The Hunt [C]

[Zero [Axel]]

Shadow's clone exploded with a strength twice as strong as what Zero had inflicted on it. The explosion seemed to brush past and a distorted ripple of red echoed across the front of his body. The ripple came and gone faster than the natural eye could see. The explosion was supressed by a layer of dense fire that Zero spawned with great speed. His body still good a good deal of damage though although his expression or actions showed absolutely no sign of pain.

Zero grinned as he watched the mist return to its original form. It continuously poured out of the bottom of Shadow like a fountain. A grand idea formed in Zero's mind. The mist seemed to always pour out as much as was used so there was a consistent supply of mist. This would come in handy. The Pyro's gaze remained fixed on Shadow, so he didn't notice Taka moving about.

This would be it...Zero lifted his arms, pointing his palms at Shadow's lower half. He could feel it begin, drawing the heat from the surface of the ground under Shadow. Within a moment the temperature had dropped to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The mist the billowed out changed to ice and shattered as it hit the ground. Large amounts of frozen mist build up quickly, forming a solid structure at Shadow's feet. He left openings at the top of the ice for more mist to spew up from. The frozen mist locked Shadow in place. It continued to freeze as it ventured further up Shadow until immobilizing his hands and legs.

A seal was placed at the top of the entrapment of ice so no mist could escape. Zero still remained back out of range incase an unfortunate accident occurred. The pyro now pointed his palms at Shadow's cranium. He targeted the mask and the mask began to grow hotter and hotter. The heat in this area didn't affect the constant chill that kept the mist frozen.

The heat raised dangerously high. At this heat, it could easily turn the porcelain to ash and that's what Zero was trying. It was also probably burning Shadow's face as well...If he had skin. He didn't have skin on his hand after all so he might not have any anywhere. Still, it was worth a try. The heat of the mask continued to rise as Shadow stood immobile due to his own mist.

At most, Zero's turn would indirectly harm Shadow. Not enough to cause colossal damage but minor injuries. This was just to see if there was any secret behind Shadow's false face. He remained at a distance but was close enough to see detail...

[owaz]

Undead guards were stationed throughout the place known as Villain's Vale, where the man known as Light sought hidden knowledge whilst interupted by three other strong warriors. Unbeknownst to them however was another weaker presence setting traps all around, planning to take this threat out and escape without putting his own self at risk. He had marked the corridors with his blood not just to avoid getting lost but to also fool the enemy into believing it too was a trap. A false trap. A trap that would lead to an even bigger trap. Indeed it was a great idea, but Tyke did not approve of it. There was no other alternative.

The key points to the architecture would soon be smashed apart when the appropriate time came. The entire building would collapse on top of the hunter and that which he hunted for. Should he somehow survive his entire mission would be failed thanks to Iron Cloud's efforts, and he would never know who was responsible for it. Now there was the matter of securing an escape route. Tyke fiddled about with the computer, after tying an object to his back hidden by a cloth. He would search for any possible hidden exits. And there it was. Ground level. An underground cavern that led all the way back to town. The Cavern of Remembrance. It was apparently used back in the old days when villagers would mine for important minerals. Tyke smiled on the inside upon the success of his discovery. He would be able to get out of here after all! But what about the others? They wouldn't know what was going on until it was too late...

Brushing some sweat from his dirty blonde hair, Tyke placed two fingers at his forehead and closed his eyes in concentration. In moments he was passing through halls with rounded blood smeers marking them, he could see the zombified guardians through the eyes of the microbial lifeforms that existed in the red liquid. It was like he was physically there, but that was the beauty of his connection with the Stilanimus. He had circled completely around the area the others were located in, merely to avoid any detection. He could even see through the sight of the possessed bodies. Upon checking the whereabouts of everyone and everything, his opens opened into a more stern look. This strategy would only work once. A simple flaw would probably mean the death of everyone including Tyke.

"You shall call me 'Light' until you children have proven yourselves worthy... And I strongly suggest all three of you take all meanings of that name to heart!"

Did this man's powers base upon light? Tyke watched from the monitor as the five bright flashes breezed through the air towards their targets. It made sense. If his name was "Light" then his abilities were most definately of the same essence. All three of you... That means he can't sense me. Guess I'm not strong enough. But if he can attack me with light, how will I get away? Blinking his eyes until they suddenly widened with realization. The smoke from a collapsing building would be far too great for any lights to pierce through. And since he couldn't be traced due to his weak strength, it would make escaping a simpler task.

So I need to collapse that room first? Okay let's go over this again. I've got at least three guards stationed at each hall's corner, and two additional guards stationed in each corridor itself. Plus I've marked all the walls so if I lure that guy away he'll be stuck wondering if it's a trap. And he'll have to reveal any other skills if he plans on getting by unscathed. Then there's the fact that if he attacks any of the guards, their infected blood will spread on him and he'll be done for. The only choice he has is to run and he can't do it without risking injury. Yeah, I have just about every aspect covered. Once I have him trapped I can get the others out of here and we'll escape through that underground cavern area while the enemy gets crushed by the collapsing building. He can't be in multiple places at once.

It seemed like a flawless plan, but then Tyke figured he would need to go over anything that may go wrong. So if something happens and he kills the others or immobilizes them, what then? I can't carry three people on my back. But I can't just leave them behind... If I do get stuck fighting that guy, I might have a chance in taking him on. He won't know what my blood is capable of, plus his powers will be weaker and I can always use "that thing" if I need to. But this guy seems like he relies more on his weapons, and that weird shield of his is a mystery and that bow gun could be a real problem. One hit might mean I'm done for.

