miss your stub of what you call your confidence!" beamed Haruka.

"Ooooh, feisty till the end I see. Good, Raphael would be proud. Come to think of it. As I do this, this all looks familiar," he said as he floated back and hovered a bit, "Yes, I remember. I killed our parents and family the same way as this. Though they didn't get the privilege of becoming heartless. I just ripped out their hearts and crushed them." He cackled for a while before licking his lips with a sick smile, "Their blood was very.mmm...delicious."

It was Sari's turn to put in a comment. "You're sick! You're real sick! You may have been the real one, but anyone would prefer Raphael to you. You're twisted, crazy, and just a big jackass. Raphael saw all of this happening, he'd put you in your place!"

"I won't have talk about him at all you b***h! He's gone and that's it! You...you don't deserve another life as a heartless or a nobody! Instead, I'll drain every drop of blood from your body, and then rip your cold corpse to shreds! Your tie to Raphael and Grace's tie to him held me back for too long! With him out of the way, I can eliminate the two remaining people that I hate the most!" said an enraged Rocza who slapped before his back speech. There was a bright red mark across her cheek, but she didn't even shed a drop of salty water.

Rocza was angry now. He flew back over to Haruka, took his claws, and began to slowly carve a nobody symbol into her flesh. Haruka glared at him the entire time as he drew slowly, and deeply into her epidermus. The claws grazed over her squishy skin that was her breasts. When he finished, he dined on the blood on his right hand. The maniac licked up and over his talons before smacking his lips and licking them clean. "Very spicy, I like that. We have another strong drone amongst us," he said with a devilish smirk. The new blood had put him in a better mood, but he wouldn't be that way once he got to Sari. "Give her hand, wait...never mind. It seems you are all a bit busy to congratulate her. Maybe later after you all have been turned," teased Rocza before flying over to Liri.

Liriope was holding back tears as he glared at her. She was deafly afraid of the pain Rocza was going to inflict upon her small frame. After seeing what Kouro and Haruka went through, she wanted to desperately get away from him. He smirked at her like a mad man that was about to rape an innocent victim. He took all five of his claws and slashed down the middle of her chest, ripping her blouse into strands and bits. Three strings were just holding her bra in the center together. Liri looked down at herself then began to sob to herself, afraid of what Rocza might do to her next. He licked his lips as his index claw went beneath the three strings and pulled back, the bra snapped apart in an instant. The only things covering them were the large strands of fabric covering the fronts. "LEAVE HER ALONE! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER ANYMORE! I'LL KILL YOU WHERE YOU ARE WHEN I FREE MYSELF FROM THIS...MPH!" Kouro was silenced immediately with the pinky claw of his hand. It had strectching over in a whip like motion, wrapping itself around his mouth and neck. "I'll do what I please. So just stay quiet and enjoy the show," said a confident Rocza as he began to slowly crave a heartless mark into Liri's skin at the center of her torso.

Haruka pulled forward, her breasts jumping with her as she tried to free herself. But each time she did, she was shocked by the energy cross. Kouro just whipped his head about, trying to speak. He only made muffled cries of protest. Grace just watched with a sad look upon her face. She was still depressed with what she had created in a way. It was partly her fault that Rocza was in full control now. Sari just waited for her turn, glaring at the monster as he tortured Liri. When he was done, blood sliding down her stomach from her wounds, Rocza dragged his left hand fingers beneath her breasts slightly. She looked away, her face red from the crying. He was simply feeling her in order to make Kouro even madder; it was working. The fiend merely picked up his shoulders a bit and "humphed" like he didn't care before sucking on his index finger. He tasted every bit of blood on his claw. "Very sweet. Possibly a weak one, though we might get something entirely different. You'll just have to wait and find out, Princess of Tears."

