Recent Content by ClearzerO

​

Quill's feet touched down on the cobbled streets, almost falling over as the many costumes got him stunned for a moment. Looking down at himself though, he wasn't sure if his appearance wouldn't shock just the same. He could at least- "Huh where'd you come from?" He stares down as a calico cat was using his plated leg as a scratching post. He rolls his eyes bemused and hefts the plump lil guy in one arm, his owner must be around here somewhere so better to hold onto him. That's when the accented voice gets the group's attention. "A game huh? Yeah sure, why not. Tell me though, you part of the party's staff or you do this for kicks?"

Quill arrived at the meeting near the end, still feeling the fatigue and oppressive atmosphere from his recent trip into the Void. Finding a seat at the back he propped his stone keyblade against the wall and leaned forward. The mission was relatively simple, well if finding one person in a massive world was simple. One image displayed a massive desert, a single kingdom standing prosperous in the searing heat. The other seemed to be some bustling city surrounded by marshlands, the technology was certainly more developed than Agrabah. Quill knew that his strange appearance would put off anyone in such a crowded area, the desert would certainly be the safer option but...

The mention of 'voodoo' by Shiro got Quill's interest...the practice of spiritualism was common in his once thriving world. The practice of magic fell out of use in his world after the Heartless began eroding away what humans survived. But if he could find a voodoo priestess...perhaps she could lift his curse. "Hm, Yeah..."

Quill was walking down to the ship, his blade feeling strangely heavy. Or he was strangely weak, couldn't be sure but still steeled his focus. In the last world, he had suffered from some strange sense of disorientation. But since he and Kaida used their spatial and chronol abilities respectively, he had felt somewhat more comfortable using this new aura. He'd seen into the endless Void and it didn't seem as overwhelming, relatively. Reaching the ship to the Mystic Bayou, Quill rested against the exterior of the ship as he waited for his team.

"I'm sorry, you want us to what?" Kaida looked terrified as she looked to the two and said, "We're going into the void? Was dream drowning for years not the peak of torturous training?"

"I have to agree with Kaida here." Quill stated plainly. "If I understand correctly you're speaking about something that could swallow us all whole. This isn't something to play with. And frankly, I'm new to this...element entirely." Quill found a log to sit on, sighing and shaking his head.

"There's little risk to you actually... you two would be like ghost-like avatars while Alex and I are the conduits that help you explore the void," DJ explained. "Basically, the risk is on us," Alex lamented. "Look, I ran the numbers, and it if it helps us communicate with the other members of the order, it'll be worth it. I'm the one betting the money.. we just need you to roll the dice..."

"What does that make sok?" Alex asked. DJ looked to sok as the poor kid chased a butterfly until he ran into a tree. "Sok is the roulette we're spinning." He turned back to kaida and Quill. "Its your choices in the end, but this could be a big opportunity to learn how to get them out."

"Hmmm, I suppose that checks out. But lets be willing to bail if necessary. We can't lose you two as well." Quill hefts his blade and points it towards Sok. "Ok...just be calm...and focus on that feeling." The strange sense of vertigo came over him and for a moment Quill was certain he'd be sick. But remembering Luna's guidance, he managed to stand. Legs extremely wobbly but he was standing.

Kaida supposed the risk was relatively worth it, though not necessarily for wish to speak with any of the members in the void. It was only to help them get out, since she didn't want to just leave them there. She nodded and followed along.

DJ fumbled to try and get their instruments hooked up so they could keep the two in the realm of light still. Alex began to strum as DJ played his keyboard, the physical manifestations of their bodies still being kept in tact. Quill and Kaida's bodies remained passed out in the realm of light, while their astral projections began to wonder through the void. "How lojg we gottta kleep playing?" Alex asked. "Till they make contact," DJ murmured.

Kaida and Quill ended up ina very dreaded place where the sky was warped with colours of purple, pink and blue. Screams and moans of pain could be heard a long distance away. "You guys okay in there?" DJ's voice echoed to the two of them.

