Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom hearts: Realm of the kings ❯ Realm of the kings ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Darryl was falling from the sky, headfirst into an unfamiliar world. His eyes closed, and his mind completely unaware to the situation, death seemed upon him. "This sensation...falling?" His mind began to race, although his body remained motionless. He was dangerously close to the ground now, and his death. His royal purple eyes opened, and suddenly his senses returned to him. "Damn it Nick, don't suggest to make a dark portal for us if you can't control it!" He shouted. It was at that point that he realized he was alone...and that he was about to smack into the pavement below. Quickly, he summoned his keyblade, and made a forceful swing at the sidewalk below him. He was attempting to cushion his fall like he had done so many times previously, but had halfway failed due to how late he initated his cushion. A large crater formed, and a veil of dust whipped up from Darryl's impact. His keyblade flew into the air, piercing the ground in front of the crater. Darryl, now once again unconcious, lay in the center.
Darryl's eyes, the color of polished Amethyst, finally opened once more and allowed light to flood in them. He was no longer in the crater he previously was in, but was instead sprawled out on his back in a small bed. His aqua color bangs hung in his eyes as usual. They were a little longer than when he first entered the bleach world, but that was natural. Hair grows when time passes; his just seemed to grow at an annoyingly accelrated pace. When he first got his current hair style, his bangs ended above his eyes. Currently, they hung to the middle of his nose. He could feel bandages around his head, and under the pale gray covers that hid his body from the world, he moved his head to feel the bandages on his toned torso.
"Oh you're finally awake." A voice from Darryl's right side danced in his ears. The voice, a young woman's, was enticing yet calming. He turned his head, to see a teenage female. Her hair, a red so pale it could be mistaken for pink, was tied back in a long ponytail which tickled her smooth legs. A few bangs hid her forehead from the world. She had big gray eyes, and was of average height. Her skin was tan, and she wore a red sweater along with a black skirt. Overall, she was quite attractive.
"Are you the one you cared for me? Where am I? Who are you?" Darryl was filled with questions. And pain. There was alot of that.
"Yes, I'm the one who cared for you, oh great keyblade weilder." Darryl looked over past the female to see his keyblade leaning against the wall. "We call this place the Realm of the Kings. And my name is Yuki." She answered Darryl's questions in order, but Darryl wasn't done.
"How do you know about the keyblade?" Darryl sat up at this point, the pale gray covers falling off his torso and instead hiding everything below his waist.
"Legend tells that a few years ago, a keyblade weilder came to save this land. He left, but we one day hoped for his return to save us once more from poverty, and the crime we currenly deal with. However, he never did. Ever since then, this place has had mixed feelings about the keyblade weilders. Sadly, some have lost hope and hate the keyblade weilders...oh, well of course I'm not one of those people." She quickly added the last part on.
"What did this other keyblade weilder look like?" Darryl's intrest had been caught.
"Oh...He was older than you. Flat black hair, pale, and he had a scar below his left cheek. That's all I know, since it was years ago since he's appeared."
"Dosen't sound like anyone I know..." Darryl's mind had been flashing images of all the keyblade weilders he knew, and none of them matched up with the description. The doorknob turned, causing Darryl to look beside his keyblade. The wooden door opened, and two other figures walked in. The first one was nearly identical to Yuki, besides her being taller, having an older looking face, and her hair having a small twinge of gray from aging. The second was short, and was elementary school age judging from apperance. Her hair was cut short; ending at her neck. She had an adorable smile on her face.
"Mommy, look! He's awake!" The little girl shouted, before running up to the edge of the bed and thrusting her face toward Darryl's. She looked up at him; her eyes full of innocence. "Hi mister keyblade weilder! My name is Morita! What's yours?" She probaly would have continued talking, if her mother hadn't gently pulled her away from Darryl's bed.
"Now, now Mori, let him get some rest." The mother spoke. Darryl correctly assumed the two newcomers were Yuki's sister and mother.
"I'm Darryl. It's nice to meet you all."
"Hi Darryl! How old are you?! I'm eight years old, and Yuki's sixteen years old, and Mommy's th-" The mother covered up the little girls mouth, with a chuckle.
"A young man should never know a ladies age." She answered, leaving Darryl to assume she was in her middle to late thirties.
"I'm..." Darryl placed a finger to his lip. How old was he anyway? It seemed as though only a few months had past, but Sora claimed two years had actually past by his world standards. His body, and his personallity certainly matured two years instead of a few months, thats for sure. Well, in his opinon atleast "...Seventeen." Darryl took the risk of being wrong, and added two years onto the age he was when this journey first started.
"Well you should get some rest. You had a pretty nasty fall. We fixed up your clothes a bit, they're resting on the counter for you when you get up. Come on girls, let him sleep." And with the mother's words, Yuki and Morita walked out the room along with their mother, closing the door behind them. It had been true, Darryl rarely slept anymore and was in much need of a good sleep, so he complied and slowly dozed off.
"We know you're hiding him!" A deep and booming voice awoke Darryl.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Another answered. The voice was...familiar.
"Stop lying!"
Darryl sat up. That booming voice seemed angry.
"He's not here!" Darryl finally recognized the voice as Yuki's mom. He sighed a bit, before climbing out of bed.
"I better get dressed and see what's going on..." He muttered, walking toward the counter where his clothes were. A pale-yellow sticky note sat upon the neatly folded clothing. 'The material of these clothing is alot sturdier than the flimsy stuff your world's clothing was made of. It patches itself up whenever you summon your keyblade, so hopefully it'll save you some time sewing outfits.'
It was true, Darryl's clothes always had patch jobs done by his poor sewing skills whenever they tore. This would be alot more helpful.
He first, unwrapped all the bandages from his body, so that the only thing covering his chocolate, toned body was a pair of boxers. When the journey first started, he had an average body frame. Not too skinny, but not too fat either. He was rather happy with the results of constant fighting.
"This is your last warning!" The voice boomed once more, causing Darryl to snap back into the present. He pulled on his black pants, which had a wallet chain which hung from his left side. The pants had multiple pockets, and drawstrings toward the ankles. They allowed the pants to be pulled up a bit, and made into capri esque pants. His belt was all white, with black skulls splattered upon it. He pulled on a tight, black vest and zipped it up. It was sleeveless, and had a collar. However, this still revealed his midrift. There were angel wings on the back of the vest, with a golden crown floating over top of them. Darryl put black, fingerless gloves over his hands, and put on his black and white vans. Finally, he placed a cloak on his body, which was red with a yellow trim, and included a hood, and had a drawing of the four japanese gods on it's back. The Dragon, the Phoenix, the White tiger, and the Tortoise, which was coincidently a representation of some of his drive forms as well. The cloak attached with a small clip that went over his chest.
Now fully dressed, he walked out the room and headed toward the front door, and outside to the noise. The house was rather big, and it took him a few minutes to get to the hallway which contained the front door. It was ajar. Suddenly, shots rang out and he heard the three female voices shriek.
Meanwhile, outside a black sea of soilders filled the streets. Each soilder held a gun, which was pointed at the door. Yuki, Morita, and their mother lay upon the ground in a bloody mess. "On my command, we move in." The same booming voice which had awaken Darryl spoke, quieter at this point however. He began to walk toward the door, but stopped when a shadow appeared in it. The soilders backed up, walking back down the twelve large stairs. Darryl's eyes widened in shock at the bloody massacure of the three females he had recently met. He said nothing, but began to walk toward the stairs. Once he stepped on the first one, he heard the sound of thousands of guns cocking.
"Don't take another step, keyblade weilder!" The man's voice was in full boom again. This caused Darryl to look around at his surroundings. The buildings seemed like a cross breed of midevil and modern. All around him, guns pointed at him from soilders wearing all black. From above him, a few soilders were seen upon the roof, aiming down at him. Darryl's face was calm, despite being rather annoyed. The three girls were down at the second to last stair. Darryl said nothing, but took another step.
"Fire!" The figure which the booming voice belonged to unleshed a spray of bullets toward Darryl.
"Fool." Darryl's eyes narrowed, as his crystal control activated in the form of floating shields to deflect the bullets. The shields floated in front of him, while Darryl continued calmly strolling down the stairs He kneeled by the three, allowing his shields to cover for them as well. "How are you guys doing?" Morita had been sobbing, and Yuki was holding her leg.
"We'll be ok...but mom is...mom is..." Darryl shushed Yuki at that point.
