The Final Run

[Atticus the Fallen]

With hands folded behind his back, the fallen gazed over the madness below. Though it would be hard to tell by anyone who did not understand him as only a heartless could, there was an edge of sadness around those glowing, evil eyes.

So many heartless were giving their lives in this battle. So many were fighting for their right to simply exist. It hurt the dark one on a very personal level. He was, after all, their caretaker. His duty was to protect his kind and safeguard their future. Such sacrifices, though necessary, each took their toll. He knew that if they were to survive as a race, the light had to die here today, and that some of their numbers would not be alive to celebrate it tomorrow.

So many were gone now, including Acteur and many others. Such a shame that the best amongst them had to fall against the light, but this was, when all was said and done, war.

With a sigh, Atticus would lift his head from the battle, gazing up at the shattered Kingdom Hearts. It would no longer produce light with the poison of darkness eating away at it even now. So long as that darkness remained, Kingdom Hearts would never recover. Victory was already theirs. Why didn't the light simply surrender? Why couldn't it see that darkness deserved what it had taken? Would it not be easier, better even, to finally stop the fighting and be a FAMILY?

"I'm glad to see you did not wish to tempt fate, Kefka..." Atticus muttered before the dark corridor would open nearby. "We've lost so many so far... I'd hate to see you go too..."

Was not Kefka a good example? The mad clown, whose only source of delight was to murder and maim and cause mayhem... now a shining example of how any can be accepted and loved? In darkness, the younglings already looked up to and idolized the heartless Kefka. And had he taken any real effort into harming any of them? As of yet, no. Would it matter? Possibly not. Without a keyblade, Kefka couldn't permenantly harm any of their kind. It will be interesting to see how he progresses.

Through the aether, Atticus called out to the other of his two remaining confidants... "Meadowsong, my dear... When you are ready you may fire... but do warn our forces to take cover before you lay waste to the light? We wouldn't want to hurt our family, would we?"
Meadowsong, too, was one of Atticus' prized converts. Before, she was lonely and afraid, though too strong-willed to show it. She covered her pain with a mask of dominance and a desire to make all in her path hers, but is that not the most telling thing about her? As Maleficent, she was never accepted nor cared for and she lashed out at the world that didn't take her heart into consideration. Now look at her. All she willed was to make the world safe for their family, and soon it would be. After that, Atticus knew that she would find true happiness with them. In darkness, all shadows are equally welcome.

The time was at hand... once the light was gone, they could focus on the Nobodies, who no doubt would attempt to reclaim what they no longer had a right to, but they were a threat for another day. For now...

"Let us put an end to the light... once and for all... Destroy them, Meadowsong..."

[Cloud]

"Tch..." Cloud grunted when Abigail came in and suddenly took Kefka from him. How annoying was it that just when the Light had a good foothold, it always had to be yanked away at the last second? The spikey-haired "SOLDIER" couldn't be too angry though. This was Abigail and he knew it wasn't her fault. Kefka had his talons in her, and for that the clown had to pay. However, he already knew that it wasn't going to be him that made it happen.

Looking ahead, Cloud noticed that a swath had been cut through the battle by the two other Sisters of Light, and decided that was where he was most needed at the moment. Taking into a full run, Cloud followed closely behind, baring witness to Beatrix's impressive use of a summon to clear out the courtyard of the Castle of Naught. There wasn't much more for him to do here except offer what help he could.

Walking up, Cloud placed a hand on Agrias' shoulder to get her attention. "There's something up with Abigail..." he muttered in classic Cloud dead-pan monotone. "I've never seen her act that way... I think Kefka's using something to control her. Probably that crown. Its the only thing I noticed that isn't normally there..." he offered, hoping that it would be helpful.

"Your place is in the castle. I'll stay out here and secure the courtyard..." he finished, then turned and held his buster sword before him, ready to cut down any heartless that thought they could get by...

