Kingdom Hearts: The Soul Reason

Riku was walking through the portal just fine, until he felt this pressure behind him trying to push him forward. He moved a bit faster, coming towards the 'light' at the end of the Darkness corridor and then felt a strong shove that made him stumble out and hit the ground. A weight was upon him and he grunted as he hit the floor. "...Get offa me" he mumbled as his arm was partially covering his mouth at this point so that he would not hit his face on the floor.

DiZ turned to look at the two on the ground and almost smirked as he turned and busied himself pushing buttons on the computer.

TWTNW: Zexion turned and glanced at Vexen. There was someone he had not expected to wake up and Zexion had mixed reactions about. He then turned his gaze to Luxord who was now awake. He softly sighed. "We must each donate our power to a portal so that we can send Larxene through to the Betwixt and Between. There, we will hope she can guide others to us as we are trapped by some being that seeks to eliminate us to take our Souls. I hope that updates the two of you enough. There is not much time."

 

Luxord chuckled, lowly and uniterestedly at Zexion's report. An odd remark seemingly. "I've gambled my existence many a time to not give a rat's derriere to care what happens." He put out quite plainly to Zexion. And it was true. He only hoped that Zexion didn't call his bluff on the fact Luxord had once in truth lost one of those gambles.

 

So ... are who's in the lab and who's in Twilight Town central?

 

Demyx, Riku and DiZ are in the lab. I suspect Repliku may be there too.

 

OOC: Going to be short,I'm blocked,and I'm studying for exams.

Roxas eyed the portal for a few moments,recognizing what he was seeing.It was the same basement he had been in before,only in the data world."..All right,let's go!" he said,walking through it after everyone else had entered.

Lexaeus nodded hesitantly, still not sure about Larxene. Though if Xemnas wanted to put everyones fate in her hands,and she didn't come through,Lexaeus knew exactly what he would say.

Told you so!

 

OOC: What is Larxene suppose to do again? Just stay in Betwixt And Between? And what is of Pyro lolwutgtfo o:? Just to say, since now Axel is free [shakes head at Carne Asada], she might be interested.

That, and Sora and Naminé are stuck D:.

"You know, somehow it would better if you were awake before, I'm sure there would've been many 'gambling', 'wager', and 'betting' on your part," Larxene stated quite bored as she directed her words to Luxord, remembering her thoughts about him doing so. She supposed it was time now to accomplish the work that she had been chosen to do by the rest, or rather, what she herself had volunteered for, and it was too late to turn back now. Not that she would have, by this point. She wasn't fond of death, that much she admitted to herself, but once you did get it over with once...what was there? She had nothing here, she had nothing anywhere, and even if she did miraculously have gotten her Heart back when betrayal wasn't such a problem, what will be the point if she had no use for it? She didn't have a home to come back to, she didn't have anyone that was waiting for her, or had mourned for her sudden loss [to the Heartless]. What if. She definitely had nothing in this castle, with these members, they wouldn't give a damn if the portal somehow went wrong, and she was lost, probably what some were even hoping for. It was all the more convincing for her to get the hell out of here when this was over. If they made it out alive, that is. And then, she will set out to live a empty life without a Heart...in fact, death sounded much more of a clear path for her than whatever was in this realm. If she did get killed doing this errand, at least she wouldn't end up regretting it. In fact, the only thing she would regret is giving the members who wanted her dead to rejoice. That was enough to fuel her.

In the end, she was of no importance, she had no idea why was she born in the first place because of that, and while she'd rather remain alone to avoid hurt and the dark side of what this universe really was, torturing people loses its charm when you did it a bit too much. That surely wasn't going to be her job. It was more like recess to her, to have fun with. So it was pointless to say, she was completely ready for whatever awaited her, and if she died, or got her Soul sucked out, so be it. She was not needed.

"I am to believe you are aware of your help in the portal as well?" Xemnas inquired tentatively as he stared at the girl, who appeared lost in thought. She did hear him, however, as all he got was a wave of her hand and a nod. He took in a breath, doubts in his mind about the girl's future actions once they let her go, but it was to be done. He made the decision, the members made the decision, and if it did turn out to be a mistake, they will deal with it accordingly. They weren't fully at a a loss. With a motion, he added, "I have to say this, that we are counting on you. I am certain I know we're not your exact favorites to be aiding, yet this is a test, as well as a chance to redeem yourself. The choice you'll make will be yours to consider. Get down there where it will open, and be ready to leave once the passage is in control."

