Shadows Swarm

Azuma: "So you're the thing that'd made him kind of a dick lately."

"I'm all for making Nero feel inferior, but you can't possibly expect us to believe we can't kill you," Noctis said, folding her arms, "Well, that might have come out rudely. What I should be asking is how exactly do you expect us to believe you're immortal?"

--

Mortal quickly realized with whom Dark Roatha shared similarities, and pointed one of her keyblades at him, "Should have known this would be Senthose's fault." She then asked, "What do you mean he is your dad though?"

Monu:<You're Senthose's heartless?>
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*Artexi lowers her keyblade*

<We don't really wanna fight you. You would come with us, if you, you know, wanted.>

L"So Senthose's eyes aren't blue anymore...."

DR<Man, you're slow. Look at your feet. See it yet? Roatha's Station is broken into pieces. That's because of the darkness that Senthose's Heartless put into the system. But what is going to happen to them?>

*He stomps on the ground & the darkness flies away from them, in the form of ravens instead of doves, revealing a Station resembling a Yin-Yang symbol, one side featuring Roatha in a white cloak, the other Senthose in his Organization attire. Rather than being depicted passively floating, they clash with Roatha wielding the Ultima Weapon, but Senthose wielding the Omega Weapon instead of his usual Keyblade. The outside of the Station is ringed in red, with several blue Eyes of Darkness. Dark Roatha spreads his arms.*

DR<It's a heart! Made from pieces of both of my fathers'! And that's why...I can do this....>

*With a flash of red lightning, the Omega Weapon appears in his left hand.*
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N"So you accept gargoyles & talking animals, but not immortality?"

Vincent<It doesn't matter what you believe. I can't go with you. This slumber is my punishment.>

Azuma: "The color of Senthose's eyes have what to do with this exactly? I'm quite certain this is more important than something as trivial as some jerks eye color."

*Safian makes the sound that might be her laughing at DR's two dads, while Monu looks at Lilith, then back at DR*
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Artexi:<Punishment for what?>

*Lilith glares at Azuma. Dark Roatha's smile instantly fades & his eyes narrow. Roatha's Ultima Weapon appears in his other hand, prompting him to fall over. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].*

DR<I've heard there's a special place in Hell for hypocrites!>

*Euryale dashes forwards, trying to stab him, but ends up hitting a red beehive barrier.*

DR<I may not be able to beat all of you, but that doesn't mean I'll go down without a fight! I'll be sure to take some of you jerks with me!>

*He unzips his cloak & spreads it wide, at which point darkness spills out of it like gallons of oil. As it seeps over the Station, yellow eyes open up in it & Shadows emerge all around them.*
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Vincent<I knew that Ansem's experiments were wrong, but I didn't stop them. So it is only fitting that I would end up twisted by them, as so many others had.>

N"That what happened to your arm?"

Vincent<Which one?>

*He holds up his presumably still living arm. It pulses with darkness & contorts, the glove & presumably the limb underneath twisting, his fingers growing into claws. He shakes it off & lays back down in his casket.*

N"Well, I was...pointing at your left, but...okay, then...."

Hitomi makes an endless array of lightning bolts come down on the Shadows while Taiyo attacks the ones closest to her and Hitomi.

Azuma advances on Dark Roatha, taking a swing and following through with Guard Break.

*Safian roars and breathes a steam of fire at the approaching shadows, while Monu uses Wind Raid on them*
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Artexi:<So you're cursed, right? Does it really last forever?>

*Some of the Shadows sink into the ground to avoid being slaughtered, while others take advantage of Monu letting go of his Keyblade in close quarters combat yet again to jump on him. Thiera blocks them with a Blizzard blast. Meanwhile, Azuma just bounces off of the barrier.*

DR<This isn't any old shield. This is the absolute barrier that separates the sacred space of my heart from invasion. And you don't have enough dark power to break through it. You are strictly amateur.>

*Roatha walks right through the barrier, which breaks behind him.*

"Can't keep me out. It was originally my heart to begin with."

