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Johnathan quickly ran through the gate after the pumpkin headed Jason, fully intent on trying to use his new body to his advantage. Quickly however, Johnathan came into contact with the Dark Hearts, and summoned Cannibal from its slumber. Grabbing onto the handle of the Keyblade, Johnathan twirled clockwise, spinning his over-grown arm like a whip, giving Cannibal an extra little bit of power when it collided with the face of a nearby Dark Heart.

Obliterating the creature's head, Johnathan moved onto the next group of creatures, throwing Cannibal into the first creature's body, then simultaniously jumping over the Dark Heart and grabbing the handle of his keyblade, performing a frontwards flip and slamming Cannibal into the group of Dark Hearts below, obliterating three in the process. Heh, this isn't so bad, he thought to himself, I get a little extra boost, and extra reaching distance.

"Help!" Johnathan looked to the noise, only to see a small family of ghouls cowering from approaching Dark Hearts. Johnathan, quickly running torwards the scene, let Cannibal dissolve from his grip and jumped up, allowing him to grab hold onto an overhanging light pole, swinging himself upwards and over most of the Dark Hearts. Before reaching a Chainsaw weilding Dark Heart at the front of the group, Johnathan summoned Cannibal once more and plunged into the Dark Heart's body like a missile, dissapearing within it.

For a few moments, the Dark Heart merely slumped over, the rev of the chainsaw lowering for a moment before the Dark Heart suddenly turned around, revealed to be covered in red scab with a pulsating skull on its forehead. Dispite the fact that this Dark Heart had been leading this group, the creature turned on its former followers and ripped through them all. However, deep inside, Johnathan saw something he had not expected to see in this creature's memories. A black keyblade and a figure weilding it, causing the fire that now ravaged this town. Oh, great. This is awesome.

Jason nodded and raced out of the town as fast as his weird new legs would allow him to go. Outside of the town, he began to fight off new Dark Hearts. However, he sensed a much darker presence not too far from him, and began working toward it. When he finally traced it to its source, he saw that it was a cloaked man. He was just standing there, as if he had been expecting them.

Jason summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the man.
"You! Are you responsible for this!" he demanded angrily.
H was prepared for battle and figured that he could handle him. After all, if this was a member of the Harbingers of Darkness, he had some training in how to fight them. He assumed a fighting stance.
"Well, now you face retribution. Let's see what you got, you slave of the darkness!"
In his hand, he charged a ball of light and hurled it at him. The ball traveled at lightning speed and would do major damage if it struck.

This was it. The time had come, and the Chosen was the first one to make a move.

As the mysterious Xeynar stood motionless, his back was turned to the Chosen. The first thing to happen was Jason's accusing Xeynar of torching the town. To this, Xeynar had only one eerie response.

"...The prey approachesss..."

The statement came out sounding like a disembodied whisper. His voice sounded somewhat grunted from his skeletal side, whle his 's' sounds were somewhat hissed out as if spoken by a serpant. He spoke the response, Xeynar turned to face his intended prey, an ever so-slighty smirk of eagerness on his face, giving better view of his glinting fangs.

Then the battle started. It was the Chosen One who attacked first, hurling a ball of light at Xeynar. Normal creatures of the darkness would cower at such an attack, but Xeynar merely smirked. Boney left hand stretched forth, as if to catch Jason's attack, but instead producing a light of it's own from the front of the palm, a neutral Flare spell to be exact. The dull, non-elemental energy shot forward like a laser beam, and collided with Jason's light. The sudden mix of pure light from Jason, and the pure magical energy from Xeynar, created a blinding flash-bang, physically harmless but blindingly bright. When the flash finally cleared, Xeynar would not be in sight, but instead, there would be another chilling whisper from beind his prey.

"...Too slow..."

Jason covered his eyes to avoid being blinded by the flash. When it cleared, he heard a voice behind him and used his Light Speed to turn around and reassumed his stance.
"Now, see, that's where you've got it wrong. I'm not the prey. You are. I suppose it was wasteful to launch such an attack on you, but it was worth a shot."
He dug his feet into the ground and waited.
"Now it's your turn. Impress me, if you can."
It was not the whisper that had chilled him, so much as the faint familiarity of this person.

Xeynar nodded, and as if to comply with Jason's request, kicked himself over to Jason. In midair, he twisted his body in a single rotatation, his black keyblade appearing in his boney left hand in reverse stance as the midair twist arced the weapon down on Jason's head as Xeynar landed in front of him. Then Xeynar's unusual swordplay style would ensue.

Unlike most wielders of the key, who hold their weapon in the right hand in a tradtional swordsmanship fashion, Xeynar held his black weapon in the left hand, with the blade facing behind him, as if it were a knife or dagger. His attacks would be somewhat weaker, but they would be much faster than standard keyblade swings. To remain difficult to predict, Xeynar had been practiced at rapidly switching between standard and reverse hand stance, to the point he could do so in mid-attack.

