OOC: Camping again all this week. Sorry, guys. I HAVE NO CHOICE. I'm being dragged away from my home against my will. But I'll try to have fun.
OOC: Yes, I fell asleep a bit about midnight, but got woken up about 1:15 so we could go to the movie. Waited in line for an extended time, watched the movie, went home, played a game, snoozed a bit until about 7:30 AM, then got back on the game and played until about 7:00 AM this morning. Did not sleep a wink last night, except when I dragged myself into bed to fake that I did. :P Don't try it. My head hurts.
OOC: Wow, when I leave, EVERYONE leaves. I apologize profusely for my vacation. I had Scout Camp all last week, and was avoiding Nulix before that due to my failures at completing the story. Speaking of which, I don't have time to upload it tonight, Nul, but I'll do it tomorrow. Hopefully you guys will get it. Anyway, for all those people who have not finished their great big epic ending posts of uberness yet, do so please. Meanwhile, I suggest we move to CBR, and start working up the new blood. Yayz for Harry Potter coming out tonight! I am viewing the 3 AM show! (UGH!) I will be back tomorrow and every day following, so you people better come back too!!! >:{)
OOC: Ah, the power of deleting unnecessary posts...
OOC: Nothing at all, I'm just babbling.
OOC: Sneaky. Really sneaky.
OOC: ANOTHER triple post... Wow.
OOC: Don't take me wrong. I was just curious...
OOC: I'm glad for you. Do you have the synopsis ready?
OOC: Awesome, Wing. Everyone's done a really superb job. These last posts make me want to get going on the next one, get some new blood in here, and all that... EDIT: Hey, I got a little competition for you guys: Whoever can match the most characters up to their correct names (from my sig) will get a prize... I'm still deciding on what the prize is, though. There's Darius, Enigma, Eclipse, Wirdikov, Azull, Dyran, Tera Roth, Teresa, Patrick, Tyre, Highwind, Marlene, Falcon, Glen, Zaxor, and Tiffany. PM me your guesses. But don't feel obligated to participate.
OOC: Oh, man, I can't wait for Bella's new adventures! Excellent job Hidden!
OOC: Do you want to come up with a synopsis Nulix for the new thread? Or should we make Pirate?
OOC: I'd say so. I don't have anything else I can think of. Now all we need are: Darxess' final post, Pirate's credits, and Wing's final post (if he has one). Also, I'd just like to reaffirm that we are actually moving to Comic Book Resources...
OOC: Not the world itself. Here, I'll explain some more... BIC: "So, Enigma," Xardius asked later that night. "Do you know what happened to Kingdom Hearts?" "...It's gone," Enigma said, frowning at Xardius. "You were there, remember?" "No, the world inside," Xardius growled, giving Enigma a dirty look. "The world inside! There were people in there." "Ah," Enigma said, standing and walking over to the window. "It's fine." "Are you sure?" Xardius asked, scratching the back of his head. "What does fine mean?" "The world inside Kingdom Hearts was really just a world that was sucked in at the time of Kingdom Hearts' creation," Enigma explained. "As the process was reversed, the world was returned to its rightful place in the worlds, which is close to the location Kingdom Hearts once resided." "Um..." Xardius said, confused. "Right." Enigma sighed. "Put in simpler terms, it was like having a coin inside an ice cube. When the ice cube melts, the coin is freed without damage. Understand?" "Yes," Xardius nodded. "I get that." "Fine," Enigma said, sighing again and staring out the window with a glum expression.
