The Truth [Zexion]

[Castle]

August 7th, 2010

Where am I?

He opened his eyes and found more blackness. He was standing up, and the floor felt hard, but it wasn't the gummi ship. A glance at his surroundings found a sort of fog rolling in, but it was so darkly colored that it blended almost perfectly with... was it night?.

Suddenly, a loud, strange noise broke the muffled quiet. He jumped and spun around, but nothing changed. Then, he finally looked at the floor. It looked like stained glass, but he couldn't make out the pictures.

What the...?

The loud sound came again, and a long, dark crack appeared in the glass. It was followed by several more, all extending from the edges of the enclosing darkness, and all reaching toward him. At that moment, panic made his pulse race. He was trapped. There was nowhere to run.

The cry in his dream came out as a startled yelp as the gummi ship's computer jolted Castle awake. A light was flashing, and a little alert siren beeped insistently. He was stiff from falling asleep in the pilot's chair again, his legs over one of the chair's arms.

He sat up properly and looked at the monitor, which helpfully reminded him that he was going to Twilight Town, and informed him that he had just arrived. Castle sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. This was real. His dream was just a dream.

***

After leaving the gummi ship, Castle ended up in an area of Twilight Town that he hadn't visited with Emi. It was a hilltop, and it provided a good view of the town and of the train tracks that ran directly under it. He wandered over to the wooden fence that surrounded the area and stared out at the horizon.

"What am I supposed to be doing, anyway?" he asked quietly. After a moment, he added, "Guess I'll just have to comb this place like I did Radiant Garden..."

Suddenly, a familiar noise caught his attention, and he turned around to see a Shadow Heartless standing behind him. It was quickly followed by two Soldiers. He smirked and shifted into a fighting stance.

"Oh, yeah. I was going to do some of this, too," he said.

The Heartless attacked, and he attacked right back.

[Fate]

Let's see what happens.
--

Corridor of Darkness, small alleyway in Twilight Town. Zexion stepped out of it, his cloak still on-- he had decided to not fully discard it for now, especially since he was now joining Jericho. And, in this part of Twilight Town, he didn't need to be worried about being recognized. It wasn't an area he typically went to, though Castle was around here it seemed. A bit away from here, up on a hilltop. And... his scent was different. Darkness was stronger than before, much stronger. Castle had hardly any before, but now... very interesting. Time to investigate.

He reached the area near the hilltop, Heartless there as well. Curious, they were now infiltrating this world. It was a good thing. Heartless needed to be drawn to this world, not have it be overrun with Nobodies. They were drawn to Castle in particular though, for obvious reasons. He should watch, see how strong Castle really was, see if he would use the darkness in fighting the Heartless. If he didn't, then Zexion might just need to do something about that.

Using illusion to cloak himself in invisibility, he made his way up to the hilltop and sat down on the edge, watching. He'd summon more if necessary, but for now he'd watch.

[/font]

[Castle]

As soon as the Shadow was taken out, more of them appeared around the Soldiers. Castle wasn't really concerned; he'd been in situations like this before. It was all normal.

"Yeah, yeah, keep on coming," he taunted, grinning fiercely.

Defeating them was easy. They went up in smoke after only a few hits. However, just as the last Soldier vanished, other, larger Heartless took its place. The biggest was in the middle of the formation, and the face on its shield flexed canine jaws. Around it was a small swarm of Shadows, larger in stature than the ones he encountered before. Castle blinked, but then his feral grin returned. He liked a challenge.

However, this time, the Heartless reappeared more rapidly. There was only one with a shield, and he defeated it, but the Shadows seemed to be multiplying. Just when he thought they were all gone, another would be behind him. His ferocity increased with his agitation. Where were they all coming from? He and Emi hadn't even seen any the first time they were here.

Finally, he jumped back and scanned his surroundings. There weren't as many Heartless now, but there were still enough to completely encircle him. Castle gritted his teeth, and then shouted,

"Bring it on!"

As soon as the last word passed his lips, a strange sense of power surged through his body. However, there was something else, and it was too prominent to ignore. Castle's expression went blank for a moment, save for his eyes, which had widened in confusion and alarm.

He was covered in Darkness.

