Light Vs. Darkness: The Hero's Return

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She scoffed at Lucien saying her words wound him. He was being rather pretentious, considering the circumstances, but that wasn't what caught her off guard. The fact that Audrey was putting herself in the middle of all this, made her take a few steps back. Samsara bumped into Dane, but soon backed away more and stood with her keyblade in her hand. She didn't want to fight anymore, mostly because of the fact Audrey was right there in the thick of it. She also didn't want to fight because some strange dude came along and put Dane in some kind of trap. Watching him, Samsara heard Dane make jokes about people wanting to kick his ass. She rolled her eyes. "I bet you have fun letting those people wait, don't you?" she joked with him, chuckling a little. While at first, Samsara wanted to kick his ass, that's passed now. She knew that wanting to kick his ass wasn't going to help her when she needed to train, so she let it go. Dane is her teacher after all. This also meant that trying to protect her teacher was something she was obligated to do, no matter how odd it was.

The spiel from the ranger was lost on Samsara, considering he just got here and hadn't seen the entire battle, so it's not like he understood exactly what was going on. "Look here you arrow butt, you obviously didn't see what happened, so don't jump in and try to be a hero." she said, groaning at the stupid trap that was now containing Dane. This was frustrating and she couldn't really think of what to do right now. On the one hand, she could just continue following Dane, but she could tell that he wasn't too happy that she wanted to fight alongside him. What was she supposed to do? Just sit back and let him get attacked? She was his comrade, probably his only comrade, so she didn't want him to be alone out here. Samsara then noticed how much she wanted to help a guy she barely knew. Shaking her head, she dispelled those thoughts. She met him a few hours ago at least, so it wasn't like they hadn't been searching for this HERO guy for a few minutes.

A hand laid on her shoulder and gave her a small jump. Samsara turned to see it was Bartholomew. "You scared me, you creepy guy. Where've you been anyway?" she asked, realizing he was talking to her. He told her that she wouldn't be able to help him. Why wouldn't she? She's right there, she can help Dane. Samsara could be useful and not just stand around like Bartholomew. Shaking her head, she looked back at Dane, then to Bartholomew. She blinked, wondering why her eyes were playing tricks on her, because she was now standing in a hallway of mirrors, nobody was around her. She could have sworn she could still feel the hand on her shoulder, however. Looking at the mirrors, Samsara saw herself, but not wearing the same clothes she had on. No, the reflection had on the same robes that a Sage from her world wears. Samsara saw her reflection was older and looked unhappy. "What?" she whispered, not understanding what was going on. She backed up and bumped into another mirror. She turned around to see that this mirror also had her in the Sage robes. All the mirrors reflected that and the same expression of unhappiness. Not sure what to do, but certainly getting scared, Samsara fell to her knees in this illusion world. Her hands trembled as she placed them on her head and grasped at her hair. Looking down at herself, she saw the same robes were now on her body. Shaking her head and closing her eyes, she started to feel tears prickling at her eyes and falling down her cheeks. She screamed to try and help herself come to terms with this world.

Back in the forest, Samsara was standing still with Bartholomew standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder. On the outside she seemed fine, although quiet, and things didn't seem to be wrong. On the inside, however, she was feeling extremely fearful, unable to escape this hallway of mirrors.

 

As soon as Xero was able to stand on her own without leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and relaxed, "Activate D-Link: The World's Heartless" A gust of wind began to blow around the area as Xero's body began to glow a dark aura. She could feel pain start to erupt in her chest as she began to float into the air. A giant black orb surrounded her as she floated higher, jolts of electricity rushed around the sphere occasionally. The giant sphere then suddenly exploded like shattering glass and Xero's appearance had changed.

Spoiler: NEW FORMS YAY

When she landed on her feet she looked at her new form. She took a lock of hair and saw that it wasn't the usual black color, but instead brown. She had a black trenchcoat like R's but a bit different and with torn coat tails. The pain in Xero's chest subsided a bit but was still noticeable. She turned to the apparition of R, "So this is the CC-Link?" She was pretty excited about this new form, yet also worried about the recoils it could have against her.

Something right then had triggered Xero to remember something between her and R that happened long ago. The memory caught her off guard and she looked away for a moment, not wanting to bring the subject up, "So... How does this link work?" She tried to distract herself from the subject.

Spoiler: FLASHBACKS YAY

It was within the dark margin where R stood, gazing to the ocean before him. Xero had walked up behind him from a dark corridor and stood there for a moment before speaking.

