(Signup's are still open here- http://kh13.com/forum/topic/71543-kingdom-hearts-the-pit-rp-signups-and-discussion/)

 

Near the end of the Keyblade War, there was a great battle in Twilight Canyon, a special place that, although few had ever considered it significant, was home to a weak point in the barrier that separated the Realm of Light from the Realm of Darkness. Now two armies charge at each other in the valley, intent on defeating their enemies. This is where the great story of "The Pit" begins.

 

Max's blood began racing as he charged toward the enemy, ready to destroy the dastardly followers of darkness before him. Time seemed to slow as he came closer and closer to the enemy. Finally, one of the soldiers came within striking distance, so he summoned his keyblade, Explosive Justice, and attacked the soldier.

 

[Why did I sign up this?] Blight asked himself. There were plenty of ways to make money during a war. He could have sold weapons, or worked as a guard while most of the other able bodied fighters were away. But no, he'd been dumb enough to actually enlist in this stupid war! And now here he was, in the middle of a battle, guns blazing, fighting for his life!  He continued to shoot at the enemy soldiers from behind a large rock, hoping that no one would decide to attack him anytime soon.

 

(All right folks, let's start this RP off with a bang! Feel free to battle anyone who's not on your side, and have fun!)

It was surprising to see how quickly her companion was able to wipe out these Shadows without so much as a great fight.  Now that they were no longer a threat, Elia straightened herself and returned the handshake.  "And I'm Elia.  It's wonderful to meet you, Locket.  May I ask what brings you here, and, most especially, where *here* is?  I haven't a clue myself"--Elia closed her eyes, forcing memories beyond awakening in the Realm of Darkness in vain--"It's strange . . . but I don't even remember how I got here."

Locket put her hand back at her side. "I'm not sure. This place is unfamiliar." She said, scanning their surroundings once more. She gripped her Keyblade and tensed, looking at the rather large moon. "It's... Odd."

"Indeed," agreed Elia.  "Odd would certainly be the best way to describe this place, though I'm hoping that maybe we aren't the only ones in this place.  Have you seen anyone else?"  Suddenly an idea struck the teen, her eyes aglow as she looked towards Locket.  "Say, do you know my sister, Ari?  Is she here?"  It was farfetched, true, but entirely possible.  The last thing that Elia remembered was saving her sister using the last remains of her power to heal her, and next she knew it she was here.  Whether time lapsed between then and now, Elia wasn't certain.  For all she knew, this could be the afterlife.

Shivering, a young teen wandered the Realm of Darkness, alone and confused.  Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, and she had no recollection whatsoever of entering this foreboding place.  A brilliant moon shone above her, with the strangest of darkened landscapes around for as far as the eye could meet.  Deadened trees, mountains in the distance--no landmarks that the young girl could recognize, and for the first time in a grand long while, she felt . . . fear.

 

This doesn't make sense, Elia thought, clenching and unclenching a fist.  She was clad in dark armor, something that she knew with all certainly that she hadn't sported, along with the bow slung across her body and the quiver of arrows attached to her back.  Of course, this isn't to say that she wasn't grateful for either of these things: in fact, having them in a foreign atmosphere was rather welcoming.  Elia proceeded to make her way down the darkened realm, until she noticed the ground move below her.  Staring down, the young adolescent nearly jumped out of her skin when a pair of yellow glowing eyes stared right back, and much to Elia's horror more continued to form and surround her.  Immediately she summoned the aid of her bow and arrow, but she knew such attacks would be fruitless against so many of these dark creatures.  Unless someone swooped down to her aid, and soon, she had a feeling that this wouldn't end well.

"Oh, I'm Rain. I'm a soldier of light like you." Rain said to the Nightwing squad. She then noticed a couple of the squad members gazing at their surroundings, and began to take everything in as well. To their left and behind them was a forest mostly made up of dead trees, and to their right was a swamp. In front of them was craggy field dotted in caves. Encircling everything was a ridiculously high range of mountains. acting as a massive wall. From where Rain stood, she couldn't spot any way to get past it, except for possibly going over, which seemed like a truly dangerous task. However, the mountains on every side seemed to be miles away.

 

Suddenly she noticed how dark the ground looked beneath everyone else beneath her. It didn't take long for her confusion to change to terror, however, when something truly unexpected happened. Hundreds, if not thousands, of little shining yellow dots appeared on the ground. They would often disappear and then reappear, as well as move around from time to time. "Are those... eyes?" Rain asked, frightened for the first time since she'd realized she wasn't on the battlefield anymore.

