• The sad tale of Kokure'gne

    "Kokure'gne, you know your new mission. Go!" A figure barked out at a humanoid shape. The human was pitching black, with purple spirals wrapping around his arms and legs, as well as two deep blue eyes. It was impossible to tell the gender. This was Kokure'gne, the being designed to destroy all worlds. At least, that was him in the Nexus of Worlds. The figure who ordered this fearsome creature around was in a large cloak, obscuring his face. Underneath was a black suit, and short black gloves, making it appear that he was a large shadow inside. "Yes, master." Kokure'gne said voice strong.

    Our hero, or villain, as it were, was not always like this. He used to be normal. Before that day. This is the story of that person.

    "Get away from me!" A young boy, around 14 says, striking a fighting pose. This boy would be known as Kokure'gne. Now, he had very little training when it came to fighting, but any in his neighborhood, a rather dangerous one, helped.
    He had been cornered by four thugs, and was ready to fight his way out. None of them were armed, but nether was he. This was the fourth fight he had been in this month. It was the fourth of the month. He knew what to do. He quickly ducked down, and used a sweep kick. This made one loose his balance, who was immediately hit by a punch to the stomach. That supplied an opening for the boy. He instantly shoved him to the ground, and ran out from the corner. The other three advanced on him, hoping to swarm the boy. He knew this was coming. In this neighborhood, it wasn't unheard of to have trash lying about. For once, the boy was thankful for this. He took a large wooden plank, and used it as a club, hitting one square in the face. He pushed it in harder, causing him to pass out from lack of air. Two left. They seemed less at ease. The two kept at a distance from each other, and tried to get him from two sides. The boy saw his chance, and stabbed the board at one, while kicking the other in the stomach. This got them stunned long enough for the boy to make a break for it, which he did. He knew that if he ran far enough, they would stop following.
    This was true. However, he ran in random directions, and ended in an alley. A being, in the same Purple of Kokure'gne arises from the ground of the alley.
    "You are the one that the master wants. Follow." He says.
    "Who are you?"
    "Follow."
    The boy strikes a fighting pose. The figure waves his hand, and the boy goes flying back. "I am not here to fight. But if you do not wish to come, it is no difference to me. The master can use you, living or dead."
    "This man is trying to kill me." The boy thinks. "He'll kill me either way." The boy walks up to the figure, and nods his head. The figure touches his hand to the boys head. Instantly, he feels a spark of power.
    "This... energy. This is amazing!" The boy says, wrapped up in the feeling of the energy. "Let's see what this can do." He points his hand at a trash can, and makes it into a fist. The trash can coil up. His hand, still in a ball, is pointed at a plank of wood. He raises it up, and then forces it down. The plank of wood is knocked in half, almost like being hit by a massive invisible hammer.
    "You've had your fun. Now, to take you to the master."
    "No way!" The boy says. "I have this. I don't need to listen to you!" He points his hand at the figure, and brushes it to the side. The figure remains unmoved.
    "Fool." He says. "I have much more power than I gave you. You have a mere drop of my power. I could take you out just by staring at you if I wanted." At that moment, he sinks into the ground, taking the boy with him.
    He arises out of the ground again, almost instantly. They seem to be standing in midair, although it's hard to tell. The room they are in is pure white, with a painting effect that makes it seem massive. Upon looking around, the boy doesn't see any wall seams. "Where am I?" He says, turning to the figure.
    "The Nexus of Worlds." The cloaked figure from before says. "That fragment of power given to you by my servant over there was but a taste of what you can have. The way to get more is just to join me."
    "Join you? Who are you?"
    "My name is not important, nor is my motives. All that does mater is that you have no say in the matter. You have great potential, and you are working for me now."
    "And if I refuse?"
    "I kill you, and make you my undead servant."
    "Fine then." The boy says. His only option is this, or death.
    "Come closer."
    The boy steps closer and the figure places his hand on the boys head. He feels a massive surge of power, and passes out. When he comes too, he's in the alely, held up by the thugs from earlier.
    "Oh, look. He's awake!" One of them says, bitingly.
    "Unhand me. Now." The boy says, coldly.
    "You think you can order us around? All four of us are here, and we're up to your tricks." They take out guns from their pockets. "You'll be doing what we say."
    The boy gets a wicked smile on his face, and kicks the thug in the stomach. "No, I don't think I will."
    The thugs take their guns, and fire. The boy turns to the bullets, and they stop where they are, about a foot from him. He waves his hand, and they are deflected.
    "This kid isn't human!" One of them says.
    "Oh, I'm perfectly human." The boy says, "Just more than you can handle." He takes his hand and makes it a fist. He swings it. They are knocked aside, as if hit by a wrecking ball. The boy quickly makes his hand into a blade like shape, and starts slicing it in the air. They get several light cuts around them. "Now, we can reach an agreement on this." The boy says. "Simply never get in my way again, or I'll kill you next time."
