As the shards unlocked the gate Joe rolled his shoulders a few times to work out the soreness he was feeling. He just wanted to end this as quickly as possible.
On the inside was...a field of snow? Appropriate enough considering the host. At least it wasn't as ostentatious as the castle. 'Pay attention to what's important, boy. Notice anything familiar?'
Letting the insult slide, Joe's eyes focused in on the boy in white.
Louis. Again. Was this the real one? Or some other representation of his fractured heart? At this point, the grey knight was barely in the mood to keep track anymore.
Not that it mattered, since "Louis" wasn't there real opponent. There real opponent just skewered him through the throat. 'See fleshbag? Our partnership could be so much worse.'
A pit dropped in his stomach as the blood gushed from Louis' neck. 'I'm so comforted.'
"You know, I was wondering when we'd get to you." Joe called out, locking his eyes onto the scion. "All this time we've been fighting broken piece after broken piece, it makes since we'd get to the greedy little minnow who started this mess."
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 5:03 pm
{James : Louis’ Heart : The Box}
James remained silent as they approached the massive gate that stood before them, frozen and chained shut, seemingly impenetrable. Until the light of the shards began to cut through it all with great efficiency and precision, like a plasma-cutter through steel. The corsair raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light due to his enhanced senses. As the chains fell with their metallic cacophony he was forced to clap his hands over his hears to prevent them from ringing as the sound resounded like a massive bell sounding while he was in the bell tower… When the noise and light show ended they all moved forward and beyond the gate. To be greeted by snowfall, only it was rising…. A vast white winter space with a vague forest tree line and not far from there stood Louis, their objective. He seemed happy, before he realized the severity of the situation and gave them a warning to leave only to be silenced as holes appeared in this throat followed by a collar with spikes that pierced the young man.
James could sense the surge of darkness as the rumbling voice spoke and the gauntleted hands of the one known as Mateus appeared and lifted Louis off of the ground by the neck via chains. Blood pored freely from the holes in his neck and James was forced to avert his eyes as his stomach twisted in repulsed knots. He didn’t want to see that… Blood and gore had never been this thing and just the sight of that much blood made the corsair start to feel light headed, wishing for something to hold onto to support himself or something to lay on in case he did collapse. His hearing muffled, making it difficult to hear anything that the others were saying.
’Stay with it James. You have to be ready, focus on your breathing… anything other than Louis, Fenrir stated calmly within the corsair’s mind, trying to keep him from fading.
’I’m trying…,’ He mentally replied fighting with all of his will to not succumb to the overwhelming feelings of dizziness and nausea.
Mateus laughed, "Your pitiful insults and threats mean nothing to me now. You've handed to me exactly what I needed."
"After all this time, I have you," chains grew off each finger and attached to a different limb at various distances, making the boy's body by comparison to the giant aquatic suit of armor closer to the image of a marionette than a person, "You tried so hard to resist, but no more. I'm in control now. Nothing will stand in my way."
"Nothing?" there was a shattering noise as the chains broke allowing Louis to fall to the floor, as a familiar angelic voice sang from all around them, "Did you forget about me already, Mateus?"
"You-" Mateus growled changing focus to the Woman in Blue who now stood midst the party of light bearers, stepping forward ahead of them with confidence, "You've no power here, Goddess. You're a slave, or did you forget that?!"
"The only slave here is you, Mateus," the goddess said smiling, "I serve him by choice."
"You serve me," he roared from a maw hidden in shadow.
"Silence," there was a flash, from Jenny a crystal rose floated from her chest, exploding in light that scattered outward. From each glass petal, a clear chain shot forth and wrapped about the armored giant as well as the goddess.
"What is this," Mateus demanded, struggling against the bindings and groaning with effort. Each jerk of his arms and sway of his torso kicked up a wave of red as the entire field was now scarlet and taken to the form of a sea of roses that scattered petals to the sky.
"Bindings, made of all that you and I have wraught in this boy's life," the woman closed her eyes as she met the yound man's gaze who struggled on the red ground, holding the wounds on his own neck with one hand while struggling to stay up with the other, "Chains of memories, the very power you held over him. His failures, his worries, his regrets, the corrupted influence you had over him will be your downfall."
"You wouldn't dare," his deep growl dropping to a warning tone, the shape of the demon in armor was changing bit by bit for anyone watching... he seemed to grow smaller, "You would fall as well."
"I can not change my fate, but I can certainly try to alter his. Better than allow you rulership over this child of man," at last she opened her eyes after a long pause and looked at the boy before her, "You know what you must do. The seed of darkness grows and it can not be allowed to bloom and bear fruit."
"Wait-" Louis gasped and swallowed hard, "Don't-" from the earthlings and four portals of light, 9 shards of Louis shot out and revolved around the last shard. Light poured over the boy healing the damage done to him, sewing his throat closed while the shards combined and sank into the boy's back.
"Soon, this will all be as a dream... now, do what you know you must. Stop this. Stop the darkness. Save these children of light and set things right."
"Don't listen to her," Mateus roared, though his form continued to be less and less intimidating and more human-like, "She only wants to steal away your birthright! With me, you will rule!"
"But-" the boy felt something beneath his hand, a crystalline rapier, his eyes locked to it as his hand closed around it, "I don't-"
"Are you listening?! Ignore her! Break the chains and set me free! Do you think you can stand against the darkness? They will have what they desire one way or another. The darkness is infinite!"
"You are foolish. The darkness may be infinite, but their presence in his heart is forever finite. Child of man, you know what needs to be done."
