Mors Omnibus [Aerith, Jericho, Nadia, Predis]

[Slash]

They can hit me? ...Guess not.

[/center]

Jericho jumped backwards, avoiding the crystal orbs by just a second. The other illusions charged him. Could they hit him? Better safe than sorry. He blocked.

Huh. They couldn't. And he'd lost precious time. The darkness around him grew more tangible as he laughed.

"Wonderful! A nice trick." He moved towards the brown-haired boy, then in one quick charge attacked it with a powerful downward slash.

[Strength level now at X2.]
______________________

Opening the door to darkness? Hadn't that been what they had all wanted to stop? Cinderella shook her head, trying to make sense of it all.

Finally, she looked up, nervous but also resolved in her course of action.

"I don't really understand all of this...but I believe that you're telling me the truth. If it means saving everybody, I will help open the doot to darkness."

[Aerith]

Let us see how well I have recovered.
--------

Aerith exhaled a soft sigh of relief. That had not been as difficult as she had thought it would be. If only the rest of the Princesses would agree so readily. Aerith could hope for that.

"Good!" She smiled warmly and took Cinderella's hand. "We need to go right now. Time is short, and we still need to get the others."

She led Cinderella over to Nadia. "Cinderella, this is Nadia. Don't worry. She's a friend."

They were ready to leave. The floating alarm must have known that much, for it drifted back over to her, hovering over her left shoulder for the time being. "Ah, don't worry about that, either. It's just something to help protect me."

Nadia gave a polite nod to Cinderella, then turned toward the doors leading outside. "Forgive the short introductions, but we don't have time for pleasantries. Come on."

She wasn't going to hint at it to the two Princesses, but Nadia had absolutely no idea where to find Jericho and Predis. Unless the spider opened a channel on his own, she had no way of communicating with him. Oh, well. She'd figure this out.

Unfortunately, several Nobodies suddenly appeared in the courtyard, cutting off both their progress forward and their escape back into the castle. Mostly Dusks, though there were a few Dragoons, too. Those might pose a problem.

There was no safe place to send the two women to while Nadia took care of the fighting. She would have to be mindful of them. First order of business was to do what she could to protect them.

"Try to stay out of the way."

Asherah's card appeared and shattered under the will of her knife. Multicolored light spiraled around her and Aerith, and she felt a rush of strength and speed. She couldn't, however, afford to buff Cinderella at the cost of extra power. The stronger she was, after all, the sooner this fight would be over.

Pain gnawed dully at the inside of her skull, but she paid it no mind.

Two Dusks dissolved into nothingness before they had a chance to rally against her. Killing Nobodies did not give her nearly the same kind of joy she had gotten from killing men, but this was the first time in what felt like so long that she had been able to move.

And move, she did. The strength and speed surging through her was intoxicating. Nobodies fell at her hands left and right. But more always seemed to appear when she had though she had thinned their ranks enough to allow her and the Princesses to escape the courtyard.

Aerith stayed close to Cinderella and watched Nadia with a concerned eye. No matter what Jericho had said, Aerith half-expected Nadia to collapse again at a moment's notice, especially if the waves of Nobodies did not stop coming.

[Summary:
Nadia used Heat Riser.
Remains in effect for Nadia's next three posts.]

[Lagunamov]

Overconfidence is a double edged sword. And you have six against you.

[/center][/i]

The crystal orbs were dodged, but their effect on the ground remained the same, with two large crystal formations erupting forward. The two stalagmites would simply stay there until destroyed by an external force, providing an environmental object that could come in handy. Regardless, the man in glassed had dodged that, but flinched enough at the sight of the two warriors attacking him, causing him to block.

Not that either illusion had an actually physical body behind it, but it provided some insight. Though, that was almost meaningless in comparison to what Animositas could feel. The darkness around him was growing larger. The Sentiment expected that to turn into a weapon soon, so neutralizing the threat was necessary. The feeling was almost… unnatural.

As the target laughed and boasted, almost complimenting the armor on the trick it played on him, Animositas had the five illusions slowly move back toward the original body. The man in glasses was quicker, but that didn’t matter. Animositas blocked the attack from above with its Keyblade, its foot flinching backwards a bit, but remaining steady.

