Hey guys! Firestorm40 here with the conclusion of the Dark Roxas Arc. Special thanks to MysticKai. Enjoy!
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Roxas climbed back up to his feet and glared Zervik who smirked. "Now that the distraction is gone, we can finally settle things once and for all." Zervik said, emanating crimson flames from his body.
Roxas stood up straight, before getting into a battle stance himself surrounded by white/blue fox- fire. "I'm not losing to you. You're part of my heart! Part of the light!"
"Ever the fool, bastard!" Zervik growled, before they charged at each other with battle cries.
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The two counterparts then threw a punch, causing their fists to slammed into each other and the shockwave from the colliding blows raced out throw the dark area.
The two then bounced away from each other and got ready for attack.
Roxas glared menacingly at his dark counterpart as he rose to his feet, fury brimmed off his eyes, and every muscle twitched and ached for the fight that would decide his fate. "I'm not losing to you. You'll have to force me into submission." Roxas spat venom with every syllable.
"Heh...Then that's what I'll do." Zervik gave off a cocky smirk at the slivernette, the sounds of their voices echoed around them. "I've always wanted to know who was the stronger counterpart. But But only one of us is getting out of here and taking control. And that wiLL BE ME!"
Roxas' brow furrowed at that before he engulfed both of his arms in fox-fire, "Then I'll just kick your ass to the point where you think otherwise."Nine-Tails' Flash Bullet!" With a single word he crushed the ground beneath his powerful speed, crouching down before attacking, delivering a powerful kick to Zervik's stomach, launching him high into the air.
Zervik flipped throughout the air as he rightened himself mid-flip as crimson black flames swirled around him. "Crimson-Tails' Burning Fang!" He dropped down fast as his knees connected with Roxas' shoulders, sending him into the ground before he spun kicked him to the side.
Not finished, Roxas shot high into the air to greet his doppelgänger. He spun in the air and crashed his blue fire powered arm into the abdomen of the double, hitting the same spot that he previously struck. Zervik's eyes widened as the attack struck, launching him across the dark area.
"Nine-Tails' Scared Fist!" Zervik's red eyes widened further when he saw the slivernette suddenly above him, with a cocked back arm, driving into the same part of his body that had just been attacked twice. The attack drilled him back towards the Earth, his back slamming hard against the harder floor and kicking up a large dust cloud.
Roxas landed gracefully back on the other side of the battle field. "Not done yet!" He yelled, and charged towards the downed counterpart. With his speed, Roxas reached Zervik and grabbed the entity's ankles before lifting and slamming him into the ground with devastating force, before throwing him back up in to the air.
"Nine-Tails' Wil-O-Wisp!" Roxas roared, and summoned nine blue orbs shot from each of his hands, colliding with Zervik's body creating miniature explosions as they connected.
Roxas then finished the second onslaught with another crippling blow from his Nine-Tails' Sacred Fist into Zervik's back, launching him straight back into the floor, creating a second crater through the impact.
Roxas narrowed his eyes as he stared at where his counterpart had crash landed. 'Something isn't right about this guy's body. My blows should have been enough to shatter his body and yet...'
"He isn't even injured..." Roxas stared in utter shock as Zervik calmly rose to his feet, a dark grin plastered across his partially visible face.
"I won't act like a tough guy and say that didn't hurt," He uttered out to the trip across the dark area. "But you're going to need something better to damage this body of mine."
With great speed he appeared before Roxas, delivering a powerful punch to the fox slayer's face. "My bones are indestructible!"
"My mind is unbreakable!" He suddenly turned and delivered a shattering kick to Roxas' stomach, knocking the air out of him.
"My spirit is unbending!" Zervik then loomed over the slivernette, before delivering a simple head-butt to the fox slayer, hammering him downwards into the ground with sheer power.
"Although congratulations are in order..." He said as he stared down at the fox slayer trying to regain his senses on the ground. "You've succeeded in pissing me off."