"What...?" he mumbled, examining his arms. The darkness was like a cold flame, flickering black and purple in the air. Suddenly, fear took over, and he tried desperately to brush the flames off. It didn't work.

"Get off. Get off!" he shouted frantically.

More Heartless appeared, drawn by the darkness. Castle saw them coming. He had no choice but to defend himself. With an enraged shout, he returned the assault with all of his strength. Soon, there were no more left, and no new ones appeared. He'd beaten them in record time.

The darkness around him faded. However, Castle was nowhere near relieved. He crossed his arms tightly to hide how much he was shaking, even though no one was watching. No one that he knew of, anyway.

"Darkness," he stammered, "That was darkness. That was... darkness from..." He shook his head rapidly. "No way!"

[Fate]

Yes way.
--

The Heartless kept coming almost endlessly, drawn to the darkness. Zexion didn't have to think about summoning any himself, even though sorely tempted to do so. This was just one way to get darkness to grow, planting a seed into someone's heart and letting it blossom. He had done it with Raen, and someone else had done it with Castle. The Nobody sat idly for now, waiting for the opportune moment to enter the scene. Castle was growing evermore frustrated with all of the Heartless that kept coming. Something was bound to happen anytime.

And there it was. Darkness. His anger had flared and now he was covered in it. This was good. And he had no choice but to use it, destroying all of the Heartless. None followed after that, the darkness then fading. Hmm, now this looked familiar. Was Zexion just going to be reminded of Riku with every person that rejected the darkness, even though it was obvious it made them stronger? He was just going to have to show that wasn't he.

"It was. You cannot deny it." He dropped the illusion, becoming visible as he sat on the edge. "You know it's there, but yet you try to reject it. Why?" Start simple, start slow. He'd ask the important question first, then see where that'd lead him.

[/font]

[Castle]

Castle jumped at the sudden voice. So there was someone nearby, after all. He spun around to face the person, and to his surprise, it was Zexion. How had he not seen him sitting over there? More importantly...

"Wh...Why?" he repeated, dumbfounded. He tried to compose himself; uncrossing his arms, straightening up, and hiding his insecurity under a mask of anger. "Why do you think? The last time I checked, darkness wasn't exactly a good thing!"

Despite his efforts to stay composed, his voice had risen considerably. Even though it was no longer visible, he could feel its energy inside him, burning quietly.

[Fate]

Emi's not here to hit me with a hammer this time.
--

"Has the light truly blinded you this much?" he asked. He stood up, standing taller than Castle by a good few inches. "The light and darkness can't be put into separate categories of good and evil like you claim. The darkness is not completely evil nor is the light pure. For, you see, the light is blinding you from the strength the darkness gives you. You can undoubtedly feel it." He could sense it. The darkness may have disappeared from the battlefield, and Castle could hide it all he wanted, but Zexion could still sense it. It was there, and he just needed to poke at it more and expose it.

"Without it, you would have fallen, and then you would have been nothing." He raised his voice ever so slightly at the end of his reasoning, then continued. "And you will become nothing if you continue to reject the one thing that gives you strength. It will consume you if you make no attempt to control it."

[/font]

[Castle]

When they first met, Castle hadn't thought much of Zexion presence-wise. He was just the little bookish guy that Emi had almost killed with a hammer. Now, those few inches of superior height were suddenly very prominent. They weren't standing that close together, but Castle took an unconscious step back. He suddenly remembered what Zexion was; a Nobody, a being with no heart.

Normally, he would have put in an angry interjection much earlier. However, just like his encounter with Clive two days earlier, he knew, deep down, that the person speaking to him was right. He could feel that power. He had been feeling it for some time now. While Zexion continued to speak, Castle found himself breaking eye contact several times, fighting to stay calm. Finally, he forgot this endeavor completely and stared at the ground between them.

"So you're saying... that all this time, the power I've been finding was from darkness?" he said slowly. He watched his own hand curl into a fist. "All that, everything I've ever done in a fight. Darkness."

Even before he left Traverse Town, when he got into fights on the street, he'd been building off that same power. It only started to become more refined after he left. It made him wonder how long he'd been hiding this from himself.

