Hello, all. None of you may remember me as Ol'Sephy, the lurking, lazy, inactive fool who hasn't been on here in years. Well that's about to change. All of my friends on here, (Tummer, Atiragrame, CGNet), are famous now. They all do awesome stuff. I kinda stand in the background, constantly annoying them, and blaming everything on Maggy. That much isn't going to change. However, what will change is that I will be posting on here more regularly, prolly to just further the agenda of my YouTube channel, ZackCopyNumber8. (Subscribe. You know you don't want to...) I've pretty much stopped writing fan-fictions and started playing a LOT of Minecraft and various MMOs. (By the way, screw MapleStory; Dragon Nest is better!) But I have been making videos. None of them KH related, but that might soon change. I'm not sure yet. *grin* So, for now, this is my official return to KHV... Until I disappear again. *gigglesnort* KTHXBAI - 2br02b
I have a new pet! I shall call him... Smilelurk. You like? Here's the stats... Cheers! - D...
FINAL MASTER started as a short story that I was working on in a writing class during my senior year of high-school. Then, while on a cosplay binge, I created a character named Adrian. He was Sora's older brother of five years and dual-wielded the Kingdom Key and Darkside. I saw the potential for a fan-fiction. I dug around, and found my old, hand-written first-draft of FINAL MASTER and read through it again. I felt that the story was good enough to continue and beefed it up. So, upon my joining of KH-Vids.NET, I looked around to see if anyone had come up with similar ideas for stories. Seeing none, I started to type it up, adding a chapter here and there for about half a year. I finally ended Part One with an exciting cliff-hanger. When I started Part Two, I was on a obsessive cycle of playing Chain of Memories on my emulator and playing Kingdom Hearts II on my PS2, hacking both of them with codes that I'd found, (where else?) on KHV. So, you can kinda see where the inspiration for that part came from. As it is now, I never finished the story. I was saddened to think that FINAL MASTER was dead. So, to keep things going a little bit, (and in the hopes that I would someday finish the story), I made the FINAL MASTER website, (CLICK HERE). Still far from done with this idea, I had an brainstorm -- why not re-write the story to better follow the KH Saga's storyline? Birth By Sleep is out, so there will be plenty of new material when I get the game, and I know the plotline pretty well, already. It's like trying to decide what to do with $30: buy pizza now, or save it and not buy anything... Hmmmmm... What a big decision... PIZZA! xD So, here is a re-vamped version of FINAL MASTER. Enjoy! - D... Part One Prologue: Twilight Town... What is Kingdom Hearts? When many people hear that name, they try to picture the Heart of All Worlds, and imagine the power housed within. It is nothing but a bedtime story to them. A tale to be told to young children for them to dream about, building adventures and stories out of what they hear. But we know better, don't we? We know that the Keyblade holds the answer... Keyblade? Have you not heard of the very weapon that you are meant to be carrying? The Keyblade is but an instrument of the person wielding it. There are some who believe it to be a weapon of fate. Not lightly does this legendary sword relinquish its power, they say... Some others believe that the Keyblade is but an earned treasure, nothing more. Who can say which side holds closer to the truth? It is up to you, my young protege, to find the answer that strikes true to you... Master Xehanort... Who was he? You have heard the name before I told you of him. Have you not, my Apprentice? He was my Master, once. But he is nothing more than a distant memory to me now. He has no part to play with us, does he? Him and that foolish boy... Ventus. And what about him? He was swallowed by the Darkness, his heart forever lost. Then how was it that he returned? If he was lost -- He is not important! I... I apologize, Master. I spoke rashly... Boy, you speak your mind. Ahhhhh... If you were only here to witness, for yourself, what is about to unfold... What do you mean, Master? You will know before long. Just... Watch the Twilit Sky... Excerpt from the LDT Logs, Radiant Gardens Chapter One: Destiny Islands... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 21 years “Congratulations, ma'am,†the doctor said over the wailing of the baby in his arms to the woman on the hospital bed, “It's a boy!†The woman looked up as the doctor said this and a small tear came to her eye. Her long, shiny, brown hair was disheveled and her beautiful, green eyes were dulled with weariness, but she still had a joyous glow around her. Her face was now contorting with a mixture of weariness and pure, unmistakable ecstasy. She wiped her face on her hospital gown and held out her arms to her beautiful baby boy. The doctor gently placed the child in her arms and, suddenly, the baby stopped crying. The eyes that gazed back at her were green like his her's but the sparse hair on the top of his head was pure, jet black. The mother looked up at the doctor and cocked her head to one side. “Why is his hair this color? My husband's hair is blond and mine is brown... Wait. Does it have something to do with, um, what's it called...†“Recessive genes.†The doctor smiled. “That is what you mean, but I'm not sure that that's it...†“What? What do you mean?†“When he was born, I was sure that his hair was blond. Then, when he was being cleaned, it looked brown. Now, it is black! I'm not sure what that was about, but his eyes did the same thing. I looked into his eyes a while ago and they were blue. Now they are green... It's like his body can't make up it's mind on what color everything should be! It sure is a mystery...†But the woman wasn't paying attention. She was lost in the eyes of her son. Her one and only child. In fact, she had been staring into his eyes since she had asked the last question. Hmmmm, she said to herself, I feel like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, what I'm saying... There is an intelligence in his eyes that can only come with age and wisdom. What are you thinking, little one? I wish I could see into your head, my little Adrian... “Ma'am?†The doctor tried to get into her field of vision, but she was completely oblivious to him and everything around her. He smiled and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Meanwhile, in Radiant Gardens... "Well, well, well!" Braig hopped down off of the ledge he'd been sitting on. "What have he here?" "Leave it alone, Braig!" Even scowled, getting in between Braig and the large box that was being carted into the castle. "Is it for me? C'mon! Let me see!" "No! Get back!" "Tsk tsk tsk! Y'know, that's not being very nice!" "What are you going to do? Call for help in robbing a scientist?" "As if!" Braig pulled out one of his arrowguns and twirled it around as he hopped back up onto his ledge. "I'm just curious..." "And you know what they say about curiosity...?" "Yeah, yeah, it killed the cat, and whatever... But," he said, looking down the length of his arrowgun and then holstering it, "I ain't no ordinary cat!" "Just stay out of the way! Ienzo! Go notify Master Ansem of the arrival!" "Yes, sir." The young boy ran off into the castle through the Postern's door. "Shame he's not gonna see the end of this project..." Even whipped around and glared at Braig. "How do you know about that?!" "Come on, dude! Get with it! I've known about that ol' thing since it started!" He leaned down toward Even. "I got some reliable sources!" "That 'project,' as you call it, is not any of your concern! So keep out of it!" "Fine, fine, whatever you say..." And with that, he rolled backward once and hopped up, giving Even a sarcastic salute and disappearing into the town. Even, angered at Braig's knowledge of the project, continued overseeing the movement of the box into the castle's Postern... Flashforward: 20 years later, Midgar, Sector Five Slums... "Zack?" A pretty girl with brown hair tied up in a pink ribbon called out from a patch of flowers she was working on in the middle of a church in the slums. Midgar was about 150 feet above them, its polluted stink surrounding the church and permeating the air in the slums around it. But the smell never actually got inside the church -- maybe the flowers' fragrance was just enough to drive the smell away. A young, black-haired man with a large sword on his back was sitting by the door to the church, looking around at the slums. "Y'know, Aerith," he called back to her, "I could get used to this." "What? Sitting on your bum all day, doing nothing?" They laughed, enjoying the rare time that Zack got off from work. He was a SOLDIER, 1st Class, and, thus, had little time for R&R. He liked it here, though. It was almost enough for him to lay down his sword and give up this whole fighting the army of Genisis Copies that seemed to know just how to strike... Of course, they were clones of possibly the best SOLDIER operative within Shin-Ra. Well, technically not in Shin-Ra, anymore, as he did desert about a year ago... "Zack? What's on your mind?" Zack jumped. "Oops!" Aerith laughed, sitting next to him and grabbing his hand to hold. She lay her head on his shoulder guard and sighed. "I wish you didn't have all this damn work to do..." Zack looked at her funny. "That's a new side of you... Since when has my work ever bothered you?" She pulled away and looked him straight in his intoxicating blue, mako-spiced eyes. She normally couldn't resist melting on the inside when she did this, but this time, she wanted him to know how serious she was. "Since the beginning." "Oh." He looked away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I... I never thought you had any problem with it..." "Well, I do!" She stood now, and Zack knew he was in for it. "You go out there and get on the front lines and fight fight fight! All you can think about when you're out there is which enemy is going to be the biggest threat and how you can take him down! All I can think about is if you're going to come back! Not 'when' -- 'if!' I can't stand it...!" Zack jumped up when he saw tears coming to her eyes. She turned away, not wanting to show how upset she was, but he had already seen the emotion on her face. He wrapped her up in his arms and stroked her hair, shushing her as she let loose her tears into his shoulder. "I will never abandon you, you hear me? Never." He said quietly. She shook her head. "How can you be so sure?" "Because..." He let go of her and pulled out his sword. He twirled it around and put it back on his back, winking and pointing his finger at her. "I'm SOLDIER, 1st Class, Zack Fair! And I never break a promise!" She couldn't help it. She busted up laughing. "What? Was that too much?" Zack shrugged. Aerith recovered and put a hand on his shoulder. "One tip: never do that in front of a girl that you're trying to impress!" They laughed a while, then became somber again. After a few minutes of just standing, staring out at the slums, Aerith turned to Zack again. "Zack? Can I ask you something?" Without turning, he replied, "Shoot." "What happened to you 10 years ago?" Zack turned to her, frowning. "What do you mean? I was living in Gongaga, with my family. 6 years ago, I moved to the city to become SOLDIER..." "Was it just a dream...?" Aerith turned away, hand to her chin, thinking." I remember him. 10 years ago. I saw myself as I am now... But I was hollow. Dead to the world. Then he showed up. And he got sucked into that vortex... "Aerith?" Zack shook her shoulder gently. She snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. "Let's go see if that boy is staying out of trouble." She said. Then, she went out the door into the slums. "Aerith!" Zack followed slowly. "Hey! Aerith! Wait up!" "Come on, slowpoke! I'll leave you behind if you're slow!" He ran to catch up to her and they walked to the Market. Maybe, she thought to herself as they walked, Maybe that's something for anther time... End of Chapter One...
In this little game, you have to make a smash-up-remix of two or more songs in the audio editor, Audacity, by a certain date and get scores determined by the quality of your remix. As the Lead Judge of this game, I will be posting your score after you post an audio file of your remix. You can make a video of it, too, if you have time and you think that you are done. NOTE: I HAVE NO JUDGES. I AM IN THE PROCESS OF ASKING CERTAIN PEOPLE FOR THEIR HELP ON THIS MATTER, SO DON'T PM ME OR POST HERE ASKING TO BE A JUDGE. Here are the rules... 1.) There must be two distinct songs in the remix. You can do more, if you want, but at least TWO are required. You will be given a chance to explain what two songs you used when one of he judges, (most likely me), PMs you, asking you to explain it. If you can't explain it sufficiently, you will be disqualified, unfortunately. Thus, make it VERY clear in your entry what two songs you used! 2.) You must post your submissions in THIS THREAD. No linking, unless to a YouTube video or some equivilent. Any violations of this rule will result in disqualification if you do not edit the post with correct format within 24 hours of a warning from a judge. The deadline is one week after a post by me that declares that particular round open. We can't control if you start before then or if you use an already made remix to work off of. It's on you to not break the rules. 3.) Myself and the other judges will confer via Skype/MSN for three days after the deadline. After which time, we will decide on scores for all entrants and post them here. I will update this post with the winners and the scores of each entrant. 4.) Audacity, a free-to-use program, (Google it if you don't have it already), is the ONLY program that you can use! If we ask you what effects in Audacity you use, you have to be VERY specific as to the names of those effects! Using any other program will result in INSTANT DISQUALIFICATION if it is too obvious that more advanced software was used. 5.) MP3 or WAV only, please! Any other file type will not be accepted and will asked to be resubmitted. If it is not re-posted, then it will not be accepted. If you have a legitimate excuse for not using either of these two file types, then you will be pardoned. You must do so BEFORE SIGNING UP, however, so do it as your first action here. Just try to use these extensions, if you can. Here are some tips for contestants... 1.) REPITITION and LAYERING are your friends here. TIMING is key, too. If you can layer a stuttering drum beat over string instrumenals and have them line up well, you got yourself a great smash-up! 2.) Make sure that your layers are AMPLIFIED correctly! It won't do to have a great instumental if the drums drown it out, now would it? 3.) FEEL FREE TO SING. I could not tell you how impressive it would be to the judges if you sing over an instrumental song. Take for instance singing Sanctuary's lyrics over the drums of the same song, while layered over the chorus of Destati. It would be difficult, yeah, but it could be the difference between first place and last! Original lyrics welcome, too, just don't claim someone else's for your own. 4.) RECORD YOURSELF PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT. This is another thing that could win over the judges. Original or otherwise, playing an instrument is hard! If you have talent, then use it! That's it for now! Go over the rules, maybe think about what kind of song you want to do or what tracks you want to use. Once I get my judges set up, we'll start the sign-ups! Good luck to all! - Ol'Sephy
Well, I saw this on another site and thought that I'd try it out here, (providing it hasn't been done yet)... In this game, I will post a picture of a character. It can be from a cartoon, a live-action production, a video game, a book... It doen't matter. If it's a fictitious character, then it's allowed! Anyway, I post a picture and up to ten, (10), guesses can be made as to who it is. And this means IN TOTAL. That means if Person 1 guesses five, (5), times, Person 2 guesses once, (1), and Person 3 guesses four, (4), times, then that's ten guesses and I win. I get to post another picture. And it will continue until someone guesses right. Then, they get to post a pic of any character and everyone has to guess. It's like charades, in a way. Here's an example of a couple of scenarios... Spoiler Do you know the rules? xD So, I'll start off... Spoiler Have fun! - Ol'Sephy
I haven't played many RPGs outside of the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy sagas, so the Halls of Fame and Phail are going to be pretty empty for a while. At least until I've played more games... So, to get to it... BEST MAIN CHARACTER... A lot of people who know me would probably start thinking, "Oh, he's gonna pick Cloud. No question." Well, if you think that... Then you don't know me half as well as you think. Because, for my Best Main Character Award, I picked the one who stands head and shoulders above the competition, (yes, Felix, even you)... Link - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (NGC/Wii) I mean, he never says a word, yet has made an archenemy, saved the princess, killed countless bosses, travelled all over his world, AND, to top it all off, has been making fan-girls swoon since Ocarina of Time's release in 1998. Only one word can describe him: KICKASS. Runners up include Rydia from Final Fantasy IV, (NDS), Felix from Golden Sun: The Lost Age, (GBA), and Penelo from Final Fantasy XII, (PS2). WORST MAIN CHARACTER... Sadly, I had to choose this one... Isaac - Golden Sun/Golden Sun: The Lost Age(GBA) He doesn't talk at all in Golden Sun, but is a totally smart-ass loud mouth, (much like his best friend, Garet), in Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Plus, Felix is the a passionate guy in the first GS game, (specifically at the end, regarding Sheba's presence in Venus Lighthouse), but doesn't say a word in GS:TLA... Except NOT. He actually gets a single word during gameplay, (in Shaman Village, just before the Trial, he asks "Why?" regarding an aspect of the Trial), AND he makes a touching performance at the end, (see SPOILER below). Felix is just overall a better character. Hence the choice of Isaac for this. Also, Garet kinda kills the silent protagonist thing with his echoing of everything that you decide in-game. You pick "yes" or "no" to something and Garet has to elaborate as to what you just said. Why, Garet? Why? Spoiler When Isaac, Garet, and Kyle are standing at the edge of the crater where Mt. Aleph and Vale had once stood, Felix calls out to them and tries to reason with them. BEST DUNGEONS... Above all else in my eyes is a single game in a great series, (for the most part). FINAL FANTASY XII (PS2) The dungeons are simple enough that they're easy to understand, (except for Pharos Lighthouse -- hooooooo boy!), yet filled with enough monsters to keep your mind from focusing on getting from "Point A" to "Point B." The only dungeon that did NOT make ANY sense to me is the Sky Fortress Bahamut. I mean, you land in it after an awesome CG cutscene, only to see that you have about 5 minutes worth of dungeon to get through and only 10-15 some-odd enemies before the final bosses start. Kinda funny, if you ask me... But the last bosses make up for it -- Gabranth and Vayne's three forms, the last of which, (the Undying), is a BITCH to fight, as you can't see how much health it has left! Runners up were Golden Sun, (GBA), and The Legend of Zelda, (N64/NGC/Wii). WORST DUNGEONS... No question about this one... KINGDOM HEARTS: CHAIN OF MEMORIES (GBA/PS2) OH. MY. GOD. I freaking HATED how you had to have certain cards to unlock doors into new areas. If you don't have the right ones... Oops! Gotta go fight monsters IN A HORRIBLY-MADE CARD BATTLE SYSTEM to get them! I mean, come ON... Cards? I was sure Square Enix was better than this... And as the game progressed, you got stronger cards -- but they bosses had an unlimited amount, it seemed, while you could only have 99 at the most, and you NEVER got that much. Noooooooooo... That'd be to easy! Instead, you work your arse off trying to get cards, you almost die fighting monsters... Only to get a card OF THE WRONG TYPE with a card level OF ONE. Pathetic. Truly pathetic. Runners up included... Oh wait. ANOTHER KINDOM HEARTS GAME? Yeah, 358/2 Days didn't have DUNGEONS, per se... But the areas that you used were recycled from other games. The only area that was new, (besides the Neverland maps), was the Grey Area, where you accepted missions... BEST MUSIC... This one was hard. I had to make it a tie between two games... KINGDOM HEARTS II: FINAL MIX+ (PS2) CRISIS CORE - FINAL FANTASY VII (PSP) Kindom Hearts II: Final Mix+ had some of the best music I've ever been graced with hearing. Utada Hikaru is freaking hot, and the music fit the mood of the game SO WELL it was like you were a part of the action. The battle music made the real-time battle system all the more enjoyable. I swear, I'm glad that they have an OST for this game, 'cause it's awesome! Crisis Core has a lot of music that is recycled from the original FFVII, as well as some new music that is the same song done in different styles. This would normally be a down-side, but the way that they remastered the FFVII music and the way that they changed up that one song to fit multiple scenarios... Amazing. The music in this game illicited the right kind of emotion for Zack's story -- hope that is bittered with sorrow. A great OST, to be sure! Runners up included Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, (both GBA). WORST MUSIC... STAR OCEAN: 'TILL THE END OF TIME (PS2) Same composer as Golden Sun, but the music didn't match the mood of the surroundings, AT ALL. I mean, I understand that this is far, FAR in the future, (I mean, look at the intro!), but that doesn't mean that all the dungeons should have distorted guitar riffs for BGM. Plus, every dungeion had THE SAME EFFING MUSIC. It got annoying, even if you're still in the first dungeon! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD. A runner up were Marvel Ultimate Alliance, (PS2), as the sound quality just SUCKS in that game. BEST PLOT... LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (NGC/Wii) Flawless story. Granted, it DID use the same villian as ALWAYS, but what the hey, right? You were led to believe for a whole 1/3 of the game that Zant was the bad guy, but it was actually Ganondorf CONTROLLING Zant! Fancy that! They also made this one a continuation of Ocarina of Time, which was cool. Centuries later, and Ganondorf is still an *******... Great. Now I gotta stab him with the Master Sword and maybe stick a few bomb arrows down his throat... Persistent bastard... Runners up included Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Kingdoim Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. WORST PLOT... Wow. This game got two spots in the HALL OF PHAIL... STAR OCEAN: 'TILL THE END OF TIME (PS2) Recycle, reduce, reuse. Recycle: It's the same thing over and over -- you just learn new things about the characters along the way. Reduce: You lose interest in the stuff that WAS interesting, like how this game takes place in the distant future and that this kid can make swords using an escape pod. Reuse: And we do it again! Runners up included Final Fantasy XII, for the Star Wars rip off. Well, that's it for now! Hope you liked it! By thw way, these reviews are SOLELY MY OPINION. Play the games yourself to form your own. Also, if you want to debate something that I put here, please feel free. If you're polite about it, I don't see a problem with it... Laterz! - Ol'Sephy
Hey! Just wondering if anyone would be interested in battling me in Golden Sun: The Lost Age on VBA Link. VBA Link, for those of you who don't know, is a GameBoy Advance emulator that was modded by someone to have multiplayer capabilities. It can play locally on one computer or over the internet. I must warn you, though, that it is INCREDIBLY SLOW when playing a linked game. Just like a normal GBA, you can have up to four players. Check it out here: vbalink.info. Anyway, I would like people who are interested in GS:TLA battling over a VBA Link connection to PM me or post here. We'll set up a time that will work for both of us. I am usually available everyday but Thursday, pretty much all day. I got to bed late and get up late, so keep that in mind. I live in California, so that's PST. By the way, cheats for stats ONLY are allowed. No hidden Psynergies/enemy attacks allowed. You can, however, max out your stats however you want. I will be, that's for sure! Also, don't ask me where to get the roms. I won't tell. Google it. That's all I will say. Laterz! - Ol'Sephy
Hey, KHV-goers! I have been planning for a long, LONG time to make a LARPing video. It would entail multiple people from around KHV cosplaying as their favorite characters, (or just dressing up in random costumes), and LARPing on camera. We could all agree on the story and then, we'd act it out while taping it. After that, we could e-mail it/upload it so that I could get it, and BOOM! I'd edit the video with background music, (which I may ask some of you to get for me), and effects for the final product. In place of auditions, I would like anybody who's interested to send me an e-mail via my profile here on KHV with a description of the immediate area in which they would be LARPing, a picture of their costumes/who their costume is based on, and a couple ideas for a story. If you have a really poor quality camera, (like me, but that could change soon), then it will be up to you to make it look good enough to be in the production. If or when I ask you to possibly re-take a shot, please, PLEASE do not argue with me. I will be lenient the first couple of times, but a third or fourth infraction of this simple request will result in a "booting out" of the production. That doesn't mean that you can flame me or the rest of the crew afterwards, though. We will use your character's name, (possibly), in a couple videos at the most to let the audience know that he/she/they are no longer in the story. And this doesn't mean that I am kicking you out permanently. If you come to me with sincere apologies and promise not to do it again, then I might let you back in. Key word is "might." IF YOU WERE VULGAR OR DISRESPECTFUL TO ME IN EXCESS YOU WILL NOT RETURN. You were warned. ANYway... Here is an example of the e-mail that you should send me... Send in something like that to me or post it here. Either way, I will consider it for participation. I will be accepting up to, and no more than FOUR OTHER STORIES besides my own. That makes five storylines. We will have to describe somethings that happen off camera, such as a certain character from, say, the Midwest coming to visit my character in California. So, for a couple of videos, take a character out and have the others say that he/she went to go visit a guy named Adrian. Our stories must intertwine at some point, so we should pool our idea as to how to make it work well with the actors being so far apart... Hopefully, we can get a good product out. - Ol'Sephy Here is the list of submitted applications and their status... Red means that the application has been recieved and was NOT approved. Green means that the application has been recieved and WAS approved. Yellow means that the application has been recieved and is pending approval. Ol'Sephy That's it for now! Send in those applications!!!
Hey! Was wondering if anyone else on here has tried making D&D into a Final Fantasy version. I'm in the process of doing that right now and am looking for people who might want to help me! It would entail converting Powers and Abilities into Magicks and Technicks, converting Classes and Races to Final Fantasy Classes and Races, and building pre-made campaigns/encounters/characters. For example, making an encounter for the final battles of Final Fantasy VII or a campaign to get through the Sky Fortress of Bahamut from Final Fantasy XII or other such scenes from the various installations of the series. Anyone interested? . . . xD PM me for details/offers... - Ol'Sephy
This is my RP for Golden Sun, Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy VII. I have always wanted to know what would happen if these three worlds came into contact with each other, so... Meh. xD This is going to be a VERY complicated RP. You will have an inventory in your first post that you will need to update every so often, as well as a list of your known spells and your equipment. I will be assigning these things to you when you join and adding them to your inventory yourself. It will be up to you to update your first post to reflect this. I am also going to be a sort of Dungeon Master. If you haven't played Dungeons and Dragons, then I'll explain what this means. I will be creating obstacles and "bosses," so to speak for you as a player to overcome. You have a lot of freedom as to where you can go. As this game will span three worlds, (Weyard, Ivalice, and Gaia), there will be plenty of places for you to go. You have the choice. However, depending on where you go, you will encounter monsters, enemies, and bosses that will try to... Well, kill you. So, be aware. The system that I will use is simple: I will see what you do for your attack, and roll a certain set of dice to figure out damage and the like. It's like D&D over the internet. The dice that I will roll for you will be determined by what weapon you have. Your defense is taken into account when I have a monster, boss, etc. attack you OR when another player attacks you. You don't need to worry about that. I promise that I will play fair. I give you my word. I will also be playing a character. If you haven't guessed from my avatar, it will be Zack Fair. I will post a list of available characters below. Here are the rules for general RPing, as I want them to be followed in this RP: 1.) No using other people's characters without their express permission. This rule does not apply to such things as "small talk," or dialogue that doesn't affect that character's story. It may, say, inspire the owner of the character to do something, but it shouldn't FORCE them to do it. You can use characters if they are not being used, but only if I have put them in your general vicinity. PM me if you have a request for using a character a couple times and I'll see what I can do. But, if you DO use an unassigned character, please keep it short. I want to keep those open for people who want to join in! 2.) DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT counteract anything that I, the scenario creator, post as a challenge for the other characters. If I say that you are cursed and can't use magic of any kind, then there it is. YOU CAN NOT USE MAGICKS/PSYNERGY/MATERIA. If, at some point before that, you have a curative for this, (an Angaran Elixir or a party member who can cast Esuna or Vox), then, by all means, use it. But don't make your character have something that you didn't have before. This rule also applies to other characters. If THEY seal up your magic, (there will be conflicts, I promise), you can't do anything about that until you can use a curative for it or I say that it wore off. And, of course, the traditional rules of RPing apply. In this RP there will be some interesting, unorthodox rules, as well: 1.) You have the ability to have three members in your party. They each have a set list of spells and items that they can use. For example, say that my party is Vaan, Aerith, and Jenna. Vaan has two Quickenings, Aerith has her Level 4 Limit Break, and Jenna has 6 Earth Djinn and 3 Wind Djinn. Jenna can summon Judgement for massive Earth-based damage, Aerith can cure the party's ailments and fully heal HP/MP/PP, and Vaan can use massive Mist attacks for Fire or Wind/Thunder damage. That is how it works. The abilities for each specific game's characters are explained below. 2.) You can join up with another party for a stronger group. It will be up to the two owners to work out who handles what in this new, super party. At this point, keep in mind that joining another person's party slackens the first rule listed in the "Normal Rules" list. When you join another party, this is giving your partner the "express permission" mentioned above. Remember that. But this doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want to the other party. It just means that you have a little control over them. A LITTLE BIT. Don't go off and kill them. Just small things, like equipment changes and using them to bolster your party's abilities. Example: Aerith is in your party. Your partner's party has a KO'd character. So, your partner uses Aerith's healing abilities to revive the KO'd character. That about does it for the rules. Here's how the RP works. Here's the list of playable characters. NOTE: The three following "rules" are true unless otherwise stated... 1.) Each FF7 character has only their Level 1 Limit Break, (if applicable), and no materia. 2.) Each FF12 character starts out with NO Quickenings or Espers. You will obtain those through certain bosses that you might encounter throughout the worlds. 3.) Each GS character has no Djinn or Summons at the beginning. As with Espers and Quickenings, you will obtain these throughout the worlds. FINAL FANTASY VII... GOOD GUYS: Zack Fair -- Character taken by: Ol'Sephy Cloud Strife -- Character currently available. Aerith Gainsborough -- Character currently available. Tifa Lockheart -- Character currently available. Yuffie Kisaragi -- Character taken by: Ol'Sephy Barret Wallace -- Character currently available. Vincent Valentine -- Character currently available. Red XIII/Nanaki -- Character currently available. Cid Highwind -- Character currently available. Rufus Shin-Ra -- Character currently available. Reno -- Character currently available. Rude -- Character currently available. Tseng -- Character currently available. Elena -- Character currently available. Unknown Ex-Turk/Cissnei -- Character taken by: Ol'Sephy Reeve Tsuesti/Cait Sith -- Character currently available. BAD GUYS: Sephiroth -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Kedaj -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Loz -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Yazoo -- Character UNAVAILABLE. FINAL FANTASY XII... GOOD GUYS: Vaan -- Character currently available. Penelo -- Character currently available. Ashe -- Character currently available. Basch -- Character currently available. Balthier -- Character currently available. Fran -- Character currently available. Larsa -- Character currently available. Vossler -- Character currenly available. Reddas -- Character currently available. Reks -- Character currently available. Gabranth -- Character currently available. BAD GUYS: Vayne -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Judge Ghis -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Judge Bergan -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Docter Cid -- Character UNAVAILABLE. GOLDEN SUN/GOLDEN SUN: THE LOST AGE... GOOD GUYS: Isaac -- Character currently available. Garet -- Character currently available. Ivan -- Character currently available. Mia -- Character currently available. Felix -- Character currently available. Jenna -- Character currently available. Sheba -- Character currently available. Piers -- Character currently available. BAD GUYS: Saturos -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Menardi -- Character UNAVAILABLE.47 Karst -- Character UNAVAILABLE. Agatio -- Character UNAVAILABLE. ORIGINAL CHARACTERS... Adrian: A young boy from Rabanastre, which is in the world of Ivalice. He has pitch black hair and amazingly bright blue eyes. His parents died in the war between Nabradia and the Archadian Empire when Nabudis was destroyed by the magicite Shard from the Sun Cryst. His hatred for fighting is only a passing thought to his hatred for the Old Archadian Empire. When Lord Larsa took over after his brother's death, Adrian saw that this was going to be the start of something good. His weapon of choice is his sharp tongue. He prefers to sit back and heal his companions with his amazingly potent magicks. Character Abilities include the following... Every White, Green, and Time Magick spell available for sale at Yugri's Magicks in Rabanastre -- Yugri is his sister-in-law. Currently in hiding and UNAVAILABLE. Ador: A young man from Midgar, he bears a striking resemblance to Cloud. He carries a small cylinder with him that, when he taps into his power, turns into a large cannon that he controls using a smaller, hand-held version and an eye-patch that serves as a targeting system. Character Abilities include the following... A Level 1 Limit Break called All's End that rips open the universe to suck targets into the Void. Six magic spells as granted by materia that is set into his cannon: Cura, Fira, Blizzara, Thundara, Esuna, and Protect. Character currently indecisive and UNAVAILABLE. Rodax: Ador's twin brother, he bears a striking resemblance to Kedaj. He doesn't use physical weapons, but rather would use his strong magic to conquer foes. The downside is his unusually low MP, which doesn't allow for very much magic-casting... Character Abilities include the following... Level 1 and Level 2 Limit Breaks called Big Bang and Shatter. Big Bang creates a chemical imbalance in the target that causes a large, non-physical explosion from inside, tearing apart the target's and surrounding enemies' minds. Shatter strikes such a crushing blow to a critical part of the body that 90% of the body's bones crack, incapacitating and paralyzing the foe. The pain could be so great as to cause instant death/KO. 10 magic spells as granted by materia that is embedded into his arm: Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Reflectga, Scourge, Flare, Shellga, Protectga, Darkga, and Arise. Character currently indecisive and UNAVAILABLE. More characters coming soon!!! Well, here is the story... There were two other instances like this one. In the world of Ivalice, it was nearly identical to this one, only it was the heroes from that world who lent their ear to the Wise One. In the world of Weyard, however, the message was quite different. In Weyard, the Wise One appeared to the eight heroes who had fought to save their world from destruction by degradation. This group had lit the four Elemental Lighthouses and broken the seal on Alchemy, put into place many eons ago. But, as the Wise One explained to them when he appeared before them in Aleph Crater, the remnants of the great mountain where the secret of Alchemy had slept for centuries, there was a great many who had met their demise by falling off the edge of Weyard... Except, they didn't die. They were know to many diviners and prophets as the "Forgotten of Gaia Falls." They had become spirits who had somehow found their way back to the world and ripped holes in the universe to make pathways to other worlds. The Wise One saw the damage that this could do to the peoples of these worlds. So, he stepped forward, (so to speak), and called upon the greatest warriors he could find in the three worlds that had been connected so far. The Forgotten needed to be stopped. And so, the story began... FIRST POST Here is my starting equipment, items and skills. (NOTE: This is how yours should look. I will be sending you what you should be putting in your first post. COPY AND PASTE IT INTO YOUR FIRST POST. Anything that is modified other than spelling errors that I put in is unacceptable. Keep that in mind.) Zack Fair Level: 5 EXP: 0 Next Lvl. at: 500 EXP HP: 1500/1500 MP: 80/80 Accuracy: 2d20, 1d6 Attack: 2d20 Defense: 23 + 5 Evade: 5d10 + 10 Weapon(s): Buster Sword, (+1/2 damage to Critical Hits), (2 materia slots) Armor: Shoulder guards, (+5 to Defense and Evade); simple combat boots, (+5 to Evade) Accessory: Four Slots, (Allows for four extra materia to be equipped) Materia: (NONE) Items: (NONE) Other Skills: Chain Slash, (Attacks six consecutive times with weapon in hand, raising Attack value by 5 for each successful hit -- Rest time: 3 posts) Yuffie Kisaragi Level: 5 EXP: 0 Next Lvl. at: 500 EXP HP: 1000/1000 MP: 250/250 Accuracy: 3d20 +10 Attack: 1d20, 1d12 + 8 Defense: 18 Evade: 4d10 Weapon(s):Rising Sun, (+10 to Accuracy, 4 materia slots) Armor: Arm guard, (+8 to Attack, 2 materia slots) Accessory: (NONE) Materia: 3, granting 4 spells -- Steal, (Allows user to steal items at a given rate using Accuracy); Time, (Grants Slow and Haste spells); Throw, (Allows user to throw swords, lances, axes, and shuriken as ranged damage, raising Accuracy value by 10 when used) Items: 5 -- 3 Hi-Potions, (Restores 400 HP); 2 Hi-Ethers, (Restores 200 MP/PP) Other Skills: Level 1 Limit Break: Greased Lightning, (Slashes hard for an instant Critical Hit. Only available at 25% HP or 0 MP) Cissnei Level: 5 EXP: 0 Next Lvl. at: 500 EXP HP: 2000/2000 MP: 200/200 Accuracy: 3d20, 1d10 + 13 Attack: 1d20, 1d10, 1d6 + 4 Defense: 10 + 20 Evade: 4d20 Weapon(s): Chakram, (+13 to Accuracy and +4 to Attack, 5 materia slots) Armor: Bullet-Proof Vest, (+20 to Defense, 2 materia slots) Accessory: Precious Watch, (Allows for 6 extra materia to be equipped) Materia: 2, granting 2 spells -- Throw, (Allows user to throw swords, lances, axes, and shuriken as ranged damage, raising Accuracy value by 10 when used) Cura, (Restores 350 HP to all allies) Items: 9 -- 1 Elixir, (Fully restores HP/MP/PP); 3 X-Potions, (Restores 1000 HP); 5 Hi-Potions, (Restores 400 HP) Other Skills: Lucky Stars, (Decreases foes' Attack values by 10 for 2 RP posts) FIRST STORY POST Zack stood there and listened to the Wise One spell out his plan to them. He was happy to be alive, yeah, but he could tell that Cloud was going to need some time to get used to the fact that he was back, even if it was just for a little while. But Cloud didn't know that this was a limited time thing. He just hoped that it didn't crush him like it was going to crush Aerith... As the Wise One left them to decide who will go with whom, Zack turned back to Cissnei. She smiled for the first time since seeing him again. "I want to go with you, Zack." She said simply. "Alright." "Hey there, a minute!" Zack turned. It was... Her?! What the heck? That treasure hunting girl? "You remember me?" She said presently. "How could I forget? The Great Ninja Yuffie -- Hero of Wutai!" "That's right! I didn't realize that this Zack guy that I'd heard of from Cloud was YOU! Wow, shocker, right?" "I guess..." "Well, I gotta keep an eye on you. I don't want you goin' and messin' with Wutai again!" "Whoa whoa whoa!" Zack put his hands up in protest. "I'm not working for Shin-Ra anymore! THEY the ones who put me up to that!" "Yeah, yeah..." They both laughed. "Cissnei, I bet you never met Yuffie, huh?" Zack said, turning to her. "I've heard a lot about her, though!" "Huh?" Yuffie looked shocked for a moment, then laughed her "confident laugh." "Oh, uh, of course you have! I'm the Great --" "We heard you the first hundred times." Cissnei said, laughing. "Oh, haha..." "Hey, everyone!" Tifa called. "Aerith would like to say something!" They all gathered around Aerith and she spoke. "I just wanted you all to know that we should keep our groups small as we try to look for the pathways to the other worlds. Two or three people should be good. Right Zack?" "Yeah, that's about right." Zack pondered it for a moment. "'Cause we don't want to be crowded too much while we're searching. Who knows what we'll find once we get there! So, I'm thinking me, Yuffie, and Cissnei, any objections?" Nobody had a problem with it. So, as the rest of the group tried to divide up into groups of two or three, Zack and his two companions left, looking to try and find a way to Weyard........ SAMPLE BATTLE POST And it would keep going until somebody won. Remember that I multiply the final Attack Roll value by 10. So, if your character rolls a 70, it will actually be 700 HP worth of damage! Yays! There. That should be enough to get you started! And try to leave your attack RPing open. What I mean is this: if you use an attack, then don't make the target have a specific reaction. I'll do that. xD Happy RPing!!! - Ol'Sephy
I had a thought when I was going through the DarkDays Theme Released thread... I know that suggesting new themes is on the "rejected suggestions" list, but it was also stated that this is "not necessarily denied," (as quoted in a post by Snake Eyes/Repliku in the Rejected Suggestions thread). So, as this is the case, I was thinking that the older themes that were used in the last version of vBulletin could be modified to work in the current version. Also, if the members of KH-Vids.NET helped out, (as in, a few coders, graphic designers, and testers), couldn't they come up with a theme to be used as a secondary option for those who don't like the themes we have now? I know that a common problem with the last theme, (FunKy2.0), was that it was too bright for many people's eyes, which made them turn the brightness down on their monitors specifically for this site, and, eventually, complain. I have also read in the release thread for DarkDays, (as awesome as it is in most other ways, RvR), that someone said that they don't like how the colors of this new theme don't match with very many colors outside of what is used in the banner. So, many profile customizations and signatures don't "look good" in this new color scheme... What I am proposing is similar to what was proposed in the thread that is linked under "Suggestions regarding skins" as "Multiple skins" in the "Rejected Suggestions" thread. I want to gather up a few members who have coding experience, (like RvR, but not necessarily him, seeing as he worked so hard, already), and graphic design experience, (like Misty), and make a few new skins for the site, to be used as secondary options to the new DarkDays, which would remain the default. I was thinking of a Heartless theme, a Nobody theme, an Organization theme, a theme with the 7 Princesses, a Castle Oblivion theme, a theme for each world... That kind of thing. Heck, we could even do a Final Fantasy character theme! The possibilities are as endless as the stories that are created from the Kingdom Hearts saga, itself! And we don't have to make one for EVERYTHING that we think of, either. We can pass it by RvR/Identity Theft for approval before we make any themes, to begin with... So, Admins, Mods, and other members of KHV... What do you think? - Ol'Sephy
Okay, I've come across this a lot in my life. I'm just wondering what your guys' opinions are on it... The following paragraph contains spoilers from Cirque du Freak, by Darren Shan. I wrapped the whole thing in "SPOILER" tags to be safe: Spoiler When I was reading the Cirque du Freak series, I found myself listening to a lot of Live, Creed, and Evanescence -- three bands who all pride themselves in making meaningful music. So, when I got to the part in the middle of the series when Mr. Crepsley dies, I was listening to Evanescence's song, Tourniquet. After that, and on-going today, whenever I hear that song, (or think about it in any way), I think about the unfortunate end of Mr. Crepsley. What do you think about this? Does it happen to you? Here's an explanation, if you need it: You experience a strong emotion while reading a book or other form of text. During the time that you are experiencing this emotion, there is a song playing on the radio, on your headphones, through your computer, etc. At a time when you are no longer feeling the strong emotion, you turn on the music and it happens to be the song that was on while you were having that strong feeling. You feel it again, maybe a little weaker, but you remember all too well why you felt it in the first place and the cause of that emotion comes back like a tidal wave, strengthening that emotion. From then on, every time you hear that song, your mind brings back that emotion, and it never gets weaker. Or at least, not at first. This will go on for years to come. Sound familiar? Then please, enlighten me on what I don't know about it. I'm curious to know more about the way people's minds and hearts work.(LMAO, like Ansem the Wise and Xehanort -- which one will i end up like, I wonder?) Any help is appreciated! - Ol'Sephy
DISCLAIMER: First of all, I must warn you that this story uses strong language and suggestive themes. Not TOO bad, but you get my point. Be aware of this while reading. If you find such things offensive, then don't come crying to me when you get offended. I warned you -- you shouldn't have read it if you don't like what it contains! Okay, a while back, I started writing some Kingdom Hearts fan-fictions that, apparently, were very good. I didn't get much feedback in the threads, themselves, (the two threads in question are lost somewhere in the forums), but I got a LOT of PMs saying how much of a talented writer I was. Some people even offered to host my stories on another site! But, being the idiot that I was at the time, I declined. I should have realized that ANY publicity is GOOD publicity... Regardless, those two stories, (links to them are in my siggy), will be revived in due time. I still have am incredibly elaborate storyline to play out. If you've read them, then good! But anything that you may have thought about Adrian is about to be blown to pieces. Seriously. And, I must say, Chaotic Brink is about to get veeeeeeeeeeeery interesting, indeed... But enough about that. If you wish, read them. I will be making those stories more "available" soon by making each chapter a new post. For now, however, I want to tell you a story that takes place in Final Fantasy VII's storyline... The storyline of FFVII extends over twelve years. That's right! If you haven't noticed that, then let me explain. PSP's Crisis Core, the first part of the story, (chronologically), happens seven years before the original release, Final Fantasy VII, for the PSX/PS1. Then, the next part of the story, the CG movie, Advent Children, (alternately, Advent Children COMPLETE for Blu-Ray), takes place two years after that. That's nine years, so far. Then, the "final chapter in this tale of life," Dirge of Cerberus, was Vincent Valentine's story, taking place three years after AC/ACC. That's twelve years. If Cloud was 21 in FFVII, that means that he was 14 at the beginning of CC and 17 when he and Zack went on missions. So, he was 23 in AC/ACC, meaning that he was 26 in DoC. So, it is a long story, right? But what about the "secret ending" to FFVII, which is also the beginning of AC/ACC? It takes place 500 years after FFVII, (495 years after the whole story ends). The scene shows Red XIII, (or Nanaki, if you prefer), with two of his cubs running through the Wasteland toward Midgar's ruins, on which Edge City was built. When the giant ruins come into view, they are covered in plant life: trees and bushes; grass and flowers. A flock of fowl fly overhead, evidence that the Lifestream has begun to flow normally in the area again. The bay that had once been full of polluted water and dead animals was washing up to the edges of the city, pure and blue. We don't know anything of the people who live there, now. Only that the city is being filled with life and color -- things it was lacking in the time of Cloud, Tifa, and the other heroes who made this sight possible... But, after 500 years, how many of them are left? None of them are alive except Nanaki and, (quite possibly), Vincent. Questions are left unanswered. Mysteries, unsolved... And those will be the subject of another tale. This story, which takes place in Edge City during the time when the flowers and other plants grow freely. When animals flock to the area, as opposed to scattering away. When people could actually live, love, and be at peace. This is the story of Ador Strife -- the great-great-grandson of Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart... Enjoy! - Ol'Sephy LOVE WITHOUT BOUNDS Chapter One 7th Heaven Bar Central District Edge City "STRIFE DELIVERY Service! You name it, we deliver!" As Ador Strife listened to his next customer's request for his services, he mentally checked off all the things that he done for the day. He was very good at listening to everything that was said, while also being able to think about something completely different. Probably another trait that he had inherited from his great-great-grandparents, Cloud and Tifa. He was proud of the Strifes who had come before him. Even his parents were not something he was ashamed of, unlike how other people his age viewed their parents. He respected his father and loved his mother, both of whom had run their respective businesses in tandem. 7th Heaven bar was now run by his sister, Rose, who was the best barmaid that the establishment had ever seen. And Strife Deliver Service was his charge. He used the Neo-Fenrir, only a single step up from the founder of the company, Cloud. Cloud had once used a Hardy Daytona, the very first vehicle manufactured by Shin-Ra to only make use of two wheels. Then, after the Fall of Shin-Ra, Cloud abandoned the Daytona for a new model of motorbike -- the Fenrir. It was not originally called the Fenrir, though. It was called something else, but nobody cared what that was. All anyone cared about was that Cloud Strife had a personalized model called Fenrir. And the name stuck. Cloud's bike had been customized to accomodate his famously large, disassembling sword, the First Tsurugi. Reeve Tuesti, the Director of the WRO, (World Restoration Order), had had it built specifically for Cloud. To "keep him out of trouble," he had said. Now, many people have Fenrir-like bikes that had everything that the original had had. Well, except for the slots for a huge sword that breaks into multiple OTHER swords... The WRO had dissolved after the Omega Crisis, which happened five years after the Fall of Shin-Ra. The Director saw that world was on the road to rejuvenation and saw fit to allow the next "government" to take his place. Now, there was no ruling company or order. The city of Edge had taken up the practice of democracy, the form of government that was used by the other, smaller cities and towns across the globe. After this relinquishing of power to the people, the WRO became known as the IMCE, (the Industrial Manufacturing Company of Edge). They were still around, inventing easier ways of life for the people through technology and science. Mako energy is a thing of the past as the IMCE discovered how to harness the power of the sun and the wind and the countless rivers around the world. Even crude oil was barely used! Everything was solar-powered, and the Planet thanked the people for this. It was healthy, comforting. Anyway, back to Ador's bike, there were three newer models that were available to the public, all seemingly faster and sturdier than the Neo-Fenrir. The Nova-Fenrir, the model immediately after the Neo, was sleeker, with smaller design and a much more powerful punch. The Ultima-Fenrir was the epitome of automobiles when it came out. It was the same size as the Nova, but packed an incredibly stronger engine. It also was the first to sport a shell that extended over the driver, making for easier transport in the rain. Then, just when people thought that the idea of the motorbike had reached the prime of its life, the Ultima+ was released. It was so expensive to make, however, that only 50 of them were ever built. It ran off of solar power, while also being powered by the rush of air that blew past it while in motion. Thus, it had a never-ending supply of thrust. You could drive thing for days on end and it would never slow down, stop, or overheat. And, the part that was the highlight of its design was how it could actually collapse in on itself to become as small as a large backpack. It had straps that could connect to the collapsed form and the person could take it everywhere. If they were to drive into the mountains, they could drive as far as they could, then collapse the bike and carry it. When they could ride again, they would simply press a button and Voila! Instant motorbike! Ador didn't want all of this flashy stuff, though. Plus, the Neo was the last Fenrir bike to have the ability to be customized with the slots for First Tsurugi. So, he customized it himself and put in the engine and the shell from an Ultima. (He would have used one from an Ultima+, but he would get assassinated if he even thought of taking one apart.) So, with the combination of the Neo-Fenrir's design with a Fenrir's slots for his sword, (whish was passed down through five generations of his family), and the shell and engine from an Ultima-Fenrir, he had a suitable mode of transportation for his job. Speaking of which, he was just finishing up with his current customer and was about to head out. He hung up the phone and scratched his spiky, black hair. What was he forgetting...? "Ador!" His sister was calling from downstairs. "Do you have any more deliveries today?" Shit. He mentally slapped his forehead. It's her birthday today... He tried to play it cool. "Uh... Just one!" He called back as he picked up his keys and pulled on his gray cloak. It was looking like rain. "How long will that take? Is it here in the city?" He thought about it. It was in New Nibelheim, the city that was rebuilt from the ashes of his great-great-grandparents' hometown. He didn't like the stories about how it came to be destroyed, as it had to do with someone who he'd rather not think about. But that's where he needed to go. He could deal with that, regardless. Problem was, it would take at least seven hours to get there with the package, which he had to pick up at the Chocobo Farm near Edge, and a little less than six hours to get back. He would have to stay in New Nibelheim over night so that he didn't get tired on the way back and crash into a rock or drive off a cliff. And, even if he came back immediately, it would another thirteen hours until he got home. She would be asleep by then... "Ador?" She would come upstairs and see him panicking if he didn't think of something soon... "Uh, yeah! About..." He couldn't lie to her. He'd just have to cancel the delivery. "Y'know what? Never mind. I'll cancel it." "Ador? You okay?" She started coming up the stairs. He could tell her the truth. It wouldn't hurt. He grabbed the phone and hit the redial button. The phone dialed as Rose came in. She smiled as he told the customer that he'd have to wait until tomorrow. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your business!" Before hanging up. He turned to her. "Alright. What shall we do for your special day..." He walked over to her and stood in front of her. She had been begging thier parents to take her to see the Northern Cave with Barret Wallace IV, the great-great-great-grandson of Cloud's companion, who bore the same name. The Strife family line was stonger than the Wallaces', as Cloud had been a SOLDIER experiment. He hadn't actually been in SOLDIER, the elite fighting force of Shin-Ra, but he had been mortally wounded by... Him. That evil bastard who had killed so many innocents. Anyway, Cloud had been hurt badly, as had his friend, Zack Fair, who actually was a SOLDIER, 1st Class. They had both been bathed in large amounts of mako, making them a higher level of human. SOLDIER members are showered in a little bit of mako. Cloud and Zack, however, soaked in it... For over four years. That's gotta do a little bit of something to you, and no mistake! Presently, Rose was staring expectantly at Ador as he paced slowly in front of her, pretending to think about what he should do for her birthday... "Aha!" He cried suddenly, making Rose jump. "I got it!" He turned to her. "We'll go..." Her eyes glowed. "Yes...?" "To..." "Uh-huh...?!" "The Golden Saucer!" She stared at him, then down, looking crest-fallen. He laughed. "Pack your things. We're going north." She looked up at him with such happiness and glee that she looked like she was going to melt. "Really?!" "Yep! Go call Barret. He's coming, too." "Oh, my GOD!" And she took off out of the office, carreening down the hall and into her room. Ador just smiled. And, that night, they three of them piled into the family car and drove to the Airport on the outskirts of Edge. As Ador watched Rose flirting with the young man, Barret IV, he suddenly got a chill. An image flashed into his mind of a girl with brown hair and a pink bow... "Could it be...?" He muttered as they all filed into the airship's passenger bay, "Could it really be..." "Aerith?"
