Re: The Hearts of Azeroth (KH/Warcraft crossover) (Chapter Four Posted!)
(( Heya' again. Sorry this took a bit, but this one got really long! I'm glad you're sticking this out with me, if you're here. If there's –anything- I can be doing better or more of, please leave a review. Let me know you're reading this crazy crossover! ))
Hearts of Azeroth
Chapter Five: The Battle for Light's Hope Chapel
"Do you actually understand, Riku!?"
What?! Am I sure that's even Sora saying any of this? His eyes burn with the fury I haven't seen since… that battle with his Nobody, Roxas at the World that Never Was.
I raise my Keyblade up, and pointed it at the death knight, Jayde. "Sora is right about one thing. You no longer need to have a tether to this world, as you are right now. The strike of this blade will set what was once you free. Count on it." Sora's anger might be past where it should be, but I won't say it's not for the wrong reason. These are monsters.
Sora charges at him like a mad bull, his Keyblade poised above him to slash downward in front of the death knight. I take advantage and run around the armored man, lunging and aiming to get a strike from behind. I poise my Keyblade to try to impale the man, as he parries Sora's strike, and lets out a chilling blast of frigid air around him, knocking Sora and I backward.
Sora yells out his next spell, "Blizzara!" A bolt of ice flies out of his Keyblade and towards the knight, I follow suit and launch another. "Thunder!" I shout, as a bolt of lightning strikes down from the sky towards the death knight. Jayde laughs as some green… barrier shell forms around him, our spells absorb into it as his runeblade glows brighter. He swings his blade in an arc, a sickly green wave of magic flies towards Sora and I. I hold up my Keyblade to keep the blast at bay, but I look to Sora to see he has already sliced through it. I swing my Keyblade in an arc to deflect the rest of the blast outward. I can't let him absorb those blasts, again. If we can drain him of his unholy strength, we can get an opening.
I raise my Keyblade, as I shout again, "Thundara!" A few bolts of lightning strike down from this more powerful spell, the death knight activating the spell absorbing shield once more.
The thing was, none of my spells were aimed at him. The bolts strike everything around the knight. Sora looks to me and grins, taking advantage of the death knight's concentrated state to throw his Keyblade at him, the blade spinning and then striking the knight's chest with the teeth and me. The blade disappears in a flash of light to reappear in his hand, as he repeats the process. I take no time to jump in, striking the death knight's back repeatedly, penetrating the armor with the second strike. I keep striking for who knows how long, before the death knight screams. A gust of wind pushes me back, as he looks to me.
"I'm done playing with children." He shook his head. I can't believe I'll be using my hysteria to deal with yo-"
"
MAGNEGA!" Sora shouts, as a bright flash of light occurs, as he's pulled into the center of the bright focal point he created. "Riku! Eternal Session!"
He throws his Keyblade up, as I do the same. "All's End!" Our Keyblades start shooting bolts of magic at the incapacitated death knight, usually saved for the culmination of our combination limit attack, Sora wasted no time in skipping to the strongest part of our attack, the bolts tear through the knight as he screams, eventually being consumed as the light shrouds briefly, before clearing up with no sign of the body. Our Keyblades drop from where they were floating, we run up, leaping to catch our Keyblades. We land next to each other and bump fists, like we always did after that attack.
Sora and I look around. Everything's empty. No sign of any of the Scourge. It's… it's too empty. Something big is about to go down. "Sora. None of this is over. We need to get to Charles, now." He nods, as we both run out of the town and through Tyr's hand, seeing the bodies of the Scarlet Crusaders and the Scourge knights that were slain. We reach the entrance and see Charles.
"It's good you two made it out. You two look worried. What's up?" He asks, a brow raised.
"The Scourge look like they're planning something. There's none of them anywhere." Sora replies, I nod in agreement.
Charles pales, and widens his eyes. "We have to warn Light's Hope Chapel. That's the only place they can strike next." He turns and launches into a full sprint, as we both follow. I look up, as I feel droplets on my face only to see that they're red. I widen my eyes.
"Is it... is it raining blood?" I say, as we head closer to the Chapel. No one answers me. We finally reach the Chapel, Charles doubles over for breath. We head to the man in charge inside. Sora and I look absolutely strung up and shaken. "Scourge forces are preparing to strike, her-."
The red haired man interrupts. "I know. They're waiting just outside the mill to charge, with their full strength. We've mustered three hundred or so men. They have upwards to the thousands. We'll fight them with what we can, and the Light will see us through."