R...? Um... I need to talk to you..." R didn't even turn to face her and only stayed where he was.

"Then speak." R's voice was rather demanding and Xero felt a lump forming in her throat from nervousness. She took a few steps forward, "I-I don't think... Things are going to work between us right now..." R stood there silent for a moment as he looked off into the distance.

"I see. I cannot say this was unexpected." He said, seemingly unfazed. Xero took a few more steps towards him, "It's just... Things are hard right now. Especially with... You know, Ansem trying to constantly possess me... I-I want to try to find a way to get rid of him but..."

"But your focus has been diverted elsewhere." R turned to face her, "Am i correct?" Xero looked up at R and then slowly noded, small tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"I'm sorry..." She then suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked back up, R puts his hand on her shoulder, "Go. Do what you need to do. We both have our own obligations. Neither will be easy, yet at the same time, neither of us will truly be facing them alone. If fate allows, then perhaps one day in the future, after our tasks are at an end, we may reunite."

R takes his hand from her shoulder and turns around, opening a dark corridor, "I wish you well, Xero. Thank you."

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As Gexln pushed back the scythe once more, he continued the movement, putting his blade against the fake Dane's neck. Liam reverted back to his natural form, and in an instant there was no fake Dane anymore, just one man holding his sword in the air above a bunny rabbit. He lowered the blade and allowed himself to fall backwards, breathing quite heavily as he hit the ground with a thud. "That'll do for now, Liam. I think we're good. Dane won't stand a chance" he stated between breaths. He looked at the rabbit, who was eyeing him with curiousity. It was interesting really, how attached to the little guy he'd become. He'd only gained ownership of the bunny about an hour ago, and half of that had been spent fighting against him, but to an extent he felt close to the creature.

He'd spent a few hundred years alive, and in that time he had had many people he trusted. He'd trusted R, thought of him as an older brother, only for him to give the godly power to somebody that wouldn't use it right and then abandon them. There had been Sapphire, who had taken his son's heart and then had the nerve to ask for his help. Ananta had gone away to Crystallis and had very little to do with them, not that he particularly wanted to keep in contact with her anyway. Then there was Xero. She hadn't broken his trust, and he hoped that she wouldn't do anything that would put that in jeopardy, but even then..how long would it last? It had lasted 300 years between them, but nothing lasted forever. Nothing was never ending.

Xero had made an effort to try to follow him, and eventually she'd gotten it through her heard that maybe he didn't want her following. He loved her, and having her around was a thought that made him happy, but that was exactly why she couldn't be near him. So long as she was nearby him, she was in danger. Gexln was slowly losing control of his darkness, he had been feeling it for a long time and it was starting to affect his decisions and thought process a lot, and even when he wasn't a threat himself there was always the fact he had so many enemies; how long would it take for one of them to figure out the easiest way to take care of him? If she were hurt, if she were captured, he would rush headfirst in to save her, being an easy kill if the enemy were to set a trap and despite knowing that he had no doubt he'd still do things exactly that way.

And yet, despite everything, he found a part of him almost wishing he hadn't met her that day in Twilight Town. Maybe if she hadn't met him, she would be happier, be with somebody else, be safer. So he looked down at the small creature beside himself. The small bunny simply staring at him with eyes of innocence. So small, yet Gexln knew it was powerful. Sapphire had given him the creature to protect him, and while he loathed her he couldn't help but feel somewhat thankful for it. However, he wasn't the one that needed protection. He wriggled around a little bit and sat down next to Liam. "I don't know if you can understand me, who knows what kinda things Sapphire gave you the power to do, but if you can...I need your help" Gexln said quietly.

He thought of Riel. The world that had become a second home to him and yet a prison at the same time. He was so familiar with it after all this time, but it served as a constant reminder of R abandoning them and of what Sapphire had done. He opened a dark corridor that led there. "I need you to deliver a message. If you can't do it yourself, get to Sapphire; she's probably got some weird godly ability to talk to animals or something. I need you to tell her that I'm confident I can kill Dane, but that I was confident the last time I did, so there's no guarantee it'll work. Whether or not it does though, she has to be there for Xero. I'm not coming back. Until I can find some way to stop the darkness progressing, Xero will never be safe around me and neither will anybody else. Slowly but surely, I'm turning into some kind of monster. I can't explain it, but something tells me that when I do lose control, the first one that'll be attacked is Xero. I need you to make sure Sapphire keeps her safe, and if needs be, she has to kill me. She's the only one that can, because she'd probably need to destroy my heart itself to make sure I can never come back. She should probably explain it to Xero, see if she'll finally listen. Can you do that, little guy? Look at me, talking to a rabbit. The stories Beuce would tell about this.." Gexln said with a slight laugh as he nudged Liam forward, causing the small creature to hop through the dark corridor. Gexln closed it behind him, sure he would never again see this small creature that was already so important to him.

