Brink of Disaster [Raen, Zack, Zexion]

[Aerith]

Perhaps Nothing Will Attack Us Here
--------
[July 23rd]

A few days in the darkness of space had begun to take its toll on Lanying. She had never been fond of sitting in one place for too long. There was always something that needed to be done, after all.

Fortunately, Raen set the ship down on a world that, while rough around the edges (Had something happened here recently?), looked mostly inviting. People were wandering the streets on daily business, and many were working to either build new buildings or repair damaged ones. The atmosphere seemed friendly enough.

But there was something else that hung in the air. She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

She stood at the bottom of the ship's ramp, scanning their new surroundings for any potential threats. Old habits die hard.

"What is the name of this place?" She turned and looked in the direction of Raen and Zack.

[Nothingness]

Something Doesn't Feel Right

Raen had been finding that the flights between worlds were becoming fairly monotonous. He was wishing he could buy a Warp-G or something to speed up their travels, but not only were they crazily expensive, but they also needed their rest between adventures. Still, he had been setting course for this world since they left Olympus. They never visited it, and he knew a bit more about it than most other worlds.

As they disembarked, he walked over to the railing of the ship-docks and leaned over. Hearing Lanying ask about where they were, Raen turned his head and replied, "This is Radiant Garden. Think of it as a sort of sister-world to Traverse Town and Twilight Town. They trade amongst each other pretty frequently, which is why you'll find so many people in them." While he'd never been here personally, he'd met a fair share of people that lived here or had stopped by.

Looking out across the city, he could feel hope emanating from almost every corner, but he could also feel a deep sorrow as well in a small part of the world. Raen found that pretty strange, but he brushed it aside; something that insignificant in size wouldn't really matter.

[Fate]

-I'm not paranoid. No, not at all-
Hollow Bastion from Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections

One day after the successful coup, two until the Champion returned to the Keyblade Graveyard. Too much had happened and was going to happen in a short period of time. Zexion could only fathom the anxiousness he would be feeling at the moment if he had a heart, especially with that in mind. Of course, if he had a heart, there would be other emotions mixed in there as well. Though, he wasn't completely sure if there was an emotion to describe how one felt if he messed something up almost beyond repair.

No, not the time. For now, he had to put almost all events of yesterday behind him. He would have to deal with the repercussions of that later and focus on something more specific. Yen Sid's words were still haunting him, no matter how he had pushed them aside upon first hearing them. He said dire consequences would result from Xemnas's death, something that seemed to be outside of the Organization. The only thing he could think of was Xehanort, even though it sounded absurd. It couldn't be him though, could it? Once Xemnas was destroyed for good, wouldn't he be too?

Unfortunately, Zexion couldn't come to a safe conclusion about that in his head. That was why he was here today in Radiant Garden, the castle of all places. There was no harm in making sure that Xehanort hadn't come back yet, even though he couldn't possibly know when he would come back... if he did. The Schemer couldn't believe himself right now as he stood in the library of the castle, wondering if Xehanort could come back. It was absolutely ridiculous!

Yet he couldn't find it in him to go back to the Castle. He had to make sure.

[/size]

[Aerith]

Insatiable Curiosity
--------

"I see." Lanying absorbed the information Raen gave about this place--Radiant Garden. She scanned the town, seeing people milling about in little groups here and there. Somehow, the town seemed quieter than she would imagine a town sounding. There wasn't the usual hustle-and-bustle associated with centers of population. She wondered why that was.

What appeared to be some sort of castle off in the distance drew her attention. Was there a king here? Hm. Raen had said this place was called Radiant Garden, not Disney Castle, so this probably was not Mickey's world. But the mouse king had struck her as the traveling sort. Perhaps they might see him up there, visiting whoever lived in that castle.

It did look quite rundown, however. Could it be abandoned? Only one way to find out.

"I wonder what's in that castle over there..." She gave Raen and Zack just one look that said everything else she needed to say. She was going to see for herself, and whether or not they chose to follow her was up to them.

With a confident air, she set out in that direction.

[Nothingness]

Patterns

While Raen watched Lanying head off to the castle, a worrisome connection came into his mind. Looking at everything that had happened recently, he noticed that Lanying always seemed to get them in to trouble when she took off. "Crap." Raen groaned, running to catch up to her. He looked back to make sure Zack was following them. Also, noting her track record, she attracted things that were far to strong for just one of them to handle. He was hoping that that wouldn't be the case, but since she was going to a dilapidated castle, he doubted that things would be "uneventful."

