(Shall we begin?)

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{Xoctts}

The sound of crashing filled the old Castle in the remains of Radiant Garden. The dim light that remained in the former world was fading as Xoctts pushed through the wreckage at one of entrances to the castle. More damage had been done to the castle since the attack on Destiny Islands by dark forces.

And the Betrayal.

Once again, Xoctts cursed the Witch's actions. Why had he trusted her? If he found the Void Witch again, he would avenge the fallen.

Feeling alone and hopeless, Xoctts leaned against a wall and slowly slid down into a sitting position.

 

{Xion}

Sora pushed himself up to his knees, the pain of his wounds nearly causing him to blackout. He looked around as his friends were being hunted down by a laughing figure.

"I'm not going to make it, am I?" He thought.

He looked down to see his wounds. He felt soo tired. But he had to do more.

"Roxas...Xion." He murmured. "This is your fight now."

Sora summoned his Kingdom Key. He turned it so that the blade was pointed towards himself and, like he had done to free Kairi's heart, he stabbed himself.

The point of view seemed to rise up as Sora slumped. He looked up in time to see a grinning face and red blades slashing for him.

"SORA!" Xion screamed as she shot up into a sitting position.

She pulled her legs to her chest and sobbed as the loneliness and sorrow filled her as she sat in the ruins of Twilight Town's Train Station.

Edited November 25, 201311 yr by rikunobodyxiii

{Astra}Astra heard Ven's call, but still kept his eyes on the Void Witch."How strange..." He thought. "Perhaps not today."The boy in the black coat then ran towards Ven and Mercy."I hope you're alright." He said to Mercy. "We need to finish that thing"Astra then pointed his Keyblade at Vanfore, focusing energy into the tip of his weapon to unleash energy bullets towards Vanfore.{Yuri and Ainari}"Are you alright? Does your head hurts?" Asked Aina.Yuri was looking at Anna, searching in her mind for words, but time and time again prove to be unsuccessful."Aina, lead Anna into the portal. Once we are back in Destiny Islands we can work on healing her wounds."The white haired girl then walked into the portal while Aina took Anna's hands on her own hands."Don't worry...everything is going to be alright."Aina said to the Princess while slowly leading her into the portal. 

Tyler watches on at what Mercy is doing with surprise on his face, as he casts a bolt of Light from his Keyblade at Vanfore. Karen, Xterly, Sarah, and Master Thomas watch on in shock at what is currently happening. Karen and the others, except Sarah who's still fighting Lacuna, charge up beams of Light in their Keyblades, and move up close to combine their powers. They each point their Keyblades at Vanfore, with their Keyblades glowing in Light. Tyler waves his hand at Ventus, warnign him to move out of the way. "Guys, do it now!" Shouted Tyler, talking to his group. Karen and the others fire sparking beams of Light from their Keyblades at Vanfore.

Zion seemed to come back a bit. She whimpered softly, then disappeared.

Sione groaned. -I'm sorry Xion. She won't let me take control of our hands. So...you're stuck until she snaps out of it."

(Sorry for the delay, folks. Got caught up in the other thing, but I'm still good with continuing if y'all are.)

 

{Mercy, Lacuna & Ventus}

Vanfore roared in pain as the energy bolts and light beams slammed into it. It stumbled back under the combined barrage, but wasn't going down.

Sarah, apparently the only one watching Lacuna, saw the Void Witch look directly at her and wink before disappearing quiet suddenly.

Ven reared back and threw his Keyblade at Vanfore, with Mercy following suit. Surprisingly, two tentacles caught both blades before throwing them back. Mercy and Ven managed to dodge their returning Keyblades. Vanfore roared again, this time sounding more from rage then pain, and caused a shockwave to blast out from it, knocking all of the group down. Ven quickly flipped up and readied himself to continue the attack, when he stopped himself to see Vanfore already healing the damage done to him.

"Fools." The dark creature rasped. "You can not destroy me in my own realm. Darkness is strength, and I am-"

Vanfore's distorted voice suddenly was replaced by a bubbling sound as the tip of a Keyblade was seen protruding from its chest.