Then he remembered the Champion, and anger took over again. He met Zexion's gaze again, glaring at him.

"If darkness isn't evil, then why does everyone say it is? Entire worlds were destroyed by it! It tore people's lives apart! And that guy, that Champion or whatever the hell he was, don't even try to tell me that what he did was okay! That what Jericho does is okay!"

[Fate]

I forgot how fun this was. Wait, I'm a Nobody. Never mind.
--

Zexion stayed silent as Castle started speaking, simply watching him. He wasn't making too much eye contact with the Schemer and he was staring at the ground. And he had stepped away as well. Was it fear? Maybe, though doubtful. The Nobody didn't exactly view himself as someone to fear, too diminutive of stature and emotionless to arouse any terror. That fit someone like Jericho, not him.

And now he was angry. Good. Let's poke this more then. "The Champion's goal, as well as Jericho's and my own, is to correct the imbalance that you and the rest of those in light have caused." He rose a bit in volume, his glare harsh as he pointed straight at Castle. Why not make this blame personal? "Darkness is essential in worlds, whether you wish to believe me or not. Without it, they would collapse, like you surely will unless you stop rejecting it."

[/font]

[Castle]

Castle was silent for a moment, both hands in fists now as he felt the rage build up again. His initial purpose in this pause was to keep his voice under control when he spoke again, but the endeavor was unsuccessful.

"Are you saying you're going around destroying stuff, too?" he nearly shouted, "Is wrecking everything and screwing people up really going to bring back a balance? Sounds more like chaos to me!"

Even as he spoke, he felt the power stirring again. He would have really liked to punch Zexion in the face at that moment, but he held the urge back, knowing it would be too irrational. He was speaking irrationally, too. He'd gotten some of his opinions out, but he still hadn't made himself completely clear. He took two fast, but deep, breaths before he spoke again.

"Maybe there is supposed to be some darkness in the worlds. I don't know. But what I do know is that if you think blowing shit up is good for anything, then your logic is pretty damn flawed," he said, forcing his voice to stay level this time.

Growing up in Traverse Town, he'd been told a lot of things about darkness. For the most part, it was an evil thing, the reason that so many people ended up in the town with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Then there was the other part, the part where everything, even people, were made up of light and darkness together. He and his peers were told to keep darkness in line, so that things like world destruction and Heartless wouldn't happen. It was still confusing, but it was enough that Castle knew, subconsciously, that complete Light was a somewhat ridiculous notion.

[Fate]

Stop holding back.
--

He wasn't attacking yet. Despite the darkness building, he hadn't let it out yet. And here Zexion was, giving him an empty glare while he was giving him rage. He sort of wondered if it was aggravating to those who felt emotion, especially strong ones such as this, to not receive a single thing back. He was irrational, which meant that even if Zexion properly defended what he was doing, it would do absolutely nothing and he would be talking to a wall. He needed to find something else, not too hard to do since he had brought Jericho up. What about one of the people on his side?

"But that's not all darkness does. You should know that. Emiline does at the very least. I don't see her traveling with you, and Jericho tells me she's traveling with him willingly." He paused again, thinking for a second before continuing in that same, empty tone. "It's quite a shame that you're not as willing to accept my help and continue to reject the darkness. She's much stronger because I helped her. And look, she's now doing something worthwhile that will help the worlds while you wallow here and fight off the creatures you'll eventually join."

He raised his hand, summoning seven Neoshadows surrounding Castle. He didn't move from his spot, keeping steady eye contact. Was he going to fight back? Was he going to move? And would he let the darkness show him how strong he was with it? He better, or he'd have to keep prodding.

[/font]

[Castle]

Castle seriously doubted that Emi was following Jericho as willingly as Zexion claimed. After all, the only reason she went with him was because... well, because of what happened. But with that aside, was Emi really getting stronger through darkness? He knew she could summon Corridors. He hadn't thought much of it then, but now, her having other dark powers sort of made sense.

And he knew Emi wasn't evil.

Suddenly, Zexion summoned a group of Neo Shadows. Castle went on guard and swept his gaze over all of them. However, they weren't advancing. Not yet, anyway.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snapped at Zexion. Suddenly, something occurred to him. While the Heartless continued to linger without attacking, he took the opportunity to keep speaking, "Hey... if darkness can do more than make Heartless and destroy stuff, then why do you keep depending on those things, huh?"