Sora hefts his Keyblade to his shoulder. "Then Riku and I will be the men you need to match their numbers. Count on us."
The ground shook once, an unholy presence made itself known through he area. I speak up, "We need to head outside. It seems like they're about to attack." Sora and the man nods, as we run outside. The three hundred or so men stand waiting, Tatauwi, Charles, a few others that seemed significant, but unidentifiable all the same.
The ground shakes once more as a hollow voice boomed across the land.
"Soldiers of the Scourge, death knights of Acherus, minions of the darkness: hear the call of the Highlord! RISE!"
The ground shakes again for much longer, and far more intense than the first time. The unholy presence seems to bear down on us, like a weight pressing down on us.
I look to the mill, and see the heads and shoulders of… misshapen, giant beasts. I can't make out much but it doesn't look natural at all.
The hollow voice booms once more, "The skies turn red with the blood of the fallen! The Lich King watches over us, minions! Onward! Leave only ashes and misery in your destructive wake!" The Scourge army started to charge, the endless numbers starting to become apparent as we could make them out. I raise my Keyblade up, getting into my fighting stance as I await the flood of monsters.
One of the men runs up to stand in front of the red haired plated one. "Lord Maxwell, the army approaches!"
The man now identified as Maxwell lets a booming shout across the field. "Stand fast, brothers and sisters! The Light will prevail!" The army readied itself, the hundreds of men raising their weapons and lining up. Sora and I rush up to the front.
"Spare no one!" The hollow voice shouts. I can see him, the leader of this battle. He bore the largest unholy presence of all of them, his blade emitting some kind of… awful power. The square-looking blade looking corroded and corrupted, with some kind of large, circular crescent missing, or intended to be absent at the front of one end of the blade with a skull-like object floating in it.
"Sora! Take out those giants!" I look to see misshapen giants crafted from flesh, as I leap up above the flood of smaller undead, towards one on the far right heading towards the chapel itself. I manage to cut the chest of the flesh giant with my Keyblade, slicing repeatedly at the giant as I descend to its feet. The giant monster smashes his fist down, the impact from narrowly dodging the fist itself sending me back, the clang of swords and armor, the sound of flesh rending becoming dulled as I recover from the backwards send off.
I look up briefly as I stand once more and ready my Keyblade, to see Sora unleashing one of his own assaults on a giant, combining raw magical power and Keyblade strikes to cut the giant and stagger it, the aerial assault consisting of the strikes that create horizontal rings of power as they connect with the giant, noticeable chunks missing as Sora gives a barrage of magical strikes.
I leap back to action, the monster slamming his fist down once more. I climb up the fist and run up the arm's length. I dodge the hand that slams down on the bicep, and jump to its shoulders. I start swinging my Keyblade at the head. It lets out a deafening roar, as it grabs me, and throws me towards the skirmish below. Before I hit the ground, a feel a sense of weightlessness, as a familiar voice shouts "Aero!"
I grin at Sora, who thrust his Keyblade once more, sending me flying towards the creature; I ready my Keyblade and slash the giant's upper body and head, the creature letting out an abrupt roar, cut off by its death. That is, if it were ever alive in the first place. The monster tips over and crashes down, I leap off of the beast, as it starts to fall. I ready my Keyblade to strike down a death knight as I land, it falls as the blade slices through the neck. I look over to see Sora's giant down, as well. There remains one, but I shudder as the hollow voice barks once more.
"Ashbringer defies me... OBEY ME, BLADE!" The leader seems to be on the defensive, as the blade's presence makes itself more known.
I look to Sora, and then the last flesh giant. "The whole thing?" I call to Sora. He grins, seeming to know what I'm talking about.
"The whole combination attack? Hah! That'll be enough to take the last one down." We both position ourselves near the flesh giant, cutting our way through the ghouls and zombies in our path. We both shout, as we begin our combination.
"Eternal Session!"
We leap up, and start slashing at the giant, letting our power keep us up in the air for a few seconds longer as we hack the midsection. We leap back, while in the air as we shout. "Last Saber!" As Sora charges back forward, and I make my way behind the flesh giant, stabbing rapidly as we move in unison to the same point along the back and torso, respectively. We move back, and I join Sora at the front of the beast, as we continue our next part of our combination. "Master Hearts!" As we move closer, back to back as our Keyblades start to glow, and form an extremely long blade of light on each, as we turn as a whirlwind, cutting the monster with the blades of light as we made our turns.