    This was completely unlike him. Normally, he was a rather nice boy. This power changed him somehow. Made him darker, more vile.
    The thugs run off, scared. "Now, what else can these do?" He asks himself, and jumps up. He hangs in the air. "Flight? Interesting. How fast can I go?" He looks around, sees his house, and starts off for it. In a few seconds, he's there. "Fast." He lands, and realizes he has a purple coil around his right arm. "How am I going to explain that?" He heads in.
    The pitch black figure from before, nearby, sinks into the ground. "Perfect. Soon, he'll be ours for the taking."

    Part two... The two faces of Kokure'gne
    The next day after that, at school...
    "I heard you beat up some thugs yesterday." One of the boy’s friends says to him. "Without touching them."
    "That without touching thing is exaggeration, but yes, I have." He says proudly. "They were armed, and I fought back. I too was surprised I won."
    There hadn't been much sign of the cloaked figure from before ever since he encountered him yesterday. He'd see him out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look, the person was gone.
    The teacher walked in then, and everyone quickly took their seats. He points at the boy. "You, there's someone waiting for you in the office." He says. The boy gets up, and goes there.
    The person is his mother. "I heard about what you did yesterday." She says to him. "Why did you do that to them?"
    "They attacked me first. Plain and simple." He says, emotionlessly.
    "That is still no excuse for cutting them up. Which, how did you do that? You didn't have anything on you to use to do that."
    "There's trash all over. Broken glass." He says to her.
    "You used broken glass on them? That could have all kinds of things on it, like..." She says, but is interrupted.
    "They had guns. I did what I needed to do. Any court in the US would agree with me." He says to her.
    "But I don't." She says.
    "Take it to court then." He says, walking out of the office, not looking back.
    Outside the office, a girl heard the conversation. "This can't be him. He's changed too much." She says to himself. This girl was a friend of his. Actually, she was thinking about becoming more than that.
    He returns to class. "Back so soon?" The teacher asks.
    "Yeah. The person in the office left." He says.
    The teacher continues with his lesson.
    After class, the boy walks out, and heads up to the roof. "What brings you up here?" One of the thugs from before says, not realizing it's him. He tosses his hand backwards, and before anything happens, he runs off, realizing who it is.
    The girl from before steps out from behind the door, and sees the boy up there. "What happened with him?" She asks.
    "Nothing." He says, turning around. "He just thought I'd fight him again."
    By this point, the purple coil had extended to his palm. She wasn't one to miss things like that, so she commented on it.
    "This purple coil on your hand... is it... glowing?" She asks. The boy sits down, and looks at it.
    "I suppose it is." He says. "It got on me yesterday. Not sure how. Honestly, I'm not sure of anything that happened yesterday."
    "What do you mean?" She says, sitting down next to him.
    He tells his tale, not sure why he is telling it to her.
    "You actually expect me to believe that a strange glowing figure took you away and gave you magic powers?" She says, laughing.
    "No. That's why I'll show you." He says, standing up. He points his hand at the door, still open. He pulls his hand back and it closes.
    "Coincidence." She says. She was certain that wasn't real.
    "Ok then, how about this?" He spots a soda can on the ground. Not hard, given it's a one story school. He aims his hand at it, and closes it in a fist. It crumbles into a small ball.
    "Ok, I believe you now. There's no way that could have been staged. Just a question though. Where can I get a little of that power?" She asks.
    "Wait for the dark thing." He says, and jumps to the ground, catching himself perfectly. He aims his hand at the girl, and lowers her down.
    "That felt... strange." She says. "But in a good way."
    Soon, they do encounter him again. The boy saw him through the corner of his eyes at first again, but when he turns, he doesn't disappear like he usually does.
    "So, you wish for her to gain power as well?" He asks the boy.
    "Yes." The boy says simply.
    The figure did the same thing to the girl that he did to the boy.
    When the figure tries to take his hands off, they don't come off. "What's happening?" He tries to get them off furiously. Eventually, they come off.
    "This feels.... amazing!" She says, and makes her hand into a fist, then punches towards a tree. It shakes.
    "Now, I must take you to the master." He says.
    "What?!? I thought that was only with me!" The boy protests.
    "Well, you're wrong. Everyone who receives my power must go to the master." He says, and sinks into the ground, taking everyone with him.
    "You return?" The Master asks.
    "I brought someone else." The servant says. "Girl, just step up towards him."
    "Why?" She asks firmly.
    "Trust me. It's this or die." The boy says, sorrowfully.
    The girl steps up. The master hesitates, but places his hand on her head.
    She does not pass out after the master takes his hand off.
    "So, you have a higher degree of storage than the boy." He says. "And my servant gave you more power than he gave to the boy as well. However, you do seem to resist a good amount of my power."
    A purple coil had developed around her right leg. "Now, leave." He warps them both to where the figure took them.
    "Resist his power? Why would that be?" The boy asks.
