Enjoy the Silence [Arc, Zexion]

[Angelus]

There's something to be said about honesty.

---

And that was that it was as much a hindrance to furthering one's goals as lying was. To avoid such a thing one only needed answer truthfully without actually giving any information away. And if you phrased your words correctly, you were left with a rather confused conversation partner, or at least one who believed that your honesty was in fact a lie. Which in and of itself was perhaps for the best. You wouldn't want any would-be heroes to get any ideas about stopping you now would you?

Everto simply shrugged. Caliga couldn't read his mind, so his thoughts were safe if left unspoken. If one gave the appearance of not being weighted down by their emotions and instead acted as if they only acted on what they believed to be rational, they had the advantage. It took away the enemy's ability to use their emotions against them.

And Everto knew all too well what the results of using another's emotions as a weapon were. In fact, he and Caliga had made something of a game out of doing so. But if there was one thing that his rather brief encounter with his homeworld had done, it was to reawaken something inside him. What exactly it was that had been awaken, Everto knew not. But he knew enough to realize that whatever it was, doubt was a by-product. He alost felt peaceful while there. Tranquility was the word he'd used to describe the feeling back then, and at the time, it seemed accurate. But as of late he'd begun to question his use of the word. Perhaps there was another term that better fit what he was feeling. He need only look for it.

He traversed the various walkways and halls the castle here had to offer until he heard the sound of voices. At first he felt inclined to leave them be, but as he neared he realized one of them was a voice he recognized. He faded into a corridor of darkness, and then reappeared behind Zexion.

"Look what we have here. If it isn't my dear comrade Zexion, come for a brief respite perhaps? And to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?" He noted Zexion's change in apparel, and realized that something must have happened to his Organization. But he had noted earlier that the two were not alone, so he would ignore Caliga's usual desire for discourtesy. He would address the lizard man as well. He held out his hand and his Keyblade appeared in his hand. It hummed slightly, the way it had when he and Mickey had met.

"Another warrior chosen by the legendary key? Interesting. I did not realize that becoming a Keyblade wielder anything less than an arduous task." Everto said jokingly. He lowered his weapon and smiled.

"I jest my fellow warrior. I mean you no disrespect. I was simply expressing my surprisal at having met yet another wielder of the key. First the mouse called Mickey, and now you. I wonder just how many of us Fate has decided to thrust the responsibility of balance onto."

His smile remained, but his eyes surveyed the area, wary of any danger that may now present itself. After all, one Keyblade wielder was a powerful magnent for Heartless. But to have two within close proximity was even more so. And this was a lure he feared the Heartless would not resist.

[Fate]

Don't make me wish I could laugh.
--

After Zexion finished his little story, he couldn't help but let his eyes narrow again. A dark presence was on its way to the castle. It was not Maleficent nor her pawns, nor was it anything that the Schemer considered dangerous. Everto had decided to reappear had he? And did he think he could sneak up on him? He came through a Corridor of Darkness and was behind Zexion now. Did he perhaps want something? Unlikely that he was going to get anything.

Interestingly enough, he seemed to be paying more attention to Arc. And he paraded around with his Keyblade, saying he was surprised he met another one. He had met Mickey and that was it. "And here I thought you would have been killed by the Champion along with the other fifty four Keyblade Masters," he said slyly, "I wonder, too weak to even be bothered with, or too much of a trifle for the Champion to even want on his side?"

Zexion stayed put; he didn't need to pace around the room or even face Everto to make a point. "Either way, even though he is gone, these are things I must consider when evaluating our partnership. You may reek of darkness and you may have a Keyblade, but neither will provide you with strength unless you learn to use at least one of them properly." He had met those of darkness and he had met those with Keyblades. Riku had been the only one to use both at the same time and Zexion firmly doubted Everto could reach what he had accomplished.

He turned to Arc now. "Since he was not even polite enough to introduce himself, I suppose I must." He sounded exasperated while saying this; he did always prefer at least some etiquette in conversation. "This is Everto."

[/font]

[Administrator]

DAMN IT ALL. I JUST GOT HIM TO BE NICE.
And Zexion, don't make me punch you. In the face. Again.

Xemnas had been abusing the trust given him by his members. Using them as a means to obtain power. So he had not betrayed his Organization, truly; he had done what he could to fix it, by breaking it further. It was an understandable reaction. Quite so, really. Of course, when it was fully explained, there were several parts that, as it was readily apparent, were not truly done the way they likely should have, but that was not as important.

Falsehood with this Lexaeus should have been avoided; it was now too late, and criticism would be useless, but regardless, it was noted. Arc would have said something sympathetically, but, before he could, another figure appeared. He didn't introduce himself, but rather, he held himself in a rather...egocentric manner as he greeted Zexion and the drake.

Greeted by the weapon he wielded? This was rather interesting. The man very nearly apologized after his joke. It seemed the keyblade was very much rarer than Arc had known, prior to this man of darkness--which was odd in and off itself; dark, yet with a keyblade?--obtaining his own.

