The Ultimate Organization

Wing slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, relizing that they had landed on a new world, and now he was alone.

"Great...must have scared them all off..." He got up slowly and walked out in to the night towards the city.


"Come to me..."


Wing gripped his head as the voice echoed in his mind.

"What's wrong with me!" He shouted, punching the ground in frustration.

 

OOC: Hey, guess what? I found my edited version of the Ultimate Organization: Dawn of Doom!

I'll post it here for Nulix and you guys to enjoy.

Anyhow, sorry about last night, I ran out of time on the internet and got kicked off.

I'll be back on later, but I gotta do homework right now.

The Ultimate Organization: Dawn of Doom

Book One: Entrance of the Damned

DarKnight36 Nulix

Thanks to:Jaxed, DarKnight36, Nulix, Wing, Pirateguywithapplepie, Star_Seeker, Orion, Xephos, Jordier0xs0x, Oxyrt, Donaut, and all the other members of the UO

Introduction

Out of the ashes of the battles, the war, and the endless fighting, came peace. The keyblade masters were dead, wiped from existence by the very power which they claimed to wield as holy masters of the universe, acting like gods until holy lightning struck them down...one by one.

However, the keyblades needed a new master, and they found one who was not corrupt, not swayed by the politics of the old world, for he had no knowledge of it. They chose a young boy by the name of Sora, and with great strength and truth, Sora took the keyblade in hand.

However, with the keyblade came a darker truth: the Heartless, creatures that seemed to be darkness incarnate. At first thought to be alien creatures, the central government had discovered the Heartless during the keyblade worlds, and scientists concluded that this new species was in fact from another world.

Had, in reality, another universe created these monsters? No one really had time to find out. Close proximity with the creatures over time led to the very scientists that sought to learn about the Heartless to turn into Heartless themselves. Breaking free and growing in size and number, they broke the world by darkness and scattered its cities and countries, separating them by infinite darkness. All communication was lost, and the Heartless spread like an unstoppable plague.

This was not the first time this had happened, nor would it be the last. Throughout the history of the worlds, it was spotted with schism and unrest created by these dark denizens. Each time, a keyblade master would sweep back the tide of Heartless with a great personal sacrifice, usually ending in the death of the wielder.

Sora, chosen by the keyblade, stopped the Heartless cold. Utilizing the full potential of the keyblade, he destroyed them.

Yet, unfulfilled destiny called. Formed from the deaths of the thousands of civilians and citizens of the worlds, a new subspecies emerged: a being of twilight that did not exist in the plane of the worlds, commonly known as a Nobody. These Nobodies retained their soul and body, but their hearts remained captive by the Heartless.

Desperate to recover their hearts, a group of strong-willed Nobodies that had been able to retain their original form, ravaged the world to form new hearts, commanding the Heartless and sending vicious squads of lesser Nobodies to force Sora into releasing the hearts stolen by the Heartless. This organization, known as Organization XIII, met an untimely end soon thereafter.

Sora had won out again, without losing his heart to the Heartless. Perhaps it was because there were three other users of the keyblade who had helped him. Perhaps not, for all trace of the boy was erased only 3 years after his defeat of Organization XIII, including his childhood friends, Riku and Kairi. What had happened to them? No one knew.

Suddenly, the Heartless returned, attacking the worlds with ferocity unseen before. More victims, more nobodies, more casualties spread, until the central government broke through the barriers of darkness and drove the Heartless into seclusion, shutting them off forever.

Despite this, a new crop of Nobodies appeared: smarter and more peaceful than Organization XIII’s group of ex-warriors, these Nobodies formed a group known as Organization XIV, and began making plans to recover their hearts.

Unrest followed them like a bad smell. Frightened of these remnants, the citizens of the world scorned and shunned the organization into political strife and near civil war.

The central government was on edge: Sora was gone, and with him, all hope of exterminating the Heartless once again. However, a bright young man named Hojan produced an idea: resurrect the Enigmatic Knights, a sort of police force of uniquely trained soldiers who would be able to wield keyblades.

Almost instantaneously, the Knights sprang into being as if they had never been gone. Following this, war erupted and again the Knights had the job of enacting justice.

The Knights chased down the irritating Nobodies, and exterminated them, one by one, ending with the destruction of Organization XIV. The result of this decision rocked the worlds to their very core: the rise of the most potent and powerful accumulation of beings ever to curse the worlds.


Prologue

Eclipse waited in silence as the steady thump-thump of the helicopter’s blades set a steady beat for his own racing heart. Eclipse’s anxiety had hardly anything to do with the mission and absolutely nothing at the same time, but he didn’t expect anyone to understand that, so he kept it to himself.

The frigid air of the planet Kiris seemed to seep up through the very metal of the helicopter, and Eclipse was dressed accordingly, in heavy pants and shirt, overlaid with a three-inch layer of padding around each. Over that, he wore flexible leather armor infused with steel to give it strength.

All in all, Eclipse looked like an Enigmatic Knight on Ice, though he didn’t have the skates and hardly looked the part of a skater.

“We have a signal, sir,” the copilot said, as a light on the console suddenly flashed green.

Eclipse nodded acknowledgement, then returned to his reverie. After the initial attack on Subject 0671, commonly known as Organization XIV, the surviving members had scattered throughout the worlds. Eclipse had been charged with tracking down the members, and it had been entirely too difficult in his opinion.

Now, they were tracking down the last member: Subject 0671n. Eclipse’s lip curled as he recalled the data on 0671n. The subject was a Nobody, as Organization XIV had been a group of Nobodies, actually the first since Subject 0423, or Organization XIII. While they had taken a different approach at first, they had not initially been a problem.

However, as time went by, it became clear to Eclipse’s superior, General Dragoon, that the organization was fast becoming a nuisance. Under his supervision, his regiment had attacked the main base of Organization XIV, and taken completely by surprise, obliterated the group of disgusting non-existent beings.

Subject 0671n had been an old recruit from the beginnings of the organization, a rather young Nobody that had an innovated, nearly indestructible machine companion. Eclipse hadn’t bothered to find out their names, as they’d be dead soon.

He’d tracked Subject 0671n nearly halfway across the universe, before finally cornering the Nobody on a world of ice and mountainous terrain called Kiris.

The aging helicopter that was currently tracking the subject was not anywhere near the latest technology, but it was uniquely adapted to the freezing temperatures and low oxygen levels found on the world. The helicopter was outfitted with advanced detection systems, heavy armor plating to withstand enemy fire and the terrifying ice blizzards, whose winds could send nearly three inches of solid ice through a thin wall of steel, at times. On its wings were located several cannons and two Knight-grade missile launchers. Its sense of balance was supreme to many a ship the Knights had come out with; it could lose its entire tail without significant damage to the balancing system. In fact, the tail was designed to snap off if hit hard enough; this apparent flaw was actually a clever design that allowed the copter to fly into heavier winds than any other ship on the planet. If the tail flew off, it could simply land, and the stocky belly held enough provisions to last over a month.

Eclipse turned his mind back over to Subject 0671n. The subject was supposed to have rather basic elemental control, and was a skilled combatant in hand-to-hand.

Eclipse wasn’t going to give Subject 0671n that chance. A quick shot from his rifle would put an end to the last Nobody from Organization XIV, and end this horrible assignment. The next assignment, Eclipse vowed, he’d make sure it was somewhere warmer next time...

“E.T.A. 2 minutes,” the pilot said clearly, aiming for the bleep on the screen. “Subject seems to be unaware of our presence.”

