Kingdom Hearts: The Resistance

Crystle considered arguing with Zack again. She decided against it though, despite being one of her best friends she couldn't ignore the fact that he was also her superior besides he seemed pretty sure of his desision to send her to find Nozomi and Kawi though partly she wondered if he just didn't want her to get hurt fighting the Darkside. People could be so overprotective it's foolish sometimes.

With that in mind, she nodded and then ran off in the direction of the castle. With all of this trouble she knew that Nozomi would want to take Kawi somewhere that the enemy had the least chance of finding Kawi or getting to him because of her promise to protect him. There was no better place to do that then near the Cornerstone. With that in mind she ran off toward the throne room, glad that there were no heartless in the castle to have to fight through.

Nozomi yawned softly as she heard whispers in the night and so she sat up quickly, realizing Kawi was awake. Embarrassed to have slept in longer than him she stood up even more swiftly. "Oh... hey." she said, ignoring the dizzy feeling she had that was caused by standing up too quickly. It passed soon enough "You feeling better?" she asked him "The cornerstone can be a nasty when you lose control of your darkside in it's light." she said apologetically. She wondered if she should ask who he was talking to but she decided against it for now. It was probably just her hallucinating because of being half asleep.

Crystle's footprints echoed through the empty halls of the castle as she ran up the red carpet toward the back of the large throne room. It was then that she realized something odd. The castle was completely empty. She paused after that realization hit her. Where was everyone? Had news of the darkside outside really gotten to the entire resistance that fast and they had already sent out all of the fighters and evacuated all of the refugees to safety? It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes.

Deciding all of the innocent people must be hiding out by the cornerstone and the rest of the fighters had gone below also to protect them just to reinforce the cornerstone she walked the rest of the way to the throne and opened the mechanism that would open the passage to the cornerstone. She then cautiously walked down the stairs to the hall of the cornerstone, hoping that her guess was correct and the stone, Kawi, and Nozomi, would be found there.

 

Crystle walked down the steps to the cornerstone of light but her curiosity and worry only heightened when she heard no voices. There were no refugees hiding here, only the empty hall of the cornerstone.The cornerstone stood alone in the middle of the room and the marble walls reflected the light all around the room, making the entire room have an almost heaven-like appearence as the light shone from everywhere. But there were no people, it was empty and that emptyness and Crystle's confusion made this room seem so empty and unwelcome. With a few hesitant steps backwards, she climbed the steps backwards and pulled the leaver that made the door to the hall of the cornerstone close back up again. The light from the hall left the throne room as the door closed but it alarmed Crystle slightly when the door was closed and she was left in complete darkness. She turned around and saw Zack and Kilet fighting the heartless outside the huge window to the right of the room. From that little amount of light that came from the window, she began walking toward the doors back to the castle again knowing she needed to find Nozomi and Kawi. But as she looked toward the door she froze with shock, a figure loomed from the shadows directly in the center of the room a couple yards away and blocking the distance between her and the door. Crystle pulled out her sword, alarmed and on edge. But the figure just chuckled and took a few steps closer, his hood shrowded the top half of his face in darkness but she could see his smile by the moonlight outside.

"Dont be so quick to strike at a stranger, Crystle. You don’t even know if I am your enemy." he said to her in a very calm voice but it still was an odd one. It was loud enough for her to hear it but still extremely suttle soft as a whisper but strong echoing through her mind.

Crystle didn't get out of her defensive stance "Who are you?" she said cautiously, standing her ground as the stranger walked(more like hovered) in her direction. "Are you of the resistance? If so you need to be outside at the Bay helping there are heartless there."

"I'm not of your little group." he said with a soft laugh. "And for today I am not here to cause you harm so please put down your weapon. Let's be friends..." he was saying this as he reached forward and touched the tip of Crystle's weapon. It felt ten times as heavy the moment his fingertips touched the moonlit tip, it made it hard for Crystle to keep holding it with one arm and so it fell to the ground "...for now." the bizarre stranger added to his former sentence.