"Nothing." Lacuna's voice said.

Lacuna's head appeared around the side of Vanfore's body at the dark creature's body around the Keyblade started to fade as it was deleted from the universe. The Void Witch gave everyone a pleasant smile.

 

{Xion}

"Yeah...hurt?" The bleary Anna managed, still recovering from her first use of Light. "Did it work? Everyone safe?"

She followed Aina's lead unresisting as they made it through the dark portal.

"Don't worry," Xion said, smiling slightly. "She can take her time."

Doing it gently as to not pull away, Xion lead Zion through the Dark Portal to Destiny Island. On the other side, Anna seemed more coherent, looking around in wonder at the tropical island.

Tyler looks on at what happened in shock. Xterly, Karen, Tom, Sarah, and Master Thomas are also shocked at what Lacuna did. They all point their Keyblades at Lacuna. They are wondering what Lacuna did. "You Witch! Why did you do that?!" Asked Tyler, asking Lacuna a question.

{Astra}The Dark Wielder was surprised by the fact that the Void Witch had attacked Vanfore."What's going on?" he thought. "It doesn't make any sense."While the others were pointing their Keyblades at the Witch, Astra was looking at her with curiosity."What are you playing at?" Astra asked. "Every time I think I understand your way of thinking you make a sudden change."{Yuri and Ainari}Once on the other side Yuri went to sit near the shore, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself with the sound of waves."I don't get it...how could this happen? We made a grave mistake..."While Yuri was lost in thought, Ainari was still at Anna's side."I'm sorry Anna..." Yuri said. "Your sister, she...she didn't make it."The girl in black looked to the ground in shame, feeling helpless and ashamed with the Princess of Heart."She jumped into the precipice and used her ice powers to stop the Heartless. We survived thanks to her sacrifice. I'm sorry Anna...I'm so...so sorry."Aina had tears on her eyes and she noticed it before covering her face to hide her guilt."We were supposed to protect you and yet....we failed...we failed you and your sister..."

Finally Zion's grip wasn't as desperate. It loosened a bit, but she didnt let go. She moved a bit closer.

"...your hand is soft." Zion said lamely. "Are your lips the same?"

The girl paused. She looked away as her face flushed bright red. "...that sounded better in my head.

{Mercy, Lacuna, & Ventus}

Lacuna kicked Vanfore's dissolving corpse off her blade, then made a pouty face at Tyler.

"What?" She asked, sounding hurt. "No 'thank you'?"

At Astra's mention that things didn't make sense, the Void Witch perked up and grinned.

"What's going on is chaos, my lad." She declared proudly.

She grimaced.

"That's little 'c' chaos. Not big 'c' chaos. Big 'c' isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Ven, who had followed suit with Tyler, kept his Keyblade at Lacuna, confusion was clear on his face. Mercy, on the other hand, kept her blade down while she shook her head.

"That was your plan the whole time, wasn't it?" She asked, still sounding a little hoarse. "Get the monster to kidnap me, lure the others here, all just to kill it."

Lacuna waved a hand side to side, indicating that that was a close guess.

"I could have taken out him out on my own, but stuff like this is always more fun with friends."

"'Fun?'" Ven sputtered. "All this was for your fun?"

Lacuna shrugged. Mercy watched her carefully, not buying it.

 

{Xion}

Anna was at first in shock at the news. She looked about to break down, but she remembered her parents death. No, she had to be strong. Have courage. The Princess of heart put her arms around Aina, a few tears flowing down her her own cheeks, despite her attempts to stop them.

"I'm sure you-" she tried to reassure, but grief overtook her and she sobbed uncontrollably.

Xion missed Aina and Anna's break down due to Zion's question. She blushed as she tried to give an answer, but nothing was coming out right.

Zion giggled softly.

"you're cute when you blush." She put her head on Xion's shoulder. "...Just say yes or no. Or just nod once for yes, shake your head for no."

-You're being nice.-

"I'm always nice."

