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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 5, 2009 14:37:13 GMT -5
The Deep Jungle stood still as if frozen in time. The world seemed to be holding its breath as if something big was happening elsewhere. A single lizard crawled onto a rock in the middle of a clearing surrounded by bamboo. It blinked twice and suddenly perked up as if it heard something. Suddenly, a black cloaked man shot out of the bamboo. His back hit the rock which the lizard was perched on. The lizard shot away into the jungle upon hearing the growl of a jaguar.
Joshua had arrived in the Deep Jungle while trying out his new powers. He had accidentally teleported himself off of his homeworld. Within the next second, he was in a tree with a hungry jaguar. It chased him through the jungle for the next hour. Because Joshua could not breathe, his stamina was increased incredibly. The jaguar had finally caught up with him, though, and it pounced at Joshua's back, shooting him out of the bamboo jungle.
Now Joshua was here in this clearing. The jaguar that was chasing him jumped out of the bamboo and was pacing around Joshua. The man in the black mask groaned and rolled his neck in a circle, making a loud popping noise. "That's better," he said.
Shinkt
Joshua looked down at his hands. Three claws grew out of the gauntlets that were melded to his hands. Joshua looked at them with surprise. He didn't even know that he had these. That Heartless had truly changed him. "Alright. I'll take it," Joshua said nervously. He had never fought anything before. He stood up and began pacing with the jaguar. In an instant, the jaguar was in the air, moving towards Joshua's face. By instinct, Joshua slashed across the air with his claws and created three large gashes in the Jaguar's face.
The Jaguar gave a deafening growl and fell on its back to the ground. Joshua jumped into the air and came down on top of the creature, ending its life with all six of his claws piercing its chest.
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Post by Dante on Apr 5, 2009 14:59:30 GMT -5
Well, to describe this day in a single word wasn't hard at all; Peaceful. When Dante said that he wanted to take a break in the Deep Jungle, people deemed him crazy! Oh, but this vacation was perfect! Not a heartless or nobody in sight, no jaguars, nothing! So, for the entire day, the warrior had been walking around, taking sight at the many wonders of the Deep Jungle and staring in awe. Nothing could ruin this day!
Well, nothing but a kid being attacked by a jaguar and then watching that kid kill it. That was something that could ruin a day. Well, that thing had happened. The young teen was watching the entire thing from the top of the bamboo and it wasn't really pretty for the giant cat. "Woah, buddy! That's scary, in a way. You're a natural born killer!" With his hand hanging off the edge of the bamboo wall, he looked down at the boy, smiling and chuckling.
Wasn't everyday you met a murderer. This kid was a special one, though. He didn't seem to enjoy the fact of blood. Well, not from Dante's perspective, at least.
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 5, 2009 15:18:47 GMT -5
Joshua shook his head when he heard another voice besides his own. He realized his claws were still in the dead jaguar. He stepped on the animal and removed the claws coming from his hands. He wiped the blades off on the grass and they sheathed. He then looked up at the man that had been watching the fight. He had obviously gotten a kick out of everything that had just happened.
"No, I'm not," Joshua's voice echoed through his black mask, "That wasn't me at all...I...don't know what came over me. It doesn't matter, though. I'm still alive." Joshua looked down at his hands. The gauntlets, that were made of the same material as his mask, had no opening at all for which the claws called sheth and unsheath. Where had they come from?
"What's it to you anyway? Who are you?" Joshua didn't like it when others found amusement by watching other people. Joshua was a very secluded child and, well, he just plainly hated everyone. He still did to a certain extent, though he had done a little growing up from that childish attitude.
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Post by Dante on Apr 7, 2009 11:28:41 GMT -5
Chuckling still, only less, the warrior answered the kid truthfully. [/b]"The name's Dante. Ex-Apprentice of Darkness. Nice to meet you, whoever you are."[/b] With that, Dante jumped down from the bamboo and landed somewhere near the kid, his legs abosorbing the impact when he hit the earth. The dust on the ground flew up in in puff of smoke, blurring the warrior's image, his body only visible by a small outline. He stood straight, his back making a crackling noise.
"Ooo... I'm getting too old for this. So, anyways, what's your name? It's rude to keep your elders waiting." Hand on his hip, Dante tapped his foot on the rough ground, the rest of the dust fading back into the earth. The Ex-Apprentice was a weird one, alright. He was usually sarcastic and pointless, people deeming him unserious about things. Still, he was much smarter and much more mature than what the others deemed him to be.