"I can bring her back, don't worry. Just sit tight." Darryl grinned.
"Break the shields! If you break them, he won't be able to defend himself!" The man shouted.
"Listen up dunce. These shields...my crystal control is formed by a mixture of my power and the water molecules in the air to form crystalized ice. As long as I'm concious, and theres water in the air, you can't beat me." Darryl stood up, his face calm. In his right arm, a frosty mist formed. When the mist vanished, Darryl stood holding his keyblade. It was completely made of crystals, with a silver crown forming the key part. Engraved on the crown was the kanji for light. It was a hiltless keyblade, and the handle was imprinted with the kanji for angel. In the center, right above the handle, was an orb with water flowing through it. The keychain took the form of a silver 'X.' He then charged at the group, vanishing from sight.
"Where'd he g-" Darryl appeared behind the soildier questioning where he had went, and struck him in the back. A solider appeared in front of Darryl and with a quick swipe, knocked his keyblade out of his hand. However, he simply summoned it back and struck him in the side. It sent him spiralling into another solider, knocking the two out. Whenever Darryl swung his keyblade, a frosty mist and splashes of water flowed from the keyblade. Three soilders charged him, and with quick and decisive slashes, he knocked the three on the ground.
The soilders resorted to shooting again, which was quickly blocked by Darryl's crystal control. "Time for Shinsoku again..." Darryl took a lunge, and then vanished with a high pitched 'swish' sound. He reappeared behind the shooting soilders, and swing his keyblade at the back of one of them. He then jumped on top of the soldier's head, and flew high into the air. "Ryutsuisen!" He came down upon four soldiers; the force of the blow whipping up dust.
"Frost bite!" Darryl swung his keyblade, and unleashed a chinese dragon of ice from his keyblade. It ripped through a line of enemies, freezing them as it touched. The soldiers began shooting at Darryl once more. "Don't you guys ever learn?" He put up a wall of crystals in front of him, and then began punching the wall to send out shards towards them. They cut the soldiers in various places, causing them to bleed. Darryl jumped into the air, forming stairs composed of his crystal control, and ran up toward the roof. He jumped into the sky at the last step, and performed a 'Ryutsuisen' on the nearest soilder. The attack whipped up dust, which he used as a veil to mask his movements. He attacked the few soldiers on the roof, knocking them off and subsequently killing them due to the height of the drop. Darryl then jumped down off the roof, plumenting down back into the fray.
"Ryutsuisen!" He cried out, performing the move with twice it's normal power due to the added power from the height he fell from. The attack took out ten soldiers at once. He then formed a straight, thick line of crystals, which broke into shards that he sent flying at the soldiers. Thirty-two soldiers fell to the crystal shards that Darryl sent out. One brave soldier charged Darryl; weaponless. He punched Darryl directly in the forehead, and broke out in a smirk. However, it was quickly replaced with anguish and pain, as Darryl drove his keyblade through the man's stomach. He fell to the ground, as Darryl withdrew the blade.
Darryl tripped a nearby soldier, and as he attempted to get up, Darryl drove his keyblade into the man's back. "That will teach you." He muttered, while pulling his blade out in time to knock a soldier's gun out his hand. A solider jumped into the air, shooting down at Darryl. A wall of crystals formed above Darryl's head, which the bullets smacked into. The crystalized ice wall then became water, which flew up at the soldier in a spiral pattern. It connected, propelling him high into the air, before he fell and landed on his back. A soldier charged Darryl, and with a quick sidestep, missed. Darryl then smacked the back of his neck with his keyblade.
"Aqua Jet!" Darryl pointed his keyblade straight out, with both hands on the handle. A large wave of pressurized water flew at a few soldiers, forcing them into a nearby building. He then turned, gripping his keyblade with both hands. He charged using his shinsoku, causing him to vanish from sight. "Kuzuryusen!" He cried out, flying through a line of soldiers. He appeared behind the last one within the line of twenty, crouched with his keyblade hung out behind him. The soldiers dropped instantly, all being hit in various places. He then began bobbing and weaving in between bullets, before delivering a jumping spinning kick to one of the nearby soldiers. He drove a soldier into the wall, and then began constantly hammering him deeper and deeper into it, before jumping back and delivering the final blow; a charging slash that cracked open the wall and send the soldier inside.
Darryl bent his knees, and held his keyblade at his waist, as if there were a sheath there. A group of soldiers charged Darryl, whose eyes were closed. They quickly opened as they were upon him, and he took a quick step with his left foot. "Amakakeru ryu no hirameki!" He cried out, making a quick and powerful verticle slash. It connected with half the group, and send them flying. Meanwhile, he began rotating as another group charged. "I've used the fang of the dragon...time to pull them in with the claws!" Darryl thought, as the force of his first strike began creating a vaccume which sucked the other soildiers closer. Once Darryl made a complete three hundred and sixty degree turn, he struck again. This blow held more force than the first. However, he continued rotating at the sight of another group charging. "I'll take it a step further...Kenshin Himura...Hiko Seijuro...watch as I use the tail of the dragon to blow them away!" Darryl talked in his head as he completed his rotation, and made a horizontal slash in the same spot that the vaccume had formed. The result was the vaccume reversing, sending a powerful wave of wind to blast the soldiers away.
At this point, the majority of the soilders had already been defeated. Darryl pointed his keyblade straight up, as water swirled around it. The remaining soldiers were in front of him, all preparing to attack him in various ways. "Grand tsunami!" He swung his keyblade at the ground, and a large wave of water unleashed. It flooded the area, and all of the soldiers became submerged in the water.
"Frostic requiem!" The water converted to ice, and all of the soldiers became living popsicles. The soldiers were defeated, except for one. The one whom had been issuing the commands; the man with the booming voice. He turned to run, and Darryl calmly walked after him. With a quick 'swish' noise due to his shinsoku, he appeared in front of the man and grabbed him.
"Time to talk. Who sent you?!" Darryl screamed into the frightened man's face.
"I...I don't know!" The man's voice became laced with fear.
"Then you serve no use for me alive." Darryl rose his keyblade up, but was stopped by the man's pleades.
"Wait! The man who sent us, he's supposed to call us in about an hour on my phone. We have to confirm the job was done, so you can talk to him then!"
"I guess your amnesia is gone." Darryl dug into the man's pocket, and withdrew the phone which the man spoke of. "Good. Now how good are you at playing dead?"
"Wha?" The man's face was puzzled.
"You heard me. You better play good so well, you make me forget your breathing. Otherwise you'll be joining your friends in death." He tossed the man back on the ground, whom remained motionless. Darryl then skated on the ice, before vanishing once more with shinsoku. He appeared in front of the three young ladies.
"Curaga!" And with that, Morita and Yuki stood up healed. However, the mother remained motionless. "Burst mode: Angel!" And Darryl's apperance changed. His previously aqua color hair changed to a color resembling cotton. His vest, pants, and gloves became a white color, and the orb located on his keyblade held light blue energy instead of water. His entire body was outlined with white aura, which formed angel wings on his back and a halo over his head.
"Yuki...he's an angel." Morita spoke in bewilderment and wonder.
"Yes Mori. He's our guardian angel..." She answered, also in bewilderment.
"Divine Curaga!" Darryl pointed his keyblade at Yuki's mother, whom was enveloped in white light. Her eyes then opened, and she stood up. Darryl's angel form left, as the three looked at Darryl.
"You can...reanimate the dead? Are you...god?" Yuki's mother spoke finally.
"I'm nowhere near as omnipotent as him. I can only bring back each person once, so don't be too reckless." Darryl responded, before going inside. He sat upon a chair and relaxed; his elbow on the arm of the chair and his head resting against his fist. His eyes closed, and he remained in this position for an hour, until the phone he took from the soldier rung. He flipped it open and spoke into it.
"Next time, send a better attack force."
"Who is this?! This isn't captain Yamato!" The other, educated voice spoke.
"No, this isn't your precious captain. Maybe we should meet somewhere."
"...Alright, you have my attention, boy. Am I correct in assuming this is the keyblade weilder?"
"Why, yes you are. And since you obviously know where I am, lets meet outside the city limits." He remembered Yuki telling him the city limits could be reached by going straight ahead.
"Sounds good. Twenty minutes." And with that, he heard nothing but dial tone.
"Hey...Yuki. Is there any transportation here that I can borrow?" Darryl questioned. Yuki nodded her head, and proceded to take him down a long, spiral flight of stairs. He arrived in a hanger of sorts, and spotted a Motercylce, with goggles hanging off the handlebars.