Eclipse nodded again, not surprised. The wind speed on a dial near him clocked it at about 70 mph, and heading west. The helicopter was heading east towards the target, which meant that the subject was unlikely to hear them until the distance between the aircraft and the target was less than a quarter mile. By that time, it would be too late to escape.

Subject 0671n had dug his own ice grave by coming to this frozen world, and Eclipse was happy to shove the body in headfirst.

The clock ticked by and Eclipse stood silently, waiting.

“E.T.A. 30 seconds,” the pilot reported. “Distance closing to half a mile. Target appears to be aware of our presence, and is moving...” The pilot paused.

Eclipse’s brow furrowed. “Yes?” he asked quietly.

The pilot started. “Oh, sorry, it’s just...he’s moving straight for us...”

Eclipse frowned, then shrugged. “We’re perfectly equipped to take this one out, boys. Set up the target for missile launch in 10 seconds.”

The copilot nodded, and began hitting switches. The computer locked onto the closing target.

“E.T.A. 10 seconds,” the pilot said. “Cutting back on speed to allow for distance in missile detonation.”

The copilot reached for the final switch. “Launching now.”

Something slammed into the right wing of the copter, sending it off course by a few meters. The pilot corrected, then something slammed into the left wing, again bumping the targeting system.

The pilot corrected, and the copilot quickly hit the switch.

The explosion threw Eclipse to the ground as the missiles exploded...not in the target, but still in their launch tubes. The entire wings evaporated, setting off smaller explosions from the cannons and blasting super-heated gas and flame into the cargo bay, where his contingent of knights sat.

Screams erupted from behind him, and Eclipse scrambled to his feet. “Dang that cursed thing! Kill it!”

The copilot was scrambling over the controls. “Targeting system damaged! Attempting to acquire a lock manually!”

Something small and spherical slammed into the front of the helicopter. Eclipse watched in fascination as the front of the copter ripped open under the pressure and then leaped to the side with a strangled cry as it erupted out of the control panel.

The pilots screamed, and the helicopter nosedived. Eclipse threw himself forward as the ground rushed up to meet the craft. Metal met solid ice and both folded inward. The copter slammed into the ground with a deafening roar, its top blades still spinning uselessly.

“Evacuate!” Eclipse howled, diving through the exit, and pulling his rifle from his back. “Target is approaching! Attack!”

The surviving members of his contingent raced out of the dying aircraft, guns at the ready. A blur moved over the landscape through the falling snow, and Eclipse snapped a shot off at it. The humanoid shape deftly dodged and seemed to motion a forward movement with its hand.

Next moment, chaos broke loose.

The same white sphere reappeared suddenly – by slamming into the chests of several knights and killing them instantly. Eclipse narrowly avoided the same fate by leaping out of the way, burying his unprotected face in the sharp snow. Spitting out the cutting stuff, he raised his gun, and reassessed the situation.

He realized that Subject 0671n was probably more dangerous than he’d expected it to be. Within a minute of realizing that the Knights were on its tail, the subject had eliminated the helicopter from the fight and was now cracking skulls using the mechanical orb that Eclipse had dismissed as unwarranted information.

He could now see how wrong he really was. If Eclipse wasn’t careful, he was going to see how dead wrong a person could be.

Rising to one knee, Eclipse opened fire on the now close shape of Subject 0671n. The target flipped to the side, dodging the fire and slapped a hand into the ground. The ice erupted underneath Eclipse’s feet, but Eclipse kept his balance and dodged to the side. Over half of his contingent wasn’t so lucky and fell into the growing crevasse. The subject ran forward, slapping his hands together and drawing them apart. Fire blossomed and then sprang forward, slamming into more knights and burning them to ashes.

Eclipse leaped over the rift and ran for the subject. His knights were running back, but the Nobody slapped his hands on the ground and pierced them with spikes of earth. The remaining knights raced into the helicopter.

The subject raced for the copter, heedless as the helicopter’s tail burst free and the now grounded craft spun to face him. On the copter’s front, in the middle of the nose, was a rather large rapid-firing rifle.

Eclipse threw himself to the side as he heard the gun priming, and then the next thing he felt was a rush of flame and heard a massive roar as the helicopter exploded.

The subject flipped away from the explosion, blowing on his heated hands, which had slapped the armor seconds before, sending fire through the veins of the craft and destroying it from the inside out.

Eclipse raised his head, and leaped to his feet as the subject pounded towards him. Eclipse fired off his last few shots, which missed, of course, but gave him enough time to yank out a short blade he carried on his back. Sweeping it out, he attacked the subject with surprisingly articulate movements.

Unfortunately, the nobody was more so; it slapped Eclipse’s forearm out wide and pounded a knee up into his sternum. However, it wasn’t quick enough to dodge Eclipse’s second blade driving into its abdomen.

Subject 0671n’s eyes bulged and it gasped, hands clutching at the wound. Eclipse drew back to stab again, but halted at the look in the subject’s eyes: sheer rage.

Eclipse’s hesitation cost him dearly. The Nobody hit the ground and slapped it, and the world exploded in fire and water.

***
Dragoon paced the hallway, cursing under his breath.

“Where is he, already?” Dragoon asked for the fifteenth time. “Eclipse should have been back over three hours ago. Simple hit and run, he says. Let me take care of it, he says. Ha!”

Dragoon slammed a fist into a wall. “Liar!”

“Sir!” a lieutenant suddenly cried. “Eclipse is broadcasting from our airspace, requesting permission to land!”

“Grant it, already!” Dragoon howled. “Then I’ll go pummel him for being late!”

Despite the proximity of the hangar to the control center, Eclipse was already near the door by the time Dragoon arrived.

“What kept...?” Dragoon began, but let the words die. Eclipse was breathing heavily, eyes slightly glazed, holding his chest. “What happened?”

“Subject...eliminated,” Eclipse gasped, in obvious pain. “Took me...longer...to trek...back to the base...after he took out our craft.”

“He what!?” Dragoon yelped, furious.

Eclipse winced, and waited for the tirade.

Dragoon drew a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh. “Good work, soldier, and tough luck about your contingent. You’re injured. Check into medical.”

Eclipse nodded, and limped off into the hall.

Dragoon ran a hand through his hair and began barking orders to send a replacement ice-copter to Kiris. He sighed, then muttered, “Well, at least, this is the end of Organization XIV...”

Eclipse made it through the doorway before straightening and taking his hand from his chest. Eyes suddenly clear, he strode off purposefully...in the opposite direction of medical.

“No,” Eclipse muttered under his breath. “It’s just begun...”

***
On a distant world, Darxess’ eyes fluttered open.

“You all right?” a voice asked quietly.

“What do you think?” Darxess growled to Orb. “I just got stabbed.”

“I fixed you up. No damage other than the ice growing on your bones, but that will have to wait until you thaw,” Orb said, hovering back a few inches and throwing a considering look at Darxess.

“Hmph,” Darxess said, examining Orb’s flawless handiwork.

“So,” Orb said slowly, “what are we going to do now?”

“.........I don’t know,” Darxess said. “Go into hiding I guess. They think I’m dead, right?”

Orb nodded.

Darxess’ eyes narrowed with sudden anger. “They took away my future. They’ve left me alive to feel my loss. I’ll make them pay if it’s the last thing I do. I’ll put together something they can’t destroy, something that will destroy them in turn!” Darxess threw back his head and howled to the sky, “I will have revenge!!!”

His cries were lost to the whistling wind, as was Orb’s soft whimpering.


