[center][h3]The Forge of Curation[/h3]
[b]Location:[/b] Midgar Sector 06, the City of Glass
Roxas’ [@Double], Sakura’s [@Zoey Boey], Sandalphon
[b]Word Count:[/b] 6,754 +7 [/center]

By the time the Seekers rallied themselves the two swordsmen had traded a good dozen blows total. Sam outmatched Kale in terms of raw skill and speed, and the handful of punishing slashes he landed in melee range forced his opponent to back off and utilize his far greater range of tools. A barrage from Kale’s options kept Sam at bay long enough for him to carve three more hot streaks into the floor and send them out as fire waves. [i]Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh![/i] Sam performed a somersault jump over all three in quick succession, but when he came down with an overhead slash his blade slammed into a newly-formed Snow Globe. The cyborg clicked his tongue as he jumped back, and Kale lifted his beam saber. It gleamed, and when he swung it, the blade extended to cover the entire arena. He performed three such immense horizontal slashes, but after the first one Sam managed to parry the second two, then sheathe his blade and launch forward. When he fired off another iai slash, it carved through Kale’s Snow Globe, destroying it in a single hit. Since he hadn’t broken Kale’s poise, however, the man returned the favor with Slash Dash, blitzing through Sam with a high-speed slice. In terms of overall damage that put the two almost neck-and-neck, with Kale slightly worse for wear.

The last thing Roxas expected was for Kale to make his blade so huge. He managed to hurdle over the first swing, but the ones after were too swift for Roxas to jump over. So instead he slid underneath them. And then he just… hesitated a moment. Sam had thoroughly kicked his tail earlier. And the fact that the cyborg wasn’t even trying all that hard made it sting that much more. But what else could Roxas do? He had no magic at the moment and so whatever Roxas did it was going to have to be in the form of a melee strike.

He decided on a simplified version of a previous strategy. Roxas threw Oathkeeper so that it would fly in a circular arc around Sam’s right side from behind. Then he took off running to try circling around Sam from the opposite side. Last time Roxas did this he recalled the flying blades before Sam could deflect them. This time he kept Oblivion in hand and lunged at Sam. Roxas tried a two-handed thrusting attack from Sam’s left flank. By pointing the blade straight forward he could try to aim around Sam’s blade to avoid making contact with it.

Sakura leapt over the incoming swings like hurdles at the track, a look of worry and concern on her face as Roxas plunged head deep back into the battle. To be honest, she wouldn’t have minded letting these guys soften each other up a bit- after all, the Seekers had just come off a couple battles, too. 

She decided to help Roxas engage Sam. As Roxas circled around Sakura dropped into a crouch, running straight for Sam and going to shoot out her leg towards his knee to lock him in place for Roxas’ mix-up to hit. [color=f49ac2]”Hi!”[/color] She said, almost embarrassed. 

The two Seekers joined the fight just after Kale landed his Slash Dash, when Jetstream Sam was distracted. His expression tightened as he spotted Oathkeeper in flight. When he turned to face Roxas, he also beheld Sakura making a beeline toward him. Keyblade, keyblade master, and street fighter all converged on Sam more or less at the same time, and even a talented swordmaster couldn’t be everywhere at once, and even if he could block all three, it would leave him at disadvantage. Better to take out whoever he could. With this in mind, his eyes gleamed red and he threw out a heavy slash at Sakura when she sprinted in to kick him. The two traded blows, but it would take more than one hit to interrupt Sam mid-swing. Undeterred, his crimson arc sliced across Sakura’s unguarded head, leaving a cut across her eyebrow, nose, cheek, and shoulder as it flung her back, bleeding. Then Roxas struck him, first with Oblivion and then with Oathkeeper, and the third hit staggered him enough to make him react to the blow and susceptible to an ad hoc combo.

Sakura rolled to a stop and rested on her knees, bringing a shaking, shocked hand to her bloodied face. Her fingers came away red and she felt the red liquid run down the affected areas and down her arm. It was a hard hit, but unfortunately even with all her durability a shallow, superficial cut could still draw blood. [color=f49ac2]”O-oh, crap.”[/color] She said as running blood forced her to squint her right eye. She wiped her face and blinked. Her body was at its limits if her foes were drawing blood on such strikes.