Rune couldn’t stop smiling. For the first time in so many years, he was himself again. All the pain, all the slow agonizing burn of guilt and hate and anger had faded away with Oblivion’s consciousness, leaving him glowing. He wanted to jump and dance, he wanted to sing! He contented himself with smiling, but at times, his hand would slide up to touch his face as if unsure what he was feeling was real. Rune could have stood there all day, smiling in his newfound being, but there was work to be done. He had a world to save. Rune’s portal opened up and he stepped forward into Kingdom Hearts itself, sadly shaking his head at the broken pieces of what was left of the worlds inside. Opening himself up to the power of Kingdom Hearts, Rune let it flood him for a moment, before cleansing it from his system. It felt too much like Oblivion. Determination firmed his lips, and he brought forth the spell that would begin unraveling Kingdom Hearts. This was not going to be easy. More than likely, Kingdom Hearts would fight back and if he wasn’t careful, Rune would be destroyed before the giant program. Rune almost wished he didn’t have to do this alone, but he knew that if Darius were here, he would insist on doing it himself. That’s why Rune hadn’t gone into detail; he hadn’t wanted Darius knowing of the consequences to the person who activated the uninstallation. Shrugging ruefully as he activated his spell, and the walls of Kingdom Hearts began trembling, Rune wished that he’d had a bit more time to spend with Darius before this. It was really too bad that Rune was going to die so soon after regaining his freedom. *** Xardius was bewildered. Rune was gone, through a portal that had been opened and shut too fast for Xardius to track. Worry, frustration, and sadness streaked through Xardius like a twister, but Xardius didn’t have time to deal with them. Too many people had died this day, and Xardius wasn’t about to let one of his oldest friends hit the bucket. Pounding a fist into his hand, Xardius closed his eyes and concentrated… *** Sweat poured down Rune’s face, dripping from his chin to mix with the blood already spilled on the ground. Again, he dodged, not quite fast enough as one of Kingdom Heart’s self defense spells tore the ground apart, and ripped a long gash in his arm. Rune winced, but didn’t cry out. He didn’t have time. His other hand was busy twisting and pivoting the spell, drawing power from every recess of his being and the Sea of Chaos back on Osidia. Another spell, shaped and designed like an exploding arrow, flew at him, and Rune ducked, feeling it slice through his clothes like paper and leave a gash on his back. Gritting his teeth, Rune drew more power still, and drove the spell ever onward… *** “Ugh, it’s not working!†Xardius yelled in frustration. “Why can’t I track him?†“Because he doesn’t want you to,†Enigma said in response, and Xardius twisted to find the Brotherhood member idly leaning against a nearby wall. “Because he’s going to die.†“What do you want?†Xardius growled, his hand resting on his sword handle. “Please,†Enigma shook his head, looking bored. “Must you always think with your sword? And I don’t mean the one with the blade.†Xardius colored, his hand clenching hard on his sword hilt. “You have five seconds to explain yourself before I cut you apart.†Enigma sighed. “You won’t be able to save him, but he won’t be able to do it himself. I’ll take you to him.†“Why?†Xardius spat, his blade inching its way out of his sheath. “What’s in it for you?†Enigma smiled. “That’s my business. Are you game?†Xardius hesitated for one more moment, before nodding. “Do it.†Enigma stood up, brushing himself off and flicked his hand. A portal opened to the raging inferno that was Kingdom Hearts. “After you,†Enigma said, his face unreadable. Xardius didn’t hesitate as he slid through the portal, and Enigma took one last look at the skypit before smiling slightly and stepping after him. *** “Rune!†Rune’s head turned, and he looked through his good eye, the one not blotted by blood, to find Darius running for him. Rune didn’t have time to worry about that though. He flipped to the side, barely dodging another arrow from Kingdom Hearts. His body was covered in blood, but his hands still twisted the spell. It was getting close. But Rune was running out of time, energy, and life. The Phoenix was useless here. Even the miniscule amount of power it took to regenerate was being used to control the spell. The Sea of Chaos was dry and Rune was out of tricks. “Rune, you’d better…†Enigma’s voice made Rune turn again to see the man standing in a clear zone of arrows. It wasn’t that he was defending against them. They just weren’t firing at him. Funny; worked with the man for nearly five years, but never really learned what he was, Rune thought to himself as he twisted around more arrows, the last one cutting so close he could feel the heat from the spell on his wounds. “…let him help,†Enigma finished, catching an arrow as it streaked towards Rune. The arrow screamed or it seemed it did before crumbling away. Suddenly, Rune was standing in a clear zone as Enigma stepped next to him. Darius grabbed Rune as he swayed, steadying him with a firm arm. “He can’t,†Rune grunted, eyeing Enigma with resignation. “The spell wasn’t designed for two. What did you do?†“A little trick,†Enigma answered, his eyes dark. “I meant draw his power.†“He won’t get it back,†Rune snarled, pushing away from Darius to latch onto Enigma with one arm, while twisting the spell again with his other. “What are you trying to do?