Absolution's Reign: A Kingdom Hearts Story

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 1: Reign’s Beginning

Draco had been spending the last week on vacation at the beach with his family after enduring a grueling year of high school at the Twilight Town High School. He was sitting on the beach lounging around listening to his MP3’s while everyone else was swimming having fun, then he heard his sister yell out “Hey Draco, come on in the water’s great!” Draco thought “Oh well… why not?” He put away his things and put his swimsuit on and jumped in. After an hour of swimming everyone got out and Draco went to go and get changed into his regular clothes, a black dragon shirt with the words “Teneo thy Fatum” which was Latin for “Know thy Destiny” and a pair of blue denim jeans.

After he had finally finished changed he heard his sister scream, in desperation he yanked the door open telling “What’s going on?” he gasped as he looked out, hundreds of black shadows surrounded his family, he quickly ran to his bag and pulled out a pair of burst handguns which he always carried with him and started firing at them but the bullets went right through them. Draco kept firing and firing until one of the shadows knocked him into a sand bank, he yelled in pain and saw all of the shadows coming towards him his family started to yell for help but no one came.

As he sat there watching the shadows come ever closer he thought to himself “This is it for me” as his family continued to yell for help. Then, in a split second all of the shadow leapt on him and Draco found himself being overcome with darkness but just before darkness had completely overcome him, a bright light shined in front of him and he heard a voice saying “Don’t give up, you have the power to defeat the darkness within you!”

The bright light knocked all of the shadows away and he stood up feeling re-energized, and then a blade appeared in his hand. Draco jumped back for a second and then stared at the blade, it was white with a gold chain running down it and also had a gold handle and was shaped like a key, as he stared at it he felt a strange power flowing through him, then his arm lifted itself and he yelled something as if something was controlling him, when he yelled several shadows disappeared and saw hearts floating up into the air from the dark shadows.

He stood there amazed and then heard a voice in his head saying “Absolution” he looked at the blade and said “So this blade is called Absolution, well then… it’s payback time!” he took the blade in both hands and rushed at the shadows. One at a time he destroyed the dark shadows with his blade with ease as his family stood there in disbelief after he finished the last one was destroyed he stood there relieved, but then more shadows appeared he leapt back saying “There’s more of these things?!?”.

He then thought of what happened before about how he destroyed several of them by yelling, he figured that this blade gave him some sort of psychic powers. Thinking this he raised his right arm and yelled hard and all of them disappeared, but more shadows appeared in their place. He kept yelling at them, destroying wave after wave of shadows and after the last wave disappeared he fell to the ground exhausted, as he saw his family rushing over towards him. They run over to him and his sister yelled “What on earth just happened, what where those things?” “I don’t know but whatever they were, they’re gone now” he replied exhaustingly, “You aren’t hurt are you?” his mother asked. “I’m fine mum, just a bit exhausted ” Draco replied

He just started to catch his breath when the ground started to shake, he said “What now?” and then a huge monster rose out of the ocean, his sister said in a panicking voice “another one?” Draco quickly replied, “No, this one is different from those other creatures”, Draco knew that this monster wasn’t the same as the shadows because he could sense that this being only had half a heart still he tried to lift up his blade but he had used the last of his energy destroying the shadows.

“We have to get out of there quickly” Draco exclaimed, his family agreed and his dad lifted him up and carried him to the train station which quite far, they tried to run as fast as they could but the creature was rapidly approaching from behind, then his dad dropped him out of exhaustion and the creature was soon towering over them. Draco tried to lift his blade again but still had not recovered his strength from the battle before, the creature stared at them leering, then it reached down to try and grab Draco but before it could do so it just disappeared, and standing in its place was a teenager about the same age as him he wore a black jumpsuit similar to those a drifter would wear and carried a long dark blade. The teenager walked over to Draco and said “Are you all right?” Draco replied “I’m okay, thanks for saving us”, “No need to thank me” he replied, then Draco’s sister said “ You also have my thanks but… who are you?”

“Oh I’m sorry my apologies my name is Xonic, Xonic Cryoliz and I live in Twilight Town, same as you” Xonic explained. “That’s an interesting blade you have there where did you acquire it?” he asked. “I don’t know, there were these shadow creatures before and they attacked me, and when I thought I was done for a bright light appeared and this blade appeared in my hand” Draco explained. After hearing this Xonic appeared deep in thought and said in a soft voice, “So your keyblade has returned to you”, “Keyblade? What’s a Keyblade?” Draco asked. Xonic turned towards Draco and explained, “A Keyblade is a sacred blade given only to those who are pure in heart in, light, darkness or even of the twilight, which you have been chosen as”

Draco was stunned and then asked “But what was it that I did before? I just yelled and those shadows disappeared”, “Each keyblade has it’s own special effect or ability, in your case it seemed to bestow you with what seemed to be psychic abilities and that is an ability not common in keyblades” Xonic explained and then said in a low voice with a hint of disbelief “Hmm I guess his magic was stronger than I thought"

Draco sat there trying to figure out what was going on but he thought that it could wait for later and asked “Look Xonic would you be able to help us get back to Twilight Town? Because we’re exhausted from trying to get away from those… things”, “Sure” Xonic replied, he lead Draco and his family to the Train Station while Draco’s parents struggled to carry him to the station because he was still tired from before.

When they reached the station Xonic turned around and said “Well here we are”, “Look Draco if you need to discuss this matter some more in private come and see me at my house and I’ll tell you everything, who knows you and me might become good friends" Xonic began to say then lowered his voice and said "Or you'll might end up remembering those memories" Draco heard and said "Wait a minute what do you mean-" But was cut off by Xonic saying “Well, so long!” and vanished in front of their eyes. And with that they boarded the train and went back home unaware of what was to come in the future”

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 2: Legend of the Keyblade

After the incident at Twilight Beach, Draco and his family returned home to Twilight Town. When they arrived they saw that Draco’s best friend Roxas was hanging around the station as if waiting for them even though they weren’t due back for another few days. Draco had partially regained his strength and was able to walk again but his legs felt like jelly but despite this he was able to keep his balance as he was getting off. As they got off Roxas spotting them and ran over, seeing Draco and how badly hurt he was, Roxas asked “Draco! What happened to you?” Draco replied “I’m not sure, but at least all of us made it back in one piece”.

Roxas stood there stunned seeing how badly hurt Draco was then Roxas said “Oh! Draco a guy named Xonic came to see me about half an hour before you got here and told me to tell you that when you are feeling better you go see him at his house you know the mansion near the Tram Plaza”. “Thanks for telling me Roxas” Draco replied with a smile as his dad carried him home to their house in Sunset Terrace. For the next few days Draco stayed at home recovering from the brutal attack at Twilight Beach and thinking about what Xonic wanted to see him about. About four days after the incident Draco fully healed and was able to move around without any pain, he remembered what Roxas had said and started to walk towards the station to go to the Tram Plaza. When he arrived at the station he saw that Roxas was there waiting for him, Roxas saw Draco and said “Hey Drac, you feeling better?” “Yeah I’m feeling better now” Draco replied with a smile.

“Well I thought about it and I decided that I want to go with you to see Xonic” Roxas said, “What for?” Draco asked, “Because I want to find out what happened and why he wants to see for” Roxas explained. Draco smiled and they both got on the train.

On the train Draco explained a partial truth of what happened making up that Xonic saved him and leaving out that he acquired the Keyblade; Absolution, “You say that Shadowy creatures plus a large black and white creature attacked you?” Roxas said “They sound an awfully lot like the Heartless and Half-Hearts”. Draco was stunned when Roxas said this and immediately asked, “What are Heartless and Half-Hearts?” Roxas turned towards Draco and said “The heartless and Half-Hearts I’ll let Xonic explain that because he know more than I do, but I would like to tell you about another creature that existed: Nobodies.” “Nobodies are creatures created from the empty shell of the victim who had their hearts taken by heartless, the body begins to act with a mind of it’s own despite not having a heart”. Roxas added “ And because a nobody has no heart means that they have no feelings, they cannot feel happiness, sadness or even anger” Roxas continued explaining “Even though nobodies do not possess hearts they are far more intelligent than heartless because the heartless act purely on instinct whereas nobodies can think and plan, strategize their moves”

They arrived at the station and headed towards the mansion as Roxas continued explaining, he saw Roxas pause for a moment then Roxas said “Even though most nobodies become these white creatures, in certain cases it is possible for a nobody to retain their human form if they possessed a strong enough heart”. As Roxas finished Draco wondered why Roxas knew so much about these creatures and then had to ask, “Roxas how is it that you know so much about heartless and particularly nobodies Roxas?” as they entered the woods they both stopped, Roxas looked at Draco and said “Draco, I must ask you to please do not be alarmed about what I am about to tell you, but the reason I know so much about the nobodies is because… I am one myself”. Draco felt his heart skip a beat at the sound of Roxas saying those words and stuttered “B-But how Roxas?” Roxas explained “A few years ago a Keyblade master by the name of Sora lost his heart protecting his friends and from that I was created, however Sora’s feelings for his friends were so strong that he was able to keep his heart and turned back into his regular self again, but unlike other nobodies in the past I can feel emotions so I am not as empty as other nobodies, and because I am his nobody I can also wield the power of the Keyblade” and saying this he stretched his arms out and as if out of nowhere two keyblades appeared, one in each hand.

Draco looked at the blades and said; “So then you also have the power of the Keyblade as well” Roxas was stunned and said in a puzzled voice “What do you mean ‘as well’ Draco?” Draco looked at Roxas and said “Look Roxas, I haven’t been too truthful to you either” “What are you talking about?” Roxas asked “Well I did tell you what happened at the beach earlier it wasn’t the whole truth, while Xonic did save me I left out one important detail, when the shadows attacked me I thought I was done for but then a bright light appeared and a voice spoke to me and from that I acquired this…” Draco stretched out his arm and called to Absolution, and then it appeared in his hand.

Roxas jumped back in surprise and almost fell over, when Roxas finally regained his balance he looked at Draco and said “So you are the new Keyblade Master then” “How did you know?” Draco asked, “Xonic told me that a new Keyblade Master had arisen and it looks like he was right, but in a way I’m not surprised that it was you because you always did have a strong heart” Roxas complimented Draco. “Uh… Thanks” Draco replied with some slight sarcasm in his voice, “You’re Welcome” Roxas replied with a smile on his face.

They arrived at the mansion; it was a two-story mansion, quite large and also looked like it was constructed a long time ago, “Man this place looks kinda creepy you sure this is the place?” Draco commented, “I’m sure” Roxas assured Draco. As they walked inside the mansion they saw a staircase leading to the second floor and at the top of the staircase was Xonic who was waiting for them.

“So you have arrived, come this way we have much to discuss” he said and led Draco and Roxas into a room on the first floor. The room looked quite old, it had three chairs which were situated around a table that had been practically broken in half and a chandelier that was barely hanging off it’s chains, “Please sit down” he said, Draco and Roxas sat down and then Xonic sat down. “So you have become the new Keyblade master” he started off “And there is a few things I need to explain to you”.

“Now Roxas did you explain everything about the Nobodies and also that you are one as well?” Xonic asked “Yes I did” Roxas replied, “Good, it less complicates things”. “The Heartless and Half-Hearts however I’ll clarify that for you” Xonic said, “The heartless were accidentally created when a man by name of Ansem the Wise was research the darkness in people’s hearts, at the time he had six assistants, helping him with his work, one of which went by the name of Xehanort” Xonic explained. “As Ansem continued researching the darkness, Ansem had to stop his research because his assistant’s began developing an insatiable obsession for the darkness” Xonic continued.

“When Xehanort and the other assistant’s found this out they couldn’t accept it and continued researching in secret, and Xehanort stole Ansem’s identity and recorded their research in what he would call ‘The Ansem Reports’. As they continued research they came across the Heartless evil creatures created from the darkness in a person’s heart, these creatures will go around stealing the hearts of those unlucky to meet one.” Xonic continued “Intrigued by these creatures they created a machine to make artificial heartless, however the experiment went wrong and lost their hearts to the darkness, all of them except Ansem, he created a body for himself and proclaimed himself the ‘Seeker of Darkness’.

“What happened to him?” Draco asked. Xonic replied by saying “When he began terrorizing the different worlds, it was at this time that Sora, a keyblade master received his keyblade”. “Different Worlds?!?” Draco said in disbelief, “Yes there are more world’s than just this one” Xonic replied. Xonic continued on; “Anyway after Sora received his keyblade, he ventured on a journey with Donald Duck and Goofy, two people under the service of King Mickey”, “King Mickey?” Draco asked, “Yes King Mickey, King Mickey is the King of Disney Castle, he was the first one to realize the threat of the heartless and set out on a journey to stop them with a keyblade of his own, when he left, he left a note behind for Donald and Goofy, telling them to find Sora and stick with him no matter what” Xonic explained in response.

“So after Donald and Goofy found Sora they joined him and went to the various worlds scattered throughout, vanquishing heartless and sealing the keyholes of each world, because each world has a keyhole that leads to the heart of that world, yes even the world’s have hearts” Xonic continued as Draco and Roxas listened carefully. “After a series of events occurred, they eventually encountered Xehanort and defeated him in battle, but that wasn’t the last of it, no not by a long shot, you see after Xehanort and the other assistants lost their hearts to the darkness, their nobodies were created in human form and they became the first members of Organisation XIII” Xonic explained.

Draco’s head was buzzing with questions but the only one he could get out was “What’s Organisation XIII?” “Organisation XIII are a group of nobodies, with Xehanort’s nobody as the leader, their goal was to trick Sora into using the keyblade to collect hearts from the heartless to remake Kingdom Hearts and regain their stolen hearts” Xonic answered. “Kingdom Hearts? What’s that?” Draco immediately question Xonic, “Kingdom Hearts, the heart of all worlds, it is said that Kingdom Hearts contains phenomenal power but has been ever seen by few” Xonic explained.

Xonic continued “After about a year in which Sora, Donald and Goofy’s whereabouts were unknown reappeared one year after defeating Ansem and set out on another journey to vanquish the heartless across the worlds and stop the Organisation achieving it’s goal”. He continued; “After securing the worlds from evil they finally defeated the organization and saved the world’s again, at least that what they thought”, “What do you mean?” Draco asked, “That’s why I called you here Draco and Roxas, you see, a new group called the Order of Shadows emerged, this group of individuals consisted of nobodies who had lost their hearts but managed to salvage half or people who lost half their hearts to the darkness and thus called themselves ‘Half-Hearts’”

“Half-Hearts carry the traits of Nobodies and Heartless, the are ruthless and act on instinct but are at the same time able to think and strategize their moves, and what’s worse they can control both heartless and nobodies as well as their own personal Half-Heart army” “The main objective of the Order of Shadows is to remake Kingdom Hearts once again and become complete beings, whilst crushing anyone who dares stand in their way” Xonic finished explaining. “Then what are we here for and why did I receive my keyblade?” Draco asked. Xonic got up looked at Draco and said “You receiving your keyblade and our meeting I do not believe to be pure coincidence, I believe that you, me and Roxas are going to become the new warriors of the keyblade to take up the fight against the newly formed Order of Shadows”.

Draco was shocked to hear this and shouted “What? Me? Take on the Order of Shadows, No I can’t, I didn’t want any of this!” “I’m sorry but your fate has already been decided, I can’t do anything about it” Xonic replied in a slightly depressed tone. “But what about my family? What will they say about this?” Draco asked, “Not to worry Draco I took the liberty of explaining things to your parents and sister” Xonic replied, “Well… if I must” Draco said depressingly, “Don’t worry, you’re family will be safe I’ve made sure of it” Xonic said trying to cheer Draco up, “Thanks Xonic” Draco replied in a slightly cheery voice. “You’re welcome Draco, now you and Roxas better head home you and I have got to start training tomorrow”. Draco and Roxas both left the mansion and headed home, when they arrived at Draco’s house Roxas said “Well see you tomorrow, we’ll have lots of training to do tomorrow” and left.

Draco walked inside and there his family was sitting in the living room with worried looks on their faces, he walked over and explained everything to his family. After a long conversation he walked upstairs to his room, and stared out his window, wondering what was going to be waiting for him and his friends in the future”

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter Three: Training Begins

Draco woke up to a beautiful sunny morning though he hadn’t had the best night’s sleep; he had a nightmare overnight. He had dreamed that he was standing in a room and several people were lying in the room, presumably dead, as he looked around the room he saw Xonic, but something was wrong he looked as if he was possessed then Draco saw a person in a black and white cloak saying “That’s right, kill them all!” Xonic then turned towards Draco “No… this can’t be happening” to himself as Xonic lunged at Draco but Draco couldn’t move and just as he hit he woke up, clutching his chest in pain. He got up still terrified from the dream and remembered that Xonic had agreed to train him in fighting and magic.

He pulled on his favourite dragon shirt and blue jeans and walked downstairs to have breakfast, as he sat down he noticed that his family was still a bit shaken up from last night but reassured them that everything would be ok. He walked outside where funnily enough Xonic was waiting. “Good morning Draco, I trust we had a good night’s sleep?” Xonic greeted Draco, “Not really Xonic, I had a terrible dream last night” Draco replied, “Would you like to tell me about it?” Xonic asked. Draco told Xonic about the dream he had and after he finished explaining Xonic stood there in silence “What, what’s wrong?” Draco asked, Xonic looked at Draco and said “No, it’s nothing come on, we’re behind schedule” Xonic said, “Where are we going?” Draco asked, “To the sandlot, I definitely think there will be enough room there to train”. They both boarded the train and the train began to speed off towards the Market District.

As the train sped on towards the Market District, Draco and Xonic made themselves comfortable and Draco asked curiously “So Xonic you said that ‘we’ are some of the new keyblade masters, so I’m guessing that you are a Keyblade Master as well?” Xonic looked at Draco and said, “Yes, indeed I am” and stretched out his arm and a Keyblade appeared in his hand. Draco looked at the blade closely, it was the same colour as the sky in Twilight Town, as it had sunset colours on it such as orange and red and it also had black and white mixed in. “My Keyblade’s name is ‘Twilight Mystery’ as it has the word ‘Mystery’ engraved and it is the colour Twilight Town’s sky, not the most original name I know” Xonic said sarcastically, “Eh, my keyblade’s name is Absolution but I didn’t make it up, a voice in my head said it’s name when I acquired it, I’m guessing I heard the voice because of my psychic abilities when wielding it” Draco said.