Well, I think I've just realized that I am one of those poor saps who falls in love with someone online after having a broken relationship with someone in "real life." Here's my story... I joined KHV almost a year ago and, around the beginning of the year was taken in by the [KHV] 358/2 Days Fandub Crew. I stuck with them through thick and thin, making friends, supporting my new friends, contributing to the dub, coming up with solutions to problems... You get the picture. But, I got one thing that I didn't bargain for. As many of you have probably been witness to, relationships can suck. I mean, MAJORLY BAD times, right? So, I think that it goes without saying that any guy in his late teens who has any charisma or assertiveness can go out and attempt to get a girlfriend. Apparently, I'm more physically attractive than I thought, because a girl who I had met once or twice saw me at a cafe/market on my computer, playing MapleStory and decided to come over. She wasn't the picture of my "perfect partner." Heck, she was a ways away from that! But, as I was 18 and, (gasp), had never had a girlfriend before, (I lived in a group home for 90% of my life, so you can't blame me), I started getting a little giddy when she started hitting on me. I kept blushing and giggling like an idiot as she kept brushing her knees against mine. We hooked up a little less than a week later. That was in August of 2008. In November, we broke up. She had her issues, and I had mine. Thing was, I felt fine about it. The relationship had been growing more and more distant for the last few weeks and we both decided to separate. Two weeks after we broke up, I started really feeling the hurt. At the end of those two weeks, I was in a crisis house and she was in a mental hospital. We had both gone slightly insane after we went our separate ways. So, the week of Thanksgiving was spent in a crisis house for me. I got out the Saturday after and stayed at a friend's house. Then, I went home. Done. I was still hurt. But I was fine. I would live. In January/February of 2009, Mike, (Reporter/Video Producer for KHV), started a project that piqued my interest. It was a fandub group that would dub the Japanese scenes from the then upcoming release, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. I joined, as I pride myself in being able to act fairly well. I met all kinds of people. Mike and I, as well as several others, starting chatting and planning right off the bat. It was great! Then, near the beginning of summer, some things started happening, not only with the dubbing group, but in my life, as well. I had been single for going on six months. I had jokes with people about how I'd get my "perfect partner" as my next girlfriend. I didn't. I had known a girl for a while who was going out with someone who I thought was a friend, (please, don't ask). They had been going out for a while, but, like me and my first partner, this girl and her first partner were starting to grow apart. So, they broke up. Then, as I had hung out with the guy for a while before the two had been together, I started hanging out with the girl. We fell in love and are still together. But, even in love there might be problems. I, apparently, am a little too flirtatious. I just realized a few days ago why it was that I hadn't been updating things on my forum accounts and MySpace/Facebook, etc. I have a crush on someone who doesn't come on much anymore. She was fun to talk to and I'm starting to realize that I am obsessed with her. It's not like I'm going to track her down, or anything creepy. She's fascinates me. I don't know how many of you have seen the movie "American Beauty," but I feel a lot like Ricky must have felt about Jane. Minus the creepy video recording crap. Hell, take the camera out, completely! At one point during the movie, Jane confronts Ricky and says, "You were the creepo who was video taping me last night." Ricky just smiles and says something like, "Don't take it personally. I find you interesting." And he walks away. That sums up how I feel about this girl. It sometimes comes across as, "Whoa! What the hell? That's creepy!" I can assure you -- it's not. So, I have three questions that I'd like to leave open to you, the forum-goers of KHV: 1.) How can I keep from getting into harmful relationships? I want to meet new people and maybe become close to some of them, but I don't want to get hurt again. My very first girlfriend was kinda, shall we say, "unstable." I don't plan on dating a nut-case again. Unless they're lovable. *glances at current girlfriend* 2.) How can I deal with the emotional spiral downward after breaking up with someone with whom I've just had a really intimate/emotional relationship? Once again, I don't want to get hurt that badly again, if I can help it. 3.) What should I do about my "crush?" I know that crushes are natural, but what about when you're already with another person? I want to be faithful to my girlfriend, but I have feelings for someone else! I have so little experience with this kind of feeling that it's like being lost in the woods on a moonless, starless night with no map or flashlight. By the way, I refuse to tell who it is to anyone I don't trust, so keep these things in mind before you ask: 1.) Are you in my friends list? 2.) Did you know me in March of 2009? 3.) Do I talk to you on a regular basis? That should about do it! If I have anything else, I'll just either post it in this thread or edit this post! Discussion opened! - Ol'Sephy
Hey! I am here to offer up a possibly cool idea for artworks of the future. The following three pictures are official Square Enix works, (one completely CG, one render, and one that I think is half-and-half), that I altered in an art program called "The Gimp" so that they are either completely different characters or different versions of the same character. Here is the first: This is Antiform Riku. I took the Kingdom Hearts II version of Riku, used the paint fill tool to create the pixelated-looking effect on his legs, then airbrushed over him, making him look shadowy. I used a slanted version of the airbrush to make the "tendrils of darkness" around him. Then, as a finishing touch, I added two yellowish dots for his eyes. Here is the second: This is the main character of my fan-fiction, Kingdom Hearts: Final Master. He is Sora's older brother, age 19 in this version. This originally was KH2 Sora, but I altered it to be Adrian. The very first thing that I did was take off some of the hair, (to make it look different), then colored it silver. I used the paint fill tool to fill in some areas and the paint brush to give him what I guess could be the visible parts of a skin-tight suit, (that is underneath his clothes), on his arms and legs, making little "tears" and drawing scars on both arms and his left leg. I used the same paint fill trick on some parts that I used on Antiform Riku. I also cut him out using the paths tool and the "Make selection from path" button. I put him on a transparent layer and made a new layer to go underneath him. I filled the bottom layer with the teal color, then made swirls in lime green. Then, I put swirls on the top layer, (the transparent one with the original image on it). I also cut out Sora's signature crown necklace and filled in the spaces underneath it. As a nice, added touch, I edited out his eyes and drew them back to look as though they were closed. After that, added some text and voila! Adrian of Destiny Islands. Here's the last one: Kingdom Hearts I Sora looks awesome already, so it was a bit of challenge to make him look as good or better than before. This is how I visualized him for my fan-fiction, Final Master. I erased most of his Keyblade, (in the story, he doesn't have one), and re-drew the parts that I wanted. I used the same old paint fill tool trick on some of his clothes. I gave him the same color scheme as Adrian, just to keep it consistent. I also, as an added little "topper on the cake," so to speak, (no pun intended here), I erased some of his hair and hid it underneath a cap. I liked the idea. Well, there they are. =D If you want to, PM me with any suggestions of characters that you would like to see. What I mean is if you want to have a character changed into another, original character, give me a color scheme and "personality" and I'll do my best to make it. I'm still quite new to this, however, so don't expect anything too... Flashy. But, you can consider this as a kind of "preview" of what I will be doing... Thanks! - Ol'Sephy <<<UPDATE!!!>>> Here is another image that I recently did... This is Shadow Cloud Strife. He is conceptually the same thing as Antiform Riku, (above). I just thought that it would be kinda cool and added it for that reason. I'll continue to update this thread with new pictures as they come into being! - Ol'Sephy
Wow. Here I go again, huh? I just can't help it. I can't stop the creative juices that fuel me!!! Well, this is just a little test. An experiment, if you will. (LOL at the Vexen quote.) I am going to be taking one of my own fan-fictions and adding onto the story. This is going to be a lot like Chain of Memories and Reverse/Rebirth. This is the story as told in Kingdom Hearts: Final Master from a different perspective. I have made jokes about "Aerith's long lost older brother." I will now be giving him his own story, which will take place alongside Adrian's story, the main plot of Final Master. Once again, as was the case for Final Master, this character is based upon myself. In fact, I am putting myself into the story! Kinda narcissistic, I know, but I can't help it! Anyway, here it is........ Prologue... Infinite in mystery Is the Gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, And take to the skies. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest. Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII Loveless, Act One “Congratulations, ma'am,†the doctor said over the wailing of the baby in his arms to the woman on the hospital bed, “It's a boy!†The woman looked up as the doctor said this and a small tear came to her eye. Her long, shiny, brown hair was disheveled and her beautiful, green eyes were dulled with weariness, but she still had a joyous glow around her. Her face was now contorting with a mixture of weariness and pure, unmistakable ecstasy. She wiped her face on her hospital gown and held out her arms to her beautiful baby boy. The doctor gently placed the child in her arms and, suddenly, the baby stopped crying. The eyes that gazed back at her were green like his her's but the sparse hair on the top of his head was pure, jet black. The mother looked up at the doctor and cocked her head to one side. “Why is his hair this color? My husband's hair is blond and mine is brown... Wait. Does it have something to do with, um, what's it called...†“Recessive genes.†The doctor smiled. “That is what you mean, but I'm not sure that that's it...†“What? What do you mean?†“When he was born, I was sure that his hair was blond. Then, when he was being cleaned, it looked brown. Now, it is black! I'm not sure what that was about, but his eyes did the same thing. I looked into his eyes a while ago and they were blue. Now they are green... It's like his body can't make up it's mind on what color everything should be! It sure is a mystery...†But the woman wasn't paying attention. She was lost in the eyes of her son. Her one and only child. In fact, she had been staring into his eyes since she had asked the last question. Hmmmm, she said to herself, I feel like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, what I'm saying... There is an intelligence in his eyes that can only come with age and wisdom. What are you thinking, little one? I wish I could see into your head, my little Adrian... “Ma'am?†The doctor tried to get into her field of vision, but she was completely oblivious to him and everything around her. He smiled and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. I remember it all so clearly. The day the Keyblade Bearer was born. I felt the wave of magically charged energy wash past me, on its way to alert those who could feel it of this great event. I smiled as I watched all of this as if from above. I waved my hand through the Mist and focused my eyes on my surroundings. The Lhusu Mines were not the nicest set of caves for a single traveler to wander. Luckily for me, the thick Mist that enveloped Site 7 and the Staging Area was an excellent deterrent for fell creatures who would try to make a snack of me while I spoke with the Lifestream. The bluish rock sparkled as the Mist swirled around and around, reflecting the light and showing me the spirits of those trapped within it. I strode over to gaping hole in the wall that led outside. It looked to have cut roughly by a massive sword. Or, perhaps, multiple, smaller swords. I smiled as a heard a snuffling behind me. As I turned, I heard the voice of an old man, trying not to attract my attention. "Damn you a thousand times over! Enkidu!" The voice didn't seem to have a source. But, of course, the Mist did have that effect on sound. "Return to my side!" I saw an over-sized wolf look around for a moment, then look at me. I guessed that the wolf was Enkidu. It took a hesitant step toward me, then the voice spoke again, halting it. "Nay! Come to me!" The wolf turned a little to the right, as if looking over its right shoulder. It then turned around and started sniffing something at the entrance to the Site. I walked over to the wolf and saw an extremely large, old man trying to drag away from the entrance and out of sight of me. I stopped and watched the two fight for a moment, amused. This old kook didn't even notice me. "Come, Enkidu! You must --" He froze and looked slowly over at me. He had a scarf wrapped around the lower part of his face and seemed a little lumpy around his mid-section. There were two large lumps in his coat-folds that looked like they could be extra arms. He stood to his full height, (which was a good nine feet tall), and proved my comparison of the lumps on his sides much more true than I could have hoped for. Two extra arms unfolded from his sides, and then another two. The lumps were extra arms! "Aw, crap." I muttered as the man drew a katana for each arm. Six katanas against my magic? Not likely that I'll win. "Long have I gone without food nor rest as I search for the Sword of Legend!" The man yelled, brandishing his katanas at me, "I am the mightiest swordsman in all Ivalice! You are nothing compared to the Great Gilgamesh!!! Your lack of a blade will be your undoing!" And he charged at me, slashing like a madman. I easily sidestepped him. He was surprisingly predictable. He ran headlong into the wall behind me, falling onto his rear. I turned around as I heard a growl from Enkidu and fell backward to dodge his lunge. He crashed into Gilgamesh as he attempted to get up. "Damn you a million times over, Enkidu! Fly, you clumsy dog! Fly!" Gilgamesh got up and charged me again. I jumped as high as I could to dodge him. He ran right underneath me, crashing into another wall. He got up again, Enkidu at his side. "Blast you! I've fought worse!" And he sheathed a katana, reaching behind himself to the sheathes on his back. I groaned as I saw what came out of that sheath. "The Buster Sword?!" I yelled, but stopped dead when I saw the character that was written on it. It was a foreign symbol that read, "fake." I busted up laughing. "You dare mock me?! I will crush you! Enkidu! Prepare for a juicy feast for dinner! This fool's bones will make a fine mean for you!" And, once more, he charged me, bringing the Buster Sword down upon my head... Well, he would have, if I hadn't cast a Haste spell on myself while he had been ranting! He spun around to see me standing there, smiling away. He roared and did something that really took me by surprise! He actually threw the Buster Sword at me like a boomerang! I ducked just in time, barely inches away from getting my head chopped off. I lunged underneath Gilgamesh's attacks and palm-thrust him in the gut. The arm that had thrown the Buster Sword went straight down to his stomach, therefor completely missing the Buster Sword as it flew back at it. The large hilt of the blade flew around and clocked him right in the forehead. His katanas all flew out of his hands and he fell backward. The Buster Sword flew straight up into the air as Gilgamesh landed on his back, arms splayed out. The Buster Sword came spinning back down, the deadly edge of its blade ready to rip Gilgamesh in half. Lucky for him, I caught it as it was about the puncture him. I had jumped over him, grabbing the handle as I went by it. I landed on his other side, Sword out behind me. He gasped and sat up, holding his chest. He looked around, wondering what had happened to the blade that was about the slaughter him. He turned around and saw me pointing the blade at him. He jumped up and yipped like a dog, Enkidu doing the same. I smiled. "You gonna take this? It's kinda heavy." I said, flipping the handle around so that it faced him. He looked at me out of the sides of his eyes. Then, he lunged forward, grabbing the Sword and then jumped back. "Why didn't you let my own blade finish me?" He asked, sheathing the Buster Sword and picking up his katanas. "'Cause then I'd have a huge, bloody mess in my living space." I said, grinning. "I wouldn't like having to drag a body with your mass over to that hole and dumping it off. Plus, I think your little wolf buddy'd kill me if I tried. He'd want to eat you first." "Pardon me?" Gilgamesh looked at me funny. "My companion wouldn't perform such an act of betrayal! Enkidu is --" "A wolf," I finished for him, "In all actuality. Do you honestly think that he'd let a meal your size slip by? Not a chance, buddy!" "Hmph." Gilgamesh nodded and put his last katana away. "Perhaps you speak the truth. I would like to believe otherwise..." "Don't get all depressed, now! I'm just stating the facts! Now, Mr. Gilgamesh... What brings you to my humble abode?" "I am searching for a Blade of Legend. Scoured have I the furthest marches, east and west. And now my search brings me here." "Uh... Okay... What kind of 'Blade of Legend' is this?" "A Blade of great worth and power. It is said that the wielder of this Blade shall fear no man, spell, or beast. Not even Death can withstand the power of this Blade..." "And what if someone already has it?" "Then I shall challenge him! I will make that Blade my own!" "But what about it being this incredibly powerful Blade that nobody can defeat?" Gilgamesh fell silent and stared at me. We stood there for a couple moments. "Damn it all to hell!" He bellowed, breaking the silence and making me jump. "I shall have this Blade, no matter the cost!" "Geez! Calm down! I just meant --" "Argh! We shall see! Any fool who dares steal my dream shall meet a dire end, indeed! Come, Enkidu! Our search continues!!!" And he pulled out an amulet that started to glow. A portal opened in the air. I froze for a moment, then jumped forward at him. "Wait!" I grabbed one of his arms and he stopped. "Where does this lead?!" "To another world, boy! Now release me so my search can --" "Which world?!" I screeched, desperate. Please, let this be the one...! "You sincerely wish to depart from this world? You would follow me?" "Just tell me!!" "It is a world with a grand city, fallen to ruin. A great calamity fell from the skies long ago --" "YES!!!" I screamed and jumped through the portal. And I instantly wished that I hadn't. It was pitch black. There seemed to be nothing but this pressing darkness around me. I could feel the ground move, as if it was rippling. I closed my eyes and realized that it was just as dark with them open. I heard Gilgamesh's voice calling out to me. "Foolish boy!" It got closer as I saw a light off to my left. I turned and saw Gilgamesh and Enkidu, both glowing as if from an internal fire. "You cannot hope to traverse the space between worlds without a guide! Follow me and I will take you to Gaia..." And I followed the radiant figures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.......... Chapter One... Five years later... Even if the morrow is barren of promise, Nothing shall forestall My return... Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII Loveless, Act Three Journal, It has been five years since Gilgamesh and Enkidu led me through the Space Between Worlds. I have made a comfortable life for myself in New Nibelheim. I have heard that, at one point, a great SOLDIER came to the original town on a mission. That mission ended in disaster due to the SOLDIER going insane, setting fire to everything, and slaughtering innocents. Apparently, Cloud Strife had some part in these events, as a normal Shin-Ra Army man. My main interest is Zack Fair. If my sister really cared that much about him... He must have been a good guy. No doubt. My sister isn't easily won over. This Zack must have been an outstandingly good guy. My sister... I have been having trouble speaking to the Planet lately. I can't seem to get into the right mindset. I hope that she's still okay. If she were to get hurt... Well, that's about it for now. I hope to be getting some actual sleep tonight, so staying up too late isn't a good idea. Yes, even if it means writing in here. Good night, then! David put his pen down and bookmarked his place in his Journal. His long, dirty-blond hair fell into his face as he got up. He pushed it back and looked around his room. It was nice, in his opinion, staying in what used to be the Strife residence. It made speaking to Planet a little bit easier, especially when trying to find out more about Cloud Strife and his story. David had learned that Cloud had just been an ordinary guy. He had moved away from Nibelheim when he was fifteen, off to Midgar to join SOLDIER. He never made it to SOLDIER level, but he joined the Shin-Ra army. He came back to Nibelheim seven years ago on a mission. Along with him came that soon-to-be insane SOLDIER 1st Class and another SOLDIER of the same rank. The other SOLDIER was Zack Fair. David lay down on his bed as he recapped the story to himself... The group went to the mako reactor on Mt. Nibel to investigate the sudden rise in monsters that had occurred. Tifa Lockheart, Cloud's childhood friend, was their guide. But Cloud didn't show his face at first, too ashamed that he had come back to his home without accomplishing what he had set out to do. When they finally got into the reactor, they saw the truth. Monsters were being created and bred by the Shin-Ra scientist, Hojo. He apparently had no morals. He was taking normal human beings and experimenting on them, making them monstrosities of creation. The insanity-bound SOLDIER went into a frenzy trying to find out more about this "Jenova," which was the word that was carved into a doorway in the reactor. Apparently, his mother had been named Jenova. A couple of days later... He snapped. He completely lost it. The next thing anyone knew, they were either dead, almost dead, or wishing they were dead. Tifa had followed the now-crazed SOLDIER up the mountain in search of her father, who had apparently been up there. Zack and Cloud went up shortly after, Zack first, leaving Cloud to help out the villagers. David smiled, wishing that he could have seen what had happened on the mountain while Cloud evacuated the survivors. Cloud had helped out the villagers as much as he could when he realized that Zack should have been back by then. He rushed up to the reactor and found Tifa and Zack both in pretty bad shape. Zack had been thrown into one of the canisters that held the monsters and Tifa had a pretty bad slash wound across her stomach. Cloud helped her out and took off his helmet to show that he had come to keep his promise to her. She passed out and Cloud went further into the reactor. He found Zack's famed Buster Sword stuck into the platform. He took it up and stabbed the crazy man through and through with it, nearly chopping him in half. He left the nearly dead SOLDIER there to die and went to help Tifa and Zack. Later, the SOLDIER came out, carrying, of all things, a humanoid-looking head. Zack told Cloud to finish him off. Cloud ran up to the man, ready to kill him, but got ran through by the incredibly long sword that the man wielded. The man threw him through the door and followed him, stabbing him again. This time, he picked Cloud up on the sword, holding him over the reactor. Cloud summoned up all the rest of his strength and actually pulled himself along the sword, back onto the platform! He grabbed the blade and threw the SOLDIER into the wall, using his own body as a counterweight. The SOLDIER saw that it was pointless to fight Cloud and jumped into the reactor. That's about the time that Cloud's story draws a complete blank for David. He just simply can't see anything else. Was that it? Did Cloud die? No, he couldn't have died. David could still feel him within the Lifestream. Plus, the Planet says that he is alive and doing quite well. David scratched his head. He wondered what it could mean. He had the same problem with his sister. He knew that she was alive somewhere, but couldn't see anything about her. The Mist from the Ivalice world had been nice, as it had provided a nice reflection of other worlds. It was a lot like the Lifestream and talking to the Planet. It was just visible, rather than a passive feeling or an audible voice. Well, it wasn't audible, per se, but whatever. He know what he meant. He was about to drift off in the middle of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door downstairs. He jumped a little. Who could this be? It was past midnight! David got up and went downstairs. He crossed his living room to the door. He looked through the peep hole. A man in a black cloak. With a hood on that covered his face. Aw, crap, he thought to himself, A bad egg... He grabbed his lance and held it off to the side of the door, just out of sight. He didn't want to scare this guy off if he didn't mean any harm. He opened the door a little bit and leaned on the doorway, hiding his lance. "May I help you?" The man just stood there for a moment, then handed David a large, black envelope. It had a strange symbol on it. He couldn't quite decide what it was. It was like a silver, upside-down heart of some kind. He took it with his right hand and looked at it. He was hit with a wave of sudden dizziness and he wavered in place, about to fall. He felt the Lifestream shift around him, compensating for the sudden surge of energy. He looked back up to the man after he had recovered to ask what this was about, but he was gone. "Ooookay..." He closed the door and locked it. When he turned around, the man was standing there, right in the middle of David's living room! David jumped back a little, readying his lance. The man laughed and then spoke in a low, deep-toned voice. "You are on edge. That is excellent for my cause..." "Okay! Who the hell are you and how the hell did you get into my house!" The man laughed, a chilling sound. "Do you honestly think that I would just tell you my name? Pity for you..." "Cut the crap! What do you want?!" "That envelope contains an invitation. My colleagues and I may have use of your... Skill." "Sorry, not interested." David said, still at the ready for an attack. "Hm. That's too bad. I was hoping to make this easy on you. I leave you now with a decision. You can either read the invitation and do what it requires of you. Or you can ignore my request and be taken by force after three days. The latter of the two choices would not include very comfortable... Accommodations. I can assure you of that." "I doubt that I'll take either, but you can try to take me, if you want. You won't get very good results with that!" "Very well. Three days." And the man vanished before David's eyes. "Aw, crap. What to do..." Then, it hit him. "I guess Lucrecia deserves a visit..." And, with that, David trudged upstairs to ponder the pros and cons of the situation. And to possibly read the invitation. He hadn't decided yet... Chapter Two... The next morning... To know That which before us lies in daily life Is the prime wisdom. ... Paradise Lost - John Milton David got up the next morning and went downstairs. He was especially groggy this morning, so he went straight for his kitchen to make himself a pot of coffee. As he stirred the steaming drink, he heard something that he hadn't heard in a long time. A rumbling off in the distance. He smiled. A thunderstorm. He was going to get a little wet on his way to see Lucrecia. That's when he remembered what had happened the night before. The man in black. The invitation. The strange feeling he had when he had first held the envelope... He dropped his mug in the sink and ran back upstairs. The envelope was still there, on his nightstand. He shuddered. What was going on? He jumped when his cat, Rona rubbed up against his legs and meowed. She looked up at him and purred. He just looked back and stood there for a moment. Then, his brain restarted and he shook his head. "You want food, no doubt." She purred again and ran downstairs. He followed her and got her some fish out of the fridge. He cut it up and put it into a bowl, then put the bowl on the ground. She pretty much pounced on it and started eating. David smiled and went back upstairs. When he got back to his room, he just stared at the envelope on his nightstand like it was about to start moving on its own. Or like it was a bomb. Regardless, he didn't like the general feeling that emanated from it. He slowly approached it and picked it up. The feeling that he had felt last night when he had picked it up was gone, but there was some residual magic left over from the initial delivery. He looked at the strange symbol on the front an saw that it was shimmering, like a mirage in the desert. He turned the envelope over and ran his finger underneath the flap, tearing it open. He pulled out what looked to be a small computer screen of some sort. He tapped it and it jumped out of his hands. It then began to glow and rotate in mid-air, getting faster and faster. Finally, it got spinning so fast that he couldn't actually see it anymore. He backed away from it and stood against the wall. Then, he heard it. A million screaming souls, all trapped inside that small space. He could feel every last one. Their pain. Their anger. Their hate... He fell to his knees and felt an incredible pain shoot from the center of his left palm and into his shoulder, running all the way up into his brain. Then, he knew no more....... TO BE CONTINUED!!!
First off, I only started this group with the sole purpose of getting ideas for new cosplays. Plus, I saw that there wasn't a cosplay group yet, so meh. If anyone can give me any ideas as to who I should cosplay, I'll give them a cookie. Oh, and by the way, I've never been to any big anime conventions, (Fanime, et cetera). But that comment is not an invitation to start bashing me! Let's try to keep this group clean! NO BEING MEAN! Photos of your personal cosplay experiences welcome!
Kingdom Hearts: Final Master, [CHOCK FULL OF SPOILERS!!!][PG-13][End of Part One] Alright, alright! I've had enough of my friends telling me, "You should put your story on that forum site you like to get codes from!" So, here it is! I hope that it doesn't crash and burn like my Golden Sun RP on another site, (PM me if you like Golden Sun and want to learn more about my RP)... Anyway, this is my version of the events that happened before and during the story of Sora and his friends. And for those of you who didn't notice, yes, Adrian is based on myself. I would like to warn you, though: Final Master is not for those of you who don't know the entire story of Kingdom Hearts! This story is chock full of spoilers and references to the three main games in the storyline, (KH1, KH2, and CoM). So, if you want to have the entire story ruined before you actually play the games, go right ahead and read on! If you have played the games and know the story, then I would think that you are safe! Oh, and by the way, if you know the story well enough to notice flaws in my story, then please let me know about them in a PM! But, in your PMs, please don't be rude and degrading to me or my work. I got enough of that on other sites. However, in my experience with KH-Vids, I have never, (and I mean never), been put down and/or insulted by any of the members. Props to those of you who actually have a sense of compassion! PROPS!!!! :yelling: So, without any further ado... Part One Prologue: Twilight Town... Well, this is it. I have approximately two years to live, according to a good friend of mine. If I am to die after that time, however, I will not be forgotten. I will chronicle my tale here. It will be written in several parts, each consisting of different chapters. If you have the mind to read on, then do so. I am doing this for the sake of remembrance. So others won't make my same mistakes. And I will not leave my desk in my Twilight Town apartment until it is done. I will follow through this time. I will not fail, like I have on so many other things before... My tale begins when I was five years old. Young, isn't it, to have a quest forced upon you? Well, I didn't have a choice. I was only five years old, and yet I was thrust into a war that would either make or break the worlds. I have seen both sides of the coin, so to speak. I have traveled from the universe in which the "bad guys" won to this one... The one where victory has yet to be decided. I am called Adrian. And I am a Keyblade bearer. Well, I was, that is. I am now known as a Final Master. (I have no clue where that name came from, trust me.) I was once a Keyblade Master, but was turned away by its power when I was deemed unfit to wield it. Many believe the Keyblade to be a weapon of fate. Driven by destiny to the outcome that is inevitable, that was predetermined by some force that remains unknown to us. Others believe it to be a gift. Given to the one who can wield it and take the power for granted. Whether for good or evil, that is left up to the wielder. In fact, there are several prophesies regarding the Keyblade. One says that it will either bring order or chaos to the worlds. It will either bring a time of light, where little darkness permeates the veil that protects the worlds. Or, on the other hand, it will bring about the slow decay of all order, happiness, and light in all the worlds, where the smallest light is quickly snuffed out by the malicious darkness. However, this is not the prophesy that will be the main focus of this tale. There is one prophesy that was made long after the discovery of the Keyblade, but it has been so long that many hold it to be an old wives' tale. In this one, there are specifics. It says that an order will rise, taking up the responsibility of ruling the worlds. This order will work within two separate worlds, creating pathways that interconnect the worlds. On one of the few worlds that have not been connected by such pathways, there will be a magical event so dramatic, the heart of that world will explode in power. The Keyblade will chose the one who was born during that explosion of magical power. It will chose them and the prophesies will be shown for what they really are, whether they be true or false. The "order" that rose, as you probably guessed is Disney Castle. King Mickey and Queen Minnie are the rulers there. They are who takes on the task of keeping peace between worlds. The two worlds are the Radiant Gardens, (later known as Hollow Bastion), and the Disney Castle world. The pathways are known as gummi routes, named for the type of ship that travels on them. The world that will explode, the child that will be born? Destiny Islands and... Me. I was the Keyblade's chosen one. I was the one who will either save or destroy the worlds. I made mistakes, and I opted out of making them again. There will still be problems, yes, I know. But I can live with the problems of my slowly degrading physical and mental state. I can live with no connection to any of my old friends, save one. I can live with that stuff. But making the same mistakes again, with no hope of changing the outcome... It's unbearable. I think that I've said enough at this time. The following is a recount of the events of my life. I can clearly remember many things about my early childhood that other people are unable to recall, so this may take a little longer than a normal memoir, autobiography, or other type of life-story. Although, it is written in third-person, so I don't think that it can be called a “memoir” or “autobiography...” Anyway, I hope that you are very comfortable, because you are going to be here for a while! Signing out from Twilight Town, Adrian of Destiny Islands Chapter One: Destiny Islands... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 19 years “Congratulations, ma'am,” the doctor said over the wailing of the baby in his arms to the woman on the hospital bed, “It's a boy!” The woman looked up as the doctor said this and a small tear came to her eye. Her long, shiny, brown hair was disheveled and her beautiful, green eyes were dulled with weariness, but she still had a joyous glow around her. Her face was now contorting with a mixture of weariness and pure, unmistakable ecstasy. She wiped her face on her hospital gown and held out her arms to her beautiful baby boy. The doctor gently placed the child in her arms and, suddenly, the baby stopped crying. The eyes that gazed back at her were green like his her's but the sparse hair on the top of his head was pure, jet black. The mother looked up at the doctor and cocked her head to one side. “Why is his hair this color? My husband's hair is blond and mine is brown... Wait. Does it have something to do with, um, what's it called...” “Recessive genes.” The doctor smiled. “That is what you mean, but I'm not sure that that's it...” “What? What do you mean?” “When he was born, I was sure that his hair was blond. Then, when he was being cleaned, it looked brown. Now, it is black! I'm not sure what that was about, but his eyes did the same thing. I looked into his eyes a while ago and they were blue. Now they are green... It's like his body can't make up it's mind on what color everything should be! It sure is a mystery...” But the woman wasn't paying attention. She was lost in the eyes of her son. Her one and only child. In fact, she had been staring into his eyes since she had asked the last question. Hmmmm, she said to herself, I feel like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, what I'm saying... There is an intelligence in his eyes that can only come with age and wisdom. What are you thinking, little one? I wish I could see into your head, my little Adrian... “Ma'am?” The doctor tried to get into her field of vision, but she was completely oblivious to him and everything around her. He smiled and left the room, closing the door gently behind him. Meanwhile, at Disney Castle... King Mickey and Queen Minnie were getting ready to head down to the Audience Chamber and greet their escort to Hollow Bastion, which was a different world than their own. Oh, yes. There are other worlds out there... The trick to finding them is secret! What, you thought that I was going to tell you how? Well, that's too bad... Anyway, the King and Queen, (dressed in their best traveling clothes), were about to go to meet the escort when the door to the Library burst open and who should come flying through it but Head Mage, Donald Duck. He looked even more flustered than usual, and had a triumphant gleam in his eyes. “Your Majesty! I mean, Your Majesties!!!” Donald cried as he came blaring at them. “Donald!” The Queen's Lady in Waiting, Daisy, stepped in front of him, in an effort to make him stop. “Wak!” Donald tried to stop but ended up flat on his face in front of Daisy. He quickly recovered and dusted himself off. Queen Minnie giggled. “Now, Donald! Calm down and tell me what's going on!” The King looked at Donald levelly. Donald straightened and saluted, then started to talk. As the mage got further into his story, Minnie started to notice a distinct change in her King's facial expression. It went from indifferent to skeptical, and finally excited. He was obviously getting ready to cancel the trip to Hollow Bastion or have her go without him... “Minnie!” He spun around and addressed his Queen. “I need you to go to Hollow Bastion and tell Ansem the Wise this: 'What we've been looking for has been found!' Can you do that for me?” Minnie nodded solemnly. “Thank you!” The King turned to Donald and started to go out. He stopped and turned as he reached the door. He looked at Minnie and said, “I'll catch up with you later. Don't worry about me.” And he left. Queen Minnie sighed, saying, “There he goes again...” Daisy patted her Queen on the back and smiled. “But he always comes back. You can trust that.” The Queen smiled and looked up at Daisy. “Thank you, Daisy. You always know exactly what to say at the right time.” And with that, they made their way down to the Audience Chamber. In the Audience Chamber... “Hey, Cloud,” a young, brown-haired man said to the mysterious-looking, spiky-haired, cloaked, young man kneeling beside the door, “What's your story? Why are you here?” Cloud looked up at the other young man and frowned. “I don't know. What are you doing here?” “Oh, Cloud!” A young, black clad woman with long, shiny, black hair shook her head, annoyed. “Why do you have to be so rude? All Squall was asking was why you are here! That doesn't have any malicious intent behind it at all!” Cloud just shrugged. “It's not his business. That's all I'm going to say.” “Thank you, Tifa. And, by the way, call me Leon. Please.” The brown-haired man muttered. “Leon, huh?” A younger preteen girl with a giant throwing star swinging in her hand giggled. “Why? Your name is Squall! Why not – ” “Yuffie!” Tifa snapped, “That's what he wants to be called, so that's what we're going to call him! 