Zexion spoke up before him. Fifty four masters of key were killed? By this mysterious Champion? It seemed he was a worse problem than Arc had originally thought upon hearing rumors of him. But Zexion affirmed that the Champion had left, vanished by all rumors. Insults were directed at the man at that point, and Arc nearly spoke up yet again, only to be interrupted before he began with Zexion introducing the man for him.

"It is a pleasure, Everto," the drake said, giving Zexion a look that would convey his displeasure at the impolite response to Everto's own impoliteness. Most was in excess of even acceptable bounds for impropriety, and all was unnecessary. "I cannot say I have ever seen a keyblade in the hands of one of the dark." Nor could he say that he liked it, one bit. Arc was worried; what if more of them obtained a keyblade? This was a worrying thought.

"It seems we meet on less than perfect terms. I must apologize, for I know nothing of this partnership that Zexion speaks of. I could not speak for your power, but his words ring true, if a little heavily. Without a balance of the two powers, one or both could destroy you. Keyblades require a strong heart, and darkness preys on the weak, so either may yet destroy your heart completely and utterly. I wonder, what must it be like within your heart, both forces carving their own niche?"

He attempted to bring the conversation back to propriety. After all of his hard work, Zexion was no longer speaking companionably as he had begun, due to the arrival of the dark keyblade bearer. Arc could have screamed from frustration, but that was not his way. He could and would wait this out, and he would find some way to have Zexion's heart found and returned to him. Then he would be much more companionable.

And Arc himself would then be one step closer to reclaiming Draconum.

[Angelus]

An endless war manifested in one person. How quaint.

---

"I held no quarrel with the Champion, for we both sought to bring darkness into the worlds. Perhaps our methods of doing so, and our reasons for why we sought to do so may have differed, but our goal was largely the same. No sense getting in the way of another whose work helps thine own." His smile vanished upon hearing that the Champion had slain 54 other Keyblade wielding warriors. That was something he would have thought not easily accomplished, unless those wielders were nothing more than trainees. After all, the power of the legendary blade may be great, but find another with such power and more experience, and the victor is usually clear. However these thoughts did not address Zexion's insult.

"I was otherwise indisposed. There are more pressing matters for me than to attend the massacre that took place that day. 'Tis a shame that so many suffered the fate they did, but nevertheless, I could not have been there even if I wanted to be." Arc had been left out of the loop on the duo's partnership had he? Well, perhaps he would enlighten the drake on the matter another time, away from Zexion's ears. But for now, it would remain their secret. As for the other thing Arc had brought up...

How much did this being know? He was a champion for the side of the Light. What did he know about the Darkness? If there were days that even Everto felt as if he knew little about it, what hope did someone who did not, no, who could not, serve the light have? But there was some truth to his words. Darkness preyed on the weak of heart, and the Keyblade chose only those with strong hearts.

"I cannot deny that thou has spoken true words, but that situation does not apply to me. After all, there have been those in the past who have done as I have and embraced the darkness and the Keyblade. They were not weaker for it, in fact, with them it was quite the opposite." Everto looked briefly at Zexion, and then at Arc.

"And out of the three of us I would have at least expected Zexion to know as much, given the two lives he has lived, one with a heart, and one without. I will admit, I may wield my power properly, but the strength of my heart should not be in question. After all, it takes the strongest of them to bind a Heartless to them as I have."[/color] Everto hesitated slightly when he said the strength of his heart should not be in question.

After all, feelings had been stirring lately, feelings he thought he never even knew existed within him. And he had been feeling weaker as of late. Perhaps Arc's words about the two powers destroying him would prove true in the future. But only if he didn't quell whatever it was that was happening to him.

'Give into the darkness.'[/color] a voice whispered in his head. Everto shook his head, dismissing the voice. He couldn't give into the darkness, he already had. Hadn't he?[/size]

[Fate]

I didn't know we were in Elizabethan times. I'll just put on my Iago hat then.
--

Zexion stayed silent while the two Keybladers spoke, his arms crossed tightly. Arc was not pleased by the fact the Nobody had been impolite, but seemed to agree with him about the state of Everto's heart. Then the other spoke, making Zexion raise his eyebrow behind his mess of hair. Was he trying to impress the both of them by using words such as "thine" and "thou"? The Schemer never even used those words and his weapon was a book. He was not impressed, only wishing he had the ability to laugh.

Now it was his turn to speak. He smirked as he did. "And you think you fit into that category?" He shook his head, putting his blank face on once more. "You truly think you're one of the 'strongest'? You almost make me wish I could laugh, for that truly is an amusing thought. If that were the case, then why is the strength of your heart wavering?"

That little sensing ability of his did wonders. He walked closer to Everto, glaring up at him. "Don't try to lie to me-- I can sense it for myself. I can sense the darkness trying to take over. You haven't controlled it. The strongest are not only able to do that, but to stop it from corrupting their hearts. I don't believe you've reached that." Jericho had been an example of that, Xehanort even more so. But Everto, he was walking a fine line of letting the darkness control him.

Oh, and he mentioned the Heartless as well. Zexion stared up at it, grinning. This was almost fun. "It's not your strength that keeps the Heartless there. It knows that if it leaves your side, it will be torn apart by the Keyblade. And its disdain for me? It knows that it can do nothing to a Nobody and that I could control it. The Heartless follow whoever is the strongest. Your heart is wavering. Mine is not. Do I need to go further?" He walked away again, facing away. A new train of thought crossed his mind. Let's see how that went.

