Pyros Communicating Passively [Axel]

[Administrator]

Two for the price of one.
July 21

Looking around, Shardd viewed the world he had most recently found himself on. It appeared to be occupied by a dense jungle, with all of the varieties of flora and fauna providing an excellent backdrop. I most definitely agree, came the voice of his erstwhile companion, Origas. Shardd was glad that his other was not insulting him this time.

Insulting you? I only state facts, my friend.[/b] And that was part of the problem. The only facts you state are the ones that are hurtful, you know. There was a pause in his mind as he walked through the jungle and then came the response. Your point being?[/b] Shardd sighed and continued trekking through the undergrowth.

It was then that he noticed a clearing up ahead. Pulling out Memento, Shardd moved towards it, cutting his way through the dense foliage. As he reached it, Shardd sheathed the blade; there was a tree stump near the middle of the small clearing. Sitting upon it, Shardd looked around. There were two ways he could go. Which way, though? Sitting there, Shardd waited for an idea to come to him.[/size]

[Axel]

So boooored. What? Hey.
--------

Stalking that spotted cat had proved entertaining for maybe an hour or two. It had quickly realized just what sort of prey Axel was and had backed off. Now, every time Axel thought he heard a rustling in the underbrush, it was that cat scrambling to give him a wide berth.

Boredom had set in. And he still had another twenty-four hours of this before he could go to the Castle That Never Was. He could handle that. Yeah. Twiddling his thumbs for a day? Sure. Never mind that he was about to lose his mind.

Maybe things would be much more interesting if he set half the jungle on fire.

Oh? What's this? Company?

He had come upon a clearing with a single tree stump in it. And on that stump sat a kid somewhere around Sora's age, he guessed. As long as that kid wasn't wearing an Organization cloak, the Flame didn't see any reason to stay hidden.

"If you're going to sit out in the open like that, might want to watch out for this one spotted cat. He's a hungry one."

[Administrator]

Keeping one's self restrained

Shardd turned to purview the speaker. It was a man with long, spiked, flame-red hair, wearing a long, black cloak. He seemed like a nice guy. "Hello! My name's Shardd. What's yours?" The words, spoken slower than they would have been a year prior. You're getting better with the whole "not overwhelming people with questions" thing, Origas noted, somewhat nicer than his usual self.

Shardd, ignoring him, said, "Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind." Looking around, he didn't see the spotted beast spoken of, so he assumed he was okay for now. The boy looked back at the red-haired man. "So, what world am I on now? And why are you here?" Taking a small pause so as not to overwhelm the man with information--I told you[/b]--Shardd then continued. "I'm here traveling, myself. Don't really have anyone or anything tying me to anyplace, so...I travel."

A small blue flame appeared over his finger. Shardd stared at the flame, watching it flicker in concordance with his soul. Why do you stare at your flame like that? Because, Shardd replied, it reminds me of before...all of it. He could feel Origas nod in his mind. Origas knew his good half wanted things to go back to the way they were, to have the childhood robbed of him. But still, you love to have me with you, don't you?

Shardd had no response for that.[/size]

[Axel]

You didn't bring any board games with you? Idleness is killing me.
--------

Well, the kid was definitely friendly. He was either ignorant or stupid. Or maybe both. Not many people Axel knew would so freely offer up information to anyone wearing this cloak. Despite the Organization's attempt to be secretive, this outfit was far too recognizable.

Might as well return the gesture of good faith. If Shardd didn't know about the Organization at all, then there was no way he could spread the news of the Flame's not-quite-so-dead status to anyone who didn't need to know it. Plus, he was traveling alone, it seemed. And there was only one more day until Xemnas would finally die.

He pointed to himself. "Name's Axel, and you're on Deep Jungle. Uncreative name, huh?" Then, he tapped a finger to his temple. "Got it memorized?"

Shrugging, he looked out at the trees. "As for why I'm here, I'm just killing time. Not much to do around here, so it's going by very slowly."

[Administrator]

Boredom killing

Shardd decided to take the man's advice and memorize it. His name's Axel, and this world is Deep Jungle. And it is a deep jungle,[/b] Origas added. Shardd sighed aloud on accident before realizing that it had slipped out. Oops, he thought. Of course, he didn't have to explain himself, as dark portals opened up around them and monkey-like Heartless came out, along with several Shadows.

