Re: Kingdom Hearts: To The Bitter End [Part One]

[draxx]

Vincent Valentine
"Yes." He replies, in the tone of one who, even when surrounded by hundreds of other people was still in total solitude. "Yes, it is just me." He doesn't turn to look at his old friend and comrade at arms. He just watches the fight, pretending interest as best he can, which, as it turns out, is not all that much at all.

Marluxia
The assaian languishes on a divan. Despite their limited resources, he still insisted on living in the best he could find. The natures of his respective servants (though they did not see themselves that way) meant that the building was only comfortable when all four of them were present. When the graceful assasain left, all the plants and flowers withered and died under a deathly chill. When Arthas left, the air throbbed with necrotic darkness, when Garland was not around the chill sank to the bone, and so on.

At the moment, the Chill of the Litch King traced delicate patterns across the glass windows and frost made the floorboards creak in protestation as it widened cracks. If not for his lack of heart, Marluxia would find it rather unpleasent, but given who he was instead he felt, or thought he felt, nostalgic for a time when the temperature had mattered to him.

Kain disliked Arthas, thinking him a mockery of his own beliefs and life, and Arthas feared Kain, and as an immature man, he didn't know what to do about it, so over-compensated. It was likely they would kill each other soon. Garland kept the team together, with his affable personality. When he wasn't around, things tended to...
deterioate.

Reaching a slim, pale hand to grab Graceful Dahlia he strikes it a few times to get his calm back, though to be honest it had never left, it was simply a familiar guesture ingrained beyond emotional reassurance, then got to his feet.

"If I do not kill someone every once in a while, they forget who I am." That in mind, he went looking for Maleficent.

Kain
Given the choice, whether to rule a corrupt and failing dynasty, or to challenge the fates and the lords of the universe themselves for another throne, a better throne, what was a king to do? What empire would he choose, the throne he had, or the infinite reaches of nothing.
But does one ever truly have a choice? One can only match, move by move, piece by piece, the machinations of fate, and thus deny the tyrannous stars.

Arms crossed, he leans against a pillar, staring down at the little pink man as he passes, his long tongue flicking his snakelike fangs. It would be so easy. A simple flex of his hands and it would be over.

But no. No, for now he was adrift, as lost in the multitude of worlds as a handful of sand tossed into a stormy sea. For now he needed a guide. For now, he would serve, or pretend to.

[AnimeKid]

Dawning Light

Ike and Xianghua get back up revived by the second effect of Salvation, healing. They get ready to charge as they recognize Fayt's growing frustration with what he is about to do. With an angry growl Fayt's forehead glows alight with symbols as he fires a laser blast of destruction energy at Lu Bu as Ven flips away to get away from Lu Bu. As the blast hits, or misses, Knuckles makes his move as he digs the hole out from under Lu Bu making sure to get out of the way as he falls.

[Cracklord]

Dawning Light
Lu Bu staggers. The hole bores through his chestplate and into the skin beneath with a hiss and terrible, putrid smoke. He's still human enough to bleed, and feel pain. The hole cuts through his lung, and out the other side. He chokes. Because it is pure destruction, without heat, it does not cauterize, and his lung begins to fill with blood. He stumbles as the ground gives way beneath him, the earth falling in to bury him up to midway up his thighs. His midsection buckles, and he loses his grip on his weapon. Face hitting the ground, he lies in place, shaking and making retching noises.
It's a mark of how much he's intimidated you that you do not instantly close in and stab him. That is a mistake. A wild look in his eyes, he gets to his feet, still moving despite the hole that missed his heart by inches. He lowers his shoulder and charges, knocking Knuckles out of the way, and grabbing the bridle of Red Hare. The horse pulls him away.
The fight had taken almost half an hour, and though in the end he took the worst of it, it was a near thing. Now you must choose whether to pursue, or go looking for Mulan and the missing army.

Hollow Bastion

Marluxia
You come to the castle in what once was the Radiant Garden. Pete glares down at you, hands on his hips. Pete is a portly, black furred, anthropomorphized cat, though he looks enough like a dog that it's hard to be sure. He has a peg-leg, a short wooden stump in the place of his right calve, and wears what appears to be armor colored in shades of blue and purple overtop a red, short-sleeved shirt.

Kain
Your getting thirsty. It's been almost a week now since you last fed, and you can feel your body slowing. You need to feed.

