Grotesquery

Hey, everyone! I'm grateful for the time you've taken to read this, so I'll make this introductory statement as brief as possible. Let's start with an explanation. My inspiration for this story came from none other than our very own Master Eraqus, whose story, "The Extreme Purifier"(Link), has been floating around the forums for quite some time. After hearing about his own inspiration for his story, a theory video by HMK and Skyward Wing(Link), I thought that it would be fun to pen my own take on the concept of an Extreme Purifier. So over the past few days I've been working on this brief prologue, and I've posted it here to get some outside opinions. I hope you'd be willing to take the time to post your thoughts, but please, do not say the story is perfect as it is. Oh, and just a heads up, some of this could be considered not safe for kids. Nothing graphic, but it definitely isn't Disney levels of innocence. Key: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “The arrogance of the human mind is to believe that we understand anything. The humility of the human mind is to understand that we know nothing, but must strive to know all.” ~Nameless Report, Entry 9 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Out of nothing, I awoke. At one moment, there was only darkness around me, but in the next my senses returned like lighting. Pain and irritation shot down my limbs; my vision blurred as the dark veil obscuring my eyes was torn, revealing a harsh world of blinding light. I could barely move, forced to wait and struggle like an infant as my worthless limbs refused to obey me. Something wet stung my face. Tears, perhaps tied to the uneasiness that brewed within my chest. I could recall nothing. No sorrow, no bliss that would awaken such a stirring in my soul. I knew immediately that something was terribly, horribly wrong. The cotton deafness in my ears peeled away, as a barrage of dull noise assaulted me. I could feel something through the cold floor below, something shaking and reverberating. I feared what it was, but why I could not say. I struggled to my feet, my arms and legs burning with the strain. My head swam with a myriad of thoughts as I struggled to take in everything at once. And it was only then that I noticed the dull quakes were growing more frequent. Standing prostrate as I could manage, I peered around the room. Everything was white as snow, at least, all that I could see. I stumbled forward, my impaired vision forcing me to feel my way through the white void. My legs buckled, sending me stumbling forwards, yet I managed to catch myself upon a large cold object. I blinked away the wetness in my eyes, and focused upon my sight as hard as I was able. Slowly, a riveted surface came into view before me, and its definition rang a familiar tone in my mind. “A pillar.” I muttered to myself. Suddenly, the rest of my senses started to come flooding back. My vision sharpened, my ears stiffened, and my hands clenched shut. A choking breath caught in my throat as I was briefly overwhelmed, yet I managed to fight it off. Now at least partially lucid, I finally managed to take a full view of the room in which I found myself. Everything looked as though it had been white-washed, from the floors to the aforementioned pillars, an almost countless number of which adorned the large halls. They climbed high into the space above my head, disappearing into heights which my eyes could not reach. The room truly was massive; I could see very little beyond the spires that jutted up from the floor around me. After getting my bearings, I once again took notice of the monotonous quaking still resounding all around me. With little else to occupy myself with, I resolved to find the source of whatever the strange sound was, and hopefully some kind of clue that would shed light on where I was. I took a few careful steps, the dull reverberations almost throwing me off balance at certain points. Using the pillars to support myself, I proceeded through the seemingly endless room, towards what I thought may be the source of the incessant noise. Luckily, it seemed like my guesses were paying off, as I could sense the quakes growing louder as I continued on. Methodically gauging the distance to each thump, I slowly began working my way towards the epicenter. As I approached, I noticed that the pillars around me began to diverge and become less clustered in their arrangement. By observing the patterns in the pillars, I made a guess that they were gradually opening up to a large and expansive area. After a few more moments of careful treading, the Pillars began to disappear completely from my field of vision, becoming too distant for my eyes to follow. I found myself in a vast expanse of white, a place almost devoid of being, save for one lone structure. Not too far ahead, I noticed a large and extravagant marble throne, upon which stood a tall, fair woman. She possessed long and golden hair that flowed down her sprawling white robes, and wore an ornate mask that obscured her eyes. Kneeling before the woman was a haggard man, gasping for air and struggling to keep himself upright. In his hand he held a large key, which he used to support himself as he tried to stand. With some effort he found his footing, and immediately charged forward with a deafening yell. He braced the key with both of his hands, and in a single swing brought his full momentum crashing towards the woman, who merely stood, unfazed. I watched in confusion as the man’s strike was stopped short in the middle of the air, and as he was thrown back like a rag doll. Yet, despite seemingly striking nothing, the contact of the man’s attack reverberated through the chamber in an ear-splitting clang, almost as if he had struck an iron wall. The peal was so unbearable, that I was forced to cover my ears in an attempt to keep out the horrible noise. Following the man’s strike, a deft rumble shook the foundation at my feet, nearly rocking me to the ground. After the shock-wave had passed, I looked up and slowly began to remove my hands from my ears. The man, despite being tossed aside, quickly found his footing, and proceeded to leap forward for a second strike. I preemptively moved to cover my ears once more, as again the man’s attack merely bounced off an invisible wall, and another agonizing metal screech rang through the air. I looked up. The man who had been attacking knelt again before the woman, struggling to catch his breath. Suddenly, as if from nothingness, a voice sounded all around me, invading my mind and sending a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t even put into words how it felt; indescribably soothing, yet somehow terrifying, malicious and shrill all at once. Slowly, the voice began to form words from thin air, and those words began to weave into piercing thoughts. From the emptiness, it spoke. “Why do you fight, knowing what you know? Why do you resist that which must come to pass? You have seen the end… and it is soon. In time all will be complete and you will be revealed for what you truly are; pitiful worms mewling for the promise of a long-dead salvation. And you will fight and bicker and destroy for that which destroys you, and I will watch as this pitiful world is reborn into a land of promise and jubilation. You will be remembered as nothing more than a villain who fought this very salvation I sought for you, if you are fortunate enough to be remembered at all. So I ask again, why do you fight?” All was quiet. A terrible sense of dread filled my heart, something darker than anything I could possibly imagine was taking place. My eyes darted around the room, as I struggled to stifle my shivering body. Where had the voice come from? The man had done nothing, and the woman’s mouth had yet to move. Was there someone else here? Suddenly, the silence was broken by something almost foreign to me at this point, the sound of another person’s voice. The man rose to his feet, and addressed the woman directly. “What’s become of you?” He said softly. “You were once so full of hope, so full of joy. Your smile brought comfort to all; you could mend a broken soul and patch a shattered heart. You sought to make the world a better place… not to burn it down and start a new one!” The man threw his arm to the side in anger. “You’ve changed.” He muttered bitterly. “You’re no savior, you’re a monster.” The man raised his weapon and braced himself. “And you need to be stopped.” He finished. The woman showed no signs of emotion, no change in expression that would show the man’s words impacted her at all, if they were even meant for her in the first place. Once again, a cold chill racked my body, as the voice returned to speak once more. “Your words mean nothing, and your actions, even less. You know that you cannot defeat me, not now. There remain only two… and soon they will both receive their just rewards. As for the one who fights alongside you…” the voice stopped, and with it, my heart. A bitter wind blew by as I was assaulted with an indescribable sense of dread. “My dear!” The voice echoed. “Why, I didn’t see you there!” The woman turned towards me, her expression terribly lifeless as her concealed eyes shook my soul with their invisible glare. Suddenly, the man turned to face me, shocked and terrified. “Raid!” He called out, as he lunged for me with blinding speed. Almost faster than my eyes could follow, a large white spear appeared in the woman’s hands, and in the time it took for me to draw in another haggard breath, she had sent it flying towards my heart. Time froze, and it felt like everything would hang forever more in motionless terror. But in a split second that felt like an eternity, time began again. I looked up to see the man standing before me, his soft face and warm blue eyes meeting my terrified gaze. A large white spear-head stained in blood jutted from his chest. Struggling to speak, he muttered the words, “Run.” I was unable to think. Unable to breath. All I could do was turn and flee as fast as I could. The pillars surrounding the area began to shake uncontrollably, as a horrible scream ripped through the vast chamber. From within the pealing shriek, the voice from before called out in a shrill echo: “No! You will not escape me again!” I ran as fast as I could, not daring a second to look back. The pillars began to collapse around me, as darkness slowly started to encroach upon my vision. I felt my legs grow weak, and the air grow heavy. I felt countless arms reaching for me, desperately trying to pull me into the abyss. I felt pain and terror the likes of which I could have never even imagined. And then, everything faded to black. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I read the title and was all like "one of these things is not like the other". But yeah, that's an interesting observation. I'd probably go so far as to say it may have been intentional, but not enough to think that it posseses any real significance.

