Kingdom Hearts: At The End of Existence

[Tailon]

OoC: This is between me, Rex, Psycho Monkey, Sir Red, Tangrow, and Blazi :>


At the end of a trench, carved by the hulking figure at the end of it decades before, sat a massive Gummi Ship, a set of tools on the ground nearby. Inside sat a young man, dressed in a brown vest and green shirt, with a pair of brown pants. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s emerald green eyes flitted over the controls and displays as nimble hands flipped switches, pressed buttons, and pulled levers. Today he would fly, or at least, that was what he told himself as the mammoth engines activated, preparing to lift the spacecraft from the earth.

All at once, and rather suddenly, engines faltered, then failed, wings folded back into their hidden compartment, and the ship completely deactivated, leaving Nathaniel sitting in the pitch black cockpit. The young man roared in anger, slamming his fist into one of the walls, then forced the hatch open and leapt to the ground, causing the earth to crack and tremble beneath him. The nineteen year old picked up his tools hastily, anger still in his eyes as he quickly climbed up to seal the hatch, then made for home.

Nathaniel lived in a rather excessively large house, the result of a rich family and large plot of land. The place was rather impersonal, but at least it was a comfortable home, certainly more than just livable. Nathaniel was gone almost as quickly as he arrived, leaving his tools and changing into identical, if cleaner, clothing. The young man dashed off once more, using pulses in the soft topsoil to push him past his already considerable tops speed as he literally charged into his destination, a clearing in the forests of the Heartlands.

As he came to a halt, a bright flash of white light summoned his favored weapons, the Crushers, a large pair of knuckle dusters with blades extending along his forearms, as he came crashing into a tree, splintering the wood under the impact of the metal. Satisfied with his weapons’ power, he began a series of training exercises to begin his day.

OoC: So it begins :3

 

[Rex]

This world was finished, for now. Nick had swept in with his army of Fusiliers, and in no more then a week, had squished any bit of resistance. The destruction had brought him a temporary bit of peace, and now it was time to get moving, before the Heartless caught up with him again. The Nobody concentrated for a moment, and a dark portal opened up, waiting to accept him. The moment he walked through, all over the world, his Fusiliers followed, leaving only the lesser Dusks and Creepers to clean up what was left.

After a few minutes walking through the darkness, another portal opened up, and deposited him in the square of your average farming town. Immediately, the people around stopped what they were doing, and turned to look at the strange creature that had appeared among them. Some looked frightened, others slightly angry, and even a few were curious. He loathed their stares.

Seconds later, the Fusilier army began to exit their own portals, having followed their master to this next world. They immediately set to work, gunning down any civilian that they saw. It was now that the mass panic set in, and the square quickly emptied of living Somebodies. The army quickly pursued, while Nick himself summoned one of the firearms he had found he could create, a Charlton Automatic Rifle, and killed anyone he saw, reloading the thirty shot clip when ever he had to. His supplies of weapons and ammunition was unlimited, as far as he was aware, and he would use them to his full potential.

Fires had already begun spreading themselves about, starting by the panicking civilians. The Nobody made sure to steer clear of the burning sections, they were starting to turn into an open war zone between the Fusiliers and some of the braver citizens. Dusks and Creepers had started to make their appearances, attracted by Nick and his army.

Finally, on the side of town not engulfed in flames, the Nobody found a rather large manor, obviously owned by someone who was incredibly rich. By all appearances, it was empty, ripe for the taking. It'd make a good base, at least until another one could be found. Deciding to take it for himself to use as a base-of-operations, the Nobody shot off the lock, and kicked the door in.

His suspicions were immediately confirmed. All was quiet, the house was empty. The Nobody closed the door behind him, and held his hand up to the destroyed lock. After a moment, a machine replaced it, grabbing onto the wall on either end of the door. If there was one thing that Nick loved anymore, it was the fact that he could make almost any machine he wanted. A simple door lock was nothing compared to some of the larger things he had made.

After a while of wandering, the Nobody found himself in a parlor. Seeing as how the place was his now, he had nothing against taking a seat and relaxing for a bit while his army cleared the town and began to spread to the outlying fields. So he did just that, propping his rifle against the arm of the sofa while doing so. It wasn't long before Fusiliers started to appear throughout the house, 'patrolling' as it were. It seemed that this would be just another routine razing, though Nick was beginning to tire of routine. Perhaps the next world he found he'd attempt to take over, instead of simply raze. It'd be a nice change of pace.