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 7, 2009 20:09:46 GMT -5
Joshua was taken aback by the man's introduction. Darkness!? He recalled the last moment he was human. He was drawing some type of creature...made of Darkness. That's when the creature attacked! Maybe this man knew something of what had attacked him and maybe even how to get back to his normal form. "My name is Joshua Melbrook," he said a little more enthusiastically than last time. Joshua reached out to shake the man's hand, but decided against it in cases his Tri-Claws were to go off.
"So if you're really the ex-apprentice of Darkness, maybe you could help me. See, I haven't always looked like this. I used to be human. One day I found a creature that looked like...this," Joshua removed a folded piece of paper from under his cloak. He unfolded it to reveal a black creature with yellow eyes and small antennae. "It attacked me and I woke up like this. With this strange mask and gauntlets. With this emblem on everything." Joshua pointed at the Heartless insignia on the center of his mask and his gauntlets.
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Post by Dante on Apr 7, 2009 20:17:15 GMT -5
"Oh. Well, then. You've been attacked by a Shadow heartless, my friend, and if my memory is correct, you're a heartless, too." Well, this was odd. He finally met a real human heartless. Dante had always heard stories about them, but never in his life has he seen one until now. Then, he finally replayed everything the boy said and heard something that placed him in awe.
So if you're really the ex-apprentice of Darkness. "I'm am one Ex-Apprentice of Darkness. You see, there are more of me, but not exactly me, only different people called Apprentices. they're all led by some mad woman named Madam. That's all I have to say about that." This boy seemed durable. Maybe he wouldn't mind joining the group he planned on creating... hm.
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 11, 2009 11:09:55 GMT -5
A Shadow Heartless. Joshua now had a lead. He listened to Dante go on about how he was only one of many apprentices. All Joshua had in reply was a shrug. "I honestly don't care who you are. You gave me information on my attackers, that will be all I need from you." Joshua turned away from Dante and began to walk away towards the bamboo.
Even though he was leaving, Joshua felt that there was something left unsaid by Dante. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like it was something important. It was up to Dante, though, to actually bring it up before Joshua got away, because Joshua had already got a sufficient amount of information on his attacker.
((Sorry that it's short. I need to lose all the rust.))
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Post by Dante on Apr 11, 2009 15:45:56 GMT -5
"What? You mean the Shadow Heartless? Bwahahahaha! You can't mean you're going to defeat them all, now are you!?" This was so laughable! Does this kid not even know what a heartless is? He though everyone would've at least heard of them. Well, this kid was going to be fun to poke around with. "Don't tell me that you didn't know that there isn't just one Shadow Heartless, nay, not just one heartless in total! You're a real laugh, kid!"
Dante came up a few steps, hoping that this kid would only retaliate with words, but, just in case, the cleaver flashed in his hands, hoping that this would intimidate the boy a little. His claws wouldn't stand up to this baby here, not after all it's stood up to. His body also began to circulate with darkness, his face returning to casual.
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 11, 2009 18:58:32 GMT -5
Joshua stopped when he heard the man begin laughing. He was kind of embarrassed of himself that he actually thought that there was only one of these creatures. Of course there had to be more. It was like an animal from how Joshua saw it. Joshua spun around to begin yelling at the man for making fun of him, but was stopped in his tracks when he saw the man brandishing his weapon. Was he challenging him!? What had Joshua done? Maybe this man controlled these "Heartless" in some way.
Joshua took a step back. "You aren't going to take me!" Joshua yelled out. He jumped in the air and spun his black cloak around him, making him disappear. He landed on the ground behind Dante and any trace of him was gone. He moved slowly so that his cloaking ability would not be disrupted. He removed two of his daggers attached to his right thigh and then began to move quickly. He pulled his arm back and slid the daggers so that they were positioned in a V-Position. He then snapped his wrist and the daggers flew through the air. They left the cloaking of his ability, but at the speed they were traveling they would hit Dante in only a second.
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Post by Dante on Apr 12, 2009 6:42:16 GMT -5
It was almost impossible for anyone not to hear the noise that this young man was making. With that, the warrior spun around using the Shield of Nightmare to both block the attacks and, since they were projectile in nature, shoot them back at the opponent. "Hey, kid. I wasn't trying to do anything, you know? I was just getting prepared for anything in case you did something. Sorry for startling you, dude."[/i] The daggers didn't hit the target, but instead it two of the bamboo stalks in the area. The shield faded away and the Ex-Apprentice smiled at Joshua.