Perfect. The cons were practically equal with the pros. It was a true life or death situation. Tyke had increased the odds of survival by making such resourceful decisions. But even the best choices could prove to be the worst in the long run. There was no use in worrying about it. There was no time. Whether he lived or died at least he would know that he did the best he could. Yet Iron Cloud would do all in his power to avoid defeat.

"All right."

Footsteps could be heard approaching the room everyone else was located in or outside of. The sounds emanated from a silhouette. It calmly walked towards where Cid and Leon would be fending off the attacking lights. Tyke knew the place well after all the quick studying he had done. But there would be no need in showing himself to the others just yet. Instead he'd hide in the background.

[thaed]

[There's no way for anyone to know that Shadow has no skin on his fingers. His hands are gloved, so it's impossible to say such things. xD Perhaps they look extra skinny, but there's no evidence to suggest that he has no skin. ALSO, Zero, you did not respond at ALL to the shadow clone that exploded in your face -__-. Its explosion was twice as powerful and gives out twice as much pain as it endured when Zero destroyed it...you should modify that.]

For a moment, Shadow's eyes followed the opponent who now ran around the arena...he was becoming a pest. That's when it began. Shadow stared down in disappointment, frowning as the mist around him began to solidify without him first commanding it to do so. This would not suffice. Commanding the mist to stop pouring from him, he halted the spread of the ice. Raising both arms, elbows bent, the green iced-mist lifted from around his legs, rising well above his waist until an encasement of it surrounded from his ankles to above his head. He looked up into the dome-blocked sun, lowering his eyelids as he spread his arms wide. And with this movement, the ice shattered into several sharp shards and fell to the ground. Shadow was gone, leaving only the green fragments upon the ground where he once stood. Though, the frozen mist fragments did not stay there, they quickly melted, far faster than they should have, and evaporated upward and into the dome encasement, solidifying and making it thicker.

As Taka ran along the Great Maw, the towering walls surrounding him cast vast shadows upon his body. The idiot...did not he already see what was capable from Shadow? To anyone watching the area above the running Taka, the shadow upon his back would appear to be distorted. Then they would most likely gape in awe and amazement at what they saw next. Seemingly immediately, Shadow was atop Taka, one hand around the front of Taka's throat as he squeezed it thrice. This would ensure extremely difficult breathing, almost to the point of breathing through a straw...nearly impossible. Yet one could consider it pointless to take away his very method of living if what he did next worked...

As Shadow remained attached to his back, his left hand still upon his throat, the throat that would not work at all once he let go, he turned his hand so that his porcelain masked face pressed against the face of Taka. Instantly, due to the great temperature of the mask, smoke emitted from his burning face. Shadow's eye-holes pressed into the eye-sockets of Taka as he began to form green mist from around him. It traveled up his cloak and onto his face where it quickly poured out from his eye-holes and the sides of the mask. The green smoke seeped into every opening on Taka's head: the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, and the mouth, as permitted to do so by the gasping Taka. The amount within him was immense as Shadow fell from Taka's body, falling into the shadow upon the floor and arising where he had previously stood before attacking Taka.

Shadow stood there, wondering how the suffocating, mask-burnt and mist-filled Taka would react to the sudden assault. All of it happened within a matter of...say...a mere six seconds? Yes, that sounded about right. As he stood there, he tilted his head to the side once more as he bent his knees, jumping far backward until he was very close to the mist that prevented an escape to the castle. Before he landed, he had noticed that the farther he had moved from Zero, the less and less the porcelain mask seemed to burn. When he landed, he was quite the distance from Zero, and his mask did not burn at all. Shadow commanded a slight bit of the mist to rise to his masked face, liquefying as it further cooled the mask's surface. Then, an idea mixed with realization struck him. The mist near his face seeped into the sides of the mask, forming a thin layer between Shadow's face and the mask. If the moment arose again, the moment where Zero would attempt to heat the mask from his face, Shadow was already prepared. Besides, Shadow's true face would be destroyed far before the porcelain melted...porcelain is capable of with standing temperatures as high as 1200-1400 degrees CELCIUS...far, far hotter than what Zero made it.

It was over for Taka...not only was it impossible for him to breathe, he was also filled with the mist. Perhaps he could survive without breath for a few moments or so, but the mist was within him now. It was only a matter of time, but why wait? Shadow decided to end it soon...

"Gah!" Shadow screamed in both approval of Taka's soon-to-be death and frustration in his stupidity! "Stay out of the..." He bagan, pure joy cracking up his voice. He swore loudly, "IMBECILE!" Slithered out his yelling voice. It was frustrating, truthfully. Did they not know better? "Too easy!" He screamed loudly as he began to pace back and forth, eyes upon Zero who was, no doubt, badly injured by the explosion of the shadow clone. He would be in twice as much pain as he put the shadow clone through...

[Shinn]

As Shinn waited for a response five bright lights appeared around the room. Grabbing his sword tightly he prepared for the upcoming attack. Suddenly the lights began to fire at Shinn from all directions. Shinn moved around dodging the attacks while simultaneously blocking them.

These lights are similar to the funnels I've used during training only they were machines and these are made of pure energy. No matter I can handle these no problem.

