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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 8, 2014 11:40:51 GMT -5
The others sighed. They didn't want to fight a headless horseman. None of them had fought a ghost before, and they didn't want to. " It seems not all the guardians are heartless after all," Zero said. " I think it's best for it to not see us, we don't want to have to worry about a ghost chasing after us in a castle filled with traps." Outside it seemed the horseman was looking for someone, or something. It went around the yard, and then went to thr front of the castle out of sight.
" Let's get this key," Riley said. " We should get out of here as fast as possible. Who knows what else might show up." They opened the door and went out. They were in the middle of a large hallway that was lit with a chandelier. The carpet was red and golden, and there were countless doors. At the very end of the hallway stood two large wooden doors, with light coming from underneath them. Zero began looking at the map again. " From what I can tell, the key is in one of the top floors of the castle. And the safest way up is not the stairs, but an elevator of some sorts."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 8, 2014 13:32:59 GMT -5
With one last look out the window, David closed the door softly behind the group. He glanced around nervously, hoping to find any traps nearby, but he couldn't see anything. That only further cemented the idea that there were traps here though. No castle stood decades abandoned without looking the part, unless something was keeping things out.
David started down the hallway cautiously, but his curiosity peaked when Zero mentioned the elevator. "These people don't even have electricity, but somehow made an elevator? This I've gotta see." Hopefully it wouldn't fall apart and try to kill them.
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 8, 2014 14:41:27 GMT -5
Zero slowly and carefully went across the hallway, stepping on every other tile on the non carpet part. He stopped at one of the doors and the end. He did not turn the door knob, he placed his hand on the door. He put his hand on the dead center of the door and part of it went in. " The knob was a trap," he said. The door slided to the side and there was a small room. It was completely made out of wood and had two ropes tied to the floor. The other part of the ropes went out of a hole in the ceiling.
" We'll have to pull on the rope to get to the upper floors," Zero told them. As they got in Kai pulled the door back, ever so quietly. Not too long after he did there were footsteps. The sound of the two wooden doors being opened coukd be heard. Two people began to speak outside.
" That horseman was back," one of them said. " And the lake was drained."
" Don't worry about it." The other voice said. " The entrance is locked and our best knights are getting ready to hunt him down. Hopefully he won't get away again. Don't worry there no way anyone will get in before the prince comes. Even if they do they'll be caught in one of the traps. The key will be safe where we out it until the prince comes. No rebel will ever find it in here. But if it makes you feel any better I'll have the guards on high alert. Come along now we have other matters to attend to."
The two went off into a different room. The sound of another door being opened and closed made sure of it. Riley turned to the others. " Looks like we're not alone after all." He said in a low voice. " And by the sound of it the prince knows a key is here, and they're keeping it safe for him. Good thing they don't know we have a mao to bypass all the traps."
Zero nodded to him and began to think. " Alright then here's what we'll do," he told them. " Riley and Seamus you pull on the ropes slowly, we don't know how old this thing is. It could make a noise if we go up too fast. The guards are on high alert now, so we'll have to be as quite as possible. The map isn't clear about which floor the key is on, so we might have to check every one of them."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 8, 2014 17:52:35 GMT -5
David froze as the voices started talking outside. He had been prepared for quite a bit, but not other people here in the castle. That could complicate things quickly, especially if they decided to run with the key. As the voices walked away, Zero gave his instructions. David had another idea though.
"Wait guys." He kept his voice very low. "I'll pull the ropes with Seamus. Riley, you study the map and memorize the traps. When we reach a floor that we need to search, go through it as fast as you can stay quiet and get back quickly."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 8, 2014 20:06:19 GMT -5
Zero handed the map over to Riley. Riley looked over the map, memorizing where every trap was. After reading over it he gave it back to Zero. " Alright then." He said. " Let's get going. The faster we get out of here the better." He didn't want to fight all the guards in this plade unless they absolutely had to. He was sure if it came to that, either the prince would come before they could get the key, or the key would be taken somewhere else.
Seamus grabbed one of the ropes and looked at David. " Alright, nice and steady." He said. He slowly started pulling on the rope, they slowly went up. When they reached the next floor they stopped. Riley placed his ear on the door, seeing if anyone was on the floor. When he couldn't hear anything he cracked the door opened a bit. He didn't see anyone. He slowly opened the door. " Don't open the door unkess you hear two knocks. That's how you'll know it's me." He went out and closed the door.
