War Amongst The Dead[Plot]

[Prythian]

The Graveyard was empty.

Whether it was simply too early in the day or if there had been a delay in everyone's plans, there was not a single Nobody, human, or otherwise there, with maybe one or two exceptions somewhere in the field of keys. But the masses of light and darkness about to clash were not there.

That changed abruptly, as it always would when the Champion was involved. Bearing Mickey's Keyblade, he appeared in a golden flash at the edge of the field at his own, personal section.

With a single thrust, he placed it amongst the others, the dark blade appearing in his hands to blast and engrave the ground.

Here lies the Keyblade of one who died seven days ago. He was good.

And the swords disappeared as the Champion crossed his arms, turning to the direction most likely for people to arrive in.

The Champion waited. Soon, the Graveyard would not be empty.

[Fate]

What Shall We Die For

A little more than a day passed now, most of that time spent in a Gummi Ship. By that time, Lillian was sobered up, in her normal attire, and flying to some place she had never been before. Honestly, she didn't know where she was going. Where should she go? Go back to Radiant Garden? Traverse Town? Even see if Libertas existed? No, nothing she knew. Something different.

The world she stopped at was exactly that, though too different to be quite honest. There wasn't much to this world when she landed on it, just a bunch of cliffs and wasteland. But still, something made her not just want to leave just yet. The Gummi Ship stayed safely parked near the entrance to this place, Lillian jumping out of it and landing hard on the rock ground. Her guns were safely holstered in as usual, the dagger in her pocket for safe keeping. Maybe something would happen here... but she doubted it. There wasn't any sign of life here.

She looked back at Elrick's ship, not waiting for him to catch up and simply going forward, not sure what she was getting herself into.

--

Slightly before that, Kadaj had landed, Loz and Ava with him. He had gotten here as soon as he could, not wanting to miss one second of this battle. What a place to have it too-- a large, open wasteland. Though, this wasn't the place. The real battlefield was further in where all the Keyblades were. That's where the Champion was waiting for them to arrive. He grinned, his sword already in hand.

"Let's go." Not wanting to wait, he sprinted to the Keyblade Graveyard as fast as possible. And, just as suspected, the Champion was there. It took a few minutes to get there and find him, but he was there. Kadaj was initially surprised by his appearance, never having met the Champion before in person. This was the guy that everyone was afraid of? Interesting, he supposed. He didn't say anything, instead waiting for the others to arrive. He was ready.

--

It took Katherine two days to get to this Keyblade Graveyard place, about ten or fifteen minutes longer to get to the central battlefield. It fit the name quite well, far too many of the blades scattered all over the place. And there the swordsman was in a different section, words next to these blades unlike the last. They looked newer too, but Katherine wasn't here to speculate about where they came from and how the swordsman related back to it. He probably killed the owners of the weapons himself.

Which made her like his style even better. With her whip in hand, she watched as others started to arrive. Good, she and that other woman weren't the only ones fighting for the swordsman. This was going to be fun.

--

Overlooking the Keyblade Graveyard, high on a cliff, Zexion stood as the first Nobody to arrive. Immediately, his senses were overwhelmed by the Champion once more, as suspected. And, there was King Mickey's Keyblade. That was the reason that many were fighting today, to avenge him. The illusionist, in a way, was as well. Though, he couldn't help but wonder what words the Champion had next to his lifeless blade.

Trivial now. The Lexicon was out, cradled in its owner's arm. He tried planning for this, he truly did. However, he knew it was foolish to think that he could plan for something like this. Now, he had to wait. The forces of darkness were already starting to gather. How many more would join them? How many more were going to fight with the Champion and against him?

And how many were going to die trying?

[/size]

[Administrator]

The Dark Assemble

The Graveyard. It was just as he had assumed it would be. Looking around, the man surveyed the thousands upon thousands of keyblades lying in disuse. And one figure stood among the many dead weapons. Among these discarded husks, there stood the Champion. A man of unimaginable power standing among the thousands of husks, empty shells without any power of their own.

Others were arriving as well, but that mattered not. All that mattered was what came now, and then what came once the fighting began.

"I had heard there would be a battle here, and I have come." Of course, that was not the reason that Sephiroth had come. Knowing that a giant battle between the light and the dark would likely involve Cloud, Sephiroth came for the opportunity to check in on him.

And perhaps he could torture him a little.

~ ~ ~

Ava grinned and ran after Kadaj, keeping pace with his friend. They were headed to where the Champion was, in the middle of the Keyblade Graveyard. Well, the keyblade part. Kadaj didn't seem to be impressed by the Champion, but he probably couldn't feel it. The massive amounts of dark power all focused in one form. And if he couldn't feel it, then he couldn't smell it.

