Kingdom Hearts - Blades of Three Realms

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Kefka had looked up from his work, having -just- gotten the statues of the Warring triad to the right size, and was in the middle of putting them into Shiro, making sure to go as steady as possible "Mwee hee hee Hee... so it seems you all found me... not like i really chose to hide." he said, finishing putting the three statues within Shiro's chest to orbit around his heart, once he was finished, he'd at least put back the flesh and bone hole he carved out in Shiro's body, leaving naught to show he had been working on the all-suffering hero and all " but good timing, a little early, but still long enough to finish what i had intended to do with the boy." he said, lightly walking around the altar he had placed Shiro on to come out in front of it, starting to float up and cross his legs as if sitting on the air.


Roveth had walked out of the shadows, and looked towards the silver chocobo who was still on hastega and all, as he nodded "Go." the silver chocobo looked to everyone, before nodding, and with a silver streaking dash, zoomed around using the walls, and rather quickly snatched Shiro up and continued to make his full circle lap to bring Shiro back to the others. Kefka watched on with mild interest since he didn't expect a chocobo to be that fast, but nonetheless allowed it as the dark half of Shiro started glowing with a miasmic aura of purple energy while his eyes slowly started to glint as they inverted from white to black, and amber yellow taking on a bright glowing red sheen, his blue hair spiking out even further, and his grip on Lockdown tightened as he reached out to the side, a shaft of black light forming out from said hand before Tenebrex had formed in his hand, narrowing his eyes as he called out in a deeper voice "Activate, Trap cards. Imperial Order, triple Solemn Wishes!" he called out, the three cards forming and opening up to reveal themselves, one creating an oppressive atmosphere between himself and Kefka, the other three seemed to be lightening the burden the Imperial Order would inflict, and keep him healthy during battle "there... now we stand a bit of a chance." he said, as Kefka frowned, and used Chain Thundaga on Roveth.. only for nothing to happen "... what the...?" Roveth chuckled darkly "as long as Imperial Order remains active.. neither you nor myself can cast magic spells, you deplorable excuse for a court jester. didn't your parents tell you going to join the circus was a bad idea?" of course, wolfwood actually -SNORTED- at that barb from the sarcastic Roveth, but at the same time snapped the buckle on his Cross Punisher, and revealed its weapon form by using the gradually unclapsing straps to flip it into the air, where he caught it one handed and it opened up to reveal its machine gun form in the long stem part of the cross.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Still supplied with the benefits of the protection and buffing spells that Crystal had cast on everyone before they had entered Hollow Bastion castle, Roxas took full advantage of the combined effects of Float and Haste to fly at Kefka while making rapid strikes with his Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades. Riku fought similarly, although his style also included his much more underhanded Dark Shield and Dark Teleport to give Kefka some added frustration as the two boys continued wailing on him while somehow avoiding colliding with each other despite their improbable velocities.

"You made a huge mistake by messing with Shiro," Riku admonished the crazed clown. "And now you're going to pay for it!"  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Kefka just raised an eyebrow at everything, but when the pummeling started, you can definitely hear 'eeks, oohs, and owchies!' coming from said clown, and when Meteor Shower comes into play,he would definitely be yelping in even more pain from the assault that strangely avoided hitting riku and Roxas too, pretty much leaving him very battered and injured, even though he did try to take physical swats at the pesky speedsters surrounding him, paying no attention to Roveth who had been glaring the whole time, as black orbs of energy began forming around Tenebrex and Lockdown's tips.