He opened his right hand, and from it, crimson flames began forming into a gigantic cloak claw, which he then clasped with both hands and pulled behind his head. "Crimson-Tails' Claw!" Zervik yelled as he brought the claws down with speed over Roxas' body.
'Damn! I have to dodge it!' Roxas thought as he quickly shifted his body before narrowly avoiding being crushed by an inch. The claws came down, crashing into the ground with enough force to kick up a debris cloud.
Roxas continued to roll on the ground from the attack, before he stopped and climb back to his feet and watched the cloud of dust. "That was close. I don't get get...after I being tossed around like that, how doesn't he have a single scratch?"
"Because you're weak-minded..." Zervik's voice appeared behind Roxas, much to the fox slayer's shock, with his fist engulfed in crimson flames. "Crimson-Tails' Roaring Hammer!" Zervik then brutally slammed his fist into Roxas' back causing a huge explosion that sent him flying away.
"Pathetic" Zervik said as he watched Roxas struggled to his feet.
Roxas had to admit, that one had hurt. He struggled a bit to get back to his feet. He realized when he felt a slight breeze that his jacket had been shredded so he tore off what was left of the jacket leaving him in only his back T-shirt, pants and shoes. "Weak-minded?" he said, as he faced Zervik with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I'm never been weak-minded!"
"No? Let's take a trip down memory lane." Zervik said, "Ever since you were young, you've always been susceptible to negative emotions. Rude comments, your quick anger, disappointment, all of it! But thanks to those feelings you've refused to share with others, I was created; The Physical Embodiment of your negative emotions! So I must really say thank you for being an introvert, since because of you I'll get my freedom!"
Roxas cracked his neck before channeling his magic "That may have been the case before, but so what! I said I'm going to conquer the darkness and bring it into the light!" before charged at Zervik.
"Come, I'll destroy that feeble little light, and show you just how hopeless the very thought of defeating me really is." Zervik declared and then channeled his magic before charging at Roxas surrounded by crimson flames. The two wizards met halfway before they began to trade blows.
Shockwaves pulsed all around the hall as blue and crimson streaks met, bounced apart, met, bounced apart, only to meet again somewhere else, each meeting producing the waves that did everything from just create gusts of wind, to shattering most of the floor and sending up swarms of dust when the two met in the canopy.
Zervik blinked then crossed his arms as fast as he could, Roxas' blue fire powered foot slamming into him and thrusting him off the dark counterpart. Zervik landed safely on the ground across from where he'd been fighting at, though the force of his impact caused a crater into the floor as the force transferred.
He threw himself flat against the ground as Roxas shot past from above, little more than a blur to the doppelgänger at the level he was fighting at, red eyes widening as several long black hairs detached themselves from his head and floated away on the mad rush of air in the speeding teen's wake.
The dark doppelgänger looked over and saw a swath of debris on the floor as the fox slayer skimmed over the ground below then shot back to his level in a second, again coming for his enemy, leading with a straight attack that would take the Zervik's head off if he didn't watch it. Zervik reached above his head and put both hands on the on the wall then curled himself into a ball, just as Roxas' attack slammed home with enough force to bury his arm in the wall up to the shoulder and caused a shockwave to shoot out.
The fox slayer saw white as he didn't pull his arm out in time and both of Zervik's heels slammed into the top of his head, sending him speeding to the ground, until he slammed to the ground and raised a massive cloud of debris, from which he shot like a bullet and tried to hit the doppelgänger with an uppercut. Zervik's head pulled out of the way in time, but Roxas felt his knuckles graze the wizard's chin, then he was past, flipping backwards before coming to a stop.
Zervik watched the fox slayer across from him with a guarded expression that Roxas knew all to well. It was the same look that every enemy had gotten when the fox slayer had proven himself an equal to them. It was the look of being unwillingly impressed.