Chapter One:
Framework

The pale pink blossom of the Aphrodite flower was renowned throughout Dark City as the pride of spring. It only bloomed in the “rebirth” season, but in such numbers, one could gaze from any wall in the city and bathe in the reflected pink glow of the billions of petals.

The Aphrodite flower, however, held a dark secret: Weed like, it drowned out all other flower seedlings, cutting the competition out before it could start, killing them before they could sprout and sucking the nutrients from the dead seeds to further their ambitious rise to justice. By summer, the Aphrodite flower would be withering and dying, but no new flower came to replace it.

The Chorus flower, on the other hand, was a passive, beautiful flower, streaked with every shade of blue and purple imaginable, creamed with white. Its soft beauty and rarity gave it a surreal feeling. However, it was now on the verge of extinction due to the Aphrodite flower’s voraciousness.

Darxess considered this to be an accurate representation of his life: the Aphrodite flower could be compared to the Enigmatic Knights, and the Chorus flower the nearly non-existent Nobodies of which he happened to be a member of. The Enigmatic Knights had hunted the Nobodies to near extinction, but somehow, more kept cropping up. Darxess wasn’t surprised, considering that the central government had all but in name lost control of its containment of the Heartless.

Again, no matter what, the Chorus flower somehow survived year to year, despite the suffocating power of the Aphrodite. Darxess recalled that he had read that, although rare, the Chorus flower secreted a poison from its seed to the surrounding area that only the Chorus flower was immune to, effectively destroying any Aphrodite that attempted to come near. Despite this deadly poison, the Chorus flower was peaceful, and kept its elegance to a few hundred flowers each year.

So, the Chorus flower held its own in the deadly dance of competition.

Darxess intended to do the same. He laced his fingers, and studied the group of Nobodies he had gathered together with blazing neon eyes. Over the years, his black hair had turned snow white, and it hung down to a bit past his shoulders, locks of it falling down to frame his stern face and aristocratic chin and cheekbones.

Strong muscles still rippled in the aging Nobody, who was approaching 50, and he filled the snow-white chair in which he sat. The chair was one of several strewn around the room in seeming haphazard pattern, but Darxess knew the secret of this place better than anyone else here.

This had been the base of Organization XIII, and later, Organization XIV. Now, it would be his.

He smiled grimly. The Enigmatic Knights would never see his counter-strike coming. Or would they? Darxess shrugged the feeling off. Time to speculate later. First things first.

Darxess turned to the silver orb that hung over his right shoulder. “It’s time,” he said quietly, but in the silence, his voice carried, stiffening the other Nobodies around the room and bringing them to attention quickly.

He considered for a moment, then said slowly, “Do you know why I have gathered you here?”

Silence followed. Darxess’ already creased brow furrowed, and he stared at each of the members. Finally, the silence was broken.

“What, what am I?” one of the members whispered in a young, dead voice.

Darxess blew air through his sinuses, then answered, “You are a Nobody. You don’t exist, as you have lost your heart.”

The member looked stunned. “Who am I, then, if I am nothing?”

Darxess considered a moment, then stated simply. “Less than you were, but more at the same time. Forge a new name, and replace your old self.”

The member nodded slowly, as did many of the others. “I shall call myself Karxo, to honor my former self but to distance myself from it.”

“From your previous question,” one of the members interrupted before anyone else could speak, “I personally have no idea what I’m doing here. Care to enlighten me?”

Darxess eyed the member cautiously before answering. “If you truly do not know, I have brought you here for revenge, and quite possibly, redemption.”

The member who had spoken leaned forward. “Revenge? Redemption? You speak in riddles, old man.”

“Redemption in the fact that you may regain your hearts,” Darxess said. “This has long been the goal of Nobodies. I see no reason why we shouldn’t be different.”

“Revenge sounds better than redemption,” another member stated in a drawling voice. “Without emotions, I can kill and kill without remorse, or guilt, or, or well anything.”

Darxess frowned. “Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea,” Darxess said to Orb, who nodded.

One of the girls present stared at the member. “Were you a serial killer in your last life?”

The member opened his mouth for a retort, but Darxess cut him off.

“Enough,” Darxess growled.

“The Dark says: No thanks,” the “Dark” said, a member with long black hair. He spat loudly. “But, if the Dark were to consider your offer, who would he be going after for revenge?”

Darxess frowned, and attempted to contain the shadow of rage that still had enough power to blot out his thought train. “The Enigmatic Knights. I have long sworn to make them pay for what they did to me...”

“Oh, great, you had to pick the strong ones,” the girl said, rolling her eyes. “And how does this affect us?”

Darxess leaned back into his chair, considering the young woman over his steepled fingertips. “The Enigmatic Knights are hunting Nobodies to their non-existent graves. Unless you’d like to get hunted like a dog, you’ll help me in defeating the knights.”

“The Dark thinks that this doesn’t sound promising,” Darkrai burst in. “The Dark points out that you’ve survived long enough.”

“Only because the Knights believe me vanquished,” Darxess said smoothly. “If they knew I was alive, they would attempt to take my life once again.”

“Oh, I get it!” Karxo suddenly said, throwing up his hands. “You want us to do your dirty work! What makes us think you’ll get us to go against the most trained soldiers in the world just because they gave you a bad day! You’re an insane old man!”

Darxess’ neon eyes flashed and Karxo cowered. “This old man could own you if he wanted to,” Darxess stated flatly, feeling frustrated. Only moments ago, they had been helpless. They were settling into their roles as Heartless beings all too well. “The problem of training is simple: we train harder, we make sure we are stronger, and the Knights will have little chance of defeating us.”

“Why can’t you do it yourself?” Xalan asked, folding her arms.

Darxess’ mouth twisted. “No one in the universe is powerful enough to take on the collective group of Enigmatic Knights; no one is powerful enough to take them out piecemeal!”

Xalan just sniffed loudly.

Darxess looked into their faces, and saw the truth. “Fine!” he snarled. “If you won’t help me, then at least let me be hospitable and show you to your rooms. Orb!”

Orb shot forward hastily while Darxess sat back and closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

Orb shrugged apologetically to the other members, as Darxess had told him to. If the members would not help him, Orb’s orders were to bring them around, peacefully.

“I’m sorry,” Orb said. “He’s been like this ever since, well, a long time now. Nearly 20 years. He’s the only survivor of Organization XIV, and his hopes of recreating a ‘Ultimate Organization’ are, well, you know, not going as well as he’d hoped. I’m sure he’ll be more compatible tomorrow morning. Now, for your rooms.”

Orb considered the members as he floated down the hall, his scanners detailing out their activities and health to him.

What he saw was rather depressing. Apparently, few of them held Darxess’ unbreakable will, and some were even starting to decay, if not in body, then in mind.

Darkrai, or the Dark, and Karxo, especially, had brain patterns that sporadically jumped everywhere and it mirrored their physical actions. Orb watched as Karxo ran into a door, smiling as blood spurted from his nose.

Xalan tapped on Orb, and Orb sighed. “Yes, Xalan?”

“So, really, how’d he survive? I heard that Organization XIV was a slaughter house,” Xalan said.

“It was,” Orb agreed. “Darxess himself never understood it. They had him cornered, but instead of killing him, they merely incapacitated him, then disappeared, leaving him hurt but alive.”

Xalan seemed to consider this. “So, he wants revenge because they didn’t kill him?”

Orb nodded after a moment. “It’s quite a bit more complicated than that, but it narrows down to that point.”

“Bizarre,” Xalan said.