[Scene]

In what had once been Ansem's castle, a table has been set, with six chairs on one side, and one on the other. The table was made of a strange, metal like substance that seemed to absorb light, and despite seeming delicate was almost completely immovable. The chairs were likewise.
The chair on the other was the only one occupied, by none less than Doviculus. A half-blood, like all his kind, he was descended from the demons of inferno and human stock, although it was not generally a good idea to mention their less than pure blood around them. They did not think much of humans, or, for that matter, anything but their deified ancestors.
Doviculus was smarter than most. He appeared mostly human, though there was wrongness to the shape and composition of his muscles, the slash across his chest was held together by the spines that became his wings, and his head was encased in a cross between a leather gimp mask and a horned crown, revealing only his tusks and fangs. He was dressed below the waist in intricate robes and sashes, which leant him a certain splendor, but more to the part, made it plain that this was not merely another beast that relished carnage, but a sophisticated, dangerous being you would be a fool to under estimate.
Behind him stands a massive, porcine featured monster, towering above everyone else present. His hair was tied back in red braids in a strange golden net, his armor was black and trimmed with gold, and he sneered. Occasionally, he would drop a hand to caress the blade at his hip, before removing it.
The two of them were here on the behalf of Zexion, to negotiate. It seemed he'd found a use for them after all.
Maleficent sat at the other side of the table, her fingertips pressed together like a steeple, which she peers over. Fair and green-skinned, Maleficent's shining, yellow eyes are heavily shadowed, and her head is topped with a black-horned headdress that makes her appear infernal herself, though not to the extent of the emperor. She wears a long, tattered black robe with a purple trim and maroon flare edges, and her only jewelry is a ring with a circular black stone in it.
To her left sits the Horned King, a slender, skeletal figure, his face shadowed by the hood of his red robe, two bony horns poking out past the brim. A wicked pair of yellow eyes with red pupils stare through the shadowed darkness, and a fleshless hand drums on the table.
To her right sits the Queen Grimhilde, a stately beauty, who looked much like Maleficent herself. She was slender, dressed in a sumptuous purple robe with enormous hanging sleeves and white cuffs. Her face was a pale oval face dominated by sea green eyes, and she wore gold crown with five spikes on the front and a jewel on the tip of the middle and tallest spike. She also wore a black headwrap that covers her ears, neck, and hair and only leaves her face exposed.
Doviculus has no eyes, but he gives the impression of looking at the sorceress. At last he says to Ganon "I believe I just met my... my ninety seventh queen."
The Gerudo bites back a laugh.
Maleficent purses her lips, but doesn't say anything. She's angered at the insinuation, but also gratified he has given her a leaver to manipulate him.
“Apparently your master wants my help.”
“No he doesn’t. He wants to help you. He’s fine with you having all seven princesses. If you want, he’ll even help you track them down. All he wants in exchange is a single boy named Ventus, and a man named Terra.” Ganon replied, Doviculus somehow affecting to appear bored without a face.
“And why does he want them?” Maleficent says, her hand shaking slightly. She recognized both those names. And she had a bone to pick with them both.
“And why do you want seven innocent women?” Doviculus replies. “Let us not question motives. Neither can trust the other. But at least we can trust that much. We will all do what benefits us most. You have numbers. We have power. What more is there to ask?”

[draxx]

Marluxia
"I have no interest in speaking with you." He says, and guestures, moving his hand in a lazy wave. Pete is lifted and tossed aside, smashing into a wall and falling unconcious.

Kain
There were a humans aplenty in here, each an inhabitant of a different world. Several he had taken for his own use, and kept chained in a dungeon waiting to be made food. They were fed and cleaned, and kept free of parasites and vermin, but otherwise unable to move. He prefered his food to be healthy, though he had no interest in hunting his own prey down.
He had three at the moment. An old woman named Lady Tremaine, who he had put off as he doubted she would be appetizing, in fact he suspected she tasted of vinegar.
The other two were both fit, strong men, Clayton and Gaston. They were the best to be found, and he thought of making them like him. The last of his species, he needed new servants, and they were amongst the strongest and most suited he had found. But he did not think them worthy enough. If his race fell so far, perhaps it would be better to let it die out.
But enough of that. He needs a starting point.
That in mind, he walks down the steps and into the dungeon, where his prey awaits his pleasure. It was time to feed.
He stops, staring at the three of them, then finally at the old woman. He needed sustanance. For now, she would do. He gives her a smile that proves to be surprisingly human and charming, and he makes a three fingered fist. Her body, at his telepathic urgings, is instantly crushed into a pulpy mes of flesh and broken bone. The blood within is dragged from it into a stream, directly down Kain's throat. As suspected, it is bitter and sharp, but he swallows it don none the less. He instead turns to the other two. He pauses a moment, still smiling, then turns and stalks out of the room, leaving them both alone in the dark once more.