-...Right, sorry, I'm the bitch. Or, Xion, you can kiss Zion and answer her question directly.-

 

Zion moved a bit away from Xion, but not breaking contact. She looked uncomfortable at Sione's words, not looking at her. "Sorry...Sione's...she's...yeah...it's neither the time nor place to be joking."

{Astra}"Chaos?"At this point Astra put his thoughts about the Void Witch as one of his top priorities."So many people think that order is what keeps the universe together, but chaos is what makes the universe move."The Dark Wielder said flatly, remembering something from his past."You're helping the universe move, but a better question is...what are you trying to archive in doing so?{Yuri and Ainari}Ainari was trying very hard to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks, only to fail every time. There she was, a girl who had tried to protect a Princess of Heart and her loved sister, only to lose one of them."I'm so sorry Anna...I tried my best and I failed." Aina whispered before returning Anna's hug. "From now on I will be at your side to protect you against anything that wish to harm you. You have my promise."Yuri was looking at both Anna and Aina, and Xion and Zion. There she was, all alone, with no one to give her words of support for her self-imposed failure."Am I getting so emotionally detached to stop feeling sad about all of this. I'm upset, but not as sad as I should be." The white haired girl thought to her self. "What am I supposed to do...?"In an attempt to break from her sulky mood Yuri cleared her throat to get the group's attention."So, what is going to be our next move?" She asked while looking at Xion. "We have one of the seven Princesses of Heart. What now?"

Tyler looks on at Lacuna with a glare on his face. He clenches his teeth as he looks on at her. He is getting annoyed by her by each passing second. Tom, Sarah, Karen, Xterly, and Master Thomas point their Keyblades at Lacuna, as they look on at her sternly. "You're crazy! This wasn't "Fun"! it was utter BETRAYAL! Even though he was one of our enemies, he didn't deserve to have been betrayed like that! You won't get away with everything you did, you monster!" Shouted Tyler, talking to Lacuna.

Edited May 22, 201411 yr by Tom13

Darkness. It was all around. A hand wiped a brow as a man sorted through views and data files from all over the worlds. This was hopeless. Trying to find this person was absolutely impossible. Then an exclamation point appeared on his monitor. His interest peaked, the man clicked it. His breath was taken. There she was. The man gripped his weapon tightly. She would not escape this time.

~Moments Later~

Tyler was screaming at the lady. How ineffective a tactic. Lacuna lived for chaos and destruction. There was no reasoning with her. The replica gazed from his hiding spot in the darkness. One more second, and everything would be perfect. "Be with me Riku." Kopiu muttered. He sprung out from the shadows, using dark magic to enhance his speed beyond regular limits. He slashed downward with Soul Consumer, then twirled it around and swung again. "This is where you fall, witch." Kopiu said, his voice edged with bold determination. He refused to let her get away this time.

Lacuna lived for chaos and destruction.

(Ah. How well you know knew her. *evil grin*){Xion}Anna managed to get control of her own crying as Aina apologized and promised to protect her."I know you tried your best." She managed. "Thank you."Blushing a little more from Sione's contribution to the situation, Xion tried to say she didn't know how her lips were, as she had never kissed anyone, but she kept tripping over her own words. She moved towards Zion and tried to look into her eyes. Maybe it was time to find out..."What now?" Yuri's words rang through Xion, reminding her that there was still a lot to do.She gave Zion an apologetic look, then turned to the others. She felt a little bit of self recrimination as she finally took in Anna and Aina's state."Two." She said, a little hoarsely, giving Zion a quick glance. "Zion's one, too. Now...we have to find out who is still alive."She gritted her teeth. "We may need to see Xemnas again."{Mercy, Lacuna, & Ventus}Lacuna gave Astra a mad grin."What? You don't think movement itself can be a goal?" She asked.The Void Witch turned to give Tyler a bitting remark, but stopped suddenly. She then pivoted around and used her void Keyblade to protect herself from Kopiu's first attack, managing to deflect the strike, but barely. Her block of his next attack was stronger."Man," she began, back to her normal flippant style, "I knew I should have left that field up longer. Didn't want people coming in or out as I took out Vanfore."Ven, seeing an opening, launched himself at Lacuna, only to have his blade locked with a void blade from Lacuna's other hand."I see I'm not going to get any work done with you people like this." The Witch sighed. She kicked Ven away and shoved Kopiu back, through a tear that formed around him. She then turned, gave a friendly wave, then jumped through the tear herself. Mercy jumped to go through herself, but the tear closed before she got to it."Blast!" She swore.{Lacuna}Outside the ruins of Castle Oblivion, Lacuna grinned at Kopiu."You've really got to get a new hobby, mate." She said, her Keyblade waving idly in her hand. "Or maybe girlfriend."{Xemnas}Xemnas checked a smile indicator on his wrist to make sure no one had shown up to his lab in the Hall of The Cornerstone. He expected word from the team he sent to Arendelle any time now. He looked up to see Saix walking towards him."How did it go?" The Superior asked as he kept walking.The Luna Diviner stopped, turned, and started walking along side Xemnas."It was close, but we managed to get the recruit." He answered.Both Organization members stopped at a bank of windows. It looked down on a medical bay, containing Xehanort's Heartless and a young woman."She took some convincing, but Ansem...persuaded her." Saix continued.Xemnas watched Elsa intently, till she looked up at him, golden eyes looking back at him."Excellent." He said, turning away. "Make sure she doesn't cross path with the Lights. And get her a coat."