At the moment of the impact, however, a coat of energy started to surround the Sentiment and all of its illusion. The six of them flashed out of existence for a second, reappearing around the man, circling him close to almost the point of claustrophobia, each of them with the sharp side of their weapon at his throat.

“Now, explain yourself, or say farewell to your head: What are you and why have you come here exactly?” The Sentiment threatened with a command to his mind, hiding the location of the real body. Only one of the six blades was real, but whether he’d take his chances or not remained to be seen.

[Revenant Drive Activated. One more post of use.
Shadow Façade in use. Illusions: Sora, Riku, Cloud, Kadaj, Lanying and The Champion.]

[Slash]

She's so...violent.

[/center]

Cinderella was concerned, but for a different reason. The girl fought so viciously...

"Who is she?" she asked Aerith.

___________________

Jericho smiled. The darkness kept growing as he took it from his surroundings, moving around him and the multiple illusions.

"Alan Jericho, if it so interests you. I'm looking for the local Princess of Heart, or rather waiting for a few others to find me when they contact her. As to what I am?" He shrugged slightly, watching the six blades circling him.

"Would you believe I'm a sort of emissary of the darkness? Or rather, its avatar. Sort of. It's hard to explain, but I can make the huge cloud of darkness around me even bigger if that'd make me more convincing."

[Strength level now at X2.5][/size]

[Aerith]

There is something I don't like about the way she fights.
--------
[Unavoidable Battle from Persona 3 Burn My Dread ~Reincarnation~]

Aerith caught the quaver in Cinderella's voice. She, too, was watching Nadia fight. There was too much aggression. Her movements, while certainly graceful, were like that of a cornered animal--desperate and unrestrained, so careless of what hurt she inflicted and how badly. Not at all like Sora. Or Cloud, even on his worst days of battling his darkness.

She could only answer as honestly as possible. "Truthfully... I don't know that much about her. She's from Agrabah, but something happened between her and her family. They hurt her very badly, and Jericho brought her to me when she was on the brink of death. Aside from that, though, I just know that she is also traveling with us."

While Nadia was doing well at keeping the Nobodies at bay, Aerith felt a heightened strength inside her. Should it become necessary, she would have to get more directly involved. The bond she shared with Bahamut was a gentle pulse inside her head and heart. He would come to her aid if she called.

Not to mention her floating companion should bring Jericho himself to them if things got out of hand.

The Dusks were easy enough to kill, but a couple of the Dragoons were attempting to double-team Nadia. They seemed so sure of their superiority since they could fly, and they were taking full advantage of it. Dropping out of the sky like rocks, the pair stabbed the ground in quick succession only to immediately shoot back into the air to try again when they missed.

They were fast. She was faster.

Timing it just right, Nadia summoned Asherah once again, sending two bolts of lightning at the pair the second they hit the ground. The paralyzing effect took over, and the two Nobodies writhed uselessly next to their dropped weapons. With a triumphant smirk, Nadia dashed in for the kill, her knives flashing in the moonlight.

So tedious. I'm just killing shells. It's not even really killing at all. Only a waste of time.

At least both Princesses were untouched. And Nadia would make sure they stayed that way.

A trio of Dusks tried to surround her, but she quickly put an end to that idea. For several moments, there was a break in the wave of enemies. She turned to the Princesses.

"Out of the courtyard now. Come on."

With Aerith and Cinderella in tow, she did get them out of the castle courtyard. Now to find Jericho before more of the Nobodies decided to show up.

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

[Lagunamov]

How enlightening. How... pointless.

[/i][/size]

Finally, some answers. Of course, the man was not taking the risk of getting beheaded in case he miscalculated where the real body was, so it didn’t appear he had much choice. From what he told Animositas, he appeared to have come in a group to that world, looking for someone. A Princess of Heart? That term felt familiar. The Sentiment wondered where it could have heard it before.

A flashing memory refreshed its memory almost instantly. Not a memory of the armor’s previous life. No, that would be too simple. A memory from the girl whose life it had taken. That was right. Those with pure hearts of light were called Princesses, and she used to be one. One… among seven. Seven needed to open the Door to Darkness. Seven… for that robbed man’s plan.

As for the rest of his exposition, the man in glasses claimed to be an emissary, or avatar of darkness. That also felt slightly familiar. But no flashing memories to pin point where such a term could have been heard. The way the darkness around him kept increasing seemed to confirm such claim. But, whether he was truly that, or just a psycho with extreme affinity towards darkness remained to be seen.