He checked every room until he came to the last one. He heard voices coming from inside. He put his ear against the door and listened. They were talking about something that happened earlier. Something about a small village and the prince getting angry. It had something to do with one of the keys. When he heard them ocme towards he door he ducked behind a large plant in the hallway. The door opened and they were still talking. They wee near the elevator when they stopped.
" So someone else is looking for the keys." One of them said.
" it would seem so," the other said. " When the prince got there the doors were already opened, and there was nothing in the cave. Some of the pillars were smashed into and some parts were scratched. It was like some battle took place there. The key was already gone. It's as if getting that keyblader was almost a waste of time. When he went back to the village they claimed they knew nothing, then he had one of his outbursts. That's when they talking talking. Apparently five heroes, four males and one female, were in the village some time ago. They killed the best and saved this little girl. They also asked about the prince and the sword. They seem to want to get rid of it. If anyone has that key it must be them. Since they were in that prison too they might have that key too."
" Do you think they know about the key here? If they don't they'll come here at some point. They seem to know where the keys are. We must inform the others at once, triple the watch. Anything strange must be reported. If they ooened the door to the ruins one of them must be a keyblader too. Send a group to check the lake. I have a feeling the horseman didn't figure out how to drain it. If the door is unlock then they are here. If they are this place must be put on lock down! No one is to leave until the prince comes. Also spread the word around, every town must know of these rebels. We'll catch them at any cost!"
The two of them left the floor. Riley checked that room and then knocked on the door twice. Zero let him in. " Well what now?" He asked them. " The prince knows we're after the keys, and by the sound of it he has a keyblader with him too."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 8, 2014 21:15:51 GMT -5
David slowly let out a breath as Riley returned to the elevator. All this sneaking around was making him really nervous. The news Riley brought didn't help matters much. "It doesn't change anything really. We've got two of the keys, so nothing can be done without us being there. I was hoping we were the only two here though."
He shook his head slightly to erase any doubts. "His objective and ours are the same. We all want the keys to get to the sword, the only difference is what we're going to do with the sword once we get it. Also..." He got a cocky grin on his face. "He may have a keyblader, but I doubt he's got someone that can use an Aspect. Let's just keep going. If it looks like we're gonna get caught, I can get us back to the tree using a Corridor."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 8, 2014 21:39:03 GMT -5
" Ya but if we leave, the prince could get the key that's here." Kai said. He sighed, it seemed whenever they were one step ahead something bad came up. " I'd hate for it to come to it, but if we're about to get caught, we might have to fight. We'll have to fight the prince eventually. If he has a keyblader thrn he might already have a key. None of us can get the sword if we don't have all the keys."
Seamus slowly started to pull the ropes. As they went up he thought about something. " From what those two guards were saying, we might have caused some trouble in the village we left." He told them. He couldn't help but feel like it was their fault. " Plus if they're spreading the word around, we'll have to lay low from now on, even when we leave this place."
Zero nodded. " Kai and Seamus have a point. We can't risk people knowing who we are. If it comes to fighting we have to make it quick, just in case someone else comes." As they came up to the next floor there were voices outside the door. Everyone could hear what was going on.
" The group just came back from the lake," One of them said. " The door was unlocked, but there was no sign of who unlocked it. Everyone has been order to search the castle and the area around it. They couldn't have gotten too far. If you see anyone that doesn't belong long here report them immediately. You there, go check the top floor and make sure the key and.... it is still up there. Reinforcements will be there soon. They are most likely looking for the key if the are inside. Everyone else search this floor!" There was the sound of many footsteps outside. Guards were all over the floor looking for them.
" Ok Seamus, David, get us to the top floor." Riley said in a very low voice. " I have an idea."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 8, 2014 21:48:07 GMT -5
David grimaced at the thought of the townsfolk being hurt because of his actions, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. The only thing they could do in any case was to stop the prince. Once they made it to the next floor he froze again at the sound of voices.
