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NemesisSP

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Posts posted by NemesisSP


  1. this_is_halloween_by_nemesissp13_de7v0g3-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xNjQ2IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNzJkODQzYTktZDUyZC00ZmFlLWJjMGQtZGJkNTVkNjJlMjIwXC9kZTd2MGczLTM3OWNlMDA5LWU4OGQtNDJhNi1hNmY4LWNmMzZmNjQ1NWFlMy5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTYwMCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.plO23EDgcaC3SImlxBxZoGEtOGDMURFl2ush2ia20to

     

    Here's the finished picture. It is a companion piece for a Halloween special I'm writing that I sadly may not have done in time for Halloween. Either way, here is the finalized pic and man do I have some things to talk about with this one.

    First, this varied in difficulty, with my character Omega and his elaborate outfit taking a good 6 hours worth of work to just get the line art done. Stitch and Jack were much simpler, with the linework, colors and such taking at most 2 hours for Stitch. Jack took more effort, but mostly because it was my first time drawing him. Regarding Omega's costume, my idea was to use Halloween Crow from Kingdom Hearts Unchained X since I thought it would make for a good contrast with Sora's Vampire outfit, but I made a lot more tweaks to it and make it come out looking like a combination of that and Joker from Persona 5's outfit. I also went with an eye patch because I of that desire to have Omega and Sora's outfits contrast. I may release artwork of the full outfit in the future if anyone is interested.


  2. Chapter 11: Letters

     

    Lindblum Business District

     

    “Seems you have quite the enemy.” Freya said simply after Zidane had finished explaining everything. Omega didn’t respond, he just leaned up against the wall. “Seems I might have misjudged your motivations. Though your attitude, I certainly did not.”

    “Would you rather I go around with a big fake smile?” Omega retorted.

    “No, but you could treat your allies a bit better. Zidane might be annoying, but he’s reliable enough.”

    “Awww, you do care, Frey.” Zidane said.

    “Don’t call me that.” Freya said dryly.

    ‘Yes, he might be. Might be annoying that is.” Omega said. Zidane chuckled a bit at that, though Freya didn’t. “Still, I suppose I can at least trust him to not stab in the back. Steal my munny, maybe, but not betray me.”

    “It’s a start.” Zidane said. “Either way, let’s go get your prize.”

    Omega started walking away in the opposite direction. “No thanks.”  He said simply. “I don’t need it.”

    “Huh?” Zidane said. Freya also looked rather surprised by this. “But you won, didn’t you?”

    “Did I?” Omega looked in the direction of the Zagnol’s corpse. “Kind of looked to me that we couldn’t finish it.” Omega said, turning back to them, giving them a kind of playful smile. “Next time, though, I’ll win it fair and square. You better bring your all, Freya.”

    And with that, he left without another word, off to his ship no doubt to rejoin his friends.

    “I think that’s his way of complementing you, Freya.” Zidane said, putting his hands on his head and started walking away too. “Looks like you’re the winner by default then.”

    “Where are you going?” Freya asked.

    “I got a job to do and that’s keeping an eye on him. Though, might do it from a distance for a while.”

    “Why take on such a job?”

    “Hmm, who can say?” Zidane shrugged dismissively. “See you around, Freya.”

    “Zidane,” Freya interjected before he could leave, “… that boy. There’s something not right about him.”

    Zidane looked suddenly passive and… serious. It was a strange sight to her. Though he almost immediately was back to normal, shrugging her concern off. “Freya, you worry too much for your own good. You should relax a bit more.” And with that, he too left without another word, leaving Freya alone to her thoughts.

     

    Gummi Ship

     

    By the time they finally made it back to the ship, Lulu was utterly drained and exhausted. And perhaps a little disappointed that they hadn’t made it back to help out with the Heartless. Though she supposed she couldn’t complain too much since it just ended with just some property damage. Still… she couldn’t help wonder what the point of this whole situation was.

    As she and Zell walked into their little mess hall, they were greeted by the sight and smell of a big plate of hot dogs and a grilled salmon. Seems this was the reason for why Omega left before she and Zell had even gotten back to the city. Zell, naturally, was quite ecstatic about the hot dogs, so he probably didn’t think too much on them.

    Sure enough, Omega came over with Lulu and Zell’s preferred drinks in hand. “Seems I timed it just right.” Omega said as he placed the drinks down. “Give or take, maybe a few seconds off.” He added as he adjusted the plate of hot dogs, then the salmon.

    “How thoughtful of you.” Lulu said as she went over to the chair with the grilled salmon, while Zell was already going at the hot dogs.

    “It’s nothing, I just thought you guys would like a hot meal, so I just put something together.” Omega said. “And an apology that I couldn’t be there to bail you guys out myself. I just-“

    “It’s alright, you don’t have to explain, dude.” Zell said, or at least what Lulu thought Zell was trying to say through his mouthful of hot dog meat. “Those Tantalus guys told us the gist of the situation.”

    ‘Yeah, those Tantalus guys.” Omega said, then fell silent. Lulu knew he was not going to say anything else about them. She took a bite of her own food for a second before saying anything else.

    “So… I don’t see Stitch anywhere.” Lulu said. “Did he help out at all during this?”

    It was almost as if a bit of gloom had fallen on the room, as Omega looked a bit hesitant to speak. Zell stopped eating for a second to listen as well, having picked up on the sudden change in mood. “Well…” Omega’s mouth twitched a bit in a scowl, but he did his best to hide it again. He explained everything that had happened in the alleyway the night before. About how the man in black, Nero as he claimed this time, had done something which caused Stitch to have a seizure of some sort. When Omega was done, Lulu held her forearms tightly, while Zell looked livid.

    “That son of a-!” Zell said as he punched the table. The contents on the plates bounced a little, but thankfully didn’t go flying.

    “Zell!” Lulu exclaiming, quickly holding onto her drink and plate instinctively.

    “Sorry, Lu! But that’s just messed up!” Zell growled. “The creep couldn’t be happy just messing with us, and that’s just-!”

    “I know, I know.” Lulu could feel her skin crawl at the very thought of what might have happened if Omega hadn’t contained the Armored Sneak. “How is Stitch, then?”