Animositas, however, was not done yet. Or, rather, it didn’t feel like lifting its blade so easily. The man was so prompt to attack before, why would the living armor give him an opportunity before it was done? “So, avatar…” the mental voice trailed off, slowly being replaced with a young girl’s voice as the six illusions changed to that of a girl no older than sixteen. With red hair, blue eyes and a pink dress, the six identical girls kept their flowery Keyblades at the man’s throat, less than an inch away. “What purpose do you have with the Princesses, now that reaching a complete set is impossible?” the questioned echoed out of all six of them, their mouth moving in perfect synch and with a smile that, had it said anything else, would have been considered nice.

[Revenant Drive Deactivated. Three more posts till its used again.
Shadow Façade in use. Subject of six illusions: Kairi.]

[Slash]

Man, you're out of the loop.

[/center]

Jericho stared at the girls for a few beats.

His laughter was intense, and he had to struggle not to get cut while shaking. Strangely enough, there seemed to be another voice right behind his, although any details were hard to pick out.

"Oh...ha...you think that...oh man, I'm sorry...you think that because one's dead, that ruins everything? It just transfers to someone else."

The darkness he could absorb was now at its maximum, moving around him with an inhuman voracity. If the armor kept asking him questions, he was just going to smash it to pieces.

[Strength level now X3][/size]

__________

Cinderella moved as fast as she could, but still wasn't quite as fast as the girl. She moved with such purpose, as if determined to accomplish a goal more than anything.

Truthfully, Cinderella thought of her as dangerous. And how dangerous was this Jericho person, if this was the company he kept...?

[Aerith]

Cue massive amounts of confusion.
--------

Nadia had to be mindful of the slower pace of Cinderella. At least Aerith wouldn't have any trouble keeping up with her, thanks to the effects of the speed boost.

She entered the main part of the town and quickly figured out where Jericho was. People were trying their best to get away from one certain area, and that is exactly where Nadia went.

The sight that greeted her when she did find Jericho was incredibly odd.

There were six identical girls surrounding him, all pointing flowery weapons at him. She wasn't sure what she should do.

"We're here."

She stayed alert and aware of Aerith and Cinderella's location.

Aerith, meanwhile, was far more concerned about the six images of Kairi. She blinked. What in the world was going on? Wasn't... wasn't Kairi dead? She stayed silent for the time being, though that cloud of darkness around Jericho probably wasn't going to help calm Cinderella's nerves.

[Lagunamov]

Unsettling.

It was a good thing Animositas lacked ears; otherwise that laughter would have hurt its eardrums. He did provide with an interesting piece of insight. Princesses of Heart were apparently chosen the moment a previous one perished. The universe sure seemed perfectly capable of keeping backups at hand at all times. “Transfer? I thought it’d be birth,” the Sentiment contemplated aloud, thinking for a couple of seconds.

Its train of thought, however, was derailed soon after. It didn’t take long for the living armor to sense some familiar presences, approaching quickly from behind and stopping not far away from them. One had changed slightly, but Animositas was certain. She had been present at the Graveyard, and had previously worn her form to hide among the crow. The other was the local Princess. But, she wasn’t the only Princess of Heart present.

So, that’s who was chosen by the worlds as the replacement for… Kairi, was it? Yes, Kairi’s replacement. "Congratulations on your promotion..." the voices trailed off as the Sentiment forced itself through the stolen memories to find the necessary information. "... Aerith."

The six girls turned their heads at the newcomers immediately as the name was spoken, sighing in unison after a couple of seconds and lowering their weapons after confirming the situation. They backed away a couple of meters from the man, realizing immediately that these people were his party, and before fully stopping, the fake images fell apart, revealing the armor beneath. The six armors. Animositas was not foolish enough so as to reveal her current position out of good will.

[Shadow Façade active. Five illusions of Animositas]

[Slash]

Anticlimax.

[/center]

"Eh," Jericho said, dismissing the darkness around him. Disappointing. He'd have to save for injuring more people later, although there might be some stragglers around...

He took a place close to Nadia. "Any problems?" he asked.

________________________

Was that the Jericho person inside of the cloud of darkness? Wasn't Kairi dead? Why were there six Kairis? And now armor? Oh dear, oh dear oh dear...

It was too much to handle. Cinderella swayed dangerously, then collapsed.

[Aerith]

That didn't help, but thanks for trying.
--------

Aerith blinked some more, especially when the six Kairis said her name. How did they know? The puzzle only grew worse when the images shattered to reveal six strange suits of armor. Aerith had never seen anything like them.

It was too overwhelming for Cinderella, who had fainted. With a soft gasp, Aerith turned to her, knelt, and began fanning her fellow Princess.

Nadia was still warily watching the suits of armor. They were all identical. Where had they come from? At least they had stopped attacking Jericho.

"No problems convincing her. Aerith didn't have to work very hard to do that." Her eyes finally left the armors, moved to the fainted Cinderella, then went to Jericho. "Had some trouble getting to you, though. There were Nobodies, but nothing too dangerous."

The extra strength from earlier faded slowly. She hoped she would not need it again soon.

[Heat Riser has worn off.
Posts until next use: 5
Uses remaining: 1]

[Lagunamov]

Don't do reunions.

It was clear from the expression in the face of the newly appointed princess that she could barely grasp the situation she was witnessing. Much better than the other one, however, for it took only instants for her to lose her consciousness and collapse. How pathetic for someone of such strength and potential in her heart.

The two of pure heart remained together, with one tending to the other, and clearing any doubts of either presenting any reasonable threat to the Sentiment’s existence. Neither seemed combat competent, so their fate would remain different from the fallen one. The other female present seemed like the polar opposite, but remained below the female Keyblade Wielder Animositas had fought in terms of dangerousness.

With the… scavenger party reunited, and enough information gathered for one day, all five illusions of the armor faded off slowly, their images distorting as all six armors walked away from the group. The Sentiment raised its Keyblade forward, finally back in its original silver look, neither a blue dragon, a grey and yellow key or a flower bouquet. Just its simple and usual self, pointing forward into the distance. A trail of light emerged from the tip of the blade, opening a portal a couple of meters away from its location.

“The Avatar of Darkness… The man searching for balance… The Door to the Dark Realm…” it thought as it walked toward the portal, stepping into it slowly, closing behind Animositas.

[Slash]

Let's get an alarm on this one.

[/center]

Jericho watched as the armor disappeared, then looked at the fainted Princess. Another of his alarms came into being. It floated towards Cinderella and bobbed slowly over her fainted body, an exact replica of Aerith's alarm.

He opened a Corridor. "That'll take you back to Radiant Garden, in your home. You can help her there."

Cinderella started to awaken, still very dazed.

[Aerith]

Goodbye for now, then.
--------

Aerith helped Cinderella to her feet. She also had an alarm floating with her now. Apparently, Jericho had an infinite number of these. Or at least enough to cover the Princesses.

The idea of going back home was an appealing one. She hadn't been gone for very long, but already, she missed it. And since she had left so suddenly, Cloud and the others might be worried about her.

"Okay. We'll be there, then."

That was all she said. She could have asked why Jericho and Nadia weren't coming, too, but she figured she probably didn't want to know why. Assisting Cinderella, Aerith entered the Corridor and vanished.

[Slash]

Let me show you something, Nadia.

[/center]

The Corridor closed. "Nadia, I'd like to show you something."

Jericho walked through the now abandoned street- everyone had cleared out for a while. However, there were a few gravely injured people, trampled on and hit by crossfire...He crouched down next to one of them, a young man who had lost a good deal of blood and a good deal of his left leg.

"You're going to die here. Do you know that?"

The man shuddered. He could hear, then. Good.

"I can save you. If you'll accept darkness, of course. If you can, then it'll heal you instantly. Otherwise, you'll bleed out on the street." Jericho looked wistfully away, as if deep in thought.

"That would be horrible...to die from a battle that didn't even involve you. And your memory would fade away like dust, the only remnant of you a weathered grave." He shrugged.

The man was clearly afraid, and Jericho smiled reassuringly. "All of that can be avoided if you'll just accept my offer."

With terror in his eyes, the man nodded. Jericho's smile turned into a grin, and he said to Nadia, "Watch. This is how you build an army."

Darkness enveloped the man. His screams were not muffled at all.

The darkness faded. There was nothing there.

"There. His heart's lost. We'll see him soon, as a Heartless."