The Black Figure(Plot/Light)

[Yuffie]

Yuffie soon landed down on the ground after throwing her shuriken and watched as all the attacks were deflected, including hers. It started flying back towards her and she caught it, while watching as Cloud's attack was the only one that landed. "Go Cloud!" she exclaimed but soon realized the attack didn't even seem to phase this guy.

And then the stranger sent out another power wave of darkness. It approached so fast, Yuffie only had time to put up her shuriken in front of her to try and block the attack. Unfortunately, the force of the blow still caused her to get pushed back into a building, pain shooting up her back. Though she managed to land somewhat gracefully, though she fell down onto one knee.

"I can't believe how strong he is...." she commented, panting. She couldn't take another attack like that one, and she hadn't even been hit by the full force of the blow! She got back up and put her fuma shuriken away for now. She then heard the girl talking about keep their distance and Yuffie agreed it was a good idea, watching the girl firing off more rounds. She figured she could try and help keep the guy busy, while Leon or Cloud managed to try and land a decent blow on this guy. She took out 5 small shuriken. "Take this!" she exclaimed as she started throwing one shuriken after the other, hoping it would be enough of a distraction.

[Cloud]

Defeat is Never an Option

Surprisingly, despite the fact that everyone else's attacks failed, Cloud managed to get a slight hit on the man. He heard someone happily yell his name in cheer. But unfortunately, the blow hadn't done much good. The man simply complimenting the attack with amusement, before deeming that it's use was foolish. And then, without warning, the man attacked again, this time creating a large expanding semicircle of darkness all around himself.

Being the closest to the attacker, Cloud had little time to react to the attack. Caught in the blast, he was send flying more than twenty feet, crashing into a wall at such high speed as to slightly crack stone. Struggling to regain his breath, he reached for his sword that now lay a few feet away from him. With the weapon as support, he managed to stand up with some difficulty. It was then that he felt something warm dripping down his neck. He ran his hand through his hair, bringing it back covered in a sticky red liquid. That wasn't good.

This opponent was proving to be more and more powerful every second. But regardless, he still needed to be stopped. Cloud couldn't allow himself to give up.

[Aerith]

The Hard Choices

Having been well out of range of the mysterious figure's counterattack, Aerith remained unscathed for the moment. She would most likely stay that way. Melee fighting was not her strong suit, and she was, at the moment, limited strictly to healing abilities. Even if she wanted to get close to their world's attacker, she didn't even have a weapon.

The sight of the adversary repelling nearly every attack made her heart sink. The man's power pulsed through the air, creating a harsh dissonance with the natural sound of the planet. Everything they had worked for was falling apart around them. Aerith curled her fingers into fists, the only visible evidence of the tinge of frustration she was feeling.

Her friends and two people she had never seen before were sailing through the air, rebuffed by darkness. Some flew farther than others. Under different circumstances, she would have liked to meet the two strangers who seemed to be allies. But there was no time for that. Everyone required her attention as healer, but she could only choose one at a time.

Yuffie seemed badly hurt, but she was already back on her feet and throwing small shurikens, presumably to act as a distraction so Leon and Cloud could have openings.

Cloud.

She saw him leaning heavily on his sword, blood seeping in rivulets down his neck. In that instant, her choice was made. A soft green aura appeared around her as she concentrated, and soon that same green hue, the ghosts of clovers dancing in the healing light, covered Cloud. The casting complete, she gave him an encouraging smile, then moved a little farther out of range.

Her eyes swept the Marketplace, looking for innocent bystanders who might have failed to escape the turmoil before it unfolded. She might not be able to cause any significant damage herself, but she could make sure that the only things this hostile stranger destroyed were buildings. Architecture could be rebuilt and replaced. People could not be.

[Summary:
Aerith used Curaga.
Posts until next use: 3
Uses remaining: 5]

[Nothingness]

Force Your Way

Leon was surprised by this man's strength--deflecting his gunblade like that, as well as everyone else's attacks. However, he wasn't given much time to ponder another strategy as the man released a massive wave of dark energy that knocked all of them back. Leon raised his gunblade to defend, but that didn't stop him from getting through back at least thirty feet. He managed to reorient himself in the air so that he landed on his feet, though he skidded quite a ways back.