"Heartless," Shardd said, his voice filled with hate, as he drew Halcyon. Blue flames flowed out onto the blade from his hands, a very faint blue aura flickering around Shardd in the meanwhile. The boy charged forward, slashing through one of the Shadows and destroying it. He turned to face a Powerwild, spinning the blade in his hand.

With a swift motion, he cut into it several times, using his father's blade to cut the creature of darkness into oblivion. Shardd had mastered the sword long ago, and now, he showed that mastery.[/size]

[Axel]

Not what I had in mind, but okay.
--------

Heartless. Don't have much use for Heartless without a Keyblade nearby. Ah, whatever.

Of course, this had been the first time the creatures had shown themselves since he had been here. Heartless didn't pay too much attention to Nobodies, especially if those Heartless were hungry for hearts. Going to a Nobody to satisfy that craving was like going to a sandy dune to satisfy a craving for water. You were going to come away from that excursion disappointed.

The way Shardd so vehemently flung himself into battle against the creatures clued Axel in to the kid's allegiances. There was no love anywhere in his body language or voice for the Heartless. Axel could care less about their activities right now, but for the sake of curing his boredom, he summoned Eternal Flames.

Several of the Shadows and a couple of Powerwilds had formed a perfect line just to his left. Stupid.

Fire engulfed his weapons, and he hurled only one straight through the line, the Heartless exploding in a sort of domino effect.

[Administrator]

No love lost for those without hearts

It seemed that the red hair was an indicator of fire use. Shardd blocked the assault of a Powerwild, parrying its frenzied claw attacks. As it fell backwards, he cut through it, the creature of darkness falling to his flaming blade. Turning to Axel, he noted that the man was doing well enough on his own, and would not need his help.

All right, now, do your thing with the sword. Origas was helpful in matters of the mind and magic, but swords and steel were beyond him. Shardd learned to fight with the sword, not his alternate persona. Turning to face a Shadow intent on taking his heart, Shardd cut through it, moving through the Heartless as he had been wont.

After all, the creatures of the dark took his parents. Shardd felt the pain well up for a moment before pushing it down again. Cutting through the back of a Powerwild, the two halves of the creature fell to the ground, writhing as if in pain before fading away into dark vestiges. But they deserved it, the mindless creatures who ruined lives. They deserved to be eradicated.

The amount of Heartless remaining was dwindling now. Only a few Powerwilds and Shadows remained unkilled by the efforts of the two. Shardd, taking a break from his merciless slaying of Heartless, said to the other, "You're good at this. But," his voice had a note of question in it, "why are they not attracted to you like they are to most people?" They wanted everyone's heart, and it didn't make sense that they wouldn't go after this one.

Origas knew the truth, but he wasn't going to ruin the moment. I'm going to let you figure this one out on your own.

[Axel]

I wasn't prepared to give a lecture today.
--------

Axel finished off the remaining Heartless, even though they were hardly worth the effort. Silence reigned while he waited for more of the things to pop up. With the heart-bearing Shardd here, the probability of Heartless encounters suddenly shot through the roof. When no more showed, he dismissed his chakrams.

His initial assumption about the kid was proven correct. He was ignorant, at the very least. The outfit did nothing to let him know exactly what he was dealing with.

With a shrug, Axel casually replied, "They aren't attracted to me because, well, I don't have anything they're interested in."

[Administrator]

Explanations, and deep thoughts.

Didn't...what? That meant...but, he wasn't a Heartless, was he? You don't seriously think their bodies are all subsumed when they become Heartless, do you?[/color] Shardd thought about it a moment. No, I guess not. Origas sighed. You had better guess not, because you are no idiot. I'm surprised you didn't run into one of these sooner.

He's a Nobody, you moron.[/color] A what?[/i] Shardd thought in response. He could almost feel the impact of Origas' mental facepalm. When someone has their heart taken by the Heartless, darkness consumes it and it becomes another of their kind. The body usually fades away at this point; however, particularly strong willed individuals, like the man before you, can will themselves to keep their bodies intact. No emotions, completely unfeeling; cold and calculating as the worst scientist.[/color] It sounds awful,[/i] Shardd thought with a shudder.