Louis screamed and grabbed the rapier. Tears of frustration streamed down his face as he got up and rushed forward. Rays of several colors gleamed this way and that as the boy blurred across the rose covered landscape. There was a plunging noise as the wind kicked up heavily and rose petals became so thick only glimpses of their surroundings became possible.
When the air cleared, they stood upon Louis' station of awakening, an odd ying and yang-like design, two bodies laid side by side, curled around each other. One, Louis, clothed in a blue and white uniform while the other lay in tattered rags, chain mail scraps, metal arm bands, and a heavy collar around his neck with black and red runic tattoos running all over the vast amounts of exposed skin.
At the center of the station, with his eyes wide open, each breath heavy and distraught, Louis stared at the goddess' face, the blade completely through her chest and out her back.
"It's okay," she said, reaching up and caressing his face, "This is how it had to be."
"Mmm," the boy smiled in reply, thought there was a bitterness in his voice to accompany the next word as he bit down sorrow, "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, child of man."
The goddess smiled and in a blast of cold air and blinding light, turned to crystal... then light engulfed her crystal shape traveling across the chains to the opposite side of the station, where Mateus was covered by the same light. A crack formed over the coating of light before it shattered, revealing the other Louis from the station only with a thin wound in the chest that swiftly bled.
At last, Mateus collapsed to the ground, his body bound by chains of light, arms held up and out as his chest hung low, deep breaths pulsing in and out between coughs expelling black blood. Louis, did not immediately turn towards him, but rather took some effort to part his hand from the rapier that had become one with the cyan glass sculpture. His fingers trembled as he stumbled back a few steps and turned around to face Mateus, taking a deep breath to compose himself.
Louis stood over him, inexpressive, merely watching as the monster that mirrored himself took his final, labored breaths, "You fought valiantly, Mateus. For all that it's worth, you fought for what you believed in, with all your might. That's better than I could ever claim. Nothing more than a boy played with like a puppet on strings, no true will of his own."
The boy coughed, heavily, though some laughter could be heard through the excruciating gasps for breath, "How... can you say that? I've lost."
"Because, after everything you've done and horrors you've birthed into this world through me... you were still a major part of this wretched life of mine. Despite it all, you still showed me something worth value in the end."
The esper's human body burned with black flames, working its way up from his legs, leaving crystal in its wake, "What... value...?" Louis didn't reply, because by the time Mateus had uttered his question, he was already gone.
There was a long pause as the boy stared at the crystallized form that was essentially the demonic visage of himself. At last he turned away and back to the others, "I know you must have a lot of questions," he addressed them with a glance out into the abyss, a determined glare locked on the empty horizon, "but... we're not finished. There isn't much time so listen carefully."
Louis raised an open palm, as though offering a gift. Above it, formed a small black seed. As darkness quickly flowed into it and the seed rose into the air, it grew, the small seed splitting down the middle, parting into a thin red line.
"I wish I could offer you a respite but I'm afraid this can't wait. It must be done now," he took a deep breath to compose himself, "I made a pact with the Darkness, and now it threatens to infect all of you the longer I try and hold it back. The core is exposed and when it arrives it will devour everyone unless it is forced into a vessel."
Louis raised his arms up, black streams erupting from every surface feeding the seed, "If I don't do this, there will be no hope for any of you getting out alive. So, whatever happens... whatever you see... whatever you do, don't hold back."
As the dark seed reached a bursting point, like a flower on the verge of bloom, Louis trembled, his hands shaking, his stoic expression shifting as the tips of his lips twitched and tears gathered in his eyes, "To be honest..." he laughed nervously, "I kinda wish it didn't have to end like this. If things had been different... no... it's not right to think that way."
The arcanist dropped his hands until they became a horizontal line to his sides, he laughed a bit more, a beat of sweat sliding down his temple as the tendrils from the black sun sporting seven red lines reached out towards the boy, "You know... I'm actually kinda scared. I thought I wouldn't be, but... now that I'm here-" the tendrils shot out like spears skewering, his limbs, bleeding into them as the black sphere grew smaller. Despite the interruption he gritted his teeth and continued, "I can't help but wonder... is there really an after life? A next life, even? Heaven? If there is... I wish..."
There was a flash and surrounding the platform a double helix of chains, each with an sequential image shown clearly in the center of each link. The force of their passing kicked up a momentary wind that sent hair and clothes into a flurry. The passing chains in rapid motion resembled closer to that of film, playing out images of Louis, the light bearers, their enemies, their victories, their losses, their laughs, and their tears.
I wish we could be friends.
Their heartfelt adventures continued to fly past into the empty expanse above before colliding into a small star that rained in slow motion tiny fragments around the battlefield, each piece phasing through whatever they touched carrying with it a glimpse of memories, memories of them and the time they shared.
The black sphere flowed into Louis like a spiral of waterfalls now, and he swallowed deep before exhaling one last disheartened chuckle, "Ah... who am I kidding," he sighed, "There's no way there's anything that nice waiting for me."
Louis dropped his head as the last of the darkness flowed into him, falling to his knees as the power holding him up released him. Still as death, he stared at the floor, arms limp at his sides.
Damn... I don't think I can speak anymore... I thought I had more time... I forgot to tell them... what I wanted say in the end... I never got to say thank you... for everything.
A pulse of pure force originating from Louis obliterated the statue of Mateus along with the goddess, scattering pieces across the stain glass surface as the chains that bound them broke apart as well, flowing off into the abyss as though caught in water as each facet reflected various images of Louis' life.
Ah... it's so dark now. I can't... feel anything anymore... and it's so quiet. It's not bad I guess... this silence is kinda nice. Still... if I... could have changed... anything... I would have... liked... to... have... heard. . . j.u..s...t. . . o....n......e-
The immense power behind the pulse of force didn’t stop after shattering the petrified spirits.
