Patient Zero [Nadia]

[Slash]

Home again, home again.
(July 20th, 2010)

Well, technically the forest wasn't near his home. He was more referring to his homeworld. But anyway.

The forest was generally dark, mysterious, and had a bad air about it, as if something bad was going to happen at any moment.

This being said, Jericho infinitely preferred it to the town itself.

Why was he in Twilight Town? He honestly couldn't say. He had been planning to save this world for last, when he had perfected his technique. But who was to say when he would reach his last world? There were almost infinite worlds out there, each one different. He'd never be able to get to them all. And there was always the possibility of him getting killed.

Even if he managed to cheat death as he had done before, when would he lose his heart? He knew how precarious his position was. He was able to transform into something resembling a Heartless without losing his heart, but how long would that last? Two years at the very most. And that was really stretching it.

Death comes to us all. No man is eternal.[/color]

He had never been so aware of his own mortality. Distressed, he sat against a tree, took off his glasses, and rubbed his head. If anyone was apporaching, he didn't notice.

[Aerith]

Trouble in T-Town
--------

It was a quiet day around Twilight Town, so Nadia decided to go for a stroll. Since coming here, she had learned much that she had not been privy to back in Agrabah. Heartless were creatures of the dark that stole the hearts of humans to sate their hunger. She had made it her mission to make sure this fate didn't befall any of the townspeople. Acting as a protector gave her a sense of purpose, and it also reminded her that Asherah was not a Heartless, as the people of Agrabah had assumed.

Her feet led her to the outskirts of the town, into the forest that eventually opened onto the Old Mansion. There was a noticeably different feel to the trees than to the town itself. Most of the residents chose to avoid this place if at all possible. So, it surprised her when she saw someone sitting against one of the trunks.

She would have approached him and offered him a greeting, but right at that moment, several creatures she recognized as Nobodies appeared. Four of them were a common sight around here--Dusks, she had learned to call them. And there were two others that moved fluidly among the trees--Dancers. She raised her eyebrows at those. They were a much rarer species than the Dusks.

Wasting no time, she drew both of her knives and launched herself at the nearest Dusk, catching it by surprise with one stab through its head and another one straight into its back. It dissolved, and she quickly whirled to the next nearest Nobody.

"Hey!" she shouted to the man against the tree. "Might want to watch out!"

[Slash]

A new face and a handful of Nobodies.

[/center]

Jericho immediately snapped out of his depressed funk upon the arrival of the Nobodies. There was a girl in her early 20's fighting them, who had managed to kill one of the Dusks. She warned him about their appearance, but he was already on it. Holding Corruption in a battle stance, he struck at a Dancer. It was quick, but he managed to slice it up with little problem. The other one was focusing on the girl. He didn't feel like saving her, but it was best to get the stronger enemies first.

The Dancer moved fluidly, carefully dodging his attacks and countering with precision. It struck out at him quickly- Jericho dodged the attack, knocked it back, and used his momentary advantage to tear it apart.

"Three left. How many can you handle?" he asked, keeping his eye on the remaining enemies. He could kill them without any risk, but far be it from him to hog all the fights.

[Aerith]

This One Isn't Helpless
--------

It turned out that the stranger was more than capable at fighting, quickly destroying the two Dancers without much of a problem. But she could acknowledge that feat after the rest of the Nobodies were gone.

One of the Dusks was trying to slither around to attack her from behind, but she jumped out of the way, slashing it to ribbons with her knives. Without hesitating, she summoned Asherah to her aid. The ethereal presence of her Persona was a comfort, but she only stayed around long enough to catch both of the remaining Dusks in a small explosion of fire. Just as suddenly as she had arrived, Asherah left again.

Nadia took a moment to scan the trees for any other signs of Nobodies. Finding none, she turned back to the stranger and appraised him while sheathing her knives. "Good thing you can fight if you're hanging out around here. Guess you didn't need my help at all."

[Summary:
Nadia used Agi.
Posts until next use: 3
Uses remaining: 2]

[Slash]

Interesting.

[/center]

Much to Jericho's surprise, the girl summoned...something to her aid. It looked like another woman, and had some strange, ethereal presence to it. The woman disappeared quickly, taking only a moment to ignite the Dusks. How strange.

But really, how much stranger was it than turning into a spider thing?

He looked at the girl. She didn't have any interesting or unexpected emotion at the moment. She was connected to that ethereal thing the closest. Its name was Asherah, and it was...a Persona? What was that? He had no idea, but it fascinated him.

The girl reminded him of a plan he had made once, one that he had discarded as too risky to attempt. What was it again...?

Oh, yes. Patient Zero. He remembered now. It had been an interesting plan, but too many variables were involved and he had never found a suitable Zero.

But why did he remember it now?

"Eh, it was still welcome. You weren't bad yourself," he said, slouching slightly against a tree to diminish his height slightly. Staring down at people was usually perceived as arrogant. "Name's Jericho. And you?"

[Aerith]

Introductions
--------

Jericho was certainly different from anyone she had ever met. While he had the appearance of a rather bookish person, he had displayed considerable fighting skill. She knew that appearances could be misleading, of course, but his was especially so.