    "Probably something Cliché, like love, or inner light." She says. She then realizes what she said, and hoped the boy didn't notice. Luckily, he didn't.
    "Maybe. Well, see you tomorrow?" He says to her.
    "Sure." the girl says. The next day was a Saturday, luckily.
    The boy jumps up and floats again. "Oh yeah, you can fly, rather fast." He says, and takes off towards his house. The girl soon does the same, towards her house.
    "They've taken to it like naturals. They will be ready soon." The figure says, watching them fly off.

    Three: Begin the tests. NOW!
    The next day, they meet at the same place they left.
    "Well, why did you want to meet here?" The girl asks.
    "Simple. We need a little training in our powers." The boy says.
    "They seem simple enough to use. Point at something, envision what you want done and make a motion." She says.
    "It may seem that way, but it's probably harder on something else with powers." The boy says.
    "I get it." The girl jumps back. "Sparring, right?"
    "You read my mind." The boy jumps back too, and instantly makes his hand into a blade shape. He thrusts it forward.
    The girl makes a sweeping motion, and blocks the invisible blades. She then flicks her wrist a few times, blowing the boy back. The boy jumps into the air, and stabs his hand forward rapidly. The girl, still causing the wind, is hit by a few blades, but quickly thrusts her flat palm forward, hitting the boys stomach, hard. He's knocked out of the air, but does the same thing she did, with both hands. This hits, but not her.
    "Mastering your powers so soon? In the open?" It was the figure from before. "I can arrange for tests that will help with training them."
    Finally feeling it's time to know, the boy bursts out "What does your master want from us anyway?"
    "All in due time." Is all he says, and warps them off to a pitch black room, much in the style of the white room before.
    "The master has set up this room to train new... recruits." He says. All that's visible of him is the purple coils on his arms and legs. He gestures towards a wall, and an opening sound is heard. A large, red beast, similar to a massive tiger emerges from the wall.
    "Go." The figure says. There is a sound of chains breaking, and the tiger pounces. The two instantly point their open hands towards him. He freezes, and they thrust forwards. The tiger goes flying into the wall. They bring their hands down, and he goes down. They change their hands to a drill shape, and spin them. Soon, the tiger is unconscious.
    "Very good. Let's step it up, shall we?" He says, and snaps his fingers. A large snake drops from the ceiling.
    "This? I already know what to do." The girl says, and looks at the boy. "Grab his tail, and pull." The boy does that, and the girl grabs the head. Soon, the snake is ripped in half. However, there is strangely no blood.
    "These creatures are not of flesh and bone, but rather of magic and trickery. The way all is done by my master." He says, the last line sort of angrily.
    "You don't seem to like him. Why do you serve him?" The girl says, curious.
    "Sit and I shall tell you." The figure says. The boy and girl obey. "As you see, I have the same coils on me you do. I have four, you should each have one by now. At three, I can teach you how to avoid getting a fourth. Each coil makes you stronger, but at the fourth, the master claims you. He waits until you are at your strongest, then uses you for his purposes. Just do not let the master know we had this talk. If we do, he may kill me, or worse."
    Neither can imagine what is worse than death, but of course, they were not sure this figure was human, so they're not too sure his limits. The figure notices this, and continues. "By 'worse than death', I mean he can take away all the coils. This will leave me in immense pain through out my life, and take away all remnants of my power, and much of my ability to move. Essentially, I will be living, but in constant pain, and not have the ability to end it. Once touched by the power, one is immortal. They however can still feel pain in most forms. I'd imagine in less organic forms, pain doesn't come as easy. Stay out of living forms as much as possible." He says, forebodingly.
    "Wait, you said that you can teach us how to not get the fourth coil." The girl interrupts. "We won't have to be in any form."
    "This is true. However, it is very possible you may not get to me in time. Enjoy the time you have."
    The boy stands up. "That was helpful. With all three of us, do we have any chance of defeating your master?" He asks.
    "Not with one coil. It would take three for any chance. However, in the Masters presence, I am bound to his word, by the very energy that causes these accursed coils, and this wonderful power." "But we are not. With a combined six coils, would it be enough?" The girl adds.
    "No. It would take at least 10, which the three of us will barley have, and I'll be of no help." He says, struggling on each word. "Sorry. The bindings make it hard to talk about this. Give me a second." Each coil flares brightly, and then subsides. "There. I created a temporary escape from the spell. This should make it easier. Let's say that, while the master’s power is great, it is not absolute. For everything he can do, there is a way to counter it. That is the way magics such as these work." The figure stands up. "I must take my leave now. As I said, enjoy your time together."
    "Together? Did he sense? No. If he could, I could." The girl thinks, referring, to her love for the boy. "Well, how do we get out of here?"
    The figure rises up again. "Same way you got in. Concentrate. It's hard, so you may need to combine your power for this."
    "How do we..." The boy starts, but is interrupted.
    "Physical contact should do." He says. As he sinks back down, he says "and yes, I can." referring to the girls thoughts.
    "What's with that last line?" The boy says, curious.
    "I don't know." The girl says, lying. She grabs onto the boys hands.
    The boy, not expecting this, thinks of it in a different way. "Why did you..."
    "Physical contact, remember?" She says. They concentrate, and sink through the ground. They pop up where they were sparring. She then lets go of the boy’s hand.
    "Actually, it's very easy." The figure says to himself, back in the black room.
    The master then appears in the black room. A shattering noise is heard. "Why was there a barrier in the first place?" He asks accusingly upon entering.
    "Simple. The children were testing their skills I made the barrier so that the world outside was not damaged by their powers." He says, lying through his teeth.
    "Since when did you care about other worlds, Kunta?" The master asks, using the figures name.
    "I don't. I just don't want to spoil the feeling of their first destruction. And who knows, it might be this one." He says.
    "Tell me when they each reach two coils. I have a feeling they're going to take a long time to reach four." The master says.
    "Yes, lord." He says.
    "Now, leave.” The master says. They both sink into the ground, the master going to his white room, and Kunta to earth.
    "Be able to resist his power." Kunta says to himself, referring to the boy and girl.

    Chapter four... Passions Revealed, Part One
    The day after that, both wake up, get dressed and the rest of it, rather early. They both arrive where they sparred the day before, at around seven. It was the boy’s idea.
    "Why did you want us here so early anyway?" She says to him.
    "Simple. No one would be out at seven." The boy says. "Follow." He jumps up into the air, and slowly flies off. The girl follows.
    Soon, they reach a large tree.
    "This is what you wanted to show me? A tree?" The girl asks, annoyed.
    "Not just a tree." The boy says, flying higher to a large hole. He goes into it, and the girl follows.
    Inside is a large opening, the size of a large bedroom. "Think of it as a base of operations." He says. "No one knows about here, and it seems sturdy enough to support two, and maybe some chairs or something."
    "Yard sale!" The girl says, seemingly spontaneously.
    "What?" The boy says, confused.
    "My parents were going to have a yard sale today, and a lot of our old furniture is there. We could grab some stuff to use." She says, and takes off towards her house.
    Soon, she comes back with a Table, chairs, small sofa, and a twin bed in tow.
    "I like, but, why the bed?" The boy asks.
    "Well, if one of us, for some reason, needs to stay here over night, it's available." She says.
    "Good thinking. After all, if these powers are as bad as that guy says, we might need this." The boy says, sitting down in one of the chairs.
    "How did you find this place then?" She asks.
    "I'd noticed that hole before. I remembered it last night, and decided to check it out. I was right, and this was in here." He says. "No one can really get here without flying."
    "You sure?" The girl asks.
    "Yes. The nearest branch is a couple feet down, and it's too smooth up here to climb."
    "Almost as if someone..." The girl says, trailing off.
    "Made it?" A strange voice says, from behind them both. An old man, in fancy-looking clothing is behind them.
    The two turn around, and get read, the boys hand in a blade, the girls in a fist.
    "I mean you no harm." The man says. "Nor do I care how you got up here. All that maters is that you did. And as I've said for these past 50 or so years, anyone managing to get up here through skill alone can claim this place for their own. As you have seemed to have done already. Tell me, what are your names?"
    "They're..." The girl says, but is cut off.
    "They're not really something that's important, now are they?" The boy says, suspicious. If magic exists in the form he has, who's to say this man can't do something with names?
    "I guess not!" The man says cheerfully. "Well, I'll leave you two lovers to your new place." the man jumps out, but never seems to hit the bottom, disappearing quickly.
    "Lovers?" The girl thinks. "Am I that obvious?"
    "We're not lovers!" The boy yells down.
    "Well..." The girl says, quietly.
    The boy turns around. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"
    "Probably just assumptions." The girl says.
    "Probably." The boy says. "Well, that knocked off a good hour. What do you want to do now?"
    "Let's just stay here." The girl says, sitting down on the sofa, and motioning for the boy to sit next to her.
    He does, and they just sit there, talking for a while, until, eventually...
    "By the way," The girl says, having built up the courage to tell him. "What that old man was saying, was half true."
    "What do you mean 'half true'?" The boy asks. He is rather naive when it comes to this.
    "I mean..." She says, and takes a deep breath. "I... I... I'm in love with you."
    "You're... what?" The boy says, taken aback by this.
    "You don't return the feeling, do you?" She says, sad.
    "I... no." The boy says. "How long have you?"
    "A while now. A few months." She says, holding back a few tears.
    This was rather shocking for the boy. "And you never said anything. Why? You could have told me."
    "I was... I was afraid you wouldn't love me back." She says, standing up. She runs for the hole, and jumps out, catching herself midair and flying out away from the tree, a few tears streaming from her face.
    "She loved me... the whole time." He says, thinking out loud. "And I didn't return it to her when she admitted it? I'm an idiot." The boy quickly follows, thinking about this.
    "A lot has changed. First, these powers, and then this." He increases his speed, catching up.
    Nearby, the old man is hovering in the air too. His skin quickly changes to a black, as do his clothes. Purple spirals form around his arms and legs. Kunta. "It's all unfolding as he planned." He says, dourly.

    Chapter five: Passions Revealed, Part Two
    She looks back to see the boy. She's a little mad at the moment. "What do you want?" She asks.
    "To say "I'm sorry"." The boy says. "I didn't mean to sound as harsh as I probably did."
    "It's ok." She says, faking a smile. "I mean, how could you have known? We should probably land. Someone might see us."
    They lower themselves down, and land deep in a woods.
    "There's woods here?" The boy asks, rhetorically.
    "There is now." The girl says to him, still holding back tears.
    "I am very sorry about this." The boy says, making a large amount of sticks and leaves on the ground into makeshift chairs.
    "Three chairs?" The girl says, seeing them.
    "Given what just happened, it won't be long before..." He says, and, in an act of 'speak of the devil', Kunta appears.
    "Before I appear?" He sits down on one of the three chairs. "She told you, and you didn't return it, so she flew off. I knew this would happen all along."
    "Was I the only one who didn't know?" The boy asks, sitting down himself.
    "Yes." Kunta says, plainly.
    The girl also sits down, first testing it for stability.
    "She's wanted to tell you for a while now. She's not talking right now though. At least, not to you." He adds.
    "Wait, why did you arrive now?"
    "Because, this was part of the Masters plan. This makes you two fresh ground for the power to spread."
    "How?"
    "These powers feed on fresh blood, which is obviously, straight from the heart. Things such as this trigger a faster heart rate, causing them to feed in hyper drive. Basically, your second coils should be starting to form."
    The boy checked, and it was true. His left leg had started to have flecks of glowing purple. The girl checked her arms, and on her left arm, there it was. The beginnings of the second coil.
    "My master has ordered me to take you to him again when you both hit two coils. I must. However, this does not count. Just keep yourself ready for when I arrive. And you," Kunta says, looking at the girl, "allow your passion for him to control you in battle, and your power will reach heights greater than mine when he aids you. Remember this." He fades away, rather than sinking into the ground.
    While he is fading, the boy tries to escape, before she does something she'll regret.
    The girl turns to him, and spreads out her palm, stopping him, body spread out. "Where do you think you're going?" She says.
    "I was leaving before you do something you'll regret to me, out of anger or sorrow or something." He answers, plainly.
    "Now why would I do that?" She says. "I still love you, regardless of if you love me back." She spins her hand around, shaking him a little.
    "Then why are you doing this?" The boy asks, trying to get free.
    "I've bound your hands, don't try getting out." She walks up to him. "And that's exactly why I'm doing this."
    "What do you mean?" The boy says. "Wait, if that guy can keep a spell from his Master from affecting him, maybe I can do the same with her." He thinks. He concentrates, and his coils flare brightly. He falls to the ground. "Now, let's not do that again."
    "Fine then. If you can do that, my powers won't be of much use anyway." She says, mater-of-factly. "But I can still do what I was going to do."
    "And that would be?" The boy backs up.
    The girl jumps into the air. "Guess."
    The boy, shocked by the sudden change in behavior, jumps up, and flies up and towards the tree, going as fast as he can.
    The girl falls to the ground, laughing. "Not what I expected him to do, but you know, I kind of like it." She says, talking to herself. She jumps up, and flies after him, going faster than he is.
    Halfway to the tree, she catches up. "That was a strange reaction." She says, surprising him.
    "How did you?" The boy asks, not finishing.
    "I did as the guy said. I let my passion control me, and I went really fast. Or at least, faster than you."
    "So then, what were you trying to do?"
    "Probably not what you were thinking."
    They reach the tree, and land. The two go to the Sofa, and sit down.
    "This...” She says, getting closer, "Is what I was trying to do." She then leans closer to him, grabbing the back of his head, and gives him a passionate kiss, then pulls away after a few seconds.
    "You just..." The boy says, surprised. "You just kissed me!"
    "Yeah." The girl says, nonchalantly, almost as if she'd planned it. "I did."
    "If you're willing to go that far to prove it, chasing after me like that, I'll do it." He says. It doesn’t sound like it, but it’s basically a “You’ve got me, I give” kind of thing.
    "You mean," She says, happily. "You'll give me a chance?"
    "Yep!" He says, cheerfully.
    "Congratulations." Kunta says, from outside. "Now I've just got to keep the master from getting wind of this.

    Chapter six: Time to brew…
    A while after the events that led to them getting together, they’ve gotten better mastery of their powers, and the second coil has grown a little. The boy’s come to terms with his relationship with the girl, and beginning to question his own feelings for her. The master and Kunta have been keeping their eyes on the two.
    “Kunta!” The Master says, “Report.”
    Kunta rises from the ground. “All goes as planned.” He says, obeying his command. “Their love is growing. Their powers are feeding at a massive rate. They shall be ready for claiming soon.”
    “Very well then.” The Master says. “You may leave now.” Kunta sinks into the floor.
    “So then...” The boy says, now on the roof of their school. “You never told me, what’d your parents say about us?”
    “Well, my dad didn’t believe me at first. Then he realized I was being serious. He didn’t really like the idea, but didn’t seem to mind it actually being like it is. My mom was amazed that we are together.” She responds. “Yours?”
    “Nether seemed to care either way. I guess that they thought it wouldn’t last long or something.”
    “So then, both are parents are fine with anything that we do?”
    “I wouldn’t go as far as anything, but probably just about.”
    The girl laughs, and grabs onto the boys hand.
    “So, I assume all is going well?” Kunta says, rising from the ground behind them. Startled, the two jump off, floating in the air.
    “Why do you keep following us anyway?” The girl asks him.
    “Masters Orders. He wants me to keep an eye on you two. I wish I could say why, but even casting away the bindings won’t allow me to tell you.”
    “So then, why did you come to check up on us?”
    “I came to tell you what I can about his plan.” His coils flare again. “Even now, I can’t say it all. But, here I go. The Master, Myou, will…” Breathing heavily, he pauses. “He will use a spell to give you the others when you when you each reach two coils. One of you reach three before the other reaches two, his plan will fail. However, that’s not likely to happen. Once he does…” He pauses again. “You will have all four coils, although it acts like almost eight. You can easily kill me. Myou, however, is a different story. You must…” He doubles over, clutching his stomach. He is clearly in pain.
    The girl runs over to him. “Are you ok?”
    Kunta gets up, shakily. “Yes. The barrier is weakening. Myou himself must be trying to get through.
    Sure enough, he is. He has in his hands a large sword, and is slamming into the barrier.
    “Run!” Kunta says, and all three run into the school, no one paying mind to Kunta, almost as if they can’t see him.
    “Most people would freak out at seeing someone like you running through the halls of a normal school. Why aren’t they?”
    “I changed forms. When you’re strong enough, you’re not bound to one form a universe. Unfortunately, that probably won’t happen of you two.” He says simply. “I just look like a kid running to get out of school to them.”
    The three quickly get to the innermost room of the school. “We should be safe in here.”
    “So, Kunta.” A voice booms through the halls. “You attempted to escape me? I’ve always known of this treachery, I simply kept it in check with your bindings.”
    He walks out into the halls, illusion out. “Myou, I don’t know how you got in here, but the barrier is intact. I am not bound by you here. And these two will help.” He gestures towards the boy and girl, and then they all strike a fighting stance. The girls hand takes a blade shape, the boys a fist. Kunta generates a sword of energy, in the same purple of his coils.
    “So, you finally decide to betray me? Let’s see how this goes.” Myou says, striking a fighting stance as well.

    Chapter seven: The face-off with Myou
    “Now then, let’s begin.” Myou says, and rushes at the group.
    “Let’s.” Kunta says, dashing at them. The boy swings his fist, what is, in essence an invisible wrecking ball plowing towards him. The girl stabs at him, many invisible blades spearing through at him.
    He seems unphased, and swings at Kunta. Kunta darts to the side, and swipes at his arm. He is hit, but appears unharmed. “You three attempt to hurt me with my own power?” He asks rhetorically. He keeps attacking Kunta with his sword, which he swings with the greatest of ease. Kunta swipes whenever possible, the two continuing their assault. Some kids have gone into classrooms, watching from out of the window. When Kunta started fighting, his barrier was dispelled, and the disguise as well.
    “Is that…” One says.
    “I think so.”
    “And is that her with him?”
    “Yes.”
    “Always thought they’d be together. But fighting together with some weird creature against a huge guy? That’s unexpected.”
    “Yeah.”
    The teacher in that class walks up. “What is going on?”
    One of the kids points out the window, and the teacher looks. “Kids, get out of the school.”
    They don’t, watching the fight.
    A few kids rush out to help. Myou pays no mind to them. The boy makes his palm flat, and pushes them away. “Run! Now!” The kids don’t, so the two push them back into the classes.
    “Now, where were we?” Myou says, and keeps attacking. Kunta is eventually hit, and bleeds deep black blood. The two quickly begin to fight, going faster and faster, until flashes are all that’s visible. The boy and girl just stand there, waiting to see what happens. They stop, Kunta is cut up. “You’re on your own.” He says. “I need to go, so I’ll be back if I can.” He sinks into the ground, disappearing somewhere.
    “So, he abandoned you? Seems like something that’ll happen.” Myou says, and charges. The girl and boy try to jump out of the way. The girl succeeds, but the boy’s arm is cut, a large cut, about five inches.
    “Ow!” He says, clutching his arm tightly, on the ground. He slowly gets up, but Myou hits him with the butt of the sword, forcing him down again, unable to get up. The girl gasps, as Myou turns to her. “You’re next.”
    Shocked by what she saw, she was considering leaving. But that would mean leaving him to die, which she would never forgive herself for. But if she stayed, she would die as well. And Kunta might return. Thinking of Kunta reminded her of what he said a few weeks ago.
    “Let your passion control you in battle and you shall reach heights unmatchable by anyone.”
    “Yes.” She says, under her breath. “You have committed a terrible wrong, and for that, I shall not forgive you!” Her coils flare up, and she jumps up a little, hovering in the air.
    “I already told you, your powers do not work on me, as I granted you them!” He swings his sword again.
    “Then why…” She begins, effortlessly stopping the sword, by the blade, with one hand, without cutting herself, “does this…” She flips the sword over, sending Myou flying, “work on you?” She turns her hands into blades, and stabs at Myou, who is cut.
    “Nonsense! How does this work?” He yells. He throws little blades of purple energy at the girl. She effortlessly deflects them. “Simple. I’m stronger than you!” Close examination would reveal she has no pupils.
    “Now, to finish this.”

    Chapter eight: Finish Him!
    Myou rushes at the girl, sword in hand, and slices sideways, but switches to going downwards, instantly. The girl dodges, as if in reflex, and, hand as if she was holding something, such as a large orange, thrusts her hand at Myou, and twists it around rapidly. The effect is a lot like having several blades pulled back and forth inside of him.
    “No. I will not allow you to do this. BEGONE!” He shouts, and his whole body flares up. He is gone, the kids slowly coming out. The girl is back to normal, and on the ground.
    “That was amazing!” One of them says, running towards her.
    “Think the school’s security cameras got that?” Another one mentions.
    The boy stands up, and walks over to the girl. “How did you do that?”
    “Remember what Kunta said?”
    “No.”
    “Well, I didn’t either, until he attacked you. I let my passion control me, as he said, and, well, I won.”
    “It sure did the trick.” Someone says. Kunta, obviously. He’s risen up from the ground, and is standing behind them, normal form. Someone quickly takes out a camera, and takes a picture of the three of them. “This’ll make a great story for the newspaper.” He whispers, and runs off.
    Kunta sinks down again, and rises in front of the kid with the camera. “And what were you going to do with that?” He grabs it, tosses it into the air, and makes a few motions with his hands. The camera comes down just fine, but the photo of Kunta and the two kids is in his hand. “Now, don’t try that again.” He sinks into the ground again, and arises behind them.
    The three are bombarded with questions, and then look at each other. “We’d love to answer your questions, but….”All three sink into the ground, and arise outside the school. They immediately take off, running. About 30 seconds later, most of the kids do too, some running because they want to get out of school, others, to follow the boy and girl. “Wait, the tree!” The girl says, and runs off towards it, the boy and Kunta following suit. The boy and girl begin flying up. Kunta’s coils glowing slightly, runs straight up it, into the hole in the tree.
    “What happened to Myou?” The girl asks.
    “He went somewhere. Not the nexus, but somewhere. If you wait here, they should go away eventually. Then, head home, and all should be normal.” He says, changing the subject, and then sinking into the ground.
    The two go onto the sofa, and sit on it. The girl sees the boys arm. “Oh, you still haven’t fixed that?” She says, and places her finger on top of it, and slowly drags it across, in a zigzag pattern. It seals the cut, like it was stitched up.
    “Why didn’t I do that?” The boy thinks. “Thanks.” He says.
    “No problem. I want to know why you didn’t think of that though.”
    “I guess I thought these were destructive in nature.”
    “Didn’t seem that way to me. You didn’t feel it coursing through your body, healing old wounds and the like?”
    “No. Not really.”
    “Strange. It’s pretty obvious to me. Oh well.”
    “So, how long do you think we need to stay up here?”
    The boy walks over to the hole, and looks down. A lot of people are still down there. “A while.” He goes back, and sits down.
    “So, what do you want to do?”

    Chapter nine: The beginning of the end
    Not long after, everyone leaves, and they go back down the tree.
    Fast forward a few more days. Their second coils are almost done.
    “So, we don’t have long for this world, do we?” The girl says.
    “No, I’m afraid we don’t. The good part is, we can be together the whole time, and Kunta can help us get out of it. Or, at least, keep us from destroying anything we care about.”
    “I hope so.”
    Kunta arises from the ground. “I have been discharged from the service.” He says, grimly.
    “That’s a bad thing?”
    “Yes. If I tried to get in the way, I would be killed. I’ll have to follow from afar. He apparently thinks that you’ll be strong enough on your own. Of course” he smiles mischievously “that means I’m no longer bound to him either. I can do what I wish, and attempt to defeat him from the inside. Unfortunately, you’ll be on your own while bound. You two should get anything you need to out of the way first.” He then sinks into the ground.