It was a bad pun, but a bully-like remark nonetheless. The final two were Grace and Sari. He hovered in front of the two, floating back about five feet away from them. "Which wench to taste next? Hmm...Both good choices seeing how they both held me back! I can't decide. How about I just whip the s**t out of the both of you!? How does that sound?" The evil one really was enjoying himself. Kouro protesting with muffled remarks, Haruka constantly shocking herself with each tug of her body, and Liri crying with her head tilted forward and chest almost revealed. Now he had the opportunity to beat the two he hated most down. What fun a sadist would have to enjoy the pleasure of torturing every person against him or her. It would be like having a vampire in a candy store filled with ripe children.

He let go of Kouro finally. He just screamed profanities as Rocza himself extended his claws. They became like tentacles as the whipped about and wiggled as he held them up. The freak just let the two look upon him, making them wait for the impending agony.

Without warning, he lashed out at their bodies. His whip like fingers smashed and whipped at their bodies repeatedly. Blood flew on Liri, Haruka, and Kouro in sprinkles. Cloth flew to the ground as he tore up their garments. They both cried out in pain, scaring cuts running all over their bodies. "STOP, PLEASE STOP! NO MORE! I CAN'T TAKE THEIR SCREAMS AND THE SIGHT OF THIS YOU MONSTER! STOP IT PLEASE!" pleaded Liri, but Rocza was having too much fun to stop. Liriope was too dry to cry anymore, and just whimpered with fear.

"You b*****d! You sick f**k! I'll torture you for doing this! This is inhumane on so many levels! How someone like you came out of Raphael I'll never know! Just wait when I get my hands on you!!!" shouted Kouro as he ignored the stinging pain from the shocks given by the cross he was held up on.

Rocza just laughed and paid no heed to Kouro. Haruka was tired and just watched in horror as her companions were beaten. The loss of blood and constant struggling had drained her of her strength. Liri and Kouro soon too felt the affects. The puncture wounds in Kouro's neck had stopped bleeding and so had his chest wounds, but the loss of essence was great. His clothes were caked with the thick liquid of life. His body drooped. Liri was exhausted and breathing hard like the other two were. Her cuts were still fresh and continued to bleed. The constant crying had also managed to sap her strength a bit.

When the mayhem had finished, Sari and Grace were covered in long sheets of their own blood. Their clothing had been ripped clean off. Their panties had been reduced to pathetic, blood soaked loincloths. The string around their hips held what clothe there was left in front of the crotch region and buttocks region. Their bras were red inside and out. The cups just dangled in front of their breasts to hide them from frontal view. Blood dripped from their stained hair, toes, legs, and fingertips. Their heads hung downwards. The pain was so intense that they had fallen unconscious when it was over.

Heh heh heh..hmhmhm...hahahahahaaha AAAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!" cackled Rocza as he retracted his claws and licked all long his arm and hand. His tongue slid over it slowly to get every ounce of blood, and to taste it all. He licked his lips after cleaning himself off, blood still hung from the sides of his mouth. The man flew forward, his fangs bared in a toothy grin of sinister desires. He looked over the bloody mess that covered the two girls. His tongue slid in-between his teeth and began to get longer slowly. It lifted up and pointed at the girls when it had reached a length of twelve feet. Haruka, Liriope, and Kouro were just holding on to consciousness as they looked over at the menace. The didn't want to look at what he was going to do next to the two girls, but they couldn't turn their heads away from the dark incarnate.

The extensive tongue suddenly lashed out, wrapping itself around the bodies of Sari and Grace. It started at their legs, working its way up. The appendage slid along their legs. It took up blood as it slid around up their legs like a snake. The others cringed at the site. It was horrible. The thoughts that plagued them made the sight of it all even worse.

Rocza's tongue was about to slide a bit higher when he suddenly stopped. The tongued quickly retracted into his mouth as he began to have a hard time flying. He held his heart and groaned in pain.
...Again? Why? Why now? W-what is this?" he grimaced his wings fluttered in order to try to keep him afloat. A light then suddenly shot out of his chest. He shivered and screamed with pain. The light swirled around the energy crosses and the heroes, causing them to glow and shimmer with golden light.