Roveth just stared on impassively while letting his energy charge up, sure, he couldn't use magic in of itself, meaning his own element grid and special spells he learned from Spekkio were out, as well as his spell cards, but at the moment he didn't care as it was to lock down the dastardly clown's magic most of all " ... Ascend to the heavens!" Roveth would first call out, disappearing in haste boosted raw speed, appearing with Tenebrex slamming into Kefka's chin with the energy ball exploding and sending the clown high into the air, though it was already charging again as he jumped up "now fall into the pits of the abyss!" with that, he spun around, and slammed Lockdown right onto Kefka's head with the energy bolt gathered in it exploding, sending Kefka crashing back to the ground, with him following as both blades crossed behind Kefka, who turned his head to look wide-eyed "let the fangs of the moon Pierce your body!" he called out, unleashing two black energy waves akin to Getsuga Tenshou send Kefka flying towards the wall with another dramatic explosion as Roveth brought up both keyblades to form a massive ball of black energy that seemed -really- destructive "now Begone into the shadow realm! Shadow Blitz Apocalypse!" he cried out, before flinging the keyblades forward, which had the energy ball starting to fire large black lasers at a machine gun pace (with Wolfwood adding his own fire bullets in from his Cross Punisher) before the energy ball shined, and streaked towards the heavily beaten up clown, and detonating right in his face, engulfing a small chunk of the castle (which will not be harmed by this) in raw destructive shadow energy.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Roxas also slowed down, still suspended in midair, and activated his Magic Hour Limit Break to begin firing a multitude of light beams in Kefka's general direction adding on to the massive bombardment targeted on the crazed clown.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

of course, the added in blasts from Roxas, Riku, and Crystal all hit their target withm ore explosions and dust, a strangled cry of pain coming from Kefka, which quickly turned into rage as the smoke blew away with a shockwave of power, revealing Kefka in his God form, bloody as all hell from the attacks. Roveth had to wince when the shockwave shattered Imperial Order as he mentally cursed, about to unleash Dark Matter on Kefka next when the clown growled out "damn you brats...!!! feh.. i'm done here, i'll just watch my new object of interest from a distance for now." with that, he teleported away once more, this time back into the city where he'd form a Corridor of Darkness and ducked in to get off world for now.

Roveth of course growled and clenched his keyblades tightly, before dropping them and letting them dissappate into black-light particles "Damnit! he got away..." wolfwood sighed a bit while leaning against the Cross Punisher and digging around in his coat pockets for a smoke "well, least he's gone..." he said, while Roveth twitched an eyebrow, and just sighed "true, and we managed to save Shiro."

Shiroi Senko meanwhile had popped back up when Kefka left, walking over to the group with a kweh and looking back to the still unconscious Shiro on his back and all.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

Roxas dismissed his Oathkeeper and Oblivion as he came back down to regroup with everyone. It was upsetting that Kefka got away, but at the moment Roxas was feeling more bothered by what Crystal had said about why they needed to hurry back to town. Kefka was gone for now and Crystal had, apart from being upset and agitated, seemed fine as they stormed the castle and even during the battle. It even seemed like she had been heeding Riku's warning and refrained from overextending her magic. So why now did she sound like she was convinced that she might collapse.

"Maybe you should give her a hand," Riku suggested as he followed along with them. "She looks like she really might need it."

"Huh?" Roxas blinked uncomprehendingly back at Riku. "Why me?"

"Because you're the one watching her like you're afraid she's about to break," Riku stated simply, although there was unquestionably a note of teasing in the way he said it. "Go on, it's really not that difficult."

"Are you sure that's really okay?" Roxas remained unconvinced that he was suited to the task. "I mean, she isn't exactly asking for our help."

"Man, you really don't get it, do you?" Riku went from teasing to sounding mildly annoyed. "But then, I guess you wouldn't. I mean, you're both pretty stubborn like that. Crystal isn't asking for our help because right now she's still more worried about Shiro than she is about herself."

Roxas felt the weight of Riku's words and met it with a frown, mainly because he realized the other boy was right. It made him feel like a real idiot for not being able to read between the lines. Crystal had persisted in acting as though she could handle herself so that everyone would pay attention to and help out Shiro.

"Cheer up," Riku gave Roxas a firm shove in the back. "At the very least you should give yourself some credit for actually noticing it on your own. Now get over there and make yourself useful!"