Roxas engulfed his arms in fox-fire and launched himself at Zervik again, and the doppelgänger responded in kind, pushing off the wall to meet the onrushing warrior at the halfway point, over open space, and begin trading blows rapidly. The pair's arms were moving so fast that it looked like they'd both sprouted multiple fists.
The fighting titans broke apart, Zervik rebounding off the ground and becoming a blur. Roxas let out a war cry and mimicked the move then the two became nothing but black streaks that bounced all over the area.
Shockwaves pulsed all around the area as the streaks met, bounced apart, met, bounced apart, only to meet again somewhere else, each meeting producing the waves that did everything from just create gusts of wind, to shattering tree trunks and sending up swarms of leaves when the two met in the canopy.
Roxas reappeared on the ground as if he'd simply popped out of thin air, and he looked a little worse for wear. Small cuts and bruises covered him and his pants had a massive gash ripped in the right leg at the knee, showing hard corded muscle that looked like he was chiseled out of marble. He was breathing hard, panting as if he'd been running for miles, sweat staining his front and running down his face, though his eyes still burned with the intensity of the sun.
Zervik appeared across from him, though to Roxas' shock, he didn't even have a single bruise nor was he breathing hard and sweating. He just stood there with a dark smirk.
Roxas gritted his teeth. 'Damn!' he thought. 'I'm going all out and this guy is still keeping up! I'm making him work, sure, but I can't keep this pace up, and he looks like he's not taking this seriously. He's testing the water, seeing what I can do, and wearing me down by matching my pace.' He glanced down at his fists, that began to tremble slightly. 'I guess,' he realized. 'I guess that in the end, he'll will win.' He allowed a slight slump to enter his shoulders. 'It's over. I can't win...No I can't think like. It'll just prove that he was right. I have to keep fighting!'
Crimson flames began to outline Zervik in a swirling red vapor, forming into a fox cloak.
"I must congratulate you, Roxas. That was a great warm-up. Now it's time to get serious!" as he said that, his teeth began to sharpen while his arms took on a monstrous form with sharp claws. he then let out a loud roar before he made the crimson flames burst from his body, this sent shockwaves that were pushing Roxas back.
'Damn! This guy's power is increasing rapidly!' Roxas thought as he held his ground.
Zervik thrust one arm forward.
"Submit!"
A cloak claw shot at Roxas like a bullet.
'Fast!' Roxas thought as he flung his body out of the way, the sand whizzing past, just barely catching him and tearing a gash in his shirt's stomach. 'That was close!'
"Nine-Tails' Flash Bullet!" Roxas shot forward, becoming nothing but a blur then there was a clap like thunder as he broke the sound barrier and slammed his fist right into Zervik's gut, doubling him over.
Roxas then engulfed his foot in blue flames. "Nine-Tails' Spinning Talon!" Roxas' foot snapped forward and caught the doppelgänger in the chin, lifting him into the air.
The cloak claws on Zervik's arm shot out, catching Roxas off guard. The claws then slammed into Roxas sending him backwards.
'His speed increased again!' he noted as he was scooped off his feet and propelled across the area before slamming into the wall with enough force to spit up blood.
"Is that all you got!" Zervik shouted, as his tails swung back and forth.
A yell and a flash lit the air and the expanding cloud of powder was blown away, revealing Roxas, breathing hard and blood running down the right side of his face, right over his eye forcing it to close or get blinded.
As the claws gathered again for another strike, the whiskered boy wiped his face frantically, trying the clear the blood and get both eyes back. He'd need it for this fight, he knew.
The claws then shot at him again, the end opening up and giving the impression of giant hands reaching out at him.
Roxas rolled, the attack missing and slamming into the ground. The claws soon came at him again like a water fountain's arc, forcing the slivernette to keep rolling if he wanted to stay alive.
The world became a blur of color with the sound of impacts, hard enough to crack the floor, filling his ears, the ground jumping with every strike.
Just as Roxas was climbing back to his feet, he felt a presence behind him.