[Cracklord]

Marluxia
Like many cowards, Pete would attack at a sign of weakness, but recoil at a sign of stregnth. Just the same, he does not cower, but no longer tries to bar your way. "She cannot see you now." He says, trying to do so in such a way that you cannot take even the slightest offence.
"She's busy. Just wait a moment." he wheedles, spreading his hands placatingly. "It will be over soon."

Kain
Gaston only glares sullenly. You haven't quite broken his spirit, but the blaze of defiance has burned out leaving only the embers of resistance. If you wanted to break him, it would take only a little more work.
Clayton, on the other hand, is all smiles and warmth. He's smarter then Gaston, or at least more adaptable. Keener to turn this situation to his advantage. "No call for that, old boy. Sit down, have a chat, lossen these chains a bit. I'm sure we can reach some sort of accomodation. Ha ha." His laugh is forced, and desperate, but not particularly so. He's going to be harder to break, but that is well.

Nameless

On the Nature of Worlds, Part One
There are four primary worlds, each one a reflection of all living beings.
The Realm of Darkness and the realm of Light are essentially opposites. Light is life, emotion, feelings, darkness is death, silence, and the opposite. Neither, contrary to belief, are explicitly good or evil, although they both have ways of manifesting that could be interpreted either way. For instance, the makto is essentially pure light from the heart of a world.
The heart is a very delicate and fragile thing. It cannot take too much of light, or too much of darkness. It must have an equal amount of both, for the heart is made from light and darkness, therefore it can't exist without the two. Most people believe that darkness is a danger to the heart, which in some ways it is. But also the light can be just as dangerous.
The two worlds mindlessly attack each other, and so the balance is constantly shifting. Recently it’s become far more unstable as the borders of worlds have become a lot more blurred, but there are always seasons, where one or the other waxes strongly.
The other two primary worlds are Inferno and Heaven. Neither is the destination of souls, that is the domain of each individual world. Rather than represent good and evil, as you’d expect, they represent order and chaos. One is ruled by Chaos, the other by Cosmos, and both likewise attempt to expand their influence, however being somewhat sentient they have constructed an elaborate series of rules and trials (that neither keep) to govern their actions. The beings that serve Chaos are the original demons who the Tainted Coil are descended from, and to blame for much of the destruction that takes place across the cosmos, but are not actually malevolent as such.
The beings that serve Cosmos are responsible for why there is so much convergent evolution. Why do so many worlds have something very like japan (for example) with a man named Ieyasu Tokugawa, much the same as the Tokugawa everywhere else? Why does magic seem to follow a unifying pattern, making it possible to unite? Their influence.

[draxx]

Kain
"Very well. Sample that first bitter taste of that terrible illusion...hope." He stops and stares at Clayton, his feral eyes of molten bronze meeting the hunters. "So then negotiate. What would you offer me?" Kain is not bored... as such, but he is curious what the hunter believes he can get out of this.

Marluxia
"No." Marluxia said simply, as though the figure wasn't worth a more detailed response, then strode through the door that Pete had blocked. When Pete tries to stop him again Marluxia meets his gaze and hefts his scythe meaningfully, in a manner that makes it extremely clear that if the cat tries anything he can look forward to stumping around on a pair of peg-legs.

Nameless
Reading the torn pages that the peddler gave him, he gets a suspicion he cannot shake. Taking a stick of charcoal, he writes down the first few lines. The handwriting is identical. He wrote this. But what for? Why? And how did he come to know that? Now more curious then ever at what the bronze orb was, he knew he had to get the treasure. His first step was to get passed the walls. He doubted he could sneak in, so he could either talk his way in, or fight. He did not feel like fighting, so then he would have to find some deception, some ploy to allow him passed the walls and gate.

[Cracklord]

Kain
"Why, I'd be happy to give you any service you ask in exchange for freedom."

Marluxia
You step into the hallway. You can here muffled voices from the doorway at the end. All are extremely deep.

