[RGRC Invasion] We're Going Digital?

[III]

"What is evil? What is goo-"

Lightning throbbed through his temple, electrifying, purifying, dampening, damaging. No time to consider idle banter or compare notes on philosophy, he'd been attacked somehow. His hand clenched, and the lancer hid his momentary weakness by forcefully dismantling the dragon, sending the tripartite head out to attack in their normal lance form, and returning the tail to himself as he hopped upwards sixty feet, disappearing behind the bend as he did so.

Not so peaceful after all, eh?

[Squall Leonhart]

Leon frowned at the new lance assault. With their renewed distance between him and their launch point one couldn't even reasonably call the swordsman's perception of their movements "slow motion". They were more like a series of photographs laid out in order and studied at the viewer's leisure. With a combination of human-enhanced speed and strength Leon's right arm and legs moved in a flurry, banging each lance off to to the side, two to his left and one to his right right, as they came. With the last blow he rushed forward into the heart of the battle, well aware that the weapons would probably still try to turn and skewer him from behind anyway.

'What have I gotten myself into now?' the brunet wondered with annoyance as he charged the talkative Nobody, sending an explosive No Mercy fireball toward the Lancer as he did so.

[III]

He was blind.

Not literally. But the attack - whatever it had been - had somehow removed his ability to read the wind. It was uncharacteristic, but the sudden lack of understanding terrified the lancer in ways he had assumed impossible. He had trained, of course, to be without various senses - touch, smell, sight - during combat but never before had he been attacked in such a way that an intrinsic part of his mental ability was no longer functional.

He landed off kilter before spinning back. Notus let him know that his attack had not been successful.

It seemed that even residual terror at slow decay could still 'emotionally' affect him. The result was a surge of adrenaline - as the gunblader turned the corner, his weapon already being hoisted for an attack that was certainly *not* benign Xaldin released the wind, released his lances, with a small jerk of the darkness summoned his brooms -

And tossed it ALL at the gunblader.

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

Action Recap:
Boreas wind effect was summoned to push Leon towards the edge. Lances heading from Leon's front and left, brooms heading from above-ish (also front). Brooms are destructible but with lead cores so they're actually heavier than the lances.

Boreas: 3 post cooldown for push effect

[Akito]

Did the brunette perhaps suspect vines from beneath him would attempt to entangle while he was focused on the Whirlwind Lancer? If successful, he would be wide open to being skewered from behind as he feared. That was the thing with nigh god speed impulse. It was only god speed if one saw or knew the attack was coming. Though perhaps a sixth sense might disagree with this...

In any case, that would not be the only threat the Gunblade warrior would have to deal with (alongside Xaldin's desperate resistance). A swarm of petals descended upon him from above, threatening to tear out his eyes if he wasn't careful. This was how you dealt with a warrior of peak form; insurmountable odds. A single knight cannot defeat an aspect of war that is numbers.

Perhaps expected, perhaps not, the form of Marluxia, the leader of Organization XIII, condensed from a scattering of petals beside Xaldin.

"Get up, Xaldin," There was a heavy disgust in the pink-haired man's voice, both at his comrade and at the opponent who stood before him. "We will deal with him here," There was no hatred in his voice, only condescension. This was a fact that he had stated, nothing more.

Cool blue eyes glared at the enemy.

[Squall Leonhart]

Of course, Leon had to get around the corner before Xaldin came into his line of sight. He fired his No Mercy just as he rounded, aiming using enhanced sense of timing at the earliest point possible. The surprise attack may have worked, but he expected it to act as a test for himself more than anything. Xaldin let loose with both wind and spears, the fire between them getting caught by it first acting as the swordsman's signal. His feet suddenly changed their stride and angle pushing back in a rush where he had been moving steadily ahead before as his free left hand grabbed at the corner he was passing. He would pull himself back around the corner in time to let Xaldin's three-point attack blast by, allowing him to focus on defending against only the lances returning from the previous attack. If he could just defend against those again he could rush around the corner and close the distance to Xaldin with the danger at his back but no weapons strictly between himself and the Nobody. At the very least he might finally get a chance to finally attack himself in this one-sided battle.

And maybe he would have, if it were still one-on-one.

When Leon wrenched himself back around the corner abruptly he felt resistance instead of freedom. His feet were suddenly bound by something coming up from below, arresting his planned escape. Without anything in the way of other options Leon brought both arms together with his gunblade and pulled it close, preparing to endure and deflect as much of this trap as he could. With his Guardian Force he was capable of dampening the harm that was about to befall him so his eyes would have little chance of being torn out by any sharp petals, but this was still going to hurt.