“Perhaps from your viewpoint, but not from Darxess’,” Orb pointed out. “He had hope in Organization XIV, hope that he would be able to return to the man he once was. The Enigmatic Knights destroyed Organization XIV, crushed them, and as those Nobodies died, so did his dream of becoming real again. They left him an empty shell. Any lesser man would have died, I figure. Nevertheless, Darxess somehow managed to string together his psyche and filled that empty shell with anger and hate. Those dreams are still there, but in so many pieces I doubt even he would be able to piece them back together again.”

“That was way too confusing for the Dark,” Darkrai said.

“I’m not re-explaining,” Orb said irritably. “You’ll have to make do.”

“Eat potatoes,” Darkrai growled.

Orb rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Xalan, we’re at your room. It’s not much, but it should suffice.”

Xalan nodded, and walked into her room, shutting her door on Karxo’s nose as he attempted to follow her and locking it behind her.

Main Characters: Darxess
Secondary Characters: Karxo, Darkrai, Xalan
Other Characters: Orb


Chapter Two
First Assault

Xalan reclined on her queen-sized bed, her small frame sinking into the soft mattress and silken sheets. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Orb had been right when it had said ‘It isn’t much.’ The room was absolutely plain, for Xalan, and she believed, for anyone else’s standards beyond that of a poor beggar. Perhaps this was an exaggeration but, still, she deserved better. Maybe something fit for a queen.

The bed, though soft and large, took up most of the room space, and, like the rest of the room, was a plain dull white that made Xalan want to gag. A small wooden reading desk sat in another corner, and in contrast to the rest of the room, a pile of black clothing on top of a white dresser. Her closet was small, and had two cloaks that perfectly matched the one she was wearing.

That’s just great, she had thought. I’ll have to get a whole new wardrobe.

Not that I mind, she admitted to herself. I like shopping.

Her stomach growled alarmingly as she dozed. She popped her head up and stared at her abdomen. Punctuating another growl, her stomach shifted with a huge heave. Grumbling, Xalan swung her feet over the bed and stood up.

The castle rocked and Xalan tumbled to the floor. A thunderous boom reverberated through the castle, and at first, Xalan thought that lightning had struck the castle.

Annoyed that the castle was prone to such nuisances as lightning bolts, she sprang to her feet and reached for the door.

Through the small vent in the corner, she heard a voice she quickly recognized as Darxess’.

“Finally arrived have you? Well, then, bring it on! Make sure you kill me this time, because if you don’t, I’ll, AGH!”

This time the explosion sent her sprawling backwards into the desk, which fell over and she flipped over it, landing on her back. Just as well, because the wall she’d been standing next to erupted in a shower of splinters and wood as Darxess’ form crashed through it, landing with a massive thump on the floor.

Xalan sprang to her feet and rushed to him, rolling him over to examine his face. A small streak of blood ran by his temple, and she realized all he’d taken was a slightly bumped head. Even as she thought this, his eyes fluttered open.

The door opened, and Xalan looked up as Darxess shook his head and started to rise.

“What happened sir?” a member asked as he came into the already overly crowded room.

Darxess struggled to his feet, and pushed past the member without answering. Down the hall towards the throne room, a wash of flame sped towards him, but Darxess didn’t flinch. He glanced over his shoulder, his glare hard as the other members poked their heads out fearfully.

“Run,” he growled in a barely audible whisper, “or fight.”

A third explosion rocked the castle, and Darxess twisted, racing for the throne room. The floor buckled underneath his feet, but Darxess’ agility kept him on top of things. A wash of flame sped towards him from a ruptured gas pipe, and Darxess’ hand flicked out, capturing the flame into a circular orb of red-orange.

Skidding to a halt, he threw the bomb forward into the throne room. The explosion rocked the floor, and threw several figures inside the throne room to the floor, obliterating them in the intense heat and devilish light of the fire.

Another member skidded to a halt next to him. Darxess nodded to her, and Laxra brushed hair back from her face, staring wide-eyed at the blackened throne room.

“What happened?” Laxra gasped.

“The Knights,” Darxess said simply. “This many Nobodies in one area gives off a rather large signal to their scanners, and so they knew right where to look. They’re trying to wipe us off the face of the worlds. I, for one, am not going to let them.”

Tears flooded his eyes unexpectedly. “I won’t let them hurt me again.”

His eyes closed, then snapped open with rage. “Not again! Not ever!”

Laxra opened her mouth, then shut it. Something awakened in her, some primeval, inexplicable phenomenon that arose with Darxess’ words. Pride and anger filled her, and she nodded.

Then the world imploded.

Both Nobodies found themselves on the ground as a torrent of heat, fire, and deafening sound hit them like a bulldozer. Rubble smashed into them, followed by a cacophony of repeated explosions that sent them into a nearby wall and then crashing to the ground.

Darxess spit grime from his mouth, and rose up on his hands. Smoke poured forward, but through the haze, he could see.

Rain-slicked armor reflected the fire’s light. Keyblades shone in the light. Booted feet slammed forward. Gloved hands clenched. Jaws tightened. Unit 6, black against the silver of their armor, was nestled on every arm.

Darxess threw himself upright, and howled with rage.

The Knights had come.

Darxess raced forward, his hands a blur. Fire sprang out, attacking the knights with rapid fire. At first, the armor turned the flames aside, but repeated blows to the same area burnt and twisted it, and the first knight died, his heart cooked and his body suffering acute combustion.

Laxra felt herself lifted to her feet, and she stared into the face of Darkrai, who grinned.

“The Dark believes the fun is that way,” he said, pointing and putting her on her feet. Not waiting for her, he sprang forward, pulling out a short sword and landing on a knight’s shoulders, sword crashing down to shatter the man’s helmet. The next blow went deeper.

Darkrai howled with glee, then looked to his leader. Pressed back, Darxess seemed to be realizing rather quickly that flames were useless against cold steel blades. The ‘Dark’ laughed insanely, and leapt forward, intent on rescuing his leader. All he succeeded in doing was getting kicked in the gut.

“The Dark thinks that hurt!” Darkrai groaned, and the knight smirked as its blade flicked out to finish Darkrai.

The blow was intercepted by a quick thrust by Xalan, who spun around and stabbed upward, catching the knight at a crease in the armor and slipping upwards into the man’s burning heart. Long knives a blur, she winked at Darkrai and spun into another knight, who proceeded to kick her in the head with a roundhouse and stab downwards.

Xalan rolled to the side as Darkrai swung forward. The knight blinked before his headless body collapsed to the ground.

“The Dark returns the favor!” Darkrai winked back at Xalan. Xalan rolled her eyes.

Quickly, the two selected new targets, but as Darkrai raced for his, Laxra got there first.

Dirty brown keyblade flashing in and out with deft movements, she drove the surprised knight back and then summoned her key’s inner power. Arrows burst from it and pierced the knight. The knight cried out and then died just as quickly as Laxra slammed it her blade through his chest.

Disappointed, Darkrai turned to watch as Xalan interceded a blow for Darxess. Without time to react, Xalan crashed into a wall, heaved there by another knight. She reached for her hips as the knight thrust forward, and suddenly a dark beam lanced into the knight, spinning him back, dark lightning arcing over him.

A fourth member landed on top of another knight who threatened the agile Darxess, instantly growing massive muscles and his head contorting into something vaguely animal-like.

Three keyblades took him through the chest, but he hardly seemed to notice. A simple sweep of his massive arm sent the three knights sprawling, armor heavily dented.

Darxess flipped upwards onto a chair, utilizing its technology to raise himself above the battle.

