Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate

[Kazem]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

The last tear was swept off his face just like the others, in a torrent of clean and pure rain and droplets of corruption. The voice without sound whispered something, twice, but both attempts were futile. Kal's fist hit the ground before his body begrudgingly stood up, still partially slumped. He didn't even have to look up from the ground to know that there were countless inhuman eyes focused on him. A small group of helmet-bearing beings clattered their way towards the shattered teen. A metallic object weighed down one of his hands, but he didn't care to examine it. Facing the merciless monsters that looked at him from within loose headgear, his grip tightened on the somewhat lengthy object.

The first one jumped into the air and then came swirling towards him, it's limbs a blur. Kal held the weapon up in a half-hearted defense, waiting for the flurry of both hands and feet to him him. Instead, the black being met the blade. Specifically, the sharpened curves and pointed ends that pointed towards each other, ripping the attacker as it continued spinning, unable to stop itself before it vanished in a cloud of dark gas-like matter. Three others remained a few yards away, oblivious to their comrade being defeated. Another started sloppily running towards Kal, helmet making a racket as it went. The curved top portion of the blade was pointed outward and caught the Soldier around the neck. A step forward and a thrust downward pinned the heartless to the ground. With a shout, emotions other than sorrow finally filling his heart again, Kal drove the blade further down and sent the trapped beast to where its brother had went. The next wave involved both of the remaining black beings, though each still seemed to be doing their own thing. The shout now a lasting yell, Kal challenged their charge with his own, both kinds of droplets streaming off his face and weapon. Flipping the blade into a reverse-grip, sharp points were the main threat to those it met with. Indeed, a ruthless series of slashes made short work of the third. Panting, Kal looked left and right for the last one and was punished for not thinking in three dimensions, the forth's claw streaking down a hastily raised arm, cutting through the sleeve and leaving a sizable gash.

The funny thing was, Kal didn't notice the pain.

Instead, he laughed. It was a broken, pitiable laugh that still was tainted with lingering sadness. Unfazed by the failing sanity of the teen, number four jumped backwards and wiggled about awkwardly, almost dancing in celebration. Kal was left without a weapon, blade simply gone without a trace. Giving in to anger, Kal rushed the dancing heartless, delivering a punch to the creature's thin torso. It struck back, but Kal was past the point of caring. The two struck the other over and over for a good minute before a fourth cloud of black matter dispersed into the air. Luckily, most of the blows landed on Kal's limbs, and everything was working fine. The blood loss was surprisingly small for the number of cuts, though that didn't stop him from feeling weak. He almost fell down and closed his eyes right then and there, if not for his eyes falling on the swirling vortex. Tired, exhausted and injured, Kal slowly made his way towards the somehow alluring bane of his world. His weapon was already forgotten, its shape and weight barely remembered. And still, the rain kept coming and coming. Translucent tears and pitch black globs, both threw themselves down at the island and its inhabitants. For Kal, there was no rain. There was no screaming, no yellow eyes, no island. There was only him, the vortex, and his empty heart.

And one of those had to go.

 

[Von83194]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Izzuko felt light headed and dizzy. He'd been fighting the never ending waves of the shadow creatures for what felt like hours, and it was starting to take it's toll. His father lay behind him, propped up on his mothers tombstone. The creatures circled around them, and Izzy guessed they knew he wouldn't last much longer. Three jumped out at him, and he swung a harpoon in a wide arc in front of him, trying to keep them at bay. The thought popped into his head, about how it might not be bad to die here, he almost thought it was fitting. A family reunited in death after 10 years at the grave.

From the hoard of shadows, came another one, this one much larger, with longer limbs and antenna, but the same glowing yellow eyes. It leapt at Izzy, landing on the shaft of the harpoon and breaking it. "Damn." He muttered, reaching behind him for the other one. He felt his fingertips brush against the wooden shaft, just as the giant creature grab his leg, and toss him into the smaller shadows. Time seemed to slow down as he flew into the mass of black creatures. Above, flying creatures began to circle around them like vultures. One swooped down and picked up his father, then another to help him. The shadows cleared a spot for Izzy to land, and then jump on him, in a dog pile of darkness. He watched as they flew over him, his fathers limp body in their grasp, towards the other side of the island. Using what felt like the last bit of strength, he reached out after his father, as the last of his vision was blacked out.

Izzuko felt cold, creeping up his arm to his outstretched hand, when his fingers began to tingle. Just as quickly as the cold came, it was gone, replaced by a white hot heat that engulfed his body. He seemed to white out as the heat reached his eyes, blazing with the purest white light. He closed his hand and felt a cool metallic rod, but the light continued to blind him. As his vision began to clear, he could see that the creatures had circled around him again, the larger one standing just inside the circle. He looked down to his hand and saw a strange spiked sword with a large hook on the end. "What the?" Just when it seemed like the creatures had given him a break, a group of six jumped out and surrounded him.

Holding the sword in his left hand, he held the spikes toward them, and spun counter clockwise, each one evaporating as they were hit. It's lighter than it looks, he though, but denser than anything I've ever see. And it's working a lot better than the harpoons. He looked up at the large black shadow, staring straight into it's cold glowing eyes, feeling a surge of energy through out his body, and charged.

 

[Piercing Light]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Chizuma kept pace behind Leroy, thankful that he was here with her. If there was any time she needed a friend, it was now. She was nearly convinced that the entire island was being dragged into hell. If not hell, then oblivion, how else would she describe what looked to be a ceaseless advance of darkness, steadily devouring her home? In spite of all this, Chizuma stayed calm. She wasn’t alone after all, and she wasn’t helpless herself. They would make it out of this somehow. Her body tensed as more strange creatures attacked them, only to be knocked away by Leroy. Chizuma kept a steady hand near her utility belt, just in case one of the monsters got through. She couldn’t do much damage with her gadgets, but they were perfect for buying enough time to escape.

She looked off in the distance towards the dark vortex. It was an unstoppable force. It tore the ground asunder, and was pulling in everything around it like a cosmic vacuum. She wished they could avoid going anywhere near it, however they didn’t have many options left. Around a corner they turned, and there they were greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a bottomless pit. No, such a description wouldn’t do. Saying it was a pit would imply it was normal in at least some way. It most certainly was not normal. No normal pit was bordered by walls of blackness so dark they drained the light from your eyes. Chizuma kept her distance and tried to scout her surroundings. The world was being eaten away in the distance, as tough as it was for her to think, there was likely nothing to even run to anymore. Chizuma sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. There was no use thinking about it right now, a fox would not ponder the meaning of the fire that was burning down it’s forest, it would simply run.

In the corner of her vision Chizuma saw a shadow flicker. She had seen enough strange things today to know that it was trouble. As if it knew she had spotted it, the shadow sprung upwards into a more sentient shape. It was another black creature, though unlike the ones she had seen before. It had demonic wings, and an obsidian blade. It’s eyes were first fixed on her, however it switched it’s gaze towards Leroy, who was a little ahead of her. Chizuma’s heart pounded in fear as the winged monster threw it’s blade towards Leroy. She screamed, and before she even knew what she was doing she had sprinted for him. Her thin arms strained to push Leroy out of the way of the incoming blade. She had moved him out of danger, however… “AH!” Chizuma let out a sharp cry as the blade pierced her stomach. The pain quickly followed, though as she attempted to let out another scream, all that came out was a horrid spray of blood. The black blade materialized back to the creature’s grasp, leaving her with a lethal wound. Chizuma’s sight began to blur, and she struggled to stay on her feet.

She turned her head towards Leroy. She could barely make him out, could barely walk towards him. She reached out to him, desperate to have him help her. But it was too late, as she tried to step forward her legs gave out, and she fell backwards into the dark hole.

She was still falling. For how long, she was no longer sure. The pain from her deathly wound had vanished, as did any other sensation. For some reason memories of the past began to play in her mind. Voices she wished had stayed in the back of her mind.

“You’ll never amount to anything.”​

“Your parents didn’t even want you, what makes you think anyone else will?”​

“Stop sulking.”​

“You’re so depressing.”​

“Stop crying already.”​

“Would it kill you to smile?”​

Chizuma shuddered, feeling the urge to weep. But no tears came. In fact, she found that she could no longer feel any emotion at all. Her heart had been devoured. She gripped half her face in mock shock, and a false smile spread across her mouth. “At least I have an excuse for this farce of a smile now.” She giggled to herself, as her body faded into the darkness.

 

[Ðari]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Gavin exhausted his breath, but no call was returned for Seth. He called, the young girl holding tight to Gavin's body, firmly pressing her hand to his, all the while as if she knew he was dangerous to be around. Between the two of them, the yellow eyes of the monsters around them only grew in number, the vortex that ripped into the ground, seemed like the very edge of he mainland as everything else was coming undone at the scenes. Gavin leaned down to lift the girl, whom he'd assumed now was Seth's little sister and had her piggy-back.