“Ah so it must have been your inner warrior that spoke to you, but never mind that now we’re here” Xonic said. The train stopped at the station, they got off and headed towards the Sandlot, the place was empty except for the odd bird or two, which made it perfect for training. As they approached they saw that Roxas was waiting for them “Hey guys what took you so long?” he asked, “I had to explain a few things to Draco here” Xonic replied. “

Ok then, let’s start” Xonic said, “Draco, Roxas will be your dueling partner,” he added, Draco turned to face Roxas “Roxas pulled out the Oathkeeper saying “Ok Draco don’t hold back!” Draco summoned his Keyblade and they were ready to fight. Over the course of the day Xonic taught Draco various techniques such as how to catch an enemy off guard, and also how to break through an enemy’s defenses, and Draco mastered every one of them, then they trained with Roxas using both his Keyblades and still Draco learnt quickly and was able to deflect a lot of Roxas’s hits “Good Draco, you are doing quite well” Xonic commented, “Well I’m a quick study” Draco replied.

“Well here comes your first test, I want you to see if you can beat Roxas” Xonic said to Draco, “Well Draco, don’t expect me to hold back!” Roxas said confidently, “Don’t expect me to either” Draco replied also in a confident manner. “Ready… Go!” Xonic shouted, they both rushed at each other exchanging blows, even in midair, the match on with both sides refusing to give up, eventually Draco found a hole in Roxas’s defenses and did a final 3-hit blow to claim victory. Roxas landed breathing heavily “Wow… hardly anyone’s been able to defeat me” Roxas said to Draco “Thanks Roxas you put up a good fight too” Draco replied.

“Well I think that’s enough for today” Xonic said, Roxas go on home there’s one more thing I need to teach Draco” Xonic said to Roxas, “Ok then, see ya later Draco!” Roxas said to Draco “Thanks Roxas, you too” Draco replied. When Roxas left Xonic turned towards Draco and said, “Ok then before we start…” Xonic said and then muttered a few words and suddenly Draco felt re-energized again.

“Ok then” Xonic said looking at Draco “Now I am going to teach you all of the magic that I know and they will benefit you in more ways than one” He added, “How so?” Draco asked, “You’ll see” Xonic replied

“Ok First off I’m going to teach you how to command the element of light” Xonic told Draco, “Ok then”. “Right now first and this is one of the most important parts, I need you to picture the element you want to control, in this case light it’s not hard just maybe think of a time you have seen it”, Draco went through his memories and thought of the time he had seen the light after nearly being consumed by the heartless “Right now repeat after me and make sure you say it loud and clear: Rutilus Lux Lucis!” Draco repeated these words and suddenly a pair of Burst Handguns appeared in his hands, he recognized them as his but they were now a silvery white instead of black like they were before.

“Congratulations Draco you have summoned your first elemental weapons!” Xonic said to Draco, “Elemental Weapons?” Draco asked “Yes Draco, you see I have seen that you are proficient with various firearms, and I’m sure that your keyblade knows this as well, so each time you master an element you gain a new weapon imbued with the power of that element” Xonic explained. “So If I master more elements…” Draco started “You’ll receive more weapons at your disposal and that is not all, if you concentrate really hard on that element you’ll perform an ‘elemental limit’, a move that enhances the power of your element and cause great damage to your enemies, however the move changes with the element” Xonic finished

“Now, I want you to perform an elemental limit with the weapons you have gained, and don’t worry about injuring me or yourself I have already cast a spell that protects us from harm” Xonic explained to Draco. “Alright then… “ Draco said, he concentrated really hard seeing light becoming a powerful force then two words came to him and he pointed his guns in the air and shouted “Meteor Shower!” his handguns glowed then shots several bullets, as they sped upwards they split into several beams of lights and came crashing down narrowly missing both him and Xonic.

Afterwards Draco said “Wow…” and knelt down because he felt like a big chunk of his energy had been used, “Yes Draco, these elemental limits do require a lot of energy” Xonic began to say “Also one thing I must point out, when you wield Absolution, you can use all the elements you have learned and their elemental limits but be warned that using them while wielding Absolution requires a lot more energy, a lot more so it is wise to use your elemental limits only when wielding the required weapon” Xonic finished “Ok then, I’ll keep that in mind” Draco replied

Xonic then handed Draco a letter “What’s this for?” Draco asked, “That is a list of all the elements I have learned over the years, learn them as you see fit but don’t overdo it, anyway I’ll see you here tomorrow” Xonic said “What for?” Draco asked “For your final test” Xonic replied as he walked away.

Draco went back to Sunset Terrace, but he did not go straight home, he walked into the abandoned subway and found a room large enough to practice in. He opened the letter and saw a list of elements along with the casting words as follows:

Light: Rutilus Lux Lucis (Shining Light)
Fire: Ingneus Incendia (Burning Fire)
Ice: Gelidus Glacies (Freezing Ice)
Wind: Turbo Ventus (Tornado Wind)
Gravity: Contricio Sepulchrum (Crushing Gravity)
Thunder: Levitas Tempestas (Lightning Storm)
Earth: Matris Terra (Mother Earth)
Flare: Rabidus Flare (Raging Flare)
Darkness: Oblivio Obscurum (Oblivion Darkness)`
Water: Liquidus Unda (Flowing Water)
Reflect: Pondero Obex (Reflect Barrier)

He got into position and started to practice with the various elements and as he did he gained more and more weapons after several hours of practice he had gained the following weapons:

· Fire Pistols
· Ice Sub-Machine Guns
· Wind Crossbow
· Gravity Rocket Launcher
· Thunder Rifle
· Earth Shotgun
· Flare Samurai Swords
· Dark Chaingun
· Water Staff
· And also learned how to create a magical barrier

After training for many hours he was exhausted so he packed up his things and went home, when he went inside his sister saw him and said “Oh Draco, your friend Roxas is upstairs in your room waiting for you”, “Thanks sis” Draco said walking up to his room and saw Roxas “Hey Draco, heard you learned a bit of magic while I was gone” Roxas said “Yeah, and I even got some new weapons too” Draco replied showing Roxas all his weapons “Wow that’s quite an arsenal of weapons you got there” Roxas commented “Thanks Roxas” Draco replied “Well you better get some good rest I heard that you are performing your final test tomorrow” Roxas suggested, “Yeah I better, anyway see you later Roxas” Draco said “You too” Roxas replied as he headed back downstairs.

Draco went to sleep after having dinner, but all was not well that night, he had the same dream again and woke up the next morning in another cold sweat. “Why am I having this dream, is my keyblade trying to tell me something?” He wondered, he decided not to think about it, put on his clothes and went downstairs ready to take on whatever test Xonic had set for him.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 4: Draco vs. Xonic

Draco went downstairs and had breakfast ready for Xonic’s test and after he finished he went outside where Roxas was waiting.

“Hey Draco, it’s your final test today I’ll be rooting for you the whole way” Roxas said in a cheery voice “Thanks Roxas…” Draco said in a slightly depressed voice “Hey Draco, what’s wrong?” Roxas asked “Well lately I’ve been having this nightmare and it’s the same one every night” Draco explained “Really? What’s it about?” Roxas asked.

Draco told Roxas about the dream and after he had finished Roxas stood there in the exact same silence Xonic did “Roxas… You know something about this don’t you?” Draco asked Roxas “Yes, but it is not my place to say, it’s Xonic’s decision whether to let you know yet or not but I’m sure he’ll say something about it soon” Roxas replied “But anyway we better get to the sandlot” Draco reluctantly agreed and decided to wait until Xonic said something. They got on the train and traveled to the Market District.

When they got there they got off and headed for the sandlot where Xonic was waiting. “So you have arrived” Xonic said “Well anyway, Draco it is time for your final test” he said walking up to the platform “I will be your opponent, to pass this test you must defeat me in battle, or at least wound me” he explained.

Draco stood there with his mouth wide open, “Me, battle you?” Draco asked, “Yes Draco I believe that in order to see whether you are truly ready you must face me, because the leader of the Organisation is just as strong as I am” Xonic explained “So if you are ready, come at me!” Xonic said with confidence.

Draco stood there in silence for a moment, only one day of training and already he was going to face Xonic? Draco though felt like he was ready for his test then summoned his keyblade, took a step back and lunged at Xonic. Xonic effortlessly dodged but Draco persisted and started to slash faster at him, then Xonic penetrated his defense and tried to slash Draco, but Draco was able to maneuver his keyblade and block the attack.

The battle lasted for what seemed like an hour with each side failing to back down, but both sides were getting tired Draco exchanged blow after blow with Xonic but then saw a hole in Xonic’s defense and knocked his blade out of his hand but just as he was about to end the match, Xonic pulled out his keyblade and slashed with Draco narrowly dodging it and jumped back. Xonic stood back and said “Good Draco, I see that the training has served you well, but you seem to be running out of attack plan’s, anymore tricks up your sleeve?”

Draco thought for a second and a vision came to him of what seemed to be a technique of some kind, he was using the elements of time and space to open dimension holes which he would enter and reappear out of others, which would catch an enemy off guard. The vision then subsided and Xonic stood there saying “Well?” Draco replied with a smile on his face “Just one”.

Then light and darkness surrounded him and he yelled “Absolution Judgment!” then he swung his blade and opened a dimension hole and ran through it, Xonic jumped back in amazement and started looking around for Draco. Draco reappeared out of a dimension hole and slashed Xonic, which caught him off guard; Draco then performed several more slashes, which Xonic had a hard time trying to keep up with Draco. Draco reappeared a final time jumping up and touching Xonic on the shoulder claiming victory.

Xonic got up and said “Draco… what was that move?” “I don’t know I just had a vision of it and I suddenly could perform it” Draco replied, as Draco finished his sentence he kneeled down suddenly, he felt like a huge chunk of energy had been used more so to his other weapons. Xonic looked at Draco, lifted him onto his shoulder and said “Hmmm we better get you home, you look exhausted, Roxas would you mind giving me a hand?” “Sure thing” Roxas replied. They helped Draco home and up to his room, explaining what happened to his family on the way.

When they got up to his room Draco asked “Xonic do you know what happened back there?” Xonic looked at Draco and said “Hmmm it would seem that you have mastered a special ability with your keyblade, similar to you elemental moves” “It’s interesting, not many people have been able to do that, I guess your keyblade trusts you enough to teach you this move, but be warned these kinds of moves should only ever be used as a last resort, because you were lucky this time but on most occasions people tend to fall unconscious for several hours after performing such a move” Xonic explained in detail.

“Right well we better be going we still have much training to do tomorrow, because even though you have earned the right to fight the organization, we do not know of any new strengths they may have found and we must be prepared for that” Xonic explained. “All right then I guess I’ll see you around” Draco said, “Yeah you take care” Xonic replied, “See ya later” Roxas replied also. They went downstairs as Draco sat on his bed thanking of the events that happened today, he went back downstairs to have dinner, then went back upstairs and went to sleep thinking of what tomorrow would bring.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 5: A New World

After several days of training and mastering his ‘Absolution Judgment’ move, Draco woke up to a rainy day after having more nightmares, but these one’s were a lot more clear and more information was being revealed to him. He had dreams that he and Xonic participated in a struggle tournament and strange creatures that he knew now were half hearts. He also had visions of him meeting several other teenagers with keyblades among other things, but the dreams always ended the same way with a possessed Xonic lunging at him and waking up in pain.

He got up and put his clothes on, but just as he was about to go downstairs, he summoned his keyblade and as if he was talking to the blade like a person he asked, “Absolution, what are these dreams? What are you trying to tell me?” and to his surprise a voice spoke back to him “You will find out soon enough Draco” he jumped back then stared at his blade once more, then put it away.

He went downstairs and had breakfast, and then even though they couldn’t train today, Draco decided to visit Xonic, so he grabbed his umbrella, which not surprisingly was black and had dragons on it. He walked outside where it was pouring, put up his umbrella and walked to the station, where he boarded the train and headed of towards the Market District. When the train arrived he made his way to the mansion where Xonic lived, he got there and knocked on the door, no one answered so he decided to take a look inside. He saw Xonic walking on the upstairs walkway, but didn’t come to the door he walked into a room on the other side of the walkway, so Draco decided to follow him.

Draco followed Xonic and looked from outside the room, which seemed to be a library, he saw Xonic standing at a table then how took out a sketch pad and drew something on the table. Draco was observing this, when amazingly half the room’s floor disappeared, Draco kept watching as Xonic walked down the steps and into another room so Draco followed. Draco then came to a room with a computer in it, as he looked around, he saw Xonic staring at a red beam of light so he hid around a corner. As Draco observed, he saw Xonic reach out and touch the light and in an instant he vanished, Draco jumped back in surprise, he walked up to the light and examined it without touching it.

Then without hesitation, he touched the light and a strange feeling flowed through him, then it suddenly stopped, but nothing seemed different until he turned around and saw that the computer that was there had been smashed to bits “Did Xonic do this?” Draco wondered to himself, he decided to have a look around. He came to a rather large room and upon inspection he saw what looked to be a portal, worried about Xonic’s safety he hurried through it and came to an open space that looked weird, the walls were covered with weird symbols and the place was all blue, scared he saw another portal and hurried through it.

When he jumped out of the portal he found himself in a town of some sorts, with tall buildings and it was dark all the time, he got the shivers “What is this place?” He asked himself, and a voice spoke to him “The World that Never Was”.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 6: Friends Lost, Memories Found

Draco knew that it was his Keyblade that told him the name of the new world he was in; Draco decided to have a look around since he was here and also in case that Xonic was someplace to be found. The place was dark and gloomy; it made him feel a bit depressed, as he turned a corner he saw a giant castle in the sky he was stunned at the size of it, he kept walking and came to a corner and heard what he thought was Xonic’s voice so he quickly ducked round the corner.

Draco observed Xonic staring at the sky talking to himself; Draco tried to listen in to what he was saying “I don’t know what to do, Mystery I want to tell Draco about it but I just don’t know if he’s ready” Xonic said to himself.

“Tell me what?” he wondered then he looked round and saw Xonic surrounded by the black shadows that attacked Draco and his family at Twilight Beach. Draco stood there wondering what he could do then more appeared in front of him he didn’t know what to do, then he saw an insignia on one of them then he realized “These things are heartless” he said to himself. He stood there trying to think of something, then he remembered his weapons, Draco said “Ingneus Incendia” and a pair of pistols with a flame design on them, one by one he shot them down, mostly with headshots because he had practice with his weapons. After destroying the last heartless he relaxed for a minute but then other creatures appeared similar to the heartless, but different then he saw the insignia on one of them, it looked like the heartless insignia but this one was half black and half white then he remembered what Xonic told him “Half-Hearts” he muttered. He then summoned another weapon by saying “Gelidus Glacies” and a pair of sub-machine guns with ice designs appeared in his hands, as he fought, he saw that they were harder to take down than heartless.

Finally he was finished off the last half-heart and was able to relax for a bit, and then he suddenly remembered Xonic. He ducked back around the corner and then heard Xonic talking to himself again as he listened he heard Xonic say, “Damn that Dartanian! I swear he’ll pay for this” Draco backed round the corner and thought to himself “Dartanian… where have I heard that name before?” then he suddenly had a sharp pain in his head, like someone had struck him in the back of the head with a blade. After a few seconds the pain had subsided, he stood up again and hid around the corner, and then he heard Xonic say, “You may come out now, Draco”.

“Damn, I’ve been found out!” Draco cursed under his breath, he walked over to Xonic saying “Sorry for eavesdropping”, “That’s okay Draco, but tell me why are you here?” Xonic asked. “I… followed you here, you see I was on my way to see you and then as I got to the mansion, I saw you go into the library, so I followed you and when I followed you to the computer room you were looking at that light and when you touched it you disappeared”. Draco continued, “After you disappeared I hesitated for a bit, but then grabbed the light and well you get the idea”.

“Well next time just be careful about what you do, you could’ve been attacked along the way” Xonic said, “No kidding, I was attacked by about 50 heartless and I think Half Hearts attacked me before but I managed to take them down with my new weapons” Draco said sarcastically. “Well just be careful next time, come on we need to get back” Xonic said as he started to walk back; “Wait!” Draco shouted, Xonic turned around, Draco looked at Xonic and said “Look Xonic I really need to ask you something, when I was listening to you talking I heard you say something about, not being sure if you are ready to tell me something, what did you want to tell me?” Xonic looked at Draco and said “Oh it’s nothing, come one let’s go”.

“No” Draco said sternly, Xonic turned around again, “I also heard you say the name ‘Dartanian’ and for some reason the name sounds familiar, I need to know who is he?” Xonic looked at Draco in a half serious, half sad expression and said “Dartanian… Dartanian is my evil brother” “Your Brother…?” Draco said in a confused tone.

Draco stood there and then another sharp pain befell before him except worse, he knelt over in pain trying to figure out what was happening to him then a series of visions played back in his mind, all of them from his dreams. He had visions of him and Xonic being friends, the struggle tournament, the half-hearts appearing, the meeting of other keyblade masters, a vision of a cloaked man saying, “Well, well, look what we have here, My little brother”, one of his best friends betraying him and the final vision of Xonic hitting him in the back of the head with his blade.

The pain eventually subsided and Draco stood up again puzzled “What are these visions I am having?” He wondered, then his keyblade appeared and then seemingly spoke to him and Xonic seemed to hear it as well by the expression on his face “Those visions were memories of your past” his keyblade said, “Memories of my past?” Draco asked. “Yes Draco the memories of your past, you see that vision of Xonic was real” “Then that means…” Draco said looking towards Xonic “That I knew you before that incident?” Draco finished saying.

“Yes Draco, we used to be the best of friends” Xonic replied, “But then how is it that I have gained these memories now did something happen to me?” Draco asked. Xonic looked at Draco and said “Draco… during a fierce battle, Dartanian took control of my mind and made me turn on all of my friends including you Draco, I tried to fight it but I couldn’t retake control, and when he made me strike you and you were knocked unconscious I managed to retake control, from there we battled and I gravely injured him but he managed to escape” he continued, “After the battle, I was scarred for life” Xonic turned around and Draco saw a scar on the back of his neck which looked like a cloud with lightning bolts coming out of it, and a jagged 'D' in the middle.

