The name 'Graveyard' was uncannily appropriate for this world; though there wasn't anything that actually resembled a corpse or a real grave, the image of god only knows how many Keyblades sticking out of the ground struck surprisingly close to headstones.  It was a haunting place, and many would even say a [i]haunted[/i] place.

The vaguely ethereal wind moaning through the valleys and mesas seemed to be calling out for help that was far too late.  The shadows cast by rocks and stones seemed out of proportion, or even human at times.  And there was a sound; a sound that wasn't really quite there, but was too loud for it to be imagined up by the mind of one that was simply scared of the setting.  There was something about this place that made you think that, no matter what you did to convince yourself otherwise, you were anything but alone.

Sin was one such person, his kama out as he walked around this place.  His Disaster Sense had been buzzing non-stop ever since he'd gotten stuck here, he still needed to finally get all the quirks of Dark Portal travel down, and he had been put on edge.  The world itself being inherently disturbing wasn't helping much; but it was more than that.  Something about this place was just not sitting well with the anthropomorphic Absol, like something was about to happen.

Like something here was very, very [i]wrong[/i].

====

While wrong and haunting might have been the right vibes for this place, to one other wandering the graveyard, it felt more depressing. Kalas walked passed the many Keyblades, alone. Lucifer was sleeping back on the [i]White Dragon[/i], though it was probably better that way. The demon dog most likely wouldn't like the feel of this place.

As the Divine Child walked through graveyard, he thought back to when he had first been told of the Heartless. He never forgot being told how they could threaten worlds left with a keyhole unsealed, a thought that worried him almost all the time. All that would be needed to prevent such a disaster would be through the use of a Keyblade, like the kind those kids who came to his world used before. And now here he was, in a valley with thousands of Keyblades.

Were they even usable at all anymore?

Kalas came to a stop at that thought. Maybe he could...he turned to one single blade of many, and grabbed the handle with both hands. With some effort, he began to tug. The half-winged boy grit his teeth hard as he used all his strength to pull the damn thing out. After a moment of tugging, however, he breathed out and gave up on it. It was useless...

"Guess there's no hope for it now..." Kalas sighed, back to walking among the graveyard. Unless he could find those Keybladers again, he had to push the issue out of his mind for now. If only there was another way...

====

(A note: This takes place after Dirge of the Fourteenth.)

"..."

Sora had been agape since arriving on this world. From its proximity to such worlds as Radiant Garden, it could be assumed to be a world from the Kingdom Hearts universe. He had been trying to keep moving, after several world of training again against Heartless to get back in gear.

Parts of it seemed familiar, possibly from that fight with the two mysterious armors so long ago. But the entire layout....the craters scattered here and there, the empty nature of the world itself. Everything screamed for the battles long past, the power that tore this empty world to shreds. But that wasn't all.

As he continued to walk, Sora had been dumbfounded by the area ahead. The massive area, with another large crater at one part, an enormous pillar of stone nearby formed from the very rock around it, presumably by magic due to its shape and location. But those were not what shocked him.

Keyblades strewn this way and that. Thousands upon thousands of them. A great many were stabbed into the ground, making pathways amongst them, though there was a distinct area where they had been rooted out and scattered at random, likely for a purpose of some sort. A kind of...graveyard. A graveyard of Keyblades. How many wielders [i]were[/i] there? How could so many of them be dead? What had happened?

The atmosphere around him was tense. He could feel it. Though shocked, he summoned the Kingdom Key in his hand, holding it low, still too shocked to be able to fight effectively at the moment.

The protagonist walked through the graveyard, unknowingly close to others, closer to the other protagonist he had once met than to the External Interference. Finally, he spoke, though Roxas had yet to truly respond. His voice was likely audible to the few others in the area.

"...What is this place?"

====

Sin was close enough to hear Sora's question; and the atmosphere was such that he actually prepared for him to be attacked by something.  Thankfully, for all you Kingdom Hearts fans, the anthropomorph managed to control himself before he lashed out in fear; this place was really getting to him.  He might have been a bit(or a lot, depending on who you asked) sociopathic with his temper and desire to kill, but he'd never actually hit someone that hadn't had it coming.  Plus, this was [i]Sora[/i]; he might have been a bit slow in the head in the second game, but he was meant to be this realm's Hero!

Taking a deep breath, and readying himself in the event that the keyblader didn't restrain himself when he saw him, the absol took it upon himself to answer the boy's question.  "I never played the game that featured it; but I think it's all that's left from some sort of war."

====

Unlike the Absol, Kalas wasn't feeling too tense in this place. A little bit, but 'angst-mode' (seriously, has Lyude rubbed off on him with that?) had won that over. Hearing the voice of the Keyblader that he met so long ago, however, turned that off completely.

Speak of the devil.

The blue-haired hero turned to catch Sora in his line of sight. His mood had brightened completely; maybe he could ask him now. There was hope after all, he thought.

"Sora!" Kalas called out to get his attention. He brought out his wings temporarily to fly up to the Kingdom Hearts hero, dismissing them when he landed before him. Once he did, he clasped his hands over Sora's shoulders. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you right now. Whatever happened before, I am so, so sorry for being an ass to you and everyone else before. You might not believe me, but really, I mean it."

Yeah...he was kind of spazzing out right now. Sora, a little help?

====

Sora took the Absol's appearance in stride when he heard him. He had spent [s]two[/s]three adventures traveling with an anthropomorphic duck and dog, and fought alongside their king, a similarly anthropomorphic mouse, met the respective queen of the same species and fought Pete the cat. This wasn't eve close to unusual.

He nodded to the being, not asking what he was. "I wonder how there could be a war. How many Keybladers [i]were[/i] there?" Taking that as the rhetorical question it was meant to be, he added another. "From your reaction to me, I assume you know who I am. Sora, if you don't. What's your name?"

...Then came Kalas. He hadn't seen him since he visited his world with Kairi, Kyn, and Greg. So he was an Interference now? He seemed...strangely happy and apologetic. That didn't seem at all like him. First Alex's almost sickening cheerfulness, now this overly joyous response. Was it [i]him[/i]? Was [i]he[/i] the weird one?

Yes, the person who hits people over the head with a[i] four foot long [b]key[/b][/i] was thinking this. Thanks for asking.

Roxas spoke, confused as Sora was. [i]I...think someone broke him.[/i]

When he spoke, his confusion and surprise were plain. "W-what is it...Kalas, right? Haven't seen you in a long time."

====

Noting the tone of Sora's voice, Kalas released his grip immediately, taking a deep breath. One thing that both the Keyblader and his Nobody would most likely note was that the winged humanoid did not hear Roxas' voice at all, so he wouldn't be able to remark on that comment if he could.

"S-Sorry..." he breathed out, having contained himself once again. "I mean...this is one hell of a coincidence. I was just thinking of searching you and your friend out..." At this, Kalas noted that Sora was on his own in this case and asked, "Where is she, anyway?"

====

Sin just let the two of them have their reunion; he vaguely knew that Kalas was a friend of Audrey's, and he'd been around the winged boy during that annoying as all hell time that he had to meet the female version of himself.  But, beyond that, he was a stranger to both and really couldn't relate to them.  He'd never been the most social of people; but, lately, he seemed to be finding even the thought of socialize to be painful.

It wasn't that he hated the people that he was connected with in some way, it just....  He mentally sighed, there was nothing about how he was thinking that made sense to him right now; it was just easier to not think about it and let them have their moment.