†Enigma didn’t answer, but a small smile played onto his lips. “It’s alright, Rune,†Darius said from behind him, and Rune turned, the anger fading from his face. Darius looked determined, his eyes hard. “I don’t want it back. Enigma’s right, I have plenty. Too much actually. It’s going wild on me.†Rune squinted at Darius through his watering eye. “You want to give up being a Phoenix?†Darius shrugged. “If that’s what it takes to obtain our dream, I’m willing to take that step.†Rune drew a ragged breath, disbelief written on his face. Slowly, it faded to leave, again, resignation. “Fine, give it to me.†Darius’ eyes flashed, and power slammed into Rune, so much, so fast. Rune could hardly control it, he was hanging on by his fingernails, yet Rune could feel Darius holding just as much again, ready to give it to Rune. It seemed like a millennia before Rune could put it into the spell, and as it touched, the spell mutated. It expanded. From just one touch of Darius’ power, the spell went from Stage 3 to Stage 7. Rune couldn’t believe it. “The clear zone will last for about 3 more minutes,†Enigma said, sitting down onto the floor. “Please be done by then, or we’ll all be bleeding on the floor.†Rune couldn’t answer. He didn’t really hear. He was floating in the nexus of power. He was power. He breathed, and power burned him. He moved, and power ignited him. He was just a lost sailor in the midst of a hurricane, but at the same time, he knew he controlled the storm. The spell was building faster and faster, and Kingdom Hearts was crumbling. Darius was asking him something, but Rune didn’t know what. The spell was his life. He aged thousands of years, he died over and over again, he was born anew from the ashes. He was the Phoenix, flame, smoke, blackness. Kingdom Hearts was groaning. Crumbling. Its power was fading. Enigma looked stunned as all around them, cracks appeared, then spirals of chaos flipping through the walls to rip apart everything. Then it was gone, the room Rune had been in, the walls around them. All was black, but he was the center. He only had to complete one more step. Rune thrust everything left in him, left in Darius perhaps, into the spell, feeling like he was being ripped in half as the Phoenix left him. His blood froze, his insides melted, his brain ripped itself apart in ecstasy, in pain. Rune could only feel darkness, then cold, then nothing at all as the spell finally ripped itself free from his consciousness and Kingdom Hearts… *** It was like watching a planet get sucked into a black hole, or watching a rip in the fabric of time. Kingdom Hearts crumbled, the edges turning to white dust, the inside ripping apart. Blackness leaked from the fissures in Kingdom Heart’s surface, blackness that rippled into light even as it turned back to darkness. Then it vanished. There was no explosion. No brilliant flash of light. Just an invisible wave of power that swept through all the worlds. Winds died. Volcanoes ceased erupting. Earthquakes settled. Birds stopped singing. Electricity stopped flowing. People stopped talking mid-sentence without knowing why. A giant hush fell over all the worlds for just the space of one heart-beat. And then like a roar heard from just beyond the senses, everything changed. But yet it didn’t. People everywhere leaped and laughed for joy that they didn’t know the source of. Flowers sprouted in the middle of winter, grass grew where nothing had grown for years, treaties were demanded between countries that had warred for years. People looked out at the beautiful sunset of Twilight Town, and smiled, unknowing that their world and they themselves had been missing for nearly a year. Droughts ended. Famines were over. Nothing had changed, but yet it had. Kingdom Hearts was gone. And in the space of existence where three men had stood inside the dying edifice, there was nothing but empty shadow. But only for an instant. *** The ship blasted out of warp with military precision, because that was what it was, though unlike any other military craft ever seen in these worlds. The ship was large, but quiet, ghostlike as it slipped into the space where Kingdom Hearts had once stood. “Status report,†the Emperor of Kalva asked, his left hand idly rubbing the week’s growth of stubble on his chin. “What just happened?†“It seems that Oblivion’s creation, Kingdom Hearts, is gone, sir,†the technician said, flicking through status bars and charts on a transparent screen. “The block around the Empire is gone, and we were able to warp here without any resistance.†The technician studied a graph for a moment, then whistled. “The energy patterns here are off the charts. Someone was wielding more power than I’ve ever seen.†The Emperor sat forward. “Really? Are they still around?†“There’s a very weak life sign about hundred kilometers from where Kingdom Hearts used to sit,†the technician said, flicking into another screen. “But I can’t tell if it’s the guy. Seems to be protected in some sort of bubble, but it’s fading…fast.†“Pick it up,†the Emperor said, settling back. “I want to know why Kingdom Hearts has just suddenly disappeared.†As the ship moved towards the life sign, the technician started. “Whoa. Wasn’t expecting that. From the wave pattern given off by Kingdom Heart’s disappearance, sir, it seems it wasn’t destroyed. It was…uninstalled.†“So now the question is not how, but whom,†the Emperor said, stroking his stubble again. “Could it be the source of that power?†“There’s no other way,†the technician said, punching a few buttons. “Life sign picked up, sir. It’s in the bay.†The Emperor nodded and walked to the elevator. “Come with me.