Well at least that his feet were anchored to the ground by the vines that caught him. Leon didn't have to worry about being knocked off the walkway for this one moment.

[III]

The two attacks met with particularly explosive results. Bits of broom and lead rained everywhere, pockmarking Xaldin’s coat despite the strong wind and sending his three forward-attacking lances spinning away – one slammed into the wall while the other two nearly went over the edge before he could forcefully stop their trajectory.

Retrieval was interrupted by a sudden headache.

It was as if a massive quantity of data had been shunted directly into his brain, causing him to physically stagger as he fought through the dizziness. Eleven’s voice, disgustingly regal, hardly helped matters. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought the timing of the two events suspicious.

“Go away, Eleven. This…” his voice rasped unaccountably, “is my fight.”

However, despite his words, he ordered his lances to attack the trapped gunblader.

[Akito]

"And you've been so effective at it so far," The sarcasm was heavy in his tone of voice. Marluxia did not so much as look at his comrade who had yet to produce results and now displayed such bravado? The enemy they faced was fearsome indeed, but did he so need to be an enemy?

"Still yourself!" Marluxia commanded Xaldin's lances to halt, failing that the Graceful Assassin would weave some of his vines not binding Leon into grabbing the Lances midflight. The Whirlwind Lancer had no sense of diplomacy. Either way, if nothing unexpected happened, Marluxia would proceed to speak to the brunette (though still firmly bound him to the spot and, if one were perceptive, they would notice the dark pool where the vines came from expanding from his feet).

"I apologize for my associate's rudeness and for my own offenses, but I had to defend my friend, you see. I, for one, see no reason to continue fighting," Marluxia's voice was amiable and friendly, even in circumstances such as these. "The one you know as Xehanort is gone. I lead the Organization now,"

Unlike my predecessor, I can be reasonable. Would we perhaps share this resource? My...friend here once worked within these walls and he was a student of the one you know as Ansem. Surely, that entitles him to some privileges with his Master's leftover works?" It was the simple stating of facts. Marluxia was offering a treatise, though given they were under a less than...fair situation.

[Squall Leonhart]

More lances great, The last barrage wasn't exactly a spring rain. Being pounded on from the front and side by sharp objects, wind and lead bars would have killed him if not for his split-second parrying of the most vital attacks and his Guardian Force defensive magic. He'd get over it if h could get moving, but Leon wasn't feeling up for another round right away. It looked like the one who had delivered him into said beating was happy enough to spare him the second, though. How gracious.

'So the Organization is still in operation,' the swordsman confirmed from Marluxia's introduction. He'd already deduced Xaldin's identity but he had hopped it was more of a case of some straggling survivors and a restored structure of operations for the most powerful Nobodies in non-existence. Still, the habit of always mentally bracing for the worst paid off in sparing him any additional shock now. This one with the pink hair didn't stand out from any of Sora's or Jimminy's descriptions. Was he new? Or one of the handful that had reportedly been eliminated before their existence was even known to the RGRC...

"I think I'll pass."

It was a candid response to life-threatening situation. The warrior's eyes remained as sharp as the blade still held defensively in front of his body with both hands. Leon lacked the presence of someone succumbing to the odds mounted against him, but neither did he exude the sort of gung-ho bravado that Sora brought to overcoming the insurmountable. He was a man with a self-imposed duty. Those with hearts didn't always make logical decisions.

But they also sometimes found surprising strength in them.

[III]

Whaaaaaaat a spoilsport

Xaldin stumbled as his lances were caught. Brushing the air in front of him he slammed his hand into the wall, only barely keeping his footing as the world suddenly decided to become topsy-turvy. Had Marluxia not decided to show up, he would have dropped to one knee and initiated all the defensive magicks at his disposal, waiting for the pain to subside and mental clarity to return.

But as it was, he could afford the conceit of appearances.

"This is a conversation between warriors," Xaldin said, breathing heavily. Pushing off the wall, he returned to an upright position. Lances winked out of existence before appearing before him again. Long training kept him from betraying how much his head pulsed, distorting even the most basic of his senses as he took each laborious step. "Do not belittle it with his name."

Though he shared not Xemnas' hatred for Ansem, Xaldin was hardly enamored with the man either.

"Kings... may rule... but dragons will always fight."

[Akito]

"Kings... may rule... but dragons will always fight."

