Video Game: Kingdom Hearts SOS: The Road To Light

As Jack led them out, Luna insisted that Quill sit and catch his breath. He tried to rebuke her but "Really I'm fine I'm-" Her expression told him all, this wasn't up for an argument. Letting a silent chuckle out and a sigh, Quill sat on the steps leading out of the lab. The other three trotted ahead to get a keep up with Jack and Zero. "I'm sorry again...I guess training took more out of me than I thought. I mean I keep getting this weird feeling like things get...crooked? I don't know." He looked down, not meeting the princesses eyes as he let his embarrassment show. Feeling her sit as well, he let another deep sigh out.
"I wish I could be strong...strong enough to overcome the trauma I'm desperately trying to forget. I wanna forget it all, to wish I never hurt everyone. It's because of me...that I don't have a world to run back to." Quill inhales and takes out a flower, one he picked in the cemetery. The strange thing was he could hardly feel it, the sensation was numbed through black chitin claws. "I can tell...there's truth in what you're saying about my trauma. Your voice, it's strained when you talk about your own past but you seem almost empowered by it. Yet when I think of everyone that is gone now, I know that this journey won't matter. I spoke with DJ about my World...he said there's a chance...that even after stopping No Heart that it would still be consumed by darkness..." Twirling in his hand he snaps the stem and the orchid falls to the stone below. "So, what do I even fight for now? My redemption? Unlikely. My friends? I could just cause them just as much pain." Another deep sigh as Quill clenches his fist till drops of blood splatter the stone. "But, at least for now I want to believe. I want to have faith in your words and hope for something better. I want to hope Luna, I really do..." His yellow/black corrupted eye looked to the young woman, with sincere conflict bleeding through. "Thank you for listening and your council Princess."

Walking ahead to meet the group, he gave an apology to group. He couldn't help but feel there were eyes on them walking in the far stretches of cemetery. Something about the spooky echo's and deep dark night made Quill's skin crawl. "And Jack, you don't happen to know three kids in costumes right? Lock, Shock and Barrel? We met them briefly...on a walk in the forest." Quill didn't really know how to explain to Mr.Skellington their arrival through the gummy ship or that they weren't from this world.

 

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When Jack said, 'Oogie is in the same place he is every year. It's a bit trick to get to, so I have no problem escorting you there. I just have to make a quick stop at the Doctor's lab before we continue if that's alright.' He did not really want to bother him but seeing that there was not much of a choice he was going to have to keep a eye on him and this strange world. Jack then escorted the group into the lab, where they found a pale, fragile man in a wheel chair. He hound small, tinted spectacles on an enormous head. They soon left the lap and onto a path. Then Jack said, 'Just be sure to be on your guard. A lot of less friendly horrors have been popping up lately. Are you all prepared for that kind of threat?' "We always are." He said off handly. Then there was this whole thing will Quill that he noticed but said nothing on if for now he would just have to stay back and Luna seemed to be doing a good job with talking to Quill. As they approached the hill, He felt like they were being watched. Soon after several Halloween heartless appeared around the group. White Knights, Hover Ghosts and Gargoyles began to corner in on them. Neoshadows also rose up from the ground. Jack quickly took guard with his Soul Robber. Really he was not surprised and he was not really sure he wanted Jack to know that they were not from here so now that heat less where here there was nothing to do but summon his keyblade and fight so he held out his hand the keyblade taking longer then normal to show up and then it was time for battle. Jack was a skeleton so he could not die twice right well it was best not to take any chances. With the heartless here something came to mind that he would have to ask later and that was what did the others thing about Oogie and the heartless. If he had to guess he would say he was controlling them or at the very least they had some sort of connection. With his keyblade out he head towards one of Gargoyles swinging at it with his keyblade.

1/12​

 

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"I wonder about that." Kel mused to himself, adjusting the glasses he still wore. Fortunately, the blend didn't seem to affect them in any negative manner. Hearing that fear and doubt were the signs of a strong heart was definitely strange for him to hear. Considering how many times said things have done the exact opposite of what Jack implied. Maybe he'd actually see that transpire while in this world and maybe it would be something that he could use to help face his own doubts. Approaching the hill and watching as they were greeted by heartless, Kel quick readied himself and went on the attack, carving through a few of the wight knights and neoshadows that had spawned.