Xeynar's attacks would come at Jason in the form of very swift, diagnol arcs mixed in with standard stance slashes here and there to spice things up. All the while, the keyblde would remain in Xeynar's left hand. A funny thing about keyblades, was that they tend to be stronger when wielded by the stronger hand, and weaker when used in the off-hand. This meant one of two things for Jason: Xeynar was either left-handed or holding back.

For Xeynar it was obvious. Of course he was holding back. He was right handed, and even wielded a completely different keyblade in his right hand. He could have summoned said keyblade (Dragonheart) to throw Jason for a loop, and use the element of surprise to perhaps defeat him. But, Xeynar was a bit too arrogant for that. He wanted to see just what this Chosen One could do. It'd been awhile since his last real challenge, after all, and Xeynar had been getting bored just hanging around waiting for the prey to show up.

Jason had honestly not expected his opponent to do a martial arts style flip to kick off his attack, and this surprise caused him to miss precious seconds that he could have used to counter the attack. Seeing that the attack was aiming for his head, he ducked his head a bit to the right and let his opponent's weapon strike a glancing blow. While it still stung a bit from the sliding, the impact was nothing like if it had struck its intended target head on. His opponent then held the weapon backwards, similar to the style Aiden had taught him. While unusual, this was a sure sign that his enemy had more than a passing knowledge of the Keyblade.

The mysterious Grim Reaper began slashing at him in diagonal arcs, both upwards and downwards. However, these blows made his attacks substantially weaker. As such, they were easily deflected with just a turn of his wrist. When he started mixing his reverse strikes in with his standard strikes, the rhythm change was a bit different, but he was able to telegraph the strikes and adjust rather quickly. On the last strike, Jason quickly hooked the blade end of his opponent's weapon with the key extension from his own. With perfect timing, he struck the side of his opponent's left hand with his palm and pulled the weapon at the same time. His opponent's Keyblade was now his, and he spun it on the end of his weapon for a moment before facing the dark master.
"You have admirable skill with your weapon and you fight with nice strategy, but you have yet to truly master the Zubuken-Style of the Keyblade Arts. On top of that, you were too repetitious, even though you tried not to be. My advice is to work on that."

Jason allowed his opponent's weapon to spin off the hook. He then encased his leg in light and punted it, causing it to spin like a shuriken toward his opponent. He then propelled himself forward, making sure to run at a speed behind his opponent's weapon. He frontflipped and struck the hilt of his opponent's Keyblade, causing it to propel toward his opponent like a missle, having gathered enough speed to truly slice through the sky. He also began sliding toward his opponent, in a fighting position on the ground. His legs were spread, ready to hook one of his opponent's legs in an offensive roll that could cause great damage to that leg should his distraction fail to yield the half second he would need to complete such a maneauver.

How dare the lamb lecture the wolf? It was infuriating that Jason seemed to think he could lecture his own enemy on how to fight. Xeynar would show him. Jason had been skating on thin ice since the beginning of the fight, and now that ice was about to crack.

Xeynar only smiled when his own weapon was taken from him. He willingly let go in order to pull his hand out of Jason's attack. Smile still cracked, the apparant 'Reaper' just watched Jason kick the weapon upward and then bat it toward him. It was now, at this moment, when the proverbial "thin ice" Jason had been "skating on", cracked.

Deciding to throw away all sense of holding back, Xeynar leaped upward to avoid Jason's slide. Whle he seemed to be putting himself in danger of being struck by his own dark weapon, his body twisted at the last moment, and the keyblade would merely graze his coat. His boney left hand would snatch the hilt, pulling the keyblade into the twist as his body then arced downward. Just before hitting the ground, his right palm clenched into a grip as a second keyblade appeared. This keyblade was startingly different. Rather than appear in dark fashion, this one appeared in a flash of light.

The keyblade in question, was a certain blade fashioned from what looked like a dragon's bone, the hilt covered by a reptilian skull. The keyblade in question, no doubt a blast from the past, was the Dragonheart.

Xeynar wasted no time. As soon as he touched ground, he dashed straight for Jason, appearing to have suddenly gained tremendous power, "Ngyaaaaaaaah!" he jumped up and came down on Jason with a X-shaped slash, "...Impressed yet?"

Just before Xeynar's slash landed, a chainsaw weilding Dark Heart flew through the air into Jason, pushing Jason out of the way and taking the hit himself, dissolving into thin air. About twenty feet away, Johnathan cracked his knuckles against the ground and tilted his head, popping the bones in his neck. Streching his jaw muscles, and in the process showing larger than normal canines, Johnathan scoffed slightly to himself at a thought that struck him as humorous.