DR<Maybe. But that doesn't mean much if you can't get your Keyblade back.>

"I still have some magic!"

*He holds out a hand, firing down a bolt of lightning, which Dark Roatha blocks, bouncing it back. Roatha dodges as it rakes across the glass he's standing on, causing it to glow red hot.*

DR<No comparison!>

*As they are bickering, a pair of Darksides rise up on either side of Dark Roatha. Seeing the open invitation, Euryale runs in to join the fight, & Lilith follows suit.*

L"There are no vital points in a Darkside's lower body! Only its head & arms are vulnerable!"

E"Got it!"
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Vincent<I have told you everything. Whether you choose to believe is not my concern.>

*He lies back down, crossing his arms.*

Vincent<I return to my slumber. Leave, before this castle becomes your tomb, as well.>

N"Okay, but first, can you tell us where we might find a lab?"

Vincent<Leave.>

*He closes his eyes.*

Azuma leaves that asshole to Lilith and Roatha and takes after a Darkside, attacking its right hand. Taiyo goes after the left hand on the other Darkside.

Hitomi shoots the one Azuma is attacking in the face.

*Monu uses Eagle's Claw to destroy any remaining shadows around him, then casts a quick healing spell on Lilith. Safian bounds after the Lilith and Euryale, clawing at DR with darkness covered claws*
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Artexi:<Oh, ok then.>

*She turns to the others*

*The Darkside looks at Azuma, trying to jump at his hand, & then is shot in the face, causing it to stumble & fall over. Euryale hesitates for a second, looking between it & Taiyo, then runs to help Taiyo, blocking a punch from the Darkside. Lilith does decide to join Roatha, using quick jabs to keep the dark one on the defensive & ducking when he tries to counter. This allows Roatha to get in some hits with his lightning magic, but it doesn't seem to be doing much damage until Safian claws his fucking face. Angry, Dark Roatha dashes forwards, spinning his Keyblades as red lightning shoots out of them. More Heartless begin popping up around the others as Thiera heals Monu. This time, they are NeoShadows.*
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N"Yeah, let's just leave this loser to wallow in his cave."

*He kicks the foot of the coffin before turning around & leaving. Vincent cannot suppress a look of annoyance.*

With the Darkside fallen, Azuma begins to make his way up an arm.

Hitomi makes it rain lightning bolts down on the Neo Shadows.

Taiyo: "Thanks."

Taiyo shoots Darkside in the face with bubbles.

*Monu slashes at the Neo Shadows, using Eagle's Claw again*

<Thanks you!>

*Safian tries to dodge as much as the lightning as she can before mauling DR*
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<Don't be mean...>

*Sensing defeat, the remaining Neoshadows disappear into dark corridors, replaced by Invisibles, big, muscular, sword-wielding Heartless. Thiera raises her Keyblade, calling a tornado around them. As the winds recede, some of them coalesce into spheres surrounding Monu, Hitomi, & Thiera*

E"Of course."

*Euryale hacks at the Darkside's arm & grabs its thumb when it starts to pull away. It makes a sweeping motion with its other hand, gathering darkness into a sphere. Meanwhile, the other Darkside sees Azuma trying to climb it & swats at him with its other hand while its giant heart hole begins to glow.*

L"Hitomi, look out!"

*After knocking her & Roatha aside, Dark Roatha had tossed the Omega Weapon in her direction. Grabbing the Ultima Weapon in both hands, he advances on Roatha. Lilith points at his feet, using Ivybind, then stabs her Keyblade into the ground, causing branches to emerge around him & start beating him to & fro.*
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*Nero turns around.*

N"Who cares what happens to the freak who sleeps in a coffin? It's not even what we came here for, anyway."

Hitomi directs her Keyblades to block the incoming Keyblade and takes a shot at him.

Azuma conjures up a shield of DARKNESS! around him to No Sell the Darkside while he continues his climb.

Taiyo shoots a stream of water at the Darkside's face.

