Kingdom Hearts: Apocalypse ~Part 1 Rebirth " Machinecken Town"~

[Shinra]

~the witch and the oni~
Although not as drastic as Renn's transformation into a Lupine humanoid, Yoake was clad in what seemed to be a Red Kimono with one sleeve more reminiscent of her homeland, but the cement to the new world was a mask that resembled a Oni's face... with a black obi tied by a white rope but the whole outfit was detailed with bits of white. Her hair was as silver as moonlight now and she simply walked down the walkway off the ship. She felt indifferent but at least this world did have the falseness of Machineken...

"Whoa Yoake! looking great!" Renn said. She looked at him. "I get an oversexualized demon girl and you get the more traditional werewolf? I'd take your costume any day."

"trust me I'm still getting used to these things. HEY SEVASTIAN! HENRY! C'mon let get looking around!"

 

[Rhapsody]

Cal doesn’t move an inch from her spot, head still lolled back against the tree with her hood over her eyes.

“This is getting annoying. Sure you’re not stalking at this point?”

He’s back. To be real, it was only a matter of time; but she was hoping to have more than one hour alone. A day, at least. Damn. He’s testing his luck, too, and Cal makes her resentment for this well known: she sits up, pulls back her hood, looks Trace in the eye, and completely ignores his question.

“What happened to my dog?” No, she still hasn’t forgotten. She smirks, a cheeky glint to her gaze.“Answer that, and I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

Sparky wiggles and whines underneath her, alert of the familiar hybrid’s return and eager for more attention. Cal keeps a firm grip on him, even as a big something topples right over the cross Trace is leaning against. Lips pressing tightly, Cal’s sharp eyes pitifully follow Vi’s slow tumble to the dirt.

I don’t hate you, dummy. I just--

She needs to get out of here. She can try running. That cross he’s leaning against may be in her way, but if she’s quick enough... Then again, a portal can be the right ticket out. Except, she’s exhausted. Still. Much better than twenty minutes ago, for sure, but she’s not back to one-hundred percent.

It’ll have to do.

“Keyblader’s back. Guess that ends this conversation, doesn’t it?”

Her gloved hand edges down to the floor. Hoping to not catch the other hybrid’s attention, Cal threads together the scattered remnants of her heartless’ will down to her palm. Humiliating--she’s actually about to run away with her tail between her legs… Christ. But just a little more, she just needs to buy a little more time…. The dark pool inches past her hands, slowly.

“It’s been lovely, Trace. Sayonara.”

 

[Deimos]

"He was in the crossfire, poor thing was coming out of the tree as she narrowly escapes, taps her as the door slams in it's face."

The augmentation of Trace's voice was an indication of Anti-speaking, if ever so briefly, his solid yellow eyes that didn't dialate to the size of grapefruits this time, shifted back to their standard amber. There was a sound tap against the cross, Trace doesn't move but holds his arm out to clutch the girl briefly before holding her by the loop of her utility belt and resting her to the side. All the while keeping his eyes on Calpurnia.

"Must've only had one reasonable option. Good thing I held onto this." Trace twirled the little dart-like marker in his fingers.

"You suck..."

"Devil's in the details kid. You've earned the rest, Rook."

Vrivianne muttered her remorseful woes to Calpurnia, she was human after all. Emotions were something complex when you didn't have something to halve them, something like Anti to perpetuate a balance between instinct and thought, where as humans...leaned more towards thoughts than they did their instincts. That was the key to how Trace in particular, distinguished himself from his brothers, he could act on thought and instinct on a whim, naturally, and without delay. Every instinct screamed at him to persist with Calurnia's company, despite polarity of their intentions, hers being to flee, his being to rally.

You know she's just going to try to escape again.

I know.

[High Tension]

This wasn't exactly "simple" for Trace. Traveling alone for some time, when his amber eyes or red, however he appeared at the time branded him an enemy of most of humanity. Were some hybrids good, he pitied them, but never gave a second thought to harming his own kind unless aggressed upon and the intention to impale or kill was even necessary. Humans did this, they tried out of bias or hatred from what others did in the past year and some change. Whether Trace was involved or not, he chose to just...well, slaughter them without a second thought.