As soon as the light began to dull, we discard the light blades and point our Keyblades up as swords formed around us to blur as we shout, "Thirteen Blades!" The blades cut into the beast deeply, green ichor dripping as it staggered, stunned just like the other attacks. We throw our Keyblades and land on the ground, the Keyblades launching the same magical devastation shooting at the abomination as before. The light becomes brighter, and in a brief flash the giant collapses, our Keyblades dropping, as we catch them. We bump fists as we see a man come in on a horse, running in and leaping into the fray.
Sora and I stand stunned at the amount of Light he seems to have, almost the same gut-punching feeling as the amount of raw darkness at the necropolis. The whole battleground seems brighter as he yelled with a coarse, grinding voice, "You cannot win, Darion!" I run in to get a closer look, as the battle starts to calm, some flee as the remaining smaller undead are extinguished, leaving only the death knights that survived. The man himself sports a set of glowing, golden plate armor with blue accents. His beard and hair, swept back is white.
He looks around, inspecting the Scourge survivors. "Bring them before the Chapel!" The leader, and a few other death knights kneel in a formation to the man. What was it about this guy that made them surrender? His impossibly bright aura seems to have completely stunned them.
"Stand down, death knights. We have lost. The Light… this place… no hope." The hollow voice says, looking up to the golden plated man. The defenders circle around, Charles and Tatauwi standing next to Sora and I.
"Have you learned nothing, boy? You have become all that your father fought against! Like that coward, Arthas, you allowed yourself to be consumed by the darkness, the hate... feeding upon the misery of those you tortured and killed!" The man says, his voice raising and increasing in a controlled intensity. "Your master knows what lies beneath the chapel. That is why he dares not show his face! He's sent you and your death knights to meet their doom, Darion." Master? The Lich King? What's underneath the Chapel?
This gets more confusing, the more I hear. The older man spoke again. "What you are feeling right now is the anguish of a thousand lost souls! Souls that you and your master brought here! The Light will tear you apart, Darion!"
The hollow voice comes up again. "Save your breath, old man. It might be last you ever draw." A flash of light appears again, we look behind us to see some sort of spirit bathed in some kind of Light. The spirit is a large man, red hair and beard, clad in white and blue armor. He's wielding a sword, that looks just like the leader guy's, only the blade seems untarnished, and the 'skull' is some golden disc.
"My son! My dear, beautiful boy!" The spirit says. Darion cringes and writhes.
"Father! Argh… what… is…?" Another spirit sprints out of the darkly clad man, and to the first spirit. He looks to be a young, red haired teenager. "Father, you have returned!" The shade of Darion hugs his father. "You have been gone a long time, Father. I thought..."
The spirit of his father shakes his head, giving a gentle smile. "Nothing could have kept me away from here, Darion. Not from my home and family."
The shade of Darion looks down, mustering some kind of nerve before speaking once more. "Father, I wish to join you in the war against the undead. I want to fight! I can sit idle no longer!"
The older looking man in golden armor stood next to the Death Knight, Darion, as the spirit of his father frowns. "Darion Mograine, you are barely of age to hold a sword, let alone battle the undead hordes of Lordaeron! I could not bear losing you. Even the thought..." He seems to trail off until the shade of Darion interrupts.
"If I die, Father, I would rather it be on my feet, standing in defiance against the undead legions! If I die, let me die with you!" The shade sounds desperate, with a strained sorrow and frustration resonating in his voice.
The father let out a haggard sigh, looking disappointed at his son, placing a hand on his shoulder as his lips form the smallest hint of a smile. "My son, there will come a day when you will command the Ashbringer and, with it, meet out justice across this land. I have no doubt that when that day finally comes, you will bring pride to our people and that Lordaeron will be a better place because of you. But, my son, that day is not today." His smile grew into a genuine grin. "Do not forget…"
The father is cut off, as something seems to be sucking the spirit in. The light fades as a horrible presence bears on us again, the same one I felt at the beginning of this trip. The figure steps forward, a black plated knight with a jagged, icy blue glowing runesword that resonates with his power. "He is mine, now…" The voice caused slight trembling in the ground, so deep it lacked any tonal qualities of a voice. Pure hollow speech.
Darion rises up, his consciousness back to the knight. "You... betrayed me. You betrayed us all, monster! Face the might of Mograine!" He bellows, taking his sword and charging to whom I now realize is the Lich King. The leader of the Scourge swats away Darion, sending the knight flying back a great distance as he skids to the ground, managing to get on a knee. "Pathetic…" Was all the Lich King chose to say.