"Hey, hold on tight ok?"

She returned with a frightened nod, acknowledging that Gavin would carry her. His eyes widened at the number of creatures that had emerged from the ground in just moments. Directly ahead of them, stood what he could only believe to a blockade of the forces that sought their demise. Gavin's fists were both clenched tight and with both vigor and grit, a dark aura emanated around him, attracting the feral nature of the beasts to move and spawn towards him and Seth's sister even faster. Some of them were skinny, about Gavin's body length, and quite agile, their heads had feelers in the shape of zig-zags the length of their entire bodies. So many of them leaping towards the sand lunging menacingly towards the pair.

"Whatever you do..." Gavin tilted his head, his now amber eyes peered into her sea-green jewels, "...don't let go, ok?"

Gavin did the unthinkable, he took his gloved hand touched his own body and that of Seth's sister. As she held steadfast to him, he jumped incredibly high, elevating towards the vortex, the loose ends of Gavin's shirt were tattering away in the wind. From their height up, they were moving slow for a good moment or two as from this height gravity almost didn't seem to touch them. Gavin could see the destruction befalling Kismet from the shore, even spread into town, everything was a complete disaster! He gritted his teeth, and he thought of Violet...but with Seth's sister's safety becoming his responsibility, where the hell could he go? Looking down, the vortex that he'd eyed earlier, he could sense a similar kind of darkness hundreds of times over compared to what was overtaking him. He was going to escape, but that vortex was the problem, or maybe it was the answer.

The heartless below didn't stay confused for long. The long feelers they possessed, leapt from the ground and their bodies spun like lethal propeller blades. Accompanying them, soldiers with goggles, wooden wing-like contraptions, and the most ridiculous jumpsuits and beanie caps with toy propeller blades. They moved like they were gear powered and had a strange tic to their movements. Gavin and Seth's sister were so light, they were virtually ascending slowly with no control as Gavin was holding her thighs and touching his own body with his arm at the sametime.

As the heartless spun around, he turned and stuck his foot out to stop the spin, then clamp around its body to jump to the next one, light as a feather. Gavin didn't know how to make things heavier, only lighter, and as he was basically floating the soldiers that could fly were the perfect bounce pads for him. Eventually, by the fourth jump, he missed and the effects of his density finally wore off sending him and the girl into a very real and dangerous fall from high up.

"Oshi- Waaaaaaaaaaaa-"

His scream was followed by her high pitch shriek clinging so hard to Gavin's neck, that his scream soon became an asphyxiation for air. As he was loosing consciousness, his right arm falling limp, and like before, a black flame purged around his right arm, and dissipated leaving him with yet another tool. This time, a black leather cuffed watch, completely monochromatic, the silver heading of the watch and its complexity was similar to that of a Kismet artisan's design, very old fashioned. Gavin in the confusion, pulled her arm from around his neck as they drew up the ground with great speed, he spun around and gripped her tight tucking her under his bosom, and then...no impact. Well, there was one, but it was light. He hovered for about a split second, as a wall of shells hovered just behind his back, similar to a barrier which put him to levitate briefly before the half-formed barrier dissipated.

"O...kay..? A little more practical than this hand I guess, yeah, we can work with that."

Gavin checked her to see if she was fine, shivering, a little startled but fine. Turning ahead they were just within running distance of the vortex, surpringly nothing was coming from out of the other side. It was here that Gavin set her down, and told her to keep going towards that giant hole in the middle of the beach and he would watch her flank. He proceeded to check the leather cuffed watch a second time, and clenched his fist as raised it and pointed it towards the black hoardes of monsters, as a dark violet swirl burned around his right hand. A brilliant release of what looked to be a fireball emanating from off his hand shooting forward to completely incinerate one of the smaller yellow eyed monsters, nude, short, and with tiny feelers. Gavin's expression became a little smug, he grimmaced at how the number of monsters made him suddenly go pale, if only for a second. He was in truth...so incredibly angry that this was happening to his home, that people were going to die and how the numbers would escalate and likely wipe them all out.

He was silent for a moment as they came to him and quickly came to surround him, as the girl could only watch. His heart of darkness seemed to draw them all in, he was unsure what to do as they stood in place waiting for any sudden or hostile movements from him. He turned his head to the young girl, as she waited just before the vortex. Gavin's eyes met hers, a subtle nod escaped him and his amber eyes for a moment became blue to show her he wasn't all bad, finally passing on to her the last words she'd hear him address to her.

"Go on. Your brother's waiting for you on the otherside, I'll catch up with you later."

He threw up the peace sign, and she drew even further away until he could only see her silhouette. In this moment his heart beat was even louder than that of the enemies at each end of his enclosed circle. Fighting would be pointless, he still didn't have a "weapon" something feasible to use, but what? Minutes were shrinking and becoming precious seconds where desperation would serve him nothing but complete futility.

 

[Story Keeper]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

~- Run Away From This Hell -~

Mana felt Kisara tackle her, then before she was able to truly register what had followed the tackle; she had been pushed behind her older sister. Mana spotted the heartless in front of them, trembling slightly from a mix of fear and nervousness; Mana fought back the urge to scream as it pounced, closing her eyes tight so she wouldn't have to witness the scene of it tearing into anyone that was present.

"What...?"

Cracking open one of her eyes, she opened them fully and gasped at the sight of the strange blade in Kisara's hand. Hearing Raphael's question about it being some kind of "keyblade", Mana's eyes darted to him in time to see Snow ducking and shoving the bo staff she held into the stomach of one of the canine-like heartless's stomach just over Raph's shoulder. A weak laugh trickled free, right before Mana got it under control. Mana felt a surge of panic rush through her as she saw that Kisara was starting to fall victim to a panic attack; only to wind up laughing as Raph took care of it by giving Kisara a kiss.

The laughter turned into mock gagging as Snow called, "Okay you two love birds, save the make out session for when we're not at the risk of dying and it's just you two!"

Despite the joke Snow made at her friends expense, Mana could tell the older girl was stressed and exhausted because of their current situation. Eyes darting around them to see how close they were to coming attack for a second time, Mana felt as if she'd just been punched in the gut as Raphael ordered Kisara to take her and head to the vortex.

As Kisara and Raph argued, Mana's eyes darted to Snow to see that the older girl was looking worse for ware; probably the worst out of all of them. "Are you...?"

"You have to find them," she whispered.

Caught off guard by the gentle command, Mana eyed the older girl who didn't even look toward her. "I don't know if they're alive, but there's someone that could use a bit of protecting; I need you to find them and look after them. Please?"

"Uh, sure..."

"Go!"

The barked command from Raphael startled Mana, so she didn't look at Kisara as the older girl grabbed her hand and started running toward the vortex. Her eyes were fixated on the two they were leaving behind, a nagging feeling telling her that she wouldn't be seeing those two again. Mana forced herself to look ahead and she started running, finally stopping the process of her being dragged along behind Kisara.

Why? Why is all of this happening?

Her head pounded as loud as her feet slapping against the cobbled pathways. This wasn't right, none of the events tonight were right. Mana didn't want to know what was going on, or even why things were unfolding the way they were. Mana just wanted to escape the darkness that had torn her world apart. She wanted to escape the hellhole that her home had become within the past few minutes.

~- Take You Away -~

Snow turned away from the sisters retreating, knowing that what she said was vague at best and totally incoherent at worst. Tightening her grip on her staff, she watched as the pack from before finally rounded the corner. She didn't say anything to Raphael, instead she focused on trying to gather her wits about her for the fight that was about to erupt. Haha, if I'm going to die here, may as well see what damage I can deliver to these jerks first. She chuckled mentally, sizing up the leader of their pack, she scowled at it as its lips curled back into a snarl.

Apparently it was the first one that she had first met up with.

She watched for a moment, trying to figure out what it was going to do. Watching as it crouched low to the ground; Snow tensed her muscles and hopped backward as it lunged forward, just a hair to slow as its sharp claws raked against her leg. Hissing softly, Snow shoved the bo staff at the creature, knocking it in the head and causing it to leap backwards. Sucking in a breath through clenched teeth, she glanced over her shoulder to see how Raphael was faring.

Focusing back on the pack of heartless in front of her, Snow frowned at the creatures as the leader of the pack crouched low to the ground again. A thought springing to the front of her mind, Snowdrop didn't look at Raphael to see how he was before she bolted toward the wall. Reaching it within a few strides she slammed on the brakes and spun around to face the horde that had followed her; taking comfort from having the stone wall at her back. Tightening her grip on her weapon, Snow shoved aside the sensation of heat and fatigue that tried to cloud her head; before she again braced herself for the up coming fight.