    “Stitch? He’s fine, he’s just resting. Stiltzkin looked after him.” Omega told them. He didn’t seem like he was going to say anything more on the subject. Lulu made a note to herself to check in on Stitch herself just to make sure how fine he really was.

    “Someone say my name?” A voice said behind them, startling both Lulu and Zell, though Omega remained silent and still in his seat.

    “Guys, this is Stiltzkin. Though he wasn’t supposed to be out without permission.” Omega explained.

    “Sorry, sorry. It’s just that I smelt food, couldn’t help but check it out.” Stiltzkin replied, rather jovially, considering the circumstances. He got up on one of the chairs and looked around. “In all the excitement, I kind of forgot to eat. Guess it wasn’t hard, considering I dropped most of my newly bought rations when the Heartless attacked me.”

    “You kept your other bag rather close, though.” Omega said dryly.

    “Hey, an adventurer should always keep his exploration tools safe.” Stiltzkin said, this time rather indignantly. He went and grabbed one of the hot dogs, much to Zell’s horror and took a bite before he could say anything. “Hey, this is pretty good!”

    “It’s just a hot dog.” Omega noted dismissively, which caused Zell to look aghast at the mere thought.

    “Why were the Heartless chasing you?” Lulu asked before Zell could protest either the theft of the hot dog or Omega’s dismissal of it.

    “Oh, just the usual reasons.” Stiltzkin said as he took another bite. “Of course, they might have been drawn to this book I had.”

    “Book? Why would they be drawn to a book?” Lulu inquired further.

    Stiltzkin started to answer, but Omega cut him off, “It’s some kind of special book, containing some kind of world in its pages.” Omega looked at the Moogle. “Though how, he’s yet to tell me.”

    “I don’t know! I just happened to find it on one of my travels.” Stiltzkin said. “If you guys want it, you can have it. It’s been more trouble than its worth.”

    “We’ll see.” Omega said. “In the meantime, shall we take you back down to Lindblum?”

    “That’s not necessary. I was planning to move to the next world anyway.” Stiltzkin said. “But, don’t have a destination yet, so I think I’ll stick with you guys for a while.”

    “That wasn’t part of the deal.” Omega said, which amused Lulu. One stowaway was fine, but two was too much it seemed.

    “I know, but you might require my help. Or, maybe I can interest you in something I found a while back?” Stiltzkin said, finishing the hot dog as he did.

    “And what exactly would that be?” Omega asked, folding his arms.

    Stiltzkin left for a moment, then came back with his bag. He must have put it out of sight, as if he had been practicing this. He jumped in the bag, then began to rummage through it in an almost comedic fashion, tossing things out of it. Finally, he came out of the bag again. “Whew, found it.”

    “Not very organized.” Omega muttered.

    “What did you find?” Lulu asked as Stiltzkin climbed out of his bag.

    “This!” He exclaimed as he placed a bottle on the table.

    Inside was a rolled up piece of paper. A piece of paper that looked like it had had a fair amount of water damage to it.

    The three of them looked at it, though Zell was the first to speak. “What is it?”

    Stiltzkin grinned. “A job for three SeeDs, of course!”

     

    Alexandria, Town Square

     

    The castle was huge, impressive and almost imposing, Iris thought. It was quite the sight to see as they came into the town, though. Especially with how it had the sword like structure in the center that looked like it was piercing the sky.

     

    “Are you sure this is the place, Hope?” Iris said as she, Hope and Irvine walked through the town of Alexandria. It was a much older looking world than Traverse Town, with no electricity or machinery of any kind.

    “I’m 100% positive that I’m not sure.” Hope admitted as they walked along. “I’m sorry, but it’s the best I could do given what we knew, you know?”

    Iris sighed a bit. “I know, I know.” She looked around the square again, which had been filled with many different people in different states of dress. They had already been around a good chunk of the town, asking as many people as they could if they had seen anyone matching the descriptions of Omega, Lulu or Zell and each time the answer had been a no. Despite the fact that there was a general air of apathy with many of these individuals, it was increasingly likely that the trio had never been here.

    “Unless they managed to get into the castle, I don’t think they were ever here.” Iris said.

    “Seems like we’re on wild goose chase then.” Irvine stated nonchalantly.

    “It is our mission, though.” Iris looked around the part of the town there were in. It was a big square with tons of shops, with the castle towering overhead. She very much wished they could just stick around for a little longer than they had previously with Thebes. But she had the feeling that that wasn’t gonna be an option. “Maybe we should split up and explore around the area again, just in case?”

    “It’s about an hour before it’s dark out, based on the look of the sun. Do you think we’ll have time for it?” Hope said.

    “Afraid of the dark now, after all the time we spent in Traverse Town?” Irvine teased.

    “I’m not afraid of the dark! And we knew Traverse Town very well, so it’s not the same.” Hope insisted. Perhaps too strongly, but Iris knew he wasn’t wrong. It’s just that Hope really did let Irvine get under his skin a little too easily. Though, truth be told, she often got tired of his attitude as well.

    “Hope is right, Irvine and you know that.” Iris said sternly.

    Irvine shrugged. “Yeah yeah yeah. You guys take all the fun out of life.” He pointed his right finger at the sword like structure of the castle and mimed pulling a trigger. “What’s your suggestion then, Hope?”

    “Well, we could always go and check Lindblum.” Hope replied. “Get back on the ship and we’ll be there in under an hour.”

    Iris wondered about that. If they hadn’t been in this town, they could be in Lindblum, the only other major city on this world that they might find Omega’s group in. Of course, if they did leave, they still would be night and in another town they were not familiar with in the slightest. They’d be back at square one. But still, if they didn’t leave now, they’d run the risk of them already being gone. If they had been there to begin with.

    “That might be the only thing we can do.” Iris admitted out loud. “We’ve been here all day and found nothing.”

    “Seems like it.” Irvine said, turning back to them. “Kind of a boring place, anyway.”