Casually, Sin looked at one of the Keyblades; though he wasn't like Kalas, trying to use it to lock something, he was still curious.  As a Pokemon, he was attuned to forces that even he, himself, didn't fully understand; meaning, he could tell that these Keyblades were fundamentally different from the one that Sora wielded.  It was like something about them was missing, but that didn't stop him from grasping the slightly rusted handle of one of the Oblivion Keyblades and pulling at it.

The key came out after some effort, actually causing the anthro to stagger back as he lost his balance.  Not that he expected to ever use this thing; maybe it was his wielding something as small as his kama for so very long, but this thing just felt awkward to hold in his paw.  More to the point, it felt... cold; not just in the physical sense, but like there was something that within this thing that was dead and empty.

It was... disturbing.

====

Sora was uncertain about how to say this, though he did know that Roxas probably couldn't help for whatever reason Kalas couldn't hear him anymore. He lost Crystal, maybe? Maybe just going a straight route would be good enough. "Kairi...she's back home on my world, last I checked. We traveled around a while, but...something happened to me." Understatement of the year, keyboy. That war did a lot. Especially to his chest cavity. "She...she was really upset, so I brought her home to recover. I only came back out here a little while ago. Last I saw of her, she was doing all right."

He was getting his mind off of the massive graveyard, at least. That was something.

[i]Not having people get more blackmail of you two helps. Though I assume you enjoyed that time.[/i] Roxas was, as thought, [i]not. Helping.[/i]

Though embarrassed and blushing a bit for reasons Kalas could probably attribute to Roxas, the boy tried to change the subject. The anthromorph nearby didn't say his name when asked, so he was probably not in the mood to talk. "What's his name? He wouldn't tell me, but I can tell he's probably an External. How he can be, I don't know." He also added another question. "And what was it you wanted to see me for? Me or Kairi, but not the others? Something about the Keyblade?"

(TD, I'm ready to have the Phantom show up whenever. You up to start the fight, Adri?)

====

[size=1](I wouldn't be in this thread if I weren't.)[/size]

Kalas merely nodded, not asking anymore on that. Whatever happened in Sora and Kairi's life was their business. He noted the blush on the Keyblader's face, and figured Roxas might have said something. The half-winged hero took a mental note to make a comment on that later. He then shrugged when he asked who the anthropomorph was.

"I don't know too much about him, but I think his name is...Sin? I dunno; haven't talked to him all that much." He was too busy staring at Lilith anyway--okay, shutting up now. To the next question, Kalas frowned and nodded. "Yeah...that's why. There's a few things about the Keyblade that I wanna know..."

====

Speaking of Keyblades, Sin was still looking over the one that he had just pulled out of the ground.  Though he was quite unsettled by how this felt in his paw, he couldn't bring himself to put it down; it felt like it would be akin to spitting on the grave of whomever had wielded the blade.  More than that, even within the coldness of the blade, he could feel something desperately, longingly, reaching out to him; the blade wanted, so painfully, to be used again.  It wanted to feel the connection to a Heart as powerful as an Interference's, wanted to help others; it wanted to matter once more.

Sin just couldn't let it go, not after that.

However, it soon became clear that that wasn't going to be up to him anymore.  The anthro cried out as he was cut from behind by a blade, his paw losing its grip on the keyblade and sending it away from him and toward the other two.  He was on his feet in a second, his kama appearing as he looked to what just attacked him.

It was wearing light armor akin to a samurai, complete with a helmet bearing a strange symbol that looked like a combination of a Heartless and a Nobody symbol on it.  The side 'arms' were extended and curved, to resemble horns, and there was a trio of green diamonds down the mid line of the symbol.  It wielded a katana, now red with Sin's blood, and what little he could see of the thing's face was emaciated to the point that it probably shouldn't have been able to stand.  "I'm guessing you're one of those freaks?"

The think chuckled darkly, revealing a shark-like grin to the anthropmorph.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"No no no."[/font][/color]  It said, waggling a bony finger at Sin like he was a misbehaving child.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"[i]You[/i] are the freak; what we are, are Ghosts."[/font][/color]  His grin widened as he saw Sin get angry at the comment.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"I am the Phantom; the Ghost that hides in the shadows, and strikes without warning.  You cannot stop my attack."[/font][/color]

====

Sora had been about ask Kalas what it was he wanted to know about the Keyblade, or what he wanted him to do with his own Kingdom Key, when he heard the cry of the near-stranger nearby, and jumped to turn toward him, alarmed and alert. "Sin!"

Kingdom Key was now in a his hands in a battle stance, his gaze moving to the creature that was speaking, that was insulting Sin. His eyes moved to the symbol on its helmet briefly, surprising him. The explanation from this "Phantom" (a name he wished he would never hear again after other, unrelated events) didn't help much, but it at least gave a name. It sounded conceited, but that did not inherently mean that it would go down easily. Rather, its ability to hit without anyone knowing until just now meant that its self-confidence was likely born of power.

Roxas on the other hand....he felt somewhat uneasy about this "Ghost," this "Phantom." He could hear, in his mind within Sora's, a voice that would likely be slightly audible to his other as well, though likely ignored.

[i]The abomination must perish, my liege.[/i]

Not yet. He would save that for a short time later. Still, he allowed his Somebody to fight without his input.

"Leave him alone!" the physical Keyblade wielder shouted, and charged at the Phantom, jumping into the air with a fierce battle cry before slashing down at him from beside Sin.

====

Kalas was quick to to get in a stance as he heard the Absol's sudden cry. As he looked to the being that attacked, he frowned as he got a good look, especially when he saw the symbol on its helm. Now, all this time, the Divine Child knew nothing about Nobodies, having not faced them at all. He only knew what the Heartless were, and so only recognized that part of it.

He wasn't too surprised when it talked, though. That only gave a warning that it wasn't something to be taken lightly. He did wonder, however, why it called itself a Ghost, specifically a Phantom. What did they derive from...?

And then Sora charged head on. "Sora!" Kalas called, exasperated. "You can't just go running in blindly!" True, he had done that a few times himself, but from those times, he knew that rarely ever worked. Still, he knew that they were going to have to fight.

But just before he could take out the Magnus that contained his sword and dagger, or even attempt to summon the Death deck again, his gaze had come upon the Keyblade on the ground, just before his feet.

The hero of Baten Kaitos just stared at the blade. At first, he was going to push the thought of picking it up out of his mind, especially since he couldn't pull one out before. But...he still felt tempted to try again. Since he wanted to know more about the Keyblade...perhaps he could figure some things out by using one himself, if he can. So Kalas knelt down and grabbed the Keyblade by the handle.

Right then, he had felt the same thing Sin had when he held it. Through the coldness, he felt like something started to call to him. No matter how faint it was...he could feel that the blade was reaching out for him now. To be used, to connect with his heart, to have a purpose.

In all honesty, what Kalas felt was just like when he bonded with Crystal, his former Guardian Spirit. How she had come to him, wanted almost desperately to bond with him...to save him from the darkness that clouded him...

Because of that, Kalas couldn't find it in him to let go. If the blade was conscious, then he would wield it, give it the purpose that it longs for. If Sin won't do it now...he will.

He could feel the coldness slowly fade from the Keyblade. It became lighter in his grip, allowing him to pick it up easier than before as he stood back up. He simply stared, as if studying this weapon. It was so odd...but also extraordinary...

However, in the midst of this, he seemed to have forgotten about the Phantom. So because of this, he was left open.

====

Sin was quick to join Sora in rushing into to attack the self-called Phantom, his Kama swinging upward just as the keyblade came down.