"Anybody ever teach you not to turn your back on a enemy, idiot." Zervik said from behind the fox slayer. Roxas spun around, slashing with one hand. The ground split as if cut by a sword, but Zervik didn't get cut with it, leaping over the attack, coming down and slamming a fist into Roxas' gut. The teen gagged, his gorge rising, spilling bile mixed with blood over the ground.
A swift kick pounded into his skull hard enough for Roxas to see white. He was barely aware of sailing through the sky. His bones whimpered to him when the ground parted from his impact.
"Now I've got you!" Zervik crowed triumphantly as he formed a crimson sphere from his mouth, as it began to swirl. "Crimson-Tails' Beam!" He shot a powerful beam of magic at Roxas.
Another explosion rang out, the smoke roaring out from the area like a hurricane's wind.
"Nine-Tails' Scared Fist!" Roxas suddenly yelled, before appearing right in front of Zervik, delivering a swift blue firey punch to the doppelgänger's face, knocking him away. "I'm not done yet!"
Leaping into the air, Roxas then inhaled some air. "Nine-Tails' Howl!" He shouted, right before he unleashed a beam of blue flames from his mouth. He aimed straight for Zervik, who was now standing down below.
Zervik jerked his head to the air and raised his monster-like arm. "Crimson-Tails' Twister!" He then created a huge tornado that collided with the blast.
As blue flames clashed with the twister, both attacks fought for dominance, but they were evenly matched. And this was proven to be true, when both spells exploded, kicking up a large amount of wind and dust from the shockwave of the explosion.
In the dust cloud, both Roxas and Zervik vanished.
The area began bursting apart around the two that huddled in the corner. Roxas and Zervik were totally invisible as they moved, only illuminated for the briefest of milliseconds when the clashed and the afterimages they left behind.
Shockwaves appeared all over the areas,with the sound of thunder joining them.
They appeared.
Roxas' fist flashed.
Zervik caught it.
Zervik's fist flashed.
Roxas caught it.
Stalemate.
Roxas became engulfed in blue flames while Zervik's fox cloak became more crimson and flame-like.
The power soared horribly and the stone floor of the hall just couldn't take it anymore and the two sank out of sight as the solid rock depressed, unable to bear the weight anymore. The crater expanded to encompass the whole space, which was a good three thousand square feet and rocks began sliding down towards the fighting powerhouses. They were grunting and straining, muscles and veins bulging, teeth bared.
"Why don't you accept the darkness?!" Zervik roared as he pushed Roxas back. Roxas gritted his teeth and pushed harder, then retorted, "I could ask you why you won't just accept the light!"
Zervik used more strength and grinned triumphantly as he forced Roxas back, the fox slayer's knee hitting the ground hard enough to make it crumble.
Roxas grunted, bowed his head, pushed with all his considerable might, but Zervik remained as unmovable as the planet Jupiter. The doppelgänger began laughing madly and Roxas met his eyes and let out a yell, his blue fire flaring even higher. The doppelgänger's face went from insanely amused to shocked as the fox-slayer surged to his feet and pushed Zervik backwards. Roxas' arms spread wide, spreading his opponent's as well, leaving the doppelgänger wide open.
"I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!" Roxas shouted, then leapt and thrust both heels almost straight up. A crunching filled the air and Zervik was thrown into the ceiling, the entire room shaking from the impact, shockwaves racing out as he went up higher.
Zervik threw his weight around, hanging in the air for a split second.
"HRAAAA! Nine-Tails Scared Fist!"
Roxas appeared above him, blue fire powered hands behind his head and clenched together. Down they came and burrowed into Zervik's gut, folding the doppelgänger around them before he blasted back toward the earth, before slamming into the ground in a blast of wind and dust.
In the center of the area was a massive crater from which a single arm stuck up.
