//------------------------------// // I'm Back B****es!! // Story: Balance // by BioQuillFiction //------------------------------// Zeke woke up in a bit of a haze. “Ugh, what armored assault truck hit me?” They groaned, rubbing their head. “So, you’re awake.” Said a familiar voice… Eclipsa. She sat in a seat while all around the two empty space spanned on for who knows how long. “... So this is my personal hell? Huh, figured there’d be more fire, red hot spikes and internal bleeding?” “No this isn’t hell. Trust me, been there. Fine place if you don't mind crazies and for Jason Voorhees to actually help you out its so bad there.” She said, standing up and slithering over to Zeke, her seat vanishing. “We are in a space built for the sole purpose of Admin’s dueling without either truly coming to harm and yet allows them to go full out without collateral.” “...Okay, so who are you gonna fight?” She didn’t answer at first until she summoned her X-blade. “Zeke, you and I have some things we need to work out. And as much as we both aren’t ones for the Ventral traditions, a good ol’ duel will have to speak louder than words.” “...” Zeke stood up, and walked away. “Where’s the exit here?” I already know my DTL’s won’t work here so where’s the exit?” Faster than Zeke thought Eclipsa could move, She struck him… and it actually hurt. With a boom Zeke was flung away, his nose dripping with blood from the punch. “No Zeke. We are doing this. You and I… we are Equals. It’s about time you saw me as one.” She said, allowing everything she has come to bare…. It was more than Zeke imagined. Each power complimenting and boosting one another in a never ending circle of power… the longer it was active, Eclipsa was only going to get stronger with no repercussions. “...” Zeke got up, fixed up his clothes, and just sat down. “No.” “No…. heh. So that's it then? I knew you were as stubborn as me…. No that isn't this. You still think there is no point, is that it?!” Eclipsa said, her voice steadily growing in volume. “... You have power, there’s no doubt, you have training, maybe matching mine. But in the past… even when it seemed impossible… I always won. Didn’t matter their armor, their weapon… Do you know why, I never used all my power, even before all this. Even back on earth?” “Because you were hoping to lose. You desperately wanted to lose, just as much as for the longest time I just wanted to win at something. The difference, you’ve given up. Even when it stares you in the face, you give up. I know I did wrong by you. I shouldn’t have given up… But that gives you no right!” She says, closing the distance slowly. “... If you spoke to your dad, my uncle, he could tell you this. My scores. Rang skill with all calibers, ten miles, shells is five. Pressure per square inch on a punch, three hundred pounds of pressure. In reality, it’s tripple for my range skills, my aim, and force behind my punches is closer to six hundred, and that’s before all this power. My speed is close to a hundred. Lie, I was able to run almost two hundred. Already that was MUCH faster than a normal human. I knew from a young age I was not normal. I blamed my eyes… my blood. In a way… I guess I was right. I knew from a young age I was built to fight, the proof was undeniable. I never go all out… because what if I like it? If I go all out, feel that rush… if I like it, and don’t stop… I’ll become what I never wanted to be. Addicted to the fight. Even if it’s against evil… when they are all gone...because of me, how long til my addiction make me… hurt someone I care for? If I never feel that rush, then I’ll never worry about this problem.” That just seemed to piss her off more. “You are an idiot. Because guess what?” She bent down to eye level with Zeke, Red to Red. “There will be those to stop you from going that far, starting with me. And the first step to preventing you… is to break your chains.” She said before pointing her X-blade to him. A beam of gray shot out of the blade… and Zeke felt his personal restraints on his power start to crack. Zeke grabbed the tip of her X-blade, and they were eye to eye. “I don’t want to fight. You’ll just get hurt.” She smiled “Copies rock.” She said, another, far more pregnant Eclipsa waving from a portal before vanishing. “Besides. Let’s test… Strike me with a single hit of full power. If this body is destroyed in a single hit, I will let you go. Otherwise, we will duel. Do we have a deal?” She said, Zeke feeling the sealing power of this deal of admins. “Fine…” Zeke said, taking Eclipsa’s head, and rather than hearing a snap when he spun it backwards… it just spun all the way around. “Yeash! That’s…. That’s nightmare fuel for sure…” She giggled. “That actually kinda tickled. But, a deal is a deal, is it not?” She said, taking a