Liam hopped inside of the throne room. His master had given him a task, and it was a task he was going to fulfill. Hopping around the throne room quickly, he eventually found Sapphire. He wasn't sure how to explain things, so he decided instead to allow the goddess to simply look into his mind. She would see the memories he had, she would see the message Gexln had given her to convey, and then hopefully she would accept it. And after she had accepted it, he would protect Xero, she would be his new master just as his previous one would have wished. ​

 

"So, you gonna do something or you just going to float there?" Lucien had turned around and addressed the griffon in the sky, reverting back to his usual way of speaking. Aside from appearing, it had kind of done nothing thus far, and Lucien gave it an expecting look.

From the back of the griffon, a pink haired boy had dropped down, rifle slung on his shoulder, as he looked at the group before him. They seemed to be...an interesting group no doubt. He had been tailing them for a bit now, and went back just in time to recieve orders to stop them...and he wasn't entirely sure that these people were some sort of threat to begin with at all. Well, threat to the goddess. To themselves, however, that was an entirely different situation. The blue haired guy seemed bored and uninterested in his appearance altogether. The guy he was tracking was looking at a white haired girl, with said girl looking...well she wasn't really. She was just sort of standing there not moving at all. Then there was a younger white haired girl who looked ready to keel over, and another young girl who also looked like she was in pain or something. Then there was the guy with the scythe...who was trapped...by a guy with a bow, who wasn't doing much else. Huh. Phantom was pretty sure that if they just left them unattended, the group would probably just self destruct anyway, but orders were orders.

Clearing his throat, he said, "ahem. I am hear on executive business from the great goddess, shocker, I know. Um, I'm here to tell you to stop searching for the hero. Or else, uh," Phantom raised a hand to his chin as he continued to ponder on this, not really sure of what the repercussions were. "I think if you refuse I'm supposed to stop you with force and then turn you in. But the choice here now is to turn yourselves in, I think," again, he didn't really know whether Sapphire wanted to jail them or just have them stop adventuring. Jail seemed more likely. "So yeah, just turn yourselves in now, it'll make the process easier and less painful for everyone. And it's not like you'll get executed anything. You need to steal nuclear launch codes or something like that in order for that to happen. Nah, just probably jail time, so no real harm to anyone right?" Phantom was pretty hopeful that they'd see his point...no he wasn't.

"Turn ourselves in? Are you nuts kid? Do you think I'm going to back down just because some little cherry with a gun told me to?" He then remembered that he had just backed down from a fight with Dane because a little ten year old looking girl told him to. Fuck. While Lucien wasn't really in the mood to back down from this quest of theirs, others didn't seem to want any more fighting at the moment. "Alright everyone, time to make a bit of a group decisi-"he was cut short when he turned around to see the god awful state their group was in, and how everyone was basically preoccupied with something. Letting out a sigh, he squatted down so that he was eye level with Audrey and Alisia and said,"alright girls, what do you think? Want to turn ourselves in to the cosmic police force or," he then pointed his thumb at the griffon in the sky, "go monster hunting?"

 

There was a mission to uphold. Sapphire, the goddess had given Eigo an order that must be followed. A man of pure light was terrorizing the world. Oh how the goddess loved her people, trying to protect them. Eigo nodded his head in response to Sapphire's request. "It shall be done, my lord. This man shall be put to a stop." He was about to open a dark corridor to track this man down, but there was another door that opened. A small rabbit came hopping in. Eigo stood their in confusion as the little rabbit made his way all the way to Sapphire's chambers.

That was enough distractions for the day. Eigo summoned a corridor and moved within. Whatever the rabbit needed, he was sure the goddess could handle it. Moving through the darkness, Eigo appeared in the citadel. He looked around to see the world was dark, very dark. He looked up to see a large phoenix in the sky. Another one of Sapphire's creations it seemed. That would make things a bit more fun and easy.


Meanwhile, Crybex was going across the city, killing more innocent people one by one. He laughed at each one of their deaths. He smiled when he witnessed a child run in terror as he slaughtered her parents. He appeared in front of her, a grim expression over his face. "Darkness is a virus that must be contained. I am the medicine to its spread. No longer will this infection exist." His light blade summoned in front of him as he stabbed the girl's chest.

