Out of the Darkness [Emi/Open]

[Cheza]

“We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”

[/b]

Emi agreed with Cheza that they should just go on in, since Hyou was so impatient and rude. Cheza followed Emi inside the house, and once in the foyer, Cheza could tell something was up. The house seemed pretty much untouched. There was a layer of dust over everything, just as there had been at her first home. Emi headed off toward the kitchen and Hyou headed on upstairs. Cheza contemplated which way to go, and decided she would like to see her old room and so headed up the stair after Hyou. Once she got to the top of the stairs she didn't see Hyou. All the doors where closed. “That's odd. I know he came up here.” Then just seconds later, a door to her left opened and a black figure with a huge head and those creepy yellow eyes she hated so much appeared before her. Before even thinking a complete thought she had pulled Eternal Quasar from off her back and now held it in both hands ready for a fight.


The first heartless made it's way to her before she had a chance to fully get a grip on her gunblade so she had to dodge its quick try to bite at her. Once Eternal Quasar was properly in her hands, she was ready to fight. With several quick slashes she had slain several heartless. “Sometimes, this is just too easy” she thought. “Why does it seem that the small fry always attack me, but I never get anything else?” Cheza knew that most people thought that she was just this shy girl, and that she couldn't really defend herself, but deep down, she loved a good battle. After she had killed off a few of the heartless in the hallway, she noticed that a few of the other doors had opened and so she started with the door on her right and checked to make sure all the heartless were gone. Once inside the room she had to fend off a few more heartless, all were pretty easy to kill with just a slash here and a slash there, but one managed to dodge one of her attacks and she almost got bit and in her attempt to dodge its attack she fell backwards onto the bedpost of a bed. “Ouch! That is going to leave a nice bruise later,” she thought as she stabbed the heartless where its heart would be if it had had a heart. Once she had taken care of all the heartless in the room, she headed back to the hallway. She saw Hyou fending off some heartless also and then he headed into a room across the hallway. She then heard Emi cry for help, which struck her as odd since Emi didn't seem like the type to ask for help unless she really needed it.


A few more heartless came at Cheza and she defended herself once again with her faithful gunblade. Then she heard a huge bang coming from the room that Hyou had gone into and so she ran towards the noise. Once inside the room she saw a huge gapping hole in the floor. She headed towards the hole and looked down. Hyou was on top of a huge Heartless and was holding on to the antenna like thing. Hyou uttered his apologizes to Emi for earlier and offered his help. Cheza decided that she would help also, but opted for the more normal approach and ran back down the stairs and into the kitchen. It seemed that it was now time to actually have a nice battle. “Bring it on!” She yelled at the heartless as she got into her battle position. “Let's do this,” she said as she looked at Emi.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"Oooh, ooh, my turn."
--

Emi stood there in dumbfounded silence for a moment. Between Hyou crashing through the ceiling and Cheza bursting in spouting dramatic lines with newfound bravado...

Emi herself preferred to skip the banter. The shields on her hands had already dissipated, leaving that area vulnerable. She wouldn't be able to turn them back on for another few minutes but they had so far served their purpose.

She didn't have a clear shot, what with Hyou swinging around on the Heartless' antenna. It took only a split second for her to make a decision.

"You, get back,[/color]" Emi muttered, shooing Cheza away with Duskywing. If she didn't want to move, fine. She could get knocked over and hurt, what did Emi care? If she was stupid enough to keep standing there after she was told to move... no matter. Emi fell onto her knees. Ugh, it was the most uncomfortable position for her, being so tall but it was what had to be done. She slammed both of her kali sticks into the kitchen tile.

The sensation of metal on the tile made her teeth hurt. The first shock wave started on its lazy path towards the Heartless, which was thankfully too preoccupied to dodge it. It took about five seconds for the wave, a ring of energy that was essentially invisible except for the way it distorted the close surroundings like heat would, to reach the Dark Baiter's feet.