"Ever stop to consider that your Heartless here is simply waiting for the right moment to take your heart? It shouldn't have to wait too much longer. And until that happens and your heart no longer wavers, this partnership cannot work." He sat down on the fountain in the room, looking at Arc and Everto. What would happen next, he wondered. He wasn't going to interfere any longer.

[/font]

[Administrator]

Iago? The annoying parrot on Agrabah? I have a feeling I missed something important in that thought.

It seemed that Everto was...widely read? He knew an older form of the language common to all world-goers. That was certainly interesting. Arc did not speak the olden tongue, excepting Eld Draken, but that was from his own world, and the sounds were not reproducible by the human tongue. It was only spoken on occasions on his homeworld, such as on special days, holidays, the like.

Zexion and Everto had begun to bicker again, in the few moments that it had taken Arc to be sidetracked by his own thoughts. The drake sighed. He would have thought that the both of them would have been above this petty nonsense, but it seemed that they were adult in body only. Their spirit was still childish, it seemed. As he prepared to speak, he realized that Zexion was bringing up valid points, if in a rather aggressive and childish manner.

"Zexion, though a bit belligerent, does speak truth here. What knowledge do you have that this Heartless serves you utterly? They are known to serve the strongest; if another proves stronger, what assurances do you have that it shall remain at your side, and not attempt to thieve your heart?" They were, after all, known to do that; it was their goal, their one tasking, to take the hearts of all who strayed from the path of light, thereby assuring that more would not be led astray.

"Aside from this, I myself can feel your heart wavering, though I never had much talent there, wavering away and towards the darkness, a feeling of indecision deep within your very soul. Some part of you has not accepted that darkness is the way. I suggest you meditate, find your center, and determine why this is." He could not push the man towards the light, but, from what he saw, Everto was already heading that way. He had seemingly lost some of his assurance in the darkness even just now, just in the few moments he had been here.

What side would he choose, though? Would he cling to the darkness and allow it to consume him, or would he redefine his life, decide that the dark no longer suited him, and that he was better off living with light in his heart? It would be interesting to find out, regardless. Arc did not know much of anything else he could say at this point, so he just stood there and shifted his weight. Maybe Everto would add something meaningful to the conversation?

[Angelus]

Wavering hearts?

[/center]

---

Everto almost laughed at Zexion's remark about his heart not wavering. He didn't have a heart, but perhaps Zexion was entitled to his statement. But Everto wasn't going to worry about that now. After all, he did have some very valid points. If there was anything truer said by Zexion today it's that his heart was wavering. And perhaps their partnership couldn't work until he balanced it all out.

But before Everto could say anything, his heart began to hurt. He dispersed his Keyblade and rubbed his hand against his chest. He shook the feeling off, hoping it was only temporary. He turned his focus toward Arc.

"I don't meditate. I prefer combat as a means of finding my center."[/color] He held out his hand and his Keyblade reappeared.

"Care to help me?"[/color]

(Short post blech)[/size]

[Fate]

At least make it marginally entertaining.
--

Arc at least seemed to agree with him, even though he acknowledged that Zexion definitely did not put his points kindly. Nobodies did not have tact, nor did most of them pretend to. The Schemer was most likely one of the least tactful when it came to word choice-- it was in his job description to make words hurt, after all. It was also his job to sweet talk if necessary and pretend to care, but he found himself doing that less and less as time went on. Right now was no exception.

Of course, Everto had to fight Arc instead of taking the peaceful suggestion of meditating-- not that Zexion thought much of that, but fighting was still unnecessary. He sighed to this, continuing to sit on the fountain. "If you truly think that's going to do anything for you, by all means," he said, the Lexicon appearing in his lap. His eyes went to Arc for a second. "Indulge him if you want and expose his weakness."

Well, at least he wouldn't have to expose it this time. He wasn't even going to watch either, grabbing a pen out of nowhere and starting to write in the Lexicon. If he really needed to step in, he'd be able to tell. But he didn't want to right now, so he'd wait.

[/font]

[Administrator]

Beliefs keep us sane in an insane World.

Arc was not surprised by the man's response. It was actually a fairly obvious one. Those who served the darkness tended to think that they were original, and using 'battle as their focus' had never been done before, though it was trite. Sighing, the drake resummoned Sacred Flame to him. It seemed he would be using it more than he thought originally.

Preparing himself, the drake breathed in and out levelly. He was in his own meditative state, now, and without the heat of battle to place him there. Everto would need to learn exactly what that was, and what it entailed, but he would, eventually. For now, he would have to block all of the other man's attacks, and show him his obvious flaws in a less obvious way than Zexion had been going about it.

Speaking of Zexion, Arc turned his head to look at the Nobody. "I will do so. Afterwards, perhaps he will know more about himself, and how he fits into the worlds." After all, that was how things were. Everyone fit into the grand scheme of things, no one was outside of it. There was a pattern to the way things were, everything happened for a reason, and nothing was permanent.

Not even death.