"Jason, I had a feeling you needed the assist. However, I'm feeling a little sorry for the Dark Heart. That must have hurt." Pointing his arm straight out to the side, Johnathan summoned Cannibal from its slumber and smiled.

"You know, stranger, as much as I love a good, fair fight, I have a nice, relaxing seat in my ship. Now, you have three choices now. One, flee. Two, stay, fight, and win." Johnathan lunged forward torwards Xeynar, swinging Cannibal as hard as he could when he was within range.

"Three. Stay still so I can kill 'ya," he screamed as loud as his new body would allow, which, as it turned out, was very, very loud.

Jason watched his opponent jump out of the way and realized that he was now vulnerable. The reaper drew a second Keyblade, and Jason's mouth widened when he saw it. The Keyblade was Dragonheart, which had been wielded by Rayn. Either this was a cruel joke, or his friend was...He had no time to complete that thought as the reaper suddenly gained intense speed and brought a blow down in an 'X' fashion. Jason saw the attack coming and summoned the Kingdom Key. He blocked both of them, but could feel the rage coming from his opponent.

When the reaper asked if he was impressed, Jason shook his head.
"No, but I definitely feel the sense of urgency you've tried to instill. I guess holding back is not an option anymore."
After saying that, he reached up and hooked his opponent's arms with his Keyblades, bending them into perfect elbow locks. Now, he would be unable to swing his weapons or even let go of them. Without hesitation, Jason sprang forward like a slingshot pellet and kneed his opponent dead in the face. He then jumped back and twisted, hitting him in the right cheek with a side kick before landing and slashing his opponent with his weapons.

Jason was now moving at lightspeed, sending countless blows at his enemy and making himself impossible to predict. He had been taught his skills by one of the best Keyblade Masters in the universe, and now this reaper would know what it meant to tangle with a true Keyblade Master. If it was as he feared, this reaper had all ready claimed the life of one Keyblade Master. He would now slay this monster and avenge his friend.
"Rayn's death will not be in vain!!!" he screamed as he put his weapons in his armpits then slashed them out, intending to cut his enemy in half horizontally with both of his Keyblades.

The elbow deadlock proved to be quite an annoyance, one that forced Xeynar to take the knee to the face. He managed to duck under the side kick, but had a great deal of trouble with Jason's plethora of attacks.

It wasn't so much that Jason was too fast. Yes, he was moving at extremely high speeds that Xeynar would not be able to reach at this moment, but something else made Xeynar take these hits. He saw the recognition in Jason's face when Dragonheart appeared. Xeynar now wondered what that meant. Why did some random invoke such anger from him? He knew something about Dragonheart that Xeynar didn't know, and it was a good bet that Zen knew the same thing and wasn't telling Xeynar.

Battered from the barrage, Xeynar was forced to use a different tactic, one he really couldn't stand, because relying on aid was a sign of weakness. He summoned a regiment of Dark Hearts to keep Jason occupied for a few precious moments. In these moments, Xeynar found himself waiting within the treetops. Not only was he trying to recover, but he was also finding himself bombarded with visions of the Green Dragoon. He saw the great ship being swarmed by Heartless. Xeynar had had these sorts of visions, and although Zen told him they were nothing, he still couldn't help his curiousity. Why didn't he ever remember this happening?

He wouldn't have too much time to dwell on the matter, because Jason was sure to be finished with the Dark Hearts by now. Deciding to stick to the treetops, Xeynar bombarded Jason with fira and firaga spells, hoping his constant movement made him less detectable.

Jason succumbed to his warrior's rage and slaughtered the Dark Hearts without mercy. He then began to dodge the barrage of fireballs that were coming from all sides. He even deflected some of them, taking out some of the trees. Noticing that the reaper was firing from the trees, he began cutting them down from where he was until he zeroed in on the last tree. Putting away his Keyblades, he clenched his fists and began channeling his energy into his body. When he had gathered sufficient strength, he stopped.
"Have a taste of this! Light Storm!!!"

With that, he slammed his fists together, and a huge dome of light began forming around them. Then, in one concentrated burst, the dome turned into a spotlight of intense light. To the tree, it was harmless, but to the reaper in the tree, it would be like having the worst sunburn ever, and could potentially kill him. Jason collapsed to one knee, but drew his weapons. If the reaper attempted to attack him, Jason would fight to his last breath. He had to make sure this reaper paid for Rayn's death. Letting out a breath, Jason got to his feet and waited for an attack, if there would be one.

Although Xeynar was not as vulnerable to light as most of his fellow Dark Hearts, the Light Storm still hurt like hell. Dragonheart, being a keyblade of light, was able to dampen the damage somewhat, but it was still a devistating hit.