step back…. And appearing 100 meters away in a nanosecond. “Awh crap.” Zeke said, ready to fight, but not summoning a Keyblade. She chuckled, one of her eyes turning silver and glowing while the whites of the other turned to black. “Lets both stop playing, and give each other a true challenge.” She said before appearing in front of him in a human form, her long, light brown hair flying behind her as she kneed him in the gut, not even wincing from the hit to Zeke’s Keyblade body. Zeke caught himself on the landing, pointing a finger and… Eclipsa turned blue, and then got slapped repeatedly. “My Sans from Daybreak taught me this. I have to admit, I never used it til now.” Zeke said, throwing Eclipsa many distances away til the blue wore off. “Clever.” She said, vanishing through a portal of gray she formed in her path. She was then flung out that same portal, now wielding Oblivion and Oathkeeper, though the two were shining brighter than normal. When she got close, she unleashed her gray into her flurry of attacks, each swing having enough power to wipe out a reflection. And Zeke, like Sans, dodged with equally blinding speed. “My turn.” Zeke said, Eclipsa going blue again, rising into the air and blasted with…. Gaster blasters, wrapped with chains of light. “He also taught me how to make these. They’re normally for show.” Zeke said, slamming Eclipsa around some more before tossing her into another hail furry of Key-Gaster Blasters. Eclipsa continued to smile, even as some cuts and bruises started to form. “Limit Break.” She said, suddenly her power, for a moment, eclipsing even Zekes. Floating all around her were keyblades… but not any that Zeke could hear. They were all made by Eclipsa’s connections, with others, her D-links, Her connection with her keyblades, her connection with gray. All of her memories and struggles, all of those from those Eclipsa cares for… Even Zeke. “You want to see my power? You want a challenge? Then come get it!” She says with her smile, The smile even Fate would recognize. “Hmm, well, if you insist.” Zeke said, dodging her attacks, turning her blue again, but rather than slamming Eclipsa about, summoned countless Keyblades like floor spikes, impaling her across them repeatedly. He then finished it off with a Key-Gaster blaster hit. Zeke didn’t even notice his smile. Breaking out of the dust cloud, Eclipsa donned the power of a Red soul, ignoring any further attempts at a blue attack as she charged for a close quarters fing, her countless keyblades following and drilling their way through. Zeke’s Keyblades met hers, as it they dueled, and Ecpisa had to admit, Zeke’s skill at dodging was impressive. It was then, she noticed his smile. Eclipse’s smile became less about the rush, and more of joy as the duel continued for centuries, though for the two it felt like only a hour, the two to a outsider seemingly fighting to the death, but to them, it became almost a game. “Hmm, I’m gonna try something new here.” Zeke said, vanishing then reappearing a ways away, countless Keyblades appearing embedded in the ground around him till they went passed what the eye could see. “Graveyard Reunion.” At that, light silhouettes of people appeared next to each and every Keyblade… and picked them up. “Oh cool it worked.” He smiled, pointing towards Eclipsa. “Gank her.” “Only fair I try something.” She said, dodging the attacks fluidly almost as if dancing. Before a magic circle appeared. Gray oozed out of every pore on her before phantom copies of all those near and dear to Eclipsa, even those without keyblades appeared and started kicking ass. “Gray Truth.” “Hacks!” Zeke called, dodging another attack from Eclipsa. “Says the one summoning a army!” Eclipsa laughed as she landed a roundhouse kick to Zeke’s arms, which were blocking his head. “Bad call.” Zeke said, his arm changing into a black version of the X-blades tip, giving Eclipsa a large gash down her leg. “One good thing Kexez did was learn to transform parts of his body into X-blade form.” Gritting her teeth despite her smile, Eclipsa grabbed and held onto the X-blade transformed part of Zeke while summoning her own. “You forget I’m a crazy little monkey.” she says, ignoring the blood running down her leg and palm as she strikes Zeke across the chest. Before the force knocked Zeke back, he grabbed onto her arm, and headbutt her. Hard, a visible crack in Eclipsa’s skull echoed a thunderous pain, but that wasn’t enough to take her smile away, after all, Zeke’s head got bruised it seemed. Eclipsa staggered, panting as she wiped some blood away. “Now… this is fun.” “Heh… yeah.” Zeke said, falling to his knees. “I’m not the only one who thinks so.” Zeke’s body became wrapped in blood, it turning dark, almost black… then many eyes opened. “I’m getting Hellsing