To Dance with Dragons [Open]

[Aerith]

Race to the Goal

She nodded, then dashed back into the trees and hoped Raen could keep up. If they were lucky, her contingent of guards would have already returned to the city and seen the emperor. At least, he would be aware that something wasn't quite right, even if he wouldn't know specifics. But the more the seconds ticked away, the more Lanying couldn't help picturing a bloody trail of death leading straight to the heart of the city in smoking ruins. She gritted her teeth and willed her feet to run faster. She could find a way to stop this. She had to.

They did not encounter any more Heartless on their way out of the forest, and that was in their favor. Lanying burst out of the trees, right onto the small secondary road that lead straight back to the city. There was no sign of the silver-haired man. She breathed an immense sigh of relief. The moment she heard Raen behind her, she took off down the road. “This way!”

[Fate]

Outmatched

"Surely you knew that you were outmatched."

Needless to say, Kadaj made it into the city. The Heartless had started to run amuck in the streets and the screaming was already beginning. His sword was still in his hand, knowing that more guards would be coming to get him; he only dealt with a small group of them that were guarding the city's entrance. There would be more coming to try and finish him off and he needed to be ready. Though, he couldn't waste too much time with them. He had somewhere he wanted to be.

"He's over here! Get him before he gets to the Emperor!" The guards had seemingly found him and had found out what his plans were. That made things more interesting. Arrows started coming at him from the front while a couple more guards charged. The arrows were easily deflected with the Souba thanks to his quick reaction time. The guards charging at him had swords of their own as well and they were undoubtedly decent warriors. Kadaj felt he should at least humor them.

"And I even get my own welcoming party," he commented, staying still momentarily, "I'm glad you're taking the news of your destruction so well." He said no more and rushed forward himself, delivering several quick blows. In twenty seconds, he made it past those guards and needed to deal with the next group, the ones that had shot the arrows at them. He felt he didn't need to deal with them in close range; he just had to make it past them. After that, it was time to get through the rest of the city and at long last meet the Emperor.

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[Aerith]

The Principle of Trust

With her brain pulsing panic through her limbs, Lanying was running faster than she thought was possible for her. The city soon loomed large in her vision, but the shouts she heard coming from within the outer walls sent dread shooting down her spine. She was too late! The sound of metal clashing mingled with the scent of blood in the air and very nearly pushed her to her knees in defeat.

No! I will not let it end like this! There was an entrance through the city's wall that led straight to the emperor's throne room. It was a secret heavily guarded by the emperor himself, one which he shared only with those he deemed trustworthy. And Lanying was the only one of his regents that he trusted that deeply.

In her whirlpool of emotions, she had almost forgotten her companion. That presented a problem. She couldn't violate the emperor's trust in her and reveal the secret way to some stranger she had known for less than a few hours. Even though he had thus far given her no reason not to trust him, she was not naïve. People always have the ability to be duplicitous. Some were far better at it than others.

She did not necessarily need Raen to accompany her into the throne room, but a second able-bodied fighter was always a help, especially since she knew that the silver-haired man would inevitably reach the emperor. She would have no choice but to fight and defend the emperor. Or die trying. She would rather not die if she could help it, though.

She turned to Raen and fixed him with a penetrating stare for a moment. “I know a way directly into the throne room. But...you must promise me that you will tell no one of it.” Of course, if the city and even the entire world was destroyed, it wouldn't really matter if every soul in the universe knew of the secret passage. Still, it was the principle of the matter.

[Nothingness]

One Condition

Raen had an easy time keeping up with Lanying as the two of them raced towards the city. He'd have loved to have taken time to just see this world's beauty, but now was not the time, and he may never have that time. Regardless, he was glad that he got here when he did--if he could save this world, then at least he would have made up for not being able to save his friends.

As they stopped in front of the city wall, Lanying asked him to promise not to reveal the location of the secret entrance to anyone. "I swear on my life that I won't. But, there's one thing I want you to do for me." He paused, wondering whether or not it was selfish to ask this. "If it seems like nothing we do will save this world, then I have to ask you to leave this world with me. I don't want anyone else's blood on my hands." He was hoping that she wouldn't get the wrong idea by asking her to abandon her world, should there be no hope of saving it.

[Matt]

Further Inquisition

Having teleported into the city, Vexen watched from as the heartless began to attack the city. Due to the fact that be was a nobody, the creatures were paying little attention to him. He did not have a heart to be stolen. Nor did he have a heart with which to sympathize for the citizens as they too lost their hearts to the monsters. With nothing to gain, he had no reason to help them. Actually, with the current condition of the balance between the light and darkness, it served the Organization's, if not everyone's best interest to let the heartless continue on as they were. Perhaps the entire world might even be consumed by the darkness. That would be an effective way to help fix the current problematic unbalance that existed.