As Shinn was running dodging the attacks the mysterious man spoke. “You shall call me ‘Light’ until you children have proven yourselves worthy…”

Light huh, intersting name seeing as this attack uses the power of light. Could it be he uses the power of light? I cant be sure of that he could be full of surprises.

“And I strongly suggest all three of you take all meanings of that name to heart!”
Shinn hadn't noticed the other two auras in the castle since he was preoccupied at the moment. But their auras were familiar one belonged to Cid and the other to Squall. Shinn guessed they were here to stop Light but they were gonna have to wait.

Shinn decided to take the offensive channeling his aura to his blade. Moving around in random directions in an attempt to confuse the beams of light while he took down each one of them one by one. With each strike of his sword it would disrupt the flow of energy in the beams therby stopping them. After taking down the last one he turned around facing his opponent who had been reading books the entire time. Not amused by this gesture Shinn fired at the book Light was holding buring it to a pile of ashes.

And you can call me Shinn. Trust me its a name you wont soon forget.

[Heroic Bilby]

Leon's face remained rigid as the two warriors of Radiant Garden came upon the sights of several dead bodies nearby the library. Despite that, he was definitely disgusted by this sight. These men weren't even real warriors, they were just volunteers who wanted to do their part in restoring this broken world. It was unlikely that any of them had any combat experience besides a few group skirmishes against common Heartless. Killing them would have been ridiculously simple for someone of a high enough caliber to fight the Keyblades. This type of slaughter seemed so meaningless. All Leon could do now was accept that they died because they wanted to do everything possible to defend their home from falling a second time. After all, he could relate to that desire. He would have to take their wishes to heart and carry on that spirit if he was to succeed.

At the touch of Cid's hand Leon's advancement was halted. They both knew they couldn't let their guards down for a second lest a bolt of energy shoot out from the wall next to their heads and kill them while they were distracted. Because of that Leon took this as a sign to mean his friend had noticed something. As Cid moved forward, though, it looked like the blond was just trying to listen in on the words being spoken ahead. Well, it sounded like someone was still challenging the antiform and if they weren't dead yet then that was a decent sign that they were actually someone with fighting expertise. If they had another ally in this battle then that was definitely worth some thanks.

Still, speaking of him not being dead yet, Leon couldn't help but notice how several of the dead bodies were killed before anyone inside the library ahead would have actually seen them. With that urgent observation on his mind Leon grabbed Cid's left arm with his right hand.

"Cid," he whispered harshly. "I don't think we can sneak up on this g-"

And then it was too late. With the mention of "you three" reaching his ears and a telltale glow detected by his eyes up ahead, it was made pretty obvious that their presence was already known. He didn't know exactly how they had been found. Maybe this creature had super-sensitive hearing or a strong sense of smell. Maybe both, for all he knew. Best not try to use stealth and surprise tactics against this "Light" then. That wasn't really Leon's specialty anyway.

With his hand already clutching Cid's arm Leon used it to pull himself forward towards the incoming dangers. His feet came mere centimeters off the ground from a low-angled jump and his blade was held vertically behind him before he slashed forward, flipping his entire body around in mid-air. With amazing timing born from relentless practice Leon pulled his weapon's trigger as it came upon the center arrows, creating a significant explosive force as he cut through the bolts. The wielder was definitely glad he had upgraded to the Shear Trigger model now, as it's more powerful gun aspect allowed the trigger function to be much stronger than it was before. Hopefully the additional bang would increase the amount of displacement and the number of projectiles affected by this defensive counter. So long as Cid stayed directly behind Leon the man should be able to come out of it scratch-free, though even if some did manage to still bounce the engineer's way he was more than capable.

Now that the first shots were fired on them this was officially a fight for their lives. Still, they were the ones who had come here with the intent to give that to Light, not the other way around. The former Squall Leonhart would take the remaining necessary steps after his leap forward before assuming his fighting stance just outside the open, what with the door being ripped off it's hinges and all, doorway. With gunblade pointed in front of him and held firmly with both hands his serious eyes searched for the archer. If Light was still in view from that angle then he would speak without entering the room first, otherwise the order would have to change.

"You're the ones who attacked the Key Bearers, right?"

Time to see if Light felt chatty. Leon would have said "antiforms who attacked the Key Bearers" but he kept his wits about him enough to remember that Ansem the Wise's report detailed well how he had risked his life to get them the information secretly. If he let on that he knew anything about where Light came from then he could jeopardize the man's life. Even if Ansem had claimed this crisis to be his fault Leon still didn't want to risk getting him hurt before they had a chance to rescue their former ruler from the Kingdom of Dark Hearts.

[northsky]

Pressed against the wall, Cid frowned when Light mentioned 'you three'. Were there more than one in the room...Cid's eyes widened, realizing that Light was talking about him and Leon. His teeth clenched, he looked up in alarm as balls of light appeared around the two.

Right before that, Leon had placed his hand on Cid's arm, wanting to say something. Now, Cid felt a jerk as Leon pulled him back and propelled himself towards the danger. With a smooth slice that would have anyone envious, Leon cut the center bolt, creating an explosion that destroyed the others coming their way easily. A few managed to escape, but Cid was more than capable of deflecting them, twirling his spear in front of him in a circular motion, and maneuvering it away from Leon so that the reflecting bolts did not hit the man by mistake, and into each bolts, creating small explosions that lit up the hallway in bursts.

Lowering the spear, which smoldered from the impact, but received nothing but light scratches thanks to Cid's careful crafting, Cid growled profanities under his breath. It seemed being sneaky was not the way to go. The pilot was never much of a sneaker anyways.