{Astra}"What? You don't think movement itself can be a goal?"Those words echoed on Astra's mind, repeating in an endless cycle. Was it possible that "movement" was the Void Witch's only goal."I don't understand." He said to no one. "She is something that doesn't make sense at all.""Blast!" Mercy swore.The silver haired boy looked at the girl and the rest of the group before making his question."Now what? We managed to...rescue...the Princess and an enemy was destroyed in the process. What is our next move?"{Yuri and Ainari}Aina gave Anna a small nod before looking at Xion."We may need to see Xemnas again." She said.Yuri smiled a little and crossed her arms."So, White locks? I hope he have something interesting to say. Like the location of another princess for example."Ainari looked between Yuri and the other two wielders before stopping at Xion."She is not happy to see him again." She thought. "I'm worried about how all of this is going to turn out in the end."The white haired girl glanced behind her, she felt for a split second that something, or someone, was watching them."How strange...What was that?" She whispered before a dark portal opened behind her. "Alright then. A portal to the Hall of The Cornerstone ready to be used."

{Mercy & Ventus}

Ven rubbed his head. The way that Astra put it made it sound like a victory. So why didn't feel like one?

"Well, with Mercy safe, we should meet up with the other team and compare notes." He suggested.

Mercy stared at where Kopiu and Lacuna had disappeared from. The Witch would be back, Mercy knew, and her game would continue.

"If only we could restack the deck in our favor." She thought.

 

{Xion}

Xion took a deep breath. She didn't want to see Xemnas again. The only thing she wanted to do was to hear he was dead. She didn't even want to be the one to do it anymore. She just wanted him gone. She subconsciously tightened her grip on Zion's hand, then loosened her grasp when she realized what she was doing.

"Sorry." She said, hoping she hadn't hurt Zion.

Anna, trying to push past the grief she felt, looked at the dark portal with as much interest as she could muster.

"What's this?" She asked, her voice still quivering a little.

{Astra}Astra once again put his hood on and looked around for a few seconds."Sounds about right." He said flatly. "I don't think we have anything else to do here."The silver haired boy looked at Mercy for a split second before turning to face Ventus."Our only issue will be to find out their current location."{Yuri and Ainari}"This?" Yuri asked. "This as a few names. Dark Path, Dark Corridor, Dark Portal, etcetera."Aina the continued her friend's explanation."In the past it was a road which connected the Realm of Darkness to its own worlds and the worlds from the Realms of Light and In-between."The white haired girl nodded and once again continued."To put it simply, It allows the user to travel between worlds." She said matter-of-factly. "Although, those from the Realm of Light or In-between would suffer corruption from using these paths for long periods of time. The Darkness would corrupt and take their hearts."Aina the put her hand on Anna's shoulder."There are other ways to prevent the corruption. Armors made for Keyblade Wielders or even the black coats used by those like Astra and Xemnas." She said while looking at Anna. "As a Princess of Heart you don't have to worry about it because your heart is unable to be corrupted by the darkness."