"You're a damned monster, Arthas." The elderly man of Light said, staring daggers at the man he addressed.
The Lich King gave a low, rumbling chuckle, sending a shiver up my spine as I held my Keyblade up. Sora seems to have been doing that for a while, gritting his teeth at the Lich King. "You were right, Fordring. I did send them in to die. Their lives are meaningless, but yours... How simple it was to draw the great Tirion Fordring out of hiding. You've left yourself exposed, paladin. Nothing will save you."
The Lich King points his sword, a dark spell channeling from the sword into the old man, black magic covering him and suffocating him, as he gasps for air. Sora and I raise our Keyblades, as Maxwell screams. "ATTACK!"
Sora, Charles, Tatauwi, everyone who was left charged up to the Lich King as we readied to strike. Arthas points his sword once more, yelling.
"APOCOLYPSE!"
A giant wave of shadow sends us all back, killing some of the weaker defenders in the process. I skid on the ground, as Sora lands on his feet. He grits his teeth, and stands tall. "No! I'm not letting you win! I've had enough of what I've seen from you people. I'm going to stand up and end this!"
"It's over! Give me strength!"
He spreads his arms out, a spherical barrier forming and shattering into hexagons in a flash of light. From it, his clothes change almost purely into red, a second Keyblade forming and materializing in his hand, the slightly curved blue and yellow star-themed weapon. This is the one of the Drive Forms I've seen before. It's a form Sora can take that takes its strength from his bonds with the hearts of others. This one is his Valor Form, it specializes in melee combat and physical strength. He gains a second Keyblade, for some reason, as well.
Sora leaps at incredible speed and distance to the Lich King, he raises his original Keyblade, the Kingdom Key to strike him. Arthas parries from below with his runesword, Sora then strikes quickly after into the sword with the other blade, Star Seeker and pushes upward to rise above the other and land behind the Lich King. He gives a barrage of fast, impactful Keyblade strikes from all directions, which Arthas parries strike by strike. Sora manages to slide around the Lich King in a display of speed, managing to get an upward slash, knocking the Lich King in the air a few feet above. Sora leaps to take advantage of his new opening. Sora lets out a yell as he starts his chain of Keyblade strikes, rings of power trailing as he made each strike. The Lich king let out rumbling grunts as they both land, Sora slamming both Keyblades down to create a ripple of power to sweep Arthas.
The Lich King bellows once more as his speedy charge towards Sora surpassed the previous feats of agility, grabbing Sora by the neck as his hands started to emit black, misty magic. Sora struggles as his body started to weaken. I get up, standing shakily on my feet as I heft my Keyblade once more. I charge with what strength I have left. "Sora, no!" I'm immediately swept back by a cold burst of frigid wind, landing on my back, clenching my Keyblade as I stand once more, but unable to run. "No… This won't happen!"
The death knight, Darion grips his own sword. "That day… is not today." He throws his sword, towards the old man. He collapses afterwards. "Tirion!" The blade whirls through the air, tip over pommel, and Tirion catches it. The Light envelops Tirion, as the sword becomes awash with bright light. It seems to revert back to the untarnished blade in that vision. I can only blankly stare as I try to comprehend the amount of Light that radiates from this blade, and the man wielding it. Their power seems to synchronize, and grow, as they become something that feels accustomed to each other. It's almost as if the sword chose this man directly.
"ARTHAS!"
The Lich King looks just as stunned, dropping Sora as the boy falls to the ground, his clothes reverting to their original colors, the second Keyblade disappearing. "What is this?" He asks.
Tirion gave a death stare to Arthas. "Your end." He leaps forward, and with one strike, the Lich King leaps back and… sizzles? This hit seems to have injured him far more than Sora's rampage.
"Impossible!" He bellows. "This… is not over. The next time we meet, it will not be on holy ground, paladin." He creates some kind of dark, magical gate behind him, and backs into it. He doesn't show up on the other side. He's gone. I run to Sora and grab him by the shoulders, wrapping one of his arms around me for support. He slowly steadies himself, grabbing his Keyblade. "Thanks, Riku…"
Tirion runs over to Darion, and lays a hand on the death knight's shoulder to heal his wounds. "Rise, Darion, and listen." The death knight rises to remain kneeling. He walks a few steps towards the other human death knight, and turns towards Darion.