The Phantom made no effort to dodge, nor did his grin fade; he just stood there until the two Interferences were right on top of him.  Just before the blades touched his armor, the Ghost vanished like it was made of smoke.  Sin tensed, his Disaster Sense now buzzing again; though the thing appeared to be gone, his own sixth sense was telling him that this was far from the case.

Back with Kalas and his new weapon, something was about to happen to the winged boy that would remind him that you shouldn't stop paying attention in a fight just because of something that you found interesting.

A ghostly portal opened behind the Divine Child, revealing the image of the Phantom with its sword raised.  The Ghost wasted no time; it just slashed the katana across the boy's back.

====

At first, Kalas did not notice or hear the ghostly portal opening behind him. He continued to stare at the Oblivion Keyblade in his grip, still admiring the oversized key weapon. But that was about to change.

[i][color=fuchsia]"Kalas! Behind you!"[/i][/color]

Xelha's voice had snapped him back to attention. He whipped around, holding the Keyblade up in defense. Though he was still cut slightly, he still managed to avoid a devastating slice across the back. The Keyblade was then turned so that it was held backhanded before Kalas struck the Phantom in order to push it back. As he did this, his wing and winglet had unfolded themselves out of his cape, and in his right hand, a Magnus brought out his sword, so he would dual-wield both his signature weapon and the Keyblade.

The Divine Child was ready to fight now.

====

Sora was shocked by the teleportation, the cessation of existence where he swung. As a result of this, the boy took a few steps forward as he stumbled to come back into the fray. He did not have the same sixth sense as the Absol, but he [i]did[/i] have experience with teleporting villains. Battles never ended that quickly. In the least, defeated opponents, even these "Ghosts," did not simply disappear without a trace. There had to be [i]something[/i] that remained to dissipate. This was not an illusion, as it had been with Zexion when they had fought in Bord'wan. No, this being, this Phantom, had to truly exist in some way, shape, or form.

The clang of sword against sword brought his attention to the new battle behind him, made him turn on the spot. There it was again! So it was using some sort of portal to teleport? That was probably how it had gotten the jump on Sin, how it had dodged them both. He would have trouble seeing where it would strike next, it seemed. Not without a sound to its portals, unlike Corridors of Darkness.

He noticed the Keyblade that Kalas had picked up, recognized it as the same one that had been on the ground when he charged. It was of no consequence at the moment, however, with the battle so close. Simply a weapon he could ask about later.

Head on strikes were not working. The thing could dodge his moves, could just teleport again. He had to use another method. Something that could get past it.

So, raising his Kingdom Key high above his head in both arms, the more experienced Keyblade wielder shouted a single word.

[i]"Thundaga!"[/i] Several bolts of lightning rained from the sky, aiming to deal some damage to the emaciated humanoid. The bolts themselves had a spread effect, but would not harm Kalas, as his heart was certain of the Divine Child's alignment on his side of the conflict.*

(*This part I'm getting from a part in a topic a long time ago, when a healing spell from Alex had no effect on two people of uncertain alignments in regard to himself according to his heart. If it's inaccurate [I don't recall friendly fire being an issue in Kingdom Hearts], feel free to tell me.)

====

The Phantom just chuckled darkly, even if his attack was mostly avoided.  His image just faded away, with the thunderbolts crashing down where it had been harmlessly.

[i][color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"Let me ask you something."[/font][/color][/i]  He stated, though there seemed to be no definite source for his voice as it echoed through the graveyard.  [i][color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"How can you fight something that you cannot hit?  How can you prepare for an attack that can come from anywhere.  Even you, my former master"[/font][/color][/i]  The thing very briefly appeared in front of Sora, grinning maliciously at him.  [i][color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"Can't prepare for something that you can't know."[/font][/color][/i]  The Phantom's laugh echoed as it made its image appear at random locations to demonstrate this.

[i][color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"Answer me one more question.[/font][/color][/i]  It said.  [i][color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"How does it feel to have a katana forced through your chest?"[/font][/color][/i]  The portal flashed, briefly, in front of Sora again; only for it to appear, proper, behind the Keyblader and the Phantom shoving its weapon forward.  [i][color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"From behind."[/font][/color][/i]

====

Sora was on edge constantly as the Phantom spoke to him, hearing it speaking from all sides, from everywhere. Where was it?

The thing terrified him, really. Something about it scared him, something that it was spelling out to him quite easily. He couldn't hit it. The Keyblader didn't know where it would come from, couldn't get it even if he tried. And try he had.

What was this about "his former master?" Was this about Roxas [i]again[/i]? Couldn't people stop calling him by his Nobody's name? They weren't the same person! ...Well, technically they were, but that wasn't the point.

The Phantom's comments gave Roxas an idea. He hadn't done this in a long time, definitely not since he had re-merged with his other. Time to do a bit of summoning to help even the odds a bit more, give a few more eyes in the field. If he had fingers, the Key of Destiny would have snapped them.

Two Samurai Nobodies appeared on either side of Sora, much to his continued surprise. More enemies? Didn't he have enough problems?!

He tensed as the face appeared before him for a moment, disappeared. He hadn't left his battle stance yet.

Suddenly, he heard a clashing of blades, and turned on the spot. The two Samurai had crossed their swords, blades pointed down. Below them was that of the Phantom, his stab missing by sheer luck. Oh, right! The Samurai Nobodies were Roxas' personal type.

The Keyblader took his chance, feeling a Reaction Command fill him. [i]Extract![/i] With both arms, he reached for the Phantom, yanking back as hard as he could as he grabbed the light armor. Not wasting a moment after the pull, he brought the Keyblade back to his hand after its momentary dismissal, slashing wildly at the creature in his panic as well as surprise to have been successful.

(I'm sorry if I controlled him too much, TD.)

====

Kalas was trying to keep his composure after the Phantom disappeared. He tried not to show it, but he was feeling just as tense, even as the thing was harassing Sora this time. How were they supposed to hit it if it was gonna keep disappearing like that?

Despite the tense feeling almost overwhelming him, the holder of his brother's Life Magnus did not falter. Not only because of the Ice Queen telling him to keep calm, but also because of the newfound consciousness of the Keyblade he held. It gave him the will to help fight against this freak, to stop it from hurting anyone else.

Once again, it was like old times.

As the two white creatures stopped the Phantom from harming the Keyblader any further, Kalas took the time to draw a card. He smiled to himself as he saw what it was before it disappeared temporarily. The red orbs on his sword then glowed a bright teal, harnessing the Wind element.

After Sora had pulled the Phantom out, the half-winged boy took the chance. With a flap of his wings, he flew high in the air, his sword held high.

[i][color=Teal]"Sword Style: [b]Energy Wave!"[/b][/color][/i]

That was what he shouted before he came down, stabbing his sword to the ground before the Phantom. The shockwave had become a plunging wind blow that struck the Ghost where it was.

====

The Phantom let out an unholy shriek as he was grabbed by the boy and dragged him out of his portal; he hadn't intended for this to happen, so that it was incredibly painful for him to experience.  Though not nearly as painful as when Sora started to beat him over the head with that giant key of his; anywhere else, that would have be painfully humiliating as well.

But then the winged boy decided to try and pull of his finisher; even if that wouldn't kill him so soon, he was in no mood to take the full brunt of [i]that[/i] attack.

His Katana was gripped, then swung just as Sora tried to hit him again.  The blades clashed, loosening his hold on his own weapon just enough for him to switch how it was held and stab it down as the shockwave neared him.  The attack hit the blade and, though it couldn't stop it entirely, the Phantom didn't take the full brunt of the finisher.

