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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2011 15:29:35 GMT -5
They were faring alright. That much seemed obvious. But what worried Alder was the fact that the cloud of heartless that continued to attack seemed endless. There was no sight of an end to the waves. It would continue again and again. And he knew that it was only a matter of time before they slipped. They were human after all.
Red continued fighting, slashing one enemy after the other. It was a reckless fight with having to dodge attacks and blocking enemies. The hardest to kill were the ones with wings and swords. They attack from the air, swinging their swords down with force. Red had to bring up his blade and then turn it onto another charging heartless.
Thankfully they had two marksmen. Both Jade and Rowen. Whenever Rowen faced one way, Jade faced the other letting arrows fly one after another. Every heartless Jade's arrows struck was brought down by the pure light energy that the arrows were made of. Overall they were faring alright. But how long could they continue this?
The first sign of weariness came from Red. He was the youngest of the group after all, and the least experienced. It was a two frontal assault by two neoshadow heartless. They had charged at the same time in front of him. Red's keyblade swung to slash into one of them. Red then brought up his other blade to counter a slash by the other heartless.
What Red did not expect was a third heartless, an orcas, to attack from above. Red had barley thrown off the neoshadow when the sword came down. The best he could do was try to dodge to the right. But the heartless's blade struck into his right shoulder. Red let out a scream of pain, as the orcas raised the blade to attack again.
The Orcas came again this time accompanied by another enemy. A darkbal. Red's shoulder throbbed with pain as the orcas came on to attack. Red brought up his keyblade hoping to try and defend the attack.
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Post by Sprow on May 26, 2011 22:23:27 GMT -5
With how calm the battling was compared to how it would have been if they were all out in the open, it was still evident that they had many enemies to fight. It was a battle that looked rather taxing to say the least. Eventually someone would get worn down. It was inevitable considering the number of Heartless they were dealing with. Even still, those that could fight still fought. The only ones that didn't seem to be getting action were Ryu, Sain and Dyne who were at the center of the group.
Dyne wasn't in the right shape to fight much. The only thing he could ever hope of doing was use one arm to fight and that wouldn't get him very far, especially when he was mostly grounded. Sain and Ryu on the other hand, could. Right now, they were watching over Dyne until someone from either side wore down enough for them to have to get involved.
"We should take the battling in intervals!" Ryu suggested. Jean merely nodded in agreement. Annalese paid the humans no mind as she hissed at the Heartless she faced, attacking any that were too foolish to approach her side.
"You little cretins stink of unwashed socks to me!" she snarled at them with obvious distaste.
Rowen was glad to be of some use as he fired arrows into the mass of Heartless foes. The strength of his arrows' power were enough to destroy at least five Heartless at a time in a straight line if he was lucky. He was a little tired but he kept fighting. If anyone gave up, they would be all done for. "Can't let you do all the fighting!" he stated to anyone that would hear.
Amidst the fighting, Red got wounded by what looked to be an orcas. "You going to be alright?" Ryu called. "I can step in for you if you need a moment to rest!" he offered to Red. "Sain and I can take anyone's spot who needs a brief rest."
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2011 11:48:49 GMT -5
((OOC: Sorry short post))
Red's blade met the ocracs's just. Pushing the enemy back with a shove, he whirled around. Swinging the keyblade as he did, he struck the hovering Darkbal just before it could strike him. Without much time to really maneuver, Red was forced to awkwardly defend to his right as the Orcas swung his own blade again.
The heartless were starting to piss Red off. At least all these Orcases were. They were nasty enemies who seemed a bit smarter then your average shadow heartless. Thankfully Alder stepped in. He managed to strike the enemy down from behind before its sword slashed again. Spotting Ryu and Sain, Red nodded.
He needed a break and someone to heal his hurt shoulder. If Ryu could step in and fight, it would be much appreciated. Perhaps Sain could heal his shoulder as well. Taking a few steps back he left the section of heartless he was battling to come in and attack Red as he retreated. For that reason he kept his keyblade drawn.
Once Ryu took his place the force would be drawn back a bit and preoccupied by the seasoned warrior. As Red made it over to Sain he wondered just how much longer they all could last. There still seemed to be no end to these heartless.
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Post by Sprow on May 27, 2011 22:09:37 GMT -5
(OOC: It's no prob. I'm sorry I've been slow.) Once Red backed out of the fight, Ryu immediately took his place. He was no keyblade warrior but he held his own just as well even though he hadn't their power. His flame powers, which he had only hinted at in the past, came out. Having set his two katanas ablaze, Ryu sliced through one Heartless that had a weakness for fire. Having had a bit of time to rest, Ryu now had energy to go on. He would hold the fort along side Alder until Red was ready to fight again.
Sain walked up to Red once he backed out of the fight. Looking at the state of his arm, the green armored warrior was confident that it wasn't too severe of an injury. Sure, it made it hard on Red to raise the arm that was wounded. Guessing it wouldn't take much energy, Sain began to heal the arm as he began to write something with light emitting off his finger.
"There, that should do it!" he stated, confident that the wound was fixed. "I've not healed Dyne yet because with the damage he's received, I would exhaust what energy I have left!" he explained to Red in case the teenager was wondering why no one had tried to heal Dyne yet.
Jean and Annalese were fairing just fine. However, Jean out of the two seemed to be getting tired more than the vampire. Unlike Annalese, she didn't have super strength and thus had to put more effort into fending off the Heartless. Rowen kept firing into the crowd of Heartless with that same arrow blast. There was sweat on his brow more than before but he seemed to be doing his best to ignore it for now.
'Are we going to all die here?' Jean wondered. Glancing back, she saw Ryu had taken Red's place in battle. Red had been hurt on the shoulder but Sain was tending to him.
"They just keep coming!" Annalese complained, taking down another five of the Heartless. Two were Neoshadows and the other three were regular Shadows.
