Fallen Warrior, A Cry For Help

Discussion in 'Archives' started by mindstorm787, Mar 26, 2013.

  1. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    This story is a [revised] prediction of things that may come to when Etrius returns to his homeworld, and how one soldier, Etrius' best friend finds the open keyhole within the world.

    If you have not read Etrius' Backstory (http://kh-vids.net/threads/etrius-backstory-khsos.137838/) Then please refer to it before you read this thread. This is also for the Kingdom Hearts: SOS thread (http://kh-vids.net/threads/kingdom-hearts-sos.118480/). Be sure to join in the fun too! Krowley loves a new player.




    PROLOUGE
    Wind howled and eroded dust from the once hard-packed earth, now ravaged by the Battle of the Emblem Heartless. Structures crumbled from the weakening of various explosions and smashing of bodies against the walls. Fires that lasted for days crackled and sparked, either inside or outside the destroyed structures. The only thing that withstood the battle was a large fortress at the end of the town, towering in all it's glory with slight gashes of wear and tear and bruised by various past explosions. That very castle, was the Abraxas Fortress. It stood for 2 weeks without any inhabitants, except for one, who stayed in the highest tower in all of the Fortress. It was a suit of metallic armor in the shape of a feminine body. It knelt in front of a sword shaped in that of a key, silent and unmoving. In all those 2 weeks, it had not moved from its post for neither a drink of water nor a bite of food, for Armored Heartless don't truly need nourishment at all. These new type of Heartless were a strange variant in it's own right. It is most unlike any creature, if any at all can compete with this being. Unlike Purebloods, each Armored Heartless carried but one heart in Armor's metallic shell, but unlike Emblem Heartless, these creatures manifest from pure darkness alone. Another feature that sets Armors completely different from both Purebloods and Emblems, is that they act exactly like high-ranking Nobodies, having a mind of its own. But it is not completely whole. Armors are nothing more then dark shadowy threads holding a heart, contained in a armor of a fallen Keyblade Wielder. But what makes them really special is the armor itself, holding the very life essecense if the Wielder died within his or her Armor. Thus, a body has the ability to grow within the suit overtime. There is a catch though, the Heartless itself needs to make a choice to return to realm of light and regain their place among the living, or stay bound to the world as nothing more than living metallic suits.

    This one Armor, at the tower's room, had a special purpose, bestowed by the last of the Parilazs, the one who got away. The Armor had been ordered to guard the Fortress, or whatever was left standing of it for that matter. It never moved for anything, it never really had to. For these walls were empty, nothing bothered them. This Armor's name, (As this was the only thing that she could remember after coming to being) was Aileen. She, like the the other Armors, were found by Draconine, like roses in a desert. They were infinitely unique. She had a deep-purple metallic armor, and looked to be the age of a 12-13 year old. She had a special bond with the youngest of the current Parilaz generation, Etrius. It was he that bestowed such orders to defend a now lifeless Fortress. Aside from that, Aileen had been Etrius' voice of reason whenever Etrius' own voice of reason failed him, and also the first to swing her Keyblade if he was defenseless. She was also his closest friend in the entire Fortress. Etrius never made friends during crowd control, and she was the only one who would willingly accompany him in a dangerous outing. That being said, Aileen started to change. She was now able to speak normally, though her voice came out as groans and scratching noises, because she didn't have a mouth to speak. This brought Etrius closer to her, as she was able to speak her mind. She was self-aware of her existence as an odd type of Heartless, and wondered why she couldn't remember anything except her own name. At times when she felt miserable, it had been Etrius who comforted her.
    But now was time of great trouble, and even though Etrius is within the safe haven of the Land of Departure, he will need to save the one being who he cares for the most besides his family.

    CHAPTER 1- Another Warm Body?
    Aileen moved at the sound of a large pounding coming from the castle below. She lifted her head and opened her eyelids. Wait a minute....eyelids?? Aileen put her hands to her helmet and pushed at it. Something felt new. Something.....real perhaps? She removed her helmet. and looked for a mirror in the room. She found a small piece of reflective glass and looked into it. She gasped for the first time in her reborn existence. Within the looking glass was a pair of 2 storm-grey eyes, and short jet black hair, similar to Etrius but without the red streaks. She looked down at her body. She was still physically 12 years of age, but felt older than she actually was. She suddenly coughs, her vision, hearing, and smell magnified, but only for a minute. It was so odd. Most humans at her age don't realize how crucial it is to breath, but Aileen had been holding her breath. After a few minutes, she pulls herself together and looked at the glass again. She had become a human again, and it was starting to feel good. Through the looking glass, a small smile slid across the pale, porcelain skin of her face. She suddenly snapped out of her trance and strained to listen. The pounding had stopped. It would be safe to say that the castle lay undisturbed again by anyone and anything, but, something tugged at Aileen's newly formed gut, and had a small curiosity to investigate. She stepped forward, feeling the toes within her metallic boots. She walked slowly down the steps of the high tower and she made her way down the hall.

    As she made her way through the halls, she notices that the Cellar door had been opened. She scrapes through her memories, and remembers that as she and Etrius left the Cellar that day of Etrius' escape, she had closed the door. She entered the room quietly, and found that 3 wine caskets had fallen over. This was a bit unusual, since nothing nor no one even bothered to come down here. She looks down the vast Cellar to the statue that occupies the end wall.
    The statue had disappeared from its pedestal.
    Aileen heard a giant scraping sound, as if something sharp was being dragged across the floor. She turned to find the most horrible thing that words cannot describe.
    The statue had come to life. It's armor looked rusted and unclean, and it's chains clinked and clanked at it's every step. The blade belonging to the statue was being dragged across the floor as it walked. Evidently, even for a statue that looked so strong, the blade was nothing more than a burden that couldn't be lifted by anyone, and the blade had split wine over it, making it look like blood. Aileen's eyes widened. This new, unsettling feeling, this dread, she suddenly remembered. It was fear. The monster suddenly grabbed it's blade with both hands, poised to lift it and attack. Aileen jumped out of the way as the blade crashed down on the open door, reducing it to nothing but splinters. The beast tried to pick the blade up once more, but struggled. The blade had managed to get stuck with the stone floor and the monster was having trouble removing it. Aileen's gut tugged again and she had a bad taste in her mouth. As she took off to the refuge of the tower again, the beast successfully manages to pull it out, only to see that it's target had gotten away. It let out a ferocious roar. It was dull at first, but then it grew louder, and sounded as if a man was giving off an agonizing cry of pain or anger. It echoed off the walls of the abandoned castle, as Aileen finally got to the top and quickly shut the door behind her.

    CHAPTER 2- Options, Fears, and Answers.
    Aileen huffed and puffed in exhaustion. She was never exhausted in her life, and thus, a new feeling for her. Her heart thumped against her chest as she put her hand on it, feeling each thump get slower, and slower. She slid to the floor in order to rest, and to think. She coughed violently, covering her mouth. When she looked at it, a red liquid had appeared over her hand. Blood. The sight of it made her stomach curl. This meant that her body was still developing after her stillness over 2 weeks. If her body developed without problems, she would be a complete human for the rest of her newly reborn life. If she forced her body, she would die before the development process even finishes, which adds to her problems of being chased by a statue with an incredibly large blade. Her stomach suddenly growled. She was hungry. All these emotions were getting to her head and it was not helping. She thought that if she can get past the Cellar undetected, she would be able to get a bite of food from the Kitchen. She knew that she couldn't fight that thing, because she had a chance of killing herself, but she couldn't run from it either. The best way to get around that thing, was stealth.

    She got up, dusted herself off, then reopened the tower door. Outside was completely silent, except the blowing of the wind, which howled a gentle breeze over the barren town. She looked at the sky. It was two hours till nightfall, and who knows what might be out there after that time. She stepped out, closing the door silently behind her, and quickly walked down the steps. In the halls, nothing stirred. There wasn't even sharp scraping of the blade that the strange statue carried. All was safe...for now. She continued past the Cellar, walked up to Dining Room Hall, and entered the Kitchen. It stayed the way that it used to. There, on a large table, stood some week-old bread and a knife, and some apples. Strangely enough, there was a radio on that same table, and stranger still, it was giving off a loud static noise. No one was in the Kitchen, but something felt off. It looked as if something had prepared this for her, but the radio was telling her something else. She shrugged it off, and walked to the table and tore off a slice of bread, and took and apple. As she took a bite, chewed, then swallowed, she felt her stomach calm down a little. she saw another mirror. There was a statue behind her.
    She spun around, then jumped out of the way as the statue's blade crashed through the mirror. Aileen backed away from the monster.The radio noise was deafening now. The monster heaved the blade to his right, but Aileen jumped high into the air and landed on the table. She grabbed the bread and the apples. She also grabbed the radio, convinced that it might be useful. As for the knife she threw it at the monster with great accuracy, the knife hit the statue in the back. Surprisingly, the knife went through the armor, causing the beast to give a shriek of pain. Aileen dodge rolled under the monster, and went out to the hall, locking the door behind her. Her heart was pounding in fear, but she didn't cough. She knows that the monster will be held up, but not for long. She walked quickly down the hall and disappeared around another corner, just as the door to the Kitchen burst to splinters. As Aileen moved away from the statue, the static emitting from the radio lessened in volume, and then shut up completely. She found another door, entered it, and locked herself in.