It was not the heartless, however, that currently held Vexen's primary interest. It was the man that he had discovered was leading them in their attack. The man had had silver hair that reached his shoulders and covered much of his face. He wore complete black from head to toe, including a long coat, boots, and gloves. The outfit bore a slight resemblance to that of the nobodies. But more notable than his outfit, was his sword. It had two parallel blades extending from it's handle, instead of one. Vexen assumed the purpose of this was was to allow the man to easily disarm other swordsmen, as well as inflict more lethal wounds than a typical sword.

And the sword appeared to be doing it's job, as the man was evidently making quick work of the Imperial Guards. He was clearly quite a skilled swordsman. Although his planning skills didn't appear nearly as sophisticated. In fact, there didn't appear to be much of a plan at all. Not only that, but he appeared to be taking things very lightly, even having fun. So, the man took amusement from destruction. How uncivilized... Still, he was worth observing for the time being. And bugs under a microscope often were primitive, now weren't they?

[Aerith]

The Calm Before the Storm

Lanying's first inclination was to refuse his request. She had a duty to her people, and if they were fated to die, then she would die with them. But there was another part of her that had always been curious to explore these other worlds she kept hearing whispers about. This could be her one chance to finally do so. After a few brief seconds of inner debate, curiosity won out over duty.

“Very well. If it comes to that, I'll go with you.”

She immediately started moving toward a section of the wall that was, luckily, unoccupied. There was one stone marked by a dragon's head carved almost imperceptibly in the lower left corner. Once she found it, she put pressure on the carving. Something clicked, and the wall yielded. She shoved it with her shoulder, opening a dark passage dimly lit by a few scattered torches on the walls. All was quiet, except for the crackling of fire. No yellow eyes swarmed the path.

Beckoning Raen silently, Lanying walked with urgency into the passage. She breathed as softly as possible, as though afraid the slightest noise would attract hordes of Heartless. But nothing hindered the two of them, and finally, Lanying felt something solid in front of her. It was smooth, much smoother than the stones of the city's wall. She knew it to be the backside of a statue that sat against the wall of the throne room. There was a small crevice that she ran her fingers into to produce another click, and the statue slid easily forward, granting them access to the room beyond. Lanying took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the change in light, then hurried to the other side of the opening.

Much to her relief, the emperor was standing there in front of the throne, looking at her. “Sir, the city is being—”

He held up a hand. “Yes. I am aware of the threat to the people.” As always, he radiated complete calm, even in the midst of a crisis such as this. His eyes shifted to Raen, and he arched an eyebrow questioningly.

Lanying made a formal bow. “I apologize for compromising the secret you entrusted to me, but he helped me escape a group of Heartless. If the man I saw in the forest is heading here, we will need all the help we can get.”

[Nothingness]

Unknown Darkness

Raen followed Lanying's example and bowed to the Emperor. "I have already given my word to Lanying to not reveal the location of the passage, and I will also give that same word to you. And, if I must, I will defend this world alongside your men to the best of my abilities." He felt bad about saying that, knowing clear in his mind his intent in the event of the world's downfall. However, he would try his best to prevent that from happening--that was no lie.

Somewhere though, deep in the back of his mind, far beyond the reach of his consciousness, he felt that the fall of the world would be better for everyone if it meant restoring the balance. Zexion's words still ate at him, even when he wasn't aware of them. Perhaps the darkness was already beginning to sink into his heart. Just a small seed planted by that Nobody, waiting to grow and consume him in his own self-doubt. For now, though, his thoughts were far away from that, but the only question that remained was, for how long would they stay away?

[Fate]

Any Last Words?
Violator

If there was one thing Kadaj had a flair for, it was for the dramatics.

He had managed to make it through the guards near the Imperial Palace without any abrasions to his person. Some were still yelling at him from behind as he walked up the steps toward the palace doors, though a lot of them held back. Many of them had seen what he could do with the sword he still held in his left hand and weren't keen at being on the receiving end of it again. This one-man army was almost unstoppable.

As soon as he reached the palace doors, he violently pushed them open. The doors were strong and did not break one bit, but they opened a fair amount for him to reveal a long hallway to another room. He grinned murderously as he ran toward the doors to what he believed to be the throne room, busting them open again. This door received more damage from the silver-haired man than the other and it revealed more than the last one. This one had people, ones that he recognized from a little rendezvous in the forest. They were with the Emperor, undoubtedly to protect him; too bad that wasn't going to work.