 

[Tailon]

Just short of thirty minutes after beginning his training, Nathaniel made his way towards home, walking at a more normal speed this time. Still carrying his Crushers, the young man opened the back door to his unusually loud house.

Inside he found several small, clockwork beings, which immediately turned to fire their weapons at him, only for him to make a quick leap over the trajectory, landing before the nearest one, and crushing it with a heavy downward punch. The other two he sliced down, extending the blades on the Crushers so they were parallel with his hands. As the blades clicked back into place, Nathaniel made a quick search of a few rooms, at last arriving in the parlor. In the room sat and unusual being, seemingly a large, bipedal, furred creature, somewhat similar in head structure to a ferret.

“Would you mind if I asked what exactly it is you’re doing in my front room,” Nathaniel asked, settling into a fighting stance, “it’s not often one finds a giant ferret sitting on their couch after all, and your little compatriots weren’t exactly being friendly.”

 

[Rex]

"Your front room?" Nick smirked, "I'm afraid this place belongs to me now."

A large group of Fusiliers filed into the room, and took aim at the man. Nick himself slowly stood and stretched, before picking up his rifle. The Nobody walked away, behind his line of soldiers. Leaning against the wall, facing the man, he readied his own rifle.

"Fire."

The line of Fusiliers all fired at the man, then pulled a small blade from their backs and clipping it on their rifles. The lesser Nobodies charged, while Nick himself hung back.

 

[Tailon]

A larger group of the clockwork beings entered the room and lined up around him, raising their weapons at him. On their master’s command, two things happened. The beings pulled the triggers of their firearms, and Nathaniel slammed one of the Crushers into the floor, sending an earthen wall tearing through the wood paneling of the floor in a circle around him. Though a few of the bullets passed through, the young fighter was unscathed, and now spread his arms to the sides, expanding the wall to crush the clockwork monsters, then lowered the wall back into the earth.

Nathaniel turned to face his attacker, and made a charge toward him, getting as close as possible in an attempt to strike or slash the furred creature with his Crushers.

OoC: SHort battle posts are short.

 

[Rex]

Nick squeezed the trigger of his rifle, spraying bullets at the man. Deciding he was too close for comfort in any case, the Nobody summoned a small machine, and threw it to the ground. Two more similar machines flew out of it, one landing on the ground and the other hovering in the air, quickly creating a force field in the air between them. Nick meanwhile ducked out into the home's hallway, and fired what was left of his clip into the room.

 

[Tailon]

Nathaniel was forced to slow by the bullet that had suddenly made its home somewhere in the wall behind his arm, and blood began to flow from his shoulder as his momentum knocked him into a strange forcefield, and he slumped to the ground. The young man blinked, his vision a bit blurry now, as he heard his opponent firing the last of his rounds. Deciding it wasn’t worth it to fight this powerful creature, Nathaniel made a run for one of the bathrooms, holding his wound, and only releasing his bleeding arm to hastily open the medicine cabinet and grab a standard Potion, one of many sold, unbeknownst to him, all over the universe. Nathaniel drank it down quickly, and immediately felt better as his vision cleared and his vitality returned. The young man checked his arm, and found a tiny scar with bloodstained skin surrounding it. It was certainly time to go, so Nathaniel ran to his room for what would be the final time, taking a large duffel bag and his toolbox, he leapt from the window, softening his landing, and then shot off with the same unnatural speed as before toward his ship.

In a nearby town in the Heartlands, a swirling portal of darkness tore open. Heartless poured through, and in their midst a man stepped forward. He wore a white three piece suit, and a white fedora, but his face and hands were not visible. Everything but the suit was shrouded in a veil of darkness. The man walked forward, saying nothing. Any grass upon which he stepped shriveled, and stone roads crumbled. The being raised a hand, firing a blast of dark energy at a random building. The building quickly fell apart, as though it had aged several centuries in a moment, and then seemed to simply fade to dust. Seemingly satisfied, the man walked slowly down the main road, destroying the buildings the Heartless ignored, making his way toward the massive house atop a hill outside town.