The group would have found themselves pushed back by a constant tempest, hurricane gusts rushing outward from Louis’ body with enough might that, if they did not use all of their effort and focus just to brace themselves, they would have been flung backward against the magic barrier surrounding the station, pressed against the wall and unable to move.
More dark power pulsed outward from the body, which began to lift up into the air, the numb limbs still hanging at their sides, his head still limply gazing toward the ground, as if he were being picked up by the collar of his shirt. The temperature dropped instantly, and the gales became like biting lashes, sapping the heat and strength from their bodies as they stood their ground. It was a cold only some were particularly familiar with; this was not the coolness of frost or snowfall, but the cold that comes purely from absence, the chill that descended upon the world when fell the night.
This was the cold of a realm without light.
Acting was out of the question, and talking was equally unlikely—the wouldn’t be able to hear the sound of their own voices, let alone each other’s. But even as their thoughts rushed, as their minds clung to conscious understanding, there was the underlying factor that began to rise to the surface, pulled to forefront as swiftly as the hairs rising on their flesh. Through their struggles, through their training, they had steeled their minds and bodies for a great number of possible foes, but as some remembered from Atlantis and others quickly realized, no experience could properly prepare one for this coming storm.
Malignant power, appearing like opaque oil or black blood, began to seep out of every pore on Louis’ body, enveloping his form, and the storm grew louder, more cacophonous, simultaneously ringing in their ears and bellowing through their bodies. Their very instincts would start to infect their conscious thoughts—this is wrong, run, get away…
Louis’ head snapped upward, toward the sky, and in that brief transition, they would have seen the corruption seeping even from his eyes, his nose, his mouth and ears. His arms suddenly flew up to his side, each pointing their elbow down diagonally before pointing the forearm up, like tilted right angles, as his open palms grasped at some invisible force, seizing the reality around him. His body soon became nothing more than a featureless, black marionette, and the tainted energy began to seep out of Louis’ body, poisoning the very world around him. If they could focus on details even as the razorwinds seared their face and eyes, they would notice that it seemed as if sickly black veins spread outward from him first, like an infection, only to be quickly followed by the pooling contamination.
The high pitched screeches and low bass roars of the storm grew clearer with every fraction of a second, and as Louis’s body was slowly subsumed into the dark coalescence that grew from him, the group would have realized the winds weren’t simply carrying unintelligible noise—they were carrying laughter. Endless, crazed, unnatural laughter coming from the storm, from Louis, from all around them, and from hundreds, thousands, millions of different voices, young, old, male, female—constant, infinite, soul-chilling laughter.
Their instincts flared with unprecedented strength, something primal within their cores, within their very blood and bone. They did not fear the abomination because it reminded them of starless, haunted nights. They feared the night because of this. One powerful, intrusive thought resounded from within, over and over:
I’m going to die.
Within moments, where once had been Louis, now there was only a black, formless amalgam, a convulsing, writhing mass of corruption hovering effortlessly in the air as the darkness of its body simply continued dispersing like ink in water. Black tendrils, both large and small, began to sprout from random places in the endless well, pointing in all directions, and occasionally, thick, tumor-like globs of deep indigo, practically black itself, appeared within. Finally, dozens of tiny purple specks began to open up throughout the form in the shape of eyes, some normal, others with many facets, like a spider, before seven peculiar eyes appeared near the center, staring outward at the group—they were shaped like ordinary eyes, but besides black pupils and black sclera, they only stood out by the familiar golden shine of their irises.
There seemed to be an eighth, but it remained half-opened, its lids heavy as if still half asleep.
There was another station-rattling pulse of power as the monstrosity rushed skyward, a few stories into the air, and settled to look down upon the station; its opaque form blotted out the star-like light of the crashing memories above, but the ephemeral fragments passed through all the same. With its ascent, the storm winds stopped, yet the laughter continued, slowly beginning to trail off…
But then, with horrendous shrieks, massive tendrils began to erupt from the station. Some appeared to burst from the sides of the pillar, rising above the edge from outside the barrier, while others appeared to rise from the mosaic glass itself, shattering the station and sending glass flying—some of these appeared even in the midst of the group, likely taking them by surprise.
In total, there were twenty-four, black, towering over them, pulsing with dark power, swaying and ready to strike. Only then, finally, did the laughter stop. Finally, there was silence… for only the briefest of moments.
“Yes… this shall be a wonderful vessel. We shall reward Mateus well.”
The voices—for they were so many—came from every possible direction, and even some impossible. Thousands from all around them, thousands from beneath them, thousands from above them… thousands even from within them. And yet, as many and foreign as they were, as badly as they may have wanted to shut the voices out, every single member would have heard… the familiar. They would have picked out, ever so distantly, the tenors of their siblings, the tones of their friends, the voices of their parents, the melodies of their loved ones. All were distant—so distant that perhaps they were wrong, perhaps it was their own minds trying to apply familiar logic to unnatural truth—but it might have gnawed at them all the same.
And yet, before they could respond, there was more:
“Speaking of your brother…”
There was an eruption of glass as several small, black appendages burst from the ground under Nicholas’ feet, and in an instant he and his sword were gone, dragged into what they could only see now was some inky abyss beneath the glass surface. But a moment later, there was another eruption toward the opposite side of the station, and the tendrils threw Nicholas out, against the magic barrier, dark energy radiating from his form.
“Treachery but makes the destined truth more bleak for you. Learn, as did this hume.”
If they were distracted by what happened, they wouldn’t be for long—they could feel the gaze of Darkness turn upon them.