 

Locket looked down at the dark ground to see if there were anything useful, but instead wound up jumping in the air and screaming rather loudly like a little girl. She hit her head with her palm. "Locket you idiot!" She said to herself. "What if someone heard you?!" Then she shook her head and stared down, seeing the dots move. Eyes..?

"Oh, I'm Rain. I'm a soldier of light like you." 

Sparrow nodded as he did his part to contribute to the squad effort. "Glad to hear that we're on the same side. We're Nightwing Squad, and our monikers are based on that theme." He pointed out to the individual members of his faithful team. "That's ShadowHawk, over there is Raven, and he's... special. He decided to go with Kiwi." He immediately went silent, listening to the ambient surroundings for any footsteps that would betray a sneaking enemy. 

 

Kiwi broke the eerie tranquility of the squad as they continued to survey their surroundings. "You know... For introverts like us, this is... pretty blissful."

Raven chuckled as he examined the swamps in the distance. "Yeah, it is. Peaceful... Too bad this place just had to be scary looking."

Hawk had done a 360 view around the place, and summarized their findings to their leader. "Dead forest to the Left of us, Swamps to the right of us, and cave like formations down the center. We're in a bowl of some sort with the mountains acting as psudo-walls to enclose us in. I think if-"

 

A scream in the distance caught everyone's attention as the team immediately looked in the direction of the sound, then to one another. "You know what to do, team!" Sparrow enthusiastically chanted, "move ou-"

 

"Are those... eyes?" They heard Rain ask. Their faces went from confident and heroic to panic and despair as they looked down at the ground and saw countless yellow orbs floating in a sea of black, with the squad standing on top of it. "Evacuate!" their leader screamed as he pointed in the direction of the voice. "Run 'n Gun, boys!" With the team taking off and sprinting down the mountain, Sparrow motioned Rain to follow them as he leveled his rifle into the sea of black, but held short of pulling the trigger.

"I haven't seen anyone else, no. 'Thought I was the only one in this crooked place till I ran into you." She said, shrugging. This was the last place she wanted to be in- it was to dark, to many dangers, and not enough people. "And I don't know anyone named Ari."

Claire's glare was redirected to Reni.

"How about you?" She asked coldly. "Got any explanations to share?"

Claire tried to do what her master had taught her and block out her emotions in the situation, but she wasn't doing so well. This...felt wrong. Very wrong.

Disappointment was visible on Elia's face, her shoulders slumping slightly.  She knew it was too much to hope that her sister was there, and yet she couldn't help but cling onto this desire.  Still, however, the chances of Ari surviving the devastating attack were great, and, once Elia managed to make it out of there, she would hopefully be able to find her again.  Not much would've made her happier than to be reunited with her elder sister, except for perhaps her father.  At least she wasn't alone, though, and she had a feeling that Locket would make a great companion.

 

Elia turned to face Locket, tucking a lock of silky black hair behind her ear.  "I thought I was alone as well, though I'm very glad that I'm not.  I know that we, well, don't know each other very well, but I was wondering if we could be . . . friends?  Two can do so much more than one, and I think we'll be so much safer if together.  I mean, we made a pretty awesome duo with that last attack, didn't we?"

Locket smiled at her and nodded. "That was a nice combo." She then took another scan around them and rested her gaze to the mountain. "Should we get moving over there?" She pointed towards it. From experience, Locket knew that a mountain was good for scanning sorroundings and staying mostly out of sight—unless anyone else was on, going to or coming down the mountain.

Edited March 31, 201411 yr by LockyChan

Locket smiled at her and nodded. "That was a nice combo." She then took another scan around them and rested her gaze to the mountain. "Should we get moving over there?" She pointed towards it. From experience, Locket knew that a mountain was good for scanning sorroundings and staying mostly out of sight—unless anyone else was on, going to or coming down the mountain.

[i ought to take notes on Mystic's post. I can learn a thing or two about this. Then again, I'm not exactly in prime condition like I was during a certain RP. Man, I wish it didn't die.]