Nathaniel came to a stop near his Gummi Ship, and leapt to tear open the hatch, slamming it behind him as he landed inside. It was time to fly. The young man popped a hatch beneath the controls, made a few quick rewiring, and hoped he wasn’t committing suicide. Nathaniel strapped himself in, then turned his attention to the now familiar controls once more, powering up the ship’s systems. The ship roared to life, its engines activating mightily and heaving the mammoth ship from the earth, then, with a sudden blast from the engines, launching it out of the atmosphere and into space. Nathaniel’s eyes watered with joy as he watched the Heartlands fade away behind him, and he set the coordinates for the nearest, hopefully inhabited, world.

The man in the white suit approached the massive house now, destroying the strange mechanism on the door, followed shortly by the door itself, with a wave of his hand. The figure wandered about, and found a ruined front room. The being found this wasteful, and thought if one was to go about destroying things, they should at least destroy them properly. Bored, the man took a seat at one of the sofas and merely waited for something to happen.

After several minutes of flight, Nathaniel had changed into a brown duster, darker green shirt, and black jeans and leather gloves. The young man watched the viewscreens carefully as the ship approached a world. The ship entered the world’s atmosphere without incident, and began landing routines. Unfortunately, the ship had chosen a spot rather unfitting for a Gummi Ship to land, and came down on a paved street in front of a building with a sign on it reading “Wilson P.I. Offices,” crumbling the pavement beneath it. Nathaniel opened the hatch and hopped down to the street looking around at what appeared to him to be a black and white video surrounding him. The young man was a bit puzzled, and decided he must first consider his options, and leapt mightily onto the top of the ship, sitting cross legged on it, and first resolving never to let the ship computer choose the landing spot, before contemplating exactly what this place was, and who he could ask for help.

OoC: You're first Red >=D

 

[Sir Red]

Dust fluttered up from an already over-cluttered desk as another stack of papers were dropped onto it, rousing a sleeping, middle-aged out of shape man from his evening nap. “You really need to get your shit organized, Allen,” the younger man who dropped the stack said. He brushed his blonde hair back and then fidgeted with the slightly over-sized vest that he was sporting as part of a three-piece suit that was all just a bit too big for him. The elder man stood up and yawned, walking across the room and pouring himself a cup of lukewarm coffee.

“You find any leads on your sudden appearance, Richie?” Allen asked, scratching his mangy scruff. The man certainly looked the part of a grizzled P.I., that was for sure.

I did not want to divulge anything to him, for fear of what the inhabitants of Nino Town might think, but I knew far more than I was letting on. Three months ago I was sitting outside of my house, lamenting another failed interview, when things started to get a bit odd. Darkness rushed in from all directions and it began to consume everything around me. It rushed in at me, and I was overrun with terror. Not so much for my own well-being, but for what was happening to the world around me. I remember screaming, and then a blinding light encompassed my hand and suddenly overpowered everything around me. Then I must have slipped into unconsciousness.

I awoke with my head stinging and feeling like it was in a cloud, which fit seeing all I could make out in front of me was what appeared to be clouds. I rubbed the spots out of my eyes and looked around noticing that somebody had desaturated the world around me; and completely changed it too. I’ll admit, I freaked out at first. A lot. But after I began to calm down a bit I walked around and found myself in a very odd place. It seemed to be perennially dark and there was no shortage of crime or disorganized law, a really odd motif. It was during my exploration that the fact that I was inner-monolouging my actions, it was quite odd to say the least.

My first night, unless you want to get technical in which case my entire time here has still been my first night, but alas; I was walking down an alley, which there were are no shortage of, when the shadows behind me began to shift in the most peculiar and sinister of fashions. I spun around, bracing myself for some thug to attack me but what I saw was far more frightening. What I can only describe as some giant, mutant ant morphed out of the shadows of reality and began to skulk towards me. The massive Thing lumbered towards me, it may have only came up to roughly my waist, but god damn bugs are not meant to be anywhere near that big.

It seemed to cackle almost, sensing my fear and feeding off of it. It bent down and was about to lunge, but just then that same glow irradiated from my right hand. This time, however, I did not lose consciousness. The ant recoiled in pain, glaring at the light. I too looked down at it as it began to stretch outward from my hand into a long, skinny beam and then with a final bright flash the light was out. In its place there was a rapier in my hand, the blade attached to a hilt that was essentially an ornamented orb that encased my fist fully.