“O, Light, will you not learn? Our meet upon the morn was naught but trial. T’was just a half-made man with false-forged stone. He was made broken. You are broken. Even as you wind yourself in the gossamer weave of hope, you have seen our truth.”
A pressure began to fall upon the battlefield, and their instincts would continue wracking them, knowing before they knew. The atmosphere changed.
“SO FALL, DAMNED EMBERS! FALL, SUBMIT, AND BE CONSUMED!”
Black lightning began explode around the station, as if they had been trapped by a supercell. It ruptured forth from the ground, and it crashed down from the sky. The magic did not target anyone directly, but struck without warning, without preparation, and without a chance to evade.
[[Terror's Hold - No single status may boost a stat by more than 3 until otherwise notified.
Black Storm - 50/50 chance of being struck for 10 MAG (Earthlings+Sora/Riku) / 7 MAG (canons). Do a 1-2 generation, if 1, struck.
NOTE: This is not intended to be a Round 1 KO, even if you have abysmal Resistance. It doesn't even have to knock you into Limit (I'd really prefer if it didn't knock you that low yet, actually), but if you feel it should, then that's your call.
To everyone who thought this was a sidequest: heh. ]]
Joseph was having trouble following along. Mostly because every time he opened his eyes he'd just close them again thanks to all the...'red'. And trying to keep a headache away. And just not...able to follow everything.
It wasn't until the blast of force that sent him flying that he finally snapped his eyes open and kept them open. Forced against the 'wall', watching as the thing...formed. The darkness becoming thick, solid.
I'm going to die.
The thought bounced in his skull, and he openly whimpered a little because it was so prevalent, so stuck in there...
The creature finally began to take shape, though, high in the air. It was another one of those things, the kind of thing Ajora had become....but with it's ascent, he was finally free to move, no longer pressed against the barrier. But the creature was still terrifying, shaking Joe to his core...even more so as it 'spoke'.
The voices made Joe squeeze his eyes shut again, finally able to break away from staring at the 'creature'. But once the air changed, once the atmosphere shifted, Joe's wind was up. It was still heavy, still sloshing about and feeling wet, but it was active and Joe was ready.
It didn't help much for the lighting that suddenly struck him, though. It coursed through his body, having him let out a yell of pain. But he used it, somewhat. Focused on the pain to stave off what was wrong with him. Used it to channel that 'life raft' in his being, that rage that kept him from drowning.
And he yelled.
Latching onto that rage in himself, he started fling his broken staff pieces at the tendrils nearest to him(but inside the barrier), letting the weapons shine with Light as they flew and flashing back into his hands for more throws once they either hit or got knocked away.
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 6:53 pm
[ All Shall Fall : Louis' Heart : Station of Awakening ]
The tendril writhed, and that monstrous shriek echoed out directly from it as a result, the light-imbued staff shards piercing and shredding at its shadow-based form. After Joe's third toss, the shriek momentarily grew piercing before the tendril exploded into thick black smog, which swiftly spun into the air, coagulating into the main monstrosity's form. If anyone paid close attention, the form seemed to grow slightly in response.
The station underneath them quaked momentarily, and without warning, one of the tendrils directly behind them, reaching from outside the station, shattered through the barrier and came crashing down on the party, specifically targeting Zell--though it was large enough to strike anyone next to him or in the path, as well.
The shock from its impact caused a tremor in the station, and though it wasn't enough to knock them on their feet, it left cracks in the surface all the same.
Those who kept their eyes on the shattered barrier watched as the cracks rushed around the station, illuminating the once-invisible barrier; surely, rapidly, the entire wall fell like shattered dominoes, disappearing into the abyss. There was nothing preventing them from falling now...
[[ Tendril Strike - 12 STR
Note: I'm leaving it up to you guys if you wanna be near Zell or not. ]]
Dawn could only watch as the scene between Louis, Mateus and the Goddess unfolded. She felt that annoying lump in her throat building again, this time larger as she tried to hold back her emotions. Once more, she felt the urge to do something, but her body wouldn't do anything. She could only watch. In the end, a single tear fell down her cheek and hit the ground for Louis as the last images flashed before her.... Then he was gone...
In what seemed like a moment later, Dawn felt herself flung and held back to the barrier of the Station.
'I am going to die...'
Dawn shook her head trying to tune out the laughter and screeching sounds. She felt her body tense and unconsciously summoned her fans as the air changed. As the clash black lightning crashed Dawn let out a soft cry as a bolt narrowly missed hitting her.
The dancer watched Joe, though hit by one of the stray bolts, launched the first attack(s) on one of the tendrils. Dawn not wanting to miss a chance started to move her feet to start a dance, however that was quickly interrupted when the station shook. Her eyes widened as she saw one of the tendrils broke through the barrier and went after Zell.
"Hey watch out!" she shouted to the fighter, she quickly charged both her fans with wind. She waved the one in her right hand in Zell's direction, summoning an Aero Shield to protect him from that attack. Immediately after, she threw the second fan charged with wind at the dark tendril.
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 7:49 pm
[ Forsake Your Hope : Louis' Heart : Station of Awakening ]
The tendril that came crashing down took the blow from Dawn's fan, the tessen leaving a gash that revealed nothing more than the inky shadow composing the appendage. It began to rise back from whence it came, but did so slowly.
Across the way, in a far corner of the station, one of the tendrils rising from the mosaic itself rapidly coiled up, lowering itself before unleashing the pent-up energy in a rapid spin. As a result, a tall, thin twister of black debris rushed through toward the center of the group; it spun like razor wind, but worse, the attacks came through the gales as if it were filled with serrated daggers.
