Slash
Bitch
Aerith's Bestest Posting Buddy~[M:-3385]
Can you feel the emotion?
Posts: 712
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Post by Slash on Apr 7, 2011 19:31:37 GMT -5
Pain. [/center] Jericho only barely heard the Esper as a searing cold pierced through his skin. It felt like a thousand needles were tearing through his heart, and images of suffering forced themselves through his mind. Not another's suffering, mind you- that would have been fine. Instead, it was his suffering- his family, his brother, everything. The images hurt him more than they should have. Why did they hurt? Jericho felt extremely strange. He was sure of nothing anymore, not even his own name. Part of him was pulling in one direction and part in another- was this what schizophrenia felt like? He was both a hardened killer and a scared young man, both Jericho and Carter thanks to the sudden introduction of light. The darkness sensed this weakness and struck. Carter was dying. He was dying again, and there was nothing he could do. At least his death last time had been painless. Now all he could do was scream as the darkness ate away at whatever temporary light he had been given. Memories of his family passed through him, tinged with the recollection of their death. Please, no. I'm dying again, so please don't bring these back. Please don't make it worse.[/color] Nothing was listening. The knowledge of what he was and what he would be after his second death added the hint of a sob to his screams. "Why? Why did you do this to me?"All of Jericho's memories passed through him. He was close to collapse now, and could only send one final message. Tell Daniel that I forgive him.[/color] Carter's consciousness was no more, now and forever. Jericho came back all at once, his body rejecting the light. Something was inside of him, something a lot like the spider. It was the spider, in fact, but given a consciousness. What are you?[/color] He did not know if it would respond. I am you.[/color] it said coldly. I am what you truly are, in the very core of your heart.His shadow grew in the light, stretched, and gained dimension as if rose from the ground. It wore a white, featureless mask from which no eyes could be seen, and its body was chained up to prevent it from moving its arms. Release me, and I will attack.[/color] Jericho, however, was going to wait just a little longer. What else could the Esper do?
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Aerith
God
Slash's Bestest Posting Buddy~[/color][M:-4305]
Posts: 973
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Post by Aerith on Apr 7, 2011 20:28:39 GMT -5
Nice try. -------- So bright. Suddenly, everything was so bright.
It hurt.
The titan said it would be warm, but all Nadia felt was burning agony lancing down all of her limbs. The pain worsened when the darkness in her heart stirred like an angry beast to fight off this intrusion.
Get out, get out, get out!
In the midst of being torn apart by herself--again--images flooded her head. Images of Agrabah, mostly of herself alone in her father's library, the one haven she had found. Was that tranquility and contentment? She could almost feel the texture of the scrolls again as she poured over them in the memory.
The scene shifted abruptly. The darkness squeezed her heart with something akin to jealous protectiveness, keeping the light at bay. As if to say, "Remember what living in it did to you," the memories of her exile and then her subsequent almost stoning to death flashed through her head.
"Stop..."
And then suddenly all she could see in her mind's eye was Azrael. Just hold onto me, Nadia. This light cannot stay within you much longer.
The chimera was right. One more violent push by the darkness rejected the invading light. She mentally collapsed against Azrael for support for a moment. Just long enough to regain her strength. _____________________
Aerith experienced something much different--childhood memories with her friends, especially moments she had shared alone with Cloud. The light was gentle to her and did not affect her mind to the point where she could not process and respond to the light creature's words.
"You know Bahamut? He visited me on my homeworld. I think he has been living there. He told me I could call him whenever I needed him." _____________________
Sophia.
Ethan's dead lover hovered at the edges of his memories. He could immediately recall in striking detail all the pleasant times they had shared together--secret candlelight dinners in abandoned buildings, exchanging covert glances across a street, finding notes stuck in various hiding places on the outskirts of the city.
And then the night they at last made love.
Sophie... You were so magnificent, Sophie. Why? Why did they--?
Another far more poignant memory rose to the surface of his mind. He knew what this was. Sophia standing on the edge of the clock tower. Sophia saying absolutely nothing to him. Sophia plunging to her death below. He felt the torment all over again, felt the renewal of intense hatred.
If this was all the light had to offer, then it was cheap. Just a mask people could use to pretend. Nothing but a false cover for something loathsome.
He snapped out of the haze of memory, looked at the titan creature, and smirked. "Your light is nothing but a facade, a tool people use to act self-righteous and harm those they deem shameful. If that was some attempt at conversion, it was a useless one."