I looked up just in time to see the beast leap at me and out of reflex I plunged the blade at it, piercing it. But rather than the guts and innards that I had expected to see spill out, the creature vanished. I was in shock as to what happened and slumped against the wall, all of the day’s events really coming into context for me. It was those things. They were the reason that my home was gone and I was here. I did not know how I knew this, but I did. I sat in that alley for what must have been hours and cried; got everything in me out and then some more that I didn’t even know was there.

When all was said in done I decided that I would I could to get my home back, to get my family back, to get my life back. I would need to learn about my enemy, though. And the best way to do that was to get my ear to the ground and learn as much as I could about things here. So after being rejected from all of the best P.I. Offices in town I finally got an assistant job at “Wilson’s P.I. Services”. It was far from stellar, what with the man running the place, Allen Wilson, being a lazy, miserable drunkard.

However, it was something. I told Wilson the story about how I had woken up in Nino Town suddenly, but not that I knew how I had arrived as I felt that was not necessary to divulge to him and he agreed to help me find out how I had come to be in town. I used this as my front to learn about the entities known as “Heartless”. Heartless where the things that had swallowed up my homeworld and effectively killed everyone I had ever known. And the creature that attacked me, the giant ant-like thing, was a particular Heartless known as a “Shadow”.

Information, however, was not the only thing that I was collecting in my time here. I have also been preparing myself for battle with the Heartless. Nino Town has no shortage of them and after a few failed attempts at summon my rapier, which had since named Procella for the ornamented storms on the orb hilt, I became quite competent in battling them and began to hone my craft and even learn some interesting abilities to go along with my self-taught swordplay.



“So, you find anything?” Allen insisted on me, still trying to chase the hangover he had from his previous bought of drinking.

“Um…” I stammered, sifting through the information I had found out from a few of the mob thugs that I had been talking with to see if there was anything I felt like divulging to him when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Before either Wilson or I could respond the door flew open. It was the paper boy and he a wild look on his face.

“Yo-you gotta come out and see this, misters!” His eyes were bugging out with shock and excitement as the worlds tumbled from his mouth.

“Now calm down, son,” Wilson said, wincing from the loud outburst. “What the hell is all the hubbub over?”

The kid grinned widely at him, “There’s a real, flying spaceship outside your building.” He said it so matter-of-factly, like this was simply an everyday occurrence. Wilson and I exchanged bewildered and skeptical glances. Apparently Wilson decided to humor the kid because he went over to the window and opened the shade, and sure enough, just as the kid had said there was a floating spaceship above the street outside our building. Wilson stood there, mouth agape, shocked at the ridiculous sight. I however, saw a way to possibly get back home. With a gleeful grin I bounded down the stairs and out the front door.

 

[Psycho Monkey]

The usual hustle and bustle of Nino Town was interrupted by an obsidian black portal that shot from the ground making a slight whistling sound. Emerging from the portal was a man wearing a black coat with a hood obscuring his face. The front of the coat was adorned with a giant black zipper, a silver chain going around the collar, and two silver pull-strings on either side of the neck. The only clothes noticeable under the coat were black pants, high black boots, and black gloves.

The man turned his head side to side scanning the area before rhythmically tapping the left side of his chest with his right hand. To the sound, several black creatures with large yellow eyes emerged from the shadows of the streets.

"That's right Heartless. I have what you want. A fresh, delicious, strong heart. But you're going to have to earn it." he taunted. The cloaked figure held out his left hand producing a beam of darkness which then materialized as a large key shaped sword. The shaft was flat and wide with a point at the tip giving it the appearance of a long black sword. The “key” part was silver and curved downward resembling a scythe. Beneath it was a mirrored scythe giving the blade an overall crescent look. The hand guard was shaped like black angel wings with the top of the wings being at the base of the blade and the largest feather touching the base of the handle. The keychain dangling from the base of the hilt was a white skull hanging from a black chain.

The Heartless recoiled slightly at the appearance of the mythical Keyblade. The bravest of them jumped in first ready to take the Keyblade wielder's heart only to be struck down with a powerful swing, dissolving into a cloud of darkness.

