Wow i've read this at least 3 times, i'm a big fan, love these fics X3
Anyways take your time i'll be waiting patiently XD
Anyways take your time i'll be waiting patiently XD
Fanfiction ► Rebel Without a Flame
- Thread starter Ams Tram Gram
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Chapter 8
Final Flare
Final Flare
Wow! Six months! 0.o I had no idea it was that long...
Alright! So, Chapter 8 is finally up! I know some of you have been waiting a long time for this, and I thank you and sincerely apologize for your patience and my horribleness respectively. I'm not sure what to make of this chapter, so pleas tell em if you think it was worth the wait, thanks!
So, uh...without further ado:
“So...” Marluxia said, in conclusion. “Do you all understand the plan?”
“Yes, Marluxia.” Larxene responded, less-than enthusiastically. “I was with you when you announced it the first time, remember? I even sabotaged the sketchbook with you. And you just finished explaining it to us again.”
“When I said ‘you all’, I directed myself specifically towards Axel, young lady.”
“Then I seriously suggest you look up ‘specific’ in the dictionary, since you seem to think it means the opposite of what it really means.”
“And I strongly suggest you review the diagram I constructed so that you can understand that whatever I say automatically goes.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I suggest you watch out for whatever may happen to your diagram in the near future.”
Marluxia gasped in horror.
“You wouldn't! Not after all the time I spent making it!”
“Not to be a burden,” Axel interrupted. “but we have an insane asylum to take over, and I both strongly and seriously suggest you two clowns get your act together if you actually hope to achieve anything.”
“Right you are, Axel.” Admitted Marluxia to the redhead. “Although I would’ve worded it better myself...”
“And I suggest equally strongly that next time you organize a meeting Marluxia, that you find a better meeting place than your bedroom. This place smells like strawberry extract.”
With that, Axel got off of the enormous, pink bed that he, Marluxia and Larxene were upon, and proceeded towards the rose-coloured door, out of the flower-themed room, complete with crimson-coloured walls and carnations on vases set atop pink armoirs.
Axel opened the door and left, leaving Larxene and Marluxia alone, on the giant bed, contemplating about what Axel had just said.
“Do you notice anything different about Axel?” Larxene said to him.
“Yes, I do.” The Graceful assassin responded. “I think he’s been using another kind of shampoo, his hair seems so conditioned...and it smells nice too.”
“No, you idiot! I meant in his behaviour.”
“Oh, right. Well, he has been taking this whole take-over quite seriously. I’d say it’s a good thing.”
“Yeah...” Larxene replied, without much else to say.
The two sat on the bed for a short period of time, without saying a word. Their eyes wandered around the room, and they did their best not to look directly into each other’s pupils. They were uncomfortable with the awkward silence, but neither of them knew who should leave first. Seeing as how this could be an opportunity Marluxia could take to his advantage, he decided to speak:
“So...” He started. “you like my room?”
“It’s alright, I guess...” Larxene responded, casually.
“This is the first time you’ve seen it, right?”
“Yeah. Actually, it’s a lot less pink than I expected it to be.”
The two chuckled lightly, and continued searching for something to look at in the room, other than directly into each other’s eyes. It made them feel strangely uncomfortable. They’re eyes searched for something to fix onto almost frantically.
Spontaneously, Marluxia decided move and leaned over towards Larxene’s cheek, but before he could reach her, Larxene moved away, saying: “I’d better go check up on Axel.” Resulting in Marluxia losing his balance and falling flat on his face on his own bed.
As Larxene walked out the door, Marluxia lifted up his head, watched and wondered.
----------------------------
Axel was standing near Namine when Larxene had come out the door. She noticed that he seemed to be deep in thought about something. Namine was just doodling away on her sketchbook.
“How’s Sora coming, Namine?” Larxene asked her.
“It’s fine.” Namine responded casually.
“I just asked her.” Axel informed the Savage Nymph. “Sora’s in Twilight Town now, it looks to be his final world.”
“Twilight town...” Larxene repeated, as she casually walked towards Axel. “now, there’s a name I haven’t heard in quite a long time.”
“That seems normal, it’s been so long since we’ve recruited any new members.”
“Maybe Namine would like to join?” Larxene said, jokingly.
Axel smirked, and scoffed lightly.
“Yeah, as if she’d have any reason to.”
Just then, a dark portal materialized itself at the other end of the room, and Vexen came out of it.
“Vexy,” Larxene said. “what are you doing here, from beneath the gutter? It‘s not often we see you topside.”
“I came to clear a few things up.” Vexen said, as he sneered at her.
“Sorry Vexen,” Said Axel. “You’ve come at a wrong time, perhaps we could discuss matters as soon as you find your Replica again--oops!”
Larxene laughed.
“Yeah, Vexen. Where’s your toy, now that you need him?”
“Hold your tongue, you infantile brat!”
“Now, now, Larxene.” Axel said to her. “Shouldn’t we give Vexen the benefit of the doubt? His experiment his probably hiding in the halls somewhere, as part of some grand plan.”
“Insolent fools! Why would you dare--”
“Vexen!” A voice from behind interrupted.
The Chilly Academic turned around and saw Marluxia behind him, who had just gotten out of the door.
“Marluxia!” He exclaimed.
“The two nimrods are right, Vexen, you’re experiment seems to have failed.”
“But-But, you must understand, this isn’t definite. He’s merely planning some sort of pre-emptive strike.”
“That would make four failed pre-emptive strikes now,” Larxene said, deciding to join in the conversation. “I sincerely doubt that your plaything has anything left in store for us.”
Vexen sneered at her and turned his head back to Marluxia once the Graceful Assassin spoke.
“Vexen, in the name of the Organisation, I pronounce your project a failure.”
“Such insolence, you speak with, #11, you should know that I am #4, seven ranks higher than you.”
“Oh, so you’re deciding to play the rank card, are you? Maybe you’d like to take this up with Xemnas? Oh, wait! He outranks you, and he outranks all of us!”
“Xemnas? Surely, you don’t mean...”
“Yes, Vexen. I do mean that.”
“You mean that...Xemnas will...”
“That’s what I implied.”
Marluxia could know see that Vexen had fear in his eyes, which confused him slightly since Vexen showed near-fearlessness, earlier before. Upon seeing this, Marluxia did not waste any time wondering what could have gotten Vexen in such a nervous mood, so he decided to take this opportunity to his advantage.
“You know, Vexen.” He started, as he began pacing around him. “I could report you to Xemnas about all of this tomfoolery, but I’d hate to miss the chance to make life miserable for you.”
“What on earth could you be insinuating in that diabolical mind of yours...”
“Sora.” Marluxia said. “I want you to eliminate Sora.”
“What? Don’t you need him for your incredulous plan?”
“Don’t question it, just do it.”
Vexen growled lowly into his collar.
“You won’t get away with this, Marluxia...you can’t”
“I can and will.” Marluxia contradicted. “Now, are you up for it, or aren’t you? Because I’d hate to deny Xemnas the pleasure of turning you into a dusk.”
Vexen glared at him for a while, and realized that he had no other choice than to obey his orders, however strange they may have seemed.
“I wouldn’t really hesitate if I were you, Vexen.” Axel said, his crossed his arms. “You’d be about as useless as a Creeper if you refuse to do this for us. Which, in fact, are more useful than you anyhow.”
“And it’s not like you have anything to gain if you don’t help us.” Larxene added.
Vexen looked at the two, and sneered at them, showing his depreciation for them. He then turned his head back towards Marluxia, who was smirking, knowing full well that Vexen would have no choice but to agree. And sadly, Vexen knew that as well, he realized now that his plan had finally crumbled upon itself and that nothing could be redeemed. He’d have to tell Zexion and Lexaeus as soon as he got back from eliminating Sora. He thought that perhaps the Replicas could be spared somehow.
“Unless...” He pondered. Vexen had another idea, and seeing now that Marluxia was getting impatient, he spoke:
“I say, Marluxia, I’ll do whatever it is you say.”
Marluxia was well aware that he had pushed Vexen into a corner, and that this was indeed the answer that the Chilly Academic would give, given the situation. But no matter how much he reminded himself of this, he was still somewhat surprised to hear those words come out of that mouth.
“Very good.” Marluxia affirmed. “So, we’re clear on what you have to do?”
“Yes.” Vexen replied, as he sighed. “Sora shall be eliminated by any means necessary.”