He then used his lithe and light body to his own advantage, sweeping Sora's feet out from under the boy and continuing the motion so that he was carried back to his own feet.

He jerked the blade out of the ground as soon as he was up, and used it to cut a Razor Wind from Sin in half.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"I am not something so simple as I used to be."[/font][/color]  He state, pausing to glare at the two Samurai that had blocked his blade.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"I can think for myself; am not bound to the will of one being, nor am I so weak that I can't defend myself from you Interferences."[/font][/color]

"Starblade!"  Sin snarled, slashing with his Kama to send a blade of Stardust at the Ghost; only to have it vanish into another one of the portals before it could hit.  With a growl, he decided to fill in Kalas and Sora about one thing he'd learned about these things.  "Try to get rid of the thing's sword.  They can't summon them back if they lose them."

====

Sora watched the Phantom disappear back into its portal to...wherever it went. He hoped they had dealt some significant damage, but did not know how much it would actually be, nor if it would last.

He nodded to Sin, keeping alert for the Ghost's next appearance.

[i]It acted like it used to be a Nobody or a Heartless,[/i] Roxas said. [i]Based on the "former master" comment, I'd say the former. A Samurai, if it was referring to me.[/i]

The Samurai Nobodies sat on their knees, their katanas across their laps, alert as well. They did have minds and the ability to think for themselves, though they found difficulty in communication aside from a telepathic variety. They did have wills of their own, but understood that they were no true match for an Interference, much less their controlling Nobody, Number XIII.

"But...what [i]is[/i] it?" Sora was still confused by that. It acted as though it was once a Nobody, but didn't complete beings have more...normal forms? Didn't they lack the symbols that marked the incomplete? He looked to Sin briefly, though keeping an eye on his surroundings. "Can you give a short explanation, or a longer one when we get out of this?" Truly, it was more of an [i]if[/i], but with that Reaction Command, they stood a chance, at the very least.

====

Kalas cursed under his breath as the Phantom had disappeared, having pulled his sword out of the ground. He took in what Sin told them, not replying any further. Even if they did take that thing's sword away, he didn't think it'd stop there. Especially with all these Keyblades around them...

Still, the blue-haired swordsman stood at the ready in case the Ghost were to appear again. If they can pull it out again like Sora did before, they could probably take the weapon away easily. He just hoped that would be enough.

Of course, he too was curious about some things.

"Yeah, mind explaining what the hell that was?" Kalas asked, though didn't take his eyes off the surroundings. That Ghost thing disturbed him more than the monsters of that damn town; he tried not to think back on that again. He dealt with enough hell from that place. "And while you're at it, mind explaining what those are, too?" He gestured his Keyblade hand to the Samurai Nobodies. As mentioned, he had not seen a Nobody, nor had he been told what they were before.

And he's been an Interference for how long now?

====

Sin actually looked at Kalas like he was staring at a complete idiot that had just wandered in from nowhere.  "Are you kidding me?"  He asked, sounding none too amused with the winged boy's ignorance.  "Those things are Nobodies; they're what you get from the leftover parts after a Heartless is made."  Now, he turned to Sora; time to blow the boy's mind and possibly mentally scar Roxas in him.  "As for this thing... well; that's another matter entirely."

Sin paused as he thought he saw the portal and his Disaster Sense briefly flared as he readied for the attack.  But it never came and he was forced to distract himself again.  "These things, or Ghosts or whatever; they're what happens when Nobodies like your Samurai there find their Hearts before they die.  They turn into things like these and get different names; I've already fought two called a 'Shade' and a 'Wraith', and they were a pain in the ass to beat.  So you dodged a bullet when the two of you got back together; feel lucky, cause I dodged the sa-"  He tried to spin and do the same Reaction Command as Sora, but he was too late; the Phantom's sword impaled him and was torn out as he staggered back.

[color=Green][font=Lucida Console][i]"One down."[/i][/font][/color]

====

Sora knew that Sin's explanation of Nobodies was incomplete (and rude to boot). However, a fuller one could wait. So these were lesser Nobodies with their Hearts regained? It explained the comment. So maybe this [i]was[/i] an ex-Samurai.

The attack from the Phantom struck him from his reverie. "Sin!" Right, no thinking about that now. Destroy the Phantom first, catch up on explanations later. He ran forward, catching the unknown anthromorph with one arm as he called back to Kalas. "Hold him off!" How so, he had no idea. But he needed to buy some time. Maybe with his Keyblade, Kalas could used that very same Reaction Command, and disarm him besides.

No time for that. Sora had enough MP for a healing spell, for sure, but he couldn't risk it just yet. Instead, he dug his hand into his pocket, momentarily dismissing his Keyblade as he pulled out a Hi-Potion, thrusting it out to Sin. "Drink, fast!" he ordered, worried for him despite only meeting him minutes ago.

Time would tell whether or not his compassion would be too much of a weakness.

====

"...." Okay, so Nobodies were what's left of a Heartless...noting the explanation on Ghosts, Nobodies who've regained their hearts before they died, he guessed Nobodies themselves were merely shells without their hearts. Even if the explanation was incomplete, he still got the gist of it.

But then the Phantom had come out and attacked Sin. Kalas felt that subconscious trigger in the back of his mind, much like when he had fought that humanoid Heartless. He was too late to activate it, however; the Phantom had already disappeared, the portal gone with it.

Kalas growled under his breath. Not only was Sin incapacitated for now, but Sora had dismissed his Keyblade. The Phantom could go after them any minute now. He had to get its attention somehow...

Screw it. Mocking it might not work, but it was the best chance he had.

"Hey, ghost-boy!" Kalas called out as loud as he could, almost echoing across the wasteland. "Y'think you're so tough, don't ya? Just comin' in and out of your portals and attacking by surprise! Yeah, all freakish and deadly, right? Well, I got news for ya! If you keep running away like you do, if you can't even fight us head on...you're nothing but a coward!"

Here, he spread his arms out and started waving them. Yes, he was doing this while holding his sword and Keyblade, what of it? "Come on! I'm left right open! Attack me head on, I dare ya! I won't even lift a finger!"

====

The Phantom's laughter erupted from the empty surroundings as Kalas's challenge died down.  It continued on for several moments before some sarcastic clapping started up and he started talking again.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console][i]"Oh; oh that is the funniest thing that I've heard in a long time."[/i][/font][/color]  He laughed a short while longer before finally regaining his composure.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console][i]"It's amazing just how completely and utterly [b]stupid[/b] complete beings can be.  Is that really your best option; to try and goad me into an attack like I am some child?  I am the one that's in control here, you fool; I can attack any of you at my leisure, I can cripple you without warning, and I am not someone that you can trick into a stupid move like that.  It's embarrassing that you'd even try something so immature!"[/i][/font][/color]

Sin actually rolled his eyes at Kalas trying to make the Phantom attack him; this wasn't Kindergarten, or whatever they'd had in his world, why did he think that would work?  Still; he greedily gulped down the Hi-potion that Sora was handing him.  The absol may have died once already, but he was in no hurry to do so again.

====

Despite the fact that the Phantom just out and insulted him, Kalas just smirked. That didn't work as well as he'd thought...but he had another trick up his sleeve already.

"You know, you might be right about that," Kalas said, lowering his arms and shrugging his shoulders. "I'm just some random idiot who wandered into this pointless situation. Why should something so high and mighty like you waste time over a failed creation like me? Maybe I am wastin' my time here." His sword reverted back to its state as a card, and he placed the Keyblade over the back strap for his chestplate. "In fact, I'll just leave you to kill the other guys."