"Right..." Roxas stumbled forward a few paces before settling into stride with Crystal so that someone would be there in case the journey back into town proved to be too much for her.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Wolfwood watched as everyone started to leave, even though he could've opened a corridor for everyone, he didn't know how that'd effect Crystal's state, so while Roveth and Shiroi Senko also headed out the long way out of hollow Bastion, Wolfood took his time to duck into a Corridor of darkness himself to go ahead of them to warn Cloud and Squall of what happened and all.

Roveth just stayed by Shiroi Senkou's side at the moment petting the silver Chocobo to keep the bird calm and yet only sending small worrying glances to his partner Shiro, while Roveth himself stayed strangely silent, probably because he was keeping an eye on Shiro himself, to make sure he wouldn't up and disappear once again.

Shiro meanwhile, mentally was floating in inky blackness, all around him though seemed to be small crystals floating around him in a protective? orb of sorts, while holding off what looked to be connector beams from the three statues that had been implanted in him, unfortunately the spinning crystal orb wasn't doing well, and the connections were still slowly being made to Shiro and starting to cause him discomfort and pain, in both his heart and all throughout his body, while physically his body started showing slight sparks here and there as his circuits started showing up glowing rainbowy with a golden hue, and a look of discomfort began forming a bit on Shiro's face, but nothing else outwardly.  

[[XIII] Roxas]

It happened so suddenly that Roxas was surprised he'd actually caught Crystal before she toppled to the floor. For a brief instant, one that was barely even distinguishable, it looked like she was suddenly in pain and then she just started to fall forward. Roxas could at least tell straight away that Crystal was still breathing normally and while she felt a bit warm to the touch, she seemed to only be unconscious. Still, that meant that now, as per Riku's earlier insistence, Roxas was now going to have to carry Crystal back to the city. Luckily for him, she really wasn't all that heavy and aside from that initial jolt of pain she seemed to have collapsed from she was actually very peaceful and not at all difficult to adjust onto his back.

"You think you can manage okay with that or do you need for me to give you a hand with her?" Riku watched Roxas go to work with some amusement.

"No thanks, I've got this," Roxas retorted with a mild glare directed at the silver-haired boy.

"Fine, fine," Riku waved him down. "I was only asking."  

[[XIII] Roxas]

At first Roxas barely had any reaction at all. He only vaguely heard Tifa scolding Crystal and he was puzzled more than anything that Crystal had apparently come down here looking for him and not gone immediately to check up on Shiro as might have been expected given how hellbent she had been on saving him. That was until he had time to process what she had said and the name she had mentioned finally registered to him triggering a powerful wave of remembrance and emotion that suddenly washed over him. Then, without even really thinking about it, the next thing he knew Roxas was immediately at Crystal's side and helping her to remain on her feet seeing as it was apparent to everyone that the girl was still horribly off balance.

"You know Xion?" Roxas would undoubtedly sound desperate, like he was pleading for confirmation. "Where is she?"

"I saw her in a dream," Crystal tried to explain although finding the right words with her head throbbing certainly wasn't making it easy. "But it wasn't a regular dream. It was more like reliving an old memory. I don't even know how I could have forgotten so easily. But when I saw her again in my dream it all just suddenly came back to me."

Tifa was going to say something, but Riku made a shushing gesture to silence her. "Leave them be," he stated simply. He had been dumbfounded at first, mainly because he didn't think anyone else besides himself and the members of Organization XIII would have known about the mysterious 14th member. But it had to be true because he was also starting to remember. "This might be really important."

"Thanks Riku," Roxas was genuinely grateful for the support. He did, of course, start helping Crystal to climb back upstairs so they could talk more without her having to strain herself by standing unsteadily in the main tavern.

"Why don't you go fetch Axel," Crystal suggested with a sudden boost of inspiration. "He's going to want to be part of this too."

Riku nodded and left through a Corridor of Darkness. He would first check for Axel at Yen Sid's Tower and if he didn't find the fiery redhead there he'd go check in Twilight Town.

Once they made it back upstairs and into the room where Crystal was supposed to have been resting, Crystal was able to drag herself back onto the bed.

"So what now?" Roxas wondered. "I have so many questions. But I guess all I really want to know is how you even met Xion."

