Light and Darkness Collide

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC- IT'S HERE! ;D Autoing Zeb with Lee's permission! It's a high power topic, and it's probably going to progress at a fairly slow rate.

But essentials are Prime, Zebedee and Rick with maybe a bit of Miko too. Anyone else, feel free if you see an opening.

BIC -

Yoshimitsu was pacing. His body was trying to work off what his mind could not. How had Vincent managed it? The barriers were meant to stay intact. They were designed to withstand anything. Nothing could break them. How had one emotionally charged teenager managed to destroy everything? He kept on pacing. Somehow, he had to make sense of it. He had already made contact with his only ally who would help in this situation.

"Zebedee," Yoshimitsu stated, as Zebedee appeared on the same rocky space as him. Yoshimitsu had chosen this place carefully. It was one of the few places untouched by any force, the weather, the light, the dark or the Ryuga.

"Yoshimitsu?" Zebedee asked tentatively. His voice showed his curiosity and his aprehension. Yoshimitsu shot a look of despair at the holy man.

"It's Vincent. He's done it." Yoshimitsu's voice was strained. It was the first time he showed his fear. He sounded terrified.

Zebedee was confused.

"Done what?"

"He's broken the barriers." Yoshimitsu said these words as though they explained everything. Zebedee frowned/

"What barriers, exactly?"

"The barrier between this dimension and mine." And suddenly Zebedee understood.

"He's... How?" The destruction of the barriers was incredible. Both in terms of magnitude, and disaster. This news was repulsive and impressive in equal measures.

"I'm not sure. Whatever he's done, he's forcing these worlds to merge." Yoshimitsu's voice did not lose that fearful element. It affected Zebedee. Yoshimitsu was never worried. He was never scared. This was something entirely new.

"Merge?" Yoshimitsu shot Zebedee a strained looked.

"Merge... well..." Yoshimitsu started to explain, but the truth was too horrible.

"Yoshimitsu?"

"The worlds can't survive. One must override the other. There's no two ways around it," Yoshimitsu said, after a moment. As soon as he said the words, the warning hit home. There was no living if that happened. Yoshimitsu's eyes were filled with pain and despair. Still, there had to be some hope...

"Override?" Zebedee suggested.

"One world must be stronger. The thing is, there's gonna be conflict no matter what." Yoshimitsu's words were blunt.

"And one world has to lose. Which world is stronger?" Zebedee asked. There was still hope. Maybe it was still possible to live through this cataclysm.

"Mine." Yoshimitsu said it.

"Right." Zebedee had not lost hope just yet.

"And that means endless darkness." And it was that. That was the moment when Zebedee realised. Yoshimitsu was the key. Yoshimitsu knew what to do.

"Will you help me? Please?" Yoshimitsu pleaded. Yoshimitsu never pleaded. Yoshimitsu was always dignity incarnate. This was serious. Zebedee just nodded.

~*~*~

"What do you mean, this is my first time?" Yoshimitsu asked cautiously. The man was unremarkable. A formal white shirt and black trousers. Nothing noteworthy or blatantly dangerous.

"Exactly that. This is your first time here," the man replied, his face betraying no information. "You have never been here before, am I correct?"

"Well, yeah," Yoshimitsu answered, looking around. He felt no fear towards the man, no desperate need to defend himself. Like this place, his presense was calming rather than alarming. Yoshimitsu ran his hand over his chest, where Alex had forced his hand. No wound. Nothing. He was in perfect condition. Even his arm, which he had thought broken, was fine. Great, in fact. He felt like he could have run around the world.

"So, you're still trying to gain the power to defeat him," the man commented. He had an easy stance, hands in his pockets and his weight on one leg. This man was not here to harm Yoshimitsu. The blue haired teenager was sure of that.

"I've been trying to gain that power for a year now. I'm still no match," Yoshimitsu replied, his voice cool. "The darkness is overwhelming. I can't compete with it."

"Of course you can't," the man agreed, a grin on his face. He had the patient air of someone teaching an over-emotional toddler. "You're fighting something that you don't understand. You're just assuming that it's another power you can take in your stride and fight back against. You're arrogant."

"What makes you so smart, eh?" Yoshimitsu snapped back. He was being forcibly reminded of Alex. This man was just as cocky and infuriatingly superior in his attitude.

"Look at the facts, Yoshimitsu. You've fought him three times now, and each time you've only barely managed to hold your own while he didn't even break a sweat. What do you think the power of darkness is, anyway?"

"I don't know... Yisimentsu used it, but it was always Vincent who could fuel it, not me," Yoshimitsu replied, thinking. Back then, back when they shared the same body, they could do anything they wanted. And Vincent, Vincent's mind was always so troubled. Always in turmoil. And the power that they used, it was intense. Rough. Violent. "It was always so angry though."

"And what else did you learn? Why else did Vincent fall to this power?"

~*~*~

Yoshimitsu lead Zebedee down a narrow passage. The walls were damp, mossy, the floor slippery with water. Weak torches flickered feebly on the walls. It was barely wide enough for one person to walk, so Zebedee followed closely behind Yoshimitsu. The blue-haired teenager rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes alert for any change in their surrroundings.

"This is the resting place of some ultimate magic," Yoshimitsu explained, his voice quiet. He was just about audible, deliberately keeping his voice down. Just in case. "Alex told me about it. It's supposed to be the only thing that can save Vincent now, but... it's ridiculously unstable and nearly impossible to use properly."

The pair approached a chamber under the ground. Yoshimitsu reasoned that it looked like an antechamber, the entrance to whatever was down here. It was not ornate, it was not overwhelmingly magical. It was just a wider area with a large door. The only noticeable difference between this part of the passage and where they had come from was that the walls were no longer wet. Yoshimitsu might have been disappointed by the lack of anything had he not been fearing for the planet.

"Zebedee..." Yoshimitsu said, turning to face his friend. "The darkness is made up of negativity made manifest. Vincent's hate, anger, sadness forced into being. But he's happy now, with all this suffering. So his happiness at pain is powering his darkness even further."

Yoshimitsu paused, thinking.

"I just fought with Prime. I felt... this sudden power," he continued. "Like purity and goodness forced into being. The power of light. I think... I'm not sure, but if we can seperate Vincent's darkness from his heart, we might be able to save him. But I need your help, Zebedee."

~*~*~

Laughter. Maniacal laughter. Vincent stood at the heart of the rift, the final breaking point of the barrier. And he laughed. This was the moment when he reduced all of creation to nothing. This was his glory. Both this world and the other world would fall, and a new one would rise from the ashes. A new world that he could claim for himself, and rule over a kingdom of the dead. Black tendrils burst from the fissure in the sky like lightning bolts, blasting down and ripping apart the air.

"Come on!" He roared, a violent smirk on his face. "I know you're out there, Yoshimitsu! Show me what last, desperate show you have! Just try to stop me!"

The black haired teenager had changed. The darkness that he was so freely using was finally reflected in his appearence. What looked like scales of black had erupted out of his skin, over his forehead, around his eyes like a visor and down his cheeks in points. Spikes ran down the back of his skull, his neck, down his spine to his hips. Jagged spikes looked as though they had formed out of his skin on his shoulders and shoulderblades, like the darkness was bonding with his body. His collar bone had a thin but intricate design, like black bones forced into a tribal marking. Around his hips and waist, black plates of armour erupted from beneath his skin, protecting his waist slightly. Even his legs, his lower legs had a spike on each, pointing out sideways and curving up. His feet were encased in what looked like black dragon claws, but so natural that they looked like his own. He wore no shirt, just dark jeans that were torn from the darkness bursting from his body.

"Let me show you just how powerful I am, Yoshimitsu!"

[Tout-Perd]

"Save him. That's important," Zebedee shook his head, "No, no. Saving him is not important. It's beyond important. Every time we fight somebody else, we're looking at three options. Losing to them, destroying them, or saving them. That's what it comes down to."

"I suppose I can say that I'm with you on this one. If you genuinely want to save him, it could be said that your heart is in the right place," Zebedee turned away from Yoshimitsu.

"Well, it could be said. But you have to think. Do you want to save him, because you genuinely want him to be happy and at peace, or do you just want to save him because of the connection that you two once had? People are fickle, Yoshimitsu." Zebedee's expression was a small, quiet smile.

"Either way, I'm going to do what I can to help you. If this world got destroyed... No, it won't. This world will not be destroyed," Zebedee's hand snapped downwards, and green light exploded around it. With a pop, his racquet appeared in his hand. The diamond blades glittered dangerously in the flickering light.

"I must admit, however, that I'm concerned. You know how Holy power interacts with evil, with the arcane..." Zebedee turned back to his ally, shouldering the weapon.

"If this 'ultimate magic' is present, things could get seriously dangerous for all of us. It'd be like fighting in a room full of explosives, using a flamethrower-" Zebedee stopped talking, and wet his lips.

"I'm... I dunno. I guess I'm just concerned. I'm really not sure what will happen if I fight all-out this time. I-" Zebedee fell silent.

OOC: Where exactly is this place they're at? I'm just trying to figure out a good entrance for Miko.

[hermes]

Wind whistled through Prime's hair, in his ears. He was shooting through the clouds, eyeing the rift, picking up speed.

Prime was heading straight down, a black streak of full leather armor, his cloak fluttering wildly. Prime started down at the blade spec that was his target with glowing, violet eye's. They left a slight trail of mist behind him as he fell.

He could hear the man laughing below, could taste his insane pleasure at the situation.

Prime himself just grinned, and drew his blade. He fell into deeper trance with it, until it was an expression of himself, and he an expression of it.

His aura burst with violet arcane fire, just as he came to level with Vincent. He grabbed the darkness infested man by the face, and a violet streak suddenly spiked towards the ground.

There was an explosion of kinetic energy, a crater two miles in diameter appeared in the ground below the rift.

Prime sat crouched on top of Vincent, point of his sword on the man's neck, and his other hand partially covering his face.

"Hello, Vincent." He garbled voice said.

OOC: Note that in the previous topic, I garbed Prime entirely in black leather armor, including a full helm. The only thing that Vincent can see is his glowing, violet eye's. If you want him to still recognize Prime for some reason, thats cool, but given his limited association with Prime, I think it's more likely he'd just be choked and wonder where the hell this 'masked fighter' came from.

[Yoshimitsu]

"Saving him is... I want to," Yoshimitsu replied, but his voice was unsure. Zebedee had raised the point he was not sure he even knew the answer to. "He's my best friend. He's so, so important to me, but after this... I don't know. I don't know if he'll be the same. I don't know where we'll stand with each other."

Yoshimitsu turned to the door and placed his palm on the handle. It was warm, despite the chill air in the cavern. It seemed to burn some sensation back into his body, lessening some of the fear he felt. Even though their situation was dire, nearly hopeless, he felt like it was possible. Prime, he knew, would be able to stall Vincent for long enough. Yoshimitsu and Zebedee had time. But they could not delay any longer.

"And... I know what Holy power will do to him. That's why I need your help," Yoshimitsu continued, his voice dropping. It was almost unbearable to consider, but he knew he had no choice. "If we can't stop him... I..."

Yoshimitsu faltered in his step, stumbling slightly as he tried to summon the words.

"You... need to destroy him."

~*~*~

"Why else did he fall to his darkness?" Yoshimitsu repeated, frowning. That was an unusual question to be asked. "He had his issues. He never shared, but Ain showed me..."

"You know the answer, Yoshimitsu. I know you do," the man urged. Yoshimitsu rubbed his temples. "What did Ain show you?"

"Jealousy. He was so jealous of me at first," Yoshimitsu started. He paused. "I had everything he didn't. I was confident, I had freedom, I had compassion. I had love. Love for the people close to me. He never had any of that. He was always the loner, no one noticed him or wanted to notice him. No one could love him. No one wanted him. I was mister popularity, while he was some loser that spent too much time on the dark side."

"Very good. But that's not all, is it?" The man asked. Yoshimitsu wondered again, thinking back to what Ain had said and what he had seen.

"Hate. He hated Hector," the dark haired individual asked. Yoshimitsu noticed vaguely that he had started pacing slowly.

"But why is that significant?"

"Because Hector was my best friend back then. He hated the fact that I, his chosen enemy, had managed to form such a close friendship with someone," Yoshimitsu explained. "He still had no one, despite allying with the summoners. The closest he relationship he felt was being an underling to Miko. It drove him crazy, and he marked Hector as his target."

"And the other, most powerful one?"

"Anger."

Yoshimitsu came to a halt. It was starting to make sense, now. Just why Vincent had succumbed to his darkness.

"Of course. That castle made him relive himself at his worst. He was confronted with all of his own personal darkness at once and it all broke through," Yoshimitsu said, more to himself. "That thing that the fake Yisimentsu gave him, too... It converted his personal demons into a power, into the power he has now. It shattered his barriers protecting his heart and overwhelmed him."