"Could dragons also be silent? Or is that beyond your capacity?" Marluxia replied sharply, not skipping a beat nor turning to the Lancer; there was a blatant authority in his voice, as if he was scolding a child, and he waited for no answer. Promptly redirecting his attention to the defiant brunette, with a nod of his head, the pink-haired man willed the vines to creep further up the man's body and to try and entwine his abdomen, then the hands that held his gunblade.

"-I- think -I'll- pass?" Marluxia repeated, as if testing the phrase over again, "How inconsiderate. Reconsider, Leon. There is more at stake than your worthless life," It was simple for someone who had sifted through Sora's memories to know this man's name, after all, he was such an important part of them.

His eyes closed for the briefest of moments as he pulled from within his cloak...a cell phone? Or rather just a digital reimaging of one? Flipping it open, Marluxia pressed one button before...

"Is this thing on? Goddamnit, Marluxia, why did you hav-"

"Larxene,"

"Oh goody! It's working! You're up, brats,"

"Momma...? Momma!!"

"It's dark in here!!!"

"Help me!!!"

"Uwaaahh...hu...wahh!"

"I want to go ho-"

The tyrant pressed another button and the signal was cut off. Marluxia glared at Leon, attempting to lock gazes. One reason was to express how serious he truly was through the intensity of his eyes, the fathomless blue that was capable of both great kindness and unspeakable cruelty. His voice did not change, but his tone darkened, "Refuse again and they will die. But it will not stop there, I will destroy everyone you have sworn to protect and everything you hold dear. This is not a bluff. I am not playing games. You will lose everything..."

His eyes would convey the seriousness of his words. And, as a final reminder perhaps, Marluxia added, "...just like before," Call it deductive reasoning, an educated guess. Especially after learning what had happened to Hollow Bastion and that which Sora knew of the man 'Leon'. An underhanded slip of the tongue designed to make the brunette doubt.

The Graceful Assassin beamed now, his expression spontaneously changed into a gentle, almost reassuring smile, "I do not care for such wastefulness, but I will ask only once more. May we kindly share this resource?"

[yami]

"Crisis Situation acknowledged..."

An unusual situation had occurred, a user had been brought into the Hallow Bastion OS. Unusual because it has happened before, though not very often. Said user had called out for Tron, a security program within the OS. There was no question that within this world, Tron was the strongest. The best program to assist a user. It was also true that Ansem the Wise had customized the original OS. Thus he created his own programs to further assist the world outside. Enter Oriana; one of the custom programs developed by Ansem the Wise. Her protocol was to interact with the outside world and protect the terminal itself. Yet this innate protocol seemed to have been forgotten. That, most likely had to do with the oversight of the elder programs.

Regardless, a user had called out for a program...while it wasn't the one requested; it was more than enough.

"I do not care for such wastefulness, but I will ask only once more. May we kindly share this resource?"

ZAP!

A powerful shot was aimed right for Neo Superior's backside; dead center. It was carefully aimed at such due to the flexibility of target zones. A dodge side to side meant the opponent would need to put additional speed to their maneuver. The additional speed would thus take them out of range for the attack. Jumping, would simply allow more area to be hit as well. Similar shots had also been fired off at Xaldin; whom was targeted in a similar manor. Except for Xaldin he'd take dual shots from a smaller weapon. No doubt this sudden attack would at least warrant the Organization to turn around, staring at the entity whom attacked them.

For Squall, if he took the moment to look as well; he'd notice a humanoid figure with similar blueish-gray skin. The make was lighter than the darker blue of users. This would indicate to those more familiar, that it was a program. Within her native setup, Oriana looked far different than the terminal she utilized in the outside world. Only her voice and similar hairstyle (which was largely covered by the head gear/visor setup).

"---- allocated to sector ---, proceed to initiate de-resolution to unspecified users."

With that, the program proceeded to walk towards the outsiders. The swagger in said walk was calm, reminiscent to Squall; whom showed no sense of immediate danger. This world, Space Paranoids...was her world. If anyone knew the play field, it was her.

[Squall Leonhart]

Leon had hoped to glean more of the new leader's intentions from his informally polite refusal of the life-or-death request. It was hard to tell from the response whether or not the threat used against him was really because the truth would be even more revolting to the man to agree to, or if it was just because the cold efficiency with which a Nobody of this caliber could manipulate a heart saw this as faster than the truth to get the desired result. Probably a mix of of both if Leon had to guess, but guessing wasn't exactly a good idea right now. Steady nerves or not this new enemy was clearly trying to pressure him with all of his weaknesses at once just to get him to agree to a truce when the swordsman was already alone and in a deathtrap, vines creeping ever higher. To Squall Leonheart that meant one thing: Somehow staying alive and playing nice benefited this heartless being. Regardless of that possibility the Graceful Assassin still "held all the cards", as it were. His heart was being manipulated by masters of the craft and the weight of that felt truly heavy even before the Nobody uttered his last line. Would the swordsman have given in to it, or would he have stayed true to his own conviction?