"Just hang on! We've got to keep going! If we gie up, they'll just kill us!" Jean said, trying to encourage the vampire into continuing.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2011 10:34:57 GMT -5
((OOC: No problem. I've been hard trying to get on the computer at night lol))
Now that Red had a time to catch his breath for a few moments he was able to take a look at how everyone was fairing. Sain had not healed Dyne yet. Red didn't know why exactly, but he did have a few suspicions. Ryu had taken his place in battle and was fairing just fine. Red figured that their four friends must be tired beyond a doubt. They must have run from the mountain and then across the entire field!
While Sain healed him, Red took to see how Annalese and Jean were fairing. They seemed to be alright, but Red could see the fatigue in Jean. Annalease was lucky to be a vampire with super strength. She must not tire as fast as they did. Then again Red wondered if she tired at all.
Once Sain had finished the healing, Red rotated his arm in an arc. Yep Sain had done a fine job. Hearing the exchange of words between Jean and Annalese, he understood Annalese's complaint. There was no end to these creatures. It was at that time that an idea came upon Red. One he had for the life of him should have thought about earlier.
Red took out his keyblade and went over to Rowen. "Rowen!" He shouted over the sound of battle. "Is there anyway you could use your bubble moving ability to get us back to the village?"
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Post by Sprow on May 28, 2011 22:37:36 GMT -5
Ryu had been tired but he still kept on fighting. A brief respite had done him some good. He just hoped this would be enough for now before someone else would need to take a break from the seemingly endless fight. No one seemed to think of the obvious, which was understandable given their situation. Everyone was too occupied with defending each other and themselves.
Annalese did tire but not in the way that humans did. She could feel fatigue from over exerting herself but actual exhaustion that required sleep was never needed by a vampire. They thrived at night, day included for those of her kind that were like her...true vampires, not the pathetic sparkly faeries that tried to pretend they were vampires.
Jean had to pause a brief moment to breathe. As she leaned on her knees, during a moment where Annalese was taking good care of the Heartless to allow for it, Jean breathed. 'There's got to be a way out of here!' she thought, wiping sweat off her brow. Oddly enough, she had the strangest feeling that she, along with everyone else, was forgetting something. What that was, no one seemed to pick up on it until Red shouted out to Rowen.
In the middle of firing an arrow, Rowen looked over his shoulder in Red's direction. He was ready to shoot at anything if Red was in danger. Seeing as the kid wasn't, he gave him a puzzled expression before Red shouted out what he was thinking about. Blinking, Rowen wondered why the hell he hadn't thought of it first seeing as he had that ability to begin with. Releasing the arrow he had been holding strung finally, Rowen rubbed the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. Why didn't he think of that?
"Oh wow, Red! Why didn't I think of that?" he stated before rubbing his armored gloved hands together in thought. Did he have enough energy? Looking between the Heartless, his friends, their new companions and thinking about his own condition Rowen clenched his fists finally. "I think I can do it. Once I summon up the sphere, usher everyone in quick! Any second, those things could follow us into it and then we'd be screwed, me especially since I won't be able to fight back when doing it."
Trusting in Red to relay the message, Rowen closed his eyes and slung his bow over his shoulder. Summoning the energy around him, he formed a translucent sphere about him as he extended his hands toward the sphere. This was everyone's chance now to jump in as he opened his eyes, looked at Red, and nodded. A silent signal to let him know having everyone hurry in now would be a good idea.
Depending on what Red said, the others would retreat into the sphere, fighting the Heartless on their retreat into it along the way. Once everyone was inside, Rowen shot it upwards into the sky briefly before looking toward where the others seemed to have come from and had it zip in that direction.
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2011 13:53:07 GMT -5
Red nodded to Rowen. He himself hadn't thought about it until just now. It seemed that portals didn't work. If Red had been able to get themselves out of this world, he would have done it a long time ago. But Rowen's ability was different. It was simply a way of moving from one place to another in quick time.
When Rowen expanded a sphere, Red shouted loud enough so that everyone could hear. "Everyone get in the sphere!" At last they were all going to get out of here. They just needed to hold off the heartless long enough so they could get in Rowen's sphere.
Seeing Ryu, Red drew his keyblade and walked over to him. "Go ahead I'll hold them off on this end. Help Sain get Dyne inside the sphere." Revolving his keyblade in his hand he met the heartless that Ryu was facing head on. His weapon swung in an arc slashing the creature across the chest three times.
He continued to fight the heartless as they all began to back step. There goal was to get into Rowen's sphere so that he could transport them back to the village. The heartless though seemed to sense that the battle was about to end. They increased their attacks coming as hard and as fast as ever. Red did his best just holding them off.
As he took a step back, he was the last to come into the sphere. ”Go!” He shouted to Rowen. The sphere began to rise in the air. At long last they were going to get out of here! Red couldn't help but smile. Of course that smile was broken the moment he felt the grip on his leg. Looking down an expression of confusion and horror struck his face.
A neo shadow heartless was hanging on. As his eyes fell his eyes flew upward. He was no longer in the sphere that was traveling so fast away. His arm reached towards them, but he knew it was too late. The last he saw was the sphere traveling speedily away. If anyone had seen what was happening they would have saw Red disappear in a large cloud of heartless on the ground below.
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Post by Sprow on May 30, 2011 0:52:01 GMT -5
There was much more to the sphere Rowen used. It was definitely used for transportation. In fact, he could use it traveling from world to world. In a place like this though, it was doubtful if he could get out...most likely not since he hadn't any portals at his disposal. Summoning up the sphere, Rowen watched for any signs of Heartless trying to jump him while he was in this vulnerable state. The other warriors around him kept them at bay for the time being. It was all up to Red to relay the information that of which they had planned.