He was breathing hard and his limbs were shaking. "So much power--it's unreal. How can we get close enough?" It was just then that he saw Yuffie start to make another assault on the man, and saw Aerith heal a very wounded Cloud. No, he wouldn't just lie there and let his friends fight this man alone. Even if he was battered and bruised, he'd keep fighting. Standing up, he tried his best to ignore the pain he was feeling from the attack. He started running around the man, trying to get an attack in from behind. He couldn't very well dodge attacks coming in from all sides, could he?

[Prythian]

The figure simply chucked, letting Lillian's shots and Yuffie's five shuriken strike him in the chest. "Injuries... to me now no longer matter." He explained, even as the pain was audible in his voice. He reached up, pulling them out of his body and letting them drop, the blood staining his silver robe. "After all, this won't kill me, and my purpose is complete." He grinned maliciously again. "You warriors can't even defend yourself, let alone others. Radiant Garden doesn't require me to destroy it. None of you could stop me if I did. You're just too weak to worry about."

He shook his head. "And when I struck you with that attack... it wasn't all I did. You see, there is darkness in every heart. What that last attack did, aside from the obvious... was enforce it. Strengthen it. You are infected, shall we say... and the taint will show itself, slowly but certainly, seeping into your everyday lives. I need do nothing more to cast this world into darkness once again. It is inevitable."

He turned, facing Leon, sword in hand ready to block any attacks that might come. "But, if you'd like to suicide, be my guest. I have plenty more darkness to destroy you with."

[Fate]

I Can't Give Up, Not Now

Lillian's shots managed to hit the guy, as did the other girl's Shuriken things. One of the guys with a sword tried to go at him again while the other got healed. There was only one other person with them and he seemed not to want to go closer to this fighter again. It was probably a good choice too; he was hurt from that blast just as bad as the rest of them were, and this guy wasn't tiring anytime soon. In fact, her shots didn't seem to affect him much at all!

Wait, what did he mean by that his purpose was complete? They couldn't defend themselves or others? That was a lie! Lillian kept shooting at these words, though it didn't seem to be having much of an effect. This man was telling her, and the others essentially, that she was too weak and that he didn't even need to destroy Radiant Garden. He just enforced the darkness that was in all of their hearts, which would just make the world die without his help.

She didn't want to believe what this man was saying. It wasn't possible for them to destroy Radiant Garden. He couldn't have enforced darkness in their hearts; it just didn't seem... The doubt started kicking in quickly. What if it was? The Heartless had to come from somewhere and they came from the darkness. The darkness had the power to corrupt worlds, just like it had done to Libertas. Lillian just never attributed that to affecting a person's heart. That was just a different story.

She stopped shooting for a moment, her guns going to her side. Should they bother continuing this fight with this guy? He was too powerful for them all, even with the amount of people they had. Everyone got hurt from that last blast, or almost everyone. They couldn't handle that again could they? Lillian wasn't quite sure, though she didn't know what else to do. She had to keep going despite everything; that and she was too stubborn to stop.

"You're lying!" she yelled to the stranger, even though she couldn't help but believe his words. She started getting slightly closer to him to make sure she was in range. She aimed her guns at the man once again, firing slightly stronger shots than before. Her accuracy was compromised a bit, but these shots were stronger and could do more damage. That might just be what they needed... maybe.

[Lillian used Strong Shot, four posts until next use]

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[Nothingness]

After All We've Done...

Leon stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't want to hear what he just heard--it couldn't be the truth. But he felt it in his heart that the man was right. While he couldn't yet feel the darkness growing, his heart weighed like the truth upon hearing the man say it. He stayed his blade, already fearing the future. "No. If I doubt myself now then that will only make the darkness take hold faster." Seeing Lilian still fighting gave him confidence, however, even though he knew fighting this man now wouldn't change anything. "I can't let myself give up now."