"Is that all you've got?" badgered the man. He then gave a battle cry and charged into battle. Every time he engaged the Heartless in battle, he felt accomplished. The less of those monster there were in the World, the less other worlds had to suffer. The less people would end up like him. After several minutes, the horde had greatly thinned out leaving only a handful of Heartless left.

"So I hear you guys like spreading Darkness throughout the worlds. But can you handle your own medicine?" the Keyblader interrogated as the tip of his Keyblade known as Requiem started to glow with ominous black shadows. With a flick of the man's wrist, five volleys of darkness shot off, one for each Shadow. On impact, the Shadodws exploded in a dark cloud. "Guess not. You Heartless really shouldn't cook if you can't stand the heat of your own kitchen."

Satisfied with his work, the cloaked man dismissed Requiem deciding to have an honest look around town. For one, those Heartless were too weak. Even if they were just beginning to sprout up on this world, there was always a stronger Heartless leading the horde. Secondly, it would be wise to know the terrain for when more Heartless showed up. Now that he was out of battle, the first thing he noticed was that the world around him was entirely in black and white.

"Hey, who turned off the color?" he asked sarcastically to no one in particular. As the cloaked figure left the alley, the sight of a strange ship coming from the sky caught his attention. He quickly set off to follow it to its landing location. That ship contrasted with the setting of this world appearing too cartoony and too technologically advanced.

When he arrived at the location, in front of a building called “Wilson P.I. Offices,” a crowd of people was already gathering. Everyone was in black and white like the scenery but it was easy to pick out the pilot because of the way he was dressed; a shirt, vest, and pants compared to most adults wearing suits. The Keyblade wielder decided to stay back out of sight rather than confront the stranger in a crowded street. For now, he would quietly observe his fellow out-of-worlder.

 

[Rex]

Nick was about to pursue the man, when he felt something else enter the world. Even though he was a Nobody, his body still remembered how do display feelings, even if Nick himself didn't actually register them in his mind. He was displaying the classic signs of fear. His army scattered, fleeing the world, and he soon followed. The ferret-like Nobody practically dived into his portal, disappearing just as the presence made it to the house.

---

Nick reappeared soon afterward in a colorless world. Nino Town was currently experiencing a lot of traffic from other worlds, and for now it seemed the Nobody would remain well hidden. He disappeared into an alleyway, a place where he was well shadowed. A small group of Fusiliers soon appeared, attracted by their master's presence.

"Patrol the town, do not engage the locals unless you are attacked," Nick ordered, leaning against a nearby wall, "If you find anything of interest, report it back to me. Do not approach it. Kill any Creepers and Dusks that you find as well, I want our presence on this world to stay a minimum while I figure out what to do next."

The group of Nobodies saluted, and marched off. They would stay together, strength in numbers, after all. The group of lesser Nobodies took a right when they reach the street, and disappeared from view. Now, Nick could only wait for their return.

 

[Blazi]

The clanking of armored feet ran down the alleyway, while footsteps followed behind. The clanking belonged to a child sized figure, dressed in red, blue and black. It was wearing a silver helmet, and it's eyes were a blazing yellow. The regular footsteps belong to three kids, all around the age of fourteen. The were dressed slightly more normally. One of them, a boy, was carrying a large wooden sword, and wearing a brown shirt and trousers. His hair was short and black. Another one, a girl, was wearing a green shirt, and grey shorts. She had a slingshot in one hand, and several seeds in the other. Her hair was red, and tied into a small ponytail. And the last one, a boy, was leading the trio. He carried a large wooden pole, and wore a black shirt, a grey jacket, black trousers, and grey shoes. He had dirty blond hair that was messy, giving the look as if had just woken up. The thing they all had in common, was that they all wore goggles. These goggles were currently strapped over their eyes, which all had a look of determination in them.

The small figure ran through the alleyway, until it found itself at a dead-end. It turned around, and looked at the kids who were chasing it. The boy carrying the pole stepped forward, lifted the goggles off his face, showing a pair of dark-blue eyes, and spoke, "Who the hell are you? We chased you all the way from the Inn, and you haven't even panted. Tell us where you come from, or else."