"You're missing one key fact," the man interjected. "That device is more responsible than you know. Vincent could have lived through having those barriers broken and stayed himself. That pendant suffocated his heart with artificial darkness. It was a stolen piece of Yisimentsu himself. Alex, in a brief encounter between the pair of you, stole a part of Yisimentsu's essence and placed it within the pendant."

"Why?" Yoshimitsu's voice was violent. Angry.

"For investigation. He was curious. Then, of course, your race came along and stole it. They knew that Vincent would fall to his darkness. They know his master plan."

~*~*~

Yoshimitsu stopped again in a larger chamber, momentarily breathless. The image in front of him was beautiful. It was no longer the dark, damp cave that it had been. The walls were white, made of marble that had been carved ornately. Running through the carvings was, what looked like, pure gold. Orbs of light hovered in regular intervals around the room, like magical lamps. The ceiling was high, and made completely of that strange flowing gold that ran through the walls.

"This is..." Yoshimitsu muttered, stepping forward. "Beautiful."

He approached one of the orbs and stared into it. Something about it was off. It was not light, as he initially assumed. It was something else. Something magnificent, glorious, divine.

"Zebede... This is..." Yoshimitsu said slowly, quietly. His voice echoed slightly. "This is holy. This is Light. Look at it."

~*~*~

Vincent laughed as he was pounded into the ground. The impact should have shattered his spine like glass, should have broken his bones and skin, ruptured his organs. But he laughed. He was fine.

"You're the one to challenge me? Is this some kind of joke?" He taunted.

One of the tendrils of black from the rift shot down like lightning. As the armoured individual turned to parry it, Vincent shot from underneath the warrior and into the sky again. As he rose, something formed around around his hand. At first, it was just a rough square shape. It quickly gained substance, turning into a black rounded square and extended. A black hilt, an ornate but violent dark blue guard and a blade with edges that curved into regular spikes. Black and blue flames flared around the edge.

"Where's Yoshimitsu?!" He spat at the warrior below.

[hermes]

Prime almost sighed, villains, all the same. One could always hope for a foe with some intelligence, but that was usually substituted for attitude, and someone more intelligent pulling the strings.

He ignored Vincent, and shot into the sky again, quickly closing to close range. He flew into a rapid control series of attacks, boxing in Vincents sword and cutting at him almost casually. It quickly became apparent that the only area Vincent stood a chance in, was distanced combat.

Prime finished his first attack pattern with a mighty overhand cleave to the shoulder.

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC - Just as a point, Vincent is deliberately stronger than any character in the RP right now. The power level will be violently reduced by the conclusion of the topic, but it's important that Vincent can outclass anyone right now.

BIC -

"Don't mock me!" Vincent spat, his sword moving almost of its own accord. It spun and twirled, dancing around Vincent's hand and wrist as he moved his arm rapidly. Vincent ignored the strikes that broke through his defense and opened cuts on his skin. The blows that met the black on his body bounced off. The black, the darkness that had formed this bio-armour was far more durable than his skin. Despite this violent performance from Prime, Vincent had a smirk on his face that looked unnatural on his face. It made him look less like the teenage boy, and more like a demon.

"Don't think that I'm some kind of second-rate moron! This world will burn and you can't stop it! I wont ask you again, where's Yoshimitsu?!" Vincent snapped, raising his sword in offense finally. The black and blue flames intensified and the blade began to spin round his wrist like a saw. As it spun, a burning bladed wheel, dark blue lightning bolts blasted out and sought out the air around Prime. Vincent shot forward like a rocket, moving the whirling blade with amazing accuracy, into a wide strike at Prime's waist as the lightning curved around the air around him like a cage.

[hermes]

"But you are a second rate idiot." Prime said, before the man launched the bolts.

"Shit!" Prime cursed, darting away.

He avoided the first two, the third blasting him in his sword arm. He grunted, managing a weak parry that stopped Vincents blade, but the momentum carried it through him.

Prime grabbed Vincents arm, preventing him from withdrawing the blade, blood splattering down onto his waist. He grunted.

"But a goddamned strong one at that," Prime grunted, coughing blood into Vincents face.

"Fuck you!" Prime gasped, cracking his knee into Vincents stomach, and kicking him away. He pulled the sword out of his belly before Vincent had a change to recover, and discarded it.

"DIE!"

There was a snap, the sound barrier breaking. One moment, Prime's sword was close to his shoulder, in an offensive stance.

The next second, he was in a posture that suggested he'd already attacked.

"Bloody armor." Prime growled, "Anyone else would be dead."

Blood splattered several hundred meters to the ground below.

[Tout-Perd]

"If you can save him, he should understand. You threw yourself into the maelstrom, into events that no normal being could even hope to survive, in order to bring him back to a normal life. One with happiness, one where things are worth protecting, worth keeping," Zebedee stepped behind Yoshimitsu, He moved as if to put a hand on his shoulder, but stopped as his friend spoke once more.

"That's... Yeah..." Zebedee bit his lip. He almost ran into the other youth as Yoshimitsu stumbled, and quickly took a step back.

"If it comes to that... I can't say that my hands are bloodless. There's been a mistake or two, times where my enemies failed to survive things I thought they could, times where I've failed to protect the innocent from harm. I've been responsible for quite a few deaths, I suppose."

Zebedee sighed raggedly.

"But it's different, to have to turn the power of God himself against somebody, using it with intent to murder them. That's blasphemy... That's beyond blasphemy. It's saying that you yourself judge them as unworthy to live, unredeemable, incapable of having a hope of ever being good. You're saying it's not the Lord's decision. You're taking the matter into your own hands, claiming the right of divine judgement," Zebedee's voice was strained, a quiet anger in his eyes.

"I am not going to let the situation get that far. Even if it kills me, the situation will never go that far. If I have to destroy him, I'll do it. But I'm not going to use the might of the Lord to kill somebody. That's not what should be done, no matter what the consequences are," Zebedee's aura, absent at first, had grown until the dark passageways were lit up like they were under the sun. Wind danced around him, whipping his ponytail about wildly, and what seemed to be waves of golden light pulsed outwards from his body. Yoshimitsu could feel the warmth from the aura. It was still just sunlight, not holy might that Zebedee was channeling. But the mere fact that it was present certainly reaffirmed that the warrior was unsettled by the proposition.

Zebedee fell silent. If he had to do it... Was he a hypocrite? Was he being fair? Would he be willing to go back on his word, to blaspheme the will of the Lord if it meant saving the world? He really couldn't say. If he did have to act in such a way, he'd be choosing between his faith and the lives of every person, good and evil, that lived in this world. Nothing, as far as he knew, was more precious than one's faith. A rapport with God with more valuable than any treasure, any achievement, any earthly connection.

But... was it really more important than every earthly connection?
--------
As they enterred the chamber, Zebedee's gloom seemed to break. A thin smile appeared, and he rubbed at his eyes as if to brush away some tears that had been growing. This room felt familiar. Like home.

A warmth flowed through his body, seemingly draining him of his stress and dread.

"Indeed. This is beyond anythi-" Zebedee shook his head, "Not anything. But almost anything that I've ever seen in my life. It's..." His voice trailed off once more. Ever since Yoshimitsu had came to him with the horrible news earlier that day, he had been at a loss for words. Stepping into this place, this sacred, immeasurably wonderful location, well... It certainly wasn't helping. There had been quite the whiplash in moods for Zebedee. Between pondering the most important decision in his life and finding this spot, he felt like giggling. Maybe laughing out loud? Then again, it could just be this chamber, the marvelous power contained within that could be doing it to him. Or it could be the irony.

It wouldn't be the first thing he had been uncertain about today.

OOC: Eh, not as great as it coulda been. But I don't think my post turned out poorly.

[hermes]

Still, I didn't think it would kill you, Prime thought, thats hardly the point of fighting you here. Far off through his heart, Prime could feel Zebedee's stress. Though a connection he didn't quite understand, and that was fading. Prime smiled, simply allowing his warm presence, his heart, to flow through the link. He didn't think Zebedee could hear him, but Prime wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

Prime flourished his sword, straightening, almost ignoring the wound on his side. His sword flashed, darkness covered both openings of the hole, quenching the bleeding and numbing the pain. For Prime, it was still a fatal wound, if he didn't get treatment. But it wasn't like that mattered. The moment you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the lives of others, was the moment that you could chose whom to sacrifice for others.

Prime allowed his resolve to flow through the link, and the impressions of people he cared for. Eragon, Diamond, Zebedee, Nat, Rie, the man he'd respected but never really known, Ender. Aurora his old friend, lost now to the world of the adepts.

Prime reached up and pulled off his helmet.

"You are a fool. We have, and always will, stand with resolve against evil. We defend our friends, fight for our honour, and protect our Pride. No matter how you try to end this world, this galaxy, or even then bloody universe! We! Will! Stand!" Prime yelled.

"There is no evil that will overtake us, no single person greater than us, no threat we cannot crush, and no depression we cannot overcome. You can never extinguish our hope! We will keep fighting, into the depths of hell and to the very ends of time! We will stand! And we, will, WIN!" Prime yelled.

Prime darted forwards, blood gushing from his wounds, he threw himself at Vincent with a deaths head grin painted across his face. His eye's turned black as he completely synched himself with the sword in his hands.

"Trance of the Dark Moon." Prime growled in Vincents face, a long black katana the new threat to the warrior of darkness.

"Chain Series, Resolve. Lasnios Fadtonn." Prime grinned, "Everything ends."

Prime struck at Vincent with a series of skilled close range attacks, each imbued with the power of his longer range darkness attacks. Black and violet light flared with each impact, whether it be parry, control stroke, or strike against Vincent himself.

Prime growled, blood still spurting from his side.

"Remember what your resolve once was, you bastard!" Prime yelled, finishing off his series of attacks with a swift boot to the stomach.

"Wake up!"

[Yoshimitsu]

"I.. Zeb, I know. It's not right. I know I can't just ask that... But... It's-it's not like I'm asking for personal gain and... and you wouldn't be doing it for yourself. It's bigger than-than either of us, bigger than friendship or rivalry," Yoshimitsu said, his voice breaking easily as he spoke. He looked into the Light as he spoke, not wanting to look at Zebedee. That would make his words final, absolute in his mind. It was unberable. "I... I don't know if... he's far too strong. I-I can't stop him."

Yoshimitsu took a moment to calm himself down.

"This magic that's here... It's designed to strip someone of all their darkness, Alex said," Yoshimitsu explained. His voice was stronger as he worked through what they were doing. "That thing that's breaking the world, it's not all Vincent. I know that. Do you... Do you remember Yisimentsu? Did you meet him? He was... the embodiment of our darkness. Alex stole some of his essence and gave that to Vincent. It's not Vincent out there. It's him."

Yoshimitsu turned away from Zebedee, looking at the exit to this room. It was almost anticlimactic, the road to this secret magic.

"Alex said that the magic is supposed to destroy any traces of him in Vincent. That's what the magic's supposed to do. And it takes someone who understands Holy power to use it. If we can get rid of that darkness inside Vincent, that might just be the way to save the world."

"And save him."

Yoshimitsu walked towards the door. However, before he could reach the exit, the two orbs of Light closest suddenly began to pulsate. Tendrils of pure white lashed out and connected with Yoshimitsu's body.

~*~*~

Yoshimitsu stopped, calming his thoughts before he spoke again.

"So what am I doing here, exactly? Isn't it a better idea to carry on training against Alex?" He asked slowly. He still was not entirely sure where 'here' was, but as far as he could tell, he was wasting his time.

"No. Being here will give you the essentials for defeating him," the man replied. "Let us move on from Vincent, and focus instead on you. Let's consider the first element of Vincent's darkness. The jealousy. He was jealous of you, the fact that you could love, you had compassion, you were good."

"Is this going anywhere?" Yoshimitsu asked impatiently.

"At that time, did you feel jealousy? Were you even slightly envious of anything?" Yoshimitsu thought for a moment.

"No, not really. Like I said, I could do everything he couldn't. I was content."

"Exactly," the man agreed. "You were content. Perfectly content. His first signs of darkness, you showed nothing of the sort. You showed the opposite."

~*~*~

White. All he could see was white. The rest of his senses were far too active for his liking. He could hear the molten gold flowing through the walls, each drop surging and splashing as it ran like a river. He could smell the sterile air, so clean, devoid of any harmful components. He could feel the blood pulsing through his veins. It was an unpleasent feeling. The pounding of his heart, forcing the blood through his body at a regular rate. It was uniform. And more importantly, he could feel something leaving him.

