Twilight Town Raid: Darkside

[Lore Moogle]

~♥ Welcome to the raid, kupo! Here is some information you need to know before you start posting. There is a limit to the number of times a character can post. This is so a fight won't go on and on, kupo. For these particular raids the limit is 10. On the last post, characters will need to prepare themselves for the end of the battle whether that be by retreating, setting up final defenses, sacrifices, etc. A warning will be given on the last post to remind you. That's all and have fun, kupo! ♥~

“No, that’s what I told her!” a young woman dressed in a grey business suit stood at the monorail station at Sunset Terrance, waiting for the ride back home. Usually, the train was always waiting for her when she got off work, but today it wasn’t there. Maybe they were having some technical difficulties. That wasn’t unheard, yet it wasn’t something that happened often. The everyday woman and the people around her held no concerns, though. These things never took very long. “Right… some nerve, huh?” she said, switching her cellphone to the other ear. “Blatantly lies to my face and then where do I find her? Yep. That’s right. Gah! I just want to—“ a tremor suddenly pulsed through the platform, and they came about five seconds apart. They were gentle at first, but became more powerful with each vibration. “What the hell? Um, I’ll call you back, Lydia. Something’s up.” She turned off her phone and began looking around like the others around her. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary and no one could imagine the source of these strange tremors. Had something busted? Maybe some machinery was malfunctioning.

Regardless, the public were not taking the problem seriously until the final tremor sent them reeling. People fell to their knees, struggling to get back to their feet. An earthquake? It had to be that and a serious one! Yet, even that idea was thrown from their minds on what happened next. A shadow came over the sun, and all eyes turned up to meet two golden menacing orbs. Twisted strands of ebony covered its face, a haunting display of a monster they had thought gone forever. Before they could even scream, darkness took over the platform, releasing demonic hands that scratched and crawled at the citizens. They could not run, they could not even move. The pool of darkness that had formed beneath their feet held them in place, trapped like rats in a cage. The Heartless came in droves, surrounding their new prey and pouncing a upon them. Bodies were torn asunder and faded away only to be replaced with more shadows and emblem Heartless.

Swarms of shadows followed in the monster’s wake, feasting upon the prey that was left struggling and barely alive. This began happening all over Sunset Terrance as the hellish Darkside stalked across the city, ripping bullet trains from their railings and flinging them to the ground for its children to feed upon. Screams could be heard throughout the city as the hearts of the citizens were devoured.

[Edis Rehtona]

"Well, that's not something you see every day."

Having take a much needed break from his journey to find a Keyblade wielder, Edis had travelled back to his home world of Twilight Town, hoping to relax and regain his strength before setting out once more. It was for that reason that he chose not to visit his parents, not even telling them he was in the world and instead choosing to spend his time in Twilight Town's escape to the side: Sunset Terrace. It had been a train journey he had not wished to make, as he had hated the train station for it housed painful memories, but he got on a train, having never really been to the Sunset Terrace and so not being able to easily travel by Corridor straight to the location he now sat in. He had found his way to the top of a hill, far away from the bustle of the people and resting his eyes lying next to a tree, trying to enjoy as much peace and quiet as he could get. Sleep only caused nightmares so he rested his eyes instead, closing them over but remaining very much awake, not that it would matter much.

It wasn't the first tremor that woke Edis from his rest, it was the fourth, by which point the tremors were causing tall buildings and lamposts to shake slightly, including the tree which Edis had been lying with. He sat up, yawning and stretching in a semi-lethargic state as he stood to see what all the commotion was about. He had to admit, a giant Heartless standing throwing the trains around was not what he had expected to see that day, but in an instant the humour and sarcasm from his face and being disappeared, and his lethargy left him, fueled by a new sense of purpose, and an intense fury. A Heartless dared to attack his home world, this Edis could not allow. He watched the creature for a few moments, watched as it sent its swarm of shadows and weaker Heartless to devour the hearts of the townspeople. As much as it pained him to do so, Edis watched it unfold, as the residents of Sunset Terrace were being devoured and turned into more Heartless. It was turning into Edis vs an army at this point, but he had to ignore the smaller creatures. The people of Sunset Terrace were gone, there was nothing Edis could do to save them now, not without a Keyblade. What he could do though, was destroy the Darkside towering over the town and put an end to the swarm in the process. It had yet to notice him, and its followers had yet to encroach on Edis' current position, as the hill stood at almost the same height of the Darkside as it stood. The time to strike was coming, but there was no need to rush into things, regardless of how much he wanted to.