That's how Terra will get his revenge in Kingdom Hearts III.

“Aqua never understood why Terra liked the game so much. She especially never understood why she was so bad at it.” Checkmate All was quiet in the library. As it well should be, Aqua thought to herself, for a non-quiet library is an abomination to the senses. Aqua sat at a rather large table lain out amidst the countless scores of book-shelves, a small tome in her hands and a glazed look in her eyes. Yes, again, all was quiet. As it well should be. “Aqua.” It was taking a lot of effort to ignore him nowadays, but she was getting good at it. “Aqua.” Maybe not good enough. “Aqua!” Aqua sighed. Listlessly, she turned her spectacled eyes to the side and spoke audibly. “Yes, what is it, Terra?” She asked, trying her best to sound annoyed. Aqua didn’t know much of what she expected in return from her famously stubborn companion. Another question, perhaps? Some kind of biting or sarcastic remark? Perhaps even, if she dared herself fortunate, a healthy round of witty banter? Instead, all she received was a loud thump as Terra’s crestfallen image fell before her on the table. He turned to look at her, his eyes lidded and lax. “I’m bored.” Oh dear. Now this simply wouldn’t do at all. Aqua’s expression shifted to one of odd disgust coupled with something almost akin to pity. Fortunately, she managed to compose herself, and after masking her change in demeanor with a brief sigh, Aqua quickly found her way back to her callous ways. Feigning apathy, Aqua turned her gaze back towards her book and replied, “You’re in a library, Terra. Read a book.” Terra made some kind of noise, a mix between a sigh and some kind of long drawn out grunt, as he stood prostrate once more. He reached his arms outwards, motioning to the numerous shelves of books that surrounded them. “Aqua, I’ve lived here my entire life!” He said quite loudly. “I’ve read all these books. Seriously, you think the master would update his collection after 20 years, but NO!” Terra slumped over in defeat, but still managed to keep his head high. Aqua was trying her best to look uninterested, even though it was getting exceedingly difficult. “Have you ever thought about, oh, I don’t know, re-reading them?” She said, still refusing to turn from her book that she stopped reading quite a while ago. Terra turned towards her, a look of disdain on his face. “Aqua, I’m not like you. I’m not crazy enough to read through foreign Keyblade War erotica 7 times and actually enjoy it.” He finished with a slight smile on his face. “H-hey!” Aqua said, an octave higher than before. In a single motion, she stood and turned towards Terra, her cheeks red and her eyes furious. “Now you listen to me! ‘Passions of the Star Fruit’ is an underrated masterpiece, infinitely better than that primordial drivel you fill your Neanderthal brain with!” Terra’s smile grew wider at her words, as he stood up straight. “So, your tastes are a little more sophisticated, huh? Perhaps even… hierarchical…?” Aqua’s heart and face both began to fall as she slowly came to realize what Terra was building towards. “No.” She said suddenly. Terra’s unbearably cocky grin grew even wider. “One game. That’s all I want!” Aqua’s stare turned deadly, as she hissed out her response, “Not. On your. LIFE.” Terra’s smile fell somewhat, but it was too late to dissuade him. He had his heart set on one thing now. The game of kings. “Chess.” He said. “One game, winner gets the library all to themselves, and all the quiet that comes with it.” Aqua covered her ears in defiance; she wouldn’t let his words poison her resolve. “No!” She exclaimed as she turned to run out the door. “Never! NEVER!!!” On her mad dash out of the library, Aqua could have sworn she saw Ven passing by, a look of utter confusion on his face. But she couldn’t afford to stop and explain. All she could do was hold out faith that one day he would understand. And that he would never play Chess with Terra so long as he lived. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aqua was good at a lot of things. She was good at chores. She was good at magic. She was good at reading and writing, and she fancied herself a competent critic. She could make wonders in the kitchen, and the things she could do with a deck of cards would boggle the mind of even the most accomplished illusionists. Terra was good at none of those things. But it’s not like that mattered much, Terra never really wanted to be good at anything like that. All he ever wanted to do was fight, which is why Aqua never understood why he loved Chess so much. Aqua wasn’t good at Chess. It was actually kind of shocking, really. Chess is more a game about outwitting your opponent than just plowing through them, which is why she should be good at it. But no, for some unfathomable reason, Aqua was absolutely awful when it came to the so-called game of kings. Perhaps it was some kind of cosmic mishap that occurred as she was being put together within her mother’s womb, Aqua didn’t know. But all that mattered to her was that she was utterly helpless when playing on a chess board. Terra, on the other hand, was a natural. It made no sense, and to be honest, it was actually kind of scary sometimes. No one could beat him. Not Ven, not the Master, not even people from other worlds. And least of all, especially not Aqua. It infuriated her to no end, and Terra knew this. It was something that she would never be able to change, something besides fighting that Terra was better at than her! Every time Aqua would do something incredible, or reach some kind of milestone, it didn’t matter. Because no matter what she did, Terra was always better at Chess than her. And no amount of accomplishments would ever change that. Learned how to summon fairies? Terra’s still better at Chess. Finished writing a novel? Terra’s still better at Chess. Learned Mega-Flare? Terra’s still better at Chess. Defeated a time traveling abomination of nature? Actually, Terra did that too, so it doesn’t really count, but you get the idea. And so, here she was. Hiding in a storage closet like a frightened little girl, the very notion of a simple game striking fear into her soul. “Aqua.” Terra’s voice sounded from outside. Aqua stilled her breathing, trying to trick herself into thinking that made her harder to find. “Aqua, I know you’re in there.” His voice sounded once again, but she wasn’t listening. She still had her hands to her ears. “Aqua, the Master taught us how to sense each-other’s auras years ago. You know that hiding is pointless.” He said, his voice muffled by the wall between them. Of course, Aqua knew that. But that didn’t mean that she was ready to accept it. “Aqua, please. Just one game, and I promise I’ll leave you alone.” Aqua pouted. He said please. His voice resounded one last time. “Please.” She sighed. He said it again. Carefully, she moved to unlock the door to her little hidey-hole. It opened to reveal Terra standing at the entrance, looking a little sad, but still expecting an answer. Aqua looked at him, her face tinted with small hints of worry and reluctance. “One game, on one condition.” She said. Terra’s eyes lit up. “Anything.” Aqua’s eyes narrowed in response as she grabbed his throat and pulled him in close. “Never. Again.” ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aqua begrudgingly took her seat at the table. Terra had already set up the game in the library, figures. He knew she would crack. Terra sat opposite Aqua, his cocky grin now out in full force. He rubbed his hands together excitedly as he gazed out over the chess board and said, “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.” Aqua rolled her eyes. The amount of joy he was taking in this was rather sickening. Terra looked over at Aqua, his smile turning into a sly grin. “Ladies first.” He said, as he motioned for her to proceed. Aqua scoffed. “How courteous of you.” She said. Aqua turned her attention back towards the board, and began to absentmindedly stroke her chin in deep thought. Don’t misunderstand; she hated the game, but if this was really going to be the last time she played with Terra, she wanted to give it everything she had. After a few pensive moments, Aqua moved one of her pieces forwards. She was hoping to lead Terra into a trap too obvious for him to see, so that she could claim some of his more important pieces. Aqua may have been bad at the game, but she knew Terra’s style. He would try to win with as many casualties as possible, just to add insult to injury. Terra’s sly grin returned as control shifted to his side. “My turn.” He said maliciously. In a single motion, he moved one of his pawns to f3, a first move that almost always set the flow of the game in the opponents favor. Aqua almost jumped. The move was mad, even for Terra’s standards. She turned to look at him, and practically yelled, “Are you crazy?” Terra’s only response was to sit back, confidently, with that ever-present grin still etched on his face. “Your move.” Aqua’s eyes narrowed. Okay, so that’s how he wants to play. What followed was too much for any single person to recall. In what can only be described as a flurry of Chess bound fury, Aqua and Terra exchanged move for move on a second by second basis. For every piece that Aqua lost, Terra would go out of his way to make sure he lost two in exchange. And yet, somehow, Aqua still found herself on the losing end of things at every step of the way. In a matter of moments, the game-board had been whittled down to a sparse few pieces, and any outside observer would have immediately called it a stalemate. But Aqua knew better, Terra would never allow for something so menial. It was always part of the plan But then, the tempo shifted. Terra stopped, and his eyes grew wide. He paused for several moments, as he surveyed the aftermath of his endurance match with Aqua. Stunned, he looked up and spoke clearly. “Wow, Aqua. You might actually win this time.” Aqua’s eyes widened in response, as she too looked down upon the game-board. Sure enough, Terra had been locked into a desperate position. With only a pawn and two rooks left in addition to the king, his case seemed hopeless. Aqua couldn’t believe it. She was almost too afraid to believe it. As the utter crushing weight of the situation finally began to dawn upon her, the corners of Aqua’s mouth began to contort into a demented and toothy grin. “You’re right.” She muttered. “You’re right!” She said again, almost trying to convince herself even further. She looked up at Terra, whose expression was slowly growing increasingly distressed. His eyes darted back and forth across the game board, his mind desperately trying to find an impossible solution to an impossible situation. And Aqua was loving every moment. So, this is what the legendary Terra looked like when he was desperate. Delicious. Terra had said nothing, and he honestly didn’t need to. His face belied his dying confidence, and the slow realization of just how dire the situation really was. It truly looked like he would fold at any moment. Now, all that remained was the final move. Relishing the moment, Aqua leaned over the table, her slightly disjointed expression filling Terra’s haggard vision. It was time for the final blow. “Terra.” She mockingly jabbed. “It’s your move.” And just when it seemed like the entire world was about to stand still, fate decided to intervene. Of course it did. It always did. “TERRA! AQUA!” The Master’s voice resounded from outside. Terra’s hypnotized gaze on the Chess board broke as he turned towards where the voice sounded. Aqua’s crooked smile disappeared as she also turned in sort, her face red with burning fury. “WHAT!?” Aqua snapped in frustration. She really didn’t care what the Master thought of her right now, she could apologize when she was lucid. If the Master was surprised at Aqua’s tone, he certainly didn’t sound like it. “I need your help! I think Ventus is trying to fly on his Keyblade!” Aqua sighed, venting her inner rage as she started to calm down. “Master, I’m sure that you can handle –“ “He’s about to jump off the main plaza!” Aqua and Terra immediately turned to meet each-other’s gaze, their expressions shifting to a sour mix of worry and a strange kind of look that said, “not again”. “VEN!!!” They yelled simultaneously, as the two proceeded to high-tail it out the library and towards the front of the castle. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aqua sighed as she placed a gentle hand upon her forehead, trying to quell the headache her young friend’s antics had brought. For hindsight, she replayed what he said in her mind, something along the lines of “Don’t worry! If I can’t fly, I’ll just come back up and try again!” Aqua sighed once more, although she had to give Ven credit. He could certainly make a very compelling argument for jumping to his demise. However, now that he was firmly planted in the study hall with an intimidating round of physics lectures ahead of him, Aqua could finally get back to her game with Terra. Turning into the library, Aqua was hardly surprised to see Terra waiting for her, pensively looking over the Chess board once again. He had left the scene a little earlier than Aqua, since Ven specifically demanded that she stay and tell him how old she was when she learned how to fly the Keyblade (she was sixteen, by the way. She beat Terra by a year.) Aqua wasn’t worried about Terra being alone with the board, however; she knew that he would never cheat at a game that meant so much to him. Aqua let a cocky grin adorn her features as she moved to sit back down. “You can look all you want, Terra, but sooner or later you’ll have to face the facts.” She said, her cockiness reaching the levels of Terra in his prime. “The simple truth is, you’ve finally los-” “Ah!” Terra finally said, as he made a quick motion with his Rook, capturing Aqua’s king in a single, devastating motion. “Child’s play.” He said confidently, as he crossed his arms in victory. “Checkmate, Kiro.” Aqua froze. She didn’t hear that. He was lying. What, one final jab to try and crush her spirit? Pathetic, simple! You’ll have to try harder than that, Terra. She looked down. Her king was gone. It made sense. No, this wasn’t happening. It just wasn’t. Aqua simply REFUSES to let it happen. Oh no. No, no, no, no. It was happening. It was. And Aqua couldn’t change it. She couldn’t change anything. She felt like a little girl again. Helpless, frail. She hated feeling that way. How could he do this? How could he make her feel this way? No, this was her fault. She made her feel like this. It was her fault. It was all her fault. That was just about the breaking point. Aqua could handle a lot of things. She could handle Amnesia, just fine. She didn’t need a majority of that part of her life, anyhow. She could handle the possibility of never having a boyfriend, because hey, that just gave her more time for her books. She could even handle one of her only friends almost getting himself killed, though that was pushing it. But this? Losing to Terra in Chess, even one more time? She simply couldn’t take it. And to top it all off, he used her nickname. How dare he. Aqua’s right eyebrow began to twitch rapidly, as her eyes started darting back and forth. She began to swing her arms sporadically, as her mind slowly began to fade into unfathomable pain and rage. All Terra could do was look on in concern and slight confusion. “Uhm, Aqua?” Suddenly, she turned to look at him, and yelled out something quite unexpected. “Swong.” It didn’t make much sense, of course. And Aqua never really found out why she said it, but everyone seemed to agree that it fit the moment. In a single, jerky motion, Aqua lept from her chair and out of the library. She sprinted down the halls while continuing to swing her arms wildly, as she began to laugh like a maniac. Terra got out of his chair, and looked back at her as she gallivanted off. “Does this mean you’re not open to a rematch?” He yelled after her. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Aqua ran out of the Castle and through the main plaza, passing Ven and the Master on her way out. Needless to say, Eraqus was confused, and Ven was terrified. “Stay here, Ventus.” Eraqus said, as he began to follow Aqua, perplexed. Terra immediately followed out of the building, and quickly took notice of Ventus. “Ven!” He called out, as he stopped and knelt before him. “Hey, did Aqua happen to pass by here?” He asked. Ven’s only response was a confused, “Uhm…” Terra looked up in a start, as a large pillar of flame erupted from the sparring grounds. He looked back at Ven and said, “Thanks, Ven, I’ll be back in a bit. Trust me; this doesn’t happen as often as you’d think.” He patted Ven on the shoulder, and then proceeded to run off towards Aqua. Eraqus stood before the large tornado of fire that had appeared not too far ahead of him, completely at a loss. “Aqua?” He spoke out, “Are you alright?” In response, Aqua’s voice sounded from within the tornado. “OF COURSE I AM, MASTER! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN ASK SUCH A THING??? I JUST HAVE TO SHOOT A COUPLE THOUSAND FIREBALLS AT THESE STUPID FLOATING METAL RINGS!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!” Immediately following Aqua’s words, several balls of flame emerged from within the tornado and relentlessly struck the training equipment nearby. Fortunately, it was indestructible. It was then that Terra arrived on the scene. Stopping besides his master, he was forced to shield his eyes from the burning air and blinding light of Aqua’s fire. “She’s really going at it, huh?” Eraqus nodded in response. Terra turned towards the Master, and said, “Should we do anything?” Eraqus shook his head. “She… just needs some time.” He said. Terra looked back towards the giant pillar of flame burning before him, and the maniacal laughter that continued to sound within. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It took Aqua a good half hour to burn herself out. Honestly, if she could have, she would have gone on for days. But fortunately enough for her companions, she had a finite magic pool. Now, she lay upon a large circle of scorched grass, staring up at the sky. Tinted orange by the setting sun, it probably helped contribute to her growing sense of peace. Terra’s face entered her vision. Well, it was nice while it lasted. He looked surprisingly relaxed, given what had just happened. But then again, so did Aqua. “Hey.” He said. Aqua’s expression remained placid. “Hey.” She replied. Terra sighed, as he took a seat beside her. “You scared the life out of Ven, you know.” Aqua stayed motionless. “Sorry. I’ll apologize to him when we get back to the castle.” Terra nodded. “You better.” A long moment of silence followed, as both sat calmly before the sunset. Suddenly, Terra broke the stagnant pause. “I cheated.” Aqua’s eyes widened, as she finally sat up. She turned to look at Terra, and asked incredulously, “What?” Terra sighed once more. He turned to look at her. “I cheated. I moved before we left… and again when we got back. We skipped your last turn, so you would have won.” Aqua’s stare was piercing, almost empty. Terra could tell that she was still processing what he said. Finally, she managed a smile. “Thank you, Ara.” With that, she stood, brushed herself off, and walked away. Terra turned to watch her leave, and blinked. It was rare for them to use each-other’s nicknames, but that was probably the last thing on his mind. “Thank you…?” He said, to no-one in particular. Still a little surprised, Terra turned away and sighed. For a while, he sat quietly, mewling over the day’s events. If nothing else, it certainly turned out a bit more exciting than he thought it would at first. Maybe that was good enough.