Then it was gone. His sight returned to him. He blinked several times before seeing properly. His hyper-awareness had gone too though the pounding in his head did not. He turned to see Zebedee's concerned expression. What had happened? The light had struck him, though he did not understand why. He had no negativity in his heart, aside from worry over Vincent. He was not using the same distorted powers that Vincent was. Why would it lash out? Yoshimitsu extended his hand and tried to conjure a flame.

He could not.

He tried again. He tried his other elements. Nothing. He even tried healing any wounds on his body. Nothing whatsoever. The light had stripped him of his elemental control.

"What...?"

The other thing he noticed was that the spiritual cuts on his body, courtesy of Prime, had been sealed. His life force was no longer leaking out from his body. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to power up. Again, nothing. The Light had removed it all.

"I don't have time for this..."

He shook his head, then gestured for Lee to follow him.

"I'm fine," he insisted, turning back to the door. Bizarre occurances were not important right now. He had to continue.

~*~*~

Vincent did not immediately respond when Prime threw him back and opened a diagonal cut on his torso. He only vaguely responded when Prime launched his flow of attacks. The dark warrior moves with amazing speed, the dark bones on his forearms meeting most of the sword stikes and blocking them effectively. He was not perfect in his defense - a stab through the shoulder, a blow that glanced his dark armour, a second slash across his torso.

"Resolve is nothing any more," he replied, his voice a snarl, as he jumped backwards. He raised his arm to his side and, with an elaborate flash, his sword formed there again. "Don't be so naive. So far, out of your forces, you're the only one to have turned up to combat me and you're a sorry excuse for a fighter."

"This world will burn. Make no mistake," Vincent snapped. "And you can't stop me."

The flames surrounding Vincent's sword intensified as he drew it back. With alarming speed, he shot at Prime and launched a powerful kick that met Prime's jaw and sent the swordsman staggering backwards. Quickly, Vincent responded with a wave of black and dark blue flames before his sword began to whirl around his wrist again. He pointed his fist at Prime and grabbed his wrist with his free hand. An explosive beam of Darkness blasted from his hand, shooting at Prime like a comet.

"Not even Yoshimitsu can stop me now."

[hermes]

"You've underestimated," Prime said, "Our resolve."

The long blade of a pure white katana burst from Vincents stomach, his head snapping around to look Prime in the eye's.

Prime's form had become completely black, mantled in darkness, a violet aura slowly encompassed the blade he was holding, going through Vincent until it reached the tip on the other side.

Prime smiled, and the blackness cracked open, revealing a crazed slit of a smile, almost as bright as a flash light.

"I understand what you are."

Prime ripped the sword from him, revealing that he'd done no physical damage, but the darkness within Vincent came whirling out, sucked into his sword.

Prime's mantle grew a little larger.

"This is a specialist sword you see, it doesn't cut so much physically as it does spiritually." Prime said, his voice slightly choppy through the mantle of black. "Vincent, I will continue to cut you, drain you, until there is nothing left of the darkness in you." Prime scowled, though it wasn't perceptible behind his black mantle.

"You will either return to what you were, or you will die before I drain it all from you. Either way, Yoshimitsu has until I am finished to save your ass. If he fails," Prime lifted his sword, pointing it straight for Vincents throat.

"I will kill you, I'm afraid I cannot afford to waist time when the world is on the brink of annihilation." Prime disappeared as he shot forwards, the darkness around him bending to the point of invisibility at high speeds. He struck without mercy.

OOC - If you disagree to highly with the stabby stabby, feel free to leave a darkness afterimage or something. If you want me to pull my rabbit out of my hat at some point, which would bring Prime just shy of what you stated Vincent as earlier, have Vincent utter the phrase "You are not a god." Or something similar.

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC - Lee, in case this is useful, I'm using this music for writing the underground area: www.vgmusic.com/music/console/sony/ps1/ff9branbul.mid

BIC -

Yoshimitsu continued walking, mulling over what had just happened. All traces of his elemental control had been eradicated. He could not even generate a spark between his fingers. A frown was glued to his face, breaking through his worried expression. Why would such a positive power remove his own? Where was the sense in it? He tried again, tried to conjure a flame in his palm. Nothing at all.

"This is ridiculous..." He muttered to himself. Zebedee looked at the blue haired teenager.

"What is?" He asked.

"The Light just got rid of my elements," he replied, his voice surprisingly calm. "I can't do anything. I've lost my Super form as well."

Yoshimitsu continued walking, Zebedee right behind him. As he was walking, he vaguely noticed the passageway changing. It was no longer smooth dark stone, instead fading to something blue and almost organic looking. The walls were no longer smooth, instead resembling giant leaves. The blue haired teenager reached to touch one of them. It felt like steel. The veins on the walls were filled with a pulsing red colour. He touched one, and the red seemed to gather at his finger.

"What is this place..?" He asked quietly, more himself than Zebedee. He looked up and what he saw took his breath away.

~*~*~

"Now, if you would remember the second point you made. Hate," the man continued.

"Hate... I've... well, I've hated people too," Yoshimitsu replied, rubbing his temples.

"That is very true. However, you showed something much more intense. You extended forgiveness to the people you hated, and you showed that you could still love them," the man explained. "Take Vincent, for example. When you first met..."

"We hated each other. He... he killed someone so dear to me," Yoshimitsu replied, pulling an expression of distaste.

"Something sour in your memeory?"

"Kind of. It's more... I don't like to think about it, because I understood why he did it. When we joined together, I got such an insight to his mind and his inner workings," Yoshimitsu explained. "I saw that he was alone, and he was scared. He wanted... just someone to love him, someone to need him as much as he needed them. I felt... I felt so sorry for him. I wanted to help him."

"You forgave him. You turned your hatred into love. You even embraced him when he joined with you," the man agreed.

"I couldn't. I couldn't hate him. Not after I saw how he really felt. I knew why he joined with me as well," Yoshimitsu continued, shaking his head. "I was... I was the one person he felt a connection with. He knew that I'd understand him, even though he did those terrible things. And... I... I had Hector but... Hector wasn't right for me, as my friend. Vincent was. Vincent understood me so well."

"Once again, you showed the opposite of Vincent. You should love and forgiveness. You manifested an entirely different kind of power," the man concluded.

"A different... power?" Yoshimitsu asked, looking up at the man with such a serious look.

"Light."

~*~*~

The ceiling was not made of the same leafy structure, though it was an identical shade of blue. The surface was carved, much like the marble in the previous room. And running through the carving was that same gold fluid, droplets splashing out but quickly returning to the fluid as though they obeyed no gravity. Yoshimitsu stared for a moment before realising that it was not just some ornate decoration.

"Pictures... what are these?" Yoshimitsu muttered. They looked, he guessed, most like tribal paintings. Very ornate tribal paintings. In the one he saw, he could see what looked like an angel with golden wings spread, glowing in a sort-of Holy way. Yoshimitsu ran down a few meters to see the next one. This one looked like a demon, clearly dead. Its curved horns and battle-worn skin were riddled with cuts and its eyes had been gouged out. Yoshimitsu moved to the next one, but all he found was the angel again.

"What... what does it mean though?" He asked. "Zeb, I think we're getting close. Let's go."

Yoshimitsu turned and ran down the corridor. If he was right, he knew he was one step closer to saving Vincent.

~*~*~

As Vincent turned his head, there was a smirk on his face.

"You're underestimating me, hero," he said, putting a sarcastic emphasis on hero. He gestured down to his stomach where Prime had attacked. The sword had entered what looked like a disc of Darkness. In front of his stomach, a second disc had formed and the blade protruded from there instead. Almost casually, Vincent jumped out from between the discs.

"You really think you're the one who's going to stop me? That's a little arrogant, don't you think?"

Vincent raised his palms to the rift in the sky and swung them down violently. Immediately, a series of black bolts exploded downwards like lightning. They tore the air asunder as the blasted down in all directions, apart from Vincent's. Quickly, Vincent shifted his sword and set it spinning again. He pointed it down, and an expanding cone of Darkness exploded out from his fist.

~*~*~

Another door. Yoshimitsu was getting sick of doors. But in this case, it was two doors. They were identical down to the very last detail. Both ornate, both with the same carvings of the angel and demon from before. Both made of that strange blue material. It looked almost organic, but that could not be the case.

"Two doors... and there's no tricks down here. We must be reaching the end," Yoshimitsu said.

"Which door do we choose, though?" Zebedee asked.

"I think... both of them," Yoshimitsu replied. "Alex said to me, there was a slim chance I'd be able to get this magic on my own and even if I did, it was more likely to rip my body to shreds. I think... this is a two part magic. A two part magic that only the Holiest of people use it. This... must be it."

Yoshimitsu approached the door on the left.

"Whatever's in here, come out afterwards and we'll regroup," Yoshimitsu said quickly, before turning the handle and stepping through the the doorway.

The inner room looked familiar. It was almost identical to the room earlier. The only significant differences were the lack of glowing orbs and the marble had been replaced with blue. Even the flowing gold was still there. Yoshimitsu stepped into the room properly, looking around. There was no second door. This was a dead end. He turned back to retreat through the entrace, but he found that it had vanished.

"A trap..?" He muttered. There was nothing immediately hostile about the room. His eyes darted around as he scanned the room for any potential dangers. There was nothing. He backed away towards one of the walls, his eyes still moving and his whole body alert. There was definitely more to this room than met the eye. When he felt his back touch the wall, he turned to examine the gold. Maybe it was a clue.

"What is this stuff..?" He muttered. It was not warm, like molten gold should have been. He reached out and touched it with his finger. It scattered before he could make contact, flowing away from where his finger was about to reach.

Then the room started shaking.

He spun on the spot to see the the gold from the ceiling starting to gather and fall in one giant droplet. All of the gold from the walls was flowing upward, gathering on the ceiling and joining this falling mass as it descended. Yoshimitsu drew his sword and waiting for the end result. He knew, running on instinct, that this was not a good thing. Whatever was going to happen was not going to be pleasant for him. As the gold exploded outwards, he crouch and held his sword in a defensive position.

It was the demon. The demon from the paintings. Its curved horns, its scarred body, its sharp claws and fore-arm blades and its long, snake-like tail. Gold dripped off its body like sweat, its eyes red with bloodlust.

"The... the gold stuff was a prison?!" Yoshimitsu asked, his voice shocked. He had just unleashed this demon, which looked ready to rip him to pieces.

"Shit."

OOC- Sorry for the autos, Lee. And the continuity here might get a bit confusing, so this is what's happening:

Yoshi + Zeb carry on walking, Yoshi says he's lost his elements
\/
Flashback
\/
Yoshi and Zeb carry on walking, notice change in passageway, see carvings in ceiling
\/
Prime and Vincent fight some more
\/
Yoshi and Zeb seperate as the path does.

[Tout-Perd]

"Of course there'd be some kind of lava monster. Shoulda known," Zebedee ducked a slash from the molten claws, the heat making him wince. He vanished, reappearing near a far wall from the beast.

"Let's see how you like-" He raised his palm, leveling it at the beast. His aura flared in suddenly, flecks of gold blowing from the demonic creature in the presence of the wind, "This!"

A pulse, visible for just a moment, shot forth from his hand. It hammered into the beast's chest with a whoosh, the noise deafening in the enclosed chamber. The demon staggered back two steps, and paused. Zebedee had appeared behind it, bladed racquet pressed up to its back.

"And I was expecting a challenge..." Zebedee murmured.

The beast hissed, and jammed its talons into its side. They raked through its molten flesh, exposing a layer of brighter, hotter gold beneath. With a jerk and a flick, it sprayed its opponent with the obscenely hot metal.

"Urgh!" Green sparks exploded into the air as the warrior disappeared, instinctively teleporting away from the beast. He appeared once more to the side, backstepping away from another swing of its claws.

"Fine, then. We'll do this old-school style," Zebedee flung his raquet aside, the weapon vanishing before it hit the floor. He darted in, spinning under another swing at his head, and threw an uppercut. The fist didn't connect with the beast, but an explosion of kinetic force sent it flying towards the ceiling. A bolt of lightning errupted from the ground, tearing through the beast and into the roof above them. The youth leaped back, a column of golden light arising as the creature plummeted back into the ground.

"Parting clouds..." Zebedee jumped over the beast, throwing a vicious downwards punch. Yet again, there was no contact with his enemy, but some force sent the beast skidding under its opponent and slamming into the wall.

As the creature stood up, he lunged at it. Another burst of wind crushed the beast against the elaborate engravings. Zebedee clenched his hand into a fist, and four stalagmites exploded from the floor, pinning the beast in place.

"It's over now," He turned away, exhaling. "Burn."

Around him, the air took on a sinister shimmer. He took half a step sideways, the prison of stone melting away. He stretched out his hand, and the heated air overtook the beast. Its already molten form began writhing uncontrollably, struggling in agony.

"Sorry. But I don't have time to give you a proper battle," The air turned red for a moment, and the beast lost all cohesion, cascading to the floor.