The pinkish crosses dissipated, the friends were healed, and their clothing and weapons were repaired. They looked like they were fresh from a package. They looked like they were going to fall, but their feet planted themselves on...nothing. The entire area then just shattered with a loud BOOM. Sunlight beat down upon them as they stood on top of the platform that was once the tallest toward of Castle Oblivion. The friends all looked at each other, amazed to find themselves perfectly fine.

Rocza fell to the ground with a loud thud. He slowly picked himself up onto his hands and knees. His wings began to turn into a flurry of black feathers. They scattered out into the wind. He looked like he was going to be sick, but he recovered quickly and stood up. His eyes grew wide at what he saw. He wasn't surprised to see Kouro, Liri, Grace, Sari, and Haruka fully healed. It was something else. The companions saw it too. The shock made Grace fall back onto her bum, Sari had tears held up in her eyes, Kouro's jaw had dropped, Haruka had a warm smile upon her face, and Liriope was trying to contain her excitement. Right there before them stood their Raphael. He looked back at them and winked. "Did you guys miss me?"

Raphael was wearing his original cloths, he had the same looks, and the posture; everything was the same except for one thing. He was holding a different keyblade. It was clear with a shimmering light circulating all through it. The key chain was a glowing ball of light held by a golden chain. The hand guard was of translucent angel wings with a smooth clear hand in the middle. The neck had three segments to it that were smooth cylinder shaped. Two twirled around one long centerpiece. The ends met at the head. The head was a shinning sphere with three halos around it: One around the middle, one on the diagonal left, and one the diagonal right.

Raph looked at his dark counterpart and dawned a serious mask. He lifted the keyblade onto his shoulders before speaking. "Surprised I see to witness me in front of you wielding the Pure Blade. Well the suffering you put my friends through ticked me off, as I was fading away, and the light still gleaming from their hearts as they fought you revived me. So I'm here to be with them, and to kill you. You may be the real deal, but I'm the real deal in the hearts that I have touched. Yeah, I know, this is all corny. But what else is there to say?"

"I'll show you! I'll crush you and turn you into nothing!" roared a furious Rozca. But Raphael's friends rushed forward with their weapons drawn. Their weapons had changed as well. Light was coming from each of their chests, morphing their weapons.

Sari held two glistening daggers with two blades attached to each handle. They had angel wing designs going up the blades. Diamonds covered the handle like a net. She whirled them around her body before holding one over her head and the other parallel to her chest.

Grace was holding a long, shimmering spear. The head was diamond shape with little diamond blades coming out where the head met the staff. At the other end was double-sided hammer with a spike on the top of it. On the faces was a crown on each. She spun the mighty spear in front of her before holding it perpendicular.

Haruka was holding a vibrant handle with a translucent crystal at the butt. A crown was at the top. She made a sudden stroke with her right arm, and a blast of energy came out to form wide blade. It came out curved at the beginning, dipped a bit in the center, and then became diamond shaped at the top. The guard was two small wings on each side. Haruka held her sword in front of her boldly.

Liriope was wielding a long staff with a keyblade heads at the top. The head split into four jagged edges with a large glowing orb at the top. The staff was slender with light swirling all around it. Hearts twirled around within it. She poll vaulted next to Sari and held her staff above her head.

Kouro a sturdy bow with three light arrows pointed at Rocza. The bow had a golden string connected to two wings with shining orbs at the front corners of the wings. The handle had an aiming spike in front of it. The bow had golden sparkles floating around it.

Rocza stepped back a bit while summoning up Tainted Blade. "You think those dim glow sticks can beat me!? WELL TASTE THE POWER OF TRUE DARKNESS!" said a raging fiend. He dashed forward, a wave of dark energy behind him. The companions all looked at one another and nodded before staring down on the dark one.

"STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN!!!" the all cried out at once. The darkness around Rocza suddenly vanished. He stopped in his tracks as a glyph that consisted of circles and hearts surrounding the signs of the heartless, the keyblade masters, and the nobodies in the center appeared below his feet. Suddenly everything went blue around him and it appeared that he was in the clouds on a nice, sunny day. Grace then appeared below him crouched. She took her the hammer end of her spear and smashed him right in the crotch for he wasn't looking. He cried out in pain as he was thrown up into the air by Grace's force. She then leaped up at him and began to twirl the spear in the circular motion. Hammer bashes and blade slashes tossed up higher and higher. He was struck thirteen times by her in about six seconds as Stair Way to Heaven played around him.

Grace then disappeared as Liriope appeared diagonally behind him. She pointed her staff at Rocza before firing HOLIEST at his back. He flew up; she warped in front of him at the same angle and fired another HOLIEST shot. Rocza was tossed back and forth, higher and higher into the sky. Twelve shots hit him from Liri in seven seconds.

Kouro appeared next. He was directly beneath Rocza, his back facing Kouro. He took aim with his arrow, as eleven other light clones of himself appeared to do the same thing. They all fired at once, skewering him with the arrows. The light arrows exploded with energy, sending him sky rocketing higher into the sky. This all took fifteen seconds.

Haruka shot up right past Rocza with her energy sword, slicing up his left side; the attack made him turn over so he was facing where the ground would be. Ten other bolts of light energy that pelted his chest one after another followed the attack. Haruka then grabbed Rocza by his neck, making him face her as they flew up. He was a bit dazed and in pain. She only glared at him before stabbing his stomach with the sword of light, pointing him towards the sky, then shooting up like a missile. He tumbled and rolled with his legs and arms flailing about. The attack took twenty-five seconds.

As Rocza tumbled through the air like a candy wrapper caught in an updraft, Sari appeared across from him. She took her daggers and flung them at Rocza like Chinese throwing stars. They spun around rapidly and cut through his body like tissue paper. They sliced through his arms, legs, abdomen, chest, neck, and the rest of his body eleven times. Rocza's body became steady afterwards. His legs were pointing towards the ground as the rest of his body was bent forward. Sari warped below him as they soared through the sky and held out her hands towards him. They were about fifteen feet apart. The daggers spun around her hands rapidly before she shot a rainbow colored wide beam into his body. The force pushed him ever so higher. The attack took about twenty seconds.

Raphael was the last one to appear. He wasted no time in flying up diagonal left at Rocza, cutting him along his chest. Rocza's body whipped back. He then slashed from the right side of Rocza along his back. The shimmering Pure Blade flew along with the attacks in a wide stream of power. Rocza was sliced up, left, down, diagonal upper right, across left, diagonal bottom left, behind him, and in front of his body. Raph then hovered in front of the dark incarnate. He bashed down on Rocza's head with his keyblade to open up for a grand swing like a golf player up into the stratosphere. Raph's attack took seventeen seconds.

Rocza floated, his body close to space itself. Raphael, Kouro, Liri. Haruka, Sari, and Grace fazed into existence all around him in a circle formation. They all held hands, leaned back, and closed their eyes. The same symbol that appeared below Rocza flashed above his body. Both symbols began to turn faster and faster. The top went clockwise and the bottom counter clockwise. A wide blast of light then erupted out of both symbols, consuming Rocza's body. He screamed and roared in pain. He reached out towards nowhere in particular as his body was slowly vaporizing.

His dark powers were gone, his hold over the innocence had dissipated, and the six friends had vanquished the torment he wanted to inflict upon the universe. "...s**t..." was the last thing Rocza said before ceasing to exist.

The six friends reappeared on a grassy hill over looking a crumbling Castle Oblivion. The darkness surrounding the castle and contained within it vanished without a trace. The ebon construction broke down chunk by chunk before vanishing from the entire universe.

The world was calm now. A calm, breeze blew past the companions as they looked upon their struggles with greater strength than before. Each one had grown from when they had first entered evil strong hold. Smiling to themselves, they all turned and headed down a road that was surrounded by calm meadows. None of them said anything as they walked, still holding hands.