[Lore Moogle]

Opposition was soon rallied against the Heartless, coming from the other side of the city. This invasion had not only affected Sunset Terrace but all of Twilight Town. There was one train track left that had not been completely destroyed, and the platoon of soldiers that arrived were forced to use ladders to climb down into the city. Casualties began almost immediately. Some of the men did not even reach the ground alive as Wyverns came swooping down in droves, knocking the soldiers off; or if they were really unfortunate, dragged away and dropped into a horde of shadows--a most agonizing death. With guns and blades, they did their best to combat the army of Heartless crawling from every corner of the city. It was a difficult situation. Because of the Behemoth that had appeared on the other side of the world, so many had already been lost, and now their forces were spread thin. It seemed hopeless, yet they could not leave Sunset Terrace to fend for itself.

The Darkside continued on its way, gaining heart after heart with every step. There was a strong heart nearby, and that's what it was searching for. There were so many people scrambling about that they were like ants compared to its massive size. With its acute senses, it searched for that small gem of a heart among the weaker ones. That was until it noticed the hill nearby, almost as tall as the Heartless itself. Laying its eyes upon the young man, the tendrils around its head curled ever so slightly. There it was. Without hesitation, the Darkside raised its fist, crashing it into the top of the hill in hopes of catching this dark heart. The world trembled as it made contact, and a pool of darkness began to form around its arm, summoning shadows from its depths. They locked their sights on their prey, Edis, and rushed towards him. Two leaped into the air, claws aimed to rip into his flesh; while the other two fused into the ground, attempting to carefully sneak up behind him.

[Edis Rehtona]

"Now that I've got your attention, let's do this."

The words escaped Edis' lips when the yellow orbs of the Darkside, almost as large and grand as the sun, focussed themselves on Edis' location. The Heartless must've known that Edis was much stronger and possessed an equally stronger heart than the common towns people in Sunset Terrace. It was more efficient to get Edis' heart first, and this Heartless was hungry for strong hearts. Unfortunately, it seemed that no one else of a strong heart was present and willing to help, leaving Edis alone with the giant Heartless, not that he was complaining. Being alone fighting the creature meant he could go all out and not have to worry and, as he thought about it, his plan for defeating the Heartless would've made things very difficult for anyone else fighting the beast. But the time for thinking was past now, as the Darkside was getting ready to attack.

One great, black arm came crashing down onto the hill, the Darkside hoping to win the battle on strength alone. The attack collided with the hill, causing the ground beneath to shudder and the force completely obliterating the tree which Edis had rested upon. From this arm came darkness, and then many yellow eyes as Shadows began to surface from their homeworld, if Heartless even had such a thing. Edis, however, was unharmed by the attack, having become smoke and watching the arm completely phase through his intangible form. The Shadows that came: they focussed their sights almost immediately on the form of Edis, as he watched two of them disappear into the ground while another two leapt at their opponent. The Shadows in the air made contact, ripping across their foe, and falling straight through the being of smoke. And then more came, hundreds upon hundreds of forms, but not of Edis. Neo-Shadows as far as the yellow eyes of the Heartless could see, not moving, watching and waiting. These Heartless beings could be defeated with one attack, being not made for combat, but within the smoke held the trap. 10 Neo-Shadows of real form, having been summoned when the smoke creations were formed, moving as the others did, hiding in plain sight. None of the creatures had hearts, the true Heartless or the creations of smoke, and so differentiating one from the other would be impossible.

Their master, however, was still nowhere to be found. When the initial Shadows had jumped to claw at who they thought was Edis, the true Edis: still being made of smoke and thus impossible to detect, travelled up the arm of the Darkside to where he now stood: on top of the head of the great beast, his sword drawn and its own form changed to that of a great, two handed axe, an axe which Edis had imbued with the element of Fire before bringing it down upon the Darkside the moment his form became corporeal once more. The Heartless had made the mistake of thinking it would be able to consume the heart of the man on the hill, and it had allowed Edis to make contact. Now the fun was truly about to begin.

---

Skills Used:
Typhokinesis
In order of use
Tier 2 | Skill 4
Tier 2 | Skill 2 (if an exact number is required I shall edit)
Tier 2 | Skill 3

Summons Used:
Horde

MP Remaining: 300
GP Remaining: 1

[Lore Moogle]

As the Darkside pulled back his hand from the shadow pool, it stared down at what it thought was Edis with those eerie, unblinking orbs. Smashed or devoured. That was what should have happened, but there he stood seemingly unharmed. Perhaps he had already become enthralled? That could not be the answer either. The Heartless could sense too much pride in this heart, too much defiance, and though he was looking right at him, he couldn’t actually sense its location.  

His minions were equally confused. As they all synchronized their attack, they pounced upon the illusion and had little time to ponder what had happened before hundreds of Neo-Shadows appeared; none of which they could identify as their kin. The Shadows did not hesitate in their next move, striking in vain at every single smoke illusion they could get their claws on. It was uncommon for Heartless to fight one another, but when fellow Heartless got in the way of their goals, they were not biased. While they tore through the illusions like the mindless abominations they were, the Shadows grew ever closer to their true opponents.

The master over the horde, in the meantime, focused on the true threat that still was nowhere to be found. The moment Edis retook his solid form; the Darkside knew exactly where he was before he struck. Regardless, that didn’t prevent the man from getting in a nice hit. Taking the hit without so much as a flinch, its head continued to burn from his prey’s burning strike. A little pinch compared to the Darkside’s power, but perhaps it would serve to eventually bring it down in the end. Time would tell.

The Darkside slapped a hand over its head as if it were trying smack a mosquito, hoping to crush Edis and end it there. However, it wasn’t going to let itself be as careless as it was before. Moving ever so slowly, the Heartless kneeled. A dark power began to build within the heart shape on its body, growing in strength as it continued to swirl round and round like a whirlpool. With a force that sent the Darkside reeling back, a fire of two, four, then six separate dark bolts were released, all homing in on Edis.

[Edis Rehtona]

Edis' attack went through and connected with the Darkside, but he could feel that it had done very little to defeat the great Heartless, and so he deactivated the fire bonus of his weapon and sheathed his axe. If he was going to defeat this monster, he was going to have to think a lot more, and maybe use the Darkside's own power against it, but he'd have to wait to do that. For now, he was just going to have to make do with what he could do on his own. Edis dropped down from the head of the Heartless to its shoulder to avoid the rising hand of his foe, narrowly avoiding the hand as it crashed into its owners head, and it was a good thing Edis moved when he did. Suddenly the Darkside dropped down on one knee, and Edis saw something stir in the heart shaped cut out in its chest, some kind of dark vortex swirling around, and then again, suddenly, it reeled back, releasing bolts of darkness, coming out in multiples. First came two, then four, then six of the malefic power. Twelve bolts were too many for Edis to easily avoid, and he had already used his Smoke power, so there was little chance of him getting out of this one completely unscathed. Regardless he acted.

His Heartless summons were using the Smoke illusions to quickly jump in and out of the fight, using guerilla warfare tactics to take out as many of the Heartless as they could. However, there was only so much 10 Neo-Shadows could do against a seemingly infinite number of Heartless, even if they were mostly the weaker Shadows. Disappearing into the Shadows, dragging the opposing Heartless with them as they dealt severe damage to their foes. But the numbers were proving too much, and once one of the Neo-Shadows were disrupted, the swarm of enemy Heartless would simply descend on it. Of the original ten, only four now remained, with the clones diminishing in size a great deal too, evaporating into the Smoke from which they were created. The Smoke itself was doing some harm to the enemy Heartless, and the Neo-Shadows had no trouble fighting in the Smokescreen, making the fight last longer despite only four remaining.

Back on top of the main enemy, and waiting until the last possible moment, Edis jumped off of the Darkside's shoulder, grabbing one of the tendrils on its head and using it to swing across the face to the other shoulder, which resulted in the first two bolts hitting their master, as Edis sailed past the two glowing yellow orbs of the Heartless. Next were the four bolts, of which only three remained, as one had hit Edis' left shoulder, causing a great deal of pain and a red patch of blood to form on his otherwise pristine white shirt. Of the three, another one hit Edis as he ran down the body of the Heartless, as it was still near horizontal due to the force reeling it back, embeding itself in his right shin, causing him to trip and definitely breaking or fracturing something in his leg, the other three bolts hitting their master as they tried to hit Edis as he ran. He stumbled for just a second, allowing another one to hit him directly through his chest, narrowly missing his heart, leaving five bolts remaining.