“After that battle, many of our friends were lost but I was able to get most of them back to their worlds and then brought you back to Twilight Town, I brought you back to your family and told them to give me any updates on your condition”, “After several days, they told me that you woke up, but you had lost all your memories of me and your friends” Xonic said in a depressed tone

Draco’s keyblade then spoke to him “Because of the fact that you lost your memory of Xonic and the others, it meant that you lost the ability to summon me for a while, but it wasn’t until that incident at Twilight Beach that I was able to be by your side again because I wasn’t sure if you were ready to learn about your past again”

“When you became friends with Roxas, I met with him and told him what happened and gave him the task of watching over you, because I too knew of Roxas’s past, but I told him not to tell you anything about your past, because I felt that it was my duty to let you know when the time was right”

“We both were unsure about letting you know about your past, because we weren’t sure whether you were strong enough to know about your past, but after I saw your progress during training I thought that you were ready to know” Xonic explained

Draco stood there trying to take in all that was explained “But what now, I mean I’ve regained my memories… Draco started so say when Xonic interrupted “Draco I believe that you haven’t fully regained your memories, because the spell that Dartanian cast was very powerful” “Oh…” Draco replied, “Don’t worry Draco I’m sure that you’re memories will be restored in time” Xonic said trying to cheer up Draco

“But anyway, I’m sure that Dartanian must know that you have regained Absolution by now, so we must prepare” Xonic said walking back to the portal “Prepare for what?” Draco asked, Xonic turned back to Draco and said “For the battles that lie ahead” Draco started to walk with Xonic thinking of what battles might lay ahead.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 7: Preparing for Battle

They both entered back through the portal and then made their way to the light and Draco had to ask Xonic “Xonic were you the one who broke the computer?” “No Draco I didn’t, it was Roxas” Xonic replied. “Roxas did this?” Draco asked, “Yes Draco” Xonic answered “You see this computer was broken a long time ago by Roxas, you see when Roxas first came to be he was actually one of the members of Organization XIII”, “Organization XIII? But weren’t they the one’s who wanted to take over Kingdom Hearts?”

Xonic looked at Draco and said “Yes Draco, but the only reason he joined with them in the first place was because he had nowhere to go, but after a while he began to question why he had the keyblade, you see at that time he had no memories whatsoever of being Sora, so he set out looking for answers in which he was labeled a traitor by the Organization, when Roxas came here in search of answers, he was found by Riku, who was looking for him” Xonic explained

“But why?” Draco asked, “Because, Riku was looking to help Sora, because after defeating Xehanort’s Heartless, he and his friends came to Castle Oblivion, a castle which they encountered 6 members of the organization” Xonic began explaining. For the next hour or so Xonic explained to Draco the events that had occurred in Castle Oblivion and how Sora lost his true memories and Namine agreed to put them back the way they were. “But how does this relate to Roxas?” Draco asked Xonic replied “Well you see in order to put Sora’s memories back fully restored, Ansem the Wise or DiZ as he was known then needed Roxas to fuse back together with Sora in which Riku went and tracked him down”, “After defeating Roxas in battle he and Ansem put Roxas in a simulated Twilight Town, which we are in” Xonic continued to explain.

“We’re in a virtual town?!?” Draco said in a surprised tone, “Yes Draco, that light is what connects the two towns together, anyway after being in the town with a new personality for about a year, Sora’s memories returned to him and after coming here he smashed the computer out of rage of what he remembered Ansem had done” Xonic replied, “Poor Roxas…” Draco said in a sad tone, “Don’t be“ Xonic said, “Eventually, Roxas was able to become his own person once again and now lives in the town we are”.

After finishing explaining about Roxas’s past to Draco, both of them touched the light and were back in their own town again they walked outside where Roxas was waiting “Hey guys, where’ve you been I looked all around the mansion and couldn’t find you” he said, “We were at the World That Never Was” Xonic explained “You mean you found it?” Roxas asked “Yes Roxas” Xonic replied

“Oh all right then” Roxas said then he looked at Draco who had an unsure look on his face “Hey Xonic what’s wrong with Draco?” Roxas asked, “It would seem that Draco has started to regain his past memories” Xonic replied. “Well that’s great news, but why the sad face?” Roxas asked Draco “Because… I just regained my memories and realized that several of my best friends were killed by Dartanian!” Draco yelled in anger, “Now Draco don’t get upset…”Xonic began to say trying to calm Draco down, “Upset? UPSET? I’m not upset, I’m furious! I can’t wait to get to get my hands on that…” Draco began to say but then just as he was about to finish he fainted. “Draco!” Roxas yelled, “Don’t worry Roxas, I’m sure that Draco was just exhausted, him regaining his memories must’ve been a stressful experience, plus the fact that he re-lived the horrors of that fight” Xonic said reassuringly.

Draco woke up in his room “Ugh, what happened?” he said feeling dizzy, “You exhausted your energy and collapsed” Xonic said sitting on the couch in the room with Roxas sitting next to him, “Geez Draco don’t do that I thought that I was going to have a heart attack…” Roxas said, but then they all realized what he had said and began to laugh “Well anyway what are we gonna do now?” Draco asked, “We are going have to train for a few more days before we leave, plus we’ll have to buy supplies for the journey” Xonic said. “Well I guess we’ll have to do that tomorrow, don’t worry I’m friends with most of the merchants in the plaza so we should be able to get a discount on some items” Roxas said “And I have heaps of materials we can use to make some equipment at the Synthesis Shop” Xonic replied, “So it’s settled then” Draco said in a confident voice.

Draco woke up the next morning and found some clothes on the couch there was a shirt that looked similar to his old one and also some long pants and a cloak, which were all, colored black (picture Auron’s clothes from FFX but all black) and there was a note attached. Draco looked at the note it said:

“Here Draco, these clothes are for you they should help you perform a lot of your moves and magic using less energy, think of it as a thank you present for restoring my hope” - Xonic

Draco put on the clothes, a strange power flowed through him, he felt like he could perform any move with ease, he went downstairs and had breakfast then walked outside where Xonic and Roxas were waiting. “Ah Draco I see that you found the clothes I left for you” Xonic said, “Yeah they fit perfectly, Thanks Xonic”, “You’re welcome” Xonic replied with a smile on his face. The three of them boarded the train and set off for the market district.

They arrived at the market district and walked towards the shops, they browsed through the various wares and bought a whole bunch items including Hi-Potions and Ethers. Then they proceeded to the synthesis shop where they used all of the materials that Xonic had gathered to make various accessories and some more items for the journey ahead.

After they finished their day of shopping they proceeded back to the station when they got there Draco stopped for a second and asked Xonic “Hey Xonic, are most of our friends alive?” “Yes Draco” Xonic said in a reassuring voice “A lot of our friends did manage to make it through that battle even Sora, Riku and co.”, “So they made it as we-”. As Draco tried to finish his sentence they all heard a voice saying, “So, he lives… that was unfortunate I thought I managed to kill you”, they all looked around with Xonic yelling out, “Who’s there? Show yourself!” in a loud voice.

“Now, now Xonic is that any way to speak to your brother?” the voice said, and the several people appeared on the top of the station, all wearing cloaks. The leader took off his hood, he had blonde hair and green eyes and Xonic immediately recognized him yelling “Dartanian!” “Now, now we mustn’t lose our temper” Dartanian said in a mocking voice, “That’s Dartanian? Draco asked in a confused voice with Roxas gesturing as if to ask the same question.

Draco stared at Dartanian for a second then another sharp pain went through his head as he knelt down, “Draco! What’s Wrong?” Roxas asked “Yes… let all of those awful memories come back to you” Dartanian said in an evil voice. Draco had visions like before except this time he could clearly see Dartanian in his visions then more memories came back to him, he had visions of Xonic who was possessed fighting him in his friends and Draco asked “Xonic! What are you doing?!?” then Dartanian turned to him and said “He’s under my control now fool!”. Then another vision came to him in room, which seemed to be in a castle and Xonic standing beside Dartanian with an evil look upon his face the Dartanian saying “Now brother, why don’t we end this? ANNIHILATE THEM!” and Xonic rushing towards them and a final vision of him lying on the floor looking at Xonic and said “Xonic… Why?” and started to black out watching Dartanian laughing evilly.

He regained consciousness and got up again, with Roxas saying “Draco! Are you okay?” “I think so…” Draco said standing up again, Dartanian began laughing evilly saying “Well Draco, enjoying reliving all those memories of how I was able to control Xonic so easily, like the weakling that he is?” Xonic became enraged and jumped at Dartanian yelling “You’ll pay for what you did him and all of my friends!” Dartanian just kept laughing and said “Oh sorry brother, but I have more important matters to attend to, bye-bye!” and then they all vanished.

Xonic walked back towards Draco and Roxas saying “Damn! I swear I will get him someday…” “Don’t worry Xonic, I assure you if it’s anyone who will stop them, it’s us” Draco said reassuringly, “Thanks Draco… I couldn’t have asked for a better friend than you” Xonic said with a smile on his face, and with that they boarded the train and traveled back to Sunset Terrace.

When they got there they walked over to Draco’s house then Xonic turned to Draco and said “Well Draco you better get some rest, our journey begins tomorrow”, “Okay then” Draco replied, “Bye Draco” Xonic said walking back to the train station, “Bye Draco! See ya tomorrow!” “You too!” Draco said back to Roxas. He walked inside had dinner and talked about what happened with his family and went up to his room, he stood there for a moment and said, “Gee, I hope Xonic is okay he seemed quite upset…” he decided not to think about it and went to bed.

The next morning Draco woke up and was relieved because he didn’t have a nightmare overnight. He put on his clothes and his cloak and went downstairs to have breakfast, after breakfast, he and his family walked to the station and headed for the Market District, when they got there they saw that Xonic was waiting outside with Roxas in front of a giant ship “You’re here” Xonic said in a cheery voice “Well you ready?”, “Yeah, Draco replied as he turned towards his family.

“Well bye then…” he said to his family, “See ya son, make sure you give them shadow guys a good walloping for me” his dad said “Don’t worry, I will” Draco said sarcastically, “Bye sweetheart, just be careful out there” “I will Mum…” Draco said and he looked back and saw that Xonic and Roxas laughing “Hey, shut up!” then he looked at his sister “Bye bro, just make sure you’ll come back safely” she said, “Don’t worry sis I will, I promise” Draco said hugging his sister, then his sister looked at Xonic and Roxas “And if either of you give him any lip…” she said in a serious tone and then Draco saw that they had looks of fear on their faces and started to laugh.

Draco said his last goodbyes and walked over to Xonic and Roxas, they boarded the ship and started to take off Draco managed to yell out “Bye Mum! Bye Dad! Bye Sis! I’ll send you a postcard when we get there!” then they blasted off until he couldn’t see them anymore, he sat back in his seat and prepared himself for the biggest journey of his life.

[Dragonstar1715]

For anyone who is a bit confused with my fanfic's storyline this is because my fanfic takes place 1 year after the events of another fanfic "Hearts of Twilight" by Xonic Cryoliz, maybe if he lets me ill post his completed story here so you can get a better idea of how our fanfics are linked togther

[mr_pikachu]

Hey, Dragonstar. Just wanted to let you know that we don't usually start threads in the Writers Lounge just to talk about individual fics. (Sometimes there are "theme" topics where everyone talks about certain aspects their own fics, and other times we have previews and trailers. But people can usually just post comments about fics in progress in their own threads.)

It's not a big deal; you're new, after all, and sometimes that advertising rule can be a little tricky if you're not used to it. Just try to be a little more careful in the future.

Oh, and welcome to TPM once again! ^_^

[Dragonstar1715]

right thanks for that

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 8: Old friends, A New Journey

After saying goodbye to his family and taking off in the gummi ship with his friends, Draco asked Xonic “Hey Xonic, where are we headed?” “We are going to the world of Hollow Bastion, I’m sure we can obtain some valuable information there and also see a couple of old friends” Xonic replied. “Old friends? Will I recognize them?” Draco asked, “I’m not sure Draco, but I’m sure if you can’t remember that the memories will come to you when you meet them” Xonic said reassuringly, “Well if you say so” Draco said looking out the window.

They soon came to a world that had a small town and a rather large castle like mansion on it. “We’re here” Xonic said, Draco felt a small buzz in his head and then looked at it “I remember this place” he said, “You all right?” Roxas said sitting next to him “Yeah I’m fine, I’m getting used to it now so it doesn’t hurt as much” Draco replied with a smile on his face.

They landed and started to walk along the streets of Hollow Bastion. “Okay then let’s go and find Leon, he should know where to start looking for Dartanian and the others” Xonic said, “Start looking? I thought that you already knew where they were” Draco exclaimed, “I did” Xonic replied “But after being controlled by Dartanian, he erased my memory of where that place was so it looks like well have to start again, and I’m sure that Dartanian made sure that none of our friends remembered either” Xonic explained.

“Right then” Draco said, they continued to walk the streets when they got to the main residential area, as they continued walking they heard a voice say “Xonic, Draco is that you?” They all looked up and saw a teenager about the same age as them; he wore clothes similar to those of Xonic but was red instead of black and carried two keyblades; one of which looked like Draco Absolution but without the extension on the side and was black and the other one was a silverish gray color with a head that had what looked like to the a metal lion head as the keychain.

“Hey guys how are ya how’ve you been?” the teenager said, Draco had a puzzled look on his face and said “Ummm hi and you are?” in a confused voice, the teenager looked shocked and said “Draco, don’t you remember me?” just then Xonic walked over to the teenager and whispered in his ear “Oh I didn’t know” the teenager said as Xonic walked back towards Draco then Xonic spoke “Draco this is Ray, one of our friends who survived the battle a year ago”. Draco thought for a second “Hmmm Ray…” then a slight pain came to his head, like a minor headache and then various memories of Ray flashed in his mind and then he remembered everything he knew about Ray. “Hey Draco you all right?” Ray asked, “Yes I’m fine, everytime I regain memories of someone I have a slight pain in my head but I’m getting used to it” “So that means…” Ray began to say, “That I now remember everything about you” Draco finished, “Well that’s great! Welcome back” Ray said in a joyful voice.

Xonic stood forward and said “Well that’s out of the way, lets go and see Leon we need to find info on Dartanian”, “Dartanian? But don’t we already know where he is?” asked Ray “We did” replied Xonic “But I’m sure that Dartanian went to great lengths to erase those memories so we wouldn’t find him again” “Oh” Ray replied.

They all walked further in and came to a house “Well this is Leon’s House” Xonic said, they walked inside and saw two women talking to each other and a little girl who seemed to be blind; one of them was wearing black clothing and looked as if she was dressed as a ninja, the other was wearing a long pink dress the little girl seemed to know that Xonic was there and ran over shouting “Xonic! You’re here!” “Hello Lylie, how are you?” “Lylie’s good, I waited for you like you told me!” The ninja said “Hey, if it isn’t Xonic and Draco! “Come in we missed you!” the other woman said. They walked in and the ninja woman said, “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes”, then the other woman stepped in saying, “How are both of you we haven’t heard from you for so long!” Draco stood there, staring at them for a few seconds “Draco are you ok?” the ninja asked, “Let me handle this” Xonic said stepping into the conversation “Draco, this is Yuffie and Aerith, and this little girl is Lylie” Xonic said to Draco pointing from the ninja woman to the other woman, “Hmmm Yuffie, Aerith and Lylie” Draco said thinking for a second then he felt a small pain for a second then it quickly subsided.

“I remember now” Draco said, “What do you mean?” Yuffie asked, “Look we haven’t got time to explain, you know where Leon is?” Xonic asked, “Sure he’s down at the computer room” Aeirith replied “Thanks” Xonic replied. They walked out and towards the large mansion through the debris of a battle a few years ago, they approached the computer room they saw a guy dressed like Ray and carrying a huge sword “Hi Cloud” Xonic said almost immediately, Cloud turned around and said “Oh hi Xonic, Draco how’ve you been?” “Hmmm Cloud” Draco thought for a second then a slight pain hit him as memories of Cloud came back to him but it didn’t worry him, but then a huge pain came across him an he was force to kneel down in pain as he saw visions of another person who carried a long blade and he seemed to teem of darkness.

“Draco!” Roxas shouted, the pain subsided and he stood up again “Draco what happened?” “I don’t know” Draco said, “I felt this powerful force as I regained memories of Cloud, but who was it?” “Sephiroth” Cloud replied “The darkness of your heart” Xonic added. “Well sorry about that” Cloud said to Draco “I guess his darkness effects me in more ways than one” “That’s okay” Draco replied, “It’s not as if you meant for it to happen”, “ Well anyway it’s nice to see you two again” and with that they continued to walk to the computer room.

They walked the corridors and almost got lost but they managed to find the door to the Study, the looked like as if it hadn’t been used for years and there was a walkway that extended further in so they continued walking an eventually came to a large room where two guys stood at a rather large computer “Hi Cid, hi Leon” Xonic said as they walked in and Draco regained his memories almost immediately of them. “Hey Xonic, Draco, Ray and who’s this?” Leon asked “Oh I’m Roxas, I was Sora’s Nobody and a friend of Draco” Roxas said “Nice to meet you, anyway I think you’re all gonna be wanting to look at this” said Leon looking at the computer screen.

“What’s wrong?” Xonic asked, “What’s wrong? The Order of Shadows has declared all out war with the worlds that’s what’s wrong!” Cid said in a serious tone “WHAT?” Xonic yelled in disgust “Dartanian what have you gotten yourself into this time?” he said in a disappointed voice. “Well one thing is for certain, they have made an all out assault to find enough hearts to create Kingdom Hearts before you get to them” Leon explained “Why?” Draco asked “Because before they could have taken as long as they need to as long as you couldn’t remember who you really were, but know that you are regaining your memories they are in a sense scared that you will eventually remember where their base is” Xonic explained. “How would I remember? Wasn’t my memory erased of that information?” Draco asked “No, he thought that you were already dead so saw no need to, but what he didn’t realize is that you were never killed just knocked unconscious because I managed to put a spell on you during the battle that made you look like you were dead” Xonic continued “He divided the strength of the spell he used to control me amongst the remaining members of the order of shadows and I think that spell affected your memory when I hit you”.

“So that means…” Draco began to say “Yes if we destroy the last members of the organization, the spell will loosen and you might be able to remember the location of his base so we can finish this” Xonic finished. “Well if ya gonna go and save the world’s again at least take this” Cid said throwing over a phone “Thanks Cid” Xonic said gratefully, “Don’t mention it, now you’s go on and give them shadow guys something to REALLY worry about” Cid replied, “Xonic, Draco, Ray, Roxas, I think it would be a good idea to also go to Destiny Islands and find Sora and Co. they should be able to help you” Leon suggested, “Thanks Leon we will” Xonic replied.
Just then Aerith, Yuffie and Lylie walked through the door “Oh you’re leaving again?” Aerith asked “I’m afraid so” replied Xonic, “Well you just promise you’ll all come back in one piece all right?” Yuffie said in a serious tone, Draco, Xonic, Roxas and Ray all nodded. “You going away again Xonic?” asked Lylie “Yes Lylie I got an important job to do” Xonic replied “Well I won’t cry because I know you’ll come back to me promise?” asked Lylie “Yes, I Promise” Xonic said hugging Lylie.