'Kay?” “Fine, fine...” “Just stop...” Cloud muttered. “Cloud,” Tifa said, looking at Cloud, concerned, “You okay?” “It's just a head-ache. I'll be – ” Just then, the Audience Chamber door opened and Queen Minnie and Daisy came through. Cloud jumped up, making Leon smirk. “Huh?” Yuffie cocked her head to one side and frowned when she saw that the ladies were the only two to enter. “What? No King?” Tifa shot a look at Yuffie and shook her head. She turned back to the Queen and bowed. Everyone else followed suit. The Queen blushed and shook her head, saying, “Please! Please! Stand up! I am your friend, not someone who needs to bowed to! If the King had told me that it would be you three, then I would have been dressed more casually... Now, down to business...” “Wait!” Tifa said suddenly, “Where's Cid?” “Cid?” Yuffie frowned and looked around. “I don't know! He was with us when we arrived...” “Well, yeah,” Cloud said, his voice full of sarcasm, “He's kind of the one who flew the ship...” “Cloud!” Tifa shot a look at him. Leon smirked again. “Here I am!” The engineer came bursting through the door to the Chamber, flight goggles and all, with a huge grin on his face. “Why are you so happy?” Yuffie said, crossing her arms and frowning. “Ya Majesty!” Cid addressed the Queen, ignoring Yuffie, “I must say tha' those two little guys ya got down in th' Gummi Hangah' are top notch! I wouldn' min' workin' with them two any time!” “Why, thank you, Cid! Chip and Dale would be happy to hear it!” Minnie smiled and turned to the rest. “Now, I would like to let you know that the King will not be joining us today. He was abruptly distracted right before coming down to meet you. Apparently, an enormous energy force has been recorded on another world. He believes that this force is the “hero” that himself and Ansem the Wise have been looking for.” “Wha'? Ya mean tha' lucky person who's gonna get 'chosen' by, um, tha', uh, whatchmacallit...” Cid scratched his temple. “The Keyblade, Cid.” Leon said. Minnie nodded solemnly. “Yes. The King believes that a person will be born in a blast of magic energy on a world that nobody has ever gone to. I think that that very thing may have happened...” “Well,” Cloud said, “Are we to go to this world?” “No. We are to go to Hollow Bastion, as planned. However, I will be meeting with Ansem the Wise in the King's stead.” Tifa nodded. “Then shall we get going?” Minnie nodded at Tifa and answered, “Yes. We should leave now.” Later, at Hollow Bastion... “Hm? What's that you say? King Mickey may have found the one who will become the Keyblade Master?” Ansem's eyebrows shot up at the news of King Mickey's discovery. His long, graying hair was very neat, along with the rest of his person. However, this was a contrast to his current setting. His office was a complete mess, what with papers scattered over the floor and chalk-boards with scribbles on them ripped off the wall. The Queen was beginning to feel the urge to just start tidying up, but she resisted it. “Yes. He believes so.” The Queen said presently. She was sitting on one side of Ansem's desk, in a very beautifully carved armchair. Ansem sat opposite her in an old, torn-up office chair. She didn't understand how he could stay focused while sitting in something that looked that uncomfortable. “I see... Xeanhort!” Ansem called to his head assistant. The office's door opened after a moment and a young, silver-haired man with a handsome face peered in. “Yes, Master Ansem?” “Two things. One: ready my gummi ship for departure. Two: stop calling me 'Master Ansem!' Simply 'Ansem' will do...” “Yes... Ansem.” “There you go! Now, where were we? Ah, yes! I was about to tell you my findings on the Heart of Worlds and the D.T.D.” “Um... Mr. Ansem...” “Ah! That's right. You are not interested in that, are you? Hmmmmm... In that case, make yourself at home! I must meet up with the King on this 'new world...' Please! Don't be shy. My assistants would be happy to help you with anything! But now, I must go. Farewell!” And with that, Ansem got up and left the office. Hmmmmm... The Queen thought to herself, What is so important about this “Keyblade Master” that it needs to interfere with Mickey's duties as King? The worlds aren't even in danger! Why does Ansem seem to get so worked up about it when it is mentioned? What is this “Keyblade,” anyway? Chapter Two: Yen Sid's Tower – Twilight Town... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 14 years Adrian was tired. It had been over three months since he had been taken by Yen Sid to “hone his magical skill.” What did that mean, anyway? Did it mean the weird stuff that he can do when he gets mad? Or is it something else? Well, either way, he was physically exhausted. Yen Sid, the greatest known wizard and the King's personal teacher, had been making him run up and down the Wayward Stair for over two hours! And it didn't help that he kept teleporting to each room and randomly throwing small objects at him as he ran! He kept saying, “Who's to say what you will be forced to go through in that big, dangerous world out there? This may seem harsh now, but imagine doing it with a big, scary monster behind you! Keep running! Dodge! Block this one! Run faster to get a ahead of this one! Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah blah!” Was he trying to kill him? If he was to ever get out into that “big, dangerous world out there,” he would have to survive Yen Sid's training! No, this wasn't training! This was boot camp! Yen Sid sure talked sweet, but he was mean! If Adrian didn't do something right, he would be told to run laps up and down the Wayward Stair, while dodging and blocking the little spoons and cups that Yen Sid just happened to have stuffed in his pockets! Where did he get all that kitchenware, anyway? Presently, Adrian opened the door to Yen Sid's study, drenched in sweat and dragging his feet. Yen Sid was sitting behind his desk with a stern look on his face. Adrian could barely see him through the thick fog that clouded his vision. He knew, though. His training for the day wasn't over by far! Why, it was only eleven in the morning! He still had the whole day ahead of him! He came and stood before Yen Sid's desk and waited for the sudden rush of energy and cool to wash over him... It never came. He blinked and shook his head. He tried to focus his eyes on his teacher, but ended up closing his eyes, instead. He felt a slap on his cheek that snapped him back to reality. His eyes focused and he saw Yen Sid clearly. He looked expectantly at Adrian. Adrian frowned with an effort. “Wha' ya wan' me ta do?” Adrian slurred. “Heal yourself.” Yen Sid said simply. Adrian would have done a double take, but he could barely move. Heal... Himself? How? He'd never done a curative spell before! How would he do that?! “Go on! I want to see you control the power within yourself.” Adrian shook his head and instantly regretted it. His head spun and he began to wobble. “Concentrate!” Adrian heard this word attempt to pierce the mist over his mind. But it barely got through. He tried to focus his mind on feeling better... And passed out. Yen Sid sighed as Adrian collapsed in a small heap on the ground. His body was taking quite a beating in this training, but it was entirely necessary. If he could just harness the magic power that lay, untapped, in his heart, he would become a very powerful mage and, in time, Keyblade Master, indeed... One worthy of the destiny that awaited his older self. “Oh, my!” Flora, Fauna, and Meriweather, the three good fairies who helped Yen Sid with his work, had come into the room as Adrian collapsed. “Oh, my, indeed!” Flora said, looking with concern at Adrian, “Are you trying to ruin his body?” “No. I – ” “Well, that's what you're doing!” Fauna went over to Adrian and lifted him up in her arms. “You don't underst – ” “Oh, yes! I understand perfectly!” Meriweather cried, “You think that you can beat the skill into his head! Well, we won't allow it! As of right now, we are going to train him!” “Now, wait a moment – ” “Oh?” Flora looked at Yen Sid inquiringly. “Are you going to actually train him? Train him instead of putting him through torture?” Yen Sid sighed. He had given up. “Alright! I give up. I should have asked you for your views on how to train him before I took it into my own hands. It's impossible to win an argument against you three, anyway...” “Good,” Fauna said, “You've finally seen sense!” “Now,” Yen Sid started, “What should I do with him today?” Flora, Fauna, and Meriweather all looked at Yen Sid and frowned. “Ah. Fine. I shall give him a day or two to rest. He has been very good about not complaining. He is a good boy. In fact, tomorrow, you two take him to the Struggle Battles in Twilight Town. He has already voiced an interest in meeting this Setzer. He's a little young for such violence, but I think that he can handle it.” The three fairies looked overjoyed. They started to leave the room, but Yen Sid stopped them. “Wait.” They turned. “If you can, try to get Adrian a photograph with Setzer. Even though he is only twelve years old, Setzer is strong beyond his years. Adrian might learn something from him.” Yen Sid smiled and laughed a little. “Maybe a little something about how to breathe when he runs... Adrian pants like a little puppy when he is doing those laps on the Stair...” The fairies all looked stern at Yen Sid. “But, those laps won't be happening again, of course!” Meriweather smiled at Yen Sid and left the study with her two companions. Hm... Yen Sid began to ponder the mystery that had been nagging at him lately when they had gone, I sense that this boy's future hangs on one crucial person... His recently born brother seems to be of some importance to whether Adrian will even become a Keyblade Master! What it all means is beyond my ability to see. But a new “player” in this game seems like it would be more of a hindrance than an asset. We shall see how it all plays out in the end... For now, I shall train his mind and body to obey him without outside assistance. That is all that I can do for him... And with this mystery stored in the back of his mind, Yen Sid teleported to Disney Castle to update his close friend and student, King Mickey... Meanwhile, in Hollow Bastion... “Are you sure?” Xeanhort muttered to his companion, one of the other assistants who worked with Ansem, “He is gone?” The other assistant nodded. “And the Queen? Where is she?” “I escorted her to her lodging...” The other assistant looked troubled. “What?” Xeanhort looked sideways at the younger man. “Are you having second thoughts?” “Well,” the young man looked around and nodded mutely. “Hm.” Xeanhort shook his head and stepped out into the light of the corridor. The other man followed suit. Xeanhort looked down the hallway, away from his colleague. “Just think of it this way: He would stop us from pursuing our dreams. You and the other 'assistants' all want to find this 'Kingdom Hearts,' right?” The other man nodded and muttered, “But Ansem is nothing but nice to us... What we are planning is cruel and – ” Xeanhort stopped him with a glare. “He would do something worse to us. Maybe not now. Maybe not in ten years. Maybe not ever, at this point! But, if we were the ones who kept a huge machine that can produce creatures of shadow in our castle, while also saying things like, 'It is dangerous to meddle in the affairs of people's hearts,' he would go and blow it up in our faces, too. Get that through that thick layer of loyalty and kindness and you'll do just fine...” The other man nodded, looking more encouraged. Xeanhort turned and smiled evilly. “Let's go.” And he took off running down the hall, the accomplice hot on his tail. Chapter Three: The Lot – Twilight Town... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 14 years “Yeah! Go Setzer! Go!” Adrian couldn't remember the last time he'd had this much fun. Had he ever had fun like this before? Well, as stated, he couldn't remember! He was amazed by Setzer, the star fighter in the Struggle Battles. He had come out of nowhere, defeating all who stood between him and his trophy. Not to mention the “bragging rights” that the announcer always referred to. In fact, against Yen Sid's orders, Flora, Fauna, and Meriweather, (all in less-than-convincing disguises to hide the fact that they were fairies), had let Adrian bet on Setzer's victory in the final match. Adrian was positive that someone was going to try and sabotage Setzer to make him lose, but he would still win, even with the handicap. To be more specific, someone was going to throw a Struggle Bat at Setzer's head, miss, and hit the back of his left ankle. However, according to Adrian, Setzer was going to rise above the pain and conquer his opponent in the final match. To explain Adrian's bet, I would have to give a little background on the betting system of the Struggle Battles. First, a person who bets on anyone puts down an amount. That is how much that they are paying for the bet. Next, they put down a “win margin,” which is by how much the fighter that they are betting on is going to win by, (in points). Lastly, they put down any details that they want to, which would increase their winnings by a multiple of ten. That multiple would be decided by how unlikely a win would be if the situation described in the “details” section actually happened. Also, depending on the likelyhood of that person winning, the original amount would be multiplied by the chances that the person would lose. To summarize Adrian's bet: He put down 1,000 munny, (the last of his going away present from his parents), a win margin of 37 points, (which would add 500 munny to whatever he put down added to any other multiples), two details – that Setzer would actually knock the other person out, (which would multiply his winnings by twenty), and that he would win despite an injury to his left ankle, (which would multiply his winnings by another forty), resulting in his original amount being multiplied by sixty – and a 4-to-1 win-lose ratio, (a four-times multiplier to the winnings), which added up to a total of 240,500 munny. Now that is a pretty penny! As of the present point in time, that bet was looking a little wasted! Setzer was getting destroyed out there! But, Adrian was confident that he was going to get that munny. Suddenly, Setzer dodged a blow that would have meant the end of the match and landed the hardest blow yet – an incredible uppercut that had just the right amount of flair to it. He hit his opponent so hard, many people later said that they heard that poor kid's teeth smash into each other and crack! That blow happened to be the first, last, and only hit that Setzer had landed on that guy during the whole match. And he made it count! Adrian smirked at another boy with black markings under his eyes who had been rooting for the other guy. The boy, (being older than Adrian by a long shot), looked ready to challenge Adrian to a impromptu battle in some secluded alleyway, far away from the crowds of the Struggle Battles... Adrian was about to take him up on his non-verbal challenge, but Fauna saw what was about to happen and held him in place. He looked up at Fauna, who shook her head and frowned. Adrian grimaced, but didn't say anything. He looked back to where the boy was and found that he was gone. “You don't need that kind of nonsense now, Adrian,” Fauna said comfortingly, smiling at him, “He's just a poor sport.” Adrian thought about that for a moment, found that he agreed with his guardian, and went back to staring at Setzer with wonder-filled eyes. At one point, Setzer made eye-contact with Adrian, who looked away and blushed. He heard Setzer laugh a little and say something about autographs. Adrian smiled to himself and kept the idea that he had come up with suddenly in the back of his head for later. "Adrian? You okay?" "Hm?" Adrian refused to take his eyes off Setzer. "You look..." Fauna cocked her head to one side as she looked at the five-year-old. "Well, I just can't place how you look right now!" Adrian smiled and returned her gaze. At that moment, Fauna realized that something was wrong. Horrifically wrong. Was this truly the same young boy who had just been blushing and giggling over Setzer? She saw in his eyes something that frightened her. Power. Raw, wild, untapped power. She suddenly gasped and held one hand to her head and the other to her heart. Adrian's eyes seemed to shimmer and glow with an evil light as Fauna looked into them, transfixed. Her body slowly began to shut down and her vision blurred, eventually fading altogether. The last thing that she remembered before all of her senses got snuffed out like a candle was a too-mature voice that seemed to come from the direction that Adrian was in. "This world's time has come. And so has yours." Meanwhile, in Hollow Bastion's Heartless Manufactory... "Master Ansem!" Leon ran full tilt up the stairs from the Heartless Manufactory to the computer room within Ansem's office at Hollow Bastion. What he had just seen couldn't have just happened! It was impossible! When he arrived at the top of the last stairwell, he burst through the door into the computer room, slamming and locking it behind himself. Ansem's head jerked up at the young man's sudden appearance into the room. "Leon! What seems to be --" "No time!" Leon yelled. He was already at the computer terminal jabbing at the keyboard. "You need to get out of here now! Evacuate the town and try to find shelter far away from here!" "Leon!" Ansem got up and approached his friend. But, before he reached Leon, there was a deafening explosion and a flash of light, during which the entire windowed wall behind the terminal got sucked out into the Manufactory and disappeared. Leon quickly regained his feet before the dust had even begun to settle and helped Ansem up. He turned back to where the terminal used to be to find a horrifying sight. "Oh, you're kidding me, right?" Darkness. A vortex of darkness. A tempest made of darkness so pure, so tangible, that the longer that Leon gazed into it, the more he felt his entire soul being sucked into it. Awesome, but terrifying, as well! The vortex was about three hundred yards wide on all sides, with a single line of what looked like black, undulating spider's thread that extended from the bottom into another, smaller vortex that had formed on the floor of the Manufactory. The smaller vortex seemed to be spawning many different kinds of shadow-like creatures. Some were small, and feral-looking, while others were quite large with an air of malicious intent around them. "What have I done...?" Ansem whispered hoarsly as Leon dragged him out of the now wrecked computer room. "Master Ansem! Ansem!" Leon was yelling as they ran. Ansem glanced over at him with saddened eyes. "I understand that you feel responsible for what is happening right now, but what you must understand is that your guilt will have to wait! Innocent lives are at stake now, and, regardless of your part in this, you need to step up and try to save as many people as you can!" They had arrived at the Bailey, the area between the town and the castle. Leon stopped running and faced Ansem. "Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, and I will remain here and try to stop whatever is in there. You, Merlin, and the others try to get the townsfolk out of here as fast as you can. Try to keep them calm and go to the other side of the Wall. We will come to get you when it's safe again." "What should I tell them?" Ansem asked as Leon started to head back to the castle. Leon smirked without turning. "You'll think of something!" And with that, Leon ran as fast as he could back to the castle. On the way, he saw Cloud and Tifa up on one of the balconies getting ready to jump into the highest window on the castle, which led into the Great Hall. He was about to jump to the next highest level to meet up with them when he was hit in the chest by something that he couldn't see. He flew through the air and was about to smash into the wall behind him when he was roughly yanked by his arm to the side. He landed next to Yuffie on top of an archway that overlooked the Bailey. "Fancy meeting you here, Yuffie." "Well, Squ -- Sorry, Leon, I was on my way to find you when I heard that boom come from the computer room. But, by the time I got up there, you and -- " "We'll talk later! We got company!" And he was right! What looked like a squadron of fighter jets was zooming right at them from the hole that the vortex was eating in the side of the castle. However, they were not fighter jets! They were dragon-like creatures that were red in color and has an interesting insignia on the tops of their heads. It looked like a heart with a thorny vine running across it in the shape of an "x." "What the heck are those?!" Yuffie cried. Leon ignored her and drew his gun-blade and leveled it at the on-coming dragons. He charged up a shot and was about to let it loose when he got nailed in the chest again by another invisible something. Yuffie had sensed it coming and jumped, but Leon was, once again, sent flying straight at the wall. This time, he caught himself on a wire and swung up and around onto another, higher archway. He looked around for the source of the blow, but couldn't see anything. He heard a scratch on one of the walls a few yards away and looked in that direction. He saw claw marks being scored into the wall by and invisible creature. "Aw, great." He took aim at the claw marks and let off a shot in that direction. Apparently, the creature hadn't been paying attention to Leon because the energy blast hit it dead on and knocked it off the wall. As it fell, it materialized. "Ooh. Even better! A chameleon?!" And it was a chameleon. Or, at least something that looked like one! It had to be