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Titan
Plot Character
Rockman[M:0]
Posts: 4
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Post by Titan on Apr 7, 2011 21:43:35 GMT -5
Titan was confused. Their reactions, for the most part, were not what he had expected. The light was supposed to give them their happiness back, not cause pain. The warmth was supposed to soothe, not burn. The man's reaction was the most vehement, and, for a moment, he could almost feel as if there was something familiar about him...but it was impossible. There was no way he knew the man.
After all, they had gone to sleep hundreds or years prior. There was no way he was anyone that Titan would have known. "I did this to help you see. Your path, it is bringing you pain. If you refuse to see that, then we are opposed." It is as with the Others, the Esper thought, sad though it was.
Titan's essence was reinfused into him. Turning his head, he looked at she who was touched by Bahamut. "You are lucky. He was the first of us to awaken, it seems, and he chose you as our representative. He may have thought you were to only represent him, but..." the being shook his head. "He did not anticipate any others awakening."
Looking at the other man, he who was less dark-infused, and shook his head. "I am truly sorry you see it this way. This was an attempt to show you what you are doing, but all of you are blind." Turning then to the one who was affected positively, and the other who was not affected adversely, Titan said, "You are exempt from judgment this day. Neither of you have left the light, even though one of you may have though she has."
Titan raised his arms slowly, clenching the hands into fists and then releasing them. "The awakening has begun. The importance of this event is even more so than such a focus of darkness in one locale as this. I must ask you to leave, beings of the dark. We shall meet again, but I must determine how many of the others have awoken."
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Slash
Bitch
Aerith's Bestest Posting Buddy~[M:-3385]
Can you feel the emotion?
Posts: 712
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Post by Slash on Apr 8, 2011 22:25:46 GMT -5
I don't really care. [/center] The living shadow behind him- which Jericho had deemed the Other- was straining at its bonds. The light from Titan was irritating it greatly. I want to fight it. I want to kill it. Let me kill it.Another time. When we are even stronger. Jericho wanted to destroy the thing, too. It was an unwanted disturbance, and he didn't like it in the least. He wanted to destroy it and anything like it, in fact. But to attempt so now would be too troublesome. He opened a Corridor. "This isn't worth the time. Let's go."________________ Jericho emerged in the cathedral. Emi was there, of course. Before she saw them, the Other faded and took its place as his shadow once more. Something about how she had responded had both bothered and intrigued him. "You were confused when I mentioned the wings. Did you forget what happened at Beast's Castle?"If she didn't remember, then Nadia could have a little fun.
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Oathkeeper Emi
God
Dark[/color] Meat[/color][M:-2250]
got old
Posts: 750
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Post by Oathkeeper Emi on Apr 9, 2011 10:11:04 GMT -5
You're babbling, old man. -- Emi wasn't sure how long she sat in the cathedral, waiting for the others. After a while, all the people in the church had left... most of them at any rate. She didn't want to believe even the clergy had fled, too. She unzipped the front of the cloaked. It was kind of hot, considering it was August, and she was wearing three layers. She had just begun to feel restless when Jericho emerged from a Corridor nearby. No greeting or anything, he just jumped right to the questions. Emi raised an eyebrow at him. No explanation of what had happened out there or anything? But then, what he was asking actually processed. " No, I didn't forget what happened. How could I?[/color]" she snapped, and rose to her feet. She crossed her arms. It was strange, addressing someone taller than her, after spending all that time with Castle. " I just have no idea what you're talking about. I don't remember anything about wings.[/color]" Truth be told, she barely remembered anything at all. She knew something had happened, and she knew there was a big blank hole in her memories. Everything before that was clear but then there was darkness and waking up on the forest floor in a homicidal rage.
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Lagunamov
Senior Member
THE Mod of Awesome[/color][M:75]
Posts: 342
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Post by Lagunamov on Apr 9, 2011 10:45:48 GMT -5
Not so easily taken aback. The light from the Titan caught the Sentiment from behind as it reached the opposite end of the alley, head still in its hands. The previous scramble of memories had subsided, but nothing could be made out of the torrent those memories had been. The new ones that were brought up now, however, were a much different matter. Animositas knew those memories and their origin perfectly as it watched them fly in its mind, circling through them until it fixated on one. What a disgusting sight. The armor kept on walking away under the guise of the girl, turning a corner at the end of the alley and leaning backwards on the wall, slowly dropping to the ground. The girl’s eyes closed as her hands rested on the severed head on its lap. The new memories that had surfaced had managed to distract it for a couple of seconds, but it was easy to put them aside and ignore them. Those images of afternoons being spent at the beach with the two Keyblade Masters were insignificant. After all, they were just information to Animositsa, not memories. And why would they? They weren’t its to begin with. [Shadow Facade memory extraction started]
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Aerith
God
Slash's Bestest Posting Buddy~[/color][M:-4305]
Posts: 973
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Post by Aerith on Apr 9, 2011 16:52:43 GMT -5
This gets easier and easier. -------- Nadia agreed that dealing with this creature was an utter waste of time. So, when Jericho opened the Corridor, she was all too eager to follow him through it.
