Riot in Progress [Closed; Ruin]

[Rocket!]

<Dance to the Death // Kingdom Hearts II>

"Look alive, Aly!"

Gripping the ribbons on her Keyblade, Aleasa Harper pulled the weapon up quickly. The offending Bolt Tower slammed into the Keyblade, not moving the 13-year-old an inch, before backing up and spinning out of harms way.

Gritting her teeth, Aly stepped back slowly with her eyes alert. Normally, she would've been on the run, but the snow here at the Summit made for less than happy thoughts in that regard.

Cwen was still confidant, the overconfident idiot. Her tall figure could be found among the mass of Rapid Thrusters the surrounded the two in the air, launching herself off each one and dealing attacks left and right. Sometimes it even helped.

They had to've beaten plenty of Heartless by then. Aly found herself wondering bleakly if she'd have to resort to her last... resort.

She scrunched her face up at that. Lately, words hadn't been coming as well to her as she'd like. Shoving the limp brown ponytail over her shoulder, (again,) Aly hefted the Keyblade up and into the air. In a flash, a flurry of white sparks blasted out of Whisper of a Dream to land on a Bolt Tower.

It vanished, leaving a rising heart to go up and into the air. Along with however many others had been vanquished by this point.

"Cwen!" she yelled out in desperation. "I don't think we're gonna be able to hold out on 'em!"

Cwen promptly landed at her back, placing them back to back. "Pfft. When'd you start going soft again?"

Aly very nearly blanched. Steeling herself, she brought the Keyblade up again to a defensive position.

Were they gonna have to run again..?

[r]

Time is relative.

Especially in The Realm of Lost Hearts. Time plays in a seemingly infinite loop of all the lives and hearts represented in this shadowy domain. The memories and emotions of those who had been overtaken by The Heartless were all present here. This is where Lost Hearts' true essence drifted to while their host bodies were trapped in their sinister, twisted forms. A dull illumination was on the horizon of The Realm of Lost Hearts, such as occurs when thick, dark clouds spread over the sky and cloak a thunderstorm....This attracted the watchful eye of The Sacred Guardian. His name was Ruin.

There was little need to speak in his world, as he was alone with the Lost Hearts and only the enormous, silent behemoths known as Collossi. Instead, he whirred immediately in that direction. Life was being restored to many Lost Hearts and it was always a beautiful sight that, the most beautiful in his world-so he had supposed it was the most beautiful in all of existence. Watching a dull, hollow, and ghost like apparition fill and gain form was something that Ruin never tired of. Ruin's eyes shone with a light, icy blue as he smiled at the sight before him...and an aura of white flashed from his staff towards those freed Hearts...uniting them once more with their bodies in their own dimension. But something was different this time...so many were being saved...and all at once! This may have well been the opportunity Ruin had been waiting for! He saw the images of a mountain blanketed in snow...and he knew this world from the memories of those who were returning to it.

"Travel safely my little ones...I am with you!"

With that, Ruin blurred from his own realm into another one...into The Land of Dragons. His form seemed static, moving even in his stillness as the 6'2" Guardian rose to his full height...His smooth, yet spiky hair blending in quite well with the snow all around him. His icy blue eyes searched the snowy mountain range...but this world was so much more...His lips lingered open as he surveyed the beautiful world...that was so much bigger and awe inducing than the shadowy images he'd seen for years in his own world...

"Amazing...!"

[Rocket!]

Cwen raised an eyebrow at the sight of someone appearing from literally nowhere. Can you say... creepy?

But helpful. Or else. she thought with a grin.

With an eloquent leap into the air, Cwen landed at the newcomer's side. "Yo," she said, grabbing a nearby Heartless and tossing it into another one. "Name's Cwen." Whump went her right arm as it blasted through another Heartless. What were they doing, breeding? "Look guy, got a name? Or, better yet," she ducked this time, letting a Rapid Thruster whizz by, "a weapon?"

"Cwen? Cwen?!" Aly didn't like sudden disappearances. She kept focused, though, and spun her weapon so that the handle flew upwards. A Bolt Tower that'd been heading for a charge got knocked off path with that. Strained, Aly twisted her head to the side.

"I'm still here, show off." Cwen shouted back with a roll of her eyes. "We got a friend-- I think, anyway. Keep 'em busy, will ya?"

Aly shot her a look.

Cwen shrugged, and then promptly scratched her shoulders where her hair had brushed up against them during the shrug. Need a haircut, she thought to herself.

"So, tall bright and blue, unless your teleporting trick can get us all out of here, mind if I-- we ask for some help?"

[r]

Though Ruin had always thought his birth given task of watching over the Lost Hearts was important, never before had he been asked to take such an active role in restoring them to their lost glories. This premise excited him to no end, though his face seemed simply as if he were experiencing true life for the first time. Oddly enough, his eyes had seen so much...both beauty and horror from the memories and emotions of Lost Hearts-that he seemed beyond age and time itself.