Leon was already in front of the opened doorway, his gunblade held in front of him. Cid joined him, his spear held in an offense position, his blue eyes scanning over the library.

For once, Cid left the talking to Leon. He needed to save his breath for later insults. He was itching to run into the room and wreak havoc, but the man knew better than just jumping in. The bodies laying behind them told the man that they didn't even have the chance to enter the library before being cut short.

And so silently, he stood next to Leon. The younger man was probably much stronger than the mechanic now, who truth to be told, was a bit out of practice, but that doesn't mean he was entirely rusty. He would let Leon take the lead this time.

[Wilder~Light]

The book would have burned, surely beyond any doubt, if it had been hit, if it had been a book. The blast flew right through the book, not even phasing it or morphing it in any way. Slowly it all faded away, like a fine mist lifting into the air, the books, the LockShield, and Light himself, all disappeared as if they never were.

“Forget? I probably shouldn’t have even paid attention, let alone bothered to give someone as ignorant as you my codename.” Muttered Light.

A bright light shone beside Shinn, blinding any who so much as glanced in its direction. Suddenly it began to break apart, cracks running down its body before splintering, chunks falling at a time and disintegrating until the brilliance was completely gone, leaving Light standing beside Shinn with his bow at his neck, the spikes lining it grazing his throat.

“I told you to take all meanings of that name to heart, and obviously you did not.” Spoke Light scornfully as his eyes continued to read, a book in his left hand with the bow in his right. “If you won’t take the name to heart, maybe I should I should make you take my arrow to your brain!”

Pulling quickly on his bow, the spikes ripped the flesh from Shinn’s throat as the warrior spun around, the milliseconds spent in this spin was all it took for a large arrow of brilliant light to construct itself, the killer aiming it for his head and firing, the energy shot eradicating his very body as it impacted him, breaking down his hair, skin, and bone as the blast shot through, colliding with the window on the other side of the room and shattering it, the glass falling to the ground below, glittering softly like twinkling stars as Shinn’s knees hit the ground, followed quickly by the rest of his body.

“Good luck in the Underworld…” Muttered Light, letting his right arm fall loose once more as he focused on his reading again.

He almost felt bad, the warrior might have been worth having a bit more fun, but he hadn’t heeded his warning and that annoyed Light greatly...

Widening his focus once more, he chuckled slightly. The other two had survived and one was questioning him. While talk annoyed him, he was a little happy to see they weren’t as in a hurry to fight as the other, it meant he could focus more on learning more of how the fools had created their fakes and the resulting accidents that came with them...

“Yes, we are, my brethren and I, so if you are smart and wise, you will leave now.” Warned Light, his eyes tossing his current book aside on the ground and grabbing another, flipping through it more. “You should leave now, go get stronger before you throw your life away. When our friends are able to come over, it would be nice if they were greeted with a good fight.”

While this was mostly the truth, Light was more concerned with finishing his research so he could move onto the source of Darkness in this world. Having to fight these two higher caliber warriors would mean a greater distraction, and right now his time was precious…

Posting Order:
1: Light
2: Taka < These 3 can post in any order.
3: Zero < These 3 can post in any order.
4: Tyke < These 3 can post in any order.
5: Shadow
6: Shinn < These 3 can post in any order.
7: Leon < These 3 can post in any order.
8: Cid < These 3 can post in any order.

[/b]

[ukiyo]

Taka was running, hoping to get to his position. Yes! Just a few feet away! He was almost there! Totally unaware of the fact he was in the Shadows. A glimmer of hope spread across his mind right until, pain.

Burning, horrible, searing hot pain coursing through every vein in his face, making him scream out in agony. Then, so quickly, he couldnt breathe. He was filled up with that Green mist he realized quickly, and tried to exhale it quickly, hitting his stomach again and again. It wasnt working. He was going to die...

He turned around, only to see this monster that had done his. He was in such a rage. Taka walked over to this person, only managing to come a few inches closer before running out of energy. He was lasting incredily longer than most, almost there for a minute. He had been taking a deep breath before this.

Taka raised his hand ever so slowly, knowing this would be the last of two actions. He raised it, turning it around, the wrist facing the around. He put all of his fingers down, then, slowly raised one of them. He did this with the faintest of smiles, starting to feel cold. He had just flicked this asshole the bird.

Taka then gathered up the last of the saliva in his mouth, the small grin on his face. He shot his head forward, spitting out the wet stuff. It flew threw the air, seeming insulting to not only Taka, but the other guy.

Plop

Just as he had intended. Right on the porcelain mask. Satisfaction was all this was about as his life flahed before his eyes. His parents, his dad, Aki...And now, this. He started to feel wobbly. And he started to fall back. With his last breaths, he managed to say his last words.

"You...Pathetic...Bitch..."

He was dead.

[owaz]

The ceiling was collasping. A strong unknown physical force bearing down on it from above until finally it could not withstand such damage that it gave away and toppled above Light and everything else in the room about to be crushed. Three undead guards stood in the room above, apparently responsible for the sneak attack, with dust and smoke pouring down from the hole and quickly filling the area. Eerily each one of them spoke out a single disgruntled sentence, with the next zombie continuing on the message. "Run for the Cavern of Remembrance. We shall keep this enemy at bay and take him down! Go now!" Quite pathetically the guards plummeted through the hole and hit the floor with thuds before remaining motionless. Their use now fulfilled. The Stilanimus controlling them unable to influence the right cells to manipulate their bodies.