Roxas appeared in a blur, touching down with only the soft tap of his shoe's thin rubber soles to announce him, before he doubled over and heaved great breaths. The fight seemed to have taken a lot out of him.
"That...should...do it." Roxas wheezed out as he fell on one knee. Or so he thought...
Suddenly, the ground was shaking and rumbling. There was a flash of light and once again the hall was filled with the shining glory of Roxas' blue flames. Cracks began forming in the ground and Roxas leapt back, right as one snapped open beneath him and spewed a cloak claw.
All over the floor, the fractures opened and began to spew crimson flames.
"Not bad, Roxas!" Announced a a hellbent voice. It seemed to come from Zerivk himself. The hand that was visible was twitching and jerking violently, as if Zervik was having a seizure. "Not bad at all! Too bad..it's not enough!" He then unleashed a yell of fury which then turned a roar of pure rage.
Before Roxas do anything, he was blasted back by a violent explosion that followed the roar which shook the whole area. He had to shield his face from the wind and debris. There was a noise akin to an explosion before everything went quiet. When Roxas lowered his arms, he could only stared in shock as he saw a sphere of dark crimson flames with a stream of black smoke stretching into the sky and a medium-sized crater around it.
Suddenly, the blazing flame sphere slowly dissipated to reveal in Zervik's place was a humanoid creature crouched on all fours. The being was blood red mixed with black streaks swirled into it and outlined in orange. It had a black mask-like face with empty glowing white eyes and mouth. Its hands and feet were clawed and mostly orange. However, the most noticeable and eye widening features were two long pointy red ears on top of its head and the four long red tails swooshing around behind it. Crimson flames blazed around its outline.
"You believed you could conquer the darkness earlier." Zervik stated maniacally, his darker than before. His eyes wide and bloodshot with pure fathom and rage. "WELL, LET'S SEE IF YOU STILL FILL THAT WAY AFTER THIS!!!!" he raised his monster arm again and summoned a crimson circle. "Crimson-Tails' Roaring Hammer!" Zervik slammed his fists into the ground this force a wave a crimson fox-fire to shot towards Roxas.
Soon as the wave got close, Roxas turned and readied his signature move.
"Nine-Tails' Howl!"
The blast of blue flames blew a neat round hole in the onrushing crimson wave and caused it to exploded around him, though the fox slayer managed to avoid any real injuries as the hole passed by him.
Something slammed him from behind and carried Roxas straight into the wall, smashing him into it and pinning him. He hissed in pain as he looked as saw cloak claws clenched tight around him, grinding his elbows into his ribs. He then saw Zervik with his arms out.
"AHAHAHAHA!" Zervik crowed. "This is gonna be FUN! Hope you last a while boy, cause I'm going to break you....slowly!" With that, the claws holding Roxas withdrew then shot out again, slamming him headlong into the wall.
Roxas cried out when his forehead hit the hard and unforgiving ground. Then the claws dragged the fox slayer sideways, running his head through the walls before slamming him to the floor three times, each time Roxas was crying out in pain as his body took a bigger and bigger beating. It wasn't long before his face and shoulders, the only parts of him visible, were cut and lacerated, blood flying everywhere as he was thrown around the room like a rag doll in a rabid dog's mouth.
"Let's see how you like being knock into the air, huh!?" Zervik shouted. He was taking an absurd amount of pleasure in hurting Roxas. There was a boom sound as the claws knocked Roxas up into the air, before he began to fall, tumbling limply, though he wasn't dead or unconscious.
"Not done yet!" Zervik cried, launching his left arm forward, causing the cloak claw to shoot out and head towards the fallen wizard.
As Roxas was falling, he began to think about all his friends of Fairy Tail, as well as...Lucy.
That seemed to breath new life into the slivernette, whose blue eyes snapped open and he twisted in mid fall, the claw scraping over his back and opening some minor abrasions. He suddenly thrust his hands out and began to glow white/blue.