A bit freaked out, Crystle stepped away from the sword that the stranger had just enchanted, looking through the darkness in attempt at seeing the bizarre man’s eyes but with no luck. Darkness shrouded them away from her like a black curtain all she could see was his smile, a Cheshire grin illuminated in the darkness by perfectly white and straight teeth.

“I know my friends.” Crystle said to the stranger. “I do not know your name or your reason or your eyes. We are not friends.”

The stranger laughed, it was a harsh sound. It reminded Crystle of what a demon would sound like if it tried to sound like a child. “Very well Crystle.” he said as he walked forward again. Crystle held her ground as he walked toward her but he merely passed her and walked around behind her. Crystle attempted to turn to look behind her but she was alarmed to realize she couldn’t move her feet. They were seemingly glued to the floor. She looked down and realized she was ankle deep in some form of dark energy that was spread clear across the ground. Was this some sort of illusion? He couldn’t use real dark energy in the castle so close to the Cornerstone right? “My name is Shayde.” he said, she could her him speaking somewhere in the room. She turned her head to see he was nearly clear across the room, he was examining the sealed door to the hall of the cornerstone.

“What have you done to the floor?” she asked, trying to not sound alarmed. “Release me.” she demanded, reaching again for her sword but it was just out of her reach. She regretted stepping back earlier.

Void shook his head “It’s not my doing. The void acts on its own.” he said softly “And you allow it to with your fear.”

“I’m not afraid.” Crystle argued.
Void laughed “Of course you aren’t.” he sounded sarcastic. “Don’t Interrupt me, Crystle. I am introducing myself to you, remember.” his apparent intent interest in the door to the cornerstone was back on Crystle and he walked back toward her “My age is timeless, and you do not know my eyes because I do not wish you to. They are stone as all things are eventually.”

He reached out to Crystle and grabbed onto her shoulder. She jerked away from him but his grip was stronger than he looked. Crystle tried to scream at that moment, she had enough of this guy it was time to get help but when she tried no sound came from her instead a black puff of energy came from her mouth and evaporated into the air. It looked like it was the same energy as that that covered the ground and prevented her from moving.

“The castle is empty Crystle. It’s not ladylike to shout.” the stranger said. He ignored her silent protest and grabbed her shoulder again and got close to her face “My purpose in this life is that of a collector, a master and a servant, a ringleader.” he said to her so quiet if he wasn’t so close to her she probably wouldn’t have heard him.

“And…” Crystle was having difficulty talking but as long as she whispered as he was, she could manage to do it. “What do you collect? Why are you here? And why will you not release me if you don’t mean to harm me?”

“The void is my pet and it is the one who captives you now. When I leave so will it.”

Crystle now assumed that the ‘void’ that he was talking about was the energy that stopped her from moving and now from shouting.

Shayde continued speaking “I collect more pets just like the void. Things that are different, misunderstood, and particularly valuable and unique.”

Something about the way he was speaking freaked Crystle out even more. She tried once again to break away from the spell the void was holding her in. She wanted out and she wanted Shayde to leave.

“And the reason I’m here,” he continued speaking as he let go of Crystle and backed off “Is a hunt. See… I am captive just as you are now Crystle.”

“How do you know-”

He interrupted her “I am a prisoner of time and of shadow and I hunt in the name of a man named Masen who you may have heard of in the current time. I am the one who guarded Ansem, Lived in the hearts of the Heartless, inside the minds of the nobodies. My purpose is to move whichever way they wish me to for if I move just as they do, then they stand between me and the Sun which would destroy me.”

Crystle was puzzled “You are a shadow?” she inquired after a moment.

She was startled when he suddenly was right in front of her again “You could call me that, yes.” he said with the strange laugh again.

“And I am here hunting.”

“For what?” Crystle said.

Shayde reached up and placed his hand over Crystle’s heart. “Him.”