Once they were finished, Riley spoke up. Immediately David started pulling again, still moving as quietly as he could. "I don't know what this idea is, but if you need a buff, I can use Twilight Augmentation on you again. Just say the word."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 8, 2014 22:10:43 GMT -5
As Seamus and David pulled them up Rikey began to explain his plan. " Actually I won't be needing any buffs," he said. " You see since only one guy is going up there to check I know how we can get out of this. I'll trap him in my telekinesis. That's when Zero and Kai go in and get the key. You and Seamus stay here and make sure the elevator doesn't go anywhere. Once Kai and Zero have the key we all come back in here and go down. I figure the guard will then tell everyone we're using the elevator. If he does tsll everyone right when we reach the bottom floor we'll wait until we can here them. That's when you take us back to tne tree using a corridor. That way they'll think we got off on some other floor and try looking for us. Meaning we'll be long gone and off to the next key location."
As Seamus pulled the rope he listened to Riley's plan. It was a very good plan. " Riley..... I think you just got us out of fighting all these people, and leaving without the key." He said. " And if the reinforcements come before Zero and Kai get the key David can just use his crystal genesis to block their path. That way the only way to get to us is the elevator, which I'll make sure stays on our floor."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 8, 2014 23:47:53 GMT -5
David grinned at Riley as he explained his plan to the group. "Now THAT is a plan. I like it, and it keeps them guessing too." He especially liked the fact that it used almost no force at all. Honestly he couldn't think of a way for this to go wrong.
Then he thought of one.
"Guys, there may be a small problem with that idea. the guards mentioned something else in the same room as the key. What if it's the actual guardian?" David was fairly certain they couldn't get rid of one of those in just a few minutes with only two of the group. "If something is in there, get the key and run. Crystal Genesis only lasts for a few minutes, so we've got no time to actually fight."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 9, 2014 12:04:42 GMT -5
" If there is a guardian then we'll go with that," Zero said. " Besides if the guardian is there leaving with the key is best. That'll leave the guards with and angry monster on their hands." After a while they made it to the top floor. Riley slowly pulled the door a little, seeing what was on this floor. From what he saw the guard did beat them here, but not by very much. He was just checking the ladge door that bad bars on it.
Riley then opened the door completely and ran to the guard. Before tne guard could yell intruder Riley traped him in his telekinesis. He then looked around the corner, making sure the reinforcements haven't gotten here yet. He then motioned for Zero and Kai to come. The two of them went out after giving Seamus and David a nod. The two of them went to the large door and went inside.
When they got in there they were in for a huge surprise. There was no monster guarding the key, but a strange little girl. She was no human, at least she wasn't all human. She had horns on her head, and dark golden eyes. She also and a tail that was covered in scales. The key was in the middle of the room, but the girl was chained to the wall. She looked up at them and smiled, showing her fangs. " Will you play with me?" She asked. Her voice was innocent, but her appearance wasn't.
Zero was debating whether or not to free the girl. But then he remembered that one of the guards had called her " it" a while back. It was a hard decision for him to make, but he couldn't. For all he knew this girl had another form, a monster form. Kai took the key and looked at Zero, who was ready to leave. They ran out of the room and went towards the elevator.
Riley was about to follow them when the other guards were coming up. They could be heard around the corner. " Intruder! Sound the alarm! They are after the key!" Riley traped a few of them in his telekinesis and threw them into the others. He started running towards the door when he stopped where the girl was. He seemed to be thinking about something, then he went in there. The guards had came back and saw the others in the elevator. " There they are! They've been using the elevator!" They went after them until they stopped at the huge door. They all had a look of fear on them as they started backing up. They were saying things like " monster", " demon", " abomination" and things of that sort.
Riley walked out of the door looking at the guards. He had the girl in one arm and his keyblade in the other. He didn't seemed to be to bothered by the girl, and she didn't seem to be fighting him. But she did have an angry look on her face when the guards started calling her names. The guards were frozen in fear, so Riley started to go towards the elevator.
" Riley are you out of your mind?!" Zero asked him.
" We don't know what that thing is! It could transform!" Kai said.
Seamus didn't say anything. He knew Riley had a good reason. He was more amazed that the girl wasn't saying anything. Instead she was.... purring in Riley's arm? " Riley.... do you know something we don't?"
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Post by Ziya on Jul 9, 2014 13:04:55 GMT -5
David took one look at the strange girl hanging on to Riley, then back to the guards. While they seemed frozen in fear, he still wasn't going to give them a chance to do anything. He summoned Shattered Sunset and placed it point down on the wall to his right. "Crystal Genesis." The crystals shot down the wall, then along the floor and finally up the other wall, forming a prickly net of unbreakable crystal across the hallway. With a little ingenuity, he also infused the spikes with his Lightblade ability. While the Light couldn't cut anything in that form, the ambient glow would completely block the corridor from view.