Leon stood up straight, his blade at the ready. "If you've done what you came to do, then leave. We'll prove you wrong, one way or another. Our light isn't going anywhere, no matter how much darkness you infect us with." Despite what he thought earlier and just said now, doubt still remained, and he knew it. It wasn't going away anytime soon. And that's when he turned to Cloud, and knew what the darkness was like with him. Leon didn't say or show it, but he was probably more worried than all of them about their future.

[Castle]

Castle struggled to his hands and knees, and then up to a crouch, one hand holding his side where the first attack had hit him. He refused to be weaker than everyone else, who all managed to keep fighting even after being hit.

"That's a load of bull!" he shouted at the unknown man.

The words of the woman, the one with the twin guns, who spoke out around the same time encouraged his own determination. There was no way that darkness thing was true. He didn't feel any different. Castle forced himself up the rest of the way and looked at their surroundings for anything he could use to help fight.

Then one of the men began talking. Castle thought he recognized him from Traverse Town, but he couldn't be sure. He doubted the unknown would listen to him, so Castle crept sidelong toward the wrecked buildings, where pieces of timber were scattered about. He picked one up and weighed it in his hand, calculating how hard he would have to throw it to hit the unknown in the head. However, he waited to see how he would react to the words of the other guy first.

Personally, he didn't think they should let the guy get away, but at the rate things were going... Even though he was bleeding all over his front, this man wasn't about to go down any time soon. On the other hand, his words about pain not mattering and such could be lies as well, and he was really on the verge of defeat. Somehow, that felt like wishful thinking, but Castle ignored that thought for now.

[Cloud]

How About You Just DIE

A green light began to glow around Cloud. His wounds began to heal themselves, as new energy began to flow through him. Knowing who was responsible, he looked towards Aerith, who seemed to be smiling at him. He would have forced a smile, but he wasn't sure he could. Not in the current situation... Picking up his sword, he was about to charge back an the enemy, when he was suddenly hit straight in the chest by Yuffie's shurikens and the other girl's bullets. It looked like he hadn't even tried to stop them, but why?

As the man began to talk, a look of anger passed onto Cloud's face. He didn't know what he was talking about. Cloud would stop him. He wouldn't let him hurt anyone. If he thought he could crush their determination that easily, he was wrong. However the next thing he said wiped away the current facial expression on Cloud's face, replacing it with one of surprise, and maybe even fear. His eyes widening, his hand moved to the left side of his chest. Was what he said true? Had he just strengthened the darkness inside everyone's hearts? No, it couldn't be...

His face switched back to one of anger just as fast as he had changed. But this time with much greater intensity. Rage would be a better word. "Shut up!" He had heard enough of what this bastard had to say. Raising his sword he began racing straight towards the dark warrior, swinging his sword as hard as he could at him.

[Yuffie]

Yuffie watched as the stranger let himself get hit by her shurikens and that girl's bullets. She watched, shocked as he just pulled them out of his chest. Even though it looked like it hurt him a bit, he didn't even really seemed phased by the attacks. What was this guy made of? And how were they going to beat him?

Though what the man started saying made her heart sank. He had made the darkness in their hearts grow? No, that was impossible! She didn't like the thought of that one bit, but decided to not think about it now. They could worry about it later after this guy was gone.

The girl had started shooting again and Cloud had just rushed at the guy, seeming bothered by the man's words. And then she looked over to Leon and saw him just staying there, blade ready. His words made her feel a bit better about the whole darkness thing. "Yeah! It's just as Leon says! Our light will beat any darkness any day!" she exclaimed to the stranger. She then jumped up and threw 5 more shuriken. She knew they weren't doing much to the stranger, but she was hoping Leon and Cloud could use the distraction her shurikens caused to their advantage.

[Aerith]

Doubt Begins With a Seed

Aerith's head snapped back up to look at the figure when he claimed to have strengthened the darkness in everyone's hearts. But she hadn't been touched by his attack, so what did that mean for her? As worry crept into her mind, her eyes flicked to each of her friends. If the darkness in people's hearts birthed the Heartless, then did strengthened darkness only mean that more Heartless would come here? Or would the darkness grow and consume each of them and turn them against the light? And against her?

