Kingdom Hearts: The 13th Requiem [PG-13/Not Accepting]

[Nexev]

"Look the discussion of my species is a long one. Lets just say I am heartless related and we can get into the nice spooky portal and go from there. And look doll we don't even know if shes a nobody, a human, some sortof willing heartless, or even just a special model of replica. Let's not bother jumping the gun just yet. Also no point reporting this till we are done, no sense in being interrupted before we really figured out what is going down right?" With that having been said Laxc head towards the Corrider, emerging within his own room within the Castle that never was, a large, somewhat cluttered room that more befitted a garage then a residence, the place littered with tables displaying tomes and a fully equipped workshop for puppetry. PuPus darted about the floor, eagerly tinkering with several unfinished gummi ship models that were in a corner of the hanger like room. Laxc headed to a table that was currently uncovered and plopped Strider in a chair, waiting for the others.

[Yosuke-kun]

The combination attack was successful, and Shuren was surprised at the amount of damage that his attack had done. He'd expected nothing less from Cornelius. Even if he was a rabbit he was still a prince, and therefor a skilled fighter. Shuren couldn't help but feel a bit of pride in the amount of damage he'd dealt, but that'd have to wait. "Well we managed to get one of your bags your Highness, but now is probably not the time for that." he said smiling at the furry prince.

 

The attacks had obviously enraged the Heartless, as Shuren expected they would. After pulling itself to it's feet, the Reaver raised it's arm and multiple columbs of barrels fell around the massive Heartless, forming a makeshift shield. "That can't be good..." Shuren muttered to himself. Why barrels anyways? The Heartless had to have known that his enemies could easily smash through those, so what was the point? Unless they had some sort of effect go off once one was broken. Yeah, that had to be it.

 

A loud explosion from behind the rubble that was once the gate leading to First District confirmed Shuren's worries. "Shit! Those barrels explode!?" No sooner had he said it than he'd seen Viola's flaming tornadoes making their way towards the barrels. Of course she'd released the spell before the barrels had been summoned, but all the same, if they hit the barrels, then Shuren, Cornelius, and especially Viola would be incinerated by the blast. That aside, there were still a good deal of citizens who'd not yet managed to escape Second District. Shuren didn't have much choice anymore. He'd have to stop the tornadoes himself. Casting another Haste spell, Shuren ran full speed towards the blazing tornadoes, firing a Thunder spell around each of them, to redirect them away from the barrels. He didn't fire directly at them, that'd be downright idiotic, but the force of the lightning spells shooting past each was enough to make the wind blow in a different direction, and head towards the various shops and walls.

 

He felt bad for the shop owners whose shops had been struck by the flames, but he figured they'd rather have their shops burned a little then lose the entire district. As he got closer to Viola, he turned his feet and skidded to a halt directly in front of her. "No more flames! Unless you wanna be blasted to the next world from that explosion." Shuren said quickly. They needed a plan. Some way of getting rid of the possible blast. Or at least containing it.

 

Wait, that was it! They didn't need to get rid of the blast, the needed to trap it in. "Viola, I'm gonna need you to put the biggest and thickest barrier you can around those barrels as quickly as you can! If this works, then that Heartless is toast!" With that, Shuren cast another Haste spell, this time on Viola and Cornelius rather than himself, then yelled for the prince to get back. [i]Please let this work...[/i] he thought as he charged a lightning spell and fired it at one of the barrels closer to the bottom. If his plan had worked, then Viola would finish the barrier just as his spell hit the barrel. It was risky, but they didn't have much time to think of another plan.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep ~ The Tumbling

 

"Keep running Trevor! If you stop...well, I can only imagine what would happen..." Ryan said, not daring to look behind him at the barrel Heartless swarm behind the duo.

 

"Don't have to tell me twice!!!" Trevor yelled as he kept running, until they saw the line of fire, literally, heading straight for them. "Ryan...GET DOWN!!" he said as both of them dove down onto the ground, as Viola's fire blasted the Heartless. They both quickly got up, as Trevor noticed Viola and Shuren and quickly took his cellphone out and started calling Shuren. "HEY! Loosen up on the fire power down here...we ARE trying to escape with our lives in tact, ya know!" he yelled in Shuren's ear, as the pair quickly returned to running.

 

Ryan and Trevor kept running down street after street, until they hit the 1st District once again, seeing a pile of rubble near the gate. "W-Where's Shuren? H-He said he'd be here..." Trevor panted heavily, as he looked around frantically.

 

"Over this way! There they are!" Ryan said as they saw Shuren, Viola, and the bunny... Oh great...the royal rabbit. Why couldn't Balthazar have been here right now? he thought, as the two young men quickly reunited with their allies.

