Search and Destroy [C]

[kairikiller]

[Sorry for the delay. I kinda needed a break.]

      With a smirk only growing bigger as the fight progressed, Dusk got ready to counter Replika Riku's oncoming attack. But, the flames soon just stopped and shot over to Dawn's balance. Witches....were annoying in that way. And, with very few seconds between, Dawn now had Replika Riku's fate in her grasp. With this simple thing Dawn did, Dusk instantly got bored. He dropped the column to the ground with a solid and melodramatic thud. Just the same, he gave a dull stare at Dawn, his shoulders limp. "Just had to ruin my fun."

      But, maybe that melodramatic and what was thought to be harmless thud wasn't. The ground beneath Dusk seemed to grow weaker. Just as he looked down at his feet, he fell through what seemed to be a spider web of cracks caused by the force of the column and even the fighting below. Though, it was only him through a hole that was barely big enough to fit him. He landed hard on his back. Well, hard for a normal person...this was Dusk. "Ugh," he grunted as he got to his feet, patting the dust off his body and gagging a little bit in the process. "Today isn't-"

      He couldn't finish the sentence. The light before him was immense. He could feel the heat from where he stood. It was focused upon him, watching him, following him, wanting to harm him. This swirling ball of light...why did it despise him so? Such light shouldn't exist. Why. Why did it hate him? Dusk would destroy it for its hatred of a superior entity. Dusk would send this sphere into oblivion; so he charged. His feet hit the ground hard, powered by the slight hatred that he now could feel. Dust ploomed away with each stomp of hate. All this didn't matter; Dusk had to destroy this light, as if programmed into his very core.

      It didn't happen.

      Charging to the sphere---known as the Cornerstone of Light---wasn't the smartest thing he had ever done. Upon getting within a meter of it, his body slammed into a wall. Dusk delivered a roar that was agonizingly ugly sounding; one of pain. This wall was invisible and it seemed to snag him and hold him. Holding him tightly, delivering an endless wave of light-based pain. It was like being beaten with a hot studded hammer without pause, all over, without escape.

      When it finally decided that the animal had enough, the Cornerstone dropped him to the ground. Dusk breathed heavily. He was stupid. He didn't realize what he had before him; this is what they were searching for. This is why they came here...for this immense light. Though, he now realized this; no idiot could deny it.

      As Dusk lay there on the ground, easily beaten by this thing, without the energy to do much more, he only hoped that Dawn would come soon. He was weak, but even then, he still managed to give a chuckle. In a tone that sounded like he had a sore throat, Dusk squeezed out, "Heh...heh...guess I'm useful after all."

[ophelia]

OT: aww damn…I'm all alone. What am i supposed to be doing again? >.<


Ophelia's hair continued to strangle right up until the acid hit home. The hair, lacking eyes or sentience, merely ignored the splash of liquid and continued with its business…until the follicles began to dissolve…The mermish tresses seemed to recoil and tried to recede as the substance continued to ruthlessly burn its way through. But it could not escape and large green chunks turned ash-grey before curling in death, scattering across the hall in semi-dust.

By this time the worm was hurtling through the air, courtesy of the pillar, and the rush of stinging air shocked Ophelia back into consciousness. All of the hair, dying and withering around her, was too far grown away from her head to cause her any damage and most of top layer that had grown over her had disintegrated to protect her skin.

She was very confused. Her leg had been bound in a tight temporary splint by strands of hair, and she seemed to be tied to something. But memory seemed to be hazy at the moment. She was fighting, but she couldn't remember where or how. She could have sworn she blacked out for a few moments…Her eyes fluttered open and then immediately were wide with horror. Everything came flooding back, including why she was strapped to a giant bug, and why the ground was hurtling up to meet her at an alarming rate. However the descent seemed to be the least of her problems. Ophelia barely had time to loose a shriek before the layer of hair holding her ripped open as easily as a spider's web.

Oh shiz…

She plummeted down sharply even faster than the huge body above, her clawing hands slashing so wildly in panic that she accidentally loosed the sword from her belt, which she grabbed at and caught. She hit the ground first with a slight crunch (a broken arm this time), slightly to the left. Luckily her hair had regenerated fast enough to cushion most of the blow, but when the worm hit seconds later (slightly to the right of her) the shock waves and puff of air propelled her across the floor on her stomach like a speeding bullet. She sped uncontrollably straight across towards the fallen body of Dusk, sword first.

[darkriku]

[Actually Ophelia, the worms got smacked by Dusk and then spit acid onto your hair. You wrote it backwards. Also, Dusk is in a hole. Eh, but no worries. You can go back and fix it if you want. I’m just going to move on anyways.]

A loud, exasperated sigh hissed through Dawn’s clenched teeth. “Well if you hadn’t played around this entire time, then maybe you would have...!” she griped sourly before finding her voice suddenly gone. One eye on the childish copy cat, the other straining to her immediate right, her peripheral vision caught the bulking outline of her scorned partner slipping through the floor. “Had a chance?” she finished awkwardly. Umm...