Running was probably a good idea. Perhaps with this sudden event combined with the quick death of Shinn, Cid and Leon would take the hint and leave. Tyke's plan was now underway. The question was where did he hide? Three other fallen soldiers appeared around the corner of the hallway, beckoning Cid and Leon to follow them before they too collasped to the floor and remained fallen. There was no time to be sitting around wondering what in Kingdom Hearts was going on.

[Zero [Axel]]

Zero watched the other man, who was also fighting Shadow, simply fall to the ground as death greeted him. A light laugh turned into a satirical chuckle. The only help he had at defeating Shadow had just croaks. He began pacing back and forth, keeping up the slight laugh. Fire began to seep from the pores on his arms as more fire engulfed his feet and legs. The strange liquid-like fire covered his limbs. Wisps of flames constantly licked against his face.

"Well...this is just f*ckin' peachy!" he shouted and the flames grew brighter. As he paced, smoldering footprints were left in his wake. Energy greater than before radiated from his fire. It wasn't the fact that he was mad that Shadow killed Taka. He was more angry because Zero had to fight Shadow one on one. The fires from his footprints spread into a pool of fire. Within seconds the liquid fires disappeared, seeping into the ground, leaving no damage to the soil.

The fires which covered his arms dripped to the ground as well, only to vanish from view like last time. It plopped off in large globs only to be replaced by more. The anger within him left but the enigmatic flames remained. Since he was fighting Shadow alone, he had to kick his tactics up another notch. He turned his head toward Shadow. His sleek, dark crimson eyes now glowed a fiery red.

He paced slowly toward Shadow. His fiery footprints continuously did what they had before. A calm expression siezed Zero's face and he threw two balls of fire toward shadow. They spun threw the air and as they came in contact with the ground they exploded in pools of fire. It raced across the ground, growing larger. Wide circles of fire consumed a fraction of the floor. He pointed his hands at Shadow and beams of fire that zipped around madly through the air but aimed for Zero's opponent.

Most collided with the ground but some would hit dead on. The ones that missed simply vanshied when they hit the floor. Zero stopped, far enough from the mist that surrounded Shadow. The Pyro lifted his leg and slammed it hard into the ground. A large spike of fire pierced deep into the soil while more fire raced toward Shadow like a geyser, thrusting up chunks of rocks and pyres.

This would end soon, whether Zero died or Shadow...

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

Zero's attacks had failed in striking but that's what the Pyro wanted. A smirk crossed Zero's lips, even as the tendrils took grasp. He knew for a fact that he was going to die here. He had no way to use his magic but he did have his last plan already set up, and it required no movement but instead lack of restraint. At this moment he had the choice to enable his mental barriers and to block out all pain, or he could whitness all the damage this man's attacks had to bring. At least if he dealt with it now, he'd know what Shadow was capable of dealing.

The attacks ripped through his torso, blood pouring out from each wound. He cringed and let out groans of pain with each swipe. A smile remained on his face through the entire assult. The last strike was dealt and he still had that smartass look on his face. His arms were useless as the Green Mist released its grip. His body plunged toward the ground but slowed. His body turned a deep red as he looked at Shadow.

"Heh, good fight. But I'll have the last laugh." His body began to literally dicipate into wisps of fire. The entire dispersal happed in a few moments. Shadow had just conjured his mirror when Zero fully vanished. The restraints that held down the fire below the ground were relesed. During his last attack, all the fire that had seeped into the ground was kept in a compact orb under the soil. When Zero died, his powers which contained it released.

A massive pillar of flames erupted from below Shadow. It blasted toward the sky, threatening to enguld Shadow within them. He couldn't have possibly know that Zero had been planning this. A crater was left in the pillars wake, and a hole about 10-20 foot deep was there also. Zero did in fact get the last laugh, except for the fact that he was in the Underworld now...

[thaed]

He raised his left hand, closed palm and clenched fingers formed a fist. Then he opened his lips, cutting out across the man who had insulted him, spitting on the mask and mouthing two breathless/noiseless words. 'You...pathetic...' but before he could mouth the last word... "Goodbye..." whispered Shadow. And with that word, he opened his hand, spreading his fingers wide as a smirk curled across his lips. The mist within Taka solidified, exploding outward in many thick green spikes throughout his body. This explosion happened many times until finally, it was very disturbing to look at down upon his fallen and bloodily marred body... One down.

"The bastard! Who did he think he was, insulting a superior such as myself in that manner?! Perhaps he would have deserved a more fitting death, the death of a warrior, a more dignified death, the death of one who deserved it...but with those insults. No... That would not do, and that was the reason for his disgraceful demise." Thought Shadow inside of his head as he began to pace back and forth, eyes locked with the arrogant pyromaniac's stern gaze.

Two balls of blazing flame were thrown from Zero's forearms, and as they landed upon the ground near Shadow, each one erupted into medium sized pools of liquid fire. The reaction from Shadow was immediate as he commanded a good amount of green mist to chemically change into a waist deep wall of green liquid. This wall kept the fire pools at bay as well as it covered up everything from his waist to the floor. Nothing that happened behind the liquid wall would be seen by the pyromancer.