The twister was only as wide as two people standing side-by-side, but the lashing, gnashing gusts reached out a few meters in either direction, damaging anyone that came within its reach with malevolent energy.
[[ Tendril Twister - 10 MAG for Earthlings/Sora+Riku, 7 for canons.
Note: It's like bowling, but significantly more painful! ]]
{James ; Auron ; Leon : Louis’ Heart : Station of Awakening}
James averted his eyes, still just trying to prevent from blacking out from all the blood. As such, he wasn’t really able to focus and follow along with all that was going on. He managed to regain some semblance of focus right as the statues shattered with an immense power, accompanied by a massive tempest. The corsair already unstable was immediately flung backwards until his back slammed hard against the magical barrier around the now fully formed Station of Awakening. The surge of dark power that followed sapped at his strength along with the biting wind to make it impossible for him to move off of the wall until it stopped. All the while every fiber of the corsair’s being was telling to him follow the oldest of instincts, to flee to run away…. and through it all the ever prevalent thought echoed through his mind.
I’m going to die.’
The biting wind and now prevailing darkness were enough to finally bring the Lunar Gunner back to his senses and able to focus on the enemy that had formed before them. The massive dark amalgam of black and deep indigo covered in multitudes of eyes with the same seven peculiar eyes as the monster that Kyla had showed him from Atlantis. As this new eldritch abomination ascended above the station the wind finally died down, allowing the corsair to peel himself off of the invisible barrier.
Horrendous shrieks erupted as did massive black tendrils that came from all parts of the battlefield, around them, among them, all over and absolutely unpredictable more than the corsair could count at the time. Then the horror spoke, it’s omni-present voice filled with disparaging words filled with the intent to try to break their will even further. Dark Lightning struck all around the field, striking several though thankfully missing the corsair. He watched as Joe struck at one of the tentacles only for the abomination to counter with a massive tendril that crashed through the barrier. James wasn’t close enough or in line to get hit and watched as the barrier he had just been plastered against shattered. The gunner made his way towards the group, though still keeping to the outskirts, which was wise as a second attack, a twister of razor wind cut through the central part. As he scanned the battlefield the corsair brought his Light Card out in his left hand and began to channel it’s energy as well as Charging his own.
He was unsure what the best target was, there were so many of them, not including the amalgam itself. Being one of their few ranged fighters it made the most sense to him to figure out if the core of it all was a viable target or if they needed to focus on the tendrils. With his energy charged up he unleashed a Light Shot at the amalgam hoping for it to do good damage at least.
Auron remained silent and focused as everything with Louis transpired and everything changed. The unsent Samurai dug his katana into the ground and braced himself solidly to prevent the gale force winds from moving him. The lightning that struck thankfully missed him as well, leaving him able to attack. The samurai got hit by the razor gusts of the twister as it struck but he hadn’t been in the center. With a slight wince he forced his way beyond it to focus on the nearest tendril. He imbued his blade with energy and brought it down in a Full Break hoping to weaken it as best he could.
Leon followed suit with Auron, his blade planted firmly into the station’s floor as gale tried to blow him back. He managed to stay firmly in place only to then be hit by one of the Dark Lightning bolts that struck the field, knocking the wind out of him as he yelled in pain. The gunblader’s bad luck continued as the twister’s gnashing gusts struck him as well. The fight had just started and already he wasn’t in the greatest of shape, yet he would press on. He followed Auron as the samurai as he struck at a tendril. Blasts of fire surrounded the gunblader and he struck with a spinning attack at the tendril before the fire closed in on it and exploded in a Fated Circle
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 12:59 am
[ Yours Is Death : Louis' Heart : Station of Awakening ]
James' powerful Light blast connected with the Darkness like a heavy stone striking the calm surface of a pond; the malignant form seemed to bend where the blast struck, and as it rebounded downward, the inky substance surrounded the light, blotting it from view... before a powerful eruption burst forth. Black blood rained down from the wound, and as it drenched the group, it would have felt like searing acid. The resulting blast made that spot of the abomination momentarily translucent, but the outer edges of its form noticeably expanded, as well.
In recompense, a tendril from the far left corner seemed to curl up--hardly noticeable from across the field, as every tendril seemed to writhe and pulsate with unnatural life. The tip pointed toward the group, and a sickly black sphere of energy began to form, until finally...
With a static, disharmonic boom, a black and purple beam blast forth, starting from one side of the group and randomly zigging and zagging to the other side, blasting a path in the mosaic floor that revealed only a deep grey concrete, left marred by a steaming crater-like scar.
Auron's blade struck true, cleaving through the black tendril and leaving a visible gash where it soared. The tendril writhed, screeching in anger; its suffering was only exacerbated by Leon's assault, which caused more physical and magical harm as a result of the Full Break.
However, it remained stable--if only barely.
Meanwhile, shortly after Auron's assault, a tendril rising from the mosaic on the far opposite side, fairly close to Nicholas, curled up as well before launching straight down into the ground, burrowing the upper tip into the station. Moments later, small, razor-thin tendrils burst from under the feet of Joe, Nanaki, and Auron, lashing at their heels and backs with a debilitating aura.
Then, the tendril they'd attacked, while seeming particularly weakened, pulsated with unnatural vibration... and a dozen small, black spheres appeared around it, exploding and damaging anyone nearby, including Auron and Leon.
[[ Black Blood - Earthlings take 6 MAG; canons take 3 MAG.
Tendril Cannon - 10 MAG for Earthlings/Sora+Riku, 7 for canons. Generate a number 1-3; if 1, you're hit, if 2-3, it misses.