    With the three of them in agreement now, they turned and began to head back to the main street. As they passed by the pub, a woman with light blue hair walked out the door onto the street in a dramatic fashion that it was hard to ignore her. She approached Iris in particular and started talking. She had a strange accent to her that Iris could not figure out. “It’s about time you lot showed up. Fur crying out loud, I’ve been waiting for you guys for hours!”

    Iris was taken a bit aback by the woman’s attitude and presence. She was a little shorter than Iris was, but seemed to be a lot taller than she was at the same time. “Um, sorry? Didn’t mean to… inconvenience you?” It was all she could think to say. Irvine chuckled a bit behind her, while she heard Hope chastise him a bit.

    “Oh sure sure, that’s what they all say.” The woman said. “Anyway, name’s Ruby. I’m part of the Tantalus Troupe. No need for you to introduce yourselves, I already know yur names.”

    “Tantalus?” Hope said soft. “That name sounds familiar.”

    “As it should. Either way, come here.” The woman named Ruby said before grabbing Iris’s arm and yanking her away from the main street and into the entrance of the pub. “We must talk.”

    “H-hey!” Iris said as she managed to pull her arm free just as they were right on the stairs. “Excuse me! I can walk myself.”

    “What a rude woman.” Irvine whispered to Hope as they followed the two woman. If Ruby heard them, she didn’t show it.

    “And what makes you think I even want to talk to you?” Iris said, trying to keep her temper even.

    “Listen up, honey, it’d be best to talk in here than out there.” Ruby said, seemingly uninterested in Iris’ protestations. “It’s about yur buddies. Names are Omeka, Lala and Zeff, if I remember correctly.”

    That caught their attention, but also just more annoyances. “Omega, Lulu and Zell?” Iris said, skeptically.

    “Yes, whutever.” Ruby said, waving the correction off. “Now come on inside and we’ll talk about it more.

     

    The next thing they knew, they were in a corner of the pub, which was suspiciously empty aside from the bartender, who looked to be trying to avoid looking at Ruby. Iris had a guess how it managed to be so empty. At her insistence, he was making drinks for them, though they were non-alcoholic at least

    “Alright, listen up.” Ruby said once they were all settled and their drinks had been delivered by the jittery bartender. “Yur buddies just left this world earlier today.”

    “You dragged us into this bar just to say that?” Iris said incredulously.

    “What a waste of time this was then.” Irvine says as he took a sip of his drink.

    “No, I dragged you into this dive to let you know where he’ll be next.” Ruby retorted. She pulled out of her satchel an envelope. “A tip from a reliable source who knows.”

    “And how could he possibly know that?” Hope inquired with suspicion.

    “He didn’t say, deary.” Ruby placed the envelope on the table, though she pressed her fingers against it.

    “What would you have done if we’d gone to Lindblum instead?”

    “It wouldn’t of mattered.” Ruby waved the suggestion off. “Plus, someone else from Tantalus would have just delivered you an identical letter. Once I tell him, he’ll burn his letter.” She eyed the three of them careful, tapping her forefinger on the envelope it a manner meant to draw their attention to it even more. “Whether you take it or not is yer choice. My guess is that yer not gunna get far without it, tho’.”

    The three of them looked at each other. It was pretty clear now that Ruby had led them in here so they couldn’t get away from her when she offered this letter to them. Clever. The three of them, however, didn’t need to really think it over in private. They could tell that they were in agreement on this. It was the only lead they had.

    Still, there was something about it that Iris didn’t like. “What’s the catch?” She inquired. “Why are you guys going through so much trouble to let us know where they are?”

    Ruby gave them wry smile. “There’s no catch, darlin’.” She said. “I already got paid for this more than you kids could ever give me, plus interest. Makes no difference to me or Tantalus as a whole if you do or don’t.”

    Iris looked at Hope and Irvine again, before looking back at Ruby. “Fine then.” She said as she held out her hand for the envelope. “Let’s see it.”


  3. Chapter 10: The Festival of the Hunt

     

    Lindblum Castle, Aircab Station

     

    Omega leaned against the wall of the starting area, his arms folded and attempting contemplation. Something made more difficult by Zidane next to him, still acting annoyingly chummy. It took serious willpower to not beat him senseless, as the guards would no doubt not allow contestants to actively fight each other or worse. And he couldn’t afford to get disqualified or arrested.

    “What’d you do with Stitch and Stiltzkin?” Zidane asked.

    “They’re on my ship.” Omega replied.

    “Ah, isn’t that breaking the rules?”

    “Moogles travel to whatever worlds they want to go to with their own powers and even set up shop in many. And they leave holograms behind to run the shops when they aren’t in that world. It’s hardly a secret to them.”

    Zidane chuckled a bit and kept up his barrage of questions, “And not worried about interfering with the ‘World Order’?”

    “Not particularly.” Omega said, feeling as he did so his patience slowly eroding more and more.

    “I’m starting to wonder if SeeDs have any regulations.” Zidane noted.

    “They’re all bendable.”

    “Well, how about-“

    “You’re planning on just annoying me all day, aren’t you?” Omega asked dryly.

    “Not all day.” Zidane replied, patting Omega’s shoulder. Omega just narrowed his eyes at him, but said nothing else. “Oh come on, don’t be like that.” Zidane said as he gently hook Omega. “No use in giving me the cold shoulder like that. We’re allies in this, after all.”

    “I’m being blackmailed into doing while my friends are being held hostage.” Omega said, his contempt managing to seep out a little. “We’re allies only because you claimed you could help. Or did you forget that?”

    “Hey, I’m just trying to help.” Zidane said. “Can’t look a gift Chocobo in the beak, can ya?”

    “You just love the sound of your own voice, don’t you Zidane?”

    “He sure does.” It was not Zidane who answered, but rather Freya, the rat woman from the bar. “Be thankful you aren’t a pretty woman.”

    “Everyone’s picking on me today!” Zidane replied with a very fake sigh and even faker whiny tone.

    One of the guards approached them. “We’ll be ready to start in just a few minutes. The rules are simple, you just have to go hunting for monsters within the town. You’ll have about an hour to kill as many monsters as possible or you can wait to try and slay the Zagnol.”

    “The Zagnol?” Omega asked, his attention piqued this time.