Apparently, avatars that face the right side of the screen are more aesthetically pleasing than those that face the left. Truly, I am feeble before the full depth of the human psyche.

Xehanort's always been a good sport about doing messed up stuff so I'm guessing we'll get something akin to Dark Souls and Akira blended together with every rpg boss ever sprinkled on top for good measure. And good seasoning. Basically, something like this: And that's a conservative guess.

7.8/10 too many hearts

Priorities: 1.Obtain Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix 2.Obtain the gold crown in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix For those who don't speak smart-alack: The answer is no.

So, we've established that this is pretty much creepy everywhere

That doesn't make it any less unsettling over here though. Especially since the translators saw fit to keep it in the game.

I'm 12 and what is this

Dear Square Enix, I'm sure it has come to your attention by now that the recently released Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix is far from what was advertised. I distinctly remember you saying on multiple occasions the game would feature 100+ hours of new content, 5 new playable characters, and a cameo from Elsa of the Frozen movie series. I understand the pressures of game development, but I simply cannot accept this betrayal. In recompense, I expect at the MINIMUM: 1. 74 Additional re:coded cut-scenes for the purpose of fleshing out it's deep and imperative story-line 2. A comic-sans text option 3. At least 2 additional goofies 4. The option to play as Kairi 5. The option to play as Laser-shark 6. An alternate story-line where Sora gets sued by the IRS and has to bust some phat raps with his homies to stop an intergalactic race war 7. The return of the panties I expect a 500 word apology at my doorstep first thing tomorrow morning.

How does the lady on the left cause severe damage to the table without banging her head against it? I mean, yeah, perhaps you could link the cause to telepathy, but then why would she be moving her head at all? What kind of baloney-tier psychic powers actually require you to move? She ain't no Kadabra, let's get that clear. ... Not that I was likening her to a Pokemon, or any pokemon related character for that matter. Especially not a character that actually has psychic powers, like Sabrina. Wow, where did that come from? I think you're looking a little too deep into this. It's probably time to stop. ... Then again, she does look somewhat similar to Sabrina. I mean, maybe. And by similar I mean she is a girl with long hair. That isn't actually the same color as Sabrina's. But, hey, I'd say that's enough to build a theory on. ... Even though I'm not really building a theory, just making a simple observation. About your gif, yeah. IT'S FROM POKEMON, ISN'T IT???? i'm just kidding I know it's from gintama P.S pshaw your dot dots don't even pass the screen border what a base maneuver go back to the academy short stop

Is that so? Well then, may I inquire of you: where is the box? No self-respecting Xig Boss would be caught without a cardboard box set aside for emergency shenanigans. I rest my case.

Cool.

I personally don't believe anything like that would ever happen. Would I like to see the series go that route? Psh, yeah. From the very beginning, they've been following a pretty narrow road in terms of character growth. Sora has always been the steadfast and innocent hero that everyone can look to and find hope in (a trait that's becoming increasingly popular in modern protagonists) and Nomura seems keen on building that up as his strongest feature. Having him turn his back on all of that and become completely corrupt doesn't just go against his character, it goes against everything he represents and has been built up as. While I think this would be a nice twist and make for an even darker ending due to what Sora means to everyone in the Kingdom Heart series, Nomura doesn't have the incentive to go down a path like that this late in the series. If you want a redemption story, you're probably going to have to look somewhere else. I mean, hey, that's what Riku's for.

If I hadn't already been fooled, I would have been fooled here.

We need more BLADESTORM.

It's a shame Kim Possible is owned by disney; she would have made the perfect black widow. Oh, wait, I think I'm starting to see the irony here.

Haha, just checked my old Pokemon Emerald cartridge. Rayquaza - OZONELORD Groudon - TIMEBOMB (I caught it in a timer ball so I thought it was clever) Kyogre - DEATHOCEAN I was an awesome kid.

http://kh13.com/forum/topic/81233-the-empty-cold-entry-for-the-kh13-fan-fiction-give-away/?do=findComment&comment=1536413 There's mine. Just wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone good luck, and that I'll try to check out a few more entries today to see what I'm up against. Give it all you've got.