He slowly started making his way toward the Emperor, his sword still in hand with the evil smirk still on his face. He wasn't sure if they were going to try and fight him before he did anything; one could never be too careful, so he kept Souba in place. Though, this was the most fun part about the job right here, at least for him. He loved seeing the faces of the people before he destroyed their world. That was what made his day.

"Looks like your guards couldn't stop me," he gloated to all present, then raising his right hand in the air. He never used this hand that much compared to his left, though he decided it was easier to summon Heartless with this hand and hold the sword in the other. "Ready for the next act? Don't worry; I'll make it painless." His tone was casual and jovial, as it was before. His last sentence of course wasn't very true at all and those present most likely guessed that by now. Kadaj wasn't one for hiding things too often.

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[Nothingness]

No Backing Down

Raen drew Fimbulvetr--its thin blade gleamed an icy white in the room's dim light. He normally would have taken a defensive stance, but he couldn't risk it, because the man's weapon looked like it was specifically designed to disarm someone, so a still weapon wouldn't work. Instead, he held his weapon straight out, blade parallel to the ground, standing in a fencing position. "Instead of yapping, why don't you actually fight!?" He was surprised, himself, at where that vehemence came from. Relaxing, he focused all his attention on Kadaj. A fight with him would be settled far too quickly to wait; he had to read his moves as soon as it started if he wanted to stand a chance against this man.

[Aerith]

The Discernment of the Wise

Lanying was trying her best to maintain her inner serenity just as the emperor so effortlessly seemed to be doing, but the sight of the silver-haired man made her seethe. She nocked another arrow to her bowstring and pointed it at the man's head. He radiated that arrogance of his, but she questioned whether he was truly fast enough to dodge an arrow in these closer quarters.

She silently agreed with Raen. This man talked way too much and much too dramatically for her tastes. She knew from experience that people who talked too much were just hiding deeper fears beneath all those layers of bravado. Perhaps it was the same in this man's case. There was only one way to find out.

Her bowstring tightened as she drew her hand all the way back to her ear, but before she could release her arrow, a voice with the strength of a thousand storms spoke.

"Enough."

It was the emperor. He glided between her and their nemesis, effectively obscuring her target. For a brief moment, she felt a flicker of anger, but she buried it.

Facing Kadaj, the emperor stood calmly, his hands folded in the great sleeves of his robe. His eyes were the only betrayal of his sternness. "Young man, I understand, perhaps more than you do, that all opposites must be in balance. Day and night, male and female, heat and cold, light and darkness." He didn't move, his eyes never wavering from Kadaj's face. "You may believe that you are your own master, but I can see that darkness rules your heart and plucks your strings like a puppet. Though you wish for the darkness to consume all, this cannot and will not happen. Light will always return to restore the balance, just as darkness is working now. If you do not recognize this, the light that you so despise will find you and destroy you."

He finished and remained where he stood. Lanying wanted to demand that he get out of the way so she could have a clear shot at Kadaj, but she kept silent, trusting that the emperor knew what he was doing.

[Fate]

The Real Fun Begins

Finally, things were beginning to get interesting. The guy he had met earlier was looking for a fight now; why he didn't do it before when Kadaj wasn't near the palace was beyond him. The silver-haired man twisted the sword's position in his hand to his offensive position, which didn't quite look like the normal position one would hold their sword in. Most swordsmen held their swords out in front of them; even Sephiroth did and Kadaj was one of his remnants. However, this particular sword fighter was different: he held his sword in a way that made the two blades face backward.

The girl wanted to fight him too and her arrow was aimed already. Two against one, eh? He didn't mind that. Though, the fight was held at a standstill as the emperor came to speak in front of them to break up the fighting. Of course; the pacifists always had to ruin everything. Kadaj stared him down as he spoke, letting him speak for now as his green eyes glared back. This man was wrong. He did not know where he came from, what he was, what he did, or any of that. He was a creature of darkness, almost no better than the Heartless. He had born into it because of Sephiroth.

That thought made him fortify his glare. He did not need to be reminded of that other swordsman. He focused on the man's words more, the grip on Souba hard and impatient. Though, he found that as he listened to the emperor's words, he started to laugh. It wasn't a particularly hearty laugh, though it was not a slight chuckle either. This man called him a puppet of all things and was acting as if he knew Kadaj as well as himself. He was still laughing by the time he stopped speaking, though he eventually stopped after a moment or two.