“Too bad I never learned to fight with anything but my hands,” he muttered. “I’m getting too old for this. Too slow. However, I do believe that these are nothing more than Public Defense Knights.”

Orb appeared. “They have the emblem of Unit 6 on their armor sir.”

Darxess nodded slowly. “They’ve gotten sloppy now that no significant challenge has run their way. These are probably nothing more than trainees sent in to sharpen their skills.”

Orb shrugged. “So, what do we do now?”

Two knights rushed for the base of the chair. “What we always do, I suppose,” Darxess growled, and he snapped his fingers. Flames leaped from Orb as the sphere leapt forward, slamming through the chair and sending it crashing forward into the knights as Darxess effortlessly flipped around and over it, landing gracefully.

Orb lanced out again, catching a knight in a heavy blow in the lower jaw before returning to crash through the man’s body. Meanwhile, four knights rushed Darxess in a pincer attack.

Darxess slammed a hand into the earth and the floor ruptured. The knights screamed as earth spikes jutted upwards, ripping their bodies apart with incredible disdain.

“Fools,” Darxess muttered.

The glass ceiling abruptly shattered as another explosion slammed into the wall. Darxess summoned a shield of ice as Orb returned to him, protecting himself from the glass.

Darkrai, Xalan, and Laxra were fortunate to be near the wall, so the glass didn’t shatter near them. The massive member who was still fighting about seven knights at once, though, took the brunt of the killing shards.

Darxess winced as seven knights and one organization member fell to pieces. The member exploded in darkness and disappeared.

“At least Nobodies aren’t messy when they die,” Orb said optimistically.

Half a second later, the follow-up explosion ripped the wall apart and buried Darkrai, Laxra, and Xalan in rubble. Darxess ran forward as the members popped out of the rubble, wincing and limping from the damage. The knights regrouped behind them.

Darxess turned to look out into the knight and his eyes widened. “The leader! I want that one alive! We’ll kill the rest!”

The knights charged forward as their leader arrived on the scene, resplendent in his silver armor, outfitted with black lettering, a sign of his rank.

Xalan twisted out two more knives and threw them, impaling a knight. Darkrai sucked another one into darkness. Laxra used water to drown two more, then the wave was upon them. Darxess narrowly avoided a downward slapping blade before Orb ripped through the man’s chest.

Roundhouse kicking another knight, he slashed downwards with his fingers and lightning sprayed through the broken ceiling into more knights, sending them deep into death.

Darkrai managed to kill his opponent through sheer luck as the knight slipped on Laxra’s overflow of water. Xalan dodged a blow and ending up killing the knight by accidentally letting go of her weapon. Laxra tripped and slashed forward, killing her knight.

Only 10 more to go. Darxess summoned his long unused powers and Orb danced forward. Three seconds later, the knights were down, and Darxess twisted to face the Captain.

What he met was the business end of a rapier as it dove into his stomach. Darxess’ eyes bulged and he sank to the ground. The Knight allowed Darxess to fall off his blade, then saluted the three remaining members with his blade.

A dizzying display of swordsmanship opened up small cuts and slashes along the members’ bodies, despite their best attempts at defending themselves. Xalan, suddenly calm, knew this was the end. Pity they’d barely begun to fight.

Suddenly, Karxo was there, his own sword lashing out and catching the rapier in action. The Captain and Karxo matched each other in speed, but the Captain was a better swordsman. Cuts opened along Karxo, and he gritted his teeth.

Then Orb crashed into the back of the knight and sent him sprawling. The four members dashed forward, but the knight was quicker. Four quick slices and the four members fell back: Laxra grabbed at a bleeding stomach, Xalan at her sliced legs, Darkrai grabbing his torn face, and Karxo desperately trying to hold onto the wound in his side.

The knight stood and smirked.

A sudden gust of air filled the room, and the knight’s smirk died. He turned and his eyes narrowed.

A lone figure stood framed in the moonlight. The breeze gusted about his frame, tousling his dirty brown hair. Ice blue eyes peered out of this mess like frozen fire.

Wing, Master of Gales, smiled broadly and waved, calling out, “Guess I got here just in time!”

Like a hurricane, Wing sprang forward, the wind blowing forward like an anvil to drive into the knight. Keyblade of wind in hand, Wing landed and pivoted, slashing upwards to disembowel the knight.

The Captain leaped back from the blow, and landed heavily, thrown to the ground by Wing’s superb wind control.

Wing thrust in a killing blow, but was riposted by the Captain’s rapier and had to duck a quick counter that would have split his neck in half.

“That might have been painful,” a rueful Wing admitted with a smile.

By this time, Orb had successfully healed Darxess, who now rose from the floor and pointed.

Wing blocked another blow, then another, and, quite suddenly, ducked downwards. The Captain blinked, then twisted to avoid the flaming Orb as it crashed towards him.

Neither goal was accomplished: Orb did not kill the Captain, and the Captain did not successfully dodge the blow. Instead, Orb clipped the Captain, sending him sprawling. Earth sprang upwards and wrapped around the Captain’s wrists and ankles, restraining him sufficiently.

“Now, for the interrogation,” Darxess said, a slow smile spreading across his face.

Wing, utterly confused by all this, smiled.

Karxo, Darkrai, Larxa, and Xalan stood as Orb sent a low-level healing spell at them. Still wounded, and covered in soot, they marched forward to surround the knight.

The knight threw back his head and burst into laughter.

Main Characters: Wing
Secondary Characters: Laxra
Other Characters: None


Chapter Three
Oxyrt

“Do you understand now, you fools?” Darxess asked in a voice tight with anger. He gestured, a gesture that took in the shattered ceiling, the broken wall, the cracked floor. “Do you understand why we have to destroy the Knights?”

“Excuse me,” Wing said, raising a hand. “Could someone explain to me what’s been going on? I’m new.” He laughed sheepishly.

Darxess nodded. “Orb.”

Orb floated forward. “This was going to be the headquarters of the Ultimate Organization. However, when Darxess summoned all of the Nobodies he could find here, and sent out a signal for more to come, he quickly realized that although most Nobodies shared common ground, they were unwilling to help him in his endeavor.”

“What was his endeavor?” Wing asked, confused.

“To destroy the Enigmatic Knights,” Orb said. “This has been Darxess’ goal for over 20 years. Then the Knights attacked us, and you arrived. By the way, who are you?”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” Wing said. “My name is Wing, and I am the Master of Gales. Or at least, I like to think I am.”

Darxess eyed Wing up and down. “Are you willing to fight the Knights?”

“I came here, right?” Wing said, shrugging. “Now, what about our armored friend over here?”

“You’re all insane,” the knight said. “There’s no way you can take on the Enigmatic Knights and survive.”

“Arrogant pup!” Darxess growled. “You think we can’t? We destroyed your regiment easily!”

“Sure you did,” the knight said sarcastically.

“Enough!” Darxess snarled. “Remove his helmet! I want to see his face!”

“Can’t stand your reflection in my visor?” the knight sneered.

Xalan stepped forward, and yanked.

“OW! Not like that, you little brat! There’s three snaps on the other side!” the knight yelped. “Geez.”

Xalan shrugged and reached around, unsnapping the helmet and lifting it off. She stepped back, and her eyes narrowed. “That looks like, like...”

“Do I look familiar?” the knight snickered. “I should, because I’m...”

“Kill him!” Darxess interrupted, and Wing glanced over at him to see rage dotting his face in every way possible. “He, he was one of the Knights who attacked and destroyed Organization XIV!”

Wing raised a hand. “Wait a minute, Darxess. I thought this was an interrogation, not an execution.”

