Hollow Refugees [a Big Damn Heroes production]

[Tobuoi]

Kairinne: Kairinne's attention juggled between the boy who had fallen in during the battle and was apparantly quite disgruntled upon doing so, the smarmy, golden-eyed stranger, and a peculiar moving target (litterally) that had slipped under the door she was hardly holding open. She made an effort not to draw too much attention to the latter, assuming that doing just that would work out to her advantage.

"But it fits you just fine...in fact, I would venture a guess that it would be the only place you'd ever be accepted"

Kairinne stared fiercely at the ajar door in front of her. It would seem as though this foreigner was trying to get a rhile out of her. As if she was in any position to be rhiled. Kairinne had a Heartless inside of her and was merely trying to survive...pety insults meant nothing anymore.

"This is my home," she stated simply, turning herself slightly to face the empty being. "At least I have that. I bet you don't even know where you came from. Now, I strongly suggest you leave. This place is overrun with Heartless and they know better than me what you are."

Kairinne turned to the other two. "I can explain more inside, if you'd like. There are means of healing within the bastion too, if you need it." With that, she opened the door wide enough to let herself in, being greeted with the image of the white-winged angel from before. He had the same quality about him as the dark stranger outside, but there was something less menacing. Kairinne thought it best not to make assumptions...he had saved helped her, earlier and was therefore worthy of her trust. For now.

 

[afrobutt]

Still red in the face, Himmel figured he had said something wrong. The girl's face flashed with annoyance, taking a breath before explaining things. She said something about darkness, and destroying worlds; he didn't hear anything after that.

Worlds? That means... I'm on another world?!, he thought, taking a good look at his surroundings.

Did the rising water give it away?, Kaila joked snidely.

The girl interrupted his thoughts, commentating about his safety and taking the pipe from his distracted hands. His body tensed as she came closer. General physical contact was a no-no. Giant sword, wielding chicks on distant planets exceeded the rule. After a moments analysis, she handed the pipe back, explaining how she could turn it into something useful. Himmel cocked his head, did this stranger just offer to make him a weapon? Before he could ask, the girl's face suddenly became sharp and alert as she reached for the sword on her back. Himmel stepped away, fearing that this person was possibly unstable.

Without warning, she ran past him, pushing him pack with a shove. Being caught unaware, he spun slightly, landing on his left wrist. White-hot pain rushed through his mind, causing him to make a hissing noise between his teeth (or was that his head ringing?). He stood up, careful with his injured wrist. He then became aware that they were surrounded by insect-shaped blobs of darkness. They rose from the ground, twitching as they did so. The girl was swinging her sword at the creatures, taking them out with relative ease.

When she seemed to be winning, the creatures ("heartless"?) jumped onto to her, forming a black dog-pile. Wondering if he should help (by doing what, he hadn't a clue), gunshots like the ones earlier broke though his thoughts, followed by brilliant bolts of energy. The heartless were gone, and the girl rose again, her body and clothing cuts in a few areas.

"Run pipe-boy!", she ordered. Himmel's body became stiff, once again faced with the choice of leaving women alone to fight monsters for his sake.

No Himmel, this time try to be useful, Kaila barked at him. Himmel sighed, straightening his back.

"I'm sorry!", he shouted (this was becoming the essence of his conversation) running past her. These things didn't look too strong, and he was convinced he could do some kind of damage. Jumping into the air, he aimed a kick at the nearest one's head.

Did it look cool? Of course, jumping kicks always look cool.

Was it effective? Not in any sense of the word.

His leg, expecting an impact, glided through the creature's skin like it was water. His body crashed to the ground, a yelp of pain escaping his mouth. This was what he got for being courageous. Grinding his teeth, he opened his eyes to slits. A pair of yellow, hungry eyes met his. And, like a key slides into a door, everything came back to Himmel. Every moment of that terrible night flooded back, and a tear slid down his cheek.

 

[INCALORA]

"I wonder what these guys are up to," Cal remarked as he stood atop of the tower. Pearing down he noticed that everyone had decided to do their own thing. He noticed that heartless were beginning to appear in certain places. "Great I wonder if anything fun will come looking for me," Cal said with a smirk. He admired the look of Hollow Bastion, it was an eary place that held a beauty that came only from a place like this. "Perfect," Cal said as he noticed that wyvern were headed his way.