He looked up to the sky. This section of the world was still blocked out. When the goddess summoned something to stop him, she meant business. He liked a woman who was so forceful. It was a shame she didn't try harder he thought. Well, he thought that anyway, until he caught the sense of another close by. This being was strong, much stronger than those before him. He had darkness in his heart, as such, he was a virus that needed to be destroyed. Crybex went to find the man instantly, wanting to add another kill to his list.


He stood their, looking at the horror in front of him. Bodies covered in blood were everywhere. A few remained, holding the bodies of the dead. They were spared in seems. This man who was killing them all really did need to be put to a stop. He felt the presence of a being holding immense strength. He couldn't tell where but he knew he was being targeted.

He appeared, Crybex stood in front of Eigo. "I see you are much stronger than the rest. You must have been sent here by someone of great power."

"The goddess demands your capture. I am here to abide to said wish. I, Eigo, guardian of the realms, shall put an end to your terror!"

"You are quite lucky then! I've heard so much about this goddess. I'm willing for a fight. Be warned though, you will die." He was prepared to let himself lose this fight however. He heard the words one of the infidels said. She had the X-Blade. If he was going to create a perfect world, he needed that weapon. He would rather use that than strike against a man of pure darkness with keyblade to match. They together couldn't make the X-blade, but perhaps something different. He was a little impatient and now a lackey had come to capture him, the plan was going to well.

Crybex began the fight by charging him. Before he struck Eigo, he vanish. Many more versions of himself appeared around Eigo. This was a battle and no time for talk or surprise could be used. Eigo summoned his blades and scattered to each one of the clones. The clones all vanished with Crybex coming from above and hitting Eigo to the ground. It was a powerful strike. Eigo could not play around in this fight. He had to be serious. The quicker he captured him, the better. He could use a gravity spell that could work but it would take time to actually charge. He was going to have to stall against Crybex for a little while so he could gather the necessary mana.

However, time was short. He was going to die if he just sat there and charged the attack. Eigo got up from the ground and charged at Crybex, his armor was working in full force. He called upon his abilities and summoned the powers of his grandfather. He activated Titanium guard right before Crybex could stab him with his light sword. The sword did nothing against the super armor of Eigo. The abilities he inherited were top notch.

"A guardian is right. My light can pierce through almost anything. Talk about talent." Crybex praised before he summoned a ring around Eigo, The ring did nothing however, for Eigo had jumped out of the way. Now it was an air battle. Eigo had used some mana to maintain his zero gravity floating as Eigo remained floating with his magnetism. "Light Firaga!" Crybex shot a ball of burning light, almost like a mini star at Eigo. He dodged but Crybex was right in front of him, his hands covering his eyes. He created a bright light, blinding Eigo. Eigo quickly floated away, covering his helmet with his hands. He could only see white light. He had to focus though. If he wasn't careful, it was game over. Crybex began to teleport around him, taunting him. Eigo was focused, listening to exactly where he was. When he heard the light fade in. Eigo struck with his fist, punching Crybex to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.

The punch wasn't the end of the combo, he tracked down where Crybex went and continued. He manipulated the gravity around his arm to increase the weight. He punched Crybex into the ground, creating a small crater. He then released a rain of daggers, flying towards Crybex. The man regained his poise and used the magnetism against the gravity. The daggers were all floating in mid air, none of them moving. It was a battle of who could last longer. The two sat there for a full minute, not budging. Eigo stopped his control of the gravity and used medi-guard. Crybex used the light speed to dodge. The force of the two of them letting go made all the daggers scatter into random directions, destroying buildings and the already dead corpses alike.

Eigo was healed by his own attack while Crybex was unharmed. Both were breathing heavy, but the battle wasn't close to ending. On one side, Eigo was almost ready to cast Graviza. The other, Crybex was beginning to enjoy himself almost to the point of not wanting to get captured and just kill this man where he stood. Crybex began to charge the light around him. Two sprites appeared. One had a sword, another had a bow. He pointed at Eigo and the two charged at him. "Go my angels, show him heaven's plight!"

It was done though. Eigo was charged. He leaped forward, formed the daggers he had into swords, and stabbed the two angels. He then got close enough to Crybex. "Graviza!" He yelled. Crybex fell to the ground, unable to move. He felt like an entire planet was on his shoulders. If this were a normal man, they would have been crushed by the pressure. His magnetism was the only thing keeping him alive. Eigo stood next to him and allowed his daggers to form a box around Crybex. He forced all of the daggers to link together and be under the pressure of his gravity. Crybex was not going to escape.