Shadow commanded a good amount of mist to sink into his shadows. The constant pour of mist from him would make it appear as if the nothing at all was occurring, EVEN IF was visible behind the wall, which it wasn't: not a single change. The mist appeared from the shadow behind Zero. It was difficult to emerge due to the flames that danced around his body, cast awkwardly shaped patches of darkness upon the ground behind the pyrokinetic. As proved earlier in this battle, the flames did nothing to this green matter. Even the cold that solidified the mist would only work if the mist was in the form of a liquid or mist, considering the fact that mist is merely millions of separated molecules of liquid, which can be frozen. In the solid state, that was where the true strength of the green matter was evident.

As the mist solidified, more silent than that silence which presses against your ear-drums, it formed many silent tendrils behind the body of Zero. It immediately lunged forward, latching on to his EVERY body part. His legs were now constricted, as were his arms, as was his torso and waist, as was his forehead and neck, and not an inch of him would be mobile. He was now in the full control of the matter, and each molecule of flame upon his body were simply smothered out. Were the pyromancer to attempt burning away his constraints, nothing would happen. When formed into solid matter, the matter was almost twice as heat resistant as porcelain and almost twice as sturdy, durable and compact as compacted and Aggregated Carbon Nanorods (much harder than diamond). The amount of heat required for that to be altered would be of more than supernovae temperatures, enough to destroy an entire planet and seemingly far too powerful for Zero's heating abilities. These properties of the green matter were made possible simply due to the pressure in which each molecule was compacted together. It was quite simply when every atom within every molecule was manipulated by Shadow's will.

These restraints happened in between the fire pools attack and the fire beam attack, thus, the fire beam attack was stopped short, only able to singe off the edge of Shadow's cloak. This alone was enough to anger the mist manipulator.

He walked forward, a little faster than the speed that Zero had sauntered forward. The wall of liquid around him put out the liquid flames on the ground as he advanced on his trapped opponent. Within ten seconds he had lowered the liquid wall so that he may come face to face with Zero. The seconds that had passed in the time that it took for Shadow to arrive close to his opponent was far more than enough for the effects to take place. During those seconds, the side-effects were already evident. By now he was held up by the green tendrils, unable to stand on his own due to the physical strength decrease that resulted from the matter contacting his muscles. He also looked much older than before, more than scruff forming along his face with each passing moment. Now that the matter had contacted his skin and had remained upon him for about ten seconds, his physical strength would have decreased to that of a small child. He was also aging rather quickly...the 40 year old-ish wrinkles that formed on his face clearly showed this. He had looked about twenty years old at the start of this battle... Surely, unless he was one of those with an immensely powerful mental state of being and will-power, he would have already admitted defeat. If he was one of those, perhaps some small ounce of hate and determination lingered within his mind. Other than that, his will to continue battle should be diminished to nothing by now. Oh what wonders the green matter worked...

Shadow raised his hand above his head, summoning his Scythe to levitate about an inch above his hand. The show in which the Scythe put on before appearing was spectacular: many great spirals of light green mist followed by flashes of dark green light, nearly blinding. The barbed-wire-esque whip attached to the end of the katana thin handle coiled up along the blade-handle, spiraling up and touching the large blade piece of the weapon. He swiped at the air with his hand, diagonally across his chest when the image hit him. It appeared out of the corner of his eye, and as he looked to his right at the far away castle, at the light arrow that exploded out of a side window and dissipated into nothingness, he felt his Scythe make contact with flesh. He did not look at his stricken target, but instead spoke in a whisper to himself. "Light always hits his mark..." He did not look to Zero, knowing that he had already done sufficient damage to his person. He swiped the air again, across his chest several times, each one resulting in the thunking sound of blade against meat until finally, Shadow pulled his arm back and thrust it forward, clearly impaling something. He looked back to the body of Zero now, smiling in approval. On each side of his body between the shoulder bone and the neck were deep gashes that sunk vastly. It was evident that both of his arms were nearly severed, but that was not all. His shirt had been sliced through, tearing a perfect crescent shaped wound into his chest between each breast. His stomach, directly through his obliques, was a hole shaped wound that poured blood profusely. It would not be a lethal wound if it was tended to soon... Perhaps his arms would be more lethal, but with the right amount of care and a proper healer, they still would not be able to regain much mobility, maybe even no movement at all..

Shadow stepped back quickly, looking at his defeated opponent with that sadistic smirk beneath the porcelain. In his eyes, this was far more than enough damage, and it was nearly impossible for him to move, judging by the discoloration in his feet due to the constriction of the green tendrils. His opponent should die soon...Shadow nodded at Zero as the tendrils released his body, letting the man drop to the ground...

"Your determination was admired...perhaps, if you survive, we shall face again someday...though your skills do need much improvement. Good day."

There was a rumbling, followed by a great pressure felt beneath Shadow. Admittedly, he was taken by surprise. The surge of flames beneath him was not expected, yet the amount of mist already presently beneath him softened the attack considerably. As the pillar buffeted him, raising up in many whisps of flame around him, the mist protected him for the most part. The places on his cloaked body that were exposed to the flame burnt away the longer the flame was upon him. Shadow merely stared at his defeated opponent as he evaporated away into flames. He smirked as the mist around him engulfed his body for a moment before uncovering him. His burns were healed, yet they still left a few diagonal scars around his neck and a few burnt spots on his robes. "So much for a last laugh." He said as Zero faded out of existance.

He disappeared through a mirror that formed behind him, shattering to the ground and disintegrating as it did so. Every trace of the green matter formed into one solid condensed ball, about the size of a large beach ball and followed through the mirror at precisely the moment before the mirror shattered.