His previous scent assessment was still as right as always. Windows and kittens and rotting fish and alleyways and lightbulb filaments and lawyers and computers, Ava thought. Just like before. He wondered for a moment if the Champion always had smelled like that, but dismissed the thought after a moment. He might have, he might not. Who would know?

"I'm here, Champion."

[Nothingness]

The Forces Gather

Raen set the ship down on the vast plains of the Keyblade Graveyard, checking to make sure he had everything before leaving the ship. Reaching into one of his jacket pockets, he felt his ship's log. A twinge of melancholy plucked at his heart, and he tossed the book onto his chair. Disembarking, he looked around, seeings only small figures in the distance. "No turning back, now." He said to himself. It was do or die; there weren't any other options for them.
---
Luxord appeared, a little off to the side and behind Zexion. Crossing his arms, he looked down at the soon-to-be battlefield, his face gaining a grim countenance. "We shall see who Fortune favors today. And may it be us." He thought, feeling the somberness only found within his memories.
---
Leon had set his Gummi Ship down a ways off from where Raen had set his. He balanced his sword on his shoulders, looking up at the sky and watching for when the others would arrive. There was nothing more for him to do but wait, and hope that the outcome would be in their favor, doubtful as it seemed.

[Aerith]

Do any of us actually want to be here?
--------

This truly was a barren wasteland, filled with keys of all shapes and sizes. Alanix had never seen anything like it. Yet, to her, it was so very unappealing. Not a trace of greenery or water to be found. Only dust, rocks, and more dust. And keys. Rows upon rows of keys.

From her place on the cliff with Zexion and Luxord, she could see the Champion.

The only thing that mattered today was that she survive. She had little concern for even the Champion. If he failed to protect himself, what could she possible do on her own to prevent his demise?

Not that she genuinely cared, of course.
__________________________

They were finally here. The Keyblade Graveyard. Kairi stuck close to Sora and Riku, anxiety filling her. She had already been close to the Champion once. Perhaps closer than many of the people here had been. He had not killed her then. Would he change his mind and do so today? No. But he might kill Sora.

Instinctively, she reached for Sora's hand and squeezed it.
____________________________

Raen set the ship down, but Lanying noted that he took his time exiting. She, too, was somewhat reluctant to be here. But then she remembered that the Champion had killed Mickey, which ignited a fresh anger within her.

She left the ship right behind Raen. "We can do this."

I am with you, Small One, should you need me.
______________________________

Any second-guessing of herself Aerith might have experienced would do her no good now. She was here, and there was going to be a battle, no matter how much she didn't want it to happen. But Cloud was here. As long as he was by her side, she would be all right. And she would do whatever she could to make sure her friends stayed alive.

[Castle]

Sora had never been to this world before. It was vast and empty, and it gave off an aura of melancholy. The reason for this feeling was unknown to him until they came to what must be the actual "graveyard," a field of hundreds and hundreds of keyblades.

"Whoa..." he breathed in awe.

Kairi squeezed his hand, and he squeezed it back. Despite their promise to stay together no matter what, something deep inside him was nervous about having her here. If she got hurt, he would never forgive himself. But, he also trusted her, and he knew she was strong. There was no turning back for any of them now.

There were other people here, too. Sora didn't recognize a lot of them, but he saw Leon, Kadaj, and to his great surprise, Sephiroth. And on one of the cliffs... "The Organization," he murmured.

However, everyone was looking at something else. That particular thing, or rather, person, was easy to spot. Sora knew exactly who he was the moment he saw him. On the ground beside him was Mickey's keyblade. A little jolt went through him at the sight of it.

He didn't say or do anything just yet, but he got his game face on.

[Axel]

There's no way around this, is there?
--------

This was the first time Axel had ever been here, and from the moment he set foot on the cliff with the others of the Organization that had already arrived, he knew he never wanted to return here after this was over.

Zexion, Luxord, and that new girl were here. He paid the latter little to no attention. The real Number Thirteen was here already, too. Or at least, he was in here in the form of his Somebody. People were gathering quickly, and it wouldn't be long until someone started a fight.

This is the most pointless gathering I've ever seen. Can't exactly leave and still be part of the Organization, though.

How he wished he could.

[Lagunamov]

Fighting fair? What is that?

