Video Game: Kingdom Hearts SOS: The Road To Light

Discussion in 'Role-Playing Arena' started by Krowley, Nov 28, 2011.

  1. Beucefilous Kingdom Keeper

    Joined:
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    The Day The Shadow Fell Silent

    From that day, Beuce had spent four months in the city, among his people. He knew it, in actuality, was probably not very long. It was only from his perspective that such a length of time had passed. Still, he was beginning to grow accustom to life in Umbrel once again. At times, it grew difficult to remember that he was in an illusionary world, crafted from his memories of the real thing. Partially because the illusions were so life-like and real. They spoke, walked, and behaved exactly like the real people when they had been alive. He didn't think he remembered them that well, but...Maybe part of it was that deep down, he wanted it to be real. He wanted a second chance to make something of himself here, in his home. He wanted a second chance to save his people.

    Still, as the days left grew shorter, Beuce found himself more and more nervous. He could tell that his friends noticed, so he tried to distance himself from them, so as not to worry them. He knew full well that what was about to come, he'd have to face alone. Even if they wanted to help him, they couldn't. It seemed like fate itself wouldn't allow it. Honestly, if that turned out to really be the case, it wouldn't surprise him all too much. As the months went by, the days began to grow longer. Spring was approaching. Every year, they would have a festival to celebrate the coming season. To celebrate that they had made it through the harsh winter. Umbrel was a harsh and unforgiving environment, but the people believed that made them stronger. Most were beside themselves with joy about the coming festival, but Beuce greeted it only with dread.

    When the day finally came, Mari came to fetch him from his room. She stood in his doorway with a scowl. "I came to make sure you didn't skip out on the festival. You've been depressed lately, i expected you to sit in your room and sulk instead of spending it with us." She said in a straight to the point tone. Beuce looked over at the woman. He didn't blame her for coming to get him. He'd considered running from today, but somehow, he knew he'd never be able to. If he ran away now, he wouldn't just be running away from his people. He'd be abandoning his friends. The ones he'd made after today. He had to face himself. He needed to reach out to truth. Pushing himself up out of the chair, he gave a smirk.

    "Wouldn't miss it for the world." With that, they left.

    The spring festival was vibrant. One of the few times that the black city was filled with color. Sweet smells filled the air as stands were set up and lined the streets, peddling food and drink of all variety. The buildings were lined with bright floral decorations, grown and preserved from the summer of last year. Beuce walked down the street with his three friends, they laughed and made small talk together, but his focus was somewhat split. He was trying to figure out a way to stop Sorenia's massacre. The very thought of the woman frightened him to the core. Try as he might, he couldn't picture a scenario in which he triumphed over The Butcher. The eleventh hour approached all too quickly.

    Finally, he heard his name called out. Darien, The leader of their nation and race beckoned him up to a stage set up in the center of the city. He was a tall, slender man with dark tan skin. His hair was smooth and short. He'd heard Mari comment on more than one occasion how attractive she found the man. The loud conversations turned to hushed ones, wondering what was going on. Beuce could barely force his legs to carry him forward. He knew what was about to happen. This was where everything went wrong. The only time he'd ever heard the entire city stand silent in shock. The day his people died. He stood next to the man who had called him, and looked out at the massive crowd of onlookers. Sweat ran down his forehead as he looked up. It was there that he saw her. The Butcher of the High Throne, Sorenia. The woman had long blonde hair, and deep red eyes. She held a crossbow, aimed at Darien. He remembered this day from when it happened. She was going to fire it, it was going to go through his throat, and the entire city would fall silent, before she and her underlings murdered them.

    His legs were frozen. He couldn't bring himself to move to stop her. To push him out of the way. He couldn't even warn him. He closed his eyes, awaiting the event that sealed his fate, but it never came. He heard the whistle of the bolt zipping through the air, but there was no splatter of blood. Instead, there was a metallic clank, and he heard the arrow fall onto the ground. He opened his eyes, and in that one moment, all his worry fell away as he saw a lumpy, buck toothed smile looking at him.

    "G'warsh Beuce. I was gonna let ya do this alone, but I ain't never seen ya look so scared before. Is she really that tough...?" He fell backwards with relief, and sat on the ground. He had no idea what the dog knight was doing here, but he'd never been so glad to see anyone in his life. The two didn't have any time for any catching up, because a displeased groan filled the air, and Sorenia leaped down onto the stage between them and drew her blade. Goofy stepped between her and the panicked Darien to protect him, but twelve more cloaked figures dropped next to her. Beuce drew his blade and took his position next to Goofy, but they were outnumbered. "I'll handle the others. You just handle the girl. Seems like she's got a bone t' pick with you too." Goofy said, and he was right. The Dominesian king was glaring at him. Clearly she knew who he was.

    Sorenia didn't waste time with words. She simply charged and attempted to sever his head from his shoulders. As promised Goofy, with the help of Zaktus, Mari, and Alana managed to keep the others off of him. He only needed to deal with Sorenia. He gave a mental scoff. Only beat the butcher of the high throne. Right. No sweat there. He blocked her blade and pushed it off to the side, but immediately he noticed something was off. She swung again, but he stepped to the side and avoided it. Several more times, they clashed. What was going on...? Why...

    She retained the offensive, striking blow after blow, but none of them managed to get through and wound her opponent. Eventually, the butcher brought the long metal blade down from an overhead swing, but Beuce brought his own up to defend against it and locked their weapons. With her sword pressed against the flat of his blade, they pushed against one another, but the same thought kept echoing through his head. Why...

    Why was she so...

    weak?

    It was then that the realization hit him. He almost couldn't believe it, and he began to laugh. Stepping back, the Dominesian king gave him an odd look. "Is there something you find amusing, boy?" He slowly ceased to laugh, and looked at her in disbelief.

    "I used to be so afraid of you...." He muttered, shaking his head.

    "Excuse me?"

    "You were always the stuff of my nightmares. You were an impossible force that i had to defeat. If I didn't everyone I knew and loved was doomed. An incompletable task that was thrust onto me and said 'do it or die.'. I've been going over the fight with you again and again in my head but...I can't believe i didn't realize it." Sorenia looked at him as though he were insane. She wasn't sure if there was some off the wall tactic to confuse her and create an opening, and so she kept her guard up.

    "What are you babbling on about?" Beuce smirked and dropped his blade. "Giving up?" He instead extended his hand forward, and in it a long light appeared. It was a beautiful spiral of red and blue, blurring together in harmony.

    "I surpassed you a long time ago. Nequa, Aux, Arma, Spectrum, even Mortimer. Next to what I've already faced, you're nothing. Barely even worth the effort." His voice let on that he wasn't lying. Hesitantly, she took a step back. It seemed like now, for the first time in her life, she was afraid. All her opponents had seen her as a threat which had to be overcome, but no one had ever dared claim that they were so laughably above her as this, and she as she looked into his eye, she knew he meant every word it. The light burst into a dual-ended sword. His keyblade. Based on the look of them, each one of the ends of it could by their own rights have been considered a keyblade, and yet, with the way the melded together, there was no question that they were a single weapon. He gripped the blade by its handle, and, at his command, the two blades sent power spiraling down the chain into the gems grafted into the keyblades handle and causing them to shine with a blur of the two colors. The once-again wielder began to resonate with an azure and crimson aura, all around his body.

    "But don't make any mistake. Just because you're weaker than me doesn't mean I won't come at you with everything I've got!"
     
  2. Skyheart Joker

    Joined:
    May 29, 2013
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    Moeblob
    Location:
    Inside Danmaku
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    897
    XXXVII
    The Story of Stratos
    Finale - Beginnings

    Gripping blade tighter, Stratos rushed towards Noir, the man standing his ground as the boy approached. With a short leap, Stratos jumped at him, bringing his blade down at full force, with Noir simply parrying it with his own blade. Being slightly pushed back from the attack, Stratos then went on to strike a few more times with his blade, one after the other, only for each attack to be parried as easily as the first. As Stratos's combo finished, the two blades locked for a bit, Stratos pushing against what appeared to be a completely still blade. As he continued with this, a bolt of lightning came from overhead, crashing down on where Noir was. However, without even an instant passing, the lightning bolt struck nothing and Stratos had fell forward, with nothing that he was pushing against anymore. Looking back, he saw that Noir was standing behind him, blade resting on his shoulder with a small smile on his face. "Is that all?"

    Knowing that simple attacks wouldn't work, Stratos needed to start to use more techniques in order to defeat him. And in order to use those, he needed to use the powers of those he had traveled with. Taking from the shadows they cast on him, he would use those techniques in order to win against the overwhelming might of Noir. And so, with flame igniting across his blade, Stratos leaped at him again, this time with a fire strike. Taking a short back step to avoid the flaming blade, Stratos then switched his sword to be coated in an aura of cold. As he did this, Mickey conjured a large spear of ice, firing it straight at the man, at the same time that Stratos unleashed a vorpal blitz against him. Casually tossing his sheath to the side, flicking his wrist after it had left his hand, the sheath remained motionless and frozen in the air as the spear of ice struck it, shattering as it struck it, yet the sheath did not budge an inch. For Stratos, he merely continued to parry against the attacks as he had been doing all of this time. As Noir continued to take a few backsteps, Stratos leaped at him with another fire strike, only for him to vanish in an instant, as he had done before. Appearing right beside Mickey this time, the man simply kicked the mouse away. Stratos, seeing this, attempted to rush after him, yet as he was about to move, the suspended sheath finally moved back from the impact it had sustained earlier, launching itself straight at the boy and crashing into him.