Zebedee sighed, and stepped towards the other end the chamber. Much like the entryway had closed, a new door had opened. With each step, the melted gold vanished before he touched it.
-------
"Of course it's arrogant to think. When it's bad enough for us to bother showing up, you know it'll be us to save the day," An arc of blue light shot out of the clouds, tearing through everything in its path. Vincent jerked aside, the attack slicing his cheek wide open.

"We've laid claim to this world, Vincent. You know that," A strong voice spoke as a figure broke through the clouds. He was standing upon the head of an immense golden dragon, the beast's body trailing into the clouds. His green hair and red cape were pulled straight back by the wind as he tore through the sky.

"Even if you're a former ally, we're here to stop you. Destroy you. Whatever's needed," Miko raised his ulu, glaring at Vincent.

"That was a warning shot."

"And here's a real attack!" A figure, before unnoticed, spoke from behind him. She was clad in armor matching the scales of the dragon, her short black hair seemingly unruffled by the turbulent sky. She closed her eyes, taking hold of Miko's shoulder.

"Reijuu, get him."

The dragon lunged forwards, its entire body finally emerging from the cloud bank. It was incredibly long and serpentine in form, with wings instead of legs. It stopped short, and its jaws opened wide.

A torrent of white hot flames shot from its mouth, a wall of fire the size of a city block. As Vincent cut through it with a single blow, another voice spoke out.

"Not bad... But-" A few crimson feathers wafted down from above, each one exploding into flames after a few moments. After a brief pause, something like a comet came tearing down out of the sky.

Hector's sword crashed against Vincent's, his crimson wings beating the air around him and struggling to maintain equal force against the one that had replaced him. The flames wreathing his weapon surged forwards, only to be pushed away by his opponent's aura.

Vincent sneered at him.

"You're right. This isn't quite enough," Hector threw a kick at the dark one's side, the blow crashing against his armor. He shot backwards, breaking the lock between them. Another two beats of his wings pulled him back twenty feet.

"This one is." Another burst of flames shot down from the heavens, taking the form of a gigantic avian head. The flames burned with unmatched intensity, the clouds pulling back and fading away in the immediate area as it roared down towards Vincent. Hector threw himself upwards, and somersaulted through the air. He raised his blade, and brought it down upon the back of his attack, pushing it downwards with all his might.

OOC: Sorry if I got much wrong. Helen's still lurking in the wings, I suppose. Just didn't have a good spot to introduce her, without messing up the rhythm to the other three attacking.

[hermes]

Prime laughed as re-enforcement arrive, feeling reinvigorated by their presence. He cut down the bolts of black lightning as they reached him, grunting as the electricity ran through his sword and into his arm. He received the attack with grim determination.

He swept his free hand out beside him, a white box appearing at his side.

"Well, so it seems I'm not so lonely after all. Still," Prime said, sweeping his hand inside the box, and pulling out an immense single edged greatsword, shaped like half a cross, but pointed or bladed at every edge. A smooth, flowing shape, broken only at the shorter rear portion, where the metal was partially cut away to allow for a long handle.

Prime grasped the sword, and looked up at Vincent, he panned his eye's around the man and women around him.

"You guys are late!" Prime finished, and explosion of energy coalescing around him. When the energy cleared, his purpose was revealed. He had synched with both swords. His eye's were no longer eye's, but a black smoke. A bladed halo hung over his head, half brilliant white, half so dark it seemed as though it were feeding off the light.

Prime'd body had become an intertwined haze of white and black, the strong white energy being pierced and intertwined with chords of humming black energy.

Prime grinned at Vincent, the wound at his side had stopped bleeding, and partially sealed over. He took a fighting stance, and direct his words at Vincent.

"This, is not an abomination. One cannot exist without the other, perspective cannot be achieved without opposites, and existence becomes meaningless at only one end of the extremes." Prime said, "Vincent, you have embraced the darkness inside of you, and allowed it to overtake you. You've given yourself to it in fear, but we will show you."

Prime gestured at those around him, bathing in both the red light of destruction, and the golden light of the sun.

"We who stand in the light, we are not ruled by fear. And you shouldn't be either." Prime's voice cracked across the space between them, "Vincent!"

In an instant, Prime was hovering calmly next to Vincent, his mouth right next to the man's ear.

"Once, in the past, you held a flame inside you. You loved, and by loving you cannot help but understand happiness. Yoshimitsu gave that to you. Would you want to betray him now, by losing yourself in the dark, that he fought so valiently to pull you from?" Prime asked, in a swift whisper.

"Are you truely...so cold." Prime asked, his voice began to harden. "If you are truly so lost," Prime struck suddenly, with no warning. His blades hammering against Vincents, sending him flying up towards Hectors attack.

"Then we will bring you, back to the path!" Prime locked eye's with Hector, silently communicating his intention of a pincher attack. He only hoped that Hector would aim low. In his eye's, Vincent did not yet deserve to die.

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC - phew, this was tough to write. I've mentioned the events of Lee's post again, just to start off so we don't lose continuity between these posts. also, Lee, i'll let you know what happens next for Yoshi and Zeb.

BIC -

"Bahamut, into the sword," Yoshimitsu roared, jumping back as the demon launched a swipe at him. Instantly, his arm was covered in deep blue plates of armour, each one spiked, and a metallic copy of Bahamut's head covered his hand. The Bahamut Blade hovered just in front of the dragon's mouth, a blue and gold aura flickering around the armour. Yoshimitsu spun and released a wave of blue and gold flames at the demon, his eyes watching it carefully.

The demon grunted as the flames hit, but they rolled off its thick hide easily. It lunged forward, its movements slow but cracking the ground beneath them as its fist met where Yoshimitsu had been stood barely a second ago. He jumped over the demon, but was not expecting it to suddenly snap its tail out and smash him sideways, his body pushed by the demon until he smashed into the ground. Swearing, Yoshimitsu stabbed the tail violently until the demon retracted it. Rolling to his feet and clutching his ribs, the blue-haired teenager watched the demon again.

"Shit... shit," he muttered. As far as he could tell, nothing was broken but he could already feel the bruise blossoming. The demon struck again, but this time Yoshimitsu was not willing to underestimate it. He pulled his armoured arm in, covering his torso as he crouched slightly. The blade protruding from the demon's arm met the blue metal. Yoshimitsu looked at his armour and realised that the demon had speared through it.

"Bahamut!" Yoshimitsu said quickly, urgently. Immediately, his armour vanished, leaving the demon stunned for a moment. Seizing his chance, Yoshimitsu swung his sword and opened a deep cut, through the thick skin of the demon. It roared and lunged at him again, the blue-haired teenager ducking under the swinging arm. However, once again he was met by the demon's unexpectedly flexible tail, this time being crushed into the wall. He felt something snap. Swearing through his pain, Yoshimitsu put all of his strength behind a strike that cut the demon's tail in two.

"Shit, shit, shit," he muttered, feeling his rib cage as he knelt, trying to catch his breath. At least one of his ribs had definitely snapped. As far as he could tell, it had not punctured any of his organs. He tried to heal his injury, hoping that he still had something remaining of his healing power. No such luck.

However, something did happen. It was not healing. His rib was not fixing itself. His hand that was supporting him had landed in a puddle of the molten gold. Instead of melting his hand off, Yoshimitsu felt as though it had been supercharged. He raised his palm to examine it, and immediately saw. It was glowing. A pure white light. Identical to the ones in the earlier room.

"Light..." He muttered. The power was flowing through his palm now, up his arm and to his chest, spreading like a fire inside him. It was glorious. It was magnificent. Despite his broken rib, he felt strong. Knowing, instincively, what to do with this power, he pointed his palm at the demon. A spiral of small beams exploded from his palm, coiling and twisting in the air elegantly, beautifully. They swirled for a moment before shooting at the demon like arrows. There was no chance of dodging. The beams speared the demon.

"Gotta keep moving," Yoshimitsu muttered, not sparing a moment to glance at the now-dead demon. He clutched his rib and rushed towards the exit that had now appeared to the room.

~*~*~

The first of the attacks caught Vincent by surprise, his cheek being sliced open. He raised his hand to feel the blood, looking at it on his fingertips. The second attack, however, was nothing. With a graceful movement, he sliced through the flames.

Then, out of nowhere, Hector Cruz arrived. Vincent smirked, raising his sword in a casual movement to meet Hector's. His aura flared up, like black flames surrounding him, and blew Hector's flames away easily. As Hector flew back, Prime struck again. With lightning speed, Vincent shot his free hand out and grabbed Prime's face.

"Don't talk to me about living in Light. Don't you dare talk to me about loving people. And most of all, don't you dare talk about Yoshimitsu so lightly," he snapped at the warrior, who was struggling vainly against Vincent's arm. "You are nothing. You're a speck on a tiny planet, and I..."

Vincent flicked his wrist and sent Prime shooting into the portal behind them.

"I might as well be a God," he said, watching Prime's body fall through the portal and out of sight. Without even looking, he pointed his palm away and shot a thin, black beam that cut through the second round of flames that was burning his way.

"Vincent!" Hector shouted, his golden eyes set with determination.

"Hector Cruz," Vincent replied, a smirk on his face. "It's been a while."

"You're still that same cocky bastard from the last time," Hector snapped. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Why else?" Vincent replied, gesturing with his sword. "I want to watch this world burn."

"What do you get out of it though?!" Hector demanded, the flames wrapped around his sword intensifying.

"These worlds will collide and Yoshimitsu's will destroy this one. All life will be destroyed," Vincent answered, his voice almost casual but with underlying tones of triumph. "And all will be left will be me. Me, ruling over a dead universe."

"You'll be destroyed too!" Hector roared.

"Don't be ridiculous, Cruz," Vincent snapped. "I wont burn along with your world."

"You wont get a chance to!"

"Spare me," Vincent said, his tone finally serious. He raised his sword arm again and pointed his fist at the fire-wielder in front of him. The sword spun like a circular saw and another, much stronger beam of black and dark blue exploded out of the hand, blasting through the air like a comet. Wasting no time, Vincent turned his attention to Miko and Haze.

"Don't sound so full of yourself, Miko," he snapped at the summoner. "It's arrogant to say you've laid claim to this world when I've threatened it so easily. Let's see you try to stop me!"

His speed was incredible as he shot through the sky, the flames surrounding his sword growing stronger. His target was not Miko, nor Haze. This was his show of power. He was going to slice the dragon's head clean off.

[Loogs]

"I can't let you destroy this world. This world... is here for us all to live in. It's here for all of us to enjoy, to take in, to experience... It is not for you to decide who gets to live here." With a tremendous plume of scorching flame, Hector negated Vincent's attack, shielding himself with a crimson wing from the smoke cloud from the resulting explosion. He glanced upward, his gaze locked on Vincent's impending attack on Reijuu(it is Reijuu... right), then beat his wings vigorously trying to catch up.

"No, this world does not belong to you. And I'll sacrifice my life to keep it safe... for all of us, but especially Pleiades..." His speed increased significantly, and as he rocketed through the air his body glowed red and orange and gold. A large aura of fire began to build up around him as Hector, sword held right in front of him, prepared to crash directly into Vincent, hoping to knock him away and stop him from decapitating the dragon.

OOC: Don't bother me I'm just trying to get into this topic. As I keep posting my posts will get more eloquent ok I promise D:

[Tout-Perd]

OOC: Not bad at all for a post coming off of a hiatus.

And ayup. 'tis Reijuu. (Or for those of us that want to go use the entire terrible Japanese name, Doragon Reijuu.)

But yeah. Doin' good. Just remember to sell Vincent's attacks well (he is nuzzling up to "strongest guy since Vintage Prime", so taking him lightly is a no-no.

I'll edit in my post later tonight. First, the Ishkabibbles, then this orgy of awesomeness.

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC - As you may have guessed, Lee, I'm getting a lot of inspiration from Oilvert and Terra/Bran Bal from FF9 for the underground area.

BIC -

"This place just gets weirder and weirder," Yoshimitsu muttered, wincing as he moved. He was noticing something about the area as he progressed. Subtle things, like the veins running through the walls thickening and the blue colour growing more vibrant. The floor felt less even, even as though as it was moving sometimes. The passage was widening and getting taller. Even through the pain and the panic filling him, he could tell that there was something very wrong about this place.

The passage opened up into another large chamber, but this one was unlike the others. As he came to a halt, he noticed that Zebedee had not rejoined him. This concerned him, but he could not decide why. There was nothing particularly hostile about the room. Lining the walls were giant carved faces, all portraying different emotions. Yoshimitsu's eyes rested on a few of them. Some were damaged. Some had only cracks running down them, others missing large chunks or half of their faces. They were all made out of that same blue material, but they were devoid of any of the red veins. Even though they were carvings, Yoshimitsu thought they were alive. They almost looked like they were breathing. Their eyes were locked in place, staring at each other across the room as though they were having some silent conversation. It unsettled the teenager.