Eigo looked down to the bodies and buildings around him. "I'm sorry. I only wish I could have finished him sooner. May Sapphire bless your souls as you move on to the next world." He looked up to the sky and noticed the sun was there. The other group had managed to defeat the phoenix in the time he defeated Crybex. He opened up a corridor of darkness and went through.

Crybex sat in the prison, a smile coming over him. He was pleased. He was going to meet the Goddess. There was nothing she could do to him either. He knew a secret that Hunter made him realize. He would wait for the moment to say what it was though. As he went through the corridor, he began to scream in pain. There was darkness everywhere. He hated it. He wanted it all gone. If he were to escape this prison and obtain the X-blade, he knew what he was going to destroy first. This tragic pain of his.... the realm of darkness.


Eigo arrived back to Sapphires chambers, the box contained Crybex next to him. He bowed to the Goddess. "The job is done."

 

Eigo must have been so blind it made Lee Sin seem like an optometrist, because the phoenix was very much still there, still threatening them all. Caleb, after having thought out a strategy, was on the move. He had summoned his keyblade and turned it into its glider form, before flying after the phoenix. The heat was intense up close, Caleb feeling a burning sensation on his skin as he struck at the creature with his keyblade. It didn't do much damage, so he had to try something different. He got as close as he could to the phoenix and then summoned a small, shining blue orb and simply stuck it to the creature. He got some distance before turning to look at his allies. The orb functioned as a stupidly powerful bomb that inflicted damage of the water element; something that would cause immense damage to a giant flaming bird. However, the bomb could only be triggered by an impact. "I've got a plan! Attack the shiny spot on the bird, it will make taking it down much easier!" he cried out, explaining his plan in terms so simple that even Hunter could've understood it.​

 

Xero looked confused as Sapphire suddenly appeared and told her to sit down. She reverted back to her regular form and looked to R, "I guess we'll have to practice with the link some other time." She turned back around and sat on a rock and looked to Sapphire who's expression seemed worrisome. This made Xero nervous, what was she going to say that was making her look worried?

Sapphire began to speak and the more she said the more Xero's eyes widened. Sapphire had just told her that Gexln was going to die from the darkness within him; If not before Dane possibly killed him. Xero shuttered as she looked to the ground, what she had just heard still processing through her head. Xero was screaming in her mind, she didn't know what to do. But, at the same time she knew exactly what to do.

Xero quickly stood up and created a corridor, running over to it saying, "I can't let him do this! I have to try something!!" Before either R or Sapphire could say anything she was already through the corridor and into the world she assumed that Gexln would be in. She looked around frantically and saw someone standing in the distance. Xero began running over to them and she slowly began to see that it was definitely Gexln. Though, something seemed different...

Xero almost skidded to a stop as she was close enough to him. Her panting and heartbeats were the only thing she could really hear, "Gexln... Gexln you can't do this. I just got the message from Sapphire and I don't care if you try to make me leave again because I'm not leaving this time!" Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Im not letting you go!"​

Lexcifur couldn't believe what he had just heard come out of Freya's mouth. She was telling Sapphire everything from the start. Lexcifur turned his back to the group, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. He suddenly let out a yell as he punched a wall next to him, an explosion of darkness caused the wall to collapse and leave a big hole leading to another room. This caught him off guard, he didn't realize that he had used the gauntlet to hit the wall. He looked at it for a moment before reverting his attention back to the situation with Freya. He didn't look at her, only continued to face the destruction he just caused, "Am I to not trust anyone anymore?" His words came through gritted teeth. ​

 

Gexln froze as he heard Xero's voice. He had been about to go and confront Dane, had been about to end it once and for all, and then she had to appear. "How do you always know where the hell I am?" he asked quietly. As Xero neared him, the wanderer of the dark turned away, not willing to look at his wife of 300 years. The darkness was spreading, and it was only speeding up; signs were already showing. Xero told him all about how she had heard Sapphire's message, had heard of his plan. He waited until she had finished speaking, taping his foot impatiently as he tried to keep his composure. He didn't do a very good job.