    In a single instant, Noir reappeared near Stratos, catching his rebounding sheath after it struck Stratos back. As the man retained his unchanging expression, Stratos took a back step before creating a series of four bubbles. As the four launched at him, ready to hit him at the same time, the boy moved in alongside them. While he had been lagging behind them, in a sudden burst of speed from a sliding dash, the boy had closed the gap faster than the bubbles had. However, Noir still seemed unfazed by this as he used his sheath to parry the boy's blade, followed by attacking what seemed to be four times all in the same instant, destroying the bubbles. With a swift kick, he knocked the already unbalanced Stratos off of his feet and to the ground. "My my, is that the best you can do? Is that all this power of yours amounts to?" His smile seemed to drop into a more neutral expression, watching as the boy stood back up.

    Tightening the grip on his blade Stratos seemed to have a frusturated expression on his face. "I know I will." Noir raised a none too amused eyebrow. "Were it myself, I know I couldn't. But with everything I've gotten, from all of my friends, I know I'll defeat you!" With that, Stratos raised the blade so that it was pointing towards the sky, and as he did, four pillars of light appeared around him. The radiant columns, shifting around him, then gathered to form a wall rather than a circle before launching themselves towards Noir.

    The man sighed, seeing the holy energy being thrust towards him. Placing the sheath to his side, he then went to grip the blade with both of his hands. As he did, Stratos's eyes widened as something entirely too familiar happened. Cherry blossom petals fluttered through the air as he seemed to stand firmly still, unflinching towards the incoming spell. "Is that all you are then?" Then, in a single instant, his form shifted. The blade looked as though it had gone through the full motion of slashing, yet the man was in the same location as he started. A large cut appeared across all four of the pillars at once, stopping and dissipating harmlessly into the air. Stratos was stunned at the display the man put on, using the technique he had used so many times before. Shifting his form back so that he now had his blade to his side. "Is all you are a collection of shadows, layered a top one another?"

    As Stratos heard this, his shocked expression turned into one of doubt. What was he doing that was so different than before? He had come to the conclusion that he was not strong by nature. He had come to the conclusion to match everyone else's strength, he needed to take theirs and use it for himself. How exactly was that any different than what he had already known? What was the difference between being weak and being someone who lived entirely in shadows? Nothing. One just sounded cooler. All he was was a void, scrambling to use the power of others. But if it was all just theirs, then did he ever really have any power at any point? Did he ever have a right to change anything about the world? He didn't know. And in this not knowing, he grew confused and frustrated. In not knowing what power he had, he mimicked the man before him, causing a scattering of cherry blossoms to fly all around him, whipping around without any grace of form. And in that instant of not knowing, Stratos rushed forward with the strongest command he knew, striking forth with his own Zantetsuken.

    And in that instant, Noir's form changed. In that instant, Stratos appeared behind Noir, his sword snapped and being sent flying away from the man. In that instant, everything Stratos had had been defeated.

    "What shadow do you cast?"

    As those words left his mouth, Stratos had just lied there on the floor, trying to take them in. He had lost again. He couldn't keep fighting. He couldn't win. If this were to carry on, he'd have to leave here, no different then when he started. But what was it? He was a blank slate, devoid of any power himself. In order to combat that he tried to take the power of others, he tried to fill that void with what he could from find from those he journeyed with. Yet, all that was was layering shadows on shadows. It wasn't something he could call his. It wasn't something that he could do that no one else could....unless, perhaps it was. He had always been under many different shadows, but what if they were all just the same. What if instead of layers, it instead blended into one true culmination. One thing that could be called him. His right to change things. His power.

    Getting back up on his feet, Stratos gritted his teeth as he started to pulse with an energy. A brilliant red light shined from Stratos's chest as red lightning started to crackle across his body. "I don't know why the keyblade chose me." The heart pulsed and the color changed to blue. "I was weak. I was a coward. In the face of a fate I couldn't immediately solve, I ran." His heart pulsed again, the color changing to green. "But this time, I won't run from you. I won't just give up." Pulsing again, the color changed to yellow. "I don't why it chose me. But this time," his heart flashed again. All four colors were flashing from his heart at once, the lightning that arced across his body seemingly every color at once. "I'll force it to choose me!" With that, the broken sword he was holding vanished in a flash of gold light, surrounded by a black and green gale. In its place, was something familiar, yet different. All too common, yet unique. In its place, was Stratos's new keyblade.

    With the smile reforming across his face, Noir seemed both amused and pleased by this displayed. As he watched the boy crackle with energy, he was curious as to what was to come next. Spinning the blade in his hand, the energy seemed to arc across it, causing it to be lit ablaze. Throwing the blade, Stratos then took off after it, running behind it as it flew towards the man, who once it got within range simply parried it. Calling it back to his hand almost immediately the energy arced across the blade again, causing it to be enveloped in a cold energy. Knowing what was coming up next, Noir effortlessly parried the three strikes of the combo. However, as he was getting ready to defend against a new attack, there was fourth strike, followed up with three more in far too rapid a succession to be simply a different attack. Being caught off guard, the man was still able to parry most of the attacks though they had come much closer than any other attack had thus far. Back stepping, in almost immeidate response, Stratos pointed his keyblade behind him. From there, four bubbles formed, crackling with the same energy the boy was before, made of not water but light. Directing them towards the man, the bubbles flew one after the other towards him.

    As he had before, as the first bubble came near him, he struck at it with his blade. However, unlike the first time where they had simply turned to water scattering across the wind, this time they exploded with a powerful burst of light. Being caught off guard by the force of the explosion, Noir gave a brief flinch, as the other three bubbles came at him. In an instant, he was no longer where he was standing, instead the bubbles exploding against nothing. Calling out to the boy he said, "how very interesting." Stratos, still crackling with energy looked at the man. Gripping the keyblade with both hands, he seemed to a focused expression on his face as cherry blossoms steadily and gracefully flew all around them, crackling with the same energy as the boy. Seeing this, Noir was curious what kind of new power would be behind this one, and as such, got ready to counter it as he did before. Then, in a single instant, upon seeing the boy starting to come forward in a burst of speed, Noir's formed changed as it had when he countered the command earlier. Only this time, the boy was barely farther than where he had started. And just as his eyes grew wide with realization, the boy was gone, appearing behind him with a slashing marking forming across Noir's torso.

    "It's over."

    "That it is." Seemingly unfazed by the cut, Noir simply sheathed his blade as he said, "you've done well and I commend your efforts here. But do try not to lose that power of yours now that you've found it." Walking away from him, the world around them started to crumble and fade away. The sky was merely a white void now, the ground starting to lose all detail as well. When finally there was nothing but white, Noir simply said, "I look forward to the world that you and your comrades shape, and if it is greater than the shape of the one you're against." With that, he too faded from the scene. And as all around him was a white void, the boy started to feel himself fall, deeper and deeper into nothingness.

    Story of Revival
    Part ??? - Dive to the Heart

    As he fell further and further, the white slowly blended into a grey that slowly changed to a black. Soon, there was nothing but black around him, as he fell further and further. As he continued to fall, coming into view was a single platform beneath him. As he approach it at alarming speed rather than crash, his body started to slow into a gentle fall. Soon enough, he was turned upright as his feet landed on the platform. Looking at the platform, it was made of some kind of stain glass, depicting the resting form of Stratos gripping onto the new keyblade that he had just acquired. Scattered across the rest of the platform portraits of others, each only containing their faces in their own circular frame. The faces contained were those of all of his comrades that he had met so far. The rest of the empty space was a backdrop, one depicting the ever burning orb of light and darkness, bleeding a cascade of all sort of different colors. Equidistant from the center, each on a different cardinal direction were pedestals. Each of them had a different weapon hovering above them, a ray of light shining down on each. A sword, a staff, a shield and a spear. Despite this rather odd scenery around him, Stratos did not feel as though it was entirely new. Instead, he knew just what this was about. What shape for his heart to take. Which one would he receive and which would he discard.

    In times past, he felt the closest affinity to the shield. Yet now he no longer felt as though he needed to hide behind one. Next was the staff, one that he could understand its resonance with him and yet was not necessary to him. Then was the sword. The sword was the one he had taken from the most, the one he had pilfered the most power from. And yet, that was their power. It wasn't his. And so discarding the sword, Stratos walked to the Spear. The will to press forward, to move through any danger. The aptitude to take and receive anything and the ability to catch up to those who were so far away. With it, Stratos had accepted the path of the hunter and discarded the path of the warrior. As he did, the scene around him faded away, back to the blank white void with nothing but the same door he entered this world with before him. Seeing the door, the boy walked towards it, opening it to reveal a familiar flood of light. Not looking back, he walked forward, looking towards the new story that was about to begin.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2016
  3. Aelin Best Waifu

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    1,423
    The first stone hit her in her ribs, but Karina held fast. She didn’t whimper or whine; she didn’t flinch or try and protect herself. She didn’t stand or defend herself either however. Instead Karina stayed on her knees, her eyes to the ground, ready to accept her fate and finally give in to her father. She should have known this was coming. How many times had she been ready to give her life just because she was sick of hiding? She had not been willing to hand it over to her father so willingly, but for those she traveled with, she was ready to make that sacrifice.

    Slowly Karina’s eyes raised to meet her fathers as a realization dawned on her. She had convinced herself that she couldn’t trust anyone thanks to this man, but in reality he drove her to trust people. While she hadn’t realized it before now, she had spent the past months hiding among a group of people far stronger than her in spirit. She thought building her strength would protect her, but in the end, it was these people that pushed her to keep going. It was those people who gave her motivation to move on. If she had been on her own she would have hit this point of completely and utterly giving up, long before this. There was nothing she could do now to change her fate however. While she had this epiphany about herself, it didn’t make her will to fight any stronger, because in the end, it didn’t matter how much physical strength she had. Her fear of her father made her weak in mind and spirit.