For some, it seems like Hell. But, they get used to it. Most fake emotions, unable to function without some kind of stimulus.[/i][/color] Origas stated it so matter-of-factly, as though it were just statistics and not human lives he was talking about. Shardd noticed just then that he had probably been staring off into space in front of this man for a while. His trusting nature kicked in--plus the fact that since Axel couldn't feel, he couldn't feel hate or disgust either--at this point, and he decided to tell the Nobody about his inner persona, ignoring Origas' cries against it.

"Sorry for going quiet on you, I was being explained what a Nobody was by Origas." Just then, Shardd realized how odd that sounded, as there was no one else there with them, and Axel did not know who Origas was. That was absolutely brilliant, O witless one.[/color] Shardd ignored the voice in his head and, in fact, pushed him back into the back of his mind. You could have asked,[/color] Origas' voice trailed off as he was moved forcibly into the recesses of Shardd's mind.

"Origas is...well, he's my...other?" The boy wasn't sure how to explain it. Origas just was. "He's a voice in my head, and sometimes he's in control of my," a voice deep within his mind said, our, "my body, but only when I lose control. He's usually nice enough, except that some of his comments are rather mean and biting." Only some? I need to work on that.[/color] Shardd pushed him harder, and the voice disappeared entirely. Sighing aloud, a grin spread across the boy's face. "Finally, silence.

"Anyways," he continued, "he told me what Nobodies are, how they're made, and that you don't feel anything. Is that really true?" he asked, an incredulous look on his face. Not feeling much was a stretch, but not feeling anything at all? That was impossible, wasn't it? But, it shouldn't be possible to even exist without a heart, so he supposed it wasn't that much of a stretch of the imagination.

But then...that meant Axel had his heart taken by the Heartless. Shardd frowned. "You had your heart taken. I'm so sorry...my family was taken by them. I bet it hurts worse, not being able to feel the pain you know you should feel, not being able to feel those things, but knowing eternally that they should be there, and that something isn't right about that." Shaking his head, Shardd sat back down on the log. A smile split across his face. "But, at least you can remember! And, if the heart can be taken out...that means it can be put back!" Simple process of ideology stated that; if something was removed from a clockwork, the clockwork would not function properly. If the piece were to be returned, the clockwork would resume its original functions.

So, maybe Shardd would have his parents back one day after all.[/size]

[Axel]

Don't get all sentimental on me.
--------

Perfect. Another kid with multiple personalities. Was Axel a magnet for these kind of people?

Shardd flipped through emotions faster than anyone Axel had ever seen. He might have felt some jealousy had he been able. Based on what the kid said, he was even more similar to Sora than Axel had first guessed. One of those overwhelmingly optimistic types.

"Heh. You make it sound so simple. Perhaps it would be that easy if I knew where my heart was."

He crossed his arms over his chest and thought. The only real lead he had on that was Kingdom Hearts. And he wasn't even sure if that was true or just some lie Xemnas had spouted to get them to help him get power. If it was a lie, then he truly had nothing, along with the rest of the Organization.

But if not Kingdom Hearts, then where else would their hearts be found?

Returning his eyes to Shardd, Axel shook his head. "Your pity is wasted on me, you know. But thanks for trying, anyway."

[Administrator]

It truly is a pleasure.

Shardd nodded. Knowing was half of the battle, or so the phrase went. But pity? No, he didn't pity Axel. He wanted to help him to find his heart, but that was because, deep down, doing so would help him to atone for his parents' deaths. At least to himself, it would. As Origas began to formulate a reply, Shardd pushed him back down again. He didn't need to listen to the other's comments.

"I don't pity you Axel, really," he said, kicking his feet slightly. "I just..." Shardd couldn't finish his phrase, however, because a Soldier Heartless struck him from behind. The shock was great enough that Shard lost control for a moment, and...Origas stepped into the power center. "Ah, how good it feels to walk around in our body again," he said as he pointed his left hand at the Heartless, destroying it with a ball of black flames.

The same black flames flickered around Origas, in control of Shardd's body at this point. If Axel was paying attention, he would have noticed Shardd's eye color change. Standing up, Origas stretched. "So, as our kind, happy-happy, joy-joy friend has already told you, I am Origas. It is a pleasure to meet you. I don't often converse with Nobodies." Brushing himself off, the darker side of Shardd flashed a grin.

"The last time Shardd and I met a Nobody," Origas said, as Shardd wondered, we met a Nobody before, "the bitch tried to kill us with a mallet. She was new to the whole 'body without a heart' thing. Shardd lost control, and I and a few others we were with at the time killed her off." Origas laughed, a sardonic laugh, and shrugged his shoulders. "Enough of the past; I'm sure you and I have killed our fair share of creatures, but that doesn't matter. Even a fool can use a weapon to kill, but elegance...that takes talent."