"It belonged to my father..." Yuki began, after catching Darryl's puzzled expression. She then explained why he wasn't present within the house...that he had died, fighting off this organization that had gathered. Yuki was young when it happened, and thus even she couldn't remember what he looked like. It lead Darryl to believe, that even if Yuki herself didn't know it, her father was a keyblade weilder. He however, had no time to discuss that with her at the moment. He plopped down upon the motercycle, and placed the goggles over his eyes. He then pulled the cloak's hood over his face, and started the motercycle up. Full speed, he zoomed out of the hanger and ended up on the streets. Zipping down the streets, Darryl must have been pushing ninety miles per hour, atleast. He gracefully manuvered the motercycle between the cars on the road, and found himself at the city limits. The road ended at this point, and all that was left was a rocky cliff, with an exceptionally high plumet to the bottom. Just in front of the cliffside, stood a figure. Darryl stopped his motercycle in front of this man, and hopped off.
Upon closer examination, the figure was obviously male, due to it's lack of breast, broad shoulders, and small waist. It was short, wearing an all purple cloak. It bore a white mask, with the Kanji for Gekido(Rage) upon the mask.
"Why do you hide your face?" The man spoke in a intelligent voice. It, truthfully, reminded Darryl of Steve Erkil.
"Why do you hide yours?"
"Touche." The man, whom Darryl silently chose to refer to as Steve Erkil Junior resonded. "I'll make you show your face!" And with that, Steve Erkil Jr charged Darryl. He threw a fist at Darryl, which caught him off guard and connected at the side of his face. Darryl slide back, smashing into the motercycle. However, his hood and goggles remained on his face.
"You hit pretty hard, for a nerd." Darryl rose up, swipping blood from his lip. The two then charged eachother, engaging in a furious exchange of blows. Darryl threw a right hook, and the blow was dodged. Steve Erkil Jr threw a kick at Darryl, whom sidestepped to avoid it. Darryl threw a jab, only for it to be blocked. Erkil Jr attempted to hit Darryl in the face again, but the blow was blocked. Darryl punched once more, but Erkil Jr caught his arm, and attempted to throw him. Darryl gripped Erkil's arm, and landed on his feet. He then, now behind Erkil, wrapped both his arms around Erkil's waist, and bent backwards, attempting a german suplex. However, Erkil Jr also landed on his feet, and pushed Darryl off. Darryl threw a kick from his powerful right leg, which Erkil blocked by crossing his arms in an 'X' pattern. The force of the blow, however, was enough to send Erkil sliding back. "Now..." Darryl thought, using his shinsoku to rapidly approach Erkil. He jumped into the air, while Erkil managed to recover. Darryl kicked hard at Erkil's mask, and connected. However, Erkil had managed to swing and connect his fist with Darryl's gut. Both of the fighters flew off in seperate ways, before hitting the ground. The goggles, which Darryl had stuffed the edges of his hood in to keep it from lifting up, snapped and fell to the floor. His hood flew back, exposing his face.
"Much better." Erkil Junior stood up. However, a large crack ran through his white mask, and it shattered a few moments later. There, he was revealed to have tanned skin, along with short, lavender hair.
"I agree." Darryl grinned at his handy work.
"Don't get cocky, little boy." Erkil's voice had changed once the mask fell off. He didn't have the nerdy, Erkil-esque voice anymore, but sounded rather elequent and calm. Darryl correctly assumed there was a voice changer within his mask, which now lay in shambles on the ground. "My name is Gekido. Although you won't remember it...where your going." Raven feathers began to swirl in his right hand, before a familiar weapon appeared. The blade was all black, with a hilt shaped like a raven spreading it's wings. The handle was also black, and at the tip of the narrow blade were a few raven heads, which formed an odd key shape. A keychain dangled from the weapon, taking the form of a pearched raven.
"A...keyblade?" Darryl's voice was filled with shock, as he summoned his own keyblade in a watery mist. "But you're..."
"Evil?" Gekido quickly cut him off. "Evil is relevant. But, in your case and for simplicity's sake, yes I am evil. Well, corrupt is a better choice of words. But, so is the fate of all keyblade weilders. Every person's heart turns to darkness, it's just a matter of how high your breaking point is."
"Word of advice: That whole 'Your evil just like me deep inside, we're really not all that diffrent' super villian bullshit is so old." Darryl chuckled a bit at the suggestion that he would one day become corrupt.
"Oh really? Tell me...why are you fighting?"
"To..." Darryl stopped and thought about it. Why was he fighting? He had been fighting for so long...he almost forgot. "...to protect the worlds from people like you." He finally answered Gekido's question.
"Oh? Who asked you to do that? Who cried out 'help me, help me?' Whom exactly, begged you to protect the worlds from people such as I?" Gekido had gotten inside of Darryl's head. Darryl never thought of it that way. In truth, he just...kind of assumed thats what he was meant to do. What they were meant to do. The keyblade was meant to protect...he couldn't have been wrong, could he? "Or, do you fight because deep down inside, you've always been angry? Fighting is probaly just something you take out aggression on. Sure, for the most part you end up fighting evil. But that's not because you want to protect the worlds. It's because evil pisses you off, because it interfers with your life. Oh but, how can you be sure everyone you've attacked was evil? Have you ever once, sat down and talked about their reasons for doing what you consider to be evil? Or did you just jump in, attacking first and asking questions later? You're not a protector of the worlds, your just a pissed off kid with some power." Gekido explained, what his interpretation of Darryl's reason for fighting was.
"Shut up!" Darryl screamed these words at the top of his lungs. "Regardless of my reasons...of what they previously were...of what they may seem like. My destiny is to protect the worlds, and thats what I'll do."
"What a shame. You really are no use to us. Come, show me what you can do." And with that Gekido charged Darryl. He stopped in front of him, driving his keyblade into the ground. Using it as a spring, he flew forward and kicked Darryl in his chest. Darryl hit the ground, before rolling back to his feet. Gekido jumped back a bit, and Darryl used the opportunity to charge with his Shinsoku. Gekido, quickly swinging his keyblade to the left, was able to block the blow that Darryl attempted to deliver. He then pushed off and jumped again, as Darryl revanished. He appeared beside him once more, and slashed hard. The blow was blocked, but knocked Gekido off his feet. Gekido, however, delivered a sweeping kick to knock Darryl off his feet as well. The two stood up once more.
Gekido charged Darryl, and delivered a horizontal slash. However, Darryl jumped into the air, landing on top of the keyblade. He then did a backwards flip, which kicked Gekido in his chin. Gekido slid back a bit, while Darryl hit the ground. "Raven flash!" Gekido pointed his keyblade at Darryl, and a black beam of enegy shot from it, slamming into the young keyblade weilder. Dust whipped up from the attack, only for it to fade and reveal a perfectly unscratched Darryl.
"My turn." Darryl used Shinsoku to quickly approach Gekido, and succeded in landing a slash on Gekido's right shoulder. Darryl jumped back after doing so, in order to dodge the blow Gekido made toward him. However, Darryl had found himself dangerously close to the cliff side. One step backwards, and he would fall off. Gekido, noticing Darryl almost stumble off the cliff, used this to his advantage and dived at Darryl. The force of Gekido attacking with his entire body's weight sent Darryl falling over the cliff, and consequently Gekido after him.
A spur of luck allowed Darryl to place his feet firmly on the cliff's rocky wall. He went sliding down the wall, as if he was snowboarding down the cliffside. He was so high up, his eyes weren't able to spot the bottom. Gekido landed in front of him, and was sliding down the mountain in a similar fashion to Darryl; except backwards so that the two faced eachother. The two then began clashing and swinging at eachother, fighting while they slid down the cliff. Gekido landed a powerful slash at Darryl's head, but at the last second Darryl managed to turn his head. None the less, the blow nearly shattered Darryl's jaw. He healed himself, and the clashing continued. Suddenly, Darryl rose his keyblade up. "Frost bite!" He slammed his keyblade down, and an ice dragon emerged. The ice, shaped like a chinese dragon, flew at Gekido. It connected, and propelled him off the cliff side, bringing him to free fall. Darryl dived off the wall after him, and the two began to battle in mid air, as they plummeted toward their deaths. Gekido managed to get a foot on Darryl's stomach, and use it as a spring board to propel him above Darryl's head.
