Org. XIV (story)

Kotank was twitching quite a bit after the current stopped. "You watch your language. We don't all speak... Zaneanese."

Radiant Garden: Center District

Gunamnex, having finished off his ice cream, looked down to the ground, watching the street below. He perked up suddenly.

"Nobodies, outside the walls of the west district" he said. standing up.

"Shall I recall the others?" Oxthmas asked in response.

"No, I shall deal with it alone."

With that, Gunamnex took off, running down the wall top.

Radiant Garden: West District

Gunamnex leaped off the wall top upon sighting the nobodies. Touching down onto the cobblestone pavement, he summoned Remembrance and assumed his combat stance. The nobody trio in front of him were samurai. The three raised their blades, the leading one spoke in the way that lesser nobodies usually do.


Stand down and let us pass warrior...

"Sorry, but I cannot allow that"

The lead samurai seemed to indicate a sighing response, crossing his blades. The two samurai behind him moved forward, ready to respond to an attack.

Gunamnex, knowing full well the strategy employed by this type of nobody, simply stood still, waiting for the samurai to eventually draw themselves in.

Synthisle

Lost Woods

Sylvia ran into the familiar soil, the smell of fresh leaves pervading her senses as her eyes glanced around her closed in surroundings.

The Lost Woods. The very place she had found herself in after the crash.

In truth, Sylvia's emotions were a mess. The revelation from the day before had still left her reeling, and now, more than anything, she just wanted to vent out her frustrations through a good fight. At least this time, she knew what to expect from those Heartless creatures. And with Archer and Nick around as well, she could prepare herself for the worst.

She slowed her pace, glancing ahead for any sign of Archer. The woman really did seem fond of battle. Well, there was no point in trying to butt in on her fun, Sylvia reckoned, so she wouldn't concern herself with her for the time being. She finally came to a stop, her eyes closing as she listened intently to her surroundings. All she could hear was the whistle of birds and the rustle of the wind blowing through the leaves. It was quiet.

A little too quiet.

Sylvia's eyes opened into slits as she suddenly heard a crunch of leaves to her left. With Sarah gripped tightly in her right hand, Sylvia slowly turned to the direction of the sound, her body tense and prepared for a fight. Suddenly, an ape-like cry echoed in her ears, followed by a sudden blast of dark energy headed her way. Sylvia immediately ducked, the dark orb hurtling over her crouched head, and collided into a tree. Sylvia's body immediately snapped up into a defensive stance, her eyes catching sight of an orange, feminine monkey-like creature. It was no doubt that it was a Heartless, judging from the luminescent yellow eyes that were watching her almost mockingly. It held a slingshot in her hand, which was poised in Sylvia's direction, preparing for another strike towards the pirate. "Oh, you little..." Sylvia snarled, charging towards the new creature without hesitation, weaving past another charged orb with ease, slicing through the branches viciously on her path to the creature.

The Bouncywild seemed to scream in excitement, slapping its rear to add insult to injury, as suddenly, its blue counterparts appeared from all sides to cackle at Sylvia. "Huh, think this is funny, eh, you dumb apes?" Sylvia scowled, glaring at the monkey Heartless. "Well, come at me, then!"

The Powerwilds' complied, flying from their perches on the branches, their paws a blur as they attempted to slash at Sylvia furiously. There was a clang of metal as Sylvia spun on her heel, her blade whistling through the air as it sliced through three of the Heartless, two dissolving into green orbs and munny, whilst one fell back with a wince.

The Powerwilds were relentless in their attacks, Sylvia barely avoiding the flurry of their claws as she struck them again and again, the Wild's screams becoming quieter and quieter with every blow. Finally, the few that remained scurried away back into the trees, leaving Sylvia panting in her exertions. "W-Well, that was annoying...", she grumbled, looking ahead to see that the orange Heartless had disappeared. "Damn...", she sighed, feeling a pang of disappointment. Well, there was no point crying over...

Suddenly, she noticed a glint of gold flash into the trees. "The heck...?" She blinked in confusion, before looking into her pocket numbly. No.

They didn't...

Her pocketwatch was missing.

"Oh! You...", she was rendered speechless, numb shock etched across her features, which quickly vanished into anger. "You're DEAD!" She growled, completely disregarding waiting for her companions as she quickly gave chase, following the glint of light with an unerring sense of determination.