They all walked back to the Gummi Ship and they all got inside, “Remember go and get Sora and the others first” Leon said to Draco “We Will” replied Draco. “Go get them!” Yuffie yelled out, “And make sure you keep in contact with us there’s no telling was Dartanian is planning” Cid added, “Bye Xonic! Bye Draco! See you when you get back!” Lylie also added.

And with that they blasted off and sped off towards Destiny Islands with Draco and his friends bracing themselves for the battles that lied ahead.

[Dragonstar1715]

OMFG I actually finished Chapter 9 *Faints*

Chapter 9: A Hero’s Reunion

(I’m gonna try talking in first person from now on)

As we approached Destiny Islands I asked Xonic “Hey Xonic you think they’ll be willing to help after what happened?” “I don’t know we’ll just have to hope that they will” Xonic replied, “Don’t worry! You know Sora, he’s always willing to save the world” Roxas said with enthusiasm “Yeah you’re right, thanks Roxas” I replied, “You’re welcome” Roxas said with a smile on his face.

“We’re here” Xonic said as I looked out the window there were several islands and what looked like a fort on one of them and automatically identified it as Destiny Islands and the memories of that place. We landed and got out, I felt the cool sea breeze blowing against me “So where are they?” I asked, “Patience Draco I’m sure they are around here somewhere” Xonic replied “Why don’t we split up?” Ray suggested, “Okay that sounds like a good idea” Xonic replied, “I’ll go with Draco” Roxas said, “And I’ll go with Ray” Xonic said. Roxas and me decided to look on the other side of the island, while Ray and Xonic went searching on the fort, as we started searching little did anyone of us know that a member of the Order of Shadows was watching us from a palm tree and wielded two what looked to be guns “Heh heh, I think it’s time for a little reintroduction” he said before vanishing.

Me and Roxas walked through the door onto the other side of the island and started to walk across a wooden bridge “I wonder what they’ve been up to lately” Roxas said “Well I don’t know I’m just hoping I recognize-“ I said then I stepped on a loose board and fell through “Ahhhhh!” I yelled as I landed in the water with a big splash “Oh man my cloak!” I complained, “Hey Draco you all right?” Roxas asked, “Yeah I’m all right, just a bit wet” I said. “Who’s there?” a voice asked as I layed on the sand shivering from the coldness of the water “Sora! Riku! Kairi!” Roxas yelled as he heard several sets of footsteps going across the bridge. “Hey Roxas how you doin?” a voice asked notably female, “All right” Roxas replied, “What are you doing here?” a male voice asked, “I’m here with Xonic, Draco and Ray looking for you all” Roxas replied, “Draco’s all right? That’s good, where is he anyway?” Another voice asked. “I’m down here” shouting still cold from the water, a kid looked over the side he had hair like mine but unlike his, mine was black and a bit shorter “Hey Draco you all right?” the kid asked, “Perfect” I said in a sarcastic voice, “It’s good that you are all right” a female voice said all she looked over the side as well, she had red hair and a pink dress on. “You need a hand?” the male kid said, “Wouldn’t mind it” I said they grabbed my hands and pulled me onto the bridge, as I gasped for air after taking a dip I saw a pair of black shoes that I immediately recognized as Sora’s and my head buzzed for a moment as I regained my memories.

“You should always watch out for that board it’s always loose” Sora said, “And who asked you Sor-“ I was saying as I got up but as soon as I saw Sora I knew something was wrong, his eyes were a weird yellow and purple colour, and his clothes were red and black with Half-Heart symbols on it “What the hell?” I yelled as I jumped back and drew my keyblade. “Draco what are you doing?!?” Sora asked, “Get away from me you evil monster!” I yelled in a battle stance “Draco stop it! It is Sora!” Roxas yelled at me, I lowered my keyblade “Geez Draco, don’t scare me like that!” Sora said in a tone that I only know the real Sora would say it. “Sora?” I asked, “What happened to you?” “Well it’s a long story” he said “But why don’t we find the others and I can tell you back at my house?” Sora suggested, “Okay then” I said.

We walked to the fort as Xonic and Ray came walking back with a male and a female, the male stood at about 5”10, wore a blue sweatshirt unzipped with a red shirt, green pants, and red shoes. The female stood at about 5”11, she had strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin and a average body-build. She wore Nylon black halter-top, tan cargo capris (Sorry if I spelled it wrong), white peep toe flats, she had her hair in ponytail and a heart shaped opal choker. I didn’t even need a name for some reason, as one name seemed to come to me naturally: ‘Elle’. She ran over to me hugging me shouting, “Oh Draco, you’re all right! I was so worried about you and Xonic!” “Thank you Elle” I replied.

The rest of them walked over and Xonic said, “Well look who we found”, “And look who we found” I replied showing them Sora and Co., “Well it’s nice to see you…” he said, then as soon as he saw Sora, he asked “Whoa! What’s with the new outfit Sora?” “Well let’s all go to my house and I’ll explain” Sora said. And so we all made our way to the main island by boat and came to Sora’s house. As we walked inside Sora’s mom was cooking dinner, she turned around and said “Oh Sora, you bring some friends over?” she asked, “Yeah mom, these are some of my friends from about a year ago after well you know…” Sora replied, “Of course I do, I be sure to make extra for your friends” his mom said, “Thanks mom he replied.

We all walked upstairs and sat on the numerous couches in what looked to be an upstairs lounge room. “Well…” Sora started, “It’s nice to see that you’re all safe” he said towards me, Xonic and Roxas and Ray, “So what’s been happening in Hollow Bastion and Twilight Town this past year?” Kairi inquired. “Well Hollow Bastion is pretty safe, there aren’t as many heartless any more, so it’s made my job boring as hell” Ray commented, “And what about Twilight Town?” Sora asked, “Well everything has been fine in Twilight Town except…” Xonic said and his voice trailing off at the end of the sentence, “Except what?” Sora asked. Xonic looked at Sora seriously and said, “It’s Dartanian, he’s back…” Sora and the others were shocked, “Dartanian! But I thought you killed him!” Sora exclaimed, “I almost did, but he managed to escape along with a few of the remaining members back to his castle and he also put a spell on all of us to make sure we didn’t know where it was” Xonic explained. “Then how the hell are we supposed to find him?” Riku asked, “Draco” Xonic said, “Draco?” Elle said in a confused voice looking at me, from this point I stepped into the conversation, “From what Xonic has told me, the spell that Dartanian used to control him, also affected my memory, but the only reason Dartanian didn’t decide to erase my memory is because he already thought I was dead because of a spell that Xonic put on me” I explained “And the power of that spell was divided amongst the remaining members of the Order of Shadows, meaning that if we destroy all the other members, it will weaken the spell and we’ll be able to find the portal again and finish this”.

“We get to fight again? Oh good, I haven’t had much of a challenge lately” Riku said cracking his knuckles, “And don’t forget me, I’m fighting too!” Kairi added, “And of course I’m going, I mean I’m a Keyblade bearer too” Sora said grinning, “What gonna play the ‘hero’ again?” I said jokingly and we all started laughing except the kid in the blue sweater.

“Oh! I almost forgot I’d like to introduce you to Zetssu” Sora said pointing to him. “He’s not a keyblade bearer but he can still hold his own when it comes to defeating heartless”, “And how’d he get here?” Xonic asked and Zetssu stood forward. “During the between you and the Order of Shadows, my home world was attacked by them in their bid to collect hearts to recreate Kingdom Hearts and my world was destroyed, I was the only survivor of the attack and eventually made my way here, and since then have sworn revenge against Dartanian” he explained, “Well, we’re gonna need all the help we can get to defeat the Order of Shadows” Xonic said, then he looked down saying “He’s been haunting my dreams everyday since the end of that war, I swear he will pay!”, “Hey don’t sweat it!” I said “I’m sure that with all of us working together we’ll send him back to the Darkness from whence he came”, “Thanks Draco” Xonic replied.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” a voice said from outside “What the…?” Sora said, we all ran outside looking around and saw a guy in a cloak like those of the Order of Shadows “Who are you?” Xonic said demandingly, “Who I am is none of your concern, however for Sora, me and my friends have an old score to settle, and that means you too Roxas!” the cloaked man said, “What do you mean?” Sora yelled at the man. At this point he took off his hood, but he didn’t look like any other member he had seen before, he had his gray hair in a ponytail, and also has a scar across one eye which was covered with the kind of patch you see pirates wear. Sora, Riku, Roxas and Kairi all looked at the guy with shock, then Sora yelled “Xigbar, you fiend! How’d you…”, “Well, well it looks like he remembers me, that’s right Xigbar’s back and better than ever thanks to Dartanian!”, “Dartanian?” I asked, “Geez you’re hopeless aren’t you? Dartanian used what power he gained from Kingdom Hearts to revive the whole Organisation as Half-hearts and now we’re helping him complete Kingdom Hearts so we can become whole beings once again!” Xigbar explained.

“Grrrr you!” Roxas yelled as he drew both his Keyblades and rushed at Xigbar, “Tsk tsk, such an unwelcoming return, well don’t worry you all can still enjoy the entertainment!” Xigbar said as he summoned several Dragoon nobodies and Half-Hearts which looked like the Dragoons but they wielded two crossbows instead of one, then Xigbar disappeared. We all drew our weapons and I saw that Zetssu had changed costume that very much resembled a ninja and carried a long katana with curse marks on it, but then Sora said “Wait we need to find a safer place to fight! Let’s draw them to the other island”, “Good idea” Xonic said.

Through lots of dodging and running, we all managed to draw the Nobodies and Half-Hearts to the other island via a hidden sand bank that lead to the island and also to the fact that it was low tide. As we made it we all drew our weapons, me choosing my Ice Tec-9’s, and all divide up so that we each had a Nobody and half-heart each. We each went to different areas, me choosing a small island that had a few palm trees. Then I started running trying to aim carefully, but the nobody kept dodging them and then I avoided a few sneak shots that the Half-Heart Dragoon shot, “Damn this is not working!” I said, and then I remembered that I had been studying Latin in school and decided to invent a spell of my own. “Vicis Subsisto!” (Time Stop) I yelled and then time suddenly stopped around me, “Wow it worked…” I said to myself, making sure to not let the moment slip by I fired around 50 shots at the nobody, then time started moving again and the bullets had frozen it to bits and it shattered, “Wow, I’ve heard of falling to pieces but man…” I said laughing.

Then I felt a shot hit my arm, “Agh!” I yelled turning around and seeing the Half-Heart smirking, then I looked at my arm and saw that my arm was bleeding, “Man that’s it you’ve crossed the line!” I said. I summoned my thunder rifle “Now you’re in trouble!” I said with a smirk on my face, the Half-Heart looking unimpressed and firing another shot at me, I dodged it and shouted “Thunderbolt!” and a charged bullet of electricity hit the Half Heart squarely in the chest ultimately killing it. I relaxed knowing that I had just destroyed it, but then I saw half a heart join up with another half then disappear.

I walked to the others clutching my arm, which was still bleeding, and then I remembered my Water Staff I said “Liquidus Unda” and my staff appeared. Pointing it upwards a tiny rain cloud appeared over my arm and started raining on where the shot had hit and it slowly began healing until all that was left of it was a scar, putting my staff away I headed back to the others.

“Who was he?” I asked as I walked over, “Xigbar, No. 2 of Organization XIII” Sora said, “Organisation XIII is back?!?” I exclaimed, “It would appear so” Riku added. We walked back into the house and Sora’s Mom came rushing into the lounge room saying “Oh my god, Sora are you all right?” in a panicked voice, “I’m fine mom, but it would seem that I need to go away for a bit again” Sora replied, “Oh…” She said “Well at least spend the night here before going, I don’t want you going in your current condition” she suggested, “Thanks mom” Sora replied.

We spent the night at Sora’s house and after dinner we all went to sleep, and I lay there on the mattress when I heard Xonic say, “Dammit Dartanian, does your evil know no bounds?” “Hey Xonic calm down, I mean of course the Organisation is back but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a chance against them, we’ll crush the Organisation and then we can settle the score with Dartanian once and for all” I reassured Xonic, “Thanks Draco” he replied.

The net morning, we went to a selection of shops to replenish supplies, then we all walked to a Gummi Ship that Sora owned, staring at the ship I said “Wow! This ship is yours?”, “Yep a gift from a friend” Sora replied. We all climbed inside and sat down in the numerous chairs inside that looked like a jumbo private jet, we got to the cockpit and all sat down. “So where to first” Sora asked, “Well we have no clue as to where the base might be and all the worlds are in danger” Xonic commented, “Well how about we deal with all the problems on the other worlds and we might find them in the process” I suggested, “I suppose that is the only plan we have” Xonic replied. “Well if that’s the plan let’s go to the Land of the Dragons first, they’re the nearest to us” Sora suggested, “Dragons? There are dragons there?!?” I asked enthusiastically, “Yeah why?” Sora asked, Xonic stepped in “Oh Draco has had this fascination with Dragons, he’s been like that ever since primary school”, “Hell yeah!” I said, “If there was a record for largest collection of Dragon merchandise, I would be the record holder!” “Well it’s settled then, set course for The Land of The Dragons”!” Sora yelled.

We all sat down in our seats as the gummi ship took off, and as the gummi ship headed towards the Land of the Dragons, we all knew that the war between us, The Order of Shadows and the revived Organisation had just begun.

[Dragonstar1715]

Hmm... I suppose no one likes KH fanfics...

[Gavin Luper]

Hmm... I suppose no one likes KH fanfics...

Hi dude.

It sucks, but there's no way you can make people read your fic - or reply to it if they'd rather be a silent reader. I know it can be one of the most disheartening things to not get any feedback at all, because I've had that happen to me many times before. The key is to respond to it constructively. If people aren't replying, that usually indicates a lack of interest more than anything else. You said it yourself: this is a Kingdom Hearts fanfic on a Pokemon-themed fanfic board. Alternate fandoms, aside from Yu-Gi-Oh!, are notorious for not thriving here, because people are either uninterested or - if they take a look - find them too inaccessible, not being fans themselves. Original fictions and pokemon-themed works are usually much more likely to get feedback, if that's what you're looking for.

All you can do is keep plugging away at this, or try to write something new that might take people's interest more. It's all up to you. Good luck, mate.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 10: A Hidden Past

After taking off from Destiny Islands, my friends and me set course for the land of the Dragons. The war between the Order of Shadows and us had just renewed and what’s worse Dartanian revived the original Organisation XIII (Well more like XII now because Roxas was on our side) and this only added to the work that had to be done.

“Sora…” I said, “Hmm? What is it Draco?” Sora asked, “You never actually told us how you came to be a half-heart” I explained, “Oh sorry I totally forgot, I’ll tell you what happened then” Sora said. “You see, a little while after the first battle between us and the Order of Shadows and returning to the islands, I began sensing that Roxas wanted to have his own form again. So I made a deal with him that if I gave him his own body back, he had the task of protecting you, and since he lived in Twilight Town it wouldn’t be too hard” Sora explained. “So that means…” I said, “That I’m a Half-heart as well, yep” Roxas said stepping into the conversation, “But don’t worry, we’re still us” Sora said, “The only notable differences are that our clothes are slightly different and they have half-heart symbols on them” Roxas added.

“We’re here” Xonic said as we neared the Land of the Dragons, “So…” I said to Sora “What do the dragons here look like?” I asked. “Well I’ve only seen two, one had been transformed into a heartless and unfortunately we had to destroy it, and the other well you could say he’s a little on the ‘short’ side” Sora said as he turned to Roxas and they both started laughing, “…Ok then” I said.

We landed the ship and started to walk amongst the bamboo trees and came across what looked to be an army camp, “Oh look the army camp is still here” Sora commented. We walked down to the camp, we noticed that the camp comprised of only men, “Uh Elle are you going to be ok with all these men around?” I asked, Elle looked at me and said, “Oh don’t worry, I can hold my own”, “Oh can she ever,” Xonic said. “Xonic leaned over to me and said, “I remember this one time that a guy tried to hit on Elle and she knocked him unconscious, he was in a coma for a week” Elle, myself and Xonic all started laughing as I said, “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind”.

As we entered the camp, there were only a few soldiers there, and three of them noticed Sora and one of them said, “Well look who it is, its Sora!” The one who acknowledged Sora was about average height, fairly skinny and wore Armour with some yellow cloth on it, “Hey its Ling!” Sora exclaimed, “How you guys doing?” Sora asked, “We’re doing fine, there hasn’t been much to do lately though…” Ling explained, “Well I think you may be encountering some enemies soon, so keep on guard” Sora replied, “Thanks for the warning we will” Ling replied. “By the way where’s Mulan?” Sora asked, “At the palace of course” Ling said, “The palace got it” Sora replied as we began to walk away.

Who’s Mulan?” I asked, “Mulan is a woman who helped us defeat the heartless in this world, and the dragon I was telling you about is her… guardian of sorts” Sora replied, “Okay…” I said. We made our way up to the palace and noticed that it was mostly empty, “It is always this empty?” I asked, “Pretty much” Sora replied, “Not many people come here, only for big festivals”, we made our way up to the door and saw two guards at the gate. “What business do you have here?” one of the guards asked, “We’re here to see Mulan” Sora stated, “Just a moment” the other guard said entering the palace, after several minutes the guard came back out, “Very well, you may enter” he said.

We walked inside and I noticed that there were many expensive looking artifacts lining the walls, “Geez this emperor must have a lot of cash to spend” I commented, “Must have” Xonic replied. We made our way to the throne room where the emperor was sitting in his throne and either side of him was Mulan and a man who had a cape on and a long sword. “Sora!” Mulan exclaimed, “Hey Mulan” Sora replied, “Hello Sora, it’s nice to see you again” the man with the sword said bowing to Sora, “As with you Captain Shang” “Well, well it’s been a while” The emperor said, “Yes emperor we bring urgent news” Sora replied.

“Well if it isn’t Draco and Xonic!” a voice said, looking around we saw a teenager he had black hair, bluish-green eyes and wore a blue jumpsuit, but the most distinguishing feature about him was an odd pair of goggles that he wore on his head. Looking at him I needed no time to think as the memories came back almost immediately, “Mega!” Xonic and me shouted, “Well its about time you guys showed up, how are you?” Mega asked, “Well…” I said. For the next half an hour or so, Xonic and me explained what had happened and also about my memories were being restored piece-by-piece.

