The Hunt [C]

[owaz]

Flash! All sight of the room went out in a blink. They knew. Light somehow detected the presence of Tyke by merely looking at the possessed guards that were used to pass on the message. Whatever method of tracing power they had, it would probably lead them straight to the source. And that meant he was in a lot of trouble. The appearance of the cloaked being had not been counted on, nor was the collapsed ceiling trap being overcome so easily. Based on what he had last heard, it would be the one in dark attire coming for Iron Cloud.

Death was not something unfamiliar, but that new guy seriously looked like the Grim Reaper, holding that scythe, and he had mentioned something about a mist. Could that green stuff from earlier had been his? Even with all of Tyke's preparations, they seemed like the type of foes that would easily get through any situation. Cid and Leon were probably closing in on the Cavern of Remembrance by following the path of zombified guards. Having second thoughts on his interference, Tyke quickly decided it best to meet up with the other warriors in the Cavern, and so cautiously he crept down one of the several halls he had marked with blood prints.

[Heroic Bilby]

Leon moved right behind Cid as they followed the path towards the Cavern of Remembrance. Whoever was manipulating the bodies of the fallen seemed to be looking out for them, though Leon did wish he knew who it was. Perhaps if they'd had a chance to coordinate things would have gone better. he might not have been forced to flee in order to escape being buried alive. Still, who's to say that what already happened wasn't the best he could have realistically hoped for? Leon saw that guy get completely blown away, tricked by an illusion. Leon wasn't afraid of illusions, but that didn't mean they weren't trouble to deal with, especially when the user is strong enough to get by without them anyway and not dependent on them. And of course, then there was the other one who showed up and offered to protect them. Nothing known at all about him, except for one thing. Since he hadn't had a female voice and wasn't a hulking monster, that one was most likely the antiform who had defeated King Mickey. There was literally no way for Leon to try and oppose them both at once right now. Not with no chance to form a plan.

The pair of warriors had just reached the entrance to the Cavern of Remembrance when suddenly Leon felt something. Not an actual sense of something, just... a feeling in his gut. The type of foresight that comes from years of experience with dangerous situations. It was definitely a bad feeling. Leon's feet came to a halt, his left leg slightly towards Cid ahead of him and his right treading behind.

"Cid," he said suddenly and forcefully. Leon's neck turned to the right and slightly down as he recognized this feeling. The feeling of being followed. Of being watched. "They're coming."

Whatever the mystery man had planned to do to slow them down as promised had apparently failed. Either that or Leon was starting to get paranoid and it was causing his warrior's intuition to go haywire on him.

[northsky]

Cid didn't need Leon's warning to know that they were on their way. Their easy escape was like something out of a well thought out book full of clichés. This is no well thought out book though. A strange prickle went down Cid's spine and he shook his shoulders, trying to rid himself of that unpleasant feeling of being the prey. It didn't go away. He kept going, ignoring the continuous currents of dread traveling down his spine, dismissing them as adrenaline. Deep inside though...he knew it was not going to be that easy to get away.

The used-to-be-dead guards kept guiding them on, one after another. And one after another they collapsed, once again just corpses, lying limp against the wall, or scattered in flimsy positions on the ground like cast-away rag dolls. Cid had never believed in a divine being sitting above them. There was not enough evidence of there being one, and when it comes to it in the end it was all just spiritual hocus pocus. Like magic, it could only satisfy you for so long. But now, after all these dead soldiers popping up, and then falling back to their sleep, he was seriously doubting his life long belief. If he survived this, he would become a devoted follower of God. Very devoted.

Finally, they were almost there, the entrance just in front of Cid in the long hallway when he heard Leon's footsteps stop behind him. It was just as he feared. The spear wielder turned at Leon's warning, taking in a deep deep breath that expanded his lungs with as much air as it could manage, an old habit from his smoking days. Right about now he was wishing for a stick.

"I was afraid ye were goin' to say that," Cid rubbed his temples, sighing. It seems that he was not being paranoid in the end, and it was not his adrenaline putting his sense on red alert. They were being followed. What was he to do? Stay and fight? Run? He glanced at the fallen guards around him, the ones that had led them this far.

Now was the time to choose. Was the pilot a runner? or a fighter? Swallowing and still gulping air like he was being deprived from the precious stuff, Cid turned, heading for the Cavern of Remembrance. "We'll fight him," yes, he'll stay. He cannot afford to loose this place. Not again. He could not bear the pain.

"But we have to get out of the hallway," the narrow corridor was not the best place to do combat for the two. They would have much more advantage over the cloaked warrior in a larger space. Cid turned, heading for the Cavern of Remembrance, no longer in a hurry, instead, in a proud swagger, his hand clenching on the spear handle in a tiger grasp. If Radiant Garden falls, he will fall with her. The captain always go down with his ship.