2/12

 

As Jack began to explain the situation in Halloweentown, the shadows of the hilly cemetery began to coalesce. He knew these all too well, Heartless. "I see Oogie's friends are kinda protective huh? Everyone, watch each other's six." Quill unclasped his massive heavy blade from his back, dropping it into the soil with a heavy crunch. Twirling into a charging stance, he let the shadows come to him. Neoshadows and these new Heartless he'd never seen came at him in an instant, pouncing on top of him. Quill raised his blade and caught their claws, digging his feet into the ground as the weight of the Gargoyle and several Neoshadows pile on top. With a deep grunt Quill knocks them up off his keyblade then swings around for a heavy baseball swing to catch 2 Heartless by their necks. They disperse but more surround him. Quill looks over to see AJ and Kel doing a good job of charging forward to meet their enemy. Kaida and Luna were backing up Jack at the moment behind Quill, he could work with this. "Strike Raid!" Throwing his keyblade, the spinning weapon caught many White Knights, Hover Ghosts and Neoshadows in the huge blade's spin, sending them forward and back to split up their enemies formation. "You guys got incoming!" As their enemies were spun towards their two groups. Now Quill had a handful of Gargoyles and the many Neoshadows that kept coming. Quill had to swallow down fears from his days fighting an army of Heartless, the fear that they'd instill was chilling. But he was resolute to fight on his feet.

3/12

 

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He kept on swinging his keyblade at the Gargoyle untill it went down. "Any else think that the 'monsters' being here is convenient? I am thinking that Oogie has something to do with them. Controlling them or at the very least they have some sort of connection." He turned his attention to Quill who had Gargoyles and the many Neoshadows surrounding him. Now that the one he had been fighting was down he went to quill's ade to help him out.

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With Quill's call out Kel was able to quickly avoid one of the gargoyles that had tried sneak up on him and swiftly retaliated with an attack of his own. He spotted a small group of Wite Knights in the distance and tossed his secondary keyblade at them. The blade soared before coating itself in ice to both cleave through and freeze the heartless. "I wouldn't put it past him." Not that this really told them much about whatever it was that Oogie might've been planning. Heartless, in general, were never helpful so their fighting right now was nothing short of normal.

5/12

 

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His main keyblade had returned and caught a neoshadow off guard who had leapt from the ground to attack him and he turned to faced the next batch of heartless that had appeared to face him. A small group of hover ghost had been progressively inching closer to him as the fight went on. Sensing that they had been spotted they all sent their full attention on him and moved to attack with their claws. Kel was able to dodge these attacks with ease, but the rapid flow of attacks wasn't leaving him with many openings to attack. He just needed one moment to put some distance between himself and them. A moment that came when two of the heartless attacked at the same time and instead of striking Kel, collided with each other. That instance gave him enough time to take a couple of steps back from the group and plunge his keyblade into the ground, sending a line of bones towards them to skewer them all.

6/12

 

Luna continued to lend her ear to Quill as he expressed more of his concerns: His concerns for his home, his concerns for his world, and his concern for himself. Luna's eyes widen as she saw drops of blood flow from his hand. With conflict filling his eyes, Quill thanked the princess for listening and lending council to him. Before Quill could rejoin the others, Luna grabbed his wrist and pulled out a small cloth from her pocket. "The best way you can thank me...is by not giving up." She paused as she started wrapping the bleeding hand. "Don't allow doubt to fill your mind. Nothing will be resolved if you allow 'what-if' scenarios stop you. Sometimes, you just have to go for it. Life isn't about 'what-ifs', it is about taking your shot and moving forward." Once she finished wrapping his hand, Luna looked up at Quill with a smile on her face. "That is how you can thank me. I will not accept anything else." Luna placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding her head before walking back to the others.

Jack had went on about what it meant to be the Pumpkin King. It had meant that you were a symbol of Halloween and leader on the night of frights. Luna heard the passion and conviction in his voice as he spoke about the role. "It sounds to me like you would be a much better fit for this role instead of Oogie." A small giggle left her lips. The group had reached the hill and as they were about to press on. Heartless had the group surrounded. Keyblade in hand, the group had started their strike back against the Heartless.