His smile becoming a smirk, Origas caught Axel's eye. "I saw you fighting, and you have elegance. I was quite impressed, really." Breaking eye contact, the man of the dark shrugged again as Shardd was mute in his head, half-conscious and half-asleep. "If you could not tell, I am not like Shardd. He is...boring, with his hopes for the future, and his unreasonable beliefs that everything will turn out fine." Origas couldn't help but get a little snark in his voice at the end. Shardd was just...frustrating, with his eternal kindness and boundless optimism. It was annoying, really.

"I, however, am a realist, as you will see. I like survival, and so long as I'm trapped in this meatbag with Shardd, I'm going to keep him alive as well." Again, the self-confident grin found its way onto the man's face; he truly was a man, after all. His manner and general attitude was much more mature than Shardd; as was his feelings towards the opposite gender--all of the sex drive went to Origas. "I don't really care, truthfully, if you get your heart back, but I would help you if you helped me. That's just how things go, after all."

If they helped each other, maybe Origas could arrange for being in control more often. It's my...body... Shardd's thoughts were drifting off. Go to sleep, Shardd.[/b] Origas didn't get a reply, so he assumed it was a yes. "Now, Axel," the man said, "an ally is something I need. I cannot take control of this body unless Shardd slips up on his control for some reason." Origas smirked. "Now, the normal cause of his losing control is a sharp pain." Pausing for a moment, Origas waited for the idea to click in Axel's head. Of course, he didn't wait very long, assuming Axel was fairly intelligent.

"I could be a useful ally to you, and you to I, were we to work together. Of course," Origas said, a note of wistfulness in his voice, "I cannot arrange any meetings, because Shardd is in control primarily, but were we to be in the same place at the same time... Remember that I am a friend."[/size]

[Axel]

Neither sappy nor broodingly depressed? Ah, I can deal with this.
--------

Axel could tell the kid was gearing up to launch into a long-winded friendship speech or some variation thereof. But suddenly, there was no need to interrupt him. A Soldier Heartless appeared and struck Shardd, but when the kid regained a sense of balance, the Flame knew he wasn't dealing with Shardd anymore. The eye color change itself would have been a dead giveaway, but that, combined with the difference in body carriage and speech patterns, was overwhelming evidence that a personality shift had just taken place.

And what a shift it was. He had been half-engaged in this encounter before, but now... now this was interesting.

The new personality, Origas, loved to talk and none of his words were even remotely saccharine. Ah, much better.

"I would return the sentiment if I could. You are certainly of more interest to me than the kid."

Axel had made sure to listen to everything Origas said and, naturally, memorized every word. The comments about his fighting style had been a nice bonus, though Axel felt no pride in the acknowledgment.

"You're not too bad in battle yourself." He could not have missed the flames with which Origas had eradicated that Heartless. Similar elemental affinities went a long way toward capturing Axel's attention.

Even more intriguing was the request to be allies. A strange partnership this would be, if Axel agreed to it. There would be no prearranged meetings, and if Axel ever needed the aid of Origas, he would have to cause sharp enough pain to Shardd so that the alter-ego could take over.

The more allies Axel had--the more cards up his sleeves, as Luxord would say--the better. Especially if those cards were held close enough to his chest. And really, who would suspect naive Shardd to be involved with anyone like the Flame?

"I think I can most certainly remember that." Axel looked at Origas and smirked. His mind was already working, trying to see what sort of use he could make of this ally. There was no question as to whether Axel could use Origas, no. The opportunity just needed to present itself.

First, he would find out everything he could about this new piece.

"How long, exactly, are you able to stay in control? Is there a specific time limit?"

[Administrator]

The promise of control.

Origas grinned. More interesting than Shardd? Quite obviously. Of course, then Axel commented on his own battle prowess, which was not too shabby. The man was better with his magic than he was with the blade, which he kept sheathed. Shardd would be livid if he lost the sword, but it wasn't as if he was going to use it anyhow. Swords involved close-quarters combat; if they were already that close, that meant that he was doing something wrong.