Archer was disappointed. Sure, these Heartless were relentless but they were far from challenging like she would have expected. Finishing off a mob of them, she let Kanshou and Byakuya vanish as she turned around to grin at her teammates...

Which was promptly dropped as she discovered that Slyvia was, well... missing.

"Nick, you idiot! Where did the pirate girl go?" Archer yelled.

<Those Bouncywilds and Powerwilds... first time I played KHI, I got stuck in Deep Jungle for hours, so I had to fight them so many times...>
<I think I'll wait until Sylvia's situation is resolved before I butt in with my story. Nice writing skills, by the way. It's also pretty refreshing to see somebody who isn't at ludricous power levels... I mean, we started on a somewhat high power level back on GFAQs, but it escalated to the point of a certain, particularly OP character not only forcibly opening the way to Kingdom Hearts, despite the lack of need to do so, but he also decapitated Xemnas. Man, I wish my internet hadn't gone down at that point, or I could've delayed it...>

Nick groaned, "Dammit! Go ahead and search for the heartless. I'll go get Sylvia and meet back up with you. Just stay on the ground and I'll be able to track you to where you are when I get back." He turned on his heels and dashed in the direction they came from, his eyes flitting across the ground in search of a trace of where Sylvia went off the path.

Then, a flash of gold... munny left behind by the fallen heartless and he followed the broken branches of Sylvia's chase of the heartless, "Sylvia! Yo, Pirate Girl!" He called into the woods hoping for a response.

"W-wait a... sec..." Archer clicked her tongue as Nick took off. "Well, you're the boss..." she muttered sourly as she turned her attention back to the remaining Heartless and cracked her fist. "Oh lookie. Fodder to vent my anger."

<Ahh, those damn apes. Aye, grinding in the DJ on expert mode with those things were truly a pain in the rear. -_-
Thank you. ^^ I do feel at times that I gave Sylvia the short stick, considering how much stronger everyone else is. Still, comparing her to someone like Lance, who's had a ton of backstory behind him, it makes sense that she's so much weaker. Hopefully, through developing her in the story, I can make her stronger in her own right, and my own skills in action scenes too, which are severely lacking at the moment.

Lol. Someone decapitated Xemnas? Would've loved to have seen that. XDD >


Sylvia couldn't think, her surroundings a blur as she hurtled through the trees, branches snapping under her heels as she gave chase of the glint of gold in the distance.

She couldn't lose that. She could accept losing her home, her pride even, but not her most prized possession.

She stumbled slightly in her pursuit as she heard a male voice echo through the trees, the sound somewhat familiar that it almost made Sylvia stop in her tracks. Was that Nick? He sounded uneasy...

She shook her head stubbornly. No. If he needed help, Archer was there to watch his back. Right now, she needed to find...

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the Bouncywild from before, the orange Heartless cackling madly upon being found as it swung her beloved pocketwatch in the air. "Ah! Be careful with that, you stinking monkey!" Sylvia yelled, her voice panicked as she ground her heels into the soil, her aqua eyes narrowed angrily at the creature. "Gimme that back, or-"

She gasped as she saw the creature fling another dark orb towards her, causing her to dive to the left as the mass of energy barely scraped her shoulder into the bark of a nearby tree scorchingly. She rose to her feet, her face drawn into a furious scowl as she ran towards the Heartless. "I'm gonna take you down, you pain in the-AHH!" She cried out as she felt herself slip onto her back, landing heavily on the forest debris of dead leaves and twigs. She blurrily looked down at the yellow object resting below her heel, grimacing at her own clumsiness.

It was a banana peel. The scream of laughter from the Bouncywild only confirmed to her the source as she snapped up to her feet, her face twisted in rage. "That is IT!" She roared, breaking into a sprint as she charged towards the orange monkey-like creature.

The Bouncywild merely cried in excitement, swinging across the trees as it led the reckless Sylvia deeper into the Lost Woods.

Nick saw a flicker in the distant woods and furious yell from Sylvia, something had obviously set her off. Then, he heard the monkey's cackle and a light of recognition dance through his eyes, "Bouncywild." He murmured to himself, giving chase once again, "Sylvia! Wait! It's leading you into a trap!" He tried to make his words reach her as he continued to pursue the girl's trail.