In the centre of the room was a raised circular platform. Yoshimitsu approached it, cautiously examining it but remaining alert to the faces on the walls. He could not shake the feeling that he was being watched. The platform, as far as he could tell, was safe. There were no glaringly obvious traps at any rate. He stepped, slowly, on to the blue metal and to its centre. Immediately, it shuddered and rose into the air. At the same moment, the pupils on all the eyes glowed a violent red. Yoshimitsu's hand flew to his sword. Just in case.

One of the faces detached from the wall and hovered past Yoshimitsu, turning to face him. Its chiseled lips moved easily, as though they were made of flesh and muscle. With the angry expression it portrayed, it was very unnerving.

"The ancient people were a Holy people, devout followers and masters of the white arts," it said in a mechanical voice, before returning to its place. A second face left its position, again flying past Yoshimitsu. They moved in turn, following each other perfectly.

"They sought to create the ultimate art to eliminate evil completely."

"Using their combined knowledge, faith and power, they created an art of incredible magnitude."

"The art was perfect in theory and practice, removing all traces of evil from a person's soul and heart."

"A rival people, versed in the black arts and followers of the Unholy ones, sought out this magic."

"The Unholy people sought the magic to change it to their liking and act in reverse, filling a person with evil instead of eliminating it."

Yoshimitsu watched each face as it spoke. The history of the magic, and of this place. The truth. He was going to find out if he still had a chance to save his friend and just what the stakes were.

"They transformed themselves, warping their body and minds into demons. In these new, powerful forms, they stormed the Holy people. "

"Though their minds were warped, their cunning and their resolve remained absolute. The Holy people stood no chance."

"As defense, the Holy people brought forth their entire magical essence and sealed the demons away in cages of gold. The demons were unable to comprehend their loss and were driven mad."

"The Holy people realised the danger of their ultimate art and sealed it away. As their final act, they created an organic dungeon that would serve to defend it from anyone who might try to use it."

"Stranger from the other world," a face said, its glowing eyes locked on Yoshimitsu. It had a calm, impassive face. The blue-haired teenager stared back. "Why have you come here?"

"I... My friend, he..." Yoshimitsu started, his mind still buzzing from the information had had just received. He was in the stomach of a giant organic dungeon. A living entity. A lifeform that had been charged with defending this ultimate magic. "He's broken the barrier between this dimension and mine. He's been... his heart's been taken over by darkness and he's got too much power. I was told that this magic could stop him and get rid of his darkness."

"You ask a great deal for just one man, stranger from the other world," another face commented. Yoshimitsu looked around and saw that all of the faces had moved. Not far, just out of their spaces on the wall. He was reminded of a court, or an interrogation. "This magic was not designed to be used to one man."

"But he's going to destroy the world! He's broken the barrier, don't you understand?!" Yoshimitsu argued, desperation creeping into his voice. "The two worlds are gonna collide and they'll both be destroyed! I have to stop him!"

"We understand, stranger from the other world," the first face said bluntly. "We understand more than you realise. The ancient people were like you, strangers from the other world."

"I... what?" Yoshimitsu asked, completely thrown. "They were like me? You mean they-"

"The ancient people were not outcasts, but they were in this world. They brought their knowledge and their faith in this world's God and sought to change it for the better. This is of their origin," the face explained in its impassive voice. Yoshimitsu's brain was processing the information rapidly. He couldn't focus. He wanted to know more.

"I... that's... you... if he isn't stopped then this place will get destroyed too!" Yoshimitsu finally shouted. "And you'll have been here guarding this place for nothing! The magic wont be here any more! Even if you don't get a damn about this world, don't you care about this place?!"

"We are not like you," another face snapped, its voice angry. Yoshimitsu whirled on the spot, glaring at the angry expression that had spoken. "We do not hold the same values that you do. Guarding this magic is absolute, until one of Light comes."

"One... of Light..?" Yoshimitsu asked, his glare fading into a look of strained curiosity.

"One of Light, yes," the first face agreed. "This magic can be used by only the Holiest of people, only those with power pure and bright. Stranger from the other world, prove to me that you are worthy of this power."

Yoshimitsu let his arms drop by his side.

"One of Light... I wondered why Alex told me to find Zebedee... We're the only two people who can do this..."

"Stranger from the other world, our patience is not unlimited. We will remove you."

"One of Light..." Yoshimitsu repeated, his voice fading as he thought it over. That power he had used against the demon. That power of Light. He could acquire this magic. A new determination flared in his eyes as he focused on the power he had used. He concentrated, letting it fill him up and flow through every part of his body, feeling the warm glow spread into his arms, his fingertips, his face. As he felt the power grow, something appeared on his body. A white metal visor, like the upper half of a helmet, formed around his forehead and eyes. White metal shoulder guards and bracers, ornate boots and plates at his waist. A white and yellow aura flared up around him.

"One of Light..." He repeated again, a smile forming on his face as the armour and aura faded away. There was silence for a moment, then...

"Stranger from the other world, you are one of Light," the faces said simultaneously. "Receive this power."

Suddenly, beams of white blasted out of all of the faces' eyes. Around the blue-haired teenager, a white cocoon blossomed as the power gathered. He could feel it, the Holy power radiating from it as it flowed freely around him. It was slowly flowing into him and through him, the power he had sought so desperately. As the white faded, he felt the magic burn close to his heart. Waiting to be used.

"Stranger from the other world, we have one more test for you," the face said. Yoshimitsu's eyes snapped to it.

"What?" He asked, a little impatiently. He was getting bored of this place.

"You may not use that power unless you can leave this place alive," it replied, its voice growing louder and more hostile. Suddenly, all of the faces exploded. Yoshimitsu shielded his face with his forearm and crouched low, the chunks of blue soaring over him. There was no dust. He could see what was happening perfectly.

Within each and every one of the faces was a demon.

~*~*~

"You want to throw your life away," Vincent snapped, spinning in the air. A streak of black and blue left his free hand and immediately opened up a swirling vortex between him and the winged boy. A second portal appeared on the other side of Vincent, putting Hector safely out of the way while Vincent turned his attention back to Reijuu. "Be my guest. I don't care what you think. None of you can stop me, so what gives you the right to say that I can't decide who lives and dies?"

Vincent raised his sword above his head and threw himself into a violent spin, whirling like a drill. Hector's attempt to stop his assault on the dragon had caused him to change his mind. He was no going to slice the head clean off any more. He was going to drill right through it.

[Tout-Perd]

"Stranger from the other world, why have you come here?"

Zebedee cocked his head slightly in response, the mask tilting slightly to follow the motion.

“Well, if I’m here, I wouldn’t be doing this on a lark, now would would I?”

“Stranger from the other world, why have you come here?”

Same question, exact same tone. The faces clearly were not going to take some indirect excuse.

“Because this place holds the key to saving the entire world, as far as I know. And every person in it… All the people I love, all the people I… am trying to love better, innumerable living creatures, and millions of man’s greatest works. This is far too valuable to ever even think of letting somebody destroy it.”

“Think? There is no thought. The only value we understand is that of our burden.”

“What’s a burden if doesn’t do any good for anybody?” Zebedee shot back, not minding his tone.

“What is duty if it is abandoned for any sake?” A face, stone tears frozen on its cheeks, nosed in close to the warrior.

“The thing that keeps duty from being blind uselessness is knowing when to forsake it!” His voice was harsh, much moreso than typical. Some part of his mind wondered if he’d speak the same way to a normal person.

“Sorry.”

“There is one thing that would allow us to abandon our station…” A face, one eye winking into eternity, brushed up against Zebedee’s ear.

“As if one behaving in such a manner could feasibly be that individual?” A scowl shot past, quickly interjecting its point.

“I’ll admit. My behavior is NOT in accordance with what you’d expect. Not at all. But I come in the stead of- no, representing another. I’m here to do the work of the God of this world. Of all worlds. The greatest and holiest of all that is holy.”

“And you’d act with crass impatience when serving such a being? Disgraceful, unlikely,” A smile spoke the words, its tone entirely inappropriate for the face it bore.

“I’m only a human, t-“

“And thus unworthy!”

“We’re all unworthy! The thing that matters is that some of us are willing to try!”

“The thing that matters is that one is worthy.”

“Listen, I could argue with you all day, but we really don’t have that kind of time. You can stick to your dogma, for all I care. But if you’re not going to yield this willingly, I’ll take it by force.”

“Such impudence! You only further prove your unworthiness with every action.”

There was a quiet whoosh as air rippled around Zebedee's arm, and the room took on a golden glow. A luminous triangle of yellow-white light hovered over his left wrist, seemingly resonating with unmeasurable force. It wasn't ornate like his actual sword, but the concentration of holy might still was palpable from any point in the room.

“That.. Is indeed power worthy of the forces of light. To turn it against us, however, would be proving naught.”

“Did I say who the force would be used against?” Zebedee raised his hand, and with a single quick jerk, left a cut across his cheek. A hissed exhalation passed his clenched teeth, golden flames flickering over the wound for but a moment before dissipating.

“Would one with an evil heart withstand a cut like that?”

“Hm... One of Light indeed could, it is understood. However-”

“Fine then!” Zebedee moved again, much more suddenly, and tore something away from his right wrist. A bandage fluttered to the floor, seemingly appearing out of thin air.

“Is this proof enough?” He raised his arm, revealing a large scar that seemed to start on one side of his wrist and continue all the way through to the other side. It glowed faintly with a crimson light, so subtle that it'd be invisible in the daytime sun.

“That... provides much greater evidence. Such wounds as that are familiar to us here, the manner that accompanies handling substantial amounts of the power of Light...” A face, blank in expression except for upturned eyes, circled the limb twice before fading back into the circuit.

“So, there's your proof. I've got experience handling this sort of thing, and the ability to call holy power up at will...” Zebedee smiled faintly, “Lord willing.”

“Indeed, that is enough. You've proven yourself to be one of Light, and so we shall grant you the privilege.”

Wisps of pale light began emerging from each face, first trickling from their eyes, and then arcing towards Zebedee. The rays converged on the hovering blade, seemingly seeping into it. There was a loud whoosh as the wisps soon grew into torrents, massive cascades of immeasurable power. They began pooling around Zebedee's weapon, evidently coming in with such volume that he could not hope to seal it all away.

“Stranger, there is one more concern for you before you leave...”

“Yeah? Uh, thanks, by the way...” Zebedee closed his eyes, the pool of energy quickly drawing into a single point and then vanishing.

“You must, to prove your worth without doubt, leave here alive,” The voice grew rougher and darker with the last few words.

The holy warrior took a step back as the faces began violently imploding, covering the floor in chunks of blue stone. He raised a hand, a faint barrier flickering into existence around him. A few pieces of shattered mask bounced off, crunching slightly as they fell.

Having replaced each face was a demon, resembling the one from earlier.

Zebedee cocked his head slightly, and squinted at them, before letting out a loud sigh.
--------
Miko dashed towards the area between the base of Reijuu's wings, on an intercept course with Vincent. He stopped suddenly, planting his heel against the plating of the dragon's back, and then raised a hand towards the incoming foe.

WHAM! Vincent stopped cold in the air, his swing continuing despite his lost momentum. He felt it bite into something... His eyes snapped open, glaring through the barrier that had emerged in his way. His blade had cut into Miko's side... Not quite far enough to bite into vitals, but the Summoner was bleeding profusely.

"You threaten to do things... Big f*ckin' deal, Vincent. I can threaten to do things too, doesn't mean I will. We'll be stopping you here, and that's not a threat. That's a promise."

"I've learned from previous experiences... You block the blade, they'll break the forcefield. You block the swordsman, and they're screwed." Miko planted his bracer against the blade, keeping Vincent from wrenching it any further into his side.

"So, this is me, then!" A weight landed on Vincent's shoulder. A roughly armored knee scraped the side of his face. The woman that had been with Miko...

"This is for trying to kill Reijuu!" Vincent felt a quick stabbing pain in his swordarm. A knife... Inconsequential, really.

"And THIS is for hurting Miko!" She shifted the blade slightly, and then threw herself off of Vincent. She tackled Miko, ripping him free of the sword as the dragon vanished and the pair went into a freefall.

Vincent had time to glance at the knife in his arm before the grenade duct-taped to it went off.
OOC: Typed the second part in 5 minutes. Whew. Tell me any errors, and I'll fix 'em up.

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC- ouch, this just ate up about 5 hours. anyway, minor autos of Zeb

BIC -

Yoshimitsu jumped again, narrowly avoiding being speared by a demon's pointed claws. Messing up his landing, he stumbled and rolled forwards, on his feet again as quickly as he could. The entire area had changed. The walls and ceilings had fallen away, any solid ground underfoot was broken and scattered. Far below, Yoshimitsu could see a swirling mass of blue and red. He didn't know what it was down there, but he had no intention of finding out.