“Good.” Marluxia said. “I’ll be waiting here with the others.”
Vexen slinked off into a dark corridor witout saying a word, leaving the three members of the Flower Power faction alone in the main room, wondering if Vexen would actually go through with it.
“Do you think he’ll actually go through with it?” Larxene asked.
“He has to.” Axel replied, as he casually walked towards the guest rooms. “I don’t know about you, but Vexen wouldn’t make for a particularly efficient Dusk.” And with that, he opened the guest room doors and entered it.
As soon as he left, Larxene took Axel’s absence to her advantage and began discussing her feelings with Marluxia.
“Does he still look somewhat trustworthy?” She asked him. “He seems to be convinced of helping us in our intentions.”
“Of course he is!” Exclaimed Marluxia. “Who cares about that? The question is, will Vexen go ahead with what was planned? Or will he chicken out and do something outrageous?”
“If he prepares to do something outrageous, the solution is simply a matter of going to stop him before he does it.” She said, matter-of-factly.
“Really, Larxene, I think that situations like these should be better left to decide by the diagram. Or have you forgotten it’s wonderful efficacies?”
Larxene rolled her eyes. Marluxia took this opportunity to talk about what had happened beforehand.
“Listen, Larxene.” He said, as he started to change the subject. “About before, I should warn you that I was not fully apt in all of my senses.”
“Well, neither was I.” Larxene added. “The intoxicating smell of strawberries and rose petals were enough to put a very large horse to sleep. I couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.”
“Yes, but I’m referring to--”
“I know what you’re referring to.” Larxene said, rudely interrupting him.
With that, she slowly and casually walked out the door, into the guest rooms, where Axel had gone seconds earlier. Marluxia watched and wondered as she did. A smile then grew on his face. However, he soon realized that in that very guest room, she would be reunited with none other than her high school crush.
“Axel!” He cried out, as he headed for the door.
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Lexaeus and Zexion were still in the basement, discussing their current plan as they waited for Vexen to come back from his ‘meeting’ with Marluxia.
And that he did. Vexen came in through a dark corridor and greeted the two.
“So nice to see you still alive, Vexen.” Lexaeus said to him.
“Yes, well with how frantic this insane asylum has been running I’d hold your tongue if I were you, Lexaeus, my boy.”
“What is it this time?” Asked Zexion.
“Marluxia sent me on a mission to kill Sora.”
“Kill him?” Lexaeus exclaimed, in a surprised tone. “What on earth for?”
“He thinks he caught me in some kind of corner, and hopes to be rid of me by sending me off on a mission the likes of which I could never complete, or so he thinks...”
“You’re going to do it?” Asked Zexion.
“And why shouldn’t I? If Sora’s out of the picture, not only will it leave Marluxia helpless, but it will be one less enemy we’ll have to worry about.”
“Then, are we still gonna flee?”
“We’ll, when I kill Sora, then we'll have a bit more time than what was planned, we’ll be able to leave, with the replicas and all, and commence the preparations for an attack on the castle.”
“But we’re already in the castle.”
“Not this one, you dunderhead! Our castle!”
“Oh...”
“What if you don’t end up killing Sora?” Lexaeus boldly asked.
“Come again?” Vexen asked, intrigued at the thought that he would be beaten by a fourteen year-old brat, whose reflects that of a certain well-known rat.
“It’s nothing personal, Sora is stronger than we give him credit for, he already beat you once, remember?”
“I told you, that was a test! But, if you want me to humour you yet again, then alright: I have a few tricks up my sleeve for Sora, if ever he manages to overcome me. I’ll simply tell him a secret I’ve been longing to for quite some time.”
“This should be good.” Said Lexaeus.
“T’is good, t’is very good . I’ll simply remind Sora of Roxas.”
There was a brief silence in the room, as Zexion and Lexaeus gazed sceptically towards the Chilly Academic.
“Come again?” Zexion asked.
“Sora’s in Twilight Town right now...you know...Twilight Town...the other side of his heart?”
“Yeah...and?” Lexaeus said, still sceptic.
“Can’t you nitwits figure anything out? If I tell Sora about Roxas, it shall ruin Marluxia’s plan for good.”
“Explain.” Zexion said.
“The whole plan for Xemnas was to fuse Sora with Roxas. Now that the five of us have failed at that, Marluxia’s trying to take Sora for his own...I-I’m explaining what’s already kown!”
“No, No, I think I’m following you, continue.”
Vexen sighed in frustration.
“If I tell Sora about our beloved Roxas, and if he changes his idea and leaves this place, then Marluxia’s plan will have gone awry, and we’ll already have left before Xemnas comes.”
“Well, Marluxia isn’t going to sit idly by and watch you do this.” Lexaeus contested. “What are we going to do about him?”
“Are you two even trying? Do you expect me to tell you everything like some sort of parental figure?” Vexen yelled out, in frustration.
The Cloacked Schemer and the Silent Hero both stood quietly after Vexen spoke. They weren’t quite sure what to say, as they got all their plans from Vexen. To this awkward silence, Vexen responded:
“Aaargh!! Look, I’ll go humour Sora, and Marluxia will probably send one of his two lackeys out to stop me, most probably Axel. Now, don’t any of you worry about me, I’ll be able to fend off that redheaded scoundrel, the two of you will go and distract Marluxia and Larxene for a while...I don’t know, get into a fight sequence or something. That should last a while. Then, I’ll lead Sora out of the castle and into the wilderness, and then we leave.”
“That doesn’t sound like a very good plan at all.” Said Zexion.
“And what would you know about good plans, Mr. I’m-too-cowardly-to-kill-Axel?”
“That was your fault!”
“Oh, come off it! You two have gotten into more tomfoolery than I have, none of us would be here if it weren’t for me!”
The two associates, yet again, stood silently, and exchanged awkward gazes with each other. They needed a moment to reflect on what Vexen had just said, as it perturbed them slightly.
“Vexen...” Zexion started. “I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing.”
Vexen took a step back, flabbergasted at what his assistant had just said to him. “Not a good thing?” He repeated. “How dare you judge my ways, you infantile brat! I’m twice, if not three times as experienced as you are! Where do you acquire the gall to even tell me that!”
“Well, so far it seems we’ve had to plan and re-plan, and plus the Replicas are all corrupt now, so--”
“The Replicas are not corrupt.” Vexen rudely interrupted, wanting to prove desperately that he knew what he was doing. “The original has healed, and although I’m not quite sure how he has, I may have an idea.”
“Whatever, there isn’t any time for this. We’ll secure the Replicas, but just be sure to come back without a scratch.”
“You misjudge my power.” Vexen said, as he smirked. He then materialized a dark portal and left, leaving the two in the room to scratch their heads as they pondered.
“Well,” Zexion said. “I, for one, have some serious doubts about this plan.”
“As do I.” Lexaeus said. “Vexen seems to be deeply embroiled in some kind of internal conflict. I’m not quite sure what’s keeping him together.”
“I assume it’s the thought of having the Castle That Never Was to himself. Even so, I don’t even think that’s enough to defeat Sora.”
“Yes...”
The two stayed in the room for a little while longer. Pacing back and forth as they pondered in silence. They tried to think of something that could be salvaged if ever this plan could go awry. Which, as of recently, seemed as if it could tear apart any second. At one point, Lexaeus stopped pacing, sat down on one of the chairs, and after a few more seconds of pondering, he spoke.
“If Vexen does indeed fail,” He started. “We will keep the Replicas, won’t we?”
“Well, I’d already thought of that long ago.” Answered Zexion. “If Vexen dies, it’s up to us to continue.”
“I don’t even want any of those Replicas anymore.”
“What?”
“This whole plan is completely ludicrous. I don’t even know why we trusted Vexen in the first place.”
“It’s too early to think about ditching him now, we should see how things play out here first.”
“You’re right.”
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Marluxia rushed into the guest room as Larxene was entering it to stop Axel from possibly destroying his plan. He knocked on the door furiously, desperately hoping them from an answer. He did hear an answer, though not one that he liked:
“What do you want Marluxia?” Asked Larxene, from the other side of the door. “We just saw each other.”
“I uh...need to use the bathroom.” Marluxia fibbed.
“Oh, for the love of...”
Marluxia took this as a “Yes” and swung the door open. As he pushed it ajar, he felt as if he hit something, along with a THUMP noise coming from the other side. In front of him, he saw Axel, lying on his bed while reading a book.
