rikunobodyxiii

All good.

{Mariel: Isopolis} The combo of the sonic onslaught and her own charge allowed Mariel to break through the shield sent her way, though it took some of her momentum from her. She took a moment to reorient herself before looking to require her target. She tried screaming again, but there was only pain. Growling, she dived at Nergodin, wild Light energy spitting from her hands, raining down on the combined being.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} "Certainly." Ardyn said with another bow. Proceeding at a leisurely pace, he led the way toward the citadel. That this was a facsimile of Insomnia further irked him. So close to his goal to be ripped away and taunted with this place. He kept this anger well conceal from the others. He wasn't interested in them learning any more than they needed to about his home. Still, Ardyn kept a sharp out for any sort of other creature, especially ones in wait to attack. "Rather gaudy city, isn't it?" He commented as he eyed the architecture. "Have places like this on your own worlds, either of you?"

{Erinys: Radiant Garden; Rising Falls} "It was either that or blow up with the extra darkness stuffed into me." Erinys replied, still getting her breath back. "I'm Erinys." She took Aurion's hand and got shakily to her feet. With the light encroaching in again, she teetered over to a shady part of the Falls. She knew she didn't have much time till denizens of the Light came to find out what the racket was, but she still needed to regain some strength. "Did Dramos exile you here too?" Erinys asked over her shoulder. "At least he didn't stick a mucking dark bomb in your chest." {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira's head poked up, the optics of her helmet managing to convey the fuming mood she was in. "She better not say anything about this." She thought, glaring at Aether. Aether's call to move didn't actually help the Gunslingers mood. "I know." Kira snapped in a hiss. Climbing out of the dumpster, she moved on, deciding to take a more street level route this time. After a few blocks, she stopped in a dark alley across from an expensive looking building. It was three stories tall, the first two floors looking to be office space, and the top being some sort of penthouse. "Alright, assassin." The Gunslinger said quietly. "Reports say records on the second floor were destroyed and our man was killed on the top floor. Find us a way in." {Lamont: Radiant Garden; Borough} "Come on." 'Lars' told her, offering his hand. "I have some munnies to get you something decent to eat." Lamont was tempted to take her back to the castle to eat her fill, but that was probably the shock talking. He still had to be smart about this.

Control is possible, and it'll be more manageable when her sacrifice is returned to her. To get her to calm down without her training would either need an appeal to a strong, positive emotion or nearly putting her down like Yev did. It's a bit of a corner I put myself in, but it's something I was toying with since putting the character together, so it feels right to finally do it.

Yeah. What with Mariel not up for much deep thought currently, my posts have felt unfortunately short of late.

Link made a face as he saw Tiki's flight cart short. He had hoped his suspension was wrong about the bridge's game, but it turned out to be right. So, back to the climbing idea. He turned back around and was trying his calculations again when Pit exclaimed his discovery. Link frowned and walked over to the "broken' bridge. Drawing his sword, he tapped at the hopefully invisible bridge. It seemed too easy, but that's the kind of trick a trial would go for.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} "Splendid!" Ardyn exclaimed. "Together, we should be able to get to the bottom of this." Stepping to one side, he indicated the way to the Citadel. "It seems if our host is anywhere, he or she will likely be there." He continued. "Best to try to introduce ourselves as soon as possible."