    There was a challenging glare in Karina’s eyes as the second stone flew from another side, the crowd joining in now. It was a challenge for him to finish it already. The stone connected with her cheek with enough force to knock her down. Still lying on the ground she eyed her father, not paying attention to her brother who was lingering at the edge of the crowd, watching. There was sadness in his features, but he didn’t move to help her in any way. He didn’t try and stop the stones from flying, but neither did he partake. It seemed that Eric had taken a neutral standing in this event. That however was not what Karina was focused on as the third stone hit her causing spots of black to dance in her vision.

    Instead of another stone striking her like expected, a billowing red cape replaced the dark spots that started to clear from her vision as Vincent stepped in front of her.

    “Stand up and fight if you hope to live.” He instructed her in a cold voice as he glared down Karina’s father who started to laugh. Apparently to him it was funny that someone was standing up for her. His tone then turned quite serious however.

    “Stand aside from the criminal. Do you not know who I am? She is to be put to death, and you can’t stop that. Clearly you are a stranger, an outsider; you do not belong meddling in the affairs of our world. Step aside before you join it, in its fate.” It… she didn’t even get a gender anymore. Karina was just a waste of air that they were ready to put an end to, but Vincent stood his ground. He didn’t say a word in response, instead raising Cerberus and aiming it at her father.

    In response to the threat, Karina’s father drew his sword while the soldiers near him were on guard as well. Karina glanced around at the crowd who had all gone still by this point. She could get up and help fight… but with what weapon? What strength? It was all gone; she could do nothing against her father. It was better just to leave the fighting to Vincent. Perhaps he stood a better chance at changing this. If he fought if Eric helped…. But Eric wasn’t going to help. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Eric walking away from the situation, removing himself from it. He wasn’t going to protect her, he wasn’t going to stop this all. Of course he wasn’t. As much as he helped her out of bad spots with her father, in the end her father still held his leash, just like he held hers. The difference was, Karina was leashed by anger and fear, Eric was leashed by honour and respect.

    The first gunshot brought Karina’s attention back to the situation at hand. Vincent had shot, but it seemed that her father didn’t take any damage…. Of course he didn’t, this was an illusion, it was all false, and yet, it felt so real. Karina’s hands trembled as the red cape in front of her started to move, and soon she could do nothing but watch as red and blue swirled in front of her, fighting over her life. Fighting over something she should have been in control of, and yet she wasn’t. There was a gnawing helplessness as she watched. Some small voice deep inside of her encouraged her to get up and help. She had to help. However then she saw her father, the twisted smile he wore after Vincent shot him and it was enough to paralyze her. All that time running and she hadn’t grown at all. She never did let go of the fear like she wanted to believe she had. No she just let it turn to anger and push everyone else away. She had known it too, she told Steel that, and yet it didn’t seem real even still.

    Karina was so preoccupied fighting her own mind that nothing else was registering until her hair got yanked and her head lifted to meet her father’s gaze. There was a wicked smile and blood covered his blue tunic.

    “Are you just going to sit there and let your boy toy’s death be for nothing? Of course you are. You are a worthless, weak, ignorant child. You should be thanking me for putting an end to your miserable existence.” He snarled before slamming her face into the dirt. The sting of stones hitting her body resumed. The pain was becoming unbearable, as tears stung her eyes and mixed with the blood that ran down her cheek.


    Just as she thought it was the end for her, everything grew quiet. Karina lifted her head slightly and opened her eyes. There was no dirt ground, no stones littering the ground around her. The dull brown of the village was gone, only to be replaced by plain white walls. Blood still pooled however where her face had been pressed against the floor, but the remaining blood splatter from Vincent was gone. He had died because she was not strong enough to fight… but it was all an illusion in the end. It didn’t make the pain any less real for her though. The physical pain that wracked her body was nothing compared to the mental pain she endured, realizing that nothing in the end had changed, and all she was, was a coward.
     
    Last edited: Dec 18, 2016
  4. Beucefilous Kingdom Keeper

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2011
    Gender:
    No
    Location:
    Yes
    705
    849
    The Story of Beuce
    Finale - King's Gambit

    Beuce, having tapped into his newfound power, simply walked at Sorenia. Being smart enough to keep her distance, she made several acrobatic maneuvers to retain the gap between. All the while, she fired bolt after bolt from her crossbow. Beuce didn't even move to dodge them. He flicked his keyblade, and a spiraling wind, shimmering red, engulfed him. Just as each bolt was about to pierce a vital organ, it was suddenly and violently knocked away and destroyed by the vicious winds. Sorenia scowled. She wouldn't go down so effortlessly. She had magic of her own. Loading another bolt into her crossbow, it began to shimmer, imbued with the power of light. Confident in the attack, she fired it at his heart.

    The bolt was several times as fast the others, shimmering in a beam of golden light. Beuce brought up the bladed half of the keyblade, now covered in a violet haze, and struck the bolt's tip. A blue energy surged up through the weapon, and the bolt was split in half, down the shaft. Finally picking up the pace, Beuce ran at her, and in an underhanded arc, struck his blade against the ground. No sooner had he done so, a line a crackling blue energy picked him up off his feet and propelled him forward. The line didn't seem to extend infinitely behind him, but rather once it reached a certain length, faded. The butcher fired several more bolts of light, but they had no hope of hitting. Beuce evaded them on his powerline and continued his advance. Moments before he reached her, he spun he keyblade around to wield the magical half of it. With a wave of it, time compressed itself around his target in a show of ethereal gears and clock hands, binding her in place.

    He leaped over the woman, landing behind her as the line of crackling blue electricity crashed into her chest. The reaction was delayed, as she was frozen in time, but once the magic wore off she cried out as the same luminous blue energy tore into her. In addition to being shocked by it, she would've been blown back by the force of impact were it not for Beuce's hand against her back, forcing her in place. She dropped to her knees and turned to him with murder in her eyes. In a growl of anger, she drew her blade. There was none of her usual finesse behind her swings. She was simply swinging her sword along the most direct route to him. Each time, he knocked the blade aside with seemingly no effort. He finally kicked her back and went on the full offensive. Spinning his blade back and forth between the two ends, He cut into her over and over, each cut imbued with magical power to further the damage. Between the strikes, he would launch spells of varying elements, each striking with significant force and pushing her back. Finally, made a long cut upwards, slicing into her torso. At the same time, a purple energy flooded the ground beneath her, ripping her forcibly into the air. Flourishing his blade, Beuce delivered the deathblow.

    Luminous blue petals flew through the air. With one, impossibly fast slash, he dashed into the air and cut through her. The slash mark that his blade had passed across began to shimmer, until finally it burst into an explosion of magic. Spinning his body around, he fired out all of his remaining power into a massive red-tinted beam of light from the tip of his keyblade which crushed her into the ground. Landing on the ground, he looked to the woman when the dust cleared. She lay there, bloodied and beaten. There was no question he was the victor. She, barely conscious, glared at him with hate. He stood over her, looking down, with his blade in hand.

    "Get...Get it over with. Finish the job." She said to Beuce, who simply sighed, put his blade over his shoulder, and began to walk away. "Where are you going?! You've won! At least finish me!" She screamed with what little energy she had left. He shook his head, continuing to walk away.

    "When I kill you, it's going to be real thing. Until then, I know that I'm strong enough to step forward." With that, a bright white light began to envelope him.


    He found himself falling through the night sky. There were stars shimmering with light all around him. He was vaguely aware of where he was. He'd been here once before. A long time ago. Once he gained a more aware sense, he looked at the stars to find that they weren't stars at all. They were shards of glass, scattered endlessly, as far as the eye could see. They shone against the endless black, making them resemble the night sky. As Beuce fell even further, he saw a circular platform of stained glass. The representation of his heart. On it was a depiction of himself, knelt over, with a world on his shoulders. Behind him, an unimaginable graveyard, with the chess piece representing a king right in the middle of it. Though, there was something odd that wasn't here last time. Standing around the platform were five ethereal, white, silhouette like figures. There were no discernible features to them, but he knew who they were. The knowledge of them was grafted into his very being.

    His feet finally reached the glass of the platform. Before him, just as before, four pedestals appeared. Each one with a different weapon floating above it. A sword, invincible courge. A staff, Inner strength. A shield, Kindness to aid friends. And a spear, Agile and bold. He turned, looking at each of them. He knew that he would have to choose one, and discard another. He walked to each one, but his decision was already made. Last time, he had chosen the blade. The path of the warrior. It mattered not which weapon he took. He would walk both paths in equal strides. So, he walked over to the staff and placed his hand on it. A voice echoed in his mind. "Is this the power you seek...?" He nodded his head. It was. The staff burst into light, and imbued itself into him. Next he walked over to the shield. If he was going to obtain power, he couldn't worry about his protection. He had those he could rely on for that. He knew his job, and he intended to fulfill it. A voice echoed in his mind. "Is this the power you wish to discard...?" He nodded his head once again. The shield dissipated into light and faded away, lost forever.

    Now that that was over with, he turned to the five white figures who had watched him so closely. "What is all this? Why are you here? And why are there so many broken hearts?"" He demanded. It wasn't common to demand answers out of gods, but this time he felt he would make an exception. The figures spoke in a disembodied voice. It couldn't even so much be called speaking at that point as much as the air bent to their will and vibrated in the proper way to produce sound.

    "You were destined to lose your fight with Dominus." They declared.

    "Thanks. Real helpful." He scoffed at them.

    "Do not misunderstand. You were not chosen as the king to ensure immediate victory. You were chosen as the king to ensure survival. All these hearts that reside within you are those of your people. Ordinarily, when one dies, their soul is returned to us so that we may place it within a new life, but we were losing the war. We knew there was no way to win from the state we were in. And so, we chose you to carry us and the Umbrian people. We knew you would be able to survive. You would venture out, beyond our world, and gain new strength and allies. One day, you will return to Riven and then, the true battle will begin." The gods of Umbrel seemed sure that their plan would work. Beuce couldn't help but be angry that they let everyone die, so that they could eventually be brought back. He shook it off though. He knew they were right, and it was the only way.