"Wait Calpurnia," not the quickest but he moved closer and placed his hand on the tree behind her. "Maybe. It will answer me."

Anti brushed his hand past her cheek. Blood. Dry, but from the thumb he'd bitten from before.

"When you accept you're one in the same, it will come full-circle. It will know. And you both will evolve." Anti spoke softly, slight warmth it exuded which was extremely rare.

"Rather than waste your magic trying to flee...again...take a page from your heartless companion and put things in the hands of your instincts rather than your thoughts every once in a while."

His hand brushed back in the opposite direction, this time it was wet with Trace's blood stopping just before her mouth. "Poor thing, you must be starving, fatigued, and the body resisting it's true nature to just barely skate by. Well. Take some life from us."

The blood was a provocation tool, a trigger, something that triggered Anti to come out in the earlier half of this year plus predicament he'd been involved in with Trace. Dipping into her lip was a healthy amount of Trace's blood. While the girl was unconscious, easily something neither wanted her to bare witness to.

"Play with us for a while. Wont you? Please?"

The heartless inside released, and clad itself in it's true form. Surging darkness from it's position, it's red feelers prodded as tendrils from it's back clacking with red lightning. Both of Anti's eyes blood red, Trace's irises were distinct through each one, also rare. This shift in behavior likely had to be to dealing with two somewhat passive women, yet neither had aggressed, it was at the very least comforting. The Cross in the ground went defunct and de-summoned anytime Anti-form was engaged, no exceptions, he fought like a feral animal as was standard of a heartless save for the ones that possessed weapons upon birth.

"Some shameless exposure for you, however-" Anti paused and extended his hand "As Trace said. Show me your anger Calpurnia. Don't be shy, Queen."

Living on the edge teetering between heartful and heartless was a hybrid's unrestrained destiny. Fighting that destiny was valiant, but the decisions involved made it more complex than necessary for those that couldn't see the outlier solution. It was neither favorable for the human to suppress the heartless anymore than it was for the heartless to completely entrench the human's consciousness. No, a pivotal balance of the raw instinct and pure thought of the human, creating a symbiotic relationship. When more can grip this understanding, that non-sense Vrivianne was saying would actually be a viable option, but the preference for the time were for more selfish means of staying alive, and this was it.

 

[Hazen Gregory]

The quartet continued to walk at a lazy pace that led them further away from the strangely curled hill and further into town without much incident. Topsy could already feel the tension that was rising in the town below. Not only was there the feeling of turmoil being covered up but also Topsy could sense that the normally bustling Halloween Town that he'd read about during his travels was lacking...color. He didn't say much, just kept both eyes focused ahead while they all walked together until Syn decided that the name Topsy had given him wasn't enough to satisfy him. At this Topsy just rolled his eyes and kept going but they Syn bashed him for what had been told throughout many of the worlds about the use of Guardian Forces.

"Oh?? Worried about my memory are you?? I'm fascinated that one such as yourself might not have delved further into the worldly legend about GFs." Topsy stared at him and Andrew began chasing his tail and chewing on it. It happened so randomly that Topsy almost burst into laughter and he decided not to bother getting into it with Syn over what he'd said about memory loss and those of the SeeD. "I should mention that if you actually called one of the Guardian Forces attached to me a monster they'd have your head." Heartless and fiends that plagued the world were closer to monsters than a GF was. It really didn't matter though, Syn was in fact an alien to The Garden so he would have no understanding of what actually went on there if he had no native experiences.