The group then came upon a three-way fork that led to three different locations. They stopped in the center and looked at one another. "So what now? Is this goodbye?" asked Liri.

"Well I'm not leaving you, Liri. I love you and want to stay with you. So I think we should stick together!" said Kouro before receiving a peck on the cheek from his sweetheart, while the rest giggled.

"Eh, It doesn't matter to me, but I won't forget you all ever. We've been through too much for me to just forget everything," chimed in Haruka who stood there with her arms crossed.

Grace held onto Raph's left sleeve, while Sari had her arm around his right arm. "Sari and I need to stay with Raphael," indicated the still ever timid Grace.

"Yes, who knows what kind of trouble he may get into without us watching him? The clumsy oaf," said Sari in agreement while poking fun at Raphael. He blushed a bit and laughed at himself. The boy then slipped away from them, his hands on his hips.

"What's all this goodbye stuff? Do we really have to be like all the other heroes you see in movies and part ways? Why not just go to a world where we could live amongst each other? Or live on worlds close to one another? I mean they should be still connected. And I don't think our job is over yet. There is still darkness in the world. So let's save the goodbyes for some other time," explained Raphael in a confident tone before turning his back to them. The friends looked at one another and nodded in agreement with a semi-circle of grins. "Though...a little vacation wouldn't hurt. Let's go to Twilight Town and head for the beach!" he said as he turned back towards them.

They all walked up to Raphael, and looked at him with a sneaky look. "What?" he asked, feeling a bit worried. He was then pushed down by all of them before they took off down the center road, Haruka in the lead. "LAST ONE THERE HAS TO DRIVE!" shouted out Haruka.

"HEY!" called out a playfully angry Raphael as he got up and ran off after his friends.

"You'll have to move faster, man, if you don't want backseat drivers!" taunted Kouro.

Raph smiled and laughed as he ran. He was happy like the rest of his friends. They all came to the castle a bit weak hearted and a little alone. Some knew each other, but the friendship wasn't as strong as it was now. They fought bravely, learned from one another, became stronger, and joined together like brethren. The travels and hardships they faced with one another made them more connected than any Bonds of Blood.

A Raven's Remorse ((A Fable based on a personal experience))
There once was a raven
Whom lived in a quaint little haven.
He had friends of all kinds,
Each one had a unique mind.
There was one he had to watch the most,
He had to make sure she didn't become a ghost.
A kind little kitten that hid her emotions.
Her depression tended to overwhelm her like sinister oceans.
The raven spent time to caterwaul with this hidebound feline.
It was difficult for this black cat since she only saw a mirage and whined.
"Please don't listen to the ribalds of your family and friends," he would say,
"You know they aren't true, so let's go have some fun and play!"
He would then ruffle her soft fur with his ebon feathers,
She'd laugh and smile, but only to fool him while they played in heather.
He assumed he was doing well with her,
But her smiles merely obfuscated his good demeanor.
One day he had heard the most unsanguine nees,
which came from his friend the penguin; it made them both blue.
The cute kitten had had enough of the ridicule.
She tried to hang herself, a nosse was her tool.
She was sent away after that.
The raven felt he had failed the cat.
"I thought I was helping her,
"But it seems I couldn't make a forte of nerve.
"You may not see it now, but your life is important.
"Not everyone will like you, one's personality isn't omnipotent.
"Though there will always be someone that is glad that you're alive.
"So why not just fight and wait until that person for you arrives?"
Afterall, just because your life is currently terrible,
It doesn't mean it'll be like that forever; life is bearable.

The fable is beautiful, and oh so true. We can't always help those we care for, because they often don't want to be helped. While I'm sad for your friend, I think this is more of a happy tale. Like falling raindrops catching the sun, it shows that even in what people consider unhappy, there's beauty. The raven realized that it wasn't his fault, and managed to move on... Something that often doesn't happen with dark birds such as these.