"Nine-Tails' Wil-O-Wisp!"Several small orbs of blue fire shot off like missiles across the hall.
Zervik bought up his tails and a crimson shield sprang up as if by magic, intercepting the attack long before it would've hit the demon. Roxas landed lightly on the ground. Zervik's cloak arms retreated then shot out again.
"Take this!"
The two arms slammed together, Roxas shouted out in pain as their gripped tightened. Zervik's arms were out in front of him as he took a deep breath as two magic circles, a blackish one and an dark red one, appeared in front of him.
"Crimson-Tails' Black Howl!"
He then shot crimson flames from his mouth, which became black after passing through the black magic circle as they made their way to Roxas, making contact. Roxas' cry of pain echoing through the area as a massive explosion occurred and sent him flying into a wall hard enough that it caused a large hole to appear. The impact shook the area as another brown cloud swept over the floor. Once the dust had cleared, it revealed Roxas staggering up then collapsing, clutching at his ribs and coughing up blood.
"So that's the limit of your power? Heh....See how far that 'light' can get you? Darkness, rage, hatred....how can you be afraid of something that can be so thrilling?" Zervik said grabbing Roxas' attention. "Speaking of which, why don't you take a look around this place, Roxas? Do you know why there is nothing but darkness here...it's because this all the darkness from your heart. Look as hard as you are able, you won't see even the smallest glimmer of light. All of the pain, your own hate. I was born because of you, and so was this place. This, is your heart!"
Roxas looked around the abyss in shock. 'This...This is my heart?'
Suddenly, wisps of darkness rose up from the floor and slowly began to entirely envelope Roxas, who was struggling to free himself, but due to his injuries, he couldn't do much.
"W-What is this!?" Roxas grunted, feeling himself being lifted in the air by the darkness
Zervik's glowing grin widened, as his form began to explained and take on more of a blobish Fox form as another tail grew, growing taller as he then stared down at Roxas' beaten form. "So why don't we just quit the fighting, eh?" His voice grew rougher to match his form, before his body flew forward like a tidal wave of red and black sludge. Before Roxas could even scream, his was almost drawing in the dark mass. He struggled as he felt his energy being zapped from him, his aching muscles screaming from the struggling the slayer put up.
"It's no use," Zervik told him. "There's no escaping the darkness."
Roxas kept trying to dislodge the darkness and get an arm free, but to no avail. It was as Zervik said though and the darkness continued its relentless advance, passing his elbows and moving on as inexorably as a glacier. Worry began to show in the trapped teen's eyes as he lost more and more movement room.
'No! It can't end like this....But I can't move!...Is this it?...Am I'm gonna die here... I'm sorry guys... I'm sorry... Lucy...'
The darkness passed his neck and totally enveloped him, leaving only his face showing. He could see black spots filling is vision, muffled by darkness and tried to break free, but then the darkness passed over his face and he had to stop or risk suffocating.
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(Reality...)
"W-What's happening to him!?" Lucy asked when Roxas' appearance began to change.
"This magic... it's must be his dark side! It's trying to take over him!" Warren yelled. Team Choatic was finally able to pin down Roxas' body, albeit with great displeasure.
Natsu sat on Roxas' chest, one hand holding down his left clawed arm while the other gave Roxas' face an occasional punch when he tried to either bite at him or force himself up.
Roxas' left arm and two of his tails were pinned down by a barrage of swords, courtesy of Erza.
Two more of Roxas' tails were covered in ice and water, with Ariel and Gray both sitting on their respective element.
The last tail was held back by Lucy's whip, the girl struggling to hold the crimson and black appendage as it wiggled around.
A noticeable trait among all the friends were the tears streaming down their faces as they listened to the feral roars that shouldn't even be possible to make coming out of Roxas' fanged mouth as he struggled.
"Come on Roxas! Just snap out of it already!" Natsu yelled, before punching his face again as Roxas went to bite his face off.
"Whiskers, you have to listen to us!" Ariel pleaded.