Aerith was still staying close to Ethan, despite the calming influence of Titan. Mostly, she felt bewildered by its very existence. Bahamut alone was confusing enough. But apparently, there were even more of these creatures.
Meanwhile, Ethan was looking around for his new partner, who had disappeared with that head. Hm. Surely, he could find Animositas later. The empty shell could take care of itself. Of that, Ethan had no doubt.
"We should go." He gently led Aerith through the Corridor. ___________________
Emi couldn't remember something? That was easily fixed.
Nadia didn't bother announcing what she was doing. A few moments of concentration was all it took to get back into Emi's head. Nadia perused memories she had already seen. Having already done this once to Jericho, she knew what she was looking for.
A blank spot in the images, a broken section of the chain, drew her attention. With a little more finesse this time, she repaired that section and was rewarded with a rush of new images previously locked away.
An unfamiliar world. Jericho was there with Emi and that purple-haired boy. Something was happening to Emi. She was clearly angry, and wings abruptly sprouted from her back.
Wings. Really?
"Ah, I see now."
Nadia surfaced out of Emi's memories and gave her a quizzical look but spoke mostly to Jericho. "Looks like you weren't kidding about the wings. Came out of nowhere."
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Oathkeeper Emi
God
Dark[/color] Meat[/color][M:-2250]
got old
Posts: 750
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Post by Oathkeeper Emi on Apr 9, 2011 21:41:13 GMT -5
What's it to ya, old man? -- Well, this was new. Emi blinked a few times, getting used to the unlocked memories in her head. For a moment, she was angry. Nadia needed to stay out of her head without permission. They both did, but she knew there was nothing she could do to stop them. They were in control here. She hated it. Moving on, Jericho was right... she had sprouted wings. She grimaced. " Well, that's stupid,[/color]" she muttered. She blushed furiously, aware that the other two probably thought the same thing. But then, she took a moment to think. Whatever had happened, it had been powerful. Now that she could actually remember it, she remembered the rage quite clearly. The strength, too... and the speed. She was ashamed to admit it, but she kind of wanted that again. But no... she wouldn't let Jericho do that to her again. The power was great but it came at a price. She'd lost consciousness and at this point in her life, she didn't want to feel at all-consuming rage again. Not to mention she thought the wings looked kind of silly. She couldn't even fly with them, and she would have preferred butterfly wings. She sighed. It wasn't as if she could help it, or control it or decide anything about it. " Why is this so important to you, anyway?[/color]" she asked. She opened her mouth to add something along the lines of "And if I remember correctly, Castle and I were beating your tail" but then it occurred to her that he was so much more powerful now.
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Slash
Bitch
Aerith's Bestest Posting Buddy~[M:-3385]
Can you feel the emotion?
Posts: 712
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Post by Slash on Apr 10, 2011 18:16:25 GMT -5
No point in lying. [/center] Jericho stared flatly at her, about to say something when he felt a shift behind him. The Other had decided to make its presence known, and shifted from his shadow. It stared at Emi. "It is important because it is leverage. It will kill you," it said. "It will destroy you when I want it to. What you want to happen doesn't matter."It was to the point, but it lacked a few things. Jericho took it upon hinself to elaborate. "It's tied to darkness- your other form is. So if you grow rebellious...not only will your friend die, but I'll force you into that state. Permanently. And any control you might be able to gain I'll wrest out of your hands."He stared down at her. She was so opposed to everything- it confused him, and he was angry that she resisted so much. "Welcome to what happens when you resist the darkness, Emi. You think that you can last, considering the circumstances? I give you a week and a half at most. Either you accept it or your mind will break. No one's going to save you. Stop resisting."