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Unable to react or make any other motions without Kefka's say-so, Abigail was dragged through the corridor of darkness. She could feel, despite the slave crown dulling her senses, the familiar tugging of darkness on her heart and did everything in her power to fight it off. She tried to remember everything that mattered to her and that she had to fight to get back to. Agrias, Beatrix... Ellin... God, what would Ellin think of her if she saw her like this? But what could she do?? Mentally, she struggled as hard as she could, but could not break the magitek power of the slave crown. She'd just have to manipulate her motions as best she could within the perameters of what she's been ordered to do in order to try and offer some hint to anyone around her that they needed to take the pretty little tiara off her head... so she can proceed to bash Kefka's in.

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

Wall-E nodded to Masheck as they entered the battle proper. He was a shockingly effective little fighter! He'd shoot down heartless with his lasers or use any number of the new gadgets the brass duke had given him. Once, he even grabbed a nearby Shadow and shoved him inside to crush the little thing into a harmless black box! When the green mage pitted little Wall-E against a massive large body... well... Even the stalwart little robot had to feel a little overwhelmed.

Let's face facts... This thing is easily ten times the robot's size! However, despite his boxy frame, Wall-E was quite agile where the large body was not. He drove circles around the massive heartless until it grew dizzy and fell over, giving the little trash-cleaner the opportunity he needed to blast him full force in the back! In a puff of smoke, the large body disppeared and Wall-E was victorious! However, that did little to help the other three thousand Heartless coming his way!

"Woah!" Wall-E chirped, backing up a bit to try and give himself some more room while he bolstered his small portion of the battlefield as best he could with his limited armament. Only time could tell if the buy n' large product could handle such a large number of enemies!

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

Kim blinked as Gabranth handed her off a small device. She sort of smiled a bit at this, thinking of the Kimmunicator in her pocket. She couldn't reach Wade, but it was good to know she still had friends. When the armored judge said that he had to chase after Hercules, she nodded approvingly. "Go help your friend!" she said after him, then turned her attention to the battle at hand.

She spent spinning kicks and flying punches into the oncoming horde, but something in particular bothered her most. Was that a soldier coming after her?? She blinked, ducking out of the way just in time and sliding to one side.

Wait... She recognized the way this one moved! She couldn't believe it, but Kim stood up, analyzing this soldier. "Shego??" she demanded, not sure that her hunch was right, but after all... only Shego moves like Shego.

[The Brass Duke]

"The ground troops will need cover very shortly...Your mechs cannot be effected by darkness, provided there is no moogle inside, correct? I'd say you have a minute at best to put as much metal between the oncoming blast of darkness and anyone we wish to shield from becoming our enemy..."

"Right," said the Brass Duke, removing Devlin from the holster at his side. Cobalt, standing directly adjacent to him, withdrew a large metallic tome from a satchel and held it before his master.

"That should be little to...well, no problem at all, really...All I really have to do is order my golems to take flight on their coolers and link limbs with one another."

He smiled, directed his hand up, and snapped his leather-bound fingers together. Light crackled between the black gloves, and soon began hopping out chaotically, surrounding the Duke and poppinjay in a wide radius. Thirteen nearby golems, unpiloted by the Moogle mercenary knights, had been set into a zombie-like trance and began doing as their leader described, and hovered over him until directed to begin shielding Alexandrians.

"And now, I'll have to cook up some magic here on the battlefield. This should give you all some time..." He searched his tome for several moments before finding the correct page, and once he'd finished chanted out words of light, emblazoning the battlefield in mystic white light, dissolving several nearby Heartless for the time being and giving the Warriors of Light some respite space from battle.

"We've lost so many so far... I'd hate to see you go too..."

[glow=Yellow,2,300]Cackling, Kefka set down Abigail and began a prance around the Altar of Naught. "Oh, you think so little of me. You killed the Witch, yeah? Then we've got absolutely nothing to worry 'bout, huh?"

Kefka now stood at the railing gazing happily at the fires down below. "Looks like the dragon's about to be shaken from her beauty sleep--Captain Curls and her faithful retriever have just passed through to the palace grounds, hundreds of skimpy ladies in tow."[/glow]

"Meadowsong, my dear... When you are ready you may fire... but do warn our forces to take cover before you lay waste to the light? We wouldn't want to hurt our family, would we?"

[glow=Purple,2,300]MeadowSong floated over the dials and buttons controlling the Eldritch Machine, priming and awaiting further orders. When the baritone echo came whispering into the airy Silent Ballroom, the Faerie nearly swooned.

