paixaorpg | Estuans interius, ira vehementi... (Open/Active)

Sora was prepared to storm the castle. Or the city hall. Or the wall of thorns. Whatever he faced, he was going to take it on. Of course, he didn't have Donald and Goofy with him, so he was at a bit of a disadvantage, but he had fought all of them before, so it couldn't be too hard, right? He just had to figure out how to get into the place.

Maybe he could set it all on fire? Plants burned, right? As he drew near the towering thorns, he took note, once again, of Sephiroth.

"What are you doing here?"

His tone wasn't entirely antagonistic, but it was suspicious. As far as Sora knew, Sephiroth wasn't involved with Maleficent and her crew. But he couldn't be sure what the man was doing here.

"From the look of things, the same thing you are," he said, nodding toward the gigantic wall of thorns. "Trying to get their attention with the intention of using it and whatever means I have at my disposal to bury them."

Sephiroth was wearing what he always wore, his long black coat, shoulder armor, materia, bracers - all the usual gear.

Sora's keyblade wasn't at his side, but it was only a thought away, and he felt for it now, his hand wrapping around the familiar handle as it appeared for his call. Setting the weapon on his shoulder with a familiar motion, he looked up at the thorn wall in question.

"Well, maybe we could burn it down," he said, accepting, for now, Sephiroth as an ally.

"You are welcome to try, though I doubt fire will make much of an impression. It would be a poor defense indeed if it were so easily defeated." Then again, these people didn't seem particularly bright to begin with.

Sephiroth never left Masamune far out of reach, except when forced to do so. And, while his deal with Shinra and company had made it necessary, there was no way in Hell he was coming out here without it. He held the sword by the blade, back edge down, in an approximation of the traditional style.

"It won't hurt to try," Sora said with his usual optimistic confidence, and held his keyblade out like he hoped to unlock a hidden door. "Fire!"

The flames leaped from the end of his keyblade with a burst of light and heat. His aim was true--how could it miss?--but it was as if he was trying to set fire to concrete. He frowned.

"Fire!"

A stronger whoosh of flames attempted to cut into the thorns, to no real effect. He glared at the barrier. Maleficent must have done something to it.

"Guess we have to come up with another way in."

"So it would seem. I doubt my blade will have much effect either. What we need is something or someone small enough to slip through there and see if there's a way to open a path from the other side..."

If that wasn't a cue, there's never been one.

It appeared Timon was not the only one in pursuit of answers as he approached city hall. Once the building came into sight, the meerkat was surprised to find two figures before the sea of thorns. The first, and most recognizable one, was Sephiroth. His presence was, perhaps, predictable in some ways. Being the leader of the resistance, it only seemed fit for him to be there. Sora on the other hand was completely unexpected.

Joining the two, the little rodent planted both his paws on his hips and observed the thorns. Last he had visited city hall the building was quite accessible, though he was sure he could still reach the door by crawling through the thorns. They seemed very affective against humans, meerkats on the other hand...

"I think we might have missed opening hours." he finally spoke up, looking between the two with a grin. Unfortunately, he had just missed Sora's display of magic, something that would have proved well in solving an earlier dispute. "I take it you two are hoping to get in too?"

"But who's small enough to--"

Sora's sentence was cut off by a familiar voice. Timon! Sora turned and, with unconcealed excitement, grinned at the tiny meerkat. It didn't matter that this Timon didn't remember him him, it was still a familiar, and friendly, face.

"Timon!" Sora exclaimed, waving brightly. "What are you doing here?"

Timon, it seemed, wasn't really the type to go charging into danger, after all. At least, he hadn't seemed that way in the Pridelands. Maybe something had changed here?

When the answer to Sephiroth's questions just casually strolled up, he was pretty sure he knew what the inevitable answer was going to be. Nothing is -ever- that easy. "So it would seem. Think you can fit through there, maybe find a way to open a passage or something?" he asked the meerkat, eyeballing the thorns dubiously.

Oh fascinating. He was suddenly glad that he hadn't left to 'visit' some previously-annoying itches like say Cloud or Auron... Even if the revenge was curling up from his feet and oozing across the air. No, hanging around City Hall was a much better course of action, as they already had visitors of their own! Expected. Two days? He sort of figured some pesky rat would try sooner, but this had Sora of all people, and someone he couldn't quite recognize from where he was casually watching from the shadows of the rooftop.

There were other shadows, of course. Flickering like his hair around the wall of thorns, crawling like snakes among them, waiting for the right moment to lash and bite. Heartless weren't Nobodies; giving them even the simplest commands could be so irritating at times, but he was pleased to see that for now they were docile, and maybe that was with thanks to Maleficent, as much as Hades loathed to admit.