    CHAPTER 3- Room of the Mannequin

    Aileen turned to see where she was at. It was an incredibly large bedroom. The walls were painted a royal purple, the drapes were a dark burgundy color. There were the same type of furniture that any ordinary room has. A dresser, some nightstands, a bathroom, a mirror, and a window looking outward. There in the middle of the room was a large king-sized bed with the Parilaz family insignia on the headboard. This must have been the room of the Lord and Lady of Abraxas. Aileen looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. There were pictures on the nightstands and a mannequin version of Keyblade Armor next to the dresser, but nothing strange, so Aileen allowed herself to relax. She walked over to one of the nightstands and picked up one of the many frames that stood, showing a large happy family of 5 looking back at her. She wondered why she couldn't remember anything, why she didn't have a family. Etrius was so lucky back then. Now she didn't know what become of him. She soon focused more on Etrius. This photograph was taken not even a month ago, but it looked old and faded. It showed Etrius smiling, slick but messy hair with red streaks flowing everywhere off his head, his eerie but cheerful yellow eyes twinkling with laughter, his bright smile flashed a small canine that made him look like a teenage vampire, his pale peach skin enforcing that notion. Aileen's stomach did a flip-flop and felt her face grew hot. She looked at the mirror to see that she was blushing, which confused her. This emotion made her uncomfortable, yet she felt strangely happy. She remembered the way Etrius made her feel better whenever she was insecure, and made her laugh with his semi-sarcastic attitude and somewhat dry but truthful optimism whenever things got glum. Her heart suddenly felt light, threatening to come out of her chest. Then, she spotted something from the mirror. The mannequin beside the dresser was gone, as if it used its legs to get out of there. She turned around to confirm that she wasn't hallucinating. Yep, the spot beside the dresser was bare, as if the mannequin hadn't been there in the first place.


    Aileen was instantly on her guard, putting the frame back in its place and looking around the room. The radio that she picked up from the Kitchen had suddenly started to emit static again, but it was low in volume. Still, that set her on edge. She suddenly looked out the window. It was the same mannequin from the room, standing on one of the rooftops. But it had what looked like 8 small tentacles, 4 on each side, coming from its back. The radio had reached medium volume and was going on and off, indicating to Aileen that this radio seemed to act like a beacon. She stared straight at the creature that had been in the room the entire time. She blinked. The creature had disappeared, and the radio's static level started to dull. What was that creature? What did it want? She certainly didn't want to know. She decided to return to the High Tower. She went to the door, unlocked it, peered through it, checking if the rouge statue was roaming about. Thankfully, no scraping was heard. Aileen closed the door behind her, and walked quickly back to the High Tower room.

    CHAPTER 4- Personal Reflection
    Seven days had passed since Aileen's 2 encounters with the Executioner Statue and the one encounter with the Unsettling Mannequin. The High Tower of the Abraxas Fortress had became her room. She kept herself in top shape, and her body had finished her development process. Whenever she was hungry, she snuck into the Kitchen and grabbed whatever was inside that hadn't expired, and took very little to survive. She also exercised her body in many ways possible, ranging from physical exercise, like push ups and pull-ups, and mental exercises, like reading. She also taught herself to speak and work her vocal chords, since she hadn't spoken ever since she'd developed a body. Moreover, she took some of Etrius' schoolbooks to learn more physical and magical spells for her arsenal, because she knew very well that she couldn't hide forever. Already, Aileen had seen the Mannequin from her only outside window, on the Back Courtyard, staring up at her, silent as ever, never attacking her, but only watching. The Executioner, however, always attacked her the first chance it got. Twice it had hurt her in the past, luckily though, Etrius' spell books taught her to do the Cure spell. Over the past few days, Aileen had armed herself not just from the two monsters that plagued her day by day, but was ready to be a human again. Her memory of her past life may not be completely intact, but she was able to process the memories she held when serving the Parilaz line.

    It was day 11 in the Fortress, and Aileen woke up from the bed that the Tower had held for any likely guest that would temporarily stay in the castle. She got up, and changed out of her nightgown. She scavenged spare clothes from both the Servant's Quarters and the Master Bedroom that would suit her needs. After all, the armor that she worn was getting smelly. The only thing she couldn't do about the armor was to change it back to it's Activator form. Today was the day were she would go to the Library and find out how. She dressed in a purple blouse shirt which had a black version of the Parilaz insignia on the back, and black fitting skinny jeans. She also put on a small necklace in the shape of a water droplet. She grabbed a golden delicious apple from a bowl on the reading table and the broken radio from on top of the nightstand. This particular radio had saved Aileen's life on numerous occasions against the Executioner, and she left it on her nightstand while she slept. But the Executioner never entered the High Tower, much less went up. Every single time the Executioner was chasing Aileen, it always stopped at the foot of the steps leading to the Tower. It then turned around, and disappear into the Fortress, as if nothing happened. Once Aileen felt that she was ready, she unlocked the door, and went outside. A familiar, dead breeze whisked her skin. She looked over the railing of the stairs to the town below. As desolate as ever. She trotted down the steps and entered the Fortress hallway. It was silent and very dark. No light brightened the hallways.
    "Lux." Aileen said in a quiet voice, and released from her hand a small ball of light that floated in the air next to her. She walked silently towards the Library, straining her ears to any sound, any indication that danger was nearby. She kept her radio on but at a low volume so that the monsters could detect if she was nearby. She walked along thinking about the monsters that tormented her. She sensed both darkness and negativity from both of them, which meant that they were both a special kind of Heartless, but at the same time, Aileen felt as if she met these things before. But where exactly? The Executioner was fierce and relentless, and seemed to take in a lot of pain. But the Mannequin seemed inviting, taunting even, and it seemed to lure prey into a trap rather than frontal assault. Those thoughts were put at the back of her mind as she entered the Audience Chamber.

    It felt empty and eerie as well as very dark and silent. There stood the 2 iron thrones of both of the parent Parilazs. It was so strange that the people who had once inhabited this room practically half their lives was gone from existence. She had seen the Parilaz family fall by one individual that Etrius had sworn to kill before returning here and starting anew. Etrius. She frowned quietly and bowed her head to the thrones. It was a wonder at all that Aileen had survived 3 entire weeks without getting severely injured or even captured. She hadn't seen any of the other Armors after the fall of Abraxas. So far, it had been only her and two monsters in one castle. And yet, she didn't know what kept her moving. Every single time she got frustrated or had gotten stuck, Etrius was there for her. It would be safe to say that it was Etrius that kept Aileen going, knowing that Etrius had escaped, and he vowed to come back. Come back. She wanted to say those words out loud, hoping Etrius would here her. She was awfully depressed by his absence, not having a companion to talk to.

    Suddenly, Aileen's radio started emitting a low static noise. Danger. She heard one of the doors open. In a flash, Aileen hid behind a nearby pillar and muted the noise coming from her radio, and hissed "Tenebris!" causing her light to go out. Her heart thumped against her chest the way it always did as she heard large, heavy footfalls and the jingling of chains. The Executioner was in the throne room. It tugged at it's blade emitting it's usually scraping sound. It limped over to Draconine's throne and sat in it, letting out an exhausted groan. Aileen watched it as the thing had set it's blade down. After what seemed like an hour, the beast let out a low growl, and a sentence popped into Aileen's head.
    "Come out. I can smell the blood rushing through your veins and your heart pounding like a jackhammer. I am ordering you to come out."