Citrus hued eyes darted between her captive and the huge crater that now stood in Dusk’s place. There was really no choice in the matter. Callous intellect took control. As her worms chased one another in the background, Dawn advanced upon the young boy held to the floor by his ankles. This would be quick, but perhaps not so painless. Sticking her fingers up under her mask, she swept her tongue across each of her four jagged and long nails.

With a flick of her wrist, it was over. Four bright red marks decorated the boy’s neck. Mockingly, the warrior simply strolled on by, turning her back to him before coming to stop just a mere couple feet away at the edge of the large hole her partner had created. “What a waste of time and effort. Hmph! Aren’t copies supposed to at least be somewhat improved versions of the originals? Or at least on the same level? Pathetic! Even the brat you were molded after pities you!” Pausing in her rambling, the black haired bringer of death didn’t even bother to give her newest victim a final glance.

“Who knows where a fake like you will go?” she added, a final blow to the near death Replica.

‘The same place that I’ll go. He’ll be with me, and Sora, and Kairi... We’ll all be together again, one way or another!’

With a roll of her eyes, Dawn wasn’t sure how much more she could take of this incessant irritant, trapped in the one place where she couldn’t reach him. At least in a physical manner. And after such an annoyingly gut churning remark such as that, it would have been tempting to backhand the punk.

‘Shut up boy. If you had dealt with him properly before, then neither of us would have had to put up with his failure once again.’

Silence. It was becoming almost too easy to shut Riku up. But of course, after studying his character a bit, how could she not take advantage of his guilt and vulnerability?

Tuning back into the physical world, the painful ‘thud’ of Riku’s Replica hitting the cold, tile floor was an obvious indication of his ultimate defeat. If the copy had muttered anything in his final moments, then his words had only fallen upon deaf ears. Face down, no one could catch glimpse of his final expression- be it one last cocky grin or a look of defiance. Dawn didn’t care to look, nor could she afford to. Knowing her pets would take care of the remaining pest, she descended down into this hidden chamber her partner had so unwillingly, and unwittingly, exposed. Via teleportation, of course. While Dusk might have shrugged off such a fall, Dawn was a little more then unwilling to break both her legs.

Stepping out from the gaping jaws and swirling tongues, another exasperated sigh sounded from behind her porcelain mask as she eyed the fallen form of her comrade in arms. “Ah, I see you found the Cornerstone of Light,” she commented sardonically as she turned her sights to said object. A somewhat teasing, chiding tone could be detected underneath her typical harsh persona. Still, she found herself once more amazed by his stupidity at times. Like… now for instance.

Curiously she approached the shining orb upon its pedestal, arm outstretched until her boney knuckles found the force field through simple trial and error. A small yelp, and instantly she brought back her arm. “Tch!” Hissing through her teeth, she held her poor throbbing hand close to her thin frame. No doubt about it, there was no way either she or Dusk could breech the barrier of pure light that guarded this world’s very treasure.

That only meant however...

Spinning on her heels, Dawn marched to the side of her fellow Warrior, still sprawled out upon the floor. “I do hope you realize that there is no way I’m helping you get up,” she commented matter-of-factly while staring straight down at him. In all sense though, there really was no way she could even attempt such a feat anyways. Obviously.

“Anyway, we’re done here for now. And about time!”





Wounded and in pain, the Ravenous that had become tangled with the merling continued on in its slithering flight, even as the disgusting fish like creature fell through her dissolving hair cocoon and back onto the war torn floor of the chamber. The parasite that had been chasing its counterpart, however, was quick to pick up on the discarded scent and lurch towards the aquatic creature as if she were a dropped morsel, easy for the picking. Mouth opened wide; tongue straining forward, the worm meant to catch one of her back legs with its forked appendage as she ran forward towards the gap in the floor.

[kairikiller]

      Dusk's body was heavy against the floor. That 'Cornerstone' as Dawn had called it had really done a number on him. His entire body ached with pain. There was no way he could continue fighting here. His only option was to retreat. Lame, he knew, but it was all he could do.

      "I'm outtie," he called over to Dawn with a deep breath here and there. "We've done 'nuff here. Let's go report to Light. I know I am." Dusk remained there for a moment. Laying there. Weak. His nostrils behind his dull mask flared as they inhaled more of that disgusting scent. The wave-user. She still smelled like a putrid pile of biowaste. He'd remember that smell. Waves weren't meant to be so ugly, and yet this girl still chose it to. Oh yes, he'd remember the smell of Ophelia. With this final thought, Dusk's body turned into blood that fell into a puddle, which slowly shrunk away into nothingness.

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Dawn turned her head to see that her partner had left her. With a sigh, she snapped her fingers. The serpentine worm---before it could come close to contact with Ophelia---faded out. "Filth, my time can be better spent." And that was it. Jaws of light appeared and took her away in a flurry of tongues.



