Chapter Twenty One
The First

Cronus let out a scream of rage, a cry that sounded like the murderous cry of a hurricane, the snap of a lightning bolt striking the land, the rush of water drowning all before it. The world reacted, shaping itself to his will. The elements unleashed their fury across the world, blizzards, maelstroms, tornadoes, the worst of nature reared against the living. Then, as suddenly as they had started, they calmed, magic reigning in Cronus' fury as readily as it had helped it.

"One of our own." He growled. "The High Ones have sent their, their, lapdogs to stop us." He whirled, releasing a bolt of lightning from his hand to destroy a boulder larger than a four story building. "How did they even know we would be released at this time?"

"They didn't." A new voice, deeper, more powerful, rang out in the mountain range where Cronus stood, his second in command, Demitrius looking unsurprised by the newer presence. "It is by mere chance that the Powers That Be would have representatives here."

The voice focused, drawing inward, to coalesce into the form of Meta, the Titan that had recently been vanquished. Simmering with rage, Cronus glowered at her. "You were one of our leaders once. But it seems you have been limited more than we have." He aimed his hand, ejecting a bolt of lightning again. It passed through the air, releasing the scent of ozone, straight through Meta's head to explode on the tree behind her.

"Not limited." Meta retorted. "Freed. Now, none can affect me. Though, likewise," she looked ruefully at her hand, 'none can be affected by my powers in person anymore." Walking forward, Meta touched Demitrius, her hand passing through his chest. "That does not stop my influence over others." She grinned wickedly. With a white shimmer, Meta fused with Demitrius, taking over his body. Creating a fireball, Demitrius looked at it with a satisfied smirk, arching an eyebrow at Cronus.

Reluctantly, Cronus knelt before Demitrius. "My lady." He said, a note of respect entering his voice.

The First smiled again. "My, it is good to have form. However temporary." Demitrius turned to Cronus. "Now, you were attempting to enter the Heavens to deal with the Elders? Let me take a crack at it."

"So the choice now is to decide who is the current Sentinel of Sincerity." Zelda finished, looking between Mai and Megan. "There seems to be a strange aura surrounding the two of you, one that my powers cannot seem to breach." She looked thoughtfully at the two sisters, as if they were a science experiment she desperately wanted to play with. "Have either of you gained a strange affinity with plant life, or experienced an inability to lie, recently?"

Megan and Mai exchanged a look, Megan's one was a mix of exasperation and stubbornness, Mai's of reluctance and isolation. "If it's more power, I don't want it." Mai responded quietly. "I have enough responsibility as it is." She turned to look at Megan. "I don't think I'm the Crest Holder though. My powers are over fire and ice, if I could control plants, I think I would have noticed by now."

Megan blinked, looking shell-shocked. "And if it's not her, then…" She trailed off, straightening up. "I believe that it's me then." A note of smugness filled her voice. "So, what does that mean for me then?"

"The Sentinel, as you may have gathered, is the representative of the quality of Sincerity, that is, acting, speaking and performing in the most sincere and honest manner as possible." Zelda replied. Giving a sigh, Sam settled into the lounge. He was already beginning to recognise the tone Zelda put on when she was in teacher mode. "The Sentinel is aligned with plant life, and can spawn, grow and control plants as she or he desires."

"Right…" Megan said, absorbing the information. "And the telling the truth thing?"

"Those in the presence of the Sentinel are compelled magically to tell the truth. Only individuals with unusual amounts of willpower, or magic, are capable of resisting this effect. Try it."

Megan opened her mouth, moving it as if she were saying something. When no sound came out, she frowned. Her mouth moved again, sound still failing to come out. Eventually, she gave up, smiling ruefully. "I can't."

The manor suddenly shook and the lights flickered. Looking up and around, the collective groups exchanged looks, sensing magical disturbances from around the globe.

"What the hell was that?" Piper asked, looking irate as she straightened up a vase which had fallen over.

The boy, Chris, looked warily at the rest of the group. "The Elders. They've been attacked."