Tendril Break - 10 PS for Zeiq, 7 for Nanaki and Auron, but if you're actively on the move it will miss. If struck, roll 1-3; lower your STR and MAG by that amount for 3 turns.
Tendril Circle - 5 Blast Damage to Leon and Auron and anyone directly adjacent, within melee range.
If there was one thing she wanted to avoid more than failing to rescue Louis from himself, from the dark, it was this.
There was something utterly soul shattering about seeing someone die, alone.
Alone and in despair.
Such a hopeless horrible fate- she wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Not even an enemy. Yet even as she reached her hand towards, she couldn’t reach him. Worse, her shard disappeared to join the whole and was consumed along with the rest. Kyla couldn’t even get to keep that small piece of him safe. Calling his name was no use, he just didn’t hear her.
Words were soundless and her body wouldn’t obey. Everything happened so quickly and yet not quickly enough. The sight of everything burned it’s self unbearably raw into her mind, for as long as she lived, she’d never forget this. The artist desperately wanted him to turn around- look at them, know someone was at the very least THERE for him.
She wanted him to know-
In the end.
At the very end.
He didn’t have to do go alone.
I wish we could be friends.
'If only I knew I could keep you safe somewhere no more darkness could find you. Not even my own.'
‘If I said-
-say I could. Would you stay?’
Thinking back to that moment, her shard never really responded yes or no. He didn’t really answer directly. He was ambiguous. Promises that everything would be alright seemed like lies.
She could hear it, in the final peel of his life as he consumed the water falling darkness, as the fragments of their memories those moments passed by and disappeared into the ether. His utter loneliness.
What was left of her self-control slipped and Kyla called out to him in the only way she knew. A soundless voice that pleaded and begged him to recognize who was there with him.
‘We ARE friends!?!’
Why couldn’t he see them?!
‘We came all the way here to get you, for better or worse!’
Alas, what she’d feared unfolded before her as Louis died. Death as one thing, but dying in despair… that was another. At the very least, she wanted to spare him that. Yet even as she made a bolt for him at the last second, it was already too late. He was gone.
From his “corpse” came the stuff of nightmares. Twisting his form into an eldritch vessel fit for the fears of the deepest abyss. Anything she thought she’d have to face before they left the hall of the cornerstone was a shallow vision in comparison to this.
They were right back in her worst nightmare- darkness, - the incarnate of the most primal fears. It was back, and this time it was no illusion. No dream. They occupied the space between spaces for yet another encounter with the otherworldly and horrifying. Kyla was compelled to observe it all, eyes fixated on the progression of it. The metamorphosis into the uncanny.
It made her so terrified she didn’t realize she was silently weeping. Despair clawed at her chest and made her heart positively ache. Physically hurt! While she managed to dodge the Black Storm the second attack she wasn’t so lucky.
When the gales hit from the twister she blown back, and cut up real good! She couldn’t tell if she cried out or not, she was too busy trying to drawn, her arms and legs were slashes gruesomely almost making her drop her book! If that was possible. Next came the rain, it burned, but thankfully she was more resistant to it than others.
She managed to avoid the Canon, but when she stopped so she could draw, get a look at the battle field-
The pain oddly helped. It broke through her panic somewhat she made her think.
thinkthinkthinkthink-!!!
Leaping into the air she floated up to get a vantage point, but from the size of their terrane she couldn’t create a proper construct. The tendrils would shatter it- She couldn’t cast fast enough on everyone! 24 People, that was too many and it would take her too long to cover everyone. With no front liners she had no priority focus- She couldn’t create an area of effect either. It would cage them in and right now maneuvers were more important-
Kyla dipped back down till she hovered roughly 6ft off the stations surface somewhere beside Leon. In a star burst from her book she summoned Flight of Blades and sicked them after the Tendril Auron and Leon were attacking. The translucent Swords were not as powerful, but imbued with light she summoned them to try and finish off what they started.
She noticed the change in their enemy- “..it’s getting bigger…” she commented, verbally and over the charms. “-every one that we kill, it grows.”Which meant if she finished off this one, no doubt it would do the same, and perhaps unleash something more. Still point now, sometimes one had to progress the fight to get other opportunities. Once she expired this spell she’d rinse and repeat. Cut them all down if she could one by one and await the final result- that is unles somoene got hurt badly. Ignoring heronw blood soaking into her clothes she looked at the other scattered about the field. Amy would need back up. Her healing wasn't as proficiant as a real white mage, but damn it it was better then nothing at all.
'..if I live through this, I should change that dificiancy...'
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 12:05 pm
{Bobbi, Demyx,Zell,Red XIII, Yuffie .:. Louis's Heart .:. Station of Awakening}
As the wind kicked up Bobbi braced herself against it. She struggled to keep her bow up and ready, but soon had to lower her weapon in order to shield her eyes with her arm. The transformation taking place in front of her awakened a visceral reaction, all of her instincts screaming to run, get away, whatever this was was so much worse than any snake she had ever come across, and she fought those instincts down. She would not run, she would not leave her friends to face this monstrosity alone. Besides, there was nowhere to run to.
Her ears rang with the sounds of the demonic laughter, barely audible over the rush of the wind but enough to send an atavistic chill down her spine. She wanted to scream, to cry, to give up and curl into a ball and let whatever was going to happen just happen already because this was too much to deal with, she couldn’t handle it, she was going to die and so were the rest of them and—
—and so be it. But I will die fighting.
~:That’s my girl.:~
She shrieked in surprise as a tendril erupted right in front of her, and jumped back, ready to defend or attack as necessary. Her hands already glowed with icy power as she prepared her Blizzard Combo spell. The magic manifested itself in a sphere of solid ice, and with only a little extra concentration, she added needle-sharp spikes to it.
