Kingdom Hearts - Another Sky

[gistofeverything]

Celeste

 

"Alright, I'll try..." she said uncertainly as she poised her key thing to attack more Heartless. She wondered why they were called Heartless when sometimes, heart glowy thingies came out of them. She was also kind of relieved. There were people like her that also had key things, too. She wasn't the only one. She smiled as she started to attack the smaller Heartess that were appearing in ever-greater numbers.

 

Civixarot

 

Lerficux shot the two dragons with his weapon, weakning them. She swung her Glaive one more time, and defeated the two dragons. "Done? Alright." She transmuted her Glaive into a small space within her cloak. "To the port? It's this way, right?" All roads lead to the center in towns like this. She started walking the roads in the opposite direction from where they came, Hmmm. A shorter name. One syllable. Ler? No. That sounded like a mating call. Fux? Absolutely not. That sounded like a dirty, dirty word. Lux? This sounded good; it gave an amount of respect, and just sounded cool. Celeste stopped dead in her tracks. "I've decided. I'm going to call you Lux." She turned to face him. "How's that?"

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

Shiz defeated the ant Heartless, but another of the humanoid ones tried to hit him on the side, forcing him to throw himself to the ground to prevent it from slashing him. He grunted in pain but stood up quickly and blocked a blow to the head, making the Heartless back away and try a spinning kick. Shiz kept his distance and run to evade it until the Heartless was either too tired or too dizzy to continue, and hit it on the back of the head. That made it stagger forward, which Shiz took advantage of to land a few hits that made it vanish.

 

He took a quick look around, noticing the wave of Heartless had increased before completely stopping to appear. "So if we defeat the ones that are already here, we'll win" Shiz thought, readying his weapon. The three of them were outnumbered at least four-to-one, so they needed to finish quickly before they grew tired. Holding his Keyblade with both hands, he dashed towards one of the ants, deciding to take on the weaker ones first.

 

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"Nice one, but unless you need your feet for talking, don't stop just to say something" Lerficux said, walking towards the populated area. He could see two or three ships soaring through the sky, a great decrease in number compared to the dozens of vessels that usually covered the view of the other planets. The cause was obvious too; he could see Wyverns and Air Soldiers flying around, and those were only the visible ones. Stronger Heartless were sure to be hiding around.

 

"Pay attention. The first and most important rule is to never let yourself be seen, no matter the kind of mission you're doing" he said, only turning slightly to make sure Civ could hear him, without stopping. "There are exceptions, like every other rule in the universe, but just stick to it unless someone important says otherwise" he said, nearly spitting out the words 'someone important'. He huffed and put on his hood, covering his black hair and casting a shadow over the top of his face. Now wasn't the time for that. He'd have all the time in the world when he found what he had been looking for years. "Next, never, ever take off your uniform, cloak or whatever you want to call it. Remember why?" he asked, looking at the streets they were passing through, paying attention in case someone was approaching.

[gistofeverything]

Celeste

 

The Heartless had been appearing nonstop, but then there was one last, huge wave of them that looked almost impossible to defeat. On the flip side, it looked like it was the last wave, so she tried to look at it positively; this was the last of the fighting that she had to do. She was giving out, though, and her swing speeds were getting slower, and slower. She was losing motivation, because it looked like this fight would never end. But this wasn't where she wanted her story to end here. She was NOT going to die HERE before she even turned 16. She had gotten her second wind, and was fighting the heartless with a renewed vigor.

 

Civixarot

 

Never take off my cloak? Why? She would get tired of wearing the same outfit every day... And wouldn't it start to smell? But she considered it. People would be able to identify them as the Organization when they saw them wearing these cloaks. And did it offer some kind of protection against the Darkness? Maybe that was the answer. "Does it give us protection when we enter the Realm of Darkness?" she ventured, unsure of her answer.