*Monu uses Eagle's Claw on the large heartless. Safian fires at DR with a steam of fire, then tries to maul him again*
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Artexi:<If I was in the same place I'd want someone to help me...>

N"Well, he clearly doesn't. So let him rot."
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*After being tackled, Dark Roatha begins to laugh.*

DR<This is just another form of running. I WILL eventually take control. You know it's true. You might say that it's engraved in your heart! Pffthahahaha!>

*Orbs of darkness begin falling all around. Euryale blocks one, straddles the Darkside's arm, & stabs it. Others fall towards Taiyo & Hitomi. Also, the Darkside that Azuma is climbing on begins firing blasts of energy that seek out the closest target, namely him. Meanwhile, Thiera shrieks & starts hacking at the arms of the Neoshadows, which have risen from the ground to try to drag her into darkness, an Invisible rushes Monu, swinging its bigass sword, & the others toss their swords into the air, catch them, & stab them into the ground, their bodies dissolving into dark flames.*

*Monu counters the bigass sword with his keyblade, then stabs at the Invisible*

<Thiera!>

*Safian body becomes covered in flames as she snaps at DR's neck*
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<I guess...>

*Artexi looks away and says nothing*

Azuma conjures up more DARKNESS! to shield himself before advancing further.

Hitomi makes a mad dash to get the hell out of the line of fire. Taiyo does the same, moving behind the Darkside.

*Dark Roatha becomes wisps of darkness that seep into the floor of the Station, which itself lurches, falling sideways & dumping everyone off. As it disappears into the sea of shadows, everyone finds themselves flying. Even the Darksides are suspended by the flapping of their tiny wings. Monu & Thiera find themselves surrounded by a ring of Dark Flames. The remaining Invisible, now sporting a gash in his side, begins hurling discs of dark energy at the group. The Neoshadows throw themselves into the air, whirling around with their claws outstretched, & approach the group from either side. One of the Darksides lurches forwards, grabbing at them with its massive arm, while the other tries to shake off the annoying good-for-nothing that is Azuma. Finally, more Anti-Roathas can be seen flitting about the shadows.*

E"I'm not much use in the air!"

L"Then try your Glider!"

E"Oh...right...."

*So Euryale activates her armor & Glider. Thiera uses Aero-ra-ga again, buying them some time & offering up protection to everyone who's not clinging onto a Darkside & doing nothing else. After bouncing off of her spell, the Neoshadows sink into the Darkness reappear to force her down into the abyss again. Roatha shouts her name & follows after them, summoning the Ultima Weapon back into his hand.*
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N"So let's just GO already."

*Nero turns to leave again.*

Azuma stabs into the Darkside to hold on for dear life.

Taiyo conjures up a wheel of water to attack the Darkside coming at her while Hitomi moves to avoid it, shooting a stream of Blizzara's at its face.

*Monu attempts to dodge the dark energy blasts, then stabs at the Invisible again, aiming for the spot where it was already wounded. Safian leaps on the Darkside Azuma is not attacking and starts to maul & burn him*
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*So Artexi follows*

*Seeing Monu incoming, the Invisible slashes in front of itself. By staying on the move, Monu dodged something or other regarding the fire converging in on himself. Seeing the other Invisibles reappearing around him, Lilith casts a few nervous glances to him as she flies after Roatha & Thiera, then abruptly swerves to come to his aid. Euryale also heads in that general direction. Anti-Roathas appear on the same arm as Azuma & attack him. The other Darkside's eyes go dark & its body begins to crack around its heart. As it breaks apart & sinks into the darkness, tiny Shadow hands emerge from its remains, trying to grab Safian, Hitomi, & Taiyo & drag them into oblivion with it.*
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*As they continue to search, they find a room that used to be sealed off by a large steel door, which is now broken. Staring out at them through the darkness are a series of glowing yellow eyes, which suddenly lurch towards them, some of the creatures inside running right at them, others climbing on the walls & ceilings as they go.*