Topsy snickered aloud when Andy went from adorable and cuddly to adorable and vicious, and then back again in an instant. The young man had gotten quickly angered at the notion of how Syn had called them hybrids. Topsy felt bad immediately because he could tell that Andrew was knew to the sensation and being a new kind of life form. it had been a very short time since he'd technically been converted into a hybrid so Topsy wasn't that shocked by his reaction. As they actually made it into the town Topsy looked up and acknowledged the weapon that Syn had showed him, taking in the fairly dark look of the blade. "Well, that certainly IS something Syn. I do have to admit you must have some secrets you're keeping from us eh??" Topsy squeezed Andrew's hand, delighted at the soft feel of the skin that rested on his. He laughed at his next comment but it was obvious that the tone in his voice showed interest...

[B]"You DID kill the king with little effort yea?? It makes me wonder how much power you actually hold in that compact body of yours..."[/B] Topsy rubbed his hand over the area right above all seven of Andrew's tails as the four of them reached a three way path in Halloween town. "I'm bored and this place is freaking creepy. Which way do yo think we should go to find Sir Skellington?? He must know a little about this world's situation." Topsy looked to Syn and then Leyla. "What do you too want to do now?? Things here don't seem to be that bad yet. We could explore, try to link up with the other group, OR," Topsy's hand shot out and he started to tickled Andrew. "We could all just have a bit of fun. "I'm sure Leyla could use a bit of relaxation."

 

[Rhapsody]

Caught. Like a butterfly by its wings, except Cal didn’t even flinch as Trace drew his hand up. But the struggle internally, oh. It shows in her sharp eyes sure enough. Catlike as she muses what it would take to break his hand at the wrist, if need be.

There’s something so unnerving hearing the sincerity in Trace. It feels like it doesn’t belong.
His heartless urges her to take from him. The blood against her lips teasing her...

Fine.

She lets go. Doesn’t fight. Allows the bit of blood to fall onto her tongue. It’s more than enough to cause the ensuing storm, one that Calpurnia allows to engulf her without fight. Maybe it’s their persistent presence. Maybe she wants to show them just why she’s so hesitant towards the idea of collecting company in the first place.

Dark, purple tendrils spew from her back and envelopes her entirely like a second skin. Golden irises bleed out until her eyes are pure gold and pupil-less. A consumed form.

“Silly. Calpurnia Magdelaine D’Angelooooo isn’t here at the moment.”

With a sharp cackle, she snaps onto the offered hand, firmly, and drags him in her ascent to her feet. Her black gloves seemed to melt into her skin and take on the appearance of… claws, claws that made escape from her grip nigh impossible as they pierced into the other’s skin. Wispy tendrils singed the puncture wounds.

Dante doesn’t stop cackling even as they pivoted three-sixty and, like a slingshot, releases Anti, throwing it across the clearing and towards the trees.

A rusted trident spears the tree’s trunk upon summoning by its master, and the hybrid-turned-consumed being leaps at its stem, balancing perfectly on their perch by the tips of their toes. The look is almost feline, crouched like a slender panther ready to pounce.

She’s far more nimble than before, but also looser with her steps. Like a drunk contortionist, her movements agile and unpredictable. There isn’t a solid second where Cal’s body sits still--twitching in place and drumming her claws against a surface. Her hair, now stark as snow, fans out against her neck and face in a snowy sweep. The heartless body completely consuming the woman.

“Wooooah, he went faaar!” Dante laughs, the sound so wrong, so maniacal coming from the body, the mouth of the usually stoic hybrid. “Home run! Score! Goooal!”

Earlier, that one had said something about anger. What nonsense that was! Why would this one be angry? The moody one is angry. Afraid. Not Dante. Dante is fearless. Dante is happy. It’s so hard to show your full emotions when the moody one keeps them sealed tight! But Dante has no more chains holding them down now.

The laughter was broken by incessant, shrill barks. Dante hooks the crook of their legs around the stem of the trident and let themselves fall backward. Hanging upside down like a cave bat but with the grin of a Cheshire cat. “Mreow?”

Sparky cocks his head, unsure of what to make of this being that smells like his owner but so unlike her.

Dante’s grin turns nearly face-splitting. “Bark-bark-meow? Meow-meow? Bark-bark? Barkmeowbarkmeowbarkmeowbark mee-ow!”