[thaed]

Shadow's shrouded eye twitched in response to Light's bothered response. How appreciative he was to Shadow's arrival of assistance. He grunted, exhaling once, heavily, at the following things said by Light about his pride in the green matter. It was true... The matter was not the fastest thing in the universe like light was, but it was powerfully useful. A moment of silence followed his brief insults, that moment occupied by an annoyance for Light, but it passed very quickly. Other memories flooded away his temporary lust to strike Light as he listened to his next words.

"Creating fakes?!" Interjected Shadow with an incredulous look, despite the fact that his expression was not visible. Anger flooded over him as realization occurred. "So that's why..." He began, gritting his teeth in frustration. He nodded for Light to continue. "Yes, the bastards more than likely stole the Darkness from our realm." He began, "In that case, experiments must be conducted in my free time concerning how Darkness may be pilfered..." He muttered to himself, unconsciously speaking aloud as his left hand found its way to the forehead of the mask.

Light dematerialized and rematerialized in a different location: the other bookshelf. As he seized the bodies and began discarding them past the portal he had created, his words brought remembrance to Shadow. As soon as he had appeared in this castle he had felt that overwhelming presence of Darkness surrounding them. Naturally, normally, people would be frightened of this gut-wrenching feeling, but for Shadow it was much different. It was like an adrenaline rush for him, the presence of pure Darkness, and he nodded in approval at Light's commands.

"Indeed, he shall remember my name by the time Apollo retires, and yours will be as much feared as mine." He stated with a swift turn of the heel and the swish of a long black cloak. Shadow retreated through the opened double doors, the long hallway ahead of him bearing many simultaneous marking along each wall. Spread about two feet apart of each-other on each wall were circular smears of a thick, dark red substance. Each one was about two feet in diameter as they lined the walls, never-ending until the hall turned right into an ascending stairwell.

Shadow stopped as soon as he was one step out of the doorway, the draft of the green mist that followed him caused the double-doors to slam shut behind him. He examined each wall, the left and the right, and a thin eyebrow raised. "...Dusk..?" He asked a little loudly, knowing that if he was here an immediate answer would have followed. When none came, he knew the deal. It was certainly a trap of some sorts, but what, exactly? As he pondered for a moment's time, Shadow sunk into the shadows cast upon the ground by each wall. Each tall shadow made the entire floor black in Darkness as he easily whisped by, undetected beneath the blood stains on the walls.

He turned the right, around the corner until a tall stairway followed. The stairway climbed the right hand wall while the left hand wall had been blown apart and offered a great chasm of empty area. Such a convenient spot for a stairway with such a fall like that. There were no blood stains here, but other "threats" instead. Several guards patrolled the stairway, staring down the jagged steps. Some held lances, others spears, but all in all, they shared a common trait. Each one appeared zombie-like, each one maliciously wounded through the chest as fresh blood stained their fronts. The way they stared, unblinking eyes, dazed into a bliss-like state...was disturbing. They appeared unaware of their fatal wounds. Certainly, they were under control by another force within this castle.

Shadow smiled to himself within the shadows as he surfaced from the side of the wall of the stairs, full speed toward one guard as the other guards instantly took notice of the intruder and got into battle positions. The guard that stood near the hand rail that overlooked the chasm was the one that Shadow had leaped at. He was horizontal over the stairs as he leaped out of the shadow of the guard on the wall. In the single second that was in between Shadow and the guard, he extended his right palm and green solidified in his hand. He compressed it, thrusting his elbow forward as the now massive ball of green matter surged toward the guard. There was nearly no way for him to evade the matter at such close range and with it going at such a high speed. When it hit, it would knock the guard off into chasm and down the bottomless pit beside the stairway. Shadow would then grasp the hand-rail and use his momentum as leverage to swing himself back over and onto the stairs where combat with the other guards would continue.

What fun this was turning out to be.

[Wilder~Light]

Light smirked slightly as he moved lower into the Castle. It was strange, so very strange. While the Darkness was above them, there was another large energy source coming from below. He recognized part of it as the energy that had been attempting to strike at him, but there was more to it. As he got lower and lower, he began to recognize it, the strange compilation of energy that could be altered and measured, the kind that ran within a computer…

Reaching the bottom level of the Castle, the warrior grimaced slightly. It was still below him, but with no obvious entrance, there was a secret to get further down. Gripping his bow tightly, he aimed it downwards as a large arrow appeared, extending almost past his arm in length before firing, the ground exploding and causing vibrations throughout the castle.

“There, now there’s an obvious entrance…” Muttered Light as he jumped down the hole, his hair and trench coat whipping about him as the air rushed past him in his decent.

Finally coming through the bottom, the warrior landed softly and looked about him, blinking slightly. Before him, past a glass window, was an enormous opening, walls lines with mysterious objects. Underneath the window was a large computer, lights flashing and ready to receive information. Behind him was a large structure, one unlike anything he had ever seen before, and to either side of him, a doorway.

“Now this is what I’m looking for…” Said Light as a wide smirk crossed his lips.

