It was not unusual for the three to start fighting during peacetime. Matter of fact, it seems to happen to them a lot, whether it was a world’s natural troubles, or plots put into action by their enemies: the Knights of Darkness. Being protectors, they couldn't afford to let any evil intentions like the Knights' slip right past them. After descending the bluff and crossing the wide road, they came to the edge of the cornfield. Something suddenly rustled in the tall stalks.
"Somethin' is in there alright," said Shukaku, raising his sharp chakram. "Looks like Kube was right. Stand back; I'll get it!"
"Wait, Shukaku," Ryona suddenly blurted. "We better not attack until we know for sure. We'll go in and try to find out what that was, and what's going on. Now let's move."
The three of them went into the corn, prepared for anything to come their way. Time passed by and they reached an opening in the field. All the corn stalks were knocked down in the area of one, giant circle.
"This feels very strange," said Kyūbi. "What is all this?"
"Looks like a crop circle," said Ryona; both demons looked as him, confused. "Supposedly, they're caused by aliens, but sometimes, it can be an elaborate hoax to scare people."
"And ruin some perfectly good crops on top of that," added Shukaku after examining an ear of corn he picked up, and then tossed it behind his back.
"Exactly, but this is very unusual; something's not right here."
"Other than the fact that we didn't even see this circle on the bluff until after we entered the field?" Kyūbi asked.
The kitsune's words forced a ghastly look upon Ryona and Shukaku's face.
"Run; it's a trap!" Ryona yelled right after.
It was too late. Before the three could react, elaborate symbols lit up the ground beneath their feet. More symbols appeared in the giant crop circle, forming a complex pattern.
"What the!?!" Shukaku cried out in shock. "It's some form of a seal!"
"Get out now!" Ryona yelled.
The symbols began to shine brighter to the point of blindness. The light dimmed away; all three Guardians were fine, but something else appeared at the center of the glowing seal. The creature had the similar appearance of a devil, for it had horns and sharp claws and teeth. However, its wings were similar to that of an archangel. It had broken shackles on its wrists, ankles, and around its neck. Around its torso was a long chain with a mace on one end and a long sword on the other end.
"So the moment had finally come at last," the devil hissed as it landed on the ground, entering a metamorphic stage. The devil became a man, retaining its shackles, but had a dark grey coat similar in design to the Guardians' costume, long, dull, silver hair, and blood-red eyes. "Soon this world will fall into darkness, and you three with it."
"Who's this guy?" Shukaku asked in bewilderment towards Ryona. "His power is beyond that of any Dark Soul and Anti-Soul I know." Shukaku then shot his attention back at the man. "Okay, spill it, bub! Who or what are ya'?"
The man only gave a small snicker.
"Unbelievable, how quickly good manners disappear," he said, stroking back his hair.
"Well, they say, 'Never judge a book by its cover', but I'm making an exception in this case!! Just by lookin' at ya', you aren't the kind that can be trusted with anything! Now who are you; tell us!" Shukaku started to lose patience with the mysterious man.
"Very well; I will tell you then," the man said, emitting a dark glare from his eyes. "I am Zenaïx. I was once a protector of Heaven, but then was cast out and damned to this purgatory."
"Sounds like you tried to take over Heaven and screwed up very badly."
"I was banned from the Kingdom by the highest order and cursed to be sealed forever within the deepest bowels of this wretched earth. Bound for an eternity, the only way I could be freed was if a divine force stepped within the boundaries of my seal. Centuries had passed by but none had come…until I sensed you three."
"Wait," said Kyūbi, surprised. "So you knew that we would be here, in the town?"
"Though I was bound in this accurséd seal," continued Zenaïx. "I sensed a great power heading in this direction, and I knew it would be the key to my freedom, but I just couldn't get out and get it myself."
"Lemme' guess," interrupted Shukaku. "Some poor guy came at the wrong place at the wrong time and ya' took over his body, right?"
"Heh," sighed Zenaïx. "You're not as foolish as you sound and look."
"Whadja' say!?" Shukaku fumed. "It's Halloween, Zen…Z-Zen–"
"Zenaïx," Kyūbi added.
"I knew that! It's Halloween, Zenaïx; I'm supposed to look this way!! It's called a 'Costume'!"
"I do not think he's interested."
"Kyūbi Karuzina, will you just shut up!!" Zenaïx snickered at the fuming tanuki; Shukaku shot his attention back at him. "Well, ya' gonna' answer my question or not!?"
"I shall, impatient one," said Zenaïx. "Indeed; a foolish group of people entered this field. They were fearful of me at first, but then they willingly gave away their lives to serve me. They indeed needed some…persuasion."
Rustling was heard among the still standing stalks. From the corn, came more than twenty zombies.
"Holy crap!" Shukaku yelped out of shock at the sudden appearance.
"I knew that this disturbance would lead you to come here," said Zenaïx. "If this appearance of undead didn't draw you to the field, then this would surely have."
From the stalks, a loud "Let me go" could be heard. Soon, another group of about thirty zombies came out. The two zombies in front of the merged group had a girl in a white dress and long blonde hair hostage. Ryona was shocked at who it was.
"Diana!!!" Ryona shot an extremely angry look at the evil angel.
"Ah, so you do know this woman?"
"Ryona," said Diana. "Phoenix is hurt; these ruthless zombies attacked him while he was protecting me! He's bleeding badly!!"
Ryona was in shock; he didn't see any wounds on Diana, but saw that some of the zombies had fresh blood on their hands.
"No…" said Shukaku, scared after smelling the air. "It is Phoenix's blood!"
Ryona felt a flame inside himself build up. It was burning with anger, and soon, the small flame became a raging inferno in his eyes.
"You bastard!!! You'll pay for what you've done to my dog and my sister!!! Let her go; it's just between you and the three of us; leave her out of this!!!"
The wicked angel only laughed.
"Very well; I will…of course…only if you can defeat me."
He snapped his fingers, and hundreds of black creatures came out of the ground. The three Guardians were surrounded.
"What!?!" Shukaku gasped. "This guy is also with the Dark Souls?"
"I don't have time for this," Ryona growled. "I've got to save Diana and Phoenix!"
"We gotcha' covered!" Shukaku said, making a hand sign. "Start chargin' for Diana!"
The command hit Ryona in a heartbeat, and he charged in the direction of Diana's captors, knocking aside the feeble shadows in his way with the Keyblades.
'No matter how many get in my way,' thought Ryona. 'I won't let them lay a scratch on her!'
Ryona continued to charge, despite the fact that dozens of zombies and Dark Souls were about to attack him head on.
"Sand Shower!" Shukaku yelled.
A mass of sand rose at the demon's feet and shot bullets of sand from it like a machine gun. The small bullets blazed past Ryona, striking the enemies before him. The shadows disappeared into the darkness, while the wandering corpses were knocked down. The bullets struck Diana's captors and Diana ducked down to avoid the bullets as they flew over and hit the other reanimated bodies.
"Diana!" Ryona yelled.
Diana looked up to see her brother, who quickly picked her up and jumped back to where the others were. As soon as Ryona landed, zombies and Dark Souls assailed him from every direction. Suddenly, there were flashes of red as the zombies and Dark Souls were struck by red sabers emanating from Kyūbi's hands.
"Thanks, Kyūbi," Ryona sighed as the kitsune diminished the red sabers and helped up the boy.
"Uh…I hate to interrupt the reunion," said Shukaku. "But you guys have to get out of here now!"
Without hesitation, the two took Diana and ran off, leaving behind the sand demon and the endless revived army of undead and shadows.
"No, Shukaku!" Diana cried, trying to reach out to him, but Ryona reassured her by whispering in her ear.
"Do you earnestly believe you can stop me alone," he asked, snickering. "What good could come out of your power?"
"Oh-ho, there was more goin' on in that attack than just me pelting your flunkies with sand," said Shukaku in a reassuring voice. "While I was backing up Ryona's rescue attempt with my Sand Shower Jutsu, I was channeling sand into the ground to break down all the minerals in the soil to make an endless amount of sand to use at my disposal."
Shukaku's strategy was showing, as sand started to take place of the soil in the giant crop circle.
"Now it's time to send you back into the earth where you belong," the demon said as he made several hand signs while floating away on a mass of sand. "Billowing Sand Tsunami!"
Giant masses of sand came up from just outside the giant circle and rolled in and down on the army. Shukaku landed just beside the flooded area of sand; many zombies sticking out of the ground like sore thumbs. Zenaïx was standing in the middle of it all, unimpressed, as he stood protected in a force field.
"Hmm," wondered Zenaïx as the barrier wore down. "That wasn't bad, but I'm not impressed at this show."
"Well, duh," said Shukaku, taking a bit of a sassy "obvious" tone. "That's cause that was only the beginning. This finale will be the last thing you'll see!"
He slapped his hands together and the whole earth began to shake. A giant pillar shot up directly under Zenaïx's feet, carrying him up into the air a great distance. Several other pillars shot up, curving up into the air. All the pillars soon curved downward in the direction of a small crater in the center of the flooded circle. The pillars were getting closer and closer to the ground, gaining unimaginable speed.
"Absolute Sand Burial!!!" Shukaku roared as all the pillars struck the center of the crater at once, causing a massive blast that sent shockwaves through the area.
The entire area was leveled as sand rose up and imploded on the impact point. The brutal blast had completely buried the entire field in a sea of sand. After the great ordeal was over, the others landed beside the victorious demon.
"Wow," said Diana, in awe of what had happened. "Shukaku…that was amazing!"
"Tch; that was too easy," said Shukaku, confidently, but wary. "If he was indeed a fallen angel, he would've put up more of a fight."
"No doubt about it," said Kyūbi. "He's still alive."
The center area of impact began to rise, and Zenaïx appeared, unscathed in a barrier.
"Aw, c'mon," moaned Shukaku. "What on earth do I have to do to get rid of this guy?!"
"It would seem I had underestimated your power, demon," said Zenaïx. "Perhaps this power will turn to be very useful in regenerating my powers."
"Uh-uh, uh-uh, UH-UH!! There is no way in hell you're gonna' get your hands on my power, buddy!"
"On the contrary: yes, I will!"
Before anyone could react, Zenaïx was already in front of them; his chains wrapped around the three Guardians.
"Guys!" Diana cried, trying to run in and free them, but was blocked by a barrier.
"Stay out of this, wench," growled Zenaïx. "Though I sense no form of power from you, the last thing I need is for you to interfere with my triumph."
"No!"
The chains around Ryona, Shukaku, and Kyūbi started to emit a powerful electrical current. The three writhed in pain from the shock, unable to free themselves from the strong chains. After several seconds, streams of energy flowed along the chains to the evil angel.
"Ah," exclaimed Zenaïx. "Such power! Ha, ha, ha, ha! At this rate, I shall be the strongest being in existence; not even a god will stop me now!"
The three struggled to get free, even though the chains, in combination with the electricity, had him virtually paralyzed. Zenaïx laughed at Ryona's futile attempt of escape.
"It's pointless to resist, fools! Soon, nothing will save you from the countless dead that are waiting to devour you all!"
The three continued to try an escape. In the midst of his endless struggle, a pattern of three triangles appeared on their right hand. They were unified to look like a big triangle, with the lower-left triangle shining brighter than the other two on Ryona’s hand. A small segment lit up in the lower right triangle on Shukaku’s hand, and a segment in the upper triangle on Kyūbi’s hand. Zenaïx wasn't sure of what was going on with the determined trio, but he didn't like it. The segments in their hands flashed wildly, and the chains of all three captives started to break. Shocked at what he was seeing, Zenaïx returned some of his energy into his chains to repair them, but his energy started to clash with the aura emanating from the triangle, which had wrapped itself around the captives. Diana ran away from the scene to a safe distance, fearing an explosion would follow afterwards. Indeed, she was right.
The clashing energies created an explosion that shattered the chains and sent the four flying apart. Diana quickly rushed to her brother's side, fearing the worst, but it turned out that he was all right.
"Oh, Ryona," cried Diana, hugging her brother. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Oh yeah, show some concern for us, will ya'," said Shukaku, referring to Kyūbi and himself sarcastically.
"Oh, sorry," said Diana, even though she knew he was kidding.
Zenaïx got up and casually brushed himself off.
"So you managed to escape because of that relic in your hand," he said. "It doesn't matter; I got enough of your power for my regeneration to commence. As for you, I leave you in the company of the dead as they drag you to the Netherworld."
The angel sprouted wings, summoned countless dead, and took off in the direction of a mountain south of their area. The zombies soon had all four of them surrounded.
"There're too many of them," said Ryona. "I can't risk using the Dead Sealing Wind Tunnel with this many around."
"Because of the miasma, right?" asked Shukaku, even though the answer would've been obvious; Ryona nodded a "yes" in response.
Miasma, a powerful, intoxicating poison that naturally formed in the corpses of the undead. It's so devastating, not even the kitsune, Kyūbi, could withstand it. Ryona knew well the risks of using the Dead Sealing Wind Tunnel from past experiences. There were some narrow escapes when it came to using it, knowing he would be poisoned in the process. After seeing the myriad of undead, he knew that using it now would surely result in his death.
"I'll handle this," said Kyūbi. "Just get out of here when I'm forced to use 'it'."
Ryona knew Kyūbi's intentions all too well. Being the strongest of the Jinchuriki, Kyūbi's chakra was virtually limitless in capacity and power. The particular 'it' that Kyūbi meant was his strongest attack while in his true form: the Nine-Tailed Power Ball. It had the power and strength of ten Hiroshima bombs, and could easily destroy anything within a two-mile radius. Ryona knew Kyūbi wouldn't risk destroying their home, much more the town next to it, so he would only use a fraction of its power to wipe out a small section of the field. Kyūbi formed a hand sign and walked towards the dead army.
"Transformation Jutsu: Perfect Form Kyūbi!" He roared.
There was a silent pause except for the incessant moans of the undead. Everyone was expecting Kyūbi to puff into a vast amount of smoke and reappear as a towering, 100-meter tall, nine-tailed fox. Instead, Kyūbi was still in his current form, puzzled at the fact that he couldn't transform.
"W-wh-what is this," Kyūbi cried in shock. "Why can't I transform?!"
Kyūbi jumped back to avoid the swipe of a zombie's attack. Ryona started to realize what was going on.
"It…it must have happened when Zenaïx had us hostage," exclaimed Ryona. "While he was taking our energies, he must've taken out powers and abilities in the process."
Ryona found that they were indeed in a desperate situation. Facing a large myriad of undead, they were powerless, armed only with replica weapons of their Halloween characters. Nevertheless, Ryona felt only a little relief, knowing that he won't be using the Wind Tunnel anytime soon.
"Dammit," said Shukaku in an upsetting tone. "Now that angel has given me a very good reason for me ta' be pissed off at him!" He then rose his two chakram up to attack. "I may not be able to use my jutsu, but that doesn't mean I can use these to take 'em down!"
Shukaku flung the two chakram at the dead corpses lined up in front of him. At that moment, something strange had happened. The chakram became enveloped in fire as they struck their targets. The zombies caught fire; they moaned and cried out as their bodies withered away into ashes.
"Huh? What just happened!?" Shukaku said, dumbfounded. The chakrams returned to him and he caught them both. "Okay, that's even stranger. After that, these chakram should be burnin' hot, yet they're cold to the touch." He turned to Ryona with a very confused look; Ryona shared the same look. "Ryona, is there somethin' else about these things you haven't told me about?"
"I just made those to go with the costume," exclaimed Ryona. "Whatever the case, it's better than having no powers at all!"
"Good point."
The three Guardians tried to take the best of what just became a hopeful situation and fought against the zombie myriad.

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Part 3 of the Halloween Story

Okay, now the storyline bar is saying that it can't open this file type (.doc). What the heck do I have to do so I'm not wasting any damn space on the comments!? This is ridiculous!