Keyblade Inheritance Tournament [IC]

[Agnores]

Sora was lazing around on the balcony, smiling to himself. Today was the first day of the Keyblade Inheritance Tournament...and boy was he excited. Mickey had stated that 8 candidates had been brought it, one of them being an old friend of Sora's....Sora couldn't imagine who, since he couldn't think of anyone that immediately struck him as a Keyblade wielder...Maybe Cloud, or Leon? Sora couldn't help but smile even wider at that thought.

"I knew I'd find you snoozing up here."

Sora jumped up, spinning around to see Kairi standing at the doorway to the balcony. "C'mon, lazy bum, the candidates are waiting for the bracket." Sora laughed, jumping out off the balcony edge, running after Kairi, who had already went for the audience balcony. Sora smiled. He had brought two candidates, a girl named Maxi and a boy named Kai. He had been told that the others had also brought two people, but he hadn't met them yet. He could barely contain his excitement when he finally stepped out onto the audience balcony.

****

Riku watched Sora's face when he saw when of Riku's own candidates..."AURON!" Sora screamed, nearly throwing himself over the edge of the balcony. Mickey had caught him, and pulled him back over to the ledge. Riku's own candidates, Auron and Ryan, stood below, and Riku felt they were truly ready for this tournament. He would love to see them trump the other combatants in combat...of course, he was looking more for the ability to control the Darkness, rather letting it control you, so he would see.

Riku cleared his throat. "Alright, now that all the Masters are here, we can begin. Welcome to Castle Oblivion, which holds the Keyblade Inheritance Tournament. You will will each face the other person in combat, so that we can see your skills. Each of us will make a decision of which of you to train after the tournament is over. We can pick all of you, we can pick none of you. This isn't about whether you win or lose, it's about how well you can meet any one of the Master's criteria, which are different for each Master."

****

Mickey jumped up on the edge of the balcony to make himself more noticeable. He smiled down at the all, his gaze lingering on both of his own candidates, Zelk and a strange person whom had called himself Names. Mickey hoped to see them perform well, believing that they were ready to take up the mantle of the Keyblade. Of course, it had to be put up to test of all the Masters, and not just Mickey's.

"Alright," Mickey called, "the bracket is set up like this. Gilbert Roche versus Maxxine Minos, Auron versus Names, Zelk Zekan versus Kaiosuke Kisaragi, Ryan Rodawn versus Alaric. Matches will start tomorrow. Like Master Riku said, whether you win or lose is unimportant."

****

Kairi kept smiling, all the way. She couldn't believe how far everything had come, and she was happy it had come to this. She might not like fighting, but it had its merit, especially in a world still filled with Heartless. Her own candidates, a man named Gil, and Alaric, stood amongst the other's chosen candidates, and she hoped they would show the other Masters what they had shown her. Will. Determination. Light.

Kairi smiled wider, waving. "While the tournament goes on, you all have assigned rooms in the ground floor of the castle. You all have your own room. There has been a cafeteria also on the ground floor. We ask you do not leave the ground floor while in the castle. Also, just to cover some other rules, we will not tolerate fighting outside of the arena, and only matches dictated by the brackets will be allowed. Anything else will get you disqualified. We Masters can also stop any fight whenever we please."

Kairi blinked, and smiled. "The first match is tomorrow. If you have any other questions, please find one of us Masters. We'll be glad to help you. Have a very good day, and we'll see you at noon tomorrow!"

Kairi waved goodbye, and she and the rest of the Master returned into the Castle Oblivion. They would head for the ground floor, to help the candidates find their way.

[Kaiosuke]

Kai walked away in silence to his room. He was excited to begin the tournament and looked forward to his soon to be fight.

[Belnazar]

Zelk heard his name announced and looked as his declared opponent walked away, without so much as a word. He looked around the room at the other candidates and took note. When he looked over at Sora and Kairi he felt a small shiver go down his back. He had heard from Mickey that they were masters of light... Zelk had trouble enough being around mickey who also had great skill in the powers of light, but he held himself together, being unable to place his sense of unease at this knowledge. Shaking his head he turned to look at Names, he had met Mickey's other pupil before. "Well, looks like we made it this far atleast. The guy your against looks really tough." He offered, attempting to start a conversation, but not really expecting anything to come of it.

[StormWolf]

The story begins again... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyyqKg3wDbg)

The legendary guardian from a world that had long since let his name fall in to myth, stood amongst the others in the courtyard of the Castle Oblivion. There was no breeze here, but the air was cold. The coat tails of his red kimono cloak hung lazily, not moving a thread. The enigma, Auron, was statuesque the middle of the crowd. He towered over most of the candidates that joined him; mere children surrounded the veteran. The oldest, a tall and lean young man with hair like snow - he was sporting two pistols, weapons that would get you ripped apart by a mob in his old world.

The guardian looked up at the calling of his name, seeing Sora, the boy who freed Auron's heart from the clutches of Hades those several years ago. Auron saw that he owed Sora a debt for that rescue, a debt he would repay once this trial was over. Other men may complain and gripe about how they had been through enough trails if they lived Aurons life, but that was not his way. The Guardian saw his removal from the peace of death as a chance to put and end to the darkness that had haunted him his entire life and afterlife. In all the worlds out there, darkness loomed and grew beyond the vision of the people. Auron was determined to make the worlds brighter before he died. All Auron could do to such an uproarious greeting was chuckle in his usual, dry manner and look up at Sora over the rims of his sunglasses. No yelling back and no waving. Such was not Auron's way.

Once all of the masters spoke their fill, Auron wasted no time in walking inside the castle. He carried nothing with him. No baggage of any kind. His blade was a part of him just as much as his beating heart, so he carried it with him always, even if no one could see it.

"And so it begins again... my story..." he muttered to himself as he entered the Castle's main hall.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi watched from a shady spot in the courtyard as the Master's spoke to the group. A toothpick twiddled between her lips and her feet kicked lightly from her perch on the wall. She was only half listening to what the Master's said he mind was already on the tournament. She didn't know much about this Gil guy just of what she could overhear from others and what Master Sora told her. Her had no weapon, he was aligned with light, and his attacks were almost the opposite of hers. As the little Master speech ended the young brunette jumped off her seat pulling her skirt back down a little she grabs up her weapon of choice a lead pipe or as Maxi called it "The Maiden".

She swung it up and rested it on her shoulder her canvas bag swung heavily from the crook as she walked through the crowd and into the castle. She noticed most of them had some pretty impressive looking weapons swords, a staff was one guy's weapon, she even saw some pistols and the only other girl had these needle looking things. The last one made her shudder a little she could face down a 10 foot sword and not bat an eye but needles make her skin twitch. She tightened the grip on her own humble weapon a simple lead pipe but having something that can break concrete and throw your enemy off guard isn't a bad idea. She walks to a sign post and began looking for her room assignment.

[The Imposter]

Every experiences and trial had led Gil to this point in time. Actually every second he breathed was all directed to where he stood now. He definitely never really thought of himself to take up the mantle of a keyblader but Kairi saw something in him that he didn't see himself yet. He watched the others that stood with him as the Four spoke about this tournament. They all look so experienced with their weapons and demeanor. Am I really of their caliber? Well guess I'll find out soon enough. There was a rush of excitement and anxiousness when they finished.

When the four masters disappeared from view and everyone began to disperse, some wandered off without a word. The swelling excitement couldn't be contained any longer as Gil's head shook and he cheered.

