DESCENT INTO DARKNESS

[Secondary Characters]

Garland had watched as the events unfolded. A doorway opened, and the world was thrust into light. He couldn't help but feel somewhat troubled by the presence of so much brightness here. It didn't... feel right. He much preferred this world as it was, steeped in darkness and filled with a kind of shadowy beauty.

That was when Jenova spoke with The Fallen, and apparently was not pleased with the answers she had been given. Garland was about to go for his sword and strike the man, but as swiftly as he went for his weapon the Fallen was gone. He grunted and released his grip on the hilt of his sword, looking instead to Lady Jenova as she strode up to him and placed her hand onto his chest. A light warmth filled him, and he found himself calming swiflty.

"My Lady..." he said quietly, jerking his head to the rabble around them. "What of your goals...? Do you not want to stay and claim this promised land you've been promised?" he asked, wanting to do something for her... anything.

[Twilight Path]

"... This... is not the promised land I wanted." She said to him, her body and his now being swept within a dark passageway.

** To Cornelia, Saying Goodbyes **

[Gabranth]

Between the star and dark nothingness of space, a twisted vision of a hole began to tear fourth. The outline of a massive ship in the shape of McDucks money bin began to appear. It had entered near the world the communicator had programed. Though not on the world ... he still had a short travel ahead.

Gabranth began checking system after system to see if everything was still running. He mumbled to himself during his analysis, "Our ties will break soon enough, Hades'" A moment or so had passed, until one scan of the ship showed a small blip on a screen in one of the mechanic holds. Gabranth was almost sure it was only him on the ship. Already his first thoughts were of Hades'. Who else would be after him he thought. Quickly he made sure the ship was still on it's auto-pilot setting, turned to grab his swords and walk down to the mechanical bay, and pay a warm Judges welcome to whom stowed away.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]With the Door to Light besieged by those who stood by The Fallen, a sudden surge of adrenaline would pump through the First Black Faerie and her poppinjay clown, their eyes alight with vigorous flame as the doorway opened.

With a cry of victory from the Dancing Madman at her side, MeadowSong was only minorly startled when Atticus addressed her.[/glow]

"MeadowSong..." he whispered, his voice dark and frightening. "Raise the Eldritch Machine... It's time we put an end to this light once and for all..." he said dangerously...

[glow=Purple,2,300]Nodding, she waited for the Caretaker to take his leave before heralding Kefka to stand aside. Raising her sceptre she slammed it hard on the marble floor, opening up a flower-shaped Corridor of Darkness below their feet. She hovered down, into the inkly black stuff, her jester following close behind as they disappeared, making their way to the Ballroom.

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Once they were settled within, she marvelled at the grand chamber's prized posession: the Eldritch Machine her former self had worked on for so long. Within, embedded deep in the magical compartments, was held the dark, magical essence of her comrades, as well as a light power source which could only be the Ovelia Crystal she'd accumulated at some point.

"Kefka," she said, directing him over to one side of the machine as she locked her sceptre in place within the keyhole, punched in some buttons and twisted levers.

"Please recalibrate trajectory of our target, won't you? Direct it straight towards Kingdom Hearts."

The clown obeyed her perfectly. Within seconds the former Empire General-turned-Heartless had input the coordinates and gave his queen a thumbs up. Pulling down her sceptre that served now as both key and final lever, she launched the magical cannon.

"VICTORY IS IN OUR GRASP!!!"[/glow]

[HardeWare]

the super breathed a sigh of relief as he stared at the hole he had just crawled out of, the inner workings clunking together.
"so inefficient... I wish I had had more time to upgrade this piece of junk"

HardeWare moved and sat under the hatch to the rest of the ship.
"I'm having the worst luck..."
he closed his eyes in thought.
when did it start...
the supers thoughts rattled through his head, every single bit of information he had remembered was being cross referenced, examined, stripped down to the core information.
his eyes sprung open, they were glowing a bright blue.