“Hmm so the electrocution did affect your memory…” Mega said, “Wait a minute I thought that Xonic caused my loss of memory” I said, “Xonic? You told him that?” Mega asked Xonic, “Well yeah because that’s what I thought happened” Xonic said. “Well it’s not” Mega said, “I remember it very clearly and Draco being electrocuted by Dartanian was the cause of his amnesia” Mega explained, “So you mean that this guilt that I have been living with for the last year was of an incident that never happened?” Xonic asked, “I’m afraid so” Mega answered, “Godammit Dartanian! He had to kill and torture my friends, but mess with my memory? Does your evil know no ends?” Xonic shouted, “Calm down Xonic…” I said, “But Dartanian he-“, “I SAID CALM DOWN!” I yelled punching him.

“Draco why did you…” Xonic said, “Look Xonic, I’m just as ticked off at Dartanian as you at the moment, but we need to concentrate at the task at hand, then when we find Dartanian then you can swear you’re head off” I said to Xonic, Xonic looked at me for a second and said, “You’re right Draco, I got carried away”. Everyone was staring at us but I simply said, “It’s all right, problem solved”, then Mega looked at me and said, “Same old Draco”, I just smiled at him before turning back to the rest of the gang. “Well then…” Sora said, “Yes so what was this news you wanted to tell us” The emperor enquired, “Well I believe Xonic can explain in more detail” Sora said, Xonic stood next to Sora and said “Well emperor, I won’t bombard you with trivial details, but to put a long story short, Dartanian and the Order of Shadows have returned and what’s more, he’s also gone and revived Organisation XIII as well” Xonic explained.

“Say what?” Shang said in shock, “Hmmm this is a most troubling matter indeed” the emperor commented, “I would suggest that you best prepare for any battles that might be coming in the near future” Xonic suggested, “Yes there’s no telling what they might-“ Sora began saying when a soldier burst through the doors. “Cap-Captain Shang…” the exhausted soldier said, “What is it?” Shang said, “I-I have urgent news” the soldier said still trying to catch his breath, “What happened” Mulan asked, “It’s, It’s-” the soldier said, “What’s happened?” the emperor asked sternly looking annoyed, “It’s Shan Yu! He’s back!” the soldier blurted out. “WHAT?” Shang shouted, “Is this true?” Mulan asked the soldier, “Yes, my lady” the soldier replied, “One of our soldiers in the hill spotted him in the mountains, with a large army of black and white creatures” The soldier explained, “Dartanian…” Xonic muttered, “He must’ve revived him just like he did the organization” Xonic said.

“I suppose we should go and check and how close Shan Yu is to the Palace” Riku suggested, just then Shang looked at Riku and said, “Wait a minute, I remember you”, “Yes I was the one who warned you about the Dragon Heartless” Riku said, “Yes and burst in uninvited too!” Shang exclaimed, “Riku, next time just knock” Sora said, “Well they wouldn’t let me in, so I just burst in, I needed to warn the emperor about the Heartless” Riku replied, “Well, still you need to show some-“ Sora began saying until Kairi stepped in saying, “Oh just quit it you two, this problem isn’t going to be solves any quicker with you two arguing like you always do”, “Yes Kairi…” they both said. “She’s good” I commented, “Well someone has to keep these two in line” Kairi said to me, “You sound like my sister” I replied, “I hope she’s okay…” “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re just fine” Roxas said reassuringly, “Thanks Roxas” I said.

“Well we better get to it” Mulan said, “You’re coming with us?” I asked, “Of course, any friend of Sora’s is a friend of mine” Mulan said, “Then good luck, and remember, be careful, Shan-Yu is a ruthless killer” Shang said, “Don’t worry, we’re on the job!” Sora said, “I’ll come with you as well” Mega said, “Thanks Mega” Xonic said with a smile, “Hey anything to help my old friends” Mega replied. And with that we all headed out in search of Shan-Yu and hopefully find some trace of the Order of Shadows.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 11:
The Search Begins

After exiting the palace, we discussed about where to look for Shan-Yu, “Why don’t we just look for him in the mountains” I asked, “I suppose, but he might have moved since then” Sora said, “Then what do we do?” Ray asked, “How about we split up?” Roxas suggested, “That’s a good idea, we need to look in all places possible” Mulan commented. “All right then” Sora said.

“Okay so what’s that plan?” I asked, Sora stood up after a moment of thinking “Right, Ray, Zetssu, Riku you take the imperial checkpoint and the mountain path that joins to that” Sora said, “All right then” Riku said and the others nodded in agreement. “Xonic, Elle, Kairi, Roxas, you take the army camp and the bamboo forest adjacent to that” Sora continued, “Yay! I get to go with Xonic!” Elle said hugging Xonic and Xonic looking embarrassed, “Oh Brother…” I commented. “And me, Mega, Mulan and Draco will take the mountains and village” Sora finished, “Okay then Sora” I said, “Oh! And before I forget…” Sora said pulling out three cell phones, “Use these to communicate and let us know if you see anything” Sora said, we all nodded and then went our separate directions.

As me, Mega, Sora and Mulan walked up the mountain path to the village, I asked Mulan, “So, uh Sora told me that you have a dragon”, “Oh you mean Mushu?” Mulan replied. “Mushu?” I asked, “Did someone say my name?” a voice said, “WTF! Where’d that voice come from?” I asked, then a small creature hopped onto Mulan’s shoulder, “Yes it’s me the illustrious and magnificent Mushu” the creature said, “Dragon? This guy looks more like a lizard!” I said in disappointment, “Hey! Hey, it’s DRAGON not lizard, I don’t do that tongue thing” Mushu said and ironically enough he flicked his tongue, “Obviously…” I said sarcastically. “Are you two done yet, we already made it to the village” Sora said, the village was magnificent, it was flourishing with colour and many people walked through the streets, “It’s actually hard to believe but Shan-Yu several years ago reduced this place to rubble” Mulan said, “Well you have certainly done an excellent job on rebuilding it” I replied, “Thank you” Mulan replied back with a smile.

“Well we better start off here” Sora said, we all split up, but Mega decided to stay with me and searched the village for any signs of Half-Hearts or Shan-Yu. As we walked Mega asked, “So Draco what have you been doing this last year?” “Well it’s kind of a long story” I replied, just then I spied someone selling noodles, “How bout we talk about it over some noodles?” I said, “All right then” Mega replied, we went over and asked for some Egg Noodles, paid them and went and sat down under a Cherry blossom tree. For the next half-hour I talked to Mega about what had happened and how I came to remember everyone again, “So Dartanian must’ve manipulated yours, Xonic’s and everyone else’s memories” Mega said, “It seems that way” I replied, “But for some reason mine were never erased, I wonder why?” Mega asked, “I guess you were just the lucky one” I commented, “Yeah maybe you’re right” Mega said laughing.

As we finished our noodles, Sora shouted “Draco, Mega get over here now, there are Half-Hearts here!” “Oh damn!” I said as we quickly rushed over to a small square where Mulan and Sora were fighting some regular half-hearts and another kind of half-heart that wielded a big shield, “Draco, Mega where’ve you been?” Sora asked, “We were taking a break” I said, “Well never mind, just get your weapons and help us destroy these things!” Mega ran off to fight another group of half-hearts, whilst I prepared myself for battle.

I yelled “Rabidus Flare!” and two katanas appeared in front of me, I grabbed them and began rushing towards the half-hearts. I shoved one of my blades into a shadow half-heart destroying it then a soldier tried to take a swipe at me, I jumped over and brought my blades down in a powerful slash, cutting it in three, “Gee I guess he decided to ‘split’” I said laughing. Just then a shield wielding Half-Heart made a swipe at my chest, “Argh” I said slightly in pain as the Half-heart jumped back preparing for another attack, thinking quick I said “Hey what’s that?” point in a random direction, it looked away then I ran, jumped and then shoved one of my blades into the half-hearts head, “Ohhh you’re gonna have a hell of a headache in the morning” I said mockingly as it vanished.

The half –hearts eventually were all destroyed and Sora, Mulan and Mega walked back over to me “Well this must mean that Shan-Yu must be around here” Mulan said, “Or it might be just a distraction” Mega added, “I’d better check with the others” Sora said. Sora called the others, “Riku, are you there?” Sora asked, “Yeah Sora go ahead” Riku replied, “How’s things where you are?” Sora asked, “We just got attacked by a whole bunch of Half-Hearts” Riku explained, “Are you kidding? We just attacked by them too!” Sora exclaimed, “I called the others, they had similar situations” Riku said. While they were talking, I was looking around, and out of the corner of my eye, spotted a sinister looking person enter a cave outside the village, “Who’s that?” I asked myself, “Who’s who?” Mulan asked looking where I was, then she saw it too, “Ah! Shan-Yu!” Mulan exclaimed, “What, where?” Sora asked looking around, “He went into that cave over there” I said, “Then lets catch him then!” Sora replied running towards the cave.

We dashed over towards the cave and traveled a ways until we reached a shrine of sorts, “What kind of shrine is this?” I asked as I looked at it, “I think a more important question is where the hell is Shan-Yu?” Sora said. We looked around trying to find any trace of Shan-Yu, “I guess he must’ve gone” Mega said, “It looks that way” Mulan commented, “Well let’s get out of here and think of what to do next then” I said walking towards the cave exit. As I walked I hit thin air but it felt like I walked into a wall “Ow!” I said in pain, “What’s the matter?” Sora asked, “I felt like I hit a wall, yet there’s nothing here!” I said, Sora walked up and stared at the air for a second, “There is something here” he said, then he pulled out his keyblade and a beam of light shot from it.

The light revealed a wall of ice, which looked almost transparent, “Ice? Who the hell uses ice to make a blockade?” Mega asked, “Who cares, we need to get out” Sora said, “Oh I don’t think that will be happening” a unknown voice said, we all looked around and then from behind the wall appeared a guy in a black and white coat, “Who are you?” Mulan asked demandingly, “Who am I? I am the chilly academic known only as Vexen” the hooded figure said he pulled back his hood; he had blue eyes, girly looking hair and carried a large shield which I identified from the new half-hearts running around. “Vexen!” Sora yelled, “Oh so he does remember me, how touching, unfortunately this is the end for you” Vexen replied with a sneer and with that he snapped his fingers and a ton of half-hearts appeared behind us.

“Goddamit” I cursed, “Just what we need more of these things”, “Well lets just concentrate on dealing with them a swiftly as possible” Mega said, “Oh I got an idea!” I said, “What is it?” Sora asked, “Just watch, but you better take refuge around that corner otherwise you may get hurt” I said. They all ducked around the corner then I yelled “Oblivio Obscurum!” and a large black minigun appeared in my hands, then I yelled “Darkness Storm!” firing a barrage of bullets at the enemy from every direction, after several waves of bullets they were all destroyed.

“Wow Draco that was amazing, where’d you learn that?” Mega asked, I looked at him and said “Well I’ve learnt a few things since the last time we were together”, “Well that was impressive” Sora commented, “Thanks Sora” I said. “Sora!” a voice said from the phone, Sora looked at it and saw that it was Riku, “What’s Up Riku?” Sora asked, “Shan-Yu is attacking the palace!” Riku exclaimed, “WHAT?’ Sora said in shock, “Get over to the palace right away!” Riku said, “Got it” Sora replied. “Just one thing” I said, “What’s that Draco?” Sora asked, “How are we supposed to get out? The exit is blocked” I said, “Oh yeah…” Sora sighed, “Hey looks like a job for Mushu!” Mushu said hopping down from Mulan’s shoulder, he opened his mouth and a stream of fire shot out and hit the ice wall, but it didn’t crack the ice, “Argh we need more firepower!” Sora complained. I pulled out my fire pistols “Here’s your firepower!” I said facing the wall of ice, “Firestorm!” I yelled releasing a barrage of bullets that then transformed into fireballs, the fireballs joined with Mushu’s fire breath and caused a large hole to form in the ice. “Good job Draco and Mushu, now we can get out!” Sora said happily, “Just glad to help” I said confidently, “Hey kid you’re pretty fiery!” Mushu commented, “Thanks, I guess I can be at times” I replied, “Same old Draco” Mega said, I just looked at him and laughed. “Well let’s get to the palace quick!” Mulan said, “Right” Sora said, as we raced out of the cave and towards the palace.

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 12:
An Imperial Battle

We rushed to the palace and saw the others fighting half-hearts, “Hey they started the party without us!” I said, “Well let’s get in there then” Sora replied, we all summoned our weapons, me choosing my light burst-handguns and dashed into the battle. I ran for a shield half-heart, jumped over it and then shot it in the back, killing it. Then I saw another new half-heart that looked like a centaur of sorts, it was dashing at Xonic who was destroying half-hearts in front of him with his dark blade. As the Half-heart ran towards with a spear, I ran towards it, jumped, grabbed the spear and shoved it into its chest before blasting it with a headshot as Xonic finished the last half-heart in front of him. Xonic looked at the half-heart then me; I shrugged and said “You missed one” as we both started laughing.

I began to observe the others fighting, Ray’s keyblades were glowing a bright red as he rushed at the enemy, he slashed through them leaving a bright red X on them, I observed a bit more then the half-hearts blew up, “Whoa” I said as I fell over, Xonic pulled me up, “It seems Ray’s learnt a few tricks since last time” Xonic commented, “Yeah, no battle’s complete without a good explosion” I said, “True…” Xonic replied. I began watching Elle fight; she was glowing like she was on fire and sending fireballs at the enemy, setting them alight “Geez Elle can get a bit fiery sometimes” I commented. Then a centaur half-heart and a shield half-heart eyed us, “Ready for a bit of teamwork?” I said, “Always” Xonic replied drawing Twilight Mystery, I drew out Absolution, and said “Ready Absolution?” I asked, “Ready when you are” Absolution replied.

I performed a time spell on the enemies as we both rushed in and performed a series of slashes, then Xonic shot a beam of darkness at the enemy and I shot a beam of light at the enemy damaging them more. We both got ready for the last move; we both pointed our blades above the enemy and beams of light and darkness fused together to create twilight, then the ball of twilight dropped and exploded like a bomb.

“Well that takes care of that” Roxas said, killing the last half-heart, “Well now that’s done let’s find Shan-Yu” Mulan said. We ran to the gate and saw two injured soldiers; Mulan ran up to one of them and asked, “Where’s Shan-Yu?” “In… the palace, he’s… holding the emperor hostage” the soldier replied as he collapsed from exhaustion, “Wait!” Mulan said, Mega approached the soldier and checked him over, “It’s okay, he’s badly hurt” Mega commented. “Well let’s go, we need to rescue the emperor” Mulan said, “I’m afraid that’s not an option” a voice said, and then Vexen appeared.

“Godammit Vexen, can you just leave us alone?” Sora complained, “Unfortunately I can’t, you see with each person killed, brings about more hearts and more hearts means that we are that much closer to becoming complete again” Vexen said, “Oh shut up Vexen, you were always all bark and no bite, why don’t you just go and play with your chemistry set?” Roxas said mockingly, “Oh aren’t you the big mouth you always were” Vexen commented. “Look are we going to fight or what?” I asked, “We’ll have to” Sora said, then he looked at Riku, “Riku you get the others and find a way inside, Me, Roxas, Draco, Ray and Xonic will handle this” he said, “Right then” Riku said as they started to run, trying to find a way inside.

“You can’t do that!” Vexen said trying to stop them, then we jumped in front of him as Roxas said, “Oh come off of it, we’re your opponents now, so get ready to fight!” “Grrr, you’ll pay for this!” Vexen said summoning some half-hearts and a shield that was ice blue in colour. We all took battle stances, me summoning my keyblade Absolution “Ray, Roxas, Xonic you take the half-hearts, me and Draco will take care of Vexen” Sora said, they all nodded as Vexen took a battle stance. “Attack!” Vexen yelled as the half hearts charged towards us, Xonic, Ray and Roxas slashed through the half-hearts as me and Sora rushed at Vexen, “Attack at the rear!” Sora called out, “Gotcha” I replied, I used my time magic to speed myself up a bit and managed to dodge the ice spears that Vexen shot at us. I managed to maneuver myself behind him and tried to take a swipe at him, but Vexen summoned an ice-wall that knocked me back, “Ow!” I groaned as Vexen smiled at me mockingly.

Sora maneuvered around and tried to make a swipe at Vexen, but ended up being knocked away by the same barrier, “Well this is new” Sora commented, “Change of tactics you take the back and I’ll take the front” Sora explained, “All right then” I said. I sped round as Sora readied himself, then we both slashed at the same time and it almost worked, but Vexen blocked form both sides. He started to laugh then I said, “Grrr I’ve had enough, give me that!” I sped towards him and snatched his shield. “Hey give that back!” Vexen exclaimed, “All right I’ll give it to you” I said as I grabbed his shield and slashed at him several times, leaving some deep cuts, then I took the shield and threw it at his head, which knocked him into a daze. “All right, my turn” Sora said as he drew another keyblade, it looked like the oblivion, but with a more sinister design. A chain started to slither out of the end of the blade, then a spear head appeared on the end as it sped towards Vexen, it pierced him in the heart, well half of his heart and Vexen fell to the ground.

“No! Defeated again…” Vexen yelled as he started to disappear, “Well that’s what you get for getting in our way” Sora said as Vexen vanished completely. “Well that was interesting” I commented, and then the shield that I took from Vexen started to glow a light blue. “What the-?” I exclaimed, then my Tec-9’s appeared in front of me and began to glow the same colour, then there was a blinding flash of light. When the light died down, I looked at my weapons and notice they changed into a more advanced model of SMG. I remembered looking through a weapons database and identified them as MP5’s, “Well it seems as though you have attained the next level of ice magic” Xonic said, “The next level?” I asked, “Yes Draco, there are three levels of ice magic; Blizzard, Blizzara and Blizzaga and with each level the power of the weapon improves and a new elemental limit is unlocked” Xonic explained, “Does it happen with all elements?” I asked, “Most” Xonic replied, “Cool!” I said happily. “Well now that’s over and done with, we need to rescue the emperor!” Mulan said urgently, “Right” I said, just then Riku and the others came back, “Riku! Any luck?” Sora asked, “None” Riku replied bluntly, “The place is locked up tighter than a prison” Elle commented.