    “It’s a big, nasty fellow with very sharp horns.” The guard explained. “It is quite a fearsome foe.”

    Then that was the one Omega would go after. If he could kill it, then everything would work out perfectly. Or at least, it seemed like it. There was no doubt that that man hadn’t factored such a creature into his plan. Still, it was Omega’s best option and not taking it down would allow someone else to do it instead and he couldn’t risk that.

    “Now that we got the basics down, it’s time to talk about prizes. Each participant may choose a prize should they win the Hunt.” The guard said, which just greatly annoyed Omega even more because he was just saying obvious things now. The guard turned to Freya. “What do you wish for, madam?”

    “I will ask for a specially made spear.” Freya said.

    The guard nodded and looked at Zidane. “How about you?”

    “I’ll just take some munny.” Zidane said, his hands behind his head again.

    “So kid, you got anything you want for a prize?” The guard asked him. Omega didn’t even turn to look at him, he handed over a piece of paper. “Oh wow, this is unexpected. That’s quite a reward you want. You planning on making a feast with this?”

    “More or less.”

    Zidane whistled at that. “Seems you quite confident.”

    “This won’t be much of a competition.” Omega said dryly. Zidane placed his hands behind his head and laughed as if Omega had told a funny joke, while Freya looked offended by the idea that she wasn’t being taken seriously by him. Omega didn’t really care either way. He didn’t have time or need for pleasantries, not with so much at stake. He could only hope he could rely on Zidane to fulfill his end of the deal.

     

    ???

     

    Lulu hadn’t slept at all that night and she had a feeling Zell hadn’t either. They hadn’t had much chance to do so with some kind of creature stalking just outside the hut they were in. There was always the possibility that whatever it was would burst through the door and finally attack them. However, it hadn’t yet done so, though Lulu suspected it really was only a matter of time.

    “Lu… you think it’s safe enough to make a break for it?” she heard Zell ask.

    “I don’t know.” Lulu said. “We could probably beat whatever that thing is, but where will go?”

    “Anywhere could be better than this.” Zell replied. “I mean, it’s an extremely obvious set up.”

    “You don’t have to tell me twice…” Lulu said. “It’s not helpful.” She looked out the window again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the creature. “Still, we may just have to risk it.”

    “Alright then.” Zell said as he went to the door and reached for the knob, just stopping inches from touching it. “Ready?”

    Lulu held out her hands and one of her Moogle dolls appeared in them. She nodded, kneeling down as she did. “Ready.”

    Zell took a deep breath and then wrenched the door open. The moment he did, the Moogle doll jumped out of Lulu’s hands and ran out the door and into the Mist. And as if drawn to it, what had been stalking them throughout the night appeared… yet they couldn’t actually see what it was! Finally, it made sense why they hadn’t been able to find it during the night. It grabbed the Moogle doll, which made it look like it was floating. And that was its big mistake, as Lulu started channeling fire magic through the doll. It unleashed an explosion that stunned the creature, allowing Zell to rush forward to try and punch it. He manage to land a hit on it, causing it to stumble back, as well as a strange reaction to occur. The skin that they had managed to strike took on various shades of dark grays, as well as black. The emblem of the Heartless was on its chest.

    “It’s a Stealth Army.” Lulu called out to Zell, charging electricity through her doll. He jumped back to allow Lulu to send a burst of thunder magic through her doll at it, keeping it stunned so that Zell could continue to strike it with several kicks and punches. Each spot that was hit became visible, just like the initial strike. A large, chameleon like monster, this was a rare, but dangerous, Heartless. And one they could really use Omega’s help with, though by themselves it could be doable.

    Still, Lulu knew they couldn’t keep this up indefinitely, as she felt her magic reserves deplete with each spell cast. Eventually, she would have to have her doll retreat so she could recover her energy, leaving Zell to find by himself. After hitting the now partially visible Heartless with ice magic, her limit was hit and the doll ran back to her. The lack of additional magic power meant the Stealth Army was much quicker to counteract, doing a quick swipe with its arms that managed to send Zell flying. Winded, but not down, Zell recovered and jumped up into air, managing to land a powerful kick onto the creatures back, knocking it down again, the Heartless then responded by gathering energy into its.

    “Zell, to me!” Lulu called out, running towards the Stealth Army and Zell did so. Just as the monster unleashed blast, Lulu felt her magic return to her and cast her spell. The moogle doll floated in front of them, glowed and a magic barrier appears around them. It looked like it was made of glass almost and when it was struck by the beams, it shattered and flew outward, little bursts of energy following them. The two of them were unharmed, but the monster was hit and collapsed again. Not wasting another moment, Lulu charged for another powerful blast of fire and flew it at the creature.

    The chameleon like creature shrieked in pain and fell still. Though, it wasn’t destroyed, it might have been down for the count… for now Lulu nearly collapsed, but Zell managed to catch her.

    “Nice one, Lu. You okay?” Zell asked her, rather worried.

    “Yeah… I’m fine. We just have to destroy this and we’re home free.” Lulu said, offering a small grin at Zell. Zell snorted and grinned back.

    “Home free, perhaps.” A voice called just out of sight. Lulu and Zell looked up to see the man in black appear, as if out of thin air as he had so many times before. Lulu and Zell steadied themselves, but knew they weren’t going to be able to fight this man in their state. “Back to the stars, to chase what is so near, yet still so far.”

    “Didn’t know you were a poetry nut.” Zell spat. “I’d stick with destroying worlds, though, since yours stinks.”

    “Oh, my wayward children. Still no manners, I see.” The man said, that slight smile still on his lips as he placed his hand on the Stealth Army’s horn. “Though, you’ve been in the Mist for at least 36 hours, so perhaps it was unavoidable.”

    “And what exactly was the point sending of us here?” Lulu said, managing to regain her breath and ability to stand on her own feet. “Just to get us angrier?”