Ultimate vibes.” Eclipsa chuckled, casting a quick cure spell over her major wounds, but keeping the minor ones to be sporting. “Behold!” Spoke a booming voice, loud, immature, but clearly older and wise than it let on. The blood left, leaving behind a taller figure, dressed in red, wielding two very large handguns. “It’s the red undead sassy man who can’t help but tap all the ass! And you my fair girl are giving me a ranging stiffer watching you from inside Zeke. Care for a quickie before the fun begins?” “Depends. How much of those genetics are my cousins and how much do you think the hubies will kill me?” Eclipsa said, possibly her being covered in her own blood making her less...against the idea. “Hey if they get pissed I’ll fuck ‘em too. I’m not stingy. As for the genetics I have no idea but didn’t Cript say that as Admins genetics mean nothing? Eh, doesn't matter.” “Awe fuck it.” Eclipsa says, pouncing on the tall, red clad vampire. Alucard then shoved his gun between her legs… literally. And fired. “I can’t believe you fell for that.” He said, kicking her off then shooting her more. “Now how is it you’re that much of a horny slut?” “Over here.” She said from behind him, the Gray clone vanishing from beneath Alucard as Eclipsa fired her own gun to the back of his head. “Oldest trick in the book.” Despite being headless from the shot, Alucards body turned around, and fired two shells in both of her eyes. “You know I take much, much, MUCH more than that to kill me right?” He said, his head reforming. “Bitch I’m bullshit and fourth wall breaking all in one. How well can you match?” “......hehehehe. Hey Lance, Bio, Does this guy even know just what the fuck he just signed up for. Oh my god you think you are the baddest bitch in the room here? Ass wipe I insult the writers on a day to day basis!” Eclipsa said with a slightly crazed laugh, but one that still felt good natured. “If it’s for an orgy dibs on being the guy in charge of lube!” “Come on, We both know, despite the cussing, sex, gratuitous amounts of blood and gore, Bio will never make Keys into anything more than a teen rating.” Eclipsa tisked. “I know, and it’s depressing, but off camera, or rather off page stuff is free game! So, put up a scene transition ya cowardly bitches!” Alucard said, raising his guns. “We’re gonna go out of our rating for this.” “Fair point. Besides I’m sure Scotch, Star and Blitz will just find it kinky.” “Now that was some fun.” Eclipsa said, relaxed and a slight dopey smile despite being covered in even more blood than before. “You said it. Last time I saw this much of my own blood I was fighting that Dandy Man prick.” Alucard said, hitting his knees. “Welp, my boner is gone. Time for someone else to take the wheel.” Darkness covered Alucard… and from it, emerged someone Eclipsa did not expect to see… Core. “Okay… so… hi?” “Hey Core… Been a while since we fought… and since you trained me.” Eclipsa said before remembering She looked like Wolf at that time. “Remember the student you had all those years ago… the one that got you and Unum together before disappearing suddenly?” “Yeah… I figured that out already. Heh, Unum was right. Even as the bad guy I was still pretty clueless.” “Heh, you bet your ass you were.” Eclipsa chuckled. “You know, out of all our fights you still never beat me. Wonder if that will change?” Core asked, summoning his Keyblade. Eclipsa chuckled and summoned her X-blade. “If you want to, why not…. master.” “Alright then.” Core said, shifting into a Dark Impulse command style. I smirked and changed into Time Splicer, wanting to fight my master fairly, the way he trained me. We stood there, daring the other to move before I launched forward, “Hasteza, Stopza!” Core smirked, ducking into the darkness. Avoided the stop spell then emerging behind Eclipsa. “Impulse Leech!” He said, striking her back as a dark blob formed, Eclipsa feeling her energy zapping away rapidly. “Equalibrium!” I shouted, summoning Oblivion and Oathkeeper, each shining with light and darkness as I glowed gray, Hasteza speeding me up to ludicrous levels. Core backed up, vanishing then reappearing, slashing Eclipsa quickly before vanishing again. Eclipsa closed her eyes, focusing on a skill Core himself taught to her, focusing on his location before he was there, not when. With reactions possible only by a trained god, Eclipsa Caught Core with her tail before cross slashing his chest, following up the combo with a dual wielded Ragnarok. Jumping back up, Core smirked, rushing to her. She raised her Keyblades, only for Core to grab them. “Infection!” Oaths colored as were Oblivions became inverted, the two rushing to him. “I didn’t teach you everything… mainly cause I learned this when I was a nobody/Heartless.” He smirked. Eclipsa