[/i][/center]

Following after Lillian’s decision to land in what appeared to be just a barren wasteland, Elrick took course and followed her ship into the world. By the time he had entered the atmosphere, he could notice a congregation of Gummi Ships in a certain area, so he tilted the controls there. As he got closer, he noticed what had brought them there: The Charcoal Master. And no one was doing anything against him. The guy that had had supposedly threatened the entire ‘verse, and they were just standing there.

Locking onto the target, he fired every missile in the ship -about two dozen- at the Champion as the ship flew only a couple of feet above the ground. Knowing he’d better leave as fast as possible, he took his leave by jumping off the ship, rolling on the ground as he fell close to the other group. It only took seconds for the ship to leave the world on its own thanks to its auto-pilot feature, remaining safe and sound in orbit around the wasteland.

“What? He’s a sitting duck for fucks sake!” he exclaimed as he stood up and patted his body, little dust falling from his clothes.

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

A portal appeared at the location specified by the Schemer, and with Xigbar stepping out, that made for the fifth Organization member to show up. If you counted Lurxord. For this special occasion, Xigbar had decided to drop his usual Organization cloak, and instead spotted a blue coat similar to the one he used back when he was Ansem’s apprentice, opened up and showing a black shirt below it. Instead of his old white gloves from when he was Braig, he was wearing a black pair with the Nobody’s emblem engraved in grey, and his old scarf tied around his left arm.

“Can we get this over with?”

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

Restless. The Sentiment was starting to awaken once more, for too many presences had shown up at the Graveyard. A couple familiar ones. It could feel its most recent visitors among them. And one that it had chosen to ignore for long. A regular one that came and go. But this… this many creatures were unprecedented. Unacceptable. This was a resting place, not a park.

With the resolution to at the very least examine what had unsettled the world, Animositas brought itself to stand up, picking up the large rifle that served almost as a tombstone. It didn’t take long for the sentient armor to be flying towards the source of commotion on its weapon.


[Sky Menace activated. Three more post available for use.]

[Slash]

Saïx appeared next to Axel, in different clothing than normal. The cloaks were heavy, cumbersome, unwieldy and generally unfit for battle. They were also no longer required, and this was a battle in which no disadvantage could be had. Keeping this in mind, Saïx was wearing a very functional if completely unremarkable outfit involving a grey jacket, a black shirt, and dark blue jeans. He was not incredibly intimidating, although with the strange proportions of the cloak gone his muscular physique was quite clear, but who needed to be intimidating in a huge battle? This outfit was light, so he could move slightly faster. That was all that really mattered.

He looked at the accumulating forces. This might be enough to get rid of the Champion. Now all Axel had to do was follow the plan.

Aixfeur appeared as well, farther away. The Academic was not here. Perhaps he had some seperate plan for this battle. She didn't feel exactly right fighting with the other members- it was as if her loyalty to the Organization had shifted to loyalty to the Academic. Still, this would at least be something interesting to pass the time.

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

Lethe and Kyza were not sure what side to join. They were with the Champion, yes. But their greatest duty was to protect the mistress. She was too close to the others, though. If they went to her, she would be compromised.

Reluctantly, they joined the side of the Champion, meaning to go straight to the mistress when the battle began.

Shisou looked around. Humans, Nobodies, Heartless, things in between...what a diverse bunch. There was that annoying human again, with her little whip.

This would be a decent distraction. She'd stick with it...at least until she got bored again.

Why were none of these people attacking? Boring, stupid humans. She did not notice the trails of light heading straight from a Gummi ship towards them.

[Administrator]

A promise to yourself.

Riku was dead silent. There was nothing to be said, not now. He knew that was Mickey's keyblade beside the Champion. A single tear fell from his face as he watched everyone assemble. There was many he recognized, including some of the Organization members on a cliff. Zexion was one of them. He might want to talk to the Nobody soon.

Looking around again, Riku said, "Well, Sora, Kairi, this is it." What "it" was was debatable, but regardless, they all were here for some major event. And the Champion was the one in the front of it all. Today, he would either pay for his crimes or they would all fail...all of those who fought for the Light.

All of those who fought for Mickey. We're going to find the balance, Your Majesty, Riku vowed to himself. I promise.

[Loz]

Can I Punch Someone Yet?

Here they were. The Keyblade Graveyard, or something. Yeeaah, Loz didn't really care what the place was called. He was just excited about the battle. From what it he had heard, it sounded like it was going to be big. Really big. And if there was anything he liked, it was a good fight.

Loz followed his brother and Ava after they exited the Gummi Ship, keeping up with their running pace. Was Kadaj excited for the fight too? Probably. Even if he hadn't been in acting in such a rush, it was common knowledge that he was always hungry for violence, even more so than Loz.