Sakura ran back into the fray to support Roxas, blasting towards Sam with fireballs if only to help her companion. [color=f49ac2]”Hadoken!”[/color] 

Though the sight of both interlopers targeting Sam surprised Kale, he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. He raised his beam saber up, enveloped it in lightning, and plunged it into the floor. Once again a field of electricity surrounded him, and after a moment three pillars of energy dropped directly on top of Sam, as well as anyone unfortunate enough to be near him at that moment. That included Roxas, who heard the crackling of electricity early on, [color=Gold]”Stay back!”[/color] he shouted to Sakura, hoping to stop her from getting hit by the attack. After the attack concluded, Kale stood up straight again, smiling.

“You’re making this easy for me,” he taunted the others.

Well thanks to Kale’s attack, Roxas was now more preoccupied with the amount of damage he’d just taken than he was with fighting Sam. He reached a gloved hand into the pocket of his black coat and retrieved something. It was a green bottle, one of the four Potions that the Nobody still had on his person, and he used it on himself by gulping it down. It wasn’t a large heal by any means, but it was better than nothing, [color=Gold]’Sakura, here!”[/color] he tossed a green bottle at the Street Fighter. This one wasn’t just a Potion, but it was a Hi-Potion, Roxas’s last one in fact.

[color=f49ac2]”I’ll take anything I can get as long as it isn’t a disease or something.”[/color] Sakura joked weakly, catching the mysterious potion out of the air.

He glanced over at Sam, suddenly feeling foolish for having focused so hard on fighting him. And while his first instinct was to shift his focus onto Kale, Roxas realized that that would only leave him and Sakura open to an attack from Sam. He ran to the Street Fighter’s side so he could stand at her back, [color=Gold]”You were right… man I’m such an idiot. We can’t keep bouncing between the two of them. My magic’s just about recharged, if we can hold out a few moments longer then we can use it to hit ‘em with a big attack together.”[/color] he said to her in a hushed tone so only she would hear him.

For her part, Sakura wasn’t sure about their chances. But with Roxas looking to team up, Sakura couldn’t turn him down. [color=f49ac2]”All right, Roxas-kun…we’ll do it together. What is this thing, by the way?”[/color] She asked. Assuming Roxas wanted her to drink it, she did, downing the potion. 

“Mind if I cut in?” Sam stuck his head between the two of them as they muttered to one another, grinning. Catching them off-guard, he executed a speedy spin slash, his high-frequency blade a crimson ring around him. His rotation continued into a low sweep, hooking both Seekers’ legs out from under them. They fell just in time for a super-extended slash from Kale to breeze overhead all three of them, courtesy of their collective low profile. Then Sam left them behind, charging toward the CEO in an all-out sprint. Kale slashed two more times, but the Wind of Destruction parried both as he ran in, then sheathed his blade. Knowing what was coming, Kale went on defense, whirling his blade in a circle as he did against Sakura. A moment later Sam’s gunshot draw slammed into him with such power that it shattered the beam saber’s hilt and damaged his hand. He slid backward a few feet, kicking up dust, then jumped farther away.

With a big smile, Sam spread apart his hands. “Show me a good time, Vandelay.”

Kale smirked. “Hm.” Suddenly, the giant antennae surrounding the rooftop arena perked up, angling inward. Four panels on his back opened up, and from them extended four robotic arms. “You should see what this body is capable of.” The grabbers on the ends of the limbs spun up and rapidly reconfigured into four devices: two shield arms, a bright blue projector, and a spiked cannon. “Puts your DespoRHado tech to shame.”

“We’ll see about that!” Sam said, readying his blade.

“Oh yes.” [url=https://i.imgur.com/smyJcVU.png]Kale[/url] put his hands together and drew them apart with a flash, manifesting Excalibur’s [url=https://i.imgur.com/SkacubD.png]Exalted Blade[/url]. “We will.”

Sakura pouted on the ground, looking over at Roxas. [color=f49ac2]”Is it ready yet?”[/color]

[color=Gold]”I think so,”[/color] answered Roxas, tightening his grip on the Keyblades, [color=Gold]”We’re only gonna get one shot, so let’s make it count.”[/color]

Sakura nodded, and shot to her feet. [color=f49ac2]”Let’s go! Kale? Kale!”[/color] She shouted, looking to even the score. She began to run forward, gunning towards the arrogant businessman and ready to link up with whatever magic Roxas had in mind.

[color=f49ac2]”Get around him!”[/color] She shouted. When the Limit Break began, she jumped forward and began to spin like a top, her leg extended as she balanced on her other foot. Her efforts locked Kale down on defense, forcing him to turn to face her as he blocked with both shield-arms.