He, of course, was talking of the dais in the center, the Nobody symbol marked in its marble and shining upon them.

She scratched her neck a little, letting her arms stretch out at what came to be the time of judging, so to speak. She smirked to herself. Yes, the decision was hers. She was not going to lie, it was too tempting not to abandon them when she had this freedom right at the palm of her hand; these people had done nothing for her, one who would turn them into Dusk or hunt them down if disobeying his orders, and another who had stabbed her in the back just as he was entrusted with a plan that was close to be permanently constructed, and hated with all her being. So why was she the one to give? She accepted her fate when pursuing this assignment that was now coming into action, and yet, that didn't mean that she accepted doing any kind of moral move for them. What did she owe? Zero. Then on the other side of this debate, she wasn't blind to the fact that this wouldn't exactly be the end for them if she did not do what she was suppose to, not if they had anything to say about it, and in retrospect, the decision was already set for her. Not to mention, the entity was after them, including her, so might as well stay where she was to be. That is, if she didn't want to create self-induced suicide and escape anyway to let whatever befell her did, which was really a idea stuck in her mind to perform.

Letting out a sigh, she raised herself off the chair with her hands, and pushed her body out swiftly, floating in mid-air before she spiraled down to the ground from the high height in a flourish of her cloak as her stomach tickled at the ride, the rustling of the wind in her clothes calming once she landed smoothly and gracefully to the dais on her feet, knees bending just a little, simply composing and straightening herself. Looking above her and around, the thrones towering over her figure from every angle, with gazes set right in her spot, it was a flash of déjà vu, as she had never been in this position ever since the first time she came here as Number Twelve. It was a cause of intimidation at her once lost self, but now...now it had no effect. Placing her vision in front of her after, to begin, she outstretched her arm, and summoned the Dark Corridor, only a small, dark opening in the air able to be conjured up as it got compressed.

Xemnas in succession, copied the act, and forced out his own energy to the portal, watching as it greatly got bigger and wider.

Saïx, after remaining in silence, and eyeing the events around him as so, repeated the act of the two as he lent out his ability, the Dark Corridor spreading even wider, though now there was a struggle, as it pressured and weighted on him back in turn, attempting to close by a astounding force. From the looks of Xemnas and Larxene's faces, he wasn't the only one experiencing this change. His gold, sharp eyes were set on the female despite this, knowing she was his choice, and it would do her well to avoid any embarrassment on his behalf. He did not want to be picked as a fool for depending on the wrong member in this situation, and it seemed he had a subconscious fondness to place his wits on wildcards that can either bring a positive or negative outcome.

But, it was to be seen. The vote ended. Thus, it was a matter of him swallowing what he had build up.

 

Hey Reppy, d'ya mind if I try out ol' Vexen?

 

OOC: You can have Vexen if you'd like. Just take over him from where I left him at. That's all fine.

Larxene will be transported to the Betwixt and Between, basically waiting for those darn heroes and she can help them open their portal as they attempt to get there when she notices it. She'll get a little scene probably too to herself.

I'll post later tonight since I'm busy. Pyro, if you want, you can take Axel since I know he's your fave.

As for the others, most people now are in the mansion basement. If you aren't, you can go through the portal that DiZ made to get there.

 

OOC: Pyro will be out of KH-Vids for two weeks due to the massive research paper, but she knows of Axel being free, and was thinking of taking him =3. This will mark the first off of that challenge, I think. However, to get Naminé and Sora out of the rut they are in, I'm sure that she wouldn't mind Sora being controlled for awhile, just to get them out of the secret spot.