And the eldritch creature spoke.
Oh no not this guy again I'm gonna have nightmares for a we—OHSHIT.
She nearly jumped out of her skin as a bolt of black lightning struck the Station directly in front of her. She gave herself no time to recover, however, as she sent her spiked ice ball of pain rocketing around, slamming hard into the three nearest tendrils of darkness. As she manipulated her spell, sending the sphere at target after target after target, she let out a primal scream of pure defiance.
"IF I GO DOWN I’M TAKING YOUR b***h a** WITH ME!"
She didn’t even see the twister approaching, and shouted with pain as the magic slashed her, sending hot, red blood spraying. This, and getting sprayed with the abomination’s black blood, just served to piss her off even more.
Yuffie was nearly blown off of her feet, but she stabbed her shuriken into the Station as an anchor for herself, and held on tight. She did not like what she was seeing, or hearing, or feeling. It was ridiculous! She was the Great Ninja Yuffie, the Single White Rose of Radiant Garden, treasure hunter, adventurer, friend to the Keyblade Masters and she wasn’t afraid of anything! No, not even flying, shut up, she just got airsick.
And yet here she was, trembling like a little girl who'd lost her mommy, wanting nothing more than to get away and let everyone else deal with this big ugly beast. But no, she wouldn’t run, she was better than that, she knew she was better than that! But even after the force holding her in place stopped and she could move freely again, she stayed where she was, too scared to move—
And that’s when she got hit by the black lightning.
She cried out in pain and shock, but it was that strike that galvanized her into action. She pulled her shuriken from the ground, enveloped the weapon in her Fuma Fatalle spell, and looked around for a likely candidate—
He would do. She began running.
Zell dropped to one knee to avoid being flung across the Station, and regretted that all he could do was watch the transformation of Louis into that butt-ugly thing. He fought down the instincts telling him to run, ignored the thought that he was going to die—by far not the first time he had that thought, and here he was, totally still alive, so what did his instincts know?—and assessed the monster. Why were all of these big bad uglies so, well, big bad and ugly? And all of them could fly, it really just wasn’t fair.
He looked around for a way to get up to the thing and punch it directly in all eight of its eyes, when he saw Yuffie running up to him.
"Launch me!"
Zell crouched and cupped his hands, ready for her to use them as a launch pad. He saw her Shuriken was already enveloped in one of her spells, and braced himself to give her the aerial boost she needed—
right when he heard Dawn’s shout, felt the Aero Barrier surround him, and grunted as the black tendril walloped him directly between the shoulder blades, sending him spilling to the floor and knocking the breath from his lungs.
"Hey!" Yuffie shouted, and she launched her shuriken at the black tendril that had hit Zell. "Excuse you! We were gonna do something totally cool—" her shuriken rebounded back, and she caught it only to throw it at the tendril again, "—and you just ruined it! Jerk!"
Nanaki dug his claws into the Station beneath his feet in order to avoid being blown about by the gales, though how his claws found purchase on the glass he couldn’t say. He growled low in his throat as he watched, and his hackles raised at the disturbing sights and sounds. This hideous creature was an abomination, and he couldn’t wait to take it down.
As soon as he could move again, Nanaki let out a Howl, granting bravery to three of his allies—specifically, the Joes and Kyle—and Bullrushed the nearest tendril, slamming into its base as hard as he could with his shoulder. Before he could move again, he was struck by one of the bolts of black lighting, and he yelped as tingles ran across his entire body. He tried to shake off the blow, but he was hit immediately by the tendrils erupting from beneath his feet, whipping at his legs and back and leaving painful, stinging slashes in his hide.
Demyx hadn’t braced himself against the hurricane force winds, and was sent tumbling across the station to slam against the invisible barrier surrounding it. He was pinned, and that impact had hurt, and all he could do aside from shield his eyes from debris was to watch the eldritch abomination emerge from the body of the boy they had come to save.
There was a cold lump in his stomach, his beating heart raced, and he felt his throat constricting. Chills traveled down the Nobody’s spine, and he found his mind flooded with thoughts of escape. Everything he was screamed at him to get away. He trembled, and all he could think of was his inevitable death, and how painful it would be.
Was this fear? It had been so long since he had felt anything, truly felt anything, that he couldn’t tell anymore. But it felt the way he remembered fear, and that was enough to completely paralyze him.
When the force keeping him pressed against the barrier let off, Demyx dropped to his knees, trembling in every limb, and for what seemed like eternity could do nothing more than stare as that thing fully manifested, as it spoke, as dark tendrils began attacking the others and bolts of black lightning struck the field. One or two came close to hitting him, but he barely flinched.
Eventually, though, seeing the others fighting so valiantly, despite how scared they must be—because if a Nobody felt fear, how much worse was it for people with hearts?—galvanized the Melodious Nocturne into action. He summoned Arpeggio, and with a shaking hand and several false starts, strummed the chord that let him channel his magic into his Water Geyser. He didn’t aim at the tendrils, but instead at the eldritch creature floating above the field. He had a vague thought that if they brought that thing down, the rest of this would stop as well.