'BOOYEAH! This is awesome! Look at everyone all serious and determined. This is going to be one sweet time.' His yelling began to quiet quickly as he ran around those that were still around.

'I gotta admit though, some of the lot are a little too serious. I mean just because we're all competing against each other doesn't mean we can't be social and friendly right? I mean I'm just as determined to show you all what I can do but there is more to life than fighting foooor sure!'

Gil's hands moved wildly as he spoke to those still around. Before he could continue 'she' caught his eye. She was walking towards a signpost with her lead pipe in hand. So that is my opponent eh? She's gotta be good carrying that with her. Despite the plethora of weapons in the world she settled on that modest thing. She isn't an amateur that's fr'sure Gil. I wonder what her motivation is...

He began walking towards the doors to the castle to meet Kairi and the others to find out where he would be lodging. As he passed by the sign post he spoke sincerely with a soft kind tone.

'Good luck tomorrow Ms.Minos, have a good evening.'

[Yamimoon]

Ryan was standing with the rest of the masters applicants, and was impressed with what he saw. He knew that a lot of these people were strong, and all had good hearts, but some like him were on both sides of the fence. He wondered who out of all of them would be excepted as apprentices, and who would not, but that would be decided by the masters. He also saw that there were some women were among the applicants, and he knew that he might have to fight one of them and he dreaded this, but his train of thought was interrupted by the masters speak.

He listened to all that was being said, and knew that this was going to be fun. His boredom might finally be ended and his life to have a true meaning. Not only that but he would be able to prove to all that believe that light was the only way to stop the heartless were wrong. As they were announcing who would be fighting who, he was a little surprised to be in the last bracket, but when he herd the name of his opponent would be his face turned a little pail. The name sounded a little feminine, and he was hoping that it was just his imagination. But before he was able to really work himself up the masters said that there rooms were on the first floor.

This made him forget his worries, and turned to fallow the others to where the rooms were. He had known the other one chosen by master Riku, and he had been trying to get to know him, they both have the different goal but he feels that they get along better than he did with the people of his own world. He walked into the castle with his bag over his shoulder, as well as his swords on his back. He was looking forward to this, and the first fight starts tomarow he couldn't wait.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi was scanning the list when she heard someone speaking to her looking up she sees her opponent Gil next to the signpost. He had extended good luck to her which she didn't expect to hear form the other fighters. With a smile she nods to him.
"Thank you kindly Mr. Roche you too. And you can just call me Maxi might as well be on a first name basis before we start trying to beat each other senseless." She giggles a little looking at him even if they were supposed to fight each other in 24 hours no reason to not be friendly with at least some of them. She re-gripped her pipe looking at some of the others logging away their faces in her mind. "They do all look pretty serious don't they?" She says simply watching them mill about.

[Agnores]

From one of the empty rooms on the first floor, Zilane smiled. The door was locked so the other contestants didn't notice him, and to compensate for Zilane almost never being allowed to leave, his room was huge...it contained a kitchen, a bathroom, and many other necessities. Zilane held his arm out, his black, gnarled Keyblade appearing. Tomorrow, the non-combatant contestants would be in for a surprise...Zilane smiled, wondering who would be the first to step up against him.

****

Riku stood, looking down at the gathered contestants from the audience balcony. He smiled, knowing todays match would be a good one. He held up his hand to draw silence. "Today, the first match of the Keyblade Inheritance Tournament begins, between Gilbert Roche and Maxxine Roche. Both contestants, please step towards the center of the courtyard."

The courtyard was large, its grass cut short. There were no hedges, no windows, nothing but the large white walls, that rose up to create a barrier. The only exit to this particular courtyard was back the way the contestants had came. Riku called back down to the contestants once the pair had step forward. "The rules are simple, fight with everything you have. Fight as if you were fighting for your life. Do not worry, both Master Kairi and Master Mickey are working on a special magic barrier that will prevent any life-threatening attacks from being lethal. Both Master Sora and I will watch the match, and we will be the ones to call a winner when we feel one has been decided."

"There are no ring-outs, unless you somehow fling yourself over these walls. You forfeit if you enter back into the castle in anyway. As of right now, those are the only two rules. We will add more if we deem it necessary."

Riku smiled. "All non-combat contestants return to the first floor. Other contestants, begin your match when you are ready."

And so the fights were begun.

*****

Standing in front of the large doors leading to the upper floors of Castle Oblivion, Zilane stood. His black armor was a stark contrast to the white castle walls, and from within he smiled. He wondered still who would bark first. Oh, would they be put in their place.

[Kaiosuke]

Kaiosuke notices Zilane standind in his bulky armor. He sneered at the man sensing something dark about him. "You're not a contestant." He called. "Who are you and what are you here for?" He walked down to stand in front of the man. He stared into his eyes his own light bright within. He chuckled at the man's darkness.

[The Imposter]

It was now just Gil and Maxxine standing in the courtyard. So this was how the next keyblader would be decided. Gil's anxiousness now had given life to determination. He looked at Maxxine and smiled, using his thumb he flicked his nose and cocked his head back slightly. He could only give his best today, and that was enough for him.

'Well normally I let ladies go first, but I think you can understand why that won't be the case this time eh? Don't hold back at all Maxxine! Let's put on a good show.'

The awkward atmosphere had resulted in a chopped thought process for Gil. He didn't really know what else to say to his opponent. His head sunk ever so slightly at the realization of how lame and cliche he was sounding. While his mind was debating over if he should somehow try to speak and make amends his body shook trying to get him to focus at what was at hand. Then in an instant he was brought to reality. Mind and body in unison calmly spoke 'attack her'.

The union of mind and body in response was simple enough. Gil began to sprint towards the only other person in the area. He observed that if anything they weren't experts at long range combat. She wielding a pipe and him his own body. In the brevity of moments it took Gil to reach his adversary he had already formulated his offense. In one fluid motion he transferred the momentum of his sprint into a spinning roundhouse with his right leg. As his leg neared his target he realized a slight miscalculation on his part. He originally was aiming for her shoulder but found that his aim was a little low and his kick was bearing down towards her ribs.

[StormWolf]

Already, the first fight of the tournament had been called to begin. Such haste often lead to mistakes. For instance, both combatants are likely tired from their travels to the Castle, and that alone means they will perform sub-par in their combat. Still, what was done was done, and Auron contented himself with watching the fight from a first-story balcony just above the courtyard. His hazel eye studied the courtyard just as much as he studied the combatants who were presently locked in combat. The Guardian highly doubted the combat would be to the death; the so-called masters were call children and one mouse with over-sized ears.

Auron uncorked the bone colored jar on his side, sniffing the liquid inside before taking a modest swig of the mysterious liquid known as "Nog". No one knew what was in that jar. There were rumors aplenty, each more ridiculous than the last. People always made up the most sinister tales when the did not know the truth. Auron chuckled, recalling some of the more imaginative tales he had heard over the years. He took another swig of the dark, distilled liquid, the strong beverage went down smooth and warmed the belly, but something did not feel right. Auron felt a shiver traverse his spine; pins and needles prickling at the back of his neck. He knew this sensation and it had never led him astray before. The enigmatic Guardian proceeded to look around the exterior of the castle, his head pivoting on his strong shoulders. Suddenly, his hazel eye picked up a large, black silhouette against a backdrop of white. He also heard a young voice yell up challengingly at the black shape. Auron simply sighed and shook his head.