His movements were erratic and unpredictable as his body seemed to shift, slide, and blur from one place to the other. As he was approached by one of the two fighters that were doing such wonderful things for his beloved Lost Hearts by vanquishing such a plethora of Heartless...he was honored and responded with a bow. This was something he had seen one of the warriors from The Land of Dragons do in his memories...


"I am Ruin: Sacred Guardian of Lost Hearts."

It thrilled his spirits to be in the midst of this battle, to know that Lost Hearts were brightening, even as he was here. Could he actually liberate them and unite them back with their hosts...even from another realm? He focused for a moment, as his eyes shifted through various shades of blues, before shining white with the purity of the Hearts being reflected like the snow itself. A simple smile crawled over those sharp facial features...and Ruin nodded. His staff vanished, with only the blue crystal of its tip remaining nestled in Ruin's left palm...moments before said staff was replaced by a pair of ebony armored, oversized claws.


"I would be honored to assist you and the Keyblade Wielder."

Of course it was the one with the bestowed power built around vanquishing The Heartless who truly awed him. His instincts had proven true...He had found a Keyblade wielder...and perhaps now he could begin liberating his beloved Lost Hearts from other realms. Though there had been much regard paid to precision and polite mannerisms in this world...now was the time to dispense with pleasantries and take up arms. As such..Ruin leapt into action, massive claws swinging and tearing through Heartless bodies left and right. His speed was unsettling and seemed unpredictable due to the peculiar nature of his form outside of The Realm of Lost Hearts.

[Rocket!]

Cwen grinned. Bowing, eh? Looks like this guy knows how things really work!

"Lost Hearts, huh?" muttered Cwen as the man-- Ruin-- suddenly shot off towards the mass of Heartless.

Cwen whistled appreciatively as she caught sight of the man going off like a rocket. In the thrill of the sight, Cwen's own adrenaline had her take off in a similar fashion, leaping off for the nearest Heartless she could find.

Aly managed to strike down another Bolt Tower, bringing her Keyblade down and to the snowy ground. Groaning, she hefted the Keyblade up and into it's familiar position of one hand on the handle, and another grasping the ribbon lining.

...hm? Turning to the side, Aly saw the blue and white man going at the Heartless in a mad fervor. She raised an eyebrow. Impressive speed...

Whump!

Dang! she thought as she backed up right away, her hand suddenly flying to her badly bruised shoulder. One of the Heartless had managed to hit her hard in the shoulder. Too many to know which one...

In the same moment, Cwen's left hand flew to her right shoulder. Exasperated, Cwen let her jaw set into a hard jut and her eyes scrunch down at her shoulder. Aly must've gotten hit. Dang it...

Right about then, Cwen remembered she was mid jump. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she resolved to continue her jumping around strategy.

That's not to say she's stupid.

"Hey! Um, um, guy! Ruin! Yeah, Ruin!" Still focused, Cwen couldn't spare a sideways glance to look for the man. "Help Aly, would you?"

[r]

It was difficult to decipher the various cultures and it was quite easy to get them confused or misunderstand them at times, but from what Ruin had gathered...he wished to pay respect to one so *valiantly* liberating Lost Hearts from their shackles of Heartless corruption.

Ruin's own focus had settled firmly upon liberating as many of his beloved Lost Hearts as possible, without sparing a moment. However, Cwen's request made him rethink his priorities in the battle. If the Keyblade wielder were to fall, then certainly more Hearts would remained Lost...Ruin would not be a party to that! With a new focus, Ruin charged and shifted to Aly's aid, claws swiping in wide, circular formations around her to allow her time recover. Ruin was indeed a Guardian by nature and birthright...and now he would put his skills to use defending one other than a Lost Heart.

"Do not fear, Keyblade wielder. You are safe with me."

Ruin was accustomed to reassuring and calming those in his charge...and now he viewed Aly as one of those that he must care for.

[Rocket!]

Aly raised an eyebrow at the man's words. Little more formal than she was used to...

Nodding sharply, Aly took the free moment focus on the Keyblade... if she could get it-- there!

A sudden flurry of sparks surrounded Aly, as though an invisible wind had surrounded her. Grasping her weapon with both hands, Aly started in after the nearest Heartless. "Should be fine, for a bit." she said to the man. She nodded her appreciation, with a smile. "Thanks."

[ 0/1 Invulnerable - for the next 3 turns, Aly is invincible. ]

Cwen, on the other hand, was still playing the part of a focused warrior. She was starting to get bored, though the seriousness of the situation didn't change.

It's like... it's like when you're falling down those bottomless pits. It's always dangerous, but after an hour or two, you kind of get bored.