 

[Hidden]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Sarah’s world had been turned upside-down... quite literally a few moments ago. And now this strange boy, the one who felt wrong somehow and yet was trying to protect her... he was telling her to go, to find her brother on the other side. The other side of where?

But he was being cut off now by a growing circle of darkness, and his words still rang in her ears. Go on. Your brother’s waiting for you on the other side, I’ll catch up with you later. The darkness had almost blocked him from sight. And then, he gave her the slightest nod; his eyes dropped down a few frequencies to a pure blue, and he held up the peace sign to her... and then he was gone, and Sarah was running. Running toward the only thing that seemed to exist anymore, the black tornado tearing apart the world.

As she got closer, the roar of that black monster deafened her, and the winds forced her young body to its hands and knees. Still she crawled forward. Because somewhere in front of her, right where the vortex seemed to disappear into the ground, a red glow was growing. It was a warm color, and strong, but it gave off the aura of a warning. Go back it seemed to say, this isn’t something you were meant to see. But there was no back for Sarah to go to anymore. And so, inching forward on her stomach, Sarah came to the very edge of the hole bored into Kismet’s surface, and looked down... and there she saw the heart of the world.

It was sanguine, pulsing, and so vividly alive it was like the sun on a cloudless day and all the individual hearts on the island were stars hiding until nightfall. It was the source of those hearts, the sustenance of life on the islands... and it desperately wanted to draw those things back into itself, to protect itself from the invasion of darkness. Sarah felt herself drawn towards it, this primordial heart... but it didn’t even have the strength to pull her back in, a small nine-year old girl. Its strength was failing, its resources exhausted, as the dark twister continued to draw its very essence into itself.

Sarah was so absorbed in the awful spectacle below her, she didn’t even notice the shadow growing from behind, until the tremor of its footstep jarred her from her dream. Rolling on her back, she froze, too confused to even be frightened anymore. Before her—no, above her—rose a creature of pure darkness whose tendril-like hair seemed to scrape the clouds; without a mouth, without any discernible features at all save two glowing, yellow eyes. Yet most unsettling of all, where its chest was supposed to be, there was just a gaping, heart-shaped cavity—and then, still without really understanding why, Sarah knew what these things were after. They had come to claim their hearts. And this colossus, this gigantic monstrous thing with an equally monstrous hole where its heart should be, was staring directly at her.

“No...” Sarah managed to get out, in a voice that sounded tiny even to her. “No, not me...”

And for a second that was an eternity, they just stared at one another, the dark colossus and the little girl, as the world died around them.

 

[Ordeith]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Climbing the seaside hill had never been such a struggle. The wind was thrashing about madly now—blasting the bare hillside, vomiting rubble from all parts of the island. Bryant could sense a dark intent behind it, as if the crude sentience of the Heartless had spread to the very air. He guarded his face against an oncoming gust, keeping one hand pinned to his hat...

How could I have been so blind? So old and doddering?

He grit his teeth against the stinging shards of debris. It pattered furiously against the sleeve of his jacket, his chest, and the brim of his hat. Bryant reached instinctively to his side, but stopped midway. Of course. Blind, old and doddering. This will be somewhat messy, then.

"Aero!" Even against the deafening howl of the storm, Bryant's voice sounded clear and cold.
The voice of a mage demands respect from the elements—and, honoring the ancient laws of magic, the air responded to that demand: Bryant was surrounded by a loose cocoon of wind, which negated much of the force put forward by the storm. It was crude and ill-formed, but nevertheless it scattered the airborne debris away from his face and chest. With a quick glance to his companions below, Bryant repeated the spell for their benefit; shields appeared around them as well.

Well! It seems I still have the magic touch. The old painter moved with a sudden burst of energy, pushing himself up to the edge of his property. Strictly speaking, most of Mr. Seyward's land was now airborne—but the house, though wobbling visibly, remained intact. Bryant called back to Theros Augur: "Keep an eye out for unwanted visitors! If the house looks unstable, clear away!"

With that, he went inside.

_____________________________________________________​

"...but you have your wits about you, Brandt. Surely you understand me?"
A current of urgency—of fear, even—ran beneath the king's voice.

For the first time in years, His Majesty had requested Brandt's presence in the throne room. A relic of dynasties past, the throne rested upon an absurdly tall dais, basking in the light of a dozen stained glass windows. It was an impractical chamber for a modern ruler, and seldom used; King Ansem took a small wooden chair beside the monolith seat of his ancestors. He formed an unsteady steeple with his fingers, and leaned towards Brandt with earnest eyes. The seat seemed barely to contain him. "This discovery shall be my legacy," he whispered, "and I am determined to see that legacy be a good one."

Brandt nodded, not quite understanding. "Of course," he said. "Memory has already proven more powerful than we could have ever imagined. That strong memories can manifest as physical phenomena is only proof—"

"It is everything!" The king seemed almost feverish at this point, far from the coolness for which he was known. "It is the culmination of our ten years' work. It is the future of our civilization, for good or ill. After recreating the conditions of our forty-first trial, only two attempts—" at this he produced a stiff paper card, on which a small picture was printed, "—have yielded fantastic results." He handed the card to Brandt.

The Steward turned it over in his hand. It was curiously shaped, three points etched out of the top. The image, lightly embossed on the paper, was a view of King Ansem's study from the door.

"Focus on it," Ansem urged. "Open your heart, and your eyes will see. I need the eyes of a Steward—now more than ever before."

_____________________________________________________​

His hand fell into the familiar curvature of the Magus Staff. It had lain at the bottom of a cedar chest since he arrived on Kismet—but for all that time, holding it felt as natural as breathing or walking. A tired smile played about his lips, bringing back traces of the old painter on the hill. Much better.

Ten years' worth of paintings lay face-up on the studio floor, or else were propped against the walls in neat rows. All together, the acrylic landscapes made an impressive atlas of the painter’s imagination; there were enough forests, lakes, and mountains to populate a world. But Bryant had little time to admire his work. Tilting the Magus Staff forward, he passed in front of each canvas square, and muttered an arcane word. It was a spell based on the Laws of Memory as defined by Ansem the Wise—laws which none but he and Ansem had ever known.

At the end of each syllable, the edges of the paintings glowed brighter, as if they were each obscuring a miniature star. Gradually the little studio became the brightest spot on Kismet, visible even through the storm’s black winds. Visibly, Bryant began to concentrate. The heart’s eye. The words of memory, linked as a chain…

The light began to focus, to take shape…
Glowing words—not even words, runes—flew from the rows of canvas, into the head of the Magus Staff.

Then all was dark again.

Bryant looked over his shoulder to find the blacksmith staring in quiet awe. The man had seemed uneasy before, in the guardedly panicked way he moved; now he stood calmly, yet the struggle of disbelief was now plain upon his face. Julian! There’s the name I’ve been looking for. The old painter smirked. Even as ten years of knowledge pumped through his mind, he somehow recovered the name of a blacksmith with whom he had spoken perhaps twice.

"Julian," he said. "What's the matter? Some new development?"
As if in answer, the entire frame of the house issued a hollow groan.

"I-I'm afraid so." Julian's steady exterior recovered quickly. "You should see it for yourself, Seyward. And whatever magic you conjured from those paintings . . . ready it."

_____________________________________________________​

"Well, I suppose I'm what's left. Or maybe I'm all there ever was." Brandt repressed a sigh that threatened to collapse his old body. Even now, he still felt the ache of a lost friend, and all the dreams which would never come to pass.

Hyne snorted dismissively. "You wish it, old man. I am the king's true successor—and I alone will see his vision through."

"You're delusional, Auster. He abandoned that line of thought long ago."

"Wrong! You whispered lies into his ear, to keep him from realizing our world's true potential." The ex-apprentice clenched his fingers around the Keyblade's black haft, knuckles white with rage. "King Ansem was nothing less than a prophet, and now I have seen what he saw. Heard what he heard! The Keyblade has revealed its voice to me—the voice of Kingdom Hearts!"

_____________________________________________________​

Bryant stepped outside, spotted the vortex in the distance, and all doubt fled his mind.
From the torrent of knowledge he selected a single spell, and a memory. He recalled the open market square, the hot pavement, the feathery ocean breeze, the fishermen hawking the catch of the day—

He summoned as many details to mind as possible—then, using that bloated memory as a tether, crossed to where it all had taken place. The warm light of memory flashed over Bryant, Theros, and Julian; when it faded, Bryant and Julian stood at the heart of the storm. Theros was nowhere to be seen.