{Radiant Garden; Rising Falls} The Noxling snorted something as a response to Aurion's hope that nothing would go wrong. She didn't have that kind of faith, but she didn't have a choice. She closed her eyes as she waited for the blade. The moment the dark light beam hit, her eyes snapped open. She grunted in pain, but didn't shy away from it. Darkness started to ebb out of her, causing her to slowly revert to a more human form. The escaping darkness started to behave more violently, scorching the ground and punching holes in Aurion's dome. The Noxling could feel the dam within her breaking down. Soon there would be a flood. Lounging forward, she knocked Aurion aside as a burst of darkness escaped her heart. It caused a small crater to be blown into the ground and was followed by a few more. Clinching her teeth, the Noxling held the darkness in for a moment, then let it all out in a beam that shot out, blowing out one of the cliff walls that enclosed the falls. It lasted several seconds, then ended abruptly. Collapsing onto her hands and knees, the Noxling gasped for air. She was now in a more recognizable human form, with tattered clothes covering the important bits. "Looks...like your...hoping worked." Erinys Ta'gon managed in between gasps. {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira was muttering a steady stream of profanity as she considered her options. She could stand and fight, but that would draw more attention than she could handle right now and delay the investigation. Hiding wasn't going to last. She eased out her pistols and prepared to shoot out the light when a crash came from else where on the roof, causing the patrol craft to turn to investigate. The Gunslinger caught sight of Aether returning to her hiding spot. Putting two and two together, Kira cursed again. "She's never going to let me live this down." She muttered as she holstered her pistol and dove out of her cover in one movement. She tucked in and rolled forward when she hit the roof, the sound muffled by something in her suit. She dropped down into an alley, looked around for a frantic moment, the hopped into a dumpster for cover. The patrol craft searched for the source of the sound, but found nothing of interest. It proceeded with its route, being out of range of the two women in under a minute. {Lamont: Radiant Garden; Borough} Lamont felt something harden inside him. This was unacceptable. This was allowed in the capital? How could grandfather stand for this? He tentatively laid his hand on Alyssia's shoulder and gave her a few "there there" pats. "Are you still hungry?" He asked, not really sure what to say after a revelation like that.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} Ardyn moved slightly to the side as things became chilly between Variuer and Saber, an amused look on his face. The conquerer clearly wasn't a people person. Though, this "king of knights" didn't seem like one either. Now, what to do? A little diplomacy, or egg them on? "A king, you say?" He said, eyeing Saber. "A strange title for one so fair. I am but a humble Chancellor. Ardyn Inzunia, at your service, majesty." He gave another grandiose bow, but it was carefully lose in case things heated up.

Definitely Auron for me. He was one of my favorite party members in KH2 and the one armed style is bad-a.

Link nodded to Pit's thanks and followed the winged warrior after the others. He diverted slightly in order to com along side Zelda. The look on the hero's face when the broken bridge was revealed was not shock, but the clear tired look of "of course it's broken". It was okay. It was a puzzle to solve. He had done this many, many times before. He turned to examine the walls to estimate if he could climb around the room to get to the other side. That wouldn't help the others, but there might be some sort of switch that fixed the bridge other there. Part way through his mental arithmetic, Link noticed a light shine behind him. He turned in time to see Tiki's dragon form come out of the glow. He was reaching for his sword when she spoke, causing him to stop. So, Tiki could turn into a dragon? What else could his new companions do? Maybe the man in the red hat could turn into some sort of feline monster. Who knew with these people! Still, flying across did seem better than trying to climb. Maybe with Pit, they could carry everyone over. But something the ghost said echoed in his head. Limitations... "Careful." He called out to Tiki. "Flying may be against the bridge's rules."

{Mariel: Isopolis} Mariel tried to strike at Nergodin with her fists, but he was too fast. His ethereal blade passed through her causing the red light in her eyes to fade. Caught up in his wake, the angel felt the enchantment work on her mind as she tumbled in the air. Lysander's Magic told Mariel she shouldn't be fighting it's master, but the Sanguis Vindicta was not so easily swayed. The affliction tasted the controlling magic and surged through Mariel's veins anew. The ancient blood burned away doubt, replacing it with an overwhelming desire to destroy the source of it. Scholars attributed this to blind rage going after what had hurt it last, but only a few remembered its true purpose: a safety feature designed into the "affliction". Every vein stood out with vivid red on Mariel's skin as her eyes snapped back into red. In blurring speed, she righted her self in the air and shot after Nergodin. Her wings beat the air, leaving a few white feathers on the Wind behind her, red feathers replacing them. Coming up behind the combined being, the blood angel roared her defiance, letting lose a sonic blast strong enough to shatter steel, leaving her throat ravaged and raw. The wave of destructive sonic vibrations was followed closely by Mariel, aiming to slam into Nergodin like a missile.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomia} Variuer's acceptance of Arden's offer was to be expected. He would try to manipulate the situation to his advantage, which Ardyn didn't really mind. This place wasn't part of his goal. He would just have to make sure the would be conquerer couldn't follow him back to Eos. "Oh?" Ardyn responded to Variuer's sensing a familiar presence. "Brought a friend in your wake?" The arrival of Saber seemed to fulfill the presence, yet she didn't show recognition for the Chancellor's new friend. "Afraid not, my dear." He called out. "Who ever our host is, they are quite tardy with introductions."