 

"Keep firing! Keep firing! For the love of everything light, keep freaking FIRING!!!" Sparrow screamed as he unloaded a clip of his rifle into the sea of black that was not too far away from where he, along with Nightwing Squad, were running away from. In the heat of the moment, most of the squad didn't keep track of where Rain was as they were either blinded by the sheer stress or the constant rifle flash as the team sent a hailstorm of light-arrows downrange. But no matter how fast they ran, the pool only seemed to get closer as it quickly turned into a test of endurance of who can run and gun the longest without making a mistake. 

 

It was bound to happen, and almost expectantly, Kiwi collapsed into a kneeling position as he continued to fire into the pool of black and yellow, panting hard yet managing to keep his aim steady and true. "I can't... Keep going..." he managed to sputter between breaths and shots, "go... without me-"

"No freaking way!" Sparrow weakly yelled to the fatigued rifleman, "Do you have any idea... what kind of paperwork... I'd have to go through?"

"Oh thanks... a lot, Prick!"

"Boys! Draw, Keyblades!"

 

In what was quickly becoming their last stand, all four boys slung their rifles onto their back and unlatched their keyblades in one smooth, quick motion. "Make it rain!" Hawk shouted, and it wasn't long as the team cast as much offensive magic they could safely expend without depleting themselves. A flurry of stop, blizzard, and thunder spells wailed on the pool as the team held their collective breath, hoping that the attack did some damage to the innumerable adversary. 

Edited March 31, 201411 yr by Javelin434

[i ought to take notes on Mystic's post. I can learn a thing or two about this. Then again, I'm not exactly in prime condition like I was during a certain RP. Man, I wish it didn't die.]

 

"Keep firing! Keep firing! For the love of everything light, keep freaking FIRING!!!" Sparrow screamed as he unloaded a clip of his rifle into the sea of black that was not too far away from where he, along with Nightwing Squad, were running away from. In the heat of the moment, most of the squad didn't keep track of where Rain was as they were either blinded by the sheer stress or the constant rifle flash as the team sent a hailstorm of light-arrows downrange. But no matter how fast they ran, the pool only seemed to get closer as it quickly turned into a test of endurance of who can run and gun the longest without making a mistake. 

 

It was bound to happen, and almost expectantly, Kiwi collapsed into a kneeling position as he continued to fire into the pool of black and yellow, panting hard yet managing to keep his aim steady and true. "I can't... Keep going..." he managed to sputter between breaths and shots, "go... without me-"

"No freaking way!" Sparrow weakly yelled to the fatigued rifleman, "Do you have any idea... what kind of paperwork... I'd have to go through?"

"Oh thanks... a lot, Prick!"

"Boys! Draw, Keyblades!"

 

In what was quickly becoming their last stand, all four boys slung their rifles onto their back and unlatched their keyblades in one smooth, quick motion. "Make it rain!" Hawk shouted, and it wasn't long as the team cast as much offensive magic they could safely expend without depleting themselves. A flurry of stop, blizzard, and thunder spells wailed on the pool as the team held their collective breath, hoping that the attack did some damage to the innumerable adversary. 

(Don't worry, you're doing fine. In fact, your post are pretty entertaining. Just try to reduce the swearing a little in the future, all right?)

 

The Nightwing squad gave it all they had on the approaching shadow with yellow eyes, but they couldn't harm it. After all, you can't harm a shadow. Rain rolled her eyes, "Hey guys, you know we can just run to a more defensible position, right?" she asked.

 

Throughout the area the shadow touched, several small dark creatures had emerged from the shadows to see if their guests were a threat, such as the group Elia and Locket attacked. But now, at the sight of seeing their comrades swiftly killed, hundreds of them now began sprouting from the black ground, ready to attack any soldier they could, and take their hearts. However, these monsters were bulkier than the last ones, and could normally take more than a single keyblade strike before they were destroyed.

Locket turned her head towards the Nightwing squad's direction. "Hm?" She heard a distant ruckus of shouting and odd noises, mostly confused rather than alarmed. She tucked a stray white hair from her face and decided whether or not she should go help.

(Don't worry, you're doing fine. In fact, your post are pretty entertaining. Just try to reduce the swearing a little in the future, all right?)

 

The Nightwing squad gave it all they had on the approaching shadow with yellow eyes, but they couldn't harm it. After all, you can't harm a shadow. Rain rolled her eyes, "Hey guys, you know we can just run to a more defensible position, right?" she asked.