“Axel...” Marluxia started. He stopped to ponder as soon as he realized that Axel really was reading a book. “I....I....wh....since when do you read?”
Just then, the door swung back the other way and hit Marluxia in the face, causing him to fall back down out the doorway and in the other room. Out from the back of the door came Larxene, who went up to Marluxia and put her hands on her hips.
“Larxene.” Marluxia said, in a greetful fashion. Although his greeting was less than dignified to his embarrassing position.
“Tell me Marluxia,” Larxene started. “What is it that comes to your mind when you mindlessly swing open a door? Is your thinking so fast-paced that you can’t bother thinking twice about flinging a door open? Do you have some kind of anxious disorder that doesn’t permit you to take things slowly? This doesn’t just apply to you, though, this entire insane asylum seems to be firmly against gently opening doors, let alone knocking first.”
“But I did knock.” Marluxia responded as he got back up.
“You know what I mean. You know, you’re-”
Larxene was interrupted as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head quickly and saw Axel, with his book in his other hand.
“Uh...I don’t want to disturb your little lover’s quarrel here.” Marluxia blushed as he said this, which made Larxene roll her eyes. “But if I were you, I’d check up on our beloved Vexen. He should be greeting Sora right about now, shouldn’t he?”
“Why yes, Axel.” Marluxia concured, for once. “We should check up on Vexen, shouldn’t we?”
Axel said nothing and simply squeezed his way out of the doorway and into the Main Room, leaving the Graceful Assassin and the Savage Nymph alone yet again. Much to their own displeasure.
“I noticed that you didn’t tell Axel to get his hand off your shoulder, eh Larxene?” He pointed out, with a sneer.
“Oh my gosh...” Said Larxene, as she rubbed her hand on her forehead.
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Down in the basement, no one was there. No one, that is, until now. Two dark portals materialized themselves and out came Zexion and Lexaeus, who seemed to be flushed.
“Is that all of them?” Zexion asked.
“I would assumed.” Lexaeus answered.
“Well, is it or isn’t it? There’s only one answer.”
“Yes, yes, it is.”
“Alright, so that’s done with. Now what?”
“Technically, we sit here and wait for Vexen.”
“Well, that shouldn’t be long. He should be meeting up with those three nimrods just about now.”
“Zexion...”
“Yes?”
“Do you believe what Vexen said, about staging Axel’s murder with Saix?”
“The whole thing seems fishy to me.” Zexion answered. “But there have been so many strange things going on, that I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“It is strange, don’t you find? Not advising us beforehand? Plus, he seemed quite surprised himself once he heard what had happened.”
“Yes, I did notice that.” He hasn’t been a very good leader up until now, has he?”
“No, and the reasons for ditching him simply keep piling up.”
“Well, perhaps we can be rid of him once we leave this place.”
“You mean...ditch him, or terminate him?”
“Whichever, we don’t need him anymore. He’s been nothing but trouble to us this whole time.”
“Yes I see what you mean...let’s just wait for him now so that we can leave as soon as possible.”
“I certainly hope he gets here soon.”
"I honestly hope he doesn't get here at all."
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Sora, Donald and Goofy, after treading through the mysterious golden-lit alleys of Twilight Town, found their way to the great big mansion. Sora was in front, leading the two. Upon arriving, they stopped in front of the enormous gates and gawked in awe at the manor. Before making another step, they decided to talk things through:
“So...” Sora started. “Castle Oblivion has brought us this far, has it?”
“Castle what?” Asked Goofy.
“We’ve lost so much on our way here...” Donald affirmed, with his head hunched. “I don’t see what it would give us to go any further.”
“Well Donald,” Goofy assured him. “Remember what the man in the black coat told us earlier: To find is to lose and to lose is to...uh, find. We may have lost things but we sure have found a lot of stuff on our way.”
“Yeah, but it seems to me like everything we found out about concerns Sora.” He said, as he sneered at him. Sora laughed lightly upon seeing this. “I don’t see why he needs us anymore.”
“Aw, don’t say that Donald.” Sora answered. “You guys have been both so great to me. I sure as heck wouldn’t be where I am now without you two.”
“Gawrsh Sora, you really mean that?” Goofy asked.
“Of course I do! You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for. You always bring a smile to my face whenever I’m with you, and you’ve helped me out of trouble countless times.”
“Oh, stop it.” Said Donald.
“I’m serious,” Sora said, as he raised his voice and bent his knees. “you guys have no idea how much you’ve all--”
“Alright Sora, we get it.” Goofy interrupted. “You don’t have to keep trying to convince us, we’re already convinced, a-hyuk.”
Goofy’s words had an impact on Sora. He immediately stopped talking and stood upright again.
“I-I’m sorry...” He said.
“Don’t be sorry.” Goofy said, cheerfully. “Let’s just continue for now.”
“Well, what are we supposed to do?” Donald asked.
“This place feels familiar.” Sora said, out of the blue.
Donald and Goofy looked at each other strangely upon hearing this.
“Like you’ve been here before?” Asked Goofy.
“No...I don’t recall anything about being here it just feels familiar.”
“I say, does it, now?” Asked a voice out of thin air.
The trio looked up and turned their heads constantly to see who it could possibly be.
“W-Who said that!” Sora asked the voice.
As he said that, a dark portal materialized in front of him, and Vexen came out of it, with a very large grin on his face.
“It’s Vexen!” Cried Donald.
“I say, Sora,” Vexen said to him. “It’s a shame to see you’ve stuck by these worthless lackeys for this long. Have you not decided to get rid of them, yet?”
“Shut up!” Sora yelled at him, as he materialized his Keyblade. “These are my friends, and no matter what happens, I’ll never leave them! And I know that they’ll never leave me either. I’m grateful that I can count on that, at least.”
“My, you are simply a walking cliché aren’t you?” He said, before letting out a very feminine and disturbing chuckle.
“Drop the attitude and tell me where Riku is?”
“Riku? Why, you don’t think you can actually save him, do you? He’s far beyond the point of no return now.”
“It’s never too late to turn back, I know that for a fact.”
“Open your eyes, boy! Your friend is no longer there, he’s left us!”
“Shut up!!” Sora yelled.
The Keyblade wielder had lost it. Brandishing his weapon furiously, he dashed towards the Chilly Academic in an attempt to strike him. Vexen materialized his shield and got into his blocking position. Within close proximity, Sora lept lightly into the air, and brought his Keyblade smashing down on Vexen with full force, as this one lifted his shield so as to block the attack. A large, ripple was created between the two weapons. Sora stayed in the air, and his Keyblade stayed on the shield as he bared his teeth. Vexen kept smirking as he pushed on his shield. Both were immobilized.
“Acquiring his data shan’t be so hard.” Vexen thought.
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Axel and Larxene were in the main room, each sitting on a chair on opposite sides of the table. They had been sitting there for nearly 3 quarters of an hour (althoguh neither of them would’ve known it) without saying a single word. The didn’t looked directly at each other, aside from brief passing glances. They both seemed to be contemplating something very thoroughly. Both of their chairs had their four legs on the ground.
Then, Marluxia barged into the room, bursting the door open. Neither the Flurry of Dancing Flames nor the Savage Nymph flinched.
“Axel!” He cried out.
Axel turned his head slowly towards Marluxia.
“Come quickly! I’ve something to show you. Oh, and you can come too Larxene, if you like.”
With that, Marluxia quickly retreated back into the room he was in. Axel slowly got up and walked towards the door. Larxene followed afterward. All of this was done without either of them saying a word.
Once inside, they made their way to the center, where Marluxia was. There was a large crystal ball set on an equally large white marble pedestal. As Marluxia was peering into it religiously, Axel and Larxene both went beside him and peered into it as well. There they saw, from a father perspective, Vexen, who seemed to be rather run down, conversing with Sora. They could hear, through an echo, their voices peircing the walls of the room:
“I say Sora, good show.”
“Quit toying with me!” Sora replied. I want answers and I want them now!”
“Yeah!” Donald affirmed.
“Oh, I’m afraid that’s quite impossible at the moment. You see Sora, you are all part of his little plan.”
The scene suddenly paused right after Vexen had said that. The characters stayed in the same positions, as if frozen by time.
“Did you hear that?” Marluxia asked Axel, as he tore his head away from the screen. “Did you hear?!”
“Yeah....” Axel answered. “But why did it stop?”
