Mors Omnibus [Aerith, Jericho, Nadia, Predis]

[Lagunamov]

A wolf in sheep's clothing.

[July 31st]

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A tranquil night in a small town. The light from the houses and street lamps kept the streets lit up enough for people to walk and chat among themselves, without a care in the world. It seemed like a particularly lively night, with dozens of small groups going back and forth through the place.

Except for one.

Sitting on the fountain in the middle of the street, watching as people went by, some even stopping at the fountain to toss a coin, hoping for a wish to be granted, one girl didn’t contact anybody in particular. She, in fact, went as far as to avoid people, ignoring those few who even tried to start up a conversation with them. Of course, it was only natural. After all, how was a suit of armor supposed to strike a conversation with people?

Not that anybody ever noticed that little perk. Animositas, while lacking a full mind, was not naïve enough to enter a world simply looking like its usual self. As such, it had taken the guise of one of the people it had caught a glimpse of back at what it called home. Or, rather, back at what it used to call its resting place. But, with the place now disrupted by visitors, it could no longer be called that, forcing the Sentiment to leave permanently.

As such, looking like a girl in her twenty or so, with a white and pink dress – this form chosen for how easily it fit there - it had decided to explore this world, deciding its rest had been long enough as it is. While not exactly grateful for getting its rest interrupted not once but twice, the armor welcomed the slow awakening of memories those encounters had caused. With barely any recollection of who it was and what had happened to her God knows how long ago, maybe exploration would help solve those mysteries.

But, whether the solution to them would make it peaceful, or put another head count under its belt, remained to be seen.

[Shadow Facade in use.]

[Slash]

Well, that's odd.

[/center]

Jericho exited the Corridor, the others in tow. They were in some sort of forest- he could see the castle at a short distance. "All right. We need to split up. Predis, you stay with me- Nadia, I need you to help Aerith into the castle. Don't worry, Predis can open a channel."

They went their seperate ways- Jericho towards the town, the others towards the Castle. He had to spread the darkness. The need gnawed away at him, a persistent sort of hunger that simply would not leave. He knew what to do.

He was going to build a damn army.

In the town he found a few crowds, some satisfactory numbers, and then there was- Aerith.

Um? He could easily tell that this wasn't her, but...how? He could sense absolutely no darkness or light coming off of her. Interesting.

Sitting down next to the fake, he said, "Nice mask. But what do you really look like?"

[Aerith]

Maybe we shouldn't talk until we find who we're looking for.

Aerith had expected to step out back inside her house. Instead, she found herself in a strange forest. It was all very lovely, though. Quaint. She spied several varieties of flowers she had only seen in books. Under other circumstances, she might have taken the time to examine them more closely.

No time for that now.

They were here to find one of the other Princesses of Heart. Aerith had only heard their names, of course. Actually meeting one of them would be interesting. Perhaps they would have a better handle on what her new status meant.

Jericho was sending Nadia with her. Hm. Maybe Aerith could find out more about her.

The thought of leaving Jericho for a undetermined amount of time did not sit well with Nadia, and she almost protested. No. She was perfectly capable of handling herself. This wasn't Agrabah. No one knew her here. She didn't need to fear people lurking behind trees with stones in their hands.

"All right." She nodded. Aerith would be safe with her. And even if they got into more trouble than she could handle, Aerith had that alarm Jericho had given her.

They walked toward the castle in silence for a while. Nadia was having trouble coming up with small-talk, anyway. Aerith took care of that for her.

"So, you're from Agrabah?"

Not really what she wanted to talk about. "It's where I was born, yes."

Aerith caught the dismissive tone underlying the answer, but she was not deterred. "I see. I'm sorry about your family. That's terrible. I know a lot of people can be cruel. But not everyone is like that."

"I wish people would stop trying to convince me of that. Please. I've made decisions, and I can't go back now."

"That's not true--"

"Stop, Aerith. You don't understand. You don't know what it's like. Everyone likes you, don't they? I don't think you've ever had a lonely moment. I've had nothing for practically my whole life. If you disagree with the way I've chosen to gain something, some meaning in my life, then I'm sorry. But this is how it is."

Aerith gently let the subject drop. "Ah. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

The rest of the walk to the castle was uneventful and quiet. When they reached the steps leading up the entrance, they were, surprisingly, met by no one. How odd.

"Well, let's go inside. See if we can find anyone."

The entrance hall was just as empty. This might be harder than they had thought.

[Lagunamov]

Tread with care.

[/center][/i]

As it had happened before, another male had come to approach the Sentiment thanks to the guise it had chosen. Had it known this particular form would attract so much attention for reasons as lowly as human feelings and lust, Animositas would have decided on another one, or simply stuck to the shadows. Of course, once the man in glasses was close and sitting to its right, it raised curiosity within the mind of the sentient armor.

He had managed to see through the illusion? No, that was impossible. If he had, he would not be asking for its true face. Must have been something else. Maybe scent. That was impossible to replicate after all. Regardless of what loophole he was able to see through, the amount of people capable of such a feat were minimal. ”Interesting meatbag… Animositas thought, inspecting the man now that it had its attention.

And it was deep darkness that it could sense within him.

Deciding to… indulge him for the time being, the Sentiment lowered its right hand to the water in the fountain, causing ripples to form and disperse, and then raised it and poked the man in the arm with its finger. To anyone watching, it would seem like just some silly moment from a girl. The man, on the other hand, would feel the sharp end of its finger almost piercing its skin.

If he didn’t notice that the illusion had faded for the reflection of Animositas in the water, showing the mirrored image of an armor sitting at the fountain.

[Slash]

Hard to place a name...

[/center]

Jericho stared at the suit of armor in the reflection, felt the cold steel of its finger. These things were known to him, weren't they? He turned inward, considering.

He could not tell names or facts, only events. If such specific information was stored and compiled, he would be a redundancy- as it was, it was like looking for burn marks in a tree stump with infinite rings.

They were...he didn't have a name for them, but for all intents and purposes they were mere remnants of what had been. And he knew where it should be.

"You must have a reason for leaving that place," he said, not knowing the name of it. "Tell me- if you can speak."
__________________________

Cinderella walked gracefully through the castle, her dress flowing behind her. It was so strange, to be in a place like this- so different from the squalid and run-down surroundings she had been forced to live in before this. There were so many places to explore, and she loved walking around and taking in the sights. Even after all this time, she still didn't know all of the many secrets this place had to offer.

Secrets like...two strange people who were standing in the entrance hallway.

She didn't mind, as long as they weren't hostile. And the woman in the pink dress looked familiar. From Radiant Garden, maybe?

"Hello?" she said. She would never become used to the formalities that came with royalty, and did not try to employ them outside of the court. "Have you come to recieve an audience with the king? He is busy, I'm afraid, although I can carry on any message you mean to send."

[Lagunamov]

Attracting flies.

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What… did this man want exactly? Was it simply intrigue over the anomaly that he was witnessing, or was he after something else? Animositas couldn’t decide whether it should humor him and carry on, settling his doubts, or simply stand deal with him the same way he had done with the last holder of a strong heart it had met.

“What interests you so?” the armor spoke into his mind, standing up and walking a couple of feet away. It turned on its heels, keeping the façade of the girl by having the mirage look as if she was had spun on the back of her heel, arms behind her back, and faced him. “My existence is not for you to examine. Nor is it the play toy of humans who think too much of themselves,” snide could be felt on its words, and if it wanted to have him fall to his knees in pain for trespassing its personal space, a metallic shriek would have clouded his thoughts by now.

But no. Something in him had raised interest in the Sentiment, slightly different than those who it had encountered recently. However, there was one similarity in what it sensed. Yes, another one with potential. Or, factual ability. It was hard to tell. But, regardless of which one it was, it needed confirmation.

Almost unaware to those passing by, a shadow arose from behind the man at the fountain, making no sound. As it rose higher and higher, it started taking better shape, eventually forming a duplicate of Animositas.

“What purpose does a puny human such as yourself have for coming here?” a combination of both voice and mental projection, with the voice of the fallen girl at the Sentiment’s hands and the metallic shriek of Animositas’ most fearsome thoughts. Most people surrounding the area remained unaware so far of the event, their view blocked by a dozen projections of residents of the world it had seen come and go. Not that it was going to help if things escalated.

The man didn't appear to be straightforward, and the Sentiment lacked patience.

[Slash]

A fight? I would prefer it.

[/center]

Jericho laughed. Even though the metallic shriek had hurt quite a bit, he wasn't scared by it. He was pretty sure the spider had one like it, if dreams were any indication- besides, much worse things lurked in the darkness. "Puny human? Obviously you used to be an even punier one yourself, since whoever you were died."

Still, it was a very interesting creature, the remnant. It could be used if he could bring it to his side- if not, at least it would cause some serious collateral damage. Yes, the people here would make a decent army...

"I'm here because of darkness. Or the lack thereof. And I plan to rectify that."

Time to antagonize the suit of armor into a fight. He summoned Arachnid and pointed it at the suit of armor. "And you can help me with that. Let's see who thinks too much of themselves. Fight me, you worthless remnant of a pathetic girl."

Predis, prepare yourself.[/color]

[Aerith]

You're actually the one we need to see.
--------

When someone finally appeared, Aerith knew they had found the right person. Whether it was something instinctive that they all shared as Princesses of Heart was unknown. Aerith simply knew.

Moving toward the woman, Aerith smiled. "Cinderella? I'm Aerith, from Radiant Garden. I've come here to talk about something very urgent. With you, not the king."

Her new little friend was hiding somewhere out of sight. Good. Aerith wouldn't want Cinderella to be frightened off by it. She possessed a stouter courage than many others, and she was not sure how the other Princesses would react to the knowledge that she had such dark ties.

Nadia watched in silence, taking note of the alarm's new whereabouts. The place was still very empty. She couldn't help but stay set on edge.

[Lagunamov]

Are all humans so quick to jump the gun nowadays?

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What an overconfident human that was. If he were actually straightforward enough to answer question, like Animositas had done since he had managed to see something was amiss, then perhaps it would not have come down to this. But, alas, overconfidence was the common trait among those whose hearts were coated in darkness. Of course whoever the Sentiment used to be had died. The passage of time would have taken care of that on its own.

“My existence transcends time, mortal,” the Sentiment shrieked, the façade changing to reflect a different person now. A young Keyblade Master in black clothes, with new illusions coming forward from the armor’s body, each showing a different person from the Graveyard. There were a total of five active illusions at play now, four casted forward from its body, and the one that remained behind the man. A silver haired kid in a white sleeveless jacket, another of similar hair color, donning an entirely black outfit, a man with blonde hair and large sword at his back and the female Keyblade Master it had previously thought had walked away and taken a formation around the area, surrounding the fountain.

And behind the man in glasses, the illusion took the form of the man in grey robes, black skin and crimson hair that had visited the Graveyard countless times. Every one of the fakes holding their respective weapons in hand, piercing the man with icy stares.

“If you wish for death so,” it answered in response to its desire to fight. The six mimics became surrounded with crystal orbs, spinning quickly around them in orbits. And, from each of the mimics, one crystal flew forward at the man, six orbs coming from different directions at him. Only one was real, but how was he to tell? As far as he knew, all six images could be entirely corporeal.


[Crystal Stalagmites summoned. Two more posts of use.]

[Slash]

Try to hurt as many bystanders as possible, okay?

[/center]

The armor made the illusions of others. He knew they were illusions, unless the armor could suddenly summon humanoid Nobodies. Illusions couldn't feel, and Jericho could sense such a lack of emotion.

He looked around, taking note of all these illusions. Crystal orbs began to surround each one, and one flew from each at great speed.

Jericho decided on impulse to try a new and wholly experimental technique, previously unknown to any living creature. When the orbs got close, he ducked.

Instead of the collision he expected, they just sort of...passed through each other. One made a nice explosion a bit off, hitting a passerby. Jericho snickered, then whistled shrilly.

A Zip Slasher came to his aid. Hm. He had expected something...bigger. Much bigger. Well, he'd have to work towards that goal if this was the absolute best he could summon. At least they could take a decent number of hits. He sent it a wordless order to attack the illusion of the brown-haired kid, while he went for the black-skinned man behind him.

The Zip Slasher struck at the stomach area of the boy, and Jericho attacked with a slash at the chest of the man.

______________________

Cinderella's eyes widened a bit. Obviously it was very important if she had come here all the way from Radiant Garden. And if she was insistent on seeing her, there could only be one reason.

"What is it?" she asked. "I'd like to help if I can."

[Aerith]

I'm sorry if this is too much.
--------

Aerith took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. She didn't want to overwhelm Cinderella with an information dump, but it might be unavoidable.

"Have you noticed that there are fewer and fewer Heartless occupying your world? It is the same on Radiant Garden. Light and darkness are imbalanced. Very imbalanced. And if something isn't done about the overabundance of light, everything will collapse."

Aerith paused, letting Cinderella absorb that. Something else needed to be explained, as well. "I'm like you now. One of us has died. Kairi. The light must have chosen me to replace her, since there must always be seven."

[Lagunamov]

Only small fry.

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The Sentiment watched as the man in glasses simply ducked for cover, allowing one of the orbs to hit someone further back. So, he was one to not care for innocents. That was something interesting to take note of. Granted, Animositas remained unfazed by the civilian casualty, but with the rest now in chaos and running for their lives, even if it wanted to be concerned it would be a pointless endeavor. It wouldn’t take more than a minute for the street to be emptied.

The next move by the arrogant one was to send a kind of Heartless unknown to the armor until know, small, but with armor just like it and a blade in each arm. Of course, the man decided to attack the illusion behind him. Understandable, if Animositas had moved itself there it would prove most lethal. But, alas, the slash went through the dark skinned fake as if it were, barely distorting the area of impact, and the stern face of the man grinning with evil intent.


The Heartless, on the other hand, went after the correct target, but was met with resistance. Using its Keyblade, Animositas deflected the attack, and still under the guise of the boy, slid to its right side and struck upwards with its blade. The Heartless jumped backwards to the left of the armor, but… left an arm behind. The Sentiment picked up the lost limb, bouncing it around on its hand a couple of times.

Looking at the man in glasses, Animositas crushed the arm in its hand, exploding into a dark mist and disappearing in the air. “Is that the best you got?” the image of the young Keyblade bearer turned to his side, and while still facing the man, raised his Keyblade forward and pointed at him defiantly, while his left hand held a crustal floating only inches away from his palm in anticipation of an attack from either side.


[Crystal Stalagmites in use. Will remain in use for one more post.
Shadow Facade Active. Current illusions: Sora, Riku, Cloud, Kadaj, Lanying and the Champion.]

[Slash]

Oh, like you've done all that great yourself.

[/center]

To tell the truth, he wasn't sure exactly what he had. He had some comprehension of his new abilities, but as to the full extent of them...whatever. He shrugged and smiled. "Hardly."

The Heartless attacked again, this time with a powerful, desperate lunge. Jericho moved forward slowly.

"What purpose do you serve? What is your meaning?" The darkness inside of him began to manifest, spreading outward from him. He readied Arachnid for when the armor killed his Heartless.

__________________

Cinderella tried to process all of the information, completely shocked by the weight behind Aerith's statements. Everything would collapse? One of the princesses had died? Was this some sort of strange joke?

No. Aerith's face was dead serious. Cinderella took a deep breath.

"I...I'm sorry, please give me a second. This is all so much to take in."

After regaining her composure, she asked, "But what can we do about this imbalance?"

[Aerith]

Let me think...
--------

Cinderella's shock was understandable. This was a lot to take in, and had Aerith been in her situation, she might not have believed herself right now. She waited patiently for the other Princess to collect herself.

"Well..." She wasn't too sure herself. Jericho had just insisted that she come and try to convince the others to help. How much information should she share? In the end, the truth was best. Besides, Cinderella would eventually have to say something about the darkness hiding somewhere in this room.

"I'm traveling with a man named Jericho. He hasn't told me specifics, but he said that we have to find all the other Princesses of Heart."

She paused for a moment, thinking. "I don't know very much about the Princesses and their whole function, but from what I've read, all seven of them are necessary to get to the Door to Darkness..."

[Lagunamov]

Cut to the chase already.

[/i][/size]

This man must loved the sound of his own voice, for he seemed to ignore almost all statements directed at him, and instead countered with more questions. The Heartless was attacking again, in what was most likely the worst possible way considering the circumstances. Without even flinching Animositas released the crystal orb in its left hand, intercepting the creature midair only a meter or so away. The impact caused the armored Heartless to become incased in a crystal, falling to the ground and shattering. And thus, the Heartless was no more.

A talk of purpose and meaning. How ridiculous. The Sentiment lacked both, making the entire premise pointless. Surely enough, that fact had kept it from moving for ages, but now, it seemed like its purpose was guiding it, even if unaware of its nature. “Who says I need either?” it retorted back from under the guise of the boy, looking as the man in glasses summoned a familiar type of weapon. “So, my suspicions are confirmed. But, will you last longer than those who have fallen before mine?”

With that said, in the middle of the chaos of people running away from the fight, Animositas launched the remaining two crystal orbs at the feet of the man, separated by a couple of meters. As it did that, the illusions of the blonde man and the female Keyblade Master rushed towards him, weapons in hand and ready to strike.