Turning around completely, Edis began running back up the Heartless, getting hit by two of the final five while the others attacked the Darkside, mostly hitting its leg and chest area. Five of the twelve bolts had hit Edis, and he was bleeding pretty badly. As much as he had wanted to wait a little longer to experience more of what the Darkside could offer, he couldn't wait. Reaching the shoulder of his foe once more, Edis himself knelt down, drawing power from the Heartless before jumping off behind the creature. When the Darkside turned round, it would no longer see Edis Rehtona: young small Somebody trying to take out the Darkside. No, in Edis' place stood a replica of the enemy Darkside, but more than that. Edis had assumed the form of his foe, and he was taller, faster, stronger, better. The enemy Darkside had just been copied, and it felt good to send one of the large tree trunk like arms of his new form into the side of his enemy's head, a right hook using all the force both Edis, and the Darkside he had improved, could muster. Now it was time for the real fun to begin.

---

Skills Used:
Doppelganger
In order of use
Base Ability
Tier 1 | Skill 5
Tier 1 | Skill 3
Tier 1 | Skill 4
Tier 3 | Skill 1

[Lore Moogle]

Edis proved to be a rather agile foe, managing to evade five of the twelve bolts that the Heartless leader had released. The results produced from the dark bolts were acceptable and appeared to have done a number on its prey. Lines of crimson ran down his body and there was evidence of weakness in his movements, possibly resulting from broken bones. Although he seemed to be a bit slower, he was still fast enough to avoid the Darkside’s attempts at grabbing him—so close and yet so far. There was immense power behind the fiend, but speed was not one of them, allowing Edis to climb up and down it like a jungle gym. In time, it was confident that its crushing strength would win out.. Then something change. The Darkside found itself staring into a mirror--a dark reflection that was larger and possibly stronger than him. What had once been a man was now a replica, and the original could only stare in disbelief as it was struck by the massive arm, snapping its head to the side and nearly knocking the monster over.  

Meanwhile, more shadows poured out of the darkness that the Darkside had created; an angry swarm that grew with aggression each time they disposed of an illusion. The smoke was unpleasant, causing damage over time that slightly hindered the horde, but they pushed on all the same. As the clones dispersed, they honed in on the true Neo Shadows and pounced upon them, a cluster of dark limbs and claws that completely covered the Heartless under the young man’s command. With their enemies defeated, the Shadows returned to their original focus. They could not see the man they had been ordered to consume, but they could sense him. Their instincts all pointed to the second Darkside that had suddenly appeared, larger and stronger than their own master, yet there was something different. Edis may have appeared as a Heartless, but he remained free, and even the weakest of Shadows could sense the difference. They remained loyal to their master.

After taking that powerhouse of a hit, the Darkside called upon his children. They circled around him like a cyclone, thousands of dark bodies growing bigger in size and crackling with a sinister energy. The Shadows split ranks, half jumping onto the arms of their leader and merging into the darkness, while the others charged forward and attacked Edis directly. With the combined power of the horde absorbed into its body, the Darkside lunged with its minions, rearing its fists back to strike their foe. One towards the head, and the other aimed for where it could see the heart. The Heartless had never fought another Darkside before, so this was a new experience for all of them.

[Edis Rehtona]

As expected, the Darkside had no way to react to what it had just witnessed, and it took the full force of the attack knocking its back and back and almopst toppling the great beast. It was a good start, and the one Edis had expected, but that was him finished in terms of darkness based attacks, but now things were in the favour of the Darkside. It had taken some time definitely, but now all of Edi's Neo-Shadows had been defeated as had the smoke creations, meaning all the Heartless in Twilight Town, except for the one rampaging in the town, were intent on ending the life of Edis Rehtona.

It was then that the Darkside performed a move Edis had never seen before, but one that interested him greatly, as it countered his ability very well. You see, Edis' Doppelganger allowed him to take on the form of his opponent after coming into contact with them, but Edis' version was more physical enhanced than the original, and Edis could use any skills seen by the original and use them as his own, making them also stronger. The only issue was what the Darkside was currently countering. Edis could firstly only use moves he has seen used by that enemy, making a fight like this, one where Edis had no one else to draw on from his arsenal, very difficult. The other issue is very simple: Edis took on the base form of what he touched, absorbing its powers and abilities. But if, for example, his enemy was to increase his own attack power using anything other than a skill, such as a Synthesis Item or a Summon ability, then there was nothing Edis could do to stop or counter it .

The Heartless swarm he had summoned, now all focussed on their one enemy, circled the original, half of them coming straight for Edis, and half of them enhancing the arm size, and no doubt strength, of the Darkside itself, as both the half swarm and the giant Heartless dashed towards Edis, one after another. However, there was one thing the Darkside clearly had forgotten. Yes, it had the strength in numbers, and yes it had increased strength in its arms, but Edis had two other game changing stats stronger than the Darkside: Agility and Speed. Bringing his arms up and performing a quick hammerfist onto the swarm, his large hands catching many of them before they had even though to react and crushing them on the spot before he moved, performing a spin to his right to get out of the way of the Darkside's arms as they would swing for nothing and now Edis could attack himself.

He began with a unique trick to bleed, having performed this move as he span, causing the blood of his body to escape through his mouth and all other openings, spraying itself over both the Darkside and the surroundings. Now, as he stood to the side of the Heartless, Edis acted, first sending a quick hook to the Heartless' chest area, above the heart-shaped indent on its body and then, using the blood he had just cast out, Edis formed a cage, a cage which would cover the Darkside and block him in. Now, this cage was a useful thing for Edis to have in his arsenal, as it could only be broken by someone with higher strength than him. Currently, he possessed a base strength of a higher degree than the Darkside, the only question now was how much extra power his larger arms had given him. Either way, at this moment it was trapped.

Skill Used:
Doppelganger
Tier 3 | Skill 2

Abilities Used:
Haemophilia

[Lore Moogle]

This will be the final boss post, kupo. The Heartless have attained victory. You will be allowed one post to respond. Remember do not continue to fight a hopeless battle. To do so will result in death, but that is up to you. Your fate is in your hands. Sometimes the best tactic is to retreat, Kupo.

The Heartless in Twilight Town were gaining the upper hand, overwhelming armies and heroes alike with endless numbers. The more they fought the harder the battle seemed to be. It appeared that the world basked in an eternal dusk would soon fall to the darkness, but suddenly they stopped. Every Heartless, from the minions to their powerful leaders stood frozen for a brief moment. Corridors of darkness began to open all over the world, and the Heartless began to retreat. But why? That question was answered by gazing into the portals. The Land of Dragons and Wonderland were being torn asunder. They were being summoned to converge on this final assault. The other worlds could wait. This was a celebration that all the Heartless deserved to be a part of. The last of the Heartless vanished, but this was no victory. Twilight Town had suffered so much destruction. The buildings could always be rebuilt, but the loss of life and sense of security… it was gone. The survivors did not know where to start, and as they gazed up into the sky, two faint stars blinked out.

[Edis Rehtona]

There was a brief pause in the otherwise never ending onslaught of the Heartless, which felt strange. Portals, corridors began to appear around them and it seemed like they no longer cared about Edis, or Twilight Town. Looking through the portals, Edis saw two worlds: The Land of Dragons and Wonderland, two worlds he had never personally visited but two he knew much about due to his reading. But the image through the portals didn't look like what Edis knew the worlds to look like, they were covered in darkness, being utterly wiped out by the Heartless, and now more were coming. Every Heartless from Twilight Town, including the Darkside, began to move through these portals to the next world, one by one disappearing, leaving Twilight Town standing, if you could even call it that.

Looking around, Edis saw what had become of his home world. Smoke rose from every corner, people lay dead or wounded in the streets, and the fear still gripped the people, a fear that would no doubt stay with them for the rest of their lives after this attack. Twilight Town no longer felt safe. All the guards, all the 'protection' they were promised proved to do very little against their true foes and, one by one everyone in Twilight Town, including Edis, looked up to the stars, to witness as two of them blinked out of existence. It had happened, two worlds were now lost to the darkness, and Edis had not been able to stop anything. He left Twilight Town the next day, content to keep travelling the worlds to unlock the powers of the Keyblade. Maybe then he'd be able to make a difference.

-Exit-

[Lore Moogle]

Raid End

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