Leon's words and Yuffie's echoed sentiments gave her hope. If they were going to fight it, she would do everything she could to help. But then Cloud raced across her line of vision, and the concern burrowed farther into her head. He was the most sensitive to and conscious of his darkness. If he even suspected being a danger to anyone, he would leave again. She couldn't let that happen. She had to convince him he needed his friends close.

She watched in contemplative silence as everyone attempted another wave of attacks. She might not be able to directly join the battle at hand, but she would do everything in her power to enter the battles that, if the words of the stranger were to be trusted, would inevitably be taking place inside their hearts.

[Prythian]

Cloud's blade, Lillian's shots, and the shuriken thrown by Yuffie would find absolutely nothing but air. As all the attacks raced in on him, the dark sword disappeared from his hands, replaced by the golden greatsword of which there had only been a fleeting glimpse when he arrived. With a flash of the sword, it and the figure both disappeared, vanishing from the world. The attacks themselves would simply miss, and fortunately not strike any of the other Radiant Garden defenders.

[Fate]

Futile Effort

Everything, it seemed, was in vain.

Everyone else followed suit after Lillian started firing more shots at the mysterious man. They got their weapons and attacked once more, sending shurikens flying and swords ready to lunge at the man. However, before anyone could get a hit, the man disappeared with a flash of a golden sword. As soon as she noticed it, which took a few seconds, Lillian stopped firing and lowered her guns. They had nothing to attack anymore, their business here finished. Though, was it only just beginning? She didn't think that this guy, whoever he was, was going to hide away forever. He was going to attack somewhere else someday and keep going. They would probably run into each other again.

But what about now? What were they supposed to do now? She looked over at everyone, her guns going to her belt to keep safe. Most of them had taken a lot of damage and needed to be healed. The fight had left them wounded and tainted, tainted with that darkness that they had always worked so hard to fight against. How were they supposed to go on now? Were they just going to taint more people by fighting? Lillian felt stuck, unsure of what to do.

"What do we do now?" she asked, though the question was more to herself than anyone else. "We're all tainted now." Her voice rose as she said her next words, though not much louder to be honest. "Maybe we should get everyone healed. Then we can figure out what to do." It was just a suggestion for now. She didn't know any of these people and she certainly wasn't about to try and be leader. They had their own group and she was just an outsider. Though, today she joined them as they tried to save their world. It was safe... for now. Who knew about tomorrow?

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[Castle]

Castle had his arm raised to throw the timber, but once his mind registered that the guy was no longer there, he cursed under his breath and tossed it aside. He felt utterly useless. Of all the people who helped in this fight, he seemed to be the only one who had done absolutely nothing. Shame heated his face, and he averted his gaze to the ground, his teeth gritted to restrain his frustration. One hand still held his left ribcage, and the other was curled in a fist.

"That darkness thing is a load of bull. He was probably just saying that to psych us out," he growled, partially in response to what the gun-woman just said, and partially to rebuild his injured pride.

There was no way he was going to let this bring him down. He wasn't totally useless. He was just unprepared this time.

Then there was all this destruction. The sight of it made his hatred for the unknown man run afresh. What kind of jerk would show up, make a big deal of himself, do all this, and then leave? Was he really working for a higher power? The darkness itself? He was by far worse than any guy with an attitude problem that Castle had ever encountered before. And now, the town had some major repair issues on its hands. He thought of his mother, and what would happen to her if her shop was destroyed like this, and felt a sudden rush of sympathy for the people of the marketplace. Maybe that's what he could do now, help them rebuild.

[Cloud]

Time to Hit the Road

Much to his surprise and dismay, the man disappeared right before Cloud's sword could make contact with him.  Luckily, he managed to avoid getting hit by the large shuriken who's target's spot he had ended up in, though just barely.  He looked around for a moment, trying to decide if the enemy was really gone.  After all, he could have just been messing with them.  But It appeared that he had actually left.

Lifting up his sword, he began to walk away; heading back towards the direction he had came from. Someone had said something, but he simply ignored them.  He didn't glance back towards his friends.  He just couldn't bring himself to look at any of them.  With the darkness in his heart now apparently growing stronger, it was for the best if he left.  It was for the best.  Everyone was better off without having to worry about him.  He was doing them a favor by leaving.