“What gall! I mean, this is exactly NOT what I told him to do, and he goes and does it!”
“Well, you were expecting this, weren’t you, Marluxia?” Larxene asked him. “That’s the whole reason you sent him out on this ‘mission’, so you can find sufficient proof to label him as a traitor.”
“Yes, but I didn’t think he’d be this smug about it. In any case, let us continue.”
Marluxia slidded his finger down the pedestal and pressed a button. Everyone in the crystal then unfroze and the scene continued playing:
“What?” Sora asked. “Who’s plan?”
“Marluxia’s...” Vexen sneered through his teeth.
Marluxia quickly turned his head toward Axel for a response. All he got was a brush off from the redhead, who simply wanted to continue watching the scene.
Back in the crystal ball, the three companions stood completely clueless as to what Vexen had just said.
“Who?” Donald asked.
“Marluxia.” Vexen repeated. “He’s the one behind this entire ordeal. He’s the reason why you’re here.”
“Why I’m.....here....” Sora said to himself.
“I say, are you daft, Sora?”
Marluxia moved away from the crystal ball and stared at Axel with a stern face.
“I think you know what to do, Axel.” He said. “Vexen will spill the beans any moment now, and since it’s already too late to prove his worth, why not prove yours?”
"How?"
Marluxia stared at him strangely, as he could not figure out that Axel could not figure out what was to be done.
"Get rid of him?"
"Hmm...Care to rephrase that for me, Marluxia?"
"Rid us of our traitors!"
"Ah, yes! Well, why didn't you say so.
"Well, are you, or aren't you?"
Axel didn’t respond for at quarter of a minute. He simply stared at Marluxia’s grin, contemplating the situation yet again. This is where fate had brought him, and it was up to him to choose his path. Either kill a member of his own team, or...
“Alright.” He said, with a grin. “Vexen is no more.”
A dark portal materialized behind him, and he slowly turned around and walked through it. The portal then closed.
“Do you think he’ll really do it?” Larxene asked Marluxia.
“I think what will happen, will happen.” Answered Marluxia.
Larxene opened her mouth to speak, but soon retreated herself, as she deemed her intentions too useless.
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Axel arrived a few feet away from the scene, behind the gates, and behind the foursome of characters. He pressed himself against one of the walls, and peeked his head out to take a look at what was happening now. As he looked upon them, he noticed that Vexen was further in his conversation than what was previously seen in the crystal ball. He was in the middle of telling Sora about the ‘other side of his heart’. Axel was distressted upon hearing this.
“Stupid Marluxia and his pausing!” He whispered to himself. “I’d better go over the now and stop the whole thing!”
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“The...other side of my heart?” Sora asked. “What’s that supposed to mean.”
“I’ll be glad to tell you Sora, after all, I already have all that I need from you. You see, the other side of your heart consists of--”
“What’s this?” A voice from behind said. “Ruin the surprise? I don’t think so.”
Axel appeared from a dark door behind Vexen, who turned quickly to look at him. He spoke:
“Axel! What are you doing, here? I need no help. I’m fine, as you can see.”
“No, I can’t see.” Axel responded. “You seem rather run down, Vexen, on your knees and all...”
As the trio of heroes gawked at what was happening in front of them, they noticed that Axel seemed taller and prouder than Vexen, who was hunched from his sparring with Sora. It didn’t take them long to figure out that Axel had the upper hand.
“What are you blathering on about you simple-minded fool! I’m not on my knees at all, I’m-”
Vexen was cut off as Axel gave him a had kick in the back. The Chilly Academic screamed as he fell on his knees, to the ground.
“Axel, what are you doing!” He screamed, as he turned his head back. “What is the meaning of this tomfoolery!”
“I don’t like it when members of the Organisation go around and spread lies, Vexen. You’ve put me in a very difficult position here between you and Marluxia and frankly, I’m gonna have to side with him on this one.”
“Wha.....why you dirty little scoundrel!”
“I don’t like following orders Vexy, but sometimes, drastic mesures need to be taken to prevent the unmentionable from happening.”
“No, don’t! I beg of you!”
“It’s too late for any of that now, stay still and embrace your fate!”
Vexen got on one foot and turned his head back to Sora and, in a moment of desperation, he tried telling him the secret.
“Sora! Listen to me! You have an other! He his part of-”
Vexen did not finish his sentence. He felt a sharp blade strike his back as the threesome gazed at Axel cleanly swiping Vexen from behind. The Chilly Academic let out a blood-curling scream, and fell to the ground, with a loud THUD. His hand moved slightly, as he reached out towards Sora, and grimaced. Sora, Donald and Goofy all watched in horror as he was disintegrating into small particles, and as he kept his hand reached out. Sora felt sorry for him, and he took a step forward, thinking maybe that he should help him, but he quickly regained his senses and instead watched as Vexen turned into nothing.
As soon as The Chilly Academic had entirely dissapeared, Axel walked onto the spot he was on, and smirked. He noticed something black on the ground, something that Vexen seemed to have left there.
“You!” Sora cried out. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on, now!”
“Not likely.” Axel answered back. “That would spoil the surprise. I don’t want to end up like Vexen here.”
“RRGGHH!!” Sora cried out, in frustration. Instinctively, he materialized his Keyblade, and immediately threw it at Axel. The redhead, without breaking a sweat, calmly lifted up his arm towards the Key, and materialized a chakram in front of his palm. The Keyblade smacked it and fell to the ground. The chakram dissapeared, but Axel stayed, always grinning.
“You’re nearing the end of your journey Sora.” He said, tauntingly. “You managed to make it this far without dying, so don’t die on me, now.”
Soon after saying that, a dark portal enveloped the redhead from head to toe, and dissipated into nothing. Leaving the trio alone, to continue their journey.
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Back in the basement, Zexion was there, all alone, standing near a wall, his head hunched, pondering the situation. The dim lighting, mixed with the boy’s dark attire made it quite difficult for him to be spotted. Lexaeus then came through the door, carrying morbid news with him.
“Vexen is no more.” He said.
Upon hearing this, Zexion lifted his head up in surprise. He then turned around completely to face The Silent Hero.
“Come again?” He asked.
“He’s dead. Axel disposed of him.”
“Figures. You know, it’s deplorable really, member’s of the organisation striking each other down like that.”
“I do hate to say it, but Vexen got what was coming to him. Still, it’s a shame to see him go like this.”
“What’s worse now is that Marluxia will have his pawn after all. With Vexen gone his Replica is virtually useless, and if no one’s there to stop Sora then that dog Marluxia will actually be able to overthrow Xemnas with him.”
“Unless...”
“Oh no, not another one...I’ve had enough for one day.”
“There’s only one person who may actually pose a threat to Sora.”
“Riku?”
“Precisely. The reason that Vexen’s Replica failed is that he essentially lacked what the real Riku had. If we manage to capture the real Riku...”
“That shouldn’t be an entirely easy process.”
“Riku’s heart is already filled to the brim with Darkness. All we need do is to unleash it. That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“With Ansem manipulating him it should.”
“Ah yes, we forgot about him. Our beloved teacher...where is he now?”
“I have no clue. Usually, it would be easy to trace people’s locations by their scent, but he appears to have none.”
“Do you think he is like us?”
“I’m not quite sure, really.”
“You know, in cases like these, we should go consult Vexen’s computer.”
“You’re right, that terminal could spot anything in this putrid castle.”
The two ended their discussion and left the room through the door, into Vexen’s laboratory. Once inside, they went up to his computer, and turned it on. They then uploaded the map of the castle. It appeared in a top-down perspective, two squares were stuck together on the screen, this represented the map of the basement. Two flashing purple dots could be seen at one point in one of the squares.
“That’s us.” Zexion said, as he pointed with his finger.
“No doubt.” Lexaeus responded.
They were able to scroll over to other floors with the arrows on the keyboard. Every floor’s map took up the entire computer screen, by pressing up on the arrow keys, they were able to see the maps of the floors higher up, and vice-versa for the basement floors. As Zexion scrolled upwards, he noticed that the fourth floor had a flashing red dot flashing in there.
“Who’s that?” He asked Lexaeus.
“I’m not quite sure. What do the red dots represent again?”
“Let’s see...the purple dots are us, and the light purple ones are the nobodies...the yellow dots are regular people, the black dots are the heartless...the red dots were for unknown entities.”