"i get it know... BLOODY HELL! STUPID MAGIC!"
he gritted his teeth.
"I HATE MAGIC, ITS A CHEAP RIP OFF OF SCIENCE!"
the super threw his fist into the air and shook it violently

[Gabranth]

Gabranth was walking through corridor after corridor, looking around for what he thought was Hades. The sounds of armor clinking and clanking on the path ways echoed the corridors. He suddenly stopped after hearing what he thought was a mumble. His visage turn to the side, the sound was coming from behind. He turned and began walking with a faster pace.

After a moment he stopped. He waited to see if the mumble would return. A minute went by, then five. Beginning to think it was only a matter of the mind, something loud came from around the corner. "... BLOODY HELL! STUPID MAGIC!"" Gabranth ready himself running down the corridor to his right ... as he ran he started to feel a bit uneasy. Soon while running down the corridor he heard a loud bellow from below another level. This time much louder. "I HATE MAGIC, ITS A CHEAP RIP OFF OF SCIENCE!"

Quickly Gabranth stopped in his tracks. He stopped between a bridge of sorts with a long ladder. He looked over the left nothing was there. He looked to the right and saw shuffling in the cords and pipes. "Prepare yourself!" was echoed through his visage and down the tunnels, as he leaped from the bridge, landing shy of whoever was tangled. He held Highway Star to the throat of his intruder and simply asked "State your business."

[HardeWare]

Hardeware was still steaming over the... magic, as the armour clad giant landed in-front of him and brought a sword to his neck.
"do you always ask people questions with a sword to their neck?"
"State your business."

"well if your memory was even a fraction as good as mine you might remember I was the one fixing up this ship... and then you went and started it when I was still working"

[Gabranth]

The Judge stood stationary as he watched this ... man climb out from where he was. He began speaking about how he was the one that fixed the ship, and how Gabranth had forgotten him. This though, was not the case.

Gabranth, after being insulted raised his blade to tap the chin of the man in question. "Memory is not in question. Your business here has ended. Your presence on this ship is no longer needed. Why are you here?" Considering Hades' last plot in shutting down the control panels of the ship, Gabranth was rather reluctant to lower arms to even this man.

[HardeWare]

the super glared over at the judge.
"well if your like me, fixing something is never the end, I MUST STRIVE FORWARD! IMPROVE ON EVERYTHING POSSIBLE INCLUDING MYSELF!!"

the super would have moved if it wasn't for the sword at his neck, what... he's not a complete idiot...

[Atticus the Fallen]

Upon impact with the dark door, the beam of the eldritch machine would blow back the hinges, causing the entire frame to bend in a horrible way. The light choked, then grew black as the dark corridors that the evil ones used. Light was dying, holding on by a thread...

In all the distant lands... the sun would become eclipsed, though the moon hung in another part of the sky just as dark. Light existed, but it was broken... hurting, crying out through all existance for help. It was dying a slow, painful, agonizing death while darkness wrapped its cold fingers around its throat and choked the life from it. Nowhere in all the cosmos would be uneffected.

The Day of Darkness had begun.

[Jafar]

The twisted ghost of Jafar watched the beam destroy Kingdom Hearts, and couldn't help but let out a loud laugh of triumph. How many times had they tried and failed?? How many times had they lost to the heroes or had their plans ruined? Not any more! Darkness was supreme, the Light was dead!

Turning to face the others, his face was twisted into a dark smile, obviously beside himself at their victory. "Darkness reigns... And so too does my kingdom. I'm returning to Agrabah... to take my rightful place as ruler there..." he said between twitches. "Adieu..." and with that, he vanished...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, the phantom blot lifted its hands skyward, savoring the black sky. His skull's jaw hinged open, like a child attempting to catch snowflakes on their tounge. He was in ecstasy, enjoying a moment more personal than the others might understand at first. "Black... unending black, like india ink..." he whispered in that strange voice like a drowning man's.