[AnimeKid]

Dawning Light

Knuckles growls in anger as he watches the Lu Bu leave on his horse, "HE'S GETTING AWAY!" Ven then replies, "Don;t worry I'll get him you guys need to find Mulan and the army. They might need help." Knuckles takes a breath to relive his anger as he remembers that they need to help the people first. "Besides he can't do much with a huge gapping hole in his chest". The group heads toward the Fa household as Ven looks back to the the fleeing Lu Bu. He then says, "Alright Lu Bu it's time to stop your reign of terror and darkness." With that Ventus slams his fist onto the plate of armor on his arm transforming into his knight form. He then throws the Wayward Wind into air and it transforms into it's glider form and he jumps atop it riding it like a surfboard. He shoots after Lu Bu.

[draxx]

Marluxia
Rather then making a grand enterence in a suitably dramatic fashion, he decides to take a moment to learn what he can from overhearing. If it is nothing of note then he can have his confrontation. As much as it shamed him to admit it, he needed them working for him if he was to have any chance of completing his little coup, and as such it was important to keep them in awe and fear of him.

But at the moment, his curiosity trumped his desire to control everything around him, so he listened at the door, not making a sound.

Kain
"And what services could you offer me with any value, human?" He replies. "What could you do that I cannot do better myself?"

[Cracklord]

Ventus
Among men, Lu Bu. Among horses, Red Hare. The horse races like the wind, at a pace to put many a locomotives to shame. Ventus keeps pace, barely, but it's hard. Lu Bu is lying low on his saddle, arms wrapped around the horses neck, body pressed against it, both to minimize wind resistance and because he lacks the strength to hold himself upright.
A lesser man would not even be conscious after a wound like that. But animals are at their most dangerous when mortally wounded.

Dawning Light
You crest a hill to behold a beautiful sight, of the families estate. There is green and the pink of flowering lotus blossoms in equal measure. Atop a will was a shrine, lacquered black kept in perfect repair, alongside the statuary of the great gods and ancestors, and the carefully cultivated garden. One could not help but feel a sense of calm and serenity as they surveyed it. It seemed a sin that anyone could want to destroy it.
There amongst the trees was a sparkling lake, shining under the sun. It was small, but it was there, nestled securely in the middle of the forest. And beside it was the house of the family, where you were going.

Marluxia
"I think we have an arrangement."
"I knew you would see things my way." The chair slides back as who ever it is gets to his feet, with a faint clicking noise as he does so.
"You had better deliver what you promised."
"Do not doubt me." A faint hint of rage. "Do not dare to question my word."

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

He continues to chase after Lu Bu as he slams his foot onto the glider. It the glider charges for a second before it unleashes a blast of light. This process repeats as Ventus fire blast after blast at the fleeing Lu Bu. If about 12 of his shots miss he uses his wind manipulation abilities to speed himself up and ram the glider into the horse and Lu Bu.

Dawning Light

The group walks to the beautiful and harmonious home. Xianghua steps forward and knocks on the door politely. They then wait for someone to answer.

[Cracklord]

Ventus
As you do so, you note the camp approaching, two hours ride from the forbidden city. An untidy sprawl of tents, spreading across the landscape, black and sullen in the evening air. The enlisted men lived along the edges, with the officers close to the middle. There was no wall, Lu Bu was not afraid of being attacked. Not even a little.
The warrior, guessing or somehow sensing your attacks veers sharply to the right, Red Hare skidding a little but avoiding your first few strikes. Then you catch him on the shoulder, and he falls from his horse, rolling a few times then landing on his back. Red Hare continues charging into the camp.
Shaking, Lu Bu forces himself to his feet. His makeup is smudged, his armor dusty, cracked and bent, and their is a hole in his chest about two finger-widths across. He's broken, but not beaten.
What's more, shouts sound from the camp as they see their masters horse return.
You'll have to finish this quickly. You are not sure if you can.

Dawning Light
The door is opened by an old man with a topknot, leaning on a walking stick due to some ancient injury. "May I help you?" He asks in a low, quiet voice, of a man who has reached his destination and is now content.

[SeanHiruki]

((Sorry it took so long to post, guys. Writers block be kicking my ass))

Tuatha De Dannan
They were above the world. The group looked at the map and Bridget let out a happy little gasp.
"Wow Cool!"
"Where should we land?" Nouhime asked
"Largest urban center of course" Nobunaga answered.
"True, good chance it is the capitol." Ayane said
"Or at least the people there might know enough to direct us to the capitol" Lei added.