The Dark Baiter fell over, its proportionally too-big head making it top heavy. Emi rose from her kneeling position and watched it go down.
--
Battle Report: Emi used 'Xerces Blue'
Next shockwave in 1 post
2 uses left
5 posts to next use

'Broken Silverdrop' powered down
1 post to next use
2 uses left[/size]

[Matt]

A Straightforward Response Wouldn't Kill You

Vexen stared at Zexion momentarily, slightly puzzled. Was there no "one" in a deck of cards? Well how was he supposed to know that? Unlike some people, he did not waste his time with such childish and unproductive activities. In fact, he actually couldn't remember the last time he had played a card game. Certainly not since he has lost his heart. And, even in the days of Even there still hadn't really been any time for fun. After all, Radiant Gardens didn't become the Utopia it was by it's leaders lounging around playing cards all day. Besides, it really just seemed illogical to leave out the number just like that. "Last time I checked, 'Ace' isn't a number."He rolled his eyes dramatically, making it clear that he was tiring of the absurd game references. They weren't playing a game. There was a time for humor, and a time to be serious. Unless of course you were a Nobody, in which case the former was never an option. Something they would do well to learn. The next comment, still as pointless as the last, was also chosen to be ignored. Though honestly, it wasn't so much that Vexen was good at following Zexion, as it was that he was simply very poor at preventing others from following him.

So he was trying to do that now. Flip things so that it was Vexen was the one doing something he shouldn't have been. It was a pathetic attempt at trying to avoid giving any real explanation. Little surprisingly, the Schemer was answering the his questions with questions. It was typically difficult to get straight answers out of him, and he was evidently on his toes. Clearly he was hiding something.

"Loyalty? I don't recall mentioning anything about your loyalty." Vexen said innocently, smiling wryly before looking away with apparent disinterest. "No, I believe what really needs to be questioned here is your common sense. You brought some girl into the World That Never Was, not to mention the castle, where I would rather not ask of the events leading to the removal of her clothes. You then proceeded to run off with her here, likely furthering her delusions of some sort of friendship existing between the two of you. And I would be willing to bet that there is plenty more than I am unaware of." He paused for a moment before adding. "One can only assume that you're trying to create problems."

[Fate]

Even If I Did, You Would Still Misconstrue It

[/size]
Zexion shook his head to this, wishing that Nobodies had the ability to laugh and feel the emotion of amusement. It was intriguing to see how quickly Vexen could come up with assumptions. His attempt at innocence was also weak, seeing as the Schemer could not remember a time when any of the Original Six Nobodies were ever that way. Vexen was a particular case; by the time he had gotten to know Even, he was already knee-deep in Ansem's studies of the heart.

"Must you misconstrue everything I say Vexen?" he said, his tone casual and a bit sly. "I do not remember mentioning bringing her to our world. She simply went after me through a Corridor of Darkness, though her reasons I cannot begin to fathom. I also cannot fathom what possessed her to remove articles of clothing when you came; it was undoubtedly an attempt at a childish prank, something that many with hearts seem to enjoy doing."

He stopped speaking for a moment, pausing as he studied Vexen. He could make his nonexistence in the World that Never Was even more miserable if he chose to; Axel had to have had a reason for ridding the Organization of a 'traitor' and Zexion could only guess as to what those reasons might be. However, striking up empty animosity between himself and another member of the Organization was not a wise thing to do.

"She was a very intriguing experiment," he told Vexen and Luxord, pacing a bit now in the alleyway. "I chose to perform a brief study of memories, similar to what occurred in Castle Oblivion. She proved herself to be an intriguing case; I managed to produce false illusions of what are faint memories to her and have her believe them. I also seemed to manage to offset the balance of light and darkness within her."

This was, of course, a lie. However, Zexion said it in a straightforward tone and continued to speak that way. "I brought her here after my brief experiment was complete. It would have been counterproductive to the Organization's goal to retrieve more hearts if I had chosen to dispose of her. Nonetheless, I learned very intriguing facts while here. You have surely noticed the world's current state?" This question he directed at Vexen more, knowing he knew this world just as well as he did. Would he be able to see what he saw? Would he be able to see that the balance of the worlds was becoming a problem? Ansem meddled before and offset it, but now the pendulum was swinging the other way. Zexion did not think that standing by idly watching it would be wise; though, he doubted many thought in the same respect.[/blockquote][/size]

[Nothingness]

The Third Wheel's Thoughts

Luxord, stepping out of his card once Zexion entered the alleyway, simply stood by and listened to the two of them bicker. "What an old married couple. If I had a heart, I'd be laughing at how ridiculous they sound. Oh well, there's no point wondering about them." Hearing Vexen mention a half-naked girl running out of Zexion's room almost forced Luxord into a smirk and comment on Zexion's recent womanizing, but he resisted. That would an ace up his sleeve to be used at another time.