"Stupid children never know when to leave well enough alone, do they?" Auron mused in his deep and dry tone, his left hand flexing from its current resting place, sticking out of Auron's robe whilst the rest of the arm laid within the coat, resting like a coiled rattlesnake, ready to strike.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi was all ready to take Gil on she even had a plan of attack but it was all lost when she heard someone yelling to someone and took her eyes off her opponent and paid for it by taking a solid kick to the ribs. With a grunt of pain she leaped away from Gil rubbing her side.
"Damn it I hate when people outside the fight yell during the fight." Taking a breath she grabs her pipe in one hand and launches a fireball at Gil right at his head. With a smile she sprinted around the side circling him hoping to use the distraction of the fireball she ducks down and swings up with her pipe going for the boy's knee in the hopes of disabling him so her win would be easier.

[The Imposter]

A sudden wave of panic swept over Gil as the surging ball of flame came closer. It seemed to howl as it split the space between itself and its target. Out of all the things to be afraid of. Gil was scared of fire, what an advantage Maxxine now had over him. Instinctively his arms raised to cover his face from the heat and flames as they crashed upon him, his eyes closed tightly bracing himself from the blow. The force of the ball coupled with the small explosion on impact sent Gil reeling backwards.

His mind was in a flurry as it tried to override the fear and make some sort of action. His eye opened a crack only to see a figure pass by his side. AHH! She's not done, get a grip, you can work your way out of this. As he finished the thought his hands shakily moved in rapid succession as they still covered his head. The word came out softly with panic still etched into his voice.

'Slow'

Such spells could be rather complex to master and as such Gil only had a small grasp of it. It would only slow the immediate area around him for a short time. His eyes followed Maxxine as she griped her pipe and began to swing upward. All it took was a leap backward to evade the swing. Gil's mind however was not focused on capitalizing on an opportunity like that. Rather his hands were beating his arms trying to put out the flames. With each pat he could feel the sting of the burns that had enveloped his arms.

Calm down Gil, calm down! As he tried to get a hold of himself. Ironically as he told himself to get a grip and focus time once again began to flow in its normal rhythm.

[Wattz]

A pair of black, crooked antennae poked from Alaric’s backpack.

“Not now, Lokai,” she said as she discreetly popped open the top and pushed down on his little head. She could have sworn she heard him whimper, or at least sigh, as she snapped the brown bag shut and slung it over her shoulder with care. She hated keeping Lokai cooped up inside the backpack at all times, but what else could she do? Alaric couldn’t risk putting her best friend in danger like that. She was unsure of the stance the others would take on the matter.

Alaric listened intently to the Masters as they enthusiastically explained the Tournament. Castle Oblivion was a strange sort of place, clad almost completely in white walls, not unlike an asylum. The color was unsettling and cold, something Alaric was not accustomed to. But if this Tournament could help her become a real keyblade master, if it could help her strengthen her light, then that was all that mattered. At least there was grass to add a splash of color.

She watched the first fight from the sidelines intently, watching the two hyperactive individuals fly at each other. Gilbert and Maxxine, as Riku had addressed them. Alaric couldn’t help but wonder what her opponent was like. Ryan. Which one was he? She poked her fingers into the opening of the backpack as a feeble attempt to reassure Lokai that everything would be alright, and also as a sort of self-reassurance. Alaric would do anything she could to defeat this Ryan, and trust me, it would be personal. The girl refused to let anyone stand in her way when it came to the ones she loved.

[Belnazar]

Zelk watched with interest as the two combatants down below fought, each fighting in their own way. He found both of their fighting styles incredible to behold and felt a small bit of sadness that his frail body would prevent him from ever practising such intense styles. He swung his view over as he saw his opponent to be challenging a black entity he had not seen before. He felt something from that obsidian figure and felt it would be best to keep his distance - Zelk had always erred on the side of caution. But through watching Kai and his interactions with the figure he felt that he had in some small way come to understand him a little bitter, it seemed that he was somewhat impulsive. He turned his attention away from that and begun to dwell slightly on the path that had brought him here.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi thought it would be a quick fight especially when she saw how Gil reacted to the fire spell.
Oh thank you for giving me the perfect strategy. She thought before the Slow spell took effect stopping her attack.
Damn I've always hated this spell. She sighed waiting for the inevitable blow but it never came and the spell ended. Finding herself in a compromising position she quickly back rolled recovering her composure and brushing dirt off her jeans. Without letting a moment's hesitation she takes off in a run around Gil launching fireballs at his feet and past his body not trying to hit him more trying to make herself an opening for attack. She was slowly circling him getting closer to him that is until she ran out of fireball she launched the spell but nothing happened. She cursed herself but was too close to back off so she went in for the strike and swung at his ribs.

[The Imposter]

Upon getting the flames put out on his arms Gil noticed that Maxi had already gotten back on the offensive as she launched the waves of fireballs at him. Gil himself had begun to prepare his next attack as he haphazardly tried to dodge the fireballs. However with the series of flaming balls hurtling towards him he was having trouble to cool the air around him enough to unleash his Cold Hearted technique. As each ball that passed him gave off an immense amount of heat. If she keeps these up I won't be able to pull it off, come on Maxxine get close enough.

His mind processed the similarity to Maxi's last offense and this. She would be coming in close for a swing he thought as he ducked and jumped trying to escape the flames. His heart began to race as the balls of fire exploded around him sending flames flying. Then they stopped suddenly, he quickly spun around looking for his opponent. She had gotten quite close and unleashed a forceful swing at his ribs. This is one of the best chances I'll get.

As the pipe connected against his right rib cage Gil grunted furiously. A mix of pain and adrenalin coursed through his body. His arms reacted quickly knowing the small window he had. His right arm swung around and under the pipe while his left hand clenched his right hand in an attempt to lock the pipe under his armpit. His body lifted into the air slightly as it absorbed the blow. A small trickle of blood spurt from his mouth as he groaned.

He smiled slightly in the midst of all the pain that began to register in his mind, he could now see each of his heavy breaths as the air got colder. He fought the heaviness of his eyes as the pain in his ribs pulsated. In a few moments shards of ice would form around his body and if he could keep Maxxine close enough she would experience the brunt of the Cold Hearted technique. With his left leg he thrust kicked towards her leg in hopes disabling any way to escape until the blades of ice solidified around him.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi was surprised Gil took the hit so solidly and even more surprised he wasn't unconscious he had at least a few cracked ribs from that hit if not some broken ones but what surprised her the most was the fact he was holding her weapon in place obviously this was some kind of plan and when she felt the air grow a lot colder.
Oh damn it Max you did it again you have other tactics then just distract and swing use them! The girl grunted trying to free her weapon but he had it well locked in, She saw the blades of ice starting to form and at this close range she'd be totally skewed and killed.
Gotta think fast you're too hot to die here! She needed to get free and there was only one way to do it.
"Burning Heart!" She shouts in Gil's face and immediately her body bursts in an array of orange and red she uses Gil's leg to give herself the leverage needed stepping up onto it she flips over his body yanking her pipe clear of his arm but she went right into the forming blades and cut herself up some before landing behind him and running to the edge of the ring and spins throwing another fireball at his blades hoping to melt them. She grunts facing Gil feeling blood trickle down her face and through the cuts on her arms and legs.

[Quodd]

After the meeting that morning between the keyblade masters and the rules of the tournament Names was one of the first to leave. But the black figure in the corner caught his attention, though he acted as though it was of little concern. He thought of the day before when he had been adressed by Zelk, as usual he had acted cooly and simply grunted by way of reply. He thought about his own opponent coming up, that Auron guy. It didnt sit well with him how he was involved in this tournament, but who was he to question the will of the masters. "It matters not, I will stop all in my way." He thought to himself as he wandered the hall back to his room, disinterested in what was going on.

