The Final War, Light Vs Dark

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~Picture kindly and awesomely drawn by the ever-talented Xero~​

Gexln was relieved when R spoke. He had seemed to catch on. If Gexln were to play the part of secret agent though, he'd need one more thing. He reached a hand into his coat and fumbled around until he found what he was looking for. Pulling his hand out of the coat now, a pair of shades came with it. He put them on smoothly and casually, as though he really was a secret agent. He looked at Roe with a sly grin on his face. "Well, If I told you that then I'm afraid I'd have to kill you" he said in response to Roe's question as to why they were there. He was having far too much fun with it.

As Roe said she was going with them, the grin on his face vanished. If she hadn't been taken by Ansem, then it was almost certain she would meet him later, what if Gexln being a Nobody of the darkness attracted Ansem even faster? At the same time though, what was he to tell her? That it was classified information? He had just asked her for information himself, and he knew that she clearly didn't belong in the world they were in. He made a decision, he would hope that R allowed her to go with them, and then he would help her as far as getting off the world, and then that would be it.

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Kaxar decided to follow Azurite. She wasn't someone that aggression came naturally to, but fighting was something she knew too well, something she didn't like at all. However, she knew that if she was going to stand a chance at combating the darkness and freeing Gexln from its hold, she would need all the experience and fighting prowess she could get. She still had her keyblade out as she walked behind Azurite.

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Caleb was intrigued to see what Eon was going to show them. From what he could tell, a few of the people if not most of them had some kind of weapon that resembled a key. The way they carried it made it look as though it wasn't just a key though, that it was something of great importance. Caleb himself wondered if he would be able to create one for himself, but he decided against it. It would just be another weapon that he had no idea how to wield, it would make things harder for himself. He, too, followed behind Azurite.

 

Eon came out of the tower moments after the rest. Most of them except one had keyblades. However the kowledge he was about to teach them was something any person could do. This would allow them to hone on certain skills that were previously unknown to them. "Listen kids. Everyone has an innate trait to them that can only be discovered when you enter your own heart. There are three traits in total: Protection, Willpower, Intelligence. If you can learn which one belongs to you, a doorway to new abilities will be unlocked."

Next was the difficult part, actually getting them into their own hearts. Luckily Beuce was with him. Doing it alone would have been near impossible. "There is only one way for you to enter your own heart and find the information. It is a risky method that could kill you if you are unsuccessful." He closed his eyes and gave a much more serious expression. "We will need to overwhelm your spirit with darkness. If you are strong enough, you will find the light in your heart and the answer to what you are."

"If you are ready, Beuce and I will begin the procedure."

 

As per usual Kel was being silent throughout the whole time they were at the tower. In fact he was barely paying attention to everything that was going on, just alone in his own little world. Not it bothered him much, he was used to that kind of thing. When Eon began his explanation on some sort of hidden talent, he actually started paying attention somewhat. Upon mention of darkness, he looked down at his hand before clenching it into a fist. He didn't get this far by running away from his darkness and he definitely wouldn't start now. So he joined the others in summoning his keyblade and waited.

 

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Caleb listened to the explanation. He was unsure whether he wanted to try the technique or not, if he fell then who would protect everyone? In the end, the decision turned out to be rather simple. In his mind, the best way to combat darkness would be to understand it. He already knew of the pain that physical darkness could cause, he now needed to understand the nature of the darkness within the heart. What made it difficult was the fact he was somewhat wound up after hearing that something as simple as a heartless was what he had let slip by him.

His mood only worsened when he heard Louvel's outburst upon hearing about the darkness. Caleb's left arm hung by his side, but he quietly summoned a tomahawk in it. He raced into the tower and ran up towards where Louvel had been heading. He caught the boy, and hurled his tomahawk at Louvel, so that it stuck into the wall near him. "You say you've seen what darkness can do? You have no idea how threatening it is. You know nothing about darkness, how do you expect to fight something you can't even comprehend?" he hissed. "Get back down there, learn this technique, and use it to help your sisters!" Caleb finished. He then turned his back to Louvel. "If you abandon your sisters to the darkness when they need you, then you're no better than the heartless themselves" he added in an extremely serious tone. He began walking down back to where the others were then.

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Kaxar let out a small gasp as she saw the weapon Caleb summoned. Did he mean to kill someone? After a moment of panic, she came to a realization. If Caleb had meant to kill them, he could have easily done it earlier when the others had just returned. She breathed a sigh of relief. No, he probably didn't then. She thought of what Eon said. After seeing what had happened to Glen when he had been overrun with darkness, could she really allow them to fill her with darkness? Part of her said no, she couldn't, but part of her knew that if she was to stand any chance whatsoever of returning him to how he once was, she would have to do it. She stepped forward and looked Eon straight in the eyes. "I'll do it" she responded.