Alerting the rest of them to get into the sphere Rowen made, Red seemed to take charge of the situation. Gradually, Jean and Annalese backed their way into the sphere as they fought off any Heartless that came near. As if sensing their prey were about to escape them, the Heartless attacked with a vain effort. They refused to let their victims get away! They will have their hearts!
Hearing what Red said, Ryu simply nodded before blasting back another Heartless with a fireball. Backing into the group's center, Ryu hurried over to where Sain and Dyne were. Already, Sain had gone and supported Dyne's weight but he wouldn't be able to move him fast enough on his own. Supporting Dyne's other side, the two managed to move quickly into the sphere's confines just before Annalese and Jean had.
Alder and Jade had managed to get in too, including Red. Since everyone was inside, there was nothing else left to do except fly up into the air. As Rowen did so, he had no idea what had just happened. Unaware that Red wasn't with them, Rowen kept having the sphere rise up into the air. His eyes focused on their destination, not where they had previously been.
Annalese, the more oblivious member of the group, just happened to be the one nearest Red at the time. As she sat there, one second Red was there, and the next, he wasn't. "Oh, farewell then, Red!" she stated, as if he were merely taking a short trip. Obviously, she hadn't really registered what had just happened or what she was saying.
By the time it clicked, they were already high into the air. Eyes widening in realization and horror, Annalese looked downward. Sure enough, she just saw Red get engulfed in the swarm of Heartless! "R-RED!" she screamed her friend's name. It made everyone look downward in shock and horror to find Red wasn't among them in the sphere! Jean, the most of all.
"RED!" Jean yelled her young friend's name. It was too late though. By the time they noticed he hadn't been among them, he had been swallowed up by the numbers of Heartless below. It were as if a powerful fist suddenly clenched around her heart and made her stomach lurch. Red had just been...! Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she could do nothing but look down in shock and horror. Red had just been...!
Concentration almost having nearly gotten broken, Rowen looked down with disbelief. Red, out of them all, had just fallen into the swarm of Heartless. There wasn't any way from what they could tell that would give a small chance of hope that he was still alive. They had been too late in noticing and now Red was gone!
"Not Red!" Jean began to lament her friend's death. Well, for all they knew, he definitely seemed dead. There were just too many of them.
Forcing himself to get it together, Rowen reluctantly moved onward. However, his nerve had been pretty much lost just then. The kid they were suppose to help Jean help out had just been overwhelmed by the Heartless. That and if they stayed, they would've all died. What else was there to do but continue onward? Hearing the cries of the others, mourning Red's unfortunate predicament, it was hard to continue onward but he forced himself. Still, he would've rather they all have made it back.
When they were far out of danger's way, led back to the fortress, Rowen landed them at its gates. As he did so, he looked down at the ground as he released the sphere. Ryu and Sain did the same as he had. Dyne silently shed a tear.
Annalese and Jean both were in tears, more surprising on Annalese's part since she didn't really seem to have the ability. Just barely managing to get inside the fortress with the others, Jean finally broke down, dropping to her knees. She hadn't bawled her lungs out or anything like that but she was surely shedding tears with small rivulets careening down her cheeks. Her shoulders slouched and her head hung, eyes watery but staring seemingly into the distance with an expression of deep pain, she made no move to move on.
Quietly, Sain and Ryu had supported Dyne into the confines of the fortress. Settling Dyne down, propping him up against a large stone wall, Sain began to heal Dyne's wounds with what energy he had left. Ryu remained by Dyne's side, clenching his friend's shoulder, his usually confident act gone as he stared hard and long at the ground.
Annalese seemed to have disappeared without the others noticing. Probably off mourning their friend's death away from the exposure of sympathetic gazes or curious ones. She hadn't known the human for long but he was the first who had called her a friend. She had cherished the friendship, albeit a strange one, and now it had been taken away. Just like everything in her life had been taken away. It was a sad day for them all. Where they had rescued the others, it had cost them the life of one of their friends.
Unable to stand to see Jean in such distress, Rowen approached her after rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. It was a habit that he seemed to have developed, rubbing his neck like he did when he wasn't sure what to really do. Like her, he felt pain knowing that Red had been killed. Yet, he knew it had to be harder on her since she had known him longer than they all did. It was a great tragedy.
"...I'm sorry, Jean." Those were the only words he could think of as he tried to be consoling. During the event with Red, Rowen had completely forgotten about the damage done to his eye. Kneeling on the ground beside her, Rowen put an arm about her shoulders as he stared at the ground again.
Not resisting his touch, Jean seemed to pull herself out of the trance a little as she looked over at him. Since she wasn't in her right mind at the time, Jean hadn't noticed the wound on Rowen's eye before she went and hugged him abruptly to cry into his chest.
"Why did he have to go? Why?!"
Shocked by the sudden hug, and vulnerability Jean was showing, Rowen sympathetically held her as he shut his good eye. His eyes had begun to water and it stung the wounded one. They had all lost a good friend.
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2011 16:33:17 GMT -5
"Where am I?" In all honesty Red had no idea who he was. He was semi aware that his body was floating. But floating in what? That was another good question. He couldn't remember a thing. All he knew was that he was floating... or perhaps he was falling. Everything was dark so he had no way to tell which way he was going.
"How much longer is this going to last?"[/i] Red had no idea that Jean was so upset about him. In fact at the moment he didn't even remember who Jean was. He had no recognition of any of his friends. Even his own name... What was it? So many things he just couldn't remember.
All of a sudden Red recognized that he was wet. How could he be wet? Now that he focused on the sounds around him, he could hear the sound of water hitting the shore in the distance. Red tried to position his head so that he could see where the shore was... But he could not. He was to afraid that if he turned too much, he would no longer float.
Instead he simply let the water wash him to shore. It didn't take too long, now that he knew where he was going. As a wave threw him on shore his eyes gazed up at the sky ahead. It was at that moment that he noticed slight lights in the sky. What were those small bright dots? Red knew that somewhere in his mind he knew the answer. Yet at the moment he did not know.