His "guard dog" sat lazily on the doorstop of City Hall's main entrance, beyond the wall. A Rapid Dog (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdomhearts/images/3/3f/RapidDog-Artwork.jpg) Heartless was hardly as appealing as Cerberus, but hey, a guy like him had to make due with what he had. It at least, in some strange, crazy, crazy way was one of the "better" Heartless around here. It wouldn't attack until it was attacked.

And maybe it would be able to pick up that crazy meerkat that was mucking around when he found a way in. Heh.

Hades, like the dog-like Heartless, would sit back and wait just the same.

"Same reason as you," he replied to Sora, motioning toward the building. "I want 'em outta here." Of course, Timon had more personal reasons as well. The fact that they had stolen his seat in office was a big one. It had been completely unfair. Then again, what villain ever did play fair? After all the work he had put into gaining that particular seat and seeing it fall wasted, he wanted to give them all a piece of his mind.

Moving closer to the thorns, he rubbed his chin in thought. "It should be no problem, they don't look too menacing. Besides, I'm in the best shape I've ever been." the meerkat assured the solider. A chuckle escaped him as he carefully crawled into the thorns. "Where would you two be without me, hu?"

Barely even a foot into the mess, Timon quickly found that even someone of his size and great shape could not squeeze in any further than he already had. A frown quickly found it's way over his feature as he tried to push the thorns out of his path.

"OW! Mmm... Boy, does that smart!" Pausing to suck on his injured paw, he looked back in the direction in which he came. "Uh... Sora, Sephiroth? I think there might be a wee problem. It gets really, really, really tight in here. I don't think a mouse could get any further."

Sora frowned. He was hoping that would have worked, but maybe Maleficent had prepared for small things trying to crawl in? Glaring at the apparently impenetrable wall as if that would weaken it, he swung and bashed at it uselessly with his keyblade for some time. There had to be a way in, right? Otherwise how could they get out, and what would be the point?

"Maybe there's a door somewhere?" he suggested finally, after deciding that he couldn't brute force his way through.

"Perhaps. Though, if there is, my agents and I have yet to find it." Sephiroth considered the wall, noting the flickering shadows; these, he pointed out to Sora. "Any idea what they are?" he asked, figuring that maybe he knew a little more about any creatures that might show up. Maybe.

While Sora bashed away at the thorns, Timon decided to try another method to get around the barrier. If he couldn't crawl through the thorns, maybe he could dig under them. This barrier couldn't be completely meerkat proof, could it?

Oblivious to the lurking shadows, he began digging into the earth. He could tell the roots were deep, but maybe he could get around them. There was the possibility they were weaker than the thorns above. Maybe Sora or Sephiroth could break them? Here was hoping, especially after the effort it had taken to dig so deep.

Timon ears perked at what sounded like company. Though he had no way of seeing the arrival -or arrivals, there could be more as far as he knew- he raised his head. "What who are?" he asked, his voice somewhat distant, though easily loud enough to still be heard. "Do we have company? Hey, ask 'em if they know a way inside!"

Sora took note of the shadows a moment before Sephiroth mentioned them. His eyes narrowed. "Heartless?"

Anything dark and inky like that reminded Sora of the heartless he had spent so much time fighting, of course, but given that this was apparently Maleficent's stronghold, it would make sense for her to use them to fight.

"Timon, maybe you should get out of there."

"Why," Sephiroth asked resignedly, "do I not like the sound of that? Timon. Time to clear out, we have company. Not the friendly kind." Shifting his blade to a ready position was second nature; he looked over at Sora as he was doing so. "Any noteworthy weak points or immunities?" he asked, almost casually. Fighting was something he knew, was comfortable with.

As it stood, if he was reading the movements correctly, they faced nearly 100 to 1 odds. 150 to 1 if he didn't count the meerkat, and he very likely shouldn't. Not his most favorite tactical situation, to say the least, but manageable. As long as the kid was at least halfway decent, they could pull it off.

If not, it was going to get ugly, in a hurry.

Aw, such a shame, they were all set to clear out? And so soon? But it had been so long since the shadows had a chance to do much, aside from all their illusions that spread over Paixao. Now that had been something to amuse him, least until they had covertly settled into City Hall.

Hades leaned forward a bit, a toothy grin breaking out on his face. No, no, no... they couldn't leave without dropping off a parting gift! He supposed he'd just have to... take the pick of the litter. He pressed thin fingers together and gave them a snap, a simple command of, "Sic 'em," being said, only to watch the dog-like Heartless bolt forward from its position, making a ruckus, and bumping against the thorns, unable to get across to its target. Hades sighed. "So hard to find good help around here..."