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Oathkeeper Emi
God
Dark[/color] Meat[/color][M:-2250]
got old
Posts: 750
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Post by Oathkeeper Emi on Apr 10, 2011 19:18:27 GMT -5
Do your worst, old man. Maybe you can hear my thoughts still? Good. Listen closely... fuck you. -- Emi didn't back down. She looked him in the eye. Her voice dropped into an angry growl." I will not stop just because you tell me to. It's my heart, my mind, my body. I decide.[/color]" It was hard for her to admit, but she couldn't lie to herself. She knew Jericho meant what he said and she was afraid. Afraid she would give in, afraid she would destroy herself in the process of trying to resist. Morbidly, she decided she would rather go down that way than go down having given into the darkness. She had made it this far... but it was only because of him she had. That's when she broke his gaze. Either way, he was pulling the strings. If she resisted, it was because of him. Giving in was giving him what he wanted. Making no decision was not an option. Any other person, any other time, she would have attacked. She would have wrestled that person to the ground and beaten them senseless just to satisfy whatever it was inside her that made her lash out... darkness, she figured. So, she dug her fingers into her own arms and took a deep, ragged breath. I am making the decision not to give in.She looked back up at him. " I'll resist as long as I can. I'm stubborn like that. And I hate you too much to let you control me. I'm not like her-[/color]" She pointed to Nadia. " -or all those other people you ruined. I'd rather go down fighting than let you change me again because I know that if you get yourself wrapped around my heart it won't matter if Castle is alive or dead. I won't care... in fact, you'll probably make me be the one to kill him. And I'm going to fight that as long as I can. I'm not even going to say I'll win. I'm not stupid. But I'm not going down without a fight.[/color]" She dropped her arms. Her heart was pounding, but ranting at him like that was helping her not to backhand him across his stupid face. She was sure there would be consequences for her words, and she didn't care. Maybe she was stupid after all, for running into brick walls when she knew it was going to hurt. If she wasn't stupid, she was still suicidal. One or the other. " I'll look for the princesses. I won't kill any Heartless, like you said. But I'll tell you, the only reason I'm doing it is to keep my friend alive. If it wasn't for him, I would try my best to kill you right here, right now.[/color]" Honestly, what she was saying sounded a lot more brave than what she felt. Yes, she was afraid of him but she wasn't going to let him know that.
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Slash
Bitch
Aerith's Bestest Posting Buddy~[M:-3385]
Can you feel the emotion?
Posts: 712
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Post by Slash on Apr 10, 2011 19:46:43 GMT -5
Tough words. But do you realize how baseless they are? [/center] Jericho grew colder and colder with each word she said. He could see her anger and her fear, and both annoyed him to no end. She seemed to have the ongoing illusion that her resistance meant anything. He was too powerful now for it to affect anything. "You think your resistance affects anything? You only seem to realize part of its futility. It's not just that what you think doesn't matter- it's that what you are doesn't either."To illustrate this, he turned to his Other. The thing was currently analyzing Emi, its cold, ruthless nature apparent. He linked that to Emi with Empathy, using Amplification in the process. She wouldn't feel anything now- save for the unending hunger that lay beneath the surface of the Other's mask. "It's not your mind anymore. Not your heart. I can make you into whatever I want. Don't you ever forget that."
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Aerith
God
Slash's Bestest Posting Buddy~[/color][M:-4305]
Posts: 973
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Post by Aerith on Apr 10, 2011 21:13:02 GMT -5
Something new. How fun. -------- While Jericho may have grown increasingly cold toward Emi, Nadia laughed. Anger was present beneath the mirth, but there was also puzzlement. Nadia couldn't understand why Emi would want to resist the darkness. Who wouldn't want this ecstasy?
Jericho's shadow came to life again, but that garnered Nadia's attention for only a few seconds. Instead, she was focused on Emi.
"And what makes you so different from me? Are you really? Perhaps the only difference is that I've embraced something that you fear and hate."
Moving behind Emi, Nadia regarded her with an odd mixture of contempt and pity. It was only due to her lack of understanding. If she knew this constant joy, Emi might think much differently. As it stood, though, she was not willing in the least.
Once again, Nadia invaded Emi's mind, mostly looking for anything else she could bring up. But then something else clicked inside her head. Curious, she touched one of Emi's memories tentatively and was delighted to find that it faded just a little beneath her mental hands. This was new and already very fun.
"Do you think you resist so much because of who you are? People become who they are because of their past experiences. Do your memories help you stay anchored to the pillar of your stubbornness?"
Picking a memory that looked insignificant to start with, some childhood escapade of little value, Nadia pushed it deep into the shadowed corners of Emi's mind. Then, she settled on other, more important-looking memories.
"Or I could just as easily make you forget all about your friend. Castle, is it? Then, as you have said, you will have no reason to continue holding back. Would you like me to allow you the satisfaction of attacking?"
Just one gentle push against a few of the Castle memories, not nearly enough to suppress them completely, and Nadia smiled.
[Nadia used Cognizance. Posts until next use: 2 Uses remaining: 3]
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Oathkeeper Emi
God
Dark[/color] Meat[/color][M:-2250]
got old
Posts: 750
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Post by Oathkeeper Emi on Apr 11, 2011 17:43:27 GMT -5
Who? -- Suddenly, there was nothing. Eighteen years of constant emotion and then nothing. It would have been bewildering, or possibly even a relief, if it wasn't for the fact that all of that emotion had been replaced. She wanted something and it made her restless. She didn't know what she wanted. Her arms dropped to her side because there was no need for the body language to show her defiance. Nadia was in her head again. When this had happened before, Emi would have given anything to force her out but this time she felt nothing. Nothing except that want she couldn't place. It was like craving a food but she didn't know what. She was immediately aware that there wasn't something else she couldn't place. She didn't panic, she didn't get mad. It was simply a fact. The loss of that memory left room for something else and when Nadia said "attack", everything clicked. That's what she wanted. She almost allowed herself the satisfaction, as Nadia put it. She didn't move quite yet, coldly calculating whether or not the attack was worth it. It made her uncomfortable to hold back. As if she were waiting for the command, or permission, she tensed. Ready to go, ready to fight, ready to kill but there was one thing restraining her as effectively as any chain. The only thing holding her back was still Castle. It was a very deeply embedded, very strong bond. And then, even that was gone. In her mind, all that was left was a name and even that was just a fact that brought up no emotional response. There wasn't a face, there wasn't a voice. Just a name. And without that emotional connection, there was nothing to stop her. The instant that memory was gone, Emi attacked. Jericho was directly in her path, so that is what she went for first. No time to unclip her kali sticks. She just summoned Lacewing as she ran, brought it up over one shoulder and swung as hard as she could, aiming for his head.
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Slash
Bitch
Aerith's Bestest Posting Buddy~[M:-3385]
Can you feel the emotion?
Posts: 712
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Post by Slash on Apr 11, 2011 18:05:14 GMT -5
Let's see some HATE, Emi DesCoteaux! [/center] Emi charged at him, and the Other reacted instantly. It strained mightily against the chains, breaking them. As it did, its mask cracked and split, revealing a bandaged face with two yellow eyes glaring out. Its skin bulged, and seven spider legs burst from it at irregular angles, only one arm remaining. The whole transformation took less than a second. It had become his Guardian.The Guardian took the blow from Emi, striking back itself. Its mind was now completely occupied by the need to stop her from hurting him, and there was some anger that had resulted from her attack. The longer it had to defend, the greater that anger would get. He moved around the Guardian, summoning Arachnid and striking at Emi with it. He wasn't interested in killing her, though- oh, no. "Ha! You can't kill me, not like you are."[Guardian is active for two more posts. Empathy is active for five.]
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Oathkeeper Emi
God
Dark[/color] Meat[/color][M:-2250]
got old
Posts: 750
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Post by Oathkeeper Emi on Apr 11, 2011 20:00:34 GMT -5
This is more like it. -- Familiar anger filled in all the empty spots inside her. Now, she hated Jericho for controlling her, she hated Nadia for messing around in her head, she hated that thing of Jericho's that attacked her. It hit her in the face, and she bit her tongue on accident. Already the Guardian was drawing blood. She backhanded the limb the Guardian had struck at her with Lacewing and dodged Jericho's Keyblade. Stumbling, she wiped the blood from her mouth. " Yeah, let your shadow fight for you. That's really pathetic, old man![/color]" she shouted at him. Lacewing wasn't meant to be used for this purpose, but what did she care? She swung it at him anyway, with enough force behind it to maybe crack a rib. She couldn't suppress a shout. The anger was back and the hunger remained. It felt so good. She had been holding back for a long time. Lashing out was losing control, and losing control was bad. That's what she'd been told her whole life. When she was a kid and she hit, she got put in the corner and sent to bed without dinner. Once she got older and she hit people, she got arrested. There was no reason to stop now because there was no one to disappoint, no one to get angry and no one to tell her what to do.
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