He waved to Sin and Sora, seeming to turn to leave them to their fate. However, in his hand, Nothing Threads began to gather. He tried to keep it hidden as he called, "Have fun trying to kill him, guys!"

====

Sin coughed as the Hi-Potion knitted the wound in his chest closed at an accelerated rate and he managed to get his voice back.  "You son of bitch."  The absol managed to choke out, hacking up a bit of blood in the process.

The Phantom just laughed gleefully over this development.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console][i]"Ah; the true, treacherous face of a complete being.  It's so sobering to realize that someone you trust with your life will just as easily stab in in the back as soon as it's convenient for them.  How does it feel, my former master?"[/i][/font][/color]

"For the love of God SHUT UP!"  Sin shouted, standing back up once he'd healed to the point that he was more or less fixed up.  "I've beaten two of you freaks already, I'm going to beat you!"

The Ghost just chuckled in response to this, not believing a word of what the Absol was saying.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console][i]"Big talk for someone that hasn't landed a hit yet."[/i][/font][/color]  He simply said; before Sin felt the Disaster Sense buzz and he spun to his left.  The anthropomorph grabbed the hilt of the sword and the thing's hand, then redirected it so that it wouldn't Sora or himself and pulled the Phantom out with the same Reaction command that Sora'd used, producing the same scream from the Ghost as it was torn out of the portal and left vulnerable yet again.

"It's not talk when you can back it up."

====

Kalas frowned as Sin had pulled the Phantom out himself, turning back to face the battle. In his hand now were a deck of cards, not his Magnus deck, but rather the Death deck he had received after the fight with that humanoid Heartless.

"Damn it, man, you threw off my plan," he complained. "I wasn't actually gonna leave you guys. I was gonna come back and stop it myself."

Nonetheless, he sighed and just settled for throwing the cards at the Phantom's hand to knock the sword out of his grip. It was the least he could do.

====

Sora had not seen the deck before Kalas had shown it, and so was ready to shout at him for leaving them behind. He was, however, shocked by the weapon, knowing the Nothing Threads.

Roxas knew far better. [i]...Isn't that one of Luxord's decks?[/i]

Rather than question it just then, the Keyblader took his best option. He re-summoned his Keyblade in a flash as Kalas attempted to disarm the Ghost, running straight at him. With that, he let loose. First came a sideways swing at his side, followed by a thrust straight down at him and a spinning slash. Then came a downward slash, followed by an upward swing and another spinning slash. Then, he followed with a thrust forward, followed by a diagonal vertical strike coming from the right side. The blade combo was concluded with a lightning-fast array of a horizontal slashes to the left and right, and a vertical downward slash. Lastly came a jump back followed by a rushing diagonal spinning slash.

On the last strike, he decided to try one last attack. Maybe magic could help their cause. Therefore, he held the Keyblade ready as he kept close to the Ghost, shouting loudly. [i]"Firaga!"[/i] With that, the flame surrounded him, spinning around for a moment and hopefully dealing even more damage to the Phantom.

====

Sin didn't say a word to Kalas's whining about him not leaving or about how he was trying to trick the Phantom to take it out.  Hell, the anthropomorphic absol didn't eve buy a word of what the boy was telling them now; as far as he was concerned, he'd probably been actually about to do it and only backed out when things started to turn in their favor.  He wasn't really the trusting type of person.

He did, however, join in on wailing on the Ghost while he was helpless.  Their weapons tore into the emaciated flesh of the thing, eliciting screams of agony that echoed around the graveyard.  However, he held onto his sword throughout the pain and the attack from Kalas's card; and he vanished into a portal, appearing a distance away.  Though panting and bleeding, he was still standing and still seemed smug about something.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"Ah; now I understand."[/font]  [/color]  He spoke as if coming to some realization.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"This is the power that you Interferences hold over us; now that I've seen it, I can tell others like me.  We will be better prepared for out battles with you from now on.  However, I'd rather not you three idiots attempt to grow a brain and follow me."[/font][/color]

The Phantom waved its free hand, a green glow surrounding it as he did.  Suddenly, the sounds of countless things warping sounded as giant crows with three legs and steel-gray feathers appeared around the group.  They cawed, snapping their wickedly curved beaks as the Phantom spoked up again.  [color=Green][font=Lucida Console]"These Thetans should keep you busy for a while; have fun."[/font][/color]  There was the sound of another warp, indicating he'd left them to deal wit the birds he'd summoned.

====

Kalas was about to call out the Phantom on his cowardice once more, about to throw his cards while his mouth flapped. He called them idiots when he should know you never talk during a fight scene.

But then the giant crows had appeared around them. These things...his name was derived of what they were based off. And hearing their caws...it was calling something from within... Kalas lowered his head, a deep chuckle rising from his throat. His eyes were beginning to change, to the demonic black and glowing blue--

[i]'No!'[/i] Kalas shook his head violently, regaining control of himself quickly. He couldn't allow the Angel of Darkness to break out again.

Instead, the half-winged human flew into the air, drawing another card. He decided to try something different; he pulled out the Keyblade, which was then surrounded with a dark aura. It shook violently in his grip as it tried to harness the power, but Kalas kept a firm grip regardless.

"Okay, here goes...." And he slashed the Keyblade forward and yelled, [b][i]"Shadow Wings!"[/i][/b]

From where he slashed, a dimensional rift had opened. And from it, a flock of spiritual ravens flew out, charging straight for the Thetans. Transferring one of his skills to the Keyblade was a success, it seemed.

====

(Going off of a message from TD with the numbers here. Might as well make it a solid count for us.)

Sora was very tense at the sudden summoning of forty some-odd "Thetans," as the Phantom called them. Of course, with its disappearance, he was relieved to be done with that fight, but this new one was not much better.

If the talk of being based off of Nobodies was any indication, these seemed to have a basis in..what were those small, flying ones that could morph into swords?

[i]Creepers,[/i] Roxas quickly informed his other. [i]Focus on the fight![/i]

Right, fight now, think later. One of those Thetans dove for him as he stood still, but he slashed at it horizontally, forcing it back before following up the backhanded swing with a forehand and a spinning slash to smash it back into the murder.

The Keyblader was caught off-guard by the "Shadow Wings" attack from Kalas. Though it would help, it was still creepy looking. Still, he let the murder attack the murder. And yes, that is a strange sentence. Thanks for asking.

He had to help, though, as he saw the Samurai enter the fray. The Thetan he had attacked was flying to one of them, and latching on. Due to slow movement, it was quite a while before the other one slashed it off.

The Keyblader raised his weapon to the sky, and shouted three times, only adjusting his aim on the last shout.

"Thundaga! Thundaga!" Lightning rained twice from above. He pointed to the horde. "Magnega!" A strong magnetic force appeared in the air near him, hopefully stunning the multitude and bringing them to a central point as well as causing collision damage.

====

While Sora and Kalas were pulling out moves that looked fairly high level, Sin was limited by just how little magic he'd actually learned.  He only had four spells to his name, and they were all first tier; admittedly, he still had his pokemon attacks, but those were far too physically draining to him to use against this many enemies.

"Star Storm!"  He shouted, conjuring a small tornado in his paw and hurling it into the the murder of Thetans.  The spell expanded to half the size of Sin, sucking in a couple of the animalistic Ghosts for some minor damage, but it still paled in comparison to Sora's Magnega.  He slashed, sending one of his Star Blade spells at another one to prevent it from getting close to him.  But that was something that proved completely useless, as he felt another one grab both his shoulders and his head with its three legs.