“Well, that’s fantastic. The one person we were looking for and we have no idea what state he’s in.”
“How can you be so sure it’s Ansem?”
“Who else is it going to be?”
“I guess we should check in any case...who knows, it could he him.”
“I would suppose. Surely, his presence wouldn’t be cloaked, how could it?”
“In any case, let’s just check it out.”
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Axel came back into the main room where Larxene and Marluxia were waiting. They seemed to be proud of him, although he could’ve cared less.
“Well done, Axel.” Larxene said. “Good riddance to that blabbermouth.”
“Yes,” Marluxia affirmed. “you know I honestly didn’t think you had it in you Axel, but now I am sure. We will overthrow Xemnas and the Organisation shall be ours!”
“Sora will be ours?” Axel asked.
“Of course he will, at first I was skeptical, what with his free spirit and all, but know thanks to Namine, I’ve managed to brainwash him into soon becoming my- our lackey.”
“And you used Vexen to test his strength?”
“Not just his, but yours as well.”
“You really used Vexen to your full potential.” Larxene remarked.
“Like your own personal pawn.” Axel added.
“And why not?” Marluxia said. “It serves him right for even daring to go against me.”
“I’m sure it does.”
Finished with the conversation, Marluxia turned towards Namine and walked up to her. She had her head hunched down, as she kept drawing, and did not pay any attention to him coming.
“Rejoice Namine.” He said softly, with a grin on his face. “Your hero is coming.”
Namine still refrained from acknowledging him, until a few seconds later, when she hesitantly lifted up her head and looked at him, with a sad face.
“Quite the jovial one you are aren’t you? You should be happy about this event.”
“I’m sure it will kick in soon.” Mocked Larxene.
“Yes...” Marluxia muttered softly.
A dark portal materialized in the back of him, and he slowly walked backwards into it as he kept his creepy glance on Namine, and disappeared into the depths of the portal. Alone, the young witch continued drawing.
Larxene turned towards Axel and said:
“I’ll be going as well. We’re leaving you here alone, so try not to do anything to drastic. If you feel the need to, tell us when we get back.”
“Will do, Axel said.”
Larxene then disappeared through a dark door. Axel was left all alone with Namine. The room was silent as he stood alone, and Namine drew.
Finally, he walked up to her and gazed at her without saying a word. Although she did not acknowledge him, he could tell she was uneasy. Finally, after a full minute, she got fed up.
“What? What is it?” She asked in an annoyed tone.
“You’re all he’s got left.” He answered, emotionless.
Namine was intrigued upon hearing this?
“What?” She asked.
“If you don’t stop this, no one will.”
Namine was downright confused. She asked herself why Axel, of all people, would be telling her this now. Eventually, she got over her confused state, and responded.
“I can’t anyway...it’s too late.”
“Is it? I don’t see Marluxia around here, do you?”
Namine couldn’t believe her ears, but she was too concerned not to take advantage of the situation. She gently put her sketchbook down on the floor and stood up. She was still reluctant, and to reassure herself she asked:
“Y-You’re letting me go?”
“I like to think of it as, you escaped my clutches.” He answered. Then, without even turning his head, he lifted up his left arm and flattened his palm. A dark portal materialized itself on his left. Namine quickly went over to it, but before entering she turned her head and said with a smile:
“Thank you.”
Seconds later, she had gone inside and the portal dissipated. Axel stayed standing still for a while longer, chuckling to himself.
“ ‘Thank you’....” He said to himself. “You forget yourself.
Then, a smirk came on his face, which grew into a full-fledged smile. Then, he started chuckling, and eventually, he was laughing out loud. For about a quarter of a minute he kept laughing at the same intensity, until it subsided.
“Ooh...this is rich.” He said to himself. “This is priceless. All the actors are in place, and the setting is just right. Now! Sora! Namine! Riku! Marluxia! Larxene! You’re all going to give me one heck of a show!”
Well, that's the chapter! I'm not particulalrly proud of this one. I don't know, I don't find it has much substance, but tell me what you think. And if you have to, PLEASE be critical.
Aside from that, I'd like to apologize once more for the extremely long wait (especially to you keyoffire08, who's been so supportive) and can assue you that the next time definately won't be as long.
Aw man you beat I wanted to be the first response, ahh oh well XP
Anyways great chapter loved it, please make another, soon X3
Anyways great chapter loved it, please make another, soon X3
Oh, sorry! I check my e-mail all the time for new responses to threads!
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Intermission!
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A dark and barren city, seemingly caught in an epoch of everlasting night time as a blotch of white taints the blackened sky. The only thing illuminating the navy skyscrapers, which served virtually no apparent purpose other than to add to the stillness of the night. Cars and trucks were present in awkward places, showing signs of a struggle as they laid on their sides or on their backs. Despite the presence of such automobiles and domiciles, the city is deserted. Nothing dares to tread the twilight road the damp roads of this forgotten metropolis. Only those turned away by both the light and the dark are welcome here...those who tread the twilight road to dusk or dawn. They are the ones welcome here. They are the ones who have called this place their home. They are the ones who have settled at this juncture, hoping to escape their existential fate. For these dark streets were laden with the sights and sounds of nothing.
Rain pouring down as it never had before. The streets were covered in puddles that had popped up here and there. Thunder and lightning ruled the sky that night, and the clouds denied any kind of view to the sky, not even the slightest hole had been inserted in the sombre haze.
An unknown. A black-clothed person was roaming the streets, walking casually as it approached Memory’s Skyscraper. Droplets of water hit his coat with a distinguished sound and ran down the sleeves of his coat, down to its gloves, and onto the ground. The water had made a slick coat of lustrous gloss across the individual’s coat. The boots made a ‘clomping’ sound as they dared to tread upon the damp asphalt, and every once in a while, a ‘splish’ could be heard, as they entered the puddles of water.
Then...stopped. The distinctive noises had ceased, and a lone figure was standing in the middle of the avenue as bolts of thunder struck the metallic rods placed upon the skyscrapers. The personage was laden with a black hood to match its ensemble, and the rough outline of its mouth, the only feature the hood wasn’t concealing, was moving. It was murmuring. Its head lifted slowly upwards to the heavens, whose...
...clouds were parting, revealing the very source of light in this obscure world. A vivid satellite appeared before the buildings, shining with a light that cut through the darkness and transposed itself upon the very centre of the avenue below, taking the form of a heart. Nothing else had changed, the rain kept pouring down on the already soaked coat, and thunder and lightning persisted in the storm. Nothing, not including the illuminated shadow that materialized itself from the heavens onto the ground below.
The figure kept its gaze at the heart-shaped entity, permitting the water droplets to hit and drag themselves down the pores of his face, leaving clear streaks of water.
In front of him, inside the illuminating heard on the wet pavement, a puddle of shadow formed itself. The person smirked. A large head seeped out of the pool, and exposed two bright, yellow eyes. An arm then came out of the pool, and pushed on the ground as the shadow came lifted itself up. Long antennas sprouted from its head and ran down to its knees. Coupled with the bright, golden eyes, these two characteristics were the only things that could be described on the black humanoid. With its back hunched it stepped slowly towards the cloaked one, with all the jitteriness of a caffeine-loving maniac present. The man kept his smirk.
A voice then emerged from the black hood, barely audible through the pouring rain:
“Neo-Shadows...attracted by moonlight...this should be interesting.”
As the man spoke, he raised his arm towards the creature and opened his hand, his palm directly in front of the jittery bug. This one, in turn, halted its movement forward, and started sidling. Hopping about from side to side, as the black figure kept its position and its grin.
Eventually, it stopped and reverted back to its original position, that of a hunched figure. It then raised its sharp fingers, ready for an attack...
...which had followed. A pounce. The razor-sharp claws were ready for tearing up anything they could attain. Soon, however, a massive blast burst out of the black being’s palm, spreading a large, dark grey smoke with a blast radius that was half the size of the moon’s shadow they were standing upon. The smoke from the blast had denied the view of the Neo-Shadow as of yet, but once it had died down, and only a thin trail of smoke rose to the skies above, the creature was gone, and not a single shred of darkness had survived the vaporisation.
The cloaked figure, keeping still, slowly put its arm down, and remained standing, immobilized.
Puddles. Puddles of darkness all around the heart shadow. Several dozens...no, two dozens approximately. They all converged into full-fledged Neo-Shadows, with their arms ready to attack, and with their feet waiting to pounce on their prey. The water that was dripping on their dark foreheads had no effect on them, they merely absorbed it as they wiggled their antennas and examined the dark figure, which they hoped would be dinner.