    “Isn’t it obvious?” The man asked as he examined the Heartless. “I had hoped to see how a Heartless would react to the Mist, to see if it’d become stronger when exposed to it. But sadly, it seems a slow infusion of the substance was not enough.” He stepped backward from the Stealth Army and before the duo could say anything, he raised his hand at it. Suddenly, the Mist around them began to be sucked into the large Heartless, as if it was water in a vortex! The Heartless bellowed again, as if in pain, shaking uncontrollably like it was going through a seizure! The vortex of Mist suddenly stopped and the Stealth Army let out another shriek as red and black armor suddenly appeared on its body.

    “Ah, how interesting.” The man said as he checked out the Heartless’ new form. “Yes, this should suffice.” He snapped his fingers and the Heartless suddenly disappeared! Lulu and Zell grew even more tense. It had already been enough to take it down normally, but having to do it again in an upgraded form?

    The man chuckled malevolently. “No worries. I have someone else who will fight this Armored Sneak.” He said, a glint in his violet eyes that Lulu did not like. She had a feeling just who he had in mind to fight his powered up monster. However, he did not elaborate further and instead looked up. “Ah, I see they’re finally here. Must have been drawn to all the fireworks.” Lulu and Zell looked up to see a small airship floating down to them. “Give my regards to Omega when you see him.” The man said as he faded away.

    Before they could even fully regard everything that they had just witnessed, the airship landed and two individuals they’d never met before jumped out. One was a burly looking fellow bit a bandana over his eyes and a rather shabby looking clothes. The other was a short man with red hair that swished back, with his eyes covered by a belt, and several pieces of skin, including the left side of his face around the eye, looking liked patches of leathered showed on to him. The bigger one spoke first.

    “Ah man, seems we were a little.” He said. He looked kind of brutish, but there was a way to how he talked that suggested he was far more sophisticated than one would expect.

    “Naturally.” The second man said stoically. He too also had an air to how he spoke that didn’t quite match his physical description. “But that does not matter,” He pointed to Lulu and Zell, “we’re here for them, remember?”

    “And just who in the Hell are you?” Zell nearly shouted, looking ready to start punching again.

    “Calm down, your buddy sent us to grab you.” The bigger man said. “The name’s Marcus and that’s Blank.”

    Lulu, at that moment, could not care less what their names were. “Omega would have come for us himself. Where is he?”

    “He’s off competing in the Festival of the Hunt.” Blank replied. “Perhaps you heard about it before you got trapped down here?”

    “Yeah, I did hear about it. But why would he be competing in that instead of savin’ us?” Zell asked.

    “I think it’s best to talk about it on the way back.” Marcus said, going over to the side of the airship, which it’s landing ramp now open.

    “Besides, we saw that Heartless you took down.” Blank said, his voice grim. “I have a feeling I know where it’s going to be next.”

    Lulu grimaced and knew they were right. That “Armored Sneak” as it had been dubbed was going to be set loose on the town. “Thank you for the help.” She said as she stepped onto the airship, Zell following her, though much more silently.

    Lulu and Zell walked into the small cabin, only to find a familiar mechanic working it. “Of course it’d be you two.” The mechanic they had met the other day said in a sardonic tone. “I’m not sure why I’m surprised.”

    “Hey, I remember you!” Zell said, his mood suddenly lifted slightly, though Lulu wasn’t sure why. “Oh, it’s so good to see a familiar face, Mr… um?”

    “Never you mind.” The mechanic interjected in a grumpy tone. “You two nitwits and your buddy are making me miss the festival with my kids.”

    “Okay, why’s he here?” Lulu asked Blank as he jumped in.

    “We needed an airship to get down and he’s something of an ally.” Blank said. “He also won the Festival of the Hunt a few years ago and we figured we might need an extra hand.”

    “I still don’t understand what the Festival has to do with anything.” Zell chimed in.

    “Well, you see,”

    “Yeah yeah, all fascinating stuff, can we get going, or what?” the mechanic interrupted again, checking the engine as he did.

    “Of course, don’t need to be so snippy.” Marcus said as he grabbed the wheel. “Ready whenever you are.”

    “Hope you guys are ready to jump in if you need to.” Blank said as he leaned up against the railing. Lulu’s gut tightened even more than before. She really hoped Omega was okay.

     

    Lindblum, Business District

     

    The wolf creature let out a cry as it fell to the ground before falling silent. Marking it as his fiftieth kill, Omega continued on to his next target; the Zagnol. If his calculations on the time were right, it would be released into the business district in just a minute and if it was, there’d be no doubt that he’d be the winner in this sick game.

    Omega stopped and took a moment to listen for any noises that would lead him to his target. He did hear something, but it wasn’t something he wanted to hear.

    “Seems like I got here first.” Zidane said as he sat on high wall, eating a piece of fruit. “Though, no worries, I’ve not done much critter killing myself.”

    “How thoughtful.” Omega said as he turned his attention back to the surrounding area. Zidane jumped down to join him. “Then I don’t need to make it clear that the Zagnol is mine.”

    “Of course. What do you take me for?” Zidane inquired in a sheepish tone.

    “I think he takes you for a backstabbing thief.” A voice from above them rang. Omega and Zidane both looked up to see Freya on the roof of a building. She jumped down to join them, a look anger still on her face. “Not that it wouldn’t be an apt description.”

    “Freya, why must you break my heart so much?” Zidane said. Freya ignored him and approached Omega, who didn’t blink or back up as she did. The tension in the air was thick, but that wasn’t going to stop him.

    “Can’t I help you?” Omega inquired in his best polite voice. Freya seemed to take more offense to that.

    “I know you two are conspiring to get you to win. And I will not have it.”

    “Oh? Is that it?” Omega shrugged.

    Zidane sighed. “You know, it’s not very polite to eavesdrop on a private conversation.”

    “Have such conversations where people won’t eavesdrop then.” Freya retorted.

    “Look, Freya, I’m not helping him win. I’m just-“

    “Don’t bother.” Omega interrupted. “Sorry, but I am going to win this.”

    “I’ve been the victor of this hunt for years and I respect and honor it.” She replied, her voice full of anger. “You-“

    Omega’s patience was at an end though and he coldly cut her off. “Look, I don’t care about winning or this hunt in general. I don’t care about any prize or any fame that could come with it. At the end of the day, I’ll be leaving this town and I don’t plan to come back anytime soon.” He narrowed his eyes at Freya. “I am still going to win this and nothing is going to stop me.”