The Empty Cold Loneliness was hard to find in a city as big as this. But somehow, she had done it. Sitting at the corner of the bank and the malt shop, she had created her own world of seclusion that may as well have made her invisible. She squirmed on the cold concrete sidewalk, writhing in fruitless attempts to keep herself warm from the blistering morning chill that ran up her spine. Her exposed toes instinctively curled up in a vain attempt to find warmth, as she systematically rubbed her feet together in an effort to keep them moving. The brisk smell of firewood caught her nostrils, as she turned to look at a nearby store, well-kept and inviting with its soft brown hues and the thin plume of smoke rising from its chimney. Unable to bear the sight, she turned her head again, and pulled her rough linen hood in close. She tried to convince herself that she was still trying to keep warm, but in reality all she wanted was to hide from her shame. Of all the times she had sat at this corner, twisted, lonely and crying, not a single person had ever paid her any heed. She hadn’t spoken in weeks; she had almost forgotten the sound of her own voice. She had almost forgotten what it was like to hear another person speak to her. “Hey, kid.” Her heart stopped. Stunned, she turned her head upward, the sudden motion inciting an ache in her stiffened neck. Her eyes stung from the bitter cold, yet she could still make out the figure of a young boy standing in front of her. Shocked, she tried to speak, but nothing came out. All she could do was sit in silence and wait with bated breath, as she had always done. The boy smiled at her. “You’re alone, huh?” Paralyzed by the cold, her only response was to nod, slowly and shakily. His smile widened, as he continued with, “Yeah, me too.” He chuckled slightly, before offering his hand to her. “Come on, let’s be alone together.” The girl eyes widened. Cold tears slowly formed at the corners of her eyes, yet refused to fall as she offered another broken nod. Slowly and hesitantly, she reached out her hand, surrendering to whatever fate had brought this moment to her. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lea stood patiently beneath the crooked street lamp, trying his hardest to appear casual in light of the numerous civilians strolling by him. His eyes moved callously from face to face, as he consciously began to go over his plan for the nearby pharmacy across the street. After he took a brief moment to think through his actions one last time, he rolled his eyes and breathed hot air into his barren hands, trying to keep warm in the brisk night. “This is stupid,” He thought to himself. “I’ve done this plenty of times already! Why is it that tonight, I’m so nervous?” After Lea had met Arlene, his entire life had changed. He never meant to stick with her for so long, but his conscience had gotten the better of him. She was completely alone; no one to call friend or family. And without him, there was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn’t survive the end of the season. This winter had been the most brutal in decades, and even people in the second ring were coming down with hypothermia. He couldn’t let that happen to her, especially not after all they had been through. So now here he was, breaking into a drug store just to get her through the bitter night. Lea looked around one more time. The streets had finally begun to thin, and pretty soon, there’d be no witnesses. After sitting down, he leaned up against the nearby street lamp as he methodically waited for the streets to grow empty. Feeling a brief chill run up his spine, he braced himself for a bitter gust of wind, as he once again rubbed his hands together in an effort to warm his body. The cold night air didn’t worry him, though. He had always had thick skin. Probably one of the reasons he was able to survive so long on the streets, he thought to himself. The minutes droned on and on, as he continued his wait beneath the lonely light hanging overhead. He closed his eyes, as the time slowly began to escape him. Thoughts of the past and present began to pass through his mind, images of his family, and of his friends. “I wonder if Arlene’s doing alright?” He thought to himself. He found himself worrying about her a lot nowadays, especially now that every other night, she just seemed to be getting worse and worse. He sighed to himself in exhaustion. “Maybe, I should-” Lea’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a nearby door swinging shut. His eyes darted open, as he quickly moved to conceal himself, even though he was confident that no one could see him in the darkness. As his eyes adjusted to the pitch-blackness, he was able to make out the figure of a tall man walking through the night. A small smile found its way onto Lea’s face. “Looks like the good doctor’s finally closed up shop.” He took a second look at his surroundings, and noticed that the streets were now completely vacant. “And everyone else has turned in.” Lea’s smile widened. “Good.” He waited a few moments to make sure the doctor was out of earshot, before finally making his way towards the pharmacy. He knelt down at the door’s lock, and quickly pulled out a set of hair pins. “Alright,’ he muttered below his breath, “let’s see if I’m as rusty as these locks.” Lea placed his ear onto the frigid bronze metal of the massive door handle, his skin prickling in response to the contact. He pensively listened for turns of the lock mechanism as he maneuvered the hair pins inside the keyhole, and in almost no time, another smile adorned his features as he heard the satisfying click of the door unlocking. “Ha! Too easy,” he tried his hardest to whisper. Slowly, Lea pushed open the door as he slid quietly into the shop. The room was pitch-black, even darker than the outside, so Lea wasn’t able to make out specific details about his surroundings. It didn’t matter, though, what he wanted couldn’t be found in the front room, anyways. Crouched low, Lea carefully made his way through the darkened shop, trying to keep himself as silent as possible. While there shouldn’t be any practical reason to be so cautious, Lea wasn’t willing to take any chances. The young boy had learned a lot in his life, and chieftain among those was to never believe in safety. Eventually, Lea found his way to a second door within the first room. Unsurprisingly, the door was not locked. Lea had been here several times before, and while the man who ran the place had enough sense to lock up his store, he also had enough sense to realize that locking the second door was pointless. If Lea made it through the first, he was making it through this one, too. Lea opened the door, and passed into a claustrophobic back hallway. Lined with numerous doors, some opened, some closed, the hallway stretched on for the length of the building and didn’t leave a lot of space for maneuverability. Ignoring most of the doorways, Lea quickly managed to pick out an open door that led to a small secluded room lined from top to bottom with wooden shelves, upon which sat countless glass vials of different shapes and sizes. Smiling to himself one last time, Lea slipped into the room, and began to reach for the bottles of medicine stored on the shelves. He narrowed his search to a single shelf, and methodically began to feel through the different shapes and sizes. He knew exactly what he was looking for, and knew that he wouldn’t find it anywhere else. As Lea moved through the numerous vials of medicine, his smile slowly began to fade. “Not that one… not that one… definitely not THAT one…” he muttered, as he slowly started to panic. “Come on, where is it?” He said, a little louder than he intended. “This… this can’t be happening.” He finally whispered, nearly defeated. “Did he move it? But he’s a clean freak! He’d never re-organize his entire stock in a single day! Does he know I’ve been stealing from him?” He thought to himself as he took a seat on the cold, brick floor. “No… maybe he’s out of stock. Maybe he got caught off guard and he’s out for the week? Yeah, that has to be it.” Lea scrambled to his feet and brushed