[color=Gold]”Light!”[/color] Roxas suddenly cried out. Suddenly he and Sakura were both enveloped by a warm, golden light. What began as a normal spinning kick soon transformed into something much more. The Street Fighter and the Keybearer suddenly spun around one another in the midst of Sam and Kale, though Sam quickly fled to leave his opposite number to the newcomers. They became like a tornado of kicks and blades, twin dueling tops that circled around each other like some kind of glowing ballet dance. Together they overwhelmed Kale’s defense, leaving him just about helpless.

[color=Gold]”Here goes![/color] Roxas shouted as he unexpectedly launched himself up and above Kale - with Sakura doing the same in sync. He pointed both Keyblades down and channeled magic through them, [color=Gold]”Fire!”[/color] and they shot forth a pair of enlarged Firaga spells. Nearby, Sakura had cupped her hands and thrust them downward, [color=f49ac2]”Hadoken!”[/color] her fireball rocketed downward and spiraled together with Roxas’s Firagas. They slammed into the ground and created a big, powerful blast of fire that enveloped the area they had jumped up from.

[color=f49ac2]”W-wow!”[/color] Sakura landed on one foot and waved her hands to recover her balance. [color=f49ac2]”We were really in sync there! We’ll name it later!”[/color] Sakura took a fighting stance and surveyed the field to see if she needed to defend herself or push the offensive.

The Limit Break worked wonders. As the cyclone of flame and ki energy cleared, Kale stood with his flamethrower and laser lens arms damaged and inoperative. With a grunt of frustration he ejected them, leaving just the shield arms. Sam, walking up behind the Seekers, chuckled at the sight of him. “What a stunning performance! Maybe I can lend my talents…” He dashed between Roxas and Sakura, speeding toward the CEO. “...To the encore!” Kale blocked with his shield arms, raising them directly in front of him, but at the last moment Sam vaulted over and executed a downward crescent slash. He severed the arms supporting the shields, and as they fell to the ground he landed behind Kale and gave him a kick.

In those precious few moments while Sam was busy delivering his attack, Roxas was able to lean over and whisper one more thing to Sakura, [color=Gold]”Let’s try to wear them down and then use Friend Hearts on them. I’ll bet that’ll get them to stop.[/color]

Sakura nodded wordlessly and advanced.

“Oh, ow, augh!” Kale grunted as he rolled over. He ended up on his stomach but pulled himself up to one knee, then upright. Though he looked haggard, he also looked angry. “Ugh. I’m really having to work overtime on this one.” Seizing his torn and burnt coat, he cast it aside along with the remains of his shield arms, then held up his blade. Around the rooftop, the antennae adjusted themselves one more time, their tips glowing with a vivid, fiery orange energy. Arcs fired from each of them toward the center, forming an orb, and after another second it struck down on Kale in a massive bolt of orange lightning. “GRAAAAAAGH!”

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/AZTx1zd.png[/img][/center]

Roxas circled around while Kale was busy transforming himself. While he was sure Sam would notice him, Roxas would just have to hope they could maintain a silent truce or something. Clearly Kale was the bigger threat right now.

Supercharged, Kale’s cyborg body gleamed with brilliant flame-orange rather than laser-blue. His Exalted Blade reformed with the same power-up, and his options showed up again, primed and ready to fire.. “Your little adventure…ends here.”

The hooded Nobody lunged, going for a back attack against Kale using his Keyblades. The only drawback to using that Limit Break earlier was that Roxas was once again without any MP. He just had to hope he could make it work long enough for his MP to recharge. It was his only option.

Sakura’s jaw dropped at the sight of their opponent's transformation. He got even stronger?! While Roxas snuck up behind, Sakura tried to keep Kale distracted. Fireballs were unwieldy and could be dodged, so her only choice was to walk forward and hope she didn’t have a repeat performance of Sam’s cut across her face. She eyed Sam uneasily, trying to keep him in her view, but ultimately she couldn’t split her attention evenly between both of the powerful fighters, though she didn’t realize it. Sakura swallowed dryly and began working her way towards Kale to try and threaten him with the idea that she might, at any moment, rush forward and begin to attack. 

Having Sam on one side and the interlopers on the other worked to Kale’s disadvantage, at least at first. Roxas went for a metaphorical sucker punch, and Sam happily took the chance to attack from the opposite side. Kale buckled down and faced off against both at once. As he thrust, hacked, and parried, he used his footwork to try and make one of them block the other. He also evened the odds in other ways; his options targeted Roxas -[i]flash, flash…fla-flash![/i]- and exactly one second after every attack he made, an orange bolt descended to create a beach ball sized blast of electricity against the ground. Still, he took a handful of swings from both, and even if he landed a few in return, Kale quickly changed tactics. “Thunder!” After holding his blade up, he plunged it into the ground, creating a big field of orange electricity around him that shocked anyone who approached. After a brief moment, enormous lightning bolts fell, four each for each opponent that tracked their positions with a one-second delay.