He lay on that shore for quite some time. It was only when a cloud revealed the light of the moon that Red forced himself to sit up. With the light of the moon he could make out that he was on some sort of island. How had he gotten here though? Somehow Red thought that this was the most question of them all.
Noting a small log off in the distance, he stood up and took a seat on it. "What am I supposed to do?" He asked himself aloud. For some reason Red felt like he was supposed to be doing something. He had a sense that there was a great importance in what he was supposed to be doing.
"So your here too?" Red almost fell right off the log. An elderly man with long black hair and kind green eyes took a seat next to him. He was frail and was dressed in a white cloak. It was an odd contrast to his hair.
Red didn't feel any hostility from the old man. "Maybe he can help me figure things out." He thought to himself. Red turned to the old man. "Where is here?" That was a good question to ask first.
A troubled look crossed the old man. "That's a good question. I've been hear for years. I still don't even know exactly. All I know is that I have yet to find a way off this island." Red felt as troubled as the old man at that moment. That was bad news. Red couldn't help but sigh. What was he to do now? --------------------------------
Alder felt troubled. Everything had gone wrong! He had been an idiot to let that boy accompany them. He was an inexperienced keyblader. The first Alder had run into years! Alder had been completely shocked when he found out. Alder remembered his master's words before everything had changed.
"You must survive. You must not be here when Issac comes. You must live for without you all is lost." Those words had struck Alder to his core. He had refused to just leave his master to die by the hands of that man. Issac stood for everything that was wrong with what had happened during the keyblader. Alder himself had been only a boy when it had occurred, but his master had fought in it. In fact he was one of the few survivors.
In the end Alder had been forced onto a gummi ship against his will and driven as far away as possible. By the time he was able to get back, he came to find his master dead. The bastard had finally gone and done. He had thrown himself into the darkness!
Alder had continued searching for Issac until he had at last collided with him in the Keyblade Graveyard. Alder had attempted to escape. Issac had just been to powerful! All had gone wrong though when the portal had closed of its own accord. And that was how Alder had arrived here.
Alder walked over to Jean. He didn't know what to say. What could he possibly say to console her? "I'm sorry." He managed.
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Post by Sprow on May 31, 2011 16:54:53 GMT -5
It was due to all the darkness smell in the air that Annalese couldn't have detected whether or not a friend were dead. The stench of darkness was far too strong, especially with all the Heartless in one spot. Having sought refuge away from the eyes of anyone, she wasn't easy to find. It didn't mean she was gone though. When she was more able to control her sudden emotions, she would return.
Jean didn't care right now about the world around her. In fact, if she had any right mind, she probably wouldn't have done something as drastic as she just did in hugging Rowen and just bursting into tears like she had. It honestly looked as if Red had just died. So, as expected, Jean reacted like she did...as did everyone.
Neither Jean or Rowen moved from that spot, Rowen out of choice in attempts to try and console Jean. Right now, it looked like the only way to really do that was to just be there for her and let her let it all out. There wasn't anything anyone could say. Apologies for something neither of them was responsible for couldn't possibly bring back Red. There was nothing anyone could do to bring him back. Not from any means that they hadn't the knowledge of.
Ryu and Sain looked over at Jean and shook their heads. Dyne, recovered from his injuries, was able to stand up again. No one moved, except for Alder. All silently looked on as he approached Jean and Rowen. Hearing someone approach them, Rowen had opened his only good eye for now and looked over at the man he had seen earlier wielding a keyblade like Red. The way the man carried himself, Rowen assumed he was some sort of leader. Gently, he relinquished the hold he had on Jean as the man spoke.
As much as Jean would've liked to focus her pain on someone to seek out revenge for the death of a friend, there wasn't anything she could hold against anyone over it. Having heard Alder's apology, she managed to pull herself together at least a little. Pulling her face away from Rowen's chest a little but not releasing her grip on him, as if afraid if she let go someone else they'd disappear on her, her watery eyes found Alder there.
"...It...it wasn't...anyone's...f-fault." It was difficult for her to speak, since there was a nasty lump that seemed to have formed in her throat. Her voice had come out shaky, a bit raspy, and choppy. Her face was so tear stained, it looked as if the tears now burned her facial skin because of the salt.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2011 22:11:03 GMT -5
There was no essence of time in this place. Not only that but Red felt no hunger nor thirst. He had been sitting on the same log for who knew how long. The old man was quiet beside him. Every so often Red would ask a question of the old man, but he was as clueless as Red. He seemed to have no recognition of who he was either. But he was growing even older.
He too seemed to have no idea how he had gotten here. "I used to remember... At least I think I did." The old man told Red. He nodded. Red used to know too. Now he didn't. Such a sad thing. He was sure that there was life beyond this shore. But he could not remember. Red wondered how the old man had survived being alone this whole time?
"It was hard at first. Then I got used to it. But its wonderful having someone to at least talk too. I spend so much time trying to remember. Time passes by so fast here." Red nodded. He understood the old man's trouble. Red could spent eternity trying to remember. Somehow that didn't seem right. Red had a feeling that he couldn't stay here. He needed to go somewhere... But where?
"What else is on this island?" Red was quite curious as to where he was. If he was going to be here for a long time, he should at least try and get to know the place. The old man nodded. He took the lead and Red followed the old man. He pointed out the different areas. Apparently after the years, the old man had put together a small hut where he spent the nights.
Often he spent his time on the beach. On that very log exactly. He said it was his favorite place to think. Apparently that was the place where he was his closest to remembering things. Red understood. The further he walked in the island, the more he seemed to see a cloud where his memories should be.