As Zexion began talking of how he was "experimenting" on the streaker-girl he brought into the Castle, Luxord could immediately tell by the pacing that Zexion was lying, or at least only telling a partial truth. He was snide, yes, but he was taking the situation far too lightly, even for a Nobody. Not to mention the movement could equate to whatever part of him that remembered being nervous expressing itself. Naturally, Luxord didn't mention any of that, but merely slid that card up his sleeve as well. While Vexen may not have been particularly nice, at least he played a straight game and only bet on the ante. Zexion seemed to always bluff and shove half of his chips in.

Upon hearing him mention the state of the world, Luxord finally felt like the conversation was just with those two. He stayed, however, in case anything else he might need slipped out of either of their mouths.

[Cheza]

“Ring around the Rosie...Ashes,ashes,We all fall down”

[/b]

After Emi's shooing her away, Cheza backed up into the hallway. Luckily she was able to move in time to miss most of the shock wave that knocked the huge heartless down. Cheza did get knocked off her feet though since she was caught in the very edge of the shock wave. Once she had risen to her feet, Cheza noticed that Hyou was still on top of the head of the heartless, somehow managing to stay on top of it despite it falling down. Cheza moved back into the kitchen and stood next to Emi. “Well this looks like it ought to be a fun fight.” She thought as she waited for Hyou to make his next move.

[allacar]

Fighting Is SomeTimes The Only Thing I Live For Even If I Fall Into Darkness

Hyou found the fight to be very amusing plus the sight of Cheza running into the kitchen yelling out motivational words like this was a football field, was more than enough to put a smile on his face. Hyou focused back on what he was doing figuring that the heartless was pretty harmless from where he stood because of its over-sized head he had plenty of room to stand and unless the heartless smashed the top of its head into something it couldn’t do any damage him. At that very exact moment Emi yelled at Cheza to get back “What is she up to” thought Hyou realizing that Emi was about to attack.

Hyou kept the heartless preoccupied long enough for Emi to smash her Kali sticks into the floor of the kitchen, which sent a shock wave toward the heartless. The creature toppled over to its side when the wave hit it, which gave Hyou the opportunity he needed. Hyou assumed that the steady glow at the end of the creature’s antenna was the source of the power for the illusion, and decided that the best way to do some serious damage would be to get rid of it. With the creature still toppled over Hyou jumped to the ground while still grasping the antenna and readied himself for his own attack. Even with his injuries Hyou pulled off a double roundhouse kick, the first snapped the antenna in two and the second landed on the creature’s head which sent it sliding into the kitchen counter by the sink. Hyou realized that the only way to put this creature down for the count would be for the three of them to attack all at once. He looked at Emi and Cheza and wondered if they where up to it.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"Hurry up, this isn't a line for an amusement park ride."
--

It wasn't hard to see that Emi wasn't a team player. But she knew she couldn't defeat the Dark Baiter in such a cramped space without help. Outside with lots of space was a different story but they weren't outside. So she had no choice.

But that didn't mean she would play fair.

Beneath their feet, the last wave from her earlier attack pulsed outwards, distorting the air and somewhat lazily making its way to the incapacitated Heartless. With Hyou and Cheza both now out of the way, it hit the creature at full power. The Heartless, even as it struggled and writhed to get back up, was knocked down again.

The Heartless wriggled around a bit trying to get its bearings. She figured they had about five seconds before it got very very angry. Hyou had torn off the thing's antenna which seemed to really hurt it. Emi figured if she and Cheza could get in a good hit, that Heartless would be a goner. She turned only her face to Cheza and started barking orders, again holding her kali sticks out in a waiting, defensive stance.

"That thing's not going to be down for too much longer. As soon as it gets up, before it has a chance to attack us, you attack it. Then while its reeling, I'll go. That should take care of it.[/color]"

[Cheza]

“Another one bites the dust...”

[/b]

“Ok” Cheza replied to Emi's orders. Usually she wasn't much for being a team player or for taking orders from someone she barely knew, much less trusted, but desperate times call for desperate measures. So without further thought she prepared herself to attack the heartless. As soon as it started to get up, she jumped in the air and pulled the trigger on her gunblade which sent a wave of energy through the blade. Then she made a downward slash and her blade struck the heartless from the top and as she landed back on her feet, all that was left of the heartless was a puff of blackish smoke and a heart floating up into the air.

“Well that was pretty simple.” Cheza said. “Now what?”