He cried out as he felt something being torn out of him from the inside; he could tell that it was still pecking and biting at him, but that was less painful than whatever it was doing to drain him.

====

After he had pulled off his attack, Kalas was back to dual-wielding his sword and Keyblade, the latter held backhanded once again. As some of the Thetans came flying for him, he kept going airborne and slashing out, cutting through the bird-like enemies. There was still the nagging feeling inside him, of his dark side trying to break out and go nuts. The Divine Child did all he could to hold it back, however; his two temporary companions didn't need another enemy right now.

Speaking of, he heard Sin's cries and looked down to find the Absol struggling against the Thetan latching onto him. Cutting away at the Ghosts in front of him, Kalas dove down and yelled, "Hang in there, furball!" He then swung the Keyblade out, in an attempt to yank the bird off with the teeth of the weapon. It'd probably hurt like hell for Sin, but no pain no gain, right?

====

When Sin cried out, Sora was going to go to him. He very much wanted to help in any way he could. But since Kalas beat him to it, it was best to concentrate on what needed aid.

First, he turned to the Thetans trapped in his Magnega. He was currently out of MP, but could still fight well enough, jumping into the air before going into a long aerial combo. He started with a downward slash, then went to an upward one from the right leg. After that, he went for a leftward slice, one to the right directly after, and two spinnings slashes. As his aerial finisher, he twirled the Keyblade in his right hand, bringing it to his right side, then his left, then back again. Finally, this was completed with a single slash straight down the middle with both arms, and he fell to the ground as the group returned to the murder, seven down in total from his strikes.

A line of five Thetans came at him then, spinning up in a circular arc before charging straight at him. Another series of strikes was necessary. First, he performed a strike akin to his "Speed Trap" Reaction Command. Spinning the Keyblade in his right hand, he halted the incoming Thetans, forcing them to bunch up together before sending them back with a spinning slash. He then attacked them all, focusing on only a few of the Ghosts. Sora started with two horizontal slashes, to one side and then the other. He then sliced up, followed by a slam back down and yet another spin of death. The last strike was different in nature, as he held his Kingdom Key in front of him, many balls of light surrounding him that caused additional damage before he was done. Finally, the Explosion complete, he looked to more of them. Two of five more had fallen, another near destruction. He wasn't paying attention to how any of these looked in their deaths. Best to concentrate on survival.

As Sin had felt, so did Sora. The weakened Thetan grabbed his shoulders and head, and too to pecking and biting at his flesh. The...thing it was draining out of him...it was causing a lot of pain, enough to make him scream out in agony. He had to get it off, had to...

And it was gone, wrenched from him. The boy looked to his savior. One of hte Samurai had its blade across its chest, having finished a lunging slash. The Thetan was no more, it seemed. It had saved him...somehow.

The other one was destroyed. Whatever it had done to him, the other had fallen to it.

The Keyblader had to be honest. Having lesser Nobodies help him felt a little strange. Axel, Roxas, and Naminé were one kind of situation. But this was something else. Eh, whatever. He'd take whatever help he could get, even as this horde was beginning to thin out.

====

As Kalas literally tore the bird-like Ghost off him, something was just barely visible for only a moment.  It looked like a ghostly image of the absol that was made of a strange, blue mist.  It snapped back a moment, tearing itself out of the Thetan's claws and leaving Sin staggering forward and looking incredibly sick and even frail for a moment.

He panted, even gasped for air like he'd been denied it for several minutes and was only now getting the chance to breathe.  He did mange to raise his paw and turn though, and even managed to gasp out the spell name 'Starfire'.  A white fireball flew through the air and Incinerated the Ghost on impact; they may have been stronger than most enemies that they had to deal with, but they were still fighting what was looking like the weakest of these Ghosts.

Interestingly, Sin noted that even these Ghosts followed the usual pattern of decay: flesh evaporating, eyes melting out of their sockets, Heart shattering like glass and then the bones turning to dust.  The fact that they were animals made it no less disturbing than on the humanoid ones.

====

To Kalas, however, the way these Ghosts died honestly disturbed him. It almost made him sick to his stomach; it took all he had to not vomit his last meal. He didn't let this distract him, however; he needed to focus.

The Divine Child had caught sight of the blue mist that came out of the Absol. Though he was surprised, again he didn't let that distract him. He just flew back in the fray and continued to hack and slash away at the remaining horde. A Thetan had been about to latch onto him, but he acted quickly. He tossed the Keyblade into the air, then grabbed the Ghost by the neck. He then followed it up with throwing it at another of its brethren, and as they bowled over in the air, Kalas caught his Keyblade and threw it at them, cutting away at them.

Once those few were done for, Kalas swooped down, slicing away at more Thetans that came in his away, and grabbed the Keyblade once more. He whipped around, about to slice away at more of the bird-like enemies. That was, until one flying overhead cawed loudly, bringing him to freeze in place. Again, that feeling was arising; again, he did all he could to hold it back, shaking almost violently. This was enough; like with Sin and Sora, Kalas was next. The Thetan latched onto his shoulders and head and began to peck away at his flesh.

Like the other two, Kalas felt like something was being torn from the inside. However, unlike them...despite all the pain, he did not scream. He was just frozen in place, eyes widened. He couldn't even find it in him to struggle.

[i][color=blue]"It's so dark..."[/color]

"Don't leave me alone!"[/i]

====

Still fighting several Thetans off at once, Sora saw the Ghost that attacked Kalas. He also glimpsed the decaying death of the ones they had defeated so far at last. Didn't keep it from being creepy, as he finished off yet another member with a thrust after another combo. This whole thing was getting just a bit tiring, but he knew he still had a single ether left, enough for him to quickly recharge his magic so he could help his friend. Just had to get these four off of his back for a few seconds.

The teen started yet another combo attack. First, there was a thrust straight forward, forcing his target back. A diagonal upward slash from the right leg followed to send it back to the murder, a vertical downward slash stunning another. A hilt thrust smashed that one back, another diagonal vertical slash from the left leg stopping a third dead in its tracks. With that last strike, he jumped, spinning the Kingdom Key above his head to propel the Thetan to the mass, colliding with the other two.

When he landed, he heard the shattering of one or two of their glass hearts, defeated by his onslaught, before taking out a blue cube of Ether. Swallowing it, he felt his magic power return, the rest of the MP Charge ending as he was returned to full.

Not wasting another second, he turned on the spot, aiming his Keyblade with both hands, directly at the Thetan trying to take...something from Kalas.

"Blizzaga!" And with that, a large blast of ice shot from the tip of his weapon, colliding with the Thetan head-on and sending it flying off of its victim, dazed for the moment and comparatively easy to destroy. He called out, knowing the Samurai could hold them off well enough. "You two okay?"

With that, he took his stance again, ready to get back to the fight. They still had to destroy the remnants of this group of Ghosts.

====

Though he still appeared sickly, Sin managed to jerk his Kama into its Shuriken form and hurled it into the murder of Thetans.  The four blades sliced into all the birds that it hit and even managed to actually send a few to the grave that they so belonged.  However, one of the others seemed to have noticed that Sin was now without a weapon and tried to take advantage of this.