David turned and walked back to the group just as Seamus asked Riley his question. "He can explain once we get out of here. The girl doesn't appear to be a threat currently, and her aura shows no hostilities." A practiced flick of his wrist created a Corridor of Darkness against the far wall. Cautiously, he poked his head through to find that the end portal was actually only about a foot above the ground. Satisfied, he pulled himself back out and looked at the group again. "The portal is just a little above the ground, so watch your step. I'll go through last, to keep anyone else from getting to us."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 9, 2014 13:43:20 GMT -5
After David trapped the guards Riley put the girl down and closed the door. She then grabbed Riley's hand and didn't leave his side. If David took a closer look at her aura he would notice that her aura is similar to Riley's! Seamus started pulling on the ropes, bringing the elevator down to the ground floor. Riley out his ear against the door, listening for what was going on.
He then heard the sound of guards coming towards the elevator. " Alright here they come," he told them. " Let's get out of here!" He picked the girl back up and went into the portal. He was followed by Seamus then Kai then Zero. When they got through the portal Riley put the girl back on the ground. It was now day time, and the sun was shining bright.
Now that they were in the light they coukd get a better look at the girl. She had long red hair and wasn't that tall. She was only over four feet tall. She seemed to have a liking for Riley. Kai and Zero kept their distance from her, but they still questioned Riley. " Riley what were you thinking?" Zero asked. " There has to be a reason for her to be all chained up like that."
The girk growled at Zero and Kai. Rikey4 calmed her down by rubbing one of her horns. She then started purring. Riley looked at everyone. " When I saw her, I felt something." He told them. " I felt myself in her it's weird but I feel like I have a connection with her." He then stopped rubbing her horn and took a step back. " Do you have a name? And why do you seem to like me so much?"
The girl tilted her head. It was like she expected Riley to know what he just asked. " You mean you don't know?" She asked. She seemed a little sad. Almost heart broken. " Riley.... I know you're a guy. My name is Elizabeth..... I am your daughter, I was created from your DNA some time ago. I was experimented on, that's why I look like this. Daddy, I heard them talking about one of my " donors" being turned into a girl. Since you were the only one they took DNA from that was still alive, so that's how I knew it was you. I didn't like them, they hurt me. They called me names, so I attacked them. That's why they locked me up in that room." She hugged Riley's legs tightly.
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Post by Ziya on Jul 9, 2014 14:57:28 GMT -5
David waited until the rest of the group was through, then slashed the ropes to the elevator and jumped through himself. He stumbled slightly as he landed, and the crash of the broken elevator landing echoed for just a moment before he made the Corridor vanish. He nodded in satisfaction, then turned back to the others as they argued about the girl.
He stayed silent until Elizabeth finished her story. "Well, that explains a few things then. It certainly isn't the weirdest thing I've seen." He smirked as another thought came to him. "Good luck explaining her to your wives though, Riley. That'll be an interesting conversation."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 9, 2014 15:41:01 GMT -5
This is just what Riley needed, a daughter. Granted she was created, but she was still his daughter. He couldn't begin to imagine how he would tell his wives about this. Then David gave his thoughts on the matter. " Well I did explain how I became a girl to them," he said. " But I have a feeling this won't go as smoothly as that did." He felt like he was going to die right after he tells them the words ' my daughter' to them. He was gonna need a miracle to get out of this one.
Elizabeth looked up at Riley. " Daddy, I'm tired." She told him. Sne hekd her arms up to be carried. Riley sighed and picked her up. She crawled onto his head and rolled up like a cat. She closed her eyes and started purring. " Well what now?" Riley asked.
" We have to get the fourth key," Seamus said. He looked at David. " We were suppose to go to that other city right?" He remembered that they were going to the wasteland last, since it was close to where the gate was suppose to be. He also knew the tower was next too last, aince it would be an inside place like the castle.
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Post by Ziya on Jul 9, 2014 17:41:50 GMT -5
David nodded as Seamus summed up the remainder of the plan. "Right, it was called the 'City of the Dead' if I remember correctly. Hopefully that little stunt with the elevator makes them think we're still there for a while." He really didn't want to fight that many people, especially now that they had a child with them.