[Yamimoon]

Ryan had been waiting for this and he was excited to see the first fight. Even though his fight will not happen till later, but he hoped to get to know the fighting styles of the other fighter. So that he might have an edge, but to think that in his first fight he will be fighting a girl. This thought sent a chill down his spine, but he must not dwell on this. If he does he will not be able to fight at all. He will have to face this when the time come. Till then he will keep his mind on different things. The ring was a sight to be seen, and it took his mind off of all other things.

He had been watching the fight when someone yelled something, and he looked away to see someone that was warring all black standing against a pure white wall. He didn’t pay much mind to the new face that was covered in a mask, but he did feel something from him that seamed wrong. He did wonder what he was doing here since he was not part of the people that were here from the fight. So why was he here? Instead of wondering he walked around the ring and placed himself closer to the two men to hear their conversation. But acted like his whole attention was on the fight at hand.

Then he also saw the girl that was to be his opponent. She didn’t look like much, but you can’t judge a book by its cover. He learned that the hard way long ago, but what surprised him was that she was caring a bag, and she kept putting her hands in it or acting like she was pushing something down. He did wonder what she had in there, but refused to move from his spot.

He watched as the fought below was gaining in intensity, and saw that blows that each person exchanged. He knew that this was going to be a good fight. She was a fire user, and it seamed that he was a ice user. This made the frighten even more exciting, but he never pulled his full attention to the fight, he wanted to hear what was going on right behind him.

[Wattz]

Zilane blinked at the contestant that approached him, sizing him up from behind his mask. He smiled within, unbeknownst to Kaiosuke. Their blind following was astounding to him, and he couldn’t help but return the chuckle.

“Keen observation,” he said, his voice seeping from his lips like poisoned honey. “But it seems that you should focus less on me and more on yourself. Oh!” Zilane made a dramatic sort of motion with one hand, as if to cup his ear. “What’s that I hear?”

With his free hand, Zilane made a distinct snap, the friction between his fingers sending roiling darkness up into the air. Oh, if only they could see him smile! To witness his triumph, to bask in his victory! They were all very lucky, these contestants, to witness the very instant that he broke free of the bonds that grounded him to this accursed castle, to those naive Keyblade Masters. He was no tool for their foolish games.

“You might want to look behind you.” Zilane could not suppress his laughter as he pointed behind the contestant. Kaiosuke had no time to react, as a Neo-Shadow jumped on his back, sending him to the ground. The masked figure cackled as he watched the wreckage spread, the heartless overtake the white arena, tainting the color with darkness. It truly was a beautiful sight.

---

Alaric noticed a silver-haired boy out of the corner of her eye, clearly looking in her direction. A jolt ran through her skin at the prospect of someone finding out about Lokai. She would never let anyone hurt him. Alaric’s eyes darted about, doing her best to not look suspicious. But suddenly… a flash of black.

“Watch out!”

She ran up to attack the heartless, but she was already getting mauled to the ground by another. Alaric was thrown to the ground and engulfed in darkness. She summoned fire to get the monster off, and she was lucky to still have her heart intact, the heartless recoiling. The white of Castle Oblivion was already being engulfed by the black, however, and hundreds upon hundreds of heartless were crawling forth from the depths.

---

The Keyblade Masters wasted no time in reacting. Sora, Kairi, Riku, and King Mickey ran out into the field, immediately taking down as many heartless as possible. But Sora and Riku had already realized their mistake. Sora looked over to Zilane, his blue eyes flashing with resolve. The figure of darkness stood amongst the chaos with his arms crossed, looking right at him. Sora ran forward, his Kingdom Key ready to attack, but the moment he swung, Zilane warped to the other side of the arena.

[Wattz]

((I apologize for the double post. My internet's going wonky and I must have clicked the send button twice. If someone could delete this, that would be awesome.))

[Belnazar]

Zelk shifted uneasily to the present at the sounds behind him and witnessed as the sterile white of the castle oblivion was slowly replaced by the inky black of the heartless. He would remember this feeling anywhere and he felt himself gripped by a slight panic. He noticed Kai being knocked down by a Neo-Shadow and ran to help him, but before he could make it close he himself was beset upon by a pair of Neo-Shadows. He stopped clumsily and whipped out his rapier, and fought to remain calm, he had never been the strongest fighter and tried to clear his mind of distractions. His body moved fluidly and gracefully as it pressed its attack against the closer of the Neo-Shadows and shot out a bolt of blizzard to the other. He was so focused on the two before him that he didn’t have time to notice that more and more heartless seemed to be surrounding him, and it wasn’t until he shot a sidelong glance at his surroundings that he realised the futility of his situation and that of everyone else. Had he come to this place to meet his end? Feeling his resolve break a bit he cloaked his rapier in darkness and dashed forward breaking through the first Neo-Shadow.

He didn’t have time to contemplate the fate of the others as he felt his nerves fraying. His breathing came faster and more rushed, his heartbeat accelerating. A part of him expected to wake up in moment and all of this simply being a nightmare, but that was just his weak mind trying to make up wishful scenarios. By this point Zelk was lost in the corridors of the castle. He noticed that in his flight he had somehow left the heartless behind. He slumped against a wall and lost his last controls, He felt a rush of anger and hopelessness and retreated in to himself.

[The Imposter]

Gil's head whipped about at the commotion that had begun to overtake the castle. His eyes widened and a strange feeling grew in his bowels. But before he could come to grips with this new feeling Maxxine's fireball connected dissolving his his blades and knocking him to the ground hard.

The numbness to the pain throughout the fight had now given way as this new threat invaded. Gil called out to Max in between heavy breaths.

'I would have dodged that, I got distracted. I think we are going to have to call this a draw eh?'

Kairi ran towards the field yelling to Gil and Max. She released a large Curaga spell bringing them back to a better state to defend themselves. She smiled and made her way to assist Sora dispatching any Heartless that got in her way.

As the Heartless closed in towards the two competitors. Gil rose to his feet. He made his way towards Maxxine still being somewhat cautious at everything that was happening.

'Hey Maxxine, we aren't keybladers. We don't have keyblades to release them when we defeat them. They'll just keep coming back from the darkness....So uh any ideas?'

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi's mouth dropped to the floor up on seeing the Heartless appear.
"Oh damn it. Not waiting to be mauled she uses her Burning Heart power and begins tearing into the squirming masses. You bastards ruined my match!" He yelled smacking and crushing Heartless around her. Her power was serving well as long as she kept moving so she wouldn't get hit even with Kari's spell Burning Heart left her Defense down. But soon it was running it's course and she dropped to a knee supporting herself on her pipe. The spirals of smacked Heartless wafted off and for the first time she noticed they weren't at Castle Oblivion anymore. Someplace else, someplace dark, someplace not right. She looked as Gil came to her with a good point which was proven when the Heartless she just beat came back.
"Oh fuck only thing I can think of is use spells and run away behind the wall to keyblade wielders." She says throwing fireballs at the charging creatures.

[Yamimoon]

Ryan was watching the fight, as well as listening to the conversation behind him, the only thing that he didn’t expect was that the man had made a subtle threat. That in all reality turned into a real threat! Suddenly the castle was starting to turn black, and when he turned to face the man heartless were all over the place attacking his fellow competitors, as well as the masters. One of the Neo-shadows attacks him from behind tackling him to the ground, but he was still with it enough to roll to his front and use his legs to push the Heartless off of him. He was still himself so he was happy, but with the amount of heartless covering castle Oblivion it was not going to stay that way.