"Son of a bitch!" Yoshimitsu muttered, throwing himself out of the way of another strike from another demon. It was insane. These monsters were coming out of nowhere, and there were far too many of them for Yoshimitsu to fight fairly. He jumped to another platform and turned on landing, firing out a series of fist-shaped blasts of Light at the incoming hoarde. If nothing else, the platform beneath them would collapse and they'd be sent into whatever it was beneath them.

Yoshimitsu jumped again, landing on another platform on the route out. To his left, on another path made of floating rocks, he saw Zebedee being pursued by another small army of monsters.

"Zeb!" Yoshimitsu shouted, sending a series of swirling beams at the demonds pursuing his friend. However, the monsters following the blue-haired boy caught up to him. Quickly, Yoshimitsu jumped to the edge of the platform and grabbed it, swinging round and underneath. His feet appeared to explode as Bahamut flowed into his shoes, creating Bahamut-style jet boots for the boy to shoot up the other side of the platform. With an elegant flip he brought his heel, flames still exploding from the soles of his feet, crashing down in the skull of one of the monsters.

His boots faded away, and the blue-haired teenager continued his escape along the platforms. Suddenly, two of the blue faces shot past him and turned to face the pair. Yoshimitsu gripped his sword tightly, ready for them.

"The Calamity has been unleashed," the face on the right said, a jubilant expression.

"The Calamity must be destroyed, it is an affront to nature," the face on the left continued, angry beyond all measure.

"What's the Calamity?!" Yoshimitsu demanded, spinning to strike a demon behind him. He tore his blade out of the demon's arm, then jumped again.

"The Calamity is the being of destruction," the ecstatic face said, floating alongside Yoshimitsu. "Strangers from the other worlds, this is no part of the test. The Calamity is beyond our control."

"And turning into demons isn't?" Zebedee muttered.

"But what is it?!" Yoshimitsu demanded again.

"The Calamity is the first design for Lord Dran's elite guard," the second face explained. "It is made up of nothing but the perfect aspects of destructive lives. Monsters and demons, fused together to make the ultimate bodyguard."

"It is unstable mentally, all reason and logic wiped away by violence and anger," the first face continued. Yoshimitsu jumped and kicked off the angry face, firing another series of fist-sized blasts of Light down at the incoming monsters. He had to find a way to slow them down.

"It was locked away due to its instability. It could not be destroyed. Someone has removed the lock, and sent it here," the first face said.

"Vincent..." Yoshimitsu muttered.

"Strangers from the other worlds, we will go ahead to combat the Calamity. You must not fail."

Yoshimitsu gritted his teeth and skidding to a halt. His path was missing a huge chunk. A gap between platforms too big for him to jump normally. The army had almost reached him. He was running out of options rapidly.

"Bahamut! I need a cannon!" Yoshimitsu said urgently. Instantly, his hands were covered in a blue and gold glow. Flickering into existence was Bahamut's head, split in two across either hand. The blue haired boy had his doubts, but he had no other choice. Just before anything reached his platform, he jumped into the empty space. He turned in the air and slammed the two halves of Bahamut together, blue and gold forming between the jaws.

The magnitude of the attack was incredible. A giant burning ball of blue and gold, the ultimate Mega Flare drawn straight from Bahamut's power. Yoshimitsu was sent flying through the air the instant the attack left his hands. As the cannon faded away, Yoshimitsu struggled to right himself in the air. He saw the platforms he had just past eaten up by the blast, the demons falling into whatever it was below.

The blue haired boy landed painfully, skidded to the end of the platform and slipped off the other side. He just managed to grab the edge to avoid falling with the monsters. With enormous effort, he dragged himself back on to the platform and took a moment to catch his breath.

"Son... son of a bitch..." he muttered, panting. He staggered to his feet, he looked forward. No point in hanging around. He jumped again, finally making it to a long strip he could run on.

The path lead to a circle of platforms, with six things already there. Five of them were the faces, all circling at insanely fast speeds. The sixth thing was something else. It had a strange shape to it, like a mesh of dull colours and textures, into a marble-like appearence. Its face looked almost human, but it was the most demonic looking human Yoshimitsu had ever seen. Surrounding its body, which was humanoid too, was a giant shell. Perfectly round, with the thing's body sticking out the front. Four tentacles, ending with spikes, extended out of the sphere.

"Zeb, I'll handle this thing, go to Vincent! Stall him until I can catch up!" Yoshimitsu shouted to Zebedee, who reached the circle at the same time. Zebedee nodded and continued out of the dungeon. Yoshimitsu shifted his grip on his sword.

~*~*~

Vincent felt his jaw dislocate as a knee met it at alarming velocities. He had little time to respond as he felt a stabbing in his arm. A knife. No big deal. However when Haze and Miko suddenly retreated, he knew something was wrong. He looked down at his arm to see a grenade there.

"You cheeky..." He was cut off by the grenade exploding, sending him blasting through the air. He had been fast enough to summon some Darkness to shield to blast, but the explosion had still broken through. His arm was bleeding quite badly, and half of his face was covered in blood. He reached up and shoved his jaw back into place, reconnecting the bones.

"... Not bad. Don't think you're done yet, though!" Vincent roared, setting his sword spinning again. He threw it down after the pair, the blade following them like a saw. Then, he raised his palms to the sky, and the black lightning that was flowing from the dimensional rip suddenly blasted down again, tendrils of black and blue pursuing the pair.

"You threaten to do things, but don't follow through because you are weak, Miko!" Vincent shouted, his dark aura flaring up. "You can't save this world! You can't stop me!"

Vincent shot into the sky, twirled, and shot right back down again.

"I'll show you how futile it is to try."

He blasted down like a comet, both palms pointing down at the descending pair. Two beams of black and blue exploded from his fists as he fell through the air, following the pair. He ceased the beams quickly, his aura intensifying as he ready to ram into the pair.

[Hamuu]

OOC: Slight Crystal Part 2 and 3 spoilers here. I’m not going heavy in them but if you read carefully you’ll know what I am talking about. They are kinda obvious.... Hopefully this is good!

>wake up…<

Rick rolled over uncomfortably, his mind drifting somewhere in the abyss between sleep and waking. Had he been dreaming? Was this still the dream? What was that voice?

>Wake up!<

Black flames illuminated the room with an eerie dark glow as Ricks aura uncontrollably flared out from his body. He sat up, fully awake. Next to him, Mia was writhing in pain. She was still asleep, but something was causing her discomfort. The black mage took a few deep breaths and relaxed; his black flame-like aura began to diminish until it was a faint glowing outline, the same as any other mage.

>Can you feel it?<

Rick looked down at Mia, she was still now. Her chest rose and fell slowly beneath the covers as Rick watched her. It was hard for them to do anything intimate, even kissing sometimes left a stinging effect that would linger for hours. Of all the mage races, black and white mages were different. The other colors got their powers from different places or actions, but all those were rooted in the physical world. Black and white mages though, got their power from entirely different planes of existence. Two completely incompatible planes.

>Don’t ignore me. I know you can feel it too.<

‘Yeah…’ Rick thought, ‘I can feel it too. Any clue what it is?’

The bed rustled slightly as Rick tried to slide out as gently as he could. He gathered a few things off the floor – his black t-shirt, his white baggy shorts, and shoes.

>No… I can tell it’s stronger than us though…<

Rick stopped as he grasped the door knob, ‘Stronger?

The mage didn’t know of many people who could boast that truthfully. These days Valon, Lee, Miko, Yoshimitsu, and himself were the strongest beings on the planet right now.

>Yeah and you can’t feel it the way I can, but it’s definitely not on our side.<

‘Our side?’ Rick questioned as he silently opened and closed the bedroom door.

>The side that doesn’t want the this world wiped out.<

During the battle following the mage festival, Rick had willing let his dissociative soul take over his body. Since then things had been different. Changes had come over him and the other soul. Rick was more serious and found he could muster more of his natural powers without weakening the mental barrier that kept the dissociative soul from taking over his body. The other soul’s demeanor had lightened extremely – no longer threatening those Rick cared about and, in rare cases like this, helping Rick.

It was strange now though, use to the other soul would grow dormant as long as Rick didn’t use any of his more powerful spells for an extended period of time. However, the voice was always there now. The soul was alert and aware of some things even Rick couldn’t sense. Both of them still fought for control of the body, but it wasn’t a taxing fight anymore. Instead the soul just probed at the border looking for weak spots.

Rick picked up his sword belt. The black mage sword, prone to changing form based on strong events, memories, emotions, and personalities, had shifted once again. The sword belt never changed though, in its dormant state the Reaching into the air, Rick summoned his mage sword, the Diablo to his hand.

For a long time it had been a sword, changing only slightly in design and appearance though most of his life. When he found the mages though his life changed and his sword became a polearm, not unlike an elongated spear with a blade at both ends. Recently it had taken the form of a large battleaxe. Now it seemed to have shifted to a combination of the last two giving him polearm axe. It was long, about seven feet of pole. The axe head was slender but added another three feet to the end. Pointing the opposite direction was an even smaller though still chard head. At the other end of the pole, a spear like portion added one more foot on. In total the weapon was eleven feet long making it the largest one Rick had ever wielded.

>You think, since it changes and all, our people would have stopped calling it a sword.<

The phrase ‘our people’ echoed in Ricks head as he opened the door to the roof. That was one thing that hadn’t changed; the other soul still believed it was its own entity and the true owner of the body. At the very least it had started including Rick in there instead of just saying ‘my people’.

Leaping into the air, Rick began to fly in the direction of the power. He didn’t look at Shin-Ra, he didn’t need to anymore. The destruction was still fresh in his head every time he closed his eyes. On the outskirts of the city were two massive airship frames. The monstrous vessels were still some time from completion but they would become a testament to magical engineering.

>There is one good thing.<

'Yeah? What's that?'

>Whatever this power is emanating from, has emotions. I can feel them and they're in chaos.<

'So the closer we get...'

>The stronger we become.<

[Yoshimitsu]

Yoshimitsu jumped to the neighbouring platform swiftly, then kicked into the air the sent a wave of Light cutting down at the Calamity. One of the blue faces, with tears of laughter stuck halfway down its cheeks, soared underneath him and gave him a foothold. Moving rapidly, he kicked off and jumped over the monstrocity before him, landing smoothly behind it.

So far, his attacks had done nothing. He was putting the power behind his blasts and his strikes, but his wounded ribcage restricted him from using his full strength and his control over his Light was still immature. Many of his Light attacks exploded, but there was no real bite to them. The faces flying around him were managing to hold off the majority of the counter attacks, giving Yoshimitsu that few extra seconds to think and react.

"Stranger from the other world, you must control your Light," an impassive face instructed, red beams firing from its eyes. Yoshimitsu jumped again as one of the Calamity's tentacles struck the platform.

"You are letting your power loose without focusing it," another face added. "Control the flow and intensity."

"Easier said than done," Yoshimitsu muttered, shifting his grip on his sword. He stomped down on the platform he was stood on, causing it to tilt slightly. Despite his injury, the blue haired boy was still very agile. He kicked off from the platform and shot horizontally beside the Calamity. As he passed the beat, his sword scraped along the side of the sphere, leaving the tiniest of scratches.

Yoshimitsu wasted no time, kicking off the next floating chunk of blue. With each jump, he picked up more and more speed until he was a blur. Each jump increased the speed of his blade, more momentum packed behind each strike. Finally, he was managing to do more than just rebound harmlessly off the monster. Hoping to end the battle quickly now, he shifted his feet as he landed on a platform and shot directly at the beast's humanesque form.

A tentacle whipped round, catching Yoshimitsu's chest and swatting him out of the air. The teenager felt the imact on his broken rib, swearing violently as he went into a freefall. The swirling colour below was approaching fast. He was about to find out what it was.

Beams of red crossed beneath him, expanding to form a rectangle. Yoshimitsu extended one arm above him, landing in a handstand, before flipping to his feet and shooting right back into the air. His blade suddenly ignited with blue and golden flames as he ascended. With a mighty swipe, Yoshimitsu brought the blade slashing through the point of an incoming tentacle. The tip of the appendage split. The flames exploded outwards, in a burning edge. The tentacle was torn right down the middle. With a gymnastic twist, Yoshimitsu kicked off the Calamity's spherical body and back to the safety of a platform.

"Stranger from the other world, use your Light! End this quickly, before the beast learns too much about you!" A face implored, this one livid. Yoshimitsu drew his hand back and focused on the feeling of Light, summoning it to his palm.

It felt rough, heavy, difficult to control. If he had to liken it to something, it would be to a tennis ball the weight of a cannonball. Something just felt wrong.