Nouhime sighed, "Largest city it is"

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

This was bad very bad. He had not only Lu Bu to contend with but possibly his entire army. For a moment he considerd running away, there was no concievable way to beat this man. It was then however in the span of half a second that he remembers all that Sora went through. Fighting eniemes bigger and stronger than him, and yet his heart never wavered for a second. He perservered and grew stronger, strong enough to defeat Hercules, Riku, Ansem, Xemnas, all of organization thirteen, Maleficient, and the darkness. He could not let his heart waver, not for a second. For a wavering heart, could be defeated, but a strong heart a heart with some thing to live and fight for. Friends, family, and the safety of the universe from the darkness. A heart that values and protects these things and in the proccess makes them it's power that is a heart that is truly strong and can win no matter what the odds. Ventus shoots towards the ground and when he nears it his glider transforms back into it's keyblade form. However Ventus does not hit the ground. He streches out his body superman style using his superglide skill, his wind manipulation, and his momentum from the dive and his previous speed to fly forward at sonic speeds (Not literally, just very very fast). He holds his keyblade tightly and thinks of all his precious people Aqua, Terra, Xianghua, Ike, Knuckles, and Fayt. With them in his mind and heart his keyblade glows with a brilliant light and he holds it in a ready position. It was do or die time. He was hoping that with his armor to protect him and Lu Bu's armor decisivly weakend he could finish this in one all out strike. He closes in and when in distance strikes, slashing horizontally with a bright explosion/flash of light to accompany it.

Dawning Light

Xianghua speaks, "Hello honorable elder, my name is Xianghua. We came here to speak with Mulan. We are friendsof Ventus, who in turn is a friend of Sora's. We need to speak to here about something that is of dire urgency."

[Cracklord]

Ventus
Lu Bu strikes the ground as you charge, the weapon making the earth shake. He's hurt, he's not as strong as he had been, or as fast, or as direct. You feel elation. You can win, you know it!
You duck his second strike, and hammer him with a blow that draws on all you have, the full contents of your heart and soul. Stepping past, you see him fall, like a great tree, a giant of the forest slowly toppling with the inevitability of time. It's like watching a mountain crumble, this death of a legend, and you can't help but feel an indescribable sadness as it happens. You’re too worn out for any satisfaction.
He was broken. Not dead yet, your strike didn't part his flesh, it simply sliced through him like water, leaving no mark and yet damaging him beyond even his incredible endurance. So that's it then. He's alive, though not well, and heartless as he was you are not sure you can bring yourself to kill him; he's still too human for that. But the threat of him is passed. Lu Bu was finished, what remained was not worth bothering with.
You had best go. Some hundred men dressed in black are advancing over here, and Nightmare is still around.

Tuatha Dé Danann
You all awake. You messed up the dive, overflew the city by a margin, and you crashed the ship into a mountain, starting a rockslide. The ship's undamaged, impossibly, but will take a good few days and the propper tools to get clear, until then it's buried under a wall of stone and ice. You can see what appears to be a camp in the distance, lots of smoke suggesting lots of fire. Not that you can blame them, it is winter, and the ground is blanketed with snow.
None of you are hurt, though their are a few bruises and a slight wounding of pride. However, for the moment you are stranded and a little lost.

Dawning Light
He stares at you a moment with an unusually perceptive glance, then steps aside. "She is on the hill at the shrine. I am sure she will be glad to see you." He says, pointing at it with his stick. "Will you be staying long?"

Son Son
You hear a rumble up the mountain. Looking up, you see its cause. Avalanche. More rubble and ice then can be believed is falling in a chaotic jumble down the slop in your direction.

Double Dragon
Lu Bu. You doubt there has ever been a more feared name. The thought of facing him again... well, it is not all bad. You have a strong position and a small army, he has a massive one and the ability to put you under siege. It shall take all of your brilliance to come to a victory here, but you are confident you can do it. The first step is to know the men under your command.
The Emperor gestures to a Go board, made of enameled horn and pearls, each one fitting into tiny depressions on each of the squares. "Do you play?" He asks, sounding curious. "I have not, for a while, but I find one may learn a lot from those he surrounds himself with by the way they play."

[SeanHiruki]

((Wait, is Lu Bu the Emperor?))