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

Shadow's mirror appeared directly atop the body of the dead Shinn...the mirror pushed down upon his immobile torso, crushing through his rib-cage and completely flattening all upper vital organs, including the heart. He stepped out, into the spot where the top half of where Shinn's head should be...yet surprisingly, from his jaw up was missing. It was obviously the work of Light, and speak of the devil! Shadow was directly in front of his counterpart. You could say that Shadow was, perhaps, a tiny bit embarassed that he bore a few burn marks on his neck and on his robes. But it was not a big deal. Shadow had gotten his wish: a decent battle. The still materialized Scythe floated near his hand as the mirror repeated its process of shattering and disappearing. The sharp barbed-wire-esque whip at the end of the handle of the scythe uncoiled from the bladed handle of the weapon. Merely fulfilling its lust for blood, it repeatedly stabbed the crushed heart area of the dead man, Shinn. It sliced away at him like a knife to butter in boredom. Shadow stared into Light's eyes, examining him as he suddenly felt a great tremor...it came from above. Of course, Shadow was not aware of what was going on in the room above. He asked quietly, "Light....what is going on? I saw your arrow and..." But realization had hit him now. He looked down at the missing portion of Shinn's head and nodded. "What has happened that has caused such a commotion above us? If I am needed to form a barrier around us and the valuables," He started, clearing his throat and gesturing around at all of the discarded books and scrolls of parchment, "I will do so..." He pressed, toying with the carvings against the flat side of the handle of the Scythe. This was true. All Light had to do was simply nod at Shadow and a barrier of thick green would instantly protect everything in this room...at least temporarily. "Just say the word." He commanded as the whip continued to repeatedly stab the body of Shinn.

[Shinn]

ooc: Overkill much oh well doesnt bother me and I'll explain why.)


“Forget? I probably shouldn’t have even paid attention, let alone bothered to give someone as ignorant as you my codename.” Light spat out. He obviously grew tired of Shinns attitude. Seeing someone look at him with no fear in his eyes must have angered him or maybe he just thought Shinn knew nothing of his true power.

He sure thinks highly of himself. Then again he has the power to back it up.

Before he could respond a bright light shone beside Shinn. Suddenly it began to break apart, cracks running down its body before splintering, chunks falling at a time and disintegrating until the brilliance was completely gone, leaving Light standing beside Shinn with his bow at his neck.

“I told you to take all meanings of that name to heart, and obviously you did not. If you won’t take the name to heart, maybe I should I should make you take my arrow to your brain!”

Shinn turned just in time to see Lights face before he began to pull back on his arrow. "He can bend light to cloak himself?!?! How could I not sense his aura when he was just two feet from me?!?!" Before he could retaliate Light pulled back his arrow tearing apart Shinns throat. Holding his neck to stop the bleeding Shinn gasped for air, the energy shot eradicating his very body as it impacted him, breaking down his hair, skin, and bone as the blast shot through, colliding with the window on the other side of the room and shattering it. Shinn fell to his knees then fell face down on the floor.

[northsky]

The man in front of them collapsed, blood pouring from his throat. The smell of blood tickled Cid's nose, and in reaction, his hand tightened on the spear handle. Eyebrows scrunched together, the blond inched forward, itching to do something, when suddenly, the ceiling began trembling.

The tremble turned into violent rocking as pieces of plaster fell on the three. The ceiling was collapsing. For a second there, Cid took his eyes off the enemy, for there was something else much important to see now. Through all the dust and rumbling, he could hear monotonic shouts, informing them to run for the Cavern of Remembrance. Over and over, they told the two that they'll keep the enemy busy while they run. A piece of the ceiling fell before him, making him step back, and along with the ceiling, the guards telling them to run. If Cid had time to inspect closer, he would have seen that they were already dead.

Movement appeared in the corner of his eyes, and his head snapped around, only to find more guards around the hall, beckoning Leon and him to follow them. Apparently, someone wanted them to run. Deep in self conflict, Cid glanced at the warrior, now accompanied by his friend, with hatred, his finger digging into his palm. Finally, he laid a hand on Leon's shoulder. It was his turn to take action now.

"Let's get out of here!" Cid shouted at the man above the rumbling of the still collapsing ceiling. Soon they would be cut off. So they need to move. NOW. "Come on Leon! It's not time for us to see Hades yet." Apparently, judging from all of these suddenly brought to life guards, Hades was not excited to see them so soon.

"If they survive, we'll fight 'em outside," and he wouldn't run this time. Cid backtracked down the hall, his eyes still on the library door, beckoning Leon to come with him.

[Heroic Bilby]

"When your friends are able?" Leon repeated with a tone of understanding and the barest hint of relief. This statement seemed to imply that the Divine Kiss had yet to fully break through the border between this reality and the Kingdom of Dark Hearts. He had already thought it too late when the Husks stormed into Radiant Garden. "That would mean that the attack on the town right now isn't the real invasion. Do you mean to tell me it was just... a distraction? Is there something here you need that ba-"

Leon, however, was cut off by entrance of Shadow and the subsequent tremor that came almost instantly afterwards. He looked up just enough to keep both warriors within his range of vision as the ceiling as already starting to collapse. As chunks made their way down on to the library Leon was glad he and Cid were just outside the doorway, though it sounded like that area would soon follow. He heard the warning through the hole above and the call form off to the side, but he still focused on the warriors ahead. His gunblade continued to be held level at Light, directing his gaze at the warrior's porcelain mask.