Jittering and stepping in place, they were expecting that their kill would at least be on the run from them. On the contrary, it was completely immobile. Then, the wind picked up a breeze circulating among the shadows, though they were not conscious of it. The black cloak was waving through the night air, revealing the long, black boots. The end of the sleeves were waving in the air as well, completely showing the gloved hands, which were now fists. A force was felt amongst the shadows as the cloaked man lifted his arms up to his shoulders, shaping them in the form of an X. The breeze grew stronger and stronger and eventually, the arms spread out, resulting in an invisible explosion that forced all the shadows to take a few steps backwards. The force of the blast managed to pus away the droplets of rain.
The cloaked person’s arms were back down to his waist, as both his hands were now covered in a fiery red aura that seemed only to envelop his fists. It was as if his hands were covered in a never-ending fire that didn’t burn.
With the same tenacity as the one before it, a dark spectre from behind him leapt with its sharp claws still exposed. The figure turned around and punched it in the gut, resulting in a somewhat clean blast of ember and ashes as the shadow burned from the stomach to its other ends.
The others followed suite.
Into the heart they stepped, hopping slowly towards their prey. The cloaked person kept its hands afire, as a Neo-Shadow crept behind him. A punch in the face, followed by a kick in the gut for the other one in front of him. The figure ran towards another one, walked upon the creature’s body, propelled itself off of its face and kicked another one as he turned himself in the opposite direction in mid-air. An elbow in the stomach for the one in back of him, a head-butt for the one in front of him. Block. Punch in the face.
Then, he felt a squeeze. Tightness surrounded him. A Neo-Shadow had grabbed the person by the arms, while three of its comrades in front were impatiently awaiting to devour it. They leapt.
The cloaked man was not to go down quite so easily. His leaded lifted forward, and with brute force, swung back and knocked the shadow that had him in a grapple in the face. As this one let go to regain its senses, the cloaked one bent down slightly and retreated its arm for a few seconds. It then swung it out at all three shadows in front of it, and three bright fireballs with the likenesses of a phoenix flew out from the man’s hand, and disintegrated the three comrades in mid-air.
A shadow leapt hundreds of feet into the air, as lightning struck behind him. It crashed down upon the cloaked one with tremendous force. The black person dodged by simply hopping out of the way. Another shadow leapt and crashed, and the man hopped out of the way yet again. Another one, dodged. The figure then looked directly up into the air, as the fourth Neo-Shadow was falling back down, with droplets of rain water dripping down its entire black body. The black-clothed man jumped, high in the air, and kicked the shadow in the neck, who fell down while twirling into the crowd below, as another thunderbolt illuminated the avenue.
The shadows now had their chance. One by one they leapt into the air, hoping desperately to snatch their airborne prey with their murky hands. The man dodged every one of them by simply contorting his torso in several acrobatic manoeuvres. Eventually, when one of the gloomy shadows attended at close enough proximity, the figure applied its foot to their face, and using them as solid ground, jumped off, higher into the air, and shot a fireball out of its palm, exploding the shadow into a shower of ashes. This act did not stop them. Others came. The higher the man went, the higher the creatures leapt. Shadow after shadow, the black man kept bouncing off of them as they failed to attack it. Every one of them being disintegrated by the fiery missiles that emerged from the black palm soon afterwards. Then, once at the top of Memory’s Skyscraper, the individual jumped off of one last shadow before vaporising it, and then grabbed hold onto one of the lightning rods. He slowly slid himself down, and once he was nearing the bottom, he hopped off onto the edge of one of the gargantuan screens. Soon after he had let go of the rod, a vicious bolt of lightning struck it, and sparks flew wildly about for few seconds. The figure did not appear phased in the least by this. His shadow was exposed for a split second to the black mob below him. Peering down, the figure glared at what the tenacious monsters were doing.
One jumped high in the air, another jumped equally as high, and the first one grabbed the second one and swung it even higher into the air. Another one reached the second shadow’s distance in height, and that one was propelled in the same manner. Soon, one of the unlucky monsters was careening through the sky, attempting to snatch the already bored personage with its gloomy black claws.
The figure, never flitting, gazed at the ever-closer moving shadow, with its claws exposed and a determined glare in its yellow orbs. The creature kept approaching, as fast as its leap’s velocity allowed it. Eventually reaching the figure, it snatched it, throwing its murky arms at the flowing black cloak. Nothing.
No, not nothingness....nothing. The silhouette had departed in less than a second, and the shadow gazed down below quickly, seeing nothing except his silent comrades. The gloomy creature approached the edge of the enormous screen, and calmly let itself fall back onto the ground, its antennas wiggling ever so slightly in the air. Once fallen on its feet, its comrades approached it, wiggling their own antennas and wondering where the profile could have gone. The Neo-Shadow looked up in the air as soon as he fell down, hoping to see where, if anywhere, his prey had gone.
Then, in the twinkling of an eye...a fiery hand.
The cloaked figure landed directly on top of the Neo-Shadow, instantly vaporising it. He fell with such force that a large circumference of fire spread out towards everything in the heart-shaped silhouette. The force was devastating. Neo-Shadows scurried about for few seconds before becoming ashes in the wind. The fire vaporized them as well as every single molecule of water that was in that area. The cloaked one waited until the circle of fire had dissipated, and all of the smoke had risen up to the clouds, before liftinf himself back up.
Only a few of them were left now, amazingly. Five of them. They were more or less all dispersed around the black figure, awaiting to pounce as all the others had tried in vain.
The person lifted his still fiery hand and folded its elbow. He placed his fingers in such a way that it seemed as if it was grabbing something. Then, without warning, he pulled his arm back, and thrust it forward as its entire cloak flowed through the wind. A large fireball spewed forth from his palm, and direct itself towards the few Neo-Shadows that were left.
One, it hit. Two...three, all of them dissipating into a shower of bright red embers while scurrying about, hoping desperately to avoid the fiery orb. One of them, however, had the instinct to avoid it. By moving its head right before the fireball hit it, the shadow avoided certain death.
But it was not over. The globe, missing its target, quickly turned around and headed back towards the Neo-Shadow, dissipating any droplet of water it came into contact with. The shadow hopped out of the way. The orb followed. Jumping to and fro, the dark creature was dodging it quite well.
After a series of hops, darts and back-flips, the shadow had the sudden idea of running away from the fireball. Just, running away as fast as he could in one direction. Scurrying about, as fast as its thin legs and hunched back would allow it, it looked back at the never dying ball of fire without paying any regards to what was in front of it.
When it did, however, it was already too late. Turning its head for a precise nano-second, just to take a gander at where it was going, a strong force was applied to its face.
Standing there was him, his foot applied to its face. The figure was as calm as at the beginning of the battle, as the rest of its body lay absolutely motionless, and only its leg was raised. The force of the kick pushed the shadow into the fireball, and both were vaporised in a deluge of fiery embers and ashes.
The dark person slowly put his foot back down. Turning his head slightly, he noticed one last Neo-Shadow in the distance, fidgeting.
The two shadowy characters glared at each other, into their green and yellow eyes, neither of them spotting an opening. The man’s cloak continued blowing in the wind, as water droplets dripped down its damp mantle, and its hands still set ablaze.
Then, the dark man placed his hand in the same fashion as before, in a clutching position. A fiery orb materialized itself above he palm and stood still. It was as if molecules of air had spontaneously combusted, and the rain had no effect on it whatsoever. Despite the number of droplets falling on it, the flame kept burning brightly and never showed any sign of dying out.
Then, the figure took a step back, lifted his arm behind his shoulder, and hurled the fiery globe at its opponent, full force. The shadowy creature, jittering and fidgeting, seemed to care nothing for the projectile headed straight towards it. However, as soon as it got into close enough proximity, the murky monster seeped quickly into the ground, forming a puddle of darkness. The fireball headed straight for the puddle and exploded on the ground, leaving the shadow unscathed amidst the dark smoke. The creature had kept its physiology intact but had lost a dimension. Simply put, it flattened itself on the ground. It crawled up to the cloaked one very quickly, and once it was close enough, it leapt out of the puddle, regaining its lost dimension, and spun in the air, literally spinning himself horizontally. The dark figure avoided the assail by simply jumping completely over the spinning shadow. Both of the dark figures had landed on the ground at the same time, back to back.