Putting his bow to the side and touching the keys softly, his fingers became a blur as they ran along the computer, his eyes flicking quickly from side to side as he accessed information and began to take it all in, cracking passwords in seconds until suddenly an electrical surge sparked outwards, shocking his fingers and forcing him to pull them back swiftly.

“INTRUDER! CEASE AND DESIST OR EXTREME MEASURES SHALL BE TAKEN!” Announced an electronic male voice from every direction.

“Well, well, well…” Muttered Light, greatly amused. “Isn’t this interesting…I saw mentions of artificial intelligence guarding the town, I never thought it was actually developed…”

“CEASE AND DESIST, CEASE AND DESIST!”

“Yes, you keep chanting that. I’d love to see what you can do.”

Placing his hands back at the keyboard once more, a shock sparked out, but quickly dissipated as Light smiled.

“That trick won’t work again, so unless you have…”

Unable to finish his sentence, Light’s eyes moved to the corners of his sockets as he sensed a huge swell of energy behind him, the mysterious device obviously powering up for whatever its purpose was.

Turning just as it fired, lights quickly condensed around his extended hand and formed his LockShield, blocking the energy blast as it collided with the beam, electricity crackling in the air.

“INTRUDER, WHAT IS THIS?”

A wide, vile, smirk crossed Light’s lips as he chuckled through his mask.

“Here’s a hint, it isn’t something that anything like that will work on…”

Turning back around, the warrior placed his hands flat on the keyboards, holding them firmly still as his eyes fixated on the screen.

“This is taking too long and there are still many interesting things I sense in this building, so if you don’t mind, I’ll take what I need and go. If you don’t mind, I‘ll take you‘re idea.”

Electricity began to spike, small bolts flying around Light’s body, flashing and disappearing, slowly growing in speed and number, the air beginning to sizzle as lightning covered his body before suddenly flying up his form and down his arms, entering the computer, causing the strange voice to scream out loudly as the electricity surged, the beam it had fired quickly dissipating.

“You poor thing. You turn solid beings into data, but the same has never been done to you? Haven’t you ever been curious? Well no matter!”

With his own words, Light’s eyes opened wide. Suddenly all the electricity flowed back into him, charging his body and filling his mind with the knowledge it had stolen from the massive computer, confirming what his mind has just realized and providing him with further information.

“It’s, it’s the same…So help me it’s the same…” Muttered Light, a deep, hidden rage lingering in his voice.

Breathing out slowly, calming the wrath boiling deep within him, Light placed his palm upon the back of his shield, electricity crackling out from the computer once more, racing from one hand to the other, the data feeding into the lock.

“For now, I’ll store the rest within you so I can better analyze it later.” Solemnly spoke the warrior even as the computerized voice screamed out once more.

Within seconds the lightning had ended and Light pulled his hands back as the last of the information was stored, his shield disappearing in a flash.

“So, how much further are they…” Muttered Light as he looked downwards once more. Picking up and pointing his bow at the ground once more as another arrow formed, firing off and creating another “entrance” to the levels below. “Why deal with doors and stairs when this is so much easier…Let alone fun.”

Leaping down the new hole, Light’s eyes closed momentarily as he descended. His mind drifted to all the information he had gathered so far, and what he could possibly learn later from the computer’s data.

Feeling his entrance into a new area, Light opened his eyes and looked around as his feet touched down. It was a grand area, circular with a giant hole in the center, surrounded by a white wall with dozens of symbols lining it. On the opposite side, he saw his prey.

“Well hello. I saw that look in your eyes and I knew you wanted to try something rather than runaway.” Spoke Light in a knowing tone. “I hate to see people being forced into things that they don’t want to do, even if its very, very stupid. So, I’ll make my offer again. You can run away and get stronger, or you can stay and fight, prove that determination I saw can give you the edge to win…”

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

[/b]

[owaz]

A spear was flying through the air as Tyke continued to unknowningly approach a fight. Shadow and a couple of guards were only feet away down the next hall, and when Tyke heard the sound of something being struck with great force he paused in his moment only to peek his head around the corner to observe what was taking place. One of the resurrected guards had just been blown off the rail by a thick green substance, and their weapon flung forward mindlessly towards the attacker's masked face. Meanwhile the two other guards quickly approached Shadow, closing the distance between them by two feet per second until finally they each hurled their lances at the cloaked enemy with a spurt a blood from their chests accompanying the back attack.

Whish!

Several invisible whips of blood extended outwards from the wounds in the zombies, both capable of striking practically any point ahead of them with no chance of missing; their target was a carelessly guarded Shadow. Now he would only have instants to react to an incoming spear at the face, along with two lances at his back, and a flurry of invisible whips. Of course the chances of comprehending a trap within a trap within a trap, and reacting in time were null. The coup de grace being the defensive power of Iron Cloud, severely weakening the powers of those who were nearby. He won't get around this... Tyke thought (with a squirming hidden object tied to his back) as he watched the oversized mouse that had fallen for the bait,.