"Stranger from the other world, your heart is full of doubt and worry," the face insisted. "Rid yourself of this darkness and embrace your power!"

Yoshimitsu gritted his teeth. Rid himself of doubt and worry? He'd find it easier to blow his own brain up.

"Stranger from the other world, your Light is fuelled by your own strength, by your happiness and selflessness. Allow yourself to feel these things again, and feel the power inside you grow."

Yoshimitsu closed his fist, the glow fading instantly. He had no time to think. The Calamity had to be stopped now.

[Yoshimitsu]

"Yes, Light," the man said with an amused smile. Both of them could sense it in the air, the feeling of understanding. The truth, the secrets unveiled. Yoshimitsu felt it, like electricity.

"What is Light?" Yoshimitsu asked.

"What you must understand is that Light and Darkness are powerful forces," the man exploded, running his fingers through his dark hair. "They are the opposite of each other. They can destroy each other, but they cannot touch each other. The ultimate positive and negative forces made manifest into an unimaginable power that has no limits, apart from your own emotions."

"Emotions?"

"The names, Light and Darkness are not technically accurate," he admitted. "They are not the presense and lack of illumination. It is much deeper than that. Light is the ultimate positive power channeled into what can only be described as holy. It can eradicate evil or be unleashed as a destructive force. Perfect positive power, made manifest."

"Positive power..." Yoshimitsu repeated, running it over in his head. "And that talk about emotions? That's linked?"

"That's right."

Yoshimitsu rubbed his temples, thinking. Emotions, the positive and negative powers, him and Vincent. The link between everything.

The realisation hit him like a train.

"It comes from our emotions. That's the power, our emotions. That's why he has Darkness and I have Light," Yoshimitsu stated. He knew it as he said it, he knew everything was true. "Vincent's had such pain and anger in his past, he bottled it up and Yisimentsu used that to power himself."

"And yourself?"

"I was the opposite, you said so yourself. I can use Light, I felt everything he didn't, I loved and I was happy and I could forgive people," Yoshimitsu answered. "And because of that, I have the opposite power. That's why Yisimentsu's not touched me. The Light would drown him."

"Very good," the dark haired man commented. "You know the story. Do you know what happens next?"

"No, not really. Vincent's doing something in secret, but when he finally does it..."

Yoshimitsu looked up at the man, staring him straight in the eyes.

"I'll stop him. I'll save him."

[Yoshimitsu]

OOC - Yyeeeaaahhh triple posting, shut up

BIC -

The wind ruffled his clothes, blew back his ears, nearly dislodged his hat, made him squint, forced his tail to whip behind him but it was his sign that he was doing something right. Because it wasn't actually wind. It was him, falling through the sky with his spear pointed down, reaching his top speed. Sir Fratley, Dragon Knight of Burmecia, was on the offensive. Hopefully, he could end the battle now.

He wasn't alone in his endeavour either. Already, Miko, Haze, Hector and Prime had entered the fight in the attempt to stop the dark haired boy from destroying everything. They were doing well. They'd hurt Vincent, distracted him from destroying the world instantly. It was like he was indulging them in their efforts, entertaining them to think their devices were working. That feeling unnerved Fratley. They had to end things, and quickly.

A visible aura of speed formed around the Burmecian as he came closer to his maximum velocity. The air around him screeched as it cut through it, until he raced ahead of the sound. Nothing but silence, in his ears. He was moving past sound, going much too fast.

"I'm coming for you, Vincent," he muttered, the words not reaching his ears.

~*~*~

Down below, Vincent was about to ram into Miko when something caught one of the black bones running along his collarbone, completely shattering it. A cut opened along his chest, then a solid wall of sound nearly knocked him from the sky.

"What the fuck..."

He looked down then immediately shot backwards as the attacker came for another attack, from below this time.

"You attracted more attention than you thought, Vincent," a familiar voice commented. Another figure melted into view, his right palm glowing. This figure had an unsettling edge to him, though his appearence was not immediately threatening. Sandy blonde, messy hair, a slightly ripped white shirt with one sleeve longer than the other, dirty cargo pants and barefoot. His eyes gave him away. Black, with sapphire pupils.

"Araini," Vincent breathed, his voice seething with barely contained rage. "What are yo-"

Vincent was cut off, the spear impacting with the black bone on the other half of his chest and shattering that too. Araini quickly weaved another spell, his hands glowing red and they danced patterns in the air. When the blur that was Fratley shot by again, he was glowing faintly and moving much faster.

"You're ridiculously easy to trace, leaving a trail of distruction," Araini commented, his tone conversational rather than harsh, as Fratley jumped to a conjured platform next to him.

"I thought you'd like this, Araini," Vincent sneered, his sword slowly revolving round his wrist. "Discovering what happens when one world consumes another."

"I'm not Alex. I don't find any pleasure in experimenting with dangerous variables," Araini replied. "The world wont end today, Vincent. The odds are not in your favour."

"Fuck the odds!" Vincent snapped, his voice somehow more inhuman. "And forget whatever it is you're planning. If this is all the resistance you can throw against me, then this planet's as good as dead."

"You're wrong, Vincent," Fratley said, his voice quieter but somehow had more of an impact. "I've seen the evils in this world. I've nearly had my life destroyed because people thought we were dangerous because we were different."

"Cry me a river, rat," Vincent sneered, raising the spinning blade. An orb of darkness appeared at his fist again. A beam, wider and faster, much stronger than the last.

"If I can live though the hate and evils in this world and still say it deserves to be here, then you have no right to contest that! Vincent, I will put an end to this now!" Fratley roared, his spear glowing a pure white as he swung it round. Astoundingly, Fratley's strike sliced the beam in two and sent it blasting into the tear. As Vincent struck again, Fratley shot into the sky and prepared for another assault, while Araini threw up a barrier to deflect the beam and teleported a short distance to the side.

"You wont win this fight, Vincent," Araini called to the warrior. "Yoshimitsu will be here soon, Zebedee will show up and you will be outmatched and outclassed."

"Don't underestimate me, Araini," Vincent snapped back, his voice warping and changing. Two voices. There were two voices there.

[Tout-Perd]

The whole world is being torn asunder
Blood tinged darkness rends our tranquility
Stay your tongue and hear the ceaseless thunder
-------
Miko turned to face the pursuing attacks, seizing his cape in hand. With a practiced twist, he caught the air and jerked sideways. He raised his right arm, and caught the spiraling blade against his bracer. Sparks shot out to all sides, and the impact hurled the duo aside like leaves in a tempest. The beams lanced past him, the Summoner grunting in pain from the exertion of the maneuver.

“Good move, Miko!” Haze shifted her weight, swinging around her spouse. She reached under one of her prominent epaulets, and produced a gilded derringer with a flourish. She ignored her hair fluttering around her eyes, turning to face upwards towards Vincent.

“Eat lead, you sonnuvabitch!” There was a muffled bang, almost lost in the rushing air and explosions from the assortment of attacks being thrown about above. Vincent twitched slightly, and glanced away from Fratley for a moment. With a disdainful flick, he threw aside the bullet that he had caught in his fingertips.

“No good, I’m afraid-“ Miko bit his lip. He didn’t know if catching Vincent’s attention again had led to it, or if the beams were simply oddly paced homing attacks, but they had bowed back around and were spiraling back towards them again…
-------
Battered down glasslike fragility
Alas, we are but lambs at slaughter
Burnt to ash with our mortality
-------
“Well, fuck,” Haze remarked, and crossed her arms over her chest. A specter faded in above the two, the gigantic form of a serpentine dragon. With a burst of gale force winds, Doragon Reijuu spread two pairs of colossal wings.

Reijuu, let’s show that fucker who’s boss! A titanic pair of jaws snapped open, and the snakelike beast let out an imperious hiss. Saffron waves of light pulsed from its maw, accompanied by a sinister sizzling.

WHOOM! A bolt of pure heat and force erupted forth, the air around it hurled back from the might of the blast. Reijuu fanned her wings and braced her neck, the impact from the attack enough to push the immense beast back almost fifty feet. The breath weapon collided with the black beam, terminating it in a thunderous explosion. Flashes of gold and a dark energy resembling electricity crackled and sparked around the site of the impact, lingering in the air.

“That leaves me the blue one,” Miko stated calmly, and crushed a lapis lazuli ring between two fingers. A cerulean crescent shot from his free fist, ripping clean through the remaining ray. The two halves of the attack split off in either direction, seemingly starting to lose their cohesion.

“I told you that you were useless, Miko,” Vincent said, glaring down towards the Summoners. With that, the split beam flared up once more, and converged on the falling pair.

Miko had the time to tighten his grasp on Haze’s hand before they were engulfed.
-------
Continents ripple, shudder like water
The planet's oceans froth like rabid hounds
Gaia sweats blood from the fate you've wrought her
-------
Two seared forms, once humanoid, plummeted from the sky. Ashes spiraled downwards around them, before being caught in an updraft and flung into the sky.

Reijuu’s crimson eyes turned upon the tortured youth, regarding his armored form with a wordless fury. She coiled her body in the air, and let out a hiss that sounded more like a mountain being ripped in twain than a noise any mortal being would make. Her four pinions drew upwards and then slammed down, beating the clouds around her earthwards.

With astounding speed, the draconic beast surged towards Vincent. Her mouth was open, slavering, with the very flames of hell billowing around her. Her titanic nose was feet away, almost touching her enemy-

And then, like a dream, Doragon Reijuu faded away into nothingness. The whirling sky soon became blurred again, masking the last traces of her presence.
-------
Humanity is forfeit, our dirge sounds
The effort is futile, one’s dying throes
Still, we’ll struggle to the moment we drown
-------
“On the bright side, at least you guys aren’t on fire,” Zebedee ducked a slash, and lunged forwards. There was an explosion of kinetic force behind his arm, and the holy warrior threw a brutal uppercut. The demon slammed into the ceiling with a sickening crack, the bluish substance splitting slightly before instantly mending itself.

Zebedee vanished and reappeared above the falling creature, seizing it by its arm. With a twist, he threw it down upon one of its comrades. The two beasts were knocked to the floor, the impact spreading a cloud of dust.

“Let’s see…” He backstepped, moving as if there were ground beneath his feet. A demon that tore through the roof above him plummeted to the floor, missing its target. Zebedee raised his left hand to shoulder level, and snapped it downwards. A burst of wind accompanied the motion, crushing his attempted assailant into the earth. A noise from behind him caught his attention, and he turned slightly.

One of the demons threw itself from the wall, seizing Zebedee in its talons. They dropped from the ceiling as the floor shattered into a veritable jigsaw of floating debris, a crimson abyss yawning open beneath them.
-------
To stand against you is the path we chose
Slay us all, if you've the will to do so
In death our very bones will still oppose
-------
“You’re a friendly one!” Zebedee twisted his body, wrenching his arms free of the creature’s ferocious grip. Without his limbs in the way, its grasp tightened. The youth could feel his ribs bending under the pressure- A calculated risk, that was all.

Zebedee seized the demon’s head with both hands, and pitched forwards. He met the beast with a skull-cracking headbutt, the impact jarring both combatants. His right hand took hold of the monster’s bullish neck, keeping it from bringing its teeth to bear.

His left, on the other hand, flexed expectantly. Verdant sparks exploded around his palm, and snowed down around the mortal struggle, and a gleaming weapon appeared in his fist.

It was a blue frame, roughly shaped like a kite. In its center was a mirrored surface, a large orange cross emblazoned upon it. Dotted along the outside edge of the blue titanium were transparent blades, jagged triangles that called to mind the shark teeth on Polynesian swords.

Zebedee pulled the weapon towards himself, meeting the back of the monster's neck, and the jerked it sideways. The monster ceased its struggling, its spine sliced cleanly through. With a decisive kick to the creature's gut, Zebedee broke free of the grapple. He leveled off, hovering a few feet below the majority of the now hovering (and rather obliterated) floor.

He looked upwards, and let out a loud sigh. While he had taken his time dispatching the creature, another several dozen had massed around him. They were almost everywhere, dangling from chunks of the broken floor, what used to be the wall, the (former) ceiling...

It was like the place had been upholstered in bloodthirsty hellbeasts.

“Okay, then-” Zebedee disappeared, and came back into realspace above a rock full of the abominations. He dropped sideways, throwing his full weight into a backhanded slash that beheaded one of the molten-looking creatures. As he landed on the hovering asteroid of blue, one foot down, he shifted his weight. Throwing himself backwards, he slammed his elbow into what would be the solar plexus (were it human) of another one of the creatures.

Even as it doubled over, one of its allies seized Zebedee by his right arm. It used its free hand to slash at his back, tearing three claws into the warrior's side.

“Ghrgh!” Zebedee bit his lip, struggling against the pain from the blow. He drew his racquet upwards for a moment before slamming the blunt end into the inside of the monster's thigh. Using the impact from the blow, Zebedee's hand twisted to wrench his weapon into a slash along his enemy's gut.