†The technician shrugged, and followed nonchalantly, nodding to another tech to take over. A few minutes later, they were staring at what they had picked up. “Isn’t he that one…?†the tech asked, whistling through his teeth. “Sabotaged Oblivion or what not?†The Emperor nodded. “Get him in sick bay. I want him recovered enough so he can tell me the entire story. And patch up the closest government. I want to install decent communications and trade by the end of the month.†“Yes, sir,†the tech sighed. “I suppose whatever they ask for is fine.†“For now,†the Emperor nodded, smiling. “I don’t want to frighten them.†The technician chuckled as the cart on which the man’s body lay moved behind them. Shallow breaths. Weak pulse. But alive. *** “So what now?†Zaxor asked Enigma, as they stared out at the fading sunset of Twilight Town. “Did you find what you wanted?†Enigma slowly shook his head. “No. It will have to wait. Our next course of action will have to be decided by him.†Enigma nodded at the tall, muscular figure standing a ways below them on the street. “Why him?†Zaxor growled, showing teeth. “He’s a Ultimate Organization member.†“Yes, but Darius Lionheart has his own issues to work out,†Enigma said without expression. “For now, he’s one of us.†Zaxor whistled softly. “I don’t like it, but I’ll go with it.†“I appreciate your cooperation,†Enigma said, a small smile flitting onto his face before disappearing. “Come. We should go back and join the others. Coming, Lionheart?†Enigma asked, raising his voice. Darius slowrned to face Enigma. “I guess so.†Enigma smiled slightly again, then turned and began walking up the hill. Darius’ footsteps followed. After a few minutes, they reached the summit. Darius stopped behind Enigma, staring. “Wait a second…†“Ah, yes,†Enigma said as the others turned. “I don’t think you’ve met the rest of the team. Allow me to introduce you to the new Brotherhood.†Enigma smiled, a wide smile that made his eyes glitter with intensity. “I believe you know some of them.†Darius could only throw back his head, and laugh as night fell on Twilight Town. OOC: Here you are. Not as good as the last one, but I think it's OK. I kind of had writer's block, so forgive me. :\
OOC: Nice post Pirate; really good stuff. I think we're pulling out all our best stuff here at the end, and it's really great. Really. Anyway, yeah, the only two people who will really be involved are Rune and Darius (he's going to change his name back; it's going to be weird...). So, I'll post it tomorrow, and we'll go from there! I'm pumped! EDIT: Especially after reading Nulix's post... NICE stuff. I can't wait for Wing's final post of the season...
OOC: Well, I'm back. I have a question before I post my massive plot-end (which I haven't written yet, anyway). Should it end the season, or do you guys want to write responses to it, or what? Because Xardius is going to be gone afterwards. Do you want me to split it up into two, so you can post in the middle? Give me your opinions and I'll write/revise to fit them.
OOC: Wow. That was excellent writing. Top tier. Beyond top tier. BIC: It took Xardius nearly twenty minutes to find Vecked's remains. He was sure it was Vecked. There wasn't any doubt. It took him thirty more minutes to dig a grave. Then he put Vecked's body inside, and buried it. A few more minutes of time and a gravestone was settled into the fresh earth. Underneath the name and dates, Xardius put these words in: "In memory of a dream..." Standing and brushing himself off, Xardius began running back to find Rune. As he ran, Xardius remembered something he'd been taught a long, long time ago: "Everyone dies. Whether they get sick, they get old, they are killed. They die. Everyday someone dies. Everyday there is more sadness. But remember this: Even if they hadn't died this day, they would have died another. Be sad only one day for a death. And when you look back, do not mourn. Do not cry. Simply smile. Smile and remember how they lived." So as Xardius ran, he smiled. But it didn't stop the tears. OOC: I have to go now, but I will work myself to the bone to end the Scourge plot! See you tomorrow, Nulix, and once again, excellent job.
Xardius' eyes went wide before his left one imploded from the bullet's impact, slamming him backwards to fall to the ground. He twitched once, and then started laughing as he rolled over. Coughing loudly, he spat the bullet from his mouth. "Not the first time that's happened Vecked," Xardius chuckled, though it was more of a throat-rattler. "That's the only wound I've used it on, but I need to see don't I? My regeneration capabilities..." "If it's any consolation," Xardius said, standing. "I only learned about it about a week ago. I didn't know it was happening; I'd black out when my wounds got serious enough. But..." Xardius shrugged, wincing at his split shoulder. "So anything else?"
"That's more like it!" Xardius yelled, grinning widely. "Tell me, Vecked, do you fear dying? Because I don't..." Xardius ran forward, straight into Vecked's attack, letting Vecked's gunblade bite into his shoulder before grabbing the blunt edge and holding it there, his own sword ripping into Vecked's chest and left forearm. Yanking Vecked's sword from him, Xardius worked his arm. "That smarts," Xardius smirked. "Doesn't it?" "Now that we're both bleeding," Xardius said, his sword drawing a line in the dirt. From that line exploded light, blinding Vecked for just an instant. An instant was enough. Xardius flipped over Vecked's head, landing behind him and slamming the handle behind him, bashing into Vecked's skull with enough force to crack it, and a loud sound that could only be described as a "wunt." OOC: The WUNT returns...