[Mugendramon]

Chloé had so many questions to ask.But Strider had up and vanished into the black portal. The girl was suddenly invaded with doubt, should she really follow the creepy puppet dude into the Eldritch portal? Then again, she wasn't even sure what the word Eldritch meant, and the knowledge this man(men?) could offer her on these beings she loved so much, was just too tempting to her to pass up.

 

She leapt into the portal without another thought. The Wyverns became agressive again, free from her influence. They began circling menacingly around the two remaining Nobodies, before resuming their assaults.

 

[hr]

 

The place the portal opened into was rather lackluster to Chloé's eyes. Nevertheless, she ignored it and wandered the place until finding Laxc and Strider, finally sitting down in front of them. She looked at him expectantly. "Sooooo?"

[Nexev]

"So this is our pad, ask any question and we will answer it, I am not exactly making a very tricky game here." Strider said as a group of Pupu lifting a bottle of what appeared to be some form of soda walked over. Laxc picked it up and drank it, temporarily adjusting his bandages to form the hole necesary. "To begin with when a heartless consumes a heart not only do they spawn heartless but the remains of those with strong wills will be animated by that will, becoming a nobody. We are like weird zombie things or whatever who cares it's boring. Anyway heartless again, in addition heartless can only be truely killed by a keyblade which purifies the heartless and returns it to it's heart state, a heartless killed in other means is simply sent to the world of darkness where they inevitably reform and spawn again. So no matter how rude my collegues are your friends are not in any true danger ever. There are also many different types of heartless, I can even show you some. I know a few summons from my collegue in a previous life and as a nobody we have some control over heartless ourselves."

[Phantom Roxas]

Xetatyl sighed. She was all alone, and Laxc and Strider were probably showing off to Chloé. She snarled at the open Corridor, feeling that just stepping in it would be disgusting, and opened her own portal, as Xelo had demonstrated for her. She stepped through it, and it let her appear in the library. She shrugged, seeing that another humanoid Nobody was there, but it was Nerhyx, and as far as Xetatyl was concerned, the butler wasn't as high on her hit list as the rest of the Organization was. He really seemed to only be hostile towards those who would badmouth Kreix, and considering how annoying everyone else was, she could just as easily insult them and not risk upsetting Nerhyx.

Xetatyl took a deep breath and approached Nerhyx, seeing that he had an eye on the swamp world the Organization members were on. "So… How's it going?"

[hr]
Kreix tapped his fingers on his throne, staring at Xelo and Justice. "Xelo… Does this friend of yours know how to talk? Because if he insists on being quiet, I could just, oh, I don't know, turn him into a Dusk or something."

"Justice will-"

Kreix threw out his arms and scoffed. "'Justice'? You know what, fine, if he wants to be called that, let him."

"Perhaps I should take my leave? Recruits some more allies? For starters, I have spoken with Genesis, and perhaps he may aid me."

Kreix sighed. "If you must. Xelo teleported away, and Kreix leaned back in his seat. "Now then, are you ready to talk now?"

[Mugendramon]

Chloé pretended to listen to Strider's banter, but she really couldn't understand a word he was saying, talking so fast. She could only get bits. "So Heartless eat hearts and they spawn you guys, and more Heartless- "
 
"Hey, could you be a bit slower in your explanation- "
 
"Hey-"
 
Then he mentioned Summoning Heartless. She got all excited randomly, leaping up and looking around at the dump this place actually was. "You can call my friends here? Do so, do so!"

[Nexev]

"Alright alright." Strider said as with a glow of his eyes 4 wveryn materialized in his room. "There are a lot more then just these but these were the only ones I saw you with. Either way there are heartless for like anything. I studied heartless for like 5 years before I died so I know a bit."