    "So, what happens now?"

    "You do as you please. You carry us within you, but the heart belongs to you and you alone. Whether your desire be to reclaim Riven, or cast us aside. It is for you to decide."

    "I think...I want to see this journey through to the end. Its become important to me. The people have become important to me. I don't want to abandon them." He told the gods. They seemed content with his answer, and began to gather their power and flood it into him.

    "Then let us impart onto you a gift. We will restore that which has been lost." From the place where his right arm once was, a flood of light poured out into the shape of what used to be there. It eventually hardened, and formed into what looked like the same kind of stained glass the platform he stood on was made from. Though on it was not depictions of his heart, it was the story of his people. It showed the breaking of Riven, the world's heart being torn into two. It showed the beginnings of them, their suffering in the cold. It showed a leader rising up to guide them through it. Eventually, it showed them gathering themselves, and pushing onward toward a life. The life they made for themselves. Their history, their struggle for survival, their eventual rise from the ashes, it was a part of him now. He would carry his people forward with him.
     
  5. Shiki my waifu is better than yours, thanks

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2007
    Gender:
    Non-Binary
    Location:
    The Future
    440
    Why was she following along with this memory of her Grandmother to do a prayer? Why wasn't she trying to figure out what to do here? Ananta didn't know and she didn't want to think about it at the moment. Deep down, she was happy to see her parents and Grandmother again. She had missed them dearly and didn't want to leave this memory. It hurt knowing she probably would have to leave them and be without them once more. That wasn't helped by the fact that she seemed to be reliving that day that her world ended. Everything was lining up perfectly and it scared Ananta. She knew what she needed to do to try and stop the world from ending, but what if she didn't do enough? What if she just disappointed her Grandmother and parents again and watched them die in front of her?

    She was snapped back to reality when her Grandmother turned around and stared at her. "Lost in thought?" she said, smiling softly. "Don't worry, we aren't really going to pray anyway. We're going to....talk. There's something important I want to speak to you about."

    Ananta remembered this. She already knew what Anta wanted to talk about, but she was going to ask and answer differently, to see if her memory would work with her and fill in some gaps that had been eating at her. "Okay, Grandmother." Ananta said, smiling back to her. The pain in her voice was obvious, but Anta chose to ignore it and keep walking.

    They arrived at the Mother Crystal shortly after and both moved to a spot to talk. Anta stood close the railing and stared off over the world that they lived on. Ananta looked down at the world as well and sighed to herself, slouching against the rail. It sure looked beautiful on Crystallis tonight. As it always did, even when she was little. The world had a wonderful mish mash of building types and architecture was a renowned art. No matter what, if you could build it, it was easy enough to do with a little hard labor. That's what made Ananta appreciate her world. The fact that anything was possible if you set yourself to it and used your magic correctly. There were only so many who would use their magic for evil and they would ultimately be judged by the Mother Crystal upon their deaths. But even they played a part in this world working and spinning at a steady pace.

    ~Dive into the Heart~

    It was no surprise when Anta cleared her throat and looked at Ananta. "What's most important to you?" she asked.

    Hearing that question caused Ananta to gasp and remember that weird dream she had while she was passed out from her world's destruction. Ananta turned towards the Mother Crystal and stepped forward. She reached out and found herself falling down the middle, falling straight towards the pool of water that flowed from the Mother Crystal. She splashed and held her breath. She kept falling. Falling...falling....falling....darkness surrounded her, but the bright light above her gave her hope that she wouldn't suffocate in the water. Of course, her lungs could not handle it and she gasped. Ananta was surprised to find herself able to breathe under the water.

    Opening her eyes, Ananta saw below her a stained glass platform. On the platform, Ananta saw herself with her crystal in her hands. Behind her head were circles with the faces of her family members and allies from her journey, all smiling at her. The backdrop behind her was that of her homeworld. Around the edges were circles with objects of importance in them. A generic keyblade shape and an odd symbol she didn't recognize.

    Body straightening, Ananta stepped onto the platform and felt her clothes wash away to the outfit she had previously changed into. She looked around and wondered what she was supposed to do now. That was when she heard her Grandmother's question echo around her again.

    "What's most important to you?"


    Ananta looked up at the light in the sky. She thought about the question and soon smiled to herself. "Everyone is important to me. Nobody is less important than the next person. I cherish everyone and feel like they are family." she answered. Ananta looked over and saw some steps starting to appear.

    "What do you want out of life?"

    Thinking long and hard, Ananta remembered her original answer. She had grown since then and felt like her new answer would be more fitting to the current situation. "I want to help as many people as I can. I can't stand seeing somebody get hurt because of another person's actions." she replied, looking to see more steps appear.

    "What are you afraid of?"

    She gulped and thought about this one harder than the other questions. She didn't want to admit her fears and it was showing on her face. Instead of ignoring it, she looked up and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid of failing everyone and not living up to what they believe of me." she replied, seeing the steps finish and another platform light up.

    Not wanting to waste any time, Ananta hurried over and climbed the steps. Behind her, the steps disappeared one by one until she was on the other platform. She looked forward and saw three pedestals all rising up from the platform. Each one had an item on the top, symbolizing different paths. A sword, a staff, a shield, and a spear. She immediately walked to the staff and grabbed it. "This is the power I want." she spoke out, watching the staff shatter in her hand.

    She turned and looked at the other three. "But which do I cast away...?" she asked herself. The sword symbolized strength. Ananta already knew she needed strength to defend herself, so she ignored it. The shield symbolized protection. Definitely something she needed to keep. Lastly, there was the spear. It symbolized speed and the agility to get things done quickly. She felt like taking her time with things was better than being quick about it. So, she stepped forward and grabbed the spear. "I cast away the spear!" she said, watching it shatter again in her hands.

    As that happened, the platform beneath her, which was the same as the first one, shattered and Ananta started to fall through. She watched the shards fall around her and disappear. She swirled around and looked down to see a platform that looked similar to the two before, but on it, Ananta was holding the Kingdom Key. "The keyblade!" she gasped, reaching forward and smiling. She landed on the platform upright and looked around.

    In front of her, standing on the middle circle, was Anta. She had a solemn look on her face, causing Ananta to gulp and falter a little. She didn't want to fight Anta, but from the look on Anta's face and a keyblade at her side, she knew she had to fight her for the keyblade.

    "You've gotten this far, but you've got to fight me now. You have to show me you're worthy of this keyblade. Here." she said, tossing a wooden blade to Ananta. "That's all I give you."

    Ananta took the wooden sword and watched it change to the shape of the staff from before. She then wielded it like she did her keyblade. She rushed towards Anta and started to swing, trying to land a few hits. Anta was able to parry the hits fairly easily, landing her own hits into Ananta. The strikes stung and Ananta wanted to try and use magic, but she knew that would probably be frowned upon, so she refrained from it.

    Anta continued her assault, causing more and more injuries to Ananta. Eventually, she used a close range fire spell on Ananta. Ananta shot backward and skidded on the pillar, stopping short of the edge. Rough spots and bruises littered Ananta. She stung in places she never thought she could feel that sensation before. But she didn't back down. She stood up and held the wooden blade tightly in her hand. She looked singed, but she knew she'd be fine.

    "Not backing down? Do you really feel worthy of this blade? It's a burden, Ananta. Do you really want to take this burden after already ridding yourself of it? Don't you feel relief knowing you aren't a keyblade wielder any more?" she asked, tilting her head at Ananta.

    Not realizing it, Ananta thought about it and noticed that deep down...she did feel some relief. It felt nice not having the keyblade and not having to worry about defending herself or anybody else with it. She looked down at the ground with guilt, knowing she did feel that way. Or at least, she felt that way at some point. There were many times she wished she didn't have to use the keyblade any more, but now....now was not a time to wish that. Too many people were depending on her and her allies to protect them and the worlds. Ananta looked back up at Anta.

    "I might have felt that way before...but....but I can't just let those feelings take me over. I've got to accept that, yeah, it felt nice without it. But now, I've got to get back to work at protecting people. I've gotta protect people again. Even you and my and dad. I may have failed you once, but I won't fail you again." she said.

    Ananta ran towards Anta and gave her one last slash across the torso. Anta dropped the keyblade, it disappearing, and fell forward onto Ananta. Ananta held onto her, hugged her tightly. "You've grown up..." Anta smiled. "I'm glad...you were able to do that. Now, you can leave and can go back to your friends. You can forget about this and return to them."

    "I won't forget. Don't worry, I'll remember what has happened and what was said. I'll always remember." she said, feeling Anta shatter into lights and float away. All she left was a crystal in Ananta's hand that shimmered and shone like the tip of Anta's keyblade. Ananta stood up and saw a door in front of her.

    "It's time for me to say goodbye Jose." she said, looking at her bird friend.

    "Apologies for not being around!" he chuckled, tipping his hat. "But, you really didn't need me after all."

    Jose was happy with himself as he hopped off Ananta's shoulder, landing on the ground. "Go, go home. Hurry now." he shooed, watching Ananta walked forward and disappear through a door.
     