"We can't kill you, man! So fight it!" Gray's voice was strangled as he watched his ice begin to melt a bit from the heat the tail gave off.
"Roxas Eragon! You can not give up!" Erza demanded.
"Roxas... Please!" Lucy's voice quivered, as Happy flew up behind her and helped pull.
"He's so strong!" Happy stated as he pulled too. "You gotta come back, Roxas!"
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Weightless... that was the first sensation Roxas registered when he came too. He was weightless, floating through a white void. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw bright yellow clouds around him. Looking down on himself, he saw he was wearing a simple white shirt with white pants and no shoes. He then rubbed a hand through his orange locks. "Where am I? Did I die?" He asked himself out loud. "It this how my life ends? Floating away into nothingness...?"
He never excepted an answer.
"You won't fade."
Suddenly a bright light shined behind him. Turning around, his eyes widened at what he saw. Floating before him was a woman he had never seen before. She had flowing dandelion-colored hair, fair pale skin,and sapphire eyes. She was wearing a white tanktop-like garment which revealed her midriff and a tribal dress with beige, green, and red triangular patterns. Atop of her forehead she wore a golden necklace and tiara-like band, both of which were decorated with a blue jewel in the center. Her wrists were adorned with thick, cobalt-blue bracelets, and she wore white-strapped sandals. Her hair were also wrapped with similar white bandages. This woman was absolutely beautiful.
"W-Who are you?" Roxas asked in awe.
The woman smiled at him. "My name is Xionara. You might not know me right now, however, but I'm here to help you conquer your darkness."
Roxas looked at the woman in confusion. How did she plan on doing that? "Help me? But...how do you plan to do that?" Roxas looked down in dismay and defeat, "I already lost to the darkness...It's already consumed me."
"No, it hasn't," Xionara said, getting Roxas to look at her in shock.
"What?" Roxas asked in confusion
"The darkness may have consumed your body, but it can't touch your heart." Xionara began.
Roxas looked at her in more confusion "Okay, I don't think you didn't hear me the first time, so I will say it again; what?"
Xionara smirked and rolled her eyes as she continued, "There's no power that can defeat you---not the light, not even the darkness. So stand with the light---and don't fear the darkness...Because both will make you stronger."
"Make me stronger?" Roxas asked, "As well as the Darkness?"
"Yes. The strength that's yours. The darkness inside your heart---it's vast, and it is deep...but if you can truly stare into it and never try to look away, you won't be afraid of anything again." Xionara finished her speech to let Roxas process on what she just said
.
"All this time,"Roxas said, clutching at his heart. "I've tried to push the darkness away---" Images of everyone in Fairy Tail, smiling, having a good time, began to flash across his mind, "Because I was afraid that I would hurt those I care about the most," Images of him and Lucy as kids and their time in Fairy Tail flashed through his mind.
During this thought process, Xionara spoke up, "You just gotta remember to be brave. Know that the darkness is there and don't give in. If you do that, you will gain strength---the kind that's unlike any other. You'll be able to escape the deepest darkness---" She started.
"---and I'll be able to see through the brightest light---" Roxas continued, looking at his fist.
"Follow the darkness. It'll show you the way to your friends." Xionara said.
"My friends..." Roxas said, before he suddenly heard their calls through the void.
"Come on Roxas! Just snap out of it already!"
"Whiskers, you have to listen to us!"
"We can't kill you, man! So fight it!"
"Roxas Eragon! You can not give up!"
"You gotta come back, Roxas!"
"Roxas... Please!"
"After what I've done...can I even face them?" Roxas muttered quietly.
"You don't want to?" Xionara asked.
Roxas was quiet for a moment. "I don't know...but I know that I will face Zervik with my strength---my TRUE strength."
Xionara then walks up to Roxas, holding his hands delicately writhing her own with a warm smile on her face.
"Now for the part where I actually help you, Roxas." She winked, as Roxas stared at her in confusion.