"Raven flash!" The familiar beam of energy knocked Darryl downward, and accelerated his fall. However, Darryl had managed to form a platform of crystals which was suspended in mid air. He landed on his back, but quickly sprung to his feet. Gekido also landed on the platform, and once again the two began dueling. After fighting to a stalemate, Gekido jumped back and began to be surrounded with feathers. "Drive form: Raven!" After uttering those words, his purple cloak became pure black. His feet seemed to morph into claws, while his hands remained the same. Cybernectic wings formed on his back, in the likeiness of Raven wings. His hair turned black, and he began to flap his wings. "Did you think you were the only one who could drive?!" Gekido soared upward into the sky.
"Burst mode: Dragon!" The orb within Darryl's keyblade now held a mini-tornado, rather than water. His vest, pants, and gloves transformed into a deep blue-green color. He became engulfed in a blue aura, which twisted and turned to form a long tail, and overlaced his arms and legs to form aura-claws. His teeth turned into fangs, and his eyes slowly turned crimson while his pupil's became slitted. He let out a dragonic roar, before crouching. Wind began to pick up beneath him, as he shot off into the air. Instantly breaking the sound barrier, he flew after Gekido, whom at this point was hovering just above the surface of the cliff, before they had fell. Darryl rapidly approached Gekido, and swung his keyblade while coming to a complete stop. "Roaring wind!" The result of the action was that while he stopped, the wind that he had been using to travel at his speed flew at Gekido, breaking the sound barrer as it traveled and creating a 'roar'. The sonic boom attack rushed toward Gekido and connected, propelling him higher into the air.
"Launch!" Gekido recovered, and made a thrust with his keyblade. A missle shot out from it and rocketed toward Darryl.
"What?!" Darryl attempted to slash the missle, but it exploded before his keyblade reached it. Covered in smoke, Darryl flew into the ground and almost colided with his motercycle, but he managed to stop himself with wind at the last second. His feet touched the ground, as he sighed in relief. However, multiple missles flew down from the ground, and Darryl rose slightly above the ground, and began 'wind skating.' The missles followed him, and continued hitting the ground after him. He then flew into the air, and smashed his keyblade into Gekido's.
"Ignition!" Gekido's keyblade exploded, sending Darryl flying backwards. Gekido's keyblade reformed in a puff of smoke. The two began slamming eachother in mid air, before Darryl and Gekido seperated. "Let's finish this with a bang!" Gekido began twirling his keyblade. In response, Darryl placed the tip of his keyblade in his left hand. A swirling whirlwind orb formed in his hand. He then flew at Gekido. "Ignit-" He began.
"Tornado Orb!" Darryl cried, as he was mere inches away from Gekido. He thrusted the orb at Gekido, and it connected at the same time his keyblade exploded. The two were surrounded in smoke, as a figure dropped from it and smashed into the ground. Wind came and blew away the smoke, revealing Darryl floating in the air. He landed beside Gekido, whom had been layed out on the ground. His drive form faded, as he looked down upon him. "You've lost." Was all Darryl said.
"Perhaps...I was wrong about you. Maybe you're not just an angry kid..." Gekido realized, seeing death upon him.
"No. I am angry, that much I admit. However, it isn't for the reasons you might think. I'm angry because of what people like you have done. And so I'll use my anger...my rage...and I'll turn it all back on you people." Darryl admitted. Gekido chuckled a bit, before letting out a cough.
"So I see...if only...you weren't so weak. You could have used that rage for our benefit. But regardless, I suppose my time in this life is up. I'll see you in hell..." And with that, Gekido fadded away in a swirl of light. Bruised and wounded, Darryl healed himself. He then jumped on his motercycle, and sped off toward Yuki's house...toward the place he was currently staying at. Before he reached the house, it began to storm, and a massive downpour had occured. His motercycle ripped through the streets, and as he came closer to the house, he began to notice craters in the streets and other oddities which weren't present when he left. He then spotted the door to the house ripped off and resting on the steps. Coming to a sliding hault by the stairs, Darryl jumped off the motercycle and ran up the stairs. Entering the house, keyblade drawn, he soon came across Yuki and Morita, holding eachother and sobbing.
"What happened?!" Darryl questioned the two. They looked at him, and it seemed as though Morita attempted to speak, but instead of words, a loud wail protruded from her mouth.
"A man came...and took mother. I don't know where he went...but Darryl, don't go after him. His power is unreal!" Yuki had been shaking while she spoke. Darryl said nothing, but walked off toward the door. "Where are you going?"
Darryl turned his head to the side, and simply stated "To bring your mother back." He then ran outside, while shouting "Burst mode: Dragon," and took off flying. He had been flying for hours, his body now drenched in rain. The sky grew black, and the moon currently floated in the sky. Finally, he spotted something. Darryl quickly landed, and returned back to his normal state...only to find himself staring at a bloody, lifeless body. He began walking towards it slowly, tears in his eyes. "No...this isn't fair. They weren't after you, they were after me. You had a family...you can't just leave them like this. They say everything happens for a reason, right? Well then..." He dropped to his knees, in front of the body and took it in his hands. The mother's face was missing an ear, both eyes, and the majority of her lips. Her body had it's clothes ripped off, and she was bloody around the insides of her legs. "What the hell could be the reason for this?!" He cried out, before hearing footsteps in the rain.
He turned to slightly, to face a figure approaching him, and stopped about twenty-five feet away. The figure was masculine, and wore a form fitting black suit. Nothing was revealed apperance wise. Even his face was covered by a large, metallic black mask.
"A shame..." The man spoke, his voice raspy and contorted due to his mask. "She could have easily avoided that gruelsome death if she just would have submitted. I didn't want much, just a good time. I even took her away from her kids, so they wouldn't have to learn about such pleasures at an early age. Wouldn't want them to go out and get themselves pregnant right? Well, she told me she couldnt stand the sight of me, so in the middle of the act I decided to spare her that sight. I mean you can't complain about what you can't see right?" The main let out a ghastly chuckle for a bit, and then continued. "Well, things got a little crazy after that, and she wasn't making it easy for me. So I just had to kill her. Atleast I enjoyed myself, right?!" He began laughing madly, before Darryl cut him off.
"You're a fucking monster." His voice trembled in anger. Suddenly, he felt the hairs on his neck stand up. The man had been behind him, whispering into his ear.
"Now, now such langugage. Your mother wouldn't appreciate that kind of language now would she?" He teased. "Oh my, I've brought you to tears." The man brushed a cold, gloved finger over Darryl's eyes and wiped a few tears off. "Does this sight make you sad? Just imagine how sad you've made others. True, most of the people you've defeated were evil, but they were still living beings. What if they had families? Families that you ripped apart with that precious keyblade of yours. You can't begin to experience the pain of another's loss, until you experience the death of someone close to you. And not the temporary death's you've grown accoustomed to, but of the permanent variety. Now, wallow in sorrow! Let me enjoy your anguish!"
Darryl said nothing, but glowed slightly with a light blue outline. Small spheres of light went up into the sky, and joined with the rain clouds. The rain became ice needles, and the needles flew toward the man and Darryl. The man jumped back, while a few of the needles pierced Darryl's body. "You want to enjoy my anguish? I'll carve my fucking anguish all over your body!" Darryl quickly vanished using shinsoku, and landed a hard blow upon the masked man's torso. It left a deep gash upon the man's chest, revealing a dark skintone for a brief second, before it was covered in crimson blood. Darryl reappeared behind the man, keyblade in hand. He then charged once more, however before he was able to land a blow on the man's body, Darryl felt his entire body pause. It was as though an unseen force had been holding him back.
The masked man held his hand outstretched; palm facing Darryl. "Now, now, don't get so cocky. You landed that first blow because I was unprepared, that's all. My powers are psychokinesis. Each one of the four guardian's of the king have a special ability. Just as how Gekido's were explosions, mine is this. In addition to being able to stop your body, I can also do this..." The man then thrusted his arm forward, and Darryl was sent flying. However, he was able to catch himself mid air, and backflipped in order to land safely. He slid a bit once his feet touched the ground, due to it's watery covering. Darryl charged again, and recieved the same result. He had abandoned all thoughts, abandoned all reasoning, abandoned all stragety. The only thing his mind could process, was that the man in front of him needed to die.