"So you heard what I said, and yet you still decided that after I specifically told you that I was a danger, that you weren't safe around me, the best idea was to run off and try to be around me anyway? You said you weren't leaving last time, and you did it then, what changed? You actually give a **** now? At least earlier you had the sense to listen to me instead of letting your stubbornness guide you through everything" Gexln said, bitterness evident in his voice. He took a step back from her. "You need to get out of here, and you need to do it now, I can't guarantee your safety if you stay" he stated, worried for Xero.​

 

Gexln's words hurt and as she expected, he tried pushing her away again. She stood her ground, "Just because I didn't chase after you the last time doesn't mean I don't care. I came back again like I did before but this time I'm not letting you leave. You're staying. Right. Here..." Xero took a few steps toward him, "I'm sure we can find something to stop the darkness from taking over. There has to be some way..."​

 

Ohm shouldn't have been surprised when Beuce knocked away his attack. Ohm was a master at swordsmanship but Beuce's magical arm was something to be concerned at. His eyes sharpened, Beuce had Ohm where he wanted him but he didn't kill Ohm or attempted him any fatal threat, why? He grimaced deeply and took his stance again, watching his two other comrades come at Beuce only to be flicked away as easily as he was. He then made eye contact with Beuce and held his sword up, then took a low stance to ground himself. He wasn't going to give up though, not until he could find a weakness to that magical arm of his.​

 

As Xero stepped towards him, Gexln grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back. "There is no way! Don't you think I've tried? This is what I suffer because of what I've done. Every day it creeps up on me, getting worse. Look at me! Can't you see it?!" he cried, looking straight at Xero. It wasn't hard to see the effects it was having on him, both physically and in his personality. His movements were edgier, and he was responding with more hostility than he normally would, but more worrying than that was his appearance. His arms had small black markings on them, like there were tendrils stretching out along his skin, as did his legs, but his face showed the most signs. He was a wreck, he had cuts all over the left side of his face as though he were trying to tear something away from it, which he was. The entire left half of his face was black in colour, with his left eye being a bright yellow. This was the repercussions of using his darkness too much; he was beginning to become his anti form whether he liked it or not.

He leaned close to Xero. He'd noticed something was different the moment she'd gotten there, but now that she was closer he could definitely pick what it was. "Xero, you smell of slut. Been spending a bit of time with R have you? Haha, that makes sense, that explains why you came back. You came back here because R told you to, is that it? You got bored with me after 300 years so you decided you'd see if you could get some of that power Sapphire has huh? Figured you probably would eventually. R's better at everything than I am, except for being an absolute dick. I've got that one downpat" Gexln stated, turning his back on Xero. "Ah well, you can take it back to him and tell him you failed, maybe get some sympathy f***ing or something, I don't know, and quite frankly I don't care. I'm gonna go and get myself killed, put an end to this torture and all, and guess what honey? There's nothing you can do about it" Gexln stated coldly. His words were becoming more and more warped as he spoke, the Nobody becoming steadily darker with every word he spoke.​

 

Xero nearly flinched as Gexln suddenly grabbed her and pushed her back. She looked at him and saw what the darkness was doing to him. It was destroying his body and he was becoming less and less himself. He then suddenly leaned closer to her and she looked at him confused, " "Xero, you smell of ****. Been spending a bit of time with R have you?" Xero's body tensed. She forgot about Gexln's ability to sense different darknesses. As he continued to go on about his accusations about her and R she began to become irritated, "I went to R because I had to find help! He gave me a stronger D-Link with him!" What the hell was he saying?! What right did he have to accuse her of the things he was saying?

"I'm gonna go and get myself killed, put an end to this torture and all, and guess what honey? There's nothing you can do about it" Xero's fists clenched and she could only glare at Gexln.

"So that's it then? You're just going to walk out on me like you did with Kaxar and get yourself killed?! You're just giving up, is that it?!" Tears began forming in her eyes. She wasn't going to let Gexln push her away anymore. She wasn't going to let him die. She was going to find a way to stop his darkness.​

 

Gexln's body tensed up as he stopped. Xero's words cut deeper than any blade could. He turned around and with a cry he dove at Xero. He slammed into her, dropping Darkness' Sorrow as he did so, and tackled her to the ground. He held her there, pinning her to the ground, as he leaned in close to her. "Typical woman, I say one thing and you bring up something you've held there for three hundred years. I didn't abandon Kaxar, I didn't leave her to go and die, but maybe I should. Maybe I should've left and then maybe she'd be alive. You want to follow me so badly? You'll end up the exact same as her; dead. I haven't given up completely, but there's not much hope left because what is the point of trying to beat something that can't be beaten? I'll kill Dane, then I'll go and curl up somewhere and die, and hell then maybe you'll leave me the hell alone when I ask!" Gexln shouted. He got off her and took a step back, before picking up Darkness' Sorrow.