Crystle slapped him away, angry that she couldn’t back away and also angry that she didn’t understand this person at all.

“And you, and your two friends Kawi and Nozomi, and lastly your friends Kilet and Zack.” he ignored her slap and reached his hand up to her face, looking at her eyes “The power of two hearts burns in you. I know you are angry and he is angry with me too.” his hand blocked her from looking away from him. Crystle felt cornered and she didn’t like the feeling. He hadn’t harmed her but she got the feeling that she was being threatened by him. “But how strange, how different, that he would have chosen you to be the one to carry his heart until he is strong again. So curious.”

“Let go of me.” Crystle said, on the verge of panic. She reached up and punched him in the face. She didn’t care at this point that he hadn’t made any hostile moves against her. He had captured her, knew strange things about her, and now he was talking about Kawi, Nozomi, and Zack.

The attack to him did make him back off but he didn’t look injured “It appears you aren’t ready for this knowledge. I may be hunting for you and for your friend but now is not the time when you need to fear me.”

“I’m not afraid.” Crystle said again, angrily.

“Of course you’re not.” he said with a chuckle, just as sarcastic as before. “My targets are not here and so unfortunately I must leave for now. We will meet again Crystle.” he said as he walked back toward the window “Possibly a visit much like this one, or possibly the day that I come to collect you and your friend before you become two again. For now, I search for Kawi and Nozomi. Masen is in need of their hearts and they have escaped his mortal servant.”

With that, he disappeared and with him the void that held her captive. The moment she was free to move again Crystle fell to her knees. She reached to her sword and picked it up instantly. That couldn’t have been real, the cornerstone wouldn’t allow dark magic. It must have been some form of illusion. But she knew she had to find Nozomi and Kawi, because now not only did Zack tell her to but that weirdo was after them. She picked up her sword and ran off toward the outside of the castle.

But she found someone else waiting for her there, this person not particularly friendly either. She reached for her sword, hoping this person wasn't just as bizarre as the last.

*yep it's Kage just in case you were wondering. Shayde does have a purpose in this RP. It will make sense as it goes on.*

Nozomi wasn't sure if she should laugh or believe him. It was impossible to restore the words back to their original states again, the hearts were destroyed. The keyholes were dead. But why not humor him? At least he was out of danger if they stayed here. This world was dead even to most heartless, it's life had been eaten away so it could not support life anymore not even darkness. "A keyhole?" she said after a moment "The keyhole is dead here. It wont open or close."

 

Crystle frowned, 'great' she thought to herself as she pulled out her sword 'another psycho'. She reached for her sword "Way to be discrete about your intentions, stranger." she said a bit sarcasticly "I'm pretty sure the element of suprise is no longer in your toolbag."
She held onto the handle of her sword but she didnt pull it out just yet. Maybe this guy had some answers about what was going on. "I'll answer your question as long as you return the favor. Who are you?"

She was more cautious about the question this time, not wanting to end up in another weird situation like the one with the last person she ran into.

Nozomi sighed "Sad is reality." she said standing next to Kawi and looking with him at the horrifying state of the deep jungle. She never knew it at it's former glory, she just knew that it use to be beautiful from stories from her mother. "You must have been in that labritory a long time if sights like this suprise you." she sighed "...That voice must have told me to save you for a reason though. I hope you can do what you say you can, Kawi." but truthfully she didn't want to be hopefull, there was part of her that feared that hope that there was still light for the worlds would only leave her in disapointment.

 

Nozomi quickly pulled out her sword "What is that thing?" she said as she ran over to Kawi to help him. She slashed her sword out at the gigantic creature, managing to injure it enough to cause it to retreat but she knew it would be back. It didn't fly up too far and it circled them from above. "Are you alright?" she asked Kawi, looking at the injury the creature had given him. "It must have been put here to guard this world. How stupid I should have known."