"I will make sure the Heartless are out of the way, but can guarantee nothing. I am concentrating vast reserves in a close proximity, so I am unsure of full results. But I have little time for that. It would seem I have preparations, for the arrival of my old apprentice. I would hate to miss her final lesson in obedience. Hahahahahahaha!"[/glow]

"Let us put an end to the light... once and for all... Destroy them, Meadowsong..."

[Gabranth]

One would think a man running with iron armor draped over their body would be hinder in speed and strength, however since his visit with the God Hephaestus, his armor was not only stronger but lighter. Running through packs of soldiers and Heartless, he finally made his way to Hercules and from the look of things none to soon.

He could see the glowing God ravaging Heartless by the tens, seemed almost a moot to rush in as he did. Though from the look of things the human half was getting the best of him. Hercules then turned and said, "Glad to see you could make it!" With a small break in battle, he quickly spun around back to back with Hercules and took guard. After a moment of catching a breath Hercules spoke out to Gabranth, "Thought for a second you were gonna let me take all the glory!” Gabranth turned his head ever so slightly as to keep the enemy force in his sight as he replied, “Keep it... I have someone to protect.”

As the forces started to regroup, he had to quickly formulate a plan. He was in the center of the field which given the current situation wasn't the best tactical option. They'd have to make due as the Heartless began their assault again. Hercules and Gabranth kept their attention as best they could without some display to draw the crowds. “Hercules!” Gabranth shouted as they were no several feet apart, “Draw in as many as you can, boost me over the crowd and guard yourself! If it's a path you desire, I shall give you a field”

[Agrias Oaks]

The High Seraph looked to the General, offering a confident nod, "I am sure Ellin shall bring Abigail to the light-- let us do what we must here and beyond these masses of black ink...!"

Agrias strove forward with lance extended to the heavens as it melted away into her glorious blade. When she plunged it downward, her outfit changed once more to show a Golden Holy Knight, shouting, "DIVINE RUINATION!" -- and from above, a light pierced from the heavens and seared through the shadows infront of them.

When a path was cleared, she marched forward, twirling about in a war dance with Beatrix-- watching her back, as she was certain the General was watching hers.

Ria was above on the fallen Red Rose. As the youngest, it was her duty to scout for any troubles bellow-- along with afar. She kept an eye on everyone, including Beatrix, Agrias-- even Ellin at one point until she vanished. Nexus appeared to be doing ok, too...a relief to her.

"What the--" Using a telescope to enhance her visions, she gave a call to the Ship's Wheel, " Miss Ellis-- I see suspicious activity at the Castle-- shall I give orders to prep the Sister Ray??"

[glow=green,2,900] "Well, hello there, Kimmie" The misterious soldier cackled, reaching up to wipe away at the color on her cheek, "I'm so happy you recognized me over all these Barbies ... I knew you would-- just like old times!"

She rushed forward, her "claws" extended and alit with green fire. "You are MINE, Pumpkin-- no one ELSES!" she roared, throwing a combination of kicks, punches and occasional head butts. [/glow]

Meanwhile, a dark corridor would open close to where Abby was, and a 'clank clank' sound of metal hitting metal could be heard coming through it... it was Ellin.

"ABIGAIL! I FOUND YOU!" --she cheered-- so much for sublteties, "Everyone is worried about you-- I came to take you home..." The girl wrapped her arms around the controlled white mage and gave her a big hug before releasing her. She turned over to Kefka, and extended her sword, " You, Clown-- what's the big deal dragging her like you did-- she's a person, you know, not a mop!"

She turned slightly to see Atticus, frowning to him, "...You are going about this the wrong way... If you don't stop this, Father, you will regret it-- one who seeks to force his beliefs on all is a villain... does that mean the heroes were right about you?? "

[General Beatrix]

That she was--protecting Agrias' back, that is. During the riot begun by Agrias' Holy technique, Beatrix made quick work of the minor Shadows coming from the namesakes being formed through the mixtures of blinding light and pure darkness. Next came the Large Bodies and an envoy of Sorcerer Heartless, firing volleys to and fro. The General frowned, but assured her victory, and the safety of Agrias and the newly arriving Cobalt and Brass Duke.