"You seemed fine letting Lucifer be executed by Sapphire, just stood there not caring at all, so why the hell does this matter to you so much? I'm a dead man walking, so just let me go and move the **** on already!" he said. As he spoke, he had been raising his blade. He hadn't openly challenged Xero, but she knew him well enough that she would recognise the stance he was in; Gexln was ready for a fight.​

 

A pair of arms reached around Samsara in a warm and loving embrace. Someone a little taller than her was embracing her in a loving fashion, and if she looked up, she would see the kind face of her father staring back, navy blue hair ruffly framed his young and soft face and light brown eyes made contact with hers."Anadi, It's going to be okay.."He said and gently ran the back of his hand over her cheek."You really changed your appearance..you didn't want to worry your brother did you?"He said and took both of her hands."But look, your brother still worries about you, and he still adores you as he always has. Ohm is an usual young man..You know he never speaks but most of the time, he never has to. You can tell what he is feeling, that is enough..sometimes emotions can speak even louder than words."He said and squeezed her hands gently before letting them go."He loves you more than anything and anyone else..and he doesn't have to say anything to prove it, ever since you two were little, even when you were a baby..Ohm was enamored by you, he would never leave your side."He said and kneeled down so his head was to her neck."I know you still love him..please promise me, Anadi..please promise me that you won't let your hatred for your mother consume who you really are..No matter what, Ananta and I still love you. It was why I had to sacrifice myself and split my soul in two..my fighter spirit rests within you, and my heroic spirit rests within Ohm." He ran a hand to her cheek and grinned, brushing a knuckle to it softly."Continue to fight for the sake of your comrades and friends, despite that you may be in a bad crowd right now..and Ohm will continue to fight to help you. He is still your brother, after all."He said."You're his heart, his world..never forget that, okay?"

 

Who in the hell are these people? What is their problem? They seem to be acting in a somewhat unified group but some of them seem to be on the side of the guy that just murdered that woman and the others seem to be against him... Like the guy who was just talking about mood. Are these people crazy? And that girl... Who is that girl and why are they all listening to her? In any case, he didn't plan on continuing fighting. As far as he was concerned, it was now time to understand what happened exactly and decide what to do with the big guy in the cage.
"Correction. I did see what happened. I'm here to figure out why it happened and then between us decide what to do wi-" Sherridan watched with dismay as the woman he was talking to was suddenly accosted by a tall man whom she acknowledged, before going eerily quiet as if in thought. He would have said something to answer that situation, however something else appeared that was arguably more pressing. From the sky flew down a man on a griffon. He had pink hair and was watching over the events. Sherridan frowned. Who was this man and what business did he have? More to the point, how did he find this group so easily. And then he started talking. He frowned at the mention of the Goddess. An agent of the Goddess, whatever is he doing here? She's not exactly a byword for goodness in these parts. And he seems to be arresting these people for searching for some kind of hero... He decided in that moment this man could quite frankly wait.
"You, in the cage. I don't know you and I don't like what you've done. But I think we have a common dislike here. I'll let you out, if you agree to fight him." Sherridan offered, pointing his bow at the ground his eyes on the griffon rider. The man that was going after the man in the cage that mentioned something about a mood being shot was asking the girls about monster hunting now. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they meant. If this man worked for the Goddess then he was no friend of Sherridan's. She'd never done anything for them. Her laxity was insulting. Besides, what Goddess had business stopping people finding a hero? It sounded suspicious, as if she had something to hide. Something that the Goddess didn't want them to find to preserve her selfish reign. Thus, there was only one option. He had to make sure that hero was found. Somehow.​

 

Xero was tackled to the ground and she let out a grunt of pain as her back hit the floor. She was then pinned there and Gexln leaned in closer and made a comment about women. Xero was strangely aroused by this situation and *insert angry sex scene here* Xero glared at Gexln as he continued to speak, tears finally falling from her eyes. He then got off of her and she quickly got back to her feet. She noticed Gexln pick up his weapon and she cautiously watched him.

"You seemed fine letting Lucifer be executed by Sapphire, just stood there not caring at all, so why the hell does this matter to you so much? I'm a dead man walking, so just let me go and move the **** on already!" Xero's fists clenched.