Link looked a little confused when Smoldergiest said it would allow the party to pass. He looked to Tiki, then Zelda, then back to Tiki. With a shrug he put his shield on his back. It had still said troubling things, but seemed content to stay out of the way for now, which was fine with Link. Seeing the Winged Warrior from before still having trouble in the mine cart, Link went over to give him some help. ”It and Tiki are now friends, apparently.” He said, offering Pit a hand.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} “My my, aren’t we bold?” Ardyn observed with a chuckle. “No claims of right or righteousness. Just conquest. I admire your honesty, though your sense of style is a little lacking.” The Chancellor walked past Variuer, looking over this...well, he had to think of it as a copy, of Insomnia. It was certainly a good copy, but it didn’t have wanted he wanted in it. “I, on the other hand, have little to no interest in this ‘world’.” He said, turning back to the self proclaimed conquerer. “I left some unfinished business in my old one. Though perhaps an alliance to figure out why we were brought here is in order?”

{Radiant Garden; Rising Falls} The noxling managed a nod to Aurion’s question about the light. As his dark barrier closed around them, her glowing eyes looked out at Shala’s retreating form. With less pain dominating her though processes, she could better process the Assassin’s odd scent. And the blade. The blade was important. The one from the dark had one too, and that was even more important. With the barrier complete, the Noxling took several moments of silence out of the scorching light just breathing heavily. But she could feel that the light hadn’t been the only problem. “Too...much...darkness...” she said, words sounding like they were difficult to get out. “Inside...” She pointed to her chest, where her heart was, then at Aurion’s Keyblade. “Needs...release..” she continued. [Shala’s target list updated with an address in the Upper Terrence] {Silas: Destiny Island; Palace} “Excellent.” Silas replied. “Your lieutenant will come in useful as well.” Foots steps echoed from the entryway to the safe room, heralding Princess Luminara’s arrival. There was a lot of her father in her features, though there was something about her movements that were vaguely ethereal. “They are really starting to ask after you, father.” She said, glancing back the way she had come. “Of course they are.” Silas said with a sigh. “I will deal with them. Commander Linette and yourself should track down Cornelius before starting. The Grey Study has already been prepared for your investigation.” The Crown Prince started forward, then paused. He gave Velvet a long look before speaking again. “I’m counting on you, commander. I don’t feel I am exaggerating in saying unraveling this mystery will affect the future of the Hegemony irrevocably. Tread carefully.” With those final words, Prince Silas walked out. Luminara watched after him for a moment, an odd look in her eyes, before turning her attention to Velvet. “I suppose you already have instructions?” She asked. {Lamont: Radiant Garden; Borough} Lamont looked horrified at Alyssa’s mention of nearly losing her arm to guards. He knew things could be bad in the lower classes, but losing a limb with no trial? “Why would they do that?” He blurred out, unable to stop himself. He regretted it instantly. He felt like he was showing his ignorance of how others lived. An ignorance he had wanted to cure, but now he wasn’t so sure. {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira ran along the roof tops, thankful for the needed silence of this traversal. What was the boss thinking? This was a dangerous enough assignment without throwing in someone new into the mix. He couldn’t have just done it for the laughs, he was smarter than that. So, what was his angle? Her contemplation distracted her enough to miss a low thrum in the air. A Light Hegemony Patrol Craft rounded a building up ahead, apparently looking for something. Kira swore under her breath and dived for what little cover there was to be had between her and the craft, which was a chimney. The patrol craft’s light played over the roofs, trapping the gunslinger in her hiding spot. If it moved up, the odds of it finding her went up.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} ”Ah, forgive my rudeness.” Ardyn said in a mock worried tone. “I had assumed too much and forgotten my manners entirely.” He took off his hat and gave a theatrical bow. ”I am Ardyn Inzunia. I could go on about my titles, but I suspect they will mean little to nothing to you in this place.” Replacing his hat on his head, Ardyn gave a smile. ”I suppose we have picked to preform some form of adventure for the betterment of our lands. Done much adventuring yourself, Mr....?”