=====================================================

The Warriors having left, a piece of paper floated down from the sky. It would only last long enough to be read and for the world to know its contents. Once finished being read, the paper would crumble into dust.


Ansem Report - Final - 2

By the time of the reading of this Report, your journey must have turned you up to fighting those devious creatures by the name of the Husks. As Maleficent used the Heartless and Organization XIII used the Nobodies, She (along with the Antiforms) uses the Husks to carry out her missions. This Report will be detailing my studies on the Husks. Most of this , unfortunately, wasn’t researched, so cannot be proven correct. Instead, She delivers the answers when I have the questions. Who knows if these are lies or truth. If you plan to use this knowledge to your advantage, proceed with caution.

Due to time constraints, I will only talk about the more dangerous types of Husks in this next paragraph. I'm sure that by now you have faced the weaker, more common version of Husks. If you haven't, just be aware that they are only different in that the stronger has 2 heads and is far more battle compatible.

I shall start with their physical traits, because it is the simplest to convey to you. These Husk have two heads. The left head seems to be what controls the body. Sever it, and the body will be incapable of moving. The right head is what seems to control their special abilities. If you were to cut it off, you would limit their fighting capability. If it isn’t clear for you more dull readers, the head is where you should focus your attacks. Cutting off a head is no easy task, unfortunately. Their heads rest on armored necks, which are fully capable of 360 degree movement. Then, from there, a muscular body with various spikes sticking out from between the muscles. Strange enough, on certain areas of the Husk are false eyes; an adaptation (much how you cannot tell which side a worm’s head is on) or something of more importance? I cannot tell from what information I have, but I will continue looking into this matter. On another note, generally speaking, their bodies are of a pale purple coloration and stand at roughly 7 feet. If you flip this report over, you will find a detailed sketch of these Husks [clicky]. Forgive me if it is not museum worthy…getting time alone is rare, so it was hastily drawn.

Their abilities---from what I have seen---are mostly enhanced strength and the talent of limb extension. This next one may not be considered an ability, but it is notable and can be potentially deadly. When around copious amounts of pure energy (energy that is of a magical or physical essence) or extreme energy (energy that is naturally pulsed from someone), Husks sometimes automatically implode, wreaking devastating results.

Moving on, I will now attempt to explain the birth of a Husk. Bear with me, as this will be complicated to grasp…shocking, at the least.

Heartless are the Hearts of men. When the Heart is gone, the Soul and Body is left behind, and so a Nobody is born. If you have an even greater understanding of Heartless (as I hope for mankind’s sake you do), you know that there are the Pureblood Heartless and the Artificials. Purebloods are Hearts that are being devoured by Darkness, slowly eaten away and tainted by it. Artificials are Hearts encased in Darkness.

A Husk is the result of a Pureblood being created.

You must understand that there are forces in place in this universe that you are unaware of. When a Pureblood is born, a tremendous amount of energy is needed. If you wish to be more precise, this energy is Darkness in its purest form. But, such Darkness doesn’t exist in your realm where Light is dominant. No. Such Darkness is part of every day life in this realm. As such, the energy needed for a Pureblood is taken from this universe, specifically from the Antiforms themselves. How this happens is a mystery. If we can figure this out, we can end the birth of Husks and Purebloods altogether.

Continuing on. These monsters are fewer than the Antiforms and less deadly, but far more obedient and easily manipulated.

Husks are without a Mind and without a Soul (these two being the components taken in the Pureblood creation process and converted to energy). Husks are the union of the Antiform’s Heart and Body. The result is a monster running on pure instinct. Mindless things…unable to think. But, obviously, a creature needs a mind for it to run. So, the fool who summons the Husks must have great mental strength, since the Husks borrow it; this is another weak point. The Husks use their natural instinct with the mind of their summoner to create a deadly combination.

It should be noted that the Antiforms loath the Heartless and Nobodies. It was them, after all, that caused the Antiforms’ friends to devolve into Husks. What an unfortunate situation for the Antiforms. Their friends randomly becoming these monstrosities.

…

I have been in this realm too long. The longer I remain here with She, I am fed lies, so that I may sympathize with these creatures. My life expectancy grows thinner. I refuse to allow myself to be brainwashed! If She does not do it herself, it will be done by my own hand.

I refuse to die until I reverse the wrongs that I have bestowed upon your now heavy shoulders.

Flipping through the pages of this book I have found in this library, it seems that only 2 Husks in the history of this universe have reverted back to Antiforms. It makes me wonder what effect that has on the Antiform. In your realm, the person becomes Whole and retains the Heart’s memories. But, what of the Antiforms? They seem intelligent, but no more intelligent than a dull primate. I doubt they have the capacity to hold memories. Would these Husks retain the memories that they had gained as a Heartless, now that their Soul had returned to them? Or, even more disturbing is the thought of an Antiform of increased power. There are millions of possibilities, but who knows if these special Antiforms exist any longer. I suppose I’ll allow fate to help me with that one.

Though, I fear fate hasn’t been too kind to me as of late.

~Ansem the Wise/DiZ