[Fate]

-Well, this was almost pointless.-

No Xehanort. There was no Xehanort in this world as far as he could tell, unless his senses were lying to him. No, his senses were never wrong and Xehanort had a very particular scent to him. It would be impossible to mistake him anywhere, so perhaps it was too early to begin looking for him. "Or this is pointless,"

[/color] he thought to himself, "Yen Sid did not clearly say that he would return or what would result from Xemnas's death. And with his Nobody gone, there is no possible way for him to return. It cannot happen."

This logic was finally starting to win out; it was impossible for Xehanort to be here since there was no way he could return. Unfortunately, that made this a wasted trip for Zexion. Was there really another reason to come back to Radiant Garden right now? Well, he supposed there might have been. He could tell the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee where the Keyblade Graveyard was, what it looked like, and that they could expect the Organization to join them there. He wanted to confirm that last one, mainly for the sake of making sure they did not get distracted by attacking the Organization instead of the Champion.

With this in mind, he took out the Lexicon for a moment and opened to a blank page. This was going to have to be a really quick sketch and hopefully it would help them. Part of him couldn't believe that he was helping these people out, especially since he wasn't exactly fond of most of them. They were trying to foolishly restore Radiant Garden to be something it never could be again, something he didn't agree with at all. Unfortunately, they now both had the same enemy and had to fight him together whether he liked it or not.

Sketch done. Keeping the Lexicon out, he carried it with him as he started to leave the library. Next was the entrance, castle gates, and then back into town to hopefully find a Committee member that wouldn't try to attack him on sight.[/blockquote][/size]

[Aerith]

Perhaps this is foolish.
--------

Finally, she arrived at this castle and looked up the staircase that presumably lead to the front gates. Hm. Nothing hostile had shown itself so far, not even the slightest trace of a Heartless. While this would normally be a good thing, Lanying could not help but feel a strange uneasiness. The silence out here was far too... silent. If that made any sense.

In the moment she had paused to glance upward, she could hear Raen following her. After looking over her shoulder to confirm this, she wordlessly began ascending the stairs.

[Nothingness]

Oh, Crap...

The silence had been just as grating on Raen as it had on Lanying. He could feel her uneasiness, and it certainly wasn't helping his own. As Lanying began to go up the stairs towards the castle, Raen reached out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away. It wasn't that he sensed "something" it was that he sensed the "lack of something." He wasn't going to let whatever Nobody was there get the jump on them, that was for damn sure. "There's a Nobody in there," he whispered to Lanying, "And knowing our luck..." His voice trailed off. After a moment, shouted out to their guest, "Hey, Zexion. Is that you?"

[Zack]

Zack frankly had been bored after Olympus. It had taken them a few days before they finally landed on this new world and it seemed like it had taken forever. However, if was worth the wait. The world looked inviting to say the least. Raen called it Radiant Garden. It definitely seemed like an interesting enough world. He was too busy looking around though to notice that Raen and Lanying had suddenly taken off in the direction of some creepy looking castle.

When he noticed he quickly chased after them. He stood in awe at the castle when he arrived. "Some place...." he said in amazement. He got there as soon as Raen had spoken. A Nobody was in there huh? And Raen called out asking if it was Zexion. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, calling him out. But they'd find out soon enough.

[Fate]

-Can I call you back some other time? How about tomorrow?

Shoot.

Zexion was almost out of the castle, in the entrance hall and right near the door, when he heard a voice that sounded far too familiar. And this voice knew his name too, which certainly couldn't mean something good was about to follow. It took a second for him to figure it out, but upon using his senses, it became clear right away. Raen, Lanying and Zack were just outside the castle, the foremost the one to call out his name. How could he possibly know that someone was in the castle? Last time he checked, Raen didn't have sensing abilities.

Though, last time he met him, he also didn't have the scent of the Champion mixed in. It was faint, but it was there. The Schemer's eyes widened at this, not sure he was quite understanding this. How did Raen of all people have the Champion's scent mixed in with his own? His darkness had grown stronger... a lot stronger. What exactly happened here? And how? And how did he get that sensing ability? Zexion didn't remember giving that to him when he sent him flying into a rock.

Well, he wasn't going to get his answers by standing here. And Raen was calling for him oh so affectionately outside the castle doors. This was the last thing that the Tactician wanted to do, but he needed to go outside. He didn't want this little encounter to last too long though; he actually had something to do and it was rather important. As long as he made that clear when he came outside, there shouldn't be problem. Right... He opened the doors of the castle and stepped outside, all three of them standing there. His Lexicon was still in his arm and his face was completely neutral. He didn't want to start a fight nor did he want to talk long. Naturally, he was curious about how in the world Raen met with the Champion. He might ask something before he rushed off into town though.

