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{James : Louis’ Heart : Tower of Traitor}

As James’ thoughts raced through his head he heard the loud thumping of bass pounded in his ears, like the boom of someone listening to their music too loudly but ten times worse. Without even thinking about it, without even being cognizant of it happening his hexagun had been raised and he swiveled. His gun now aimed directly at Dawn’s head.

“James. Put the gun down… NOW.”

Dani calling out to the corsair caused him to come to his senses and realize just where his gun was aiming, trigger a hair’s width away from firing at Dawn. He forced the gun back down to his side and carefully eased off of the trigger to return to the guard. He looked down at it bewildered, trying to rationalize what just happened. He hadn’t been thinking about Dawn, not at all. He had been thinking about Nick. He looked at Dawn bewildered. Had she or someone else been thinking about sacrificing her?

”Be careful about what you think guys, something about this just manipulated me to aim at Dawn. I did not do that consciously,” He stated attempting to reassure them, not entirely sure if they believed him or not.

The loud heart beat sound in his head was making it hard to focus on the conversations going on around him. With his heightened senses the sensation was almost deafening. He didn’t even recall what Dawn had just said and could barely make sense of Dani’s words aside from her calling out to him. He rubbed at his temples with his left hand, not sure how to respond.

[Joseph: Louis' Heart: Nightmare Tower]

So, Amy was actually in front of him(which begged the question what happened there with the voice and whatnot). She seemed okayish. John also seemed...well, confused, but okay. Frankly they were all pretty confused. But Mathy was freaking out, and Kyla seemed terrified.

Well, wasn't this a fine pickle?

First, he waved back at Amy. It was only polite. Then, he thought to Mathy along the chamrs.

Okay, remember Mathy, deep breaths. He's ******** with our heads, but we can move beyond that. Remember, you have magic. Powerful magic, and a brain. I don't know where you are, but I know you can get out, and you can find me and Amy. This? This won't stop you.

Then, it was a direct link to Kyla. Which, to be fair, was still a little rough. Was he still upset with her from earlier? How she didn't seem to value her own life? Well, yeah. But that didn't mean he didn't care.

Kyla. It's okay. I'm here...well, kind of. Take deep, calming breaths. You aren't alone. You have carbuncle, and I'm right here with the charms. We all are. But I need you to breathe, to try and calm down. I need you to remember something, okay? You have magic. Immense, untapped potential. Nightmare can't stifle that, don't let him make you think he can. We've fought the dark before, and won. This? This is just a shadow on a sunny day. Shine through the dark. Find us, your allies.

The male opened up his charms to everyone, Amy and John included, for his final bit.

We can all meet up. We can all crush this nightmare and make it a dream. Just don't give up hope, don't give in to fear. We just have to find each other. And then everything will be okay.

Well, he hoped, at least. Even as he focused more, he was a bit stumped as to how he was actually going to find everyone. They were in a random, circular room. He...had an option for getting out, but he probably needed a direction, first, to start off with.

"So, Amy...First things first, I agree. He's a massive d**k. Second, I could probably blow out a wall or something. Well, as much as I've been focusing my strength, maybe the whole tower which might not be safe but...I kind of lack any way to find people besides barreling through walls. Any idea where to start? Or maybe a better idea than that?

He crossed his arms, letting out a sigh. "Man, this place sucks."

{Leon : Louis’ Heart : Tower of Victim}

Leon remained silent but focused as they made their way towards the tower of victim. He heard the conversation between Kyle and Jenny. However, at the moment it really didn’t seem of huge concern to him so he ignored it for the most part. Just like the others he had no idea what to expect. However, the room that they entered was the last thing he had expected. They entered into a hallway that didn’t resemble the architecture of the castle at all. It didn’t make sense, but there real point dwelling on it either. They continued along the hallway until they came to a slightly ajar door. Being the only way to go they opened the door and were pulled into the room. The room within was small and minimally furnished. Sitting on the bed was a boy, whom the gunblader assumed was the shard they were trying to deal with.