at least twelve feet long and around five feet tall. It's tail was about as long as it's body and had a nasty spike on the end. Luckily for Leon, that spike had never connected with him! Also, it had the same, strange symbol on it's head... "Bring it!" Leon yelled and launched himself at the incapacitated creature... Only to get bombarded by the dragons that he had suddenly remembered were still there. Meanwhile, in Hollow Bastion's Great Hall... "Cloud! Left!" Tifa dodged right as the gigantic, hulking shadow smashed some kind of appendage right down onto the spot that she had been standing not even a second before. Cloud spun left and swung his Buster-Sword at the closest leg-looking thing. He glanced up for a split-second at Tifa to check in on her. "Up!" Cloud yelled at Tifa as the monster swung that same appendage up to swat her out of the air and Cloud jumped out of the way of another. Tifa landed side-ways on the wall across from Cloud and did a little hand-spring off of it, quickly spinning straight at the only weak-looking spot on her foe. She charged up a relatively weak spell and fired it off at the glinting little circle on the very top of the monster's "head." She wanted to keep it weaker to preserve her strength if it failed. It didn't. There was a sickening squishing sound as the spell hit and sunk into the monster's head. It went stiff for a moment, just long enough for Tifa to land on top of it and leap off onto a shattered pillar. And then it went nuts. It started to claw the top of it's head and wobbling around. This thing was huge, though, so the fact that it was wobbling in such an in-closed area made things get pretty interesting... Cloud had been in the middle of charging a spell, himself, when Tifa's had caused the current response. He faltered when the beast had went stiff and he lost the spell. Bad news! Cloud was forced to jump, dodge, spin, and actually deflect blows from the flailing thing as he tried to get to safety. "Tifa!" He screamed, trying to get to her, "What did you do?!" "I just cast a Level One Fire spell on it, and it went nuts!" She screamed back as he landed by her on the pillar. "Level One?! Then why -- " "Dodge!" The beast had seemingly regained control of itself and had heard them yelling. It was angry now. Irate, in fact! It was so aggravated, that it had suddenly realized that it could instantly cast Top Level magics! Now knowing this, it started casting spells like Top Level Flare, Top Level Haste, Top Level Dark... That kind of thing! And, obviously, it didn't know how it was doing it! Tifa and Cloud, however, didn't care how it was doing this -- they were on the receiving end! They were too busy trying to dodge and block these spells that even they hadn't mastered! Both were constantly trying to pay attention to the other, while also evading the walls of Flare and Dark spells that were now coming almost non-stop! As you probably guessed, they quickly gave up on that! Damn! Tifa thought to herself as she narrowly missed getting her head incinerated by yet another Top Level Flare spell, How the hell do we kill this thing?! Its only weakness is the top of it's head, but how do we even get in range and in sight of it, now?! Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. Reflect... She started to make her way towards the never-ending sound of Cloud's sword ringing as it took multiple hits from the myriad of Top Level spells. He looked up and saw her make a hand motion as she flew by at top speed, followed by a stream of Flare spells. He understood. They both launched into action right as there was a lull in the shadowy/fiery rain. Tifa went up and right; Cloud went up and left. Both were headed for the top of the room. The spells continued to come, but they were moving so fast that the Flare spells were snuffed out as they passed and the Dark spells got flung right back at the creature and in every direction. At the same time, both Cloud and Tifa made it to the top of the room and jumped up and out of the shattered glass roof. They went up and up... Then Tifa lifted her hand, which was a signal for Cloud to do the same. They began to fall back into the castle as the out-run spells flew up to meet them. Their hands began to glow blue... And they collided with the onslaught of magic! There was a deafening boom and all of the windows in the town of Hollow Bastion were suddenly in tiny pieces and flying out of their frames. Leon and Yuffie were thrown high up into the air as this happened, while all of the strange dragons and lizards disappeared as if they were candle flames and a bunch of hands had pinched them out. They regained control and both landed on rooftops in the town. They shook themselves to snap out of the shock of the explosion and looked up to the source of the sound. The entire top half of the castle was gone! "What the hell was that?!" Yuffie said hoarsely, her mouth and eyes wide open. "Cloud!" Leon yelled and jumped with incredible speed towards the castle. Yuffie followed, wondering what Leon had meant by yelling Cloud's name... When they landed on the new top of the castle, Leon and Yuffie both froze, open-mouthed. "Oh, no..." Yuffie whispered, speech-less. There were Tifa and Cloud, lying far below, on the floor of what used to be the Library, surrounded by the wreckage and carnage that was now Hollow Bastion. "NO!!!!" Leon yelled and launched himself off of the shattered outer wall of the castle. He was at Cloud's and Tifa's sides before Yuffie could blink. He put a finger to first Cloud's, then Tifa's pulses. "No......." Leon stood and staggered back into what had once been a bookcase, now a large, shattered pile of firewood, and sat heavily on the ground at its base. His eyes flooded with tears. They were dead. Chapter Four: Yen Sid's Tower – Twilight Town... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 14 years Adrian sat up in bed so suddenly that his head spun and he almost threw up. What had just happened? Adrian looked around, closed his eyes, and slowly reached up to his head to steady the sudden, nagging urge to collapse back onto his bed. After the nausea had subsided, he took his hand away... It was covered in blood. He froze, but only for a moment. He jerked his head away from the horrific sight, then frantically began flapping his hand to clear the red liquid off of it. When he looked back to his hand, it was completely clean of anything. He looked around his room to find that the blood that should have splattered on the walls and other surfaces in his general vicinity was not even there. He sniffed his hand and did not smell blood on it, at all! “What the heck was that about?” He jumped off of his bed, completely convinced that what had just happened was just a lingering dream. However, when his feet hit the floor, he realized that he was suddenly too tall. He glanced down to his feet, which were very far away now, and saw that they were not bare, as they should have been. He was wearing black boots. He stared at his now-distant, booted feet for a minute. Then he snapped out of his daze and looked into the mirror on the wall to his right. He was so shocked at who looked back at him that he jumped a little. Black boots. Black, baggy pants. Black straps that criss-crossed over his torso, which was covered by a black, vest-shaped top. His hair was very spiky and suddenly bright blond. He turned a little to look at his back. For some reason, his back had strange, stiff strap-like sheathes all over it. To make this weird situation even harder to understand, as he looked at the sheathes, a glimmer began to form within them. He watched in wonder as a pair of gigantic blades suddenly materialized into the openings of the straps that served the purpose of holding these blades on his back. He looked back up into the mirror and at his reflection's face. He had transformed into the man from his dream who he had just seen die. He was now the young man who, in his dream, had been called “Cloud.” He felt a sudden pain hit his mind with the force of a falling boulder. He fell to his knees and held his head in his hands as the pain intensified. He could barely hear a voice trying to break through the static that had sprung up in his head. Fight it! The voice got stronger as Adrian concentrated on clarity. You can do it! You just have to think of what's around you... Something solid, that's always there... The bracelet. The bracelet that his mother had given him before he left. It was always right there, right next to his bed, on his bed-side table. He tried to picture it in his mind as the noise and the pain began to fade. He could now see it clearly before him. A tarnished, silver band that reminded him of what and who he was here for. The power that he held within, and the mother he had left behind. He came back to himself and looked around his rather small room. He glanced down to his feet to find them bare and as they should be. He looked into the mirror and saw himself, not Cloud. However, his eyes were now a bright bluish green. There was a strange glint in them. “What's happening to me?” He wondered aloud. He was surprised to hear a voice reply... You are channeling my personality and my power. I have died in a world that you may of heard of... “Who are you? And why can't I hear you with my ears? It doesn't sound like your voice is... Audible...” You catch on quickly! The voice laughed a little before continuing. I am... Well, used to be, anyway, a part of a small group of fighters who were hired by a man named Ansem the Wise and King Mickey to help protect the secrets of Kingdom Hearts. Ansem is a scientist who was studying the Heart of Worlds with some assistance from the King. However, something has gone terrifyingly wrong. Adrian cut the voice off, “I don't care about any of that! I just want to know why your voice is suddenly sounding in my head!” Hm. You're a little impatient, aren't you? Well, I'll keep it short, then. I, along with my friend, Tifa, have actually died as a result of our fight with a giant shadowy... Thing. I don't know what happened to Tifa's spirit, but it looks to me as if mine got sent to you. “'Sent?' What the heck does that mean?!” Adrian stomped his foot on the floor. I don't really know how I got here, myself! So, don't get mad at me over something that neither of us can control! The voice now sounded agitated. “Hey! If you haven't already noticed, I happen to be five years old! What makes you think that I am strong enough to be able to take on the responsibilities of having the spirit of some warrior who I've never met in my head! I don't even know your name!” My name? Wow... I thought that you were smarter than that! If you have already forgotten what I was just called in your dream, then the time we spend together as we try to figure out some way for me to revive my body and that of Tifa should be very fun... Too fun! “Well, Cloud... That's your name, right?” Adrian smirked a little at the sarcasm in his own voice. Ding! Get set for the smartest boy in the world! Good luck, contestants! “I am getting tired of hearing you yap at me! Shut up!” Now, as is probably obvious, Adrian was fed up with Cloud's constant superior attitude. “If you aren't going to help me, then butt out! Okay?!” No need to get mad! Let's get going to find my body! Adrian sighed and began kneading the sides of his head with his fists. He had better just ignore the idiot who seemed to find it incredibly entertaining to annoy him. Was there any way that he could get rid of this “Cloud?” Fat chance of that, kid! “So you can hear my thoughts, too?” Adrian shook his head and sighed. “Fantastic.” This is only temporary... That is, if you decide to help me find my body! If not, then... Well, you get it, right? Adrian sat down, knowing that he was defeated. “Fine. Let's go.” Chapter Five: The “Secret Place” – Destiny Islands... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 7 years Haven't we been here before? Like, three years ago? “If you were still able to read my thoughts...” Adrian smirked. Shut up. It had been seven years since that strange morning when Adrian had woken up to find Cloud in his head. And, over the course of those seven years, they had been unable to locate neither Cloud's nor Tifa's bodies. There was only one world left to search. The only problem was that that last world was cloaked in shadow and, therefore, was unreachable. They had temporarily given up on finding the bodies and had started to search for a way into that other world. During their long time together, Adrian had come up with a way for Cloud to “pay” for his help. He wanted Cloud to help him train his body and mind to use the magic he apparently could use. So, every once in while, Cloud would teach Adrian how to use one or two new spells. After seven years of this, Adrian had mastered the Top Level Curative spell, (also called, “Curaja”), and the Top Level Magnet spell, (also know as “Magnega”). He had also made much progress on many other spells, too. Y'know what? I'm sick of having to go from world to world and not be able to at least speak to anyone! Can we at least talk to somebody here? Please? Adrian stopped and grimaced. What? He thought back to why he had come here. Destiny Islands was his home. He was born here. He lived here for his first five years. He also hadn't been back here for seven and a half years. He wanted to see his house, his old friends, his hang-outs... His mother and father. He couldn't help it. A tear came to his eye. He was quick to wipe it away. Apparently, he wasn't quick enough to hide it from Cloud. You have family here. You were born in this world. Right? “Shut up, Cloud.” No. You haven't been here since you went to Yen Sid, have you? You... Cloud stopped, awestruck. YOU! That whole time! The one the King was looking for! It was you! “What are you talking about? What do you mean by that?” You mean... You don't know? Adrian kneaded his temples, something he had been doing almost nonstop for the last seven years. “Do it look like I know?” Oh. Good point. Well, this is what I know about your connection to the King. Before you were born, the King and a man named Ansem the Wise, two close friends and colleagues, had been looking out for a certain event that would take place in a world that nobody had ever gone to. That event was the birth of a person who would grow up to be a powerful magician, as well as a warrior. At the time of this person's birth, an enormous amount of energy would explode from the Heart of the world he was born in. “Are you telling me – ” Wait! Let me finish! Anyway, one day twelve and a half years ago, a huge energy source was suddenly recorded on a large machine in Disney Castle. That is where the King, himself, lives. That source was traced back to this world. The King was promptly alerted and he set off for here. Me and four others were going to take the King and Queen to Hollow Bastion, the first world we looked in for our bodies. Remember? Well, the King didn't go with us. He came straight here and waited for Ansem the Wise to arrive. The Queen told Ansem of this occurrence and he rushed off to meet the King. When Ansem arrived, the two of them set out to find the child who had been born here. When they found the parents, they requested that, in five years, they take the child to a safe place to train him to use his hidden power. The parents were reluctant to agree, claiming that their child couldn't be the one they were looking for, that there must be a mistake. The King was about to leave when Ansem stepped forward and said that he would prove it. The parents watched, skeptical, as Ansem gently poked the child in the temple and whispered something in his ear. The child's eyes began to glow and Ansem held up a small tissue in front of his face. The baby stared at it as his eyes slowly lost the glow to them. Ansem was confused as to why nothing had happened. Then, as he was about to lower the tissue, it burst into flames and disappeared into nothingness. The baby's parents jumped and stared at their son's eyes. They looked the same as they should have been, but slightly brighter. They agreed to let the King take their son after five years. “Okay! I get it! Just stop referring to me like it's not me! Jeez...” Sorry. But you do not understand the extent of what you were being trained for, do you? “Huh? I thought that I was just trying to harness my magic, so that I can use it well... Am I wrong?” Uh, huh. The reason for your training was to ready you for the task that you would need to undertake when the time came... “And that task is...?” You would be chosen by a special power to wield it and, to put it in an overused way, save the world. That power is known as the Keyblade. Adrian shrugged, not impressed by this unconvincing story. “Good story, but you're obviously lying. Do you even hear yourself? You sound like a complete moron! A 'Keyblade?' What the hell kinda name is that for a 'special power,' huh? It sounds ridiculous! I have so grown out of bedtime fairy-tales, Cloud!” Suit yourself! You'll understand soon enough... “Let's just go!” And with that, Adrian walked out of the cave that he had appeared in when he came to this world. Meanwhile, off the coast of Destiny Islands' smallest island... “Hurry up, Sora!” “I'm trying, Riku!” Two boats were making their way across the water from the main island to the smallest one. On one of the boats, a seven year old boy with spiky, brown hair was rowing with all of his strength, while in the other one, another boy, who was eight years old and had silvery hair, was doing the same. They were racing toward the island. A young girl was sitting on the docks, watching the boats as they drew near. “And the winner is...!” She cried as the boats were about to hit the sand next to the docks, “RIKU!!!” Riku jumped out of his boat and took a grand bow to the imaginary crowd around him. Sora tried to jump out, but was too tired to do so. He ended up doing a little hop and falling flat on his face in the sand. Riku and the girl laughed as Sora lifted his head up and grinned before planting his face back on the sand and fell asleep. The girl giggled and rolled him over as she said, “Don't want him to choke on sand, now do we?” “You're too nice to him, Kairi.” Riku said, smiling evilly, “Just kicking him to wake him up would have been funnier!” “Riku!” She glared at him, not laughing. About that time, Adrian came out of the cave and squinted in the sudden light. Riku and Kairi both froze as they noticed him standing there, about twenty yards away. As Adrian's eyes adjusted, he saw the two kids staring at him, terrified. He looked around to make sure that he had appeared on the right island. He had. Uh, oh. We got company! Shut up, Cloud! Adrian thought back, trying to figure out what to do. Adrian smiled and didn't move closer, to avoid scaring them further. “Hey!” He called, “Do you have any way of getting back to the big island?” Riku snapped out of his shock and folded his arms over his chest, looking defiant. “Who wants to know?” Adrian laughed. “I'm sorry. My name is Adrian. Nice to meet you. What are your names?” “I'm Riku, she's Kairi, and...” He kicked the boy on the ground, making Kairi protest, “this little lump here is Sora.” “Cool.” Adrian began to approach the three kids and did his best to quickly hide the sword on his back in his cloak. “How you guys doing?” Sora opened his eyes and smiled sleepily. “Cupcakes? I'd love some...” And he began to snore again. Riku, Kairi and Adrian stared at Sora for a moment then busted up laughing. The sudden burst of laughter woke Sora up and made him jump to his feet. “What's goin' on!” He looked at Kairi and then at Riku. Suddenly, he noticed Adrian. They both froze as they stared into each other's eyes. Adrian felt his heart wrench for absolutely no reason and he knew that Sora had felt the same thing happen to him. They looked away from each other, embarrassed. Kairi and Riku stared at Sora, confused. Then Riku spoke. “You know this guy, Sora?” Sora looked troubled. “Nah, don't think so!” What the hell just happened, Adrian? Cloud! Shut the hell up! I have no clue! “Ummmm...” Adrian looked around, blushing. He looked at Riku and smiled again. “Can I borrow one of your guys' boats to get to the big island? I promise that I'll bring it right back!” “Uhhhh...” Riku looked at Sora, then at Kairi before answering. “What can you give us to pay for it?” Adrian frowned. What did he have? He suddenly thought of something. “How 'bout this?” He pulled out a ball of fused glass that he had made using magic. It was about three inches wide and had red, blue, green, and silver ribbon-like designs that were visible throughout the middle of it. The three kids were transfixed. “Whoa!” “That's awesome!” “Now that's payment!” Adrian handed the orb to Riku and said, “So is it a deal?” Riku nodded and then started to run away with the orb, yelling, “Come and get it, Sora!” Sora quickly gave chase. Adrian smiled and said a quick thank you to Kairi, who had remained standing there watching the two boys run around. She nodded and smiled back. Adrian got into one of the boats and began to row toward the big island. Earlier that same day, in Hollow Bastion... Leon was writing his memoirs. It seemed a