[Heroic Bilby]

Leon looked back at Cid as the man stated his resolve before ushering them farther along. The man could feel that his old friend was determined, at least as much as he was himself. As he took the call and began to follow through the cavern, however, realization slowly dawned upon him. Did he think that Cid wouldn't care as much as he? Leon had always acted like the one out of the four who was most affected by the loss of their home ten years ago, but was he really? Though he was just a kid back then he was a man now, old enough to understand things much better than before. Cid had lost not only his home and his but his love as well, the latter of which never did return. Cid had been mature enough to handle it and act rationally, but this new invasion must have been brining back some awful memories.

Moving through the Cavern of Remembrance with caution and speed on his mind and Shear Trigger in his hand, Leon was basically as on edge as he ever got. He had caught up to Cid, the two of them making their way through the tunnel more or less side-by side. That feeling of being followed seemed to flicker out a little, thankfully. The feeling of danger, however, never did. The warrior knew he had to stay as ready as possible, even down here.

Suddenly there was a disturbance up ahead, causing Leon to come to a halt. His weapon's blade pointed in the direction of the new hole in the ceiling as he listened for any signs of more blasts coming through. It turned out not to be an attack, however, as light himself descended down to their level, greeting them with both insults and superiority. How nice of him.

Leon took in the antiform's words quickly. Cid sounded quite resolved earlier, and the blond might be eager to take Light up on this second chance for a tussle. Before that may or may not have occurred, however, Leon spoke up.

"You found what you're looking for, didn't you? That would mean we can't fight just to keep you away from it anymore. The only reason left to fight now would be if we actually thought we could defeat you."

It wasn't that Leon had any proof of this, or even a hunch really. It was just... the reason Light gave for coming here. For specifically coming after them. Before he had been busy looking for something, more than willing to shoo them away if he could. Assuming the library survived as Leon thought it had, then Light had plenty of time between then and now to find whatever he wanted and then blast his way down here. Leon thought of this situation differently than the Heartless invasion. They were just monsters, following the darkness of Maleficent. This, however, was more like an actual war. two sides, one desiring to invade the other merely wishing to keep what was their's. If Light was a soldier in that invading army then his duty to that cause should come first. Leon certainly didn't think he and Cid qualified in light's mind as potential threats, otherwise they'd have already been attacked. For him to be here now then, with such an unimportant reason, seemed to imply that it was already too late. These thoughts reflected now in Leon's expression, his tone.

"Am I right?"

He kind of hoped he wasn't... but knew what he could do if he was.

[northsky]

Cid continued down the tunnel, ignoring Leon's echoing footsteps and instead, focused on the other sounds in the cavern. Inside, Cid jolted and jumped at every small sound that reached his ears, but he remained calm and collected, the infamous scowl twisting his face. He didn't spare a glance at Leon as the young man caught up with him, but Cid could feel the tension vibrating off him, tense muscles clenching and unclenching on the gun-blade. He could practically hear Leon's calf muscles strain, getting ready to spring at anything dangerous at the seconds notice. Or maybe that was the tension in his own muscles he was feeling.

The sudden loud explosion ahead, and for a second there Cid was so wound up in being alert, he forgot to comprehend that something was happening. He halted a few steps ahead of Leon, turning his spear into a offensive stance. From the newly made hole in the ceiling, Light descended, looking like he was concentrating on something. Then the warrior saw them, and proceeded to make the duo feel like insignificant specks. Cid was tempted to return with something foul, but managed to contain himself. He never felt like being small. The pilot crouched, and got ready to pounce, a dark look of murder in his eyes. Afterall, he had promised a fight to himself, and the young man next to him.

But then Leon started talking, and Cid paused his look of menace for a second, now replaced with impatience and slight relief. He was human afterall, and by nature, no human, though they may be saying otherwise, is willing to throw their life away this quickly.

He did not back off though, keeping silent. Instead, his blue eyes darted to the ceiling where Light had entered from. If he remembered correctly, the computer room was right above the cavern. Cid let out a stream of curses and his frown deepened. Leon may have guessed correctly this time.

[thaed]

The attack hit, as expected. The large green explosion that resulted from its collision against the soldier's body engulfed Shadow entirely as he flew through it. The lance flew forward as a result of the green force against the guard's body. It moved rather quickly, directly for the mask of Shadow, and there would be nearly no way of avoiding the weapon. Instead, he simply commanded the mist to transform its state of matter, all within a millisecond. Instead of mere gas, it was now plasma. The flying weapon was burned out of existance, as did the other two weapons that hurled toward him from behind. He did not know of their existance, yet they were destroyed all the same.

He reached out of the plasma and grabbed the railing of the staircase, using his momentum to fling his body around over the railing once more and onto the stairs. As his body caught up with the rail, so did the plasma. It sent the wooden hand-rail up in flames IMMEDIATELY upon the green plasmatic matter's contact. Shadow realized something very interesting. As he leaped over the rail as it went up in flames, he landed a few more steps upward. To his surprise, it took a bit more concentration to maneuver the green matter.