The sickening black walls were moving, meaning that the darkness on the walls were all heartless as well. This wasn’t looking good for any of them. He saw that the masters had come down to where the competitors were and started to fight the heartless. He knew that he didn’t stand a chance against the heartless, but he wasn’t going to let them take him without a fight. He pulled his swords attacking the heartless, trying to make his way over to Master Riku. He hated to say this but the masters are the ones that need to make it out of the castle.

The rest of them were of not real importance at the moment. This may be the darkness inside of him speaking, but in all reality it was the truth. He and the others have no way of purifying the heartless, and it looks like they were only after the competitors. This might have been the wrong way of looking at this, but the worlds needed the masters, and they could always find new blood to carry on their legacy, but if they were to fall here that worlds would fall to the heartless as well.

[StormWolf]

Auron watched calmly from his balcony as the Heartless started in stain the white walls of Castle Oblivion with their taint. He could feel them - feel their filth coating his bones like scum on the surface of a pond. Auron's eye narrowed coldly, his right hand balling in to a fist at his side. Leaping from the balcony, the crimson-clad Guardian landed in the courtyard below, the cobblestones cracking under his when with a thud. Walking calmly in to the fray, Auron opens his fist and in a flash of light and blue fire, his weapon appeared - massive blade as tall as he was.

A heavily armored Heartless reared its head and lunged at Auron only to meet the diamond hard edge of the Guardain's blade halfway. The blade cleaved the Heartless' armor like paper and dispatched the monster in a puff of black smoke. A lesser Heartless scuttled by Auron, only to receive a cruel crub-stomp from the grizzled old veteran.

It was about time Auron got the chance for some combat practice. The Heartless would prove to be the perfect fodder for such a task

[Wattz]

The entire arena was now steeped in the black. Roiling tendrils stifled the air, making it difficult to breath, filling the lungs, blinding the eyes. Zilane had every intention of snuffing the light out of the contestants. They had no potential. He even shuddered to think that he had been born partially from those of the worthless, imposing light. The heartless would overtake them all. Not even the strongest of combatants, nor the Masters themselves, could escape. Zilane watched with the utmost of satisfaction as the four Masters struggled to keep everything under control and as every last effort of the combatants were wasted.

The heartless poured through until nothing was left.

---

Then it was gone. Everything was gone. Alaric could see nothing, nothing but oblivion for miles. It was like falling through a vacuum with nothing but the fading warmth of her own body for comfort. Had Lokai melded with his fellow denizens? What was all that chaos? There had been no time to process it all.

Suddenly, hope.

She could have sworn that a light flashed through the abyss. It guided her hand as she grasped it, and the warmth spread back through her being. It was easy, natural, perfect.

But just like that, the ground spread beneath her feet. Her emotions flooded back without warning, and Alaric staggered, feeling a horrible sensation in the pit of her stomach. The girl reached out to steady herself, only to recoil with a small cry of disgust. There was no residue on her hand, but whatever surface she had touched felt like skin. Alaric looked up to see that it was a mountain of black, twisting with red veins and strange lumpy pores. The ground was covered just like this, her shoes making squishy noises with every step. Looking up, she saw that this world expanded forward. The sky was a dark purple, roiling once in a while with streaks of lightning. Hills upon hills of skin rolled forward, making it impossible to see the end of the horizon. Everything pulsed as if it were breathing, and listening closely enough, Alaric could actually hear its breaths.

There was no sight of Lokai. There was no sight of the other combatants. There was no sight of the Keyblade Masters, or that mysterious stranger, for that matter.

Alaric felt utterly, completely, alone.

“Hello?!” she cried out, her voice echoing just as it should. “Is anybody there?! Where are we?!”

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi was ready for anything she was powering up another spell to scatter the creatures when everything went black. Cold fear gripped her heart as all the light was put out. A primal blood curdling scream shot out from the very depths of her soul or it would've have if she could scream all the air was getting pulled from her lungs with the feeling of falling into nothing. It felt like an eternity before she landed but thankfully she did with a thud and a cough. She rolled to her back rubbing her chest and stomach. Thankfully there was some light even if it was spidery lightning or some strange ethereal glow from an unknown source. Her hand inched along the fleshy feeling ground for her pipe she found it and quickly spun to her feet holding it defensively close to her body. Her breaths were small and slightly panicked.

The girl slowly calmed down and began figuring out the situation.
"Ok we were fighting in a tournament, we got attacked by Heartless, and now we're trapped in this Abyss with who knows what kinds of dangers and from what I can tell the Master's are no where in sight. Great." She lets out a breath but immediately takes it back in upon hearing a voice.
“Hello?!”... “Is anybody there?! Where are we?!” She didn't know who it was but it didn't sound evil so that was always a good sign.
"HEY! I'm Maxi, I don't know where we are but I don't like it!" She follows the direction she guessed the voice was coming from hoping to find someone.

[Yamimoon]

Ryan had almost made his way to Master Riku’s side when everything went black. The darkness was so thick that it was making it hard for him to breath. It felt like it was trying to squeezing the light right out of him. He was falling through the darkness, with no hope of seeing any light through this shroud that covered him, but low and behold there was a small sliver of light that caught his attention. He reached for that small light, and suddenly he hit the ground. Well not really ground. But it was not ground, it felt like flesh that had been freshly ripped open. It sounded wet when he was trying to get up, and saw that there was nothing here not a sign of life, at least that he could tell. He was standing now, and picked his swords out of the mess that was called ground. He sheathed them, and continued to look around.

“Well looks like this is not going to be an easy place to get out of!” Ryan said but he was a little concerned. This darkness was stronger that he has ever felt, and he didn’t know if any of the others had made it safely through the darkness to reach here. The he herd voices in the distance. He could tell what they were saying, but he couldn’t tell how fare they were.

“Well it is worth a chance. If they are others here, then maybe we can stand a chance of getting out of here. Where ever here is.” Ryan said under his breath as he readied to talk to the voices. “Well I don’t know were we are, but I think that it would be a good idea to regroup, and find a way out of here!” Ryan yelled as he started to walk to where he thought the voices were coming from.

[Belnazar]

The walls to Zelk's back begun to yield to the slithering darkness, all the traces of the white sterile environment of the old castle oblivion fading like dreams. He pushed himself away from the wall in a slight panic, his heart pounding in his chest, this was utterly crazy he told himself over and over again. The shadows begun to close in around him and he closed his eyes in terror his final thoughts racing to that of his sister with her brave smile as he remembered her being engulfed in a darkness like this one. He felt nothing, and heard nothing. Slowly and cautiously he opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by darkness, embraced in it. He felt an inner peace settle over him and he relaxed. He slowly shifted around until something caught him unaware, from the corner of his eye he could see a radiant light in the middle of all this darkness. He felt a pang of fear rise up inside him that mounted as he felt himself drawn towards the light. His fear turned to terror and he lost himself in a daze as he felt himself rushed towards the blazing light...

Everything subsided and he once again opened his eyes. He had no idea where he was, nothing looked familiar. He could once again feel and hear, but everything felt alien and uncomfortable to him. Clutching up his rapier he took a step forward, his eyes wide.