Nobody but he would ever know.

Pain surged into Leon's being. Every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire. His neck cracked back and he screamed, something very few people had ever seen him do even with near-mortal injuries pounding on his life. The pain went beyond mental or physical, and in that instant Squall Leonhart's mind was completely overcome with darkness. At the same instant the two members of The Organization that ensnared him were now under a rapid assault from behind by a new player on the scene. The timing was too perfect, but might be appreciated in hindsight if such reflections were possible.

Leon's gunblade pulled back rested against his chest in his arms when he yelled, at about the same time that the vines would have entwined his arms thus pinning them there. Only a heartbeat after they were caught and bound, however, Leon's sword exploded. A massive pillar of swirling red and orange flames now existed where the metal blade should have been, a brilliant yellow core shining within. Held so close to his upper torso the storm of fire incinerated the vines binding his arms easily, though Leon's own body remained unharmed. As a bonus the dangerous petals still close by would be caught up in the flames as well when it erupted and then moved about as Leon freed his arms. The vines would regenerate and try again quickly though. With his super-reflexes even Leon's unconscious instinct could feel them trying to grow back to catch his arms once the flames were moved out of the way. He couldn't think, but he could act. The vines were coming from below him, so he would purge them at the source. By utilizing his Commanding Rush to strike before his arms were bound again Leon stabbed his overly deadly weapon directly through the ground beneath his feet, leaving his own body unharmed as it passed through harmlessly.

The reasoning of the obvious would turn out to be very prudent in this case. The dark pool below Leon would not have been destroyed by the flames as easily as the vines were, but the inner core of pure light energy it contained was more than up to the job even if it were alone. It would be wiped out by the double attack and the vines from below would vanish with it. His limbs momentarily freed the madman who had replaced Squall Leonhart wouldn't allow another chance. He leaped off of the solid land and straight into the thick of it. Ignoring even the risk of being shot by his own would-be ally Leon flew the short distance between himself and the Nobodies and started swinging his weapon all over the place.

Even though the size and brightness of his new new ability obscured Leon's vision to use in conjunction with his perfect timing, since it was roughly six meters long and wider than a human torso at this point the accuracy of the blows barely mattered. If the targets were anywhere near his flurry of swings they would be at serious risk, especially with Commanding Rush cutting down his required performance time for each one.

If it was even possible to see Leon's eyes amidst the storm of fire they would be easily discerned as inhumanly black. He wasn't in control anymore... but something else was.

_

Since they're so popular nowadays.... ACTION RECAP!

1. Bloodfest takes advantage of vines' weakness to energy attacks.

2. Lionhearted Swordsman: The Blade of the Heart takes advantage of the dark pool's vulnerability to strong-level energy abilities.

3. Lionhearted Swordsman: The Blade of the Heart and Bloodfest together attack the area immediately ahead of Leon on the narrow pathway with a flurry of swings using the speed boost of Commanding Rush and the power of Lion's Pride.

[III]

Xaldin was enthralled. Something burned sickly bright through his coat, slamming into his back but such was his focus on the spectacle before him that he merely grunted in response, adrenaline and excitement electrifying his nerves, temporarily superceding the pain in his head and that of his newest wounds. Whoever else had come was unimportant. This one...

Could very well be his next project.

He had done his foe a great disservice in assuming the gunblader was merely a fledgling warrior and the day's entertainment, digital or otherwise. Here was a darkness he hadn't encountered since Beast. He had always suspected, always known that Hearts were not merely receptacles seeking definition but the source and origin of all strength. He had lost a tyrannical master when he had lost his own - but lost the majority of his strength as well.

Yes. Let your anger grow...

Blood trickled down his back and he leapt, fifty feet up and counting before the gunblader had managed to free himself, lances following. He sensed his orders, a brief, curt nod and wondered to himself. Had Eleven knowingly provoked the other warrior? Perhaps he had underestimated the pink-haired Nobody as well. The Castle Oblivion debacle still lent credence to the idea that Marluxia could be mind-bogglingly overconfident but perhaps that confidence was warranted.

Perhaps.

Xaldin switched gears as he made it to the apex of his leap. The headache reared, loud and nasty but the fight was on and the parameters of the battle had changed. Remove the obstacle (program, apparently) and turn the Gunblader Heartless.