"What could I have done?! I was in no position to try and defend him! He committed a crime and if I were to intervene, I would've been sentenced as well! There was nothing i could do! And I don't care if you want to just die so easily, I'm not letting you!" It was then when Xero realized the stance Gexln was in. Her fists clenched tighter and she looked at the ground with gritted teeth and tears. She held her arm out to the side and her scythe was summoned. Her eyes looked back up to him, "If this is the only way to get through to you, I'll fight until you're unable to do anything else..." ​

 

With a huge sigh of relief, Audrey turned and sat down next to Alisia. She was more than a little confused by what the ranger had said. He said he didn't like what Dane had done, but he hadn't so much as mentioned Alisia. Did he not care about the fact her friend was laying there, bloodied and bruised? As Lucien came over and gave her the keyblade, the small girl grabbed it and held it close. This was all she had left of her mother, this was all she had left to protect. As an answer to his question, she pointed up into the sky at the griffon. "Monster hunting" was what she said quietly. She then shifted her body so that she was sitting in front of Alisia. Her trust in her friend was very weak now, but she was still her friend, and whether Audrey herself knew how to use the keyblade or not, she was going to make sure nothing else bad happened to the her. "It's okay Alisia. I won't let anyone else get hurt. I will stop him" she small girl said, eyes full of determination and sadness as she spoke.


Dane listened carefully as the people sent by the goddess threatened them. Turn themselves in? They spoke like they had some sort of authority, like they could actually do something to them. In fact, the way they spoke sounded almost like the way the ranger had spoken. However, at least he had tried to reason with Dane. He held his scythe up so that it hung behind Dane's shoulders casually. "Alright" the shadow reaper said as he opened a dark corridor. Stepping out of it next to Sherridan, Dane's mouth curved into a sly smirk as he looked at the ranger, then gestured towards the griffin and the attackers. "Gotta warn you though, I don't fight much. Kill, all the time, simply fighting? Not too much. I'll see what I can do though, always fun to have adversaries to challenge you right?" he asked with a slight chuckle. Turning his attention towards Phantom, he held his scythe in a more easy-to-defend position. "Geez, you sure picked the wrong place to visit" he said simply, before running forward a few steps and swinging his scythe at them in a crescent arc.


"Nothing you could do? No, you did nothing, you could have at least tried to save him. You won't fight me, Xero, because a fight makes it sound like it'll be an even contest the whole way through. One advantage to being like this is I feel a lot stronger. I feel like even Sapphire couldn't handle me right now, though that's probably not true. Dane would get destroyed, and here you are going to try to stop me from doing it. You wouldn't save your own son, but now you're going to save the one that did this to me? Geez, R must have really got to you" he stated simply.

He knew Xero well enough to know that she wouldn't kill him. If she wouldn't listen to him, he'd have to get her away by force, and her having to hold back even in the slightest put her at a slight advantage. He went to summon his keyblade in his right hand, preparing to dual wield his blades, but as it appeared in the light it burned his hand. He dropped it to the ground, causing it to vanish as though it had never been there. "So, it's already hit that point.." the wanderer of the dark said quietly. It didn't matter though, he could still handle Xero with Darkness' Sorrow. Dashing forwards at incredible speed, he lunged forward and simply tried to attack her with a jab from his right hand aimed at her stomach, as he brought his blade around to the left, aiming for Xero's side.​

 

"You wouldn't save your own son, but now you're going to save the one that did this to me? Geez, R must have really got to you" Xero growled; this was going too far.

"What the hell does R have to do with any of this?! I came here because you're my husband and I'm trying to help you!" Gexln then tried summoning his Keyblade, only to drop it afterwards from what seemed like pain. It faded away and Xero looked at Gexln worryingly.

"Gexln for the last time, please let me--" She was cut off by Gexln suddenly running at her, and fast. She felt the jab hit her stomach and she almost fell forward but caught herself and deflected the blade to her left. Xero jumped away and as she was in the air, she swung her scythe a crescent beam shot out of the blade and at Gexln.​

Lexcifur still didn't look at Freya as she continued to speak. She went on about him wanting her to leave; he didn't necessarily want that, he just needed time to think really. He then heard a dark corridor open and Freya speak once more before going through the corridor. He perked up, his eyes wide. Lexcifur looked over to where Freya was just as she was walking through, "Freya, wait!" Lexcifur ran over and grabbed her wrist before she could walk through. He could only stare at her; he had no idea what he was going to say, he just didn't want her to leave after hearing what she had just said. He then suddenly pulled her closer by her wrist and kissed her. He didn't know what else to do or say, he just did it.

#YOLO​