 

Beuce was ready to help Eon teach them the technique when Louvel stormed off mumbling about what a stupid idea this was. He groaned, why was Louvel always storming off to his room? From his bottomless pocket full of junk, Beuce pulled a megaphone. He began yelling at Louvel through it. "Attention Louvel. This is Beuce. Please remove the knot from your panties at once at come out." Once that was finished, Beuce sighed and put it away. "Seriously. I swear he's on his period 24/7." Next, Beuce turned to the rest of the group as though that hadn't happened. He was now uncharacteristcally serious. "Look, i know what you all may be thinking. 'Isn't the darkness what we're fighting?' 'Why should we let it into out hearts?' 'It's evil' and such. But i'm here to tell you that darkness isn't what you make it out to be. The darkness is only as evil as the one who uses it. The thing about it is that it has a tempting power, and most end up losing themselves in this. Light can be just as evil as darkness in the wrong hands. I've seen what it can do, and it's not pretty." Beuce said, thinking back to something from his past. "Neither one can exist without the other. Blindly following one side while scorning the other because that's the way you're told it should be just shows that you're weak minded. If you can accept and understand both, you'll be stronger than either." ​

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The keyblade wielder sighed, finishing his speech. Any who knew him well enough would know how difficult that must have been for him. For Beuce, being serious was once compared to breaking your own fingers. He sighed, having finished the speech. "I won't lie, this isn't exactly safe. But as long as you don't lose yourself, you'll be fine. Any who still want to do this, step forward. Eon, i'm ready when you are." ​

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"Clearly not." Said the disappointed nobody as he stared at the girl losing her heart to the darkness. Such a pity. She turned out to be a weakling after all. Peering into her mind, he realized she had called for R, her heartless protector. "Now what makes you think R would come for someone like you? A weakling who couldn't even handle her own darkness. Its almost laughable." He said cruely, as he drove his foot into her side. Growing bored with this girl, he turned and walked toward the mansion, ready to probe the computer's secrets. ​

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Credit for the banner goes to the lovely and ever talented miss Xero.​

The heartless followed along with his "partner"'s act of being a secret agent. As stylishly as the human mind could comprehend, he waved his hand and materialized a pair of mirrored sunglasses and placed them over his eyes. He stared at Roe with a cold expression on his face. She had come here through a door, same as they did. What kind of anomaly had let her enter here? Surely it wasn't Merlin. They would have to investigate this at a later date. Their main goal here was the stone. However, Roe seemed to want to come along. This was troublesome. She didn't seem to be possessed by ansem yet, and going into the dark realm certainly wasn't the way to protect her from it. ​

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His train of thought was cut short by a sort of feeling. Like a sixth sense. This extra sense was granted by the stones he created for contact between the darks. This one in particular was Sapphire's. He knew that because Gexln held one of the stones, it would reach him as well. Could he handle getting the stone alone? Could R even trust him with such a task? Maybe not. He wasn't sure what to do. Help Sapphire or secure the stone...​

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Banner kindly provided by the ever-talented Xero, mistress of daaaaaaaaaarkneeeeesssss.​

Gexln's attention was caught by the movement of the small stone inside his pocket. Knowing there was little else in that pocket, he was almost certain it was the stone. What would happen now? Would they have to pull out? He didn't want to, he held no obligation to the other darks. Was there a way he could tell R that he'd be fine alone without giving it away to Roe? Maybe there was.

"Agent R, since my Communications Device is going off its nutter, I would assume yours is too. That would mean that HQ needs us back there. Why don't you go and deal with it while I finish up our work here?" he asked. He congratulated himself after saying that; it had sounded far more convincing in his head but hopefully Roe would buy it.

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Kaxar wasn't sure whether or not to trust the words of Beuce. Although he seemed to speak them seriously and honestly, could you ever completely trust someone that spoke to voices that weren't actually there? Thinking about it a little more, she realized that what he had said did in fact make sense. Was that enough to gain her trust completely? Not a chance. It was, however, enough to convince her that she was right in trying. Once again, she repeated her words that she had spoken. "I'll do it"

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Caleb held little fear for the darkness. He had a firm belief in his willpower and his mental strength, and no amount of 'failing it could kill you' would change that. His resolve to challenge the darkness within himself only strengthened as he saw Kaxar once again agree to try it. The girl didn't seem like she was a natural fighter, and he knew that she had experienced sorrow because of darkness, yet there she was willing to risk her life for the good of others. He had to respect that courage, many of the bravest warriors would not be willing to do the same. He too stepped forward. "She's not the only one, I'll do it too" he proclaimed.