A screech of laughter pierces the woods. With a swipe of their claw, the heartless snatches Sparky by the collar and tears into the dog’s body with razors for teeth and a crudely unhinged jaw. An audible gulp and the dog is devoured whole.

“Doggy is doggy food now…” Dante licks their lips, gnawing at the claws between their teeth as their eyes dance across the forest to...

“Ne?” Oh! And what’s this down by this tree? A delicious looking meat bag with a shiny key? Dante goes limp and falls without any attempt to land feet first, and the resounding crack of bones when the body meets the ground is more than unpleasant. Cal’s body rolls from her back to her stomach in sloppy turn, scrabbling on all fours against the dirt towards the unconscious keyblader.

“Yoohoo? Meatbag with a keeey? Moshi, moshi? Wanna go in this one’s belly, too?” A forked, serpentine tongue snakes over the girl’s head, slathering Vi’s hair in the heartless’ salvia, then gnawing at the girl’s cranium like a child nibbling at a lollipop.

 

[Deimos]

Thunk!

The sound of branches breaking, and tendrils feverishly wrapping around the trunks, snapping the tree like a bread stick. The heartless was earnest, perhaps a bit overconfident in his deliberation. However, it achieved the goal, and Anti smiled wildly picking itself up. Remember, the goal has never been to outright harm it's kin, but to acclimate them to a higher existence.

Anti's instincts were screaming with joy, a feral snarl escaped with a howl as it was sinking rather perversely into a rapid state of mindlessness. Exuding a powerful pressure of darkness, it was growing more and more excited in the presence of the other hybrid, consumed. Trace's voiced pinged in the back of Anti's head.

"Now Trace???"

No. Wait another minute.

Opting to further observe a wilder Calpurnia, the consumed part of her heart, frenetic and wild was a true delight. Anti licked it's lips, salaciously so. What happened to the small dog, her companion, there was no discrimination in friend or foe. This one snapped him up like an appetizer, it made Anti smile somewhat, all that ado about it's nose before and now this? He chuckled, shaking his head in the same motion. He'd began walking towards her rather slowly the entire time.

Calpurnias movements were sharpened, but sorely out of practice by how she flopped for a moment. Clearly it spotted the unconscious vrivianne and set it's eyes to devour her next.

"Now??"

Not yet.

Anti couldn't tell if Trace valued the girl's life at all, valued his Rook at all when his Queen was about to basically take her head clean off. The ebb and flow of the darkness the swirled around him was thick and he there finally, crouching down over Vi and Calpurnia.

CAN WE?!!?

Let me do the honors.

"So eager. So full of energy, I think I'm smitten, now now Queen, don't go harming our Rook."

Trace's voice spoke in Anti's consumed state, it raised its right hand. The heartless sigil protruded forward like a neon light projection and affixed from Calpurnia's hand, Vrivianne's keychain was bleeding with the same light from the charm Trace had given her from before. Giving some of his blood was a temporary catalyst that'd last a few minutes, but its all he needed.

"Dangerous to touch huh? Then I really am insane for what I'm about to do."

Anti's hands were immersed in a thick darkness as he reached for both of Calpuria's hands bare and pulled her (much shorter than him) up suspended by both arms in his grip. Their closest interaction, the anti-formed human/heartless hybrid was eye to eye with the consumed Cal. His body loosened, started to generate some incredibly uncomfortable heat as there was a burning sensation against his blacked palms. He really loved hybrids, this dangerous entanglement and web that he continued to weave the women into, was insatiable.

He kissed the other hybrid for what felt like an eternity.

?!?!?!

Lowering her down, releasing both hands, she'd damn near burned the darkness away. His form eroded away and a second set of eyes appeared on Calpurnia's chest. Trace smiled, snapping his fingers as his heartless transferred to her. Despite Vrivianne being fast asleep, her charm beckoned her into this deep dive. Trace on the surface, still there, allowed Anti to work his magic as he held an orb of darkness under his palm to keep the channel of the possession in tact.