smiled, Summoning Better Half and her shield. “You’re not the only one whose learned since our time together.” We clashed, Core backing up, forming Oath and Oblivion into an upside down cross. “Purger.” Eclipsa kneeled over, vomiting violently as Core slashed her across, the stomach cramps not weavering. “God damn it, and I thought you were a dick as the bad guy.” She says as she stabs Better Half into the ground, pumping gray like an infection, spreading faster and stronger than any darkness ever could. “Everything is Gray.” Core Backed up, Darkness flooding around him. “Home Wrecker.” He said, charging at Eclipsa. Eclipsa stood there and smiled, the world turning into shades of gray as she prepared to block with her shield. “Et ut mundum ex griseo invenire locum pro devium meam.” She said, her red eye starting to become the only color in the world. There was an explosion, and when the dust settled, Oath and Oblivion with Eclipsa again and Core on his knees. “Heh, since when did you got all big and strong?” “Heh, when I got my head out of my ass and learned some discipline.” Eclipsa told my old friend as she offered a hand. “You? Discipline? Heh, and here I thought I already ended the world.” “I know right?” Eclipsa chuckled. “Well, someone’s up next…. Have fun.” Core said, darkness covering them… Then, emerging from that darkness was… a short, blond kid. “Yo.” They said. “You’re new. The name is Eclipsa, you?” I asked with a smile. “Meliodas.” They said, pulling out a large dagger of some kind, a Keychain at it’s end. “Gotta say, never having to lose this thing again is nice. So, you strong?” “You could say that. Heh, one of the only people who can actually challenge my cuz Zeke.” I said with a smile. “But now and days I’m really nothing special.” “Same here. These days I’m just a tavern keep. You?” “Well, Motherhood, Godhood, preparing for a war, and now becoming a admin. You know, nothing big.” She shrugs. “Oh. So in other words I’m more relaxed than you will ever be?” “Pretty much.” Eclipsa giggled, covering her mouth with one of her hands slightly. “But I wouldn't trade it for anything.” “Same. So, shall we?” “Why not? Any rules? I could fight as a human or a naga, and restrict ourselves of certain abilities?” “Meh, I’m not picky.” “If you say so. I’ll just be human then. Need to practise as one more often anyways.” She said, turning into her tan skinned, light browned haired, DD cup human self. “Never will truly get used to the changes I’ve gone through.” She chuckled. “Meh,. Now then, let’s see what you can do.” Eclipsa smiled, her eyes flashing as she summoned Redemptor, the blade of mana and Gray in one hand, and her X-blade in the other. “May the best being win.” “Hehe. We’ll see then.” Meliodas said, smiling as he raised his blade. Eclipsa smiled before finishing in to gray, observing the being… but not underestimating him. Meliodas for his part, stood still and waited for her to attack. ‘Clever.’ Eclipsa thought before striking from everywhere with the gray still left over from Core’s fight. She struck, casting Thundaga. Meliodas smiled, raising his blade to meet the magic. “Full counter!” He said, the second the spell made contact with his blade the Thundaga was sent back at Eclipsa with the power of ten. She dodged, smirking. ‘So he can reflect any attack? And return it stronger. Wonder to what extent? Is there one?’ She thought, dodging his slash and blocking a kick. “Say, you’re good.” Meliodas said, the two locking blades. “Not bad yourself, what with a amplified reflection power.” Eclipsa said back. He grinned. “Yeah, it’s my little battle hack. Works great when my opponent is stronger than me.” The two clashed blades, Eclipsa feeling something off. Somehow he felt… slightly weaker. Acting fast she summoned her Shield turning around Justin Time to see a second him. Two?! She thought, dodging both and keeping a distance. “You can clone yourself?” “In a sense.” Meliodas said, the copy phasing out. “It cuts my power evenly between each copy though, so I try and use it tactically.” He said, raising his weapon. “So, let's get back too it.” Grinning, Eclipsa rushed in, charging grey along her blade into an extended ethereal sword. Grey Blade Charge. Meliodas raised his weapon to block, the attack phrasing through his defenses, striking him and sending him across the ground. “Woah.” Eclipsa said. She'd never used a command style before, and now, her element altered its normal state of magic and attack, making it phase through defenses. “That… will come in handy.” Before she could react, she was slammed into the edge of her battle arena, blood covering her mouth, the iron taste coating her tongue. Meliodas was now… different. There was this aura about him, his eyes changed to black and there was this symbol on his face. A darkness seeping from him. It wasn't like the darkness of a heart, it was different…. It FELT pure, not like void either… it was evil. There was no other word that fit. “Well now, takes a lot to make me use this.” Meliodas said, even his voice, while unchanged sent chills down Eclipsa's back. “What… are you?” “Heh… I told you… I'm a barkeep.” He said, shouldering his weapon. “Though. Back home, many know me as, Meliodas, the dragon sin of wrath, captain of the seven deadly sins, and former captain of the demon clans elit, the ten commandments.” “A...demon?” “Yeah. I gave that up for humanity, for why, well, I guess… it's just preferred them.” “Well, at least you aren't evil “ “Evil is relative to those who view it. The shortest example of evil, is a purely selfish act, be it big or small. There is so much that goes into the definitions of evil and good, but in they end the lines are so blurry that they end up the exact same thing. Selfish acts for different reasons, be them kind or malevolent.” “Are you here to talk Philosophy or fight?” Eclipsa asked, raising better half. Meliodas raised his weapon. “Enchant Hellblaze.” A putrid darkness covered his weapon. “Come at me, if you're that cockey.” Gathering her Grey and Stance, the two charged in, time felt slowed as they clashed weapons, the putrid darkness and the purity of Grey clashing. The aura was like a twisted storm within a hurricane. Black Carnage twirling rapidly within the vortex. Their energies danced in a brutal, painful dance for power as they clashed in the center, neither giving in. Meliodas was powerful, tactical, and experienced. Eclipsa was driven, strong and stubborn, the two could have fought like this forever, and in this time warped realm, they did. For the two within this world eons passed, while only minutes passed in their home realms. This time did change Eclipsa. Her once slim figure was now that of a worriers, her human half muscular and toned from the eons of combat while her snake half, while the same in terms of size, was harder, battle scarred and tougher, the blunt swing of her tail half could easily shake or even destroy a small world, and the pressure when she constricted it around a for could easily shatter Vibranium. Truly her endless combat with Meliodas was something the likes she has never experienced. A true, fair challenge. But this fight needed a winner. She needed to move onto the next opponent. Charging herself, and Better Half with Grey, she rushed in, clashing with Meliodas, then, wrapping her tail around him, the pressure she was forcing upon his small yet sturdy frame would have killed normal people. To him, however, it was restraining him, allowing Eclipsa a clean and focused strike to his torso. Laughing, Meliodas fell to his knees. “That was fun.” He said simply, eyes human in appearance rather than their demonic black. “Heh… yeah.” Eclipsa replied, wiping some sweat from her forehead. “You're almost ready.” “Hmm?” “Hehe. Look at yourself. Stronger, faster, your body is now reflecting your experience. Your power. In terms of raw power, Zeke out classes us all in here. But while you fought me, he learned from everyone within, the ones he is linked too. The dead, the unborn, all of them. He has training, but learning for as long as you and I have been fighting from near endless masters, all I've been doing is buying him time.” “So while you and I fought this while time… Zeke's been practicing in there?” “Yes. We all have. Learning what we all can do, truly. When I head back within, I will do the same.” “So… you're all stronger now?” “Yup.” “That smug cheater.” Eclipsa laughed. “This coming from the chick whose power is literally to supercharge literally everyone and everything she touches? Herself especially.” “Heh, fair enough.” “I'll see you later on.” Meliodas then was covered in a dome of darkness. Eclipsa took the moment to look herself over, seeing Meliodas was right. Her body looked like that of a fighters, a worrier. She felt prideful. In this fight she managed to finally have an opponent who was not only worth fighting, worth the effort, but was enjoyable, and she learned so much of her own potential, yet still not what she can do. Eclipsa looked up to the dark dome, waiting for the next opponent. From the top of the dome emerged… a top hat? “What the?” Eclipsa questioned. Soon two gloved hands emerged, the dome shrinking as a Tuxedo wearing man emerged, his mask that of a goofy take on a skeletons face. “Hey howdy ho!” Mors said. “Mors! You.. you’re human.” “Yup! Seems Kexez managed to fix what Core broke in terms of my hearts darkness. Have to admit, it’s nice to have actual normal sized fingers again, though since I’ve been so used to my oversized hands, it’s an adjustment all over again.” “Makes