  6. CrownMoksha Decimo

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2011
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    On board the DenLiner
    1,340
    As time continued to march onward, the others of the group eventually all gathered around Dreamer and the cornerstone. At last they could start getting some form of answers to his actions and words as promised by the man himself. The silence lingered before it was it was broken by Dreamer himself, focusing all attention onto himself and then he greeted them all. It was a an odd greeting given the current situation they were in, you know being in the realm of darkness, not having a keyblade, being completely and utterly lost in the dark (pun not intended) on this whole thing. Even the pose that Dreamer had taken hadn't really help with making it any less odd and clearly uncomfortable for him. Moment passed and the awkwardness for Dreamer came to an end where another set of voices spoke. Now entering the fray were two mouses that had apparently appeared from Dreamers coat. They introduced themselves as Bernard, the male looking mouse, and Bianca, the female looking one. Don't expect an explanation on just how it was that Kel knew the difference between the two mouses beyond their outfits and voices. Actually that is a good explanation, let's go with that.

    Upon being asked the name of their group was, Kel was just surprise on that fact that they actually had one for all of them. He'd been here the longest, excluding Hikaru, and not once has he heard anything about a name. It was later revealed that their name was SoS or Servant of Sanctuary. There was a name that Kel hadn't heard before, despite not recalling seeing anything like that on the letter that he had gotten from Yen Sid quite some time ago. The following information was nothing sort of telling them that despite them being trapped here and powerless that there was at least someone going around doing something to help. Not exactly help them, but help with whatever the current situation outside was. Beyond that there was one other thing that stuck out to him in everything in what Dreamer had told them and that was the fighting of their inner demons. It wasn't something that Kel was looking forward to doing, even less so in his current mental and physical state. If it was up to him, he'd do what he's done this entire time and avoid it. Avoid it for as long as possible.

    After what was assumed to be an attempt to motivate everyone into springing to action and life....nothing. Not Surprisingly no one sprang forth and charged towards the castle. It would actually be surprising if anyone actually did that. The lack of action clearly did not do well to boost up his spirits and there was much that Kel could think to say. Even at the mention at Dreamer's brother who, despite not even knowing that he had one, still couldn't form any words to say. His mind was too focused on other things to actually think of something to say. His inner demons or rather his past mistakes were waiting for both within the castle walls and at his actual home. Neither of which were ideal to the young keyblade-er former keyblade wielder in what he would like to experience. When he tuned back in to what Dreamer had been saying and caught only the last bit of what he had said. Strong hearted, protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Both things Kel wish to be, both things he did not see himself as. A strong hearted person wouldn't hesitate and freeze up in dire situations, situations that could easily be protecting someone that couldn't protect. That was more so what Kel saw himself as.

    He didn't forget what it was that he told Dreamer in respond to his question the first time they'd come across him. I want to be someone who people can go to for help with no second doubts or hesitation. Someone who can actually help solve problems and not make them worse. That's what I want out of my life. He meant what he had said back then and still wanted to achieve that goal so even in his self loathing mental state, he was curious as to how the castle would aid in that. Therefore there was really only one things that he could do to find the answer and that was to enter the castle.

    Doors upon doors greeted Kel as ventured further into the castle. Each door looked similar to another beyond one different that was shared among them all. Each door had a name as well as a number above them. Looking past all of the names he eventually found a door with his name on it. VIII. That was the number that was paired with his name. Not sure why that particular number was connected to his name, but at least it was better than XIII. He wasn't sure how he'd felt if the number generally associated with bad luck was connected to the door his name was placed onto.

    On the other side of this door was to be his inner demons and he certainly wasn't looking forward to facing them. This, unfortunately, was the only way that he would be able to get his keyblade back and actually regain all of his lost abilities. As far as golden opportunities go, this was one of them and not one to let slip out of his grasps and yet there was still hesitation in his actions. The likely culprit behind this hesitation was the fact that Kel knew exactly what his inner demon was that would be waiting for him on the other side of the door. Once again it would be an obstacle to him and once again he was completely unprepared to deal with it. It was like nothing had chance since he left him home (insert however long it's been in rp for the characters) ago. Moments turned to seconds, which turned to minutes before Kel did something. A deep breath to ready his nerves as Best he could before finally reaching out, taking firm hold of the door and opening it.

    VIII
    A Wavering Heart
    The Story of Kel
     
  7. Iskandar King of Conquerors

    Joined:
    May 7, 2011
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Texas
    1,090
    Ignis took a step through the door and was blinded by another bright light. She blinked a couple times, trying to get her vision back, and looked around. She had ended up in the same hallway that she had entered from the Realm of Darkness. Somehow she was also still in the clothes that she had gotten in her memory world. Well, the memory world inside her memory world, that is. She clutched her head, thinking about the brain pain that thought was causing her.

    "Not sure why, but I kind of expected some place new," she stated to no one but herself.

    Looking around the hall was big, white, and particularly heavy on the emptiness. There didn't seem to be a soul in sight wherever she looked. She figured that she must have been the first to finish her trial, or anyone else who finished was somewhere else in the castle ahead of her. Either way, she was unsure of what else to do. She walked along to hallway, pacing back and forth with impatience waiting for everyone. She wanted to continue on ahead, but she also knew that she should wait for everyone to finish up what they were doing. Patience had never been her strong suit, past, present, or anytime in the future.

    Ignis got so bored and impatient she had the sudden urge to yell out loud. "Gah, would someone else please get back already!? This emptiness is driving me insane!"
     
  8. CrownMoksha Decimo

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2011
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    On board the DenLiner
    1,340
    Happy Tay, are you happy now
     
  9. Beucefilous Kingdom Keeper

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2011
    Gender:
    No
    Location:
    Yes
    705
    849
    [​IMG]
    Beuce opened the door, stepping out into the hallway of the castle. It was the same way he had left, except with only a single other person in it besides himself. He heard a female voice yell out "Gah, would someone else please get back already!? This emptiness is driving me insane!". He didn't recognize her, but he responded nonetheless. "Ask and ye shall receive." He turned to the red-haired woman and looked at her curiously. He walked up, and tilted his head with a look of confusion. He seemed to be thinking, resting his chin in-between his index finger and thumb. After staring at her a moment, he looked up and down at her body, before poking her cheek. "...Raisor..?" He was, understandably, a little confused about the fact one of his friends had suddenly changed genders. "I'd imagine there's an interesting story behind the new look."
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2016
  10. Aelin Best Waifu

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    1,423
    She didn’t know why she went back into town, but Aislinn found herself walking the familiar streets of Ashen Rose, taking in the familiar sites of the buildings that she passed, and the children playing in the streets with their dogs. All of this was so wonderfully familiar, and she was about to leave it behind. Sure Aislinn had been planning this trip for months, but it still felt surreal. She didn’t want to leave but she had to. If she didn’t know one else would stop the darkness from encroaching on their land.

    It was peaceful… until the screaming started. The men at the boarders of the city where calling for help. Sirens were sounding and people were rushing into their houses. Aislinn however went ran against the flow, summoning her keyblade to her hand as she ran. Her eyes darted around frantically as she watched to make sure everyone was safe. The boarders grew near, and while they weren’t exactly walls, it was a barrier made of magic, and it wasn’t going to hold long. The darkness that had been threatening her world was growing closer, attacking the barrier, at any moment it was going to break.

    The men guarding the barrier were too busy with their own things to care that she was there. That being said they all knew that there was something different and special about Aislinn. No one really wanted to recognize the keyblade, mainly because they didn’t understand it. That being said if there was something different that helped against the unknown, unfightable threat, then they would take it. No one argued as Aislinn stepped past the barrier and joined the fight lines against the strange black creatures that were trying to break through.

    No matter how many she slayed, the black creatures kept coming back. Over and over again they appeared out of the seeming darkness that used to be a wonderful forest outside their town. It had been a year since the darkness started to threaten their world, but it had not been this bad before. Aislinn pushed forward fighting as she noticed someone in the distance get brought down and swarmed by the shadow like creatures. She wouldn’t let anyone fall if she didn’t have to. Aislinn picked up pace as she fought, smoothly moving through the hordes of enemies. Her steps were fluid almost dance like as she got closer and closer, leaving a wake of black clouds. Reaching the man she was able to fight off the enemies before they had killed him, he however had been injured quite badly.

    “Run. I will hold them off.” Aislinn told him softly. He was about to argue but as the creatures moved closer. The man fled like instructed and Aislinn stood her ground, covering his retreat. This left her in the open and vulnerable. Even with her keyblade, it was not enough to keep the amount of enemies at bay. Soon she was overwhelmed and tired. She couldn’t hold out forever, and before anyone could reach her, she was crushed under the strange creatures that were born of darkness. It wasn’t long before the darkness completely swallowed her and she was falling through an endless black abyss.
     
  11. Aelin Best Waifu

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    1,423
    It was minutes that Karina lay on the ground unable to do anything. It wasn't until she heard voices that she even considered leaving the room. It had not crossed Karina's minds that the others might have finished and be out where they had entered... Or perhaps they had never entered to start with. Desperate to get past the image of her fathers twisted smile, and Vincent's blood splattered on his clothes, Karina looked towards the others. Perhaps they could provide distraction.

    Getting up was a slow and painful. The bones that had been broken during the illusion were not actually broken, but the cuts were there and the pain remained. Blood covered her bare body, and her face was still stained by tears. Limping Karina went to the door and opened it, forgetting that she was not wearing any clothing. Her mind was thinking of so many other things to realize just how she looked. For once she was desperate for people. For once she wanted to reach out, because finally she hit the end. She had nearly died and that was what it took before she realized her own strength meant nothing, and perhaps those who she had been hiding behind might be what she needed right now.

    Her eyes were empty as she stared straight ahead. Beuce was there... and some girl. Karina couldn't actually figure out who it was, but they had met so many strange people on this trip, she thought nothing of it. Karina didn't say anything as she stood in the doorway to her room. She didn't fully come out, not sure what to say or do, but she just needed to see it. See that other people were there and she wasn't alone. She needed to feel safe.
     