    Stricken with a similar sense of impending doom that comes with knowing something bad just happened near you, they are completely silent for a few minutes.
    “He said we should get anything out of the way we wanted to before he comes.” The boy says, breaking the silence, “There’s only one thing like that for me.”
    He gets closer to the girl, and grabs the back of her head, the same way she did, and kisses her, deeply and passionately, lasting a while. Eventually, they break it.
    “That’s all I had as well.” The girl says. “So, what are we going to do now?”
    “What else? Face off with Myou when he comes to get us. You won before, so with the two of us, we should be able to kill him, right?”
    “I hope so.” The girl says.
    “Although, maybe we should take the fight to him.”
    “Either way, we’re in his service if he looses. Better add the element of surprise.”
    “You plan to challenge Myou?” Kunta asks, rising up from the ground again.
    “Yes. We want to have a chance at defeating him.”
    “Well, I am with you.” He says, and creates an energy sword. “I’ll take us to the Nexus. He’ll find it strange if you confront him.” He grabs their hands, and sinks into the ground. He then arrives in the Nexus.
    Myou is sitting there, as he was when the boy first began. Wasting no time, the boy attempts to slice him up, and Kunta charges, ready to stab. The girl stands there, breathing deeply. Her eyes turn emotionless again, as she shifted control entirely to her passion, apparently being something her power allowed her to do. She flew towards him, a large Partisan in her hands. She took the spear, and began to strike him.
    “As I expected, you came to fight.” He says, and stands up. He bats away the boy and Kunta. The girl is still there, Partisan buried in. Myou doesn’t seem to notice it though, and pulls out his sword.

    Part 10: And so it ends, or, rather, begins.
    (For maximum effect, play during battle http://youtube.com/watch?v=3u3FVdKe_Uw)
    The girl makes various weapons, and uses them, everything from Shuriken to a Greatsword, to a Flambard. Myou ignores each of them. Kunta slashes at him with invisible blades, and the boy punches the air, having the effect of a huge wrecking ball attacking Myou. “Boy, let the passion consume you, as the girl has. That shall become your drive in battle.” Kunta says to him. “With it, you are as strong as she.”
    The boy concentrates, breathing deeply, as the girl did. His eyes do not become soulless. Rather, they become much sharper, piercing eyes, with a brilliant shine to them. He dashes up as well, and rapidly thrusts his hands at Myou, where the weapons are. This causes him to feel them, and the effect is immediate. He swings his sword at the two, who effortlessly catch it. Kunta is slowly accumulating a buildup of power, the same purple as his coils. The two tear it from his hands, and the boy grabs it, wielding it. He rapidly swings it at Myou, while the girl, now having the handle as well, is firing blasts through it.
    Kunta now has large wings sprouting out of his back.
    Myou generates another sword, still of energy, and swings it at the boy, who parries with his sword. The girl repeatedly fires blasts from it, still, and is hitting Myou with it. The coil is dangerously close to completion, the very tip all that’s left to form. A purple stream of energy connects the boy and girl. The two come up together, and drop the sword. They generate a large orb of purple energy, and toss it at Myou, who it hit by it, and falls to the ground. “A good show, I must say the least, but too little, too late!” He says, seeing the purple stream. “Now, as for your punishment.” He begins chanting, and at the last word, he places his sword in between the energy. The two fall to the ground. He says one more word, then places his sword on them both. The two glow a deep black, and their arms and legs flash, all coils appearing. “Two lovers with rings of purple, as many as they are. Aided by a traitor, true power unlocked.” He says, as if reading a recipe. “The two will form the ultimate weapon. Arise!”
    The two are forced together, obviously not without some pain. They become transparent, and sink into each other. There is a flash, and they appear, a deep black. The left half looks like a completely dark version of the boy, and the right, the girl. By now, Kunta has sunken into the ground and has ran off somewhere. They appear as Kunta does, pitch black, with all four coils showing. The right eye is a dull brown, with no pupils, and the left is a brilliant blue, incredibly piercing, and shining. “Arise! New servant!” The combined boy and girl rise from the ground. “Let’s see… You need a name. For your combined origin, I shall give you a combined name. Let’s see. Like Kunta, your name shall be taken from the word for Realm.” He pulls an “English to whatever language you want” dictionary, seemingly out of no where. “Japanese… Kokudo. French. Re’gne.” He says.
    “Kokure’gne. Fitting.” He puts it away. “Now, Kokure’gne. I shall plant your name in various universes, at various times. Go wherever you hear it, and destroy everyone and everything there. If multiple worlds are inside it, destroy them all. Kokure’gne, you know your new mission. Now, go!”
    And there we have it. We have come full circle; Kokure’gne has been born from the boy and girl, and will wreak havoc until someone stops him. That’s where you come in. Now, who am I, you wonder. “That would be telling” so the saying goes.