"You might wanna check on Calpurnia." Trace said to the feral heartless hybrid who's consciousness was on the surface.

Inside Cal's heart

"So this is what it's like to be inside you? A bit cramped." Anti looks into something of an infinite expanse of shadows, standing in a murky pool of darkness. He can see Calpurnia curled up in a cage, unchaperoned. Anti looked over in the corner, and the keyblader was there, actually standing and barely hanging by a thread. Trace had to be an idiot sending her in here, perhaps it was for Calpurnia's sake?

"You really think it's safer in there..?" Anti teased, resting it's long claws from his murky form onto the cage. "Listening to Trace this time seems ridiculous. He's becoming too attached to you. I should just eat you now while your heartless side is preoccupied with that fool."

Anti's mouth was starting to water uncontrollably, they'd feasted before but he'd been urging to nibble on this woman since the inception of their meeting. Riled with incredible physical strength it began to bend the bars of the cage with enough exertion, and looked directly at Calpurnia.

"Any Final Words?" He cut it short, before pitching is hybrid screech.

HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

 

[purgatory]

I felt like I was having a nightmare. Was I?

My body for felt heavy, motionless for a really long time. The drinking finally caught up, the fatigue from running, my courage that welled up in my stomach to beat my anxiety. There was a single thought that threaded through my mind, what was I really doing with myself is what I kept asking over and over again. Some part of me...truly was upset and in a rhythm of melancholy. I'd adorned this responsibility that I never wanted, but why? An image of his face plastered itself in my head and I just reached for it, reached for him and I could never touch him.

His face mouthed a name, but I wasn't a lip reader.

My dream, if you could call it that, was my desperation to find answers. I looked down at my key blade in hand, this didn't even belong to me...I felt like I was borrowing it indefinitely from that guy. I looked at the charm that Trace gave me, and it started glowing. I was so tired...it beckoned a pool of darkness below me. Where was my light to dispel this, what good was this tool I barely knew how to really use to me? So I sank, without resistance as I despaired no different.

Where the hell...am I?

It was wet. A weird kind of wet, struggling a little to get to my feet i realized I could barely see that far in front of my face. It was eerily quiet, but my eyes circled around until I saw the blemish of something. Hideosly disfigured, I couldn't mistake that appearance anywhere. My hand rose to my mouth no different than the first time I met these guys, looking at me for a brief second before turning and walking towards a cage. I squinted my eyes, and it looked like Cal was in there?

'Wait a second...is she? Where...is this?'

I turned and looked up, then around, this wasn't halloween town's hinterlands. The heartless I can hear somewhat, I was a bit far sure, but this place. It really did feel like a dream, i pulled Grigori close and started to walk towards the cage. What it was saying, I could finally hear it.

"--I should just eat you now"

I didn't need to hear any more than that before I got worried. Really didn't want to hurt them, but everyone makes an exception or two.

"Can you...not eat her please?" I placed my key blade to rub the back of the heartless head. "I'm asking...because I kinda like her, having her around you know...so, no eating."

My wrist flicked with a swift love tap onto Anti's neck. A little trick I learned from my fencing trainer a couple years back, its a quick daze inflicting strike. I really didn't want to do more than that, my shaking hands were evidence of this.

"Cal..? Where is this? Why are you in there..?"

If it wasn't already obvious, I was still tired and dragging, this had to be a nightmare...right?

 

[TruestSyn]

Syn noticed the distress of Topsy and Andrew.

"I'm sorry, my mannerism must be rude. From my world, we just called them hybrids. They accepted their fate, and we keyblade wielders were forced to watch them live in a cage. I was friends with as many of them as I could be through the fence. None of them ever told me their name. Now that I know yours, you will always be Topsy and Andrew to me. As for GFs, I don't know what else you'd call a giant dragon other than a monster, there were mostly only humans where I lived. We had stories about different types of...beings that existed. Summons, materia, Guardian Forces, Eidolons...They all had different names but they were essentially 'Extremely powerful monsters forced to do the bidding of a human who bested them' in the books we had about them."