In her glib boredom, Cwen was getting more and more creative with her attacks, sending Thrusters into each other and on one occasion, using a Tower bugger as a springboard to ram herself into a few more.

[r]

(( OOC Curiosity: Does the Stitch icon change tri-daily? ))

Many times observing a conversation from the outside changes its perception a great deal. Similarly, Ruin's ability to interact with others has been taught only by how he has watched them to relate to one another. Feeling very much as an ambassador to all of the worlds, but a citizen of none of them, Ruin was truly an anomaly. Still, the peculiar look that Aly had given his statement left him curious and eager to actually learn what it meant and why he deserved it. It was a strange feeling and made him feel as if he had done or said something inappropriate somehow. Her appreciative smile on the other hand warmed his heart and made him smile in return. It was instinctive, but also seemed proper from what he had watched in various beings and their responses to kindness.

Though their numbers were great, the Heartless beings that were represented were of little threat to he and his comrades it seemed. Should the trio be overwhelmed, alternatives would have to be considered. For now however...it was simple hack and slash for the clawed Guardian. It seemed as if the awkward young woman was far more capable than she appeared to most, and the arrogant veteran seemed almost bored with the task of defeating Heartless. They had been at this a bit longer than Ruin had...but he still fought with much passion and desire. He considered each swipe one that meant the difference between woeful regret and gleeful success. Each Heartless slain meant one more precious Lost Heart was restored...their entire existence would be salvaged and returned to them. It was a beautiful thought. With each vanishing creature of darkness, Ruin's eyes flashed and glowed with the victory of a newly restored Lost Heart. He could feel their strength and joy coursing through him...and found himself smiling uncontrollably at the elation!!!

"They're being freed...after all these years...FREEDOM!"

Emotions were being channeled through The Sacred Guardian, and this even effected his fighting style which became one filled with more grace and less savagery. More joy and less rage. It was difficult to keep from losing himself in the midst of all this liberation!

[Rocket!]

( Pretty darn much! xD )

Cwen twisted around, taking on a full spin. Still not exactly on top of this interest-wise, the remnant nonchalantly slammed her flailing leg into the nearest Bolt Tower. The offending Heartless was shot back, and straight down to the ground where it promptly rolled off in the ice and slush before pulling itself up into an upright position.

Aly, on the other hand, was making great use of her temporary invincibility. The pre-teen was up and practically jumping into large groups of Heartless, hacking and slashing away at whatever was in range.

Landing with no small amount of So I just tackled a two story building. Nothing new.-ness about her, Cwen let herself fall down to the ground in front of the Bolt Tower. With a raised eyebrow and stiff chin, the woman looked up to the Bolt Tower. Hands on hips, she yelled out, "So, what're you up to Aly?"

Clenching her teeth, Aly let Whisper of a Dream swing clean through another of the smaller Heartless. Rapid Thrusters, she remembered. "Please! I'm not keeping count!"

"But it's so much harder to brag when you don't use numbers!" retorted Cwen. Gripping the Bolt Tower by one of the spikes under it, the remnant jerked her arm down. The Heartless promptly attempted to jerk upwards in retaliation to whatever force had tried to bring it down.

Using the upwards pull for momentum, Cwen shot up with her right arm trailing along the side of the Heartless. Though it took a minute to get past the thing's defenses, the arm as a weapon schtick pulled through. The Tower vanished in a poof of black smoke.

"See, I'm up to... what, eight hundred?" Coming to a soft landing, Cwen scowled as her pants' average temperature dropped a good twenty degrees. Twirling her head, the remnant took a moment to actually check on her comrades.

Aly was in the middle of a swarm, and was far too busy to bother with looking around at allies. Hefting herself up, Cwen grinned as she took off for after Aly. Been a while since she'd had to play the rescuer of damsel(s) in distress.

Hm? Casting a quick glance around, the remnant's experienced eyes noticed the Heartless seemed to be thinning a bit more. Glancing behind her, Cwen noticed (to her delight) Ruin was doing far more than pulling his weight. He was doing a down right awesome job of pretending he wasn't as tired as Aly and Cwen.

Unless he wasn't faking, in which case Cwen would have a few questions about this guy's military history. Or scientific, she thought with a puzzled frown.

[r]

(( Hot pants? Pants temperature dropping 20 degrees? Hot pants! ))

Cwen's skills were certainly impressive. Of course, Aly was no slouch either! Ruin did not know their training or experience, let alone their histories. All that he knew of battle had either been handed down to him from his parents, or had been learned through observing the memories and fears of battles that others had experienced. Ruin was currently feeding off of the empathic energies flowing throughout the battlefield. It was nearly overwhelming!