    CHAPTER 5- The Executioner's Order
    Aileen's heart nearly stopped. She had been caught. She quietly stepped out from behind the pillar and looked up at the monster. She had the strangest feeling that she was looking at Draconine, but this wasn't the case.
    "Why don't you kill me right now?" Aileen asked, her voice quiet, but firm. The monster let out a low grunt, "I'm honor-bound, so I can't kill you during a full moon. That being said, I am to stop any aggressions until the moon wanes."
    Aileen can hardly believe her ears. That was exactly what Draconine would say against any warring country that wanted to pick a fight with him. He always never caused any hostilities during that time. Was this really Draconine, trapped in the form of a Heartless Armor? No, this couldn't be. It was impossible. Aileen's radio went off (Hadn't she muted it?), causing her to spin around. There behind her, was the Mannequin. This is as close as it had ever gotten whenever it stalked Aileen. It was then that Aileen was able to look at the Mannequin properly. It had the body of a female, and the helmet had no horns. The helmet was also rounded and smooth, like the creature had no face. It was strangely tall, and parts of the armor were cut off in some places, as if the parts were visibly detachable. Right in the middle, showed that the armor had been slashed through, as though a blade went through it. Aileen shivered at both figures in the room. The Mannequin stood there, silent as ever, watching both the Executioner and Aileen. Aileen turned back and asked, "Why do you want to kill me?"
    It was the Mannequin who responded this time, but it did not emit any sound. Instead, a voice, tempered with static, replied, "Because it is in our nature. After we died, we both became embodiements of what was our most precious treasure. It is our purpose to eliminate anything or anyone that ever entered our castle. You are no exception."
    These words caused Aileen to get annoyed. "What have I ever done to you in the past?" She demanded.
    "Nothing of any sort." snarled the Executioner, "But you invading our sanctuary is enough to be punished by the fullest extent of the law." The Executioner stood, "You have until the end of the full moon to leave this castle. If not, I challenge you to a duel here in this chamber, otherwise I will climb up that tower and rip that heart out of your chest."
    Those words sent chills down Aileen's spine. But that fear soon turned to anger. "I've never done anything to you!" she cried, "And much less do I want any of your worthless junk! And I will not leave! I promised my friend I would protect it with my life!"
    The Executioner let out a low shriek, but was silenced by the small buzz of static that was emitted by the Mannequin. The Executioner sat back down and let out a low groan, "Then be prepared to fight. Return back here by the end of the full moon."
    Suddenly, Aileen's eyes flashed an iridescent green, and she felt calm, like there was nothing to fear. She spoke again, a second voice, the voice of a goddess perhaps, spoke in unison with Aileen's. "I will not fight. Anything you say or you do, I will not lift a finger. On the contrary, I am ordering you to leave, demon. Begone. You are nothing more than a a shred of a shadow, haunting and trying to kill an innocent. Begone demon, or I will be the one to strike you down."
    The Executioner growled and stood, and picked up his blade, and left the room. The Mannequin stood for a moment, then disappeared. Aileen was left alone, wondering just what happened. Did a second voice just speak with hers? Did she just challenge the very authority of a monster that can kill her with one fell swoop? She sighed heavily. If only Etrius were here. He would do something. She pushed the thoughts at the back of her mind, and went to the door leading to the Library. It was vast and empty as usual. As she scaled one of the shelves, she thought of both of the monsters. Could they really be the Heartless of Draconine and Dementia Parilaz? She doubted it.
    "Ah, here is exactly what I'm looking for.." Aileen muttered as she picked up a copy of The Anatomy of Keyblade Armor. As she grabbed the apple from her pocket and took a bite, she knew that she couldn't play pacifist forever. She would need to fight.

    CHAPTER 6- Etrius' Bloody Fiery Hell
    Nighttime. Aileen was up in the Tower, reading her book. Her armor scattered around the room, detached from it's links as Aileen read the instructions to create an Activator piece.
    "So if I were to unscrew this part.." She thought as she read the book and prodded her screwdriver around the torso part, "And if I were to attach it to this part," she grabbed a small piece of a handmade generator, "I might be able to do it!" She plugged two wires connecting to screw bolts and the generator parts, and stepped back, waiting to see what happened. Suddenly a small jolt shocked the torso and the generator, but other than that, nothing happened. Aileen's heart sank. She banged a fist on the worktable, making some of the metal clink. It had been days since Aileen started to work on this project, getting the materials she needed from the castle. As promised, the Executioner made no attempt to strike Aileen down during her presence. The Mannequin still watched her though. Probably waiting for her to make one wrong move, Aileen had bet. But as soon as she had the materials she needed she soon realized that the task at hand was starting to be a little too difficult for her. And time was running out. Tomorrow was the day she was to fight the Executioner. And she couldn't do the simple task of creating the Activator piece?? She was so close!


    She had been working so hard, that she didn't even know she could beat that monster. She looked up to a picture frame of Etrius that she had taken from the castle. She blushed quietly as she looked at the photogragh. She picked up the frame, and inspected it closely. It was another Etrius smiling picture, but this time he was alone. Every feature of his face probably signified happiness to anyone who would look at the frame. But to Aileen, it meant so much more. This boy, this very boy, meant the world to her. And at that very moment, she realized that the very emotion, the emotion that made her heart flutter, made her cheeks blush a bright red, was love. Aileen didn't like this boy. She loved him with every part of her heart. Ever since he started talking to her, she soon developed those feelings of happiness, sadness, and anger, and learned to speak on her own. By then, she really liked the Etrius, and became his personal companion, not by order, but by personal request. They talked with each other, fought together, and protected the Fortress together. Yes, Aileen loved Etrius. That was all that mattered. A tear slid down Aileen's cheek as she smiled, knowing her true feelings for him. Everything would be all right. If she could survive in this Fortress for as long as she had already done so, then she could survive much longer until Etrius returned. Aileen set the frame down and just realized that while she had been inspecting the frame, the generator piece and the torso had merged with each other, and there, on the worktable, was the Activator piece she had worked so hard for. The other armor pieces had completely disappeared, but that was normal. Aileen suddenly felt tired. She took one last look at Etrius' photograph, she blew a kiss at it, and then went to change into her nightgown, and after that fell right into bed, her eyes immediately closing.
    Little did Aileen know, that Abraxas was about to change, thanks to the thoughts of Etrius.


    Aileen had a dream that night. She was in a large room where she was mouse-sized. Behind her were four people. One of them was a 18 year old boy with blue, backward hair spikes and a calm, collected demeanor, another was a female of the same age, with white flowing hair, and dark green eyes, and a more mysterious attitude. Aileen gasped as the third figure fell the ground, and disappeared in a pool of darkness. Aileen looked up at the final figure. That figure, was Etrius. All of them were fighting a large cat. The cat looked ordinary, but Aileen sensed something nasty coming from it.
    At first Etrius looked shocked to see that the third figure had fallen. Then, Etrius' eyes went from yellow to red. His skin took a darkish tint. His movement was......well, erratic. Etrius turned and took off for the cat, screaming and cursing, brushing past the two other figures who were fighting the cat as well. Etrius screamed, "YOU WILL NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!" and swung his Keyblade straight at the animal's head. As the blade collided, a large distorted gong of a clock was heard, and then Aileen saw another image. This image was of a figure in a black, red and purple armor. On the helmet, was the glowing red insignia of the Parilaz
    family. The image disappeared, and so did the dream, leaving Aileen looking at static.



    Aileen woke up, sweating and shaking. What was that all about? She cleared her head and her thoughts to notice that her radio was emitting static at high volume. Aileen looked around and checked the outside window. No danger was around, and the static noise was lowering until it shut off completely. But Aileen was not convinced. She had woken up from a nightmare, and she didn't need trouble during her sleep time. She quickly gotten herself dressed, and attached the Activator plate on her left shoulder and quickly went out the door, out to the Back Courtyard. It was strangely dark outside, the sky being pitch black, and a thick fog covered the Courtyard. Aileen looked around. Still nothing. She put her hands on her hips. Was this some kind of trick? She didn't know. She was about to go up back to the tower when the large gong of a clock was heard.


    It was the very same distorted clock noise that she heard from her dream. All at once, the same image of the figure in armor appeared in her head, only more distorted this time. The radio again started to emit static at a high volume, making Aileen's head hurt. She covered her ears trying to block out the noise, but to no avail. All at once, it stopped. Everything, the flashing images in Aileen's head, the pain, the static noise, everything had stopped. Aileen looked up at the sky. The moon was out. But it was blood red.


    Suddenly, the environment around her changed. Pieces of stone peeled off the walls as if like paper. Part of the structures crumbled and sagged a bit. The entire Fortress looked suddenly older, if not more grotesque than it already was after the fall of the Parilazs. She turned around to see the Mannequin. But instead of the radio emitting static, the Mannequin was turning to stone. It tried to reach a hand to Aileen, asking her for help, but it was no use. The Mannequin soon turned into a complete stone statue. Aileen gave the thing one last look, then turned her attention back to the environment around her. She had just entered Etrius' personal nightmare, come to life.

    CHAPTER 7- Entra ao Sange

    Aileen looked around, shocked at what happened. Everything looked diferent, not to mention horrendous. Pipes flowing with water produted out of the walls. Shards of glass was all that was left of windows. Stone statues were either covered in blood, or were horribly deformed and looked like demons. She ran to the door to the main castle. Strangely, it was locked. She looked around again, and threw her hands up in the air, frustrated. What to do, what to do? What would Etrius do in this kind of situation? She looked at the wall surrounding the courtyard. She climbed up the stairs of her tower and checked her door. Also locked.
    "What the hell?" She said madly. As she climbed down the steps, she knew that the only way out was up the walls. As she reached the foot of the steps, she pressed the Activator button, but it didn't work. She looked back at the wall. If she can jump that wall, she might be able to go around and check the rest of the doors.
    She stepped back, then took a running start. She jumped and caught the ledge in her fingers, then heaved herself up. The town looked more desolate then ever. Aileen jumped down, weaved her way around the buildings, avoiding Heartless, and got to the main door of the Fortress.

    The door had 7 different types of bolts, each unlocked with a different word, and finally unlocked with the Keyblade itself. They change over time, but Aileen luckily gets an update. After all, no one but the Parilazs can understand the groans of a Heartless Armor. Aileen stepped back, and closed her eyes and emitted the 7 words.
    "Potentia, Lux, Tenebris, Bonum, Mortis, Corruptionem, ac Fata." She then summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at the door. A flash of light emitted from the blade, and a line of light hit the door. A large creak was heard, and the door opened slightly. At least one of the doors opened. she walked inside.