himself off. “Either way, I have to get out of here, I’ll just have to check back next week on a different day,” Lea thought, but suddenly stopped, and grimaced. A new thought popped into his head, and with it came a whole new set of concerns. “What if Arlene doesn’t make it another week?” Suddenly, Lea’s thoughts were violently interrupted by an intense pain that lashed out on the back of his head. His neck cocked, and his legs buckled as he limply fell to the floor. Landing arms first, Lea’s vision blurred as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. He rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to find the source of the shocking pain, when he suddenly felt a cold ring wrap around his ankle. “What the…?” He muttered, as he finally managed to turn himself around to face the open doorway. While his vision was still clouded, Lea was able to make out the shape of a young man, someone about his age. He could see the boy’s mouth moving, but it took a few moments for his hearing to become less than an incessant drone, so all Lea was able to pick up was, “… I must admit though, I’m surprised that hit didn’t knock you unconscious. Your skull must be thicker than I thought.” Lea rubbed his eyes vigorously in an attempt to finally clear his vision. When he looked back up, he was face to face with a tall, cerulean-haired teenage boy in a blue turtleneck and a pair of white jeans. It took Lea a second to notice the wooden cudgel in the boy’s left hand, and it became pretty obvious pretty quickly that this was the person responsible for the pain at the back of his head. Reflexively, Lea tried to push himself away and to his feet, but something tugged at his leg and kept him bound to the floor. Looking down, Lea realized that the boy had managed to cuff him to a large metal pipe embedded in a nearby wall. After struggling with the metal chain for a few moments, Lea sighed in defeat, finally accepting that he probably wasn’t going to get out of this one. “I wouldn’t try running,” the boy said. “My father is probably already on his way back, he’ll decide what to do with you.” Lea frowned at the boy’s words, but less out of fear for himself, and more for frustration at the situation itself. “Look,” Lea began. “I don’t care what you do with me now, but I can’t stay here. I have a friend, you see; she’s sick! And she needs your dad’s medicine!” The boy’s eyes narrowed in response, as he replied with: “That doesn’t justify stealing from us.” Lea’s eyes slanted in turn. “Yes, it does! She might die if I don’t do something about it! What’s more important, following the rules or saving someone’s life!?” The boy went silent. He began to circle Lea, almost as if he was sizing him up. “Who are you, anyways?” he asked, “And why are you stealing from our shop? You’re a little too well-dressed for an orphan.” Lea began to calm down, and was content with answering his captor’s questions if it managed to get him anywhere. “I work odd-jobs in the second-ring. But I don’t make enough money to buy your father’s medicine, and I definitely don’t make enough to take my friend to a real doctor.” Lea scoffed, and turned his head in disgust. “Even if I did, no one in their right mind would take in rats like us.” The boy refused to say anything, but his gaze belied the conflict going on within his mind. The two waited there for only a few moments, but those moments felt like a painful eternity. Finally, the boy broke the silence and said, “My name is Isa.” Lea turned his head in response, a little surprised to say the least. “And, why should I care?” he asked, a doubtful expression on his face. Isa knelt down, and looked Lea in the eyes. “Because I want to be your friend.” Isa held out his hand to Lea, his cold and empty expression unflinching even after what he had just said. “Well?” he asked pensively, waiting for an answer. Lea’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates, and he was seriously beginning to question whether or not this person was really all there. “Uh…” he muttered, “If I say yes, will you let me go?” Isa chuckled, and smiled lightly, although it was hard to find any humor in his expression. “Very well, I’ll ask again when I don’t have you chained to a brick and mortar floor.” Standing up, Isa turned his head as he heard the front door open. “That should be my father,” he said, before turning back to face Lea. “I’ll see about getting help for your friend. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to meet her someday.” He waved one final time at Lea, before turning to leave. “Goodbye, for now.” Lea was speechless. His eyes still wide with shock and confusion, all he could do was sit on the cold, hard floor and wonder what had just happened to him. “Apparently, this is the only way I can make friends.” He muttered to himself in silence. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Lea propped himself up against the concrete wall of the alleyway he and Arlene had stopped to rest at. He looked to his right at the entrance to the secluded alley, staring at the open pathway expectantly. On his left hand side, Arlene sat on the ground, her legs pulled up close to her chest as she stared at the concrete floor with a penitent look etched onto her features. After a few moments, Lea decided to break the silence with some small talk. “So, nice weather, huh?” he turned his head to look at her, just in time to catch the slightest shrug of her shoulders. Giving her another momentary glance, Lea turned back to face the opening of the alleyway, before continuing with, “Isn’t it kind of funny how we would have killed for a setting like this just a few months ago?” He wiped the sweat off his brow, a reminder of the heatwave that had struck the city not too long ago. “Now we’re ducking for cover in a place like this. Guess that makes us pretty ungrateful, huh?” he chuckled, and Arlene offered a slight smile, but didn’t respond otherwise. He turned to her again, before kneeling down to meet her face to face. He looked at her quizzically for a few moments, as she turned at him and did the same. “You really don’t talk much, do you?” he asked her. Slowly, she shook her head in response, after which, Lea sighed and stood back up. He strode over to the other wall of the alley, leaned up against it and turned to face his friend. He locked eyes with her for a few moments, before she turned away, trying to avert his gaze. After another long stint of silence, Lea finally spoke up with, “Can you do me a favor?” Arlene didn’t look back, but still nodded. Lea knelt down once more to meet her eyes, and simply said, “Say something to me.” She looked at him, a hint of shock etched into her expression. They stared at each-other for what seemed like hours, as Arlene tried her hardest to understand whether Lea was kidding or not. And although she could usually tell by looking into his eyes, right now, she simply couldn’t tell the difference anymore. A sudden and rude “ahem” broke their gaze, as Lea turned to his left, while Arlene merely looked away in embarrassment. Standing in the entranceway to the alley, Isa stood with three paper cones folded underneath his arm. “Sorry if I was interrupting anything.” He smiled lightly, before walking over to Lea. Lea, in turn, scoffed at his antics. “Here’s an idea! If you’re so sorry, then just don’t interrupt next time.” Lea said half-jokingly. Isa turned his head up in mock thought, as he slowly replied with, “Hmm, no thanks. Messing with you is a bit too much fun.” With a sigh, Lea turned to sit down next to Arlene, who was trying her best to ignore the moronic banter flying between her two friends. “You’re late,” Lea said. “Where were you? The shop was just around the corner, you should have been back ten minutes ago.” Isa sat on the other side of Arlene, before slowly gathering the cones in his lap. “Well, I may have taken the scenic route back.” Lea scoffed at his friend once more, before responding, “Yeah, that figures.” Looking to his side, he noticed Isa holding out one of the paper cones and having already given one to Arlene, a genuine smile on his face. “Just be glad I brought any back