Maybe Leon didn't have eyes like Light's. Maybe he did live a place that could have been called paradise rather than a world where you were never safe. What he did know, however, was the feeling of losing that paradise. He knew the feeling of struggling against seemingly unbeatable forces for years. He knew about putting all your effort into restoring your lost home, just to have it threatened again. He had the eyes of a man who never wanted to experience that kind of pain again, to have all his life's work shattered. Maybe that couldn't impress Light, but it would have to do. It would be his strength.

Cid's voice, demanding Leon to follow him away. The warrior allowed a millisecond glance in that direction before he was locked back on the duo in the collapsing room. Did he really need to retreat already? Could he not even try to oppose them? True the castle starting to fall down around them was unexpected, but he heard Shadow's comment about protecting the valuables. It didn't sound like they were interested in chasing them down, just something in that library. Still, the ceiling over the hallway could be collapsing soon as well, and Leon was willing to bet he didn't count as a valuable.

The warrior grit his teeth a little before finally allowing the second sounding of his older friend's voice to pull him away. As he moved, not releasing his glare at Light until the wall was between them, he couldn't help but feel like he hadn't done as much as he could have, and that was a feeling he hated. The words Light spoke encouraging him to get stronger still echoed in his mind... did they really have such time? maybe if they wanted to face the true invasion but not if they wanted to stop it, most likely. From now on he would have to make sure he did more.

[Wilder~Light]

“Why in hell did you leave your post?“

The question ripped the air apart with loathing. Light was clearly not happy at the moment of asking, but barely an instant after asking, he was already over it. While they all trusted each other completely, sometimes the four would slip back into distrust out of habit, though it never lasted long before their memories surfaced of all that had happened between them.

The explosions above barely caught Light’s attention as his eyes ran from edge to edge of the book, reading carefully, but quickly. It wasn’t until the explosion full on occurred and Shadow made his comments that he looked up, scoffing slightly.

“You have too much pride in your mist Brother.” Muttered Light as the other warrior continued his bored stabbing. “You forget that it isn’t the fastest thing in the universe. Besides, I already have most of my data, no need to save it all.”

Light’s silvery eyes began to whiten as he focused his power, the area above their heads flashed in a brilliant light, shimmering with hundreds of colors. As the material fell onto this makeshift dome, it slowly began to fall apart, breaking into smaller and smaller chunks with incredible speed until what could only be called dust was left.

Light usually didn’t have to spend such energy on this ability, but he wasn’t simply protecting him, but Shadow and two other bookcases on the other side of the room that he hadn’t taken a book from yet.

As the last bits of the ceiling fell, Light’s eyes darkened and returned to their metallic coloration as he closed his current book.

“From all of the useless data I’ve collected, I’ve managed to piece together a few things we didn’t know already.” Told Light as he tossed his current book over his shoulder, adding it to the mass of debris cluttering over half of the room. “Turns out these idiots were creating fakes by taking hearts and surrounding them with darkness, thus making a Heartless without a Nobody.”

The warrior walked over to the bookcases he had protected and began looking from one to another, examining their titles and texture, watching for any names that could link to what he was searching for and any rough textures, showing multiple use, thus maybe a more important book. Soon enough, he began grabbing at books, his LockShield appearing behind him in a flash of light before summoning and opening the gate once more as he tossed book after book into the pathway, intending to read them thoroughly later.

“Now, here’s the thing, there’s only so much Darkness in their universe, how did they get more? I can only come up with two answers, they stole it from our realm or they found one of them.” Claimed Light as he switched to the opposite bookcase and repeating the process. “Odds are they simply stole it from our realm, hence the creation of the artificials, but we still need to try and find out exactly what they did.”

Light’s eyes flicked for a moment just before he disappeared in a flash of light. Reappearing next to two of the corpses, he picked them up and scowled slightly. He knew whatever energy that was controlling the dead was listening in, if that was possible. The thought of attacking them grew stronger and stronger within him, but he knew that whatever it was that was using the deceased’s bodies couldn’t be directly broken down yet, he would need to experiment on them. Tossing the two text victims into the portal as well, he knew whatever had been manipulating them would now be cut off due to the dimensional split. Even though they had listened in to most of his conversation, and there were more left to hear the rest, it didn’t matter, as long as he didn’t say anything specific, it shouldn’t matter who heard what.

“For now, we need to finish the primary reason why we came here.” Called Light to Shadow behind him. “I’m going to check around the rest of the castle to see if anything is hidden from us, plus, I think it’d be rude not to let the two fighters who ran from here have a true chance to choose between fight or flight…”

Leaning down and picking up another corpse with the strange energies resonating within him, Light smirked slightly and held him up in midair.

“As I’m sure you can sense even better than I, there is a great source of Darkness above us Brother. I’ll let you go and see what it is. If you happen to find the one who is controlling these puppets, be sure to give him my best regards…” Spoke Light sadistically, almost as if talking more to the user than Shadow, as the thing began to disintegrate, limbs detaching in chunks, blood not even getting the briefest of chances to flow before it was evaporated. “I’ll meet you outside in a little while.”

As the last of the being turned to dust, Light twirled Blight around in his hand before gripping it tightly once more and disappearing in a flash, his LockShield closing and following suit.

He would get to have fun now…

Posting Order:
1: Light
2: Tyke < These 3 can post in any order.
3: Leon < These 3 can post in any order.
4: Cid < These 3 can post in any order.
5: Shadow

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