She inched blade between two mammoths, twisted and kicked up as they collapsed, slicing two oncoming Sorcerers in half.

"Lord Brass, I need a lift," she ordered. Within seconds, she had been given the brief gift of levitation, which allowed higher altitude...the better to dive-bomb with.

Once high enough to see the surrounding terrain, the General smirked. "Their captain is close to you, Master Cobalt, and even closer to you, Agrias! G-Guard Armor! Beware, it's coming straight for you two!"

From where she was, Beatrix could only help minimally. Her instinct told her to cast Blind, but then she would most likely waste the perfect vision of the allies below.

She wavered briefly, until words spoken long ago rang deep in the back of her mind. The voice was Lilith's, and she spoke gloriously of how much better than Beatrix she was simply due to ranged weaponry.

Then it hit.

"Class Change!" barked General Beatrix, who then took Agrias' familiar glow, vanishing in the transmuting light, only to return dressed in a more...revealing-yet-appropriate crimson dress, topped with a red and white bonnet to match. Save the Queen's physical form changed to suit the new class' strengths. Instead of the beautifully crafted blade forged in Hades' realm, Beatrix held a three-barrel pistol, which she aimed--thank you, Lilith--directly at the Heartless captain. She pulled the trigger, hoping to score a critical hit, instead grazing a part of its helmet and right arm. Though not much, it still provided sufficient damage, according to Beatrix.

"I'm afraid I'm not practiced too well!" she called, landing beside the Duke a moment later.

[Sai]

Mayhem everywhere. Chaos unbridled in every direction as hundreds of soldiers clashed with an even more staggering number of the inky black enemy surrounding them. Many where beginning to fall from exhaustion, others were being systematically torn apart from sheer numbers. It seemed the Heartless were coming without end from the depths of shadow and darkness. And yet, among this madness strode a single man, unharmed due to his nature... not even considered a threat because he held nothing of what the sprawling masses desired. He put up little resistance, assisting only when he found it most strategically advantageous and never once losing stride on his way to the castle. Perhaps one or two more excitable monsters came his way, but he would casually dismiss them with a wave of his wand and a surge of electricity or a wave of fire. The MP bubbles they left behind kept him well stocked for the coming inferno.

Sai stopped just past the gates, observing as Agrias and Beatrix, in a stunning display of coordinated devastation, began to whipe out waves of enemies whose hearts continued to rise above the skyscrapers of the World That Never Was. Or rather, what was left of them. The dark city of neon and shadow was little more than a ruin at this point, the battle having claimed much of the terrain. The infamous tower was gone, replaced by a crater. The buildings were gutted, whispy ghosts of their former selves. Everywhere, dust and rubble was thrown to the heavens, obscuring vision and making even as simple a task as breathing a difficult matter.

It was lucky for Sai that he had strode past all that. He looked up at the towering monstrosity of a castle before him, with the Heartless streaming past him in mad formation. He sighed, lifting a hand to his nostrils as though to cover them through his crimson scarf. As lazily as one lifting the remote to a television set, Sai pointed the weatherwand at the front doors of the castle and rendered them little less than smoldering splinters with the power of fire. With a half-turn to his left, he regarded the warriors battling behind him with ferocity and courageous determination to put an end to this blight upon the worlds. Sai wished this too, though he strongly suspected that victory would come at great personal sacrifice from him... That is... if he were to fall BEFORE his Heartless double. The challenges ahead would not ignore him like the lesser, more instinct driven rabble here. They would want him murdered to prevent his reunion with his other half.

"If you two are done..." Sai called over the mayhem, standing like a ghost amidst the rushing sea of Shadows and Soldiers that ran from the castle around his knees as though he wasn't there, "I can smell a great gathering of darkness above. We should attend to that, rather than waste time out here where the battle is endless..." he suggested, then turned and disappeared beyond the threshold of evil...

Meadowsong would be a few floors up... and beyond her...

[Atticus the Fallen]

"Looks like the dragon's about to be shaken from her beauty sleep--Captain Curls and her faithful retriever have just passed through to the palace grounds, hundreds of skimpy ladies in tow."

The dark monstrosity closed its eyes to consider this new information. Incredible, that even with all his army leaping before the blades of the enemy whom they outnumber by a factor he could not even calculate, the warriors of the Light were still gaining ground. Every fallen hero of the darkness in this war was blood on his hands, and the one whom had fallen the deepest knew this all too well. He knew what was being lost, but also understood what was being gained. While it may seem like an utter bloodbath now, compared to the history of the Light constantly killing scores of his kind due to some misguided sense of "right and wrong", this was but a footnote. By losing hundreds in battle, he would ultimately save millions. With an entire universe already welcomed into the warm embrace of their new family, it boggled his mind to consider that such a trivial number of self-proclaimed "heroes" would commit such crimes against their inevitable peers for the sake of nostalgia.

All this, Atticus considered as he stroked the head of the diamond-scarred heartless in his hold. If he could protect even one heartless soul, he would do so. But that was when the corridor of darkness opened, drawing his eyes to the one who now stepped onto the summit of the castle's highest point to put forth the greatest challenge to Atticus' ideals yet.

Ellin rushed forward to throw her arms around that filthy, light-worshipping, death dealer that dared to call herself a healer. She accosted Kefka for taking his rightful spoils of war, and then... she had the nerve to turn on HIM, her father, and say something so foul that it sliced through to the monster's inky black heart with a pain he was unfamiliar with.

"...You are going about this the wrong way... If you don't stop this, Father, you will regret it-- one who seeks to force his beliefs on all is a villain... does that mean the heroes were right about you?? "

Atticus took a moment to let the words sink in, and to absorb the treachery behind them. He allowed the pain to wash over him like molten steel. When his rage would cool, he could find a greather strength, taking pain and making it into power. With a deep inhale to clear the twisting agony of his breaking heart, Atticus allowed the small heartless in his hold to slip free into the shadows where it would not have to bare witness to something he himself found distasteful and tragic.

He could see clearly for the first time since his daughter ran off into the setting sun what the Light had done to her. She was so naive, so hopeful and optimistic. Perhaps that was his failure. He had kept her away from the battlefield for so long, allowed her to enjoy the peace that could belong to the universe if they'd stop the mayhem. She had never known what it was to put one's beliefs to the ultimate test, to stand one's ground and say no to the monsters that came rushing from the accursed Light with weapons in hand designed specifically for the purpose of wholesale murder of their kind. Then again, it might be because she was not their kind. Her armor had kept her heart locked away from their family, but he had accepted her nonetheless thanks to her open mind and willingness to live in peace with them, because that armor drew power from the same source has they, and because a keyblade would be as much agony to her as to them. He thought that here was the next step in their evolution, a darkness born in spite of the light not because they had to seek it out.

And yet, here she was... standing against him, calling him a villain in defense of the true criminals. He glared at her through the sorrow he felt. He now saw the kind of threat she posed... the kind of threat that needed to be stopped before it could jeapordize their entire race.

"My dear, sweet, naive girl..." he whispered, voice echoing all around as though he were the very shadows around them. "They have brainwashed you... turned you against your family... and for what? For the sake of just one who is unique among their kind? Just ONE who had to be forced to see the truth? Do you really think the others will be so easily convinced, child? Those that even now march on our territory with bloodlusting desire to kill us all? No... No, my dear, innocent Ellin... You've been fooled... and in spite of all I've sacrificed to safeguard our species, all I've set into motion to put an end to the one force that threatens our very existance... you choose them over us."

Atticus slowly lifted a clawed hand, crimson electricity crackling along his form and between his outstretched talons. His eyes, usually so full of malice or deceit... held a personal pain so deep that he could almost be in tears if that firey yellow that burned like a sun fueled by hatred didn't burn them away. "I'm sorry, my dear... but I cannot allow you to risk us all for the sake of those who would see us destroyed. I cannot take your heart home, as I wish to do with every fiber of my being... so instead, I must silence it..."

Without another word of warning, a current of blood red electricity leapt from Atticus' hand, aimed dead into the center of Ellin's chestplate. Though the armor protected against darkness, it was as of yet METAL. Metal which conducts electricity. This was not a debilitating strike Atticus attempted. Though he hated himself for doing it, though he knew it was for the greater good, Atticus was attempting to end his daughter's life... A sacrifice from him to protect their future.

"Goodbye, daughter..."

[Hercules]

“Draw in as many as you can, boost me over the crowd and guard yourself! If it's a path you desire, I shall give you a field” Gabranth had said.

Like that was going to easy. Thanks to the godly glow of Hercules' powerful "hero mode" as he liked to call it, a lot of the heartless were starting to shrink away from him, though enough had the guts to get close enough for him to throw a good old fashioned punch right into their faces. He was powerful, had the stamina of a god, and could probably keep this up all night, but the problem came mostly from the fact that the heartless were starting to get tired of a tough target vs easier pickings elsewhere on the battlefield.

"Hmm... okay..." Hercules muttered as he considered Gabranth's instructions. That's when he got a CRAZY idea. Something he knew the judge magister would probably yell at him later over, but it seemed to fit the bill nicely. Of course, this little strategy he was forming really did rely on a ton of trust in his partner and frankly, how much did he know about the judge outside of the fact that he really liked to berate himself? Not much, really. That aside, they HAD shared quite an adventure together. When it came down to it, Hercules already knew he trusted Gabranth whole-heartedly. The judge had said the one thing that made Hercules know without question that he'd do the right thing.

"You got it!" Hercules called out, then dropped his guard against the oncoming horde entirely, turning in place to grab the man's armor at the neck and the edge of the lower back piece. "Get ready for a trip!!" Hercules yelled, then with a great deal of strength, hurled the man straight upward above the battlefield amongst the flying machines and heartless duking it out. He prayed Gabranth had enough space to do what he needed.

Now, for phase two of Hercules' master plan to help Gabranth. He needed to gather reluctant heartless. Okay. He could do that.

"HEY, HEARTLESS!" he called out so loud that it could be heard as far as the castle on the edge of the battlefield. "COME GET ME!" he yelled and despite what one would expect, that being Hercules getting more violent, he instead did the opposite.

Hercules powered down, becoming mortal once more. He knelt down, as though in surrender. With his hands on his knee, Hercules smiled and bowed his head with his eyes closed. All around him, the heartless immediately began to swarm. Many broke off engagements with battle partners on other parts of the battlefield, leaping onto the shoulders of the demigod in a mad rush to claim his pure heart.

Soon, from Gabranth's point of view, the hero would not even be visible any more, lost under a sea of swarming black...

[kefka]

[glow=yellow,2,300]The Tower of Naught had been breached by only one Hero of Light thus far, and, as Kefka observed...she didn't look too sure exactly what side she was on. He watched as she wavered between paths, cherishing the sight of her puppet friend, berating the existence of evil, and scolding, of all people, her father. He watched this tense back-and-forth with menacing glee. His plans, not unlike those of Atticus, were coming to fruition faster than he had hoped.

He snickered while he listened to this whole spiel go south, trying his best not to break out into a fit of amused hysteria. He knew very well now after some pondering this lone woman was enough to send the Dark One into a world-shattering fit of rage.

She had taken up contract with the Light, and it seemed that, unlike Beatrix, her mind had been made up and the resolve was unchangeable. What fun, indeed.

He crept close, his giant eyes landing hard on the girl as his grin widened. He raised his hands as if he were about to bag her, and just twiddled his fingers patiently.

"Shall I have her, the--ohp, spoke too soon! Kwee!"

And just as he'd attempted to make a new toy, Atticus himself stepped in to break her first.

Even Kefka was paralyzed by such intense cruelty, though not in shock, but in awe.

"A valuable talent, Attikins!" he cooed, clapping his hands and flying up several feet. "Simply a marvelous performance! And such drama! Oh, how anxious I am for them all to see this!" His smile widened, and he peered over the tower's walls to check in on the battle below. It wouldn't be long now...[/glow]

[Agrias Oaks]

'Dodge...dodge...dodge!' Ellin felt herself say, but she had frozen over-- shock taking her by surprise of her 'father's actions, “BLOCKING!” she cried out, throwing the massive black blade forward and piercing the ground with it. She then braced behind it, letting the red thunder collect and be directed at the ground. She was afraid, she grew afraid at these turn of events. That could have killed her! Atticus could have KILLED her with that!

The dark knight continued to shiver, but it was a mixture of fear, and the electric current of the powerful attack that still caught her. She winced in pain, feeling half of that red bolt's shock that was strong enough to make her kneel. Her form released a bit of steam from the burning metal. Her eyes staring at the ground, awaiting for the world to stop ringing at her ears.

She looked forward toward her father figure, and removed the sword from the crack on the ground she created, and dashed forward. Her eyes portrayed fear, uncertain of what she was doing, and uncertain if this was right. She twirled the massive, great sword about with an artistic motion, and it acquired that reddish glow of a sanguine blade.

“I just...want peace!” she nearly cried, her moves hesitant as she swung at the dark winged foe. “All I ever wanted was peace... ! We can all live together without fear... the light and the dark!”

Agrias looked about at the ink pooling around them-- the many shadows that tried to overpower them in futile attempts. She sliced at a few, and moved to face the castle, “We need to advance!” she called out, her form melting once more to leave her in a golden fabric for a brief moment, and her sword melted to form a shimmering staff-- White Mage? --”HASTE!” she shouted, and an aura of orange would surround herself, Beatrix, and a few other soldiers that happened to be nearby. The world would move slow around them. “SLOW!” she thrusts the staff down, releasing a blue aura that washes over the enemies-- the world moved slower still.

Quickly, her attire changed to that of the High Seraph, and she began to slice through the horde of enemies, paving a way to the castle in style.

[General Beatrix]

General Beatrix had just finished kicking a tumbling Shadow into an oncoming rush of its brethren when Agrias called on the higher powers to give them speed. At her second casting Beatrix felt a familiar wave of unfamiliar stillness, one she had dealt with the day she received her right eye...

The woman lunged at the spiraling Shadows, who fell like bowling pins, and dragged Save the Queen through their masses, never once looking back to witness their fate. Alexandria's poured in behind her, a V-shaped formation tagging along to shield the two knights as they advanced.

Just a few more yards, and the castle would be breached. The General halted, turned to her soldiers, and directed her blade to the heavens.

"Today we strike, to defend the worlds against any darkness that seeks to blind out light! Charge!" She threw Her arm down, aiming towards the castle doors, and made a dash for it at top speed. Energy swelled from her heart and greenish blue light raced through her arms and into the holy sword-turned-Keyblade.

As she and Agrias got closer and closer, Beatrix reared back her arms, called on her strength, and wrenched Save the Queen forward with every bit of her might.

"ClimhZzard!" Roared the Holy Knight as searing white light raced from the metal and into the large broken doors.

"Flood the foyer in light, Agrias!" She called as the large obstruction gave in. "Onward!"

[Sai]

What was once a marvelous marble testament to science and technology was now a swarming hive of living darkness. Where once there was pristine white there was undulating, breathing, pulsating black in all directions. Amidst this biomatter of swirling ink and beady yellow dots, a splash of silver stood in contemplation of the task at hand.

Sai watched the two warrior women as they cut a swathe through the tides of madness. Had he been a man in the fullest sense, he'd have admired their ferocity and skill. As a Nobody, however, he found himself doing little more than analyzing their energy expenditure and calculating their needs for the battle ahead. Numbers, though cold and without emotion, were surprisingly trustworthy. Sad to say, these particular figures were drawing swiftly toward the red.

He strode with a calm sense of purpose, breaking stride only to sway his wand this way or that to repel the endless forces that, this close to the light's goal, were no longer ignoring him. Fewer MP refills were dropping now, making his tactic less and less advantageous. The heavy use of magic in this foyer would certainly spell eventual defeat.

"Lady Agrias, Beatrix..." Sai called over the mayhem, his voice almost inaudible past the rage of a thousand heartless voices and the battle-fury cries of the Alexandrian army. "Use your magic sparingly, we have few healers and the real battle is ahead."

Past the rushing mayhem lay the glass staircase. At the top of this, their first true hurdle awaited with a machine of pure evil ready to rain down horror on the troops holding the battlefield outside. Hercules, Cloud, Gabranth, Ms. Possible, and the little box robot were all out there directing the flow of combat, but as Sai calculated... he doubted highly that a surge of the power he could literally smell above would do anything less than destroy them. Near this gathering of darkness, he could sense another corrupted heart. Seeing as they'd handled nearly every other lord of darkness, the simple process of elimination made its owner clear to the Nobody who was now struggling to spare his energy in pursuit of the doorway.

Meadowsong had to be destroyed before they could advance to the monster responsible for the worlds' destruction.

Sai broke into a run the instant he found an opening in the crowd. Without being able to rely too heavily on magic, he had to literally push and shove his way through scratching, slashing, gnashing claws and teeth. He broke through and began to ascend the stairs at break-neck speed, his silver robe billowing behind him as his shock of red scarf flittering about in his haste.

His hands reached up to touch the door... and inward, he pushed.

[Atticus the Fallen]

With dark fury, the dark mage watched his clever little one redirect the brunt of his attack's force into the ground where it would harm no one. Still, he could see the curls of smoke about her form, the dip of her shoulders from fatigue. He had hurt her, and she knew it. As he had done a million times before, he examined her. He took inventory of her posture, her expressions, her movements. He could see the terror in her eyes...

And all that hatred, all that vile, boiling, evil malice that defined this creature whose eyes literally glowed with bloodlusting desire to snuff out the light once and for all... was turned inward. His eyes were clouded over for only a moment with deep, seething regret. This child, so naïve and full of hope, had been his to raise for so long. He tried to care for her like he cared for the heartless who were also his to protect, but that damned spark of light within her light was like a cancer, forever poisoning every lesson he tried to impart on her... and here they were because of it.

When she came charging, he had to push it all aside, to let his hatred of the light burn brighter than the cracks forming on his heart. With eyes shifting from pale yellow to flaming, deep red, he leapt at her as well. His wings pumped against the air to add speed to his charge, making him a blur of shadow against white ground they stood upon.

He came directly into the arch of that blade. He did this on purpose, knowing of Ellin's terror which made his stomach lurch when he considered what she was afraid of. A claw sharp enough to tear hearts from the breasts of their owners leapt up to catch the sharpened edge with its blood-red glow. It would bite deeply into his palm, but he could NOT let her know that she had injured him. He relied upon her fear to pull back the crimson light to end the majority of the danger, even as thick, ink-like blood slowly dripped from the claw wrapped tightly about the dark knight's blade.

His other hand swooped up faster than lightning, grabbing the armor about the shoulder. The monster twisted the knight in place, pulling her close in order to hold her tightly against his chest, facing the edge of the battlefield as he hissed into her ear, his voice closer than it had ever been... not echoing in the dark from all directions as it seemed to on a regular basis, but slithering directly from whatever evil that hat hid and into her very soul...

"Peace?" it whispered, so horrible and complete that not even the clown heartless above could break it with his cackling madness. "Between our kind there can BE no peace, Ellin. I have tried for so long to make you see that. Shown you time and time again the horrors your beloved light constantly inflict upon us without provocation. Have you forgotten the injured? The dying? The parents with children lost? The orphans?" he continued, forcing her eyes toward the hiding Cuddles nearby as though to drive home a point.

Frightened yellow orbs stared back, below a diamond-shaped scar that could ONLY have been left behind by a keyblade.

"But I have only myself to blame..." Atticus continued, his voice like vile poison on Ellin's heart. "What could I expect when you harbor so much light within you? It was inevitable that you would turn on us too. It's in your very NATURE, light-creature... You can't even help yourself but to bring pain and suffering upon the children of the dark. That's why you're here now... fighting your own father in defense of those murdering, wicked, blasphemous light-warriors..."

Atticus' hand lifted to wrap about Ellin's head, attempting to force her to look toward Abigail, who had not moved nor made any attempt to communicate since Ellin had arrived. "I've protected you long enough, little one..." he seethed, "it is time you made a CHOICE. There can be NO co-existence between our kinds... Either your light beats and whips the darkness to hide in corners and lick our wounds, or the darkness grants the worlds true peace by uniting all under a uniform blackness. As such, must be your heart..."

Atticus looked up to Kefka, eyes ablaze with malice. "Kefka, if Ellin refuses to surrender her heart... I would like the small favor of your immediate disposal of that harlot of the light standing there..."