With Jack's Soul Robber equipped, Luna looked at it and an idea sparked in her mind. She looked at the Heartless that were surrounding them before looking back at her keyblade. She turned her head toward Jack. "Jack! Quickly! Use your Soul Robber and launch me into the air!" Jack looked hesitant but Luna gave him a smile of confidence as she nodded her head. With a quick nod of his head, Jack extended his Soul Robber to grab her wrist. Luna grabbed onto the Soul Robber as Jack spun her before releasing her into the air. As she was sent into the air, Luna spun her body around pointing her keyblade outwards. The tip of her blade glowed blue as ice magic started shooting out from her blade. The ice struck the Heartless that were getting close to the group, giving them a bit more breathing room.

Luna landed back down on her feet. She stood back up as she thanked Jack. Luna looked back at the remaining heartless. "That gave us a bit more room to breathe. Though there's still many more to go through." As Luna was surveying her surroundings, the ears on her head twitched a bit as she heard rustling coming from behind her. With a quick swipe, she had gotten rid of the heartless that was about to attack. A small look of concern covered her face. "How did I-? It's as if my hearing just elevated further." Luna went to touch her ears that should've been at the side of her head. When she discovered her ears were not where it should have been, her eyes widen as she reached for the top of her head. "What in the name-?!" She touched her new ears in shock. Luna had then remembered that heartless were still attacking them which needed to be resolved. The princess drew her keyblade and readied herself for battle once more.

7/12

 

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After clearing the heartless surrounding Quill somewhat it was tome to turn he attention to the other heartless that were not as close. Kel then said, 'I wouldn't put it past him' to his question. To what end and why? There was a few possibilities. The most likely was that Oogie was just stalling for time. There was a slim chance that he did not know they were not here which was unlikely. The other options included Oogie calling for help from the other hellfire members but so far they were always alone. Oogie was most likely just keeping them here until he could set up some sort of trap or plan. Ice covered part of the battlefield from Kel and Luna and he would have preferred to keep magic out of this but seeing at it could be explained as natural he might as well use ice as well. Blizzard he thought as the spell was about to head out of his keyblade he hit a Neoshadow with it so that it looked like he simply coated his keyblade in ice.

8/12

 

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The heartless that initially surrounded had started to weaken in numbers and their continued assault on them wasn't letting up. Out of the corner of his eye, Kel spotted another small cluster of assorted heartless not too far off getting ready for another attack. Using his off keyblade a barrage of ice was unleashed on them, coating most of them in ice. A few had managed to get away from the initial attack unscathed however in a blink of the eye the gap between Kel and those heartless closed, leaving any stragglers who happened to still be standing to fall to the blade of his main keyblade.

9/12

 

Quill was breathing heavy, this was pain to him. All the terrible memories of fighting these creatures, how much death was on their hands. He despised them...and he despised himself that he became part-them. Swinging in wide cleaves, Quill nearly hits AJ in the head with his blade. Adjusting just in time to not hit him, he was getting sloppy. Quill appreciated the help from AJ and the support from the others but he couldn't fight too close to them. He backed off and used his weaker magic to get the attention of a crowd of heartless. "Sorry but I'm still rusty, keep your distance from me!" If he had caused AJ injury, or worse...he wouldn't risk that again.

He managed to bring nearly 20 neoshadows over to a curvy hill, it unfurled at Quill fought off his attackers alone. He wouldn't cause anyone more pain, he couldn't. A neoshadow gets close as Quill is distracted and gets a slice under his ribs, the cut spraying blood on the soil. Grunting in anger Quill went for the Heartless' throat, choking it with his chitin claws. He kept squeezing and squeezing, the Heartless wriggling in his grip as Quill's body engulfed itself in darkness. "Never Again" He was torturing the monster with a slow death but something caught his eye, Luna's cloth, the cloth wrapped around his hand. "The best way you can thank me...is by not giving up" His expression softened and he dropped the creature to the soil, it scurrying away back into the shadows. "I'm..." Flashes of his team caring about him, they began to heal the hurt inside. The darkness surrounding him fades and Quill is forced to take a knee. "I'm not...like you monsters..." His grip in blade slips as his chest gash starts to slow him down. The Neoshadows take their chance to pounce at once, their bodies pile on top of Quill as his endures their attacks.