Battle Report
Cheza used Falling Star
1 use left
4 posts till next use

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"Not what I had in mind...."
--

Emi gawked. Cheza was stronger than she had expected. The girls quiet exterior apparently hid a warrior's drive. But then Emi collected herself, slipped her kali sticks into their place on her belt and put her hands on her hips. "Well now that that's taken care of, let's get out of here before the ceiling collapses on us.[/color]"

She lead the way, expecting to go out and see Zexion standing around boredly still cloaked in his illusion. Instead, she followed the sound of his voice around the corner into an open alleyway where he was joined by Vexen- who looked vaguely familiar now that she thought about it, oh wait, that's because it looked like Even, the old man who had reprimanded at her on many an occasion- and another cloaked man with whom she was not acquainted.

She stood back warily, knowing that Cheza and Hyou would probably appear behind her at any second. She hadn't caught any of their conversation, just snatches of words distorted by the echo of the alleyway. She wasn't sure what to say; she felt as though all three of them were staring at her.

She addressed Zexion. "Guess what? The old lady turned into a Heartless, I guess. Funny, right?[/color]"

[Matt]

An Experiment, You Say?

"Well Zexion, it tends to to take some 'misconstruing', to find the truth in what you say. I know better than to take everything you say at face-value. For example: You claim she followed you against your knowledge. However, considering you're supposed to be one of our best sleuths, you must either be losing your touch or more likely lying." Vexen realized that his incredible perceptiveness was probably beginning to annoy Zexion. However it was clearly his fault for leaving such deception to be seen through in the first place.

At the mention of the word experiment, Vexen became slightly more interested. He did enjoy experiments, about as much as a nobody could enjoy anything. And the topic of memories was quite an intriguing one... Although he certainly didn't believe everything that had just been said was entirely true. There would have been no good reason to choose to escort the girl here. And if it had really been her heart he Zexion was after, he would have already had it. No, there was unquestionably more than wasn't being said. And he would certainly have to look into what exactly that was.

The next excuse was even more absurd than the last. "Well of course I've noticed the word's current state." he answered, as if he had just been asked the the most obvious question ever. Which it quite possibly was. It took mere moments and half a brain to survey the Restoration Committee's little progress. Aside from being a low priority, the results were also rather predictable. "Now, tell me about this--" But before he could finish whatever it was he was going to say, he was suddenly interrupted by that girl, Emi.

"Hilarious." he replied dullfully, though not entirely sure what old lady was even being referred to. He supposed at this point there was no point in hiding from this one, but it would be best to leave before having to run into the other two children. "Is there anything else you wish to attend to Zexion, or are you finally ready to return to the Castle?" he asked, making it clear that he wasn't leaving until the other nobody left as well.

[Fate]

What a Tangled Web We Weave

"I must be losing my touch then, for even you have caught my little lie," he said in a somewhat amused voice. He knew he had lost at this point; Vexen was not going to believe anything else he said surrounding this situation. Vexen knew that despite Zexion's record, he was lying to his face; the Schemer had never lied to the Organization, much less his superiors, in the past. He was far too loyal for that sort of thing. However, things were changing; nothing was as it seemed anymore.

Emi quickly approached the three Nobodies shortly after Zexion spoke, unafraid and looking as if she had just fought a battle. The Heartless stench was gone from the orphanage, which meant that her and the other orphans must have finished it off. They would soon be following Emi out of the orphanage and straight to where the three Organization members stood; the Schemer couldn't allow that to happen. Emi didn't know what sort of group she had found herself near nor did she know the things they did; she only knew of one member and shared members. She knew none of what he did as a Nobody.

Vexen was obviously not amused by Emi at all and wanted answers right away. Luxord undoubtedly was growing bored of this as well. The best course of action was to return to the Castle at this point. There wasn't a way he could teach Emi how to use the Corridors of Darkness properly at this point; she now had two side-kicks and he was not sure what sort of knowledge they had about the Organization. He also had Vexen and Luxord here, which meant that even if he went off with Emi, suspicion would gather around him like a dark cloud and get back to the Superior; he couldn't have that.

"And it seems you escaped unharmed," he answered Emi first, as she had spoken first and it was only proper, "Though, you will have to forgive my poor manners. I cannot stay here any longer." His politeness was not something he just used solely in the Organization; it applied to everyone. He had even been polite to Riku at their first encounter. He could not disregard her now that he had meddled, which was his own fault. He now needed to have a few choice words with Vexen, ones that would truthfully explain what his intentions were. He had planned with Vexen once and it had worked for a while. It was time he started that process again.

"I believe it is time we return to the Castle Vexen," he answered, then looking at Luxord, "It would not be wise for any of the inhabitants of this world to know we are here." He cast a Corridor of Darkness in the alleyway and looked to Vexen, a serious look on his face. "You and I need to discuss a few things; I can better explain the truth when we are elsewhere." He then gestured to the Corridor of Darkness, allowing Vexen to go first; he was his Superior, after all.