"What?" Piper demanded sharply. "The Eld-..? Leo!" She yelled, looking expectantly up at the ceiling. When there was no reply, she looked directly at Chris. "What is going on?"

"The Elders have been…" He faltered, looking uncertainty at Zelda." They've been attacked."

"The Titans." Zelda supplied quietly. She looked at Piper. "You can't fight this, not as you are… However." She paused."

Sam sighed, his feet itching. "Ok, someone is being attacked. Do we have the power to take them on?"

Zelda frowned. "Under normal circumstances, yes, but.-"

"Good." Sam interrupted. "Sora, Yuna, Tidus, you guys with me." He turned to Chris. "Can you take us there?"

The First cackled as a ball of flames erupted from Demitrius' hands, blasting into an Elder. "This is more fun than I remember it to be." It said, gleefully striking at two more as they tried to flee. A snap of white energy slammed into Demitrius' body, , making the combination of Titan and Primordial Evil stagger back slightly.

Standing at the top of the stairs leading into the inner sanctums of the Heavens, Aramis, leader of the Elders, glared down at the two beings before him. Without saying anything, he released two more blasts of energy, enough to have destroyed any other magical being. Instead, the two before him simply waved it away, though the one with the red sash appeared to have a greater difficulty doing so than the other.

"So, you are the current leader of the Galactic Gods." The First said, eyes narrowing at Aramis. "Well, this will be a nice challenge. I thank you for leaving these two alive." The First used Demitrius' body to indicate his and Cronus' bodies. "They have proven useful."

"Useful?" Cronus let out a low roar. "I was one of the top leaders of the Banished Pantheon, ruler of this world!"

A wave of black energy exploded from Demitrius' body, knocking Aramis and Cronus off of their feet. I am the First Evil, the originator of the war you speak of. It was a voice felt rather than heard, a feeling of evil that entered everything. Apprentice to the Original Ones, holder of powers you can only dream of. Kneel before my might now, and watch as my chains crumble, my might unleashed upon this Universe once mo-

With a scream, the body of Demitrius exploded in a pool of blue. Behind it, Sam stood there with Sora's hands on his shoulder. Nirvana crackled with a vivid energy, funnelling power from Sora.

"I'm sorry, was that last part 'Might unleashed upon this Universe', or 'Blight unleashed upon this Universe'?" Sam asked, a frown splashed across his face. Trapped between Aramis and the vanquisher of Demitrius, Cronus fled in a flash of lightning. Looking up at Aramis, Sam arched an eyebrow. "You gonna try again, or do I do that to you too?"

Glowering down at him, Aramis opted for a more diplomatic response. "I thank you, on behalf of the Elders." A tremor of repressed anger was in his voice. "But you have only safeguarded us. The rest of the world still needs to be saved." He waved his hand and created an image of cold, mountainous tundra. Cronus was there, panting. At his feet, a pool of darkness had opened. Looking down at it in fury, and then with a look of dawning comprehension, Cronus grinned, raising his arms above his head, inviting the darkness to infuse his very being. Divine power and darkness mingled within his being. His skin darkened, his eyes brightening to orange. Where once Cronus the Titan stood, now stood Cronus, a being of Darkness powered by the Heartless. Sora noticeably paled, the Keyblade shimmering in to existence in his hand.

Waving his hand once more, Aramis showed an alternate image, one of darkness, bulging and moving. "The First Evil." He said in answer to Sam's enquiring look. "As powerful as you are, Crest Holder, however, severely limited by the Supreme Gods. If the First gains knowledge of Cronus' new state, it would undoubtedly be freed; something not even the Supreme Gods would easily be able to deal with." Aramis dismissed the image, looking down at Sam with a self-satisfied smirk. "Your powers probably won't be enough here, Crest Holder."

"We'll find out, I guess." Sam replied. He turned to Chris. "Is there any way to bolster our forces quickly?" He asked the young white lighter.

Looking up at Aramis, Chris nodded shortly. "Yeah, there is." Aramis' smirk slowly faded away.

"What?"