    Before Freya could reply, and Omega could tell she wanted to, there was a loud thudding heading their way. As expected, the Zagnol was there, by the fountain in the square. It was definitely larger than the other monsters that had been released into the streets, with its large hooves and horns looking particularly dangerous. But Omega had seen worse and as he summoned the Keyblade to his hand again, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that both Zidane and Freya had also readied their weapons.

    The Zagnol began to charge at them… and then suddenly was pushed to the ground as if by an invisible force. It lay quite still, dead from the impact. The sudden abruptness of this startled the three of them.

    “Well, this is… definitely different.” Zidane said. “I guess he wasn’t going to keep his end of the deal after all.”

    “Of course he wasn’t.” Omega said, bracing himself more than before. Freya’s anger had now turned to confusion.

    “What is going on?”

    “A complicated story. One we would be best to save for later.” Zidane said. “All you need to know is that that is most likely a Heartless and a big one, no doubt.”

    “I could figure that much out, Zidane.” Freya looked to Omega, though he didn’t look back. “Then I suppose this has something to do with you?”

    “Do you want to keep talking or let that thing stay loose?” Omega said. However, he was not going to wait around for her answer as he dashed forward, he brought the Keyblade down to strike at the invisible creature, only to hear a clang of metal, a brief flash of color expanded from the impact. He had hit the arm of what looked like either a Stealth Sneak or Army, only this one had armor covering it. The creature pushed its arm in a backward swipe, which Omega only barely managed to dodge via a backflip. He landed on his feet as Zidane and Freya ran up to him.

    “That was pointless.” Zidane said.

    “Was it though?” Omega retorted. “We know exactly what we’re fighting now, don’t we?”

    “Yes, and it looked very heavily armored.” Freya said, just as the Heartless roared and tried charging at them. Thinking quickly, Omega threw a blast of fire magic in front of them, which struck it and again made it temporarily visible. All three of them jumped out of the way, sending the creature hurtling into one of the stands, which had some kind of foul smelling food in barrels. Whatever it was, the juices from it managed to get all over the Heartless, which was momentarily stunned.

    “If I’m right, there’s a weak spot we can very easily exploit.” Omega said. “Plus, we can use that smell to our advantage.”

    “How’d you managed to figure that out in the two moments it was visible?” Zidane inquired.

    “It doesn’t matter right now.” Omega said. “What matters is if we can hit it, we can take it down in one strike. We just need a clear, visible shot of it.”

    Zidane shrugged as the Heartless began stirring. “Fine, I suppose I shall help you out.” He looked at Freya. “How about it? Think you could let that Heartless stay loose?”

    Freya snorted, as if insulted by the question. “It would not do to let such an abominable creature live.” Freya said. “However, I demand to know exactly what is going on once we’re done.”

    “Zidane can handle that.” Omega said as he surveyed the buildings while the Heartless was still down. “Alright then, Freya, stay on the rooftops, then when me and Zidane manage to make it visible, aim for the eyes or the neck.”

    Freya nodded and without hesitation, jumped onto the roof. Omega looked at Zidane. “Well, if it’s all about making the creature visible, I think that fountain back where it showed up will help. Think that’ll work?

    “Of course.” Omega said bluntly, as he had seen the Heartless got back up and then could see juice and vegetables falling off of its arm, making it a bit easier to see it now. It tried to swing its arm at Omega, who managed to parry it with the Keyblade. The Heartless shrieked in some pain as the armor became somewhat visible again, though it quickly faded as its eyes started to glow and a quick burst of energy homed in on them. Omega and Zell dodged, moving closer to the fountain they hoped to draw the monster to. It wasn’t a very smart creature, as it followed them, trying to swipe at them as it did. Eventually, they managed to get in position in front of the fountain. Omega held the Keyblade in front of him in a defensive position, as did Zidane with his daggers and, sure enough, the creature took the bait. It swung at them one last time, though both dropped their defenses just in time to dodge again. The fountain broke apart from the force of the blow. Water immediately flew into the air and down on the three of them. The water fell down on the Heartless, its silhouette now clearly visible.

    Immediately, Freya jumped right onto the Heartless’ back, her spear managed to hit a groove in the armor. Not enough to get fully through, but enough to cause damage. The Heartless shrieked in pain, lurching backward as it briefly became visible again. And along with it, it’s bare and vulnerable underside was exposed. Omega lost no in rushing at the Heartless, stabbing the Keyblade straight through its chest. The creature let out one final shriek and fell to its side. Its body then vanished, releasing a blue heart like apparition that eventually faded away as well.

    Omega let out a sigh of relief as it did. Zidane whistled, then patted Omega on the arm, the water from the fountain still raining down on them as it did. “That was impressive. How did you know its underside didn’t have any armor?”

    “When I struck it the first time and it blocked me, I got a chance to see it when it became briefly visible.” Omega explained, looking at the place it had vanished. “I have fought Stealth Sneaks or similar Heartless before, but we do have data on them. I’ve never seen one like this before.”

    “What about having Freya strike the head?”

    “Well, isn’t it obvious? The eyes were not covered by the helmet so it could use its eye beams better and joints are always more lightly armored.”

    “Well, that is true.” Zidane said. “Still, you’re full of many… surprises.”

    Omega raised his eye brow and was about to ask what Zidane meant by that, but Freya moved forward. “Now that this is taken care of, I would like that explanation before the crowds come back down.” Freya said.

    Zidane scratched the back of his head again. “Oh geez, it’s really quite a long story, Freya.”


  4. image.thumb.png.2531fcb7319b7341f678da8bb82e3c4c.png

     

    A scene that will take place in my fanfic The Other Story, which is on this forum if you are interested in reading.

     

    This is a mildly censored version of this pic, I didn't think it'd be appropriate to post it on here in it's uncensored form. The uncensored version is on my DA, so feel free to check it out if you're curious. Also, don't hate me for doing this to Stitch!