But nearer to the vortex, a tiny figure lay hunched in fear...

The old man in the leather hat was there in a flash, faster than human eyes could follow. He reeled from the power that tore through his mind and heart; it threatened to cast aside his entire sense of self, and drown him in memories. But he met the gaze of the shadowy titan unflinchingly, and held the little girl tight to his leg.

"Shush now," he said to her. "It's alright. You're not going anywhere."
She responded by pressing herself even closer, hugging his leg as if it were the mast of a ship.

His voice, steady and warm, belonged to Bryant Seyward—but those flashing eyes belonged to Brandt, called the Red Steward. The master pyromancer, and the last king of Radiant Garden.

 

[Ðari]

Gavin's Finale.

As the futility seemed to be evident, Gavin's mind resisted until the bitterest of ends. He stood, calm with a clenching fist balled as the shadows that lingered around him paused. Their menacing and yet mesmerizing yellow eyes were as to the ghost stories of things that go bump in the night. Erie, creepy, and lurking this sudden encroachment activated Gavin's reflexive nature as his hand thrust forward, an open palm to gesture a halting motion. All the while the sky itself began to cry now, Gavin could finally feel the rain drops permeating through his school uniform and the icy cold liquid touching his skin.

How Kismet cried for them, how the very world agonized at the happenings and going ons around it's very soil. Gavin felt a special pressure in his breast, that perpetual black prism his body knew from that dream. Just what did it mean to him, and why such a malevolent object to be entrusted to this youth? His questions were daring, but his time could only see one fated end in sight. He'd make them bow.

Gavin's blue eyes were betrayed again by the color amber that now reigned in both irises. His anger was rapidly growing, deteriorating any cowardice he'd previously even considered. The darkness forged at his feet, soon funneling around him as it shot straight up into the air. As the other shadows around witnessed the surge of darkness and the scent of a heart locked tightly within it, they began to draw towards him (with the exception of the Darkside). As they soon crowded in an even larger group around him, the ground below his feet expanded outward as the creatures were pulling together, rapidly disappearing into blackness.

Gavin's head jerked as his arms were grabbed at, being pulled below the surface as the puddle of what looked to be black ink in such a massive size began to shrink around Gavin, with the arms of the creatures pulling him completely underneath. As he could see the colossal sized creature in the distance, it's head turned for but a second as if to bare witness to Gavin's imminent demise. What little light left, began to fade away as his head finally went under leaving a spiderhole sized crevice of light as Gavin was pulled even further down below into the dark realm.

"Knock it off!"

He cried thrusting his right hand free and pulsing a dark aura outward from his body. It's persistence and menacing nature twisted violently around as he now suddenly fell into what felt like an endless see complete black. The creatures from before pulled away and seemed to stem even further away from Gavin as he continued to fall hopefully plummeting to his death. Though, it seemed like this was not meant to pass, as the youth landed rather softly on what he could only describe as a road of white. As the youth stood to his feet now, the aura refused to stop spilling out of him and his breathing became heavier as the taxing nature of this power apparently had a price. Gavin was stubborn, and he took his steps one at a time, heading along the white road to what seemed like nowhere. The dark aura around him finally beginning to calm, the gauntlet and leather cuff watch also dissipated as well.

"So this is my prison...where are the inmates?"

He said aloft as the yellow eyes of the creatures from before were seen along the road. Gavin could see them in the distance, he'd gripped at the threads of darkness that now were layered around his heart. Taking a few steps backwards, he stopped before looking towards the black sky. The spiderhole of light...had been extinguished, looks like this really was a permanent prison for him. As Gavin closed his eyes, he let out a sigh and kept his head forward walking endless towards the nigh infinite abyss that awaited him.

 

[Kazem]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

The burning pile that was once his home was out of sight, the only comforting left to the teen being the rain and the jacket, though both were questionable in quality. A sense of self returning, Kal's hood was pulled up and over his head, stopping the resumed flow of tears from being washed away by the rain. Flexing and moving around his arms, there was only a minor amount of blood that secreted from the openings in his forearms. What was once his license of freedom was taken out, it's colors shimmering across the cloth. Flicking it hard once shook off the rain and dulled the colors, the cloth now just an unseemly and damp black. Without blinking, Kal was ripped into two, the delicate and intricate seams, cuts and layers now useless for their original purpose. Hazel eyes met yellow pairs as the wounds were covered by the black cloth, hiding the blood from those who would care to draw it. The sound of clattering behind him told of more of the helmeted monsters approaching, most likely unfazed by their comrades' deaths.

A sharp turn brought him face-to-face with one of the Soldiers, which quickly jumped back and hopped in place in its awkward fashion. A strong "Stay Away!" erupted from the teen's mouth, voice harsh, but lacking signs of the turmoil inside his heart. The yellow eyes trained on him all tilted, as if listening close to the boy, and a tension began forming. The strange blade refused to return to his hands, fists forming and relaxing in preparation for another brawl. A thinner and taller being stood in front of Kal when he turned around again, refusing the command, as was expected. The alley was too cluttered and small for Kal to maneuver around it, and the side paths were already full of more of the beasts. With a shout, he sprinted forward and tackled the black being to the ground. The second they touched down, Kal sat up and began driving his fists into the creature’s head repeatedly. The others just watched as two hands clasped together rose upward, ready to finish off the foe. Kal breathed in sharply, held in the yell and released it, and started to move his fists downward. What was supposed to be a heavy and blunt blow turned into an unexpected stab as the blade decided to suddenly materialize, the end digging into the ground as the matter that made up the lanky form dissipated.

No, dammit. I don’t need you. You didn’t save my family, you didn’t stop these from appearing, and you haven’t stopped what’s digging into Kismet. You’re worthless. The only thing you’re good for is killing these things, and I don’t even need you to do that!

Disgusted with the piece of metal, he threw it down the alley behind him. One of the creatures approached and kicked it before jumping back as it disappeared and reappeared in Kal’s hand in the same flash of light. This repeated twice before the already tortured soul gave up and trudged along the alley, the yellow eyes keeping their distance, yet following closely to the wielder of the blade. The blade was still reluctantly within his grasp when he came to the opening in the town, where the vortex raged, drilled and tore into the island. Accompanying it was a giant titan of black, thick and study save for the gaping heart-shaped hole within its chest. Down nest to the monstrosity were a few shapes distorted by the swirling mass next to them, one in particular misshapen with a lump where legs would be.

It was calm. The white was darkened, stands and a few clusters of gray lingered around with a black spec kept firmly to the side. The voice remained silent, possibly gone. A feeling of acceptance swept through Kal, though it did nothing about his deep sorrow and regret. Of time not spent with them, of a crush not followed through with, of the lack of goodbyes to friends, family, partners.

And the world.

But it was too late. No amount of sorrow could fix that. It could all be remembered and savored, respected and loved though. He would be damned if they were forgotten. With determination, Kal raised his arm and pointed at the dark titan with the blade. Close enough to see clearly through the dark-tipped winds, it was an odd and violent weapon. A diamond-shaped handle with and arrow pointing upward inside served as the grip, colored as a shimmering gray with blue highlights. On the front, three extensions served as the blade, curved upwards with the bottom being the largest and the top being short, each extension ending with a sharp point, though the main use of these were the sharpened outsides of the curved spikes. On the opposite side were three more extensions, also ending in points, but this time pointing downward and having serrated insides, the topmost one now the longest and the bottom being the shortest. Both sets, the first onyx black and the other whiter than snow, were connected by a thin gray rod that served as the base of the blade. On top of the rod rested that resembled a pair of wings, though crude and simple. The front had a more relaxed composition, the black half having three straight, sharpened and rectangular extensions that pointed downward towards the spikes below, the top extension being the largest with descending size. The other half faded into white with a more tense structure, as if the wing was extended. The top and biggest extension, ending in the same manner as those on the other side, pointed up and outward, the flowing pieces pointing simply out then inward, respectively. The two halves met with an acute section cut-out from the top of the meeting place, resulting in only a proportionally small area of mixture between the pure white and black. All along the weapon was an intricate and swirling pattern engraved into the metal, its color opposite that of the side it was on. A chain with an accessory was attached at the bottom of the handle, but it was impossible to determine its shape due to it being blown wildly by the severe winds.

With this unreliable and comparatively small weapon, Kal silently challenged the hulking mass of darkness that stood over the shaded figures. He had no more future to request, or desire to persevere. There was only the will to prolong what memories of the island were left, its doomed destiny obvious form the scale of corrupted beings assaulting it. And with this will, weapon and damaged body to carry out the will, Kal suddenly shouted out towards the titan above the loud winds.