"So I'm a puppet to you-- is that right?" he said, pacing around the emperor like a vulture above its prey. His voice was menacing and low, though slightly jovial as it typically seemed to be when he grew excited. "So what if I am?" He knew he was partially a puppet, at least to Maleficent anyhow. She was using him to get what she wanted and he was perfectly fine with that. "But once upon a time, a long time ago... so were you."

Without warning, he raised his right hand quickly into the air, summoning a group of ten or so Heartless. They were Shadows and Soldiers for the most part, one Large Body in the group as well. Then, without bothering to say anything, he jumped quickly over to Raen to attack. He didn't need to say anything else at this point; the time of talking was over a long time ago. Kadaj was more of a man of action anyhow.

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[Nothingness]

Frozen Conviction

Raen leapt out of the way of Kadaj's attack, barely avoiding the attack. He landed just long enough to slash the tip of Fimbulvetr along the floor, sending a line of ice towards Kadaj, intending for Ice Fang to appear directly beneath the man. As soon as he did that, he leapt away even further from both Kadaj and the Heartless he had summoned. He would have to maintain his distance if he wanted any chance of victory. "He's fast...very fast. I can't slip up...wait!" He had an idea, though he'd have to time it very precisely.

[Raen used Ice Fang, five posts until next use]

[Aerith]

How Quickly Can You Think Ahead?

Her first instinct was to ensure the emperor's safety. Their enemy seemed to be occupied with Raen for the moment, which allowed Lanying to focus on the newly-summoned Heartless. One Shadow that was eagerly approaching the emperor vanished in a wisp of darkness as the female regent's arrow found the creature's torso. A second Shadow also fell with an arrow to the head.

She silently lamented the distinct lack of water sources in the throne room. With no water, she could only rely on her arrows and sword, and she wanted desperately to be able to shield the emperor should the need arise. It was then that she noticed the drop in temperature of the room and the ice forming along the floor from Raen's sword. Her eyes widened. Perhaps she would have a source of water should the time come.

For now, the Large Body was her primary concern. She could handle the small fry easily enough, but the bloated Heartless in the midst of them could cause serious problems. Though it was a huge target, it could only be damaged by attacking it from behind. Her fear was that, by focusing on the Large Body, she would leave herself open to attacks from the Shadows and Soldiers. Her mind raced, trying to formulate an effective plan.

[Fate]

Closing the Distance

This man was smart; he was trying to keep Kadaj at a distance, which is what anyone who knew Kadaj would try to do. There was now ice coming at him, something that could slow him down. He jumped into the air and did a back-flip to dodge, landing back on the ground a little farther back. His opponent had gotten farther away from, making Kadaj scowl visibly for a moment before he grinned again. Well, he was just going to have to change that now wasn't he? Maybe he could take away his precious sword too. His opponent would have a harder time without it.

Without any second thoughts, Kadaj started running as fast as he could toward the man, jumping to the wall and rebounding off of it to land in front of Raen. He didn't pause to catch his breath, instead using the Souba to deliver two or three blows, one directly right after the other from different angles. If the man tried to attack him, one of these blows could quickly change to become a block.

Kadaj didn't notice the ice, though he noticed the change in temperature in the room. Those sorts of things didn't really matter to him; whether it was cold or hot didn't matter since he would still be able to fight, no matter what. He said nothing as he continued to deliver quick blows to his opponent; he was never much of a talker in battle, though neither were his brothers. Talking in this situation would just distract and he liked to have focus during a battle.

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[Nothingness]

A Necessary Loss

Raen hardly had time to react when Kadaj started running at him. He quickly began to focus on freezing the air around him. As Kadaj began his relentless assault, Raen began trying to parry the blows instead of guarding them, but only succeeded in partially deflecting them--he got cuts along his arms and side, some worse than others. Feeling the air finally reach the proper temperature, he went for a block and wound up getting sword caught and ripped away, but just as that happened, a large section of the floor around him was coated in a layer of ice, and he was standing in the center with a thin, eerie fog around him.

Taking advantage of what he hoped would take the man by surprise, Raen went in for a punch. He knew it would be lacking the shards of ice, but he hoped that the point-blank blast of icy air would be enough to stun the man, then Raen could recover his sword, which had just stopped skittering across the floor. After that, well, he wasn't sure what he could do. The man clearly outmatched him in speed and strength. Raen normally didn't think like this, but retreat might become a very viable option for him, no matter how much he would end up regretting it.

[Raen used Frost's Baptism, four posts until final use...used Winter's Howl, three posts until final use.]