He smiled when he heard Topsy talk about the new blade.

"It does have a lot of power to it, but it's definitely new, not hidden power. When I defeated Sononea he dropped this keychain. I tried to attach it to my keyblade but it didn't work, but when I attached it to my dark sword it changed. What bothers me the most is that it looks just like those swords the guards used in Machinecken. I feel like there's a higher power at work here and it's beginning to irk me..."

He trailed off and ended up missing the offer to "have fun" that Topsy offered. There were sudden shifts of light and darkness. It seemed that the group he met earlier was getting into some sort of altercation. Instinctively he summoned both his weapons and continued toward the town.

"I know you feel that, Topsy. There's something going on over there and we may need to interfere. Those other ones I spotted may have begun to fight. There's more sources of light and darkness than I had spotted leaving. We should probably hurry, this power is...borderline evil."

 

[Story Keeper]

~- Case in Point -~

Nana listened to Trace, barely keeping himself from rolling his eyes. He saw the child's response to his reaction, it was adorable. A laugh escaped him, calling a portal to leave the area. It dropped him off in Hinterlands, specifically in a tree so he could observe the area below. While he couldn't make out the words, he watched the hybrids conversing below. A scowl drifted across his face at the spectacle of the two heartless below him. Yes, allies are nice but the stupidity that was happening?

He had no words to fully describe it.

He saw the girl under the control of her heartless. Slapping his face, he groaned inwardly at the sight. How the hell did these children think that they were in control!?

Remember brother, pride goeth before a fall.

Yeah, yeah brother.

Nana knew that attitude was stupid to take with his older brother, Ichi didn't take kindly to such disrespect. He focused back on the hybrids, both of which were acting like animals. Leaning against the tree, he kicked around the idea of getting closer to them. Sure, Ichi had given specific orders for the world, and part of it involved not getting closer to other hybrids. So he was going to be in trouble for having already disobeyed the order, so what would it hurt if he interacted a little more?

Nana looked back down, he'd give it a little longer before he got involved.

~- Um, uh, quick! -~

Andy took in the sights around him captivated by the new world. He was also enjoying the sensation of Topsy's hand in his own, only for him to frown a bit when Topsy moved his hand away from him. A groan escaped him at the warmth on his back, leading to Andy fighting the urge to lean back into the touch. The questions floated in the air, making Andy wonder what the best course of action was. Hearing Syn's comment about hybrids and summons, he huffed a bit in annoyance and looked away. "They're still not monsters, you should treat them with more respect." He grumbled.

A tickling sensation hit Andy's side, causing him to shy away from Topsy. Biting his lower lip softly, Andy whispered, "Please don't...."

The look in answer had Andy feeling guilty. He didn't have an issue with Topsy tickling him, he just didn't want a couple of strangers knowing how ticklish he was. The slight space between the two didn't last long, because Andy recoiled back towards Topsy as something got to close to him on his exposed side. He also got a minor tickling, earning a laugh from the boy as he said between laughter, "Tops, that tickles! Please...."

Sensing the expanding darkness from the direction they'd come, Andy spun on his heel and cocked his head to the side. Tentatively biting his lip, Andy tried to figure out the likeliness of them getting hurt if they went to investigate. He was also still aware of the emptiness of the town, and the heavy despair that seemed to be coming from a laboratory-style building. Forcing a smile, he commented, "It wouldn't hurt to check it out, we might learn why the world's so empty." He saw the look on Topsy's face, so Andy decided a distraction was in order.

Hugging him, the kitsune stood on his tiptoes and looked at Topsy with innocent eyes as he commented softly, "You still owe me an explanation you know...." Even so, he was focused on the presence of the three hybrids off in the opposite direction, making sure that they weren't moving closer.