"I grow tired of this." The man finally said, after Darryl's twenty-third attempt to charge and slash at him. In his hand, a dark mist had formed. Once it faded, a keyblade had appeared in it's place. It was all black, with what appeared to be a praying mantis' claws at the trip to form the key-ridges. The hilt was shapped like a mantis' head, and the handle was green. The keyblade's chain appeared to be a green praying mantis. He pointed his keyblade at the mother's dead body. It suddenly reanimated, and began to float in mid air. The keyblade floated into the mother's hand, and she then floated toward Darryl. Awestruck, Darryl did nothing as she approached. However, once his mind calmed a bit, and he was able to realize that he simply was controlling her body with a sort of necromancy-like magic. She swung down, and Darryl blocked the attack with his keyblade. However, he couldn't bring himself to strike her. Instead, he used his Shinsoku to creep closer to the man. He swung his keyblade at the man, but his body was stopped mid swing. Darryl's body then began to move on it's own.
"I can control your body as well! Once you're in my control, there's no way to break free!" The man taunted, as Darryl began to grit his teeth.
"So says you." He spoke with his teeth gritted. He then let out a loud cry, as water swirrled around his body as a result of his energy. He had broken free from the man's control.
"Impossible!" The man was in awe. Noone before had been able to break free from his psychokinetic grasp, until now that is.
"Even if I have to dye my heart in darkness. Even if I have to become a soldier of hell. Even if I have to become the devil himself, I won't let you escape this battle. I won't let you live on past this day! Burst mode: Devil!" Darryl 's keyblade bacame black and red, instead of light blue and white. The orb, which once held water, now held a black fog. His hair became a blood red color, while the whites of his eyes turned black. His pupils became slitted, and his eye color shifted to amber. An aura formed around his body, which was black in color. At his back, the aura took the form of corroded bat wings. Black markings appeared on his shoulders, stomach, legs, and arms. A black and red blade appeared on his left forearm, and extended past his hand. Darryl then sank into the ground, and vanished from the area.
"Devil trigger!" Darryl's contorted voice cried out from under the ground. Spires of darkness shot out from under the ground, catching the man by surprise. As the spires held no brain, he wasn't able to control them. They pierced the man multiple times, before slamming him into the ground. Darryl then rose up from his shadow, as he watched the mother instantly fall to the ground and cease movement.
"You call me a monster?" The masked man's breathing had become shallow. He spoke in between deep breaths. "Yet, you feel no remorse. No sorrow. No anguish."
"You're an idiot." Darryl's voice sounded haunted, as though two voices were talking at once. This was from the effect of his Devil drive. "Who said I feel no remorse? No sorrow? No anguish? I feel it every day, every hour, ever second that I'm on this journey. I'm constantly wondering what effect I've had on others, and whom I've saddened with my actions. But deep down inside, I know my actions are neccisary for the greater good."
"Greater...good huh? Perhaps, you just might be one of the few uncorruptable keyblade weilders. But things are never quite as simple as that. The second war of keyblades approaches...will you be ready to keep fighting for the greater good? I look forward to watching you from the afterlife..." The man was on his last leg. Soon, he would die. Darryl however, quickly lunged the blade on his arm into the man.
"Look forward to looking up at me from hell." Darryl reverted back to his normal form, and picked up the mangled body of the mother. He said nothing, but began his walk back to Yuki's house; tears streaming down his face. Once he arrived, for a brief moment the two girls looked overjoyed. However, once Darryl got closer, their joyous expressions quickly became sobs of horror. Their mother was dead...and there was no bringing her back this time.

The next day, all of the town had gathered for the mother's funeral. They had known, thanks to Yuki, whom killed her. That it was one of the king's loyal servants. Darryl halfway regretted telling Yuki what the man had told him, but at the same knew that not only her, but the entire town had the right to know. Most of the townsfolk had already known the King was corrupt however, so Darryl didn't feel as bad. He snapped back into reality, as he watched them light a fire under Yuki's mother, Benihime's, body. They had choose cremation as the method for the funeral, as it was the most cost efficent.
"No, why are you burning mommy?! Mommy's going to be really mad when she gets back up! Stop burning mommy! How can the angel bring mommy back if you're burning her? Stop please!" Morito was a hysterical mess, tears flowing from her eyes. Her face turned bright red, and she had been fighting to run towards the burning body. Finally, one of the townsmen picked her up, and took her away from the funeral. The scene however, had brought tears to Darryl's eyes. He felt responsible for the entire thing. However, now was not the time to cry. Now was the time to act. He brushed the tears out his eyes, and walked over to the podium that the priest had been standing on when doing the obituary.
"Listen up. I know, most of you guys don't trust me, as I don't belong in this world and I'm a keyblade weilder. And that's fine, after a tragedy like this I can't blame you. However, this is my promise to you. I'll take down this corrupt king, and set you guys free from his tyrany. I think Benihime would like that better than me placing flowers in her memory..." His voice trailed off as his eyes rested on Benihime's body. It was at this point completely blackened, and was slowly starting to burn to ash. Darryl then got down from the podium, but looked up at the palace in the very back of the city. He assumed it was where the king resided, and after driving into 'Burst mode: Dragon,' he took off into the sky. The city dwellers looked on as he flew off; Yuki in particular.
"Goodluck..." She muttered. Darryl finally approached the palace, and there stood two guards.
"Hey what a-" One began, before Darryl summoned his keyblade. He quickly charged, hitting one in the neck and the second in the stomach. Both guards fell unconcious, and Darryl walked within the palace. The palace was four stories, although they were huge stories. It held no elevators, only multiple stairs. He quickly sprinted toward the first set of stairs, and began his long climb. It was a spiral staircase, with around 90 steps to reach the second floor. Once he finally traveled this, he found himself face to face with a female.
She was rather attractive; tan skin, long curly hair which took the color of Darryl's eyes. She was physically fit, judging from her body, and slightly busty. She wore an all black suit, with the top open to reveal her bossom.
"And you are?" Darryl questioned, after his brief scan of her body.
"One of the king's four servants. Want to play?" The woman's sexy voice answered, as she licked her lips.
"Sorry, no time to play. Move, or suffer." Darryl hated fighting females, but he'd have to make an exception this time.
"Aw, you're not very nice. A shame, now I'll have to mess up that wonderful face." She then held out her hand, and a keyblade formed in it. It was long, even for a keyblade seeing as it was about twice the length of Darryl's. The hilt was a wolf's head, while claws and a tail formed the key's ridges. It was black in color, yet held no keychain. In response, Darryl resummoned his own keyblade, and the battle began. She seemed to be taking the upper hand, as she could strike Darryl while he was well out of range to counter attack. "Having trouble boy?" She questioned, throwing a verticle slash towards him. Her large keyblade carved into the ground, and Darryl, after sidestepping toward the right in order to avoid the blow, took this chance to strike.
"Frostic Panic!" He cried out, swinging his keyblade in a wild arc. Shards of ice flew from Darryl's crystal keyblade, and smashed into the woman.
"Ooh that hurt so good..." The woman licked some blood off her shoulder, and smiled. Her right shoulder had been frozen solid.
"Damn it. A massochist..." Darryl spoke under his breath, before he watched her get on all fours. "Doggy style?" His eyebrow raised
"Drive form: Wolf!" The woman ignored Darryl's previous comment, and began driving. Her keyblade floated in the air, and landed on her back, and her entire body transformed to that of a large, husky black wolf. "Fire!" She then cried, as a laser bolt flew from her keyblade. Darryl jumped in the air, dodging it, and landed with a smirk. However, moments later, he felt a seering hot pain on his back. He stumbled, barely managing to catch himself with his arm. "Did I mention those are homing lasers?" The wolf-woman chuckled as she admired her handy work.
Darryl growled slightly, before gripping his keyblade tightly. He crossed both of his arms, before slamming them on the ground, so that he stood on all fours as well. "Burst mode: Tiger!" The orb within Darryl's keyblade became filled with lightning, as his hair shifted to a cotton tone. However, the tips and his bangs became a shadowy color instead. His eyes turned seafoam green, while his pupils slitted. His teeth grew jagged and sharp, while tiger ears grew on the top of his head. A tail dangled off his back. His clothes became white, with black stripes. He roared proudly, before he allowed his keyblade to merge with his right arm. The result was an oversized claw.
"Intresting..." The wolf-woman spoke, as she began running on all fours. Darryl followed suit, and soon enough the two were running side by side. The woman slashed at Darryl, whom responded by using his tail to whip her in the back. They then began coliding against eachother, before the woman finally haulted. Darryl did the same, spinning around to face her. She then let loose a howl, which covered the room in a thick smog. Darryl lost the ability to see, and quickly found himself lost. While trying to determine his surroundings, he felt pain his back.