By this time he was surrounded by several guards, all of which had ALREADY performed an attack that would have surely done major damage if it wasn't for the already plasmatic green matter. The best he could do was concentrate greatly as the many crimson whips lashed out toward him. The whips flew forward in less than a blink of an eye, each one coming into contact with the green plasma and ceasing to exist.

Shadow was no idiot, he saw where the whips had come from, he saw what they were made of, and he made the assumption that more whips could be created from the bloody wounds on their chests. With this, he maintained the plasma shield around him. Shadow expanded it in size, aiming to destroy not the guards, but their surroundings. As he did so, he found himself becoming more and more aware of concentrating to maintain the potency of the plasma. The thickness of it was decreasing, but all that was needed was a film-thick layer to cause destruction. Whatever touched the green matter would be destroyed, and it was quickly destroying the floor around him. The green matter under his cloak, the cloak that shrowded his legs entirely, created a circle beneath his feet upon the ground. It solidified until he was standing on nothing but a disk of green as the plasma surrounding him began to melt even the stone steps beneath him. The disk rose into the air, and as it did so, it barely evaded the flow of molten stone as a portion of the plasma-contacted steps gushed slowly downward

Shadow floated backward a little, decreasing the range from WHATEVER it was that was causing him to have to concentrate harder. He knew that it would not prevent the matter from thinning out, but it DID lessen his required concentration. The guards' only escape was to retreat further up the stairs and around the hall, for very soon, the very steps beneath them would melt away and engulf them completely if it didn't reach them first. If the plasma reached them before they retreated upward, they would all die. Shadow would cease destruction, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed by it. It moved rather quickly and the distance from the ascended (four feet up) Shadow and the guards was very small. Hopefully, they could run fast. For if they reached the power-deminishing source soon enough, they would be spared the fate of the plasmatic matter. It would be thinned out of existance if it reached that source, in theory.

Shadow continued to float upward as the plasmic matter continued to melt the stairs and close in on the guards. He quickly passed through the ceiling as the plasma burned it away. He ascended even more, but as his head came closer to the second ceiling, he commanded the plasma to change into gaseous form. His shadow was cast on the ceiling as he came closer to it and this is how he passed through the second ceiling. The green matter, however, remained under that wall; it did not pass through the shadow with Shadow. As Shadow's head surfaced from the floor that was once the ceiling, he realized that this was the place that he needed to be. He thought for a moment as he sensed the presence of Darkness. He could almost taste the evil within the room...it pleased him greatly.

He stood in a large cathedral, staring past a small flight of stairs into a large, multi-colored heart shaped hole in the wall ahead. It would easily allow fifty men to pass through it all at once. The many colors within it shifted and swirled around each-other with each passing moment. The presence of Darkness in this place was immense, especially that Darkness which came from the heart opening on the wall. The area that Shadow stood on was circular in shape. It was a large platform with many musical organs and machinery scattered about the edge of the circle. Shadow stood in the center of the platform.

He turned his head to the right, looking out of the corner of his right eye over his shoulder. The head movement wasn't so that he could see backward, for that was possible from any head position, it was so that his voice would carry on in the intended direction: toward the commander of the guards.

"Whoever you may be that commands the now mindless, morbid castle-guards, I offer you fair warning; leave this castle before great trouble is cast your way. I do not wish to dispose of yet another life this day, regardless of what I have been asked to do... but, if you attempt to disrupt my research, you will not be spared for your ignorance. This will be your first, and your last warning." Shadow bellowed, very sure that his voice would carry on throughout the castle.

There was only one entrance to this room, and it was behind Shadow via a large double-doored entrance. He commanded a good amount of green gas to move through the shadows until after a couple of seconds, it was in front of those double-doors. The green matter solidified in front of the doors, forming a tall, thick wall of solid green. Since Shadow could see behind him without looking, he would know when the presence was coming closer, for surely, the solid wall of green would begin to dwindle away as the presence came nearer.

Shadow stared in awe at the heart on the wall. He began to breathe heavily, and as he did so, the green around him seemed to be moving a little quicker than normal. There was also a significant difference in the amount of green gas present. There was a great deal more, nearly to the point of where he was completely engulfed by it. The overwhelming presence of Darkness within this place gave Shadow a rush that was unlike any other sensation. A rush of power. The scythe behind Shadow rotated quickly, clock-lilke in movement about a few inches behind his back. It was directly above his shadow....

[Wilder~Light]

Laughter rang out, loud and long, causing a deep echo within the room and the caverns that were behind them. Even with his mask out, the laughter continued to reach further and further until it abruptly stopped.

“Did I find what I needed? No. Did I find what I wanted? In all honesty, still probably not…” Spoke Light calmly. “That library was useless, billions of notes and texts on the heart, but nothing on the soul! Did I learn a few useful things? Yes, but barely any, and I doubt even with the last few texts I stole that anything will come of it.”

Light looked up at the hole above him and smiled widely.