Next, Kale dashed to one corner of the arena. His Exalted Blade couldn’t extend like his beam saber, but when he slashed the ground it created heatwaves all the same. “Fire!” They shot out one after another, each with the sound of a strident guitar riff. Finally, Kale called upon his Striker Frost. “And…ice!” The warframe stomped his foot, creating a much larger wave of ice spikes in a large cone.

Sakura hadn’t committed to anything. She blocked in anticipation, and for her trouble lightning kept her suppressed. She raised her arms above her head and the bolts forced her to one knee. She rolled out of the way of the next and crossed her arms and brought up her legs for the next two. At least she knew the timing now. Sakura looked up in surprise as the ice spikes came her way. Already her arms were getting tingly, numb, and sore, blocking these attacks took its toll. Sakura bent her knees and opted to jump clean over the entire wave, though the resulting leap left her with quite a bit of air time, her arms and legs pinwheeling. Sakura pushed herself to the ground with her Telekinesis to reduce this vulnerability.

[color=f49ac2]”Ostrich! Do sonic boom- I mean sonic cutters!”[/color] She called out. Her new Striker appeared and began to send the projectiles Kale’s way. Hopefully they would give him something to worry about as she ran in to take Roxas’s place as the point person in the melee. She ran forward and leapt towards Kale, looking to bring her fists down on his head with an EX-Otoishi. But she cut it short and used Telekinesis to force herself to the ground stop short, going for a sweep to knock his legs out from under him with her foot. 

Good thing she did that too. Roxas hadn’t fared super well against Kale’s barrage of attacks. He was able to dodge roll out of the way of most of them… at first. But Roxas was too close to Kale to simply dodge out of the way of the big thunder blast. And that kept him stunned for the follow up lightning strikes to hit him on top of that. Roxas managed to luck his way out of getting hit by the fire waves, but not so much the Ice spikes.

When the barrage was finally over, all Roxas could do was put some distance between himself and Kale and hopefully try to lick his wounds a bit while Sakura took point. He quickly downed a Potion, leaving him with just two remaining after that. He was still hurting but the Potion at least kept him on his feet. If he could just last a little longer, he’d get his MP back and could maybe give himself and Sakura a much needed Curaga.

As he took a quick break from his elemental battering, Sandalphon rang Roxas up. “I am currently assisting Team Mustang, but it looks like you’re still in quite the bind. I can heal you, so if you need help, just ask.”

For the time being he had to play it safe. While Sakura and - hopefully - Sam were on point in melee, Roxas hung back and decided to attack by throwing both of his Keyblades. Maybe they would hit while he was distracted by Sakura and Sam… or maybe they’d distract Kale and give them an opening to land hits. Either way it was better than just standing there and doing nothing.

He watched as his projectiles approached the scuffle. Sam had reached Kale to challenge him in close quarters before Sakura, but the Cold inflicted by Frost had slowed him down. This time when the two clashed Kale’s Exalted Blade sent Sam’s Murasama spiraling out of his hands. It landed point-first in the roof behind him. Kale might have followed up on that, but the Keyblades clipped him and Sakura arrived right after. When she closed in to take Sam’s place, he shook his head and walked over to retrieve it. The street fighter’s gambit worked, but as her sweep knocked Kale to the ground, he summoned his Lavos Striker to assist him. With all the energy suffusing Kale Lavos could afford to use his ultimate, Catalyze. As he thrust out his hands, nine crescent-shaped Catalyst Probes erupted from him and launched outward, spreading a fiery gel mist in wide lines. With the damage dealt to each target doubled by each element afflicting them, it packed a serious punch, and it also imbued Kale himself with Heat.