“How are we going to get in?” Roxas said, then Mega said, “I know a secret passage to the throne room”, “You do?” Sora asked, “Yes I have memorized every inch of this place and know every possible entry point” Mega explained, “Then what are we waiting for? We got to rescue the emperor!” Riku said, “Right” Sora replied.

Mega lead us onto the roof of the palace and then showed us a secret door inside, we walked along the top level of the palace, making sure not to be heard as there was many half-hearts patrolling the hallways. We eventually sneaked into the throne room and hid, we watched as we saw Shan-Yu hold a blade to the emperor’s throat and Shang being restrained by Half-Hearts. “I’ll only say this once more, BOW DOWN TO ME!” Shan-Yu yelled at the emperor, “I will never bow down to someone as evil as you” The Emperor said standing firm, “Then prepare to die!” Shan-Yu said raising his blade. “Oh no, we need to do something!” Mulan gasped, looking at what was happening I quickly ran over to a ledge near the emperor, and as Shan-Yu was about to bring his blade down I jumped and managed to cut Shan-Yu with Absolution.

“Argh!” Shan-Yu yelled staggering back, “Mind if I drop in?” I asked mockingly, “Why you little-!” Shan-Yu yelled angrily. I brought out my new MP5’s and started firing at the Half-Hearts restraining Shang; the blasts coming from my guns were larger and more powerful than my Tec-9’s due to the level up. I managed to blast most of them way and Xonic and the others jumped down, with Mulan running over to Shang, “Shang! Are you okay?” Mulan said in distress, “Yeah, just a flesh wound” Shang said jokingly. “Grr, you’ll pay for this!” Shan-Yu said readying his blade, “You want a fight then? Come on!” “We better get of here” Xonic said, “But what about Draco?” Sora asked, “Don’t worry, he can handle it” Xonic replied. I readied Absolution and said to the Emperor, “Your majesty, you better go with them” “Very well then,” the Emperor said as he made his way out with the others.

“No you can’t!” Shan-Yu running towards the group with his blade, I jumped in front of him, kicked him back and said “Hey pal! I’m your opponent now so deal with it!”, “Tch fine, I’ll kill you then kill them and become emperor of this forsaken country!” Shan-Yu said laughing, “The only thing that’s forsaken about this country is you” I said mockingly, “Ha ha ha, you’ll be regretting you said that boy” Shan-Yu said, “Try me” I said taunting him.

He ran towards me with his blade in full force, I summoned my samurai swords and managed to block the blow, he was strong but I stood my ground, I managed to grab one of my swords and cut him again. He staggered back a bit and said “Wait a minute, what am I wasting my strength for? My army will make quick work of you!” he said summoning several Soldier and Centaur Half-Hearts, “CRUSH HIM!” Shan-Yu yelled as the Half-Hearts charged towards me. I smirked and summoned my ice MP5’s again but this time I yelled “Frozen Wind!” and two blasts of icy wind came from my ice MP5’s and froze all of the Half-Hearts in place, smiling I clicked my fingers and the whole lot of Half-Hearts shattered and around a dozen pieces of hearts reunited with their other halves and vanished.

“Grrr, how dare you do that to my army!” Shan-Yu said angrily, “I don’t care, and I’m gonna put a stop to your reign of terror right now!” I said as I began to glow a golden colour. I yelled “Absolute Judgment!” as I slashed the air in front of me and quickly dashed into the portal my blade created. Waiting for a good chance to strike, I let loose with a series of slashes, I appeared for the final slash and delivered a punishing blow.

Shan-Yu knelt down in pain and said “No! Not now! Not when victory was just in my grasp!” “Well I’m sorry but it’s game over for you,” I said to him and with that he vanished. I noticed that he dropped his blade and knelt down to pick it up, then the blade started to glow a burning red, knowing the element it was radiating, I drew out my Fire Pistols, they glowed the same colour then a bright flash occurred. When the light had dissipated, I saw that my pistols had transformed into a powerful model of Revolver, “Cool! Another upgrade!” I commented.

I walked outside where everyone else was waiting, “Did you take care of Shan-Yu?” Sora asked, “Yeah, he was tough but I got rid of him, and look new weapons!” I said showing my revolvers, “Your powers are growing more powerful by the day” Xonic commented, “Well I had a great teacher” I replied looking at Xonic. “So the threat of Shan-Yu is finally over,” Mulan said relieved, “Aaaaaagggghhhh!” a voice yelled out, we all looked behind and saw Shan-Yu but only half of him, “Eeeek!” Elle screamed, “Gah! When you’re dead, learn to stay dead!” I said annoyed as I threw my blade at him. My blade sliced him in half and he disappeared again, “…Well that was interesting” Sora commented, “Geez, that was freaky!” Ray added.

After a few minutes of getting over what just happened, we decided to head off. “So you’re going now?” Shang said, “Afraid so, we still need to go to the other worlds and help them” Sora said, the emperor approached us and said “Sora, Xonic, everyone I thank you for the deeds you have done us today” we all bowed, “And you Draco…” he said looking at me, “Thank you for protecting me in my time of need”, “Ahhh it was nothing your majesty” I said a bit embarrassed. “Well we have to go now,” Sora said, “Thank you for all you’ve done” Mulan said, “Hey all in a day’s work” Sora said confidently, “Sure it is” I said sarcastically as I gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder and we both laughed

We all climbed in the ship and strapped ourselves in and after saying our last goodbyes, we took off. “So what’s our next destination?” I asked, “Well the Olympic Coliseum and Beast’s Castle are about the same distance away” Sora said. “Ohhh can we maybe go to the Coliseum? I always wanted to go to a real life arena!” I said, “What besides your dream of meeting a dragon?” Roxas said, “Yes, I have ambitions that don’t involve dragons” I said slightly annoyed but not letting anyone know, “We’ll then it’s settled, next stop: Olympus Coliseum!” Sora said as we blasted off towards our next destination.

[Dragonstar1715]

After about a 4 month absence, I am finally back for a bit an with new chapters and fics to share

Chapter 13:
A Godly Encounter

Having stopped Vexen at the Land of the Dragons, we made our way to the next world: Olympus Coliseum. “So what’s this coliseum world like?” I asked, “Well it’s place that looks like it came right out of Greek Mythology” Sora said, “There’s Hercules or Herc for short, he’s the hero icon there” “There’s also Phil, he’s Herc’s trainer, he can be hard to please sometimes when it comes to showing that you’re a hero” Sora continued, “Right…” I replied, “There’s also Auron, he’s a former guardian but no one has seen nor hide or hair of him since we defeated Organization XIII the first time, it’s like he disappeared of the face of the planet” Sora continued explaining, “So there’s no trace of him?” I asked, “None” Sora replied.

“We’re here,” Riku said as we landed, we climbed out and I looked around and saw the huge coliseum, “I can see what you meant,” I said. “Hey guys” a man in a Greek warrior’s outfit said, “Hey it’s Hercules!” Sora exclaimed, “How’s it been going ‘hero’?” Hercules asked, “Oh nothing much, saving worlds, wiping out heartless and half-hearts, you know the sort” Sora replied, “A hero’s job is never done is it?” Herc asked as he shook hands with Sora, “You know it” Sora replied.

“So what brings you here?” Herc asked, “Well we just found out that the Order of Shadows has revived the Organization, so things aren’t exactly the best right now”, “Hmmm…” Hercules stood there thinking, “Well, there’s been no word of anyone messing around here, or in the underworld” Hercules explained, “Oh well, I suppose we better stick around just in case” Sora commented. “Hey you should see Phil, he may not look it, but I’m pretty such he’s missed training you” Herc commented, “Heh, he has, has he? Better go see him then” Sora replied. As we walked towards the gate, I asked “Who’s Phil?”, “Phil? He the one who I told you can be hard to please, but even though he may seem a bit arrogant at first, he really is a good guy” Sora replied.

Upon entering the coliseum, we saw a goat humanoid creature looking at a board of sorts, “That’s Phil?” I asked, “Yep” Sora replied. As we walked up, Phil said “Hey herc, great timing, I’m looking for some competitors for this new tournament I’m setting up, you know anyone who could join?”, Sora decided to have a bit of fun with him and said “Yeah, what about Sora? I’m sure he would be a great competitor” in a tone that sounded similar to Herc’s voice. “Sora? That kid? Yeah I suppose he would be good to have, I suppose I should send him and inviat…” Phil was saying as he turned around and then saw Sora.

“Hey Phil” Sora said laughing, “Kid!” Phil exclaimed, “How you going, living up to your title of ‘Hero’ are we?” Phil asked, “Yeah, saving worlds, destroying some heartless you know, the usual stuff” Sora replied, “Glad to hear it!” Phil said. “What’s this tournament you’re talking about?” I asked, “And you are?” Phil said, “Oh I almost forgot, this is Draco” Pointing to me “Xonic, Roxas, Elle, Riku, Kairi, Mega, Ray and Zetssu” Sora said introducing each person, “Yeah so anyway, what is this tournament about anyway?” Sora asked.

“Oh Herc and I have both been bored, since we haven’t seen much of Hades lately” Phil explained, “Hades?” I asked, “He’s the god of the underworld” Sora explained, “Sounds powerful” I commented, “Nah, he’s just a big sap, I defeated him loads of times”, “I’ll take your word for it then” I replied. “Anyway, me and Herc thought that we would hold a tournament to liven things up around here, only problem is finding competitors to compete” Phil continued explaining. “Well how about us?” I said cracking my knuckles, “You? I don’t know you don’t look so tough…” Phil commented, “Well looks can be deceiving” Sora added, “Ain’t that the truth” Phil said, “You really surprised me Sora, going from a nobody to a true hero in such a short time!” he added.

“So that means you’ll let us compete?” Roxas asked, “Sure! I’m sure you’ll make this tournament interesting enough for us” Phil said, “Well you better get practicing, the tournament starts tomorrow” Phil said to us. For the rest of the day, we were all practicing our fighting styles and abilities. After a hard day’s training, it became nighttime, so we had dinner and slept in the gummi ship’s cabin, which were quite luxurious for most ships.

As I laid in bed I thought about what Xonic had said about the location of Dartanian’s base being hidden. I tried going through my memory to try and find it, but just as I did, a splitting headache ensued “Agh!” I groaned as the pain went away. Roxas was sleeping on the bed across from me and noticed that I was in pain “You okay Draco?” he asked, “Yeah, I suppose that spell must be strong, because something is preventing me from reaching that memory of where the base was” I replied. “Well once we defeat some members of the Order of Shadows, that barrier should weaken and maybe you might be able to remember where it is” Roxas explained, “Yeah, you’re right, anyway night Roxas” I said, “Night Draco” Roxas replied and laying there on the bed I soon fell asleep feeling ready for tomorrow’s tournament.

Meanwhile at Dartanian’s Base…

A cloaked being was running up the stairs, he came to a room with a throne at the end, where Dartanian sat, “You called?” the cloaked being said, “Ah yes Haeseus, have the rest of our colleagues been revived?” Dartanian asked, “Yes master, the remaining members are being revived as we speak with the power you obtained from Kingdom Hearts” Haeseus replied, “Good, send Jake along with Demyx to Olympus Coliseum, I want a report done on their progress as soon as possible” Dartanian said, “Very well” Haeseus replied as he walked out of the room.

A cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows and pulled down his hood revealing a middle aged man with silvery hair, “What’s the matter Dartanian? You seem troubled” the man said. “Oh Xemnas, that kid Draco tried to break my barrier on his mind which holds the location of our base, I need to know if they are going to be a threat to us, I mean they already destroyed Vexen” Dartanian explained, “Ha! Vexen was one of the weaker members of the Organization I predicted this would happen” Xemnas said. “Well if you’re sure, just remember, that kid could be the key to our demise” Dartanian said, “How so?” Xemnas asked.

“Draco is an unusual person, he is a denizen of the twilight, standing between light and darkness, if he manages to harness that power, he could pose a serious problem” Dartanian explained, “Well I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on him” Xemnas said as he entered a portal of Darkness. Dartanian was left there sitting on his throne and thought “You may have won the last battle brother, but we will win the war”

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 14:
Battle Royale (Part One)

After a good night’s sleep, all of us woke up and headed to the coliseum for the Hero’s Tournament. We entered the main lobby and saw that Phil had already set up the matches. I looked at the match ups and it said:

1st Round:

Ray vs. Roxas
Xonic vs. Mega
Riku vs. Zetssu
Draco vs. Kairi
Sora vs. Elle

5th match will be seeded to final round

“Hmmm interesting match ups” I commented, then Kairi walked up to me, “So I face you first then” she said, “Seems that way” I said, “We’ll don’t expect me to hold back “ She commented, “Wouldn’t have it any other way” I replied.

We walked into the Coliseum and sat down as Ray and Roxas took to the field. “All right now, it’s one on one and remember to fight fair” Phil said, “All right then? Ready, set… GO!” Phil shouted. Ray and Roxas rushed at each other and Ray managed to get the first hit in, but then Roxas turned around and got a 5-hit combo in. Ray turned around and then unleashed a flurry of attacks and Roxas managed to block most of them with narrowly dodged the one’s he didn’t block.

Roxas ran at Ray and Ray prepared to deflect the attack, but Roxas then jumped over Ray and landed a 3-hit combo on Ray. They stood on opposite ends of the arena and then Ray’s blades began glowing red hot, meaning that he was about to use his special move. He dashed at lightning speed at Roxas but Roxas cart wheeled to the side and hit Ray on the side, Roxas then rose into the sky and his Oathkeeper blade began to glow a pure white. Roxas unleashed a flurry of light blasts; Ray tried to dodge but got hit squarely in the chest with several blasts.

Kneeling in defeat Roxas rested the Oathkeeper on Ray’s shoulder to claim victory. “And the winner is Roxas!” Phil called; we all clapped and cheered for both of them. “Good match” Ray said standing up and looking at Roxas “You too, better luck next time” Roxas replied. They both walked back to us “That was certainly exhilarating” Xonic commented, “Right next up is Xonic vs. Mega” Phil yelled out, “Good luck” I said to both of them “Thanks” they said in unison. This match was quite close; Xonic and Mega were both neck and neck and Mega seemed to wield a strange keyblade that looked like an oversized spanner. Mega and Xonic traded blows throughout the whole fight until Xonic knocked Mega’s keyblade out of his hand and claimed victory.

“And the winner by a close call is Xonic!” Phil yelled, “That match sure was close” Sora commented, “That’s Xonic and Mega for you” I said. They walked back and I had to ask, “Mega, where’d you get the keyblade from?” “I got it shortly after the first war finished when I was on Mulan’s world” Mega said, “Well it certainly looks interesting” I commented, “Well I am a mechanic as well as a medic” Mega replied, “True” I said.

“Next up is “Riku vs. Zetssu” Phil called, they walked to the arena and stood ready for battle. As the battle commenced, Riku started off by firing a blast of Darkness at Zetssu, but Zetssu disappeared in a flash of smoke as he was a ninja by nature. Riku looked around the arena for Zetssu, but Zetssu appeared behind Riku and dealt a blow. Riku staggered to his feet and then let loose a flurry of blasts, Zetssu tried to dodge most but one hit him in the leg. Zetssu stumbled a bit but regained his balance, Zetssu then started to glow red and his eyes turned red as well as his blade.

Zetssu ran at Riku in a mad rage and started attacking in a frenzy. Riku was lucky to dodge most of the hits, but was hit a few times hard. Riku got up and then eventually found a way to easily dodge the hits. After studying Zetssu’s attack pattern a bit, Riku jumped over Zetssu and send a blast of darkness at him causing Zetssu to fall over. Riku then rose up and created a portal of darkness and flew into it, he appeared out of another one and slashed Zetssu and created another portal, he did this several times before he appeared a final time and put his keyblade on the exhausted Zetssu’s shoulder to claim victory.

“And the winner is Riku!” Phil shouted as they both walked back to the stands, “I didn’t know that Zetssu had that kind of power” I said, “Yeah we didn’t know until some heartless attacked the island one day “Kairi said. “Next up, Draco vs. Kairi!” Phil said, “Well it’s out turn” Kairi said, “Alright then” I replied. We both walked to the battleground and took our positions, “Don’t hold back now” Kairi called “I wouldn’t give you the benefit of it” I replied, “All right then, ready, set… GO!” Phil called.

I summoned my katana’s and ran at Kairi at quick speed, Kairi elegantly jumped over me and tried to take a slash at me, but I managed to turn around and block it. I tried summoning my crossbow and shot an arrow at her, but she deflected it with her keyblade. “Damn she’s good” I thought, “Hey here’s a little trick I learned” Kairi said, she twirled her blade in front of her and it started to glow pink. The blade then spat out thousands of flower petals, which covered the whole area, “Hey, where are you?” I called, “Right here!” Kairi said as he slashed me, “Argh!” I said in slight pain. I tried to use my arrows to blow the petals away but to no avail, “What’s the matter? Out of tricks” Kairi asked, I thought for a second, “Hmm if I can’t divert them, then I’ll…” then I took out my Fira revolvers and yelled, “Burn them!” I charged my weapons up and yelled “Dragon Breath!” the revolvers then let out a burst of flame that burnt all the petals to a crisp.

“Ahhh!” Kairi exclaimed jumping back, and then I summoned my katana’s again and ran at her with my blade’s glowing red-hot. “Zanmato strike!” I yelled as I slashed in an X formation, the strike hit Kairi head on and he knelt down. I walked over to her and was about to put my blade on her shoulder in defeat when she sudden attacked again, I managed to block it partially but she managed to cut me a bit. “Ow!” I said, the cut stinging a bit, “You didn’t think it was going to be that easy did you?” Kairi said, “You know for a second there, yeah I kinda did” I replied.

“Well what you going to do now, any more tricks left?” Kairi asked, I thought for a second, smirked and said “Just one” as I began to glow a golden colour. “Absolute Judgment!” I yelled as I created a portal with Absolution, running in it I waited for a second, “Hey where’d you go?” Kairi said looking around. “Right here!” I said as I appeared out another portal and slashed her, I took my time to find a hole in her defense and slashed again, I did this several times before appearing and putting my blade on her shoulder and claiming victory.

“And the victor is Draco!” Phil called, I offered Kairi a hand up, “You’re pretty good Draco” Kairi commented, “Well I learned a few new tricks,” I said. As we walked back Riku said, “That move you used, it seems very similar to my Dark Aura attack”, thinking about how our move’s went I replied, “Yeah you’re right”.
“All right, final match of first round, Sora vs. Elle” Phil said as they took to the arena.