Speaking of which...
"What are we going to do with Elizabeth? I'm not sure that bringing her with us would be the best thing, considering what we're us against." He was fairly certain that they could protect her if it came down to it, but that would mean one less fighter as well. "Jennifer would be able to help, but that would mean sending Elizabeth to Radiant Garden until we finish things here. I'll let you make that call Riley."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 9, 2014 22:51:40 GMT -5
Riley didn't know what to say. He had just met his daughter, but he knew there was still a lot to be done in this world. One of those things was fighting the prince, and maybe that keyblader he got. There was still the large amount of heartless in this world. He knew everything couldn't happen loke it did in the castle, they were really lucky with that one. One on hand sending her somewhere else was the safestthing to do, but on the other hand she only listened to him.
He could go with her, but then there would be one less fighter. David was a keyblader and could unlock anything they came across. But then he remembered the door to the second key required two keybladers. The five of them coukd barely take out that shapeshifting heartless together, but they did take down that dragon together pretty fast. He was conflicted on what to do. Elizabeth woke up and crawled down Riley and looked up at him, smiling. Riley sighed. " She only listens to me," he said. " plus she seems to know something about the people we're up against we don't. Let's take her with us. I'll look after her, she is my daughter after all. Besides all those guards were scared of her, I have a feeling she can do more than we give her credit for."
Seamus shook his head. " Well I guess that's that." He said. He then looked at David. " Now we just need to get to death city." He looked to the east. It was some distance away. " Hey I thought of something. The prince was going towards the castle right? It's so far away from here we won't have to worry about him for some time. Now all we have to worry about is word getting around about us."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 10, 2014 0:00:59 GMT -5
David clapped Riley on the shoulder and nodded. "I completely understand. I'm confident that we can protect her and still finish things here, I just wanted to give you the choice." He actually had a feeling that Elizabeth would be very useful on this world, but would never voice it. He knew far too well the realities of having a harsh childhood.
As the group set out east, David glanced over at Seamus. "You're right, especially since I made it look like the elevator fell out from under us. If we're lucky they may not even realize that we're alive until it's too late." There honestly wasn't much chance of word spreading about them as long as they stayed away from populated areas. "I was thinking about asking Jennifer and Jason to come help us out, but I honestly think we can handle it at this point. If the worst should happen, then maybe I can throw one of you through a Corridor to get them, but I doubt they'll be needed."
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Post by Lord S-Sha (CTG) on Jul 10, 2014 0:21:38 GMT -5
" I don't think we will need that," Zero said. " At least not until we have to face the prince and that keyblader I think." As they were heading east Zero thought of something. " Hey wait a second. That headless horseman was looking for something by the castle. What do you think he wanted?" They hadn't heard a word about him since they first went into tne castle.
" Now that you mention it," Kai said. " I have been wondering about that." Kai was going to bring it up earlier, but they were too busy trying to not get caught. " From what I remember he did spend some time looking at the lake. From what we heard the guards say it wasn't the first time he's been to that castle. Do you think he is looking for the keys too?" What a ghost wanted with the keys Kai had no idea. He was still trying to figure out how he could se without a head.
Seamus thought about it. He had a pretty good guess. " Well he's a ghost right?" He said. " Maybe he was one of the many people who died during one of the wars for the sword. It would explain why the guards were worried about him going after the key. By the sound of it he had been by the lake many times, but never found the secret entrance."
Riley had Elizabeth on his shoulders, keeping her close. " Hey, I think you're on to something Seamus." He said. " From what I remember, most headless horseman are people who died in war. That would explain why he woukd know something about the sword, and whyhe would be after the keys. If you ask me I feel like we'll be facing him soon."
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Post by Ziya on Jul 10, 2014 0:32:04 GMT -5
David was lost in thought as the others discussed the headless horseman. He didn't appear to be a Heartless or Nobody, and apparently he wasn't an ally of the prince either. Could there be a third party involved here? He thought for a few more minutes, then a theory popped into his mind.
"Wasn't there a good king before the crazy one took over? What if that headless horseman is the ghost of the original king, back to stop the son of his killer? It would make a lot of sense, and it would also mean that he isn't necessarily our enemy. Maybe we can make him see that we're trying to help the people."
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