Kaida looked around the place trying to find the source of any of the screams, but had to resort to just taking a deep breath for now as she answered, "Physically? Never been better. Mentally? Ask me that again after we're out."

Quill felt a pull that forced his conscious from his body. Appearing amongst the warped landscape, he began to bug out. "I...I'm very not okay. But somehow i'll manage." The strange atmosphere here made him feel ethereal, Quill worried what they'd find here.

An aethereal hand came from out of the ground and grabbed Kaida's ankle. Another did the same to Quill. Zombie-like creatures began to form from the cosmic ground they stood on. hue's of purple and blue surrounding them as their bright white eyes and mouths screamed in agony.

Kaida didn't even see what had grabbed her ankle, her reaction was purely instinctual to being suddenly grabbed as she yanked her leg away trying to run a couple steps forward. But once she did see what it was she started yelling, "Nope nope! Nuh-uh. Get me out of this place. Nonononono."

A flaming chakram slashed through several of the sentient void creatures, destroying them as they faded back into nothingness. Another Chakram shot around them and destroyed the rest of the creatures. Lea caught them as he approached the Kaida and Quill, offering a hand to help them up. "You okay there, kid?"

Kaida was surprised and took the hand and said, "Lea! You're alright!" she paused and looked around and said more quietly, "Um... relatively speaking."

"You saved us...uh and you are?" Quill accepted the hand up and checked on his wounds. The creatures were more numerous that it seemed and got a nick across his arm. "Unique weapons btw."

Lea's weapons disappeared in his hands. "Name's Lea.. I see you're all still recruiting new people, We were wondering when the rest of you guys would show up " he looked behind them as if expecting more. "Where's DJ and Orion?"

"Orion is complicated. DJ is..." Kaida looked up to the sky and waved around and said, "Helping us stay in this place. Replay can you give a hearty hello at all?"

“Do we even know where we are in this place?” Quill gave a hard look around. “I feel a real…distorted sense of the place. The longer I stay here the more this place feels wrong. Where other worlds had a…structure to their creation. Here everything is a maelstrom, chaos and formless nothing.” Quill notices the two staring. “Erm sorry.”

"I mean, I feel it too. I'm just trying to not focus on it if I can help it. I'm worried it'll make it worse." Kaida admitted scratching the back of her head.

“Fair.” The swirling forms of objects formed and then decayed and ended. The absence of space and time left the place- “Wait, if time is distorted here, how can we be certain we’ll come back when or where we’re supposed to?”

"I would hope we'd get help from the two helping us stay here. For us." Kaida pointed at Lea and said, "You and whoever is here on the other hand, you're probably gonna notice time passed."

"The Void doesn't exactly go by landmarks," Lea sighed. "Its like a giant mix and match of people thrown in here. A lot of them are strong too, real strong..." Lea looked upward to See if Dj could hear him. "How long do these two have in here?" He yelled out. "Couple hours if we're lucky," Dj replied
Lea looked around. "Come with me,it's not safe here.. " he led Quill and Kaida away and walked among a more stone marble path. They came across the remains of a broken castle. Lea knocked the door in a strange tempo and opened the door. "Ladies, we have guests," he swung the door open to reveal that Yue, Rin and Mizu were all sitting by a coffee table with each other. There was a soft pause of silence as Yue lifted her drink. "Well you made it longer than us, kudos."

Kaida could probably have dealt with seeing none of the people in front of her at this moment, not that she had anything against Rin. But she was happy they were alive... sort of. Kaida looked to Yue and said, "Not meaning it to be a brag but, the timer is still on for me being here. I'm being projected here." she motioned to Quill and said, "This is Quill, he's a new member of the party."

“Hey.” Quill has the chance to take in the situation. It seemed that people could live in the void, thrive even. So the question remains, why did Quill feel something was off. This place, could it be used by others than us, and for what purpose? Quill began to worry, hurriedly pulling Kaida aside. “Hey I think I realized something, that feeling that someone was watching us…i get the same feeling here. I think someone is using the void to keep one step ahead of us.”

"Quite the understatement.." Orion replied, appearing where they left the door open. "Well at least we have our fearless leader back" Lea said, sarcastically saluting. Orion wasn't sure they knew of Kurt's actions in using him as a vessel, but chose to skip it for now. "There are several things about that statement I will address later, but for now your friend there makes a point. The Void's barrier is weakening..." There was a small pause. "Thats a good thing right? Easier for us to escape. And you assume the rest of the prisoners here won't?" The room went quiet again

Kaida looked between everyone, not really having ever fully understood how the void worked. She eventually sighed and said, "I have no idea what any of this means. Someone wanna give a dummy summary?"

Quill started to worry. And considering the last few hours that was something. "So the void...it's being weakened, so couple points of importance." Quill extended a finger with each point. "Who's doing it? Why? Are they from the outside like us...or one of the prisoners?" Quill pondered the last point. "And lastly, what happens if the void and worlds of light...merge?"

"Well that's a lot to unpack," Orion grunted. "The Void can't really merge with the realm of light... it's more like a pocket dimension. Existing outside all realms. But needless to say it houses some of the most dangerous creatures. Creatures and humans that couldn't be defeated or contained. So they were sent to this special wasteland. Nobody was ever born in the void. They were simply dropped here. Some, like my wi- I mean... Nequa, went mad... others became territorial. And With each use of the time belts, the barrier keeping them trapped weakens.. making it easier for them to slide through the cracks." Yue groaned. "Great... life on critical mode."

"What can we do to stop them?" Rin asked. "Distract them? Maybe buy everyone some time to stop No Heart before the Nexus Point..."
"We're barely getting by as is!" Mizu chimed in. "Kid's got a point. Five people don't make an army," Lea added. "True, but I've spent a long time here. With Yue's help, I think we can minimize the cracks. Use her gravity aura to mend the rifts. The SOS has only a few months to get the job done. After that..." Orion paused. "What?" Lea asked. "Umm.. what exactly is harder than critical mode?"

"Right... so what I'm hearing is the more time we're in this test, the worse off we are cause we're now on a timer." Kaida looked stressed at that.

"More or less, the exposure to this place alone would be increasing your auras.." Orion replied

"Increasing our auras? Isn't that a good thing? You say it like it could dangerous." Quill looked over the room at the others. These others would likely have experienced something similar if they've been here long.

"Your physical bodies aren't here, but you're using time and space magic, causing your aura to amplify. Prolongued expossure in your state could be dangerous and cause some permanent mental damage... Risk vs reward..."

Kaida and quills bodies began to flicker. "Speaking of which, looks like you guys are almost out of time..." Lea commented.

As Quill and Kaida began to fade further, they were bid farewell by the rest of the order. "We'll be fine. Just do what you can from the outside," Lea reassured. "Keep each other safe," Rin added. "And never give up," Yue replied. Rin nudged her younger sister as Mizu sighed trying to abide her own ego. "Just.. don't die or anything."

"Good luck... you'll need it," Orion replied as the two faded back into the realm of light with DJ, Alex and Sok. The two young boys stopped played and sighed with relief from the prolonged playing.







"You guys okay?" DJ asked.

"Ok is a word, not one I'd use." Quill shakes his head to get his senses back in place

"I mean, I'm physically alright. But I can't say I was a fan of being in there." Kaida shrugged, seeming to be handling the transition back well.

Alex shook off the blisters on his fingers. "Can we go back now? This place gives me the creeps." DJ was busy taking in all the data as he scanned Kaida and Quill's bodies with a mechanical scanner. "Yeah, just finishing getting a read on these two. If I can scan the particles fresh from the void, I should be able to use that to lock onto a better frequency to contact the rest of the order without risking anybody."

"My head hurts," sok whined. "That was actually the highest probability to risk. Good job though," he patted the boy on the head as everyone got back onto the Gummi ship to return to Central haven.

"Time magic? Suppose that explains that insane fight you had on Sanctuary. You and that insecure looking dude just seemed to become a blur and...well it's hard to describe really." Quill down at Kaida and made a face. She seemed much more calm about this training. "To be honest I didn't see myself as speedy either...but I can give you a race. Give a chance to scout the area too."

Quill walked up to the closest tree and gave a strange look to DJ. What was the purpose of training with Kaida? Aura training had failed miserably. Perhaps her experience could teach him something. And give Quill a chance to figure out this weird 'vertigo'. Positioning himself at a tree, Quill readied himself to hop.

Quill awakens, his dreams murky and unclear. This was honestly an improvement over his normal nightmares. Arriving at the ship, he gives a bemused look over at DJ. "So...any chance you're gonna tell me why i'm here? I can't help but feel you just didn't know where to put me..." Quill says with a look down. But DJ and this guy Alex seem pretty convinced they know what they're doing and Quill had nothing better to do.

They arrive in a heavily forested area, the beauty and immensity of nature taking him aback. Quill answers "I uh...no." to DJ's question.

As he departed the Gummi ship Quill was one of the last to get off the gummi ship. Spending his time considering the mission, he was out of it as DJ and Shiro surprised them with the various implements. "I...I can't say I've seen many of these to be honest. My world now seems comparatively...privative." Walking over to the display, many didn't really catch his eye. He'd gotten so used to his keyblade and then had to get used to this stone sword on his back. He didn't know what he could possibly use. "Perhaps I just need some time to think it over. I-" Of course that's when he saw it, though he didn't know what it was. The cylindrical weapon was hand held, the weight heavy and the feel smooth in black chitin hands. It was a gun, a machine not used on his world. And Quill thought to himself 'Very interesting...' before placing the weapon down.

Pulling DJ aside, Quill wondering to himself why am I going with those 3? He didn't have any experience with space, time, light or... Well he couldn't say Darkness, he had quite the issue with it. Quill looked away, knowing he had been feeling off since his aura test. And that strange feeling, that unsettling Virgo he was experiencing. What did it mean? He elected not to bother DJ and Shiro with this small issue, going to bed instead.

As their battle begins to wind down, Quill finds himself facing down the Headless Horseman. The figure now donned the skull of the lich he'd heard about in the briefings, the Horned King. As Oogie's game reached it's end the assassin came after Quill, striking blades with the dangerous villain. With his phantom steed, his swift deadly blade work and the intimidating presence of the skull it was too much to handle alone. But soon the tides turned, the smiting of Oogie out numbered the Horseman. "You only...delay the inevitable...your heads are mine..." Raising his hand, flames collected in his palm and swelled until the fireball was larger than his entire body. With the hand gesture the flames spread out and rays of scorching heat risked attacking everyone, even those defenseless and recovering. "No!" Quill cried out and without thinking he swung out his blade, the blade somehow creates a force that knocked away the fire. Was it a gush of Air? Magic? Or...something else?

The Horseman cursed us and disappeared from sight. The rest of the party find themselves freed from the game and the barrier allowing them to leave. But something felt like it was pulling Quill's attention. His keyblade seemed to move slightly, jittering back and forth. Trusting his instincts he picked up his blade and followed the pull. It led him to the wreckage of Oogie's control center. Flipping over broken panels and deep within the circuitry of the machine, a glimmer of light could be seen. Quill had to dive deeper and clear away broken pieces of ramshackle machinery. But finally he found it, the glimmer. It was a very tiny keyhole and his blade seemed drawn to it. Pointing down to it, a beam of light shot through and connected with it. Quill could feel it now, a feeling that made him understand this place better, it was the heart of the world. His Keyblade finished it's sealing and seemed...different. The heavy stone blade seemed in some sense lighter. "Huh, that's definitely...a new feeling." And Quill smiled, genuinely now.

As they approached the front door, it seemed impossible for a home to exude such a powerful menace. Not in a traditional way but it was just so creepy with the ripped cloth and ram shackled accoutrements put around his home. It seriously made Quill wonder if they had come to a condemned building rather than a place a person might live. After his conversation with Kaida, Quill was feeling slightly better. At least in the sense that his paranoia was justified, and distracted from his recent wounds. He allowed Jack to take point and try a more diplomatic tactic, but this only resulted in us falling for a trap. "You bastaaaaaaaaaards!" His voice echoed as they all fell down the tube, depositing them in a pitch black room. Looking around, he shuffled back. "Everyone! Put your backs to each other and make a circle! And Jack, can Zero make his nose shine any brighter?" Jack nodded, whistling for Zero to illuminate slightly more of the room, but it did very little. The floor was covered in a strange spiraling pattern, with numbers dotted about. Suddenly they heard one of the kids again. "Come on out you brats, you and Oogie are finished with terrorizing this World!" He tried to act brave but Quill was the least ready for a serious fight.

Quill was happy to hear he wasn't crazy, that someone else had noticed something was off. "Exactly!" He realized he was being to manic and loud, getting strange looks from his party members. He lowered his voice again. "Right...I haven't been feeling in constantly. The Heartless, they're presence is always a low level on my radar. But this...I can't put my finger on it." He copied Kaida's same looking around, trying to see something that wasn't there. Quill sighed and grunted, the pain in his abdomen still burning. "These feelings...they're manifesting as weird vertigo attacks. But I wonder why I'm getting them now..." He gave Kaida a look, hoping he could count on her if he starts to fall behind.

Reaching the end of the forest, the trees died off here as the hills became deeper. Cesspools of toxic liquid became more frequent, the pools all leading down a slope. As the road led onto a series of planks, they began to see in the distance a monstrous site. The stitched together cobbled together home of none other than Oogie Boogie.

Quill cleaned the coughed up blood from his mouth, the off metallic sting on his tongue a reminder that he failed again. If he didn't have allies here...well it wasn't prudent to dwell on it. It was just...the heartless reminded him of so much pain. Pain he allowed, pain he caused. Quill shook his head, he just had to try harder. "Kel I'm fine really. You shouldn't worry about..." Wait, there was that feeling again. When he said Kel's name, it was like invisible eyes looked our way again. Was Quill losing it? Blood loss? No...it something else. Quill stumbled forward but shook off his vertigo easier this time. "I...Erm lets keep moving."

As Quill walked with the group, he could tell the others had his eye on him. He looked back to his a reassuring smile, likely not as reassuring as he liked. He slowed his pace and walked alongside Kaida, who asked about his health. Kaida's appearance had definitely tied with Quill's in the most terrifying, but he'd get used to it. "I'm alright but..." Lowing his voice he spoke in a hushed tone his learned in his military life. "Have you...well I understand your aura is Time correct? Do you get weird feelings like something isn't right? Like something getting distorted? I don't know what but...I keep getting the feeling something isn't right." As they walked along, Quill's eyes narrowed on the castle in the distance. "And it might get weirder soon."

As the Heartless swarm him, cuts and gashes spattering Quill's body he begins to lose consciousness. He left himself open, he let his past cloud his abilities again. As he began fading away, Quill cursed his uselessness. He... "Dy n on us a re dy zet a sc r b? N t s rp isi g" The faintest voice in his echoed, where was it coming from? And the voice...it sounded familiar...

Suddenly the flash of cold and bright light zoomed into his hazy vision. The Neoshadows were bombarded and sent flying off the injured man. A keyblade coated in ice came flying back to Kel's hand as the Heartless were afflicted with frostbitten broken limbs. And with swift and precise cuts, Luna's blade destroyed the monsters with ease. A fading Quill laid in his own blood, barely able to move. His body was afflicted painful gashes, accept for one part he could move. His hand, wrapped in Luna's cloth, was unscaved. He reached the hand out, wordlessly asking for help. His hand was grasped by soft yet firm hands and Quill began to feel a magic wash over him as Luna's voice echoed in his head. "Mhmm errrggg..." The deeper lacerations weren't healing but the surface cuts where Quill bled out were closing up. Luna got a chance to see something very strange. The black chitin on Quill's body stabbed into his flesh, forcing the cuts to close painfully. This is how Quill has been healing, his body was simply forcing broken bones back together. The armor could inject thin spines from the outer shell into Quill's broken bones or cut flesh. It'd return them to their proper places and restoring it's functionality, if briefly.