Well. There were other Heartless.

He gleamed from his hiding place to the general area he figured Timon to be. "Bring him to me."

sorry 'bout that lull guys :O ...and I'm posting separately with npcs after this, 'cause it'll be easier in the long run. Maybe. I think. *probably just crazy* :D; There goal is Timon. Obviously that goal may not be reached (especially if you don't want it to be Shannon XD).

The shadows in the thorns flickered again, and impossibly shifted. Odds weren't something that mattered; the area could be swarmed, yes, but 100 weren't needed, yet. The prime target had a small heart. Nothing of importance, and shouldn't have even been considered. But a target was a target.

Yellow eyes flashed from all throughout the wall of thorn. Shadows (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdomhearts/images/6/6c/Shadow2.jpg) surfaced and crawled quickly to the ground, all converging with claws out towards Timon.

In the back of the group, the ground darkened until a pool of shadow formed - a second pool followed nearby, a third... - and out came the long, jagged antennae, followed by the rest of the Neoshadows' (http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdomhearts/images/8/83/Neoshadow1.jpg) bodies... Only they twitched and turned focus to the keyblade. That pull...

Heartless, is that what Sora had said? If so, that was as good a reason as any to pack their bags and hit the road. Though Timon was confident both Sora and Sephiroth could hold their own, he felt no need to test his prediction. Safety came first, and if he would have to hold his tongue a little longer, the meerkat supposed he could… But the minute he was before the infamous trio he would let them have it, and by no means go easy on them.

“Alright, alright.” He groaned, climbing out of his tunnel. “I’m coming, keep yer shirt on. Yeesh.” Rolling his eyes, the rodent dusted himself off and turned to head back in the direction of which he came. However, immediately upon turning he came to a sudden halt, something wasn’t right.

Turning to glance behind him, Timon questioningly surveyed the thorns. There was something there, he hear it. Was someone caught in the thorns ahead of him? Odd, he hadn’t noticed anyone there before, maybe it was his imagination? –no, it couldn’t be. Someone was definitely there; he could see their shadow now.

“Hello?” the little meerkat called out, squinting to see between the thorns. “Hey, is there anybody out-“

His eyes grew wide as they met with a brightly lit pair through the wall of thorns that separated them. Heartless. His fur stood on end in fright, for as much as Timon talked the talk, at this moment all he could do was stand there, paralyzed. Only after did the thought occur to him that he had feet, functional feet, and using them would be an incredibly good idea at this particular time.

Throwing himself back, he spun round on his heel and raced for the exit. “Heartless!” he shouted, watching the yellow eyes flicker all throughout the wall. Having the advantage, they appeared to be gaining on him as he pushed himself through the thorns. “They’re everywhere!”

Numerous cries escaped him as he forced himself forward, though they all somehow managed to come out sounding more amusing than anything else. If he hadn’t been so startled, he’d of undoubtedly given the heartless a piece of his mind for the sharp prick he had received right on his- but that wasn’t the case.

He could only imagine what the others had met with outside the thorns.

[ooc: I'll have to check with Shannon and see what she thinks =P]

((*headdesk* I swear I typed that right. I told myself: Sharron, Sharron - and WHAT DO I TYPE. Sigh. Sorry :D;))

[ooc: It's alright, I understand. I did check with Shannon though, she says it's okay, so I trust her judgment and say it's alright too.]

((... for that, you're awesome XD))

"It depends on what kind they are," Sora said, and stiffened as he saw the Shadows and Neoshadows. "Just bash straight through!"

Of course, that was his default strategy, but really, it was an especially good way to deal with these particular kinds. And without a second thought he charged, keyblade ready, slashing and bashing the dark creatures with a sort of haphazard skill borne of experience combined with no formal training.

But he had done this before. Fought more than this before. And so he would be fine. He was worried about Timon. "Hurry up, Timon!"

Sephiroth took a moment to watch Sora's haphazard style, noting its rough edges and the underlying talent it showed, then there was no more time for observing. Masamune's blade clove through the nearest Neoshadow almost more quickly than the eye could follow, certainly faster than the incarnation of darkness could dodge, and it vanished in a puff of smoke.

No heart was released, though; that was a peculiarity he had noticed in Sora's continued efforts, one which he would ask about later. Right now... he had bigger things to worry about.