 

Throughout the area the shadow touched, several small dark creatures had emerged from the shadows to see if their guests were a threat, such as the group Elia and Locket attacked. But now, at the sight of seeing their comrades swiftly killed, hundreds of them now began sprouting from the black ground, ready to attack any soldier they could, and take their hearts. However, these monsters were bulkier than the last ones, and could normally take more than a single keyblade strike before they were destroyed.

 

Locket turned her head towards the Nightwing squad's direction. "Hm?" She heard a distant ruckus of shouting and odd noises, mostly confused rather than alarmed. She tucked a stray white hair from her face and decided whether or not she should go help.

[They're not swearing, I swear!]

 

"Hey guys, you know we can just run to a more defensible position, right?" Rain suggested to the frantic squad as they stopped their flurry of attacks on the pool of darkness.

 

We can run all we want. But as long as our foots are touching this ground, we'll never be safe from this shadow spawn. Hawk merely grimaced at the suggestion as he quickly assessed his surroundings. The mountain was their best bet, but the scream heard not too long ago was something the squad couldn't ignore. "Right," he quipped, "Run away! Run away!"

 

The team giggled as the entertaining boost in moral was all they needed to start running again. "Try and keep up!" Raven yelled over his shoulder as they started their trip towards the sound of the scream. "We should be getting closer to whoever made that noise!" They managed to gain some distance from the pool, and it wasn't long before they spotted a white haired, gorgeously deep blue eyed girl looking at them. Kiwi being the fastest runner [because it takes a REAL man to run away that fast...] stopped cold in his tracks. Unfortunately for the rest of the team, the unexpected halt made them all crash into one after the other like a stack of upright dominoes as Kiwi bit the ground first, then Raven, then Hawk, and then Sparrow.

 

With the team now a faced-down keyblade armored sammich in front of the girl, Raven let off a muffled giggle as he remarked on their misfortune. "Thank goodness no one saw this."

"Actually, I saw a girl so I stopped. Now do me a favor and get off!" Kiwi playfully yelled. They all rolled off each other, and after brushing off the dust on their armor, all looked at Locket. "Excuse me, miss," Kiwi politely and gently asked, "We heard a scream not too long ago. Was that you?"

"Um, yes, that was me." Locket said, trying to hold back a laugh at the unexpected moment. Then she shook her head and took a deep breath, calming herself. With her voice still the slightly high-pitched and sweet tone, she said, "Unless you are soldiers of light, I do not wish to talk to you." In case she had to fight, she gripped the dark-themed Keyblade in her hand and slightly angled it upwards. "And I will fight you."

"Um, yes, that was me." Locket said, trying to hold back a laugh at the unexpected moment. Then she shook her head and took a deep breath, calming herself. With her voice still the slightly high-pitched and sweet tone, she said, "Unless you are soldiers of light, I do not wish to talk to you." In case she had to fight, she gripped the dark-themed Keyblade in her hand and slightly angled it upwards. "And I will fight you."

Kiwi immediately raised an eyebrow as he saw the girl gripped her keyblade in a threatening manner. The others slowly exhaled as their stances altered slightly to anticipate her possibly hostile reaction.

 

"Unless you are soldiers of light, I do not wish to talk to you."

Kiwi looked around and noticed how his friends are on edge. "We're soldiers of light, miss. Each and every single one of us. There's no need to get hostile here."

Edited April 2, 201411 yr by Javelin434

Locket loosened her grip and and gave a small grin. "Alright then." She said. She tucked a section of free hair behind her ear released her hostile expression. "My name is Locket." She introduced. She studied the group quietly, then rested her gaze on Kiwi with a sweet smile.

Locket loosened her grip and and gave a small grin. "Alright then." She said. She tucked a section of free hair behind her ear released her hostile expression. "My name is Locket." She introduced. She studied the group quietly, then rested her gaze on Kiwi with a sweet smile.

Everyone of Nightwing Squad breathed a little easier as Locket's grip on her weapon visibly loosened. "Alright then." The girl grinned. "My name is Locket."

 

Kiwi could have sworn he felt his heart skipping a beat  as the white-haired girl smiled at him. I gotta admit, she is cu- C'mon, man! Get a hold of yourself! You're still in a warzone! He took a deep breath, trying to organize his train-wreck of thoughts as he looked at the girl and returned her smile. "Um... For lack of a better thought, you can call me Kiwi," the poor joker sputtered before thankfully being cut off by their collected leader, Sparrow. "Forgive him, Locket. Despite his fierce combat effectiveness, the guy's a softy around girls. I'm NightSparrow, and we're Nightwing Squad. Would you mind telling us what that scream was all about? It sounded really troubling."

 

Hawk and Raven kept their heads on a swivel as they stood near the group, acting as sentries for the group as they managed to calmly carry a conversation, despite what had happened just moments before.

[i ought to take notes on Mystic's post. I can learn a thing or two about this. Then again, I'm not exactly in prime condition like I was during a certain RP. Man, I wish it didn't die.]

[You're doing marvelously, so please don't worry.  I'm just excited that it looks like our characters can finally interact.]

 

Elia watched skeptically as her companion walked over to a squad of soldiers.  From the looks of it they were friendly, though one could never fully tell by appearances.  I mean, just take herself for example.  Being clad in dark armor was a bit misleading, and she wouldn't be surprised if her own allies struck her down before she could even utter a word of defense.  After Locket was away and seeming to get along well with the newcomers, Elia decided to go meet them as well.  She came up to them smiling, her dark locks falling into her eyes.  "And who are these people?" She addressed the question to Locket, but was looking directly at Kiwi as she spoke.  "Do any of you happen to know the way out of here, or how we managed to land here to begin with?  I, um, don't exactly recall entering this place, you see, so all of this is rather peculiar to me."

 

She hoped that this newfound group would have some other ideas, or at least offer any vital information that would help Elia uncover what she'd forgotten.

Elia watched skeptically as her companion walked over to a squad of soldiers.  From the looks of it they were friendly, though one could never fully tell by appearances.  I mean, just take herself for example.  Being clad in dark armor was a bit misleading, and she wouldn't be surprised if her own allies struck her down before she could even utter a word of defense.  After Locket was away and seeming to get along well with the newcomers, Elia decided to go meet them as well.  She came up to them smiling, her dark locks falling into her eyes.  "And who are these people?" She addressed the question to Locket, but was looking directly at Kiwi as she spoke.  "Do any of you happen to know the way out of here, or how we managed to land here to begin with?  I, um, don't exactly recall entering this place, you see, so all of this is rather peculiar to me."

 

She hoped that this newfound group would have some other ideas, or at least offer any vital information that would help Elia uncover what she'd forgotten.

Raven was the first to notice Elia's approach to the team as his gaze hardened at the raven-haired girl. "Contact!" the medic barked to the team, "Eyes up!"

 

Sparrow saw the girl and noticed her dark armor, and for a moment was about call the team to attention. Just before he was about to bark his next order, the girl's smile immediately disarmed his battle-ready mindset. Bumped into three girls under five minutes? Better not get any ideas now, else one of us will be looking for a fourth... "Hold short! Hold fire!" he ordered to the team as he raised a fist into the air. Behind him, he heard the sound of metal clanking on metal as Hawk lowered his arrow-rifle, but not quite completely disarming himself as the rifleman whirled around and kept a sharp lookout for the plume of darkness that had sent them into a frenzy not too long ago. 

 

"And who are these people?" the girl softly asked to Locket, all while looking at Kiwi who was trying really hard not to blush at being the center of attention of two girls. Keep it calm. Keep it cool. C'mon... C'mon c'mon c'mon.... "Um... I'm Kiwi, and we're Nightwing Squad. What's your name, miss?"

 

"Do any of you happen to know the way out of here, or how we managed to land here to begin with?  I, um, don't exactly recall entering this place, you see, so all of this is rather peculiar to me."

 

Sit-reps! Great! Now to not sound like an idiot! The supporter looked at the two girls and calmly explained all he could remember. "We don't know where 'out of here' is either, and honestly we're just trying to get ourselves back to the battlefront." He bit his lips, trying to comprehend the second part of her question. "We don't know how we got here. All we remember is hearing a big, loud, scary noise, and then the next thing we knew, here we are. We're just as clueless as you are on how we ended up here.."

 

Frustrated at the lack of information, Sparrow sighed and looked around at the group. "So... none of us can remember exactly how we ended up here, huh? Great. Well... our surroundings aren't really that friendly either." He pointed in the general direction of the landmarks that they had noted recently. "Down that way looks to be like a swampland of some sort. We're in a forest looking terrain, and up there are the mountains where we were not too long ago. Down that way are some cavernous structures. Enclosing everything around us are pretty formidable mountains and we were deployed to the battlefront without mountaineering equipment."

 

"Hey! What about our keyblade gliders?" Kiwi interrupted.