"Damn lasers..." He growled, realizing her plan finally. She was going to continue shooting her lasers in the fog, since Darryl was unable to see her. He began running quickly, hoping some of the lasers would miss him. However, this plan failed miserably, as he felt himself slammed into a wall by a laser barrage. Once he was able to remove himself from the wall, and continue running again, his nose began to pick up something. "That's right...my nose is super sensitive now...and she's wearing perfume!" Darryl thought to himself, realizing he could pinpoint her position by smell. He smirked, as he began charging up electrical energy. He ran toward her position, before jumping up into the air and curling in a ball and hovering overtop of her. "Lightning rod!" Darryl cried out, as a large bolt of lighting struck him and the woman. The woman cried out, in a creepy mixture of a howl and a shriek that consumed the air within the room. Once the lightning fadded, Darryl's drive form had vanished, and the woman was sprawled out on the floor, breathing hard. Her drive form left as well, and the smell of charred skin filled the air.
"You..." She began, before coughing up blood. "You're inhumanly strong." Her voice was raspy and began to fade, matching her vital signs. Darryl leaned down to place his right index and middle fingers on her neck.
"Stop talking, you'll die quicker." He spoke gently. He then rose up and sighed, before pointing his keyblade towards her. "I'll show a little compassion. Curaga!" And with a bright flash of light, and an array of flowers, the woman found herself fully healed. She stood up, looking at herself in disbelief, and then gazed into Darryl's eyes.
"Why..."
"Stop talking, you'll die quicker." Darryl simply repeated. She smiled, with slight tears welling up within her hazel eyes.
"Noone has ever showed me compassion before. It was why I ended up joining the king. He made me feel like I...belonged. I'm forever in your debt."
"Yeah well, it wasn't any big deal. Tell me something. The king, he's here isn't he."
"...Yes. But don't try to fight him. Even as strong as you are, his strength is godly. I don't want you to die..." Judging from the look on her face, Darryl correctly assumed she was pondering what to call him.
"Darryl." He quickly filled in her blank. "And I have to do it."
"You don't understand! He knows you're here at this point, and he sent down people to rampage the town in your absence!" Darryl's eyes widened at the woman's comment.
"You're in debt to me, correct?"
"Yes, I'll do anything for you." Her eyes seemed to twinkle with excitement.
"...Then go down to the town. Protect them with your very life. If anyone questions it, let them know Darryl sent you. Now go, please!" Darryl pointed outward, as if he could actually see the outside world from within the dimly lit castle. She nodded, and with an almost ninjutsu-like quickness, vanished from sight. "Quick." Darryl spoke under his breath, before continuing up the next flight of stairs. After quite a bit of climbing, he reached the third floor of the castle, only to be met by a sea of heartless. "Hm. It's been quite a few chapters since we fought some heartless. Lately it's been feeling as if we've strayed away from actual kingdom hearts-based villians. Now that I think about it, I wonder if something terrible will happen to me due to my ability to break the fourth wall. Then again, Nick still hasn't been redesigned as a midget named Sally yet, so I don't think I'm in any danger..." Darryl off-topicly spoke, before summoning his keyblade. He then began to bob and weave through the heartless with the grace of a professional boxer; striking and attacking the heartless all the while. It didn't take him long before the heartless were destroyed. He then heard clapping, and turned toward the final stairwell. A male had appeared from the stairs, with a twisted style engraved upon his face. His hair was slicked back, and took the color of autumn leaves. He had grey eyes upon his pasty face, and dressed in an all brown, form fitting suit.
"Well done!" He spoke with a heavy, hispanic accent.
"You the fourth member of the king's royal guard?" Darryl quickly questioned, his keyblade still gripped tightly in his right arm.
"El es correcto!" The man spoke in spanish. However, Darryl had luckily took spanish classes, and was thus able to understand him.
"You seem to understand english, so let me just say this. Move, or die." Darryl threatened. The man said nothing, but simply summoned a keyblade. It, oddly enough, appeared like a kingdom key. However, the colors were vastly diffrent. The hilt, instead of being it's bright yellow color, was forest green. It's blade was a deep brown, and it held no keychain. "I see you've made your choice." Darryl then charged the man, swinging his keyblade with as much force as he could possibly muster. When the two blades connected, a shockwave of ice poured out and froze random parts of the room. The man kicked Darryl in his stomach, causing Darryl to fall back. He then began making multiple stab motions at Darryl, causing him to be forced to dodge the multiple blows coming toward him. Finally, Darryl was able to trap the arm the man held his keyblade in under Darryl's right arm pit.
"Forma de la Pulpo." The man calmly spoke, causing Darryl to think of the english translation. He finally came up with the meaning being, Form of the octopus. Once he had realized this, he noticed that four tentacles had appeared on the man's back, and had wrapped themselves around Darryl.
"Ack!" He grunted, as the tentacles began to crush him. "Burst mode: Angel!" And Darryl changed once again to his angel drive form. His hair became white, while his eyes remained the same. His keyblade orb was filled with brilliant light, while his clothes turned white. Aura which formed angel wings appeared on his back. His wings were able to push off the tentacles enough for Darryl to escape their grasp. "Strong buggers..." He then held his keyblade straight up. "Moonlight Waltz!" He swung his keyblade, as a large wave of light emerged from it. The wave of light took the form of a cresent moon. "Continue!" He shouted, raising his keyblade up. Another cresent moon blast emerged and flew toward the man. "Continue, continue, continue!" He shouted, swinging his keyblade from left to right, then diagnoally, and then in a thrusting motion, causing three additional waves to emerge. He then tossed his keyblade toward the man, while crying out "Closing chapter." The keyblade became engulfed in white light, and took the form of a fully developed moon. The man was assaulted by the blast of light, before the finishing blow struck him hard in the stomach. Darryl's keyblade then returned to his hand, as he grinned. Two tentacles suddenly flew at Darryl however. He batted them away, and then quickly turned to his side. He noticed the remaining two had appeared on either side of him. "Tenshisoku!" Darryl cried out the name of his special movement. Time slowed down significantly for Darryl, as he quickly darted away. Time resumed to it's normal speed, as the two tentacles colided with eachother, and Darryl's keyblade was aimed at the man's neck.
"No me gusta rendicion, pero yo debo..." The hispanic spoke. Darryl, understanding that he had said although he didn't like to surrender he had to, lowered his keyblade. "Idiota!" The man quickly allowed all four tentacles to fly toward Darryl.
"Bakatako..." After insulting the stupid octopus, as he used his tenshisoku to appear behind the man. "Halo blade." He quickly formed a large halo of light at the tip of his keyblade, and swung downward. A loud 'crack' sounded in the air while dust poured into it, as angel wings engraved themselves in the ground and white angel wings composed of aura appeared in the sky thorugh the dust. The man laid bleeding on the ground, as Darryl returned to his base form. He peered down upon him for a few moments, and then turned his back to walk up the stairs. The final stretch of stairs seemed to be the longest, and had multiple heartless as well as nobodies dwelling upon them. Slaying them all, Darryl reached a large door. He pushed it open, and walked into the room. It was large, so large in fact, Darryl wondered how it fit into the tower. A red carpet covered a few steps, which Darryl proceded to walk up. Upon a throne, sat a man. He wore a large, golden crown as well as a red cape. In his hand, he bore a large sceptor.
"I applaud your skill, keyblade weilder." The man told him. He had short, platinum blonde hair which ended at the middle of his neck. He had multiple bangs upon his face, which stopped above his eyebrows. It was hard to see his body, as the red cape had enveloped most of it. However, from the exposed right arm which was clamped onto the sceptor, he appeared to be muscular. He rose to his feet, and looked down upon him. "What is it that you seek?" He questioned.
"Your departure from this world." Darryl answered, as he allowed his arms to slip under the veil of his cloak. The man burst into an insane laughter, before suddenly stopping.
"Oh, you're serious. Sorry, but I cannot do this. I offer you this ultimatium however: Join me, or die." A smirk appeared across his face. In turn, Darryl developed his own smirk.
"I choose option C, you're majesty." Darryl's tone was especially sarcastic on the word 'majesty.'
"And what's this option C you speak of?"
Darryl summoned his keyblade, and held it at hair line level with both hands. The blade was pointed outward toward the king, as Darryl crouched slightly. "I kick your ass, go home, and possibly grab a nice drink to help me relax."
