Welcome to Gaia! ::

All our memories are never forgotten.....
They are only locked behind a door....

Quest stood behind Lakayna, chest still throbbing from the dark energy from earlier. Like a part of her was saying, I want out. Now. "It...Could be. That's why....The barrier felt....Familiar." She reasoned slowly, the pain making it hard to think. She fell silent as she continued to listen to the others. "Wait." She interjected and turned to Namine. "But then, why only Sora and Riku? So it...Might be possible that....Kairi could have one too." When she rethought what she said, the pain was definately affecting her head. But then again, living in the darkness like she did, she learned to think of all possibilities. And you're next. Kiera's voice hissed in her head. Another wave of energy made her sway slightly and lean against the wall for support.

""

~Thinking of you, wherever you are.

Kairi held onto Quest, still worried. Sora came to help her as well, and then the group entered Naminé's house. Once inside, the first thing the Princess noticed was Riku on the couch with Naminé, awake. She smiled glad that he was okay. Lakayna then asked Riku to see his memories, and just like the red head had thought, he wasn't eager to agree at all. He asked why they needed to see his memories and Lakayna and Sora were quick to reply, saying that it might help them figure out what was going on. The Keyblade Master asked the silvernette if he remembered what had happened, the crimsonette knowing that they wouldn't need to go through his memory if he could recall those recent events.

What happened next shocked the Princess. Riku got up and started shouting at Sora, advancing on him. Alarmed, Kairi rushed to her boyfriend's side, he case she needed to break up a fight. Her two best friends had always fought in the past, but that had been for fun. The way Riku was acting now truly scared Kairi. Riku shouted that Sora should know what had happened since he had been there. Wait, what? The silvernette trailed off looking confused, and mentioning that Sora was Light again. The crimsonette was confused too. What did he mean again? Wasn't Sora always Light? Riku sat back down on the couch and after a second asked if someone could tell him what was going on. Blink pipped up that he had been asking himself that question for a while now, and to be honest Kairi had too. Lakayna said she'd surely be able to give him some answers if he'd let her see his memories. He finally reluctantly agreed, allowing the dragoness to take his one of his hands, the other hand being held by Naminé who gave him a reassuring smile and told him it'd be okay. Sora also told Riku he could be a little more grateful since they were just trying to help, and Kairi lightly nodded in agreement. As soon as Lakayna had taken Riku's hand her eyes clouded over like the had all the other times she had witnessed someone else's past. Once she was finished, she said something about how it couldn't have been Sora since he had been with her and Quest. The Princess was even more confused than before, and Sora asked what she had been wondering, how ad he been involved?

The lavendernette explained what she had seen in Riku's recent memory, saying it wasn't exactly Sora. That the person looked like him, but he was darker and much more menacing; like a mirrored and twisted version of the brunette. The thought of a dark twisted version of her boyfriend made Kairi shutter slightly. Lakayna said she thought it might have been... She trailed of before finishing her sentance. Might have been what? And then in dawned on Kairi. Lakayna had said it was like Sora, but darker. Dark, that was the keyword. Was that person Sora's darkness? The dragoness went on to say that the Sora look alike fought with Riku and took something from him. His darkness. Things seemed to click then. Riku jumped up and said that the dark energy they had felt before was his. Now that he mentioned it, the energy did feel familiar to Kairi. She didn't like what was going on right now, but she was glad that Riku didn't have to fight the darkness anymore.

It seemed what the crimsonette had thought was what everyone else thought too. That person was Sora's darkness. Naminé stated that if the darkness in the Keybearer had detached completely and was able to form an intelligent being, and had stolen Riku's darkness, he was most likely trying to mold it into something. If Sora's the Bearer of Light, then that person is exactly his opposite, The Bearer of Darkness. Kairi's Other said that his power over darkness will be just as strong as the power the brunette wields over light, and that he could very well be stronger than Xemnas ever was. Naminé finished slowly saying that if this was the case, they all really need to stay on guard. The crimsonette's mind thought of dark versions of Sora and Riku wondering around, then back to her memories of Xemnas. Someone stronger than him? Kairi was really worried now, a frown planting itself on her face and her brows furrowed in concern.

Quest spoke up next, and what she said blew the Princess out of the water. The other red head agreed with Naminé, but questioned why only Sora and Riku. She said that it might be possible that Kairi could have a dark being too. Kairi gasped, and her concerned faced turned into one of shocked surprise. "What?!" she exclaimed, caught off guard by this comment. The crimsonette regained herself a little as she thought aloud, "That's not possible though. I'm a Princess of Heart. The seven Princesses of Heart are some of the few out there who don't have any darkness within their hearts, so it couldn't be possible, right?" As the words left her mouth though she doubted herself. Anything was possible. "Wait..." she said again, speaking slowly, thinking, "After the past few years, I've learned nothing is impossible. Unlike the other Princesses, my heart took refuge. It went into Sora. Do you think something could have happened in the small amount of time my heart wasn't in me or him, when it was leaving me going to him? Or do you think something happened while it was inside him? I don't know, maybe that's crazy. But... Back in Halloween Town and now here more recently, I've felt something eerily familiar watching me..."

((Sorry for the freakishly huge post!! x_x A lot happened, and I only missed one night!))

We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.~

Aros didn’t get an immediate response from the hooded woman, so he supposed she’d agreed. He started to turn to go to the cove, but a quiet, musical voice reached him before he could leave. He smirked, recognizing the voice, and turned his eyes to see Rikia. He didn’t know why she wasn’t trying to conceal her identity, but he was fairly certain she had something up her sleeve, so he didn’t question her. She’d said that she saw he’d made a new friend, making him chuckle darkly.
”’Made’ is right, ‘friend’, not so much,” he replied, raising a brow at Ruxik. The Nobody needed to know his place here and now. Aros didn’t have friends, only accomplices, or in Ruxik’s case, servants. He quickly looked back at Rikia as she agreed they needed to go somewhere more private, but first she wanted to know the new guy’s name. ”Ruxik,” he whispered quietly so Roxas wouldn’t hear. ”Now come on.”

Aros turned away, catching sight of Kiera as she appeared. It seemed that they were about to have an unofficial meeting. So he led the way away from the little islet and towards the little wooden passage. He shoved open the door, hard and uncaring to the point where it was almost wrenched right out of the frame. Inside were the little wooden swords Sora and Riku had used to fight with when they were younger, but the ravenette paid them no notice and continued towards the other door. When he pulled it open, he found that they were in the cove, a nice secluded area that couldn’t be accessed well without someone noticing. It was a perfect meeting spot for all of them. He crossed over towards one of the wooden platforms and sat down, leaving his legs hanging over the sides as he crossed his arms over his chest.
”Now… what’s so important that we need to talk about?” he asked, moving his arms for a moment to pull down his hood before returning them to their stiff position across his chest. He eyed each person except for Ruxik, for he knew that the Nobody didn’t have anything to report. After all, he’d just created him, and whatever Rikia or Kiera had to say would be much more important. He was curious to learn about the new woman as well, but he would have to wait for her to be done with Roxas and catch up before he could question her.

The difference between life and death is a split second....

Kiera started first. "They're all at Namine's house, and they've put a Light barrier around it." She said. "However, the darkness from you and Ruxik combined have had an....Effect....On her. Her nobody has reawakened inside her. Quest herself is growing weak because of her tie to the darkness. I was just merely wondering if you were interested in gaining more....Accomplices." She finished and leaned against the wall, dull blue eyes studying Aros carefully. While she was waiting for him to answer, she gave Quest's darkness one more mental push.

((Edited))

Lakayna moved away from them, leaning against a wall at the other end of the room, eyes staring out through a nearby window. Her arms hugged her body loosely, like she was cold; or afraid. What was happening on the Islands? Lakayna still wanted to go to the dance with Axel, whom she sorta kinda consider to be almost her boyfriend. She liked him a lot, and hoped to herself it could ventually reach that stage. Enough about that though, as Lakayna pulled her thoughts back to reality.

(lunch is over guys, move it on now. we might need to do a time-skip to the night time. it's taking longer than i thought it would to get to the dance where the planned thing takes place.)

All our memories are never forgotten.....
They are only locked behind a door....

Quest nodded. It made sense. She had been there, she remembered....She bit her lip as she remembered something else. It had been her fault that they had been put in that position....She continued to listen to Namine, and worry coiled in her stomach. If they had been after Riku's darkness, then they were probably going to be after her darkness as well. It had been strong when she had been on that side, while she had been with Maleficent. Which reminded her. She kept her side of the deal, at least.

Tonight. Oh yeah, tonight was the dance...Did they have to wear anything special? She hoped not. She suddenly looked up, as she felt something tug in her mind. She had to go somewhere.....She felt like she needed to be somewhere, but...She couldn't remember. She frowned, straightening. "I have...To go." She murmured. "There's something I need to do." The excuse came out fluidly, almost like it had been planned. "I'll see you guys later tonight, okay?" She gave a small wave and stumbled out of the room, making her way down the stairs and out of the house. As soon as she passed the barrier, the feeling disappeared. What the...? She wondered and placed a hand on her chest. The pain had lessened a bit. This was so wierd. And maybe.....Maybe the only way to find out the answers was to rejoin the darkness....

""

Aros became amused as Kiera spoke up, letting him know about the light barrier Sora had created to keep Riku safe. It was a meaningless effort, because they weren’t going to try and strike them there anyway. They would catch them when they least expect it. The girl continued, explaining that the darkness he and Ruxik had created seemed to have an effect on the girl that she was after. She asked if he wanted another accomplice, her tone suggesting that she could do something about it if that were the case. An evil grin spread across the ravenette’s face, and he nodded.
”That would be perfect,” he told her. ”Do whatever you have to do, but don’t let anyone, even her, see you. At least until tonight at the dance. So if you can make preparations now, and not attack until then, that would be the best.” He paused for a moment, looking up at the sky. The sun was a little past the middle of the sky, suggesting it was getting later. Soon, school would be over and all the oblivious light-bearers would be getting ready for their cute little dance. He needed to get moving if he wanted to make any progress with Ruxik before the big event. He looked back at Rikia and Kiera. ”Well, we have work to do,” he stated, jumping off of the wooden platform he’d been sitting on. ”So if you would all excuse us, I have some training I need to do with my little puppet here.” A sinister chuckle emitted from his throat as his burning red eyes met the golden hues of Ruxik’s. With a nod of his head, he beckoned Riku’s Nobody to follow, and led him deeper into the cove.

~~Time Skip~~

Aros had finally been satisfied with the work he’d gotten done with Ruxik, so about an hour ago he’d called it off and opened a Corridor of Darkness to the cliff. That was where he was right now, standing on the edge with his arms crossed, eyes trained on Destiny High. He couldn’t see the students entering the building for the dance very well, but one thing was for certain: None of the light-bearers had arrived yet. He hadn’t been looking down on the streets or the like, expecting them to be some of the first to be at the door. But no such luck. He sighed, disgusted, but didn’t dare move his eyes from the entrance. He would recognize half of the light-bearers by their nutty hair (which he had no right to say, considering his hair style was identical to one of theirs). What also frustrated him was that none of his accomplices had shown up yet, aside from Ruxik of course. Finally, he let out a huff and growled.
”Where are they!?” he demanded quietly, unfolding his arms and throwing them to his side. His jaw clenched in impatience. He’d been waiting so long for this moment. So why was no one there yet!?

((Time skip included as wanted by Midnight! I hope this works okay. It's about 7:00, a half hour after the dance started. Some people may already be there, but Aros just didn't notice. If you want to prep your character a little, then they are allowed to be a little late to the dance. If I need to fix anything, let me know and I'll edit!))

The difference between life and death is a split second....

Kiera gave a malicious grin, the first in many years, and nodded. She turned heel and disappeared through a dark corridor, making it close up behind her. Finally.....My revenge on her....Has begun.

She appeared near to where Quest was still standing, dazed and confused.....Outside of the barrier. Perfect. She murmured to herself and reached out with her hand creating a barrier around the two of them, and her own darkness shot into Quest's heart, making her double over in pain. She grinned evilly, moving her fingers, the darkness creating a hand, grabbing at Tesqux and pulling her out none too gently. Quest gave a cry of pain as she kneeled over, a dark shadow escaping her form. The shadow flew out of the huddled form and into Kiera's grasp. She closed her hand on it's forearm, and pulled it into a dark corridor before slipping off to somewhere discreet to complete Tesqux.

==Time Skip==

Kiera had finally finished the nobody, and now she was back. She led Tesqux to the cliff where Aros and Ruxik would be waiting and the duo stepped out of the dark corridor. "Aros, Tesqux. Tessie, Aros." She said breifly, waiting for the nobody's and the dark wielder's reactions.