She was grateful that he chose to slouch a little. It was less intimidating talking to him that way, even though she still had to look up. "My name is Nadia."

Studying him again for a moment, she tried to recall ever seeing him around Twilight Town. But no matter how much she racked her brain, she could not remember. Either he was a visitor, a non-native like herself, or he was simply very good at hiding. Perhaps he lived around here, in the forest, so that no one would find him. Was he a hermit, then? He seemed willing enough to talk, so she wasn't so sure about that assumption.

"What brings you to Twilight Town? Not too many people deliberately choose to spend time out here." She glanced around at the trees.

[Slash]

Half-truths are better than lies, right?

Jericho shrugged. "I used to live in Twilight Town," he said, intentionally avoiding details. "I guess I'm here because of nostalgia. The forest's always been weird, but it's quiet. I used to sit on the outskirts and read back when I lived here- but it was nicer back then."

The girl was nice, but not in the same way that Aerith had been. Aerith had been so nice as to be almost inhuman- the girl in front of him was more of a fighter, and was therefore human. With all the flaws that followed.

Kindness could be twisted, made to be a worse sort of evil than that of a cruel or stoic man. Hadn't Carter been kind?

She could be used...[/color]

That was stupid.

Test her out. If you are wrong, then no harm done. She wouldn't win the fight. But if you succeed...[/color]

It was unthinkable, impossible, but if he succeeded...

Then you are immortal. In a sense, at least.[/color]

Very well. He'd try. If he could start moving into more personal things, very slowly...

"And you? Like you said, few people come out here. Just wandering around?"

[Aerith]

Suppressed Memories
--------

Ah, so he had been living here at one time. It was less strange for him to be here now, even if he was spending time out in this forest. But his explanation was satisfactory. She, too, used to enjoy reading, getting away from people. She missed that time alone. Maybe that's why she had ended up out this way today.

"Oh, I don't usually come here. I guess I just happened to wander over for no particular reason. Needed some alone time, I guess." It was the truth. This wasn't a usual haunt of hers, but thoughts of the Old Mansion had been on her mind lately. It was just sitting there abandoned, after all. Surely, it could be put to some other use.

"I haven't lived her for very long, though. Actually... I didn't come here by choice." Her eyes shifted away from him for a moment as she pushed down the memories of being tossed around inside a Gummi Ship's cargo hold for a long while. "I'm originally from Agrabah."

[Slash]

Something to be looked into?

Ah. So she was sent here through some means, torn away from her homeworld. That could be used. Tragedies could be exploited if one knew how to do so. And he knew very well.

If he was actually going to choose her to be Patient Zero, he'd have to begin presenting the personality that would go accordingly. Being cold, scornful or unsympathetic was an idiotic way to go about taking an apprentice, and usually led to rebellion. He would be kind. It would not be hard. Here was not only a person but the key to his ultimate goal. With that in mind, it was hardly acting.

"Not here by choice?" His voice was sympathetic, but he was careful to keep it from being patronizing. "You were forced to come here? By whom?"

He threw up his hands in an apologetic gesture. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

[Aerith]

The Past is Past
--------

She hadn't talked to anyone about the circumstances behind her arrival here, and it was a little odd to do so now, especially to a complete stranger. But the need to get this off her chest far outweighed any cautionary tendencies she might have had. She did appreciate the fact that he immediately said she didn't have to talk about it if she didn't want to.

Of course, she did want to.

"When Asherah--oh, my Persona; you saw her, didn't you?--first manifested, everyone must have thought she was a Heartless or something else that had possessed me. They thought I was going to hurt them, I guess. So, they shipped me off Agrabah, and I wound up here."

She shook her head. Saying it now, she sounded just a little callous. But it was just a self-defense mechanism. She had done her crying right after she had gotten here. No reason to start blubbering about life now. "But life is what you make it, right? I try not to wallow in self-pity or anything. I just help out around here whenever I can."

[Slash]

This is easier than expected.

[/center]

He nodded when Nadia mentioned her Persona. "I saw her. Didn't look like any Heartless I've ever seen. I can't see why..." He shook his head. "But you're right. There's no point in dwelling on past offenses."

Oh, that last bit was just rich with dramatic irony.

"But still...That's not right. You shouldn't have been...I mean..." He shook his head and stopped, seemingly afraid of embarassing the girl. "I'm sorry, it's not my place to say anything. But...you have a home here, right? They gave you something to live with? You're not stuck on the streets?"

He was filled with nothing but sincere concern. At least, that was what it appeared like.

[Aerith]

I Work With What I Have
--------

She shook her head again. "No, they didn't. But I've managed. Most of the people here are nice enough to let me stay with them whenever I need to. I do odd jobs to earn food and such. Sure, it isn't what I used to have, living back home as part of the nobility, but at least I'm not dead."

His sympathy was strange to her. Everyone else around town was nice to her, of course, especially considering her dedication to helping them out whenever she could, but none of them had ever sat down with her and just talked. She was no open book, but hearing someone empathize was nice, in a way.