Forcing himself up, Quill looked at his teammates who crowded around him. "Luna...AJ...Kel...?" He looked around. Jack was fighting off the last heartless with ease with Kaida helping him. "Did either of you say something about zet...never mind. I'm woozy..." With some help he managed to stand, if barely. Luna would insist he sit and rest but Quill shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Next time...I'll be careful. I'm sorry to worry you all-" He heavy cough with spits of blood came up, the black chitin was sewing up his body painfully. "I'll walk in the back, keep my pace slow till my injuries are better. Check on everyone, than we make our way to Oogie's house."

Quill was breathing heavy, this was pain to him. All the terrible memories of fighting these creatures, how much death was on their hands. He despised them...and he despised himself that he became part-them. Swinging in wide cleaves, Quill nearly hits AJ in the head with his blade. Adjusting just in time to not hit him, he was getting sloppy. Quill appreciated the help from AJ and the support from the others but he couldn't fight too close to them. He backed off and used his weaker magic to get the attention of a crowd of heartless. "Sorry but I'm still rusty, keep your distance from me!" If he had caused AJ injury, or worse...he wouldn't risk that again.

He managed to bring nearly 20 neoshadows over to a curvy hill, it unfurled at Quill fought off his attackers alone. He wouldn't cause anyone more pain, he couldn't. A neoshadow gets close as Quill is distracted and gets a slice under his ribs, the cut spraying blood on the soil. Grunting in anger Quill went for the Heartless' throat, choking it with his chitin claws. He kept squeezing and squeezing, the Heartless wriggling in his grip as Quill's body engulfed itself in darkness. "Never Again" He was torturing the monster with a slow death but something caught his eye, Luna's cloth, the cloth wrapped around his hand. "The best way you can thank me...is by not giving up" His expression softened and he dropped the creature to the soil, it scurrying away back into the shadows. "I'm..." Flashes of his team caring about him, they began to heal the hurt inside. The darkness surrounding him fades and Quill is forced to take a knee. "I'm not...like you monsters..." His grip in blade slips as his chest gash starts to slow him down. The Neoshadows take their chance to pounce at once, their bodies pile on top of Quill as his endures their attacks.

10/12

As Jack began to explain the situation in Halloweentown, the shadows of the hilly cemetery began to coalesce. He knew these all too well, Heartless. "I see Oogie's friends are kinda protective huh? Everyone, watch each other's six." Quill unclasped his massive heavy blade from his back, dropping it into the soil with a heavy crunch. Twirling into a charging stance, he let the shadows come to him. Neoshadows and these new Heartless he'd never seen came at him in an instant, pouncing on top of him. Quill raised his blade and caught their claws, digging his feet into the ground as the weight of the Gargoyle and several Neoshadows pile on top. With a deep grunt Quill knocks them up off his keyblade then swings around for a heavy baseball swing to catch 2 Heartless by their necks. They disperse but more surround him. Quill looks over to see AJ and Kel doing a good job of charging forward to meet their enemy. Kaida and Luna were backing up Jack at the moment behind Quill, he could work with this. "Strike Raid!" Throwing his keyblade, the spinning weapon caught many White Knights, Hover Ghosts and Neoshadows in the huge blade's spin, sending them forward and back to split up their enemies formation. "You guys got incoming!" As their enemies were spun towards their two groups. Now Quill had a handful of Gargoyles and the many Neoshadows that kept coming. Quill had to swallow down fears from his days fighting an army of Heartless, the fear that they'd instill was chilling. But he was resolute to fight on his feet.

3/12

Gonna claim Titan Chain, I hit 75 Achievement Points.

I'll take the XP. Sanctuary page completed.
https://kingdomheartssos.fandom.com/wiki/Chapter_72+73:_Sanctuary