“However, with that computer, there is so much more information in there! Details on everything I could need to know, easily accessible in the time it would take me to read ONE page of a book!” Claimed Light, his voice filled with what could only be called a sick joy. “I didn’t even pay attention to it being there, what with energy being underneath an entire city, what’s one more building? And with the library above, why have the same information in two different formats in two different areas? Or maybe that was part of the trick, maybe that was to make people less suspicious…”

Looking back down, Light’s eyes focused on the, flipping between each of them with his silver eyes glistening in the strange light of the area.

“I felt the energy below, yes, but as I said, the entire city has energy above them. I simply passed it off as more of that supply energy, I didn’t bother to examine it. I would have left this building already if it wasn’t for you two…”

Laughing again, it was much deeper this time, sinister and devilish.

“If you two hadn’t run down here, I never would have sensed downwards trying to find you, I never would have realized the energy below was actually a computer.” Spoke Light, his voice smug. “And so I thank you, from the depths of my little black heart, I thank you for making my work so much easier and more complete…”

Light bent slightly, bowing to the two warriors as he continued laughing once more, his voice echoing deep and loud.

“Now, why should you bother to attack me? Hmph, it would be wise to run away and grow stronger, but think about it. Have I found what I wanted? Maybe. However, you should be more concerned with can I use it.”

Light stood back up straight and spread his arms out wide, palms upwards towards the ceiling.

“You can’t keep me from finding it, there’s a good chance I have already found it, or maybe even my Brother will find it in his search for the source of Darkness in this world. So yes, while it is pointless to stop us from finding what we have more than likely already found, why don’t you try to stop us from using it?”

Bringing Blight in front of him, the warrior looked at it before looking at Leon once again.

“I am a warrior of honor. I won’t kill anyone who doesn’t warrant it, after all, what would be the use in that? Killing people who are too weak doesn’t earn me any merit, so I only do it when the fools are too stupid to see they have no way of winning.” Spoke Light calmly. “So don’t blame me for those warriors who continued to charge me. I never harmed one that didn’t come for me first.”

Raising the bow above him, Light suddenly snapped in it half, the second part of it landing in his other hand.

“I am also a warrior of strategy, which I partially use to weed out those worthy of fighting me. The first phase of this is Blight, using my bow to defeat the weak before they can even reach me, letting only the strong come within melee range.”

With a flick of his wrists, almost faster than the eye could follow, each half of Blight was quickly thrown into the ground exactly 4 inches in front of each warrior.

“You reacted quickly to my shots and deflected them. That, paired with that look in your eye, is enough for me to enter my second phase.” Revealed Light as he chuckled softly.

Standing calmly, arms at his side, elbows barely bent, Light’s last words blasted through the air, louder than what had been heard within the cavern for years.

“KILL ME IF YOU THINK YOU CAN!!!”

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

[/b]

[owaz]

Doors were flung open wide and violently as Shadow's solid green barricade was broken down by two guards out of a union of five. The duo collapsed to the floor pathetically, and the remaining three walked in to approach the cloaked being that manipulated the strange matter. What he probably never would have realized is that Tyke, who controlled these zombified soldiers, had disguised himself as one of the two that broke down the doorway. And so it would be a complete dummy Shadow would be talking to for the passing time.

More than anything Tyke wanted to respond to the man's warning with a snappy retort, but instead what came out of a deep voice from a possessed guard was, "I've come to negotiate with you. I'm willing to help you with your research. But you must promise that the others are not harmed by the other one who was with you, and in return you will have my complete guarantee of obedience." And so it was placed upon the enemy to decide whether to take this generous offer with a promise of no resistance. Iron Cloud had watched what happened to the guards when they came face to face with the plasmatic substance. They were completely wiped out, and his traps had been bypassed by a newly made path. Fighting would not solve the problem, and it would certainly bring about more death and destruction -- something he did not want. And so he was forced to decide on the unthinkable. To aid the enemy with the intent of saving some lives.

[Heroic Bilby]

Leon stayed silent and solid while Light made, what appeared to be, an attempt to attack their nerves, possibly even lure them into trying to do battle. He would find the former Squall Leonheart a bit too calm under pressure to fall for simple goading, though he did unconsciously worry a bit about how Cid was going to react. When Light flicked his wrists Leon's instincts caused a low-angled hop that sent him sliding back from where the pieces of Blight would strike the ground in front of his previous position, Shear Trigger held in a tight defensive position until what had occurred was more clear. Leon was a warrior, after all. The possibility of enemy deceit and trickery were never to be overlooked, especially since he already knew light was an illusion-user. The brown-haired man listened to the now bow-less bow-user shout their challenge with a steady gaze. As much as he may have wanted to take up that offer, Leon's main concern continued to be the gathering of information.

Leon's posture straightened up, though his expression and sights remained locked as they already were. His gunblade moved to be held against his right shoulder by one hand and pointed upwards in the air. It looked like a casual position but Leon often took this stance during actual combat as well. It was easy for him to quickly get his weapon wherever he needed it from this pose. Hopefully Cid would see the movement and realize Leon was up to something.