Xeynar fell from his current tree and, like Jason, now struggled to one knee, weapons still drawn, "You're light show was impressive, but I don't burn so easily." his weapons vanished as he decided to try one last tactic. He was going to use summoning, only this would be of a different kind. His hands clasped in a prayer-like fashion as magical energy (similar to a Flare spell) pulsated from his body.

"God of Dragons! Hear my voice and obey my command..." said Xeynar in a chanting tone, "...Rain thy fury 'pon my foes! Bahamut!"

If Xeynar could just finish that chant, then a mere "reaper" would be the least of Jason's problems.

Just as the chant was about to be complete, the battle came crashing down on Xeynar. He was hit by a Thundaga spell before the Summoning could be complete, and with fresh reinforcements backing him up, it would be impossible to kill Jason now. But even all that was the least of Xeynar's problems. Thunder magic was not something Xeynar normally worried about, for it was a basic and (typically) weak sort of magic, but in rainy weather it was a problem. The current rain amplified the spell, causing it to do more damage than it should have dealt. As if that weren't bad enough, it was topped off by the fact that the lightning actually fried Xeynar's mask.

"Bah.... damn!" cursed Xeynar, now covering his left eye with his skeletal hand. The other half of his face, the half that still appeared humanoid, was now visible, "We'll have to finish this later. Ta..." this said, the ground at Xeynar's feet darkened as his body sank down into it. Not the conventional way to use dark portals, but Xeynar wasn't exactly conventional.

After a time, Xeynar found himself on Radiant Garden. Following his retreat from Halloween Town, the Green Dragoon flew Xeynar to Radiant Garden. Here, he would storm into Guild headquarters, mad as a hornet. It was also here, that his true form could be seen. A short-haired blonde wearing an eye-patch over the left eye. His black coat was now new-looking, and even shined a bit within the Crystal Canyon lying on the outskirts of town.

"Damn that bolt-throwing son of a--" ranted Xeynar, cross about Shien's interference. If not for his chump friend getting in the way, Jason would have been dragon-food. But, there was also something else he was angry about, and Zen was about to hear why, "You!" Xeynar shouted as he approached the Guild's leader, "Would you mind telling me why the hell Jason recognized THIS?" he demanded, summoning Dragonheart, "What does he know that you're not telling me? Answer!"

Jason looked up to see his opponent muttering some kind of incantation. He knew that if that chant was finished, something bad would happen. He wanted to stop him, but his legs felt like they were incased in concrete. Once again, he had used too much energy, and was like a drained battery. The last time this had happened was in Darmell, and right now, it appeared that no one could save him. He lowered his head in depair, but then something caught his eye, and he looked up.

A smile spread acroos his face as he realized that he was seeing the One-Winged Angel, Shien's Keyblade. His friend had arrived just in time to save his ass, and he watched as lightning rained down on Xeynar. Shien even took it a step further and scored a direct blow to the face with a lightning bolt. However, as the mask peeled away, Jason's eyes widened and his blood went cold. The face behind the mask was...Rayn's?! No...no, it couldn't be...

As he was still in shock, he did not hear what Shien said to him as he slid up to him. All he could do was watch helplessly as his enemy vanished into a portal. The horror hit him anew as he realized all of the evidence had pointed to this. The reaper used the Dragonheart as if he had wielded it all of his life, and he had for as long as Jason had known him. On top of that, hadn't Rayn always talked about a summoned spell called Bahamut?

It all made horrific sense, and Jason could not deny it. While he was away, his friend had been turned into a Nobody, and now, he was lost to them until his heart could be recovered. Jason fell on his butt and hung his head, his weapons disappearing. He was so out of it that he did not notice the tears flowing down his cheeks. Sure, he and Rayn had not been particularly close, but they had still been friends. As team leader, he should have looked out for him more.

His guilt was compounded as he realized how much of his team had been lost amongst the stars. Of his original team, now only Shien remained. His team counted on him to do what was best for them, and he had failed them. However, his inner strength would not let him have a pity party. He wiped away his tears and stood up, turning to Shien. A smile appeared on his face and his mood changed.

"Thanks for the help, Shien. If not for you, I'd probably be dead right now."
He clapped his friend on the shoulder in gratitude, then looked up at the stars as his face grew serious.
"However, this does not bode well. I got a look at that creature's face before he vanished into the darkness. That reaper was...it was Rayn. He's been turned into a Nobody."

His fists tightened at his side, and he sighed.
"It looks like the darkness has claimed one of our own. The only thing we can do for him now is slay his Heartless and try to reunite his heart with his body. If we can do that, there's a chance we can save him."
A smile broke out on his face again.
"After all, true leaders never leave a man behind, right?"

This marks the end of the first part of Kingdom Hearts: A New Beginning.