The old man came to a stop in front of a cave. "This cave is dangerous. I've never ventured far into it, but I can feel some sort of evil coming from this cave the further you go." Red nodded. He would not be venturing in that cave then anytime soon. "Come lets go back to the log. We can watch the sun set." Red smiled. He had no idea what a sun set was, but it sounded nice.
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Alden could tell Jean was shaken. The thing was that Alder felt like it was his fault. He had led the three of them into the Spine. It was his fault for that. He should have told Red to stay. Alder could only nod though to Jean's words. The next thing they needed to consider was what now? Alder knew they wanted to get off this land. He understood there need for it. But was that their dedication still?
"What do you guys want to do now?" The only way they would find out would be to ask.
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Post by Sprow on Jun 2, 2011 1:46:23 GMT -5
Jean was definitely shaken up. After seeing someone she had hung around with for a while suddenly get killed was enough to do that. She had grown somewhat attached to the kid. Now that he was gone, it hurt to think that he had to go in such a fashion. True, she had seen many battles and lost friends along the way but it always bothered her. She was, after all, human. Not an emotionless shell like she sometimes seemed when acting level headed.
Gathering herself up better, she wiped away at the tears she was shedding. Her face had begun to lightly sting from the salt of her own tears, reddening her face a little where the salt irritated it. Right now, she wondered where they were going to go and what they were going to do.
Originally, Jean had planned on accompanying Red. Now, she wasn't sure where to go. Should she just give up and stay here? No, no she couldn't just simply stay here. She still had to go to Gaia and get her father back to normal and kill that Silver character. Speaking of which, it seemed like he had most likely originated from this strange and awful place. What his kind was called though was another matter entirely. All she knew was that those things possessed others.
Right now, it seemed like everyone was normal. Then again, those things seemed to know right off the bat what their hosts said, acted, and how to exploit their powers. How would she be able to tell if anyone of the ones the rescued were possessed or not by those things? As she wondered about it, she remembered the disturbing report about Arthur. How he had reported that something was inside of him.
"...Rowen....nothing's...inside of you...is there?" she questioned him suddenly. Rowen looked down at her in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" he answered her question with a question. Sighing to herself, but continuing on, Jean decided on the next question.
"You didn't fight anything...like a snake, did you?" she asked him slowly. Rowen furrowed an eyebrow at her before going into thought. After a brief moment, he shook his head.
"No, why?" he asked her. Jean just inwardly sighed with relief and hugged him slightly again. If there was any way of confirming that none were possessed, that certainly did it. Looking over at Ryu and Sain, she could see that they had been just as puzzled by the question. Neither of them had seen anything snake-like it seemed and were wondering why she asked such a thing.
It didn't take long before her mind was taken off that when Alder asked what they wanted to do next. "I'm...not sure what I want to do right now...I'm sure we will want to know how to get out of here at some point but...right now, I don't know." If anything, she guessed they could use a good brief rest. They had gone through a lot today, including the death of a friend. It was no wonder they would need to recuperate. "I guess all we can do right now is rest after today and gather our thoughts."
After saying this, she finally let go of Rowen and got to her feet. The way she carried herself seemed normal enough but for the slight slouch she had in the shoulders, a sign of not just wear and tear but sorrow as well. "Is everyone...alright?" she questioned.
Ryu and Sain nodded, Dyne giving a simple thumb up to confirm he was fine now. "I just need a moment!" Rowen spoke up, having gotten up too and headed over to Sain. During the whole thing, he had somehow managed to keep his wounded eye hidden from Jean's notice. Pulling his green armored friend aside, he spoke to him in private with his back turned to Jean, most likely indicating his eye.
Not aware of what was being hidden from her, Jean turned to Alder. Now that she was more able, she could speak better. "Thank you for your help, Alder...I mean, we lost someone today but if you hadn't helped us, we wouldn't have gotten back those four. I just wish we could've all made it back."
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2011 11:47:04 GMT -5
Alder nodded. He understood what they wanted. Rest after all that happened would be good for everyone. Alder took his leave and left them to that. He felt that he needed some time to think things through. "I need to go check on the status of my soldiers. Feel free to stay here. I'll check in later in the evening."
With that he left them to rest. Alder made his way out of the building and back into the main area. His soldiers were still going through training and the like. Alder felt like he had just lost one of his own men. He was upset and of course blamed himself for the deed. He was the captain. The leader of the operation here.
Alder walked over to his own cabin. He had left Jean's group in the building next to the barracks. It had suitable beds and such that were often used by soldiers. But they always had extra beds. They could find a nice sleep there. Alder entered his cabin. He needed to rest and think as well.
Upon entering he came to a complete stop. There was an odd presence in the cabin. Alder stretched out his arm and his keyblade formed in his hand. Something was off! Alder walked around the corner and came to a complete stop. A figure stood in a black robe with back turned to the entrance. The figure seemed to be eying the map on the table in the room.
As the figure turned around, Alder felt chills running down the back of the spine. Alder's hands tightened in anger upon seeing the face of the man in the room. Alder recognized the long red hair, the sharp red eyes, and the bored expression. Weapon appearing in his hand, it took all of Alder's strength from attacking the man on sight.
"It has been a long time Alder." Alder's face was red with fury. How dare he come here! How dare he!
"Issac." Alder's voice was venomous when speaking that name. Alder's brown keyblade was ready at moments notice to attack.
If Issac was intimidated by Alder's voice or keyblade it didn't show. In fact Issac didn't even recognized the drawing of the weapon. "Relax my old friend. I am not here to fight."
Alder really didn't care what reason Issac had for coming here. The fact that Issac came here meant that Alder had the chance to kill the bastard once and for all. As if seeing the hate behind Alder''s expression Issac spoke. "I'd watch yourself Alder. Rage and hatred is on the brink of darkness. Our master would surely not approve."
That brought Alder to a stop. Damn, Issac was right. Alder tried to compose himself. He needed to be calm. If this turned into a battle he needed to be ready. "Why are you here Issac? Why now?"