"It was at the beach on the outskirts of Twilight Town," Crystal told him. "I had nearly drowned after being slammed by a powerful wave and then when I dragged myself back to shore she was there collecting seashells. I think it might have been because I was still in a daze from taking in all that sea water, but I was able to see her true face. She wanted to make sure I was really okay before leaving me alone at the beach so we got to talking and from there we really just kinda hit it off. I saw her again a few more times after that, but she always seemed troubled and seemed to have her mind on something else. I didn't press her on it, but then the last time I remember seeing her... she had asked me that if anything were to happen to her and I were to meet a boy called Roxas if I would watch over him for her. I really didn't know a thing about what was going on, but I agreed anyway. And then I guess I must have forgotten all about it until having that dream just now. Funny thing is, I still wound up meeting you. So who knows, maybe it was fate."

"She asked you to watch over me, huh?" Roxas looked a bit sad, but there was also a hint of a wistful smile. "That does sound like her. I think she was always worrying over me and Axel."

"Anyway, something triggered this new connection," Crystal continued. "I lost consciousness back in Hollow Bastion castle from the pain of what was implanted into Shiro's heart rebounding onto me from our connection. I was trying to escape the pain by diving deep into my subconscious. But I think the fact that you carried me back here must have opened up the path to that specific set of memories because your connection with Xion would naturally be the strongest. She also told me, before I woke up, that it might be possible to bring her back if I could get you to remember."

"That would be great, but do you have any idea how?" Roxas really had to wonder.

"All I can think of is that we probably need to use Oathkeeper," Crystal answered with a nod. "It represents your connection with Xion. That's what makes it so precious to you. If we combine that with your memories and feelings it should make a stronger path, maybe even one that works in both directions."

"Okay," Roxas nodded in understanding and materialized Oathkeeper before handing it over to Crystal. "By the way... I'm sorry to be putting you through all this."

"It's my choice," Crystal assured him. "And I'm not going to waste this chance. Now all that's left is for me to dive back into those memories so that this time I can drag her back out with me."

"I might not know much about how these things work, but that doesn't exactly sound safe," Roxas pointed out.

"Well, I really don't care if it's supposed to be impossible," Crystal replied as she gripped the Oathkeeper firmly in hand and focused her resolve. "It's the right thing to do so I'm going to try. If you want to help, you can cast Sleep to try to speed things up."

"Fine, but don't you dare get yourself trapped in there too," Roxas responded with a look of determination. And then he cast the spell.  

[Kuukyo_Fushichou]

Axel unfortunately was not at Yen Sid's despite sora having been there to retake his mark of mastery exam, and was definitely found by the Silver-haired teen in Twilight Town, coming from the ice cream parlour and about to head to the clocktower like normal, hoping Roxas would be there, when he ran into Riku "Oh! hey Riku. how'd things go over at Radiant Garden in checking on Shiro and Crystal?" he'd ask nonchalantly while giving off his traditional easygoing smirk and all.

Shiro meanwhile was floating still mentally as he was still being.. assaulted? no.. not assaulted, attuned to by the statues within him, it still hurt like a sword continually stabbing himself in pain, but when the statues managed to get passed the barrier of magicite.. they would finally fully connect to Shiro ,and begin enveloping him in the golden pryamid light barrier that Kefka once held him immune to his leader's own destructive magics, and power continued to flow into him, causing him to snap awake and sit straight up physically before yelping in pain when clutching his heart, and then an 'oof!' out of his mouth by being wing-slapped back onto the bed by Shiroi Senko and a pained groan following afterwards.

Roveth of course had been downstairs when that stuff happened between Crystal and Roxas, causing him to blink in momentary confusion as he had to pause mid-bite of eating food before headtilting curiously, but seeing everyone had pretty much left him be he'd just continue eating though he did plan to get some answers, granted whoever this Xion person was, she was definitely long before he came into being, so it really had no impact on things. of course, when Shiro did wake up, he would feel it over his own link with Shiro, and thankfully he had finished eating, so he'd much more calmly go upstairs to go check on his Hikari at the moment.