    The entire Entrance Hall was completely empty, and ominously quiet. "Lux!" She muttered, and a ball of light went off. She looked around. The walls were ashen and charred. The carpet was old. She moved about the room, examining objects. How could an entire world change just in a blink of an eye? She didn't know. She heard a sharp groan and turned just in time to parry the large and heavy blade of the Executioner. She could barely manage to keep both blades above her head. She then put a foot to one side and let the Executioner's blade fall to the floor, entering the ground, stuck again. Aileen then got behind the Executioner, and did an uppercut slashing that made the monster fly to one of the walls, it down. The battle for the castle has begun.

    Chapter 8- Ice Cold


    Aileen flew at the Executioner once more, only to get smacked hard across the face by the monster. It got up and walked over to a fallen Aileen. She did got hurt, but she only faked her fall, and slashed at the beast's legs, making it fall to its knees. But the beast would not give up, not so easily. It got up again and faced Aileen fully, its blade wedged in the stone floor not more than 8 feet away. Aileen swooped her Keyblade at it again, being caught by the Executioner's hand. Next thing Aileen knows, she's flying through the air and smashing into a nearby wall, pain utterly consuming her upper and lower back. She got up, seeing the pyramid-headed Armor unwedging the blade from the floor, and weighed her options. Obviously, one hit from that blade would be an instant hurt attack, however, it was pretty easy to say that it was too heavy to be wielded fast enough, so.......
    Aileen took off, getting behind the beast. The Excutioner swung it's blade over it's head, crashing it down behind it, wedging it into the floor again. Aileen dodged the blade just in time, keeping to behind the monster. As it turned, the Excutioner got a full face whack from Aileen's Keyblade flopping down on the floor 3 feet away. Aileen willed her blade to disappear and grabbed the Excutioner's blade, pulling on it, and finally unwedging it. She held the blade with difficulty, but she ran at the monster and as the monster saw her, she swung the blade, transffering all the energy through her body, out through one fell stroke of a blade.

    The monster went down, it's own knife produting out of it's chest as black blood oozed out of the hellish wound. Aileen's mind filled with more images, this time of Draconine. It showed of how Aileen became Etrius's personal bodyguard, how she'd been promoted to First Officer. Draconine wasn't just her Lord, her taskgiver, her teacher. Draconine was a friend. And now, she understood who this monster was. A tear slid down her cheek, red from catching her breath, and on impulse, knelt beside the monster, putting a hand on one of it's shoulders, now heaving in exhaustion and pain from being impaled.


    This monster, was Draconine himself, in his Heartless Armor form. Aileen understood why he was like this. Knowing that his last son, alive and had escaped was hapiness for this person, but knowing that the rest his family was dead put him in a state of deep saddness even before he died. Thus, his emotions were preserved as well as his mind, molded together by the corrupted emotions of agony and territorial anger, forcing him to become a Heartless Armor. The blade represented the very memory of Draconine losing his family, a burden he was now forced to bear as he limped through the halls of the Fortress he once had ruled.
    "I'm so sorry." Aileen said, tears soaking her face, running down her chin, "If I had only known...."
    "Shut-up." The beast groaned, "You may have won your claim to roam my castle, but you'll never get past me when you want to unlock the seal."
    "What seal?"
    The creature uttered a low growl, "There are more secrets in this castle than you know. The secret that I am forced to guard can either bring peace to this world once more, or plunge it into absolute destruction. Either way, you shall not pass. For the good of my world, stop asking. This destruction and devestation is only the beginning of something much worse."
    Aileen became angry. She stood, cheeks now dry, saying, "What is the matter with you?? You act like everything is all right, when its actually not! What have I ever done to you? Either you let me pass, or you end up regretting it."
    "Frankly my dear, I have enough to regret about. You're just a child. You'll never beat me."
    Aileen's paitience ran out. "This world belongs to my friend!!" She screamed, "I made a promise to make this world better until he comes back!!!" She summoned her Keyblade, pointing it at the Executioner, "You will stand aside, or I will promise you more pain than what Hades can actually produce!!!"


    At Aileen's last word, a sound of a distorted off-key note of an organ was heard and the air of the castles suddenly changed. It turned from humid and old, to frosty and dry. The walls started to revert to their original color and state, but as soon as it did, ice started to crystallize the castle. The floors and rugs froze up, either giving off a white or blue hue. The outside windows reformed it's glass, but it too soon froze over. A wall of ice drew upwards behind Aileen, blocking the main entrance. The other doors, leading to different parts of the castle, reverted as well, only to reveal blue flurocent paint, painted over the door panes. Even the Executioner started to freeze, the knife still in it's chest. Time completely halted, the air became still, and the blood moon vanished, leaving and incredibly dark sky. Even Aileen's light vanished. Aileem rubbed her hands together, now completely cold. This was starting to become ugly.

    CHAPTER 9- Raw Shock Heartless/A Cry For Help


    Aileen bent down on her knees, huffing and puffing. She had been walking through the Iceworld for an hour, and she still couldn't get out of the castle. Most of the paths were blocked off, and the some of the blue-paned doors doubled back and brought her to the same place that she was in. She cleared her thoughts once more. For some reason, she wasn't able to summon her Keyblade, as if a powerful type of magic was inhibiting it's use. She couldn't summon a beacon light to lead her out, all the light she could conjour up was the same light that brightened her path. She couldn't even summon any spells, like fire magic. She sighed, knowing that she was powerless and alone. She reached into one of her pockets, and pulled out her radio. Somehow, it had shut itself off when the Otherworld started to appear. She switched it on, and the radio immeadietly started giving off white noise. Aileen heard some tapping and clattering on one of the ice walls. She looked out into the ice wall, seeing various stuff, frozen over inside. Simple chairs, a chess table, some potted plants, and.......
    A creature put it's face to the ice, letting out a distorted girl scream, startling Aileen. The radio let out the most static when the creature came, but the creature disappeared before Aileen could get a good look.
    Another scream was heard in the ice wall behind Aileen, she looked, seeing three of those creatures...and the Mannequin Heartless. The three creature disappeared, walking on all fours.
    These creatures looked like a different kind of Pureblood, but indeed a rouge type, mutated like the world around Aileen. It looked like a Neoshadow, minus the antennas and it looked horribly and visibly scarred. It had no eyes, but it seemed to function on the sensing of body heat. The Mannequin looked at Aileen, and a white noise-like voice rasped through her radio, "i'd sT4rT runNInGG iF II were Y0u..."


    The door that Aileen had first came from after her fight with the Executioner burst open, more of those creatures coming out. Aileen took off to the Library, those creatures following her. She disapeared in and out of the bookcases, confusing these "Raw Shock Heartless". One did caught up to her before she could enter the door, grabbing on to her, but Aileen made an effort to throw it off. She entered the Ballroom, running into more Raw Shocks, making inhuman screams at the sight of Aileen.
    This was getting nowhere fast. She ran to a nearby door, leading to the Audience Chamber. Her radio started to emit low, grainy static. But it wasn't sharp, like it emitted when more Raw Shocks were nearby. She flew into the Audience Chamber, then into one of the long hallways. The grainy static became louder and louder. Aileen suddenly fell, having been tackled by 2 Raw Shocks. She felt her life force ebbing away, being sucked by these monstrosities. Her eyes had soon started to close. It was over.
    "Etrius," Aileen said, voice very weak, "Help me."
    A disorted gong of a clock was heard, and the both Raw Shocks that were holding Aileen flew to the walls. They put their claws to their throats, as if being choked. Aileen got up slowly then started to limp to the last doorway, to the tower.

    CHAPTER 10- Silence and Saddness/The Sanctum of Inner Power
    As Aileen pushed through the door, one second she had seen the tower bent in an akward shape, the next second the tower bent back to it's original shape, and the Iceworld around her melted before her eyes, walls and buildings returning to their desolate state. The sky turned from pitch black to grey, and it started to snow. She walked up the steps and opened the door to the tower. Everything was just as Aileen had left it. She limped over to the the picture of Etrius. She had random bruises from her fight with the Excutioner, and her encounters with the Raw Shock Heartless had left her with large scratches. She looked like hell. Is this was what she needed to endure for Etrius? She picked up the photograph, and two tears fell.
    "Etrius, I need you...." Aileen said. Her mind reeled, and fell on her bed, unconcious from exhaustion. She dropped the photograph. It fell to the floor, making a large clatter, and the glass holding the picture shattered as the picture got out of its frame.

    Within her subconcious, she fell through a deep abyss. It felt like water, as she fell through, falling, falling..........
    She landed slowly on a blank pillar. She opened her eyes and looked around. This must be her Station of Awakening, though it was strange that it was blank. She looked to find herself staring at her.
    She rubbed her eyes and blinked. This was no mirage. There was a duplicate of herself staring right back at her, the only difference between Aileen and her duplicate was that the duplicate had bright green eyes, not storm-grey. 6 green Keyblades appeared around the duplicate surrounding it like wings, and Aileen felt her energy returning to her as she felt power radiating from this duplicate.
    "What do you want?" Aileen asked timidly. The duplicate spoke, her voice older, but much like Aileen's own,"I am your other half. I am here to greet you, and answer the questions that you ask."
    "Impossible. I was born from darkness. The power you radiate not only blindes me but is the polar opposite of what I should have.
    The other Aileen smiled. "Improbable, not impossible." She said. "You were born from darkness, as everyone does, whether from light, darkness, or in-between, however, your body rejected the darkness because of the enviornment around you. Corruption usually hides within darkness, and has a great hold over this world even after you returned to the world of the living. Those who choose to live with corruption don't realize that there body will reject that raw power the first chance it gets."
    The original Aileen thought about this, knowing that this was a fact. But that still didn't answer one question. "And why did you come to be, if your power is light?"
    The duplicate looked at Aileen more thoughtfully, then said, "Your body rejected the darkness, but you weren't a body without a heart, because your time as a Heartless Armor was rewarded with you returning to the living world. I was soon created, gaining your thoughts and your memories. However we are not fully assimalated."
    "And thats why this pillar is a total blank. I'm a complete blank. That would explain why Draconine's Heartless didn't recognize me. Armor Heartless usually tell you if they recognize someone."
    "You aren't a total blank." The duplicate said, "You became a somebody. The Station of Awakening is the sanctum of your inner powers or your fears. Vanquising either task results of putting you in a true title among the living, but you aren't a Nobody."
    "Alright, then what am I to do to get out of here? I need to return. Etrius is counting on me."

    The air suddenly changed, and a gust of wind blew threw both Aileens. The gust turned into a twister of darkness, a pool of darkness appearing on the floor of the pillar, and as the tornado calmed, the figure in red, black, and purple Keyblade Armor appeared. The Parilaz family symbol appeared on its helmet in a strange red light. It was hunched over, and the figure did occasional spasms. Aileen looked on in horror and soon realized who it was.
    "Is that...?"
    "Yes, thats him." Responded Aileen's double as her green eyes flashed. She spread out her wings and attacked.


    Antiform Etrius jumped out of the way just in time, as it summoned 2 Keyblades of the same kind, and did a backfire jump, changing to offensive.

    "NO!" The original Aileen screamed. She jumped in time with the Antiform, summoned her Keyblade and barrel-rolled in the air, catching him in the head, making him fall to the ground 35 feet away. On the floor, it kicked out its legs, rolling off its back and landing on his feet. He threw his hands in front, and the Keyblades that he'd dropped flew back at him. He suddenly entered a wormhole.
    "Behind us!" Shouted inner Aileen. Both of them jumped out of the way just in time for the Antiform to fly through, lunging with it's Keyblades, and entering another wormhole. The same movement was repeated again and again.
    "Enough of this! I'm getting tired of just watching and not attacking!" The original Aileen said. She flew in and hurled her Keyblade in a Counter Raid, striking the Antiform just as it was lunging at her. She ran at the Antiform, caught her Keyblade as it returned, then nabbed one of the Keyblades Etrius had and did a backwards uppercut with it. The Antiform got launched into the air, only to get smacked down by Inner Aileen. The Antiform crashed to the ground. It lay still for a time, but not for long. It suddenly flys upward and lands on its feet, and its armor cracks in some places, and more darkness starts to pour out from its shoulders like smoke. The helmet and torso parts fell away, revealing Etrius's cloak underneath. Two red eyes glowed beneath the hood, pulled over the head and hiding the face. Only certain pieces of Etrius's armor, including the shoulder, elbow and knee parts remained. It twiched more violently.
    "It's becoming more animal-like." The Inner Aileen said, "It'll be much stronger and faster that way."
    The Antiform smashed its Keyblade into the pillar, and a sharp pain reveberated off Aileen's chest. The Antiform attacked without its Keyblade. Before Aileen could process the instinct, she was going toe-to-toe with Etrius, blocking every attack it did with it hands. Each attack was fast, and Aileen soon forgot to parry one jab. She fell down, the wind knocked out of her body
    "Grab my arm!" Inner Aileen called. Aileen did so, and her duplicate disappeared in a flash of light. Aileen suddenly felt the power that was radiating off her duplicate. It felt powerful. The Antiform attacked again. Aileen jumped up and did a roundhouse kick on it causing it to fly backward. Aileen wasn't done though. Suddenly, 6 white Keyblades, more transparent than Aileen's duplicate's, and she flew at the Antiform, striking him upward. "VI Arcanums!" Aileen shouted, speaking with two voices, as each of her Wingblades, one at a time struck the Antiform before preforming a final Aerial Slam. Antiform Etrius crashed to the ground. As Aileen landed gently, the Antiform's body flew up one last time, let out a large tantrum of seizures, then fell back down, dissapating into a dark cloud of smoke. As the smoke disappeared, Aileen asked aloud, "What was that all about?'
    "That was an embodiement of your worst fear." A voice in her head said. "The corruption around you created it to turn you back to A Heartless."
    "And how was I able to utilize your powers?"
    "I am you. Now that we are now connected, you are able to truly use your powers, being one of a kind."

    At those very last words, shreads of light started to fly off the pillar, revealing a beautiful green glass picture of Aileen. Her eyes where closed, and she was holding two Keyblades, her original one, and a recolor version of the Keyblade that the Antiform was using. She was wearing sliver-green armor, rather then her usual purple. She looked up at the retreating threads of light, closing her eyes, feeling the power from within.

    She reopened her eyes, back in her room. Her armor had been activated, but it was silver-green, just like she saw. She was also holding a new recolored Keyblade. It It had a green hilt, and a narrow silver blade. The head of the Key came to a point, and a green clock, set to 2:00, glowed from the head. Aileen sheathed the blade, it disappering in a flash of light. She threw her legs over the bed and got up, and felt a crack beneath her right foot. She looked down to see the Etrius's shattered picture frame.

    She bent over and picked up the picture. She smiled a sad smile. She felt herself crying again. She longed to tell Etrius her feelings. She'd have to wait till he returns though. But she was strong. She can take it. But she couldn't stand being in the castle. She had to leave. Aileen deactivated her armor and placed the photo in her pocket, and grabbed some stuff to pack, including some food, the radio, some clothes and the picture. She shoved those things in a backback. She hoisted the backpack over her shoulders, took one long look at the room, then opened the door, and locked it for the last time. She walked down the steps, into the hall, past the Cellar, into the Dining Room, and out to the Entrance Hall. Her radio emitted a large amount of white noise in a loop, and in front of the main doors were the Mannequin and the Executioner. Aileen walked up to them without fear, merely pity for them.
    "By coming here, you forfeit your rights of your residence here." The Executioner groaned. The Mannequin said nothing, only staring at Aileen.
    The Executioner continued, "You must leave and never return, or risk being slain." The Executioner leaned into Aileen's face and hissed, "Do you except my terms?"
    Aileen looked at the monster defiantly, and said quietly but firmly, "Your reign will end before my friend dies at your hands. He and I share a bond so powerful, that not even your burden can withstand. You stand in our way, and you'll be the one, dead with one nail produting out of your coffin." Her eyes flashed green.
    The monster didn't show any aggression, but let out a large grunt. It stepped aside as Aileen walked through the door, and shut it behind her.
    She walked no more than 7 steps when she summoned her newest Keyblade and smashed it into the ground in front of the castle. A large bubble of light appeared around the castle, and there was a click of the main doors being rewired. Aileen had summoned a spell that no one other than the rightful heir of the Parilaz is able to unlock the massive shield that would protect the castle from futher harm. In this way, she had protected the rest of the city as well, because this spell also repelled the coming of either the Iceworld or the Otherworld from materializing anywhere else other than from within the castle grounds. she pulled her Keyblade out and sheathed it. She had been crying the entire time. She rubbed her eyes, turned, and disappeared into the city, never to return until Etrius comes back.

    -END-​
     
  2. Sebax Avatar by Xerona

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    No offense, Ze, but I'm really starting to get lost here. Where is this happening in the line of events? Why are there three threads for Etrius? I'm warning you now before someone with pull reprimands you, 'cuz I think you deserve the chance to at least come up with some sort of explanation, or something. Is this a sequel to Etrius' backstory? Has he already been through some or all events of SOS?

    Other, than that, I think this is a great development in introducing a new character, and explaining the Armor Heartless in much greater detail. I think I caught a "Tron: Legacy" reference in there somewhere. xD I am, of course, referring to this line:

    Did I guess right? Anywhow, I think, since I have given you the good of this CnC, I think I should point out that this: Work on making your sentences flow together a little bit more. I had this same problem when I started writing, and it really helps give the reader a clear visual and understanding of what you're writing, rather than just jumping from sentence to sentence explaining things.
     
  3. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    By this time, Etrius had visited all the worlds that he needed to. By now, everyone would be visiting their homeworlds and severing loose ends. As for the Tron Reference, I had nothing better to say :( so yeah. This particular thread is a revised thread to the second one, which I have completely given up on, and started over with this. This is supposed to be on what loose ends Etrius needs to cut, what amends he must make, and what must he do about the Heartless that now crawl the streets of Abraxas. Sorry for the confusion, and I greatly appreciate the feedback!
     
  4. Sebax Avatar by Xerona

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    Ah, now I get it. Well, anyhow, great bit of a prologue. It satiates on its own, but leaves the reader wanting more.