Still not native to this realm...Ruin was blurring from place to place, as if subconsciously teleporting to and fro throughout their fray. Ruin was also not accustomed to the banter that Cwen and Aly were exchanging. The nuances of sarcasm and bragging escaped him...As the Sacred Guardian of Lost Hearts, he had kept track of the actual number of Hearts that had been restored through defeating the Heartless.

"573 have been saved by our combined efforts..."

He did not mean to correct or nitpick Cwen's estimations. Ruin just simply did not know how to properly interact with the duo yet. Interacting with other people was something he was only now putting into actual practice...There seemed to be a slight lull in the action, a moment to gather bearings and plot out new strategies.

"Why are there so many of these fiends in this one location?"

[Rocket!]

"What, only?!" Cwen barked as Ruin gave her an exact number of their progress so far. "Geez, since when do I slack around with baddies?" she muttered. Aly groaned at the number. You'd think these things would have some kind of limit.

"If we knew that," Aly shouted out to the white haired man in relation to why all these darned Heartless were here, "there wouldn't be a problem, right?"

Aly was up to her last few minutes of being invulnerable. Surging forward, the girl shoved her Keyblade up, down, and around in a broad movement, cutting down more than a few of the swarm around her. Using the small break in flow to her advantage, she pushed forward with a renewed energy about her. Making her movements quick and furtive, Whisper of a Dream hacked and slashed at the thinning mass of Heartless in front of her. (She knew from experience that it as a bad thing to bite your lip in battle, though. Aly avoided that only barely.)

"Hup!"

In a blur of motion, Cwen leapt forward, throwing herself deep into the flurry of Rapid Thrusters. Her limbs shot out every which way, slamming into foes left and right with practiced ease. Landing just short of behind Aly, the remnant bounded backwards in a flip to catch the girl on the shoulders.

Where she proceeded to remain in a headstand.

Aly stopped right away, not being able to keep going with the full weight of Cwen on her shoulders. "Wh- Cwen!" Protesting, Aly tried to shake her off.

Cwen promptly ignored her. "Uh, pipsqueek?"

Aly grunted.

"You're gonna want to pull a U-Turn. And then maybe run. A lot."

...Aly raised an eyebrow. "Big guy?"

"Mm. Bigger." Cwen replied with furrowed eyebrows.

"Let's start with getting you off." And with that, Aly spared her Keyblade a moment from foes to smack her ally's arms. Yelping out in pain, and grasping their lower left arms, both Aly and Cwen moved down and hit the snow with their knees.

...

...Cwen rubbed her chin. "Say, we have an ally right about now, right?"

Aly raised an eyebrow. "Al-lee. Not Al-lie."

Cwen shrugged. "Call 'im what you want, but don't you think--"

"Dang it!" Shoving a stray lock of brown hair out of her face, Aly groaned as she leapt to her feet. "Ruin," she shouted, "get down!"

A huge Heartless was coming up. And though Aly couldn't see it, Cwen's word was good enough for her...

[ I'll let you pick out the big baddie! ^_^ ]

[r]

As the battle waned on, Ruin began to see just how distinct these two polar opposites were. Cwen and Aly could have scarcely been less alike. What a peculiar coupling! It was a peculiar sight to see Cwen perched atop Aly's shoulders. As they bickered with one another, Ruin simply stared and blinked in disbelief. This was very distracting...and actually perplexed Ruin. How could these two be a successful team with such blatant conflict between them? In fact...it distracted him a good deal, to the point of not even noticing the Storm Rider swooping in from the distance...However, Aly's warning alerted him just in time to dive and duck the huge, winged beast!

kingdomhearts.wikia.com/wiki/Storm_Rider

"What...is that thing?"

Ruin hopped back up to his feet and spun around as the creature circled in the skies to attempt another diving attack. Whatever it was...Ruin knew it had to be dealt with. This time...Ruin waited, baiting the creature, staring it directly in the eyes...and at the last opportune moment, he jumped...not as agile as Cwen, but he managed to snag hold of one of the wings and cling to it with his clawed gauntlets. The creature roared out and faltered a bit. This slowed the creature's speed, which allowed Ruin a firmer grasp.

[Rocket!]

"Uh, I'm gonna go with Heartless." muttered Cwen. "Hellooo, Captain Obliviou-- ow!"

With a foot in her side, Cwen decided to shut up. Rubbing her side, Cwen jumped to her feet and jogged after Aly and Ruin.

Rubbing her own side, Aly's eyebrows furrowed as she ran down the hill and after the monster Heartless. Something was wrong...

"Hey, Cwen?" shouted Aly.

"Kinda focusing here," Cwen replied as she came up on Aly.

Frown. "No, kinda important. You feel that Light?"

"Light? Sure," Cwen shrugged. "Who doesn't?"

Vwoosh...!

And then, with a bright flash of Light, the duo disappeared to parts unknown. Again.

[ END ]