His materia had not been swapped out since the day he had fought and 'captured' Larxene. He still had the Lightning elemental, Haste, and the others, and right now, he was going to have to make good use of at least two of those. 'All', the light blue orb was called; it was a devastatingly effective tool, one which could level a garrison or raise an entire legion, if the right person held it with the right materia joined to it.

Right now? It was calling down jagged bolts of lightning on every Shadow he could see flickering among the thorns.

Right, of course, hurry up, Timon! Ha! Like he was going to let them get there way; not right now, not when things were getting hot. He grinned toothily and chuckled - Jafar and Maleficent were missing an interesting show - at the work Sephiroth had done to his gaggle of Heartless. But it was too late, Timon had already been snagged and carried off. That was all Hades wanted for now. Like he would care about what happened to Heartless of all things.

Boy, wouldn't the secretary be surprised at having a ruffled meerkat dropped onto her desk? Or, would the surprise be the other way around? He'd have to go check, and soon.

Hades emerged from his shadowy perch; the Heartless were nearly defeated, but they had done what he required. He laughed loudly, yellow eyes wide with excitement. "Oh, Sora, Sora," he called down towards the battle, "you're as strong as ever, I see. And that friend of yours. Fascinating. You know, I just might throw a bit of a barbecue sometime soon to celebrate - I do so hope you'll attend. Have fun! Ta!"

He slid back into the shadows of the roof, body curling into wisps, and he made his way back down. He had some new fun to poke at inside. Heh.

Hades is out, Timon is nabbed. Few Heartless are left, sooo it's just that duo left now, really :D

Sora was momentarily occupied fighting off the Heartless, weeding them out and uncertain if Timon had slipped out beneath their feet yet. But surely they would hear him...?

And then-- "Hades! Come down here and fight!"

Of course by that point he was speaking to thin air, but yelling was something to do. And now that the Heartless were all but gone...

"Timon? Timon!"

"I think we're a little too late to save him," Sephiroth said, his face set in an angry not-quite-scowl. "We've got to find a way inside. The meerkat knows too much to let them keep him for any length of time."

So saying, Sephiroth took a swipe of his own at the thorned wall, with no more success than Sora had had. Except he didn't stop at the first one; back far enough that only the very tip of Masamune was touching the wall with each swing, he started moving that blade fast enough that it became a silver blur, and with each slash, he was releasing an arc of energy into the wall. He'd mowed through a battalion of main battle tanks with that same attack, but it had no more effect than a rainstorm on the wall.

No, they had taken Timon! With a growl, he threw himself against the wall of thorns, his keyblade striking again and again. It wasn't working--it hadn't worked before, either. Desperately, he called forth the fire again, only to find it failing.

"We have to get in," Sora agreed, taking a few steps back and looking up to see if there was a window or something. They had to get in and out themselves, right?

Charging forward suddenly, he started running up the wall, digging his feet in where he could. When momentum finally gave out on him he clung to the structure with his hands, ignoring where the thorns bit into flesh and climbing up. He had to save Timon.

Flowing backward from his onslaught, Sephiroth surveyed the wall. It stretched up, and up, and up as far as he could see, and he couldn't tell if it stopped at the dome.

Not from down there, anyway.

Gathering himself, he -leapt- straight up, easily clearing a hundred feet in the first bound. No time to enjoy the sensation of freefall, though. Alighting for little more than half a second on one of the larger protrusions, he used the landing crouch as a springboard for his second jump, one which would carry him within a handful of yards of the dome with the assistance of a wing that had appeared out of nowhere.

Sora's ascent was in quick, jerking leaps and momentum-induced runs upward, slower, perhaps, than Sephiroth's, but just as determined. It was when he hit the top of the done and the thorns still hadn't subsided that he stopped, resting precariously, and wondered just how he was getting in.

He couldn't just abandon the meerkat.

Search though they might, there was no way through the wall of thorns. By evening, they had exhausted every method in their respective arsenals, and achieved virtually no success; not even a thorn appeared out of place, and there was no sign of Timon.

Sephiroth had never been one to give up on something as a lost cause, but it was rapidly becoming apparent to him that this was one. Loath as he was to admit it, there was nothing he could do.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to let Timon get himself out of this one," he finally said, lowering his sword.

Sora, however, wasn't ready to give up, out of sheer stubbornness. In desperation he stabbed his keyblade down into the thicket of thorns, barely penetrating a few inches and loosing the blade from his grip as it caught on something inside. It fell down through the air, but Sora called it back to his hand as easily as breathing, only to repeat the process.

"We can't leave him!" he cried as he called the keyblade back and stabbed again, as if this futile measure would accomplish anything. "We have to get him back!"

Estuans interius, ira vehementi... (Open/Active)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject