Mercurial Shadows [Daniel]

[Slash]

Got some use out of you after all.

[/center]

Daniel jumped back and tried to use his seal, but the ability was too powerful for it to block. It shattered under the effort, and he was knocked a good distance, barely conscious. Gabriel was still struggling with the Heartless.

Jericho took the punch while avoiding the orb. There was some power in the boy, after all. Jericho staggered back some.

He had served his purpose. Jericho released his mind all at once.

"Then we go! Nadia, after you're done playing with Daniel, tell Predis to tell you where I am."

Two Corridors opened, one behind Emi and another behind Jericho. An Aranea broke off from attacking Clive and herded her into it, hissing.

It opened out into a different part of Radiant Garden, one that was quite a long way from where they had come from. Jericho sat down on the edge of the cliff face near it.

"Now, we wait."

[Empathy and Amplification cancelled.
Daniel used Seal of Protection.]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Maybe I can find a little hope.
--

Emi was herded into the corridor behind Jericho like a dumb animal. Maybe a sheep. She looked over her shoulder before the portal closed. Jericho had let Castle go- that was good enough for her.

When they emerged from the corridor, Emi was surprised to see they were still in Radiant Garden. She didn't know what she had been expecting, except maybe him taking her to his underground secret lair or something. But now, he just went and set on the edge of a cliff. The corridor closed off behind her, and she just stood there.

"So that's it then?[/color]" she said quietly. "You aren't going to torture me anymore?[/color]"

Please shut your big mouth. Do you really want him to start playing with your head again? You are just asking for it.

She suddenly snapped. Things caught up with her, the weight of what she had done. She couldn't attack Jericho though. Staying alive, and keeping Castle alive, was the main thing here... and attacking him would only get them both killed. But she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

She wished there was a wall to punch, but there wasn't. She felt like throwing herself on the ground and pitching a fit like a toddler, but instead she just did the only thing she could think to do. She summoned Lacewing, and with a frustrated cry, she threw it as hard as she could. The keyblade clattered to the ground several feet away, but merely reappeared in her hand a few seconds later.

And then, she sat down, too, with her back facing Jericho. She just fell to the ground and crossed her legs. Lacewing went away, and Emi put her face in her hands. She didn't cry. She simply went still, or tried to at least. She was still shaking.

They can't hurt you if you don't let them. This can't last forever.

She lifted her face. "I don't even have the words, Jericho,[/color]" she said, quite wearily. She shook her head. "I did what you said. I changed. I kept up my end of the deal. I should have known we would run into each other but... damn. I can't believe I trusted you to keep your word. Not that it matters to you.[/color]"

Somehow, a bitter laugh escaped her. She shook her head again, and looked up to the sky. "I'm so stupid.[/color]"

But at least he's safe. I really did change. I am doing something for someone else now, not clinging to people and depending on them and sucking all the life out of them. I guess that is something...hm. When did Castle start meaning so much to me? When did I actually have a friend?

[Aerith]

Do you like this game?
---------

Satisfaction resonated within Nadia as Daniel took the full brunt of her assault and tumbled over the ground. Since he made no effort to get up, she could only assume that he was severely weakened. How delightful. He could do nothing to stop her from taking his life.

Nadia knew nothing of what had passed between Jericho and Emi, so the fact that both of them so suddenly left the scene caught her by surprise. But Predis was still here, and the spider knew where Jericho would be. That was enough for her.

She spared Jericho only a passing glance of acknowledgement before turning back to Daniel. Still, he did not move, and she closed the distance between them until she was only feet away. The bird was still occupied. Good.

Calling to Azrael once again, Nadia's inner darkness manifested outside herself in a large cloud that enveloped her and Daniel and shut out everyone else. Lightning shot over its surface and struck the ground around it at uneven intervals, a deadly deterrent to anyone seeking to enter.

"You realize that I could kill you several times over right now, don't you?"

She could still see Daniel through the cloud, but he would only be able to hear her voice. She walked one circle around him. If necessary, she knew she could move faster than he could ever hope to. Even if the bird somehow got involved, it would be nothing to her.

"Perhaps now you might understand just a little of what it feels like to have everything you've ever known ripped away from you."

Two steps closer. One knife in his right shoulder. Two steps away again.

He was bleeding now, not just burned. Blood was a much better indicator of pain.

"Everything you said to me before, in that cave, was wrong." Not a single note of doubt. "And even if you are right about some things, I really don't care." She laughed coldly.

"You have no idea who I am, what I've been through, and what I feel now. Well, I'll at least let you know something of what I'm feeling."

She could not do what Jericho did and share her emotion, but she could do the next best thing. Another knife went into his left shoulder this time, but she did not immediately withdraw it. Instead, she knelt down next to him and, in strange gentleness, ran her fingers through his hair.

Her voice matched the manner of her touch. "I hold your life in my hands, and you can't do anything to save yourself. Isn't that wonderful? For me, perhaps. You can't even begin to imagine what power like this is. For someone who has never had any, it's exhilarating."

She patted his head as though he were some small child. "It's a shame things have to be this way, though." She paused, bending closer so she could whisper in his ear. "I have to let you live. For now."

Standing, she tore her knife out of Daniel's shoulder. "Just know that, at any time, I can destroy you myself if I so choose."

While the cloud still billowed around them, Nadia took a moment to contemplate Daniel. Did he want to respond or simply lay there with the knowledge that he could do nothing?

Once the darkness was gone, she would be seeking out Predis.

[Nadia used Thunder Reign.
Remains in effect for one post.

Offensive Magic Specialty is in effect.

Heat Riser is in effect for two more posts.

Cognizance has become available.]

[Slash]

Lingering regrets.

[/center]

Pain seared through Daniel, pain like nothing he'd ever felt before. Nadia's knife stabbed into his shoulder, drawing a huge amount of blood, and the darkness around him prevented him from defending himself or even seeing her.

He felt himself quickly losing consciousness.

"I'm sorry...that he got to you first. I couldn't help you. He made you into a reflection of himself, and I couldn't stop it. I'm sorry."

Darkness clouded his vision, and he felt himself on the verge of passing out. Gabriel was cut off from him by the cloud, and still had one Heartless to contend with.

The only way to save you is to kill you, if you don't kill me here. I'm sorry it had to come to that. I am. It's my fault that he destroyed you.[/color]

___________________________

Jericho watched Emi from the corner of his eye. Few things inspired him to pity. This was not one of them, although he had gone back on his word. Things like that seemed trivial when you were looking at the big picture.

"If it's any consolation, and I'm sure it's not, I wouldn't have gone back on my word if things hadn't changed. You did hold up your end of the deal."

He stared out at the horizon.

"But things bigger than you and I are moving, and since you have a Keyblade that means you have a part to play. What I said doesn't matter."

One of his Heartless appeared to him. Despite its fearsome appearance, or perhaps because of it, he scratched it behind its mask as if it were a dog. Its skin was slippery and cold to the touch.

The Aranea looked towards Emi, its yellow eyes bright behind the mask.

"It wants your heart." He dismissed it, sending it off to the battle. If Nadia was in danger, it would call him.

Emi was a strange one. If it wasn't for her bursts of anger, he could have believed that she was an entirely different person.

"The fact still remains that I did break my word, even though that was one of the few things I intended to keep. So, if you want an explanation I can give one. If you would rather exist in ignorance, being herded to places you don't know for reasons you can't figure, then do so."

[Nothingness]

It's Worth a Shot...

Dammit--this had completely fallen apart in no time flat. Jericho had forced Emi to go with him, Daniel was inside that impenetrable sphere with Nadia, who was probably already slowly torturing him, and he was stuck outside it with this stupid bug. "Goddamn coward," he cursed after Jericho left.

Activating the bangle, he seemed to split into two, one following his movements just a moment after. The spider skittered quickly, and Clive swung his leg, obviously missing, but his after-image managed to connect. Quickly following up, he dropped the heel of his foot onto it, both attacks smashing it underfoot. He glanced off to the side and saw the second Heartless skitter backwards, wary of what Clive would do next.

Clive looked back into the cloud, aware of the presence of the second spider. It wasn't much of a chance, but he figured that it would be best to pull out the card now. Clive called out to Nadia, his voice tainted in melancholy. "Nadia. Do you mind if I ask you a question? Do you still have it?"

[Clive used Double Vision, two posts until next use]

[Castle]

Castle hadn't heard Emi's voice. All he knew was that the punch connected, and that it felt good. He wanted to keep punching until Jericho's ribcage shattered.

Then, suddenly, something changed again. The cutoff was so abrupt that it stopped him dead in his tracks and sent painful throbs through his skull. He winced and grabbed the sides of his head, gritting his teeth to hold back what would have been a startled yelp. This only lasted for a second or two, which gave him just enough time see Jericho disappear and, when he spared a confused glance over his shoulder, see Emi be taken away as well.

For a moment, he just went numb. There were things going on nearby; a cloud of darkness had appeared out of nowhere, and Gabriel and Clive were fighting some weird looking Heartless. These things only added to his confusion. He wasn't entirely sure how'd he'd even gotten to where he was. He just remembered wanting to kill Jericho more than anything...

Then it hit him. Jericho had messed with his mind again, and now, Emi was gone.

The rage burned through him so fast that he could have screamed. Instead, he just shouted a very loud "NO!" at nothing in particular, and then ran at the Heartless that Clive hadn't killed yet, the one that had herded Emi into the Corridor. He focused all of his hatred on it and attacked it mercilessly. The moments that led up to the monster's disintegration went by him in a blur. If it had hurt him, he didn't feel it.

[Aerith]

Oh, this thing?
--------

Daniel was apologizing. That's all he could say? “I don't need your help. Why would I even want to go back to the way things were?”

Filled with sadness, Clive's voice cut through the darkness. “It”? Oh. That.

Nadia had almost forgotten about the silver cross around her neck, but it was indeed still tucked beneath her shirt. Now that she had been reminded of it, the chain was suddenly cold against her skin. It was too heavy, too burdensome.

The darkness surrounding her and Daniel dissipated, and her eyes immediately found Clive. She removed the cross deliberately, then played it between her fingers. “Is this what you mean?” She knew very well it was.

No longer did she give him wary glances. Her gaze was cold and unwavering. Perhaps incapacitating Daniel so easily had bolstered her confidence. Although, she knew that if it came to blows, Clive would not be humbled so quickly.

"Do you want it back?"

She did not forget about the bird. Daniel might have been effectively out of play, but the bird was not. Yet.

[Heat Riser is in effect for one more post.

Thunder Reign has dissipated.
Posts until next use: 6
Uses remaining: 1]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

This is because of Lacewing?
--

Emi listened to what he had to say... and she didn't know how it made her feel. She was, of course, angry that he had lied to her and for making excuses to cover himself after he did. She snorted and looked at the dirt. Something bigger than the two of them... her anger shifted towards whatever that was for having ruined everything. Whatever it was, she wanted it gone. She wanted it gone now so that Jericho would have no reason to continue to keep her. If he had forced her- which he had, by giving her those three terrible options- because of her Keyblade, then if those circumstances were removed he would have no reason to keep her around. And knowing him, Emi had a feeling he wouldn't keep her a second more than he needed her.

She looked over her shoulder. "No, I want to know. Of course I want and explanation. I already feel stupid enough. So go ahead, explain. You said this had something to do with my keyblade? [/color]"

[Nothingness]

Want to Know the Reason?

Clive smiled as Nadia toyed with the little cross. "It was my gift to you--keep it. It means nothing to me anymore, just like my knife when I gave that away. Just a memento of the memories here." He pressed his hand to chest, closing his eyes for a moment in reflection. Once he opened them, he walked slowly and deliberately towards Daniel and knelt next to him, though he never took his eyes off of Nadia, looking at her with the same, sad eyes. He made sure that Gabriel was in her line of vision as well.

"I wish to speak with you, privately. Not now--no, now isn't the time." He looked at Daniel's injuries. Yes, he could heal them, though it would be at his own expense. Looking back at Nadia, he gave her a small smile. "In one week, if it's not too difficult. It took me a while, but I realized why I gave that to you." He stood up and laughed softly to himself. "It's a silly reason, but, I figured you should know."

[Slash]

An explanation.

[/center]

"Yes." Jericho glanced at her from the side of his eye. He was far calmer than he'd been around her before, and wasn't angry in the least.

"There is a great imbalance in the worlds. Light is far too prevalent, and darkness is weakening significantly. I'm sure that sounds fine to you, but if one leaves completely then the result will destroy everything."

He began gathering darkness aroumd his body, gaining comfort from its presence. "That is why I'm here. I act as sort of...an emissary, I suppose. My purpose is to make the darkness stronger. When it is strong enough, I will fade into it and cease. Any Keyblader has the power to weaken or strengthen the darkness a good deal."

He summoned Arachnid and held it gently in its hands, its metal looking perpetually stained with blood.

"I do all that I can, but despite everything I can not keep up. I am outnumbered. So, I thin the numbers. It is all I can do."

Jericho looked up at the sky. "The connection to darkness is a double-edged sword. On worlds with a large amount of darkness, I feel almost invincible. But there is always a void that comes from the darkness's weak state, the need to bring it back. If I were to stop, I would die." He glanced at Emi again. "Not that I would stop. I refuse to delude myself into thinking that I am anything but what I am."

[Aerith]

Only if you do it now.
--------

That look Clive kept giving her only made rage build slowly inside her. "You think yourself so high above everyone, do you? You think you understand everything and everyone perfectly? Since when are you such a saint? Keep your pity for yourself. I want none of it, and I need none of it."

Her fingers tightened around the cross. "If you want to speak to me, you do it now or not at all. If you want to go somewhere more private, fine. But I'm not interested in coming back here to see you again."

[Nothingness]

Who Said Anything About Pity?

He shook his head. "I don't pity you at all, nor do I find myself above anyone--much to the contrary, to be honest. But you don't need to be so scared what I have to say. Besides, why didn't you just look into my heart? That's what you did with the girl, isn't it? Why else would you wonder that she hadn't killed herself yet?" Clive turned his head back towards Daniel. "Besides, I can't leave him alone in such a state."

Touching his chin thoughtfully, he he returned his gaze to Nadia once again. "Actually, just look into my heart, then. You won't have to look hard at all. I don't think I'll need to explain it to you."

[Slash]

Master?

[/center]

Something inside Gabriel stirred and let loose a mental screech. Iblis could sense that its master was deeply hurt, and with every passing second Gabriel felt a greater need to save him. As Iblis panicked and began sending pain signals through Gabriel's brain, a huge feeling of dread swept over him. If his master died, what would Iblis do then?

Master. Master![/color]

He was unconscious. Gabriel had finished killing the Heartless, and went to his master's side. The master had to be transported elsewhere. Somewhere where he could heal.

Gabriel looked at Castle, the smallest hint of sympathy escaping his robotic nature. He knew what it was like to have something horrible hit you all at once.

"I will be in the caverns. If you can find us, I will do what I can to help you."

He flew as carefully as was possible, trying desperately not to make Daniel's wounds worse.

[Aerith]

Such a waste of time.
--------

"Scared? And why would I be scared of you or what you have to say?" Nadia laughed. "Search your heart? For what? Memories of your precious family? Why would something that I've never had sway me back to something and someone I've left far behind?"

She fixed him with a callous glance and tossed the necklace to the ground between them. "If you don't want this back, then let it lay there, gathering dirt forever. I have no use for it. And if you aren't going to stop dancing around the issue and tell me what it is you want to say, I'm leaving."

She mentally felt for the channel with Predis, though her eyes never left Clive. Predis. Where is he?

[Castle]

Killing the Heartless wasn't good enough. The anger was still making his blood boil almost to the point of physical pain. Once the monster was gone, Castle spun around to scan the rest of the area. When he did, however, he saw something that finally threw a barrier up for his anger to stumble over.

Daniel was bleeding. A lot. By the time Castle saw him, Gabriel was already taking him away. He said something about being in the caverns. Castle watched them go briefly, feeling a little sick from the clash of emotions. On the one hand, he was still furious. On the other, the sight of someone he had no grudge against in that kind of state managed to dig up his concern.

Thanks to that, he was able to stop himself from continuing his rampage. However, the darkness, the hatred, was still enough to make his hands shake slightly. He kept his fists tight and walked slowly over to where Clive and Nadia were. His gaze was fixed on Nadia.

"Where did they go?" he demanded, barely able to keep his voice below a shout. He didn't care if he was interrupting a conversation. "Where did he take her?"