    And not to worry about the reference; every writer is inspired by something said somewhere. Like I said in the group Skype chat that one night, there's a Shakespeare reference in Chapter 3 of "Based Forward"; it's from "MacBeth". But in all essence, "Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."-Einstein Trust me, there's no fault in it. After all, we're writing Fan-fictions; originality is graded on a big curve here.


    If this is following some events in SOS, I am looking forward to the time when this is accomplished, as well as more chapters. Speaking of which, what happened to Chapter 1? I saw it here earlier...

    Fortunately enough, I had the original post in another window, and I could read the first chapter as it was posted a little while ago. I must say, an excellent development. Aileen is really moving and on a roll as a very likable character. I am eager to know why you removed it,
    and also how she really fits in with Etrius from here on out, now that she's human again.

    EDIT: Ah, you put it in the first post. Not a bad idea, because the Chapters are rather concise. Don't get me wrong there either. By concise, I am not demanding more of them. They are brief and to the point, and just what they need to be. It's a satisfactory size given the quality. Just watch how you mix past tense with present tense text. When she goes into the cellar is what I am referring to most specifically.
     
  5. Sebax Avatar by Xerona

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    Ch 2. I liked the explanation of her limits and what's happening around her thoughts and her physical body.
    Ch 3. Freaking chills, man. I can't explain it. Freaked me the Hell out, but in a good way. The mix between the surreal and the slight Romanticism between her feelings for Etrius and her confusion over it created a very haunting experience. The music was not only a nice touch, but matched the flow of the narrative perfectly.
    Ch. 4 Equally as chilly. I loved how much emotion can be read in Aileen's train of thought. It makes her a very interesting character and an extremely well developing one.
    Ch. 5 "always never", try not to put words like these together, side by side, again. That is my one grammatical complaint throughout the whole read, actually. Storywise, I enjoyed her talk with the ones haunting her. Usually when folks write dialogue this formal, they sound ridiculous because they overdo what they don't understand. You, on the other hand, have scripted a very fluid and very believable line of events, including what the characters say.

    Overall: Sorry I missed the updates. I forgot to watch this thread both by technological means (Clicking the "Watch Thread" button) and mnemonic means (Remembering to check back here every so often.) You're detail has vastly improved and your writing with a very natural flow that gives the reader interest and keeps them hooked on the story. Good job, Ze!
     
  6. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    CHAPTER 6- Etrius' Bloody Fiery Hell
    Nighttime. Aileen was up in the Tower, reading her book. Her armor scattered around the room, detached from it's links as Aileen read the instructions to create an Activator piece.
    "So if I were to unscrew this part.." She thought as she read the book and prodded her screwdriver around the torso part, "And if I were to attach it to this part," she grabbed a small piece of a handmade generator, "I might be able to do it!" She plugged two wires connecting to screw bolts and the generator parts, and stepped back, waiting to see what happened. Suddenly a small jolt shocked the torso and the generator, but other than that, nothing happened. Aileen's heart sank. She banged a fist on the worktable, making some of the metal clink. It had been days since Aileen started to work on this project, getting the materials she needed from the castle. As promised, the Executioner made no attempt to strike Aileen down during her presence. The Mannequin still watched her though. Probably waiting for her to make one wrong move, Aileen had bet. But as soon as she had the materials she needed she soon realized that the task at hand was starting to be a little too difficult for her. And time was running out. Tomorrow was the day she was to fight the Executioner. And she couldn't do the simple task of creating the Activator piece?? She was so close!​
    She had been working so hard, that she didn't even know she could beat that monster. She looked up to a picture frame of Etrius that she had taken from the castle. She blushed quietly as she looked at the photogragh. She picked up the frame, and inspected it closely. It was another Etrius smiling picture, but this time he was alone. Every feature of his face probably signified happiness to anyone who would look at the frame. But to Aileen, it meant so much more. This boy, this very boy, meant the world to her. And at that very moment, she realized that the very emotion, the emotion that made her heart flutter, made her cheeks blush a bright red, was love. Aileen didn't like this boy. She loved him with every part of her heart. Ever since he started talking to her, she soon developed those feelings of happiness, sadness, and anger, and learned to speak on her own. By then, she really liked the Etrius, and became his personal companion, not by order, but by personal request. They talked with each other, fought together, and protected the Fortress together. Yes, Aileen loved Etrius. That was all that mattered. A tear slid down Aileen's cheek as she smiled, knowing her true feelings for him. Everything would be all right. If she could survive in this Fortress for as long as she had already done so, then she could survive much longer until Etrius returned. Aileen set the frame down and just realized that while she had been inspecting the frame, the generator piece and the torso had merged with each other, and there, on the worktable, was the Activator piece she had worked so hard for. The other armor pieces had completely disappeared, but that was normal. Aileen suddenly felt tired. She took one last look at Etrius' photograph, she blew a kiss at it, and then went to change into her nightgown, and after that fell right into bed, her eyes immediately closing.​
    Little did Aileen know, that Abraxas was about to change, thanks to the thoughts of Etrius.​
    Aileen had a dream that night. She was in a large room where she was mouse-sized. Behind her were four people. One of them was a 18 year old boy with blue, backward hair spikes and a calm, collected demeanor, another was a female of the same age, with white flowing hair, and dark green eyes, and a more mysterious attitude. Aileen gasped as the third figure fell the ground, and disappeared in a pool of darkness. Aileen looked up at the final figure. That figure, was Etrius. All of them were fighting a large cat. The cat looked ordinary, but Aileen sensed something nasty coming from it.
    At first Etrius looked shocked to see that the third figure had fallen. Then, Etrius' eyes went from yellow to red. His skin took a darkish tint. His movement was......well, erratic. Etrius turned and took off for the cat, screaming and cursing, brushing past the two other figures who were fighting the cat as well. Etrius screamed, "YOU WILL NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!" and swung his Keyblade straight at the animal's head. As the blade collided, a large distorted gong of a clock was heard, and then Aileen saw another image. This image was of a figure in a black, red and purple armor. On the helmet, was the glowing red insignia of the Parilaz
    family. The image disappeared, and so did the dream, leaving Aileen looking at static.
    Aileen woke up, sweating and shaking. What was that all about? She cleared her head and her thoughts to notice that her radio was emitting static at high volume. Aileen looked around and checked the outside window. No danger was around, and the static noise was lowering until it shut off completely. But Aileen was not convinced. She had woken up from a nightmare, and she didn't need trouble during her sleep time. She quickly gotten herself dressed, and attached the Activator plate on her left shoulder and quickly went out the door, out to the Back Courtyard. It was strangely dark outside, the sky being pitch black, and a thick fog covered the Courtyard. Aileen looked around. Still nothing. She put her hands on her hips. Was this some kind of trick? She didn't know. She was about to go up back to the tower when the large gong of a clock was heard.
    It was the very same distorted clock noise that she heard from her dream. All at once, the same image of the figure in armor appeared in her head, only more distorted this time. The radio again started to emit static at a high volume, making Aileen's head hurt. She covered her ears trying to block out the noise, but to no avail. All at once, it stopped. Everything, the flashing images in Aileen's head, the pain, the static noise, everything had stopped. Aileen looked up at the sky. The moon was out. But it was blood red.
    Suddenly, the environment around her changed. Pieces of stone peeled off the walls as if like paper. Part of the structures crumbled and sagged a bit. The entire Fortress looked suddenly older, if not more grotesque than it already was after the fall of the Parilazs. She turned around to see the Mannequin. But instead of the radio emitting static, the Mannequin was turning to stone. It tried to reach a hand to Aileen, asking her for help, but it was no use. The Mannequin soon turned into a complete stone statue. Aileen gave the thing one last look, then turned her attention back to the environment around her. She had just entered Etrius' personal nightmare, come to life.​
     
  7. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    CHAPTER 7- Entra ao Sange

    Aileen looked around, shocked at what happened. Everything looked diferent, not to mention horrendous. Pipes flowing with water produted out of the walls. Shards of glass was all that was left of windows. Stone statues were either covered in blood, or were horribly deformed and looked like demons. She ran to the door to the main castle. Strangely, it was locked. She looked around again, and threw her hands up in the air, frustrated. What to do, what to do? What would Etrius do in this kind of situation? She looked at the wall surrounding the courtyard. She climbed up the stairs of her tower and checked her door. Also locked.
    "What the hell?" She said madly. As she climbed down the steps, she knew that the only way out was up the walls. As she reached the foot of the steps, she pressed the Activator button, but it didn't work. She looked back at the wall. If she can jump that wall, she might be able to go around and check the rest of the doors.
    She stepped back, then took a running start. She jumped and caught the ledge in her fingers, then heaved herself up. The town looked more desolate then ever. Aileen jumped down, weaved her way around the buildings, avoiding Heartless, and got to the main door of the Fortress.

    The door had 7 different types of bolts, each unlocked with a different word, and finally unlocked with the Keyblade itself. They change over time, but Aileen luckily gets an update. After all, no one but the Parilazs can understand the groans of a Heartless Armor. Aileen stepped back, and closed her eyes and emitted the 7 words.
    "Potentia, Lux, Tenebris, Bonum, Mortis, Corruptionem, ac Fata." She then summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at the door. A flash of light emitted from the blade, and a line of light hit the door. A large creak was heard, and the door opened slightly. At least one of the doors opened. she walked inside.