  12. Krowley Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2008
    2,289
    V
    The Story of Hikaru
    ACT I - "Doc"

    After pushing the door open, Hikaru found himself in a place of absolute darkness. Every part of him was visible, but there was nothing but pitch black as far as the eye could see. He saw a small light arose in one of the corners. He heard faint sounds of people screaming and fleeing in terror. "Is some one there?.. Hello! What's going on?!" Hikaru was beyond confused. The door he entered through had disappeared and all he could do was run towards the sounds of people. What if they were the sounds of his party? He run further and further until the light overtook the darkness around him. It was nothing but bright blinding light as he shut his eyes tight.

    The screams grew louder and louder as he opened his eyes, to not the sight of his friends, but a completely different terrain altogether. It was a small village that was being under attack. "Hey, what are you running from?" He tried to stop one of the running people , but they all just ran passed him without even a second thought. He looked up to find the threat that was destroying their world. It was a Darkside. Several of them... And they were all tearing away at the homes and buildings. The sky was darkened, slowly sucking away at the bits of debris. Hikaru watched as flashbacks of the overtaking of Disneytown raced through his mind. He couldn't take his eyes of the dark creatures clawing at the village, and before could even think, lashed out his hand to summon his keyblade. It was a trigger, but unfortunately, he was still without the blade. Without a care, he leapt forth anyhow into action. He didn't have a weapon or a plan, but he couldn't fail these people. He couldn't see another world die. Not even knowing where he was looking, he tripped over a large lump of something, crashing down onto the ground. He shook his head and look up to find some one he hadn't seen in some time.

    Before him stood a small dwarf with a bright red tunic and brown pants. His eyes were squinted as he searching the ground for his small spectacles. "Doc?!" Hikaru exclaimed. "Wh-who goes there! I can't see a tharned ding- I mean darned thing!" Hikaru shook his head. "No, Doc It's me!" He found his classes and handed them to the dwarf so he could be more recognized. He brushed off the small bits of rubble off him and Doc adjusted his glasses. He took his head back, still confused. "Sorry, but... I've never seen you before in my life." Hikaru felt a bit hurt, but he still had a lot of questions. "How'd you even get here?!" Doc looked puzzled as he looked like a stranger to him. "I'm not sure... one minute, I'm in the mines, and the next I'm here... Say, what did you say your name was again?"
    "Come on, it's me; Hikaru! ... I was helping some other people with trying to find Snow White?... We had keyblades. Come on, how can you not remember my..." Hikaru felt his face as a realization came over him. When he first met the dwarves, he went under the name 'Krowley' and wore full body armor. As far as Doc was concerned, this wasn't even really him. "Face," he finished.

    Doc looked around at the panic, unaware of Hikaru's inner turmoil. Look Keepanu we can talk later, right now I have to find a boy!
    "It's Hikaru... and what boy?" he asked concerned. "Follow me, I'll show yah!"
    Doc led Hikaru to a small patch of rubble where a small blue haired boy was sitting, hugging his knees tight. "Don't worry little guy, this fella will watch ya till I get back." Doc nodded to Hikaru before searching off. "I've gotta go find his farents! I mean parents!"
    Hikaru looked back to the small boy. He looked like a younger version of Hikaru. But something was off. The boy was no older than six and these were never a part of his memories. this door dwelled into his consciousness and he never recalled any of this sadness. His childhood was recalled as much more friendly.
    "He's not going to find them." The boy spoke out. "I know they're already dead."
    Hikaru sat at the boy's level. "Hey, don't say that... Doc might be able to find them."
    "This always happens. Heartless come and destroy the world. It's happened for a long time now. Soon I'll be dead too."
    Hikaru couldn't get over how much the boy looked like him. Needing to make sure, he spoke lowly to the child. "What's your name?"
    The boy looked didn't make eye contact and spoke out; "Kurt."
    Hikaru sighed, but was still unsure of his relation to the boy. If these were supposed to be his memories, maybe this was a cousin? Some one related to him at least. "Does the name... Hikaru mean anything to you?"
    Before he could answer the ground beneath them began to crack. The world was dying.
    "Doc! Where are you!" He called out. There was no answer. "Kurt, try to remember! Do you know anyone named Hikaru?!" Hikaru grabbed him tightly, but Kurt sat lifeless as he accepted his fate. "Kurt! Try and remember!" The both of them began to rapidly ascend into the swirling vortex of darkness above them. "Kurt! Doc! ANY ONE! WHAT'S GOING ON!???!!" His voice trailed.


    Hikaru awoke with a vigorous shake from Doc. He blinked as he quickly jumped to his feet. They were in a completely new world.
    "You okay there uh... what was your name again?"
    Hikaru tried slowing his heartbeat, trying to make sense of the new situation. "Forget it... Where's Kurt?"
    Doc pointed to Kurt talking to group of young adults, not far off his own age.
    He walked up as he approached them. They had some how captivated the attention of the small boy. The child was looking at them with a newfound hope in his eyes. "So you guys know how to beat the darkness!"
    "Well we try," one affirmed, whipping out her own keyblade.
    "And that weapon.. That can beat them?!" Kurt asked.
    "They sure don't get up again if that's what you mean," Another added.
    Hikaru walked up to them. "You guys are keyblade wielders?" Hikaru asked.
    "Keyblade..." Kurt repeated, hypnotized by the light brimming power of the blade.
    "Yes sir. We're part of the Servants Of Santuary. 25th Regiment."
    "The SOS was that big?" Hikaru spoke under his breath.
    "We're just here to help move along the world refugees. We have wielders on standby to check the world to see if there are anymore stragglers..."
    Hikaru nodded. "Hey, is it okay if I ask him a few more questions?" he asked.
    "You his guardian?"
    "No, but he's a part of my past. At least I think he is... Kid, come on help me out here," Hikaru held his hand, only making Kurt hide behind one of the Soldier's keyblade.
    "Sir I think you're upsetting the child."
    "No it's okay, I'm a keyblade wielder too! Or, I was... But I think he's the key to figuring that out."
    "What division are you?"
    "We didn't have a division, there were barely a dozen of us."
    "Whose your Captain?"
    "I dunno, me... I think?"
    "What's your ID number?"
    "ID NUMBER?!" The conversation was escalating beyond what Hikaru could explain. He just needed answers.
    "Registered name then?"
    "Krowley... I mean Hikaru!" He paniced at which name would help him here.
    "Well which is it!"
    "I just need to talk to Kurt!"
    "Sir, calm down."
    "I NEED TO KNOW HOW I KNOW HIM!"
    "Suppressing Hostile!"
    Hikaru felt a stinging sensation along his spine, causing his vision to blur before slowly blacking out. "I'm Hikaru," he slurred out. "I'm... Hika...ru..."
    Everything faded to black.
     
  13. Glen Returned from the dead

    Joined:
    Jan 18, 2011
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Australia
    713

    XXIX - The tale of Glen Senka
    "Confrontation"
    Part 3 of 4


    (This is probably the worst post I've written in a long time, read at your own risk)

    The moment Glen arrived at the battle between the heartless and his father, he found himself speechless. His father was...amazingly good at fighting. Every movement he made was smooth and followed into the next one, every dodge near perfectly timed. How had his father been slain by the heartless when he was handling them this well? "Holy s**t, I can't believe you never taught me that!" he exclaimed, unable to help himself. At this, his father paused and glanced over in his direction. "Glen?" he asked, confused and worried. Worried that his son was there, in the middle of this battle. That moment of distraction was what the heartless needed, taking advantage of it and striking towards his father.

    The strike hit his father, and he was hit hard, knocked to the ground. Immediately, the heartless leaped onto him as they prepared to finish him off, but right as they did so the heartless creature was shoved off his father by none other than Glen himself. He had gotten there fast, much faster than he would have been able to move when he had actually been there. He had no keyblade, he had no weapon altogether, but he wasn't about to let his father die again. As the heartless was pushed off of his father, Mr Senka got to his feet and swiftly dispatched the creature with his keyblade. No sooner had he done that when he turned around and glared at his son. It was unusual to see his father so upset, but then again it was understandable given he'd probably been just as worried in that moment as the ex-keyslinger had been.

    "What was that?"
    "What was what?"
    "That. You know you can't come with me to these sorts of things, if something happened to you I could never forgive myself"
    "I came to help"
    "Then where is your keyblade? You can't fight heartless without it"
    "I know, Dad. It's a long story, I'll tell you about it after we've stopped the rest of them"

    No sooner had Glen finished speaking than one of the people that lived in the village, his father's best friend George, came running over. "We've got trouble, big trouble" he said, panting from exhaustion. He had clearly been running quite the distance to get there. "Yeah? What's up?" Glen's father asked.

    "Heartless, hordes of them. They aren't acting like rabid beasts, they're actually working together like one big unit. All being led by some guy with a scythe. He came in spouting crap about how he's our god or something, how he's unstoppable, and that he's going to kill every one of us" George responded.

    Glen's father groaned. "Well, I guess I'd better go" he said, before turning to look straight at Glen. "You stay here" he commanded. Glen opened his mouth to respond, but his father spoke first. "No buts. I can take care of this" he said, before taking off in the direction George had come from. Gods, he was fast, maybe even quicker than Glen had been no more than a couple of weeks back. Glen tried to chase after him, but the moment he took a step he felt a humongous pain in his head, causing him to collapse to his knees as he sat there clutching at it, praying it would leave him. It did, but as it left him so too did the blocks that had been in place. He remembered everything. Not just the details surrounding his father's death and how his distraction had caused it, but the events after it. The screams, the horrible stench of death, the mass of heartless.

    He remembered the death of Aatarsilu, and everyone on it. The memories that chilled him to the core had returned. The memories he had tried his best to forget. He had run, and abandoned everyone there to die. Their blood was on his hands, and there was no changing that. However, before he confronted those he had to go and at least stop the memories from re-creating themselves. His memories may have come back, but that drive to change everything had not. He had clung to it this long, that wasn't about to change. Taking off as fast as his feet could take him, he made his way after his father, fear-filled body and all.