{Mariel: Isopolis} Mariel managed to land on her feet from being tossed away by Nergodin. The ease with which he did so didn’t seem to perturb her as her glowing red eyes glared up at the combined being. She took to the sky again, gaining a little height before diving at Nergodin. The Light Magic that she was blessed with answered her internal howl for blood. Wild blasts of Light emanated from her hands as she came for her target’s throat again.

Link gets out of the cart without the grace he would like, his knees a little weak. Next time, he would just walk. “You alright?” He asked Zelda, somewhat thinking that her going on the cart at all was a failure on his part as her knight. The introduction of a spooky voice focused Link superbly as he forgot about the harrowing ride as he searched for the source. The torch now burning purple with the eyes seemed to solve that problem. He hadn’t drawn his weapons yet but he was getting close. Even closer when it bellowed at Zelda. Easing his shield out, he held it up to block Smoldergiest’s view of his other hand. He sent a “talking” hand gesture to Zelda, hoping she would under stand the meaning of “keep him talking”. He started slowly circling around to the side of the possessed torch. He wasn’t sure yet how to defeat this, but this wouldn’t be the first time he’s gone into that sort of situation.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} “Well well well.” Ardyn said casually up ahead of Variuer. The Chancellor leaned against a structure at the top of the stairs, gazing at Variuer with a bemused look. “Another traveler in this strange place.” He continued. “Or something else. This place looks like my home, but it’s not. Your doing?” While still predominantly pleasant, Ardyn’s voice had some darker under currents. He had awakened in this place at the cusp of his end game. What ever this delay was, he was not happy about it.

Yeah, I may throw in a second character before then.

{Mariel: Isopolis; Final Chamber} Mariel managed a semi-graceful landing as the whirlwind died away. There was more talk. Always more talk. Odin was different yet again, but that didn't matter. She was going to see that he didn't cause even more trouble. While other prepared and considered how to deal with the fused Odin and Nergal, the half crazed Angel launched an attack. Her old skills and training would have given her better ideas than to directly charge, but without them, all she had was the Sanguis Vindicta to guide her. She was going for the throat, hands curled into claws, a sonic scream building in her chest.

{Lamont: Radiant Garden; Borough} "If that." Lamont thought. He had seen plenty of of the upper echelon of Nobles sport fake Keyblade, passing them off as real. Even his was fake. But now he was with someone who could summon the real thing. His mother had told him stories of the old days when the Keyblade chose those of strong heart. This girl had to be one. "I don't know." The disguised prince said aloud. "But it has to mean something. Such a weapon comes with a great responsibility." {Radiant Garden; Raising Falls} The Noxling looked back and hissed at Aurion. She was clearly not a fan of being chained more, but it was also offering her protection from the hated light. She was still trying to keep an eye on Shala, but was slinking back in order to get closer to Aurion and his dark protection. {Kira: Twilight Town; Shuttle Aft} With Aether's departure, the shuttle's hatch closed, making it comes completely invisible. A slight humming died away as it left the two operatives on the watch tower. "Alright, we are looking for the tax collection center." Kira said in a low voice. Murder is suppose to have happened in the little twerp's office. Hopefully it will have a sign on it." With that, the Gunslinger dropped off the Clock Tower, landing surprisingly lightly on the roof of the train station some stories below. After an instant to catch her barrings, she took off running towards what looked like the center of town, using the roof tops as cover and pathway.

Link settled into the mining cart as comfortably as he could. This could be fun, he decided. Some of the other seemed excited. Then there was some worrying words. "Rocket Boosters." Link wasn't sure what those were, it they sounded ominous. He stood up and leaned over the back of the cart to get a look at what Starlow was looking at. He got a good look at the rocket boosters before they fired. Nearly falling out, Link managed to grab the sides of the cart and hang on as it went flying down the track. His own yells mixed with those of the other cart riders. Working hard, he managed to pull himself all the way into the cart. He found himself agreeing with Leaf's assessment of the situation as he tried to pull the Sheika Slate off his belt. He was going to stop this dang thing and get the heck off!