 

The chilly academic scowled at Luxord. How dare that underling mock him?! He, one of the first of the Organization of nobodies. He, one of the original six. He was the reason Luxord had come to be. Everything was due to his actions. The gambler had no right to taunt him.
Luxord had done nothing with his life, nor with his nobody. He had frittered the time away with his silver tongue and his sly cards. He had brought nothing to the worlds. No mark left upon them, nothing to remember him by. He had achieved nothing, while Vexen had brought about a plague upon the worlds! For centuries to come, Luxord would dead and forgotten, a coin in a slot machine. But Vexen would be immortalized! People would be whispering his name in terror because of his horrific acts!
Irked by Luxord's comment, he called back up, "You should leave the high positions for those who can bear the weight of the responsibility of leadership. But more importantly for you, it is a well known fact that there is a distinct lack of oxygen in the upper atmosphere, and oxygen deprivation can lead to extensive brain damage."
Vexen chuckled at the gambler, enjoying the mental spar. He prepared the punchline, attempting to drive straight through Luxord's over-sized ego.
"And to be frank, you cannot afford to loose any more. So how about being a good little boy and running off while the grown-ups discuss business?"
The mophaired male made the insult as scathing as possible, using his wit in the way that earned him his title. Cold as ice, but sharp as a knife. He was the chilly academic, and from there he only got colder!][/color]

 

OOC: I herby give up rights for Luxord. Pm me when you all get to PoC. I just can't do much RPing at the current moment.

 

OOC: Daw, shame Dx. Anyway, Pyro said I could use Sora, or her characters to move things along [long ago, actually, I just managed to get a chance to do it now with the free time] until she comes back.

Sora studied Naminé for a moment, knowing deep down that what she was saying wasn't the whole truth by her expression, and some facts were being kept from him for reasons that appeared private. So, he wasn't going to pry. He really wanted to, nevetheless. To admit, he was highly curious and interested, and if he didn't stop himself in time, he would've asked the blonde girl more on what was going on with his other half. It felt odd...and almost empty, that a part of himself was someone he didn't really know at all. And did he truly know Roxas? Shaking his head a little to scatter his thoughts away, he looked at the floor for a few seconds, before shifting his vision to the other three, knowing where he had to go right now, and the mission that laid ahead. He wondered if everyone were still waiting for them, even. With a small smile, he stated to Hayner, Pence, and Olette with a disappointed tone, "It seems we got to go...it was really nice to see you all again, though. Besides, is not like we can't visit after this. I'm sure Roxas would love to..."

His voice softened at the last sentence, his contemplations reverting back to what occurred, before he sent them a grin, turning around and stepping beside Naminé as they went forward, knowing they were in a hurry. This wasn't exactly a goodbye he was hoping for all of a sudden, yet, things awaited. He gave them a determined nod. "Until next time, right?"

 

Demyx slowly opened his eyes, light penetrating the stagnant darkness behind his eyelids. The terror of the tunnel was likewise driven out by the fierce light flowing into his heart, being driven around his body by some unseen force, lending him strength and chasing out the darkness. Was this the power of friendship Axel talked about? The aid of the light beating around him, chasing away the darkness and giving him... hope?

No. It was merely a fantasy, a trick by the water dancer's mind, a phantom limb twitching. He had no heart to receive the light. He had nothing except the crude darkness holding his imitation form together.

Demyx untangled himself from Riku and carefully stepped to his feet, sullen and depressed. He had fooled himself again, almost believing he had a heart. Almost giving in to the illusion. That time was the strongest yet, he shakily thought to himself. But the shock of the awakening was even worse, like going from a hot sauna to chilly Antarctic temperatures. Is this real, or am I a fool, not facing the truth, chasing ancient links, doomed to live with this, not knowing whether this is even what emotion is?
Demyx shook his head vigorously, chasing away the tormenting thoughts. Eager to change the subject to anything, he glanced around hurriedly, spying the computer and its many screens. Trying to distance himself from his morbid thoughts, he spat out the first set of words in his mouth.

"Do you really need so many screens?"

 

OOC: Alright, we'll save Axel for Pyro so if she becomes less busy, she can use him and thanks for taking up Sora. We'll just nudge the not active org members for now along.

The Organization members who focused with the almighty Xemnas watched as their contributions to the portal improved the chances of success. It expanded slowly but surely and soon it was stable enough for Larxene to cross over to the Betwixt and Between plane. They knew they could not hold this for long and that only one could go through. Were they making the right choice? They could only hope now with non-existent Hearts.

Larxene could enter through and the residue of the portal behind her remained as a sort of black and purple dot of Darkness. Maintaining that was a labor for the other Organization members but much less of one than having to keep the actual portal itself open. Larxene, after passing through would not see any sign of life at the moment, to even include the lesser Nobodies that used to guard here and meander between Twilight Town and this place. It seemed eerily silent as clouds of Darkness with the tracest amount of light moved about the corridor as though there were plumes of smoke with the ever so slightest breeze.

But then she would notice something after all. White gray mist began separating from the Darkness clouds about and were forming into ghost like beings with red eyes, pale gray skin that seemed translucent and claws on thin feet and elongated fingers. They wore 'clothes' that were more like tattered tunics of some sort that had worn long ago of color to being a flat gray and their white hair was thin and flowing, moving in the wind. Gender was not really able to be discerned as they were quite androgynous in form. Their mouths curled up to reveal fangs and their gray skin was not so smooth as it looked bumpy at points and even infected. These beings moved aroun in the air as though by mind, hovering about and making soft maybe painful woes of angst.

And the other group...

You would all now arrive in the mansion through the portal made, which DiZ would lead you down into the basement, to a computer. He sat down and began to work at the keys. Against the side wall away from the computer was a machine that had an odd laser running down which turned shades of gray to blue.

DiZ frowned. "It will take me but a moment to clear this. It would seem someone has messed with the computer and tried to access data as well as lock me out. Fortunately, they were unsuccessful at attaining both goals."

 

OOC: I keep forgetting. Normal weapons can't work on them, right? But this doesn't go for the Organization's own?

Larxene was focused as the portal grew bigger, and expanded as more members followed to provide their help on maintaining the Corridor. The strain on holding it together now that twelve others were in this had become less, but it seemed someone was determined not to let anyone pass, as it still kept pressuring and kept attempting to drive them out. When she knew it was time to go, she took a breath, reminding herself of her previous thoughts and resolutions when she had sat on her seat, and pondered over her death, nonexistent life, and what she will leave behind if something did happen; and she had nothing. She scowled. Even with all that, she wasn't going to like it. Death a second time around wasn't exactly exciting. But she was wasting time wondering over things she already went through, and with a last glance at everyone, she stepped cautiously, not knowing what can come at her in the darkness, let alone in a place where she wasn't wanted. This was difficult. She had to be aware of the surroundings, but also hold unto the portal just as much as the rest of them, and her body felt as such. Looking behind her at the hazy purple and black leftover, she closed her eyes, only to reopen them, before she fully moved. Larxene did know why she was doing this already from her previous conclusion, and why escaping herself won't work, and may in fact, put her more as a target. She just wished that she could abandon them all.

As she made her way to Betwixt And Between, she found everything soundless, undisturbed, peaceful, and silent, and she found the hairs in the back of her neck stand up in warning. Not a creature, not a miniscule titter or scampering of feet, and she knew this was bad. Too much silence to this extent was bad, and she knew she wasn't going to be alone in a while, if her experience said anything. She didn't see or notice anything as well, just clouds of Darkness with the slight trails amount of light moving about the corridor as though there were smoke with the smallest breeze. It was time. She automatically halted her steps, her big, aquatic eyes narrowing in preparation as she shifted her vision to the side when she sensed a rift in the stagnant air. Damn it all. This was the last thing she needed. The Organization was already struggling enough to get her through, and now she had to take up time to fight. She witnessed gray mists forming into beings with red, glowing eyes, with metallic looking translucent skin that were anything, but soft and smooth like lesser Nobodies, but bumpy, and almost infected, and claws on thin feet and elongated fingers. Their outer appearance was odd as well, as they seemed to be wearing "clothes", yet more like battered tunics, with white, thin hair flowing in what appeared to be invisible wind. When they grinned their mouths to reveal fangs, she took her stance, watching as they hovered almost like Xemnas's own Sorcerer Nobodies, genderless, and crying and whining soft sounds of wistfulness and sadness.

She wriggled her nose in distaste, knowing she had to come to a decision; to keep on or do a little dance with these new enemies. In the end, however, she charged, powerful tendrils of white and yellow lightning shining and exploding throughout the Darkness.




After the trio of friends nodded and waved goodbye, Sora had grabbed Naminé's hand right away, and practically flew out of the secret spot, knowing he was hastily and crazily late, and he dragged the blonde girl, much to her chagrin, down the alley and out in a matter of a few seconds. When he reached the place where they had left everyone, both catching their breaths, he discovered that they had been...ABANDONED! He couldn't believe it! They left him! Pouting, he groaned as he arched his back forward in a disillusioned slump, muttering things of being impatient, or scolding himself for lasting too long when there was business and a mission to attend to. Sighing, he scratched his head, wondering what to do now, before suddenly a dark portal was opened in front of him. Blinking, he turned his head to see Naminé's hand outstretched, forgetting that she was able to conjure up a Corridor of Darkness herself, and he smiled victoriously, "Nice going, Naminé!" She smiled at him in return, but his eyebrows scrunched together when he noted that she was having a hard time keeping it open, as her face was tight, and she appeared to be fighting. He stepped up to her in concern. "Is...something wrong?"

Naminé nodded, gritting her teeth as she kept trying to keep it open, not getting what was happening, but very well knew that this was perhaps the cause of that unknown being that was planning havoc that she did not understand just yet. She was aware where the rest were as well, and it was why she marked the destination. "It seems somebody doesn't want us to go through...so we got to hurry and get in..." She stared at him drastically, communicating to him quietly to get going.

For a moment, he debated on whether he would go first or her, the point being to put her in a position where she was safe and can be easily protected, only to then realize that they didn't know what danger awaited on the other side, and it was crucial for him to go front, and take care of whatever may be lurking inside. Nodding to himself, he summoned the Kingdom Key in his hand with a flash of glittering light, just in case, and with his other, grabbed Naminé's arm that wasn't busy focusing on going head to head with the portal, and she glanced at him for a second questionably. "I'm going in only if I'm certain you're right behind. Do you think you can do that?"

She ogled at him almost in befuddlement, but she gave a nod again, and, while keeping her concentration on the task, she let him guide her through as they both ran into the dark purple and black void without a second thought needed. Just immediately after they got in, she felt a force pushing her backwards, and attempting to, basically, keep her out. Her body felt a immeasurable pressure, yet, she strongly held on to Sora as he did her as long as she possibly could, and they wrestled through the gravity that needed to put them down. Keeping her resilience, Naminé shut her eyes as she stumbled her legs forward, slowly, but surely, as Sora did the same. It seemed forever as they fought off the power that wanted to shove them outside, until finally, she felt herself being pulled roughly, not knowing what was going on, or if they made it. The thing was that this caused her to trip over Sora's big shoes as they both fell forward when she crashed into him in the back accidentally, when she made the effort to at least regain her balance unsuccessfully, and they both yelped as they flew onward, her lightly screaming, and the motion shocking her enough to snap her eyes open enough to see them make impact on the floor as they materialized in a dim, but familiar room.

The thud resonated, though she knew well it was poor Sora who took most of the hit as she landed on top him, breaking her own fall. Moans and whimpers were heard throughout as they started to make sense of what happened in their hazy minds, as well as recognize the pain swelling in the two of them. Naminé felt her arm ache as well as part of her leg, and she thought the side of her stomach hit Sora's elbow, as there was a sharp pang that made her wince and hold her side.

Sora had simply laid still and frozen, cuddling in the ground as he waited to recover, whining to himself mentally as well as outwardly on the bruise in his forehead, and the sting and burn that his red face was going through when it had made its clash with the hard floor. He also discovered in this process, the fact that while Naminé looked to be as light as a feather, the girl did hold some pounds in her, if his terribly agonizing spine was any indication. It made him wonder if Kairi was that much of a bulldozer herself, because he then had to take a mental note for the future threat she could provide. Heaving out a tired breath as he fought off the throb in his entire body, he carefully lifted his head up to see his blurry, and almost dizzy vision taking in the faces that were looking at them in surprise as they made their glorious entrance, beeps and blips flickering in his ears because of the technological equipment and the computers. With a frazzled and distorted expression, he gave them a sheepish grin. "Hi!"