"But how am I going to get out of here?" He raised an eyebrow, as the woman before him giggled.
"I'll lend you some of my power, enough to get you out of here and a bit of a recharge, as you may say." She raised a finger, a smirk on her lips, before she reached forward and proceeded to flick Roxas in the forehead.
"Ow, Hey!" Roxas winced, rubbing his face, before he noticed his body starting to glow while the woman stepped backwards. "Wait! Will I ever see you again?!"
Xionara placed a hand onto her chest, over where her heart is as she grinned. "Only time will tell, Roxas Eragon! Until next time!"
Roxas reached forward, before he clenched his fist and grinned. "Then see ya later!" And with that, his body disappeared.
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"Roxas... Please!" Lucy pleaded.
They all jumped, as Roxas' body screamed in what sounded like pain, as Roxas' right arm reached up in a flash and squeezed Natsu's neck, making the Dragon Slayer gag.
"Natsu!" Misty and Erza yelled in shock, as Natsu clenched his teeth and while holding one of the swords handles keeping Roxas' left arm down, he clenched the strangling arm.
"I'm... fine! Just focus... on keeping him down!" Natsu sputtered out through his teeth, using his sheer strength alone to get any air in.
"Roxas... Roxas...!" Lucy slowly raised her voice, before finally screaming "ROXAS, YOUR SCARING ME!"
It's as if those words alone were magic itself, as suddenly Roxas' body froze entirely in place. What the six also noticed with relief, was that their friend's body stopped transforming.
"I'm... not... done... yet!" They all stared at Roxas' face, hearing his regular voice whisper through his ganged mouth, as his grip around Natsu's neck released and slammed into the ground next to him as his body began to shake.
"What's wrong with him?!" Gray shouted, as Erza's eyes widened.
"He's convulsing! Roxas is fighting back!" She shouted, before her armor transformed into her Fire Empress armor and held down his body more. "Keep him down! In case anything else happens, he needs to stay down!"
"Right!" They all shouted, relieved determination on all if their faces as their resolves renewed.
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Zervik watched the darkness continued to engulf Roxas. "Hmph...Too bad, Roxas. Looks like you were a disappointment after all..." he said, before the darkness moved a half inch more before stopping. "What!?"
Shafts of blue flames, as bright and as shiny as the dawn sun, pierced the shell of grains. The cocoon began to shake and tremble, then a yell became audible, muffled by the darkness, but still there, slowly growing in pitch and volume as more rays burst from the sand coffin.
There was a flash and it exploded outward and the screaming reached an almost deafening pitch.
"HRRRRRRAAAA!"
Zervik quickly brought his hands up to guard his face, right as the shockwave from the explosion reached him, passing over and slamming all over the area with enough force to gouge and pit it. When Zervik let his arms down, he was shocked at what stood before him.
In the center of the arena was a massive cloud, hanging like fog over where Roxas had been trapped. Zerivk picked himself up from the ground. He'd been blown back when the shockwave had slammed in to him.
The darkness began to swirl faster and faster, then the sound of flickering flames became audible.
"You think this is over, you bastard," said the voice the sound belonged to, "This battle hasn't even started!" There was a whump and the smoke went from swirling to rippling outward like a stone that'd been thrown into a river.
Roxas emerged from the maelstrom, but he was changed. Blue flames was surrounding his body, when suddenly, a golden aura appeared outside of Roxas' fox flames. The golden aura manifests a gentle, flame-like contour while the blue fire maintained as violently fluctuating and jagged. His hair was blowing through the wind his power gave off and hard blue, slitted eyes drilled into Zervik red ones.
"I'm going to end this here and now!"
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Next Time: Light vs Dark: The Final Battle Part 2
Roxas emerges from the darkness and with new power and determination, prepares to finish his fight with Zervik. But once everything is said and done, will Roxas be able to face Lucy and the others after all that has happened?