There wasn't just one wyvern, but a whole flock of them headed towards him. He thought he could avoid them until he noticed shadows on their backs, "Ok I know I'm no heartless expert, but I'm pretty sure they can't team up like that. Infact nothing that odd should be working together." He thought about what he had said for a second and realised he shouldn't be talking. It isn't everyday that you see a dragon hanging around with a human. He turned to his dragon and smiled.

The wyvern were upon them. Circling slowly like vultures waiting for their prey to drop dead. "I think I've found a pattern," Cal said to himself as he noticed the wyvern weaving in and out. His dragon woke up as he noticed his friends tension. "Ready.....Set......GO!!!!!!!" Cal yelled as he jumped on top of the wyvern one by one knocking the shadows off, but not destroying them. He was in the middle of the circling wyvern when they started a counter attack. "Ahh," Cal said as they srew drived into his sides giving him immense pain in his sides. "Ok so you guys think you're tough? Well get ready," Cal said as he hoped of the wyvern he was currently riding and started gliding in the air. "It's go time," He said as he turned one shadow into smoke.

 

[turin]

"Oh, am I?" responded the stranger in an arrogant tone. "Well, I don't ever recall making such plans." The trench coat man placed his hands in his pockets, making a grand display of it, as well as exaggerated and mocking gestures with his body. "Regardless, you are in no position to be making demands. You are completely and utterly outmatched. Plus, that little Pea shooter of yours is anything but intimidating, so attempting to scare me with it is a loss cause. Now, if you are finished wasting my time..."

'Pea shooter,' thought Blake. He gave the stranger an introspective look. 'Addae is the length of my arm and almost twice the width.' Whoever, this man was, his nonchalant attitude was beginning to tick Blake off. However, after a few seconds passed Blake calmed himself, there was no point in getting riled up.

Then the red headed girl interjected. "This is my home," she stated, facing the trench coated figure. "At least I have that. I bet you don't even know where you came from. Now, I strongly suggest you leave. This place is overrun with Heartless and they know better than me what you are."

Blake was unsure of exactly what the red hair girl was referring to, but she was right that this world was overrun by heartless. Therefore it would not be safe to stay out in the open. And she said that the castle was her home. 'Alright,' thought blake 'someone else who is actually from this world like me. I've never seen her before but this is a big world, so it is not that weird. She probably lived in town, that would explain why I don't remember seeing her in the suburbs of Radiant Garden. I'm guessing she is taking shelter in this castle from the heartless. Still this would be a creepy place by yourself I wonder if anyone else lives here?'

Next the red haired girl turned to Blake and the google headed kid. "I can explain more inside, if you'd like. There are means of healing within the bastion too, if you need it." With that said, she opened the door wide enough to let herself in.

This was the best thing Blake had heard in the last few days. He turned back to the golden eyed an given him one more look. 'Well I guess he hasn't done anything other than being weird, and rude. So there is no reason to pick a fight with him. I'll follow this red-headed girl maybe she has some answers.'

Blake holstered ADDAE on his back and proceeded to follow the girl inside the castle.

Once inside he noticed the white winged man from before with the harp like weapon.

 

[GuardianOfHearts]

Seraph, dizzy as she was from being knocked to the ground, was still quick to realize that she wasn't alone yet. Pipe-boy was still there! What was he doing?

Gritting her teeth as the rough surface jarred her many cuts, she rolled over onto her stomach, dislodging a few Heartless who had gotten dangerously close to her chest and splaying her hands against the ground, pushing herself back to her feet. Icefire scraped against the cobblestone with a harsh ringing sound, showering the air with sparks as she sliced it through the closest Shadow.

Then she bounded over to where the pink-haired boy lay, raising her gunblade and shooting the Heartless above him in the back of the head. Another shot and it was gone, emitting those wisps of darkness.