 

Eon understood why everyone was so uncomfortable about the idea. He was afraid when it happened as well, however he had no choice in the matter. He just suddenly appeared within his heart when it became dire. "As Beuce says, there is no light without darkness and vice versa. Some who use the darkness know how to control it. If you could recall to the keyblade Master Riku. He was of the darkness and learned to control it. You can all do the same. I have faith in you."

He placed his hands up above everyone's heads who were ready to take the next step forward to gain strength. "Once you enter, you will be on a circle-like plate. You will be asked to take an item and reject another. Choose wisely. After that is done, your biggest fear will turn into a Heartless. Defeat it and you will awake. Good luck" Dark energy came pouring form Eon's hands allowing the users to transport themselves to their own hearts.

"Beuce, help stablise them, in case something goes wrong, we may need to dive in after them."

 

As Kel listen to Beuce's explanation of the process that they were going to be undergoing. Surprisingly, it was very similar to his own beliefs. Which meant he would have no trouble in taming his own darkness, so along with the two others he too stepped forward. The next thing he knew, he was on the circle plate that Eon has spoken about surrounded by three different choices. A sword, staff and shield. Due to his nature it was pretty clear that he chose the sword and gave up the shield, so long as he could withstand an attack, he could keep fighting. That was what he believed anyway. As the weapons vanished all that was left was Kel, the sword and the figure his fears chose to take appeared before him. "Huh, never thought that old fear would come back off all things." True this was quite a surprise, but at the same time it was an opportunity for him to truly prove his worth to his father.

 

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Lysa sighs as her finger hovers over the ignition button for her ship's engines, then she shakes her head and pops the cockpit canopy open. She just couldn't leave Sapphire alone, not in the state that the poor girl had been in. Lysa slings her bow over her shoulder, grabs her sword and sheath, and then jumps out of the cockpit and floats gently to the ground, where she quickly starts to walk in the direction Sapphire had been traveling, belting her sword to her waist as she walks.​

 

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Roe just looked at the two with a cocked brow. She saw R manifest a pair a shades and rolled her eyes, "I can tell you guys are a pair of show offs..." She quickly and quietly mumbled to herself. She noticed R's expression change, for he seemed to sense something was wrong. "You alright?" She asked. She heard Gexln's explanation and raised an eye brow.

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Xero was sitting in a chair and resting her head on her hand, about half asleep. She noticed that her memories of the past began to change a bit. She groaned, "Oh great... I bet they met Roe.." she said quietly to make sure Merlin couldn't hear that she was noticing things. Xero perked up as she suddenly felt something.. a sense that someone needed help. She reached into her pocket and found the stone R had given her. It was Sapphire, she was in trouble. Xero bit her lip debating on running into the door to the past to find R.

The Seeker of Darkness entered the Realm of Darkness from a corridor he had summoned. As the corridor closed, he stood at the water's edge and just stared at the dark ocean ahead. "This place is a prison... And much too small." He quietly said to himself as his orange eyes seemed to glow in the moon lit world. He turned his head a bit to something behind him, "Do you plan to just sit there with your sword in your hand without even attempting to swing it?" He said with a bit of an irritated tone.

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Valinton just gave the man a glare, "I don't know who you are or how you got here... But if you're one who can use the dark, you can get me out of this damn place." Valinton pressed the edge of his katana against the mysterious man's back as a threat. But the man only laughed at him, he seemed unafraid. "You are such a pathetic being. Getting trapped in such a hopeless place such as this." Valinton growled and he dug the edge deeper into the man but he suddenly disappeared.

Valinton turned around and held his sword in front of him just in time to parry with the man's weapon, "Who are you..?" Valinton demanded the identity of this strange man. The man jumped back and dismissed his weapon. He held out his arms and began to slowly absorb the darkness around him, "I am Ansem: The Seeker of Darkness!" With that said, his guardian appeared behind him, ready to attack.

 

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Kuro was walking alongside Radient Guardian wondering where she was. She stumbled upon Merlin's house and felt a strange familiar aura. She wondered if somebody she knew was there. She went in deeper following the familiar sense she felt. She soon saw Xero standing in silence. Kuro hesitated for a bit at first and thought Xero looked suspicious to talk to. But this familiar aura was emitting from her. She sighed, took a deep breath and walked up towards Xero and asked her in a calm tone "Hello. Are you the only one here?" She felt a strangely familiar feeling by speaking Xero. ​

 

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Xero looked up at the girl who came through the door. She made a double take and she recognized the girl in the doorway. She frantically stood up, making the chair she was sitting in almost fall backwards, "Xuromimi?!" Her eyes were wide and she just stared at the girl, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

 

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Kuro looked at Xero with a puzzled look on her face. She clearly just pronounced her name wrong. She spoke in a confused manner "...Do I...know you from somewhere?" She looked at Xero eye to eye. "And my name is Kuromimi, mind you. So how do you know my name?" She turned around and rolled her eyes and spoke in a somewhat smug tone "Well... ALMOST knew my name..." She turned back around and made eye contact with Xero again. "Just who are you?"​

 

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Xero just looked at the girl, "Wha--? It's me, Xero. From the Organization. How can you not remember?" Xero was confused. This was the right Xuromimi she was talking to wasn't it? It couldn't be someone else. She looked exactly like her.

 

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Kaxar found herself standing on a circular plate, almost a mosaic showing different aspects of her memories. There was the day Rufus beat Kara up, the day Kara made the gift for Glen, and finally the day that Glen gave into the darkness. Kaxar also noticed that there were three pedestals, each with a floating object above them; a sword, a shield, and a staff. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to take one of them. She cautiously approached the shield. In her mind, it was a simple choice, she didn't particularly enjoy fighting, she had little interest in magic, but she wanted to protect people. Maybe the shield would help with that. She found a voice telling her she had to give up one aswell.

She leapt off the pedestal and onto another one; the one with the sword. While she had little interest in magic, to her the sword represented death. She would not be one to deliver death to people. Quickly, the sword began fading until it dissappeared altogether. The pedestal she was standing on, as well as the other pedestals, began sinking into the ground. Slowly they sunk, until eventually all three of them were gone, and only a figure in the center of the mosaic remained. She let out a gasp as she realized who the figure was. At first, the dark coloring of the figure led her to believe it was just an ordinary heartless. Then, the human features made her worry that it was Glen taken over by darkness once more, before finally the details came into fruition as the figure turned around to face her. She was not facing a heartless, she was not facing Glen, she was facing herself; corrupted by the darkness of her own heart.

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Caleb opened his eyes, having shut them to stop the darkness from getting into them. He appeared to be standing on a round mosaic of some kind, which was split into three triangular sections; sections that represented his memories. He saw his friend Gaius and him in one, he saw his family in another, and the third showed his most painful memory; an image of his village on fire with bodies everywhere. It was only then that he noticed the three pedestals around himself, each with a weapon on it. He heard a voice telling him to choose one of the weapons. Naturally, he began walking towards the shield. However, he stopped just short of it. "No, knowledge of how to defend against the darkness is nothing without.." he began. He turned to face the pedestal of the sword, and hurried over to it. "Nothing without the strength to defend with" he finished.

He didn't jump on the pedestal, he merely reached out and took the sword. It felt heavy in his hands, as though it had great strength in it, or a great burden associated with it. He then felt the voice say again in his head that to accept the power of the warrior, he had to give up something in return. He turned to look at the one with the staff on it. "While a warrior must be wise, he must not let down his guard so easily" he said, as though he were explaining his decision to the voice. He ran over and gently touched the staff, causing it to fade away until it was gone altogether. It was then that the three pedestals began sinking into the ground quite quickly. Once the sinking had subsided, Caleb noticed that there was a lone figure in the center of the circle.

Caleb cautiously approached the figure. It had human-like features, yet at the same time it had shadow-like tendrils flowing off of it, little wisps of darkness. The body shape and general pose of the figure reminded him of Gexln, the man he had fought at the old mansion. He gasped. Could this be the man that had attacked the town? No, no it couldn't. Kaxar had told him that it was a heartless that had destroyed it, and as dark as Gexln was he certainly wasn't a heartless. "Wh-who are you?" he stammered, trying to find his voice in the moment of tension. The Shadow-Gexln merely held out a hand that held darkness' sorrow. It then let out a noiseless, silent laugh.