[The Imposter]

Gil couldn't really piece together what had happened. His mind was conscious but all around him was darkness. Was this it, had he been devoured by the heartless and would soon become one of them. Soon his mind began to wander slowly taunting Gil.

Gil you have an affinity towards the light yet can't control it at all. Perhaps Kairi was wrong about you. Maybe you'd be better suited for the darkness. You might make a good heartless. At the very least you should embrace the darkness while you are in it now....wait what are you saying to yourself?

With that a small glimmer of light dispelled the darkness. Gil couldn't make sense of where he was or what manner of testing this could be. The more he thought the more unanswered questions came about. Then in an instant everything came back with a thud. Gil's body seemed to be cushioned slightly, a strange texture. He opened his eyes and realized that whatever he had found himself laying upon wasn't ground. At least not in the normal sense. The whole area appeared to breathe and pulsate in a steady rhythm. Gil slowly stood to his feet trying to maintain his balance. From what he could gather was that he was on some sort of ledge. He could hear voices below him.

'Anybody down there?'

[Wattz]

"HEY! I'm Maxi, I don't know where we are but I don't like it!"

“Well I don’t know were we are, but I think that it would be a good idea to regroup, and find a way out of here!”

The voices sounded vaguely familiar, and Alaric looked around her to see the small figures of others in the distance trying to regroup. The name given, at the very least, was something of a safety net. Maxi. She could have sworn she’d seen it on the roster earlier. Was this part of the tournament?

”Anybody down there?” Alaric snapped her head upwards to see someone standing on the ledge

She felt silly, just yelling out to people hoping they could regroup, but it was all she knew to do. “Hey!” Alaric jumped up at down and waved. “We’re all down here! At least I think – “ She stopped as she backed up into something, whipping around in paranoia. It was the black-haired one with the white shirt. Was his name Zelk?

“Er… sorry….” Alaric didn’t let her defensive stance drop yet, though. She still felt tense, confused, and mildly irritated. “Um… glad you’re alright though, right?” She didn’t quite mean it. Alaric didn’t have nearly enough sentiment for any of the other tournament members, though it felt somewhat strange just standing there in awkward silence. “I think the others are here, too.”

Just then a purple glow cast over all of them, if only for a split second. The sound of something warping up above them warned them of a nearby presence. Up above them, a vortex hovered in the sky, spilling ebony thorns from its depths only to disappear in a moment. In their wake, the daunting figure of Zilane could be seen, examining the landscape with a hint of intrigue.

“It’s interesting, isn’t it?” he said, engulfed in thought. “How easy it is to snuff out the light. It’s so fragile, so weak. But then…” Zilane tapped the side of his helmet, as if in thought, “how is it possible that some of you made it through? Such a shame. Clearly, none of you belong in this world, this beautiful world of my creation.”

Zilane made a sudden violent movement and pointed his keyblade towards the sky. The area rumbled as a ball of energy emerged, roiling with strange hues of red, orange, and black. For a moment, not a sound could be heard, as if all the little noises surrounding them had been sucked into a vacuum. Then a blast hit their ears, and hundreds of energy shots rained down upon them all, aiming like a homing missile at each individual below Zilane.

[Belnazar]

It was another cold night and Zelk was smiling, his sister was teaching him the rapier as she was a master of the blade and he had been progressing well, or so she said. He often wondered how much of her praise was sincere and how much was just her coddling her younger brother. He felt more confident in himself and his ability and he figured that this was important for his training too. He stood outside his sisters tower and was hit with a sense of... wrongness. He rushed up the tower, all the joy drained from him with each step taken. He was tired by the time that he reached the top, his body reaching its physical limit... he always was the weak one. He slowly opened up the door, the rest of his energy spent and witnessed a figure leaving out the window, leaping into the night and his sisters body laying prone on the ground, cloaked in inky shadows... Harsh laughter echoed in the chamber as Zelk felt his blood run cold.

Zelk recovered from his daze as a girl bumped into him and apologized for the intrusion. As she turned around he shook his head, the last thing he remembered was the light reaching out for him. A shudder slipped down his spine when everything around him was engulfed in silence. He looked up and witnessed the foreboding figure of Zilane. Zelk felt the fear well up inside himself as he saw the energy shots racing around with deadly precision. He raised his Dimension Darkness around himself and Alaric blinding them both, and hoping that the nature of the barrier would prevent the energy from seeking them out. "Try not to panic..." Zelk started, his voice shaking "This should um... protect us." He finished before whispering: "I hope...".

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi heard more voices and began running to them the hope of actually finding away out of here burned brightly in her heart adding more life to her limbs then she felt since she got here. Soon she saw figures ahead of her with a smile she stands by them.
"Thank goodness I was afraid I was the only one here." But the words barely left her mouth before a foreboding figure appeared and spoke to them.
His world?! Oh sh...! This time her train of thought was interrupted by a hundreds of projectiles luckily the boy threw up a shield close enough Maxi could jump behind it. She wasn't sure if the shield would last on it's own.
"I'll be so ticked if we get killed here! Soon she gets an idea she grasps the boy's and the other girl's shoulders. Maybe I can help a little. Soul of Fire" She says shutting her eyes tight a blueish purple flame trickles out of her fingers and spread over the others and herself. It even fuses into the dark shield the boy cast up adding to it's power. She listen the objects pound into the mass before them taking each hit like a stonewall. Luckily the endurance this grants her allows her to hold the Soul of Fire power longer. But for how long?

[The Imposter]

As the energy blasts shot out Gil reacted instinctively. Slamming his palms to the ground he invoked his Heart of Stone technique. Nothing happened and Gil sighed as he understood why. This created universe was under Zilane's control and the properties of the terrain were too different to manipulate like normal earth.

As the energy blasts barreled towards him he tried to figure out what he could do. Then by some grace he saw them, small pillar like formations that would bring him closer to Zilane. If he was quick enough he could perhaps distract him and give the others time to escape. He sprinted towards the end of the ledge and jumped to the first pillar causing the energy blasts to follow behind him. As he jumped from pillar to pillar the temperature around him began to drop. His plan was to grab Zilane in the air and release Cold Hearted more effectively than he did in his bout with Maxi.

He launched himself from the last pillar towards Zilane and realized that he was short on the distance. He had just begun his descent to the ground when the first blast hit him send him spiraling towards Zilane. The blast sent his nerves into a frenzy as the ache surged throughout his body. It was an attack of pure darkness, it almost felt as though his own heart had begun to be swallowed by the darkness. Too many of those blasts and you would be rendered a heartless without a doubt. No time to think though. I need to grab him, and give the others a chance to run.

Just as his thought finished he felt a hand around his ankle. Zilane had dodged the human projectile and caught him on the way by. He held Gil by an ankle and let him dangle towards the ground below. Gil hoped that Zilane hadn't noticed any sudden movements after the blast hit him and played possum, allowing the temperature to drop further. If the others can hold out for a minute more then they'll have time to run. C'mon just hold me here for a minute longer.

[Yamimoon]

Ryan was walking when he saw the others, and knew that they were form the tournament as well. At least he was not the only one from there to make it to this new environment. That mad him slightly relived, and their was no reason why he needed to be in a hurry. But then out of nowhere he heard that same voice that called the heartless to the tournament, and looked up to see the man standing in the air. As soon as he started talking Ryan made a dash to reach the others, but that was in vain. He was to fare away for him to reach them before the masked boy attacked them.