"Intresting. You'll be made into an example." The king had grown annoyed, and with one stamp of his sceptor, Darryl found himself facing the king down, not at the palace, but rather in the busy town square where the funeral was held. With another stamp, the area turned into an arena of sorts, complete with stadium seats. Finally, with one final stamp the arena became filled with the townspeople. In a seat especially close to the action sat Yuki, her little sister, and the woman whom Darryl had sent to protect the town. The king pointed to the woman and spoke "I'll deal with you once this is over, Lupinia" The stands then became engufled in a barrier, preventing escape. "Let's do this." The king spoke, as he took off his crown. His king-like clothing then slowly began vanishing, starting from his crimson cape and his, now revealed to be purple, cloth-like clothing. It was shown that his body was covered in a golden armor, which matched his crown and sceptor. His sceptor, oddly enough, then became a keyblade. It was completely golden in color, while the key part was a crown. It was long, yet skinny, and upon close examination, one could see that it was simply the sceptor with a keyblade overlaid upon it. The keychain of the keyblade was a golden crown.
"Let's go!" Darryl shouted, using his shinsoku to rapidly approach the king. With a quick, downward slash Darryl attacked. However, his blow was blocked by the king's keyblade, and repelled. Darryl stumbled back, and landed on his back. The king swung downward, and Darryl lifted his legs up and back, so that they were parallel with his head. This caused the blow to miss, and gave Darryl the chance to counter attack. Using his hands, Darryl sprung up, flying over the golden keyblade, and drove his feet into the king's face. He slid back a little, as Darryl managed to land upon his feet. "Frost bite!" An ice dragon emerged from Darryl's keyblade, and flew at the king.
"Get this shit out of here!" With one quick swipe, the king reduced the dragon of ice to nothingness. "No more toying around." The king then charged Darryl, with a almost scary speed. He began barraging Darryl with blows, most of which were either too fast for Darryl to dodge, or too powerful for him to block. The result was his body being riddle with slashes. The king then took Darryl's back. "Golden majestic dance!" He began thrusting his keyblade so fast, it became a blur of gold. The blows pierced Darryl's body, and he instantly hit the ground. The king then walked over, and placed his foot on Darryl's back. "Look here! This is what happens when you triffle with the king! Let this be a reminder!" The king announced to his not so loyal subjects.
"Come on Darryl..." Lupinia begged toward Darryl's lifeless body.
"You can do it!" Yuki shouted, rising to her feet. Morita followed suit, as did Lupinia. Slowly, the entire stadium was filled with people standing, and cheering him on.
"I can't give this guy the satisfaction of beating me...besides, I can't disappoint my fans. Come on body of mine, allow me this one last push. Grant me the power of a phoenix once more!" Within Darryl's mind, he had been begging. And suddenly, a flicker of flame swept across the king's foot, which caused him to jump back. Darryl rose to his feet, in zombie-like form.
"Who are you?!" The king questioned.
"Good question. I don't know anymore. I've been on this journey for so long, I feel as though I've forgotten myself. Sure, I remember my name, but thats not all there is to one's idenity. All I know is, that I am one of the guardians of the heavens, the earth, hell, the stars, the animals, the plants, the people. I am a guardian, sent down from my dwelling to protect those who need it. And thats all that matters! Burst mode: Phoenix!" Darryl's keyblade lifted up from his hands, as his body bursted into flames. The flames then settled down, dancing at his feet. His hair was dark blonde, with orange streaks running through it. His eyes were golden yellow, with tiny orange flames flickering within them. Red tattoos, which took the form of wide lines went upon his arms and chest, which was now fully exposed as his shirt, vest, and cloak had burnt off. Deep lines appeared at his belly button, and decended down into his now crimson pants. Red outlined his eyes as well. He gripped his keyblade tightly, and the flames quickly shot up from his feet to envelop his entire body. The flames took the form of phoenix wings, as well as a phoenix tail. "What's this...I feel stronger in this form than I did when I used it against Sora..." Darryl thought to himself.
The king sneered at Darryl. "I'm not impressed!" He shouted, charging Darryl. He slashed toward Darryl, however, with a meer flick of his wrist, he fended off the blow. He then slashed at the man, shattering his keyblade.
"Good. You should be terrified." Darryl stated, holding his keyblade above his head. His entire body bursted into flames, as he formed a human sized phoenix. Darryl, now in phoenix form, flapped his brilliantly flaming wings, and flew at the king. He flew through the defenseless monarch, leaving a burning cross on his back and the ground below him. "I hope you enjoyed the sweet melody of the phoenix song, as the requiem is coming up next." And with those words, the scar on the king's back, and the cross on the ground erupted in red-hot flames. He screamed in agony, before hitting the ground and being consumed in flames. Darryl returned to normal, however unlike the previous time, the crimson tattoos remained upon his body. Instead of questioning it however, he became consumed the the celebrations of the towns folk, for the king had been gone...
A day passed, with Darryl resting inside Yuki's home. The town square had returned to normal, and the king's body was nowhere to be found. In it's place were a few ashes however, so everyone simply assumed he burnt away. Darryl awoke, expecting the tattoos to have fadded away. However, they remained there. He didn't get a chance to inspect his body however, as a deafining crash was heard from outside. He charged outside, only to see a giant, mechanical form of the king. "Die, guardian!" The king's large hand reached out and consumed Darryl within it's grasp. It had been crushing Darryl, whom lacked the strength to force the king's hand apart. It raised him into the air, still covered up in his fist. Darryl felt his ribs crack, followed by his left leg and right arm.
"Bu...Burst mode: Phoenix!" Darryl was forced to muster all his strength in order to utter those words, and initiate the change. Flames began to form inside the king's clasped hand, causing him to drop Darryl. He plummented to the ground, keyblade within his left arm, before his body became consumed with a large flame. The drive form was...diffrent than the previous changes. The flames caused Darryl to become a giant phoenix. However, he wasn't made of flames like normal, but instead was a large crimson bird. His wings were crimson, with flames dancing within the feathers. His tail was the same way. He let loose a loud screech, before flying upward. He pecked the man with his large, lemon color beak, and pierced the giant king's arm. He then pulled away, tearing it off. Following this, he flew high into the air and allowed his body to be consumed with fire. Plummenting to the ground came the Darryl-Phoenix, who proceded to fly through the giant king. He then, after coming out behind the king, forcefully flapped his wings, causing all the fire that was upon his body to rush off, in the form of mini-phoenixes which rained down upon the king and burnt the rest of his body to ash. A burst of white light shot out from the remains of the king's body, as he disappeared. Darryl landed upon the ground, and the feathers swirled away, leaving Darryl back in his normal form. The tattoos still remained upon his body, and the crimson feathers collected in a pile at his feet. Suddenly, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, as another's voice spoke from his mouth.
"Reincarnate and rebirth from the ashes of sin!" The deep voice cried out, as Darryl was suddenly lit ablaze. Once the fire faded, Darryl stood tattooless. However, everything seemed diffrent.
"Did you all get taller?" Darryl spoke, before quickly clamping his mouth. It had gotten considerably high pitched. Lupinia, whom took one look at Darryl and bursted into laughter, had brought forth a mirror. Darryl now had the apperance of a child, around eight years old. "You're kidding me!" His childish voice screamed out, much to the pleasure of the townsfolk, whom had gathered to watch Darryl fight.
"Aw, aren't you a cutie." Yuki teased, pulling at Darryl's cheeks. He folded his arms, as his cloak pushed itself to either side of him. He was just thankful that his clothes shrunk to his size as well.
"Maybe sleep will restore me to normal. I'm sure thats it." Darryl then walked back into Yuki's house, climbed into bed, and laid there for six hours, before he was finally able to sleep. He awoke the next day, and attempted to step out of bed like normal. However, he went plummenting into the floor. Upon standing up, he realized he was still in an eight year old's body. After complaning to Yuki and Lupinia, both whom had been dwelling in the other room, for a few hours, they decided to leave the house. Morita had been at school, and they figured now was as good a time as any. They stayed out late, as they had visited shops as well as grabbed dinner and saw a play. Once it ended, they started on the way home. Lupinia, whom had, under the permission of Yuki, moved in with them in Benihime's old room, had been walking ahead of the group. They passed a dark alleyway, where a figure stepped out. The king, whose crown had been stripped after his second fight with Darryl, was revealed to be that figure. Missing a right arm, he was still able to weild his keyblade with his left. Lupinia began trying to summon her keyblade, but was quickly disabled by a quick thrust to the ribs. She fell onto the ground, holding her side as she strugled to get up. However, Darryl walked up instead. "You're after me correct? Well here I am!" Darryl summoned his keyblade within his right hand, while staring down the king. However, he quickly fell toward the right; the weight of his keyblade pulling him into the ground. "Oh my god, you're kidding!" He cried out, as he placed both hands on the handle of his keyblade. He struggled to pull up with all his might, yet was unable to lift the keyblade. His frail body was unable to lift the large, heavy keyblade.
