Org. XIV (story)

Daniel turned red. "Pickup lines?! No, I meant...I got the smell of metal from you."

Archer faintly cocked an eyebrow. "So my stalker's shy. That's new," she crossed her arms over her chest nonchalantly. "So I smell of metal. What's wrong with that? Does a girl need to spray perfume to be a girl?"

"No, not at all! Actually, now that I get closer, you..." Daniel trailed off.

"I?" Archer's eyebrow arched higher. "I what? Make yourself clear, would you?"

Lance nodded shaking himself from his daze, "Oh yeah, the blacksmith's is over there." He pointed to the man pounding away at a red hot sword in his store front, "And the item and synthesis shop are one building there." He pointed to the other side of the street, "Most of the other buildings are either residential or small restaurants here." He admitted.

Daniel went red again. "N-never mind." What was I thinking? "So, you wanted to know about Keyblades?"

"The information I got from the Moggles was pretty sparse, I must say. Why?" Archer placed a hand on her waist sardonically. "You offering me information?"

"And the tavern?" Sylvia pressed with a raised eyebrow. "That's the only part I'm interested in, ya know. And before you start harping on about my age, forget it." She rolled her eyes as she looked around. "Still, not a bad town to up sticks until I get my comm working again at any rate..."

"Yeah. A Keyblade is a weapon. It's kinda like a sword, only it almost has a mind of its own. See, they choose their own wielders. And they can open any lock. And you don't really have to carry it around. You can just summon it whenever you want, just by...well, by doing this." Daniel put his hand out and summoned his Keyblade, Ominous Fortune.

"I see," Archer nodded thoughtfully, "So it's like Caliburn then. Interesting. Now, what's this 'lock' you're talking about?"

"Eh? It's just a lock. Any lock of any kind."

Lance nodded, "I know I won't be able to stop you from going so it's on the other side of town. It's not hard to miss cuz of their sign. Big mug of ale on the front of it." Lance explained.

"A lock of any kind?" Archer pursed her lips thoughtfully. Hmmm... There was something she was missing... "I see. Thanks for the information," she nodded, patting the Moogle Mogki on the head while avoiding the 'Pom-Pom' before turning to leave.

"I guess I should repay the favour. Is there anything you want to ask me?" Archer asked as she walked past him to leave. "By the by. I didn't get your name."

"You didn't? If you say so. Daniel." Daniel dismissed his Keyblade and put that hand behind his head. "And no. No questions. Except...do you still need a place to stay?"

Archer turned to face Daniel with a blank look. "Do you offer lodgings to all the girls you meet? You seriously need to work on your approach. Stalking a lady is no way to express your interest."

"Stalking? Like I said, your scent catches my interest. As for your question, I'm not really offering lodgings. I live in a cave, I don't really think it'd be that comfortable. I just thought I might help you find a place."

"Heh. Got it." Sylvia grinned, crossing her arms thoughtfully. "Well, that's it for questions for now. Except...", she stopped suddenly, reaching for her wrecked communications device and showing it to Lance. "You know anyone who can fix this piece of junk?"

Archer chuckled lightly, shaking her head wryly. "I can sleep on rooftops if need be. You don't have to worry about me, kiddo. And just what are you implying by expressing in my scent?"

"Kiddo? I'm 19!" Daniel expressed his mild agitation, but continued with, "Anyway, like I said, you smell of metal. It's really pretty...out of the ordinary." He spoke the last words as though he was afraid of hitting a nerve.

"You might want to be clearer on that," Archer pointed out, "A girl doesn't appreciate being called metallic."

Roland was stirred awake.

"This century or centuries ago, I still have trouble sleeping inside" He said groggily, blinking his eyes twice. Despite having slept for less than an hour, his body seemed to have recovered quickly. Finding Honor's Last Echo still in his left hand, he considered dismissing it, but sighed and stood up, letting the keyblade set behind his neck. He made his way downstairs to find the extra room key he had bought still on the innkeeper's desk. He looked to the innkeeper, who simply shrugged. Roland chuckled, waving his right hand in the air as he stepped outside.

The night air was brisk. He hear voices from synthesis shop. Deciding to have a bit of fun, Roland brought his keyblade down to his boots and tapped each of them once. His form disappeared from view. Roland tapped his keyblade again on the ground, causing a small kingdom hearts symbol to appear at his feet. Jumping once, he fell through the symbol, appearing at the rear of the synthesis shop. Only the moogles noticed him, and he conversed with one of the younger apprentice ones about restoring an old bracelet. The young moogle flew about the shelves of the rear workshop, picking up materials and dropping them on a worktable next to the bracelet. Roland, still hidden, watched the spectacle up front and smiled.

"The stubborn meets the shy it seems" he said softly.

The moogle apprentice alerted him that the job was done, and Roland looked at the bracelet. It was made of brass, and the restored gem in the center band of it glowed a fiery red. Roland, nodding his thanks, made his way up to the front of the store. He placed the bracelet on a shelf, nodding to the moogles up front. Spying Danial speaking to the girl, he contained a chuckle and tapped his keyblade on the shop floor. For a mere moment, Roland appeared in sight, only Danial able to see him. Roland pointed to the bracelet and then gave a thumbs up, before dropping out of sight again.


Synthisle

Roland appeared on the castle rooftop next to Oxthmas and Maya. He smiled upon seeing the young girl enjoying the ice cream treat, patting her on the head.

"Has much been happening while I was gone?" he asked Oxthmas.

"Enough to make the game even more exciting" Oxthmas said in reply.

"No arguments on that, I've been occupied as well."

"More pieces to the game?"

"Yep" Roland said, sitting down. He leaned back and proceeded to take yet another nap, his keyblade still behind his head.

Oxthmas looked at his superior and sighed. He took out his special coin and started to flip it.

"Maya, the game sure has its twists and turns, just like you and Enixo. I can only hope the odds are in both our favor."

<I wonder what the bracelet does. Given how old it is, it must do something. Roland is worse than Gunamnex when it comes to trinket gathering it seems. Perhaps it is a doomsday device >

Daniel tilted his head sideways with a questioning expression. "That's it, though. I don't know why. I-I mean, it's not a strong smell, not at all! A normal person wouldn't notice! It's just..." Daniel shook his head. "It's hard to explain. At least, without giving something away that I'd rather the general public didn't know."

"Like what?" Archer tilted her head slightly. "Like the fact that you're a Werewolf, for example?" she asked, stoutly ignoring the prickle on her back that signaled someone had arrived and left with that same irritating portal as the other two.

"Wh-what?!" Daniel took a step back. "How did you know that?" His expression changed to one of concern.

Rexial got back up as soon as he was SURE that Lance and his new friend had left. "Ugh... dat hurtz, gammit..." He wiped his mouth, clearing away all the blood... and, strangely, when he moved his sleeve away, his teeth were back. "...I had to mutilate myself just to calm her down. For sec, I was worried she'd see through that. I guess, if she really knew me, she'd have figured it was a trick, but since all she saw was an arrogant bastard... She saw said bastard slam his face into a tree and make a fool of himself. ...She really didn't like my MindLink ability. Well, I guess I should've explained that it only reads thoughts directed at me..."

He stretched for a minute, then proceeded to summon Drakus. He walked into the thicker part of the forest, where nobody could see him. "Perfect place to train... Now, let's see if the Heartless come."

<Actually, Admin, the Keyblade attracts Heartless. Lance was only half correct when he said they'd just keep coming. The Keyblade attracts them, and without it, you cannot truly destroy a Heartless. They were more likely to go for Lance than Sylvia. Also, Heartless that are destroyed without a Keyblade do not release Hearts, so the part about it leaving a heart behind was techincally incorrect... but that's a minor detail. Oh, and Heartless who are defeated without a Keyblade will reform ELSEWHERE. So, they wouldn't just keep coming.>