Sakura found it very unfair that he could call in someone else to wake up super for him! She vocalized as such. [color=f49ac2]”No fair!”[/color] She took a gamble and jumped into the air, over whatever attack Lavos would try to blast her back with. From his hand motions, she guessed it was either a big blast or a big wall, and she had already seen Kale’s big wall in the form of Snow Globe. After narrowly avoiding quadruple damage, Sakura would try to land practically on top of Kale as he rose, doing a kick in the air that would actually hit him in the back of the head with the knee of her other leg and land her behind him for some follow up punches and kicks before attempting to toss him to the floor. Her initial attack hit him and caused him to stumble a half-step away from the rooftop’s edge. When she landed, she did so at the edge of the rooftop, and when Kale turned he did so with a disjointed slash of the Exalted Blade that sent her into a crush counter spiral toward the precipice. Sakura gasped and stopped her spin with a planting of her foot, preventing herself from going over. Yet if the alternative was getting hit again and getting launched, she made the choice to roll off the edge and use Telekinesis to keep herself from plummeting off the elevator entirely. It wasn’t a lethal drop to the roof but it would hurt and probably take her out of the fight. Sakura took a moment to get some air back in her lungs, hanging onto the underside of the elevator.

Since Kale wasn’t directing any attacks at him, Roxas took that opportunity to use another Potion on himself. He had just one left now, but at least he was in decent shape again. Now it was time to get back into the fray, especially since Sam decided to disengage and leave Sakura fighting alone and got blasted by Catalyze in the process. When he got back into melee range, Roxas’s MP finished recharging. Lucky timing, Roxas just had to hope he didn’t waste it. If Kale was thrown to the floor, Roxas would try to capitalize on that by shooting a Blizzaga at him. Maybe he could pin him down with some ice of his own. In fact he shot three Blizzagas just for good measure.

[color=Gold]”You’re! Getting! On! My nerves!”[/color] he shouted in between shots.

Walking forward, Kale rotated his exalted blade at high speed to block -and melt- the ice shots as they came in. “And who the hell are you?” He broke into a ninja run, sprinting past Sam toward Roxas with a low profile. After a moment he went into a slide, then suddenly launched forward into a bullet jump. He closed the distance in a second and came down with a two-handed drop slash. “You’re NOBODY!”

The attack was fast but it was telegraphed all the same. Roxas dispelled Oathkeeper out of his left hand and then held up Oblivion to catch the incoming drop slash. With both hands pushing up from opposite ends of the Keyblade, he could block the attack with the greatest efficiency. But he also leaned the weapon at a slight angle so that when it caught the slash he could easily redirect the momentum to his side. Then he instantly retaliated with Dual Counter, resulting in a wide circular slash that struck Kale’s chest.

[color=Gold]”You know something? You’re right!”[/color] Roxas rebutted once his counterstrike had ended, [color=Gold]”I [i]am[/i] a Nobody - in more ways than you realize. But what does that make you?”[/color] That’s when Roxas appeared to transform into a streak of light that circled around Kale and then shot at him like a flying bullet. This led into a powerful Cross Slash.

[color=Gold]”The guy who’s getting his butt kicked by a ‘Nobody’! That’s who!”[/color]

[color=f49ac2]”Yeah! Tell ‘em!”[/color] Sakura shouted distantly.

The Cross Slash smashed against the icy surface of a freshly formed Snow Globe. Kale smirked at him. “A heroic little quip.” His hand shot forward like a lunging snake and locked its metallic grip around the nobody’s neck. Kale then pulled Roxas toward him, but while he could pass through the Snow Globe, Roxas could not–resulting in him being crushed face-first against a freezing Cold solid surface. “But this is reality, kid,” Kale told him coldly, raising his Heat-infused blade. “And it looks like you’re out of your…element!”

He slashed the Exalted Blade through the Snow Globe, striking Roxas. When warframe-induced Heat met warframe-induced cold, they combined to form Blast. The resulting explosion sent Roxas flying and inflicted the status ailment Inaccuracy, reducing the accuracy of his ranged attacks by 30% for an incredibly impactful six seconds. Still, the injury the Blast inflicted was not insubstantial.

By that time, Sam had risen. He charged toward the Snow Globe to repeat his earlier feat while Kale’s focus lay elsewhere, and once again shattered the barrier in a single gunshot draw. Once again Kale punished him with a couple slashes, but it was a necessary sacrifice on Sam’s part for the sake of any continued progress at all. With that extra burst of damage, the swordsman really wasn’t doing well. His mostly human body was taking its toll.

Having climbed back onto the elevator. Sakura ran towards Kale full-pelt. She had to interfere before Kale could focus on following up on his attacks. To this end she looked to take him by surprise with a long ranged leap from behind, trying to hammer his head with both her fists. [color=f49ac2][i]”Hup!”[/i][/color] He swung at her somewhat blindly, and for the second time that morning the two traded blows, though this time his rage-fueled fists left her in no condition to come out on top as she hit the deck a few dozen feet away. [color=f49ac2][i]”Oof!”[/i][/color] 

Roxas lay on the elevator floor for a couple of seconds, [color=Gold]”Ugh… Halo…?”[/color] he groaned, before forcing himself back onto his feet. He was getting tired and breathed heavily, [color=Gold]”I think we need that heal right about now.”[/color]

“Understood. Moving to assist.” In a flash, Sandalphon appeared, her longcoat billowing in the lofty rooftop’s wind as all seven-foot-four of her stood above Roxas. She lifted up her staff and conjured a right of electronic blue light around her, quickly growing more elaborate as its futuristic lines spread outward. Azure screens orbited rapidly around her. “You have about one second to get within twenty feet,” she called to Sakura, her voice raised slightly.

[color=f49ac2]”One second?!”[/color] Sakura had already gotten back to her feet, clutching her ribs in anticipation of Sandalphon’s arrival. But the alarm pushed her to hurry, and as fast ash er legs could carry her she sprinted towards her pair of allies and leapt head first to get in range as fast as possible.

 “...Angelic Wings.” When Sandalphon’s divine light bloomed, the Seekers within range were healed for 120% of their maximum health, including Sandalphon, who until that moment appeared to have an abundance of bloody bullet wounds. With the Archangel in Coordination protocol, her allies’ status ailments were cured and their maximum health increased by 20% as well. “A clean bill of health,” she reported matter-of-factly, repositioning her weapon to use the ‘gun’ part of her gunstaff. “

Sakura was surprised she sprinted all the way within one second (she didn’t) but the grin on her face widened as she took in a big breath. Swinging her arms, she took in a deep breath. She felt better than ever! [color=f49ac2]”Thank you so much, Sandalphon-san!”[/color]  She exclaimed with a bow. Then she turned to their main opponent. 

[color=f49ac2]”What was that you said earlier about assists and picking friends?”[/color] Sakura asked Kale, channeling some sass. 

Roxas then noticed that even Sam didn’t look to be in good shape, either. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing…

Roxas quietly conjured a pink Friend Heart in one of his hands. Would it work if he did it now? Sam was currently engaged with Kale so he wasn’t likely to be able to avoid what he might perceive as an attack. The real question was whether Roxas could sneak the Friend Heart without being noticed by Kale. Well… only one way to find out. Roxas pushed his leg muscles and started to run in Sam’s direction.

[color=Gold]”Think fast!”[/color] Roxas suddenly yelled, attempting to thrust the Friend Heart at Sam from behind. [color=Gold][i]Please, please be hurt enough for this to work.[/i][/color] The pink heart slammed into the cyborg’s back before he could react to what Roxas said. He was momentarily enveloped by a flash of pink light that dissipated into pink, heart-shaped bubbles. But in the aftermath stood Samuel Rodriguez - the saturation returned to his colors and his eyes no longer glowing red. He was freed, no longer gleaming. And fully healed, to boot.

[color=Gold]”[i]That’s[/i] what we came here to do.”[/color] he said to the cyborg, [color=Gold]”I’ll answer your questions after we finish things here.”[/color]

“No questions from me, kid,” Sam told Roxas, able to recognize a saving grace when he felt one. He lifted up his crimson katana and crouched into a ready stance facing Kale. “Only answers.”

Kale’s shoulders slumped down. The sight of all his hard work erased left him despondent. “...This is seriously cheating,” he groaned.

Sakura clenched her fists, glancing over at Sam, who definitely seemed to be on their side, at least for this fight, now that Roxas had friend-hearted him.  [color=f49ac2]”Alright. Here we go!”[/color] Sakura sprinted forward to close the gap on Kale, and then stopped just outside of his sword range to bait out a swing. Then she swung her foot out to slam painfully into his sword arm. She transitioned into a forward roll and rose up with a knee to his chest that would knock him backwards.

Roxas didn’t waste any time. With renewed vigor thanks to Sandalphon, he sprinted into the fray. He was able to use flow motion to vault clear over Sakura’s form so that he could come down on Kale with a drop slash from above, [color=Gold]”You’re the one who repeatedly changes form and supercharges yourself, and you think [i]we’re[/i] the cheaters?”[/color] After he landed the hit, Sandalphon took her shot, her expertly-aimed ether slug placed right on Kale’s forehead. The heavy blow kept him staggered so Roxas could keep up the pressure.

Roxas attacked again. This time attacked once each with his Keyblades then followed that by performing a x-slash with both at the same time. Then he jumped a few feet back and threw both Keyblades forward. This would leave Sakura some room to get some licks in if she wanted to.