“Hey! If you seek blood, then you may have mine, not that of those innocents! If you seek possessions, you may have mine, not those of these poor souls! If you seek a heart, then you can have what’s left of mine, but not those that are pure and free! You may have what you wish, but you shall have to kill me for it! My blade, my sorrow, my life, take it if you can! But do not lay one single finger on those with futures!”

 

[Orion]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Leroy let his primal instincts kick, rolling off the roof and hitting the ground running. Fight or flight were the only options he allowed himself, for the alternative - higher, more emotive thinking - was too painful. Chizuma was gone, snatched away in sacrifice. Leroy hardly felt - or maybe just tried to ignore - the tears clinging to his cheeks, each for a few seconds before the howling winds round the storm's epicenter whipped them away.

The streets were a deathtrap, already crowded with creatures fanged and winged and armed. He convoluted his path as much as possible, ducking down every street he could, minimising line-of-sight to avoid another attack like the one that took Chizuma. It didn't give him much warning when something did present itself around a corner, but in such circumstances Leroy had the benefit of a good lot of blades in his hand, and he had no such advantage against an enemy that could strike at range.

He'd lost site of the open plaza as soon as he ducked from a building on the main road and into a side alley. He used the narrow streets to skirt the area until he found somewhere he could escape the crush of the streets without once more exposing himself to a flying blade. Without even realising where he was going, Leroy ran up against the rear of the clock tower, legs already growing weary from their constant pounding making their way here all the way from near his father's shop.

He didn't try for the door handle, just plunged his half-dozen blades into the centre of the door and waiting the half second it took for the whole door to be shredded through, then shaken apart by the rotations of his weapon still embedded within it. Inside, the clock tower was as he hoped - a purely practical building, with little paraphernalia inside to clutter it as one might expect of the highest building in the central township. He immediately set about his ascent, backing-and-forthing between stairs and almost-empty square rooms ten metres to a side. Eight floors left him exhausted at their peak, when bare spaces gave way to a top floor packed with mechanisms still churning away, oblivious to the otherworldly woes tearing apart human lives below.

 

[Hidden]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

The darkness was not conscious -not exactly- but it was sentient. It could sense, for instance, the presence of three hearts poised at the feet of the great, dark shadow it had formed itself into. The physical forms that housed them were vague phantoms, but the hearts themselves each thrummed with their own unique signature: the first high-strung and quivering; the second slow and hesitant; and the third seemed to give off no vibrations at all, like the surface of a well, but its calm belied deep echoing caverns that branched off to many different directions and times. The darkness sensed these individual differences, but it made no distinction--it lusted after them all.

Yet stronger than this desire, stronger even than the pull of the heart of this world, the darkness sensed another presence.... The shadow that had become its body turned away from those hearts and faced another, a weak and embattled heart stained with darkness. But attached to this heart by a tether of light was the Keyblade. It was raised and pointed at the Heartless, at the cavity where its heart should have been, and though the blade itself was equal parts black and white, it shone with a light that burned through the darkness surrounding it. As if by heliotropism, the shadow turned towards that light, and it was with the impersonal malice of a plant reaching toward the sun that it extended an arm and stretched -stretched impossibly far- toward the keyblade and the heart it was attached to. Meaningless words floated by in the wind--words from the Keyblade wielder, words of threat or entreaty--that even if the shadow had ears to hear it wouldn't have understood. There was no thought, no intention to its actions, only the instinctual urge to draw everything back into itself, into darkness. It would start with the keyblade and its boy.

 

[Story Keeper]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

~- If You Want to Get Out Alive -~

Mana ran after Kisara, fear propelling her forward even as her thoughts chased after and cannibalized each other. She felt her stomach tighten into a knot as Snow's and Raph's faces kept flashing in her mind; it was almost like they knew something she didn't...no, something she wouldn't acknowledge. Mana shook her head, forcing the darker thoughts to the edge of her mind as she watched the vortex looming closer and closer. She knew that it was stupid, but Mana felt herself slow down just a heartbeat before something swiped at her leg.

A startled cry escaping her, Mana stumbled slightly under it as her hand flew to her leg. Mana froze as her eyes locked with the fox, only for it to burst into a cloud of smoke as Kisara leapt at it; swinging her new weapon at the creature. She watched in shock as Kisara's shoulders rose and fell with each breath, focusing back on her leg; Mana pulled her hand away and whimpered slightly at the blood that stained her fingers. Mana climbed back to her feet and dusted herself off, and after a bit of frantic questions of "Are you okay?" and multiple, shaky reassurance that it was just a scratch, the two sisters started running again.

Reaching the vortex after several minutes of repeated slashing at the heartless, running around corners to evade them; and a couple curses from Kisara, Mana felt a vague sense of relief as the vortex came into full, clear view. Mana glanced at Kisara and knew from the look on the older girl's face what she was thinking about, shrugging her shoulder, Mana said reassuringly, "I'll be fine, so how about you double back and see what you can do to help Raph and Snow out?"

"Are you sure?"

Some of her spunk returning at the uncertain question, Mana chirped, "Of course I'm sure! Do me a favor will you? When you see the two of them again, hit them upside the head and then haul tail over to here. Although, above all, be careful and please try to get back here safe." Mana smiled sadly at the weak smile that flitted at the corners of Kisara's mouth; before the older girl nodded before she raced off in the opposite to check on their friends. Shoving aside her unease, Mana spun around to face the vortex and raced toward, unaware of the situation that was at the center of the vortex.

~- Underneath this Skin -~ <- ((OOC: The title desires clicks!))

Snow ducked another of the canine like heartless, even as she came to her full height, Snow could feel the fatigue setting in. Dancing out of the way of the next strike, she held up her hand and thought of the icy bitterness she'd been stashing away for the last couple of years. Then, to her surprise a large orb of ice flew from her hand and struck the heartless. Surprise made her pause even as the rest of the pack of creatures stared at where their pack mate had once stood.

"This girl is a strange one, I don't think this is normal. What about you Curtis?"

"Of course she's strange, she's not like the last ones. Besides, I told you I didn't like the idea of participating in this reckless experiment of yours!"

Her head throbbed in time to the second male's angry shout, something about his tone of voice made her wish she could run and hide. Snow shook her head, turning her attention again to the creatures, she felt her lips turn up into a ghost of a smile. So, this is how it ends, huh? she thought to herself, slightly amused by the turn of events. "Hey, Raph, just so there is no regrets, I'm not mad about the cat calls you made that one time, I forgave you when you started embarrassing that person that put you up to it. Also, if you are somehow able to get out of this, look after those two, and I think you and Kisara would make a really cute couple."

She knew that would leave Raphael confused, but it didn't matter. Feeling another stab of pain shoot through her, Snow dropped the bo staff and let it fall to the ground. Falling to her knees, Snowdrop distantly registered that the heartless were standing back, watching like they weren't sure what to make about what was going on. Heh, that's strange; I thought they would have taken the opportunity to get an easy meal, she thought in morbid humor, closing her eyes; she felt the barrage of memories start up even as she curled up into a ball.

The sun was shining, it was right after that weird storm that had brought several different people to the island. Unlike the others, Snow wasn't interested in the new comers, instead she was taking the chance to wander the streets and see the areas that the adults frequently banned the kids from. None of her friends had wanted to join her, and if Snow was honest with herself, she didn't want them around at the moment anyway. She had made her way to the beach, just like she always did; so she currently had her eyes trained on the sand in search of something abnormal glittering in the sand. She bent down and grabbed the glass, looking at it closely, she smiled at the orange turquoise sea glass and tucked it into her pocket-----

----- Fourteen years old and her life was being torn apart. Her friends hated her after she correctly called a guy out as a manipulative jerk ass and she busted the party he was trying to throw; which definitely wouldn't have turned out good for everyone involved. So, between that and the crazy dreams she had started having, Snow had become a social outcast and had taken refuge in her books and sea glass hobby. Shaking her head, Snow slipped off of her bed and headed over to her desk, her eyes glued on the giant glass jar that held everything she'd been able to collect so far. Reaching a hand toward it, Snow closed her eyes so she wouldn't see which piece she chose for herself to wear that day-----

----- Sixteen years old, and Snow had somehow acquired a friend. Looking at the thirteen year old, Snow smiled as Mana chatted about something; apparently the younger girl was pretty good with words. "Really?" She asked curiously, her fingers kept sliding around in her pocket, or more specifically, they kept sliding across the smooth surface of the purple colored sea glass Snow had found earlier that morning. She had been planning on giving it to Mana as a thank you for willing to give the weird girl on the island a chance. Watching as the young girl nodded her head, Snow was shocked when Mana asked, "Why haven't you taken your hand out of your pocket? Did you hurt it and you're trying to hide it?" The girl's eyes were wide and her head was tilt to the side, confirming that the only reason why Mana asked was because she was genuinely curious.