Tyler looks at Ventus, and nods at him. "Yeah, we probably should meet up with the others right. Who knows what happened on their end... No matter the trials, no matter the dangers, we'll all pull through. Right, Ven?" Asked Tyler, asking Ventus a question. Tom looks up at the sky, as if thinking of something in his head. "Our enemies are getting tougher... We need to be careful..." Thought Tom, mentally thinking of something in his head. Xterly is seen looking at Sarah with a look of confusion on his face, as Sarah looks on at Tyler and Ventus with a smile on her face. 

Zion pouted. Almost. Nearly had It...

She sighed softly to herself. Never got to it. Sione thankfully was quiet...even as her ha d was squeezed.

Xemnas.

Zion moved closer, gently pressing her shoulder to Xion's in silent support.

Zion pouted. Almost. Nearly had It...

She sighed softly to herself. Never got to it. Sione thankfully was quiet...even as her ha d was squeezed.

Xemnas.

Zion moved closer, gently pressing her shoulder to Xion's in silent support.

{Mercy & Ventus}

Ven looked a little downcast, but brightened up at Tyler's question.

"Yeah, we'll pull through." He said, smiling. "Together, we can do anything."

Mercy looked over at Ven and Tyler. It sounded a little hollow here, but she realized that was what they needed to believe.

"You have to have hope to keep going." She thought. "We have to get through this. And so we shall."

Ven rubbed the back of his head again.

"I guess the best place to start is to go back to Destiny Islands." He replied to Astra. "That's where Xion was setting up base, right?"

"Only one way to find out." Mercy said as she opened a light portal to Destiny Islands. "Come on."

She stepped through the portal.

 

{Xion}

Anna seemed to be following the explanation along alright,

"So, kind of like hidden passages in a castle?" She asked, trying to link the concept of dark portals to something she knew. "Short cuts to someplace else?"

She thought about what Yuri had said. Well, secret passages had their dangers, didn't they? She shouldered as she remembered the spiders.

Xion was thankful of the support Zion was giving her. She could get through this. She could face him. She had herself nearly convinced when the light portal opened and Mercy stepped out.

Kopiu snarled, slashing his weapon through the air between them. "Not yet. When you are finally gone, once and for all, then maybe I'll take up knitting." The replica said. His last words were a joke, but they didn't fit with his serious tone. His off-hand burned with dark flames. He held her gaze. Her gaze... So empty, soulless, cruel. There were no redeeming factors behind those eyes. She only spoke one language: action. Lucky for her, he was fluent too. He lunged forward with Soul Consumer, following through with a spin. Upon facing her again he shot out a spear of darkness. Then he brought up his staff again, launching into a flurry of strikes with the weapon. Down, up, diagonal, stab forward, bring the back around for a left strike. He kept his mind focused on his weapon.

{Astra}Astra nodded at Ven's suggestion before Mercy opened a light portal."While I do appreciate the way." He said before a dark portal opened behind him. "I will take less bright route."The boy in the black coat walked backwards until he was inside the portal, and once inside, it closed.{Yuri and Ainari}Aina nodded at Anna's concept of the dark paths."To put it simply, yes, they are shortcuts to other worlds."Yuri snickered and waved her hand."Yeah let's go with that, we can let the complicated stuff for another time."At that moment a light portal and dark portal opened behind them, and from them came Astra and Mercy."Well, look who decided to show up." Yuri said. "I take you succeeded in your task?"Astra nodded and removed his hood, covering the top of his head with his hand to block the light of the sun."I see that you succeeded in yours." He said flatly while looking at Anna with his golden eyes."Oh! Please, excuse him." Aina said while looking at Anna. "Anna this is Astra, he is out traveling companion and friend."The silver haired boy gave a slight nod to the Princess."And Astra." Continued Aina. "This is Princess Anna of Arendelle and Princess of the Heart."