[Cracklord]

(No. Lu Bu is the leader of the invading force, along with Nightmare. The emperor is a character from Mulan, who Animekid has just filled in on the situation)

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

He pants a little bit as he takes one last look at the downed Lu Bu and transforms his keyblade back into it's glider form and flies to the Mulan residence.

Dawning Light

Xianghua responds, "I'm not sure actually, but we won't be an inconvience." The group heads out to the hill that Mulan is out on. Fayt walks forward this time and says, "Excuse me miss. You are Fa Mulan correct?"

[Cracklord]

Dawning Light

Mulan turns quickly, hiding something behind her back, and giving a unconvincing smile. "Ah, no! I mean, yes! Yes, I'm Mulan." She pauses, and regains some of her composure. "Can I help you?"

Ventus

You'll be there in ten minutes.

[SeanHiruki]

((Ah. Thanks, Animekid.))

Double Dragon
Zhuge did not hear the Emperor. If it was someone else attacking than he would gladly play a calming game of Go whilst the enemy failed to attack due to one of many stratagems he could have enacted. Any enemy this side of the Forbidden City would have been welcome. But of course it just HAD to be Lu Bu. The man even Orochi learned to fear. The strongest warrior in all of history. It took his lord Lui Bei and Generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fighting together just to make Lu Bu fall back.

"Tell me, my lord. What do you intend to do about Lu Bu?" he asked.

Tuatha De Dannan
It was either luck or by the grace of the Gods that they all survived the crash. The ship was undamaged but stuck to the mountain.
"Welp, looks like we need to find mechanic!" Lei said simply.
"So it seems...Come, let us head to that fire." Nobunaga said as he grabbed his keyblade. No use dieing in the cold snow.

After a long climb down the group made their way to the camp. The bitter cold bit Bridget the worst, since he wore a nun's habit.
"Brr!" he cried

Son Son
She awoke to an avalanche. "RUH ROH!" She yelled like Scoobie Doo and jumped to the nearest cloud and drove it far away from the roaring snow.

[Cracklord]

Double Dragon

"My personal guard, the ever victorious army has been deployed against him, however they are, for the most part, defending my people, for if I let them suffer his deprivations how can I call myself fit to be their leader?" He reminds you so much of Liu Bei in that instant you blink, but he doesn't notice, or at least tactfully doesn't react.
“However, he has punched through, and is heading directly towards us, at the head of an army that appears to have sprung from the ground. Our only chance is to hold the walls against him, while the army tightens around him like a noose.”

Tuatha De Dannan
You make your way down the slope, ponderously as all traces of path have been destroyed by the slide. The camp is around a burned out village, an untidy sprawl across the snow. You estimate as many as five thousand men.
Thunder sounds, stretching on and on and on. A storm was coming.

Son Son
The Preach tree is dragged under and crushed. It is one of the saddest things you've ever seen. There were still at least ten peaches left on that you hadn't gotten around to eating yet.
Up the mountain, you can see it's cause, a strange group making their way down.

[Scene]

"NO!" The scream was heart-rending in it's intensity as the woman fell to her knees, her make up running as she wailed and gnashed her teeth. Seeming to lose all strength in her limbs, she collapsed, like a puppet with it's strings cut, and collapsed next to him. The men backed away, not wanting to be near to see this.
A figure in black silk robes glided to her side on soft shoes, much like a puff of smoke, his expression inscrutable without it's normal sly smile. One long pale hand helps her to her feet with slightly more force then necessary, while he speaks in a warm, reassuring tone.
"Diao Chan, the wails of a woman will not help him now. Go back to the camp."
"My lord is -"
"Now, Diao Chan." His words were firm, and gave no room for argument. And though she outranked him, she found herself obeying, turning and leaving her lord and his strategist behind.
Chen Gong watched her go, then lowered himself beside his lord. First he took the massive, gauntleted hand in his, then he probed the edge of the wound, eliciting no response. He hang his head. Maybe he wept.
Then he staggered as suddenly the hand grabbed his with bone-crushing force, and flint eyes snapped open to behold the world once more. Perhaps the Gods truly did favor the ambitions of his lord.
"Do not speak. Rest. You will live through this, I promise you."
In the background, unseen by either of them, stood the Azure Knight, Nightmare, it's helmeted head unreadable. It was the ultimate weapon. It needed the ultimate warrior to wield it. And that warrior was Lu Bu. The man had no weaknesses, was no imperfect host like Siegfried. The two of them would be unstoppable.
Pushing the strategist out of the way, it wrapped the warriors hands around Soul Edge, as life left the armor and it fell to the ground, lifeless. And as the wound on Lu Bu's chest closed, leaving a single ugly scar, the massive red eye on the fleshy part of the wedge shaped blade winked.
Lu Bu got to his feet, the massive sword hanging loosely in his hands, and roared his defiance to the heavens, his arms out-stretched.