It reached out to latch onto the anthropomorph with them, only to be struck with a different blade.  Sin had jerked yet another keyblade out of the clay ground and used it to take out the bird as it was sneaking up on him.  The absol tossed the weapon away, this one having nothing within it calling out to him, and managed to catch the kama shuriken just as it returned to him; including the one that he'd just killed with the key, that was three more Thetans that had bit the dust.

The murder was thinning out finally.

====

Like with Sin, when the Thetan was wrenched off, a ghostly image was seen being pulled out of the one-winged boy. And like the Absol, the blue mist tore itself away from the claws as it was forced off.

However, there was only one thing. That image was not Kalas' own. Rather, it looked to be a child about six years younger than the blue-haired swordsman, with one notable feature in that its ears were slightly point like an elf's. But that was seen only for a moment before the Thetan was forced away; more voices ran through his mind as the mist was back in him again.

[i][color=Blue]"Find the Ocean...find the Whale for me....."[/color]

"FEE!!!"[/i]

Kalas inhaled sharply before panting deeply. It felt like he had almost been killed again, and the memories...why did they come back to him that moment?

No, there was no time to ponder this. The number of the bird-like enemies was wearing out; they had to keep it up. Another card was drawn, and again he decided to test out with the Keyblade. Like before, it shook as it tried to harness the wind element like his sword did.

Due to his weakened state, it was harder to keep his hold on the thing, but he had managed anyway. As the Thetans came flying for him, Kalas slashed below and coughed out, "B...[i][b][color=teal]Blue Storm..."[/i][/b][/color]

A small whirlwind formed by two orbs of wind rose under the Thetans, taking down three more bird. As the rest came at him, Kalas just continued to slash through, sluggishly, but still doing what he can to keep them from latching on again.

====

Sora knew that with the mass thinning, they could have a definite chance of finally ending this onslaught. Would the Phantom return? Only time would tell.

He went through another long combination attack as another group of the remaining Thetans came off of the central murder. First came horizontal slash to the right, then a downward one, and a spinning cut to the left. Following that, he went into a side slash to the right, followed by an upward one, downward, and going into a powerful side swipe to the left once more. Before they could come again, he lunged forward with a stab, then an uppercut swipe, and a downward slash that finished with a hilt thrust and slash. Finally, he went for an upward-right diagonal slash, followed by an upward-left slash, and finally finished the combo by jumping into the air and performing a spinning slash.

From there, another smaller group came, three more to add to the three that had been defeated. Another quick flurry of attacks, this time from an aerial position. A downward slash followed by an upward one, another upward again on another. The whole thing ended with a quadruple spin of death, again and again around and around...until he landed, staggering a slight bit.

And with that, eight more Thetans had fallen, their glass hearts shattering.

(Think we should end on this post cycle?)

====

[size=1](Sounds good to me.)[/size]

With his vitality finally coming back to him, Sin found his skills returning to their normal potential at long last.  He flipped the kama so that the blade was facing up and then swung upward to gut a Thetan before it could get close.  He jumped back to avoid another, then jumped up to use it as a stepping stone and get higher.

The bird hit the ground as Sin went into the air, inhaling deeply.  He blew out a blast of icy air, turning the desert they were in into a tundra for a brief moment and freezing solid a total of five Thetans in one go.  The birds died as they hit the ground, complete with the usual way of dying, and Sin turned to fling a Razor Wing at another Thetan and actually cut the wing off it.  That was enough to sent it to the ground, crippled, and let Sin stab it as he landed to finish it off.

The absol panted after that, though he was taking a risk in resting right now.  Unlike magical skills, using moves like Blizzard and Razor Wind really took a lot out of him.  They weren't generated by some sort of mystical energy bestowed upon him, they literally came from [i]him[/i].  Over using them would leave him as tired as if he'd overdone it in a fight.

====

Kalas' own vitality was returning as he continued to to fight off the rest of the Thetans, this time more efficiently. Hack and slash...hack and slash...fly away before the birds could latch on again. If he could use another finisher, he would, but he had to wait until he could shuffle his deck.

He was getting real tired of this. These damn things that appeared as his namesake; he just wanted them all to go away, tear them all apart...

There was no more holding back. Kalas screamed out, a dark pulse bursting out from him, knocking away any Thetans that came near him. Then, a bright flash surrounded him; before it could dim down, it burst itself forward in a white blur. It moved with incredible speed, slicing clean through Thetan after Thetan as it passed them, glass heart after glass heart shattering. This kept up, until only one lone bird-like Ghost was left.

Finally, the flash dimmed down, revealing Kalas with the two large white wings and introverted eyes. He had thrown the Keyblade to the ground, right by his fallen winglet, as he grabbed the Thetan before it could escape him. With that crazed, bloodthirsty grin, he twisted the crow's neck, the heart shattering before him as his hands were stained by its remains.

The murder was finally done with...but the Absol and the Keybearer may have a new problem on their hands. The Angel of Darkness had turned his attention on the two, still with that chaotic look. He wanted more death, more destruction, more--

[i][color=fuchsia]'Kalas, no! Come to your senses, please!'[/i][/color]

Or not. Again, Xelha's voice had broken through to him. Kalas gasped out and clutched his head tight, fighting back against his dark side. In another burst, the white wings were gone in a flurry of feathers, leaving behind his single one once more, and his eyes returning to the way they were.

However, without anything to support him in the air, he fell and hit the ground, ending up in a very unceremonious position.

====

Finally, they were gone. The Samurai remained, ready to attack...but disappeared in its customary Nobody teleportation.

Sora paid it no mind, however. He saw the brutality of this strange form Kalas had taken on. It reminded him...reminded him of Anti Form, when both he and Alex had used it. He was tired, but ready to fight still, keeping his Keyblade ready. "Kalas, don't do it!"

...and he didn't. He just reverted and fell down. Well, that was something. Lowering the weapon, Sora watched him, wary of the form and concerned for him at the same time. "...Are you okay?"

He didn't ask for an explanation. Anti Form, as noted, was dark, so maybe this form had a darkness of its own. He could save asking about what he had wanted to talk about before this Ghost business for a little bit later. First he had be be sure he was doing all right.

====

Kalas groaned from his place, slowly adjusting to a hands and knees position. Shaking his head, he looked up to Sora and said, "Yeah...I'm fine. Just lost sight of myself for a minute there. It's gone now."

With that said, the single-winged boy stood up and did a few practice stretches, dismissing his wing in a burst of light. He then picked up his winglet, reattached it to the back of his left shoulder, before finally picking up the Keyblade. He frowned, not really liking how his dark side had thrown it so callously. After this whole fight, Kalas decided he was going to keep it, so he once again slid it to the back of his chestplate strap, tightening it right after.

That done, Kalas took a look around. No more Thetans, and it looked like the Phantom wasn't going to be showing up again. He breathed out a deep sigh, out of exhaustion. That really took a lot out of him. "Whew, glad that's over at least."

====

Sin looked on as Kalas went into his Berserker like rage, his kama held in a reverse grip when he looked at them.  Should the psychotic boy try to attack them, Sin would be ready to gut him like a fish in an instant.  It was cold, but, for all his depression, Sin honestly valued his life and wasn't ready to end it just yet.

The whole thing proved moot anyway, as he seemed to get himself back under control.

The absol banished his kama as Sora ran up to check on the boy, choosing to stay behing himself and look at some of the shattered hearts that were all that remained of the Thetans, the ash from the bones having been blown away by that wind blowing through the keys.

It was still slightly unsettling to him, the way these things died.  He'd seen a lot in these worlds, and always thought that he'd seen it all; then things like this came along and proved him wrong.  It was both a good thing, as it reminded him that he wasn't a complete monster yet, but also frightening, as it left him wondering what would come next.