He didn’t have to much time to think, he used his Moon shadow attack to cover him in a shroud of darkness. This attack was not meant to be a shield, but it could likely absorb the mans darkness a little causing the attack to loose it’s potency. But it was a long shot. The darkness the boy held was significantly stronger than his own, and the darkness in this world was so strong that it would be difficult to try and use any light based attacks.

He was right his darkness was absorbing the darkness of the young man's attack, but at a price. It was crushing the light that he had in his heart, and the pain that ensued was excruciating, but he had to hold on. If he didn’t and he let the attack hit him directly, he just might loose to the darkness, and become something that he wishes never existed in the first place.

[Wattz]

The combined efforts of Zelk and Maxi were enough to keep the blast from landing permanent damage, but the force of the energy threw them all back into a crumpled heap. Alaric felt her arm smack against a surface as she landed, crying out as the pain shot through. She was still disoriented from the blast, her chest heavy, making it difficult to breathe. But she didn’t want to stick around to find out what other horrors this boy had to give them. Alaric wanted to scramble out of this alive, and she didn’t quite care if these others were with her when she ran.

Lokai was her only priority.

She just had to find her opening.

Zilane grasped Gil tightly by his ankle. He let the fool dangle, finding great amusement in the ridiculous attempt. Zilane almost threw him, when he sensed the presence of a light almost being snuffed out. His own darkness crushed against the other force, but it failed to remove the light completely. It made him smile as he turned to look down at the source, the silver-haired one called Ryan. Potential indeed!

He descended towards the ground, Gil still held firmly by the ankle. The moment his feet touched the strange surface, he let go of the boy’s ankle.

“You can try to run, but I can’t guarantee you’ll get far!” Zilane yelled out as he saw one of the three figures he’d thrown down try to move. Alaric had flinched, ready to flee, only sheepishly recoil at his words. “I’m not even sure myself what’s out there. For all I know, it stretches on forever.”

He cracked his neck from side to side, taking on a confident battle stance, Keyblade at the ready. “But perhaps… some of you may actually be worthy,” he said as he flicked his eyes towards the hybrids.

Zilane flung his arms out and his image seemed to split off. From his form, five duplicates appeared, their power warping the air around them. They each sped off, rushing to place themselves in front of each individual. The only one without a doppelganger was Gil, because he was the closest. Zilane swung his keyblade towards him, hoping to get one more unnecessary pest out of the way. If the hybrids survived, he hoped that their light could be driven out of them, leaving nothing but darkness in its wake.

[Belnazar]

Zelk slowly rose and ignored the girl that was running away. He looked up at Zilane with a determined look on his face. "BLACK CROSS!" He roared as he begun to absord the darkness around him. A slightly panicked look appeared on his face, he was absorbing too much darkness too fast, this realm was just too potent! Screaming in anguish and terror he released the power and watched as the darkness formed itself into lances and jetted straight up at Zilane. Before he could see what was the result his eyes widened as he collapsed to the floor, intense pain racking his body. "Not now..." He whispered as his frail body gave out under the stress, conciousness fading.

It had been the saddest day in Zelk's life. He stood solemnly next to his parents as they performed the service for his dead sister. An angry look was painted on his fathers face while his mothers lacked any emotion. His was covered in tears. A bitterness rose up in him as he thought back, seeing his sisters body lifeless as the light was gone. Only darkness remained, he had fled instantly, his own cowardice prompting him. "I should have stayed there, I should have done something." He thought to himself.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Maxi grunted as they were tossed back by the darkness. Her power was snuffed out leaving them totally open for attack. At first she was going to run with Alaric, she who lives and runs away lives to fight another day but the supposed master of this world stopped them saying he didn't even know what's out there.
"Oh hell and high water, figures." With the knowledge that a fate worse then death could await her out there, she choses to stand her ground at least a quick death could happen here. And it looked like that was what was in store for them because the dark guy made clones of himself from darkness and they square off with each of the kids waiting for a fight.
"That is just unfair." Was all Maxi said getting into a fighting stance letting her light surround and protect her heart watching her doppleganger wondering how long she'll last before she's killed.

[Yamimoon]

As soon as the attack stopped Ryan disintegrated his so called shield , reviling that he was kneeling on one knee as well as holding his chest where his heart was. The darkness of the realm it’s self was not to hard to handle, but in combination with Zilane’s darkness it was to much for him to bear. He had almost lost his light to the darkness just like that night.

But instead of dwelling on it he looked out too the others and saw that they were not doing any better, but that was not even the worst of their problems. Zilane split himself into copies of himself and was getting ready to attack all of them. He knew that he didn’t have the time to waste trying to pull himself together. His swords weren’t covered in any light, and he knew why. His light was to weak too manifest it’s self in this world. So he could only rely on the darkness. But that held it’s own risks, but he had to take them.

He stood up and was breathing hard from the pain that he had inured, and his legs felt like jello. All he wanted to do was get out of this place alive, and find Master Riku. He had faith in him and gave him a chance, and he was going to make sure that he lives up to his expectations. He stood completely still drawing in the darkness of the realm. He knew that he would be able to handle it once more for a time, but if he failed. He would probably fall into the darkness, and never return to the realm of light, but he had to have faith in his little light.

[The Imposter]

Gil had now found himself back on the ground and listening to the speech from his new enemy. He struggled to his feet as Zilane split himself into copies and the air finally hitting a freezing point around him. Zilane lashed out with his keyblade trying to put an end to Gil. Surprisingly the attack was quite easy to read. Was his opponent that careless?

Gil side stepped to his right and unleashed his Cold hearted technique. Five blades jaggedly shot out from around his body two of which were in Zilane's direction. Gil didn't waste any time he spun on the heel of his foot and unleashed a hard kick at Zilane's head.

In the fraction of seconds that followed Gill tried to figure out a way to get everyone out of there. His eyes briefly caught sight of the others and tried to get an idea of how they were fairing.

[Wattz]

Zilane was overconfident, to say the least. He considered himself a fast, strong opponent, worthy of praise and worship. He needed no training, no testing. He was, quite literally, born with every skill he possessed. He narrowly dodged Gil’s Cold Hearted attack, the distance between them too close. Zelk’s spears of darkness had whizzed pass him in a powerful blast, with one grazing him on the shoulder, ripping his clothing and leaving a whispered line of blood.

It was just enough. Zilane was thrown off balance by the sudden succession of attacks. Gil’s kick landed with a sickening crack. Little black shards flew out from his mask as he spun around; his mask had cracked on the right side, a jagged scar twisting through glass. A small hole just barely exposed his eye, completely green and without a pupil.

He began to shake violently, quivering like a kicked puppy, yet still standing in rage. One hand covered the damage done, protecting his eye, protecting his core. Zilane had no time to understand the inexplicable change in demeanor. In his mind, the world caved in, the towers fell, the gentle heaving of the ground stopped. But in reality the environment quaked beneath everyone’s feet. Alaric could hardly move, the quake was so intense.

First fear, then a sudden rage. “My face…” Zilane mumbled manically. “My face… my face!”

Zilane threw a fist into the ground. A wave of energy, a blast of heat. He grabbed the ground with both hands and yanked upwards, the strange substance becoming suddenly moldable. The ground shifted beneath their feet, but there was now a slight chance to escape as he began to charge some form of an attack.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Upon seeing this so called God of the dark world bleed Maxi felt a great power inside her.
He's just a man, a really strong man but still a man! Taking this chance she charged unleashing her Burning Heart attack becoming a red-orange flash she passes by her opponent and heads right for the distracted man as he yanked the freaking ground up charging some kind of attack.
This may be your only chance Maxi girl don't blow it. She grunts dropping a level and swinging up hoping to destroy the ribs and maybe puncture one of his lungs in the process.