Sylvia's surroundings were getting darker and darker as she delved into the heart of the woods, her eyes fixated on the one shimmer point of light that beckoned for her in the distance, as she became further aggravated by the cackles that rang in her ears. She was thinking illogically now, barely paying attention to what she was doing as she became obsessed with wringing the creature's throat and getting her prized pocketwatch back, before it was broken, or worse, lost forever.

The creature paused suddenly, to Sylvia's surprise, as it hung upside down teasingly on a tree branch, swinging her treasure carelessly. Sylvia's lips curled into a growl, her eyes narrowed in concentration, as she suddenly swung her scimitar like a boomerang, catching the Bouncywild off guard with a bloodcurdling screech as Sarah sliced through the tree branch effortlessly. Landing with a heavy thud to the floor, the Heartless was left stunned as the pocketwatch fell from its grasp onto the muddy ground.

Sylvia was immediately upon the pitiful creature, her eyes filled with hate. "Take this, you stupid primate!" She yelled, stamping hard on the Bouncywild's shivering body, causing it to let out one final wail, before it dissolved into nothing but wisps in the breeze. Panting heavily in relief, Sylvia dislodged her scimitar from the tree branch, before patting the ground for her pocketwatch. "Oh, lord. Please be ok...", she whispered, stroking the gold device lovingly before flipping it open.

01:32. The time it would have been in her homeworld. Sylvia felt overcome with intense relief and fatigue as she pressed it close to her heart.

If Sylvia had been more attentive earlier, perhaps she could have heard Nick's words of warning, and been able to brace herself for what was to come.

But foolhardy girl that she was, she was completely oblivious to the rustle amongst the trees, and the formidible Heartless that charged towards her with the young pirate's heart in its sights.

<My instant thought was a modified version of Parasite Cage, kinda a reference to FFIX's own Prison Cage originally, but you know what, I'll go with absolutely anything. Even a completely new, made up Heartless or something. XDD Feel free to make it hit Sylvia or not, I don't mind. ^^ I'll play along with it.~ >

In front of Sylvia, the earth rumbled, protesting, as two long arms that had appeared to be trees rested them selves free from the ground. The long trunks slammed into the forest floor and birds jutted out of the treetops in flight of the beast.

Then, what had appeared to be an earthen mound under the darkened canopy shook itself to life, piles of dirt falling to the ground around it as it revealed itself. An earthen green coated its body making it almost invisible if it weren't for its jail-like maw, a bright blood red against the forest canopy. It's eyes, both sets, above its mouth then further up where its arms protruded from another dummy head, snapped open in chilling recognition of its prey in its golden yellow bulbs.

Suddenly, without allowing time for reaction, one of the arms shot forward grasping ahold of Sylvia and tossing her into its maw. The teeth or bars of its mouth locking tight with an unsettling certainty. Then, from the back of its jaw, painfully slow darkness began to pool and gather with the intention of digesting the girl with darkness.

Nicholas, far behind her in the forest canopy, felt the ground shake and quickened his pace. This could be anything but good.

"Ugh!" Sylvia gasped as she felt a vine-like arm encircle her waist, throwing her into the gigantic Heartless's mouth, as she became enveloped in inky darkness. She winced as she was crouched on her knees, her eyes opening blearily to see the creature's jaws close tight like a jail cell, filling her with shock and frustration. "What-? Hey!" She unsheathed Sarah instantly, with the full intent of slicing her way out, before her body suddenly froze, as she became paralyzed with pain. Doubling over, she felt darkness seep onto her skin, searing her with agonizing heat as she hissed like a caged animal. "Ah...what is...this?" She mumbled, her body shaking uncontrollably as she felt like the life was being drained out of her.

And her world was suddenly becoming darker and darker.

Nick broke his way from the undergrowth, both swords gleaming, the second he saw the heartless, his face instead of worried became disturbingly calm, "So, this is our target." His stance glowed bright as electricity arced up his blades and he charged forward.

As Nick approached the Parasite Cage, a shrill call was heard from the woods to his right. He barely had time to register it as an invisible wall of force slammed into him sending him hurtling through the air. That's when he saw it, Sylvia's hand on the edge of the cell as the darkness crept along her form. He came rolling to a stop as his face dropped its hardened combative look and regained worry for his comrades.