They turned their heads slightly, expecting the other one to attack at any minute. The rain refused to let down, and water continued dripping down both their bodies profusely, and the thunder, louder than ever before, rumbled throughout the entire dark city.
Neo-Shadows only have so much patience. The fate of the creature was sealed as it stretched its murky arms towards the flowing, black cloak.
The man simply moved his body out of the way, and grabbed the creatures dark arm with his own fiery hand, and ripped it straight out of the shadow’s body.
The monster took a leap back, as it saw that the dark figure was holding its very own limb. Drops of what appeared to be darkness dripped onto the ground from the severed arm.
Then, the figure threw the murky appendage into the air and held its arm up towards it. A large fuchsia blast shot out of his hand, onto the limb and vaporising it. The one-armed shadow, meanwhile, was fidgeting even more so than before. However, it soon managed to calm down, as a new appendage grew from its shoulder, replacing the previously severed arm.
Standing at a fair distance, the two glared at each other in the moonlight. Coincidentally, amidst all of the fighting, they had both ended up back at the centre of the moon’s shadow.
The dark man quickly jumped in the air, performing various acrobatic flips and manoeuvres before landing directly in front of the last Neo-Shadow. Before this one could even process what to react, the black person hit it with a strong uppercut. As the shadow fell back down, the man stretched out his palm, and a very large fiery blast covered him, and several feet of what was in front of him. The last of the Neo-Shadows had been destroyed.
Ashes blew in the wind that night. Everywhere. The boots of the dark man made a distinctive noise as he approached the stronghold of the Thirteenth Order. Their enormous floating castle. He was tranquil and calm, as though the battle had never taken place, yet in his face lay a stern and proud man. In the blink of an eye, the fire around his fists were put out, and the gloves on both his hands were left intact.
Intermission!
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A dark and barren city, seemingly caught in an epoch of everlasting night time as a blotch of white taints the blackened sky. The only thing illuminating the navy skyscrapers, which served virtually no apparent purpose other than to add to the stillness of the night. Cars and trucks were present in awkward places, showing signs of a struggle as they laid on their sides or on their backs. Despite the presence of such automobiles and domiciles, the city is deserted. Nothing dares to tread the twilight road the damp roads of this forgotten metropolis. Only those turned away by both the light and the dark are welcome here...those who tread the twilight road to dusk or dawn. They are the ones welcome here. They are the ones who have called this place their home. They are the ones who have settled at this juncture, hoping to escape their existential fate. For these dark streets were laden with the sights and sounds of nothing.
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Rain pouring down as it never had before. The streets were covered in puddles that had popped up here and there. Thunder and lightning ruled the sky that night, and the clouds denied any kind of view to the sky, not even the slightest hole had been inserted in the sombre haze.
An unknown. A black-clothed person was roaming the streets, walking casually as it approached Memory’s Skyscraper. Droplets of water hit his coat with a distinguished sound and ran down the sleeves of his coat, down to its gloves, and onto the ground. The water had made a slick coat of lustrous gloss across the individual’s coat. The boots made a ‘clomping’ sound as they dared to tread upon the damp asphalt, and every once in a while, a ‘splish’ could be heard, as they entered the puddles of water.
Then...stopped. The distinctive noises had ceased, and a lone figure was standing in the middle of the avenue as bolts of thunder struck the metallic rods placed upon the skyscrapers. The personage was laden with a black hood to match its ensemble, and the rough outline of its mouth, the only feature the hood wasn’t concealing, was moving. It was murmuring. Its head lifted slowly upwards to the heavens, whose...
...clouds were parting, revealing the very source of light in this obscure world. A vivid satellite appeared before the buildings, shining with a light that cut through the darkness and transposed itself upon the very centre of the avenue below, taking the form of a heart. Nothing else had changed, the rain kept pouring down on the already soaked coat, and thunder and lightning persisted in the storm. Nothing, not including the illuminated shadow that materialized itself from the heavens onto the ground below.
The figure kept its gaze at the heart-shaped entity, permitting the water droplets to hit and drag themselves down the pores of his face, leaving clear streaks of water.
In front of him, inside the illuminating heard on the wet pavement, a puddle of shadow formed itself. The person smirked. A large head seeped out of the pool, and exposed two bright, yellow eyes. An arm then came out of the pool, and pushed on the ground as the shadow came lifted itself up. Long antennas sprouted from its head and ran down to its knees. Coupled with the bright, golden eyes, these two characteristics were the only things that could be described on the black humanoid. With its back hunched it stepped slowly towards the cloaked one, with all the jitteriness of a caffeine-loving maniac present. The man kept his smirk.
A voice then emerged from the black hood, barely audible through the pouring rain:
“Neo-Shadows...attracted by moonlight...this should be interesting.”
As the man spoke, he raised his arm towards the creature and opened his hand, his palm directly in front of the jittery bug. This one, in turn, halted its movement forward, and started sidling. Hopping about from side to side, as the black figure kept its position and its grin.
Eventually, it stopped and reverted back to its original position, that of a hunched figure. It then raised its sharp fingers, ready for an attack...
...which had followed. A pounce. The razor-sharp claws were ready for tearing up anything they could attain. Soon, however, a massive blast burst out of the black being’s palm, spreading a large, dark grey smoke with a blast radius that was half the size of the moon’s shadow they were standing upon. The smoke from the blast had denied the view of the Neo-Shadow as of yet, but once it had died down, and only a thin trail of smoke rose to the skies above, the creature was gone, and not a single shred of darkness had survived the vaporisation.
The cloaked figure, keeping still, slowly put its arm down, and remained standing, immobilized.
Puddles. Puddles of darkness all around the heart shadow. Several dozens...no, two dozens approximately. They all converged into full-fledged Neo-Shadows, with their arms ready to attack, and with their feet waiting to pounce on their prey. The water that was dripping on their dark foreheads had no effect on them, they merely absorbed it as they wiggled their antennas and examined the dark figure, which they hoped would be dinner.
Jittering and stepping in place, they were expecting that their kill would at least be on the run from them. On the contrary, it was completely immobile. Then, the wind picked up a breeze circulating among the shadows, though they were not conscious of it. The black cloak was waving through the night air, revealing the long, black boots. The end of the sleeves were waving in the air as well, completely showing the gloved hands, which were now fists. A force was felt amongst the shadows as the cloaked man lifted his arms up to his shoulders, shaping them in the form of an X. The breeze grew stronger and stronger and eventually, the arms spread out, resulting in an invisible explosion that forced all the shadows to take a few steps backwards. The force of the blast managed to pus away the droplets of rain.
The cloaked person’s arms were back down to his waist, as both his hands were now covered in a fiery red aura that seemed only to envelop his fists. It was as if his hands were covered in a never-ending fire that didn’t burn.
With the same tenacity as the one before it, a dark spectre from behind him leapt with its sharp claws still exposed. The figure turned around and punched it in the gut, resulting in a somewhat clean blast of ember and ashes as the shadow burned from the stomach to its other ends.
The others followed suite.
Into the heart they stepped, hopping slowly towards their prey. The cloaked person kept its hands afire, as a Neo-Shadow crept behind him. A punch in the face, followed by a kick in the gut for the other one in front of him. The figure ran towards another one, walked upon the creature’s body, propelled itself off of its face and kicked another one as he turned himself in the opposite direction in mid-air. An elbow in the stomach for the one in back of him, a head-butt for the one in front of him. Block. Punch in the face.
Then, he felt a squeeze. Tightness surrounded him. A Neo-Shadow had grabbed the person by the arms, while three of its comrades in front were impatiently awaiting to devour it. They leapt.
The cloaked man was not to go down quite so easily. His leaded lifted forward, and with brute force, swung back and knocked the shadow that had him in a grapple in the face. As this one let go to regain its senses, the cloaked one bent down slightly and retreated its arm for a few seconds. It then swung it out at all three shadows in front of it, and three bright fireballs with the likenesses of a phoenix flew out from the man’s hand, and disintegrated the three comrades in mid-air.
A shadow leapt hundreds of feet into the air, as lightning struck behind him. It crashed down upon the cloaked one with tremendous force. The black person dodged by simply hopping out of the way. Another shadow leapt and crashed, and the man hopped out of the way yet again. Another one, dodged. The figure then looked directly up into the air, as the fourth Neo-Shadow was falling back down, with droplets of rain water dripping down its entire black body. The black-clothed man jumped, high in the air, and kicked the shadow in the neck, who fell down while twirling into the crowd below, as another thunderbolt illuminated the avenue.
