Kingdom Hearts: Daybreak (IC)

Kate's face winced in pain as the cuffs wrapped around her wrists, made from light. "Ahh, what the hell is this shit? This is REAL light? It hurts like a mother fu-"

"...Stopja."

Kate's body froze in place, not able to move her entire body, besides her eyes which dashed from side to side wildly. Unable to move a muscle, her eyes glared at Raven, the individual responsible for the spell.

Jordan flinched a bit, wanting to attack Raven for the, albeit necessary, restrictions on Kate but knew that the best thing to do was nothing. Jordan ignored Deimos' speech, shaking his head disappointingly, before looking up at the group. "I apologize for my friends. They're both a bit....well they both speak their minds more often than not." Slowly rising to his feet, now having the strength to support himself, Jordan rubbed the back of his head a bit, smiling as he did so. He wasn't sure who exactly was in charge here, the princess or her knight, so decided to face the one who had been seemingly in charge for the past several minutes. He took a few steps forward, stopping in front of the body of the boy from earlier and looked at the trio of individuals. "Oh, I don't think I introduced myself," he said, a surprised look on his face. He gave a smug smile, leaning in a bit as he pointed at his own face, saying, "I'm Jordan. King of the Darkness and Eater of Hearts."

The last line struck Sophia as both disturbing and odd. The only king of darkness she was aware of was her grandfather, the supreme ruler of darkness. She imagined that this individual was most likely speaking irrationally so didn't dwell on it further. However, the title Eater of Hearts did, however, stick.

"Now, while I'd love to thank you all for letting me on my merry way, I simply...can't. For several reasons, the first being that you have my friend here in your custody, so straying too far wouldn't be in my best interest. Secondly, you said it yourself, I'm in no condition to do much, so you all could be sending me to my deathbed. And lastly....well...I don't know where I am." He shrugged, and shook his head. "In all honesty, I figured that little spiel back there of who I was would jog someone's memory of me. But if not...I must be a longer way from home than I thought." Jordan looked away for a moment, hand resting on his chin. How far from home was he? Clearly he was no longer in the Void, that much was for certain. However, he could not exactly pinpoint where in the realm of light he was, if he was actually in the realm of light.

Sophia, being the caring yet clueless person she was, said to Raven in what she thought was a whisper, "He does seem a bit out of it...maybe he can stay in the castle?"

Jordan raised an eyebrow at the conversation being held between Raven and Sophia and turned back with a smirk. "That right there sounds like an awesome idea."

 

Jordan gave a grateful smile to the group before looking to Sophia for her approval. "So, does that mean that I will have a place to sleep tonight, Princess?"

Sophia looked away for a moment, considering the question. While he did come off as having good intentions, he had critically wounded her best friend. She regretted her decision and had begun to tell Jordan off, not allowing him to stay before her mother's words flashed in her mind.

"No matter the actions and history of individuals, we must find it in our hearts to grant everyone a second chance in life. Second chances are rare, and everyone equally deserves them."

Sophia sighed before looking up at Jordan with a nervous smile. "Yes...you are more than welcomed to spend the night."

Jordan nodded in appreciation and replied, "Why thank you, Princess. I promise not to cause any trouble while staying in your home." He gestured to the man on the ground, looking at Raven and asked, "Now, about your friend. Will you need help in carrying him?" He motioned forward to pick up the fallen Deimos.

Sophia watched and began to fold her hands, as though praying, and began to contact her royal guard, Kelianne, through a mental, telepathic connection..

"Keli...are you busy?"

 

Jordan held his neck a bit, feigning the look of shock as Kousei called him out. "Geez man, no need to get all worked up over little 'ol me," he said, a smile crossing his face. He shrugged and began walking, brushing Kousei off a bit in the process. "Besides, as long as this palace of yours isn't harboring the son of a bitch I'm looking for, I got no reason to hurt anyone."

"Unlessssss we need to feeeeed."

Jordan stopped walking for a bit, rolling his neck in an agitated way before clearing his throat. He looked back at the group, as if waiting for someone to acknowledge the voice or to admit that they said it. But he knew better. It had been some time since the voices spoke to Jordan, begging to be fed, as he maintained a decent enough schedule when it came to eating. To hear them speak to him now was nothing more than a light annoyance that Jordan could work with ignoring, so he continued walking.

Sophia, still conversing with Kelianne, nodded her head and replied back to her, "Oh, of course. I'm sorry to bother you. I will talk to you soon then."

She looked up at Kousei with a nervous look, not knowing exactly how to explain for her actions, as baffling as she knew they were. "Well...I just...we have to give him a chance...don't we? We do have his friend after all..." She began to walk next to Raven, a bit embarrassed of her excuse to Kousei for her foolish decision.

He continued walking, often looking around, taking in the sights, although it was nothing but trees for now, like a small child. He gazed up at the sun with a smirk and held his arms out as he walked. "Damn, that sun is beaming! I haven't seen a sun this radiant in years!"

Sophia watched Jordan at his behavior, as it slowly was changing from the noble and educated speaking man that they had met with a slightly more immature behaved one. "Do you not have a sun where you are from," she asked curiously.

Jordan finally took his eyes off of the sky to look over his shoulder and reply, "Sorta. It's always behind dark clouds and the only time you get any real illumination is when the moon is out, as odd as that sounds. Our night is basically your day, and vice versa," he explained. As the castle gates began to come into view, Jordan slowed his pace a bit, taking time to admire the large gates. "Hm! Very fine indeed! Sturdy, obviously, and it looks like it's protected by...some sort of magic?" He looked back as if waiting for a response before waving his hands in disapproval. "Gah, of course you guys wouldn't tell me that. My bad."