Like great birds of prey, four of his lances descended, targeting the newest foe at breakneck speeds as Xaldin himself nearly hit the ground... only he floated, five feet above, the two lances in his hands ready to respond to other attacks. His leap had taken him far enough that Eleven would no doubt have ample room to battle with the Gunblader on his own.

And if Eleven failed... heh. If... Hehehehehe... Eleven... heheheHaHAhaHa... failed.

Heh.

Xaldin's smiles were all teeth.

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

Action recap: High Jump level 2, 4 lances aimed at newest foe, Notus allows for soft descents during leaps + 5' hover. 30-40 feet distance between the two sets of combatants to simplify things. I never entirely understood how much room there was to play in in this setting, so if I'm off by a lot, PM me and I'll edit, Bilby.

[Akito]

Scythe of Petals

Had Leon turned from Marluxia's gaze in time? If not...then Leon may be already under Marluxia's curse.

"So he reveals his true self at last," The interloper's interference seemed to have played a hand in it, to Marluxia's chagrin. The Graceful Assassin did not need a beast barely tamed. He had wanted to be...diplomatic. However, things never really go to plan, do they? Which is why we have plans within plans. Marluxia had suspicions about this man and now, they seemed confirmed. Without regard for the hostages, this darkness that had enveloped Leon came at Marluxia with reckless abandon.

However, maybe being struck by the attack intended for the Neo Superior would give him pause? Where Marluxia walked, there were always petals and they were not just intended for decoration. Marluxia could pinpoint and notice shifts in specific petals. They were, in essence, operating as his surveillance of the area without the use of his eyes or other senses. So, Marluxia could feel the program's approach through the gentle shift of petals and he could feel the shot at his back as it destroyed petals aligned to his blind side in its path. Marluxia would duck down with a boost of speed (Elegant Assassin), no that wasn't quite it, he fell into a split and, like a cat, he stretched his body against the floor in a spider like posture. Stretched out and close to the ground, Marluxia held out his arm and his Graceful Dahlia.

The Graceful Assassin would be ready. As Leon leapt, being suspended in midair hindered dodging efforts, no? That was where Marluxia's Blaster Rose Buds minions came into play. They appeared out of nowhere and, surrounding Leon at varying angles, fired at the midair swordfighter.

If that failed to stop him, with his scythe held out, Marluxia would wait for when Leon landed on the ground and...tap the ground with his scythe's blade. Wither and Bloom would shoot out like a shockwave froum the ground. The reach of Blade of the Heart exceeded that of Wither and Bloom, however, that did not matter if Marluxia himself did not concern himself with being out of reach. No, he made sure that he would stay close when Leon landed. He also made sure he could at least make an effort to avoid Leon's initial blow, the one carrying most momentum, with his extra reflexes. And, any subsequent blows, he would try hard to buffer with a congregation of petals. In any case, barring anything else, Marluxia would be willing to trade the risk of being slashed by the Blade of Heart if it meant he could paralyze Leon.

*If successfully paralyzed, Marluxia would tackle Leon so as to floor him on the ground backwards, using his enhanced reflexes to a) cut (or cut off) Leon's hands so that he'd drop his gunblade and b) release vines from under his sleeves to once again bind the enemy, this time his two hands together around his head.

*If not...

[Squall Leonhart]

Battered by small blasts from various angles, Leon might have been knocked off-course if not for his inhuman leg strength and resilience. It also helped that the shots from the Blaster Rose Buds were more akin to a pressure sprayer shooting one small burst rather than a laser beam. As it was he ended up with some corrosive acid on him that would take about a half an hour to eat through his Guardian Force toughened clothes and even longer for his skin(If it got to be left that long), and most of his forward momentum interrupted which would weaken his initial blow and distance. Still, with his range and Marluxia willingly staying close to launch his own attack, the lost distance didn't seem to matter much.

With his temporary 3x speed still in effect from dodging the shot from behind Marluxia made to evade the blow and lash out with out paralyzing wave across the floor after Leon touched down. Even in this mindless state the warrior's superhuman reflexes were active, immediately identifying the wave across the ground as dangerous. Normally he would have jumped to avoid it. As he was now the mindless swordsman accepted whatever risk came with the flash in exchange for launching his own high-speed second slash, using previously mentioned reflexes to time it against Marluxia's Wither and Bloom and to adjust his angle of attack to any movement afterward.

Much like Marluxia, he seemed willing to take whatever attack came his way if it meant he could slash the Bloodfest-encircled Blade of the Heart through the Neo Superior's body in the millisecond prior to it reaching him.