The shadows now had their chance. One by one they leapt into the air, hoping desperately to snatch their airborne prey with their murky hands. The man dodged every one of them by simply contorting his torso in several acrobatic manoeuvres. Eventually, when one of the gloomy shadows attended at close enough proximity, the figure applied its foot to their face, and using them as solid ground, jumped off, higher into the air, and shot a fireball out of its palm, exploding the shadow into a shower of ashes. This act did not stop them. Others came. The higher the man went, the higher the creatures leapt. Shadow after shadow, the black man kept bouncing off of them as they failed to attack it. Every one of them being disintegrated by the fiery missiles that emerged from the black palm soon afterwards. Then, once at the top of Memory’s Skyscraper, the individual jumped off of one last shadow before vaporising it, and then grabbed hold onto one of the lightning rods. He slowly slid himself down, and once he was nearing the bottom, he hopped off onto the edge of one of the gargantuan screens. Soon after he had let go of the rod, a vicious bolt of lightning struck it, and sparks flew wildly about for few seconds. The figure did not appear phased in the least by this. His shadow was exposed for a split second to the black mob below him. Peering down, the figure glared at what the tenacious monsters were doing.
One jumped high in the air, another jumped equally as high, and the first one grabbed the second one and swung it even higher into the air. Another one reached the second shadow’s distance in height, and that one was propelled in the same manner. Soon, one of the unlucky monsters was careening through the sky, attempting to snatch the already bored personage with its gloomy black claws.
The figure, never flitting, gazed at the ever-closer moving shadow, with its claws exposed and a determined glare in its yellow orbs. The creature kept approaching, as fast as its leap’s velocity allowed it. Eventually reaching the figure, it snatched it, throwing its murky arms at the flowing black cloak. Nothing.
No, not nothingness....nothing. The silhouette had departed in less than a second, and the shadow gazed down below quickly, seeing nothing except his silent comrades. The gloomy creature approached the edge of the enormous screen, and calmly let itself fall back onto the ground, its antennas wiggling ever so slightly in the air. Once fallen on its feet, its comrades approached it, wiggling their own antennas and wondering where the profile could have gone. The Neo-Shadow looked up in the air as soon as he fell down, hoping to see where, if anywhere, his prey had gone.
Then, in the twinkling of an eye...a fiery hand.
The cloaked figure landed directly on top of the Neo-Shadow, instantly vaporising it. He fell with such force that a large circumference of fire spread out towards everything in the heart-shaped silhouette. The force was devastating. Neo-Shadows scurried about for few seconds before becoming ashes in the wind. The fire vaporized them as well as every single molecule of water that was in that area. The cloaked one waited until the circle of fire had dissipated, and all of the smoke had risen up to the clouds, before liftinf himself back up.
Only a few of them were left now, amazingly. Five of them. They were more or less all dispersed around the black figure, awaiting to pounce as all the others had tried in vain.
The person lifted his still fiery hand and folded its elbow. He placed his fingers in such a way that it seemed as if it was grabbing something. Then, without warning, he pulled his arm back, and thrust it forward as its entire cloak flowed through the wind. A large fireball spewed forth from his palm, and direct itself towards the few Neo-Shadows that were left.
One, it hit. Two...three, all of them dissipating into a shower of bright red embers while scurrying about, hoping desperately to avoid the fiery orb. One of them, however, had the instinct to avoid it. By moving its head right before the fireball hit it, the shadow avoided certain death.
But it was not over. The globe, missing its target, quickly turned around and headed back towards the Neo-Shadow, dissipating any droplet of water it came into contact with. The shadow hopped out of the way. The orb followed. Jumping to and fro, the dark creature was dodging it quite well.
After a series of hops, darts and back-flips, the shadow had the sudden idea of running away from the fireball. Just, running away as fast as he could in one direction. Scurrying about, as fast as its thin legs and hunched back would allow it, it looked back at the never dying ball of fire without paying any regards to what was in front of it.
When it did, however, it was already too late. Turning its head for a precise nano-second, just to take a gander at where it was going, a strong force was applied to its face.
Standing there was him, his foot applied to its face. The figure was as calm as at the beginning of the battle, as the rest of its body lay absolutely motionless, and only its leg was raised. The force of the kick pushed the shadow into the fireball, and both were vaporised in a deluge of fiery embers and ashes.
The dark person slowly put his foot back down. Turning his head slightly, he noticed one last Neo-Shadow in the distance, fidgeting.
The two shadowy characters glared at each other, into their green and yellow eyes, neither of them spotting an opening. The man’s cloak continued blowing in the wind, as water droplets dripped down its damp mantle, and its hands still set ablaze.
Then, the dark man placed his hand in the same fashion as before, in a clutching position. A fiery orb materialized itself above he palm and stood still. It was as if molecules of air had spontaneously combusted, and the rain had no effect on it whatsoever. Despite the number of droplets falling on it, the flame kept burning brightly and never showed any sign of dying out.
Then, the figure took a step back, lifted his arm behind his shoulder, and hurled the fiery globe at its opponent, full force. The shadowy creature, jittering and fidgeting, seemed to care nothing for the projectile headed straight towards it. However, as soon as it got into close enough proximity, the murky monster seeped quickly into the ground, forming a puddle of darkness. The fireball headed straight for the puddle and exploded on the ground, leaving the shadow unscathed amidst the dark smoke. The creature had kept its physiology intact but had lost a dimension. Simply put, it flattened itself on the ground. It crawled up to the cloaked one very quickly, and once it was close enough, it leapt out of the puddle, regaining its lost dimension, and spun in the air, literally spinning himself horizontally. The dark figure avoided the assail by simply jumping completely over the spinning shadow. Both of the dark figures had landed on the ground at the same time, back to back.
They turned their heads slightly, expecting the other one to attack at any minute. The rain refused to let down, and water continued dripping down both their bodies profusely, and the thunder, louder than ever before, rumbled throughout the entire dark city.
Neo-Shadows only have so much patience. The fate of the creature was sealed as it stretched its murky arms towards the flowing, black cloak.
The man simply moved his body out of the way, and grabbed the creatures dark arm with his own fiery hand, and ripped it straight out of the shadow’s body.
The monster took a leap back, as it saw that the dark figure was holding its very own limb. Drops of what appeared to be darkness dripped onto the ground from the severed arm.
Then, the figure threw the murky appendage into the air and held its arm up towards it. A large fuchsia blast shot out of his hand, onto the limb and vaporising it. The one-armed shadow, meanwhile, was fidgeting even more so than before. However, it soon managed to calm down, as a new appendage grew from its shoulder, replacing the previously severed arm.
Standing at a fair distance, the two glared at each other in the moonlight. Coincidentally, amidst all of the fighting, they had both ended up back at the centre of the moon’s shadow.
The dark man quickly jumped in the air, performing various acrobatic flips and manoeuvres before landing directly in front of the last Neo-Shadow. Before this one could even process what to react, the black person hit it with a strong uppercut. As the shadow fell back down, the man stretched out his palm, and a very large fiery blast covered him, and several feet of what was in front of him. The last of the Neo-Shadows had been destroyed.
Ashes blew in the wind that night. Everywhere. The boots of the dark man made a distinctive noise as he approached the stronghold of the Thirteenth Order. Their enormous floating castle. He was tranquil and calm, as though the battle had never taken place, yet in his face lay a stern and proud man. In the blink of an eye, the fire around his fists were put out, and the gloves on both his hands were left intact.
WOW! That was alot and very descriptive but I LOVED it XD
I liked it. As Axel would say, BURN BABY!!!!!!!
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Awesome chapter! I really like this story. I have been reading it for a while, and I think it is really funny. I especially love the banter of the Castle Oblivion nobodies; it is just too funny. Anyway, great story, and I look forward to the next update.
Why thank you for the kind words everybody (especially you aldrain, you really think its amazing?). I just hope keyoffire08 hasn't given up on me...*sniff*.
wow i hope you post up another part of the story
its REALLY good
u should make a book or something lol
its REALLY good
u should make a book or something lol
This fanfic is awesome. All your hard work is worth it.
damn. I forgot about this thing. Loved the intermission, VERY descriptive.
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