Looking to MeadowSong and Kefka as they returned, he would bow his head slightly. "My vengence has already taken place... And now the world is thrust into blackness... perhaps I'll stay here... if it pleases the lady of the castle?"

[Gabranth]

Seeing as how this man didn't appear to be much of a threat, Gabranth eased upon the pressure of his thrust into his intruders neck. A moment after he had done so, red flashing lights and a siren began to ring out. This was a warning that the ship had entered atmosphere, and the automated landing sequence had been initiated.

Gabranth quickly relinquished his weapon from the man, and began charging his way up the flight of stairs. He made his way around corners and down corridors to reach his pilots chair. After a minute or two, he finally reached the cockpit. Quickly, he latched his swords to his chair and announced over the intercom, "Brace for landing." was echoed through the ship.

Flying through the atmosphere, the glowing of red and orange shined through the air. After a few moments, the ship had landed. Gabranth prepared the shutdown and readied his gear. He, at this point, had no concern about the man on board. He simply left him where he stood, and went about his business.

Upon exiting the ship, he relayed a message over the communicator. "Hercules, I'm at the castle. I'll be making my entrance soon enough."

[HardeWare]

HardeWare raised an eyebrow at the giants fluctuating actions.
"how rare?"
as the sirens went off and the judge departed HardeWare slipped out of a maintenance hatch onto the ground.
his mechanical eye fluctuated as he stared across the dark wastes.

"this place is DDEEEEEEAAAAAAADDDDDD!"
he walked up to the side of the executioner.
"where are we... my GPS doesn't work here"

[Secondary Characters]

The inky darkness that was the Phantom Blot would not give the others a chance to respond before its attention would be drawn to the skies. It watched as something was moving. It followed the flyign object's path until it landed, and stepped to the edge of the altar, able to see it due to his connection to the blackness. No matter how stealthy they may have wanted to be, any motion against even the darkest of backgrounds would not escape the Phantom...

"It would seem..." it whispered, voice bubbling and even spilling ink from its lips as it spoke, "...that we have guests... I'll tend to them..." it said, then seemed to melt in place, disappearing into a crack of the altar with a flowing of ink...

Below, a single point of black would appear before the entryway leading into the castle of naught. It would bubble like boiling water, expanding outward and steaming. The scent was acidic and overwhelming, the scent of toner. From its center, a skeletal figure would rise, the ink pouring over its features and creating a robelike structure around it. It hisssed, though like a drowning man in that it gurgled as it did so, slowly stepping to full height. It stood there... staring forward.

"None shall enter here... turn back..." the Phantom warned...

[Gabranth]

After Gabranth had landed the giant money bin shaped vessel, he gathered his effects and exited the ship. Leaving behind his unwanted guest.

He walked some ways down a road till he finally appeared at the castle's doors. After he sent a small message to Hercules, he put the communicator back in it's satchel. Before he had a chance to walk much further into the castle. A darkness of something would appear before him on an altar. This darkness, which was covered in a black ink substance reeked. The smell did little to intimidated the Judge Magister.

After a short time, this ... thing began to speak.

"...that we have guests... I'll tend to them..."

Gabranth stood still, brought his lance to the front, holding it in a horizontal position. He simply watched as the ink began to flow into a nearby crack. Soon, from between him and the castle doors, a small bubbling pond formed. From beneath that a skeletal figure draped in this ink began to emerge. This new form draped in a black, liquid robe spoke.

"None shall enter here... turn back..."

Gabranth was far to close to finding where Maleficent had been hideing after she took Meg. His time growing shorter as his journey grew longer, he stood his blade to it's vertical position. He had split the lance. Now with his twin blades, he held them to his sides and spoke. "My business lay not with you. Now stay your hand." He spoke as he slowly walked toward this liquid form. He wasn't concerned with this creature. He was after something much stronger. To him, this...thing was but a small obstacle in his over all vision.