Snow laughed slightly at the curious, even as she shook her head no and took her hand out of her pocket. "No, I just wasn't sure when I should give you this." Then, before Mana could ask what, Snow dropped the glass into the younger girl's hand and then ran ahead of her in a friendly race....

Snow opened her eyes, she could tell she didn't have much time left. Her hand slid into her pocket, and when she pulled it out again; she saw that it was an orange piece; the rarest of them and she had only a small handful compared to the rest that she had. A tired smile came to her face as the blood that had been on her hand stained the glass a deep, dark red to the point that it was almost black. Closing her eyes, she heard a soft voice tell her that it was time to come home; that she didn't have to fight anymore.

"Heh, home sounds nice." She whispered, and she barely had enough to finish the words before her body dissolved into specks of light; drifting up toward the sky even as the piece of sea glass fell to the ground.

Welcome home Snow, it's so nice to have you back.

 

[Orion]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Leroy's entire ascent was made without interruption, something that Leroy could find no reasonable cause for. The place was dim and with many shadows in corners easy for the creepers to hide in and pop out of. Similarly, he was left with little effective ways to escape if he was cornered. It was only when he reached the rooftop did he begin to grasp why they'd left him alone going up the clock tower.

When the wind of the storm blustered over his skin and clothes once more, where a vortex was burrowing a hole into the world now stood a night-skinned behemoth - eyes a predatory yellow amidst a writhing mass of tight-wrought tentacles, and most startlingly of all, a gaping hole in its torso, through which he could see clear through to the sea. And he was presented to it ever so neatly, the unholy mass of the beast thankfully reaching away from him, to someone else.

Foolish gallantry seized him almost immediately - the instinct to act, to protect, to strike out against the nearest and greatest enemy. The beast was well leaning toward its target when Leroy resumed his now-familiar maneouvre - a swing of the weapon, a jerk on the handle, a snap out of the wrist, rotors already roaring overhead. A clean jump and he was away, both hands holding his weapon as the ground three feet away dropped to a hundred feet below. And he's have to deliberately fall, at least a little, to commit the act he sought.

He was hovering above the giant's head before he'd anticipated, but was still prepared enough to disengage the rotors, snap them parallel as he felt gravity's inexorable pull quickly dragging him down. The drilling slash was ready, slicing down with all Leroy's weight and strength.

Tentacles parted to welcome him.

The world lost its detail as they closed around him.

Everything faded to black.

 

[Eternal Dream]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

~- Frozen in Eternal Night -~

Kisara's feet pounded across the sand, her eyes thin slits against the stinging rain and whipping wind. Her heart pounded high in her throat, anxiety causing it to flutter like the wings of a caged bird, her thoughts skittering feverishly as prayers skipped across her mind, begging for Mana's safety in Kisara's brief absence. She still wasn't sure if she'd made the right choice in leaving Mana and going back for Raph, but Kisara had made up her mind, and now she was bound on her path until it was completed.

More of the Heartless arose from their spawning pools, blocking her path. Instinct rising up, Kisara lashed out at them with her new weapon, her Keyblade. Whether the blade was superior to anything she'd ever wielded before, or there was something about these demons that was fatally crippled by the weapon, Kisara didn't know. What she did know was that the Keyblade slid through the Heartless like a swimmer's stroke through water, a terrifying ruthlessness attached to the ease in which the blade delivered its deadly bite. It seemed that she barely touched the beasts and they'd fall to the ground, fading to the darkness they had been born from.

This pattern continued as Kisara made her way further from the vortex and closer to where she'd last seen Raph. An eternity, a moment, a breath later, Kisara reached the stretch of beach where she and Mana had forced themselves to leave Raph and Snow behind, and Kisara's steps slowed as the boundaries of her ability to believe were tested once again.

A dragon was curled up on the ground just a few long strides away from her. The dragon was snow white, a faint glitter in the moonn light suggesting gold gilding the edges of its scales, its pearly wings folded close against a slim, serpentine back. Yet despite this splendor, the feature that stuck out most to the shocked girl was that there was a freaking twelve or fifteen foot dragon sitting just feet away from her!

Before Kisara could unlock herself, the dragon shifted position, its tail sliding far enough to the side to reveal a familiar form. A breath escaped Kisara, but she remained motionless, wary of the dragon. Eying the beast again, Kisara couldn't help but feel that there was an air of protectiveness about her; and Kisara was sure suddenly that the dragon was female, because there seemed to be a refined, delicate strength coming from the creature. Blue grey eyes watched Kisara, pain and sadness so palpable in the dragoness' gaze that the girl was suddenly certain that she wouldn't attack her.

With a small cry, Kisara rushed forward, clambering over the dragon's leg, her eyes glued on Raph. His weapons were gone, and there was red smeared on the dragon's scales from where she'd curled close to Raph, and dark splotches on his clothes that more than hinted at where those crimson slicks had come from; there was one dark mark on his side that was massive, and just seeing it filled her with dread.

Kneeling by Raph, Kisara cradled him close to her, her stomach growing warm as he slowly bled his life away. The motion as she jostled him slightly caused him to moan softly, and her heart pounded harder as a small hope tried to sprout through the fear. "Raph, come on. We can..."

"No, we can't." His hand slid into her's, and he leveled a smile at her. Kisara could have believed the image, if it wasn't marred by the blood from a cut over Raph's eye and his labored breathing. Squeezing her hand, he shook his head and repeated, "There's nothing more that can be done for Kismet. You have to get out of here. The vortex will take you and Mana somewhere safe. When you get there, find Salamander. He'll..."

"Stop it!" The command was short and harsh, Kisara's fear clipping her words. A deep rumbling vibrated through the ground, but for the moment, all Kisara could focus on was her dying friend. "Don't talk like that. We can fix you, but you can't give up!"

Raph was already shaking his head, the action causing him to cough violently before he could talk again. "This isn't something that can be fixed, Lioness. I've done all I can, it just wasn't enough to keep all three of us safe. Get out of here; you need to look out for Mana now."

"Raph..."

Disengaging their hands, Raph lifted his arm so he could tangle his fingers into her hair. Pulling her face close to his own, he pressed a soft, feather light kiss to her lips. Again, she tasted salted honey, but the moment was soured as the coppery tang of Raph's blood pooled against Kisara's tongue, causing the girl to swallow reflexively. A sharp prick pinched her skin, and a small bead of her own blood welled up to mix with the rain. Even so, she didn't pull away until she felt something placed around her wrist as Raph pulled back, a hoarse plea in his voice. "Please, don't let the Heartless take my heart. I can't... I don't want to hurt you..."

The Heartless weren't even approaching the dragon, but Kisara still found herself replying, "Of course not. They won't... I won't let them hurt you again."

Raph smiled, even as his eyes drifted closed. "Thanks. I'm sorry Kisara. I messed everything up. I never..."

A drop hit Kisara's arm as Raph's breath stilled. Looking up, she saw that the dragon's blue-grey eyes were shining, tears slowly sliding down her smoothly scaled cheeks. And that's when Kisara realized that the rumbling in the ground was the dragon crying. She was crying for Raph's death, a low counterpoint to the mournful howls of a trio of wolves a dozen feet away from the dragoness and Raph's body.

Sorrow hung in the air, so thick that Kisara didn't even realize that tears were coursing down her own cheeks at first. But when she did, she felt a low keen start low in her chest, slowly building to a higher and higher pitch until she started screaming in agony. Pain tore through Kisara, her heart shredding itself apart as the deaths of the night finally became too much for her to bear. The heart ache was a physical thing, ripping up and down her spine until she felt like she was being torn apart.

Curling up on the ground, Kisara whimpered softly, her world nothing but physical pain and emotional hurt. She didn't know how long she lay there, but a quiet voice rose in her mind, nudging her to come out of her fog. She tuned it out at first, but the voice was insistent, a soft yet steely demand pushing her to rise to her feet. Finally, she found she could no longer ignore these summons. Climbing laboriously to her feet, she made her way forward, stumbling on unsteady limbs as her numbed body was pulled on by that voice.

Mana. Protect Mana.

 

[Kazem]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

It was so big.

So threatening.

But Kal resolved to destroy it, or be destroyed. But as the arm stretched out to meet him, his knees couldn't help but shake. Shaking with fear, with desperation, with exhaustion, they weren't ready to roll away, step to the side, or even try to lower Kal's body to the ground. With his legs not working, he was forced into standing his ground, the weapon raised and pointing towards the arm.