Instead Sam took center stage. He cut in with a series of heavy crimson slashes, deftly weaving past Kale’s fatigued attempts to parry him and avoiding the bolts of orange lightning. When Kale got what looked like an opening, he called upon both Frost and Lavos at once. Sam sheathed his blade and punished the CEO with his gunshot draw, both severing Kale’s left arm at the bicep and blinding his left eye in a blink. With a cry of pain Kale stumbled backward, his Exalted Blade disappearing as he clamped his hand to his face. Sam just snickered and stepped back, his katana on his shoulder.

If Roxas was going to do what he came here to do, then it looked like it was now or never. Roxas made a lunge for the CEO and with both hands thrust the tip of Oathkeeper in his chest, [color=Gold]”Your turn, Kale!”[/color] Roxas pushed the weapon forward, causing it to emit a searing white light from Kale’s chest. The man screamed, sounding like there was something else screaming from within. But Roxas didn’t let up. He felt like he was getting the hang of this the more times he did it.

[color=Gold]”Nghaa! GET! OUT!”[/color] Roxas screamed before he forcefully twisted the keyblade to the side as if forcing open a lock. This triggered a blinding flash and explosion of light that knocked Roxas back a couple feet. It almost winded him but the Keybearer was back up in no time. Yep, he was definitely getting better at staying on his feet after using this power… whatever it was. He still had no idea how the Keyblade was able to do this, and at this point he was beginning to think he should make a point to try and learn.

Kale, meanwhile, knelt with his hand still over his bloody face. He looked terrible, but his good eye now appeared to be a dull mint green.“What…did you do to me?” he gasped. Sam just looked on quizzically, wondering why Kale wasn’t dead. Instinctively, Sakura stepped to the side to put herself somewhat between Sam and Kale to let Roxas talk. 

Roxas dispelled both his weapons. This had gone on long enough, it was time for the truth. [color=Gold]”I opened your eyes.”[/color] Roxas replied, [color=Gold]”Yours too.”[/color] he added with a sidelong glance at Sam. [color=Gold]”You’ve been living in a fake world. We all have. And the thing responsible for messing everything up has its influence everywhere and in everyone. You’re gonna start noticing colors looking off on some people, and a red glow in their eyes. That’s the telltale sign of its influence.”[/color] Roxas paused, knowing they probably didn’t have time for full explanations until later. Before he continued he directed their attention toward Sandalphon, whom they would both see was still under the influence. [color=Gold]”But as you both just saw, there’s a way to break the influence that all this has on people. That’s ultimately what my friends and I are doing. Breaking its hold on people until we can figure out a way to stop it for good and put everything back where it belongs.”[/color]

At this point he knew he’d have to say something to Sandalphon, [color=Gold]”As confusing as this probably is to you, I’m guessing you’re only concerned with the fact that we managed to stop the violence. Right?”[/color]

Sandalphon’s face betrayed nothing. “What you told him intrigues me. Is this…influence unique to Kale?” Her pupils turned into question marks. “And if it is not. Could I ask that you do the same for me?”

[color=Gold]”The influence is in everyone.”[/color] he confirmed, [color=Gold]”I can purge it from you, sure. But the influence will take hold and make you try to resist me, even violently. I’ve seen it happen before.”[/color]

Without a word, Sandalphon planted her gunstaff in the ground. She took a couple long strides toward Roxas and knelt down. “Quickly. Before one of them decides to kill someone.” Kale looked on, trying to sort through his thoughts, while Sam debated on whether or not to prove her right.

[color=Gold]”Alright, brace yourself.”[/color] Roxas said, summoning Oathkeeper and moving to thrust into Sandalphon’s chest just like he did earlier with Sam. He pushed it forward and as before it caused searing light to begin erupting from the point that it made contact. Resistance came in the form of Sandalphon trying to pry the Keyblade out, her pupils turning into crosshairs. The red glow of her eyes intensified as she did this. But despite how much taller she was, Roxas was physically stronger and able to maintain his hold. With all his focus and with both of them letting out a loud cry, Roxas twisted the Keyblade to its side. This of course produced the usual blinding flash of light. And unlike last time, this one didn’t even knock Roxas back. The more he used this purging technique the more he mastered it.

“Hmm…” Sandalphon furrowed her brow, her hand on her chest as the searing pain faded away. Though her lungs felt constricted as she tried to fill them with air, when she finally managed it she found herself breathing more freely than ever before. She inhaled deeply, and turned her gaze toward the sky, her pupils taking the form of plus signs. “Goddess Illyia…have mercy upon me. I have been a fool.”