Laid open by the attack, the monster relinquished its grasp. Zebedee turned on it, and tore its throat out with the next swing.
-------
Such is not for us to consider, though
Your tyrant madness will not overcome
In this endless darkness, our spirits glow
-------
“Guys, really-” Zebedee fell to his knees, ducking another talon. The monster's tail came up, slamming into his chest with enough force to bowl him over backwards. He caught himself, skidding to a stop, and shifted forwards. He spun to his feet, lashing out with a kick as he did so.

Though the attack failed to find a target, a spiral of wind accompanied the motion. It caught the assorted creatures, and flung them upwards. As Zebedee landed, he crossed his arms over his chest. He brought them down, and around his rock, a titanic ring of force hammered down. It smashed the airborne monsters downwards, sending them shooting past the asteroid and into the abyss.

“Okay, time to get some breathing room here,” Zebedee slid his right heel back, and threw his racquet into the air. He took a deep breath, and raised his left arm towards the majority of the rocks (and consequentially, the rather unpleasant company he had found himself amongst).

“Gabriel's Trumpet!”

Like an invisible freight train, the air before Zebedee went tearing forwards. Propelled by an immense burst of kinetic energy, the chunks of floating earth were caught up and carried. They may as well have been chunks of ice in a springtime river, torn away from their stations without any ceremony. The ferocious wind echoed throughout what remained of the chamber, roaring loud enough to drown out the hundreds of bloodthirsty cries.

Boulders were slammed together, obliterating all life on them without knowledge or care. Monsters, ripped forcibly from their perches, were sent tumbling into the infinity below them. The entire far wall (or at least, what remained of said wall) was shattered, joining the rest of the room in its migration away from Zebedee.

The air before him cleared (as well as the half of the platform that had the misfortune of being immediately in front of his attack), Zebedee kicked off. He hovered for a moment, and heard an explosion in the distance.

Yoshimitsu...
-------
A light pierces the gloom, the morning sun
The shadows flee and burn away to dust
This world of nightmares, what shall it become?
-------
It had taken a bit of assistance from Yoshimitsu, but Zebedee had lost his pursuers (well, those he hadn't already blown away, at least). One of the faces, apparently having decided that becoming a (obnoxious, somewhat expendable) demon thing was not a good career choice, was now regaling them with information about an even bigger demon thing.

“Sounds wonderful. You guys sure had a bunch of adorable pets you kept around, didn't you?” Zebedee rubbed at the slash across his back, flinching slightly, “Speaking of which-”

He spun, kicking a monster aside as it dove for him from the ceiling. He pulled his bloody hand up, and clenched it into a fist.

“Ash to ash,” He murmured, and the beast erupted into flames. They dispersed a moment later, leaving naught but a few sooty wisps. Zebedee turned in time to see Yoshimitsu unleash the Mega Flare, and quickly teleported farther behind his comrade.

Even standing behind him, with his aura buffering the temperature, Zebedee could feel the heat from the blast make his skin prickle. It was like an instant sunburn, almost. On the bright side, (albeit not as bright as the blue-and-gold apocalypse Yoshimitsu had just shot off) almost all of the demons had been somewhat worsely effected. Bits of claw and seared bone rained from the sky, the only remnants of the ravening hordes.

As they came upon the chamber, Zebedee paused for a moment. He silently spoke a short prayer, and turned to face Yoshimitsu.

“Okay, I'll go on ahead. But remember; holding Vincent off is useless if you don't survive to get there,” He wet his lips, “Vincent's life might have to be forfeit if you don't get there.”

“You've gotta survive, okay?” Zebedee didn't wait for a confirmation. The moment the last syllable faded, he was gone.
-------
You shall never prevail; our cause is just
The dogma of hopelessness now is spent
For now we shall fight, labor as we must
-------
Something behind Vincent rustled, a noise almost lost in the explosive battle between him and Fratley. Still, his superhuman hearing picked it up, and he turned to face it.

WHACK! A boot caught him in the chin. Compared to the blows Fratley was doling out, it was almost inconsequential, but it meant something significant all the same. A man, clad in white with his red cape fluttering about, dangled from a floating length of a colossal purple ribbon with one hand. His right side was scorched, the arm dangling limply. It was wrapped in a vine, holding it steady, despite a length of jagged bone jutting out just above the elbow. A short distance along the ribbon, a woman in seared gold armor was kneeling upon it.

“Miko!” Vincent snarled, throwing a flaming punch towards the Summoner.

“Vincent,” Miko deadpanned, twisting aside. The blow still struck home, hitting Miko with inhuman force. The Summoner rode the impact, flipping onto the top of the mysteriously hovering surface.

“You died!”

“No, two pieces of mandrake root, enlarged and shaped with jade magic did. Not the best decoy, but pretty effective when you're almost three thousand feet away from your opponent,” Miko slipped another ring from his finger, holding it up. He managed a grin, despite the fact that his garb had burned through to blackened skin in several places.

“Then I guess I'll just need to fix that!” Vincent's sword spun into his hand, and gleamed with a dangerous light.

“No, no you won't,” Miko smashed the ring against the clasp of his cape, and then threw it into the air. It exploded into a column of viridian light,spreading out towards the ends. A moment later, the lights coalesced, taking the form of an immense redwood tree. It fell towards Vincent, only to be cut from root to the highest leaf with a single blow.

“You know what Vincent? We might be as weak as you say. We might be almost useless in the face of your power. But that's nothing,” Miko turned back, looking towards Haze. Behind them, dozens more of the purple ribbons had become apparent, dancing wildly in the tempestuous air. Though only part of the mass could be seen from the clouds, it was obviously spheroid, continuing for what could be miles into the mists.

“Because,” Miko dropped another ring, this one instantly blossoming into a transparent forcefield. He stepped onto it, and offered Haze his good hand. She jumped down, landing beside him, “We'll just keep fighting. We might not be able to beat somebody as powerful as you, but it doesn't matter. Every single Summoner, from the moment they understood speech, has had it drilled into them. Keep. On. Fighting. You can tear my limbs off, you son of a bitch, but you know what? I'll spit in your fucking face.”

The ribbon that had caught Miko and Haze swept back upwards, into the clouds. Faintly, the rattling of chains could be heard.
-------
”The laws of nature, the bars you have bent,
No more, as here am I , your death, Vincent!”

“BREAK!” Helen threw her hand forwards, the hundreds of colossal ribbons streaming from around her turning towards one direction. They shot towards Vincent, coming from every angle imaginable. They writhed about, spiraling about eachother and curving back around towards the single point they were converging on.

At the moment before impact, the seemingly harmless ribbons burnt away. They were replacing by immense columns of luminous pink, humming with arcane energy. The sky turned red.

[Yoshimitsu]

Ribbons... What sorcery was this? Vincent's eyes darted around, trying to find the source of this stupidity. Ribbons. What were ribbons supposed to do to him? Flimsy pieces of fabric, sliced or torn away with no effort. He turned his attention to Miko.

"You'd spit in the face of a God?" Vincent asked, arrogance seeping into his voice and his expression. "You're-"

The ribbons turned hostile at the moment of impact. Each one pierced straight through Vincent's body, his arms, his legs, his chest, the bones cracking and shattering, his sword sundering and red flowing from every wound. His blood was split and evaporated as each new blast ripped through him. When the attack finally ended, Vincent looked almost human again.

"You... You..." He panted, blood spraying from his lips with each gasp. "You... son of a bitch!"

Black exploded from his skin, plates and plates like armour bursting from every wound. They curved and spiked grotesquely, abstract beyond compare and every inch looking lethal. Hate and anger and despair combined into a physical form, protecting Vincent from attack. The sword hilt still spun around his wrist, blade shattered and fallen away. He flicked his wrist, and the blade suddenly regrew from the metal. Vincent... He was taking everything in his stride.

A cut opened across his cheek, one of the few patches of skin still visible. A shallow, inconsequential cut. It was not dealt by weapon nor fist. Araini appeared in front of Vincent, hands glowing bright with magic.

"You've lost your humanity, boy," Araini said. His tone was neutral, but there was some degree of coldness present. Subtle, but there.

"Yeah, you saw to that didn't you?" Vincent shot back, running his palm over his jaw. The bones were grinding.

"I gave you a human body, but that wasn't what I meant. You know this," Araini replied, moving back several feet. The glow around his hands intensified. "There is more at work here than needless destruction. You want Yoshimitsu here."

"So what if I do?" Vincent asked, maniacal happiness slipping into his two voice. "He can witness the moment where the person who means the most to him destroys everything. Wouldn't that hurt the poor weapon?"

"I see. I believe I'm the only person to deduce this. Yoshimitsu will not see you like this," Araini declared, raising his hands. "I will stop you... Yisimentsu!"

Araini's palms exploded, two white beams exploding out. Vincent raised his sword and cut through them, ignoring what the potential magic was. Without missing a beat, Araini teleported behind the dark warrior and fired another two beams, these ones hit Vincent square on the back. A chill came over the boy. At that exact moment, Fratley's spear struck the ice now covering Vincent's back. The black bones shattered. Araini fired another beam, freezing the skin before Vincent could replenish his armour.

"You... you worm!"

Vincent threw his sword into the sky, black covering his hands. He slammed his palms together, and a solid black shockwave exploded out from him.

~*~*~

"The power of light..." Yoshimitsu muttered, curling his hand into a fist. He was going about it all wrong. The power of Light was to be drawn from, not forced out. It was like a living entity, and he was forcing it when he had no right to. The power was to be used with his own, a partner and not a slave. When this realisation hit him, a confident smile slowly blossomed on his face. The fight was not over. He could still win this. His fist glowed as he jumped again, the light stronger and brighter than before.

"Stranger from the other world, you have found your power, now use it!"

Yoshimitsu uncurled his fist, forming a flat palm instead, and thrust it at the Calamity. A series of white and pale blue beams exploded out, spiraling around each other before connecting, like an ornate guard on a sword. The beam shot at the main bulk of the Calamity's body, punching a hole straight through like a bullet. Yoshimitsu quickly summoned Bahamut into his hand, forming a hand cannon. He jammed the cannon into the wound and fired a single, powerful blast of blue and gold into the body. The Calamity shrieked in pain, a sound so chilling that Yoshimitsu could feel his bones shivering.

Quickly, the teenage launched himself from the calamity's body and on to a platform. There was no doubt that this creature was dangerous. Its very voice could instil fear into another lifeform. There was no time to be afraid. He couldn't let the fight go on for much longer.

"Stranger from the other world, consider the weakness of a beast bred only to fight," a sorrowful face commanded. "It knows nothing but instinct. You must find the weakness and its weak spot, and soon!"

Yoshimitsu knew the answer. He had to out-think the monster, and then deliver the fatal blow.

~*~*~

Araini dropped from the sky, his clothes ripped and his skin charred from the blast. An attack of that magnitude was incredible, unexpected and dangerous. If he'd had only a few more seconds, he might have defended himself. Darkness was an unknown variable. He had been powerless to stop the attack, and now he was suffering for his arrogance. The ground looked a long distance away, but he knew he'd become acquainted with it soon.

A blue wyvern shot through the sky, catching Araini on its back as he fell.

"Lord Miko!" A female voice called. The source was the wyvern, a figure straddling its back. Her vivid green hair was like a beacon. Illiana.

"I saw what was happening, I couldn't just stay back," she shouted. She quickly examined Araini to check his injuries. Scorch marks all over his skin, and the unaffected patches were grey and covered in cold sweat. He was going into shock. She had to work quickly. With as much power as she could, she held her palms above Araini's body and felt the healing power flow through her arms. While she was not the most advanced healer, she could at least get him in a stable condition. Focusing on the burned skin, she did not notice Araini's right palm twitch.

"What's this? One of yours, Miko?" Vincent scoffed, his sword spinning rapidly. "I wonder, what would killing this one do to you?"

He shot down like a bullet, eyes locked on the head of the dragon. Destroy the dragon and let the girl fall to her death. If she needed a bit of acceleration to his the ground, he would have no problem doing that. A sadistic smirk exploded on to his face.

"Not so fast, Vincent," Fratley's voice came, and then his spear lodged itself in Vincent's arm. The Burmecian tore it out and brought the blunt end swinging round into Vincent's face, knocking him off his target. "Araini was kind enough to cast one more spell. You can't escape from me now."

"Who was escaping?!" Vincent snapped, bringing his sword swinging round. Fratley shoved his spear in the sword's path before it could touch him, then swung around his weapon to deliver a powerful kick to the dark warrior's head. Just before impact, all of Fratley's assaults had been glowing white and dealing much more damage than they should have.

"Zebedee is on his way. When he arrives, you have no chance."

"We'll see about that!"