    The entire Entrance Hall was completely empty, and ominously quiet. "Lux!" She muttered, and a ball of light went off. She looked around. The walls were ashen and charred. The carpet was old. She moved about the room, examining objects. How could an entire world change just in a blink of an eye? She didn't know. She heard a sharp groan and turned just in time to parry the large and heavy blade of the Executioner. She could barely manage to keep both blades above her head. She then put a foot to one side and let the Executioner's blade fall to the floor, entering the ground, stuck again. Aileen then got behind the Executioner, and did an uppercut slashing that made the monster fly to one of the walls, it down. The battle for the castle has begun.
     
  8. Sebax Avatar by Xerona

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    CH. 6 I really like how you incorporated SOS into it and pretty much gave us a pretty clear clue where the two stories meet up. Well done. I remember you asking me how you should mix the two, and I can tell you now that I deliberately didn't answer so you would find a good answer yourself. :3 You did fantastic!
    Ch. 7 I liked the use of Latin; very subtle references there. People should do a little studying to understand what a writer is trying to put out.

    Horrific, yet thrilling and compelling. You really believe in Aileen, and truth be told, I'm really looking at Etrius as more of a very deep and more unique character at this point. Keep up the good work. :D
     
  9. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    Yes, but even Aileen can control this nightmare. Abraxas at the time Aileen said her good-byes to Etrius was controlled by the one individual, just because that individual saw his own family fall by one person. After that Etrius unknowingly gained the ability (Through channeled negativity) to maipulate the world of Abraxas at will, mostly triggered by angry emotions. However, after Aileen gains her body, and seeing the Executioner and the Mannequin triggered the same reaction with her. How it'll happen is what we'll see in the next Chapter: Ice Cold.
     
  10. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    Chapter 8- Ice Cold


    Aileen flew at the Executioner once more, only to get smacked hard across the face by the monster. It got up and walked over to a fallen Aileen. She did got hurt, but she only faked her fall, and slashed at the beast's legs, making it fall to its knees. But the beast would not give up, not so easily. It got up again and faced Aileen fully, its blade wedged in the stone floor not more than 8 feet away. Aileen swooped her Keyblade at it again, being caught by the Executioner's hand. Next thing Aileen knows, she's flying through the air and smashing into a nearby wall, pain utterly consuming her upper and lower back. She got up, seeing the pyramid-headed Armor unwedging the blade from the floor, and weighed her options. Obviously, one hit from that blade would be an instant hurt attack, however, it was pretty easy to say that it was too heavy to be wielded fast enough, so.......
    Aileen took off, getting behind the beast. The Excutioner swung it's blade over it's head, crashing it down behind it, wedging it into the floor again. Aileen dodged the blade just in time, keeping to behind the monster. As it turned, the Excutioner got a full face whack from Aileen's Keyblade flopping down on the floor 3 feet away. Aileen willed her blade to disappear and grabbed the Excutioner's blade, pulling on it, and finally unwedging it. She held the blade with difficulty, but she ran at the monster and as the monster saw her, she swung the blade, transffering all the energy through her body, out through one fell stroke of a blade.

    The monster went down, it's own knife produting out of it's chest as black blood oozed out of the hellish wound. Aileen's mind filled with more images, this time of Draconine. It showed of how Aileen became Etrius's personal bodyguard, how she'd been promoted to First Officer. Draconine wasn't just her Lord, her taskgiver, her teacher. Draconine was a friend. And now, she understood who this monster was. A tear slid down her cheek, red from catching her breath, and on impulse, knelt beside the monster, putting a hand on one of it's shoulders, now heaving in exhaustion and pain from being impaled.

    This monster, was Draconine himself, in his Heartless Armor form. Aileen understood why he was like this. Knowing that his last son, alive and had escaped was hapiness for this person, but knowing that the rest his family was dead put him in a state of deep saddness even before he died. Thus, his emotions were preserved as well as his mind, molded together by the corrupted emotions of agony and territorial anger, forcing him to become a Heartless Armor. The blade represented the very memory of Draconine losing his family, a burden he was now forced to bear as he limped through the halls of the Fortress he once had ruled.​
    "I'm so sorry." Aileen said, tears soaking her face, running down her chin, "If I had only known...."​
    "Shut-up." The beast groaned, "You may have won your claim to roam my castle, but you'll never get past me when you want to unlock the seal."​
    "What seal?"​
    The creature uttered a low growl, "There are more secrets in this castle than you know. The secret that I am forced to guard can either bring peace to this world once more, or plunge it into absolute destruction. Either way, you shall not pass. For the good of my world, stop asking. This destruction and devestation is only the beginning of something much worse."​
    Aileen became angry. She stood, cheeks now dry, saying, "What is the matter with you?? You act like everything is all right, when its actually not! What have I ever done to you? Either you let me pass, or you end up regretting it."​
    "Frankly my dear, I have enough to regret about. You're just a child. You'll never beat me."​
    Aileen's paitience ran out. "This world belongs to my friend!!" She screamed, "I made a promise to make this world better until he comes back!!!" She summoned her Keyblade, pointing it at the Executioner, "You will stand aside, or I will promise you more pain than what Hades can actually produce!!!"​
    At Aileen's last word, a sound of a distorted off-key note of an organ was heard and the air of the castles suddenly changed. It turned from humid and old, to frosty and dry. The walls started to revert to their original color and state, but as soon as it did, ice started to crystallize the castle. The floors and rugs froze up, either giving off a white or blue hue. The outside windows reformed it's glass, but it too soon froze over. A wall of ice drew upwards behind Aileen, blocking the main entrance. The other doors, leading to different parts of the castle, reverted as well, only to reveal blue flurocent paint, painted over the door panes. Even the Executioner started to freeze, the knife still in it's chest. Time completely halted, the air became still, and the blood moon vanished, leaving and incredibly dark sky. Even Aileen's light vanished. Aileem rubbed her hands together, now completely cold. This was starting to become ugly.​
    [DOUBLEPOST=1365169719][/DOUBLEPOST]CHAPTER 9- Raw Shock Heartless/A Cry For Help


    Aileen bent down on her knees, huffing and puffing. She had been walking through the Iceworld for an hour, and she still couldn't get out of the castle. Most of the paths were blocked off, and the some of the blue-paned doors doubled back and brought her to the same place that she was in. She cleared her thoughts once more. For some reason, she wasn't able to summon her Keyblade, as if a powerful type of magic was inhibiting it's use. She couldn't summon a beacon light to lead her out, all the light she could conjour up was the same light that brightened her path. She couldn't even summon any spells, like fire magic. She sighed, knowing that she was powerless and alone. She reached into one of her pockets, and pulled out her radio. Somehow, it had shut itself off when the Otherworld started to appear. She switched it on, and the radio immeadietly started giving off white noise. Aileen heard some tapping and clattering on one of the ice walls. She looked out into the ice wall, seeing various stuff, frozen over inside. Simple chairs, a chess table, some potted plants, and.......
    A creature put it's face to the ice, letting out a distorted girl scream, startling Aileen. The radio let out the most static when the creature came, but the creature disappeared before Aileen could get a good look.
    Another scream was heard in the ice wall behind Aileen, she looked, seeing three of those creatures...and the Mannequin Heartless. The three creature disappeared, walking on all fours.
    These creatures looked like a different kind of Pureblood, but indeed a rouge type, mutated like the world around Aileen. It looked like a Neoshadow, minus the antennas and it looked horribly and visibly scarred. It had no eyes, but it seemed to function on the sensing of body heat. The Mannequin looked at Aileen, and a white noise-like voice rasped through her radio, "i'd sT4rT runNInGG iF II were Y0u..."

    The door that Aileen had first came from after her fight with the Executioner burst open, more of those creatures coming out. Aileen took off to the Library, those creatures following her. She disapeared in and out of the bookcases, confusing these "Raw Shock Heartless". One did caught up to her before she could enter the door, grabbing on to her, but Aileen made an effort to throw it off. She entered the Ballroom, running into more Raw Shocks, making inhuman screams at the sight of Aileen. ​
    This was getting nowhere fast. She ran to a nearby door, leading to the Audience Chamber. Her radio started to emit low, grainy static. But it wasn't sharp, like it emitted when more Raw Shocks were nearby. She flew into the Audience Chamber, then into one of the long hallways. The grainy static became louder and louder. Aileen suddenly fell, having been tackled by 2 Raw Shocks. She felt her life force ebbing away, being sucked by these monstrosities. Her eyes had soon started to close. It was over.​
    "Etrius," Aileen said, voice very weak, "Help me."​
    A disorted gong of a clock was heard, and the both Raw Shocks that were holding Aileen flew to the walls. They put their claws to their throats, as if being choked. Aileen got up slowly then started to limp to the last doorway, to the tower.​
     
  11. mindstorm787 Gummi Ship Junkie

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    CHAPTER 10- Silence and Saddness/The Sanctum of Inner Power
    As Aileen pushed through the door, one second she had seen the tower bent in an akward shape, the next second the tower bent back to it's original shape, and the Iceworld around her melted before her eyes, walls and buildings returning to their desolate state. The sky turned from pitch black to grey, and it started to snow. She walked up the steps and opened the door to the tower. Everything was just as Aileen had left it. She limped over to the the picture of Etrius. She had random bruises from her fight with the Excutioner, and her encounters with the Raw Shock Heartless had left her with large scratches. She looked like hell. Is this was what she needed to endure for Etrius? She picked up the photograph, and two tears fell.
    "Etrius, I need you...." Aileen said. Her mind reeled, and fell on her bed, unconcious from exhaustion. She dropped the photograph. It fell to the floor, making a large clatter, and the glass holding the picture shattered as the picture got out of its frame.