"Hawk tried that to support us against that plume of darkness. It won't work for some reason. Meaning, unless we have our gummi ship, we're stranded here with almost no way out." Returning his attention to the two girls, his gaze fixated on Elia. "Are you sure you can't remember anything, miss?"

Edited April 3, 201411 yr by Javelin434

Locket took on an embarrassed look. "Ah... You see, I had looked at the ground and saw weird, yellow eyes." She said, putting a hand on the back of her head. "It scared me, obviously. This place is creepy enough." She shook her head and smiled back to Kiwi. "But thanks for coming to see if things were alright, not many people do that much anymore.."

Locket took on an embarrassed look. "Ah... You see, I had looked at the ground and saw weird, yellow eyes." She said, putting a hand on the back of her head. "It scared me, obviously. This place is creepy enough." She shook her head and smiled back to Kiwi. "But thanks for coming to see if things were alright, not many people do that much anymore.."

"D'awwww" Kiwi giggled, now blushing redder than a tomato as he tried to cover up his smile. "I'm sorry, that slipped. Come to think of it, I don't blame you!"

Their squadmate's break in discipline was all it took to break the serious atmosphere of the team as they all chuckled. "For crying out loud Kiwi," Raven remarked as he pinched his nose and laughed, "The last thing you should say to another warrior is 'd'awwwww'. That's just... disrespectful!"

"I can't help it!"

 

"But thanks for coming to see if things were alright, not many people do that much anymore.."

The remark was troublesome for Sparrow as his gaze focused on Locket. "You mean it isn't standard to uphold the virtue of Leave no one behind? That's... disturbing. Uh... regardless, we should consider getting out of here. This place is giving me the heebee-jeebees."

"What he said." Hawk chimed in. "So... Where should we go? We're in the dead forest right now. So we either search here for a way out, or go and look around elsewhere. The mountain we were at not too long ago is a great defensive position, so we can go there if we have to camp out and sleep. Remember that we have the swamplands and caves as possible places to find a way out of this place. Anyone have any idea where to start?"

"Wait—may I join you guys?" She asked suddenly. "This place is way dangerous, and I don't want to get caught by a thousand of those creatures." She realized she sounded like a desperate little girl and frowned to herself. "Oops.." She said aloud, and shook her head. "If it's fine with you, of course..."

The raven-haired teen's eyes widened as the group looked about ready to attack her.  It didn't take long for them to lower their weapons, however, and when they spoke they seemed perfectly calm and at ease with her.  This baffled Elia, until she realized that their initial hostility probably had something to do with the dark armor she wore.  Looking slightly abashed, Elia averted her gaze from Kiwi, responding to his question with, "No, it's so strange, but I don't remember anything recently."  She shook her head.  "The last thing I remember was being under fire when our hometown was being destroyed.  After healing my sister I felt so cold and weak; I thought surely I was going to die.  The next thing I know, I've awoken here, but it doesn't make sense to me . . . .  Things have happened that I don't remember, my being prepared for battle as a dark knight being one of them."

 

The atmosphere hadn't changed a bit, the winds still, and the trees as lifeless as ever.  In the distance stood the mountains that the Nightwing Squad had been referring to, which immediately caught Elia's attention.  "That's probably as good of a place as any to head toward," she agreed.  "If you've got room, I'd like to tag along too."  And, finally, as though an afterthought, the teen hesitated and said, "Oh, and please, call me Elia.  And your name?"