This was a close fight too; Elle was all fired up, literally, as she was sending blasts of fire at Sora which Sora didn’t seem to have a problem dodging, but he was hit several times, leaving some burn marks. “Hey watch this” Sora said as he dived in a dark portal, which caught Elle’s attention, as Elle was looking around the arena for Sora, Sora took the chance to slash her. “Hey watch it!” Elle exclaimed, “Oh sorry Elle” Sora said apologizing, “Psyche!” Elle said as he hit Sora with another blast of fire. “That was sneaky” I commented watching the battle, “She used that all the time when Sora accidentally hurt her, he falls for it every time” Kairi said, “I see then” I replied laughing slightly.

Sora and Elle traded blows with each other and they both weren’t going to give in, then Sora tripped up Elle with his chain and claimed victory with a final 3-hit combo. “And the winner is Sora!” Phil yelled, “Sora will be seeded to the final match,” Phil added. After the first rounds were over, we retired for the night. As I lay there on my bed, I tried for the memory that I couldn’t reach before, but to no avail, “Damn that spell is strong” I said to myself. “Don’t fret over it, once we destroy the rest of the members of the Order of Shadows and possibly Organization XIII, I’m sure the barrier will weaken enough for you to remember” Xonic said from the above bunk, “I hope so” I replied as I fell asleep shortly after.

While we slept, two figures spied on the ship from afar, “So they’re having a tournament then, that’s interesting to know” one figure said. “Should we report back to base?” the second figure said, “Yeah we better” the first one replied as they disappeared into a portal of darkness.

Meanwhile…

Dartanian was pacing the throne room and looked like he was going to wear out the rug in the room. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that we can finish the task before they find out where we are” Xemnas said trying to console Dartanian. “Don’t worry? You don’t know who you’re dealing with, that pathetic brother of mine almost ruined my plans the first time!” Dartanian snapped at Xemnas. “Even so, know that you have my men to use as well as your own” Xemnas replied, “Yeah well, now I have to worry about his pathetic friend too, he’s the key to finding us and he’s become more powerful than before” Dartanian explained.

“Dartanian, sir” a voice said as two figures appeared before Dartanian and Xemnas. “Ah Jake, you’ve returned,” Dartanian said, “Sir, it would seem that Xonic and his friends are participating in a tournament at Olympus Coliseum” Jake explained. “Hmmm, this may serve as a perfect time to try and eliminate them, they’ll be worn out from the fights” Dartanian said. “Do you want us to exterminate them?” Jake asked, “No, I don’t want to risk the situation of losing one of my soldiers again” Dartanian replied. He thought for a second and said, “What about our contact on that world?” Dartanian asked, “I think he’s still around” Xemnas commented. “Good he can deal with them, saves having to risk losing my men again,” Dartanian said as he created a portal and walked through it.

To be continued…

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 15
Battle Royale (Part Two)

After a night’s sleep, the second round of the Hero’s Tournament was about to begin. We all walked to the board to see how we were matched up, the board read:


2nd Round:

Roxas vs. Xonic
Riku vs. Draco

Sora seeded to final match



“Don’t expect any mercy from me” Riku said walking up to me, “Well don’t expect me to let you win” I replied jokingly. We all made our way inside the coliseum where Phil seemed to be waiting. “So you’re all here then?” Phil asked, “Yeah” Sora said, “Well let’s get the next round started, we don’t want to keep the audience waiting” Phil added. “Audience?” I asked, “Yeah, Herc’s gonna be watching and his parents and their friends” Phil said, “And who are his parents and friends?” I asked again, “Why they’re Zeus, Hera and the rest of the gods of Olympus” Phil explained.

“GODS!?!” I said in surprise, “Yep, they heard about the tournament and wanted to see if there are other potential ‘True heroes’ out there” Phil said. “Well that certain adds to things a bit” Xonic commented, “Well it would if your audience was the Gods of Olympus,” I replied.

We walked out onto the arena and saw the Gods of Olympus sitting in a special area, most likely a V.I.P area of sorts. “Well at least they get the royal treatment” I commented, “Indeed” Roxas said. The rest of the combatants took to the stands including Riku and myself whilst Roxas and Xonic took to the arena.

Meanwhile…

Down in the underworld, an obviously infuriated Hades walked up and down his throne room. “Hercules, he’s strong, he’s kind and handsome to boot, he’s perfect…” then his hair flared up into a scorching flame “He’s perfect alright, perfectly infuriating! Everytime a plan of mine seems flawless, he comes and smashes it to pieces! Why I oughta…” Hades cursed to himself.

He then noticed Dartanian appear before him from a dark portal, “Who are you and what the hell do you want?!?” Hades demanded. “Now, now Hades, can’t let our tempers get the better of us now can we?” Dartanian said.

“Temper? Hey I’m the coolest guy this side of the underworld” Hades said finally claming down. “Indeed you are and that is why I want to help you” Dartanian said. “Help me? In what way?” Hades asked, “Patience my friend, but before I help you I want to ask you a favour” Dartanian said. “And what would that be?” Hades asked, “You remember Sora and his friends right?” Dartanian asked.

Hades hair flared up again “Remember? REMEMBER? Course I remember, they’re the one’s who always get in my way all the time and trashed me one way or another!” he said in a rage. “Now now, we must calm ourselves, the one filled with rage is the easiest to defeat” Dartanian said in a clam tone. “So what do you want me to do?” Hades said after broiling down again, “It’s a simple job, just destroy Sora and his friends” Dartanian replied.

“And how on earth am I supposed to do that?” Hades asked, “Simple, I’ll lend you power over some of my half-heart army” Dartanian said. “And what guarantee do I have that they have the goods to defeat them?” Hades asked, “You doubt my power?” Dartanian asked, “Well… all right then, if you insist” Hades finally replied.

“Very good, and as an added bonus you can also test out my newest creations” Dartanian said, “Creations?” Hades asked. “Yes, they are half-hearts based on Cerberus and the Rock Titan”, “You can do that?” Hades asked. “Yes, by studying their structures and methods of attack, I made replicas of them that pack three times the power” Dartanian explained. “Well if they’re that strong, I’ll be happy to take them for a test run” Hades replied.

“Very good but one more thing…” Dartanian said, “And what’s that?” Hades asked. “I want you to make sure that you take care of two individuals by the names of Xonic Cryoliz and Draco Carvhall, they pose a significant threat to me and I want them erased… permanently” Dartanian explained. “Is that all, you just want me to destroy two kids? Easily done” Hades replied, “Do not underestimate them, they have powers that are not to be taken lightly” Dartanian added.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll make sure to stamp them out” Hades said, “They are in the midst of a tournament right now, so you should wait until after it is over to attack” Dartanian suggested. “Sure thing, this should be a synch” Hades said “You had better hope it is…” Dartanian said in a solemn voice as he headed back through a dark portal.

Back at the arena…

Xonic and Roxas stood at opposite ends of the arena ready for battle, “All right then, you both know the rules? Good, alright GO!” Phil shouted. Xonic and Roxas ran at each other at high speed, Roxas managed to get the first hit in and sent Xonic soaring in the air, but Xonic pulled out two chakrams and threw them like boomerangs. The chakrams soared past Roxas “What’s the matter Xonic, aim a little off today?” Roxas asked mockingly, “You wish…” Xonic replied.

Roxas was confused by Xonic’s comment, but soon realized what it meant after the two chakrams came back and hit Roxas in the back of the head. “Owww! Sneaky bastard…” Roxas commented. “Ohhh Roxas just got owned!” I commented, “Xonic is like that, always has a few tricks up his sleeve” Elle replied.

Roxas rose into the air and began to fire blast of light from his keyblades, Xonic countered by summoning his dark blade and firing a blast of darkness. The two blasts collided in mid-air causing a small explosion and we covered our eyes from the blast and the rushing wind that followed the blast. “Well this is turning out to be a blast,” I said laughing, “It’s good to see that you still have your sense of humor about you” Mega commented. “Yeah well I suppose old habits die hard,” I said as we continued to watch the arena as the smoke cleared.

Roxas and Xonic were both still standing, but both sides showed signs of wear. They rushed at each other and a loud ‘CLANG!” was heard as the blade collided. They were at a face off as they tried to find the opportunity to attack, unfortunately for Roxas, Xonic saw the first open spot and knocked Roxas’s blades out of his hands. And with that, the match was won “And the winner is Xonic!” Phill called as they walked back to the stands. “Nice work Roxas, at least you tried your best” I said to cheer him up “Yeah, my biggest mistake was that my leg gave way when I was trying to push Xonic away” Roxas said.

“Well maybe you can work on that for next time” Xonic suggested as he walked up, “Yeah maybe” Roxas replied. “Wow, I’m supposed to be the master of the keyblade and my nobody can’t even beat someone like Xonic!” Sora said, “What’d you say?!?” Roxas said, obviously hearing Sora’s comment. Sora laughed and said “Come on Roxas! It was only a joke, nobody’s perfect right?”, “Oh I guess I took it wrong way, must’ve missed the sarcastic tone” Roxas replied in a sarcastic manner to make his point.

“Well now that’s settled” Kairi said laughing a bit for the conversation that had just taken place. “Okay, last match for quarter-finals, Draco vs. Riku!” Phill called. “I suppose it means I’m up” I said as I got up, “Give it all you got!” Elle said, “Thanks Elle” I replied as I watched Riku getting a pep talk from Kairi and Sora. Sora was saying random things about how to avoid attacks and attacking when Kairi interrupted Sora by saying, “Sora, shut up. Look Riku, I think he’s just trying to say give it your all and try not to lose”, Riku laughed and said “Fair enough”.

We both walked into the arena and stood at opposite ends of the arena, “Okay fighters ready? GO!” Phil yelled. Riku started by firing a blast of darkness at me, but I summoned my blade and hit the blast out of the arena like a baseball player hitting a home run. “You better try something else, because Roxas told me out that little trick of yours” I said. “Hmm I see…” Riku commented, he then jumped up and brought his blade down in a stabbing pose.

I barely dodged it as I fell back onto the ground, he wasn’t finished though, and he jumped back up and brought his blade back down. I managed to move my arm before the blade hit where it was, then he went again and I rolled sideways to prevent it hitting my chest. The next one’s almost hit my head and he was still going strong, I tried to think of a way to counter as I continued to avoid the constant stabbings one almost hitting one of my legs.

I suddenly thought of a plan, I waited for his next strike and tried to find the right moment. Finding the opportunity, I rolled forwards and turned around and delivered a powerful kick when his blade was stuck in the ground, sending him sailing into a nearby column. We were both exhausted, me from dodging the stabs and him from performing the stabs. Then he charged up for a Dark Aura attack, quickly thinking I prepared myself for my Absolute Judgement move.

We both ran into portals and then reappeared and traded blows between portals. We continued this for about a dozen blows, and then we both appeared a final time and our blades clashed sending a loud ‘CLANG’ sound throughout the arena. We both stood there pushing against each other’s blade’s, I studied him carefully and perceived the right moment of attack and sent his blade sailing into a column as it drove into the column.

“And that’s it! The winner for this match is Draco!” Phil called. I stood there as Riku went and retrieved his blade, he then came back and looked at me, “Hey man no hard feelings?” I asked. “Nah it’s cool, never expected an ending like that though” Rikue replied, “Yeah I felt kinda weird for a moment, like I could see the instant that you faltered” I said.

We both walked back to the stands as Phil talked to Hercules about something. “Hey good job Draco” Xonic commented, “Thanks, but something bothered me about that last bit” I said. “What’s that?” Xonic asked, “When we were pushing our blades together, I felt weird for a bit, as if I was pinpointing the exact moment to attack” I explained. “Ahhh so you have discovered the power to ‘perceive the enemy’” Xonic said, “Perceive the enemy?” I asked.

“You remember that bracelet I gave you?” Xonic asked, “You mean this?” I said as I showed a black bracelet with rune markings on it. “Yes, that is no ordinary bracelet, it has the power to detect changes in body temperature, usually associated with an enemy who let’s his guard down” Xonic explained. “Really?” I asked, “Where’d you get this?” I added, “From my late mother” Xonic said.

“Your mother?” I asked, “Yes she specially designed those for that purpose and gave them to me before she passed away from illness” Xonic explained. “Those? What do you mean those?” I asked, “What you thought you had the only one?” Xonic said, “I have the other” he added as he showed it to me. “These bracelets have saved me more times than I care to mention in the first war” Xonic explained, “Wow, accessories that do more than just look good” I commented.

Phil then came over and said “Well, you all better rest up, the finals and exhibition match are tomorrow”. “Exhibition match?” I asked, “Oh sorry I forgot to tell you, the winner of the tournament, not only gets a trophy and prize, but also the chance to go head-to-head with Herc” Sora explained. “Wow, that’s some prize” I commented, “But anyway, you all seem tired, better go and get some rest for tomorrow” Phil said.

We all headed for the door to the Gummi ship when a voice roared “Not so fast!” We all turned around and saw Hades standing at the podium where the winner would be announced. “Who’s that? I asked, “Hades, God of the underworld and resident psycho” Sora said jokingly. “Hey I heard that!” Hades yelled “This time I’m going to destroy all of you, especially you Wonderboy!” Hades yelled pointing at Hercules.

“Hades, haven’t you learned from your previous failures?” Zeus said standing up, “You know you will always be destined to fail, it is the will of the Sisters of Fate” Zeus explained. “Shut up brother! I’ve had enough of you lecturing me, besides I had help from an unexpected ally” Hades said, “Unexpected ally?” Ray asked.

“Dartanian, no doubt” Xonic said, “That’s right, he’s given me the power to destroy you all once and for all!” Hades said as he clicked his fingers. A group of Darkside half-hearts appeared to attack the gods, while we faced off against half-hearts that looked like the grim reaper. “Reapers” Xonic said “Dartanian’s personal army”. “Goddammit, can we have ONE day without being attacked by Dartanian?” I complained as we prepared to face off against the half-hearts.

To be continued in part three!

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 16
Battle Royale: Part Three

As I drew my Wind crossbow, the reapers came in for the first attack. We all split up to divide them up, most of us got three, but Xonic and I were both stuck with four. As I stood at my corner for the fight, I noticed that like the traditional grim reaper, the reaper half-hearts were nothing but bones save for the cape and the half piece of heart that was glowing in their chests.

One reaper tried to take a slash at me with its scythe, but I jumped over and fired an arrow into its skull. I turned around and saw the reaper pull the arrow out and grin at me. “What the hell?!?” I exclaimed, I maneuvered my way around the attacks as I tried to think of a plan.

Then I thought maybe we needed to stab it in the heart like vampires in the movies. “Hmmm, it’s worth a try” I thought, I waited for the opportunity and slid underneath the reaper as it jumped and fired an arrow into the heart. The reaper then howled in pain as it fell to the ground, as the darkness melted into the ground, the half piece of heart drifted into the sky before rejoining it’s other half and disappearing.

I realized then what had to be done, I yelled “Everyone, aim for the area where the heart is!”.

“What you serious?” Sora asked.

“Yeah, don’t worry about the heart being destroyed, it won’t!” I replied. They then changed tactics to aim for the heart, but as I turned back to fight again, one of the reapers got a sneak attack in and slashed me across the chest.

“Ahh! Bastard!” I said as I looked at the deep cut that the reaper left. Furious, I got up close before I switched to my katanas and stabbed it in the heart several times before kicking it back. The last two remaining reapers then seemed to converse with each other like as if they were strategizing. “Oh come on, quick bickering! As my dad once told me, the weak talk, the strong take action!” I said provoking them.

They then rushed at me simultaneously and began their assault. I maneuvered my blades around as I blocked their scythes numerous times. They then brought their scythes down in full force and I managed to absorb the attack. They pressed their blades hard as I struggled to keep them at bay.

I remembered then about what Xonic had told me about how my bracelet could sense the moment that an opponent’s attack falters. Concentrating, I waited for a chance as I kept my blades pressing against their scythes. Then the moment came; I pushed my blades in full force that knocked them off balance. My blades came down in full fury as I performed a three-slash combo on them simultaneously. The first slash left a deep cut in the bones which protected their hearts, the second broke them completely and the third I used one blade each to stab both their hearts.

I watched as they both dissolved into darkness and the heart pieces rejoined their perspective halves and disappeared. After finishing them off, I watched the others as they fought their share of the enemy. Ray performed a cross-slash that split the bone around the heart before stabbing it with one blade, while Zetssu pulled out two kunai before throwing one into two of the reaper’s hearts.

Mega used his blade as a boomerang to knock the last reaper into disorientation before he pulled out a small knife that looked like an oversized scalpel and stabbed the reaper into the heart. “Diagnosis… dead” Mega said laughing as he put the knife away.

I turned to Kairi who used her powers to transform a petal into a shruiken before throwing it into the reaper’s heart, while Elle used her power to light a fire inside the reaper that burned it to ashes. “Ohhhh heartburn” I said laughing as Elle looked at me also laughing at the joke I just made. Zetssu seemed to be in his berserker mode, judging by the way he was hacking and slashing at his last enemy before the bone finally broke and he performed a full power stab.

Sora and Riku seemed to be teaming up against their last reapers. They ran at each other and used each other’s foot as a wall before they both whipped around, performing roundhouse kicks on their own reaper. They both then used each other as a wall again to jump high in the air, they then both rode their blades down like a jackhammer and the blades pierced the bone and straight through to the heart.

Roxas was busy trying to break the bone, but could only get the bone bent out a small fraction. He fired a blast into the reaper and then snapped his fingers that made the light blast detonate and imploded the enemy. Last of all Xonic seemed to have no trouble defeating the reapers as he smashed through the bone of one reaper with his bare first which was covered in darkness before stabbing the heart with his blade.

He then wall kicked off the defeated reaper and smashed an airborne reaper to the ground, the force of which cracked the bone before bring his blade down in full force and stabbing the heart. The last one he dealt with differently, he summoned a large ball of darkness and it engulfed the reaper. The ball then rose in the air and Xonic began to close his fist which made the ball grow smaller before it vanished into thin air, but not before the heart escaped and disappeared.

“Whew, that was quite a workout” I commented.

“Yeah, I’m starting to get worn out” Kairi added. We looked to where the gods were fighting as Zeus charged a gigantic ball of lightning before smashing it into the Darkside before it vanished.

“Grrr, I swear can’t I have ONE day where things go right for me” Hades groaned as he got up from his place at the podium.

“Hades, give it up! You can’t defeat us!” Sora yelled.

“You think I’m done? Think again” Hades said smirking. He snapped his fingers and the wall behind him that lead to the underworld smashed, from beyond the wall, two half hearts appeared. One looked like a three-headed dog and the other looked like a humanoid creature, made completely out of rocks.