"All too easy..." The king crept toward Darryl.
"No!" Yuki cried, throwing her body over Darryl. She squeezed her eyes shut, and braced herself for impact, as the king swung down.
"Yuki, move! Let go and move!" Darryl had been trying to escape her grasp, but his young body was unable to muster the strength. However, a large clank was heard, and Darryl's eyes opened wide. "Yuki...turn around." She did so upon request, only to find that a keyblade had protected them. Oddly enough, it appeared much like Darryl's. However, it was slimmer and smaller, and pressumibly lighter. It was snow white in color, and the crown like blade was more streamlined and shapped like a female's crown. It lacked the kanji and orb of Darryl's keyblade, and the keychain appeared like a snowflake.
"Whose keyblade...is that?" Yuki questioned, as it floated closer to her hand.
"I think it's yours..." Darryl spoke in bewilderment.
"Go ahead Yuki." Lupinia egged on from her position, now fully slummped on the floor and staring at the scene before her. Yuki grabbed the keyblade, and turned toward Darryl.
"This time, I'll protect you!" And with that, she charged the king. Her inexperienced showed in her method of combat, making slow and wild swings. She successfully kept the king on the defensive for several minutes however, as his strength had been halfed by his lack of a second arm. Although he seemed to be weaker, he was still more than a match for Yuki however. With a quick slash, her keyblade was sent flying out her hand and onto the ground beside Darryl. The king rose his keyblade up, preparing to slash vertically.
"No!" Darryl cried out, picking up Yuki's much lighter keyblade, and running as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him. He stopped in front of Yuki, and jumped up with the blade to block the blow, with a grace and form compared to Yoda. He then landed behind The king, whom turned to face him. His body began to glow, and he took one step toward the king. Within that step, he instantly grew back to his normal teenaged form. He then summoned his own keyblade, now weilding Yuki's keyblade in his left and his own within his right. He slashed in a cross, catching the king off guard and mortally wounding him. He hit the ground bleeding, while his keyblade, which had somehow reformed, was instantly shattered again. He stepped on the king, as he walked over to Yuki and handed her keyblade back. He then healed Lupinia, and once again turned his attention to the king. "This time, I'll make sure you're gone." And with that, he drove his keyblade through the man's heart. Yuki looked away, as the king turned into spheres of light and faded away.
After this, he began to train both Yuki and Lupinia in combat. Three days past, and Yuki was sprawled out on the ground. She had been wearing clothing similar to Darryl. However, her vest wasn't a zip down one, and was pink in color. Her pants, which were also pink, were low waisted and she held no belt. Her shoes were pink and white, and her gloves were long and pink, ending so high up only her shoulders were exposed. Lupinia still bore her same clothing however. "How do you train anyway Darryl? I mean, since you're alone." Yuki asked. Lupinia looked on with intrest, as she herself had been wondering this.
"Well, I'm actually not alone. I'm travelling with some close friends..." Darryl trailed off. It had been a week since they were seperated...he wondered if they were ok. "Well, anyways our battles help us train. Plus, and don't take this as me being crazy, I can't stress that enough, theres another presence within my head. I can go into my mind and manefist him, and train with him like that." He explained. It was apprent that he lost Yuki and Lupinia, but as he attempted to explain about his nobody, a loud trumpet sounded. "What the hell is that?" He asked.
"The town horn. The village elders use it to summon the townsfolk to the square for meetings. We better go." Yuki attempted to stand, but fell back down. Darryl carried her on his back, while Lupinia walked beside him. They reached the town square, where three elderly men were standing upon the podium.
"Darryl! Yuki! Luna!" Morita had came bobbing through the crowd in order to stand with them. She still, was unable to pronounce Lupinia's name, and had thus created the nickanme for her by using letters in her name. Lupinia didn't mind, and in fact rather liked the nickname. "What's going on? I can't see!" She cried out. Lupinia then picked her up, and placed her upon her shoulders. Since Lupinia was wearing high heels, she had in fact appeared taller than Darryl. That was saying something, considering Darryl was five feet and eleven inches.
"Our old king is gone, but a new one must be crowned! We, the people, have selected our next king. He has proven himself full of valvor, courage, and boundless strength!" One of the elders had began. The townsfolk, as well as Darryl looked on in particular intrest.
"I hope he isn't corrupt like the last one..." Darryl whispered to Yuki and Lupinia. The three then went into a short conversation via whispering.
"...and that king is Darryl!" The elder had been talking, but the three weren't exactly paying attention. That last phrase however, caused them to look up. The rest of the townsfolk looked at Darryl, and began clapping.
"Wait what?!" He shouted, before Yuki hit him on his back.
"Go up there!" She stated, and motioned Darryl to let her down. He did so, and relectantly walked up to the podium. The elders instructed him to kneel, as they placed the king's crown upon Darryl's head. Instantly, his clothing changed to that of the previous king, and his keyblade appeared. The keyblade turned into a sceptor like the previous king's, however it was a crystal light-blue in color. He gripped it tightly, and was asked to speak.
"Um...thank you. But I can't accept this. I'm not even part of this world, nor do I belong there. I'll be leaving to various oth-"
"We don't care! Rule from affar!" A voice cried out, which resulted in agreement, cheering, and applause.
"Um..ok fine. I accept..." Darryl, defeated, accepted his new position. This was followed up by cheering. "I appoint Lupinia as my personal assistant!" He shouted, causing even more applause. Lupinia appeared at his side at once, kneeling. After being instructed by the village elders, he tapped Lupinia's shoulder with the sceptor. A large silver shield appeared beside her, which she placed on her right hand. She instantly grew silver armor, with a red cape to match Darryl's. "All hail Lupinia, Captain of the royal guard!" Darryl proclaimed.
"While I am gone, she will serve as the main protection for this world. However, that still leaves the law. For that, I order you to hail Queen Yuki!" He pointed to Yuki, whose face was contorted in shock, and had appeared bright red.
"Yay, that makes me a princess!" Morita shouted. "Come on Yuki, we gotta go up thereeee!" She then began pulled at Yuki's arm. The two began walking upward toward the podium.
"Do you even know what you just promised Yuki?" Lupinia whispered in Darryl's ear. He looked at her, puzzled, and then shruged. He placed his sceptor on Morita, whose clothing turned into a purple dress. She bore a matching hat, which was large and pointed. A white cloth hung from the top and trailed down to her lower back. He then placed his sceptor on Yuki, whom bore a dress similar to Darryl's clothing. She also bore a red cape, a crown albiet smaller than Darryl's and silver instead of gold, and her own sceptor. Hers was smaller than Darryl's, due to it being made from her keyblade. Thus, it was white instead of crystal light blue. Wild applause occured, which was haulted by the appearance of a dark, foggy portal.
"Um...that's my ride." Darryl took the crown off, and his clothing returned to normal. Placing the crown on his belt, he picked up his sceptor which shifted back to his keyblade. "This crown is my link back to you, my subjects! I will return! I swear it!" He then walked toward the portal, and walked through after shouting "I am king!"
He appeared in Thomas' room, standing beside Wolfie, Chris, and Nick.
"Took you long enough." Wolfie muttered.
"Nick, if you ever suggest to make a portal again, I will kill you." Darryl stated. Thomas awoke, with a look of slight shock. Darryl, whom had taken a quick glance around his room, and noticed multiple superhero attire, stared at him questioningly. "Dude, Thomas you're a freak."
His eyes then rested upon it. The ring of the green latern. He fazed everything out, including Wolfie's stealing of batman's cape, Batman appearing from a random portal and punching Thomas in the face while taking his belt back, him having a glaring battle with Wolfie and losing, giving her his cape, and his retreat. He looked back at Thomas with puppy dog eyes, and began to actually whimper. Thomas sighed heavily before saying "Go ahead."
"Score!" Darryl grabbed the ring, and put it on. They then walked out of Thomas' house, and headed to their base of operations, AKA Darryl's home...