Edited September 23, 2011 by gistofeverything

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

"Bingo" Lerficux said, moving out of the main street and into the alleys. They were getting closer now. "If you don't wear it while using a Corridor, you may get corrupted. It also hides your presence from other beings that can use the power of darkness. Plus, it helps with hiding and moving around unnoticed, and black just looks cool" he explained, stopping at the end of the alley. He could see some natives now. A big guy with a red head and so much muscle Lerficux wouldn't be surprised if he raised one of the ships was walking down the main street, talking in whispers to a chubby, short grey guy with tentacles. "Okay, first lesson, Civ. People in general are stupid and don't tend to look at roofs" he said, looking around and finding some old, big boxes that were just begging to be climbed. "So come on. Don't go around doing things that attract attention and no one will find you there. Now, try to cross the street without those guys noticing you" he said, leaning against a wall and waiting. He could show her, but he disliked physical activities, and he never needed those tactics to conceal himself.

[gistofeverything]

Civixarot

 

Phew. She had gotten the question right... She didn't know that this coat did so much; it surprised her. She looked toward the street. It was crowded, and just pulsing with people. How could she ever manage to get by without getting noticed by one person?! "Uhmm, Lux? How am I supposed to get through here without touching anyone? It looks kind of impossible to me..." she said in a very doubtful tone.

Edited September 23, 2011 by gistofeverything

[Shijou-san]

Xomne followed the Superior to the floor, hazel eyes on the other man as he listened to his explanation. He knew that the main goal of the Organization, to complete Kingdom Hearts, had been nearly unobtainable for years due to the impossibility of collecting the hearts that the Emblem Heartless released when destroyed. Not even the Superior could do it, so he could see the importance of keeping the Keyblade Masters busy with destroying the Heartless.

 

His eyes were drawn to the Corridor the Superior opened, as he was given his next orders. 'When you are ready'... what was there to prepare? He knew he could remember all the details, no matter how long the conversation extended. His short-term memory was good enough. And even if he felt the need to write it down later, the information would be safe. He was sure of that.

 

So he just took a long breath before stepping through the Corridor the Superior had created, arriving in the older man's study. The room, white like any other place inside the castle, was full with books, and its owner was currently sitting behind the only desk, scattered with papers, handling what looked like a collection of important documents. Xomne closed the Corridor behind him and walked towards the desk, stopping one step away from it. "I'm ready, my Lord" he said, respectfully inclining his head.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

"The 'make it back alive' is what scares me. No one says that unless there's something that can kill you there" Shiz said, summoning his Keyblade and looking at the sand-colored weapon. But Umbra was right. They had to get the ship, so they had to go. He turned to smile at Umbra as he told him to lead the way, noticing the batteries the boy was carrying. "Lucky charm?" he asked, curious. They seemed to have something written in them, but he couldn't read it due to the angle.

"Xomne," The deep voice sounded through the room. Though he had said the words in practically a whisper, the acoustics carried so that anything could be heard. The whole castle had been designed as such, allowing Zalnox's careful ears to detect any treachery. His hands grasped the book and slid it towards his underling. "When I was a Somebody, I had studied for years."

 

He stood up and lazily waltzed around the room. His fingers pointed to various books as he referenced them. "As a leading scientist of my world, I came into much knowledge." His eyes drew slowly to Number IV and focused intensely on him. "I knew more than any other being. I had discovered the pathways." He faked a smile, the same facial expression that had been used in his previous life when the pathways were brought up. "You, of course, know that the pathways I speak of are the paths between worlds, connecting the sky. Others, on different planets, knew most likely were having the same findings as I." The rhythm of his feet stopped and his eyes pulled away from Xomne's. In an instant, he was sitting once again at his desk. "I planned to travel through these pathways, but had no means of how to. While searching for a way to do so, the shadows began to appear; they took my attention away from my former studies and I began to look at their effects on humans." His hand stretched out to Xomne, palm up, to insert himself into the conversation. "The shadows were affecting me, though I was ever unaware. I became reclusive;" He paused, the memories vividly playing through his mind. For a moment, his eyes seemed human and filled with emotion. "I strayed from my family. And, soon, my heart was gone."

 

His hand moved back to the table, and he tapped his fingers gently, a slow rhythm running through the room. "You know what happens when a strong heart is consumed by darkness." Once again, the Superior's eyes rested on Xomne. "When I awoke, though my memory was fragmented, I felt strong. My attentions were now focused on the form I hold now." He tilted his head back while closing his eyes. "I am emotionless, Number IV, but through losing feelings, I have gained immense power." His eyes remained shut for another few seconds, though they were eternities in his mind. Memories of his past life were being shoved behind a door, so that they would not - could not - effect his decisions. His memories were so vivid that they could weaken his guard, though it was a fact that no other being knew.

 

"My most important reports reside in the book before you. They chronicle the events leading up to the loss of my heart, the destruction of my world, and the foundation of the World That Never Was." His words were slow, direct. The information within the pages described the heartless, the nobodies, and the creation and destruction of a world in immense detail. His reason for handing the book to Xomne depended on the amount he thought knew, and the truth that he would now be permitted learn.

 

"My friend," The charisma that played in the words was almost sickening because of its realism. "how much do you truly know of Kingdom Hearts?"

[Blobblarg242]

Caxias simply floated to the area that Xeclia had specified. "Was that supposed to be difficult? Master of gravity, remember?" The Nobody gave a hollow laugh of mock amusement. It wasn't difficult to get anywhere when you could simply defy one of the basic laws of physics. "Now, if you would kindly take note of some of the more... obscure signs of Heartless. I can feel their presence nearby. A rather powerful variety as well... be on your guard." Though Caxias had no real feelings of endearment towards Xeclia, he couldn't allow her to simply be destroyed so early on in their campaign to complete Kingdom Hearts. "Now... first question: why is there a castle? Why would a nation build a stone fortress for it's monarch?"

 

Umbra was silent as he fought against the surrounding Heartless, becoming distanced from the other two Keyblade Wielders. Eventually, he fought off the nearby Shadows and worked his way towards the other two, batting away one of the helmeted Heartless as it tried to attack Celeste. He wielded his blade as though he had used it before. In truth, he had just leaned to fight with skill rather than strength, as Umbra had never really built any muscle mass. He stood at the front of the group of three, as though he were trying to protect the other two, a silent guardian against the storm.

[TheFallenAngel6236]

"To protect him of course. Which means that it must be guarded. Strange though," Xeclia sighed after taking a look around, "No guards up here. You'd think this would be the perfect look-out spot, right?" She shook her head, "Never mind that. We've got work to do." Staying silent for a moment, she heard a sole guard marching through the corridor. He was too close for comfort. Xeclia snapped her fingers, conjuring up a black rose, bladed at the tip. "Don't you think that guard is too close? He needs to be taken care of..."

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

((...why did I felt the need to write so much >_<))

 

Xomne slightly touched the book that he had been given, his fingertips passing over the name that had been pressed into the leather cover. His eyes passed from the book to his Lord when the man started walking at a leisurely pace around the room, drawn to each book that was being pointed. As a Somebody... Xomne didn't remember anything when he himself was 'alive'. Sometimes there would be a sense of familiarity when he was doing something, or the subconscious habits he retained even when he couldn't explain where they came from. But nothing else. It wasn't as if he wanted to remember, though. He wasn't sure if the other members were aware, but he had known for quite some time that it was the Superior the one who took away their memories in the first place, although he had never questioned the man's decision. He had just quietly accepted it, like everything else.

 

The Superior tore his gaze away from him, choosing to sit again behind the desk. Xomne couldn't help his eyes straying over the open palm, and those long fingers that seemed better suited for playing the piano rather than constantly pulling the strings behind so many people. The grayish blue orbs that were looking away seemed to reflect something akin to emotion, but after a second passed, the moment was gone as they rested on the younger male again.

 

Hearts consumed by darkness become Heartless. The stronger the heart had been, the more monstrous and powerful the Heartless born from it. The body usually disappears then, but if the individual had possessed a strong will, the empty shell revives with a life of its own as a Nobody. And those with the strongest wills are able to retain a human form after the loss of their hearts. Everyone in the Organization was aware of this. It was the very reason they were chosen to be the members.

 

The eyes that had been resting on him closed, as their owner took a moment to rest, or recall something. Xomne looked at the book again when it was mentioned, his hand still in the cover, not having moved during the entire speech. 'Friend'. There was that meaningless word, being thrown around again as if a Nobody could ever hope to understand its true meaning. He moved his right hand from the smooth cover to his chest, feeling the small lump that the gem was making under the cloak. "Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds" he said, voice low to prevent any echoes the room gifted to loud sounds. "It's formed by the hearts worlds and their inhabitants lost to darkness. There is currently no known way of reaching it, and its exact location is also unknown. The only recognized facts about Kingdom Hearts are that it's a source of power and wisdom, and the place where it lays is surrounded by dark powers. Hence, it's speculated that its location is somewhere in the Realm of Darkness." Not much was known about that mystery indeed. What he knew of the hearts of worlds were assumptions derived from bits and pieces of information he got from listening to the Superior and certain other members. He wasn't a scientist himself, so he couldn't have done research on his own. And even if he had known something else when he was 'alive', there was no way of recovering that.

 

His hand fell to his side again, his hazel eyes giving the impression of being a yellowish brown under the shadow of the hood as their gaze regarded the Superior, looking at the older man through the brown bangs that half-covered his right eye. "However, there is a way of recreating its properties. By gathering the hearts released from Emblem Heartless, it's possible to create an artificial Kingdom Hearts, made from the 'hearts of men' as opposed to the original, which is made by both 'hearts of men' and 'hearts of worlds'. By completing it, its power would allow to recover the hearts lost in darkness and bind them again with their Nobodies counterparts should they exist." The goal of the Organization. To be whole again. The Superior believed that would give them immense power, which they could use later to control all the worlds. Personally, Xomne had never cared if he got his heart back. But if that was the goal, so be it. He would do everything in his power to reach it.

 

He stood still as he talked, not feeling the need to pace around or fidget, his voice never losing its neutral tone. "The Keyblades are essential to this, though. They are the only thing that can collect those hearts, or open and close the locks between worlds, known as Keyholes. It may be possible for them to open the way to Kingdom Hearts, or to the Doors to Light and Darkness, but some specific requirements must be met beforehand. The nature of those requirements is unknown."

 

He stopped there, eyes trailing down to the book in front of him again. That was all the definite information he had about Kingdom Hearts. More than most, but not equal to what someone like the Superior, who had been studying the subject for such a long time, may possess.

 

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“Oh, come one, weren’t you listening?” Lerficux teased, tapping his right ear. “Get on the roof already and find a way from there. Just be careful; in this world, there are flying ships, so hide if you think you can be spotted from one of them. Not that there are many with Heartless around, but better be safe than sorry” he said, crossing his arms. He didn’t think the guys on the ships would be looking at the roofs though; they would all be looking at the flying creatures that could attack them. “Now you take the normal route while I take the shortcut. See you on the other alley” he said, waving his hand in a dismissive motion. His powers surrounded him, showing the objects that were directly opposite the viewer, so it seemed as if he had literally vanished in mid-air.

 

Whistling, he walked into the street, making sure to not bump into anyone. He could cover sight and sound, but nothing else. A ball of fur and skin that looked like a tiny, very fat dog/koala thing looked directly at him and started barking, making its owner stop to scold it. He hated dogs; they could smell him. He would have insulted the ball of flesh but no use wasting spit when no one would be able to hear him, so he just ignored it and continued his way. Once he had walked across the people and was safely in the darkness of the alley that he signaled, he dispelled the illusion, becoming visible again. With a confident smirk, he turned to Civ to see what she would do.

 

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Shiz made the humanoid Heartless vanish with a finishing blow, panting slightly. He was tired after all that fighting, but he knew he'd recover quickly, since he was accustomed to tending to the horses and camels back home, and that was far more tiring than just hitting some black things. He had to secretly admit he was starting to have fun, though. And with Umbra's and Celeste's help, the Heartless were being taken care of quicker than before.

 

He looked around and saw that there were no more Heartless. "Finally..." he sighed, making his Keyblade disappear. He was now convinced Cid had been exaggerating. "Umbra, Celeste, you two okay?" he asked, walking towards his two friends.

Edited September 23, 2011 by ShoukaSangenshiki

[Blobblarg242]

"Don't." Caxias said in a commanding voice. "We can't mess with the natural inhabitants. Heartless? Go nuts. But our main goal is to take notes about this place, not fight. Now something you should understand is this: a castle is meant to be a stronghold. So, naturally it has a lot of heavily armored guards. That might be an important note. Let's keep looking around." To be honest, Caxias was almost enjoying acting as a mentor. Though he didn't really enjoy anything. Any emotion had already disappeared, and he had momentarily forgotten about Umbra altogether. Slipping his hood off of his face, his golden eyes scanned the perimeter. Hs scar seemed somewhat prominent in the lighting.

 

Umbra nodded his head, but kept his voice low as he spoke. "This isn't all of it..." He said in a foreboding voice. He didn't know what, but something was coming. There was no way that it would be that easy. Well, it hadn't been a really easy task, but that couldn't have been all of it. There had to be something else... something more dangerous. Umbra grabbed his batteries from his pocket with the hand not wielding the Keyblade. "We may need some luck... for whatever is next."

[TheFallenAngel6236]

Tossing the black rose over the side of the balcony, Xeclia sighed, "Fine, have it your way..." She glanced around t0eh corner of the wall, seeing a guard facing the other direction. Once she was positive he wasn't looking, She sprinted across the hallway into the adjacent room, making sure to tread with light feet so she made no noise as she maneuvered, "Remind me again what we're looking for, exactly?"

[Blobblarg242]

"Heartless. A particularly powerful one, at that. Didn't you read the briefing?" Caxias gave a slight sigh, floating slightly above the floor so as not to make any noise with his feet. "It must be near... keep looking. Then you can destroy it. It doesn't really matter." It actually would make a big difference if they killed the Heartless. Probably. But, Caxias didn't really care. Like Xeclia, he was actually a little anxious to destroy something.

[TheFallenAngel6236]

Xeclia was silent for a moment, she got a strange feeling of the heartless. Looking around, she saw nothing. Xeclia proceeded across the room into another hallway, "Yet more guards... Damn." She muttered as she caught sight of guards, this time, marching towards them. Xeclia quickly moved to the center of the room where there was a bordered hole on the ground, revealing the floor underneath. Once she was sure no one was there, Xeclia placed a hand on the bordering, flipping down to the floor beneath her with a light thud.

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

The two armored rhinos were marching down the hallway, both clad in their blue and pink uniforms, an axe with a handle as long as they were tall clutched on their right hands. Their heavy footsteps resonated in the hallway, drowning out other soft noises.

 

"This is boring. Why can't we be guarding the tournament?" One of them complained, scratching the big horn on his nose with his free hand.

 

"You moron, someone needs to be on watch for those black things," the other one said, eyes swiftly moving around to scan the shadows. "They've been appearing near the royal chambers, and Prince John is paranoid."

 

"Right, right, whatever," the first one sighed, twirling the axe in boredom. "That guy's a bully."

 

"But don't let him hear you saying that."

 

And with that and a few laughs, they were off, continuing their round.

[gistofeverything]

Civixarot

 

She was a little bit peeved; she couldn't take the shortcut?. She should have expected this. Not everything is handed to you on a silver platter... She faced the street, and tried to steel herself. She wasn't going to make it, she wasn't going to make it... Shewas going to start walking across the street, but something at the back of her mind bugged her. She wasn't supposed to be noticed. At all. Not even a glance. She felt hopeless; that was just impossible to do. Unless... Civi turned around, and saw some shipping crates. Perfect! She quickly climbed the boxes, so as to mot attract attention, then she stopped. There was a gihugic((ha!)) gap in between the buildings! How was she supposed to get across? Aha! She materialized her Glaive, then backed up to the ledge of the other side of the building. She looked over the edge. It's about 14 feet from the ground. The normal eyesight of a regular human was about 12 feet... But she wasn't counting the other creatures that resided here as well... She looked above her as well. This was a trade port, so obviously there is air traffic. But as far as she knew, she couldn't be seen for a narrow angle directly below the ship itself. She decided to risk it; she waited for the traffic to thin a little. When it has 1-2 ships per second, she sprinted towards the other end of the building, and vaulted over the gap. At first, she looked like she was going to make it, but then her arc started to decrease, and, before she knew it, her back hit the ledge of the building with a loud thump. "Oooooooooouch... That HURT...." She dematerialized her weapon, and stretched her back. It popped a little, but there didn't seem to be any sort of lasting damage. She walked over to the other side of the next building, peeked over the edge, and, lo and behold, there was another stack of shipping crates; almost identical to the ones by the first building. She climbed down the crates, walked over to Lux, and made an over-theatrical bow. "So, Lux. How did I do?"

 

Celeste

 

"Whatever is next?" She plopped to the ground, "I don't think that I can handle anymore than thaaaat... I've never fought those Heartless things before... So. What do you call these Key things?" She held up her Key thing, hoping to get an answer, and to get familiar with everyone else.

Edited September 24, 2011 by gistofeverything

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

((EDIT: I'm gonna link the Heartless pages from now on every time I mention one))

 

"It's called a Keyblade," Shiz supplied. "Apparently, only certain people can use it. How did Yuffie and Leon say it again? 'The Keyblade chooses its master' or something like that..." he said, thinking.

 

Just then, gigantic metal pieces fell to the ground on the other side of the plaza, making Shiz yelp in surprise. The purple pieces bounced high in the air before assembling into an armor, with sharp, grey claws, black borders and the black and red symbol those humanoid Heartless had on its chest. Its head started floating as it moved its detached arms around experimentally, opening and closing his hands, before it turned towards the three teens.

 

"...Umbra, next time try not to be right," he managed to say, summoning the brown Keyblade again and turning to face the Heartless.

 

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Lerficux watched as Civ climbed to the roof, taking out her weapon and backing away to have space to run. "This is gonna be good" he thought, crossing his arms. She ran towards the edge and used her weapon as a pole, jumping over the street without the people noticing. However, she landed on her back, making a thumping noise that made a few heads turn before their owners just shrugged and walked faster away. "Maybe they though she was a Heartless" he thought, watching as Civ climbed down some crates and did an exaggerated bow.

 

"Now let's see... ten points on the idea, was amusing to watch; eight on the jump, since you didn't check that no one was indeed looking up; and three on the landing. You attracted attention" he said, uncrossing his arms. "But hey, 21/30 is passing grade" he said, smirking and clapping twice, his gloves muffling the noise. "Okay, so next is increasing the level. See those ships over there?" he asked, pointing to the docks. The docks were a few streets away, with at least a dozen different ships tied there, waiting to be sailed. "We're going there without getting seen. You lead the way and I'll be right behind you in case you screw up" he said, smirking. Once she learned to move around, they could pass to the next exercise.

Edited September 24, 2011 by ShoukaSangenshiki

[gistofeverything]

Celeste

 

"Awww, man..." she said as the metal pieces started to form together, "Umbra's one of those people who's usually right about everything, right?" The giant Heartless kind of looked like a giant suit of disconnected armor when it was put together. "Uhmm, Umbra, right? How about you take the front, while Shiz and I concentrate on the back? If we keep switching positions through this battle, I'm pretty sure that none of us will get seriously hurt. Right! Let's do this!" She started to go around to its left side, and to try and attack it.

 

Civixarot

 

"A 21/30! Well, I could have done worse, but that's only a..." She did the math in her head, "70%. And you're amping it up to the next level of difficulty?! How do you expect me to do this?" She sighed. "But I guess it IS possible if we go over the rooftops, right? At least, only to the edge of the docks, anyway." She started to climb up the boxes. "That is the right thing to do, right?"

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

"I'm no good with plans..." Shiz muttered, holding tightly the Keyblade. Oh well, Celeste said Umbra was taking the front and she was to the left, so he dashed to the right to try to get a hit on the Heartless. However, the thing started waving its arms around the torso, circling them with the claws extended. Shiz blocked with the Keyblade, but the force behind the attack sent him backwards and to the ground. "This guy is way stronger than the others..." He thought, standing up again while flinching a little. The circling attack was over, though, so he ran towards the armor, trying to get a hit on the torso.

 

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"True, you can get to the edge of the docks from there, but that's not what I said" Lerficux said, glaring at the boxes before starting to climb them too. He hated physical exercises. It didn't help that he wasn't any good at close combat, or that all his offensive powers were more suited to be used from a distance. "We're sneaking into one of the ships. True, it seems impossible with all those sailors around, but I'll show you a way when we're close enough" he said, pulling himself up to the roof while trying to make it seem less tiring than what it really was for him.

[Blobblarg242]

Umbra simply dashed towards the target, throwing caution to the wind. He was agile enough that he could probably dodge most of the attacks the armor threw at him. If he could keep it's attention, the others could cause more damage to it from behind. Stuffing the batteries in his pocket, he gripped the Keyblade tightly before unleashing a flurry of strikes on the Heartless. It seemed to have almost no effect, other than taking the large creature's attention away from the other two and directing it towards Umbra. It made a downward punch, which the Keyblade Wielder managed to dodge, striking at the fist once before continuing the pattern and generally annoying the thing. Hopefully Shiz and Celeste could finish it off...

 

Caxias sighed slightly. This mission was going nowhere fast. "Let's speed things up, shall we?" With a snap of his fingers, something started to break out of the wall. Or rather, fall out of it. It was a Nobody, and Caxias' personal favorite at that. A Harlequin. The Nobody was very ltihe and thin, moving with an odd, yet fluid grace not unlike Dancers and Assassins. The Harlequin however, had the distinction of having a masked face that seemed to always be smiling. The Harlequins had a habit of performing what appeared to be acts of acrobatics, but where simply jumps made using their manipulation of gravity. The Harlequin in question spun around a little in mock joy, bouncing up in down and causing the bells on it's birghtly colored head to jingle. "There. This clown should provide excellent bait for whatever Heartless we're on the lookout for. Now. We should probably visit this 'Prince John.' He might provide a helpful clue in our search." The Harlequin fell in behind it's master, and both it and Caxias smiled with a haunting look mocking joy as they waited for Xeclia to lead onwards.

Edited September 24, 2011 by Blobblarg242

[TheFallenAngel6236]

Crossing her arms, Xeclia took a look around. She saw an opening to another room. As she proceeded through the doorway, she saw that the room was open, guards at every entrance. Sighing, she turned to Caxius as if to ask him for advice. However, she decided to keep her dignity and began plotting. She backed away from the room and bolted into the room adjacent to the entryway. Inside was a grand hall, leading to much bigger doors, "Think that's the Throne room? Maybe that Prince character is in there..." She began to approach the door.

[gistofeverything]

Celeste

 

She tried smacking it with her Keyblade, to no avail. This one's really strong... I hope I can at least hurt it... She tried jumping to where the joints were disconnected, and it shook maybe a little. Hmmm. It looks like if you attack it between the pieces of its armor, it hurts it. "Hey guys! Try to hit it in between the pieces; it looks like it hurts it a little bit!" She hoped they could hear her...

 

((Will post as Civi tomorrow; getting kinda late... ))

Edited September 25, 2011 by gistofeverything

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

((Sorry for not replying earlier, had to study for exams. will add a scene of Nottingham later))

 

Shiz took advantage of the Heartless' distraction to land some hits on the torse while it was busy trying to hit Umbra. He heard Celeste's shouted advise and switched his target from the torso to the part where the arm was floating away from it, and tried hitting it, but it was too high to hit properly. So he changed tactics and aimed between the feet and torso, where he could reach. However, the Heartless apparently decided it'd had enough, and its pieces suddenly split apart. The disembodied feet marched towards Celeste while the arms floated towards Shiz, and the torso started spinning towards Umbra. Shiz ducked to evade the claws and aimed for the floating arms, trying to destroy them before the creature assembled itself again.

[gistofeverything]

Celeste

 

Gasp! Those FEET! They're coming TOWARD ME! Whatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoidowhatdoido??????? She couldn't think about it, she just acted on instinct. She swung her Keyblade towards the heel of one foot, trying to distract them. She wasn't having much success, though, as the feet still kept advancing toward her. They gave a powerful kick, and flung Celeste halfway across the plaza, quite near where Umbra was fighting the head of the armor. Owwwww... I can't take this much longer... What can I do now?

 

Civixarot

 

Civixarot had climbed up to the top of the building, but was just disappointed. She had been wrong AGAIN. Would she ever get it right? She took two metal marbles out of her pocket and started to twirl them in her hand. Why was she even here? Did she win some kind of special kind of contest or something? It was like she was born here; she had no memories beyond her sitting on a White Chair, and even that's a little fuzzy. I'm sure that the truth shall unfold when the time is right... she though as she walked to the edge of the buildings. She jumped from the roof, and landed hard on her feet. Thankfully there were no people watching, as that would make Lerficux mad again... She turned toward him, and said, "Are you coming?"