Though, in this moment's time, he could accomplish another goal; while he couldn't spend time teaching Emi how to use the Corridors of Darkness, he could get her started. "Curious things these are," he mused aloud, "When we started using them, they would not allow us to go very far. However, with practice, precision and patience, they became our main method of travel. One has to be able to control the darkness within it, however." He said no more, giving Emi one last serious look before inviting Luxord through the Corridor of Darkness and then following suit.

[/size]

[Nothingness]

Time to Fold

"Hm, is it time to go at last? Very well. This game had gotten stale, anyway." Following Zexion through the corridor, he looked over his shoulder at Emi. Despite looking directly at her, he said to himself."Hm, well, she doesn't look like his type, but a muse is a muse." Smiling and nodding at Emi, he said directly, "It's a shame we never got to be personally introduced. Perhaps next time." With that, the corridor closed and he vanished with the other two Nobodies.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

"This is over my head,
But underneath my feet,
Cause by tomorrow morning I'll have this thing beat,
And everything will be back to the way that it was,
I wish that it was just that easy."
-Somewhere in Between by Lifehouse
--

Still confused by Luxord's parting comment, Emi weakly protested "Hey...wait a second...[/color]" but Zexion was already going. But... but they had plans! His vague explanation of the use of these corridors wasn't nearly enough and she still had questions.

It came to her that perhaps Luxord's comment had something to do with the joke she had played. She blushed deeply, suddenly embarrassed about it. No wonder she felt like they were staring at her. It didn't matter now. All three of them were gone now and she didn't know how to go find them.

Figures. People never stuck around. Emi swallowed hard, unsure why she was so upset about their leaving. She told herself she ought to be used to people doing that. She told herself that it was no big deal. She was back home and that was all that mattered right? That's what she'd stuck around and cooperated for?

Cheza and Hyou were only seconds away and Emi didn't want to stick around. Her sad feeling was quickly turning to anger, as all her emotions usually did. She knew that she probably would take it out on one of them and it was best to just get away while she still had some control.

So before the other two could find her, she took off running back towards the inn. She had left the black cloak there and she would need it if she was to learn how to use the corridors. She also desperately wanted a hot shower. Then, she would go to the castle as they had planned. It seemed pretty abandoned, maybe she could stay there for a while. She had nowhere else to go.

She ran hard and it seemed to take the edge off the fury. When she finally skidded in the door of the inn and stumbled to the room she'd been assigned, she felt a little better. She leaned against the door frame and told herself nothing needed to change. In fact, it was good that she was alone again. She could go by her own schedule, make her own rules. All she needed to do was ignore the crippling loneliness and odd feeling of loss.

She closed and locked the door behind her, walking to the bed and picking up the cloak. Yeah. Who needed him? She would be just fine by herself, like she always had.
--
Emi has exited the thread.

[Cheza]

”I'm not suposed to be scared of anything, but I don't know where I am”

[/b]

Cheza followed Emi out of the orphanage and noticed that the stranger was no longer standing outside. “I wonder where he went” she thought. Emi seemed to wonder slightly but then she headed towards an alley. As they approached Cheza heard some voices. Emi headed on and seemed to stop and talk for a few minutes. Cheza stayed behind, she didn't really like being involved in other people's conversations. She did noticed that it wasn't just the stranger and Emi talking but also two other unfamiliar voices. After a while it seemed that they had stopped talking. Cheza stood there waiting for a while for Emi to return, but she didn't. Cheza figured it was best to just follow after her. She turned the corner into the alley and there was no one there. “That is strange. I know she was just there,” she thought. Cheza walked back out to where she knew Hyou was and turned to him and shrugged.

“She must have left with that strange guy. I really don't know where to go. Did you have any idea what to do next? I don't have any transportation or anything, but maybe we could hitch a ride or something and get out of this place. Not any point in me staying here anymore. I sort of like having your company and I wouldn't mind tagging along with you for a while. That is if... uh... you don't mind of course.” Cheza realized that she had been rambling, but that was what she did when she was nervous and uncomfortable. She didn't really know Hyou that well, but she did know that she really didn't want to be on her own any more. She had grown used to having company with her and despite being really shy she had to admit she liked having someone she might could call a friend. She wasn't really sure if Hyou would think of her as a friend, but he was friendly to her so at least it was close to a friendship and had room to turn into one. She just hoped he wouldn't just leave her alone, she really did want to have him around.