And here, it seemed, the Nobody was interested in having him as an ally. This was good, as they could both easily help each other; Origas could beguile or fling fireballs, and Axel could bring Origas into control of Shardd. It was a win-win situation; the only loser being Shardd. Although, Origas kept their shared body in good shape, so Shardd wasn't even really losing, in the end.

But a specific time limit? "Not particularly. The control tends to be held as long as he's either weak or asleep. Asleep mentally, that is." Origas knew otherwise Axel might mistake it for physical sleep, during which Origas most definitely lost control. "I can generally hold on to control for at least a few hours, if I don't let go prior. Sometimes Shardd takes control again, but another unexpected assault, and I can immediately regain control."

Origas thought for a moment. "Assume me to be able to stay in control for four hours, and you should not go wrong. Any time after the second hour, though, Shardd could awaken and retake control." The man figured it should be duly noted that the boy with whom he shared a body could take control again any time after a certain point. "There was one time, however, where I retained control for a total of ten hours, until I went to sleep. Shardd awoke the next morning."

Luckily, my company of the night before left before he awoke, otherwise that would have been rather hard to explain.[/b] Before he began to start thinking about the implications of his prior actions, Origas reworked his brain into the current topic of communication. "If there is anything you currently need help with, I would be happy to join you. Otherwise...you should be able to find me easily enough. If you can sense light and darkness, you should be able to sense the coexistence of I and Shardd from a fair bit away. If not, perhaps you might know one who can.

"And who knows?" he continued. "Maybe we'll run into each other in the Corridors some day." After all, the Nobodies, Heartless, and Origas all used Corridors of Darkness as their method of transportation. Shardd's part of their heart was unaffected by this travel, mostly because Origas was already so steeped in darkness, the darkness from the Corridors no longer stained his portion of the heart. His portion was a stain.[/size]

[Axel]

I remember this "feeling" well.
--------

Making a mental note of all that information, Axel nodded. "Perhaps we will run into each other there."

Shardd had said he was traveling alone, so that meant he was liable to show up on almost any world. But maybe... "Are there certain worlds that Shardd likes to frequent? That way, I can narrow my search should I need to find you."

While a part of Axel was fine with leaving some things to chance, the planner in him needed a few concrete facts to know which moves to make and when. Talking with Origas had brought the cold, calculating nature of the Nobody to the forefront of Axel's mind. It had always been there, of course, but it was as sharply apparent now as it had been when he had played puppet master in Castle Oblivion.

"As far as needing you for anything right now, there's nothing. Except maybe to alleviate my boredom. I'm stuck here for about another day, and this place is woefully lacking in entertainment. At least it was until you came along."

[Administrator]

The crystals are important for some reason.

Origas nodded. It was, after all, likely that one day, the two would run into each other again, and even more likely it would be in the Corridors. As for his question... There was one world Shardd frequented. One specific area of one specific world, in fact. "Yes, there is. If you ever have the need to find me, Shardd frequents the Crystal Fissure in Radiant Garden. Something about the crystals reflecting the flame a thousand thousand times."

The man shrugged. He didn't remember, nor did he particularly care what Shardd thought about his "finger flame." Black flames flared around his body, though the fires had no heat, so they did not burn his clothing or him. Boredom alleviation, however...that was easy. The darkness within him surged forth as several Corridors opened, out of which came three Wizards, six Soldiers, two Defenders, and four Wyverns. Origas stretched himself out.

"Though they are not usually found on this world, I prefer these to the rest of the Heartless. Although, the Wizards are my personal favorite." Summoning the darkness within him, his soulfire flickering around him. The darkness welled up further, but Origas pent it up within him, waiting until the Heartless were drawn to his heart, strong as it was, and steeped in the darkness so far as it was. It was then, the Heartless leaping atop him, that he released the energy, sending a destructive impulse of darkness through the Heartless. The corrosive energies tore through pieces of each of the creatures, and Origas grinned.

"That felt good." Rolling his neck around, Origas watched for the next Heartless to attack. "If you could, keep them away from me. I don't fight physically." The energies within his soul were recuperating from his careless fireball from before, and now he would have to play it much more carefully, keeping himself safe above all else. After all, it was his job to keep he and Shardd, who seemed to be completely unconscious at this point, out of trouble. Or rather, alive. Out of trouble was considerably harder...

Origas used Shadow Eruption[/color]. Cooldown 1/5
Soulfire[/color] Cooldown 3/4[/i][/size]