Zion was there, wings and Keyblades out. But when the others talked with the boy, she calmed the firetruck down...and decided to go behind Xion and hug her waist.

"Hey..." she whispered. "I'll be here if you need me. Just gotta survive my...adorable yet annoying tendency to hug girls I have a crush on." She joked. "But...more seriously...I can tell how you feel...so don't hesitate to come to me." She finished.

{Lacuna}

Lacuna blocked Kopiu's first strike before performing a Matrix style dodge on the Replica's dark attack, barely in acting it in time. Giggling, the Void Witch spun and bobbed, her Keyblade and void blade flashing around to meet and block Kopiu's Soul Consumer.

"I took you for a lace work man, myself." She joked, her joviality in stark contrast of Kopiu's attitude.

She caught one of Soul Consumer's blades between her weapons and held it. She leaned in close to Kopiu's face, grinning at him.

"Do you really think you can beat me?" She teased. "Not even your original could do that on his own. He should have listened to Sora and stuck together."

 

{Mercy & Xion}

Anna stared at Astra and Mercy for a moment before realizing she was being introduced. She made a rather hasty curtsy.

"Pleased to meet you, Astra." She said, before looking at Mercy.

"I'm Mercy." Mercy rasped, her throat still hurting and dry.

Xion was a little surprised by Zion's actions, but she relaxed as the other girl spoke.

"Thanks." She whispered.

She wished she didn't have to worry about the fates of the worlds and just stay with Zion, but she knew she couldn't forget about the others. She had to stay focused on bringing back the Light, like Sora would have. Still, it was nice to know she wasn't alone.

With her mobility questionable with Zion hugging her from behind, Xion beckoned for Mercy to come over. The red headed Princess arched an eyebrow and walked over.

"We haven't officially met, but my name is Xion." The Replica introduced herself. "It is a little hard to explain how, but I was a part of Sora. I have his memories from up till Lacuna betrayed us."

Mercy looked shocked for a moment.

"So...you're one of the ones still 'trapped'?" Mercy asked. "I heard Riku mention something about that to Sora, like we needed more people. I got the impression that Sora was the only one who could get them."

Xion nodded.

"There was three of us." She explained. "Roxas and me were inside Sora. Namine was inside Kairi. I was released when Lacuna...got to Sora. I don't think the others..."

Xion voice faltered and she was thankful that Zion was still hugging her.

Mercy nodded. She had experienced enough death to know its effect to other people.

"So," she said, changing the subject, "y'all found a Princess of Heart? With me, that makes two."

"Three." Xion corrected.

She looked back at Zion.

"This is Zion. She's also a Princess of Heart."

{Astra, Yuri and Ainari}While Mercy and Xion spoke with each other Astra was looking at the remaining portal behind him."Where were you going?" He asked. "I hope not a dangerous place."Yuri snorted and smiled at the silver haired boy."What gives you that thought?" She said flatly. "We were going to give White locks a visit."Astra raised an eyebrow and Aina noticed it."She means Xemnas." She said. "We were going to visit Xemnas to see if he had another clue about the whereabouts of another Princess of Heart."The silver haired boy nodded and crossed his arms."I don't think Xion is happy about that, right?" Astra whispered.Both Yuri and Ainari shook their heads and looked at the Replica.

Kopiu growled under his breath. He kept the same amount of pressure on his weapon so that she would think he was only trying to break through the guard with brute force. Unfortunately for her, he was smarter than to try that reckless technique. He was also smarter than to let her words get to him. The second she managed to mess with his head would be the second she lopped off his head. He did need to reply though. He wasn't about to let her get the satisfaction of "beating" him in a verbal match too. "You really don't know me do you? This entire time I've been distancing myself from Riku. My level of strength is above what his used to be at this point."  Now was the time to make his move. Kopiu swung the staff upwards, out of the guard she had held him in, also bringing the other end up towards her. If he was reading her right, she'd back up, leaving her vulnerable... Kopiu vanished into a dark corridor and reappeared right behind her, then lunged forward violently. In theory, she wouldn't be able to turn around to parry, nor switch her momentum from the backwards dodge to a forward one.