The boy though, who seemed to be in fairly rough shape, hardly seemed to be any kind of threat though. To the contrary he seemed quite considerate of them as they arrived. Leon chose to remain standing, finding a spot on the wall to lean against as he looked around the room, what little there was to look at. The static riddled TV, the small chair, the window, and the bed on which the boy sat.

”So you’re supposed to be Victim?” He asked, figuring he would go ahead and confirm that up front. The boy certainly looked the part, broken, beat and scarred.

{Auron : Louis’ Heart : Prisoner’s Purgatory}

Auron remained silent as he followed behind Joe and Sora down the wooden hallway. All around them were bookshelves, clearly a library of some kind. He paused as Joe stopped to examine one of the books which was blank and it was clear that they were all quite likely to be. They continued to move forward toward the figure who was in the middle of an open circle area deprived of shelves. The unsent samurai had to be careful how he moved due to the size of his weapon as they navigated through the bookshelves. The large weapon had to be held on his shoulder with the point going straight up instead of over his left shoulder as he normally carried it. He listened to the others talk, discussing how this was intended to be a prison. They stopped just before the outside ring, clearly the boy’s limits in terms of how far he could move and watched as the boy freaked out, recoiling away from them as Joe spoke to him. The boy was bound at the wrists, ankles, and by the neck to a chain bolted securely to the floor and he was blindfolded so he could not see.

”Calm down, we’re not here to punish you,” Auron stated , his rough voice intense, though by no means trying to be alarming. He hoped that if the boy had heard his captor’s voice before he might realize that it wasn’t him. However, the only way to find out was to try.

[Dawn : Louis' Heart : Tower of the Traitor]

Dawn blinked when Dani yelled at them. She looked over at James right before he took his gun away from her head. She took a small step away from James, confused. She glanced at Dani then back at James. Before she looked away and at the ground.

"I never said I was going to sacrifice any of you..." she paused a moment as she tried to figure out how she should word what she was thinking, "So you are saying that we should hold ourselves above many? We are all important here. We are trying to save people not cause a genocide. I dunno about you, but I couldn't live with myself if I let these people die. At the same time, I couldn't let anyone else die here. Not even Nick."

'How, how can he think we can make such a decision? I can't. I won't. I won't let anyone I care about die here.'

Dawn sighed softly as she looked over at James' hexagun followed by the other weapons, "Though, I think it would be safer for all of us if we put our weapons away. After all this is the Traitor... He has already tried to use one of us. Won't stop him from doing it again."

{Bobbi .:. Louis's Heart .:. Tower of Traitor}

"I trust you about as far as I can spit," Bobbi snapped at Nemesis as her group headed towards their tower. She felt a bit of relief as Riku and the others took up the positions she'd... ordered. Which still felt weird. She should have been suggesting; they were a team, not a dictatorship. Especially since it was Riku following directions. He had the most experience in the whole saving-the-worlds thing, it really should have been him in charge. But he seemed fine with letting her take over this small group, and deferring to Joe in the larger one.

She stayed silent on the trek up to the tower, keeping an eye out for trouble, occasionally glancing at a tombstone and trying to make sense of it because of her insatiable compulsion to read. Naturally, she also read the inscription above the door to the tower, and tsk'd.

"Melodramatic, much?" she muttered under her breath. She kept her guard up as they continued inside, now prepping a Mirror Wall to protect her friends, while also making sure her previous spells were still in place on her arrow.

The swirling mist inside the tower made her faintly nauseous, but once it settled her stomach calmed. She cocked her head to one side, listening intently with her right ear as the left never had been able to differentiate speech from any other noise. Her lips pursed at the words being spoken. They were so like that strange voice she'd heard a week ago when she'd chosen Taulmaril--or been chosen by Taulmaril, she still wasn't one hundred percent sure what happened.