[[TL;DR under the spoiler tag]]
Bobbi Blizzard Combo’d the three nearest tentacles, is also pissed and yelly and cut up real nice, thanks Kyle for the serrated edges you sadistic a** <3 Zell got squished by a tentacle Yuffie shuriken’d the tentacle that squished Zell twice Nanaki Howled for Bravery on Joe, Joe, and Kyle. Also slammed his nearest tentacle with his shoulder, and then proceeded to get hit by ******** everything except the canon. Also has -2 on MAG and STR for 3 turns, poor baby Demyx water-geysered the big bad directly in the face, after an existential crisis
[ None Will Mourn : Louis' Heart : Station of Awakening ]
Kyla's soaring blades swept and slashed at the already-weakened tendril, and with one final, curling tremble, it exploded into dark vapors, all of which rose into the coalescence above, feeding it.
Behind them, just off the left-side of the station, a tendril began to tremble, bending its tip back and away much like a tree in the wind. A second later, it snapped forward, and a bolt of energy--iridescent, but tainted, like a black pearl--rushed above them toward its target, striking Nicholas with the unknown energy.
Bobbi's spiked ice-gyro caused each tendril to recoil, the entire tendril curving and bending like a wave. Nanaki's bullrush on the first one made it bend and writhe even more, but it did not seem to react.
On the far side, behind what was effectively a forest of tendrils, one of the outer trunks bent backward and down, screeched, and launched a solid sphere of black crystal into the sky. Unseen in the murky mists of the Darkness, it began to take shape--only to be preemptively destroyed by Demyx's geyser.
Meanwhile, a tendril in the center of the station began to twist and tremble more violently than the others, as if something inside was struggling to break free--only for it to unleash the horrific screech. It did little else.
Another outside tendril began to quiver... only to do nothing.
Meanwhile, the tendril Yuffie struck, which had been trying to recover from its assault, was cut in twain twice by the enhanced shuriken. Having already been assaulted by Dawn, and seemingly already weakened by some means, the ninja's attacks made it writhe in place, the terrible screech slowly growing from within its unnatural form before it burst into more mist, rising into the sky.
An outside tendril on the middle-left side began to twist and rotate rapidly, as if trying to emulate helicopter blades, until finally it snapped over the edge, throwing black, serrated discs through the left side of the group. If it struck at their sides, it would graze them and move on to potentially strike more targets behind them, but if it struck them directly, it would dig in and dissolve, causing more burning damage.
Demyx's geyser destroyed the previous attack, but continued to blast the abomination it what could only be assumed was its face, causing massive ripples and waves in its inky form. There was a groaning sound, like steel attempting to bend under pressure, but the only genuinely noticeable effect was that the opaque cloud grew larger, blotting out yet more light.
Another tendril behind the group, on their right side, seemed to almost vibrate as it trembled, bending to and fro, before pointing at the group. Suddenly, three inky Antiforms, with no visible eyes, rose from the cracks around them. They appeared humanoid, but otherwise without detail or identity, and began to claw and scrape at those nearby--namely, Sora, John, and Axel.
[[ Tendril Lotus - ???
Tendril Ballista - Whoops
Tendril Howl - ???
Tendril Fumble - Nothing!
Tendril Star - 8 STR serrated damage unless blocked; 6 MAG acid damage if direct hit.
Tendril Dance - Antiform attacks do 9 STR damage to each target if not blocked or dodged.
Nicholas had remained still during the fall of Mateus, a wave of conflicting emotions settling in his stomach. Louis was free, but Nicholas was not. Chaos was still there waiting, and with his suicide by heroics gone, he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do.
Then the laughter began.
The symphony of his loved ones, his enemies, everyone rang in his ear. It was familiar, so very strange, yet...
So very soothing.
Multiple tendrils of shadow formed, and the swordsman's eyes widened in surprise. Things were about to become very...
Chaotic~
"Speaking of your brother..."
The moment the Voice mentioned 'brother', the appendages grabbing him, pulling him under, everything was gong dark...darker... yet darker...
Nicholas had reappeared, his body glowing with the Dark energy he had been blessed with. The swordsman raised his arm into the air as if reaching to the heavens, the ground behind him seeming to shake before a large round pedestal floated into the air a foot off the ground. Nicholas brought his hand down forcefully, dropping four large broadswords into the pedestal, each flaring with magical power before showing signs of elemental power. One of flame, one of frost, one of lightning, and the final one with air. Garland's sword ascended into the air, glowing black and radiating intense amounts of Dark energy before it too slammed in the center of the pedestal. Finally, the supposed heartbound weapon of the Avatar of Chaos, the whipblade, appeared in a flash of dark energy. Uncoiling the blade around his feet, a devious grin formed upon his face, and he let out a bark of a laugh. The pedestal hovered behind him, the blades seeming to vibrate...as if waiting to be used...
"Ladies and gentlemen, "heroes" of Earth. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance proper. I am the King of Samsara, the Walker of the Wheel...Now, silly children," he laughed, ethereal green horns growing from his forehead akin to a bull's,
"Let us play."
[Chaos has entered the battlefield]
[ Tendril Lotus - Nich gets +3 to DEF/RES. Tendril Howl - Nich gets +3 to STR/DEF. ]
[ Join Your Brethren : Louis' Heart : Station of Awakening ]
As Chaos made his debut, they could hear it, from above, below, the sides, within--once more, the darkness was laughing.
A tendril next to Chaos seemed to bounce along with the laughter momentarily. Then, as the laughter died down, and reared its tip back and swiftly descended, smacking the station hard enough to cause it to quake.
Worse than that, it unleashed a hurricane gale on contact, which rushed the group. Those that didn't brace themselves from the quake would find themselves flung backwards, and if they were already too close to the ledge...
[[ Tendril Stomp - Causes a quake that forces people touching the ground to brace themselves or fall over. Those that fall over are flung backward by a powerful gust, and if too close to the ledge already, will be blown over.
PS: The laughter goes really well with Nich's track, actually... ]]