 

~~~~

"It's hardly the right foot for you to start with threat's isn't it? Either way yes what Xelo says is true, I am Justice, my former employer was interested in naming things after the Arcana you see. Anyway if you are quite done with the bravado I was studying and if you do not mind I will rather continue that then engage in conduct with a man so eager to fill his castle. My plans have no need of your aid and from what I can tell you hardly need my aid either. So why am I here?"

[Merci]

Viola sighed, but she had to agree with his reasoning. "Oh well."

 

The resulting explosion from the flames and barrels could very well simulate some sort of giant fire throughout the entire district. She also found herself being boosted with Shuren's Haste spell, and used it to back off a safe enough distance. Clenching her hands together, she then let the blazing tornadoes die out before going on to forming a magical barrier around the barrels, pouring all of her powers into it. It had to be powerful enough to fully contain the explosion, so right now, she just had to focus on quantity and layers without holding back.

 

After enough time had passed, once a highly thick invisible shield had formed itself all around the barrels, she looked over to her left and yelled, "NOW!" Right then, a lightning spell struck one of the barrels near the bottom, which would cause a chain reaction. Hopefully, it would be enough to take out the spider Heartless safely.

[Phantom Roxas]

Kreix applauded Justice. "Ah, so you can talk! As for why I required your presence, I like to make it my business to know the greater Nobodies, but I think you've told me what you've needed to, so if you wish to find some quarters to live in, you are free to do so." Kreix stepped down from his seat, opening a Corridor. "If you do finish your studying, take the time to meet the rest of the Organization. I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

Kreix entered the Corridor, appearing in his bedroom. He rest his back upon it, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm surrounded by idiots. No… No, no, it will be worth it. That boy with the Keyblade will destroy more Heartless, and soon, I'll have Beatrice and Alice back." Kreix sat up. "I know you're there."

The Phantom appeared beside Kreix, its raspy voice echoing in Kreix's ears. "It has come to my attention that Lexyk and Doxfer have gone to Halloween Town."

"Halloween Town? What could they possibly want there?"

"While Doxfer was disciplining that Dusk, he had an encounter with a boy."

The Keyblade wielder?"

"No. By my understanding, the boy is the prince of that world. Doxfer suffered an embarrassing defeat to the boy, and has asked for Lexyk's assistance in seeking vengeance upon that boy."

Kreix buried his head and his hands. "For one of my top Paladins to be defeated by a boy."

"In his defense, he could have won. It was more of a tactical retreat, I'm sure he'd say."

"But as you said, it's embarrassing."

"Then perhaps you'd allow me to help?

Kreix thought about it for a moment. "No. This is Doxfer's mess, and he's already asked Lexyk for help. Let him prove himself."

"I'm not surprised. You're so… Insistent on not letting me have my fun."

"You failed to slay Xemyrom."

"And yet, you spared him. Not exactly saying why I can't go have some fun."

Kreix sighed. "Very well. I suppose I can give you a world to feast upon. Take the Olympus Coliseum.

"And the Underworld?"

"All yours."

The Phantom gestured with its fingers, imagining the souls it would play with. "I trust you wouldn't mind if I savored the feast."

"Sure, be my guest."

The Phantom vanished, and Kreix took another deep breath, this time with much more anger in it. He stood up, walking to the library. Walking gave him more freedom to let out his anger, as taking a Corridor would have been too swift. He entered the library, but froze when he saw Xetatyl in there. He shook his head, approaching Xetatyl and Nerhyx.

"Well, look who decided to show up," Xetatyl remarked.

"I should say the same of you. How did your mission go?"

"Long story short, one of your guys is a wuss, Haxz is a smartass, Strider and Laxc don't know when to shut up, your centaur friends are a bunch of brown-nosers, I can apparently control these things called Pandoras, oh, and the one controlling the Heartless is some girl named Chloé who that crazy puppeteer/puppet guy is probably telling bedtime stories know about her 'cute little friends'."

Kreix squinted through his shades, crossing his arms. "And that is all?"

"Eeyup. Anything I forgot, Mr. Butler? Didn't think so."

"Well, in that case, I'll consider your first mission a success."

"So does that mean I can sleep now?"

"…Yes. I'll deal with Omcraxs myself."

"That was it, Omcraxs. Been trying to figure out what you all used to call yourself. So what was his name. Let's see… Marco?"

"Number III was first known as Marcos."

"Eh, close enough. And what's this about numbers? Let me guess, I'm getting one, right?"

"I am Number I-"

"Of course you are."

"Haxz is Number II."

Xetatyl chuckled.

"…As I've said, Omcraxs is Number III." Kreix waited a bit, in case Xetatyl would make a witty remark, but instead she just rolled her hand, asking for him to move. "Number IV is Xelo, and Number V is our dear friend Nerhyx. Number VII is Lexamus, an ally who seems to be preoccupied with his own business."

"You missed a number. You skipped six. Honestly, you can't even count that much?"