Issac seemed to be intrigued by the question. "Well I asked myself that very same question actually. I really shouldn't have come. I am far to busy for your likes..." Issac paused as he seemed to be thinking. "Yet I can't leave the way things are. Things are too important to fail."
Alder crossed his arms. Issac was always like this. He did things his own way. You couldn't make Issac do anything he didn't want to do. "That boy is not dead." Alder froze. What the hell did Issac have anything to do with Red. "It is important though you do not tell them that. You Alder. You must lead them to that boy. I would myself but I don't have time. Nor would I be welcome after all that happened."
Alder didn't like any of this. "Why do you want to save him?" Issac only replied with a smile. For some reason, Alder believed that Issac had no good will towards Red. Most likely the only reason Issac was probably doing this was because he had some use for Red. Well Alder wasn't going to sit by and let him do that.
"Your keyblade is the key Alder. Sometimes one must venture into the darkness to rescue the light." Before Alder could even respond, the air to the right of Issac suddenly shifted. There was a sound of tearing as a the space time continuum itself was ripped by black threads. Issac simply walked through the rift in the air. The threads let loose and the rift closed.
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Post by Sprow on Jun 3, 2011 0:48:13 GMT -5
Jean listened as Alder spoke. Apparently, he would allow them to remain here and rest. Well, that very nice of him. She had thought he might've sent them out through the illusion thing again. At least it would be less dangerous this way. She felt more secure in such a setting. There were people who could fight if any danger should arise.
"Thank you, Alder." She inclined her head at him respectfully. She appreciated his help, even if they lost Red, he had made it possible to get the other four back safely.
Jean and the others followed Alder to where the barracks were for them to rest in. Being the first to enter, she noticed how roomy it was. It was perfect for their number. If Annalese were to even join them, she would have a bed to herself too. Vampires didn't sleep though, not that Jean would know that as she wandered over to a bed and seated herself upon it. She didn't look at any of the others as they too entered the barracks.
Dyne took a bed across from Jean, Ryu and Sain on either side of her. Rowen frowned at this arrangement but didn't argue. This wasn't a time to argue when they were all unhappy about the loss of Red. None of them knew the kid was alive. It really looked like he had died on them, that the Heartless overtook him in one nasty swipe. Just thinking about it, trying to find any other possibilities, Jean could find none. It really looked like there was no other solution as to what happened to him except death. The thought made her eyes water again.
None of them knew what was going on in the captain's own bunker as they all sat or laid down in silence, mourning over the loss of Red. It wasn't until Jean got up, trying to pull herself out of her misery for the time being and do something productive, she had looked over at the others. Ryu seemed to be meditating, or at least trying as he sat Indian style in the bed he was occupying. His eyes shut and his brows furrowed as if he were fighting with dark thoughts.
Sain was staring up at the ceiling, his blue eyes looked tired as he seemed to start drifting into sleep. He had used a lot of energy to heal the others, Rowen's wound especially since it was such a delicate thing to do. Even still, he couldn't restore the eyesight in the eye that Rowen had injured. Rowen would be partially blind in that eye. Even still, Sain thought there was more that he could do. It was just a healing thing he needed to advance in. Rowen wouldn't be that way permanently...hopefully.
Dyne was looking over at Rowen in what appeared to be a mildly alarmed and worried expression. Right now, Jean wasn't able to tell why yet since she hadn't looked in Rowen's direction just yet. However, the mute was definitely looking at him in worry and alarm because he had just noticed the fact his friend's eye had a bandage over it. Did he lose sight in that eye?
Now, as she set her eyes onto Rowen, following Dyne's gaze, Jean's eyes widened. "Rowen...what happened?!" she exclaimed, walking over to his bed. Rowen blinked before looking over at her and smiling a bit sheepishly. Like he usually did when nervous, he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh, um...this? Well uh...I didn't want to alarm you or anything but...I got slashed over the eye by a nasty Heartless that caught me by surprise!" he explained. Seeing Jean put her hands on her hips, openly frowning down at him and then looking at Dyne whom had his arms folded and frowning at him too, Rowen couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle.
"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Jean demanded.
"I didn't want to waste what energy Sain had left when we were out there fighting for our lives." The argument that would have been had ceased the second Annalese entered the room. She looked like she was in control of herself now, although her face seemed lifeless.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2011 11:24:22 GMT -5
Alder didn't know what to make out of everything that had just happened. After Issac had left Alder was left with a mix of feelings. To see Issac again made his blood boil. He wanted to put his hands around Issac's neck and squeeze as hard as he could. Issac deserved to die. Alder knew for a fact that Issac was not interested in Red's well being. Most likely the man had some sort of plan that involved that boy.
Part of Alder wanted to just leave Red where ever he was. That way Issac couldn't get his hands on him. Yet the other part of Alder knew that he had to get the boy back. His friends needed him. It was quite obvious. Yet where was he? Issac hadn't done a great job revealing that.
”Sometimes you have to venture into the darkness to save the light.” That was what Issac had said. But what did it mean? Darkness could be interpretable in many ways. It could be an evil place like the Spine of the World. Or it could be something entirely different.
Alder replayed the scene of Red falling out of the bubble in his mind. He watched as Red disappeared into the mounds of heartless. The creatures wouldn't have paused to eat the boy's heart. That would mean Red's heart was lost to the darkness. He would have become a heartless himself... Unless somehow his heart managed to evade such a thing.
Beginning to pace up and down the room, Alder tried his best to come up with an answer to a problem. What if Red had fallen into a corridor of darkness. It could have happened. Heartless traveled those corridors. If he did such a thing, where would he end up? There was only one real way to find out.