  5. A collection of stories that can't be currently fit into the version of the story I'm working on. They aren't necessarily essential, but are character driven pieces. I hope you enjoy them alongside the main story, which will continue soon.

    image.thumb.png.55cfdd973390aa3f4ebea0fc9874bab5.png

     

    The First Night

     

    The cabin was compact, but clearly designed for comfort just as much as efficiency, with a medium sized bed in the right hand corner. There was a small desk and terminal next to it and several compartments that no doubt were meant to hold either clothes or other objects.

    It was a very nice cabin… one that made Stitch wonder just how Omega’s small group could have gotten a ship with. However, he had a feeling Omega wouldn’t tell him and it was no time to dwell on it too much.

    “You’re to stay in here at all times unless it’s for dinner or you need to use the head.” Omega explained as Stitch walked into the room to examine it. Omega’s tone made it clear that while Stitch was going to be allowed on his ship, he was to follow Omega’s orders and rules. Stitch looked back up at him and nodded in agreement, but only very reluctantly. In truth, he very much hated the idea of being so restricted, especially after having been mostly free to do what he wanted for years in Traverse Town. However, it was in his best interest at this time to follow these rules. For now, anyway. “My cabin is right next door. I’ll be checking in on you every hour to make sure you are in here. If you are not, then we have a problem and I don’t want any problems with you. I will take you out one missions as well, though if I do you’re to follow my orders even then. Am I clear?”

    Stitch nodded again, though he really didn’t like this. He had had some agency in Traverse Town and had been used to it, so having no freedom to explore now was not something he happy about. However, Stitch was willing to at least try to put up with it, for no other reason than because it was his only real option. So, at least for now, he’d bide his time until he was allowed more freedom on the ship… or better options showed themselves.

    Stitch walked over and sat on the bed that had now become his. While not nearly as comfortable as the bed he had back when he lived in Hawaii, it was still much better than the bed that he had been sleeping on in that cramped little Traverse Town apartment. Stitch at least felt like he’d have a good night’s sleep when it finally came around to it. Stitch settled in a bit to get a real feel of it, all the while he knew Omega was still watching him from the doorway. His arms were folded and his face unreadable, but Stitch had a feeling he might be really irritable right now. That was quite the argument him and his friends had on the bridge just minutes ago, after all.

    Still, Stitch felt a little uncomfortable by the gaze, even if it was entirely understandable. The same with Omega’s conditions. He wanted to keep an eye on Stitch and Stitch knew he had every reason to feel like he had to. And even more so, Stitch knew that Lulu and Zell would also be keeping an eye on him, even if they weren’t being as forthcoming about it as Omega was. Even ten years after encountering his friends and ohana, Stitch still sometimes couldn’t help his destructive and naughty instincts. He might have let Stitch onboard and agreed to help him, but Omega had no reason to actually trust him. Especially after Stitch had technically already stowed away on the ship.

    And Stitch begrudgingly knew he had to make an effort to get that trust. It would make everything so much easier.

    “Something wrong?” Stitch asked to break the ice a bit and immediately realized how stupid that sounded and cringing. ‘Something wrong’ was an understatement at this point.

    Omega’s face didn’t change as he gave his answer. “I’m thinking.”

    Stitch tilted his head. “About?”

    “A few things.” Omega said bluntly. “Like how you managed to throw around those huge things and sneak around without us realizing.”

    Stitch was thankful that that was all Omega was asking about. “Stitch super strong.” Stitch jumped up on his feet and flexed his muscles a bit as he did, happy for some chance to show off a bit. “Can lift 3000 times my size!”

    “Impressive.” Omega said, though he didn’t sound impressed. Stitch deflated a bit from the lack of a reaction. “How about the sneaking around? How did you manage that?”

    “Stitch can climb on walls.” Stitch said.

    “Do you use your claws to do so?”

    Stitch shook his head showed him the palms of his hands and lifting. “Don’t use claws, just my hands and feet.”

    “Hmm.” Omega still didn’t sound very impressed. Stitch was slightly annoyed by this. Any other person would have had a much better reaction to this. “Got any magic?”

    “Magic?” Stitch thought about his answer for a moment. It was true he’d picked up some magic skills during his exile, but it wasn’t exactly that powerful as he still needed to develop it. “A little.”

    “I see.”

    Stitch fell silent again. This wasn’t going anywhere. It seemed Omega thought so as well.

    “I’m going to get started on dinner. And you’re going to eat with us when I’m done.”

    Stitch’s ears perked up in surprised. “But Stitch would prefer-“

    “We’re all going to need to get used to each other. And that’s not gonna happen if you spend the first dinner by yourself in this room.” Omega interjected.

    Stitch sighed in defeat. He really didn’t want to spend time with Lulu and Zell, had a feeling he was not gonna get out of this.

    “Before anything else, you’re going to take a shower.” Omega said, his face still completely straight. “You smell like a dumpster that has been left to rot in the sun for weeks.”

    Stitch stared at him for a moment and laughed. “No!” Stitch said as he shook his head. “Stitch hate showers and baths.”

    “I wasn’t giving you an option to say no.” Omega said, his face or tone still not changing in the slightest. “I am, however, giving you an option to either take a shower willingly or I can force you to do it.”

    “Hehehehehehe ahahahahaha! Omega is funny! But Stitch confident that Omega isn’t strong enough to force me.” Stitch said through his chuckles. He then saw Omega lift his fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistle. Stitch was confused at what Omega had thought that would achieve. However, a moment later he realized exactly why as, to his utter surprise, two large lion like creatures suddenly appeared in the doorway. Their mane stood up like fire and their paws were huge. Even though he had spent time on the ship, he hadn’t once seen these creatures! “W-what!?” was all he could say.

    “These are Moombas.” Omega said simply. “And they’re very strong, too.” Omega looked down at them and addressed them in a much friendlier tone. “I’m sorry, but would you mind helping me deal with this stubborn fellow?”

    The Moombas made a loud squeaking sound that Stitch hadn’t expected and suddenly turned their gaze on him. Their eyes were big and expressive and Stitch could tell immediately what they were thinking. And that was that they were more than happy to help out. Stitch gulped as they approached him.