It was time to play a new card. Castle forced himself to relax his posture and shrug, smirking and shaking his head slightly. "You're not proving your point very well, buddy. I mean, I might be willing to go with this whole darkness thing, but you haven't exactly justified your logic yet, y'know? Sure the worlds need to be balanced, but I guess I just don't get how destruction helps with that." He shrugged again.

Strangely, Castle found that his words were actually sincere. He wanted to get this straightened out; he was curious.

[Fate]

Why am I wasting my time with this?
--

Oh, so he was capable of rationality now? He made somewhat valid points the Nobody assumed. He could explain now, he supposed, and hold back the attack of the Heartless. He knew how to give straight answers when he wanted to. "Simple. The Heartless and the destruction of worlds are tools to spread darkness throughout the world for now. Except for, perhaps, spreading darkness in others' hearts." Was that a strong enough hint as to what he was doing here? Did he need to spell it out any clearer? He sighed.

"But, you fear the darkness too much, letting it consume you without even attempting to control it. And if that's how things are going to be, you might as well let it consume you now before it gets stronger." He snapped his fingers, letting the Heartless attack. He crossed his arms, saying nothing else.

[/font]

[Castle]

So much for talking his way out of this. On Zexion's command, the Heartless attacked all at once. Castle switched immediately to fight mode, and as soon as that happened, he instinctively let the dark power flow.

He jumped backward, his momentum carrying him in a backflip over the Heartless behind him. He'd never done that before, but he didn't think anything of it. He landed solidly on both feet. A flicker of darkness drifted by his face.

"I'm not afraid!" he shouted, just as he launched himself forward to attack.

The first Neo Shadow, being attacked from behind, didn't stand a chance. Another swiped at him immediately after. He blocked it and retaliated with a kick and two strikes. Claws raked his right arm, and he turned his attention to another attacker. Soon after, he dodged two that tried to attack him at once, and then quickly defeated the one closest to him.

Time went by in a rush; he wasn't sure how long it took him to defeat them all. In the end, the only differences in his person were the thin, bleeding scratches on his arm and the quiet mist of darkness that flared clearly for a moment, and then died away.

I can't believe I did that.

Pushing that thought aside, he turned his burning red gaze back to Zexion.

"Are you happy now?" His voice was loud at first, but then it got quieter, "Is that what you wanted to happen? Or did you really expect them to steal my heart away?" he finished sardonically.

[Fate]

Do I look happy? Honestly? Didn't think so.
--

Zexion only moved to take a couple of steps back, giving Castle room. His face was blank except for the slight grin. He was using the darkness, just as the Nobody had wanted him to. He was standing for some time as Castle defeated every Heartless that had been summoned, the darkness aiding him. Would this make him see that he was stronger with it and weaker without it? He could think anything he wanted about the darkness, but there was no denying that it gave him, and countless others, strength.

He finished and started talking to Zexion again. "You did what I thought you would," he stated in a matter-of-fact way, "You rejected it, fought against it, but sooner or later succumbed to the fact that you need it. If you had fought the Heartless without it, these and the last, then you surely would have fallen." He took a couple of steps closer, back to where he was before.

[/font]

[Castle]

Castle bit back his leftover rage and tried to breathe evenly. There were no more Heartless to destroy, and anger would only mess things up and make him look like an idiot.

Once the adrenaline began to cool off, he became aware of a harsh pressure that fluctuated with every heartbeat. Without thinking, he lifted a hand to his chest and gripped it lightly, trying not to wince at the strange feeling. It wasn't exactly painful, but he wasn't used to it at all. Would this keep happening now, or would he adapt to it?

Geez, I'm already thinking like this is all normal.

"Succumbed," he muttered bitterly once Zexion was done talking. He considered telling him not to underestimate what he could do even without darkness, but something told him that the Nobody wouldn't listen. But, would that even be true...?

"Whatever," he said, letting his hand fall to his side, "So, what happens now? You gonna ask me to be more like the Champion and Jericho? Because there's no way in hell I'm going to do that."