[Belnazar]

Gasping for air Zelk painfully shot awake. Something had changed in this realm of darkness and his ordeal and inner turmoil forced him into perspective. Looking up he saw as Zilane was knocked off balance. "Some god..." He muttered to himself. But Zelk wasn't a fool, Zilane was far from defeated and looking around he saw that the others were mostly standing. He knew he had to leave and quickly, not only was he out matched but he was severely weakened from the zone and its over abundance of dark energy. He looked desperately for a way out and begun to blindly run out in any direction. He had not heard Zilanes warning of the zone and was unaware of the danger.

[The Imposter]

Gil watched as everyone began to react to Zilane, to his surprise many tried to continue fighting. He yelled trying to get everyone's attention. He knew what he was about to say wouldn't go well with everyone but even those that are evil don't deserve such a nasty fate. He could feel Maxi pass by him towards Zilane, to his chagrin she attempted to fight.

'Hey! I think this is the best chance we have at making some kinda escape. There is no way we can beat him...even if we could killing him without keyblade would only cause a problem! C'mon everyone lets get outta here!'

Which was is out?! Gil honestly had no idea but he began to run away from Zilane. If Zilane was manipulating the whole realm with his attack perhaps in his anger he had created a tear in it trying to gather it together like he was. It was worth a shot at least. Gil still running against Zilane's pull took a quick look behind him to see if anyone had followed.

[Yamimoon]

The darkness of the realm was a soothing sensation to Ryan, and also made his wound he had received earlier no longer bother him. He didn’t know why, but the darkness was different this time. He wondered if that was because he had already absorbed the darkness of the realm, that he made a connection of some kind. This question and others would not be answered for he was not ever going to tell anyone about this. Since the realm is made of complete darkness his attack didn’t take long to charge. When he looked at the copy of Zilane his eyes were pitch black, but before he could use his darkness blade attack, Zilane changed what he was doing.

Now he hit the ground, and sent a shock wave that made it hard to stand, but Ryan did manage to remain on his feet, but he didn’t know what to expect. If this was an attack that could kill them they should run, but where for this realm is an extension of Zilane himself. All he knew is that if they don’t stop him they might not have a chance to survive. So he took the chance, and let his attack loose on Zilane. The blades of darkness were heading right for him. He watch in hopes the attack would have an effect. If not the only chance he had was to run.

[Wattz]

Zilane saw the attacks coming out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn’t afford to lose the momentum of his energy just to stop them, nor could he seem to control himself. Safety was the only thing on his mind. His mask, his face, his life, was mangled. In one fell swoop he was reduced to a trapped coyote gnawing ferociously at its leg.

Maxi’s attack had landed, with Ryan’s following suit. But the moment they hit, Zilane released a massive burst of energy. He was still gripping the ground as he fell over from their success, but the entire area was now engulfed in raw, gut-wrenching energy. Alaric’s body seethed with pain as it hit, forcing her to the ground. The ground seemed to burn her flesh as it breathed heavily. The world seethed and writhed as if it were mimicking its master, though it was difficult to tell what caused the world to react. Alaric curled up on the ground in defense, unable to move with the weight of the pain crushing down. The dense air filled her lungs and crushed her mind. Her mind whorled with images that couldn’t be pinned into place.

She blacked out, much like last time, only without a single breath of consciousness. It was strangely like sleeping, a sudden calm within the middle of roiling uncontained chaos. Hours passed before she awoke, though her ears were buzzing with a terrible headache. The living texture of Zilane’s world was replaced by gravel sticking to her cheeks. Rough, but real. Strangely comforting.

Her eyes finally opened.

Alaric’s heart thumped stronger with relief.

Traverse Town. Home.

[The Imposter]

The energy given off of Zilane from the other's attacks sent Gil hurdling forward. As Gil hit the ground he flinched in pain the radiating energy in the realm forced its way into his body and was causing unrelenting pain. He looked to his comrades to see how they were faring. Before Gil could lay his eyes on them all he passed out.

His vision was blurred when he opened his eyes again but thee shapes and lighting seemed very different than where he was before. His eye sight cleared and he shook his head. How was he home in Twilight town? Gil sat up and placed his hand on the building he was closest too. His mind was still in shock and couldn't come to terms with it, then he saw Olette walking around. He scrambled to his feet and ran out from the alleyway. Yelling to his friends that were playing at The Sandlot.

Gil started talking to them and catching up telling them all the neat stories of his training and his first match in the tournament. Then he stopped realizing that none of the others from the tournament were here.

'I've gotta find them guys, I mean if Zilane has taken them hostage I gotta save 'em! I'm going to go look around town.'

Hayner, Pence, and Olette all offered to help. Gil explained all his comrades as best as he could and the four split up to search around Twilight town.

[Belnazar]

A flash and then emptiness. Zelk stood inside a castle that looked familiar to him, a small sense of fear intermingling with a sense of relief at having returned. A dank and lifeless castle but it was home. Zelk smiled being back in the familiar surroundings and begun to walk purposefully through the halls.

After a short while he realised that something was very off with his old home, there was none of the usual minions scurrying around. He made a headline to a room he felt he could find answers in.

I have lost my only sister to some terrible fiend, some monstrosity... Darkness, That was all I had seen... But perhaps... There is one in this world that is the greatest darkness I know. He can help me!

Zelk immedietly felt the darkness as he approached. "Master, I have returned!" Zelk announced. A dark and imposing figure sat before him on a stone throne.

"I can teach you the ways of darkness. But we must first seal your light. Only with this can I teach you." A sinister voice echoed in Zelks young mind. He had nothing left to lose, and light was a small price to pay for the power to conquer the darkness...

"My apprentice returns from his trip with that... rat. What have you learned?" The dark presence stood up, a wave of malevolence rolled off him.
"Great Horned King..." Zelk started recalling the events of the last few days.

[Yamimoon]

Ryan saw that Zilane was affected by their attacks, but it didn’t detour him from latching his attack. When the energy hit him it was like he was hit with pure power. This power overran his senses, causing him to loose himself to the darkness once more. He fell to the ground hard before he completely lost himself. Not his mind was as dark as the power that he controls, and completely calm. He didn’t know how much time passed by, but when he regained himself, and opened his eyes he was surprised to see the familiar scenery, and quickly sat up. His head was still a little fogy, but he defiantly knew where he was. He was home! But that didn’t make any sense to him, but before he was able to think more on the situation he heard a voice.

“So it looks like the pathetic one has returned with his tail between his legs!” The Feminine voice said in a sarcastic and cruel tone. Ryan knew immediately he stood up and faced the voice with his head down not saying a word. He suddenly turned timid, as he knelt down on one knee. “Well it is about time you returned you reject. The other slaves are not worth a thing, even though you are not worth the time of day either,” She said as Ryan looked up at her. She had long golden blond hair, as well as a fair to white completion. He eyes were like the color of the purest emeralds. “Now get moving, you have a lot of work to get finished with.” She then turned around and went back into the mansion.

As soon as she left Ryan stood up and retrieved his swords that were on the ground. Hr knew that this place was home, but he never truly wanted to return to this place. At least not until he had proven that Darkness in not a curse, but something that can help people. Witch is the opposite feelings that his home world believes. He looked up to the sky with a weary, and depressed look on his face. He had a slight idea how this day was going to start and end.