Sakura looked between Sanalphon and Roxas, a hesitant smile on her face. [color=f49ac2]”I think you did it..!”[/color]

Roxas felt his knees buckle a bit but he caught himself and kept his balance. Doing the keyblade purge twice in a row was a bit more taxing than it first seemed. But nevertheless he shifted his gaze between all three of the people he had just freed, [color=Gold]”Can you see it now?”[/color] he asked all of them, [color=Gold]”This fight between Vandelay and DespoRHado, and even this entire election between Armstrong and Shinra. It’s all just a stitched together mismatch of people and places that were never meant to interact in the first place. And the thing at the bottom of it all has a name… Galeem.”[/color]

Sakura rushed to Roxas’s side and set her hand on his shoulder, though it seemed like he didn’t need the help by the time she got there, she felt the need to do so anyway.

As Roxas spoke, Sandalphon’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Not at him, but at the urgent chatter coming through her sigil. “Excuse me. It looks like we have a situation.” She stood and seized her gunstaff, then looked back at the others. “Kale will continue to act out of self-interest with no regard for human life. He deserves to die.” Without further ceremony she disappeared, teleporting back to the DespoRHado situation.

After a moment, Sam removed the sword from his shoulder. “Be that as it may…Sandalphon speaks the truth. If we allow Kale to activate Project Armstrong, everyone outfitted with Vandelay tech will be subjugated to total mind control. And besides.” He grinned, leveling his blade at Kale. “He’s really just asking for it, isn’t he?”

[color=Gold]”Project ‘Armstrong’?”[/color] Roxas asked with an incredulous tone, [color=Gold]”That name makes it sound like the Senator’s plan, not Kale’s.”[/color] he shook his head, getting increasingly exasperated. Despite Kale’s pain, the man couldn’t help but smile. [color=Gold]”But how’s this then? Kale gets this one chance to call off Project Armstrong right now. If he refuses… well… we can’t just let it go can we?”[/color]

Sakura was still reeling from the revelation. [color=f49ac2]”What- what the heck! What is wrong with you!”[/color] She pointed at Kale.

 [color=f49ac2]”You better cut it out. Seriously.”[/color] She said to him. [color=f49ac2]”Tell us where the doomsday machine is so we can destroy it!”[color]

[color=f49ac2]”There’s always a doomsday machine.”[/color] She said off-handedly to Roxas.

“Urk…” Kale looked at his arm, then hung his head. “This is just too much work. It’s downstairs, right at the bottom of the elevator.”

[color=f49ac2]”Perfect!”[/color] 

Sam clicked his tongue. “Not good enough, Kale. If DespoRHado wants you dead, you’re dead.”

[color=Gold]”Oh, come on.”[/color] Roxas muttered with increasing frustration, [color=Gold]”How can you two still be at it like th—”[/color]

“DespoRHado as you know it is about to stop existing,” Kale retorted. “During the fight I got some pretty neat emails. Your buddies Mistral, Monsoon, Khamsin, and Sundowner are all dead.” An explosion in Circuit Royale, where the DespoRHado dropship served as mission control, caught his attention. From the heights of the Signal Tower the Seekers could see conflict down there between Sandalphon’s androids and a huge force, newly arrived. “And it looks like that angel’s next on the bucket list.”

“Dead?” Sam tilted his head. The news stilled his blade. “...Really?“ If the Winds of Destruction were no more, DespoRHado was dead in the water. They had lost, their principles defeated, and allegiance to them rendered worthless.

Sakura ran to the edge of the elevator. [color=f49ac2]”Isn’t that where— Sandalphon-san is in trouble!”[/color] Sakura exclaimed, worried. They were so far up! [color=f49ac2]”U-um, Halo! Halo, are you there?”[/color] She said aloud.  But there was no response.

[color=Gold]”Ah! That does it!”[/color] Roxas lunged for Kale and pressed the tip of Oblivion at his throat, [color=Gold]”I’ve had it with you! Both of you!”[/color] he shot a quick and angry glare back at Sam before returning his attention, [color=Gold]”You see where all this got you? Was it worth it? Well was it? Because it doesn’t look very worth it to me!”[/color] he tried playing this the nice guy way like Sora would. But if these two pigheaded cyborgs weren’t gonna play ball, then fine!

[color=f49ac2]”Roxas! What are you- we have to-”[/color] Sakura glanced back and forth between Sandalphon’s distant problem, the standoff on the elevator, and down over the side to where Project Armstrong was supposed to be. Have to…what?