Nick surveyed his situation. A Stealth Sneak and a Parasite Cage, nothing to laugh at on thier own, were attacking in unison. He was alone on this side of the fight, Sylvia rendered incapable of battle by the Cage's toxins. However, he didn't care for his own safety, only worried about how long she'd been in the bars, how much darkness she'd been exposed to.

Quickly brewing a plan, Nick leapt into action ignoring the Stealth Sneak as he charged for the Cage again, this time ready for the Sneak's defensiveness of the larger heartless. He sprinted into the space between the two and caught a chink in the chameleon's invisible armor as it charged him. Then, at the last possible moment, he dove to the side sending the lunging lizard barreling into the trap's bars. The force was just enough to dizzy them both as the Sneak fell on its haunches to recover and the Parasite Cage's mouth lolled open.

Using the oppurtunity, Nick shot forward and into the maw of the beast. He gulped a last breath of clean air before he jumped into its maw holding his breath to prevent the paralytic poison from entering his bloodstream. He picked up the limp Slyvia and leapt from the maw of the beast just as it stirred to life, enfuriated by its loss of a meal.

Nick summoned Surt and the fire giant blasted a swath of fire behind him to the distract the two heartless as he propped Sylvia up against a tree, "Sit tight." He spoke in spite of himself knowing that the girl might not even be consicous let alone willing to move. He turned and faced his foes.

"Well, let's see what you've got." Nick's face became an unbreachable mask once again as he looked toward the combatants. He didn't see himself winning the battle, just fending off the heartless long enough to have Sylvia recover and then they could both flee to fight another day.

And with that he charged his adversaries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olccNPVMRIE&feature=related


<Now, the real pain in the ass will be finding jazz music like this for battle that require a theme for Nick. Jazz just fits him in battle TOO well. Just his controlled demeanor and tendency to dodge attacks and counter instead of lead the assualt. This genre fits him well... but I'm not too familiar with it.>

<Huh, I'm staving off the urge to interfere with the situation. Of course, that would make for bad writing, and it would steal the spotlight, not to mention drag away my otherwise-occupied characters. Rex is busy talking with Adachi, Al's eating ice cream with Lance, Maya, and co. Xeromus is wounded, Sukiru is on a strict minimal-interference policy, and I don't thin kI have any other availiable characters to save the day. I doubt they need the help of a Nobody who can barely stand, or an obnoxiously sophisticated, condescending overseer. I think that Syliva would be even more offended, meeting Sukiru. I mean, he's practically the embodiment of arrogance and one-upmanship, with his greater-than-thou attitude.>
<Er, my rants about my ineffectuality aside, nice choice of music. Hrm, I wonder when a good time to continue my plot would be... I don't want to make you guys rush your current plot point, that would be a travesty, but I don't want to interrupt it, either... Eh, it seems like there's been a slight lull in the tension. The situation is worse, but it feels less like immediate action is needed. Hard to explain it, but I think now's a decent time...>


Tri-Star Town

Adachi had led Rexial to a park. They sat down on one of the benches.

"I see. So, you thought I was stalking that girl, and wanted to protect her?" Rexial summed up.

"Yeah. Her name's Uchikina Suijaku, and she's a friend of mine." Adachi confirmed, nodding. "I guess I jumped to conclusions... I had no idea that a person could be devoid of light entirely, without being a heartless."

Rexial snorted. "Well, I'm the exception. I was a Heartless at one point, but that was for, what, five minutes? I guess you could say I'm only half of a person, though. There's a guy out there, named Aleri, and he's the light half of my heart. He got all the magical power, and he's the one with a body... I'm just darkness."

"You never explained why you were investigating this world." Adachi pointed out.

"Well, I work for an organization thats ultimate goal is peace throughout the worlds. We've been called something along the lines of 'Defenders of the Light'... Psh. See, I was recruited when I lost my heart, and in the months since, I regained my heart... and I'm mentally bound to my work." Rexial sighed. "I do stuff like investigate unusual phenomena in my spare time, or train to get better at fighting. I've kinda lost sight of how to enjoy life, which is really bad... and made worse by the fact that I'm, uh, immortal."

"Immortal!?" Adachi's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right?!"

"No, I'm immortal. I'm gonna be stuck with living until I get obliterated completely, or I fade." Rexial laughed bitterly. "I guess my life is gonna suck... Well, that aside, you have a crsuh on Uchikina?" He changed the subject rather suddenly.

Adachi was taken aback. "W-what?"

"Well, I can kinda tell. It's pretty obvious. For one, you didn't make a move against me until I appeared to be a threat to her. I probably seemed to be a threat to your school as a whole, but you didn't do anything then. You were in the halls, I remember. I didn't approach you because I didn't know it was you. Two, I have a gift for recognizing the emotions of others. Third, your reaction pretty much says it all."

His face turned bright red. "Gh... well..." Adachi stammered.

"Well, have you done anything about it?" Rexial asked.

"N-no... Not yet."

Rexial shrugged. "Well, I'd expect her not to say anything if she liked you, she was pretty timid when I talked to her, but you obviously have more confidence than that."

"S-so... what was that about me being on the edge of losing my heart?" Adachi said quickly, turning the conversation away from his crush.

Rexial blinked. "Yeah, you were close to turning into a Heartless. Your heart's pretty deep in the darkness, but you have a lot more control over yourself than most people would. Kinda impressive. And then there's the other thing... you're awfully calm and open, talking to the guy who you were fighting to the death a minute ago."

"Well, you seem trustworthy. It just seems like... I can tell that you're a good person. You have a good heart. Er, even if it's only half of one."

Rexial nodded, satisfied. "...See, you're not only dark, but you give off a chaotic feeling. There's some kind of turmoil in your heart. And... I'm guessing it has to do with that girl."

Adachi flinched, as if he'd been hit. "...L-let's talk about your swordfighting skills! You were amazi-"

"No, let's talk about the problem that's eating away at your sanity, shall we?" Rexial insisted. "You're worried about her. There's some other complication?"

"Well... You see... uh..." Adachi's shoulders sagged. "...Fine, I'll tell you the story from the beginning."

<And now for something completely different.>
Aaron leapt up onto a nearby ledge. "More of 'em than I thought there'd be." He fired at a Darkball nearby, but there were dozens of Defenders, Wyverns, and other enemies that could, in large groups, be quite formidable when faced with only one man with one gun. "Best live to fight another day." He backflipped, spinning around halfway through, and continued on his way. As he ran, a Wizard appeared in front of him. "Hmph. Peon." He shot it in the face and continued running. Soon enough, he arrived at the top of the castle. "Heh. This is--" Something flashed through his mind. A battle between two best friends. One possessed by some darkness...The man snapped out of the vision quickly.

"What was that?" he wondered briefly. He shook his head. There was a large Heartless emblem with four different colors. It almost looked like a portal. The emblem on the back of Aaron's hand itched. The Keyhole was through that thing. How Aaron knew that, he wasn't sure...something told him to enter. Something else in the back of his mind told him that would be a bad idea. The two instincts fought, but Aaron's curiosity got the better of him. He entered.

Archer bounded through the trees, frowning as she picked up the sounds of fighting. Her crimson eyes narrowed, her field of vision zooming in on the spot she estimated the noise was coming from.

There they were, Nick struggling against two powerful Heartless deep within the forest.

"Bingo," She muttered under her breath as she broke into a run. Mana crackled violently through her body, reinforcing her body as much as she could as she blurred, a shockwave erupting from her location as she momentarily broke the barrier of sound.

<god I'm so lost...damn my inability to login to more than one rpg at once...okay what happened while I was gone since I need to drop in somewhere, I know Nick and co. Are in deep jungle but I'm not going to mess with that unless I get a good SW member that's not the ultimate killer...oh wait that's only Xeno, Genova, Geo, and I think Sertio...Tysons so under used I haven't done much with the vamps plot...>

Dante blinked and looked around suddenly. 'F*** I think I lost them again' he thought noting how he was in a entirely different place and everyone was gone. Lily appeared. 'Oh yeah their gone...it's. Just- hey where the hell are you going!' She snapped as he teleported to Aleri's side again

<I'm waiting on KH... He needs to have the Twilight Town gang respond to Aleri's cover story about being an SFX wizard, and Siks' and his weapons just being modified, collapsable Struggle Swords.>
<Just try reading the dark blue text, bwahaha! ...Er, if you don't think you can handle the eyesore, just highlight it.>

Adachi began his story.

"It was several years ago, back when I was just a kid."

Inside of a dojo, there was a boy with blue hair, training with a wooden sword.

"I had obtained my Keyblade, but I was not to use it until I knew how."

The boy had set aside the wooden weapon, and now summoned forth his real blade. It ws metallic, very sharp-looking and thin, somewhat like a katana. It was very dynamic, and almost mesmerizing to look at, but it seemed to hint at its nature. The nature of a weapon, which is to kill. It was a sinister truth, one that this particuar weapon emphasized. Yes, Sinister Truth, the key that cuts through deceptions and fabrications, revealing the naked truth.

He could not wield such a mighty weapon until he had gained the right qualities. He had to be strong enough to fight with it, and understand the significance of his weapon, and be able to handle such a thing.

"I definitely wasn't ready yet, but I had to use it..."

The scene changed. There was a girl with blond hair that seemed to curl somewhat in back, despite its insistence in front to shoot strait out. She was the daughter of the owner of a local shop. Her name was... Uchikina Suijaku.

She had been out running an errand one day, when...

"The heartless went after her. I HAD to defend her, I couldn't let her just..."

The boy had been nearby when she screamed. He ran after her, eventually finding her, cornered by a group of Shadows. He summoned his weapon, determined to save her, but...

"Although I was able to beat them, she seemed terrified at the sight of me... and of my Keyblade."

She shrank away, even after he had slain them all and extneded a hand, to help her up. She shook her head, and ran away from him.

"I had met her before, so I knew her. After the incident, she was more withdrawn. It's been years, but she's still got some mental trauma. To this day, I'm not sure whether she was just still scared by the Heartless, by the wounds I got, or by the power I held. She seems to have partially forgotten, but... I never want her to have to see another Heartless, ever again."



Rexial sighed. "So, she's scared of either the Heartless, you, or you getting hurt. But... she didn't seem like she was scared of you."

"Like I said, she's kinda forgotten about part of it. I don't think Uchi-chan remembers about me killing the Heartless." Adachi said.

"Er, 'Uchi-chan'? The hell?" Rexial raised an eyebrow. "People here are kinda weird... Well, I know that she was nervous around me, and I give off the feeling of both a Keyblade Wielder and a Heartless... But she wasn't scared. I doubt that she's traumatized because of the heartless. She probably freaked out because you were bleeding everywhere. She seemed like the type who feels responsible for the pain of others. ...I know the feeling."

Adachi looked at his feet. "Even so, the Heartless likely put a scare in her." He looked up at the sky. "...Heh, you should've seen how badly I got punished for using my Keyblade. It was awful. For my presumptuousness, I had to duel with my Master. He beat me down. I still feel that he was going especially easy on me, though..."

"Well, I wanna know more about this... Dark Bloodline... that you mentioned. You say that you're a family of Keyblade Wielders?"

"Yes." Adachi replied curtly.

"...Hey, I have an idea." Rexial said, his eyes lighting up. "Let's have a sparring match! This time, we're not fighting to the death or anything."

Adachi smiled faintly. "...Sounds good."

Nick's position was not one of the best. He was pinned between his foes and Sylvia, knowing they'd attack her first if given the chance.

He parried away another snap of the Parasite Cage's snake like arms as he rolled to the side out of the way of the Stealth Sneak's wieghty tail. As he sprung to his feet, he spun leaving three gashes along the reptile's back.

"C'mon now. Focus on me." He taunted the creature seeing it shimmer in the forest from the three gashes in its back. He dashed foward and threw one of his blades landing a sound hit in the reptile's abdomen. He slide underneath the beast leaving a green trail in his wake where he left his other sword creating a tear in the beast's invisible armor.

Now, the chameleon was slightly visible due to the two blades jutting from it and the gashes of its wounds. Nick positioned himself in front of the Parasite Cage and awaited an attack from either tentatively.

Then, he saw his oppurtunity. In the same moment, both Heartless attacked and Nick leapt high clearing the Cage's long arms just in time for the Sneak to get captured by the two appendages. From his mid-air vantage, Nick smirked, "Here comes the finale! Thor!" He smashed the card and Mjolnir, Thor's almighty electric hamme materialized in his palms.

Nick fell with increased velocity due to the hammer's mass and slammed the weapon into the base of the chameleon's skull destroying its magic cloaking. Nick landed not far away and dismissed the hammer.

"Now, that's better." He summoned his swords back into his hands from where they lay after the magic shield had been destroyed, "I can fight the enemies I can see." He smashed another Tarot card and the fire giant lurched forth, scathing the reptile with fire as Nick hopped backwards away from the Parasite Cage's counter attack of snapping arms.

A sudden flash of red signaled Archer's arrival as she leapt into the air, a black bow materializing in her hands with a shimmer of white as she traced a a simple magical sword and overloaded it. The sword fragmented and shuddered with power, turning into an arrow-like shape.

Such a reckless wave of energy forced through a magical weapon would make it dangerously fragile, a ticking time bomb of mana.

It became broken.

"Nick, move!" Archer ordered as she cocked the bow and aimed. The large one... no. The scaly one... no. They were close. Fine.

Center it is.

She fired and the ground erupted in a massive magical explosion that momentarily blinded everyone.

Nick nodded quickly and rushed back, scooping up Sylvia and ducking behind the tree he had set her against.

As the explosion settled, Nick walked from behind the tree noting the sudden dissappearance of the two creatures except for the hearts that casually drifted off.

"Wow, that's quite the attack." Nick commented, "That's mission accomplished but Sylvia's not doing too well... I don't know how long she was in that damn Parasite Cage before I got her." He shook the girl in his arms lightly, "Hey, you up?" The darkness could've hurt but she was still here so it couldn't have had lethal effect, Nick decided in his head.

"I couldn't do much better with my magic circuits in disarray," Archer muttered as she landed beside the crater and walked over to where Sylvia was lying. She touched the neck, feeling for a pulse. "Those critters did a number on her. Her pulse is a little unsteady but she should be fine."

Screams.

Human? No.

"Nick, move!"

It's so dark. Just like that time...

"Wow, that's quite the attack."

Why is everything burning? It hurts...

"Hey, you up?"

I've...got to fight...but I can't move...

"Her pulse is unsteady, but she should be fine."

Am I...? Why is it so...

"Who you...talkin' about...?" Sylvia muttered dazedly, her eyelids fluttering erratically as her body shuddered in Nick's arms. "Is...it safe...? I don't...burning...", her voice trailed off into an unintelligable murmur as her head lolled back limply on Nick's arm.

Radiant Garden: West District

The two samurai advancing upon Gunamenx moved slowly, their arms poised to reveal their blades at any moment. Gunamnex continued remaining still, remaining silent, even in breathes.

Suddenly the two samurai slashed at him in unison, each wielding two blades. Gunamnex brought Remembrance up with one hand hand, blocking all four blades. With an application of force he knocked back the two attackers, preparing to end each with a simple x-slash. He was met with a block by both samurai, it was clear they were responsive to such moves.

Backing off, the two samurai, now joined by their leader, held their blades to one side. All three began to charge, dramatically, at Gunamnex, leaping into the air towards him, a tactic highly unusual for a samurai nobody to do. Gunamnex, slightly taken aback, readied his stance, placing one foot back behind the other. The samurai came at him in a straight formation, and as the first approached, Gunamnex leaned low to the ground. The first samurai fell to a single slash upwards, Gunamnex quickly bringing Remembrance back down and across at an angle, slicing the second samurai neatly. The final samurai, the leader, seemed to stop his dash, bringing himself to a stop right before Gunamnex, Remembrance's tip pointed right at it's chest.

We will retrieve what we seek... Was all it spoke, before doing something totally unexpected. It knelt before Gunamnex, dropping it's blades. It bowed it's head forward, as though preparing to be decapitated.

Gunamnex sighed, ending the nobody's existence with a single slash. He watched as it faded away, and spoke with a faint whisper.

"What is it that you seek, I wonder?"

Nick's face creased with worry as he summoned Attis and using a weak healing skill on Sylvia, "That's all I have... We should get her to the infirmary. The medics at the castle can help her." He turned and headed into the undergrowth following his path back towards the village.