"Hey... sorry for laughing at you." Dante placed his hand out, although he still had his cleaver ready for an attack. "You know... I was somewhat like you when I was younger," Dante began as he looked up at the sky. "Young and restless... looking for something. So... gonna shake my hand?"
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 13, 2009 9:40:08 GMT -5
Joshua was in awe when Dante turned around. Except for the initial disappearing act, Joshua was as quiet as a beetle. When he saw the daggers flying back at him. He jumped down to the ground, covering his head just as his cloak melted away to reveal the embarassing position. Joshua coughed and stood up. He retrieved his daggers and put them back in their sheaths on his thigh. He was calm now that Dante was trying to talk to him instead of brandishing a weapon that could cut Joshua's head off with a flick of his wrist.
Joshua did not shake the man's hand. He wasn't at that point to trust him enough. For all he knew, it could have been a cruel trick to finish out a counterattack that had narrowly misses Joshua. "What do you mean you used to be like me 'when you were young'? How old are you exactly? I don't think you realize that I am actually in my 40s." Joshua's family didn't age as fast for some reason. His father had once said that it was a blood blessing given to them by Gemini, the God of Summer, long ago.
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Post by Dante on Apr 13, 2009 10:07:42 GMT -5
"A forty yearold so small? Wow, now I've seen everything. By the by, I'm eighteen. Name's Dante. Thought you were tons younger by your appearance. Anyways... So, how long have you been tracking the Shadows? Quite some time now, I'd suppose." That warrior didn't really care for how old or how short this guy was, he could prove to be somewhat useful. The teen kicked a rock, sending it slowly towards the small dude. "Say. I've got a question to ask your... or two. One, what's your name? Two, have you seen or heard of a woman named Madam anywhere?"
This kid would luckily make his day even better by giving him some information. It had been a while now since the last talk with Madam. Had he shut her off completely? Was she hiding from him and spying on his every moves without making a single twitch? Well, it didn't matter what she was doing, because when he found her, he would rip her to pieces.
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 13, 2009 13:47:12 GMT -5
Joshua looked at Dante with confusion. If he could remember correctly, Joshua had already introduced himself. Dante had done the same. Joshua simply sighed and replied, "If you remember, I introduced myself as Joshua Melbrook and I still am." He then thought about the name that he asked about. Dante had mentioned it before. Just saying the name sounded sinister, so he was sure that this woman wasn't anyone on Joshua's side.
"No, I'm afraid I don't know this 'Madam' woman. But if you'd like, I could help you look. Perhaps it will help me with my own quest. And yes, I've been hunting the 'Shadows' for quite a long time. I was the age of my looks when I began my hunt, and I still haven't crossed a single Heartless."
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Post by Dante on Apr 13, 2009 14:38:31 GMT -5
"I'm so forgetful... pardon my inability to remember names." After hearing what Joshua had to say, the teen looked away. "I would enjoy your help, but this is between me and Madam alone. I only ask around for information about her." The Ex-Apprentice sighed. No one had ever known anything about her, not even has her name been spoken about throughout the universe. There still should've been someone out there that would know anything, even a little hint, of her whereabouts. "Well, I'll tell you one thing, Joshua. You're a heartless yourself... Why would the heartless attack anyone of their own kind? Now, to find these heartless, you'll have to travel with someone who has a Heart, like myself, and use them as bait to lure them in... Still, even with that... as long as darkness remains in everyone's heart, there will always be heartless, no matter where you go."
Dante was smiling as he said this. He knew that if one person had to go down to remove the heartless, it would be Madam. She manipulated it to her will, just like he once had. Maybe one day he would find the witch and maybe then Joshua might be there to help, along with the others.
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Post by Renewed Gemini on Apr 15, 2009 18:16:30 GMT -5
Joshua shrugged when his offer to help was denied. Either way, it did not matter to him. He listened to Dante and shook his head. "No," he said, "I haven't always been this way. I was once human. I ran away from home when I was younger and discovered a Heartless. At the time, I had never seen anything like it. I began examining it. I got closer and closer and it finally struck out at me. I woke up like this, discovering that it was many years later. Whether it had anything to do with the Heartless that I didn't age or not is beyond me. My father once told a silly ghost story, but that was long ago when I was small and is nothing but a ghost story."
Joshua sat down on the rock in the center of the clearing. He would sigh if he had air to let out of his lungs. He put his head in his hands and pushed back his hair. "Well, Dante, you gave me a lot of information. Thank you. But it doesn't sound like there's much more we can do for each other." Joshua extended his right hand for a shake. "Perhaps we will run into each other in the near future."
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I did post in shades of grey if anyone even remembers that lmao