Sophia smiled at his behavior and looked to Raven and said, out of the reach of Jordan's ears, "He doesn't seem too terrible."

 

Jordan scratched the back of his head, visibly annoyed at what Deimos had said. "Gee, thanks Deimos. You're such a helpful individual," he said sarcastically, looking off to the side and shaking his head. To point out the fact that Jordan and Deimos died was more information than what Jordan was prepared to share.

Sophia quickly nodded in agreement with Raven, her head held down and her hands folded. "Oh...right. I guess I might have acted...a bit too hasty." After a few seconds of gathering her thoughts, she realized what Deimos had said, more particularly his name. Before she could immediately reply, she watched as Kousei hurried off into the castle before the rest of the group, with Deimos still slung over his shoulder. "Kousei didn't seem to eager to hang around, did he," she asked Raven, wondering if she too picked up on his haste.

Jordan had begun to strut into the castle behind Kousei before two guards held out large spears, forming an X and preventing Jordan from crossing. They were covered in entirely armor, besides their faces, and both had a look of severe distrust.

"Unless you are another of Sophia's guests for the brunch," one began.

"-and you're well past the fashionably late mark," the other continued, the two obviously finishing each other's sentences.

"-you will have to turn around immediately. Or-"

"-you will have to-"

Annoyed, Jordan rolled his head and groaned as loud as possible. "Please, just shut the hell up already! I get it, I get it, jeez!" His fingers began to flex and twitch a bit, his inner instinct wanting to kick in and put the two guards in their place. However, that he did not want to set any further bad impressions, he simply balled his hand into a fist momentarily before relaxing it. He turned around to Sophia and Raven, pointing at the two guards. "Hey, uh, mind telling Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum that I'm with you guys?"

Sophia, giggling a bit, waved at the two guards with a smile. "It's ok gentlemen, him and his friend are with us. They will be our new...guests, but just for the evening!" She added the last part, looking at Raven, as though looking for confirmation.

Jordan noted it but said nothing before looking back at the guards. "Now...shoo," he said, motioning his hands as though telling them off.

The two men glared at Jordan at Deimos before slowly beginning to back off, holding their weapons in a battle ready stance.

 

As the group entered the castle at last, Jordan began eyeing every part of the interior, his face showing no emotion so it wasn't clear whether he was scheming or admiring what was before him.

Sophia, nervously, tapped Jordan on his shoulder, attempting to get his attention momentarily. "Um, excuse me Jordan, but I have to go check up on my friend now. He's going to want to see me as soon as he wakes up so I should really be on my way now to see him."

Jordan smirked and nodded in agreement. "Of course Princess. Go on, I know exactly how that is so I won't be one to stop you. I'll just wait here. I'm sure Raven wouldn't want me wandering off." He looked over to Raven, giving a small wave.

Sophia perked up a bit and replied, "Oh nonsense! We have brunch being served in the dining hall and it's open to the entire kingdom!"

Jordan raised an eyebrow curiously before cocking his head to the side. "A brunch? Sure about that?"

Sophia was about to continue before thinking about it more. Did she really want this stranger to enter the brunch with a wide arrangement of locals still wondering where she was and who this man was? Fearing that it wouldn't look good, she shook her head and announced out loud cheerfully. "Ok, new plan! You'll come up with me to check on Deimos and then I'll escort you down!"

Jordan laughed a bit before giving a nonchalant shrug. "Yes ma'am."

Sophia began to skip along down the hallways to the infirmary with Jordan not far behind until the two finally made it. Sophia was the first to enter, with Jordan entering and then lingering close to the doors. She ran up to Kousei, hugging him tight and saying, "Thank you for bringing Deimos up here Kousei." After a couple of seconds, she finally let go and looked down at her currently unconscious friend. "Is...he going to be alright?"

 

Jordan smirked the entire time that Kousei was speaking, licking his lips with each word that exited his mouth. He still felt a bit weak from hopping into this dimension so didn't risk to speak back, less he start a fight with someone he could tell was pretty strong. Instead, when Kousei left the room, making sure to bump Jordan, he merely turned his head before looking at Sophia. "You're friend sure does hate me. Must have been something I said," he joked, not expecting any laughter from Sophia. He folded his arms and walked over to the nearest wall, out of the way from anyone wishing to bump him again.

Sophia shook her head at Jordan and smiled, "Oh no, don't be silly. He's just protecting me!"

"Seems you have a lot of friends who do that."

Sophia nodded her head and turned to look at the now conscious Deimos. Her smile widened, barely able to resist hugging Deimos as hard as she could, otherwise she could hurt the possibly still injured Deimos. She shook her head rapidly, holding her hands in front of her mouth as if trying to hide her smile. "Oh hush you! You were just fine Deimos! You can't win them all! Besides, what's important now is that you're alright..."

Not able to hold back any longer, she reached in and gave Deimos a big hug, albeit gently. While the two hugged, she quickly whispered, "And please don't be mad."

Jordan chimed in, head hung low in what appeared to be disappointment as a sigh escaped his mouth. "Hey, sorry about what happened back there. Me and my friends...well, where we come from, holding back and asking questions aren't exactly priority. In our defense though, we actually had every intention of walking away until your guards brought up a...very sensitive piece of information. Unfortunately, it went south from there. I hope you all can forgive us."