    Within her subconcious, she fell through a deep abyss. It felt like water, as she fell through, falling, falling..........
    She landed slowly on a blank pillar. She opened her eyes and looked around. This must be her Station of Awakening, though it was strange that it was blank. She looked to find herself staring at her.
    She rubbed her eyes and blinked. This was no mirage. There was a duplicate of herself staring right back at her, the only difference between Aileen and her duplicate was that the duplicate had bright green eyes, not storm-grey. 6 green Keyblades appeared around the duplicate surrounding it like wings, and Aileen felt her energy returning to her as she felt power radiating from this duplicate.
    "What do you want?" Aileen asked timidly. The duplicate spoke, her voice older, but much like Aileen's own,"I am your other half. I am here to greet you, and answer the questions that you ask."
    "Impossible. I was born from darkness. The power you radiate not only blindes me but is the polar opposite of what I should have.
    The other Aileen smiled. "Improbable, not impossible." She said. "You were born from darkness, as everyone does, whether from light, darkness, or in-between, however, your body rejected the darkness because of the enviornment around you. Corruption usually hides within darkness, and has a great hold over this world even after you returned to the world of the living. Those who choose to live with corruption don't realize that there body will reject that raw power the first chance it gets."
    The original Aileen thought about this, knowing that this was a fact. But that still didn't answer one question. "And why did you come to be, if your power is light?"
    The duplicate looked at Aileen more thoughtfully, then said, "Your body rejected the darkness, but you weren't a body without a heart, because your time as a Heartless Armor was rewarded with you returning to the living world. I was soon created, gaining your thoughts and your memories. However we are not fully assimalated."
    "And thats why this pillar is a total blank. I'm a complete blank. That would explain why Draconine's Heartless didn't recognize me. Armor Heartless usually tell you if they recognize someone."
    "You aren't a total blank." The duplicate said, "You became a somebody. The Station of Awakening is the sanctum of your inner powers or your fears. Vanquising either task results of putting you in a true title among the living, but you aren't a Nobody."
    "Alright, then what am I to do to get out of here? I need to return. Etrius is counting on me."

    The air suddenly changed, and a gust of wind blew threw both Aileens. The gust turned into a twister of darkness, a pool of darkness appearing on the floor of the pillar, and as the tornado calmed, the figure in red, black, and purple Keyblade Armor appeared. The Parilaz family symbol appeared on its helmet in a strange red light. It was hunched over, and the figure did occasional spasms. Aileen looked on in horror and soon realized who it was.
    "Is that...?"
    "Yes, thats him." Responded Aileen's double as her green eyes flashed. She spread out her wings and attacked.


    Antiform Etrius jumped out of the way just in time, as it summoned 2 Keyblades of the same kind, and did a backfire jump, changing to offensive.

    "NO!" The original Aileen screamed. She jumped in time with the Antiform, summoned her Keyblade and barrel-rolled in the air, catching him in the head, making him fall to the ground 35 feet away. On the floor, it kicked out its legs, rolling off its back and landing on his feet. He threw his hands in front, and the Keyblades that he'd dropped flew back at him. He suddenly entered a wormhole.
    "Behind us!" Shouted inner Aileen. Both of them jumped out of the way just in time for the Antiform to fly through, lunging with it's Keyblades, and entering another wormhole. The same movement was repeated again and again.
    "Enough of this! I'm getting tired of just watching and not attacking!" The original Aileen said. She flew in and hurled her Keyblade in a Counter Raid, striking the Antiform just as it was lunging at her. She ran at the Antiform, caught her Keyblade as it returned, then nabbed one of the Keyblades Etrius had and did a backwards uppercut with it. The Antiform got launched into the air, only to get smacked down by Inner Aileen. The Antiform crashed to the ground. It lay still for a time, but not for long. It suddenly flys upward and lands on its feet, and its armor cracks in some places, and more darkness starts to pour out from its shoulders like smoke. The helmet and torso parts fell away, revealing Etrius's cloak underneath. Two red eyes glowed beneath the hood, pulled over the head and hiding the face. Only certain pieces of Etrius's armor, including the shoulder, elbow and knee parts remained. It twiched more violently.
    "It's becoming more animal-like." The Inner Aileen said, "It'll be much stronger and faster that way."
    The Antiform smashed its Keyblade into the pillar, and a sharp pain reveberated off Aileen's chest. The Antiform attacked without its Keyblade. Before Aileen could process the instinct, she was going toe-to-toe with Etrius, blocking every attack it did with it hands. Each attack was fast, and Aileen soon forgot to parry one jab. She fell down, the wind knocked out of her body
    "Grab my arm!" Inner Aileen called. Aileen did so, and her duplicate disappeared in a flash of light. Aileen suddenly felt the power that was radiating off her duplicate. It felt powerful. The Antiform attacked again. Aileen jumped up and did a roundhouse kick on it causing it to fly backward. Aileen wasn't done though. Suddenly, 6 white Keyblades, more transparent than Aileen's duplicate's, and she flew at the Antiform, striking him upward. "VI Arcanums!" Aileen shouted, speaking with two voices, as each of her Wingblades, one at a time struck the Antiform before preforming a final Aerial Slam. Antiform Etrius crashed to the ground. As Aileen landed gently, the Antiform's body flew up one last time, let out a large tantrum of seizures, then fell back down, dissapating into a dark cloud of smoke. As the smoke disappeared, Aileen asked aloud, "What was that all about?'
    "That was an embodiement of your worst fear." A voice in her head said. "The corruption around you created it to turn you back to A Heartless."
    "And how was I able to utilize your powers?"
    "I am you. Now that we are now connected, you are able to truly use your powers, being one of a kind."

    At those very last words, shreads of light started to fly off the pillar, revealing a beautiful green glass picture of Aileen. Her eyes where closed, and she was holding two Keyblades, her original one, and a recolor version of the Keyblade that the Antiform was using. She was wearing sliver-green armor, rather then her usual purple. She looked up at the retreating threads of light, closing her eyes, feeling the power from within.

    She reopened her eyes, back in her room. Her armor had been activated, but it was silver-green, just like she saw. She was also holding a new recolored Keyblade. It It had a green hilt, and a narrow silver blade. The head of the Key came to a point, and a green clock, set to 2:00, glowed from the head. Aileen sheathed the blade, it disappering in a flash of light. She threw her legs over the bed and got up, and felt a crack beneath her right foot. She looked down to see the Etrius's shattered picture frame.

    She bent over and picked up the picture. She smiled a sad smile. She felt herself crying again. She longed to tell Etrius her feelings. She'd have to wait till he returns though. But she was strong. She can take it. But she couldn't stand being in the castle. She had to leave. Aileen deactivated her armor and placed the photo in her pocket, and grabbed some stuff to pack, including some food, the radio, some clothes and the picture. She shoved those things in a backback. She hoisted the backpack over her shoulders, took one long look at the room, then opened the door, and locked it for the last time. She walked down the steps, into the hall, past the Cellar, into the Dining Room, and out to the Entrance Hall. Her radio emitted a large amount of white noise in a loop, and in front of the main doors were the Mannequin and the Executioner. Aileen walked up to them without fear, merely pity for them.
    "By coming here, you forfeit your rights of your residence here." The Executioner groaned. The Mannequin said nothing, only staring at Aileen.
    The Executioner continued, "You must leave and never return, or risk being slain." The Executioner leaned into Aileen's face and hissed, "Do you except my terms?"
    Aileen looked at the monster defiantly, and said quietly but firmly, "Your reign will end before my friend dies at your hands. He and I share a bond so powerful, that not even your burden can withstand. You stand in our way, and you'll be the one, dead with one nail produting out of your coffin." Her eyes flashed green.
    The monster didn't show any aggression, but let out a large grunt. It stepped aside as Aileen walked through the door, and shut it behind her.
    She walked no more than 7 steps when she summoned her newest Keyblade and smashed it into the ground in front of the castle. A large bubble of light appeared around the castle, and there was a click of the main doors being rewired. Aileen had summoned a spell that no one other than the rightful heir of the Parilaz is able to unlock the massive shield that would protect the castle from futher harm. In this way, she had protected the rest of the city as well, because this spell also repelled the coming of either the Iceworld or the Otherworld from materializing anywhere else other than from within the castle grounds. she pulled her Keyblade out and sheathed it. She had been crying the entire time. She rubbed her eyes, turned, and disappeared into the city, never to return until Etrius comes back.

    -END-​