"You're a lot like what I expected," he said simply, his tone rather dry but on the plus side not faltering despite the pressure of the situation. "But not entirely."

Well, it was true. The situation as Ansem described the antiform's realm made Leon think of this invasion as an actual war. These Keyblade-fighting warriors he had pictured as soldiers or even generals who would act in a more formal manner than simple monsters.

"Sorry but, we can't credit for leading you to the computer system. You'll have to thank whoever it was that decided to drop the ceiling on us. Even we don't know who that was."

Though now Leon was a little more peeved with this mystery figure than he was before. Still, it wasn't their fault. Leon should have had Tron purge the system when he knew the warriors were looking for information. he just didn't think they could get past the mainframe's security so... quickly. Hacking that system would be a feat nothing short of amazing yet apparently for this antiform it was a cakewalk. Foresight not withstanding, Leon was admittedly surprised. He didn't let it show, of course.

Well, it was time to act like the leader he was supposed to be. To make tough decisions. To try to talk to the enemy. To plan for the present and the future. If they still had one, at least.

"I suppose we should be honoured that you consider us worth fighting for real, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer."

Man was that hard to say. Still, something about the way these guys were operating... it gave the impression that they weren't "moving in". Light had spoken of a time when their real forces would be able to come through, meaning they hadn't yet, and also of how he would have missed the computer system, suggesting that he was intending to leave soon and wouldn't have stayed in the castle long enough to have actually found it simply by looking around. If that really was true then it meant Leon would still have another chance before he had to risk losing his home all over again.

"We've lost this world once before, but the things you say make it sound like you aren't intending to stick around just yet. If so then I can promise you we'll be much stronger next time your kind come, just like you wanted us to be. Or... am I misinterpreting you?"

Light at least acted with some sense of civilized manner and warrior's honour. Leon's steady demeanour and ability to think calmly and clearly in tight spots might have been able to pick out the truth... or he may just be hoping for the best possible situation and reading too much into Light's choices of words. He supposed he would find out. If they intended to take the world here and now then things would certainly be more complicated, and Leon might not even be able to convince Cid to stand down even if he wanted to if that were true. With any luck the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee leader might at least have been able to win enough respect from the Warrior of Light to get a truthful answer, whatever it may be.

[northsky]

The man found himself looking up at the ceiling instead of at the threat before him. He silently chided himself for not doing something with the computer before leaving to find warriors. But if this man had the power to slaughter most of their guards, it shouldn't take much effort to hack into the computer.

Cid finally turned his attention to the warrior when he invited them to kill him. He watched Light snap the bow and then the halves in front of the two. The pilot did not move from his spot, his foot rooted to the ground as his eyes followed the destroyed bow skid to a stop in front of him, then back to the warrior. Beside him, Leon moved back out of defensive reflexes that Cid lacked. The man's strategy of attack was to charge, and jump head first into the battle. In other words, he had no strategy. He relied on the element of surprise, which was probably useless next to a warrior of this power and skill.

And that was probably the only thing keeping him from gladly accepting the invitation; the fact that this man knew what he was doing. Cid was brash but he was not an idiot. He knew that the one that would be doing the killing if he dashed in like this wouldn't be him, but the cloaked warrior.

But, what Leon said forced him to turn and look at the man in bewilderment. "Leon, ya hit yer head on something?" he asked. Damn, he at least needed one of them to be sane, and he was counting on Leon doing that job. Last he checked, the brown haired youth was the one who wanted to fight. If he wasn't giving him such a glare, he might have missed the stance. That was no stance of submission. The man was up to something.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to Light, grumbling under his breath. Light was obviously playing with the, and Cid was not so appreciative of this. "Ah never liked playing around much, which is obviously what yer doing," Cid muttered suddenly. He wasn't even so sure what he was talking about anymore. He just felt like putting in his two cents. If he remembered correctly, these people were the ones who attacked Sora and the other keyblade warriors.

"Ye can play now, right?" Cid straightened up from his defensive stance, grinding his teeth. He really hated when people play around. "There's no need ta worry anymore, since ya manage to take out the ones yer afraid of." Oh this was going to get him killed. And how Cid loved it.

"Managed to get rid of the keyblade warriors ay? Now ye could go around and play yer little games, since there ain't no one who could stop you now. We're just little specks, right?" Cid glared at the warrior in spite, looking like a bulldog that had its dinner stolen.

[thaed]

The doors slammed open, Shadow not stirring an inch. He had expected for the presence to show itself... The two guards that had opened the doors collapsed limply to the ground, three more passing over their bodies toward Shadow. The guards were all clad in the same armor, each one wielding identical weaponry as they marched toward the enemy.

The green mist had thinned to an extreme amount near the door, enough for the guards to pass through without being harmed, but Shadow did not fail to notice something strange... Though the three guards advanced onward, the mist did not thicken once again as they moved from it. The presence was near, but he was not within the group of three. Of course, he couldn't have been either of the other two guards either, for they were dead... The presence wasn't stupid, it had sent a replacement instead of itself in hopes of avoiding any trickery on Shadow's part...impressive.

The scythe rotated quickly behind Shadow, blurring due to the speed and distorting the appearance of Shadow. One among the three that advanced upon Shadow had spoken, his deep voice seemed to crack, though Shadow doubted that it was due to fear.. Fear would have kept them from this place via Shadow's warning; he must be aware of his choice. Shadow spoke, he was sure that his voice would come off as a surprise to them, it being a higher pitch than what they would likely suspect.

"You who speaks is not who I warned to stay away. With that wound through your heart, you should not be as alive as you appear..." Shadow began, more than likely astonishing the guards, for he could apparently see them without even turning his head to face them. "Hmmm..." He pondered for a moment, the scythe continuously rotating. "I hope you realize that this agreement of yours cannot exist, for if I accept, it would not truly be you who is agreeing to my terms, but your guard, instead." Shadow said, his tone rising. "I will overlook this attempt at deception for the time being, for I must admit, a temporary servant would be very useful. Hmm, it is two lives you wish to save. How about this: I will spare the two said lives in return for two...favors. These favors must be fulfilled to your fullest potential, you must come to me when I call you, and you must come to me yourself to prove the validity of this pact....I swear no treachery or attempts at your life in the occasion that you do accept my terms. If you have no means of transportation to reach me when I call you, I will provide it for you..." And the summary of his wishes seeped from him slowly, his head turning over his right shoulder to peer into the eyes of the guards more effectively.

Shadow wished internally to destroy the guards, but a response was mandatory, and none would come from his pleasure if he did decimate the soldiers. Now all that he could do was wait.

[Wilder~Light]

Light smirked slightly at one warrior’s flinch. He hadn’t expected such a movement, especially from that one, but given the situation, he was lenient in his accusations. They had definitely earned some measure of respect for not outright charging him, keeping their heads calm and weapons still.

“I’ll take that as a compliment if you don’t mind.” Spoke the warrior calmly.

As the determined one dismissed Light’s offer of a true fight, he was slightly taken off guard. Such a decline was something he wasn’t used to, in fact it was why he had screamed out his last line, to increase his adrenalin, but apparently this realm were far more suited for chatting. Weaker they may be, but in exchange they gained a more prominent thought pattern. Maybe only special people in this realm gained true strength, as was the reversed case with theirs…

As his next words reached the warrior’s ears, a soft laugh escaped his lips as he nodded. It was almost calming, if a bit eerie.

“No, you are not. As I spend more time in this world, certain theories are coming to pass before my eyes, and perhaps allowing you time to grow stronger will solve one of the more important ones. If nothing else, at least it will be a more…interesting battle, or so I hope.”

Light’s eyes flicked to the blonde warrior, speaking in a most strange manner, it was almost annoying trying to figure out just what in hell was being said until his last few comments, which mysteriously seemed to caused a small crack, thin and almost perfectly akin to a cut, to appear on the lower half of his mask, stretching almost entirely across the smooth surface in a curve. Almost as if the mask itself was…

“Afraid of? I don’t know about my brethren, though I’m sure their methods were similar, but I attacked my target with full intention to bring out his power, I wanted a good fight. Fear was nowhere in my mind, not even when he used that legendary KeyBlade of your realm. The fool didn’t even know the difference between them, he simply used the ones that were the most helpful against those cursed beings that plague your realm. The idiot didn’t even consider for a moment that what works against one does not work against all, let alone the differences between them…” Cursed Light, dismissing Cid’s comments with a vulgar tone, as if thinking back to his fight caused a sickness to wash over him. “No one can stop us, its that simple. Not even against a deformed warrior of our realm can your fighters win, do you really think that we, the four of us, the most feared beings in our realm, would dread anything here? We are driven by combat and instinct, we are kings of combat! You fools are more gifted for thinking than battling, and while that’s a benefit to be sure, the last I knew, a thought didn’t win against a fist…”

As Light’s words resounded around them, the two halves of Blight suddenly crumbled into white dust. Whether this was his doing or designed, accidental or purposeful, nothing could be guessed. As the last fragments touched down into their small dust piles, the warrior turned to his side, his head still looking at them, eyes focused.

“Maybe you can’t stop us, maybe you can. In all honesty, I’d like to think you could. At least then I’d have a glorious battle, us against you, fighting sweat, blood, bone, and soul to the death, last being standing wins. How truly fulfilling that would be…” Spoke the warrior, almost dreamily. “If it wasn’t for the hope of such a battle, I wouldn’t be so lenient with you right now. Maybe if we are lucky, the people of your realm are capable of greater power if you try for it and are given time. However, I will not be disappointed. Do not fight me again unless you believe you have obtained enough strength to overwhelm me. If you haven’t, then you won’t be granted a second chance to train.”

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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