[ShoukaSangenshiki]

Shiz grunted as he parried with the claws, but it was getting more and more difficult. He wasn't accustomed to fighting, and now he was supposed to watch out for attacks from two different directions which could seriously harm him if he let them. The arms started spinning again and he tried to put some distance, but they were too fast and hit him on the side, throwing him to the ground with a hiss of pain. One of the arms floated towards him to attack but he quickly stood up and backed off, his left arm holding his side while his right one still clutched the Keyblade. He heard a noise as if something was hitting the ground and slightly turned, seeing Celeste was on the floor near Umbra, as if she was hurt. "Celeste!" he yelled, trying to go where the other two were, but the arms floated in front of him, trying to slash him. "Get out of my way!" he warned, resuming his fight with them again. The cautiousness in his movements before had vanished as he dealt blow after blow, not caring about the various scratches and hits he was receiving in exchange.

 

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Lerficux followed Civ as she jumped down from the roof to a place on the street where there were no people, landing on his feet as he jumped next to her. "Right behind ya. But not literally. That would limit our movements" he joked, eyes scanning the area around them. So far so good. There were three streets to cross before reaching the docks, and he would try not to help Civ until then. She had to learn. Sticking out his right arm in the direction of the ships with his open palm pointing out, he said, "Lead the way," while smirking, one of his eyes closed and the other narrowed, showing only a sliver of gold.

 

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Saying Prince John wasn't happy right now would be like pointing out the sky was blue. Obvious, unnecessary, and with the potential of getting hit by the person next to you.

 

"It's not fair" the lion sulked, arms crossed as he walked back and forth, pacing next to the king-sized bed. "I should be the King. Not my brother" he complained, sitting on the bed. "...Mother always did like Richard best..." he mumbled, grabbing his furry ear with his right hand as he sucked on his left thumb, glaring at the wall.

 

"Your Highness, please, don't do that" the green snake that was in the corner said, slithering closer to the mane-less lion.

 

"Shut up Hiss, don't interrupt my sulking" the lion muttered, glare now directed at the snake. At least he had stopped sucking at his thumb. "Now where was I..."

 

"Your brother, sir."

 

"That noble no-good that's always thinking about others!" Prince John shouted, flailing his arms around in an exaggerated gesture. "And to make matters worse, these black things have been following me around. I can't seem to get rid of them!"

 

"If your Highness would calm down..." Sir Hiss tried, elevating his body so he could climb onto the bed.

 

"Calm down! How do you want me to calm down when..." the lion started saying, when the shadows in one of the corners of the room flickered, bright yellow eyes appearing within them. "They're here again! Guards! Guards! Save the royal hide!" he shouted, standing up in a hurry and running out from the room, almost tripping multiple times in his hurry.

 

"Sir! Don't-don't leave me behind!" the snake shouted after him, following the lion down the hallway. The Heartless on the shadows stepped forward, antennae moving around, until they detected a presence nearby. The five Neoshadows headed out of the room, movements fluid as they searched their opponents.

[Blobblarg242]

Umbra's eyes flickered to where Celeste was on the ground. An over-whelming sense of protectiveness overcame him and he immediately disengaged his duel with the creature's head. He wouldn't allow the thing to hurt her anymore. It wouldn't win. It simply wouldn't. The arms now joined the head as they attempted to defeat the Keyblade Wielder. "You won't get past me." Flourishing his blade with a strange ease that one would only imagine going along with years of practice and swordsmanship, Umbra adopted a defensive stance and unleashed a flurry of blows against one of the arms, sending it away from the two Keyblade Wielders, the other arm and head began to retaliate, but Umbra held them off with silent concentration. He would protect his teammates no matter the cost.

 

Caxias continued to grin as the Neoshadows began pursuing the Prince. "Pitiful Heartless." He said, before summoning his hammer from the air, the Harlequin also preparing to fight the black creatures. With a synchronized ease, the two Nobodies flung themselves with an odd, fluid grace at their enemies. They simply sped towards the Heartless as though gravity didn't affect them, which it didn't. The Harlequin spun around one of the creatures, distracting the primitive-minded thing long enough fro Caxias to slam his hammer onto it, destroying it outright. The hammer immediately began to weigh heavily on his shoulders, and Caxias struggled to reduce the gravity of the weapon and take on more of the Heartless, which were now beginning to realize that there was a new enemy. "Perhaps you'd like to join in, Xeclia?"