"You called?" he asked nonchalantly, "I certainly didn't expect you here of all places. Nor did I expect you to be harboring the scent of the Champion." His face became stern at those words. "I wonder, do you know what he has done? Surely, you must know what has happened. This town still has not recovered from the news." He couldn't help but slip into a naturally sly tone; it was just habit. Though, he kind of hoped that he could just tell them about King Mickey's death and then move on. He didn't want to sit and chat for too long.

[/size]

[Nothingness]

Trading Info

Well, so far so good. They were just talking, though that last comment certainly didn't set his mind at ease. God only knows what this cunning shell knows, and it most likely isn't something he wants to hear. Regardless, he figured he should answer Zexion's questions. He knew that the Nobody would love to hear about that."Alright, I'll indulge your curiosity, so long as you tell me what the Professor did." Raen said, laying down the terms as plainly as possible. "It's pretty simple, really. The three of us were staying at Destiny Islands for a bit, the Champion used a "Way of Existence", whatever that is, to get in to my room. He told me that I've a great deal of 'Pure Darkness' and he wanted to make sure I didn't taint it through inexperience and misuse of it."

In an effort to both show-off, and give Zexion some proof, he held out a hand and let a massive fog of darkness roll of it it, chilling the ground it touched. Staunching the darkness, he continued. "He helped me understand the Light and the Dark, and we discussed some others things as well. In the end, he told me to leave my friends for all of our sakes, but, well, can't really do that, can I?" He looked at Zack and Lanying, grinning ear to ear. "He mentioned how a war was coming, and that we weren't on the same side. After that, I got a little fed up, and we parted ways." Stretching his arms outward, he let them fall to his side, finishing his story. "And that's how I know him. The sensing part came before I met him, in case you're wonder. Just a natural progression, I figured. Can't sense light or darkness, but I can sense the emotions of others, or in the environment." Smirking, he commented to the Nobody, swirling his finger around him. "And you're just a big empty dot on my radar."

Looking back on it, everything he just talked about seemed years ago, yet had only happened within a month's time. It was a little disconcerting, but it was also kind of nice. He'd made a lot of progress in a lot of aspects of his life. His mission for the Shield, his friendship with Lanying and Zack, his control over his darkness, and just his overall understanding of their world. Those amounted to quite a bit of overwhelming pride for him in that moment.

Snapping out of it, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and gave Zexion a flat-look. "That's all you need to know, right now. Now then, what exactly has he done? I know that he isn't a saint; he made that pretty clear when he threatened my friends." He could already tell that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear. If it could cause such a dense pocket of despair, then he almost wished Zexion wasn't going to tell him.

[Fate]

-Can this please be the last time I have to be the Messenger of Death? I'm getting tired of repeating myself.

A 'Way of Existence', eh? Zexion would need to jot that down later in the Lexicon when he could; knowing the Champion's ways of traveling was something worthy to note. Then he mentioned how the Champion told him he had 'Pure Darkness' that he didn't want Raen to taint with misuse or inexperience. He even showed off a dark fog that froze the ground below it. Was this the part where he was supposed to act impressed? Yes, Raen looked much more skilled than when Zexion had last seen him, but that did not mean that he had mastered the darkness. One could easily think that the darkness would just remain in one's control, but it had its ways. He knew how this darkness worked.

He was being vague now, talking about how they discussed the Light and the Dark. Had he not gone over this already? The Champion most likely provided an alternate view to the illusionist, who often saw that a balance was necessary. Both could be bad in their own respects, but of course his view was skewed toward the darkness being worse. He had seen the destruction it caused, helped its destruction in this very world. He had not yet seen what the light was capable of.

His sensing was also explained, his sensing ability able to detect emotions. Zexion couldn't help but grin at being called an empty dot on his radar. It was his turn to speak now, but why speak when one had the power to show? "You had best see for yourselves." His tone was empty as he spoke, not attempting to be sly yet not pretending to be grievous. He stepped back a bit from the trio, concentrating as the illusion of a coffin appeared before them. The words "Here lies the King of Light. He gave his life as he spent it: Doing what he believed was right" were there for all of them to read. He left this illusion up for only a minute before making it disappear completely.