Alder exited his hut and walked to the gate. He turned to the guards who were stationed there. “I am going out there. No matter what you do. Do not interfere with what's going to happen. If any of our guests come looking for me, tell them I will be back soon. If I am not back by nightfall, you need to let the Mayor know that she needs to pick a replacement Commander.”
The guard simply nodded. Alder walked out of the protection of the fort. As he had expected the heartless came. It was their nature after all. Alder did nothing. He did not summon his keyblade, nor did he defend himself. He simply let them attack. And they did. Alder felt their claws and their fangs and their weapons as they tried to take his heart. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for.
-------------------- Red sat on the log next to the old man. He gazed out into the sea, looking for something. What he was actually looking for he didn't know. But Red felt that if he didn't search for something he might loose everything. The old man next to him was trying to think.
Red had given up on the idea. Every time he tried to remember he only succeeded in giving himself a bigger migraine Red knew his memories were there. He could almost feel them. But they were trapped behind a cloud that was impenetrable. So instead he searched.
It was at that moment a large scream echoed across the island. Red's head and the old man's shot up upon hearing that. The sound had come from somewhere in the island! The old man turned to him. “Let's try and find that sound.” He said with a new sense of enthusiasm. If there was another person on this island, they needed to find them. He or she was probably as lost as Red was when he first arrived here.
The old man and Red followed the island and the repeated screams until they came to a stop at the cave. The screams were coming from inside! The old man stopped. “We... we can't. We don't know what's there.” Red understood the old man's thoughts, but something was telling him that they needed to go in that cave.
Despite the old man's warning and every logical reason, Red grabbed the old man's hands and walked into the cave.
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Post by Sprow on Jun 3, 2011 18:14:09 GMT -5
Jean knew nothing of what transpired between the captain and that mysterious figure. No one had told them anything since they came to this barrack to rest. Maybe they knew right now wasn't a good time to bother them? Regardless, Jean was grateful for the reprieve. She was still pretty shaken up after what happened with Red. It was hard to think that he was gone still. Every time her thoughts turned to him, she grew depressed. Almost constantly, she was going between so emotional she would cry or become an empty shell for letting her emotions run too extreme.
Annalese had kept quiet the entire time she was in the room. There was no childish mischief coming from her today. Most likely she was just mourning still. Yet, she didn't show it as she just sat still in the corner of the room.
Dyne was still giving Rowen an unhappy look. Rowen just gave him and Jean a sheepish grin despite the seriousness of his wound. It was odd how he seemed to just brush it off like it was nothing. Some sort of injury like this should have affected him in some way. He didn't seem to be showing it though. Was it an act in front of the others?
"I can't believe that, out of all of us, you didn't even tell your brother!" Jean continued to nag at him. Dyne nodded in agreement, looking very displeased.
"Alright, alright! I heard you! Sorry, Dyne, I didn't tell you but you were in a more serious state than I was." Looking at the two, no one would know they were brothers. If anything, it was the eye color that gave it away if anyone were to try and compare the two. It had surprised Jean in the past that those two were actually brothers. Then again, it explained why those two seemed to fight more than the rest. Especially whenever Dyne would resort to hitting Rowen at times.
Jean just sighed, shaking her head. Rowen wasn't easy to deal with at times. "How bad is it anyway? Why didn't Sain heal it all?" she questioned him.
"It's because he's too stubborn to admit anything, Jean. I did my best but he might be partially blind in that eye unless I can advance my skill in healing." It was Sain who spoke up. Rowen wound up rubbing the back of his neck again. Now, he was really in for it. One didn't just keep something like that secret. It was obvious when Dyne rounded on him that Rowen was in for some real trouble.
"I'm sor-!" he got cut off by a pillow to the face from Dyne who couldn't bring himself to do anymore harm to him except for that right now to express his anger at his brother.
"...I don't know whether to hit you or strangle you, Rowen!" Jean growled.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2011 20:12:08 GMT -5
Red ventured into the cave. Every step he took was like walking through fog. Except the fog only existed in his mind. It was as if with each step a needle was being pulled from his brain. It hurt and it caused every means Red had to keep walking. The old man next to him didn't fare any better. He kept murmuring to himself. Red was practically dragging the man.
All that Red felt was pain. After a while all that existed was pain. There was no beginning to it and no ending to it. Red even wondered why he was even walking. Maybe if he just sat down the pain would stop? Something stopped Red from doing that thought. He didn't realize that there was someone else sharing his pain as well. There was nothing but darkness and pain.
How much longer? How much longer before the pain stopped? Step. Step. Step. Red was walking slower now. The old man couldn't even move, and Red was dragging the man on the ground. The pain was terrible. It made him forget everything. If there was only a way to shut out the pain!
Suddenly a light sprouted in the darkness. It was small at first but then it became brighter and brighter. That light was what Red needed. It made him sprint through the rest of the pain, dragging the old man with him. Pain, step, pain, step! At long last the pain stopped as Red and the old man burst into the light.
Everything happened all at once. Red burst out of a pool of darkness. Memories came flooding into his mind like a tidal wave crashing onto shore. It made Red pause as he brought his hand to his temple. It felt like his head was going to explode with all the information and memories that were flooding in. They were all of his memories, but he was remembering them all at once. Then it stopped. And Red found himself standing in front of heartless.
His eyes locked onto Alder's body. The keyblade warrior was dead, his body having been torn apart by the heartless. They continued to feed on him. Red felt a surge of anger and rage. He was so angry his body was shaking. Suddenly darkness flowed over Red. His body burst with energy and power as his keyblade sent out energy down his body.
The result of this energy was that the left side of his body, the one with the arm holding the keyblade, turned into a skeleton. A left red dot appeared where his left eye was. With a face half skeleton and half full of skin, a creepy smile formed across his lips. Red flew into action, his speed and power increased by threefold. With each slash a heartless literally burst. Also any heartless that tried to attack him, found themselves facing a shield of darkness they could not get through.