He couldn't help but wonder where Yazoo was, of course. Why the heck would he want to miss such an awesome event? Maybe he had fallen down some sort of plot hole. Most likely that was it.

Stopping, he looked at the man in front of them. What Ava said sort of answered what he was thinking, but he decided he'd ask it anyway. "You're the Champion?" He said it with clear scrutiny, as if somewhat unhappy with what he had found. THe Champion didn't look that incredible.

Anyway, a much more important question: "So what're we waiting for?"

[Cloud]

It's Time

Cloud glanced over at Aerith, as if worried that something had happened to in the last minute or so since he looked at her. Of course he still wasn't happy that she had to come along, but she had been insistent upon it, and he wasn't able to convince her otherwise. Now, the best he could do was make sure that she didn't get hurt. She had promised him she would stay away form the battlefield, but this was war. Anything could happen. He would need to keep an eye on her.

Taking a deep breath first, he stepped out of Gummi Ship. He was ready to face the Champion, and whatever allies he might have brought with him. Leon had mentioned that he thought that could be a possibility. Whatever, the Champion could throw whatever he had at them. They could take it.

The very first thing he saw when he looked straight ahead was the Champion. The site of him filled him with a sudden anger. But it was then, when his gaze wondered to the side, that his mouth fell open in complete surprise. What... What was Sephiroth doing there?

After a moment of standing there in pure shock, he found himself also facing a combination of anger and fear. Both were pretty standard when it came to the One Winged Angel, but this was much worse than usual. It was one thing to be having to worry about just the Champion or even just Sephiroth, but both at once? He didn't know if he could handle that...

[Matt]

Let the Experiment Begin

Vexen appeared onto the vague cliff location that was apparently somewhere near the Champion (that he had been told to go) where the rest of the Organization members were. Glancing around, it would seem that he was the last to have arrived. Including Luxord, who was no longer a member at all. What was it then that he was doing there?

Well, almost the last to arrive. Lexaeus, their new leader, seemed to be late. How absurd. For their leader to not even be there on time, it was simply deplorable. And the attire of the rest of the members, save Zexion and Aixfeur, was rather inappropriate as well. Yes, granted the official uniform dress code had in fact been abolished, but having everyone completely not matching was just ridiculous and unprofessional. Not a smart way to be setting a good impression on everyone.

Glancing back over at Aixfeur for a moment, in silent acknowledgement of her presence, Vexen walked over to Zexion. The Schemer might not have been any more in charge that he was, but it wasn't completely unlikely that he knew something the Academic didn't. Besides, whether he knew something or he didn't, he deserved to be aggravated on occasion.

"Where is Lexaeus?" Vexen demanded, the hint of annoyance in his voice detectable.

[Prythian]

Lexaeus arrived the moment right after Vexen had asked of him, appearing next to Zexion. He still wore his cloak, and Skysplitter was already in his hands. "...He does not have enough allies." Lexaeus said, noticing the comparatively few people standing near the Champion. He tensed as the Champion started to move.

His aura was already surrounding him as he began to gather his power.

The Champion's dark sword appeared in his hands the moment he noticed the missiles, tip lifted and pointed straight at the incoming projectiles. A quick spark, and then a large orb appeared on the end of the sword, breaking outwards into a condensed beam of darkness roughly 5 feet in diameter, blasting outwards at 45 miles per hour to crash into the missiles, forcing them to explode in midair and knocking others into the ground as he casually steered it in minute amounts.

As the beam dissipated, he snorted. "Prepare for battle." He informed the others unnecessarily. "How cowardly of you!" He shouted, loud enough for all those gathered against him to hear, though mostly directed at Elrick. The Champion gave a fierce grin. "Did you think an attack like that would faze me? Do you think all of you can stand up to a person like me, with allies beside me? Come, then, if you dare to test your power!" The dark sword vanished, being replaced by a shimmering rapier that constantly swirled with everchanging color. As a yellow glow surrounded it, he pointed it forwards, the light rapidly speeding outwards to engulf the entire battlefield.

"Come, then, and feel the power of my gods![/b]"

((Please wait for Emi to determine the results of this ability.))

[Oathkeeper Emi]

When the light receded, the battle field had been altered.

The barren terrain had been covered in several feet of snow. It was so white that it was blinding, and it was still snowing. The wind blew in hard gusts, flinging the snow around in the air. It would sting when it came into contact with bare skin, and the cold wouldn't do those present any favors either. Visibility was limited, the snow drifts were high enough that walking through them would be hard to move through them. The snow would stop falling in just a few minutes but until then....