"You should know full well who that was," he stated, then looked particularly at Lanying. "King Mickey was the one who saved your world from Maleficent and her pawn, was he not? Five days ago, he was killed by the same Champion that gave you your 'control' over the darkness." He looked to Raen when he said that bit, then looked at all three. "The fifty fourth Keyblade Bearer to have been slain." Now his tone was grave, making sure they understood the gravity of the situation. He wasn't deceiving to them, trying to emotionally compromise them to manipulate them.

Now, what they did with that information would be interesting. He waited patiently, his arms crossed as he continued to hold the Lexicon.

[/size]

[Nothingness]

"Console" Me

Raen wasn't really prepared to see King Mickey as the victim of the Champion. And yet, he found himself strangely unaffected. Yes, King Mickey had saved not only his and Lanying's life, but her world. Still, he hadn't even known the mouse king all that well. Not only that, but they hadn't really talked that much either, outside of introductions. Raen was sad, yes, but he almost half-expected that from what the Champion told him earlier. If anything honestly surprised him, it was that Mickey was the fifty-fourth Keyblade Master that he had slain.

After pausing for a moment, letting King Mickey's end sink in, he looked at Zexion. "He only gave me the understanding to control it, I never said I liked him. Besides," Raen paused, averting his eyes and looking at the decrepit castle before continuing, "He knows that he and I, though we want balance, are on opposing sides." He muttered thoughtfully to himself, "Two ways of looking at the same coin." A small piece of hate for the Champion was forming in the bottom of his heart. He'd rather not let that fester for too long.

Returning his gaze to Zexion, he studied the Nobody for a moment. "Seeing as how he's taking out Keyblade Masters, well, that just means we need to keep our guard up." An evil smile crossed his lips. "Not to mention that I do want to pay him back for killing his Majesty. So, I think the best way to go about this..." Swinging his arm, he shot out three spears of ice, all aiming towards Zexion. "Is by settling our little score first. Maybe I'll even tell you a few more things about him, after." He knew that now wasn't really the most reasonable time to fight the Nobody, but in all honesty, he did need to vent a bit of his frustration towards the Champion.

[Raen used Dark Blizzaga, two posts until next use]

[Aerith]

Stress Relief
--------
[Lunatic Moon from FFVII remixed by Sixto Sounds and zircon]

Lanying did not hear anything else the Nobody said. One single phrase was playing like a broken record inside her head and her heart.

King Mickey is dead.

Admittedly, she had not known the mouse king for very long, but what he had done for her and her people had immediately endeared her to him. Even if he was an unconventional picture of royalty. She had felt an overwhelming sense of kindness from him in the little time she had spent with him. If it had not been for him, her world might very well have fallen to darkness at the hands of that witch and Kadaj.

And now, the Champion had killed him.

Righteous fury was building inside her. How dare that monster take the King's life? How dare he expect them not to stop him after this? And how dare he try to convince Raen that his was the better side?

Speaking of Raen, he was attacking Zexion, which surprised her somewhat. She and Zack had far more reasons to start a fight here than Raen did. Then again, the idea of taking out her anger on Zexion was an appealing one.

She summoned her Keyblade and moved to the opposite side of the Nobody, seeking to make escaping Raen's ice spears much more difficult.

"I think you will find that this meeting will turn out much differently than the last time we met."

[Fate]

-So, this is how you want to play? Strategy adjusted.-

Naturally, those with hearts had to be irrational. He had told Raen and the others that King Mickey was dead, so they were going to 'settle their score' and shoot the messenger. Though, he couldn't help but be surprised when three ice spears formed and went straight for him. They all hit, sending him to the ground. Was this really necessary? He came to this world just to give more information to the Restoration Committee, not fight a pointless battle would result in nothing.

But if that was what they wanted, then he would oblige. He stood up and looked behind him, his eyes widening drastically. There was no mistaking what Lanying was holding now. That was a... Keyblade. He couldn't fight her now. They needed Keyblade Masters. That was the whole point of the Organization fighting with those of light against the Champion. But here she was, fighting alongside her irrational friend. What was he to do with this situation?

Not hold back this time. There were plenty of other Keyblade Masters. "I think you will as well," he replied, looking straight at Lanying. "I will not give you mercy." Directly after saying this, the winds started picking up around them. Debris started to fly around as well as a single cyclone appeared. However, Zexion decided to go with a slightly different tactic this time. Instead of creating the cyclone away from him, as per his usual strategy, he chose to make it around him. He stood inside the mini-tornado, his hair whipping around as he grinned maliciously.

"Come and get me."

[/color]

[Battle Report:
Zexion used Cyclone
Will last through next post unless Zexion dismisses it early
Five posts until next use, two uses remaining][/blockquote][/size]