"I get the feeling that people are wary around me here, too, though. But they aren't picking up stones to kill me, at least."

[Slash]

And nobility, to boot. Now, how to make this work...?

Well, Jericho could understand what it was like to be considered with distrust and hate. Of course, he actively encouraged those emotions himself, so sympathy was a little beyond him. At least he had a grasp of what she was going through.

A member of Agrabah's nobility, cast out from her home and abandoned. That was a sad fate, to be sure. He'd gotten a good look at the girl by asking simple questions and leading her along, analyzing her emotions at every step.

She was optimistic to a great degree, quite open and responsive to sympathy. She had been quick to put some trust in him, possibly just because she wanted to unload her heavy burden. If he was nearsighted (mentally nearsighted, he meant, as unfortunately he was nearsighted. The glasses weren't just for show) then he'd dump the idea of making her a Zero and look for someone else, someone closer to the darkness.

But he knew how to plan ahead. Kindness could be twisted, corrupted into a manipulative cruelty. She seemed a little...dull, but that was just his perspective concerning naive optimism. Her optimism would not last long.

She'd learn a lot as a Zero. Oh, yes.

Besides, using someone already tied to the darkness was like tracing over a drawing. Little room for interpretation, and no satisfaction to be had. Anyone could do it.

And here in front of him was a completely blank canvas. He could fail and produce a frustrating, mediocre piece of work that was good for nothing but the trash, or he could create a work of art.

He did love a challenge.

Now, to finish it off. This was the most delicate part of the procedure, and he went about it with the same precision and caution that a surgeon would use while operating on the heart or brain.

"You can't like that, though. Being treated like an outcast..." He shrugged. "I can't say I know what you're going through. Nobody can completely understand the plight of another as if it was them suffering. But I can say I went through a time in which I was outcast. On this world, too! And you know what I did?"

Jericho smiled. "I left. And I barely ever come back. I don't have a home, but that's voluntary. Constant traveling is far better. Being trapped on one world is pointless, especially when everyone on that world considers you with suspicion at best. There's so much more to see, and only so much time to see it. And why give up that chance for the hope that perhaps some day, if you work hard enough, people will look at you with reluctant acceptance instead of wary scorn?"

He was so close to the final part, but now he relented. Pushing too hard would result in failure before he even began. "Ugh. Sorry. It looks like I've made the conversation about me." He shook his head. "Ignore what I said. I tend to ramble occasionally."

[Aerith]

A Hitch in That Idea
--------

Jericho liked to talk, it seemed, and even though he did steer the conversation more toward himself, what he said still resonated with her. Truthfully, she did wonder how long she would last here. As she had said, the people here were kind, but they were kind to pretty much anyone who visited their streets.

The people of Agrabah had been kind, too. Until they had been convinced she was some sort of witch or demon. What was to stop someone here from stirring up anger and paranoia?

When he mentioned that he also had experience at being an outcast, both of her eyes widened a little. "You, too? What did you do?" To be exiled by the people of this town must have taken something very significant. The friendliness and sense of community was addicting, and it seemed nothing would break these people of it.

The idea of traveling sparked her interest. She had read about so many faraway places in her father's scrolls, places she knew she would never be able to see because of her attachment to the world of Agrabah. Political and economic obligations tended to be incredibly chaining. But now that she had been thrown off her homeworld, possibilities were opening up.

There was just one problem.

"Seeing other worlds sounds nice, but I don't exactly have any way to get off this one. I don't think I'll ever have enough munny to afford a Gummi Ship."

[Slash]

Let's see where this'll take us.

[/center]

Jericho said matter-of-factly, "I was framed for something I didn't do. Something horrible enough to make a lot of people want me dead." That was completely the truth. He had killed a lot of people, but he hadn't killed his family.

He was resolved to keep the rest of the conversation off of himself. It had worked to create an ideal reaction for the initial stage, but to continue on the topic of himself would make him appear too self-centered...which he admittedly was, but if anyone knew not to wear their heart on their sleeve it was Jericho.

Now, here was another issue. How to go about this? Simply offering her a ride off would seem too straightforward and suspicious. But carrying on the conversation much longer would lead to it becoming tedious rather than interesting for the potential Zero.

"Well, you don't have to own a Gummi Ship yourself, at least not at first. There are other people traveling through worlds, many open to hitchikers. They'll probably ask for munny, but it won't be all that much." Once again, he knew this by firsthand experience.

Okay, that had eased the path a little, but now he had to decide what tone to take. Too eager and it would be odd, too reluctant and it would seem as if she was unwelcome. He eventually took the tone of someone attempting to offer help who was unused to it, very sincere but with a less fluid, less practiced method of speaking than he usually employed.

"I'm leaving for a world called Traverse Town in about five hours. It's full of travelers, sort of a hub world for different types. From there, you can get anywhere in the universe provided you speak to the right people." He paused. "You can come along if you like. I wouldn't mind."

He should not, would not press any further. Moving down into a sitting position, he began to look over Corruption for dents or cracks from the battle. He doubted that there were any- it was a strong sword- but it was a terrible idea to seem too interested in her answer.