Caleb tried to summon his weapons, any of them, but none would come. "What's going on?!" he exclaimed in shock. The Shadow-Gexln lunged forward with the blade, attempting to stab Caleb. Caleb leapt backwards and tried to summon yet another blade, however this time all he succeeded in doing was creating a few sparkles of light before that got snuffed out altogether by the darkness in the air. Once again, Shadow-Gexln laughed at him. "What's so funny? You find killing things funny?" Caleb questioned, clearly angry. Shadow-Gexln began laughing harder, still soundless. Caleb looked at the Dream Sword that lay at his feet. He picked it up. "You want to laugh at something? Then you can laugh at your dead corpse you darkness freak!" he yelled out angrily as he prepared to engage in battle with Shadow-Gexln.

 

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Satsujin stepped forward silently as well, ready to undertake the ordeal. He was ready for the darkness which came flowing into him from the hands of Eon. The next thing he knew, he was standing on a glass platform, surrounded by darkness. It was largly purple in color, which an image of himself kneeling down with Narukami planted in the ground as its main picture. On the platform's edges were three pedastles, each holding a weapon. First he walked to the sword. As he grasped hold of the handle, a voice in his head gave a chryptic description of what exactly he held. '​

"The power of the warrior. Invincible Courage, A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?" ​

It was likely so, but the assassin placed the blade back on its pedastle. He wanted to investigate the other two before making his decision. Next came the shield. ​

"The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?" ​

After thinking this over, he decided this would likely be the power he gave up. After all, how he usually operated was in ending the fight before you need to take a hit. Repelling attacks would prove of little value in this endeavor. Finally, the staff was next.​

"The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek?" ​

After one quick recap in his mind of the choices presented to him, he decided. Walking over to the sword, the message for it was repeated. He nodded as it vanished in a flash of light. When asked to give something up in exchange, he walked to the shield. Upon taking it, it faded away into small specks of light. ​

"Your path is set." ​

Said the voice in his head. The sword which he had chosen as his path reappeared in his right hand as the pedastles sank into the ground. It was time to face his enemy. What appeared before him was no surprise. He had been expecting it the entire time. The blank stare from those red eyes seemed to penetrate your very soul. The figure of R stood before him. ​

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Satsujin surpressed the anger at the sight of him and calmed his mind. If he let it get to him, he'd surely lose himself. He stood opposite the phantom R on the other end of the platform. This battle would be quick, he could tell. After conjuring a simple sword, R charged at him. This was nowhere near the strength of the real thing, but that was no reason for the assassin to hold back. Returning the charge, they met in the middle of the pillar, R attempting to impale his foe. Satsujin, however, did something unexpected. The result of his training. "Tsubaméhanta" He uttered.The assassin delivered not one slash, but three. What made this move significant was that they weren't simply quickly executed. Through sheer godlike skill, they were simultanious. With that one swift motion, R lay face-down against the glass behind him. ​

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His eyes fluttered open, to find Beuce and Eon looking at him from above. He seemed to be sitting against the wall of the tower. From the looks of things, he was the first to awaken. ​

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"Morning sunshine. Looks like you're the first one up. Congrats. So what path did you choose?" Inquired Beuce. He was curious as to the choices of everyone else. ​

"I chose the warrior and gave up the guardian." Satsujin answered honestly. ​

"Same as me. Good man." Beuce said, giving the assassin a pat on the shoulder and helping him up. ​

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R was still unable to decide when Gexln began to speak. He said he could handle things. After giving him a nod, R took off running in the direction they had come from. Bursting out the door, he saw Xero speaking with an unfamiliar girl. He knew Xero had gotten the distress signal and thus there was no need to explain where he was going. "Xero. I trust you can help Gexln. Your younger self could dismiss it as merely someone who looked similar to herself." With that, R hurried into a dark corridor to twilight town. He raced through the town toward the forest, passing a young girl along the way. He could sense the darkness overflowing from Sapphire. He just hoped he wasn't too late. ​

 

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Xero was startled as R burst through the door behind her. He told her to go through and help Gexln and she just looked at R and the girl she thought was Xuromimi. She nodded at R and as he left she just looked at Xuro with a somewhat disappointed look. Xero turned around and quickly went through the door and noticed that everything was in black and white. She suddenly hunched over with a nauseating feeling as if she was about to hurl. Xero looked up and saw the cornerstone of light, "Well R.. I don't know how you plan on taking that with us if its a damn death trap for us Darks..." She said to herself.

Xero looked away and saw Gexln and someone else. Was it Roe? It must've been because she had that hat she always wore. She slowly walked over to Gexln and Roe, "Hey G-" She was cut off by the fact that Gexln was wearing sunglasses, "Why're you wearing sunglasses...?"