sense.” Eclipsa said, readying herself. “So, what will you bring to the table?” “Oh, just my usual brand of combat, have to admit, it feels great to wield the X-blade again.” He said, summoning said weapon. He then proceeded to toss it up into the air, grabbing it at the near tip of the blade. Wielding it upside down. “You… weild it upside down?” “Yes. It’s different, something I came up with in my youth. I always wanted to stand out when I got my Keyblade, so I practiced with my Starlight like this, and when I got X, I kept the style.” He said. “So then, shall we-” Mors dodged Eclipsa’s thrust, smacking her hard. Eclipsa felt the wind knock out of her, the large normally gripped end of the X-blade hit her like a large wall, sending her flying some miles. “My my, quite impatient.” Eclipsa quickly recovered. She was used to Meliodas’s combat, but Mors was different… he was a wild card. She grinned, another challenge. She rushed in, this time ready to cross slash him, only for Mors to stop both swings with one block, the large grip/handguard like ends of X stopping both her Keyblades in their tracks. Mors then slid X into her crossed weapons, slamming her nose hard then again between her breasts, cracking her rib cage dead center. Wincing from the pain, Eclipsa used Grey-Cure, her own Grey infused Cure, healing better than even Curaga. “How the-?” She said, interrupted by Mors slipping the tip of her tail into X’s into the grip and twirling it, like a fork with spaghetti, spinning Eclipsa around so fast that to say it was all a blur would be an understatement before slamming her hard into the ground. “Ouch… Why is my eyes spinning?” Mors laughed. “I call that one the Funky Hammer.” “How do you do that?” “Hehe. Still have so much to learn, not just about your own skills, but about Keyblades as well. Hehe. Reminds me of an old saying. ‘Thee who holds the title of master of keys, understands little. Thee who claims to know everything about the keys, truly knows nothing.” “So in other words I still have a lot to learn. Yay…” I huffed, getting back up. “Then come on, teach me.” As with Meliodas, who trained Eclipsa’s body, eons passed yet again, training her mind and skill. Learning not only how to handle an adaptable, random and wild foe, but also how to use her Keyblades more proper. His time as X’s wielder, Mors was known as the Bunt End Wildcard, for his sporadic combat style that was near impossible to predict without a bit of luck, or foresight. As such, Eclipsa learned an important lesson within these eons dealing with all of Mors’s random attacks and patterns. Adaptability. Another thing that was important was quickly determining what attacks of your enemy you can dodge, and which you can block, and withstand. Having such a large body ment it was harder to dodge, even with enhanced speed, Mors knew where to strike predicting her dodges with near perfect accuracy, only missing a handful of times. As such, Eclipsa learned to, subconsciously, chift to human form to dodge, then back to Naga for attacking. Her shifting process now taking under half a second, and still sure it can be less. Still, she has yet to even Strike Mors, the spastic movements of his attacks and dodging make such a feat tricky. Even toned to be a worrier, This foe, was a challenge. And a challenge, is something Zeke and Eclipsa live for. “So tell it to me straight, are you all training me?” “Yes.” Mors said, moving as if boneless to avoid Eclipsa’s blinding flurry of attacks. “Strong you are, talent you have, and you have power to keep it up. But proper skill, you still lack. Zeke knows there is always room for improvement. It’s why he is training from within. While one of us at a time trains you from outside.” “I see… so after all of this, I get a rematch?” “Or earlier. Like you, Zeke is a talented, stubborn student. But he is learning from the oldest and wisest of us all.” “Who?” “Unum, who else?” “Wait, so his wife is in there too?” “That Unum was born after the reflections were created. She is not truly Unum the first Wielder of X, who was born before them. She and Unum, the X-blades first wielder, are different completely. Aside from that, Zeke’s wife Unum holds a heart of pure light, not Balanced.” “Oh… Okay then… How do you dodge so well?” “Well, let’s just say that while I am human, my particular variation of human is extra jointed along our entire skeleton.” “Oh… that’s actually cool.” Eclipsa said, raising her X-blade. SHe slashed it through the air, a shockwave of grey energy lashing out to meet Mors, who raised X, and slapped it aside like he was playing baseball. “How do you do that?!” “I just do.” He replied, Preparing to block Eclipsa’s strike raid. “Surprise you’re going with such a simple att-” Mors was cut off, the Strike raid