 

[Hazen Gregory]

"What did you just say...." Topsy's face started twitching as he listened to Syn drone about hybrids and the terrible ways that they were treated on his world. At first Topsy didn't feel much of a change in his demeanor but his head started to feel cloudy. It was the mention of inhuman creatures and entities that were dangerous or powerful being monsters that made Topsy slowly turn toward Syn with his arm outstretched even though Andrew was still close to him. He could almost make out Andrew saying something to him but his ears only heard buzzing as he clutched the side of his face with one hand, a darkness starting to seep out from deep within as he continued to stare at Syn...

'Yes, that's right Absolon, you know that you feel it too. The hatred, the rage at this scum for taking light of the situation you and many others have been through. Your new wannabe lover too right. Me loves to watch you squirm...' Topsy clenched his teeth as the hissing voice inside his head egged him on, laughing and taunting him. It was like the heartless that was within had waited for this exact moment to cause Topsy an intense and sharp pain over what he remembered from the time after he'd killed his husband Daaku. 'Hahahaha, you can neva have wub again Abby. Neva Neva Neva Neva Neva Neva. Ahahahahahaha....'

Topsy was looking directly into Andrew's eyes as the beautiful kitsune stared at him, but Topsy heard nothing that the adorable fox-man said. His eyes had already turned black as he struggled to speak the words..."Andy, run...I don't want to hur" Topsy's face turned black as his skin erupted with the deepest darkness, his entire form rapidly consumed by a pitch black miasma that actually dripped from his flesh, splattering onto the ground sizzling the earth.

Topsy jumped back from Andy, his body twisting as he fell to the ground and started thrashing. Black liquid sprayed from his mouth as he convulsed on the ground and darkness continued to bubble up around him. He finally stood up in the pitch black night and hissed, his form still looking like Topsy but a dark aura surrounding him that continued to splatter the ground with darkness. Half of his face was all black and both eyes were pitch black as well. Both bone wings had extended from his back. His voice was lower, deeper, and full of malice. His voice came out in a raspy hiss right next to Syn, "Do you want to see a real monster??"

Topsy's arm literally pierced the dark of the night next to Syn, the entire arm snaking out in front of him in the blink of an eye as Topsy clawed at Syn's face with his outstretched hand. However, in the same movement, Topsy had already closed the short distance between them and without having the need to move, his bony wing slammed backward, threatening to smash into Syn's chest. Both arms moved forward in a series of countless slashes and palm thrusts with Topsy's super strength behind them. "No.. stop...I" Trapped inside his own body, Topsy tried to stagger closer to Andrew but failed. All he heard inside was 'No wub for Abby. Neva Neva Neva Neva....'

 

[Rhapsody]

He’s either foolish or daring or both to stick his mouth anywhere near the hybrid’s. Dante isn’t too familiar with this sort of thing, the meaning of it or behind it, and doesn’t waste time to figure it out. They only understand what a vulnerable position the hybrid put himself in, grabbing Calpurnia’s hands bare and allowing her skin to burn through palms. Dante doesn’t hesitate. Bites down on Trace’s tongue when it meanders too close to razor teeth, relishing in the blood that flows onto the tongue as they’re dropped down. This hybrid is quite delightful.

You might wanna check on Calpurnia.

“Moody One? Dante despises that one, ne. So weak. So afraid. Not Dante.” It may have been more or less captured by Trace, but Dante looks far less concerned as they shrink and lower themselves to the dirt. Submitting like a belly-up dog, but still wound tight for an opportune moment to strike again. That throw should have broken the other hybrid, so to see him emerge not only unbothered but invigorated by the spiraling insanity enabled Dante. Delightful, truly! If only Dante had taken over a body like his, this Trace! He looks to have few reasons to hold back and no reservations to impede their resolve!

Dante pants and heaves, serpentine tongue lolling out its mouth in a manner not unlike the rabid dog when begging for attention. The breathy heaves pitch up in a raspy chuckle as Dante reclaims some distance between it and Trace. The hybrid may have activated a sort of possession over Cal’s darker Other Half, but Dante looks none the wiser to this, or appears to even care. “Dante can do whatever with this one. Hybrids are sturdy. See, Dante will show you...” The claws that dig into Calpurnia’s skin make long gashes that spit darkened, blue blood. Gouging and digging into the flesh of its own skin, the heartless grins dreamily at the mess of open flesh and blood. “So... sturdy...”