It came to a head as Kalas spoke up once more.  "I thought that each time I beat the other two."  The anthropomorph spoke up.  "And I've only fought four types of these things; there's got to be at least as many types at there are types of Nobodies.  Make no mistake, it's not over.  And I don't think it'll ever be."

====

Sora sighed at the fatalist attitude of the anthromorph. "Maybe. But I'm not stopping. I'll never give up a fight if it can be won. We just don't know how to do it yet."

He went to Kalas then, not wanting to hear the end of the fatalism. "We'll get better and beat them. Just you wait." He looked to where the last Samurai had been. "Sin didn't mention that it's the remains for a strong willed person. Like Roxas for me." That explanation out of the way, he went to something else, something from before the battle.

"You wanted to talk about the Keyblade before. What was it?" He realized that with Kalas' Keyblade, or at least the one he was using if it was not his for real, he could teach him a thing or two about its use, if he needed the Kingdom Key for some reason with whatever the Divine Child wanted him to do.

====

Kalas just shrugged his shoulders in response to Sin's fatalist comment, nodding to Sora as well. "Yeah, I know. I sure as hell ain't gonna give up. If there's more of those, we'll kill 'em."

With that said, the blue-haired boy looked to the Keybearer when he gave the explanation. So Nobodies were only made if the person who lost their heart to a Heartless had a strong will. That made sense. When Sora admitted that Roxas was his own Nobody, though, Kalas almost did a take. Sora became a Heartless before? And got his heart back somehow from the looks of it?

He would question how, and what Roxas probably looked like now, but he left it. He didn't want to keep the boy all day with all his questions; maybe he could go see that Merlin guy about it instead.

Speaking of, Kalas frowned when Sora brought up what he wanted to talk about before the Phantom mess happened. He had almost forgotten about it. "I just wanna know one thing, and I wonder if you could do a favor with it for me."

He sighed. Might as well get it over with now. "When I found out about the Heartless...I was told that they could make their way to a world's heart and bring about its end. The only way to stop that is to seal the world's keyhole with the Keyblade, as I was told. And as far as I know...my world ain't safe from that."

It was here that the Divine Child looked straight at Sora, desperation clearly seen in his eyes, and in his tone, "If it's true...if the Keyblade can really do that...then can you please find a way to my world and seal the keyhole, wherever it is? My world already went through a crisis that threatened destruction, and everyone's still adjusting to living on the ground as far as I know. So please; I don't want another one happening to my world. Not for my friends...or for Xelha..."

====

Sin was still distant from Kalas and Sora; though he could still hear what they were talking about.  He wasn't really the type to barge into a conversation, nor was he the type to really say anything about something that wasn't related to him.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Kalas and his home.  As much of a jackass as Sin could be, the was still one of the good guys; meaning that he could understand anyone's desire to keep their home safe.  That said, he wasn't a Keyblader; as much as he wanted to help keep things safe from the Heartless, or worse, he wasn't someone that could use the metaphysical locks around the world to any effect.

Sin looked down at the mass of keys around him, almost considering searching them for another like that Oblivion key.  But that thought was discarded a moment later; he wasn't made to wield one of these things.

====

For the time being, Sora was not paying attention to Sin. He wanted to help Kalas with his problem.

He remembered Xelha. That blonde woman had been very nice to him and his friends when they came. From how he spoke about her... Maybe. But that wasn't really the issue. The problem was the world, not attached romance.

Roxas coughed within his mind. [i]Hypocrite.[/i]

"Of course I'll help you out." He gave his trademark grin, hoping the Miran didn't see his blush. "Kalas, you look like you're a Keyblader now. Or at least close to one. Want to come along and see how to do this?" He had to give one warning, though. "Just because we lock a Keyhole only means we seal off the world's heart. The Heartless can still attack, but just can't take the world itself anymore. Alex, the Original Interference, he was able to close the Corridors they come in through, but...I think they might have made new ones. But best to do the most we can."

He knew of a nearby save point. The one he had come in on. "I'll meet you at your world, okay? It might not fix everything, but it can save them from the worst of the damage. Had to do the same for mine and a lot of others."

====

Unfortunately for Sora, Kalas did catch his blush. He would have to make a comment on that later; he wasn't focusing on that now. The blue-haired boy was almost taken aback when Sora invited him to come along to see how it was done. With him keeping the Keyblade Sin originally picked out of the ground, he would want to know how it all worked. Though most things he wanted to figure out for himself, he couldn't pass this chance up.

However, there was a reason why Kalas was avoiding his world for now. If he went anywhere near, the Angel of Darkness could break out again and wreak havoc like he always wanted. It was probably just paranoia, but he could never be too sure...

Kalas shook his head. No, if they could get through this quickly, then he shouldn't have to worry about it. If his dark persona tried to break out, he could hold him back as much as he could. For how long, though, he wasn't sure. But either way, he looked to Sora once more and nodded, both in acceptance to the invitation, and understanding to not stopping the Heartless entirely.

"Alright, that sounds good enough." To the part about the Heartless, he replied, "I'm not worried about the Heartless. Everyone's tough in my world; it's how we all managed to save our world before. I'd just rather my world be safe from being destroyed; I know everyone can take on the Heartless however they can. Like you said, best to do the most we can."

He then turned to walk off, but had to say one last thing, "I'd like it if we could get it done quickly, however. If I stay in my world for too long...chances are he might break out again. I don't want that happening while we're there." And with that, he walked off, to the Save Point he had come from.

[size=1](Aaaand I'm done here.)[/size]

====

Sin actually looked back as Kalas made his hasty exit from this world, slightly shocked over it.  Well, maybe not the actual exit itself; but the winged boy had said something that had given the anthro pause to think.

'Him'; Kalas had referred to a 'him' when explaining his not wanting to stay on his world.  And Sin had been an interference long enough to realize just want the boy meant by 'him'; whatever that berserker state was, Kalas saw it as something other than himself.

"Hey, Sora."  He said, seeking the Keyblader's attention for the moment.  "I want you to pass something along to him when you catch up again."  He paused here, debating how to phrase what he wanted to say in a way that Kalas could understand when hearing it second hand.  "Tell him... that you can fight any inner demon, but you can only get rid of the ones that you accept come from you."  That was the best way he could say it without talking to Kalas face to face; and he wasn't ready to risk going to a world he knew nothing about looking as he did.

Instead, the absol merely opened a portal to one of the Dark Corridors that Sora'd mentioned not very long ago and stepped into it.  He'd just find somewhere else to wait for whatever happened to him next.

====

Sora nodded, not asking about the "him" involved. "Okay, I'll be right there."

He was about to go when Sin spoke to him. It wasn't too much of a request, so he'd say it. "Sure. I'll see you, then."

And he was the only one left. One last time, he looked to his surroundings. This battlefield...strewn with the Keyblades of old... what had been its purpose? He and Roxas could muse about that another time. It would be best to talk to Alex about it, and to maybe tell Kairi and Naminé...once they stopped hurting them for leaving without telling.

[i]Okay, so it was a bad idea. Best to get it out of the way.[/i]

The Keybearer didn't speak on that for the moment. He instead walked off, not looking back. As he came to a save point, he said one more thing to Roxas. "Thanks for the help. These Ghosts...they're more dangerous than usual."

[i]No problem,[/i] was the response. No sarcasm. Nothing. They were still a team, even if they argued a lot of times.

And with that, he was gone.

(And I'm done. Good work, you two.)