Mercurial Shadows [Daniel]

[Castle]

August 4, 2010

He'd been visiting the outskirts a lot lately.

Ever since their arrival on the last day of July, Emi had done a lot of sleeping. Castle didn't blame her. That fight with the Lunatic Cobra had taken a lot out of her. Since she was focused mainly on recovering, and looking for a job, as she mentioned, Castle had found himself idle. He considered finding a job as well, but... there was something else he wanted to do with his time.

Those Heartless weren't going to kill themselves.

No, it wasn't even that. What really drove him to the wasteland outside the city every day was his personal need to train. That little trick he taught himself, the concentration of rage, was already becoming more refined. After four days, the mere sight of a Heartless kicked his anger into overdrive. Once the enemy was defeated, the rage simmered down to a dark satisfaction.

Another such enemy finally burst after a final strike to the head. That was the last of them, for this round anyway. Castle straightened up and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Even though the Heartless was gone, it still took a few seconds for the anger to go away. It's dead, he told himself, You can cool off now.

He picked up the few pieces of munny that the Heartless had dropped and pocketed them. He had to pay for that room somehow. Deciding that he'd trained enough for that day, he headed back toward the castle gates.

[Slash]

Further sychronization required.

[/center]

Daniel walked around the outskirts of the castle, Gabriel in tow. There had to be Heartless around here. Both Daniel and Gabriel needed to train if they were ever going to stand a chance against Jericho.

Both of them were silent, but a conversation was occurring within the heads of both.

Your brother. That man. Who is he really?[/color]

I call him my brother, but he's not really. He is a monster wearing my brother's skin. A while back, when he was my brother, he got into a lot of trouble. His family died, and everyone thought it was him. He hid with me for a while, but he was crazy. He kept mumbling to himself, and he'd go into fits of rage at the smallest things- I began to wonder if it was him.[/color]

Was it?[/color]

That's something I want to ask him before he dies. I don't think he'll lie to me. Not about that, not anymore.[/color]

Their conversation stopped for a bit, Gabriel noticing and scanning a strange-looking man who was walking nearby. He was very odd, with purple hair, pale skin, and garishly bright clothing.

He looked a bit like a fighter, though, and Daniel figured he'd know where the Heartless were.

"This might sound strange, but do you know where to find some Heartless?"

[Castle]

Castle hadn't noticed the two people nearby until one of them spoke to him. He glanced that way and froze. They were two men, but the one he locked gazed with, the one who had spoken, captured his immediate attention. Those green eyes, just the face in general, looked really familiar, and not in a good way. However, the feeling passed in a second. It was just some guy, a really scrawny little guy, too.

He relaxed and rested a hand on his hip, putting his aloof face on.
"Yeah. They're right around here," he said, gesturing to the area around them, and then motioning to the path behind him, "The most are further down the road. I just got done killing a few myself."

His gaze traveled to the skinny guy's companion. Being scanned by this person hadn't been lost on him. Castle's eyes narrowed, but only by a small fraction. Unlike the scrawny one, this looked like a tough guy. It didn't take a genius to know that he could handle himself, and... were those wings? Huh.

As far as first impressions, he didn't much like the look of either of them. He turned his attention back to the first one. Dang, he looked familiar. Castle got a bad feeling from him.

[Slash]

Is there something wrong with my face?

[/center]

Daniel was quite unnerved by the other person, who kept staring at him. Did he grow horns? A third eye? It was very strange, being watched like some sort of horrid creature.

Perhaps you look familiar to him.[/color]

You think he might have seen...?[/color]

It's certainly possible.[/color]

Daniel met his gaze. "The way you're looking at me, I have to guess that either my skin has turned blue or you happen to know my brother." He immediately raised his hands, palms out, to show he meant no harm. "Don't attack me, I'm not like him. My name's Daniel Carter, and this is Gabriel. My brother is Vincent Carter, but he goes by the name of Jericho."

[Castle]

At first, Castle just raised an eyebrow when the guy started talking about his brother. It wasn't until the name "Jericho" finally came up that he had any real reaction. The resemblance stood out sharply enough to conjure flashbacks of his and Emi's fight with him. He stiffened, the hand that wasn't on his hip closing into a fist. However, when he realized that his heart rate was picking up a little too much for something as minor as this, he forced himself to calm down.

All right, cool it, he self-chastened silently, Geez, it's not like he's a freaking Heartless or anything.

He quickly regained his composure, his expression aloof once more, though this time laced with suspicion and curiosity.

"So... that maniac is your brother, huh?" he began slowly, "Funny you should say you're not like him, because right now, you're acting an awful lot like he was before the mask came off."

That wasn't entirely true. While Jericho was acting like a panicky little wimp, this guy, Daniel, only looked like one, though he seemed as calm as anything. Castle's main point was that this man could easily be hiding another personality as Jericho had, and he didn't want to take any chances.

[Slash]

Don't say that. Ever.

[/center]

The person quickly reminded him of the reason why he didn't like company. Almost every resident in Twilight Town had put him through something like this. Oh, his brother was a manipulative bastard, so obviously he was exactly like that.

He hated how people made that assumption.

"I am not my brother! Don't compare the way I am to the way he is, or what he pretends to be. I hate him! Don't even insinuate that I am like him, a monster hiding behind a mask. Don't you ever!"

Keep your temper down, O genius master. You're not helping your case.[/color]

Gabriel still said nothing outwardly, but kept watching. He didn't want to be called into battle, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to happen.

[Castle]

The strong reaction was surprising. Castle raised both eyebrows that time, though he studied Daniel as calmly as possible during that little rant. It seemed pretty sincere, but, he wouldn't let his guard down just yet.

"Wow. Family issues. So, were you going somewhere with this, or did you just guess that I know your brother for the fun of it?" he asked.

He let his sardonic tone slip by the end of the question. If Daniel really did hate Jericho, then that was one less thing to dislike about him, right? On the other hand, the rest of his attitude, or what he saw of it so far, was still annoying. And what was with the other guy? He hadn't said or done anything yet. He was probably one of those "strong silent" types. Whatever.

[Slash]

You're not all that better than him.

[/center]

This was getting worse and worse, and Daniel was still furious at having been compared to Jericho. He was not the same! So they had the same face. And?

I should have just stayed in that lab until I died, like Jericho thought I was going to do.[/color]

He should have just made some sort of tracking robot, then he wouldn't have had to deal with this sort of thing. When this was all over, if it ever would be, he made a resolution to build a lab in some godforsaken mountain range and become a hermit.

Gabriel cut straight through his angry musings by speaking.

"He is looking to kill the man named Jericho. If you have any information on said man, or even any idea of what powers are in his possession, I would suggest you speak before he begins tearing his hair out."

...I was not going to tear my hair out.[/color]

Then perhaps you were going to stamp your foot, O master? It is not my fault that you are lacking in social skills.

I don't remember your programming including any smart remarks.

It was your idea to reprogram me with a new personality. You can pay the consequences.

While the conversation seemed innocuous, it made Daniel incredibly uncomfortable. Due to Iblis's influence, that was the closest Gabriel could get to anger at him.

[Castle]

So the other guy could speak after all, and what he had to say was very, very interesting. Family issues, indeed. Was Gabriel Daniel's hit-man or something? Getting back to the point, the thought of someone getting rid of Jericho wasn't all that bad. Was he a bad person for thinking that? ...Nah.

"Sure. He picked a fight with me a while back, about a month ago," he began, crossing his arms, "It was at some world called 'Beast's Castle,' but he ended up in Traverse Town later, so, there's no telling where he is now. As for powers..."

He paused, stalling for time by scratching the back of his neck. This was the part he didn't like to think about, but, there was no harm in talking about it. He didn't have to go into too much detail, anyway.

"...I don't know, he did some thing where he made my friend and I go absolutely berserk. Like, we couldn't even think, at least I couldn't. Other than that, I guess the only 'power' I saw was his ability to be a complete asshole," he said.

[Slash]

Perhaps there is something helpful hidden in there.

[/center]

So, he did know something, and he had fought Jericho. That was important.

"If that is all, than his power has grown exponentially since you saw him. He carries a great amount of darkness around him, and his allies are infected by it. His darkness, if all released, could eclipse a sun."

"It's very important that you tell as much as you can. How did he make you go berserk? Was there any visible signs of an attack, and did your friend react before you, or vice versa? And is your friend still around?"

He paused, noticing how many questions he had asked, and said, "I'm sorry, I know that being so persistent is annoying, but it's incredibly important to learn as much as we can about what he can do before fighting him."

[Castle]

Jericho had allies? Now that was some disturbing news. Come to think of it, hadn't Emi mentioned a woman who was traveling with him?

Emi... Daniel wanted to know about her. Castle was hesitant. He felt like he should leave her out of this. He didn't want to bring her any trouble, and he especially didn't want her to have to deal with Jericho again. The thought of what happened on her birthday still bothered him. On the other hand, if Daniel just wanted to ask her stuff... Well, who knows. At this point, he would remain hesitant.

"Yeah, I get it," Castle assured him in what was now a considerably non-hostile tone. He took a moment to think back. "I didn't see anything, but, I felt something. It's hard to explain, and I can't really remember it clearly, anyway. I'm pretty sure it hit us both at the same time."

Suddenly, a small memory rose up, a blurry image of black feathers. He'd forgotten about it until now. But, that detail didn't matter. They might have been shadows. Either way, it made him think of Emi again for some reason.

"I can't speak for her, though. I had no idea what was going on until it wore off, and Jericho was gone. We've been staying at the inn here..."

The words had slipped out unbidden, and he let the sentence taper off, still hesitant. Would Emi be annoyed if this guy wanted to see her?

[Slash]

Perhaps she could help.

[/center]

Daniel nodded, processing the information. It wasn't much, but it seemed that Jericho's manipulation was on a level not reachable by most. Direct emotion manipulation- now that was highly dangerous.

He still needed to know more, though. Perhaps this girl was the key.

"If she saw anything...I should speak to her. Would that be all right?"

[Nothingness]

Back So Soon?

Clive was rather glad that Cinderella was pretty independent. When he heard her called as a 'Princess', he figured that he would become some sort of servant for her, but luckily that wasn't the case. While he held qualms about leaving her alone at Aerith's house, he didn't believe any harm would come to her. Besides, she still hadn't really warmed up to him.

Upon realizing that he'd been in Radiant Garden for around a month and had yet to see all of the world, he'd started to go for walks around the city. This time, they brought him to the Castle.

Immediately, one thing caught his eye--a person with wings. Now, that wasn't completely unfounded, but the back of the person next to the winged-man was. No doubt Jericho was causing more trouble, but he'd never seen him with anyone other than Nadia or Aerith. Something wasn't right. "What brings you back here without Nadia?" He called out to the man.

[Slash]

Do we really look that alike?

[/center]

Daniel turned his head at the voice. It was another man, this one looking more dangerous than the other.

"What? Who's Nadia?"

He seemed to have been mistaken for someone else.

...Wait. Really? Another one?

"I'm not him. I'm his brother," he called back. "Is Nadia the woman with the short, black hair?"

[Nothingness]

My Mistake

Jericho has a brother? Well, at least this one doesn't seem to have ridiculous amounts of paranoia. Approaching the three, Clive bowed to the man he mistook for Jericho. "My apologies." He looked up at the man, saying tentatively, "Though it seems you've met Nadia already."