ready to his his block… only for her X-blade to puff in a flash of light. “What?!” He said, receiving a hard, swift slash to the back, sending him across the floor, though not too far. He stood up, disbanding the X-blade and began clapping, applauding his opponent. “Bravo. Bravo Eclipsa. That was the most impressive display of a fake-out I’ve ever seen utilized in combat. How did you do it?” “Oh, you know. A Keyblade when used in a Strike Raid sometimes requires its wielder to summon it back to continue a combo. I took advantage of that. I knew you’d raise X to block such a simple attack, meaning for a second, maybe even less, your attention is elsewhere. I took that time to move, summoned it back to me when I was close enough, timing it so you had it right in front of you and got my hit.” “Haha! You realized in normal combat you couldn’t hit me. So you crafted a means to strike me by tricking my attention. I am impressed. Mose Keybladers never think to actually move once they throw their Keyblade into a strike raid, they often wait and leave themselves at a disadvantage. I am very impressed with you.” “Hehe. Thank you. So, are we gonna continue or?” “Another time sadly.” “Huh? Giving up?” “No, it’s just that attack really impressed Zeke. He wants that rematch now.” Mors said, a dark dome covering him. From the dark dome, Zeke emerged. Eclipsa quickly realized he was taller, more muscular and fit that before. His typical hoodie, jeans and sneakers replaced with a black trench coat, white shirt and pants with black boots, “Yo. Seems we both got a bit ripped huh?” “Hehe. It would seem so.” Eclipsa said, raising her X-blade. “So, are you going to fight me seriously?” “Hmm… Tell you what.” Zeke started, summoning X in one hand, a second X-blade that screamed Trixie in the other, and from his back floated other X-blades, all their keychains were chains of light linking to Zeke’s back. “I’ll use my full power, this move will likely knock me out. If you take it, and stay conscious, then I guess it’s a clear winner.” “Heh… Bring it.” Eclipsa said, grey flowing around her, this amount was new to her. More than she’d ever conjured. It was blinding. Zeke took a breath, smiled, and for the first time in his life, felt his heart beat with the thrill, of a true opponent. A true challenge… and let his full power out. “Come on then! Show me you! ARE! WORTH IT!” He said, the tips of all the X-blades and his heart, all glowing with the purest light and darkness, fired, the power was blinding as well, for Eclipsa, one would describe it as tranquility, for Zeke, it was like looking into the faces of Evil and Good at once. “Hearts Power!” Zeke’s attack hit, Eclipsa, not even screaming, smiled, feeling the attack, the pain was far, far worse than the shift to an Admin, yet, she kept her smile, not screaming, eyes open through the tears of pain. She was determined to remain conscious. To win. The attack ended. Zeke fell to the ground, all the X-blades disbanding, He was heaving. He felt tired, no energy to speak. The fact he was awake was amazing to say the least. Eclipsa was in a similar state, still, but she began to twitch. Her one defyant arm she was forcing to pull her naga body across to Zeke. Zeke, forcing out some weak strength, managed to do the same, to meet her half way. Ech movement was agony, each pull torture, but still they continued, eventually meeting halfway, and grasping each others hand. “Heh… thought you said that would knock you out?” Eclipsa asked, her voice raspy, and dry. “I said most likely.” Zeke replied, voice just as dried and raspy.  “So, you did it… guess you win.” “Heh… bearly. I feel like crap.” “Same. Heh...hehehe.” Zeke said, laughing as tears ran down. “Hey, what’s with the water works?” “Hehehe. My whole life, I thought, and was proven right that no one could beat me, especially if I gave it my all. I held NOTHING back on that attack… And you stayed awake… Hehehe. I lost, giving it my all. I’m not at the cap… I’m not the strongest… I can actually improve…” “Hehe. I tried to tell you.” She cooed and laughed. “Well, you beat me… there’s only one reward I can offer to that.” “I get a prize? Heh, and here I thought it was just bragging rights.” She laughed. “So, what is it?” “Me.” “We’re cousins.” “A, we both know given how you are, you’d likely not even care. B, not what I meant.” She chuckled. “True enough, but what then?” “Eclipsa Ventral… You… … are… my… wielder…” Zeke managed to say, falling unconscious as his whole body shifted. He was a X-blade now, the crossed keyblades that made up the grip and handguard part were two Kingdom Key D’s, the white main blade part was black with swirling light within it. “...Heh...cool…” Eclipsa said, falling into unconsciousness herself. “We’ll be… one heck of a team…”