little strange for him to do so, seeing as he had almost no good memories within the last few years, but he was doing it anyway. Ever since Cloud and Tifa had died, he had been isolated, disconnected. He could almost feel his heart descend into the abyss of darkness. He knew it. Sometime soon, he would slip and the darkness would consume him... It hadn't helped that the King, Yen Sid, and Ansem had been constantly asking him about some kid he'd never heard of before. Apparently, about seven years ago, Yen Sid's student, who had been five years old then, had just disappeared one day. No note, no warning. He just was gone one morning. It was theorized that he had run away because of what had happened to Fauna, one of the good fairies who had been helping Yen Sid to train him. The three fairies had taken him to the Lot in Twilight Town one day to watch some tournament there. When it was Fauna's turn to watch him, things went wrong. The only thing that anyone knew was that the boy had suddenly appeared at the front door of the Tower in which they all lived. And Fauna had been nowhere to be seen. One of the other fairies, Flora, had found Fauna in a crumpled heap in a secluded alleyway in Twilight Town, around the time that the boy had shown up at the Tower. She took her back to Yen Sid, but he couldn't make her wake up. She had been in a coma ever since. The boy, who's name was Adrian, had had no idea as to why he had suddenly appeared at the Tower or as to what had happened to Fauna. He seemed genuinely upset and concerned for her, but somehow lacked any verbal expression of these feelings. Then... He disappeared. Yen Sid and the others hadn't left him, Yuffie, or Cid alone since then. He was about at the end of his patience. He knew that he would break if this continued. Leon shook his head, crumpled the piece of paper in front of him, and threw it across the room into the trash can. He had to keep a level head. If he wanted to complete this thing, he would have to stay sane. He needed to let everyone know why he was doing the things that he would do when the darkness ended up taking his heart. He wasn't sure as to what had been going on around Hollow Bastion within the last seven years, but he did know that the castle was already finished being rebuilt, that Ansem had destroyed his equipment, and that King Mickey had been running frantically from Disney Castle's world to Hollow Bastion and back non-stop for that whole time. He was looking for something that Ansem wouldn't tell anyone else about. The King and Ansem had been keeping to themselves for a long while now. What were they hiding? Presently, Yuffie walked into the room and saw Leon crumpling yet another piece of paper up and throwing it across the room. “What the –” Yuffie did a double-take when she saw what Leon was doing. “I'm writing my memoirs.” Leon said without looking up. “But not for anyone else to read or see. Just so I can remember what's important.” He wrote a sentence and then put down the pen he had been writing with. “Wow.” Yuffie nodded, smiling a little. “I never thought that I'd see you show such passion, Leon.” “Well, seeing two of your friends dead and knowing there's nothing you can do about it does that to people, Yuffie.” Leon did look up then. The pain that he felt was clearly etched on his face. “I don't... That shouldn't have happened. And I don't know who to blame for it, either!” He slammed his fist down on the desk that he'd been working at, making Yuffie jump a little. He then lowered his head solemnly. “I just don't know what to do anymore...” Yuffie stayed put, not wanting to go near him for fear of upsetting him further. She just nodded. “I know. It's hard to lose someone you love to the hands of unfortunate circumstances. But we can't do anything about that now. All we can do is live our lives to the fullest. The way Cloud and Tifa would if they were still here...” “Part of me wants to blame those damn assistants.” Leon said, raising his head. Yuffie flinched when she saw the raw emotion in his eyes that he had held for the last seven years. She felt the anger and the sorrow pour out of him. He went on, ignoring her reaction. “I mean, where the hell were they when the castle got torn apart?!” He stood suddenly and the chair he had been sitting in went tumbling across the floor behind him. He grabbed the sides of the desk and bowed his head. “I give up. I can't take this anymore!!” He yelled this last part and stood up straight. He clenched his fists and put them to his temples. He looked up and yelled. Just an incoherent and anguished wail. He looked back at Yuffie and that's when she saw it. A blind rage. The kind of rage that she had only seen once before... The rage of a shattered heart. Just like those creatures! “LEON! NO!!!” Yuffie lunged at him and found herself suddenly crashing into the wall to his right. He had swatted her like a fly with his gun-blade, which he had drawn when she jumped. Her head spun and her vision blurred with tears. “L-Leo... Le-Leon........” “No time for your games, little girl.” When he spoke, it was as if two voices spoke through him. One was his. The other belonged to... “Xe... Han... Ort...?” Yuffie muttered as the world turned black. Chapter Six: Just off the Main Road – Destiny Islands... Countdown to the Connecting of Worlds: 7 years Adrian had thought a lot about what Cloud had explained back in the cave on the smallest island. What if he were to be chosen by the Keyblade? Would that make him a hero? He smiled inwardly, (not outwardly to avoid Cloud guessing about what he was thinking). Now that would give him a reason to try and learn magic! Well, he already was learning a little bit from Cloud, but what about when... No. If the Keyblade came to him? He thought a little bit about it, coming to the conclusion that he would react to it as it came along. Yeah. That was the best course of action for now. He came up over the last, tree-covered hill before his old house. He smiled. Mom always did love that rocking chair. And that weathervane was still crooked -- Dad hadn't fixed it yet! Memories came flooding back as he looked at his old home. It was all the same from the outside. But what about the inside? He was about to go down the hill and out of the trees when he saw her. His mother. She was carrying grocery bags and had her hair tied up in a bun. He dropped to the ground and stared at her through the underbrush. She got around to the corner of the house and stopped. She smiled and looked right at him. Could she see him? It seemed so, judging from the smile that was growing on her face. He didn't like that smile at all. It held no mirth, no joy. Determination. That was all that he saw there. She opened her mouth and spoke: "Hm. Thought that you'd be showing up soon." And, with that, she turned and went around the house. Adrian stayed laying on the ground, frozen. What? Is she okay? What was that about? I got a really bad feeling about this... Cloud directed at Adrian. Well, we got no choice now. I gotta see if my parents are okay! Alright... Cloud thought a sigh. Would be better if I were in my body, ready to fight with you... Adrian smiled grimly and went down the hill. Meanwhile, on the smallest island... "Sora! Riku! It's getting dark! We should go home!" Sora and Riku came running from behind the foliage of the biggest tree on the island, out of their "Secret Spot." Kairi put her hands on her hips and frowned. "What do you two do in there, anyway? Fight? 'Cause you can do that out here, too!" "Can't tell." Riku said condescendingly, crossing his arms over his chest, "It's boy stuff." "Hmph!" Kairi turned away and crossed her arms over her chest, as well. "C'mon, Riku!" Sora said, looking skeptical, "Can't we tell her? This one time?" "Hmmmmmm..." Riku turned to Sora and looked at him. "Y'know what? Sure. We'll tell her! But just this once!" Kairi turned and grinned. Then, she looked expectantly at Riku. He leaned in close and whispered to her. "We were investigating how that guy from earlier today got here. 'Cause he couldn't've come from the Big Island, right? So, we went in there, lookin' around..." He looked at Kairi sideways. "And we found a door..." Kairi's eyes went wide. "Like, a secret door?" Kairi whispered back. "Uh, huh! But you gotta keep it secret, 'kay?" Kairi nodded as Riku stood up straight and motioned to Sora to get in the boats. Then, he stopped and smacked himself in the head. "What is it, Riku?" Sora looked over at him from where he was crouched, untying his own boat. "Oh, man..." Riku moaned. "I let that guy take my boat! And he hasn't come back!" "Then take mine!" Sora and Kairi said simultaneously. They both looked at each other, then laughed. "You can ride in mine," said Kairi. "Aw, no!" Riku laughed. "I will row in yours! Move over!" And, amidst some confusion and a lot of laughs, the two boats with their three passengers made their way to the Big Island... Back on the Big Island... Adrian approached the front of the house. He looked out toward the smaller islands. It was nearing sunset. He wondered if his parents had any other kids... Adrian. Cloud mentally poked him. Focus on now. Let's see what's up. And be ready for whatever is in there... That's a big help... But Adrian raised his fist to knock on the door without hesitation. And it opened. And it was his mother standing there, holding the door open. Without a word, she motioned for him to enter. He did, and instantly drew his sword, spinning around to swing it at his "mother." He felt his arm jerk with the impact of his sword on the red chakrams of the imposter. Sparks flew, lighting up the man's face. Adrian vaguely remembered those black markings from somewhere before... He jumped back and leveled his sword once more. "A little feisty, no?" The man's cocky tone bore into Adrian's patience. "Why don't you put that away. I'm here to talk. Name's Axel." He tapped one finger to his temple as his weapons disappeared in a puff of flame. "Got it memorized?" Adrian stayed tense and let his gaze follow the man around the room as he went to relax in the recliner that had once been his father's. "You're parents..." The man looked sideways at Adrian as he spoke. "They aren't here. In fact..." He snapped his fingers as he stood and the house slowly shimmered into its true form. The windows were boarded up and the front door was replaced by a large, steel blockade-looking thing. The furniture was still there, but covered in sheets. Nothing was the same. Adrian's shock got the better of him. He lowered his weapon as Cloud screamed at him to stay alert. Adrian had put two and two together. His parents were dead. He fell to his knees and dropped his sword. No. His body screamed. His mind rent itself apart from the inside and the power that had lain dormant in his heart exploded outward. The sheets that covered the furniture burst into flames and the steel blockade on the front door started to melt as the temperature rose above three thousand degrees. The whole house blasted apart in a shower of wood and metal. The entirety of Destiny Islands saw the explosion and the neighboring houses bore the scorch marks until they, too, were destroyed. Cloud, the whole time that this was happening, could feel his grip on Adrian's soul slipping and cried out for him to control it. Slowly, but surely, Cloud began the tortuously slow descent into the Darkness. But Adrian didn't care. He had no reason to care. Not anymore. Sora, Riku and Kairi heard the explosion as they tied up their boats to the docks on the biggest island. They turned to see what had happened and watched as the brilliance of the twilit sky was magnified by the flames that had engulfed a certain neighborhood in that direction... "What the --" Riku stood watching as the flames died down a little bit. But the glow of the fire remained on the horizon. Sora, in a daze, stared at his hands, which had started to glow. Kairi stared at Sora, unable to see the glowing. "What is it?" She shook Sora gently. He slowly turned to her and said two simple words. "It's him." And then he took off toward the fire. "Sora! No! Don't!" Riku tried to grab his arm, but Sora pushed him away with unnatural strength. Riku recovered and stared at Sora's back as he disappeared into the gathering night. Sora ran and ran. He got to the source of the explosion and saw his old house in flames. And he felt him. He knew that he was inside. His brother. He gathered up all his courage and walked into the flames. He didn't feel a thing as the fire's tongues licked at him, hungry to consume him, body and soul. He made it through to the house, (or what was left of it). And there, kneeling with his fists clenched on his knees, was his brother. Sora did a double-take when he saw who it was. "Adrian?!" Adrian looked up to the voice that he remembered from earlier that day, on the small island. "Hey... Sora..." He looked back down to his fists and unclenched them, painfully. They were scorched and burned from the magic that had come from them. He winced as he tried to conjure up some curative magic. His eyes went wide as he came up empty. He looked at Sora and smiled at him. A single tear fell from his eye and evaporated in the intense heat. Sora could see it now. He was going to kill himself! "NO!!!" Sora yelled as he started to run at the young man he knew to be his brother. "DON'T!!!!!!!" And then all was black for both of them. Later that day, in Hollow Bastion... "Yuffie!" A voice was calling to her from far away. She couldn't tell who it was. Yuffie could feel someone slapping her face. She tried to move, but she couldn't. She opened her eyes and winced at how bright it was. How long had she been out? What had happened? Then, suddenly she remembered. "LEON!!!" She sat up and banged heads with whoever had been calling to her. She recovered a little and saw someone who she didn't think to see here. "Aerith?!" Yuffie said and laughed. Aerith laughed a little, too, and wiped a tear from her eye. But she was smiling. Then why was she crying? "What's wrong?" Yuffie asked, pointing to her tears. "You just hit me in the nose! That's what's wrong!" Aerith laughed as she wiped another tear away. "Oh! Sorry!" They both laughed, happy to see each other again. They were in Yuffie's room. It was just after nightfall and the whole castle was bustling, looking for Leon, most likely. Yuffie was laying on her bed and Aerith was sitting on the side. When they were done greeting each other, Aerith asked Yuffie, "Do you have any idea what happened to Squall?" Yuffie looked blankly at her for a moment then realized who she was talking about. "Oh! You mean Leon!" She laughed. "Oh, is that what he's calling himself now? Okay..." Aerith giggled. "And, to answer you, I haven't got any clue as to why he flipped like that! He just got angry and attacked me! I was going to knock him down, yeah, but that was just plain mean!" "What about this?" Aerith reached past Yuffie and grabbed a piece of paper that had a big ink stain on it. Yuffie frowned. "Isn't that...?" "Yeah. It's his suicide note, of sorts. He wrote in it that he would have to be 'controlled' soon, and that the 'darkness in his heart' would 'grow out of hand.'" Yuffie snapped her fingers as she put together what that meant. "What?" Aerith put the note down on the bed. "That's what happened!" Yuffie looked Aerith in the eye and shook her head sadly. "He's a Heartless now!" "A what?" "You remember when Cloud and Tifa died, right? How they died?" Aerith nodded. "Well, Ansem had been working on this thing about the darkness in people's hearts, but -- and this is Leon's idea, not mine -- Ansem's assistants got fed up with it and overloaded the system that created the monsters that killed Cloud and Tifa -- the Heartless! That place behind Ansem's office? The part that they took apart a while ago? That was known as the Heartless Manufactory. Where the Heartless were made..." "And this has to do with Leon going crazy, how?" "The last thing that I remember him saying before I blacked out was something about him 'not having time for me...' But he said it in the head assistant's voice! Aerith, he was channeling Xehanort!" "Ah! So, you think that Xehanort is a Hearless that took control of Squ -- I mean, Leon?" "Yeah!" "We should tell Ansem..." At that moment, an alarm went off and they both jumped. One of the castle's guardsmen came in and said, "C'mon! Ansem wants to see you right away!" Aerith and Yuffie looked at each other and nodded before getting up and leaving the room. Soon after, in the World Monitoring Room... "What? Another one?" Cid cried. "Yes, and in the same world, too..." Ansem looked gravely at the three remaining Ambassadors, (for that is what they were, Ambassadors to different worlds). "You will need to go to this world and find out what happened. You will take as many guardsmen with you as possible. And try to keep a low profile. This world is not connected to our system of worlds. Disney Castle and King Mickey have no jurisdiction there. Keep it fast, too. So far, only two or three people know about us. Let's keep it that way." "So... Let me sum it up." Yuffie crossed her arms over her chest. "There was an energy explosion, what, twelve and half years ago, and now there's another one? And we are to go investigate the cause of this explosion." "Yes," Ansem said, nodding at her, "Destiny Islands may well need to be connected after this..." "Are you sure?" Aerith inquired, looking troubled. Yuffie and Cid looked confused, so she explained. "The worlds are all connected by a system of roads and paths that were devised by Ansem, the King, and other great minds from each of the many worlds. These paths are what make it possible to travel easily from world to world. However, on this journey, it will be harder to stay on course. There is no road connecting this 'new world' to the others. So, we will be 'flying blind,' so to speak." "Well, not completely." Ansem stood up from the chair that he had been sitting at. The screen that he had been in front of was still on. It showed a small sphere on it, with charts and graphs lining the sides of the screen. This world seemed to made of mostly water and small islands. However... "What's that white line?" Yuffie said, pointing at a single strand of white that trailed from off the screen into the biggest island on the little ball. "Somebody... Is already there." Ansem said with a sigh. "And I think I know who." "Leon?" Ansem nodded. "Well, then!" Cid ran a hand through his hair, looking determined. "Let's go an' fetch 'im home, eh?" "Yeah," Yuffie and Aerith agreed. And they set out that evening. However, they had no idea what awaited them at Destiny Islands. They wouldn't stand a chance against what was there, even if they had brought the entire Hollow Bastion Guard. They wouldn't have stood a chance even if Cloud and Tifa had been there. But one thing is for certain... They never knew what hit them. Intermission Number One... Six years has passed since the team from Hollow Bastion set out to investigate the explosion of magic power and the white trail in that "new world." They still hadn't returned. Ansem was in a state of suspended animation, deep within his castle. He had put himself there to hide any secrets that his mind and heart may hold. That was four years ago. Dark, shadowy creatures of frightening strength had appeared once more, thought to be gone and destroyed by the people of Hollow Bastion. Now, there was an evil grip on many of the worlds. It seemed as if the great Keyblade would never reveal itself to the inhabitants of the worlds. All seemed lost... Then, out of nowhere, a man going by the name of Xemnas began gathering people of strength and "training" them to join his army. There were eleven others like him. They were all part of an organization of powerful people known as Organization XIII. They were looking to recruit a thirteenth member, one who was "like them." Nobody thought to question what this meant. They didn't see past the idea of being rid of these infernal creatures, once and for all. And that would be their downfall. The two young people who had been at the source of the explosion on Destiny Islands, (Adrian and Sora), had been captured and held against their will at the hands of the Organization. They were thereafter subjected to tests of strength against these "Heartless." At one point, Sora fell to the vicious claws of a Behemoth, losing his heart and becoming as one of the creatures. Adrian, in a sudden burst of magical emotion, revived him and destroyed the beast, in a single spell. The Organization members were impressed and decided that maybe, just maybe, this was the famed Keyblade bearer that they had been looking for. After three and a half months of questioning, torture, and isolation, they were put into suspended animation until such a time that they would be deemed useful. Now, after six years, Adrian would get a rude awakening. An old friend would come to visit him, putting him through such shock that he would lose his own heart. He would also be given a chance to right what had been done to the worlds, and expose a hidden threat to them. His time had come. END OF PART ONE Part Two to be posted below! :registro5B15D: Bye for now! :action-smiley-030:
