Solace of Nirvana

"Raven?! What happened!? I didn't think you were dead, but surely I was extremely worried, as were the rest of us! I have one guess for-" She stopped talking though to watch Angel go towards the scythe.

Emma smiled at Angel and looked towards Hope grinning.

"I guess she did know, though I have to admit, I thought it was going to be you. But besides the point, now that we're all known of what we are, what do we do now? Just go into training?" she said and paused though.

"Perhaps we should go find Gerik though first. That way were all around for what's coming up." Emma said aloud glancing back at Angel smiling at her.

 

The sword flew out of Raiga's hand from that fancy maneuver Zack pulled. But he somehow managed to face the keyblader while hovering. Almost immediately after the keyblader tried the triple threat, not one but TWO Plasma Blades appeared, shredding the sleeves of his shirt. It appeared that he had gotten a hold of a second gauntlet. Pulling up a static Barrier, he slowed down the projectiles slightly and used that fully to his advantage. A sweeping arc in front of him was all that was needed to deflect the keyblades and dissipate the light shot. The man wasted no time in pulling his sword to his person using Whiplash, and began firing Gravity bullets from the tips of his fingers at Zack.

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"Did I say the week? I meant that it would be finished tomorrow," Ghira told Vincent in a blank tone, turning his back to the keyblader. "I must go supervise the construction, now. Excuse me."
And with that, he left, taking a portal to get out of the overhang.

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Meanwhile, Kavi glanced at the scythe nervously.

"So, it is going to blast me in a random manner no longer? He asked, eyeing the beautifully curved weapon. "I would prefer to stay on my feet."

He didn't wait long for an answer, however, and began heading outside to the balcony, where he saw Gerik standing about in the courtyard with Mel. "Strange," He muttered, watching the two, "I wonder if he is a survivor like I am?"

But then something strange happened. A portal appeared beside Gerik and opened to reveal. . .

----------------------------

Ghira stepped out of the portal and closed it as quickly as he came, eyeing Gerik and Mel.
"Excuse me, Melody. Where is the Leader? I have some vital information of the most utter importance. Destructively important."

OOC: Curveball! Betcha didn't see THAT one coming! It's not like I've been planning it for a year or anything!

 

---Before Mel was called to bring Gerik back with her---

"Naw. I was just planning on taking a little vacation. Maybe go and find a place with snow." He answered before laughing a little at Mel's death joke. "Although some say death is very liberating. I suppose it would only hurt if you died in a painful way. Besides, didn't anybody tell you I'm one of those people who won't die even if you kill me?"

---Mel being called back to bring Gerik with her---

"I actually have a choice in this matter?" He asked the blind woman. "Cool. Although I don't know if giving me an option is really the best choice. Perhaps I should flip a coin to decide." Before Gerik even had the chance to do anything, Ghira's portal opened up right next to him. Gerik instinctively reached for his hammer when he saw Ghira's face. After all, Ghira did try to kill him not so long ago.

"Lemme guess. He's probably part of this resistance group who was sent in to spy on the Light Knights. Or he's part of the Light Knights who was sent to spy on this group and then they had him spy on the Light Knights. Or some annoying variation thereof." Not actually saying anything, Gerik decided to just watch Ghira's actions and then decide which side Ghira was on.

-----

Zack rolled to the side as one of Raiga's gravity bullets just barely missed him. He had just enough time to summon one of his keyblades to swat another bullet away. Contact with the bullet made the keyblade instantly fall to the floor, stuck there until Zack summoned it again. Zack began running towards his left again, pointing both keyblades at Raiga. Orbs of light gathered at the tips of the weapons as Zack ran. The orbs then burst open, shooting a barrage of light orbs at Raiga. Each burst of light that left the tip of the keyblade left a little stream of light that remained connected to the tip. As more light shot out from the keyblade, the arcs of each tail of light stretched out more and more to show just how many light bursts were fired.

 

Ghira saw the motion of Gerik reaching for the hammer and let out the slightest smirk.

"That survival instinct is the reason I let you go, you should know. Don't bother trying to attack me, heir of the land. I've done more for you that you care to realize," He remarked, unsheathing his sword and balancing it by the junction between the hilt and the blade. "I have been working with these folk for quite some time now, and I have aided your party in most steps. Who gave you that teleporter, I ask? Who rigged the ships to explode on Destiny Islands? And before you come up with some counter, I had already experienced the Atlantican's will to survive earlier, so his efforts to protect himself and your party would be more than sufficient. Had I wanted you to die, you would have long ago."

The artist flicked his finger upwards, sending the blade flying upwards. He held out its sheath to catch the weapon, and sure enough it landed perfectly into the socket.

"Balance is required in this day and age. Ultimate balance. Will you further its cause?"

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Finch on the other hand was very busy rummaging through the possessions of another. She snarled as she worked.

"Doom. . . 's all gonna be doom!" She grumbled, pulling a piece of paper up that she spied from the corner of the ransacked pile. "Ahah! Now I can get-"

The black-haired girl dropped low to the ground, pooling mana quickly. A needle had embedded itself in the wall above her. The semi-mage wheeled about to face her aggressor, summoning a sword made of her magic.

"So, it's come to this? You really think I'm gonna just roll over 'n DIE for you? Not a chance in Cosmos, you bastard!"

She lunged forward to make an attack, but her strike came too late.

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Meanwhile, Raiga had only a moment to react before the stream of light hit. That would certainly hurt, no doubt. In fact, one might think Zack was trying to kill him! But it was quite fair, to be honest, because that was exactly what Raiga was trying to do. With a mere second left, the man's core ignited, and all went dark for just one instant.

The orbs made contact with their target, culminating in an explosion that seemed a little too large. Before the dust even had time to settle, a bolt of lighting came down from the heavens as metal from a nearby weapons rack were pulled into the cloud. A light seemed to be emanating from Raiga's position.

 

Emma watched as Star called for her apprentice before she looked over at Hope and Angel again.

"So then, now that, to my general knowledge, we're all gathered here, we all have whatever our special weapon is, what precisely is going to occur. Just training? Or are we actually going to be doing something?" Emma spoke quietly to herself not caring if anybody was going to respond or not. She looked back at Kavi standing on the porch. She started walking towards him. She walked on gentle feat knowing how he gets startled so easily. She made her way next to him looking out at the castle versus at the people in the courtyard.

"I don't think I found out where you're from and what not. I'm from Twilight Town, its a pretty small little town, most people know everybody. I was actually pretty shy and picked on back at home. How about you?" She asked him.

 

"Beats me. I guess we'll all have to wait and find out." Gerik answered, loosening his grip on his weapon. Not even bothering to point out that Ghira never gave him instructions on how to properly control the teleporter, Gerik turned and walked off. "Well, I vaguely recall hearing something about me being needed somewhere." He spoke about Star calling Mel to bring him back to the group, and yet Gerik walked off in an entirely different direction. Arriving at a wall Gerik used his still somewhat new elemental powers to lift the ground to shoot him up to the top of the wall; he also made sure the ground went back to how it was before.

Landing on the roof, Gerik again looked at the night sky. "I wonder who's gonna come up and find me now. To be honest, it isn't that bad talking to Mel. And Raven as well. Both of them seem to be able to see right through me. Speaking of Raven, I wonder where she is."

"She's here at the castle with everybody." A voice echoed in Gerik's head.

"That voice... Your the evil darkness that was defeated in the past, right? The one that saved us back on the islands."

"Yep. Although you might want to brush up on your history a bit. I'm not evil."

"Whatever. So tell me darkness, what should I do?"

"Don't ask me that. I'll tell you to go to everybody and help. And that is in everybody's best interest. But my reason for telling you isn't so noble. With the four of you kids together, there's enough collective darkness for me to take shape in this world. If you stick together long enough you would even be able to see what I actually look like and not just a silhouette. And I want you kids together. But to be perfectly honest, the main reason is for me to be together with Raven. A problem with my immortality and me being stuck in the dark realm all alone is that I've lost some of what makes me human. Raven is the only thing in all of the light realm that matters to me anymore. Hell, she's my one connection to the rest of humanity."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you're the one kid out of the group that I never ended up saving. Let's see... Angel, the girl with the scythe. I saved her a while back from some heartless when the seal weakened. Emma, the girl with the staff. I saved her from one of the Light Knights before Raven found her. Kavi, the boy with the chakram. I sent his body to Destiny Islands when he was knocked out on his world. But you seemed to luck out. When you were attacked, you were able to fight back. When you traveled the worlds alone, you were lucky enough to not encounter any Light Knights. And it's a good thing you were lucky. Had I intervened without the four of you together, I would've exhausted all my strength for a while. Come to think about it, this conversation manages to take its toll on me. The seal combined with the Cornerstone of Light severely limits what I can do, even with all you kids together."

-----

"At least he won't be beaten by something like that." Zack grinned. He was standing in the path of one of the metal pieces. Before it could hit him, Zack smacked away the metal, causing it to move in an arc as it headed towards Raiga's position. "Better get ready for the next part." Both of Zack's keyblades became encased in light and floated behind his back. Four more blades of light appeared, floating next to the keyblades.

 

Kavi looked over at the girl, trying his best to not dash away. From his position on the balcony, he could see Gerik leaving some man with white hair, and that stranger then heading towards the stairs.

"Training?" He responded, "I don't know. I've never trained in my entire life. Training is what military does. Training is what hunters do. I don't train. I survive."

The ex-octoman continued, "I'm Atlantican. I'm not one of those prejudiced mer-folk, before you ask. My kind are hated among those of the ocean. I was a little more than 'picked on', human."

"I am afraid that is not possible," A voice rang out in the room, interrupting the two women's conversation. "Hello Star. It has been a while since my last report, but I had no time where I could safely return here until now. With the worst news possible."

Ghira appreached the duo, holding out a folder and digging into it, pulling out some photographs of something huge and metallic.
"The Ark Behemoth will be finished in a matter of days. Time is not something we have, Star."

He barely paid attention to Raven, coolly ignoring her in favor of the rebel leader.

Armor had melded around Raiga, entirely covering him*, and every inch of him sparked and glowed with unearthly energy. What appeared to be an elegant rifle with three barrels was in his left hand while a new and larger serrated blade was in his right.

"YOUWILLDIE!" His voice blazed, raising the rifle and firing three accelerated shots at once at his foe. Almost immediately after he did that, he directed his blade like a conductor's baton and directed lighting bolts from the heavens down upon Zack.

*Fantasy Chinese Armor by *garang76 on deviantART

 

"That's harsh..." Was all Emma could say about that. She turned to face him more.

"At least you're out of their right? I mean, I guess I was picked on and I just stayed by myself my entire life, but upon coming on this adventure meeting the others, you have to admit part of you- deep down, does feel a connection. Right? I've never felt a connection of belonging or friendship in my life, and I feel like I do belong a little more. Friendship, still kind of another story..." She told him. She turned back to look down in the courtyard to observe the surrounding and events down below.

 

Gerik sighed, his thumb twitching over the button of the teleportation device.

"Before you go, I've got one last thing to say. If you leave, you would be doing the exact thing you've been preventing Kavi from doing."

"Dammit." Gerik muttered, putting the teleportation device away. "Although did your voice have to sound that much like a know-it-all?"

"Yep. Be sure to tell Raven I say hi when you see her next."

"Mmm..." Gerik turned around and leaped off the roof of the castle. As he descended several large rocks floated out of the ground, creating a makeshift staircase for him. They each gently returned to the ground as Gerik moved across them.

-----

"Oh shi–" Zack muttered as the attacks quickly came at him. Two of the light blades and one of the keyblades that were floating behind Zack all moved in front of him and deflected the three shots. The two remaining light blades rapidly spun above Zack's head, deflecting the lightning bolts. Zack dashed towards Raiga, all six weapons following. One light blade moved out in an arc towards Raiga, spinning and ready to cut through anything that got in the way. Two other blades were in front of Zack, also spinning to deflect any attack that came from the front. The two keyblades and the remaining light blade stayed at Zack's back, ready to be used when needed.

 

"A connection? Yes. I do feel SOMETHING. But I feel a lot of things differently now. I have feet now," Kavi stated blandly, leaning on the banister and watching Gerik ascend on his little rock staircase. He would have wondered where the landwalker was going if it weren't for the fact that he simply didn't care, so long as he stayed around here.

"Everything I have know has been turned upside-down and thrown up in the air quite literally, and I'm expected to treat some of this circumstance as normal. Connection? Maybe. Companionship? No. Companionship is a 'civilized' term. I don't like 'civilized' terms."

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Offense quickly switched to defense, the dropping bolts aiming themselves at the incoming blade, striking it down while the railgun and sword pulled themselves together in a ghastly cannon-like object attached to Raiga's arm. It began charging with a white glow, sparks riding up and down like confetti in a festival.

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"Two of them have no idea have to fight, that much is certain. But the two males are survivors - that much knowledge I have firsthand," Ghira explained, "And from what I know of those weapons, they should have some sort of innate guidance mechanism in place to teach their wielders how to properly posses them. Provided they lead a smaller strike behind a large one, I believe they all have a chance to succeed."

 

Emma looked away from the events occurring below looking back at Kavi confused.

"Civilized term. You say and describe the word with a lot of hatred." She pointed out. She looked back at him.

"I'll admit, I'm not one for civilization, or being civilized with my own civilization especially how I've been treated by my fellow generation on my own home world. However I try to stay open for things. I've always been one to look at the whole situation while using my intuitive being to make decisions for me." She told him.

"It's hard though." She said. "I guess coming from a completely different world to new ones. My home world has had it's several travelers so I know a little about what's going on, obviously this is the first time I'm actually witnessing it, but of course coming from a world not connected to the others, this would be weird." She turned and looked at him.

"Maybe we can go visit your world. Visit several worlds and learn our place." She said smiling.

 

When Emma mentioned returning to his world, a snarl of pure malice flickered onto his face for a moment. It faded as quickly as it came, his hand assisting by pinching the bridge of his nose. In a low voice, he told his companion, "N-no. I'd rather not go back there. Ever. If I can help it. It's a wretched horrid place of persecution and I'd prefer never to return. I would much rather learn about the dry land and what it has to offer. There is so much that I saw today that I've never seen before."

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"The Ark Behemoth is the Knights' crowning achievement. It is a massive ship, stationed on Radiant Garden in an equally massive hangar bay. Day and night workers toil on it to get it to completion under the direction of the Keybladers. Vincent, the one who fights with orbs, has a particular fancy to this project because of the end goal. It is powered by the hearts that they have captured over the years, and has but one sole purpose upon full activation."

He paused, as if to impress the magnitude of the situation on Raven.

"The sole eradication of all beings dark."

 

Emma stared at him seeing the anger flash on his face. She nodded her head deciding the subject change he proposed would be best. Better not to push, get him angrier by trying to find out why.

"Well let me be your tour guide the best I can. I can teach you quite a bit about the other worlds, as long as we're not going to get to technical and we stay to the stuff that occurred in the past, in our history." She told him. "Though, being a stranger in the worlds especially for you, I'd advise not running off every three seconds." She teased him smiling.

 

Gerik looked around the courtyard. "It seems as though our double agent left our blind girl all alone. And here I thought people aren't supposed to leave blind people alone out in the open like that. But if she can read my mind like I'm certain she can, she'll end up walking straight over towards me. I wonder why she's taken such an interest in me. Sure, I'm attractive and all but she wouldn't know that. Maybe everybody's trying to guilt trip me."

"That ain't good." Zack smirked as his light blades managed to slip themselves away from the lightning bolts that attacked them. "I should probably disable him before he loses what little bit of sanity he likes to keep." Not that the constant rain of lightning bolts made it remotely easy. The four light blades all shot out towards the cannon Raiga created. With his keyblades remaining, Zack would try to create an opening to get close enough to Raiga and stop him without being hit.

 

"I have never had to worry about getting lost before," Kavi attempted at a joke, a bare smile showing. "I would like to take things one world at a time. I am almost in shock from what I have seen, like ships that can traverse the air like the sea. Is that truly how far humans on other worlds have come? The humans on mine still use wood in their ships."

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The light blades somehow managed to avoid getting struck by lightning long enough to smash straight into the cannon, denting and gashing it. The white glow at the tip dissipated, with energy lashing from the gap like a solar flare. And all too soon, the shock of it all finally backed up and caused an explosion, detonating Raiga's armor and the cannon in a spectacular display of electricity and smoke. Metal shards rained down like shrapnel.

Minutes later, after the smoke cleared, the man could be seen lying on the ground, apparently dead. The most disturbing part of this, however, was his chest. His metallic chest, repaired by Ghira when that ship crash nearly killed them all on Destinty Islands, was ripped open. The heart that was supposed to be safely inside was attached to many wires and was blinking out like a bad lightbulb.

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"Something troubles you, does it not? Something other than the Ark Behemoth itself," Ghira asked in his calculating tone.