This is why I was chosen.

She inhaled sharply through her nose--the closest she could come to a gasp as her jaw was clenched and her lips pursed--at the flash of light.

"Before you, you have 1,000 innocent lives dangled before death's door. You have the chance to save them, but only at the cost of sacrificing one of your own. Only 1 life in exchange for thousands. Choose your fate."

"No."

The one word was spoken sharply, not in anger or despair, but in defiance. Her ears were ringing, heart pounding harder than ever, her very stance and every fiber of her being screamed I will not stand for this. Her Mirror Wall was released without conscious thought, springing up around each of her friends--yes, even Nick--reaching to heart-height, perfect, flawless, as transparent as glass and as hard as steel. The sole exception was Dawn, whose Wall gave her full cover from head to toe, extra thick on the side facing Kuro.

"We will not be sacrificing ourselves today," she continued. She tried to gesture angrily, but her hands were still clenched on Taulmaril, though they shook with her fury. "Not for a thousand. Not when we can save millions by staying alive. All of us."

She tried so, so hard not to think except Nick, but all she could think of for a brief, terrifying moment was all the lives he had already taken. So far as Bobbi knew, Nick had never saved lives, only ended them. On top of that, he seemed to be quite far gone in madness anyway. Judging from the cracked appearance of his eyes and the way he rambled, there was likely very little chance to save him.

If any of us are going to be sacrificed, Nick is the--no. No. I'm not doing this. I'm not killing anyone in this sick, twisted game.

This isn't justice.

With a growl born entirely of the fury that had been building exponentially the last several hours, Bobbi dismissed Taulmaril, dismissed her Mirror Wall, and stepped forward, away from the group.

"Traitor!" she bellowed, lips pulled back in a feral snarl, hands clenched at her sides, every muscle tensed and shaking in her rage. "I'm not playing your stupid games! Come out here and face me, you ******** COWARD!"

{Red XIII, Yuffie .:. Louis's Heart .:. Tower of Victim}

Nanaki only gave the stones a passing glance, making sure no nasty creatures were hiding behind them ready to ambush, but otherwise paying them no mind. Yuffie did much the same, though mostly because she was bored and itching for something to do, and reading tombstones didn't tickle her fancy at all.

The hallway was boring enough, and Yuffie and Nanaki relaxed their guard just the tiniest fractions. Nothing could possibly ambush them in there, except from the one lone door. As the group approached, Nanaki kept himself close to the door, ready to pounce and rend anything that might attack through it...

But there was nothing. Just another dull room, sterile, and lifeless except for the boy sitting on the bed. His wounds were grievous, but he barely reacted, save to offer the group seats... and offering to give up his spot on the bed in their favor.

Indeed a victim, the lion-like creature thought, cocking his head to one side curiously.

"What do you want to be called?" Yuffie asked gently, approaching the bed and squatting down to be below the boy's eye-level. Her shuriken was still in her hand, but she kept it in his line of sight. She could easily use it if she needed to, but she thought having the weapon out where he could keep an eye on it would at least not scare him as much as trying to hide a weapon he had already seen.

{Zell, Demyx .:. Louis's Heart .:. Cornerstones of Death}

.:Hey, man, trust me:. Demyx responded to Riku via the charms, deliberately imitating Nemesis' tone from when he'd said the exact same words just a moment ago. .:I'm all about the survival. It's my favorite past-time!:.

.:We'll be alright,:. Zell added. He shrugged at Melissandre's rebuttal, but kept oddly silent in response to it. He was more concerned with watching as the kids each disappeared into their towers, looking for any sign that something was going to go wrong.

"You're weirdly curious for someone who seems to know so much about us Nobodies, lady," Demyx said, summoning his Sitar and tuning it. Not that it needed tuning, but it gave his hands something to do. "Not everybody knows we don't have emotions. But just 'cause I can't feel these things doesn't mean I don't remember 'em, you know? Besides, the Organization's most common goal was restoring our hearts. You know, be Somebodies again."

Much to Zell's surprise, Demyx actually thought about Mel's questions, idly strumming a lullaby once he'd finished tuning the Sitar. The Nobody's face was screwed up in a frown of concentration, and he stared after the group heading towards Nightmare. Specifically, he stared after Kyla.

"I guess the main reason I came along was 'cause these guys have the best chance of helping me get my heart back," he said, thoughtfully, as if the idea was just now occurring to him. "The Organization fell apart, and I... well, I died. Thanks to Sora. So I've kinda got a bone to pick with him. But ya know, he had good reason to do what he did, I guess. I ain't no fighter, really. It's not my thing. I do recon, gather intelligence, spy, that kinda thing. They don't need me for that, really. Not yet."

The Nobody went silent again, for long enough that Zell thought he was done, but once again he was surprised. Demyx stared right at him for a moment, very intently, but it was so fast that Zell couldn't be sure he'd actually seen the look before the Melodious Nocturne turned a very uncharacteristic smirk on the amazoness.

"Most of what I do is an act," he admitted. "Figured 'fake it 'til you make it' might have some merit. I act like I do because that's how I remember myself before I became a Nobody. Yeah, I could help 'em fight, I could probably even make myself indispensable. But that's not the 'me' I remember."

"All this bloodshed, all this devastation... you've given up everything."

There was a small cracking noise as Nick made his case. A louder snap when Bobbi made her own. Then finally, Riku voiced his own perspective and the floor shook as a thunderous beat rose from beneath.



The people on the opposite platform screamed as some slipped and clung to the edge when the entire disk shifted to one side... others reached out and grabbed onto them, trying to keep them from slipping into the abyss to be lost forever. Despite this, their heroic efforts could only save so many... the old, young, and unlucky hundreds plummeted into the depths screaming... only hearts returning from the void floating up before darkness devoured them once again. Many who remained on the platform called out for mercy, to be saved... pleading, begging, screaming, cursing the group for not making a choice to save their lives without hesitation. Seemingly half had vanished in the blink of an eye.

But there it was, "Why not kill Nicholas since he's an evil p***k?" There was the thoughts crossing each of their minds, stated so clearly for any to hear, If any of us are going to be sacrificed, Nick is the- it hung there, like screeching nails on a chalkboard. To take back a word- a thought... how precious an opportunity such as that would be, yet still it was there, It’s definitely Nick.

Ahh, the majority had spoken.

Shattering glass was heard as Bobbi's wall came down... yet something wasn't right. Perhaps it was clear they would sacrifice the thousand... perhaps not. Still, as her wall broke apart, it did so in a flurry of pieces flung this way and that. When all cleared, Nick stood with there sharp blades of ice protruding from his leg, arm, and abdomen.

"Was it worth it? Was all this worth resistance?"

There was a sigh of relief from the hundreds remaining, still, a bitter taste lingering on the tongues of many who resented their loss and spurned those who hesitated to save them.

"Judgment has been passed," there was a pause as the disembodied voice took count, "500 lives saved... 501 sacrificed."

As Nick collapsed to the floor and burst into shadow, while the others perceived him as dead, he himself, appeared on a platform orbiting the main, invisible to their view, but capable of observing their reactions. It would seem he never actually experienced the pain of being stabbed.

After a long pause... there was a snap another light turned on at the opposite side of the platform from the one holding the 500. another platform appeared, much smaller than the first and the platforms began orbiting the central one on which the heroes of light stood. This time on the new platform there stood one person, a girl with long brown hair cloaked in a white-mage's gown. She stared at them, eyes glazed over, "Before you stands an ally you have lost," a second snap, a 3rd platform appeared, this one revealing Nick where he stood, "And another, you yourselves put to the sword."

"To save one, you must sacrifice the other 2. Choose your fate."

"No. It wasn't."