Darxess snarled, and turned away. Orb shrugged.

Wing turned back to the knight. “Who are you?”

“The name’s Roka,” the knight said with a full-blown sneer. “He’s right. Before I was promoted, I was in the attack that wiped out Organization XIV. Since then, I’ve got a promotion to the rank of Captain and, well, I guess I’ll have to get a new regiment and all, but...”

“The Dark would like to know what ever gave you the idea that we were going to let you go,” Darkrai said malevolently.

Roka shrugged. “Maybe you weren’t going to, but you will.”

“And how’s that?” Laxra asked.

“I’ll escape, I’m warning you now,” Roka said smugly.

“Huh?” Darkrai said.

“I’m one of you,” Roka said, his eyes narrowing in intense hatred. “My other is standing behind you.”

“He’s right,” Karxo said, stepping forward. “I am him and he is me. But we’re not the same. I’m the better half.”

“I’m the real half, insect!” Roka roared. “The original! You’re just a pathetic copy come to life!”

Karxo stared hard at the knight. “Throw him in the dungeon.”

Wing scratched his head. “Yeah, but won’t he escape?”

Karxo froze. “How’s that?”

Wing shrugged. “He said he would.”

Karxo relaxed. “I’ll lock him down myself.”

***
Karxo shut the dungeon door behind the two, then turned to Roka. “I’m letting you go.”

Roka sneered. “Duh. The question is why?”

Karxo sighed. “You’re my other. I can’t let them hurt you.”

“Hmm,” Roka said. “So you don’t wish to hurt me, huh?”

Karxo nodded.

“Unfortunately,” Roka said, “I don’t share the same values as you.”

With a twist of his wrist, he summoned his keyblade and the next instant, Karxo’s eyes bulged and he gasped like a fish as Roka stabbed him. Karxo exploded into darkness and Roka laughed as he went.

“Well, that takes care of that,” Roka said, stepping through a door and moving quickly to the outside. “Now, time to report things to the Commander.”

***
Wing smiled and waved as the replacement throne room, a large room with several couches on it, and a table full of refreshments, quickly filled up with Nobodies. New members were arriving at a steady rate, but Darxess seemed unhappier than ever. Quietly, Wing assumed it was because no one would join his cause.

And no wonder, really, Wing thought, as he approached a group of members. Who would want to throw your life away for a hopeless cause, even if you are a Nobody? Me, that’s who, Wing thought ruefully, then chuckled bitterly to himself and reached for a cup of cherry soda.

A new member stepped up near him, reaching for the orange soda that was sitting next to the cherry. “Evening,” the member said cordially, “the name’s Oxyrt.”

Wing eyed the member out of the corner of his eye. Seemed sane enough.

“I’m Wing,” Wing said, taking an outstretched hand in a firm shake.

Oxyrt smiled, and brushed silver hair out of his dark brown eyes. “I have to say, this is almost pathetic. Darxess’ speech to all us newbies ended with saying, ‘This is the Ultimate Organization.’”

“What’s wrong with that? I think the idea of an unstoppable organization is a good one,” Wing said.

“Yes, but there’s nothing ‘ultimate’ about any of these guys,” Oxyrt said, spreading his hands and turning around. “I mean, look at them.”

Wing glanced over his shoulder as Darkrai and some other random member ran into each other, apparently attempting some sort of head-butting tactic.

“Everything starts small,” Wing said slowly.

“Yeah, but not insane,” Oxyrt said. “I don’t even know why I came here.”

“Perhaps because you were about to found by knights, and the likelihood of them finding you particularly in a crowded room of Nobodies is rather low,” Wing said, sipping his soda.

Oxyrt blinked. “Whoa.”

Wing smiled. “It’s a talent.”

Oxyrt folded his arms. “That’s another thing. The Knights have been chasing us for years, some of us longer than others, and we all know just how powerful they really are. With this ragtag bunch, there’s no way we can win.”

“Just yesterday, we did pretty well,” Wing said defensively.

Oxyrt face-palmed. “No, no you didn’t. Xalan and Laxra are in the hospital, out of commission for who knows how long, Darxess was very nearly killed, and we lost two Nobodies! There were only thirty Knights!”

“Seems we did a rather good job,” Wing said. “Two vs. thirty in casualties.”

“They have billions of members!” Oxyrt howled. “We have around twenty now! That’s a full tenth of our members that were killed yesterday! They lost a billionth, if we’re lucky!”

“Still, it shows that Nobodies, overall, are tougher than a Knight,” Wing said. “That means we can take down a large amount of them with minimal casualties.”

Oxyrt eyed Wing. “You’re joking, right?” He sighed. “Look, if we lose two members for every thirty Knights we destroy, we’ll end up running out of members and only having killed 300 Knights.”

“Hmm, but Unit 6 can’t have billions of members,” Wing said. “Surely there’s not very many more than 300.”

“Are you kidding?” Oxyrt said, incredulous. “There’s more than 300 in a single division of Unit 6! There’s more than 300 in a single section of a single division of Unit 6! In Unit 6, the estimation of knights is around 150,000!” Oxyrt took a deep breath. “For that matter, I checked the armor on those knights. They’re from Unit 6, but they’re the division of Public Service Knights they usually send after groups like this. They’re just trainees compared to the real members of Unit 6. Yesterday could be compared to chewing on a pancake compared to rubber.”

Wing sighed. “So, what do you propose we do?”

“Take as many out as possible,” Oxyrt said without hesitation.

“But you just said,” Wing began, but Oxyrt cut him off.

“Yes, I know, I was just trying to get you to realize we have absolutely no chance,” Oxyrt said. “But, you know, I’d rather go out with a small bang than none at all.”

Wing nodded. “I see. So you’ll join us.”

“Of course,” Oxyrt said. “Was there ever any doubt? However, I do propose that we don’t just blindly run into battle.”

“What do you mean?” Wing asked.

“The Knights are rather secretive in nature,” Oxyrt said, carefully. “They’ve got sectors all over the worlds. We’ll need to find out where their base of operations is for Unit 6. I know about a powerful seer that can find out where this base is for us, but I’m not sure about his current location.”

“So, you’re saying that we’ll have to find this seer first of all?” Wing asked. “Sounds pretty simple.”

“Sounds better than it is,” Oxyrt said. “I suggest we start looking here.”

A map popped out from his hand and Oxyrt pointed. “Twilight Town. It’s close and Yen Sid is another really powerful mage who might be able to point us in the right direction.”

Wing nodded. “Think we can do it before the superior comes back?”

“Sure,” Oxyrt said, “besides who’ll miss us?”

“Famous last words,” a voice said from behind them. Wing and Oxyrt turned to peer over the food-strewn table at a mischievous looking member. “Howdy,” the member said.

“What do you want?” Oxyrt asked warily.

“I want to come with y’all,” the member said. “Name’s Xegreny.”

“And if we don’t let you come with us...” Oxyrt let his voice trail off as a grin spread across Xegreny’s broad mouth.

“I tell everyone you’re undercover for the knights and we’ll see how long you last,” Xegreny said.

“Oh, blackmail, is it?” Oxyrt asked. “It won’t work.”

“Really? People have heard you badmouthing ‘em,” Xegreny winked.

Wing sighed. “All right, you can come with us. I hope you’re worth something more than that arrogant grin.”

Quickly, the three members outlined their plans.

“The quickest way to Twilight Town is through some stable dark portal that will lead us straight there,” Oxyrt said.

Wing nodded, and Xegreny grinned. “We’ll follow your lead,” Wing said.

Oxyrt beckoned and marched for the door. Glancing at Wing, Xegreny quickly followed. Wing sighed and followed. He had a bad feeling about this...

Main Characters: Oxyrt, Xegreny
Secondary Characters: None
Other Characters: None

Chapter Four
Mission of Secrets

“I’m not completely incoherent you know,” a deep voice said from behind them.

Wing, Oxyrt, and Xegreny froze in their tracks, and as one, turned to look behind them at a calm, but hard-eyed, Darxess.

“Oh, Superior,” Wing said, smiling and waving.

“So, you really think this mage will pull through?” Darxess said, ignoring Wing and speaking directly to Oxyrt.

“Yes,” Oxyrt said bluntly. “Think of him as a sort of prophet of knowledge. He knows everything there is to know, and even stuff that isn’t.”

Darxess nodded slowly. “Very well. I’ll let you all go to Twilight Town...talk to Yen Sid, and then come back here and report.”

Wing saluted, and turned to see Oxyrt and Xegreny already halfway down the hill, heading for Dark City.

“Hey, wait you guys!” Wing said, running after them.

Darxess stood there for a moment, then turned to the ever-present Orb. “Go with them. Get back in touch with my old contacts and see if we can’t get a network going on the side.”

Orb shrugged, and sped off after Wing and the others.

Darxess stared after them for a moment, then turned and walked back into the castle.

***
Shivering in the cold damp of the dark, wet cave, she sat in silence, only broken by the steady dripping of water onto her body. Head hung low, her eyes simmered with a burning energy that belied her bruised and beaten body. Welts covered her back and every movement sparked agony.

After a moment, the knight spoke, “Do you finally understand that escape is futile?”

The girl looked up, and the knight drew back from the ferocious hatred in the girl’s eyes. “I’ll never give in. You’ll never get away with this...” Her eyes narrowed. “Release me, and I might spare your life. Continue containing me, and I will take great pleasure in...”

Her head snapped to one side with a resounding crack as the knight backhanded her across the face. The blow resounded around the room, and only after the echoes faded, did the knight lower his hand. He grabbed the girl’s chin and looked into her eyes, and this time, it was the girl who shied back.

“I warned you not to threaten me,” the knight spat in her face. “I’m afraid you’ve been very naughty, and now must be punished.”

The girl squirmed as the knight pulled the whip from his belt once again...

***
Xalan had found that the only way to ease the pain was to take hot baths. She didn’t know why she kept feeling it. It wasn’t hers, that much she knew.

Somehow, though, she felt connected. At first, it had felt like liquid fire trailing down her back, but when she looked, there was nothing there. Next had come the splitting headaches, toothaches, and sharp pains as if her bones were cracking apart. Now it seemed there was both at once. They didn’t last for very long, as if she were only glimpsing into someone else’s torturous life.

Xalan shivered, despite the warmth of the water around her. Urgency...pain...none of it made sense...

Suddenly, she got the urge to laugh. So she did, long and hard. Afterwards, a simple question flitted through her brain: What is happening to me?

She didn’t have an answer, and was very afraid that her mind would crack before she did.

***
As they walked, they talked of the legend.

Xegreny brought it up. “Do you guys remember when this world didn’t use to be so...well, green?”

Wing shrugged. “I haven’t ever been here before.”

Oxyrt shrugged as well. “Things tend to grow, Xegreny.”

“Yeah, but...About nine years ago, our castle was in the middle of Dark City, and the forest, well, the forest wasn’t even here,” Xegreny pushed.

“True enough,” Oxyrt said. “A keyblade master changed it all.”

Wing’s ears perked up. “Hmm, a keyblade master you say?”

Oxyrt nodded. “You’ve probably heard of him in one form or another. He disappeared shortly after he destroyed Organization XIII.”

Xegreny looked puzzled. “Organization XIII?”

“An organization of Nobodies that were set on regaining their hearts through any means possible,” Oxyrt elaborated. “Their method was actually to create an artificial Kingdom Hearts by capturing the hearts released by a keyblade when it destroys a Heartless.”

“Interesting hypothesis,” Wing said. “Did it work?”

“In theory, it might have,” Oxyrt admitted. “But, their form of manipulation was to set the Heartless on the worlds and wait for the keyblade master of the time to slaughter them.”

“Thereby, creating widespread havoc,” Xegreny said. “Problem 1.”

“Another of their methods was to coerce strong-willed individuals into becoming a Heartless,” Oxyrt said.

“Even worse,” Xegreny said. “Creeps.”

“They gave Nobodies a bad name, it is true,” Oxyrt said. “And they’re the main reason Organization XIV and even why we Nobodies of today are being attempted to be destroyed.”

“So, this keyblade master destroyed Organization XIII?” Wing asked.

“Yeah, and afterwards, people just kind of showed up here,” Oxyrt said. “Like they’d regained their hearts or something. Actually, the castle used to be in the smack dab center of a giant hole in Dark City.”

“What hole?” Wing asked, peering over Dark City.

“It’s not there anymore,” Oxyrt said. “The removal of the castle to the forest and the closure of the schism I can say, without any doubt, did not happen thanks to the keyblade master...at least, not that one.”

“Interesting,” Wing said. “So there’s someone out there with enough power to physically move a castle and close a giant hole in the ground without disturbing any of the natural elements around the area...”

Oxyrt shrugged. “Seems so.”

“That went way over my head,” Xegreny said.

***
Word spread like fire: Of a large group of pathetic Nobodies attempting to regain their hearts and enact revenge against the Enigmatic Knights, of the Enigmatic Knights’ failed attempt to eliminate the group, and of three members leaving on a supposed quest...

Within a day, half the galaxy’s attention was turned towards Dark City.

Bets were placed: 1 to about 6 billion for the Enigmatic Knights. Surprisingly, rumor spread that the head of the Central Government placed a bet that the Ultimate Organization would win.

***
He walked in the damp streets, gunblade strapped to his back, black book in one hand, pen scribbling notes in the other...The Ultimate Organization. His thought: Nothing to lose...

***
He walked the tangled forest floor of his home, thoughtful on the rumor of an Ultimate Organization. His thoughts: Just a rumor, but perhaps worth looking into... (Ask Nulix who this is)

***
She walked the shattered streets of Radiant Garden, her only possession hung around her neck...the small locket playing a sad song for her memories. Her thought: There’s nothing left now...

***
He stood on the mountain peak, and reached to touch the clouds, his dark brown hair misted and tied past his dark brown leather armor...His thought: The Ultimate Organization, key to finding...

***
Some time later, Wing, Oxyrt, and Xegreny popped into the belly of the mansion in Twilight Town.

Immediately, Wing felt cold. “Have any of you ever been here before?”

“Yes,” Oxyrt said slowly, and looked as if he was going to say something more, then closed his mouth and turned away.

“Be on your guard,” Wing said after a moment. “Something does not feel right about this place.”

Oxyrt pointed. “The exit is this way.”

The others followed him through the sliding door and into another room. Wing gasped as he saw the feature of the room: a broken, smashed, and mutilated computer.

“It looks like someone...sliced it with a blade,” Wing said, stepping up to it and examining it closely. “And with a vengeance. Someone really wanted this gone...But why?”

Xegreny pulled open a compartment. “A...freezer? Looks like it ran out of power...But recently, the inside is still cold.”

He reached in and pulled out a light blue ice cream bar. An experimental lick nearly made him gag.

“Uck! Salty...but sweet at the same time!” Xegreny coughed. “Who would do such a thing to ice cream?”

Oxyrt took it from him. “I’ve had it before. It’s a town specialty.”