“What the? Rock Titan and Cerberus?” Sora exclaimed.

“Wait, something’s not right,” I said sensing the absence of a full heart in either of them.

“Like them? A personal gift from Dartanian, he gave me the pleasure of trying out his newest creations” Hades explained.

“Goddammit, he’s now got playing god on his list of devious acts” Xonic cursed.

“I suppose we have to fight them too,” I said.

“Seems so” Riku agreed.

“But can we take them? I mean I’m really tired” Ray complained.

“I think that’s what he was planning on” Sora observed.

“He must’ve found out about the tournament from Dartanian” Xonic implied.

“Well what are we going to do? I mean we’re pretty tired from the battle and they must be twice as hard as their original counterparts” I asked.

“Hmmm…” Sora said thought for a bit, “Aha!” Sora exclaimed as he thought of an idea. “Hey Herc, you still have the Olympus Stone?” Sora asked.

“Uhhh, yeah right here!” Hercules answered as he fetched it out. Hercules chucked it over and Sora caught it in his hand.

“Perfect” Sora said grinning.

“What, what are you going to do with it?” I enquired.

“You’ll see” Sora said as he raised the stone to the sky. The stone then shone a bright light and began to surround us, within a few seconds we all felt re-energised.

“Wow! I suddenly feel better! How’d you do that?” I asked.

“That’s the power of the Olympus stone for you” Sora remarked before he turned his attention back to Hades. “Now how about we send this pyromaniac back to the underworld from whence he came?” Sora said with enthusiasm.

“Heh, I’d like to see you try” Hades cackled, “Well if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get” he added before snapping his fingers to order the Half-Hearts to attack.

The half-hearts came charging at full speed, “How are we gonna fight here?” I asked, “I mean look how small the arena is compared to them!”

“Hmm good point…” Sora said as he thought for a moment, “All right Riku, you take Zetssu, Kairi, Mega, and Ray and lead Cerberus into the underworld, there a large clearing I remember that would be perfect for fighting him in” he ordered.

“Okay, all right, let’s go then” Riku said as he led them and managed to coax the Cerberus into the underworld.

“Xonic, Draco, Elle, Roxas, you’re with me, we’re gonna rock and roll with the rock titan!” Sora said as he drew his keyblade. We all drew out our weapons, and I chose to use my Earth Shotgun.

The rock titan charged at us, and we all rolled either side to dodge it, “Attack!” Sora yelled. We all charged and I began to fire shots at the Rock Titan’s leg, but the bullets seemed to be bouncing off. “What the? My bullets aren’t doing anything!” I exclaimed.

“The Rock Titan’s a hard one to damage, just keep attacking!” Sora yelled. I kept attacking but they seemed to do little damage to it.

I tried several weapons but each seemed to be doing less damage than the last one. I was starting to get seriously aggravated as I drew Absolution and started to hack and slash at the monstrosity.

The others didn’t seemed to be having much luck either, even Xonic’s Dark blade couldn’t even slice it, “Dammit, is this thing made of a material harder than diamonds or something” Roxas complained as he sent light blasts at the titan.

“Keep trying!” Sora said as he tried whipping the Half-Heart with his spearhead, but it leave as much as a scratch. Elle was having as much trouble as we were as she unleashed Firaga blasts at the foe without much succession.

Turning back to the battle,I tried a new approach, I ran up to it’s head area and began to slash at it’s head. It wasn’t phased by the assault simply swatted me away with it hand, I grabbed on to it’s hand just in time and began to slash at it’s hand but it flung me off as I hit my back, hard. “Argh” I yelled in pain as I struggled to get to my feet.

“It’s no good, I can’t pierce it,” I said in exhaustion as I stood back a bit to try and think of something. “Come on Draco, think!” I said to myself thinking hard, just then my bracelet shone in harmony with Absolution and I had another vision.

This one seemed to be of filling up my shotgun way past it’s usual capacity and then unleashing them in a kind of berserker barrage, but the shells seemed to be packed with more power and was chopping through the rock like it was nothing.

“Woah, that was weird, guess that means that the bracelet lets me do a barrage attack” I said.

“Yes but 7 enemies have to be destroyed to use it” Absolution communicated to me telepathically.

“7? Why 7?” I asked.

“I don’t know! I don’t make the rules here, that’s just how it is” Absolution said annoyed.

“Okay! Okay! I was just wondering” I replied slightly taken back by my keyblade’s sudden backlash.

“Oi Draco! Stop talking to yourself and help us beat this thing!” Roxas yelled.

Oh! Right! I said. I focused on the power of my bracelet and began to load shells into my shotgun. I continued to focus power as I loaded shells and finally loaded the last shell. “Okay then… Beserker Barrage!” I yelled as I pulled the trigger, the shells started to come out at supersonic speed and didn’t seem to be running out.

The bullets cut through the air before starting to cut through the rock like melted butter. “Woah check out Draco!” Elle commented as the bullets continued to chip through the rock.

“Alright last one!” I said as I cocked my gun for the last shot, it shot out with such explosive force it was able to cut through it enough for the rock which made it’s leg snap and it fell over.

“Whew, that was a rush!” I said as a large chunk of energy vanished, but I had enough for one more attack. “Hey Roxas!” I called.

“Yeah, what’s up Draco?” Roxas asked.

“Wanna send this giant pile of rubble back to the underworld?” I said with a grin.

“I’d be happy to, let’s do a joint attack!” Roxas said, as I drew my light handguns for the attack. “Okay, get ready…” Roxas said as he began to rise in the air, channeling some of his power to raise me up as well.

He charged his keyblade’s and I charged my handguns, then at the same time we began our assault. “Aura storm!” We both yelled as we began to fire multiple light blasts, which caused the rock titan to howl in pain as the light blasts began to chip through its body.

Then we got ready for a final blast, “Ready for this Roxas?” I called.

“I was born ready!” Roxas called back.

“Alright then” I said as we reached full charge.

“Samsara!” We yelled as he let loose our final attack and it hit the Rock Titan head on. We both landed and watched through the light as the Rock Titan began to disintegrate. Once the light had died down, we saw that the Rock Titan had been completely destroyed.

“Gaaaaahhhhhhh!” Hades yelled in confusion, anger and annoyance. I sat down, my back still sore from being thrown around like a ragdoll. Just then, Riku and the others appeared.

“Hey Sora, you get rid of the Rock Titan?” Riku asked.

“Yeah, we just finished him off, what about you? Is Cerberus gone?” Sora enquired.

“Yeah, we had to put him down” Riku said jokingly.

“Arggghhh, you!” Hades said, still in a fit of rage.

“Now do you understand Hades? You CAN’T defeat us!” Sora said with a grin.

“Grrr, I’ll get you, you pathetic mortal!” Hades said towards me, as I had been the one to start the road to destruction for the Rock Titan.

He rushed at me in a fit of rage, “Draco!” Sora exclaimed, as did everyone else.

“Hades, haven’t you heard the saying, look before you leap?” I said as quickly summoned Absolution and shoved the blade through Hades’s chest.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Hades groaned in pain as I pulled out my blade and he stumbled back a bit.

I struggled to my feet “Now, why don’t you go back to that forsaken Underworld from which you came from?” I said as I drew my grenade launcher and sent a blast his way. The force of the blast sent Hades soaring back down the stairs to the underworld, but it also knocked me back a few meters due to how much energy I had used.

“Hey Draco you okay?” Elle asked as he helped me up.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’m gonna be able to fight for a few days” I said.

“But what about the tournament?” Phil asked as he walked over with Hercules.

“I suppose, we’ll have to post pone it for now” Hercules said.

Mega came over and examined my wounds, “Don’t worry, I can fix this easy, just give us 2 days, 3 days at most.

“Well all right, but you all better train for that time” Phil said a bit relieved.

We all went back to the Gummi ship and I had to spend the night in the medical bay. The bed was as comfortable as the one I was used to sleeping in so it didn’t bother me spending the night in the bay. As I laid there I thought to myself, “Man I seem to be surprising myself more everyday”

“As a denizen of the twilight, you have many abilities that others do not” Absolution said to me.

“Yeah I think Xonic said something to that extent” I commented as a yawned a bit.

“But just remember, just because you have a heart of the twilight, doesn’t make you invincible, you remember how Xonic was controlled by Dartanian during the first war” Absolution said in concern.

“Yeah…” I said, not trying to think about it.

“Just don’t go rushing into every fight, there are people back home that are waiting for you” Absolution continued.

“Yeah you’re right…” I thought as I looked at a picture of my family, “I wonder what they are doing right now?” I wondered as I drifted of into sleep.

Meanwhile in the Underworld…

Hades struggled his way to his throne; clutching the wound I had given him. “Gahhh, stupid teenagers! Always getting in my way!” Hades complained. Just then a dark portal appeared and from it, Dartanian appeared.

“What do you want?” Hades said demandingly.

“You disappoint me…” Dartanian said in an uncaring tone.

“Well your ‘creations’ weren’t strong enough to take them down! It’s your fault!” Hades spat.

“No, my creations had enough power, you just took so long to actually order them to attack the Keybladers” Dartanian replied in his mocking tone.

“Ahhh, what would you know?!?” Hades retorted.

“I do not tolerate failure, and you have failed me, so you must pay the ultimate price…” Dartanian said as he walked over with his scythe in hand.

“Hey… Hey! Would are you doing?!?” Hades said as fear came over him.

“I’m going to release you from this pathetic thing you call ‘life’” Dartanian said as he raised his scythe.

“Wait, please don’t! Give me another chance! Please, have mercy” Hades said as he struggled to move away.

“Sorry, any mercy I could give disappeared with the other half of my heart” Dartanian said solemnly as he brought his scythe down, decapitating Hades. Dartanian extracted Hades’s heart before his body disappeared into darkness, along with his severed head.

Dartanian cleaned his scythe of blood and pulled out a phone and put it to his ear, “Yeah, Dartanian here, Hades has failed us, I have extracted his heart and am returning now” Dartanian said through the phone.

“All right then, you better get back here so we can discuss our next plan” Xemnas said from the other side of the line. Dartanian hung up and put his phone away.

“What a tragic waste, all that power, and he couldn’t even control it” Dartanian said as he walked through a dark portal back to his base.

To be continued…

[Dragonstar1715]

Chapter 17
Battle Royale (Part Four)

The wounds had seemed to heal from the battle that had taken place several days before. The sun had risen on a new day as I stirred beneath the covers; I was well enough to sleep in my own bed again. Getting up and stretching, I looked out the window of the gummi ship; the sky seemed to clear today maybe because we settled things with Hades several days before.

But enough about that, the final rounds of the tournament were today, with the exhibition match following afterwards. I got up and got dressed into my usual attire and walked outside, where everyone seemed to be waiting. “You’re late!” Elle shouted.

“Sorry bout that” I said apologizing. Mega came up to me and did a quick scan with his goggles, “We’ll it seems you’re all right now, but that was certainly a close one” Mega commented. “Yeah, good thing I acted as quickly as I did” I replied.

“Come on you two! We got a tournament to finish!” Sora called out. We all made our way inside the coliseum where the Phil, Hercules and the Gods of Olympus were waiting.

“We all right now?” Phil asked.

“Yeah, my wounds have healed now” I responded.

“Good, we better not keep the audience waiting then” Phil said pointing to the VIP area where the Gods of Olympus were sitting.

“Any word of what happened to Hades?” Sora asked.

“No actually, we haven’t heard a peep out of him since 3 days ago and that is quite strange” Phil responded.

I looked at Xonic, who seemed to have a troubled look on his face, “Something wrong?” I asked.

Xonic looked at me and said “I think Dartanian made a appearance not too long ago, I fear that he may have done something to Hades” Xonic replied.

“Think they might have been in cahoots with each other?” Sora asked.

“Most likely, and if they don’t complete their tasks, Dartanian usually has a complete it or die attitude” Xonic explained.

“You mean Hades is dead?” Roxas asked.

“Not really dead, he killed him, but took his heart before hand” Xonic finished.

“Jesus, he really is a sick bastard isn’t he?” Riku said.

“You don’t know the half of it” Xonic replied.

“Can we maybe continue this tournament, all this talk of killing is putting me off” Elle inserted into the conversation. The rest of them took to the stands whist Xonic and I took to the arena.

“All right then, you both know the rules then” Phil asked, me and Xonic both nodded in agreement as he faced each other on the field.

“Just like back in Twilight Town eh Xonic?” I said to him across the arena.

“Yeah, but this time, I’m not holding anything back” Xonic replied with a smirk.

“Didn’t expect anything less,” I replied also with a smirk across my face.

“Okay… fighters ready? GO!” Phil yelled.

We ran at each other and exchanged a blow before Xonic made a sweep at my feet with his blade. I jumped up and landed on his blade, I smiled at him as I delivered a kick to the head before back flipping off his blade and firing a barrage of bullets with my burst handguns.

Xonic diverted most of them, sending most into the pillars and into the barriers, which dissolved them. One however, he wasn’t quick enough to hit and it hit him in the arm. Xonic summoned his keyblade now and ran at me with both blades in hand, I put away my guns and ran at one of the pillars.

With Xonic tailing me from behind I leapt at the pillar and jumped off it just as Xonic brought his blades into the pillar. Landing on the ground I saw Xonic retrieve his blades, seeing this as my chance I ran at him full speed. Xonic had just retrieved his blades as I delivered a three hit combo before kicking him up in the air.

I jumped up ahead of him and said “See you next fall!” as I took my earth shotgun and sent out a blast that sent him hurtling to the ground. Xonic managed to regain himself and landed upright with a loud ‘THUD!”

Xonic regained his balance after the hard fall. “Whew, this battle is more exhilarating than the first time we fought back in Twilight Town” I commented.

Xonic just smiled and said “Well don’t get carried away, this battle isn’t over yet” before firing a blast of darkness at me.

Watching it come, I drew my Keyblade and waited for the right moment. Seeing the time to act, I swung Absolution with great force, which hit the blast of darkness head on, all while yelling “Batter up!”

Watching the blast fly out of the arena I said “Wow, I got a home run” chuckling a bit. Xonic, however had used the chance to run in and deliver several blows. I reeled back a bit because the hits had hit me with some force. “Argh, damn that hurt!” I said in some pain as he had cut me several times, which caused me to start bleeding a bit.

“Come on Draco, less talk, more action!” Xonic taunted as he came at me again. Summoning a single katana and Absolution, we both clashed blades. The sound was almost piercing as most of the guys on the sidelines held their ears because it was so loud and sharp.

We started to clash blades over and over as we moved around the arena. It was then at a standoff we pushed our blades together as we both tried to find an opening whilst concealing our own weak spots.

I tried to use my bracelet to find a hole in Xonic’s defenses, but Xonic seemed to be concealing his weakness. I thought of trying to kick him back, but I would be leaving myself open. Just then luck struck in the form of Elle, “Come on Xonic, don’t let him beat you!” she yelled out.

Xonic looked to the side, and there was my opportunity. Not wasting any time, I kicked Xonic back and summoned by burst handguns. I loaded up and began to fire bullet after bullet at Xonic as he struggled to keep them all at bay. Xonic then took out his chakrams and threw them at me; I dodged one and grabbed the other before flinging back at him.

Xonic caught it with ease, but then I remembered the other as it rushed at me from behind. I did a backflip over it, which then made it fly towards Xonic, which he didn’t seem to expect as he got hit with it and was sent into a daze.

Using this as a way to finish the match, I ran at high speed as one of the pillars. Running up it, I reached the top and used it to get some air. Charging my handguns up, I yelled “Meteor Shower!” firing dozens of light blasts, but this was more of a Meteor rain as the blasts all aimed at Xonic.

Xonic tried to escape from the blast, but they all came crashing down on him… hard. Dust was whipped up and everyone was anxious to know what had happened. As the dust cleared, the scene was of me as I rested Absolution on an exhausted Xonic’s shoulder.

“And the winner is Draco!” Phil called as everyone started to clap and cheer.

“Hey Xonic need a hand up?” I asked as Xonic struggled to get to his feet.

“Nah I’m cool” Xonic replied, as he stood upright, “Man that was a good fight, you’re skills have significantly improved since you first reclaimed Absolution” Xonic said with a smile.

“Well I had a great teacher to learn from” I said as we did a little secret handshake that we developed just between us.

“Well that definitely had me on the edge of my seat” Roxas commented as we both reached the sidelines again.

“That’ll certainly be one of those battles to be remembered” Riku added.

Mega walked over and examined both of us, “Eh, some cuts and scratches, but nothing I can’t fix” Mega commented as he finished examining our battle wounds.

“Right, well we’ll stop for now to have lunch, and then the finals” Phil said as he finished discussing the battle with Hercules.

“We’ll finally face each other” Sora said as he walked over with a grin.

“Yeah well just because you’re the almighty hero of the keyblade, doesn’t mean that I won’t hesitate to kick your butt” I taunted Sora.

“Yeah, well don’t blink, otherwise you’ll miss the part where I’ll kick yours” Sora taunted back, still grinning.

We headed back to the Gummi ship where Kairi and Elle seemed to be waiting. “Hey guys, we made a special treat for you today” Kairi said with glee.

“Yeah, we made a special ‘Hero’s lunch’ for all of you” Elle added.

“Elle and Kairi cook?” I asked Sora.

“Yeah, they’ve been learning in school as well as at home, they’re food is quite good, don’t be scared to try it” Sora explained.

“Heh, you learn something new everyday” I replied.

We helped ourselves to the various thing that had been set out on the table the had been brought outside along with chairs. “My compliments to the chef” I said Kairi and Elle’s way as I finished my helping of the food.

“Why thank you Draco, it’s nice to have people who enjoy our food, we even thought of opening a restaurant or Café back on Destiny Islands after this journey is over” Kairi replied with a happy look on her face.

“Be sure to let me know when you open, I’ll bring my family for dinner there” I said, complimenting her further.

“I’ll be sure to” Kairi said laughing.

After we had all polished off our plates, we cleaned up and headed back into the arena were Mega had been quickly repairing the battlefield after the ‘Destructive’ battle between Xonic and me.

“Ah, you’re all back, so shall we go on ahead with the finals then?” Phil asked. Both Sora and I nodded as we headed to the battlefield, while the rest of them headed to the stands and the Gods sitting in their V.I.P seats.

“All right then! It’s the final match! It’s Draco versus Sora, so lets make it a good one!” Phil said as we took battle stances for the final match.

To be continued…