"Nope. Got nothing. Wasn't even part of the battle. Wrong place, wrong time I suppose." Reni said, his tone nonchalant and casual. Why wouldn't he be? No reason to worry. No one would miss him. Heck, some days even he wouldn't himself. Reni jammed his thumbs into his pocket, and whistled softly as he looked around the area. Was it getting darker? Darker would be bad wouldn't it. Ah well, he had his blade, and some nice, succulent powers to recreate from these girls if things got a little too hairy.

~~~~~

Quint nodded at Blight's input. He continued to analyze his surroundings, drawing links to the things he'd read in books, drawing conclusions using his own sense of logic. No matter what kind of angle, or spin he put on the situation, the conclusion was the same. They were in the Realm of Darkness. Quint whirled to Blight. "How about a truce? At least until we get out of this disadvantageous setting. Unless of course, your dark bloodlust drives you to try and keep killing me. Then I suppose I can spend a bit more time shooting you."

"Wait—may I join you guys?" She asked suddenly. "This place is way dangerous, and I don't want to get caught by a thousand of those creatures." She realized she sounded like a desperate little girl and frowned to herself. "Oops.." She said aloud, and shook her head. "If it's fine with you, of course..."

 

The raven-haired teen's eyes widened as the group looked about ready to attack her.  It didn't take long for them to lower their weapons, however, and when they spoke they seemed perfectly calm and at ease with her.  This baffled Elia, until she realized that their initial hostility probably had something to do with the dark armor she wore.  Looking slightly abashed, Elia averted her gaze from Kiwi, responding to his question with, "No, it's so strange, but I don't remember anything recently."  She shook her head.  "The last thing I remember was being under fire when our hometown was being destroyed.  After healing my sister I felt so cold and weak; I thought surely I was going to die.  The next thing I know, I've awoken here, but it doesn't make sense to me . . . .  Things have happened that I don't remember, my being prepared for battle as a dark knight being one of them."

 

The atmosphere hadn't changed a bit, the winds still, and the trees as lifeless as ever.  In the distance stood the mountains that the Nightwing Squad had been referring to, which immediately caught Elia's attention.  "That's probably as good of a place as any to head toward," she agreed.  "If you've got room, I'd like to tag along too."  And, finally, as though an afterthought, the teen hesitated and said, "Oh, and please, call me Elia.  And your name?"

 

"Wait—may I join you guys?" The squad heard Locket ask. The four boys looked at one another, and quickly realized that Kiwi was silently pouting, quietly begging Sparrow with his pleading eyes to allow the girl to come with their group. Raven and Hawk, seeing their leader's unmistakable calm demeanor that also signaled his seething rage, quickly dragged the supporter away before things got really ugly. Thankful for their efforts, Sparrow took a deep breath and assessed their current situation as Elia explained her story. 

 

"No, it's so strange, but I don't remember anything recently. The last thing I remember was being under fire when our hometown was being destroyed.  After healing my sister I felt so cold and weak; I thought surely I was going to die.  The next thing I know, I've awoken here, but it doesn't make sense to me . . . .  Things have happened that I don't remember, my being prepared for battle as a dark knight being one of them."

 

Sparrow became immediately suspicious of the girl's story, specifically taking a mental note of the jump from her hometown to where they're at right now. However, being focused on surviving the current situation, he buried the thought for now. "Well, at least you're battle ready. In a place like this, you're gonna need it."

 

The raven-haired girl pointed at the mountain that the squad was at not too long ago. "That's probably as good of a place as any to head toward. If you've got room, I'd like to tag along too. Oh, and please, call me Elia.  And your name?"

 

Sparrow paused for a moment, crossing his arms biting his lips at he weighed the consequences of a decision. Well.... They haven't attacked us yet, but we're in the realm of darkness for crying out loud. Can we really trust them? What if they betray us at a critical moment? Can I forgive myself if one of us falls by their blade? As if seeking advice, he looked over to the rest of his squad. Kiwi was apparently lovestruck, and both Raven and Hawk were giggling as they poked fun at the poor boy, all while keeping a vigilant lookout for any threats. You're all not helping... Especially you, Kiwi. I just might regret this, but how can I resist that face? He smiled, then turned to face Elia and Locket. "Pleased to meet you, Elia. You're both welcome to join us. I'm Nightsparrow, and those people over there are Raven, Shadowhawk, and... Kiwi." Trying really hard not to laugh, he motioned the two girls to follow him. "We're in very hostile territory, and we'll appreciate all the help we can get."

 

Kiwi's face lit up as he saw Sparrow motioned the two girls to follow him, then started walking towards the rest of the squad. Instinctively, both Raven and Hawk punched the boy on the arm. "Don't get any ideas," Hawk started, "we're still in an active warzone. Keep your cool, got it?"

"No promises man," Kiwi replied back, "I'm joking. I know when to be serious. Don't worry about me."

After a hearty laugh, Sparrow finally regrouped with the team. "We're going back up the mountain," he informed the three faithful guards, "and those two girls are gonna tag along with us. Look sharp boys and move out!"

Edited April 5, 201411 yr by Javelin434

Locket smiled a bit shyly and nodded, following the group. She took a silent scan of the surroundings and accidentally ended up looking at Kiwi from behind. She shook her head to herself and looked towards the mountains. "Jeez..." She muttered.