"We have all been witness to a terrible tragedy. The blood of good men has been shed upon this soil! Honorable knights, slain defending their lives - our lives! And while such things can never be forgotten, we must remain vigilant in our cause! The Lich King must answer for what he has done, and must not be allowed to cause further destruction in our world. I make a promise to you now, brothers and sisters: the Lich King will be defeated! On this day, I call for a union. The Argent Dawn and the Order of the Silver Hand will come together as one! We will succeed where so many before us have failed! We will take the fight to Arthas, and we will tear down the walls of Icecrown!"
"The Argent Crusade comes for you, Arthas!"
The death knight, Darion rises up and speaks. So too do the Knights of the Ebon Blade. Although our kind has no place in your world, we will fight to bring an end to the Lich King. This I vow!"
Sora widens his eyes and stumbles forward. "What?! T-Tirion! You… you can't consider letting them in. I've seen what they've done. I… I don't know if we can side with monsters."
The elderly paladin shakes his head and looks to Sora. "I can understand where the sentiment is coming from, young boy. But you must sense the betrayal that these people felt. Fallen heroes who were enslaved and the betrayed by the King they were enslaved by. We can only honor their request by having them vow to take down the Lich King. They wish for one last chance to right the wrongs they were forced to commit."
I walk up to place a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Sora. These people… they were brought into a dark path. They have had to suffer being controlled by this… awful ruler. Slaver. They wish to walk the path to dawn, now. The same path I walk. Remember that I have made the same mistakes as them, and I wasn't forced to my start of darkness. If you can forgive me, you will have to forgive them." I give the slightest of grins. "Hey, Axel was a Nobody, a being supposedly devoid of emotion and he still sacrificed his existence for yours."
Sora looks down and started off into nothing, in thought for a moment. He looks to Darion. "If… you're willing to atone for your sins, and lead your forces to eliminate the Lich King, then I will forgive you. The road to dawn is one worth walking." Sora smiles slightly, and stuck out his hand. The death knight takes Sora's hand with his own cold, plated one and gives a shake.
"I expect nothing more from the living." Sora nods, and walks back to me. The death knight speaks once more. The Knights of the Ebon Blade will check on the Ebon Hold."
Tirion nods. "And meanwhile, I will ask for two death knights. One Alliance, one Horde. They will reestablish bonds with their faction to unite us all against the Scourge."
Maxwell walks to Tirion. "I will send them with the Keyblade bearers. Charles and Sora will go to Wrynn, Riku and Tatauwi will go to the Warchief."
Tirion looks to Sora and I, and cocks a brow. "Keyblade bearers. I've been wondering what those strange weapons are. Or why young boys seem to be on our battlefield. Regardless, it seems like you two held your own. Especially the younger one." He looks straight to Sora. "I applaud your actions, and your skill. I never thought anyone could do what you did to Arthas. Please, your names?"
We both nod. "Riku. It's an honor to meet you."
"Sora. It's nice to meet you, as well!" He smiles, and scratches the back of his neck.
The old man gives a grin. "It's an honor to meet you both. Tirion Fordring. Please, tell me more about who you are and what you wield."
I nod. "We're Keyblade bearers, people of another world. These are weapons of the heart, used to expel the darkness in the world and bring balance to the Realm of Light. We are here to help you with not only the Lich King, but to investigate signs of the Heartless and Nobodies, otherworldly beings that have found their way here."
Tirion nods. "I look forward to finding our more about you, and what you're here for. But for now, I believe Lord Maxwell Tyrosus tasked you. I think you two are… keys to the war on the Scourge, excuse the pun." He lets out a short chuckle. "Until then, I will meet you two in Northrend."
Sora and I nod to him, as he walks off. Maxwell trots up to us, with each death knight. One is short, and wide with a fairly large and thick brown beard, the other a green skinned, tall orc that stared down at Sora and I. Both seem emotionless and cold, as they await something. "Are you two ready to go to the faction leaders, once more?" Sora and I look at each other.
"Heh. See ya' later, I guess, Riku. That was really good today!" Sora says.
I give Sora a pat of the shoulder and a grin. "Yeah. You… were phenomenal, earlier. You kind of saved our butts with that rampage you went on." Sora and I laugh, as we head with our death knights, and representatives. We both stare at our portals. Sora steps through his, as I watch him fade away. I look to Tatauwi and the death knight and nod. I step through the portal, feeling that temporary dampening of my mental processes.
The Path to Dawn seems a bit more crowded, today.