Finally, the point-of-no-return came, as the hand reaching out across an impossible distance became too close to dodge. Legs still refusing any commands to move, not even a twitch being mustered, and almost within the grasp of a giant beast that showed no emotions behind its tangle of tentacles, only bright yellow eyes staring out eagerly gave a hint towards the feelings driving the titan, action had to be taken.

Both hands locked onto the handle of the blade, and a large wind-up lead to a heavy horizontal slash across the palm, enough to stop the beast from grabbing Kal. Flipping the blade, the downward-facing extensions were at the front, and with them the teen slashed at the hand again, this time slashing from above, knocking the hand downward to the ground. Lifting up the weapon for a last time, Kal drove it down on top of the hand as he could. The tip tore into the hand like it was nothing, but only the tip. The next thing Kal knew, he was on his back next to the dark hand. The winds and rushing rain made it take a moment for him to get refocused, legs finally working and allowing him to stand back up.

Looking around for the missing blade, the hand receded back towards the main body as its yellow eyes kept themselves locked onto Kal's own. Now facing such a giant threat without any weapon whatsoever, there wasn't much of a fight instinct for the adrenaline to support, and so the alternative was quickly set in motion. Feet pounded on the wet ground, circling to the right of of titan, head empty of other ideas. The same word repeated over and over again inside it though, summing up the situation, how Kal felt about it and the likelihood that it was going to end well quick nicely.

The wet ground decided it had enough of being used without much repair or care given to it, and punished this boy who was stomping all over it by having a puddle placed in his path, causing his feet to slip and a hard fall to the ground, back colliding with the ground once again. Two moments passed before Kal was able to get up this time, quick enough to take a glance around him before setting his sights on the black figure and what it was planning to do to him if he didn't keep on running.

I'm no hero. I'm not good enough to save these guys and defeat this...thing. I'm not old and experienced enough to know what to do. I'm just a boy without family, a home, and not much left of a future. I hoped they ran, whoever they were. They were so close to it though...and the thing didn't seem like it was attacking them. Did...did they summon it? Are they controlling it? Did I just seriously say all of that drama for people who could care less? No...no, don't be paranoid. Be rational Kal. They didn't have those piercing yellow eyes like the other things, and I haven't heard of no human that has any way to cause all of this. Why am I so hostile? I used to be so passive and quiet, but here I am fighting a giant monster after shouting out a heroic death speech. What happened to me? What happened to this island, what happened to everything?

"What are you doing?! Why? Why us? Why here? Everything was fine before you! Just...just go away!"

Please.

 

[Eternal Dream]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

~- Defiance -~

Kisara stumbled forward, her thoughts clouded and secretive, her awareness basically nil as she slowly sought Mana out. This inattentiveness should have been a death sentence, and yet, the Heartless kept their distance, wary eyes glued to the figure as Kisara limped on, her pace awkward and her path not quite straight. The demons watched her through a mist that seemed to shroud her body, her shape blurring in and out of vision, as if either some magic surrounded her, or as if her form was about to dissolve as her will gave out.

By miraculous chance, Kisara made it to the vortex completely unscathed. Raising her head, she forced her eyes to come into focus so she could actually see what she was looking at. She saw Kal and Sarah, both being dwarfed by a massive being of pure ebony towering over them. On the opposite side of the beast, Kisara saw Mana, her eyes wide in disbelief as the younger girl stared at the thing, her eyes wide and her mouth forming a small "o" as the monster stole her full attention.

"What are you doing?! Why? Why us? Why here? Everything was fine before you! Just...just go away!"

Hearing Kal give voice to the turbulence in her heart was the last straw. Rage and despair surged through her, and Kisara released a thunderous roar, the mist around her dissipating from the sheer volume of her scream to reveal, not the blond surfer girl, but a sleek lioness with blinding white fur and hetero-chromatic eyes blazing cold defiance. Leaping forward, she jumped onto the demon's arm, using her claws to provide a firmer grip as she sunk the hooks into the monster's hide.

Racing up its arm, Kisara opened her mouth, issuing another scream before sinking her teeth into the demon's shoulder. Biting in deep, she held on as the beast convulsed, her mind blank of so many things except for instinct Mana. Protect Mana.

Mana.

 

[Hidden]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

The boy with the keyblade raised it above his head and stabbed down into the shadow's hand, pinning it to the ground. Pain, unlike anything it had experienced before, tore through the heartless, through where its nervous system should be, and into the very darkness that fed it. The vortex slowed and faltered for the barest moment, and the storm stilled. But as suddenly as it had come, the pain vanished... along with the keyblade. The heartless drew back its hand, bleeding large drops of black oil that reformed into shadows on the ground. The boy ran. Now that his connection with the keyblade had been broken, the heartless lost interest in the retreating figure. It sensed a growing energy around one of the hearts near the vortex, and began to turn its massive body there. Before it could finish, however, a new stab of unfamiliar pain latched onto that same hand, running up its arm in a series of short punctures towards its neck. Unused to this onslaught of sensations, the giant shadow fell to its knees, one arm reaching up to remove this new intruder, the other sweeping blindly out towards the vortex. A muted roar came from its mouthless face, and the clouds above and shadows below grew darker and more agitated as the darkness drew upon itself to repulse these invaders.

***

The haggard figure of the fisherman limped through the darkness, as Izzy made his painful way to the vortex. A long gash on his left thigh still oozed, but it didn't seem to have hit bone or torn the muscle beyond use; just hurt like a son of a gun. His keyblade hung at his side, still pristine in spite of the use it had received that night.

Ahead of him, through the darkening rain, he saw the monster and the girl.

Oh no.

It was Mana, bubbly little girl that had often frequented his shop. What she was doing so far out here, without her sister or parents... Izzy didn't have the heart to think of it. Too many terrible things had happened this night.

Picking up his pace, he was halfway to her when he almost stumbled into another figure, veiled by the darkness and the rain. He couldn't make out the man's face beneath a deep hood, but the voice that cut through the storm wasn't one Izzy had ever heard before.

"This world has been connected... tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed." Turning to Izzy for the first time, the figure held out a bandaged hand, and a portal of darkness opened before him. "You can die with this world... or you can escape. The choice is yours."

Izzy stared with uncomprehending eyes. Finally, he blurted, "Mana! I have to save Mana!" The figure didn't even turn.

"She has not been chosen. It's not her choice to make."

Izzy didn't follow what he meant about being 'chosen', but he understood enough to be angry. Shoving roughly past the figure, he ran the last few meters to Mana, dropping to his knees beside her. The monster had his back to them, but Mana was fixated upon it, staring at something near its head. Izzy replaced the keyblade along his back to reach forward and take the young girl by the shoulders.

"Mana! Are you alright? Listen to me!" He glanced back over his shoulder. The man had disappeared, but the portal still stood there, unknown and possibly dangerous--but so was everything on this transformed island. He turned back to Mana. "Listen, we have to get out of here. I... I think I know a way we can escape. You need to come with me, Mana. Mana?"

He knelt there in the pouring rain, shaking the shoulders of this little girl and hoping against hope to salvage something from this unnatural storm.

 

[Story Keeper]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

OOC: Hidden has given me permission to power play Izzy for this post.

IC:

~- Everything Seems So Small -~

Mana stumbled to the stop, staring at the creature and the silhouette of someone near the creature's hand; only for them to get slapped away. This wasn't happening, it was all just a bad dream. Mana felt numb to the world around her, so she didn't hear that there was someone running up behind her; or the words that the person said before he (not that she knows it's a guy) got running again. Instead Mana's eyes were focused on the heartless, only for them to get dragged away by a light colored lioness that stepped onto the battlefield. Captivated by it, she stared at it for several moments before it leapt at the Darkside, at which point Izzy got in front of her; shaking her shoulders as he tried to talk to her.

She stared at Izzy, confused as she saw his mouth moving and she couldn't make out he words. Panicked at that fact, she reached her hands up to try and fix the problem; but stopped when they were at the level of her chest and in front of her face. "I-I...where's Kisara?" She whispered, a faint flicker of confusion trying to punch its way through the numbness that had settled over her because of shock. She knew there was more to her question, but she didn't know what the rest of it was. She distantly registered that everything had shrunk down to pinpricks in her awareness, the only things that were at normal size was the lioness and Izzy; everything else had shrunk down to almost nonexistent.

"You need to come with me, Mana. Mana?"

Mana looked at Izzy, confusion furrowing her brow as she frowned ever so slightly. "Okay," she answered numbly, trying not to think about what she was doing; that she was abandoning Kisara to fend for herself. Nodding shakily, she smiled at him as reassuringly as she could before she felt Izzy gently lead her to the portal, even as Mana felt a little disconnected from reality. Stopping just before it, Mana glanced over at Izzy to see that he was distracted by something. "Izzy, are you okay?" She asked, worried about the older islander considering he seemed extremely tired.