The creature just looked at the boy, before lunging forward without warning. The boy spun his wooden pole to block the attack, and then kicked the creature in the face. It staggered backwards, before gaining its footing again, and staring a the boy again. It seemed like it was about to lunge, before it was hit straight between the eyes by a seed. It turned to look at the girl, who's slingshot was outstretched. It seemed to want to attack her, but stopped itself. It looked at the boy carrying the sword, then to the boy with the pole, and finally back to the girl.

The creature looked as if it had made up its mind, and then jumped, and was swallowed by a black-and-purple portal. The boy with the pole cried out, before slamming his pole to the ground in frustration. The girl stepped forward and spoke up, "Well, at least it's gone Jacob."

The boy who had slammed his pole to the ground, Jacob, sighed, before turning around. "You're right Abigail, it is gone. But that doesn't tell us why it was here in the first place, or why it didn't seem to get hurt by our weapons."

The other boy spoke up, "Perhaps we should tell everyone else about it?"

Jacob looked at him, and nodded. "You're right Luke, we should. Alright, Abigail, go find Cooper and Jake, and tell them. Luke, find Jonathan, and tell him. I'll tell Isaac." Abigail and Luke nodded, before both turning and walking away. Jacob watched them leave, before sitting down, and taking out a small, leather-bound book. He opened it to where the ribbon was, took out a pencil, and started sketching the creature he had just seen.

Throughout the book were pictures of all shapes and sizes, as well as written entries. This was Jacob's Journal, and he used it to keep track of pretty much everything that had happened. Ever since he had woken up in that bed in the Inn, with no recollection of his past, he had wanted to write down everything that had happened. He had found this book in the pocket of the jacket he had been wearing when he woke up, and inside were only four words: You might need this. He had used the journal always, writing down his thoughts, memories, and even drawing pictures of the things he had found. Inside were pictures of a black cat with a white love heart on its ear, a smiling lady in a dress, a group of kids all smiling, separate pictures of these kids, a fountain, and a keyhole. Near the middle, which was where he was drawing now, was a picture of a small black creature, with two black antennae, and what would be yellow eyes, if he actually coloured this in.

He finished drawing, and looked at his work. In his book was now a near-perfect picture of the creature, which he had called a 'Soldier'. Jacob put the journal back in his jacket, and picked up his pole. Jacob contemplated on what what to do, and scratched his head. He could go back to the Inn, but then he'd have to tell Theresa, the Innkeeper and his most trusted friend, about what happened, and he didn't feel like telling her the Soldier had gotten away. He thought about the fountain, and made up his mind. Zeke started walking out of the Alleyway, and towards the castle in the center of town.

~

The sound of Trickling water filled the cavern. In the center of the cavern was a medium sized water fountain. It was made of white marble, and was the traditional style, with three basins. The fountain seemed to glow in the dimness of the cavern, with the water throwing ripples of light over the ceiling and walls. It was towards this fountain that Jacob now walked, pulling out an empty water canteen. He stood the edge of the glimmering water, and scooped it into his flask. The water glowed briefly, before becoming clear, not giving out any shine at all. Jacob put the canteen away agin, and scooped a little water into his hands, drinking from it. Almost instantly a good feeling spread through his body, telling him of what was to come. Jacob smiled, and turned around, leaning against the fountain edge, and watching the ripples cast along the wall.

OoC: Phew, so glad that's over~ I'm sorry it's late, but at least I've got it done!

 

[Atma]

As he felt a burning anger in his heart extinguished by bitter sorrow, Leo gritted his teeth and held onto his blade even harder. There was no breeze as such, no smell and no taste in his mouth but the sweat of a laboured battle as he struggled to open his eyes, catching a glimpse of the never-ending darkess he was hurled through.

His world had been destroyed and now he was flying painfully fast through this spitefully corrupted space, no sooner had he reached his threshold of pain was his journey over. First came the sound of wind, the feel of it in his hair and the glimpse of a dark portal in the sky of this place he was falling through. A scream left his lips as he fell the few meters down into the castle courtyard with an almighty crash, agony stifling his ability to speak as the sensation of pain washed over him and he passed out.

In his unconscious mind he was watching his world fall. First a shadow had been cast in the sky and then ... The unstoppable flood of creatures tearing apart everything they could reach.