"I assure you, I did not forget. Lexamus status as Number VII is purely for show, and indeed, he has been hear longer than the majority of the Organization, save for me of course. You see, in the old Organization, the previous leader, Xemnas, was most aided by his own Number VII, Saïx. I thought giving Lexamus that Number would a nice gesture, make him feel important."

"I don't know if I should be impressed or annoyed, because that is literally the dumbest thing I've heard you say about you run things hear."

"That is not the point. The point is that the position of Number VI is vacant, and you are free to claim it."

Xetatyl sighed. "Sure, whatever."

"Excellent. You are now officially the Organization's Number VI."

"That's nice. So now can I go?"

Kreix shrugged. "Yes, you're excused."

"Cool. Sorry, Nerhyx, guess I'll talk with you another time."

Xetatyl left the library, much to Kreix's relief. He took a seat from the library, moving it next to Nerhyx. Kreix sat down in his chair, and clapped his hands. "Well, Nerhyx, lucky you, it seems you're back in my audience."

[hr]
Mr. Spiky Spider's eyes widened. It had doomed himself in an attempt to trap the humans, and it roared, its incoherent cries cursing them for turning its defense against itself. The cries turn into howls of pain as the flames began to consume the great Heartless, break apart its legs. The the blurs of the explosions faded, and the apprentices could see their incinerated enemy desperately trying to break out. With its full arm, it punch at the barrier, breaking off a piece of it, but the claw was torn from the arm, burning as it fell to the ground before evaporating into black smoke. Mr. Spiky Spider threw itself against all sides of the barrier, trying to destroy it completely, but it was pointless. The flames kept burning, and the Heartless was running out of stamina. It looked at its halved arm, but soon that too faded. It looked down, watching as its torso fell apart, and its bottom half faded into darkness just as the rest of its body died.

Mr. Spiky Spider looked at Cornelius, then at Shuren, and finally at Viola. In its final moments, the Heartless managed to form words, but they cracked with the flames that were still burning away at what little remained. "Cursed… Witch…" The flames consumed the last of Mr. Spiky Spider, and a heart flew up into the sky. The dark vapors dissipated, and the mighty Heartless was gone.

[Yosuke-kun]

The lightning struck the barrel just as Viola's spell had finished, blowing it, and all the others stacked on top of it apart. Thankfully the explosion had been contained by Viola's barrier, causing no damage to the district, but for the large crater that would inevitably be left behind by the explosion.

 

Mr. Spiky Spider flailed around in pure agony, and slammed itself against the barrier, desperately trying to force it's way to freedom, but to no avail. The body was already starting to fade, and before it was completely obscured by the smoke, it uttered two final words at Viola. "[i]Cured... witch...[/b]" Shuren glared at the smoke, as if daring the Heartless to say more.

 

As the smoke began to clear, Shuren said a silent prayer that the attack was successful. He didn't move, didn't even breathe until he saw the heart of the monster floating off to reform elsewhere. Shuren allowed himself to exhale out of slight exhaustion and held his hands on his knees. "Jeez, thank the lord that worked..." Shuren said, panting a little, but recovering rather quickly. He looked over to Cornelius then. He seemed to be okay, if a bit shaken. The noise must have been murder on his rabbit ears. Shuren couldn't help but feel responsible for that. "Ummm... sorry your Highness!" he called over, smiling apologetically and scratching the back of his head.

 

He then turned to face Viola, and without really thinking, leaped forward and hugged her. "That was perfect Viola!" he said as he embraced the girl, only meaning it to be a friendly gesture of his own gratitude. It was at least half a minute before he noticed Trevor and Ryan had joined them, and were staring at the two of them. Shuren felt himself turn slightly red as he remembered Ryan's earlier message, and quickly pulled away from Viola, looking away so as to hide his face. "N-nothing happened! W-we were just finishing off a Heartless! That's all!" All of this was said very quickly, but Shuren wasn't in a mood to care whether the two got what he said at all.

[Mugendramon]

Chloé was ectastic to see more Wyverns. And they looked equally happy to see her. She went and gave them all a hug once each, then promptly calmed down and sat back with Strider and Laxc.

 

"Soooooooooo now that I know that you're not human and the Heartless are meant to be ruinous beasts and that they somehow really like me which I already noticed, how about you teach me that cool trick you used to make them appear? Is that an ability of Nobodies or can anybody do it?"

 

The girl hesitated for a second and she lowered her voice. The Wyverns landed next to her and kinda seemed to, curl? "I'm sorry, am I intruding too much? You were as nice as to invite me here and answer my questions that I didn't even stop to think about how annoying I can get. Ah, the old couple used to say I was way too emotional. But you know something? Sometimes I feel like I'm forcing those emotions, like I wasn't really feeling them."

[The Warden]

Cornelius watched expectantly as the apprentices used their combined magic to destroyed the horrible creature. The explosion made him flinch a little, but he stood fast against the turmoil. A tempered spirit must be strong enough to weather any storm after all. Though, the girl's mad cries as she unleashed those fiery tornadoes was worrying. Mad laughter goes hand in hand with power madness, she'll need to be watched over. The boy Shuren voiced his concern for the rabbit prince, and it loosened the knot in his chest a little.

 

But that wasn't what he was focused on. though not readily apparant to the apprentices, something else came alongside the Heart MSS released. A cluster of glowing purple lights erupted from its body, and they merrily danced about. That was, until Cornelius raised up the Psypher Blade. Energy seemed to be in a reverse pull, and the Phozons were drawn to it. The Psypher Blade consumed them, and its dull luster became a little more radiant.

 

This was also the first time Cornelius had directly inspected his blade since he came to this world, and he noticed the dull luster his sowrd carried. "It looks much like when I first obtained it, back in the Netherworld. Weak, bereft of life energy. It was much more lustrous as it grew in strength. I fear the light might have been drained when the portal became corrupt. If this be true, then the other Psypher Spells must be gone as well. Back to the beginning, it would seem."

 

He sheathed the blade, and felt now it would be the best time to address the apprentice. "I am fine, and I appreciate the concern. That creature was a horrible being, unlike any I have ever seen. And I have born witness to the true evil ambition in the hearts of man. But, before, you said you found my backpack. Could you return it to me?"

 

Cornelius held out a short arm expectantly.

 

[hr]

 

Seems stuff was happening, that was neat. The creepy puppet had taken the new girl, and Xetatyl was fitting in quite well... on Haxz' hit list. Currently she's ranked #2, since Nerhyx is permanantly at spot #1.

 

Haxz shot a burning look at the Wyverns that were left behind. "Haven't you lot got Hearts to steal? Your kind already took mine, so just go away and finish this wretched world off."

 

A corridor formed over him, and he was gone.

 

[hr]

 

Naturally, his first port of call was Omcraxs' room. Seems his comrade nobody was doing what he does best, jack-all. Haxz had no concern for the fact his cohort was collapsed on his bed. "Omcraxs, you need to get your tantrums under control. Cause, as far as I concerned, I don't feel like losing you. Out of this bunch of s**tkickers you're the only one I actually like, if we were capable of emotion course."

[Mugendramon]

Haxz again? This wouldn't ever leave him alone for too long, would her? When of all things he started scolding him, Omcraxs got up quickly and spoke his mind.

 

"Look here Haxz I appreciate the thought and all but, I won't ever  be able to control these outbursts. You could say if I keep any vestige of emotion it's in those moments, and the feeling has become so alien that my body can't even react to it. But if you care to look at my eyes right now, you'd notice I have a solution at hand.

 

You see after thinking about it, I realize my particular abilities don't require  me to see my target, and hearing them is simple enough as long as the battle music isn't too loud, and it seems not to trigger a reaction.

 

In fact you reminded me! Since you're back here the others must be as well. I'll go to Laxc right now and ask him to teach me that spell. So if you'll excuse me."

 

Omcraxs opened a Corridor beneath him and fell into it. He reappeared in Laxc and Strider's garage, still unable to see a thing.

 

"Okay hey Laxc I need you to teach me that Spell and... tell me how long it lasts, wouldn't want it to fade in the middle of a battle."

[Love of Ghibli]

Nerhyx was now in the audience of the superior again. It was magical day indeed and thanks to his studies he figured out a nifty way to manipulate his abilities. His monitor automatically cut off when the targeted Nobodies and the unknown oddity that they brought back with them. It seemed that the new Number VI was able to annoy Haxz to a new degree. That would be one point in her favor. 

 

"My liege it seems that the others have brought a powerful creature. What is your intention with the female drenched in darkness, may I ask?" It not that Nerhyx really cared for woman, it was if the superior did. Naturally a girl who has emotionally bonded high level heartless might actually be a problem to the superior and his noble pursuits. This means that the fair maiden might have to be disposed of and why would Master Kriex go out of his way to deal with a potential problem when he has a fully capable butler on staff. Though to be quite honest it would be a tad humorous if the Superior ordered the puppet to go dispose of the her. Nerhyx simply stood there and waited for his master's answer.

[Phantom Roxas]

"Chloé? Frankly, that puppeteer talks about as much as Haxz, if not more so. If he wishes to speak with her, I'll leave them alone, for now. However, I am curious how she was able to control that world for so long. You were monitoring the mission, so I assume you can at least give me an idea of how exactly things went." More than anything, Kreix just was not in the mood to speak with any new recruits, but at the same time, Nerhyx was about the only one Kreix could really trust. His undying loyalty to the Organization's Number I meant he wouldn't dare lie to Kreix's face, unlike Omcraxs or Haxz, who were far more likely to talk in rhymes, completely avoid Kreix's questions, or come up with some lame excuse to do something better. Of course, leaving those two to their own business did lead to them hearing about the Keyblade, so maybe they did have their use.

[Love of Ghibli]

Nerhyx was surely honored to be in the presence of his excellency once again and he now had purpose. 

 

"Well my liege nothing rather extraordinary happened other than the relevance of this female. It seemed that the ones you sent to the world of Darkness were slowly being outmatched by the vast number of heartless. Luckily for them Haxz showed up and delivered some aid. With higher level heartless no longer a threat the puppeteer was able to simply command the lesser heartless away. After that the one known as Chloe' revealed herself. After a series of verbal altercations with Haxz that lead to her being offended she turned to the new Number 6 who provided more brutishness. This left the puppeteer appearing to be the rational one of the group and since then I suppose those too have been together."

Nerhyx paused as he finished his rendition of events. "To answer your question about control I would say the only true discernible difference between her and us is that she has adopted the heartless as her friends. Which is odd considering what they actually are. Though she didn't seem to know anything about the heartless she just knows they are her friends. The heartless that  surrounded her even showed signs of resonating with her emotions which is new given that with all the heartless I've controlled and seen controlled by your servants none of those heartless have ever shown emotion. This could be because we are not supposed to have certain emotions or emotions at all for that matter. I would imagine that the shadowy creatures that we force into our submission wouldn't show emotions either."

 

Nerhyx was finished with his story and his other explanation of the girl. While a "friend" of the heartless might not sound like something that should be dealt with now but it could be something of problem in the future. 

[Phantom Roxas]

"Impressive," Kreix mused. "Having someone with such a connection could to the Heartless could be quite… interesting. Perhaps we could send her Heartless to the Keyblade. If her Heartless are truly that strong, then perhaps it would be a boon to the Keyblade wielder to grow stronger from defeating them. However, we'd have to be certain that this Chloé could be controlled. It would do no good to have her exterminate the Keyblade wielder, nor would it be good to have her bring him to a point where he could eliminate her. We'll have to play our cards close to our chest."

Kreix pondered about what to do with his many allies. Haxz and Omcraxs got work done, Xelo was gaining more allies to their cause, Nerhyx was Kreix's biggest fan, but the newer recruits were still untested. "What would you suggest I should do?" He had hoped Nerhyx would give him the advice he needed. Kreix recalled his battle with Xemyrom, how he had promised to reunite Kreix with his family. It sounded too good to be true, and he had to be certain that what he was doing was the more beneficial method.
[hr]

The Hades Cup was starting again, and Genesis Rhapsodos was sitting in the bleachers, studying the competition. A small satyr named Phil stepped on a podium just in front of the stage. The audience cheered at the satyr, knowing that it meant the battles were about to begin, but Genesis sat passively.

"Ladies and gents," Phil began. "Foist of all, let me congratulate Hades, the Lord of the Dead, on another tournament." Genesis looked to see the blue god sitting in his own special seat, next to a purple man dressed in red battle attire. It was Apollo, the god of music and poetry. He was escorting Hades, ensuring that he wouldn't start any funny business. The people didn't cheer for Hades at first, and Apollo noticed this, so he began to clap for his fellow god, and the audience, after some more hesitation, clapped as well. Hades smiled, nodding in approval at the applause.

"Yeah, whateva," the satyr continued. "Now that we got all the fancy schmancy festivities out of the way, let's begin! Our first match will be between Team Arcadia and Team Delphi." The audience cheered, and from one gate appeared a group of men in bronze tunics, each of them carrying their own sword. The audience turned to face the other gate, but no one emerged. "Uh… Team Arcadia?"

The Phantom Heartless emerged behind Phil, and the audience gasped as satyr turned to face the new arrival. "Ah com' on, I thought we were done with ya Heartless!" The Phantom grabbed Phil by the throat, lifting him up.

"Team Arcadia will not be joining us. As such, I think you will need a replacement."

"Eh, no. By the rules of the Hades Cup, Team Delphi wins by default."

"Well, that isn't very fun for them, now is it?"

Apollo stood up in his seat, staring at Hades. "Is this your doing?"

Hades stood up as well, pointing at Apollo on the chest. "Hey, I got tired of the Heartless a long time ago. Why would I get that to ruin more tournament?"

"It is true, Apollo," the Phantom hissed. "I am here of my own accord The Phantom strangled Phil until the satyr collapsed into a puff of darkness, his heart ascending into the sky. Team Delphi began to run away, but the Phantom sent wisps to strike them down. "Don't run, you three. You still have a fight, do you not?"

Genesis stepped down, taking out his sword. "Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest."

Hades pointed to Genesis. "That's who I went with this year."

"Ah, 'Loveless', Act I," Apollo remarked. "At least this one has a good taste for poetry."

"Hey, music boy, don't you think we should help them?"

Apollo paused. "You want to help someone?"

"Hey, if anyone is going to crash my tournament, it's going to be me, capiche?"

[hr]
Balthazar commanded the flames to die down, reeling them away from Trevor and Ryan. The last thing Balthazar wanted to do was hurt an innocent person, especially his apprentices. Entering the Second District, he found his apprentices and Cornelius were fine, and there were no Heartless in sight. However, there was plenty of rubble and burn marks all over the town. Balthazar shook his head, but smiled. "Sorry I'm late, the Heartless were more than I expected. I'm just glad to see that you're all safe."

[Nexev]

"Whooooooa way to many questions there." Strider said. "Anyway lots of people can summon heartless but it requires some sortof tie to darkness, don't ask me why the others can do it, maybe they are all evil. I mean lets be honest, they all look kinda shady but whatever. The reason I can do it is cause I knew a guy who was complexly crazy and was obsessed with darkness and bringing things to life and just ugh. Anyway with the emotion fading thing idk maybe you're a ghost of some kind, totally not my area of research, well friend's area or research."

 

It was then that Omcraxs walked in, apperantly Strider was promoted to captain of exposition somehow. "Magic takes a bit to learn, or doesn't. It's really complicated because the mechanics of magic keeps changing, but I am sure there is some way to teach you it, Blind isn't a very high level spell. As for the duration of that spell it should have been out by now, it's probbably lasting longer cause you haven't really tried to shake it off, but it should wear out any...." At this point Strider realized there still was a Wvyren in his room.

 

Well, shit.

[Love of Ghibli]

Nerhyx took a second to think about what should be done with the girl who befriended the Heartless. Naturally he just wanted her dead before the keyblade wielder became to powerful to deal with. It was his thinking that the Nobodies were adept enough at summoning Heartless to throw at the Keyblade wielder why not continue with that? But the Superior's word was law and truth if he contemplated using her abilities as a way to nurture the keyblade wielder's  true potential then it must be considered and give precedence. He looked genuinely puzzled for a second till he had the brightest idea.

 

"How about we make her the puppeteer's responsibility." Nerhyx said with a proud smile. "Forgive me if I am wrong, but would it be fair to assume that the newest members of the Organization have not been...through the paces as they say? This would be an excellent opportunity to see how responsible it/they are. The girl seems to have made some new friends so it makes sense that the puppeteer be her...guardian as it were. This way all of your options are covered. Laxc can persuade her to have her friends be sent to slaughter by the keyblade wielder, as a nobody he should easily be able to keep the young keyblade wielder from actually killing her. Finally, if she herself becomes a problem then the puppeteer can put her out of her misery. That is my take on the situation anyway your excellence."

[Mugendramon]

Chloé looked at the newly arrived figure with interest. She noticed first of all the he burst in with no regard for privacy... much like herself really, and began asking a tonne of questions; again much like herself. She felt she could resonate with this Nobody, until her guide started talking to him about complicated magic stuff. After he heard it, this new fellow put his hand on the shadow covering his face and he somehow... managed to tear it off?

 

"Well that's a relief. I didn't think I'd have to deal with that for so long and if it's as you say, and I can learn that, then the Heartless really won't be as hard to dispatch-"

 

As Omcrax's eyes adjusted to the light of the dim garage, he recognized a Wyvern. At the same time, Chloé's voice resonated in anger. "Dispatch? My friends?!"

 

The Wyvern was quick to react in the same manner as the girl, lounging at Number III. "That voice... YOU'RE MAKING ME HEAR HER VOICE NOW?!" was all Omcraxs managed say before leaping in rage at the Wyvern, and tearing it to pieces with his sword. Chloé watched in despair as the Wyvern stopped being agressive and attempted to run away as soon as she saw it.

 

She fell back on Laxc. "Is this your... other friend? Make him stop!"

[Phantom Roxas]

Kreix nodded his head and sighed. "The puppeteer is certainly knowledgeable, but not someone I'm prepared to trust. Then again, that seems to be a recurring problem in the Organization. However, Xetatyl suggested that Chloé is getting along with him, so I suppose that will have to do. Then again, Omcraxs would have a problem with her control of the Heartless, and…" Kreix stopped himself, immediately opening a Corridor and entering through it.

Kreix teleported to Omcraxs' room, and was angered to see that he wasn't there. Kreix teleported again and again, going to other rooms - although he made special care to avoid Haxz and Xetatyl - until he finally found Laxc, Strider, Chloé, and Omcraxs. Omcraxs was tearing apart at a Wyvern Heartless, and the Superior commanded time to stop for all but himself. During that time, he allowed ice to form around Omcraxs' body, and when Kreix resumed time, Number III's entire body was frozen solid.

"I should have expected that he'd be here." Kreix bowed to the female Nobody. "So, you must be Chloé. I am Kreix, the leader of this Organization."
[hr]

Xelo outside the Olympus Coliseum, only to see many people running in terror of something. "I see that the Heartless have made themselves known. Very well then." Xelo summoned dozens of his Silver Knights, directing them to attack the fleeing citizens. Leaving them to their business, the Organization's Number IV entered the coliseum itself.

The Phantom looked around at Genesis, Apollo, and Hades. The Lord of the Dead looked at the three gladiators on the ground, and pointed to the entrance. "Take a hike," he said, commanding the wisps to disappear. The gladiators ran as well, leaving the two gods and the SOLDIER with the Phantom. As the the gladiators reached the entrance, they were stuck down by a pair of scythes. Xelo stepped forward, holding the blood-dripped scythes. The gladiators desperately tried to get up, but sank into darkness.

"Well what do we have here," Hades said. "You know, didn't you tell me that third time may be the charm?"

"There is a change of plans, Hades. The people are fleeing, and I can only assume that the Heartless have chosen to feast on this world." Xelo turned to the Phantom, who nodded.

"Indeed, Xelo," the Phantom said. "The Superior has allowed me to feast upon this world."

Xelo turned to Genesis. "The Organization may still have a use for you, Genesis. It would not do to have you be revived and have your chance be cut short."

Genesis scoffed. "You know not who you are dealing with, Nobody."

"So… You're still working for me, right?" Hades asked Genesis.

Genesis nodded. "Indeed. You gave me life, Hades, and so I must take his."

Hades rubbed his hands together. "Sweet."

Apollo drew his bow. "Then let our battle begin!"

[Mugendramon]

Chloé was barely able to notice another, black-haired man enter her vision before the horrible person assaulting her friend was somehow.. frozen in ice out of nowhere. It was then that she recognized the man come in the room, and instantly associated him with the ice. She didn't even listen to his words before leaping onto him with a hug. The Wyvern, up to this point thoroughly frightful, came around to this man's back and gave him what one would call a hug from a Wyvern Heartless, if they could do such a thing.

 

"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! I know Mister Strider said he wouldn't die but... I still don't want to see them disappear by someone's hand. So you have my thanks!"

 

She noticed all too quickly that she was invading personal space, and backed away as did the Heartless. "I'm Chloé, by the way. Who might you be, Mister? And what's with the twitching eye? Is it a serious condition?"

[Phantom Roxas]

Kreix was shocked when the girl and the Wyvern hugged him. It had been so long since he felt something like that. A small part of Kreix almost missed it, but for the most part, he was not amused. Apparently that was quite obvious, but Kreix cleared his throat and straightened his posture. Tapping a finger on the frozen block that was Omcraxs, Kreix simply chuckled. "As I said, Chloé, my name is Kreix. People like Omcraxs here report to me, and I have ways of dealing with insubordination. Unfortunately, he is a special kind of Nobody, one that I suspect you may also be, so I am obligated to keep him around."

Kreix looked at the Wyvern, studying it. "Quite the impressive Heartless you have there. If you are afraid to lose your friends, you should also fear the Keyblade. You see, if Omcraxs had succeeded in striking down your Wyvern, it would simply reform elsewhere. No doubt it would find you again, but that is beside the point. The Heartless are the darkness in one's heart given form, and the Keyblade is the only weapon that could truly conquer the Heartless. A Heartless slain by the Keyblade has its heart returned to Kingdom Hearts, where it will lie in wait until it can reunite with its body."

Kreix was curious how the girl would react to the information. Seeing firsthand how dear the Heartless were to Chloé, he had to be devise a way to allow the Heartless to be destroyed without attracting her attention. He kept an eye on Laxc in case he had to something to say.

[Mugendramon]

"Mister Kreix, then, noted. You're the boss around here then... and that kind of brute is left to roam these halls... But wait- what?!"

 

Chloé was taken aback as she was called a Nobody by this boss-man. Though he was still talking, so she just jumped in place, joyful; while the Wyvern flew around in equal ecstasy, not paying as much attention as the girl.

 

He was saying so much she didn't understand though, and her arm's gesture of crossing suddenly in front of her chest and her head tilting to a side made it apparent. That was until he mentioned Heartless again.

 

"So they'll be joined to this Kingdom Hearts... and get their... bodies back? But don't they ALREADY have bodies, right here?

 

Oh... you meant their, human bodies. That means the Keyblade is good for them, in a ways... but then they'd stop being Heartless. They'd stop being my friends. I don't want that. So, you tell me where this, Keyblade is. I'll be sure to get rid of it. Or rather my friends will." She seemed to be filled with resolve, as the Wyvern flew to her side.

 

At this point, much to Chloé's (and their own) surprise, several Wizards appeared in the garage, cluttering what little airspace there was. They were disconcerted, and so was the girl. "Woah cool, did I do that? I can Summon my friends! Did you see that Mister Strider!?

 

So, do you actually know where I might find this Keyblade then? In another world perhaps? Oh do I get to travel worlds! That would be SO COOL! Soooo?"

 

She seemed to have completely forgotten that she was told to be a Nobody at this point. Still she would remember eventually, as things she's told linger in her mind and pop up when there is nothing she's concerned with.