Orb suddenly floated into the room, and Wing jumped up.

“Orb? When did you get here?” Wing asked. “Did Darxess send you?”

“He wants me to check up on some old contacts,” Orb said morosely. “If you guys need any help, I’ll stick around for a bit before heading off.”

“Actually, yes,” Wing said. “Do you know what this place is?”

Orb nodded. “Yes. This is the Twilight Town Mansion. It’s been abandoned since an unknown keyblade master came through here and entered the portal you just went through. Don’t know where he went, but it’s believed he killed the two residents: an old man and a young girl, since neither were seen after he entered.”

Oxyrt, Xegreny, and Wing exchanged glances. “Could it be the same one?” Xegreny asked.

Oxyrt shrugged. “It doesn’t really seem to fit with his character, but it might have been.”

Oxyrt walked up the nearby stairs into sunlight. “Up here, guys.”

Wing and Xegreny followed him. Wing pointed at debris covering another door to the right. “What’s behind that?”

Orb shrugged. “Good question. Now one’s been in it.”

Wing walked forward and tugged at the wreckage. “Whoa! This stuff is a lot heavier than it looks!”

Xegreny walked over and helped shove. “Gack! It is!”

Oxyrt rolled his eyes and reached over as well. Together, they heaved and shoved and panted and sweated, but the pillar they were pushing didn’t move.

Orb laughed as they collapsed. “I told you, no one’s been in it. Didn’t you think there was a reason?”

“This is going to take serious manpower,” Wing said.

“Problem,” Xegreny said. “No one’s going to care enough to help us.”

Wing stood up and brushed himself off. “Oh well, let’s move on.”

Oxyrt stood as well. “Hey, Orb, didn’t the Knights use this as a base, once?”

Orb glowed faintly. “That’s right. I’d forgotten.”

“How does a machine forget?” Xegreny asked innocently.

Orb ignored him. “They vacated the place shortly before the old man and girl moved in, however, so they haven’t been here for some time.”

Wing stopped short. “If the Knights used this place, we should at least check it out. I’m sure Darxess won’t mind.”

Oxyrt climbed up the stairs and walked out of the room into the main hall. “I’ll check over there in the other room on this floor. Wing, check downstairs with Xegreny.”

Wing nodded, and he and Xegreny moved off.

Oxyrt moved around the balcony to the other side, and opened the door into a stark white room. Sighing at how bland it was, he looked around at the faded crayon and pencil drawings strewn about the room. A glint of something newer caught his eye.

He reached over and picked it up. It was a photograph of many people in black coats: a man with wings, a young girl with a small smile, another young woman with straight black hair, a man with dirty blond hair in front, two men with red hair, one of which was gigantic and towered over everyone else, a man with an enormous grin, and a multitude of other figures behind them all.

But what really caught his eye was what was scrolled at the bottom: “The Ultimate Organization. Your time will come.”

“The Ultimate Organization,” Oxyrt wheezed, sinking into a chair. “It’s not possible.”

Hurriedly, he checked the date. “But...that’s...impossible...”

The date was set twenty years in the past. He flipped the card over and read a small passage written there.

“We’ll see you in the future, Oxyrt.”

“Wing! Xegreny!” Oxyrt howled, leaping to his feet.

That’s when the floor plummeted, and Oxyrt felt himself falling...

***
Oxyrt opened his eyes groggily. He was lying on his back in darkness...No, wait, there was light straight above him. So far up...

Slowly, he flexed his muscles, testing his bones to see if anything was broken. Finally, he stood, reassured that nothing besides a rather large bruise on his right arm was hurt. He noticed a lamp and pointed his sword at it.

“Fire,” he called, and blue fire shot from his blade and hit the lantern, igniting it, and in turn, igniting another and another. Suddenly, the room was alight with blue light, and Oxyrt realized this wasn’t a room after all.

It was an entire underground city. Staring upwards, his mouth dropped open at the sheer size of the building he was standing at the base on.

“I think I’d rather have stuck to Kansas, Toto,” Oxyrt muttered.

Cold penetrated his senses, and he realized suddenly that he wasn’t alone...

Chapter Overview
Main Characters: Xegreny
Secondary Characters: None
Other Characters: None

So there you go. Since the Dawn of Doom thread is closed, we'll have to make another one, but this will be what comes up.

Anyhow, sorry about last night, I ran out of time on the internet and got kicked off.

 

OOC: Thank you Darknight, as soon as I read over our edit for a final check it will be posted up on Fanfiction.net.

 

OOC: Yeah, no sweat. I'm working on Chapter Five right now. Can you PM me your account and password again?

 

OOC: You're posting it on fanfic.net? And good find Darknight.


BIC: Xane fell asleep watching television. He slowly woke up and wondered what was for breakfast. Downstairs he heard a piercing scream. It sounded like Mellodia. Xane ran downstairs.

 

OOC: Hey guys. What'd I miss?

 

OOC: That's awesome! XD
Whch reminds me I haven't used the account on that fanfic for a while...XD Anyway nice job DarKnight, especially with the beginning. Interesting intro.

BIC: Bellatrix took a deep breath as she hid in an alley, watching as guards passed her. That....was too....close.... She had been spotted again, but not by her own doing this time. This game of cat and mouse is starting to irritate me. I'll need to find a way to get out of here by tricking someone into giving me some info. After that, i'm out of here. She quickly stepped into the street once more, trying to look as normal as possible although she still slightly stuck out.

 

Nulix awoke to a scream. ​

 

OOC:......*Sigh* I knew this was gonna come.

BIC: Geryl walked around the streets staying out of sights from teh guards.

 

OOC: Geryl, where are you now?


BIC: Xane ran downstairs to find Mellodia crying over her grandfather.......who was lying over the counter with an arrow piercing straight through his heart.

"What happened?" Xane asked. "Who did this?"


"I d-don't know!" Mellodia sobbed. "I just came in here to bring him some tea and-!"


Xane, not really knowing what to say only managed a "It'll be okay. We'll figure this out."

 

OOC: How am I supposed to know! I asked what happened and no one answered! I'll just be at the place where we got busted.

 

"Heheh" Nulix giggled as he walked down the stairs... ​

 

Xardius stepped out of the office carrying a large sack stuffed to the brim.

Hurriedly, he walked out of the office and down the elevator, heading for the inn he knew his friends were at.

 

OOC: You should read back. We left that world. Now we're in a hotel.

And why is Nulix giggling? It scares me.


BIC: "Yo, Nulix! We've got a bit of a problem here..." Xane said.

It was only about to get worse......

 

OOC:.... nvmd. I 'll just stay behind.

 

OOC: Never mind. I gotta go. See ya.

 

Nulix walked at a steady pace down the stairs "Whats the problem Xane?" Nulix asked.

 

"Mellodia's grandad is dead." Xane said pointing at the man. "We don't know who did it or if he's even in the hotel. And-....."

Xane stopped talking as sirens were heard outside.

"You'd better go." Mellodia said.

"But-" Xane started.


"I'll handle it. There will be more trouble if you guys stay." Mellodia said.

 

"What now?!" Nulix yelled, tripping down the stairs and somehow landing on his feet at the bottom
"What will we do!? Should we get him to a hospital?!" Nulix panicked. ​

 

"He's dead." Xane said flatly. "I say we-"


"Leave." Mellodia said sternly.


"What?" Xane asked.


"Leave!" Mellodia said as she motioned towards the front door. Officer's were starting to arrive at the scene. Hojan's Elite. "Go out through the back. Now!"