10/12

 

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Kel struck at one more heartless before noticing the large group of neoshadows scurrying off towards the hill. For a brief moment, he wondered why this might be the case, but that too was soon revealed spotting Quill at the top of the hill they were congregating on, and in the time it had taken him to realize this, the heartless had already gone on the attack by pouncing onto Quill. "Quill!" Kel took off towards the spiral hill, ice already forming along his keyblade before he threw it at the mound of heartless. He'd put in enough aim on it to avoid hitting Quill and carved through half of the heartless around him.

11/12

 

Luna continued to fend off against the heartless. Cutting down each one that had dared to confront her. She watched as the others continued doing the same. The princess scanned the area around her and saw the heartless' numbers were diminishing with each passing second, until a few had remained. It was then she heard Kel shout. She turned to where he was looking to see Quill on the ground while the heartless were pouncing on him. "Kel! AJ!" She turned toward the two before she gave instructions. "Take care of that and keep him covered!"

She turned to the remaining heartless that still stood in front of her. Luna ran towards the enemies alongside Jack. With a couple of slashes from her blade, the remaining enemies had been dealt with. The princess looked around once more just to be sure no other enemies were lying in wait. After making sure the area was clear, Luna ran over to the group of three. She kneeled down to take a look at Quill's injuries. Before she took a glance, she looked to the others to see if they needed any first aid. "Did anyone else suffer any injuries? I want to make sure everyone is alright before we press on."

She turned Quill over before beginning to administer first aid. Luna took a look at Quill's gashes and immediately held her keyblade above his body. A warm green light covered her blade before covering Quill. She knew her healing magic wasn't going to immediately fix everything but she knew it would hold over until they would be able to get access to proper medical equipment. "Quill. Quill, are you alright? Can you hear me??" The princess called out to him as she continued using her healing magic.

12/12

 

As the Heartless swarm him, cuts and gashes spattering Quill's body he begins to lose consciousness. He left himself open, he let his past cloud his abilities again. As he began fading away, Quill cursed his uselessness. He... "Dy n on us a re dy zet a sc r b? N t s rp isi g" The faintest voice in his echoed, where was it coming from? And the voice...it sounded familiar...

Suddenly the flash of cold and bright light zoomed into his hazy vision. The Neoshadows were bombarded and sent flying off the injured man. A keyblade coated in ice came flying back to Kel's hand as the Heartless were afflicted with frostbitten broken limbs. And with swift and precise cuts, Luna's blade destroyed the monsters with ease. A fading Quill laid in his own blood, barely able to move. His body was afflicted painful gashes, accept for one part he could move. His hand, wrapped in Luna's cloth, was unscaved. He reached the hand out, wordlessly asking for help. His hand was grasped by soft yet firm hands and Quill began to feel a magic wash over him as Luna's voice echoed in his head. "Mhmm errrggg..." The deeper lacerations weren't healing but the surface cuts where Quill bled out were closing up. Luna got a chance to see something very strange. The black chitin on Quill's body stabbed into his flesh, forcing the cuts to close painfully. This is how Quill has been healing, his body was simply forcing broken bones back together. The armor could inject thin spines from the outer shell into Quill's broken bones or cut flesh. It'd return them to their proper places and restoring it's functionality, if briefly.

Forcing himself up, Quill looked at his teammates who crowded around him. "Luna...AJ...Kel...?" He looked around. Jack was fighting off the last heartless with ease with Kaida helping him. "Did either of you say something about zet...never mind. I'm woozy..." With some help he managed to stand, if barely. Luna would insist he sit and rest but Quill shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Next time...I'll be careful. I'm sorry to worry you all-" He heavy cough with spits of blood came up, the black chitin was sewing up his body painfully. "I'll walk in the back, keep my pace slow till my injuries are better. Check on everyone, than we make our way to Oogie's house."