for you at all.” Rolling his eyes, Lea took the cone in a show of faux reluctance. “I just don’t get your obsession with that castle. What’s the point in staring at it every day?” He muttered, as he began to unwrap the gift. Arlene jumped with joy as her cone unraveled, almost threatening to spill out the contents over the dirtied pavement. Pecans. Her favorite. She turned to look at Isa, a look of boundless gratitude on her face. He merely smiled at her and nodded. Isa turned to look at the adjacent wall of the alleyway, his expression looking as if he was lost in deep thought. “Now, as for the castle…” be began. “You know what they say about Ansem the Wise, don’t you? A man, a philosopher, a scientist, an alchemist, even a doctor. He’s all of those things and more.” Isa said. “I can’t say for sure, but I just have this feeling. A man like that might be able to help Arlene.” Both of Isa’s friends froze. Arlene looked away in shame, as Lea sighed at his companion’s words. “You always know how to kill the mood, Isa. Did you really have to bring that up at a time like this?” Isa was right, of course. Arlene had been born with brittle bones and fragile skin. A single stumble usually meant a week in bed, if she was even lucky enough to find one. In addition to that, the winter had taken a heavy toll on her both physically and emotionally. She had contracted some kind of sickness; one that Isa’s father had no idea how to cure. While it wasn’t proving immediately fatal, he had no idea what the long term effects could be, nor how much time she had in her current condition, or if she could even survive another winter. Isa sighed in response. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just a thought, okay?” Lea shook his head. Isa was always like this, he had grown up with a belief that everyone around him was as detached as he was. While he now knew that wasn’t true, he still had the habit of saying things with no regard to how other people felt. The next few minutes passed in silence, something that the three were not exactly unaccustomed too. Finally, Isa decided to break the quiet with a sudden and strange question, “Lea, what are you going to do when you get out of here?” Lea looked over at him, a little puzzled, to say the least. “Well…” He said, looking away in thought. “I… never really thought about it.” He looked down at his now half-empty cone of almonds, and noticed that Arlene was now looking at him expectantly. Hesitantly, Lea continued with “I definitely know that I can’t leave you two alone, you’d be hopeless without me.” He tried to joke, but failed to get a laugh out of either of his friends. Rubbing his head in embarrassment, he pressed on with, “So, I’d probably just stay here for a while. Really, the only thing I’ve ever strived for was to survive every day, so I haven’t really given much thought about my future.” He said earnestly. Isa, in response, raised a questioning eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, I have to say I’m a little disappointed.” Lea scoffed in retaliation, a usual response when he didn’t have a decent comeback. “Well… I wasn’t trying to impress you with my life-story, anyways.” Isa looked down at the un-opened cone he still held in his lap. “Well, I’ve always known what I’ve wanted to do with my life.” Both Lea and Arlene looked over at him expectantly, their eyes laden with curiosity. “And what would that be?” Lea asked for them both. Isa sighed at the question, almost as if some kind of weight had been lifted from his chest. “I hate being useless; I hate it with a passion. But I hate pretending to be useful even more.” He looked over at his friends. “I’m going to make a difference in this world. I don’t care what, and I don’t care how. I’ll give up everything, sacrifice anything if I have to. But something needs to change, and I’m going to change it.” The only response his friends could offer was a look of confusion and surprise, as they turned away to mewl over what he had said. Isa looked down at his watch, and frowned. “I have to go, my dad will be expecting me back.” He deftly stood, leaving the still puzzled Arlene and Lea to their thoughts. In a swift motion, he offered his cone of Pecans to Arlene. “You need these more than I do.” She looked up at him, a little surprised, but still offered a smile of gratitude. She nodded in response, and happily accepted the cone. “Alright, I guess I’ll be seeing you two.” He said, offering one last wave to them both before turning to leave. Lea, still sitting pensively, suddenly stood and turned towards Isa. “Wait,” he said, prompting the blue-haired boy to turn and face him, his eyebrow arched in a questioning glance. Lea was silent for a moment, as if he was trying to gather his words. “Isa… why did you ask me to be your friend? I just… I just never understood you.” If Isa was surprised by the question, he certainly didn’t show it. He turned his gaze away from Lea, and closed his eyes in thought. “Well, I suppose you could say I did it on a whim, or maybe that I did it for no particular reason at all.” He replied. “Maybe I felt sorry for you, or maybe you struck me as someone who would make a good friend. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know myself.” Isa chuckled to himself. “Isn’t it strange? At times, we may do things that completely defy reason or explanation, simply because we desire something in a way we can’t explain. We think we understand ourselves, but when the moment comes that our heart speaks for us, we can be entirely different people.” Isa glanced back at Lea and Arlene, both of whom were still staring at him intently. “At the very least, I can say I don’t regret my decision.” He smiled. “And that’s from the heart.” “I’ll see you tomorrow, guys.” He waved at them both one last time, before finally walking off and disappearing from behind the bend of the alley’s corner. Lea and Arlene looked at each-other, before turning away in exasperation. “You think we’ll ever really get that guy?” Lea huffed. Arlene shook her head in response, but Lea didn’t need to see the gesture to know her answer. Lea collapsed to a sitting position beside Arlene once again, as the two finished the nuts that Isa had brought them in silence. Once Lea was done with his, he looked up at the shadow’ the sun cast over him and his friend. One of the little traits he had picked up in all his time improvising on the streets was his ability to “sort-of” guess the time based on the position of shadows during the day. By his estimate, it was roughly a few hours after noon. He turned back to Arlene, who had finished her first cone, and was now staring pensively at the one that Isa had given her, almost as if she was unsure whether or not to open it. “Hey, Arlene,” Lea began, as she turned to look at him. “I’m gonna be heading back into the second ring. I’ll… I’ll probably be gone for a little longer this time.” Her expression fell at his words, even though she tried to hide her sadness. “But don’t worry,” he said. “Isa will take care of you, we can trust him.” While Lea was reluctant to leave Arlene’s safety in anyone else’s hands, Isa was the only other person that he could realistically trust her with. Arlene nodded at him, and smiled to try and assure Lea that she would be okay. He smiled back at her, and slowly began to rise to his feet. “Isa was right about one thing,” he said. “There’s someone out there who can help you. And no matter what happens, no matter what I have to do, I’m going to find that person.” Lea knelt down, and looked her in the eyes. “I mean, if you can’t trust him, than at least you can trust me, right?” Arlene stared at him blankly, before her weary eyes brightened and her limp expression grew into a wide smile. He returned her grin, and offered his hand to her. Timidly, she reached out, as her mouth began to move and words she thought she’d never use again finally began to breathe. “L-L… L-Lea…” She muttered shakily, almost as if her very words were frozen to the core. “T-Th-th…” “Th… Thank… You.” And her tears refused to fall.

I knew he had an obsession with ice-cream, but this is just a little ridiculous.