[draxx]

Garland
Garland watches Siegfried move with an attitude remarkably similar to a baseball player waiting for his ball. Then, a few seconds before one would usually start, he begins, despite the fact that Siegfried will not be in range when his sword comes smashing down, and furthermore will leave him completely open. Perhaps he's not such a good swordsman after all.

At the very last second, he flicks some invisible catch on the hilt, and the blade shoots forward, propelled by momentum, still attached to the hilt by a spiked chain. This effectively doubles his range unexpectedly, and catches Siegfried with the monstrous blow while he is still readying his own swing.

The Dark Knight doesn't give him a chance to recover, twirling the handle around his head to add centrifuge and momentum to the weapons monstrous weight and his own incredible strength, then brings the weapon down again in a earthshaking blow, stepping forward as he does.

Marluxia
Plotting behind his back. The little...

No. No, he was better then that. He could turn even this to his advantage, if he thought about it. He paused a moment, then pushed the door open.

His robes billowed, his staff rested on his shoulder, and his eyes were cold and hard. His appearence made it clear he was here and prepared to fight.

Kain
"Do speak up while you still can. I wish to know." He says, in his deep, cultured voice, like velvet. A two-fingered claw takes the hunters chin, and forces him to look directly at him. "Well?"

[AnimeKid]

Dawning Light

Ventus shudders as he feels an even more evil chill sweep over the lands. He had a bad feeling about this. He continues on and eventually lands in the Fa family garden on the hill with his friends. He de-transforms and his keyblade goes back to it's regular form. He skidds to a stop almost clumsily so. He then regains his balance as he says, "Ah good you guys are here already. Mulan I am Ventus, a keyblae wielder and a friend of Sora's and I need your help. The heartless have come to this world once again. The evil lord known as Lu Bu is one of thier primary controllers. I have just heavily crippled him, he shall never see combat again. However there is still one other threat that is much more evil. The evil blade and spirit known as Nightmare." Xianghua takes over from there, "He wields the evil blade Soul Edge and can summon the Heartless as well. If we can defeat him and seal this worlds keyhole the heartless will retreat from this world. We could really use your help in accomplishing this. So would you please help us."

[Cracklord]

Dawning Light
Mulan, a little taken aback at the sudden barrage of information, nods once, decisively. "You know there is no need to ask."
You need her, for the simple reason that the troops need someone they know and respect to lead the army, and that person needs to be familiar with the heartless. None of you fill that role. That's why Mulan here is going to be so useful. She pulls back her hair, changes her white robe for a martial arts robe, (a big, pretentious statue of one honored ancestor or another providing her modesty when she tactfully steps behind it) and belts her ancestral sword to her waist.
"I'm ready. Lets go."

Marluxia
Doviculus looks up at you, and endeavors to appear furious and shocked at our intrusion. His hand goes for the staff axe that leans on his chair, then he lowers it, and gets to his feet. "You had best think again if you wish to threaten me, boy." He says, his voice so cultured, so refined, it was hard to believe it came from his throat.
"Leave before I spill you all over the room."

Kain
"Surely there is something." His facade has cracked, his eyes have widened in fear and his smile become desperate, as he realizes how utterly in your power he is.

[AnimeKid]

Dawning Light

Ventus nods, "Alright then lets get to it." Ike nods as he comes up with a strategy, "Ok then. Mulan, Xianghua, and Ventus. You need to get to the Emperor's palace and pick up Zhuge and his wife. That way we will have three good leader's and a strategist. Fayt should go and gather information on the army. With his teleportation abilities and his Scanner he should be able to provide us with lots of valuable information. Knuckles.... well I guess you can...." Knuckles then speaks up. "Well while you my be unsure of what I can do I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to get a head start on busting some heads and taking care of that army. You can call it a preemtive strike if you want, but I"m going." With that the group breaks and they go off to do what they planned to do.

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