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

    The moment he got there, he could tell everything was going to hell. There were very few bodies, thankfully, but people were being overwhelmed by the heartless. People ran from them, some even fought back, but ultimately it was useless. The creatures caught them, they killed them, just like they had in the real Aatarsilu. He had to find his father; he was the only one that could stop all this.

    He found him quite quickly, but he wasn't alone. He was engaged in fierce combat with the man George had described. His hair was a very dusty, messy brown and his eyes seemed to be red but it was hard to tell from the distance. The guy was fairly tall, and he had to have been strong to be wielding that scythe as well as he was. The guy radiated a dark purple aura, the aura of the dark, which was just about as frightening in itself as the entirety of the invasion going on. As scary as he was though, his father didn't falter. He was trading blow for blow, holding his own but it was easy to see it was a losing battle.

    Time and time they clashed again, neither giving the other an edge, but the cuts and visible damage on Glen's father's body was a pretty good indicator of who was winning. He had to do something, but what could he do? If he ran in without his keyblade, he was going to die. If he didn't run in, then his father was going to die. His own words echoed back on him, spoken in his mind earlier. Whatever it takes he had thought. Well, now was the time to prove it. Racing forwards, he began charging at the man with the scythe.

    Just as he got near, the man with the scythe took a step back from Glen's father. He stood for a second, seriously analysing his foe, before striking forwards. Glen's father went to block with his keyblade flawlessly, attempting to intercept it. However, at the last moment, the man with the scythe dropped his weapon, shocking both Glen and his father, and simply thrust his arm completely through Glen's father's chest. Glen could barely breathe, could barely move, as his father's body fell to the ground with a light thud. He had tried so hard, but it hadn't mattered at all. He had changed nothing. Everyone was going to die, and it was his fault. Because he wasn't strong enough.

    With a mixture of fury and desperation, Glen surged forward, faster than he had been before. Without a weapon, though, he was doomed. Effortlessly, the man stepped to the side, dodging each and every attack Glen tried and laughing after every second one or so. It was a game to him, and what an easy game it was. Seeing the tactic wasn't working, Glen turned and dove towards him with his arms outstretched as he reached for the man's neck, but the man turned and swiftly stepped to the side, before delivering a painful roundhouse kick to Glen's back, sending the ex-keyslinger forward and face first onto the ground. As his body hit the floor, he could feel the man's leg simply stand on the back of the boy's neck lightly.

    "Wouldn't move if I were you. My name's Dane Erapper, I'm going to kill this world. Not worth keepin' alive if all you guys are as weak as that other guy was. Hell, you're even worse, but I like your attitude. If you've got nothing to lose, may as well give it your all right? At least you gave me that little bit of amusement, let's say it bought you...oh, I don't know, maybe another five minutes? Yeah, five minutes. You get to watch as your entire world is killed, and guess what? There is f**k all you can do about it" he said, laughing at the end of it. Glen tried to get up, tried to stop him, but he was exhausted. The world was doomed. What did it matter anyway? This was just an illusion, none of it real. But it felt real, it hurt just as much as it had the day he had turned tail and fled Aatarsilu, maybe even a little more. Consciousness left the boy, and darkness overtook the boy just as Dane turned his focus on the other person that had come to try to stop him. A little girl, one with flowing blonde hair and a dress that was all too fancy for the world of Aatarsilu. She didn't have a key like the other one had had, and she was better armed than the boy he'd just beaten. She had, of all things, a frypan and man if looks could kill he would be a goner. "Ha ha, alright then. Didn't realise they were sending the housewives to fight" he stated.
     
  14. cstar stay away from my waifu

    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2008
    Gender:
    Female
    3,252
    XXXVIII- The Tale of Kaida
    Part 4 of 5
    "Give Up"
    When Kaida lifted her head from the bow, everything seemed dark and distorted, people weren’t there in the audience anymore and it was just her. Everything was bleak, and her footsteps echo’d crazily due to the lack of people that seemed to be around. She made her way back down from her spot and began running outside. She saw people around, frozen in place as if they were rudely interrupted from daily routines due to a freeze. Kaida walked slowly, observing what was going on and she looked in front of her, seeing Aux and Hikaru actually walking and seeming to talk, she ran over towards them and reached out, “Guys, do you see this? What is going on?” and she finally reached them to touch their shoulders before they disappeared and she stopped and said, “W-what?” and the world began to crumble and she ran for it.

    The ground caved into a never-ending void and no matter how fast Kaida tried to run, she could not outrun it and fell through the ground screaming, reaching upwards for help that could not come. She felt herself float in the dark for a while before the void rejoined.

    You think you’re worthy? You think you can save your friends?

    Kaida tightened her fist and finally shouted at the voice, “Shut it!”
    Am I wrong?

    Kaida let out an aggravated yell before finally a light shined through the darkness and she blocked her eyes. When she moved her eyes, she was standing in the doorway of a room and saw Hikaru laying on the bed. He was clearly not moving, and while Kaida knew in that moment of time what the context would be later, she moved in fast and walked over to the bed, she placed her hands immediately on a chair that had been set for her to sit down, but she couldn't sit down, "What happened?"

    “What do you care?” Aux replied, Kaida knew this was not how the memory was supposed to go instantly. She turned towards Aux and asked, “What?”

    “Surprised you found time. It’s been two weeks since he’s been like this. Not that you could be bothered to even visit him.” Aux answered and Kaida shook her head and said, “No, I… I tried my best to get here as soon as I could…”
    “A likely story. You always seem to have an excuse.”
    “That’s not an excuse!” Kaida yelled looking hurt.

    “Really? Because lately it always seems like you have one…” Kaida shook her head as suddenly she seemed to look at a vision of herself walking away saying, “Sorry guys, I have meeting with the order.”

    Kaida backed away before another appeared and she held her hands up and looked in apology, “I can’t make it today.”
    The next one came right in succession as she bowed towards them, “I have a training session with Shiro.”

    Aux looked fully towards her and said, “And my personal favorite:”

    Kaida looked over to see herself, literally the day before she hadn’t seen Hikaru awake as she said with apology, “I’m just too busy today.”

    Kaida kept trying to shake her head and say, “I couldn’t help it… I wanted to be with you guys… I didn’t put you two further back to spite you… I-I didn’t.”

    “I couldn’t. I wanted to. I didn’t.” Aux hit and right back, “You couldn’t protect your friend. What can you do?”

    Kaida started tearing up and said, “I can… I can protect my friends… I- I can!” she didn’t sound confident at all with that.

    “No you can’t.” Aux replied before ending with, “Just give up.”
    “Just… give up…” Kaida almost wanted to believe in those words before yelling, “No!” and the memory disappeared and she covered her head.

    When she uncovered her head she was still in darkness, except a door. Kaida walked over to it and opened it in fear, before she opened to a hospital room. It was empty, except for one bed, which had Seiza sitting there. He seemed to be staring off, not even acknowledging the fact she entered his room. Kaida walked over and stood next to his bed and said, “Seiza…”

    Seiza looked at her and said, “You seem to be doing well for yourself. Tell me. How is it, running around in that world where the light shines and your skin burns.”
    Kaida tried to keep a straight face and said, “We can both go. Just when you’re health is be- "
    “Don’t try to sweet talk me. You and I both know I can never leave this place. And it is your fault.” Seiza laughed evilly and said, “You’re trying to play hero. But you can’t protect those you care about. What makes you think you can be a keyblade master? What makes you think you can do anything right?”

    Kaida felt herself crying again and said, “I’m sorry! You know I didn’t mean it!”
    “Maybe it would have been better if it was intentional. At least then you’d be evil on purpose.”
    Kaida shook her head and said, “I really didn’t mean it. I-I was too young to under-“
    “It’s never your fault with you. It’s always an excuse, or someone else. Or something beyond your control. You little excuse maker. Why don’t you just accept the fact this is all your fault. That you’re a monster.”

    Kaida screamed, “I’m not!”
    “You’re a monster.”
    “I’m not. I don’t want to be! I want to protect all of you. I will never fail someone again. I will never do anything to hurt you anymore. We’ll fix things.” Kaida insisted as she got on her knees and bowed her head, “I will fix things. Just please. Let me.”

    She kept her head down until Seiza shook his head in disapproval and said, “Give up on the act. Let yourself fade. Let yourself be lost…”

    Kaida felt something pulling her down as she repeated, “Let myself be lost..”
    “Just give up…” a voice said behind her.

    She looked at her arms and saw darkness was pulling her down and she looked up at Seiza in fear, “N-No..”
    “Such a coward. Can’t take deserved punishment. Thinks she’s amazing. She’s not.” Seiza shook his head and Kaida jumped up, pulling away from the darkness and saying, “I’m sorry I’m confident!”
    “You’re over confident!” Seiza yelled and the beeping on his heart monitor raised and she said, “Calm down!”
    “Never! You did this to me Kaida!” Seiza screamed pointing at the heart monitor as it raised and he looked weak, “You’re the reason I cannot live my dreams while you can! You are the reason I cannot go out there and do the things I love! I cannot run anymore! I cannot do anything new anymore! I am stuck in a library because of you! I am stuck working forever in the same job because of you!”

    Kaida tightened her fists as he said, “You could not protect your friends! You will never protect your friends!” and Seiza’s heart monitor stopped and Kaida froze as she felt a keyblade against her back and she looked to see Aux, “If you were not selfishly doing what you wanted, I could have been saved. Now I am lost to darkness, and it’s all your fault.”
    “You did that to yourself!” Kaida yelled, “How could I have stopped you?!”

    Kaida turned fully around to look at him better but Aux was gone, and all that was there was Hikaru standing with his eyes glazed over, Kaida didn’t understand it as he looked at her and said, “It’s your fault you weren't there with me, when I wanted to run away and find Aux. It’s your fault we changed. You were just too busy with failing your Mark of Masteries. Why should I care what happens to you? You couldn’t protect us if you tried. Now we're both here in the realm of darkness, and that's your fault.”

    Kaida stared at Hikaru and shook her head, “You’re… you’re wrong…”
    “Why are you of all people worthy of the keyblade? Why are you a member of the order?” The three asked in unison circling her. Kaida felt herself pushed between the three of them as they asked, “What did that master see in you to make you think you were worthy of taking his place!”
    “I’m not him! I’m myself! Stop comparing him to me!”
    “He saved the worlds, you can’t even avoid pressing a button and destroying a friend’s heart. You couldn’t save your friend from darkness. Worthless thing.” Kaida felt the darkness begin to engulf her and she fell to the ground as it began overtaking her as they said, “Go where you belong. Give up!”

    When the darkness enveloped her entirely, Kaida could not get up from her knees. She felt someone walk in front of her, and she saw yellow shoes. Kaida looked up to see herself, but her eyes completely blackened and a big grin on her face, “Can’t protect your friends. Can’t protect yourself. You worthless thing.”

    Kaida watched herself be circled by this image of herself as they said, “You were never worthy of the keyblade. You were never worthy of the journey. You should have stayed in that little paradise and felt your soul get sucked away as you made wooden creations and became part of the machine. You are a supporting role. You will never be worthy enough.”

    Kaida watched them stop and summon out a keyblade and point it towards her, “In order to save you from how dangerous you are, I am going to save you from your sorry little existence. You will wake up somewhere far away from everyone, and you will be forgotten. They may ask, “whatever happened to Kaida” but then they will move on while your pathetic existence withers away. And you know I am right, huh?”
    Kaida felt herself nod and say, “You are right..”
    “Worthless thing, just give up. It is okay to give up when you have already lost. Give up.”
    The reflection said and Kaida bowed her head down and repeated, “It is okay to give up…”

    The reflection smiled and raised the keyblade higher, “Now you understand. Smart girl.” And she moved to bring the keyblade down on her before the reflection was knocked far back and made a loud noise.

    Kaida felt someone shake her and say, “Come on Kaida, get up. You can do this.”
    “I.. can’t…” Kaida replied, not looking before the reflection yelled, “Step away, she’s already decided!”
    “Kaida, it’s okay to make mistakes. Giving up is just an easy way out of responsibility!” the voice yelled before she heard a loud blocking noise and she could not help but look up.

    Max was standing in front of her, protecting her from the reflection with his skateboard, like a shield. Kaida was shocked her was going that far and said, “Max, what are you-“

    Max pushed the reflection away and looked behind him and said, “Are you just gonna sit there? Come on, I know you are strong than that. I saw you fight in Disney town. And I was with you during those memories. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and living in the past!”

    Kaida stood up and the reflection walked closer to them and said, “Kaida, you know yourself better than this kid. You know how dangerous you can be. You know it is better to give up.”
    Kaida looked away and Max said, “You’ve pressured her into thinking that. But I’ll stand here and protect her because I know she’s better than this!” he turned his head towards Kaida and said, “Come on!”

    Max rushed towards the reflection and they began fighting and Kaida could not understand why he was willing to protect her. Was he seeing something she could not see? Shouldn’t he hate her for what happened with Seiza? What happened when she didn’t go and see Hikaru? How much of a failure she already was? Kaida watched them fight, seeing Max hold his own until his board broke and he fell back.

    The reflection pointed at him and said, “You first. Then she’s next.” Kaida watched as the reflection swung their keyblade down and she ran screaming, “No!” towards the reflection. She jumped in front of Max and was ready to take the keyblade for him.

    Then the light consumed her suddenly, once more.
     
  15. Shiki my waifu is better than yours, thanks

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2007
    Gender:
    Non-Binary
    Location:
    The Future
    440
    Ananta reappeared back in the hallway in time to see Beuce poke some girl's cheek. She was about to say something when she heard another door open. Ananta turned to see Karina standing at her door, looking absolutely broken. Knowing this was probably not the best thing to do, Ananta stepped towards her and held a hand out. "Karina, come here.." she whispered, trying to hide the girl's bare body. "Let me help you, please. I can try and see if my magic can give you some clothes..." she suggested, standing between Karina and Beuce. "I'd hate for him to see you naked, after all." she chuckled.

    A smiled was on her face that seemed to emanate helpfulness and the true want to make sure Karina was alright. Because clearly, she was not alright and clearly needed some kind of help right now. She didn't know what, but she knew she just had to help her.
     
  16. Iskandar King of Conquerors

    Joined:
    May 7, 2011
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Texas
    1,090
    Ignis simply stood as Beuce stared at her and then poked her cheek. She wasn't sure if she wanted to slap him silly for staring so much like she was a piece of art, or just laugh of the thing like some kind of joke. Though she also couldn't deny that coming back as a female after being a boy for so long with the group would probably raise a couple questions. But considering what they've been through so far, was it really that much of a surprise?

    She grabbed Beuce's poking finger and pushed it down. "Yes, Beuce, it's me. Just to clarify now, it's not Raisor, it's Ignis. That's my real name. And there is also plenty of story behind what you see, but maybe we should save that for a later time?"

    She watched as down the hall another member of their group came out of their door, and it was Karina. The only thing was, she was battered, bruised, and all-around torn up like she'd been through Hell.

    "Let's save the discussion till we make sure everyone's okay, how's that?"

    Ignis walked over to Karina to make sure she was alright, and she noticed that Ananta had exited her room as well and was helping the girl. Then she noticed that Karina had exited in her birthday suit and Ignis quickly turned around. She grabbed Beuce's arm and dragged him away from the other two.

    "On second though, maybe I'll tell you after all. Let's find a nice place to chat, alright? Good, let's go." She dragged Beuce by the arm, trying to get him away from something he really had no business seeing.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2016
  17. Beucefilous Kingdom Keeper

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2011
    Gender:
    No
    Location:
    Yes
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    [​IMG]
    "Oh, Ignis. Neat." He said, after being corrected. He wasn't very good with changing what he called someone. He'd mistakenly called Hikaru Krowley several times before he finally got out of the habit. Beuce nodded at the prospect of making sure everyone was okay. He put a foot forward to take off toward Karina's door, but nearly fell backwards as the unexpected force pulled his arm back. "Hey, easy. I just that like two minutes ago." He looked back toward Karina in confusion, until he saw a flash of the skin of her hip, which was completely bare. He didn't see the rest of it, but based on everyone's reactions he could assume it was similarly lacking clothing. He regained his balanced and began to walk normally alongside Ignis. "You know, I'm not that rude. She's clearly been through a lot, so i don't think now is exactly the time or place to get a peek in."
     
  18. Skyheart Joker

    Joined:
    May 29, 2013
    Gender:
    Moeblob
    Location:
    Inside Danmaku
    1,200
    897
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    Stepping out from a flood of white light, Stratos found himself surrounded entirely by...white. Right. Despite only being in there for what felt like a few hours, Stratos had forgotten that he was only able to get there via this castle in the first place. What an odd place it was. Taking an immediate look around, Stratos did not see anyone, with only the expansive white to fill his vision. While wondering more about this castle, Stratos then heard a loud, annoyed, and unfamiliar yell resound through the halls of the castle. Getting to attention, Stratos walked down the rather elongated hallways only to see some familiar figures standing in the distance. Rushing up closer, he noticed three of them to be the friends he had made that also entered this castle . Then there was a fourth, a woman with long red hair, and while Stratos had never seen this person before he couldn't help but feel there was some kind of familiarity there with someone else he knew. However, his attention was very much directed away from that as he saw the incredibly down trodden and naked form of Karina. While the image certainly came as surprising to him, he himself seemed to be more concerned then actually distracted by it. Looking to the others, though Beuce and the new girl were wandering away, he simply asked, "what happened?"
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2017
  19. Aelin Best Waifu

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2011
    Gender:
    Female
    Location:
    British Columbia, Canada
    1,423
    There was no verbal response to Ananta, no anger towards her like usual. Karina didn't even pull away from Ananta. Currently Karina didn't have the strength or mind to do anything. Her hands trembled slightly and her eyes were haunted as she just stared at the woman in front of her. While Karina knew others were around, she couldn't seem to focus on that or anything else. She didn't notice as the red head female walked towards her then turned away, or when she pulled Beuce with her. "It is my fault... he died..." Was all Karina managed to whisper in a weak voice that seemed to be failing her.
     
  20. Iskandar King of Conquerors

    Joined:
    May 7, 2011
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Texas
    1,090
    Ignis continued to walk with Beuce as she tried to get some distance from Ananta and Karina. She didn't know what had happened, but Ignis could tell from the damage Karina had taken and the look on her face that she didn't need a big crowd of people around her at the moment. She looked at Beuce and wondered how to respond to him.

    "Well, I wasn't pulling you because I thought you'd take a peak. At least, I hope that thought didn't go through your mind. I've been in that same state myself, and it's not good to crowd around at that point. We'll give her a little while to settle down and see what's up."

    As they walked, Stratos appeared from down the hall and Ignis waved to him. He questioned what happened and Ignis answered as best she could.

    "No clue, to be perfectly honest. I came out here, waited for everyone, Beuce showed up, then Karina, then Ananta, and now you. Karina seems to have been through Hell and then some though, so I'm going to make sure she gets a little space for a minute." Ignis brought her finger to Stratos's face to get his attention. "And you're going to leave her alone just like us, right?"