Then again, who isn't tired? she asked herself silently, her eyes scanned the ones gathered around the heartless, searching for that lioness again. Not spotting it, Mana felt her heart grow heavy before she took a step into the portal, turning around to face Izzy she almost called out to him when her eyes located the lioness. Staring at it as the feline shifted back, Mana nearly bolted forward as she saw Kisara standing where the lioness once stood. Even though she wanted to run, Mana found that Izzy was blocking her path, protecting her from the darkness that was tearing their home apart. Looking up at him with pleading eyes, she asked pathetically, "Kisara's over there fighting that heartless, can you please try and help her out?"

Between being so focused on Izzy and being worried for her sister, Mana didn't notice the long, thing threads of darkness that started to latch onto her from the portal. The darkness had no intention of corrupting her, but it did have every intention to spirit the young girl away to a new world.

 

[Ordeith]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

Like fragments of dry leaves, the bricks and stones of Radiant Garden tumbled through the air. Within moments, each lost its color and substance—until all that remained was a flurry of black rubble. The pieces ground against each other in the wind, finer and finer...

When even that had dissolved and settled, only the smooth shell of the castle remained.
A hollow bastion, with nothing to protect.

Auster Hyne's screams pealed through the night he had wrought, and Steward Brandt left, chasing storms.

_________________________________________________​

The shadowy titan regarded them for a moment, then shifted its gaze elsewhere. Other hearts were shining brightly in the darkness, offering a challenge to the giant—and Bryant ignored their insistent pinpricks. Had he located them earlier, they might have bought this world more time, but now...

The Heartless was grasping hungrily over the rooftops, leaving its body exposed to the open air.
With the little child clinging to his shin, Bryant did not hesitate. "Firaja!"

With this word from its master, the Magus Staff began throbbing with heat and light. Its iron-capped head glowed like the slag of a hot forge—and each successive pulse drove it closer to white. Bryant would take no chances here; nothing less than a full-bodied inferno would fell this creature in one blow. Even then, we may not have enough time. He gritted his teeth, praying that the Heartless would remain in that position for long enough.

Memories, still dancing at the back of his conscious mind, threatened to pull his focus away from the spell.

...have your wits about you. Surely you understand me?

At this time, Radiant Garden is simply not equipped for—​

Not in this sacred place!

Laws of memory, you could call them.​

He blinked, dispelling the shadows from his vision. When they cleared, he could say how much time had passed, or what had happened in the interim—only that the Heartless was now under attack from multiple fronts. Its hand had been somehow maimed, and an enormous white cat was clinging to its shoulder, tearing into the inky flesh with fangs and claws. But even as the titan roared and thrashed in pain, Bryant felt the darkness quickening in response. He clenched his fist. It's going to retaliate—soon!

Without another moment's hesitation, he loosed the firestorm from his staff.

By the dozen, threads of white-hot fire shot out of the iron sphere, rippling through the air like sea-snakes in water. Indeed, they seemed to share a primitive consciousness; rather than strike indiscriminately, they obeyed the implicit commands of Bryant's mind, and splashed across the shadow-giant's back and head. The lioness—or rather, the islander whose heart had chosen that form—was left untouched, though the heat would no doubt be unbearable before long. A cloud of dark vapor, released by the burning shadow-flesh, enveloped lioness and Heartless both.

As the Heartless issued a final muffled roar, the little girl hugged Bryant's leg even tighter.
She had been so quiet, her embrace so constant, that he had momentarily forgotten her. He placed a protective hand around her small shoulder, and said the same grandfatherly nonsense that had come to his mind before: "Shush now. It's gone now, see? You're not going anywhere..."

The last of his words tumbled weakly from his throat. Already the remains of the shadow-giant were reshaping themselves into new and terrible forms: On the ground, thick puddles of blackness seemed to deepen, spawning a new series of golden-eyed shadows. The burned-off vapor coagulated in the air—into more than a dozen black orbs, each sporting a hideous mouth and a random assortment of tentacles. Bryant held his breath. Impossible. They can't be that powerful—not in a storm as sudden as this one...

He loosed another stream of fire from the Magus Staff—this time sending it along the ground, to form a perimeter around where the Heartless had fallen. The low ring of flame would stave off the shadows for a while, but the orbs would require a more targeted approach. There should have been some sign beforehand!

Bryant could now discern another group of two or three, on the other side of the vortex.

"Julian!" he called out. He could not see the blacksmith any longer, though he knew that Julian was somewhere nearby. "See if you can reach that group, over there. I'd fly there in an instant if I could, but I can't abandon this spot now! If you can hear me, go!"

As the grey old man loosed fireball after fireball, the answer dawned on him—and he breathed a nervous, hopeless laugh. It was low enough that the little girl could not hear. Of course, he thought. That first storm, when I arrived ten years ago. That was the warning sign. It wasn't the echo of some earlier storm; it was just the fringe of a greater storm yet to come, a greater darkness than any before it...

 

[Eternal Dream]

Re: Kingdom Hearts: Night of Fate - Trial Run

~- Never Thought We Could Lose it All -~

His mind was foggy, but he willed himself to focus. He could sense her, he could sense her distress. He needed to help her. He willed himself to move, to put one foot in front of the other, but it was no use. The night had taken too great a toll on him, and though he could make his mind obey him, he couldn't force his body to do the same. He just didn't have the energy; he needed to rest. Resigning himself to this fact, he opened his senses to what was going on around him.

A Darkside stood before the vortex, blocking the paths of the Islanders that were trying to escape. He recognized Seth's younger sister as she stood near the old painter. Kal, he could sense Kal was nearby too. Izzy was there as well, standing in front of Mana as he tried to convince her to go through a swirling portal. The girl refused to budge, her eyes trained on the Heartless, her lips moving quickly as she spoke in a murmur too soft for him to hear.

Following her eyes, he found the object of Mana's attention. A sleek lioness clung to the Darkside's shoulder, her teeth sunk deep into its muscle and a growl rumbling low in her chest. Despite the damage that such a bite could do to a normal, flesh and blood being, it seemed to do little more than irritate the giant. The beast released a low roar, drowning out the growl from the lioness, before it reached toward its shoulder, ripping the lioness off of it before it squeezed her briefly. The cat released a pained yowl as the pressure tightened around her before the Darkside flung her to the ground.

She landed with a sharp thump, a whimper escaping her from the pain of both her injuries and the sudden shift back into her human form. Kisara lay still for a moment, her hair spread around her. He felt a moment of surprise then. Her hair, normally a platinum blond bleached even paler by sunlight, was now the exact shade of white that her lion fur was. As he watched, the hair tried to flow across her face and neck again, only to fall limp on the ground before trying to cover her once more. Her nails kept curling, hooking into dagger sharp points before receding into the nail bed again. As she struggled to rise, he saw her eyes flashing between their normal blue and gold to the green of the cat's eyes. With her emotions so far out of whack, her shifting was out of control, making it where she couldn't fully maintain either her human or lion forms.

Talk about a hell of a night for a first shift.

Finally managing to push herself to a sitting position, the woozy teen's eyes flitted all over, unable to find one specific spot for her vision to rest. Her gaze went laser sharp though as she saw Izzy and Mana. Struggling to get to her feet, Kisara found herself unable to stand. Reaching a hand out to the portal, she found she could do little more than scream as the swirling mass engulfed her sister. "Mana!"

He couldn't stand by any longer. He needed to help her. Focusing, he tried to find the strength to go to her, to protect her...

"Don't."

Turning his attention to the voice, he felt a low growl form in his throat. Despite the warning of the noise, the one that had spoken held firm, a gentle compassion in her words even as sorrow showed in her eyes. "You can't help her anymore. She has a strong heart, one that will see her through this night. Rest now, and trust that you taught her well."

A roar caught his attention, and he found himself looking to Kisara again. Once more in her lion-skin, the girl held her Keyblade grasped firmly in her teeth as she raced up the Darkside's arm again. Fire seemed to explode around her as the painter directed a spell of awesome power at the Heartless, but the lioness ignored it as she continued her path up. Forgoing her last stop at the beast's shoulder, Kisara struck at the Darkside's head, impaling the demon's eye with her Keyblade. The heat of the flames seeming to have reached past what she could endure, Kisara leaped down, her Keyblade disappearing in a flash of light.

He felt his strength giving way then, his awareness fading away. He fought the pull of slumber, determined to be there for her in spirit, even if he couldn't be in body. But his will wasn't strong enough anymore. Feeling that second presence wrap close around him, he felt the last of his consciousness slip away from him.

"Rest now, my son."