     

     

    Stitch learned two things. One, was that it was a very bad idea to mock Omega. The other was that those Moombas as they were called were indeed more than strong enough to force him in the shower. And they seemed to take some sadistic pleasure in doing, probably to punish Stitch for sneaking aboard their ship. At least, that’s what it had seemed to Stitch as they scrubbed every inch of his body. And they were not gentle about it, though in fairness that might have been because Stitch had attempted to fight back with little success.

    So, needless to say, Stitch was in a bad mood as he sat at the table in what he was told was a mess hall. Like the cabin, it was much bigger than he expected for a ship of only five individuals and designed in a way that was cozy, yet functional and efficient. This SeeD organization seemed well off enough, but Stitch still wasn’t sure why these three had such a ship.

    Stitch sat at the table in awkward silence with Lulu and Zell. He had wanted avoid being alone with them as much as possible, particularly Lulu. If it weren’t for Omega insisting that Stitch wait here instead of in his cabin, he might have succeeded in that. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that she didn’t like or trust him. He was also accurately aware that she was trying her best to keep an eye on him, but he had kept a good distance and she had no real understanding of what his plans were.

    She stared at him with a cold expression on her face. Stitch just narrowed his eyes right back at her. He just knew she was gonna be his biggest problem. Why he agreed to Omega’s request, he didn’t know and was very annoyed with himself for it.

    Zell, on the other hand, seemed nice enough. He certainly didn’t look at him like Lulu was, he was just trying to fix some kind of device he’d brought with him to the table. It seemed he did this often, as Lulu stopped glaring at him to look over at Zell.

    “Seriously Zell, can’t you tinker with that when we’re not about to eat?” Lulu asked.

    “Sorry about that, Lu.” Zell said as he looked up at her and smiled broadly. “But got to get this fixed up. Never know if it might be needed.”

    Stitch watched them closely as they proceeded to bicker about this useless little gadget. But he was noticing something about it as he did. They weren’t yelling at each other even though they said things that could be considered insults. In fact, there was a tone of playfulness to them that he wasn’t used to. All the times he had been following them they had been either serious or weren’t talking all that much. They had also argued heavily when Stitch had forced himself on board. It was almost as if this was a ritual or game that he was only just seeing for the first time. And for a moment, he just watched them, tilting his head to each side a bit as he did. It kind of reminded him of Nani arguing with Jumba and Pleakley and especially Lilo… the thought of whom had a suddenly cause his heart to sink a bit further than it already was.

    He looked away and thought about running back to his cabin, hoping he’d manage to avoid the Moombas to do so, when a wonderful aroma suddenly caught his attention. He sniffed a bit in the direction of where it was coming from and saw Omega come in with a big pot that he set in the middle of the small table.

    “Aw, I kind of hoped you were making a good steak and lots of hot dogs.” Zell said in that same mock whining tone he had taken in the “argument” with Lulu.

    “You always want hot dogs.” Omega said dryly as walked back out of the room and returned with a large plate of hot dogs that he placed in reach of Zell. “But we did have a difficult day, so I did indeed make some. Just try not to go through them all at once.”

    Zell looked extremely happy about this turn of events, “Sweet! Though I promise nothing!” He said as he took one and took a large bite.

    “Zell, could you at least wait until all of us have our food?” Lulu said in exasperation as she got up to help Omega out.

    Zell said something almost incomprehensible because of all the food in his mouth, but Stitch thought the gist of it was “Sorry about that, Lu.” Either way, Stitch chuckled a bit despite and was hoping he could snag some of those hot dogs. Especially since Zell had just gotten up to also help out.

    “I hate cooking on the ship, the kitchen unit isn’t nearly good enough for it.” Omega said loudly and the way he did it suggested that this was another ritual that Stitch was seeing for the first time.

    “Oh quit complaining, it’s not that bad.” Zell said as he picked up his tools and device.

    “Yeah, especially since we went all out so you could have your precious tools and ingredients.” Lulu said as she returned, that playful tone even more apparent, perhaps because Stitch wasn’t expecting it. She had brought out some bowls and spoons. Omega didn’t reply for a moment as Lulu handed him the bowls and he began to fill them up with some chicken and dumplings, but Stitch could see him smirk for a second as he did. Zell also came back with some cans and put them around the table before he went to get his food. As Lulu and Zell took theirs and sat down, Omega filled up another bowl and placed it in front of Stitch and went back to the other side of the table.

    Stitch looked at the contents of the bowl and to Omega, who just watched him with that unreadable expression of his that Stitch had come to be familiar with over the last several hours. Though the way he looked at him it seemed that he might just be waiting to see Stitch take his first bite. Stitch looked back at the soup and took another sniff before he grabbed his spoon and scooped up some broth, chicken and a bit of the dumplings and took a bite. The taste was so rich and wonderful, the texture of the dumpling and the potatoes baked to perfection, that he immediately went to scoop up some more, this time picking up some potatoes and chicken as well to see how they tasted as well. He wasn’t disappointed in the slightest and had to really stop himself from just pouring the whole thing into his mouth. Omega had clearly put so much care into it that it felt like it would be an insult to do so. Plus… there was always a chance Omega would throw him back in the shower if he made a mess and Stitch absolutely did not want that.

    As they sat there and ate, Stitch couldn’t help but feel less like an outsider than he had just moments later. Sure, once this was done, he was no doubt going to have to spend most of his time in his cabin. He would live under close watch from now on, even when not on the ship. And for now that was fine. This was a means to an end, after all and for the most part, Stitch was likely to at least be treated decently. Lulu, Zell and the Moombas may not trust him, and even Omega might not either, and Stitch would just have to deal with it. This was what he had chosen when he sunk onto the ship to begin with and it could have ended up a lot worse.

    Even if this arrangement didn’t work out, Stitch still felt that, at least for now, he was right where he wanted to be.


  6. 41 minutes ago, Jonbob said:

    Ouch on the pricing - DLC shouldn’t be more than 20 £/$ plus another 10 for the concert tracks. There does appear to be a lot of content but that’s priced at more than half of a brand new game.

    That's because it's more like an old school expansion than a modern DLC episode. And that was pretty much how expansions were priced.

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