Red moved with blind rage. He swung at anything and anyone that moved. It wasn't long before he turned on the old man, who was just getting composure of himself. Red moved to attack the old man. The old man did not seem so frail as he did when Red had met him on the island. Now he stood with a sense of superiority. He simply raised his arm and Red's swinging keyblade met a shield of light that countered with a blast of energy.
Red was thrown from his feet. The old man suddenly seemed ages older. He walked slowly as he made his way to Red. The blast had knocked Red out and with his keyblade disappearing, his body had turned back to normal. The old man gazed at Alder. He could do nothing for the dead man. He had to take care of the living.
The old man bent down and picked up Red. Carrying him he walked straight to the gates of the fortress. The guards let him in right away. They had recognized Red upon seeing him. Two others walked out of the fortress to get the captain. The old man, by chance, came to the room where Jean and the others were staying.
He knocked on the door. Upon opening the door, they would have seen the old man with his long black hair and kind green eyes.
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Post by Sprow on Jun 3, 2011 22:16:11 GMT -5
As Jean went to her own cot and sat down, she had no idea what had taken place outside the fortress. If she knew, she would've felt horrible. For now, she knew nothing of the sacrifice Alder made just yet as she tried to take her mind off of hurting Rowen worse for hiding that wound of his from them. She didn't know why she reacted this way though. Then again, she thought, it must be because she didn't like it when her friends hid something as important as that.
Even still, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward being in the same room with him. When she had spoken to him, she couldn't help but notice a strange feeling swell up inside of her. 'I must have been getting angry again without realizing it!' she thought. Jean's face always got red whenever she got upset hearing one of Rowen's perverted comments now and then.
A slight scuffle between Dyne and Rowen had broken out with the thrown pillow having been the main cause of it. Rowen had retaliated, as expected, throwing the pillow back. Dyne only acted in turn in this time tossing his helmet at Rowen and then, before anyone knew it, the two were tossing things at one another. Sain, usually the one to break of their fighting, got dragged in when he tried to get in the middle of it only to have gotten hit in the face by someone's shoe.
"...And I thought I acted like a kid!" Annalese spoke for the first time she had been there. Ryu, having been meditating the whole time, ended up forgetting about it the second he too got hit with something. It lead to almost all four of the guys at each other's throats.
Really now?!" Jean said, getting angry after having to dodge a few airborne objects. Sometimes the guys just couldn't get along. Although, this had to be the first time where all four decided to fight. It must've been because of everyone's emotions boiling up finally about what happened earlier with Red. Having no real release, they took it out on each other it seemed.
If it hadn't been for the knock on their door, Jean probably would've had a time trying to stop them all herself. "Who could that be?" she said aloud as all guys ceased fighting to look at the door, Dyne holding Rowen in a headlock.
Walking up to the door and turning the knob to open it, she was shocked to see what she had found. In front of them was an elderly man holding Red in his arms. "R-Red?!" she exclaimed, stepping aside to allow the man entry. The shock everyone had, it were as if some had become deer caught in the headlights where one dropped the other after having had him previously in a headlock.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2011 22:37:01 GMT -5
The old man carried Red inside the house. If he was aware of the others stares it did not show. He noticed an empty cot in the room and placed Red on top of it. The old man seemed fragile. He seemed to have worn years of hard labor on his shoulders. In fact as he gazed at Red he wore a worried expression.
Placing his hands on Red's chest a bright light suddenly sprouted from his hands. It traveled down Red's body like a wave of energy. The old man in reality was reading the auras and energies of Red's body. He traveled up and down looking for any sort of irregularities. Upon finding none he next entered the mind.
What he found there was something that very well frightened him. The boy's mind was full of needles. That was the only way the old man could describe them. It was full of twists and turns with needles stabbed through. Each needle represented the darkness within the boy.
He had known the boy was troubled by the darkness within him. What the old man had witnessed upon entering this place proved that. The old man could draw those needles. It was his ability to do so. To withdraw the darkness in one's mind. And normally it would have no effect on said person. But this boy was different. These needles were placed deep within.
All he could do was search for any sort of weak pulls of darkness. He found a few and managed to pull those needles out. He released the body of tensions. But some he did not even dare to try and pull. Leaving the boy's mind, the old man did his best to heal any other injuries the boy consumed.
Overall the work took only a minute. But by the time the wave of energy stopped, the old man sank too his knees in exhaustion. "I'm getting to old for this." The old man said to himself aloud.. Red slept peacefully now.
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Post by Sprow on Jun 3, 2011 23:17:18 GMT -5
Getting over their shock, everyone watched as the elderly man took Red to a free bed. None of them spoke as he seemed to examine Red. Sain could recognize some sort of healing power to the man as his hand had let out some light when he touched Red. Just what was he doing? None of them, unlike him, could actually pull darkness from one's mind. They had no idea that he was doing that.
Annalese seemed to come out of her lifeless state as she looked over at Red in amazement. "Humans really are a strange breed!" she stated. However, the temporary happiness faded as she took a look at what happened to him.
"Ew, why does he stink so bad of darkness?!" she exclaimed. With her sense of smell, she detected nothing other than darkness. It made her nose scrunch up a bit. Never before had he been this bad. She didn't know it had been because Red had just come out of a place filled with darkness.
Jean wandered over to the elderly man when it seemed like he was done with whatever it was that he had done with Red. Judging by what he had said, there had to have been some sort of healing that took place. Helping him up, Jean spoke. "I don't know who you are...or how Red got back here alive but...thank you." With that, she led him to a free cot and set him down.
"We're that boy's friends...I'm Jean." Right now, she was very happy to see Red alive. It was a miracle he was still alive. She didn't know how this were possible. She knew nothing of the fact that Alder had died for the sake of bringing Red back nor of the plans that mysterious figure had for him.
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