The creature flew back down then, Nozomi pulled Kawi out of the way of another attack from it and then jumped onto the rocky face of the cliff. She climbed up a little and then jumped off, managing to land a bit unsteadily on the creatures back. She stabbed her blade down into one of it's wings. It yelled out and turned midflight into the cliffside hitting Nozomi against the wall. She fell off then, feeling a rather nasty road burn across her arm and shoulder, her jacket sleeve was cut up along with her glove on that side. She landed on her feet after falling and looked at Kawi "We need to stop it from flying."

Crystle sighed "And what would you do if in killing me you did end up killing whoever you came to capture?" she said, not acting that intimidated by the stranger. She had dealt with enough situations like this in her lifetime that she didn't get her heart racing anymore just cause one man held a sword to her neck. "Possibly my light is so strong because I just got back from the cornerstone though. Either way I dont see fit to have to tell a stranger." She thrust her sword upward at his quickly, pushing it away from her.

 

"Yeah of course." Nozomi gasped as she examined his injuries. "Hold Still for a second." she reached out and grabbed his hand with her good arm. "Cure." she muttered, his skin pulled back together. She took off her jacket and wrapped it around her arm which was bleeding. "We need to conserve magic just incase anything else attacks us." she explained to him about why she hadn't healed herself "And you're the more important person on this mission because A- I'm supposed to be protecting you, and B- You are the only one who can do anything IF we manage to find a keyhole." she pat his shoulder as she walked past him, encouragingly "Lets keep searching." she said, a bit more optimisticly even though they had just been attacked. Her reasoning was that if there was something living here even if it was a heartless, that meant that there was still something left here to guard. There may be hope for this world yet.

(OOC: Kairu asked me to do this so I'm not powerplaying)

IC:

The Darkside heartless fell to the ground with a loud crash as Zack and Kilet managed to finally kill it. When it died, it's body faided into darkness and a heart floated up into the sky, followed by hundreds of hearts from inside of the bridge. Zack looked at Kilet "Make sure everyone inside there is safe." he said, pointing at the Garage for the Gummi Ships. He then ran off toward the castle, hoping to make sure that all of the civilians got evacuated safely and that there were no enemies inside searching. He wondered if Crystle had found Nozomi and Kawi, usually she would have been more quick than this...

Crystle glared at this stranger, knowing he was watching her carefully incase she would make some form of attack and she was careful not to underestimate her enemy. She would have to find some other way to attack without him being ready. “So you’ve been stalking me now?” she said sarcastically, avoiding the question convincingly “Wow have you nothing better to do with your time.” she took a cautious step to the side, casting him a ‘what are you going to do about it’ look. “I guess my heart is just lighter than usual to you because you are use to decay and shadow where you come from. Does that answer your question?”

 

Nozomi raised her arm to protect her eyes just a little when a flash of pure light came from the keyhole. Then she looked around, realizing that the light handn't gone away she was astounded to see that the light wasn't coming from the keyhole anymore it was coming from the sun! There was a sun in the sky and the world was giving off it's own light once again. "Oh my gosh Kawi!" she said, "You did it." she hugged Kawi "You actually did it. Do you have any idea what this means." she let go of him after a moment and looked around at the world around her it was so beautiful she wondered if it had been this breath taking before the darkness had destroyed it as well or was she just so use to seeing shadows that even the smallest amount of light astounded her whatever the reason, it didn't matter. This meant that there was hope after all. Now they had a way to fight back against Masen for the first time in generations!

Shayde saw the blue haired nobody talking to himself, hidden well in the shadows. "Not very long at all, actually, former Keyblade master." he thought to himself as he disappeared again before anyone could see him. He appeared once again on top of the cave that Nozomi and Kawi were inside of. He could see heartless coming from the ground everywhere, attracted by the light that Kawi had restored. "Capture." he said simply "Not destroy."

Crystle just rolled her eyes "Eventually it always comes down to this with you people." she said, readying her sword. "Well come on then try to drag this 'truth' out of me so I can send you crying back to Masen already."