"What is it about you that these Heartless love so much?" Seraph snapped, whipping around to fire at two more Heartless that tried to leap towards her- or past her, rather, as they were still trying to get to pipe-boy. His heart must be especially pure or strong, she thought, brighter than hers, like a beacon compared to a candle. Unsurprising.

Less than half of the original total remained now, but as she watched, more pools of darkness flared on the street, and another dozen appeared to join the rest. Backing up as the Shadows advanced, Seraph bent down and pulled her reluctant companion to his feet.

"I don't know why they're so eager, but I don't like it. We need to get somewhere safer than this," she said. So now there's a 'we'? Apparently. She was still a lost, irritable refugee, and confused as hell, but the green-eyed girl had made a decision: she didn't want him dead. And the way he saw it, he was going to die pretty easily without help, pure sparkly heart or no.

"If I come with you, will you promise to run this time on the count of three?"

The gun mage was ninety percent sure she had enough power for one more spell.

"One ... two...."

The Shadows twitched and flexed their claws eagerly, hopping forward a step.

Seraph trained Icefire into the center of the horde.

"Stopga!"

Some mid-leap, the sixteen Shadows suddenly froze, suspended in time. Her heart was beating rapidly from the exertion, but she was still ready to beat it.

"Come on!"

Tugging on the boy's hand [the one he wasn't cradling], she began to run back towards the castle.

 

[OmniChaos]

"Now, I strongly suggest you leave. This place is overrun with Heartless and they know better than me what you are."

A small smirk grew on Hollow's face. It seemed that his attempt had ended in failure. Despite wanting to see her break, Hollow was pleased that she was stronger than he had previously anticipated.

"Very well then," he said, giving a slight bow to the girl. "I shall take my leave."

He slowly turned, putting his back to the girl and the majority of the group. A black portal rose before him, with what sounded like a dull roar coming from inside.

"I underestimated you this time," Hollow shouted back. "But I have no plans on doing that again." He gave a slight wave. "Until next time."

Hollow silently walked into the portal, leaving Hollow Bastion and the group behind.

 

[Wormwood]

Ira came down the curved staircase in the introductory hall past the castle's door, his bare feet rapping in quick slaps against the many and uncomfortably cold steps, his precious book clutched underneath his arm, a ribbon of a bookmark sewed into the binding holding his place between a multitude apologetic and historic notes and the voluminous content he had yet to reacquaint himself with.

A grin cutting his face from ear to ear was painfully but graciously smeared beneath his absolutely radiant and soon to be tearing eyes, a sing-song hum breaking against the crag of a suppressed laughter, the dam of which was nearly toppled by a spate of giddy squeals that unabashedly rose out of his throat as he noticed the doors of his prison open, sunlight pouring in and people, actual human beings standing there, conversing with one another, their voices echoing in adulation of their possessors existence, a resonating latria toward life itself it was as though there was a music about the room.

A girl stood at the opening of the castle her eyes set on something at the fountain below him and to the side and craning his neck to see what it was Ira caught a glance at some winged being with what appeared to be some form of string instrument in his arms.

"Well isn't this a beutiful sight"?

He exclaimed in unchecked jubilation, his words cracking and wheezing not yet accustomed to verbalization.

A deep belly laugh erupting from him, slipping from out between the tight crevice his lips formed between the inside of his mouth and the rest of the world.

 

[INCALORA]

"Yikes," Cal said as he just barely missed being hit by another wyvern," These guys don't mess around." He landed and pushed off another wyvern so he could glide again. It had been about 20 minutes and he had only taken down a total of seven heartless. "I need to speed things up," Cal said as he was knocked downward onto another wyvern. "These creatures called heartless are very complex. Even though they do not have a heart they are still capable of doing things that people like me can do," he was in deep thought due to the fact he was nearly unconcious.

"If I die what will happen??? Do I turn into a heartless??? It almost seems hopeless trying to defeat something this powerful," Cal said barely awake. The heartless were now closing in on him. The wyvern hovered very closely together as they made a path for the shadows to cross. About ten seconds before they would reach him him jumped up with a jolt. Suddenly he felt as if he could do anything, especially destroy a large group of heartless. "I think that the tides have turned my little friends," Cal said as he kicked a shadow in the head.

He was now jumping around and knocking shadows down so often that from below it looked like black rain,"I hope that people from below realise that the shadows aren't destroyed just barely fased." The wyvern were so confused by his sudden actions that they lost their organization and were beginning to attack each other. Cal himself was using a wyvern like a surfboard and hit other wyverns in the air. "Finally," Cal said with a sigh of relief as many wyverns were departing,"I think we're ok eh Zorox....Zorox?" Cal turned around to see his dragon being carried away by a wyvern,"That's why they're leaving," Cal said as he turned the wyvern towards its "family" and pushed off of it to get a boost to help him glide faster.

 

[Xinjust]

Dux's eyelids were greeted by a ray of light, as he strained his neck to gaze upwards. Karinne had opened the doors once more, and apparently the person he had scanned ealier was leaving. He could litteraly feel the entity's presence vanishing from Hollow Bastion, leaving a last remark that sounded muffled from a distance. Karinne had brought company with her, the boy that was shooting the Behemoth from afar had seemingly decided to entourage with her.

Dux heared footsteps from above him, the source being the winded staircase that halfly incircled the foutain. Laughter invaded his ears, and he stood up with a snared look on his face. His feathery wings stretched high, a 15 foot spand taking advantage of the calm air. He breathed in deeply, and then let out a sigh, starring at the girl and boy before him. Dux slowly rose his Harp Sword, aiming it's tip towards Blake and Karinne. Then, he remembered something. The girl had given him that horrible tasting green slim, and yet he felt rejuvinated. He could trust Karinne, at least for the time being.

Dux lowered his weapon, sheathing it's blade into the shallow water. "Hey."

He turned his back to them, trying to get the laughing voice into his vision. Dux hadn't laughed since he was human, and this made him envious. He played a soft melody on his Harp Sword, as a pinkish-white orb gathered from lingering sparkles in the air, hovering just in front of him. He rose his blade high, and slashed the transfixed magical sphere. On impact, the ball shattered into a glassy dust, floating towards the direction of the joyous person above him. The celestial hue surronded the man, almost as if he were a magnet to the spell.

"Silence," Dux cast, a smirk on his face as he closed his eyes with satisfication.

The mysterious pinkish-white sparkle invaded into Ira as soon as he inhaled again, conquring his vocal cords, dominating his already seemingly lack of verbal communications. The spell was cast, and Dux awaited to see if this laughing ceased, if this echoing happiness would be put to rest by one simple spell. He arched an eyebrow, finally stepping from the aquatic fountain and onto the moziac flooring.

 

[afrobutt]

The dark eyes above him disappeared with a gunshot. The girl said something, he didn't hear it. She pulled him to his feet, he barely noticed. Everything that had happened in Destiny Island’s last moments were like a team of wrestlers, slamming and punching their way into his memory.

"Since when are we friends?", Himmel murmured under his breath, cold words crawling from his mouth. There was silence, when Kaila said nothing, he continued. "I found your bracelet, you started following me around. You changed my hair, started sitting here with me". He could hear the indifference in his voice, yet couldn't stop. "I preferred being alone. I'm sorry if you thought otherwise". She still remained quiet, Himmel was afraid he would cry. If she did, he would take back everything he'd said; he was that pathetic. And yet, she shed no tears, standing up instead. Dusting off her skirt, she three steps away. Stopped suddenly, she started fiddling with her wrist. At last, she tossed her bracelet over to him. It hit the sand without a sound, a small cloud of dust rising upon contact. Then, she walked away without a word.

Himmel wished she had cried.

"If I come with you, will you promise to run this time on the count of three?", the girl's desperate voice brought him back to the here and now. There were more Heartless now, converging on their position. Himmel nodded slightly, unsure if she saw.

1...

Why had he been so cold? He didn't mind her at all, if anything she brought light into his boring day.

2...

He was self destructive, that was the only good explanation for his behavior.

"STOPGA! Come on!"

The figures of darkness froze in the air, Himmel's jaw dropped. He would've stayed if the girl hadn't been pulling at his arm, urging him to run. Smothering his curiosity, he ran beside her, dashing towards the bleak looking castle in front of him.

 

[Tobuoi]

Kairinne: Kairinne let go of the door once the gunner had passed into the castle and brought her attention once more to the harp-bearing angel who was perched on the familiar fountain in the center of the foyer. This did not last, for upon their entry, he lowered himself, drew his sword, and spread his wings. Kairinne realized up close just how large his wings really were. She greeted him with a scowl and after a moment he put his weapon away.

"Hey," was his simple reply. Kairinne didn't know which made her angrier...the fact that he had threatened them with a rather large sword or that he was comfortable greeting them so casually. While she was forced to keep a constant restraint on her emotions, Kairinne was not prepared to let some chummy bond of friendship with this foreigner lead to her demise. At his hands, no less.

The sound of laughter filled the room. It took a moment for the sound to settle in, and while the acoustics of the room made it difficult for Kairinne to make out what he had said, there was definitely a man laughing on the staircase. She wondered how she had gone this long, alone, without noticing him. Then again, maybe he had arrived with the several other strangers that she had encountered...

It wasn't long before the winged one plucked at his harp, sending what Kairinne assumed to be a spell of some sort in the direction of the newcomer.

"Don't you think it's a bit rude, casting a spell on someone you don't even know and is clearly not a threat? Or is he in your lot?"

 

[Wormwood]

Ira continued to joyously beam as the pink aura approached, engulfed and silenced him, unaware that he had been silenced until a good four seconds of not being able to hear himself, at which point his smile vanished and replaced itself with a look of such absolute horror that you would think he was about to witness his own murder.

He panicked and flung his hands at his throat, not realizing they wouldn't do anything to alleviate the cloud of noiselessness about him and clasped at nothingness as if to relinquish the merciless hold of a death-noose that was ever so elusive to the desperate vice of his fingers. His face exploded in phantasmagoria, hysterical grins and confusion wrought squints assaulted any that would behold him as he shuffled about on the stairs looking up and down for what ever device had stolen his voice from him, he entertained briefly he had gone deaf but dismissed it at hearing the discourse between those else in the room continue onward.

It was a spectacle to be sure but any that would be amused at the sight wouldn't be unjustified in receiving a rebuke as the poor man had very little understanding of magic, it was not forbid to him to practice it, not in the least, one could even suggest that a healthy knowledge and practice of the arts whimsical were sanctioned among the Sicarii both in tradition as well as scripturally but Ira's father having had a special heart for manual works over the ease of magic never truly imparted scholastic understanding of the arts let alone ever shown any hint of being interested in even entertaining use of the theurgical.

He hadn't the frame of mine to conceive of magic being used simply because he was ignorant of it. He knew only that magic could be conjured by select words made divine and authoritative by unknown forces. And one could bring together any composition of wild ingredients and effectively cook together some mystical food-stuff or alchemize a poison should the right antipathetic interest be available and that was the total of all his knowledge. The wordless magic based weapon-casting would seem as foreign to him as probably the religion he professed to outsiders.

 

[GuardianOfHearts]

Seraph ran as fast as she could while still voluntarily attached to someone else, pulling him through the ruined town and over the crumbling walls to the castle, occasionally shooting a wayward Heartless out of the way. As her feet slammed against the stone ground, she felt everything else slamming into her with inconvenient harmony. Each step was a cruel reminder as it jarred her body: the sting of open cuts lacing her body; the exhaustion from a near-sleepless night and battle earlier; the soreness in her limbs that still pervaded despite her healing; the almost crippling desire to just lay down and let it all happen; the memory of Twilight Town being destroyed and the knowledge that she was stranded and homeless. She may be the one helping the boy, but if you were to ask who was the bigger wreck, it would probably be her.

Seraph did not take well to being a wreck. Fury was her response and her sanctuary: it kept her alive, and the adrenaline of anger and the constant need to endure could even wash away her fatigue for blessed intervals.

So it was adrenaline now she ran on, that mindless natural drug which she seemed addicted to. The castle loomed above them as they cleared the gates, sinister and enchanting and full of brooding secrets. A dark haven, but a haven nonetheless. She trusted that its walls would provide some safety to the apparent Heartless-magnet whose wrist she was still holding.

As they came to the great doors, Seraph slowed and released her grip on him, a little guiltily. She'd tried not to drag him along too hard, and hoped she hadn't hurt him.

There were no more Heartless in sight, at least for the moment, so Seraph stopped to catch her overworked breath, clutching at a stitch in her side which had been kind enough not to manifest until she was done running. Her hand was bleeding from Shadow scratches, she noted, but that wasn't anything special. Most of her seemed to be housing multiple cuts after being pinned to the ground by nearly a dozen Heartless. She'd have to go picking more fights to look for a Heartless-dropped Elixer. Later. For now, she straightened and turned toward her companion.

"There should be places in here where the Heartless don't go," she said, nodding towards and door and beginning to walk to it. She leaned against it, splayed her palm against the metal, and pushed, adding a spark of magic to encourage the door to open.

"By the way," the gun mage added, "my name's Seraph."

The door obliged, slowly but surely, creaking like a dying thing as its hinges swung it open. She slipped past the door and staggered inside, her lowered head rising as she heard, to her mixed sentiments, the presences of others in the hall. Icefire had been halfway into the sheath on her back, but she slowly drew it out again as she looked around.

There were several other people there, most she dimly recognized from the fight against the Behemoth earlier. They'd fought together, or at least on the same side. Allies. Friends. Safe. In a perfect world, maybe, but right now Seraph didn't know what to think or who to trust. So she kept her gunblade drawn and her green eyes focused and wary.

 

[afrobutt]

The girl pulled Himmel to the castle, nearly tearing off his wrist. Barely paying attnetion, he noticed her body was shaky, and would've felt guilty for being an extra burden. She had said something about the Heartless being attracted to him, and Himmel couldn't help but notice this was true. They seemed almost desperate to claw out his throat (or heart, was it?). He assumed this wasn't true in other situations, seeing as he had seen few Heartless himself.

As Himmel's legs bagan to grow tired, the girl released her grip on him. They'd come to the castle's doors, large and forboding. As he rubbed his wrists, Himmel noted the various design of the doors. The edges were engraved with various symbols that looped around it like lace. The girl pushed the door open, creaking slightly as it did so.

"By the way,my name's Seraph.", the girl said.

And so the face acquired a title. Himmel hesitated for a few moments, and then before he could stop himself replied, "My name is... Tails". He wasn't sure why he'd used Kaila's nickname, but he did know he didn't want to say his own name, not here. Despair caught up with Himmel as he thought of Kaila, and it was all he could do to not sob.

Before he could break to tears, he noticed thet were not alone. Various others met them as they answered, and for a moment Himmel thought to run. It was then he realized some of these people were from the skirmish earlier, with the giant. Standing behind Seraph, he whispered to her quietly.

"What now?"

 

[DarkHeart63]

"Please, Edoe... Stop!"
Ahh, those final words from the ones who wouldn't stop themselves. No matter how much Edoe pleaded, or begged, or cried, they wouldn't stop what they were doing to him every day of his life, save for the blessings where he wasn't at school.
But all that had passed him now, as he was now the relentless Nobody of a killer who had long since dropped the name Edoe, taking on his new persona of Xeode. This emotionless excuse of a shell had just been taking out a few Heartless (who were obviously nothing compared to him!), and felt like he could do with a break.

Xeode had reached the Bailey of Hollow Bastion, and sat atop the wall that looked out towards the Ravine Trail. Towards the horizon was the ever-present sight of the Great Maw, and just beyond the endless abyss that were the Dark Depths was the castle that gave this entire world its title- Hollow Bastion. This immense palace was large enough to be seen from anywhere in the town, as long as you weren't trying to look through a wall.
It was a point just beyond there, further than anyone could even reach in their wildest dreams, that stuck in Xeode's mind. He never remembered how he got there, what it was for, just that...
"Gah, gotta try and get that out of my mind..." Xeode said to himself, partly to get the image out of his mind and partly to remind himself what he sounded like. He hadn't spoken in hours, and just about managed to utter those words out.

Xeode stood back up and looked out one last time to the mighty castle, remembering once again how his one time ruler, Ansem the Wise, had vanished from it's very halls. Only days later, strange black creatures began appearing all around the city, and Xeode felt power for the very first time in his life on that fateful day.
Xeode sighed to himself sadly. "Maybe it's better than Ansem vanished... After all, I got this out of it!" he shouted, trying to go back to his usual psychotic self. Just then, he heard a booming crash behind him, and spun around. A group of Darkballs and Wyverns suddenly flew out of a new hole in a wall towards him, and Xeode cheered up.
"At last, some new prey to take out!" he declared, thrusting out his right hand.

A ball of darkness gathered, similar in shape to the very Heartless it was about to slay, and it grew sharp points. A chain slowly grew out the back of it, and a handle appeared on the end of this chain. Once it had all fully formed, Xeode grabbed it out of the air and spun it around his head.
"Let's get this started then, buddies!" he shouted, rushing towards the group with the flail flying about like crazy. Xeode threw his arms forward, crushing a Wyvern underneath his weapon with much ease. It vanished off into darkness, it's glowing heart flying off into the sky. Using the momentum from this slam, Xedoe turned around sharply and shrunk the chain, causing it to slam into a couple of Darkballs and destroy them.
The battle was over about as quickly as it started, and Xedoe found himself extremely bored once more. Opening a portal of darkness, Xeode jumped into it, not knowing where it would take him. He walked through the eternal darkness, until a glimpse of light rapidly approached and sucked him straight out.

Xeode was surrounded by crystals, and seemed to be in a cave of some sort.
"Well well, the Crystal Fissure hasn't been consumed by darkness yet!" he spoke to himself, looking around at the glistening diamonds that surrounded him. He picked a loose one out of the hole it was in, and shoved it in his pocket for later. After he was finshed being fascinated at a place he'd visited a million and one times, Xeode looked out towards the castle he had earlier been wondering about.
"Hmm... I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a little visit!" he decided, walking out towards the Great Maw and whatever lay beyond.

 

[INCALORA]

"Raaah," Cal said as he glided forward with extreme force. His body had already been pushed to the limit, but for once he felt that it was his fault for letting his friend out of his sites. He was now about to meet up with the family of wyvern. "Hurry up," Cal repeatedly said as he began to slow down all of a sudden. Lucky for him one of the wyvern that was injured was flying slowly, which gave him enough time to land on and eliminate it. "Come on you idiots," Cal taunted,"You guys are just some hand-me-down heartless. They arleady were a little riled up from the first attack, but what he said was the straw that broke the camels back.

He was caught in the middle of a massive attack. The air had become thick with the smoke of relinquished heartless and blood from his wounds. "Why," he said as he saw his dragon limp in the claws of the wyvern,"Can't you go hunt something else down?" He jumped again knocking one of the wyvern out. He seemed to becoming enraged at an alarming rate. "AHHHH what the," His chest was beginning to burn up as it filled with hatred. This was the first time ssince his meeting that it had reached this level.

"Use it," a voice in his head told him. "No I refuse," Cal said as he calmed down and cooled off,"Ok why did it go so easy." Most of the wyvern were diminished now so Cal had no problems fighting. "We end this now," Cal said as he glided onto the back of a wyvern and hit it a few times. It must have been luck as he was soon knocked off by two of the remaining three wyvern. "Nice," Cal said as he hovered waiting for them to return. This time one went for the legs the other the neck, but the tactic wasn't succesful. Cal squeezed in-between them and grabbed one with his legs by the waste. "Good-bye," Cal said as he swung the one he was riding into the other. " It's only you and me now," Cal said as he pointed to the wyvern with the dragon.

It looked at him with its crooked smile. It seemed that they were locked in the classic stare down. Both stayed focused until they charged at each other. "You're going down," Cal said as he slashed at one of its wings. The wyvern had retaliated by gripping the dragon tighter and headbutting Cal. "I can't take this much longer," Cal said as he sslashed repeatedly the back of the wyvern,"Adios," he finished it with the final blow. Zorox was now falling faster and faster. Cal dove and caught him, but he crashed through a window as he couldn't control his landing. He had screw drived into the ground and for the first time it didn't look like he'd be getting up.