The infinite expanse of shadows feels more like home to her. Sitting cross-legged and looking fairly relaxed (defeated, resigned) to her predicament, she doesn’t even move when another arrives. Why should she move? She never called out for a rescue, and a rescue sure doesn’t sound any more promising when the voice of Trace’s heartless teases her from outside the cage. Cal doesn’t open her eyes, still leaning against the far corner of self-created jail that shimmered in the darkness.

“Safer here than out there? Yep. I do. So get the hell out.” How the heartless even ended up in here, Cal can only attribute to something of Trace’s doing. She’s not sure what to think of him sending his heartless here to help her. Again, she didn’t ask for it. Doesn’t need it.

He’s becoming too attached to you, is probably one of the grossest things she’s heard in a while and she can’t help but grimace at that. Luckily, Trace’s so-called attachment is not her problem. She couldn’t care less about Trace or his fixation with chess pieces. Mostly everything else from the heartless' mouth is observed with thinly masked skepticism. If he's going to eat her, just get on with it already. Try it.

Any final words? Cal wants to snort at that, but the ear-splitting, head-pounding screech that comes right after. Her skin crawls more at the animalistic roar than it has in her time here, in the darkness. “Yeah,”she says, pounding her palm against her ear, “Shut the hell up--”

Then, another familiar voice, though this one is far less annoying, far more… welcoming. Looking past the heartless to see the keyblader, here of all places, even Calpurnia can barely mask her surprise.

“Kid? The hell’d you--?”

No point in asking that, though, not when Vi herself seems confused about how exactly she ended up here, how either of them ended up here… Cal moves to stand to her feet, and the remorseful look in her eye feels almost foreign to the usually stoic woman. “Never mind. Listen… I… I didn’t want to bring you into this… Any of this.” Of course, she doesn’t know Vi is still very much unconscious on the surface, nor that her dignity will be close to shattered once learning Dante briefly attempted to swallow the keyblader whole. Head to toe. If she knew about that, she’d apologize for that too. “Anyway, why’re you here? What’re you even doing here?”

 

[Deimos]

Trace's mouth was full of blood, as it leaked from the sides, and ran red, oozing down his chin. It felt heavenly, the sensation curved his expression as spittle of darkness transmogrified and repaired his tongue at the speed of a dynamite wick sizzling in reverse. There was The forest was quite the place, clutching the dark sphere in his right hand he squeezed it, it would prompt his heartless not to disobey lightly, able to sense it's very intentions from that sphere he held.

"You are truly a remarkable specimen, Dante." Trace said licking the blood from the sides of his lips. There was a shimmer, it was quiet yet intense, glee followed swiftly as the human listened. A chill circulated down his spine, he was positively elated and in due turn the body reciprocated the excitement. Chills became goosebumps, and goosebumps activated his madness overturning. Trace himself was never "right" all the way around.

"It gives me great pleasure to tame you...hell i'll even offer up my body if you've got the balls."

Trace had a grin the size of a freshly sliced jack-o-lantern. Raising his finger, but a single finger, and swinging it from side to side tauntingly. "Tsk. Tsk. Come now Dante, let me amplify that powerhouse with my madness. You won't be disappointed." Turning his hand around, his finger wagged towards him, issuing the consumed hybrid to come closer.

Affixed, his eyes were wide, wider than Anti's with a grin and sharpened teeth as he wasn't joking in the slightest. This was how far he was willing to push things, living and breathing your ideals where obsession itself becomes insanity, burning at the cross for pure conviction. For Xabat. For Lucrecia. For the damned world he ruined and burned to the cesspits of hades, he breathed only this and for his kind.

Who needed darkness? The intensity of murderous intent? No. Greater than that, this is was perpetual and unfiltered insanity putting it out as a pressure that quickly began to fill the entire forest. Trace had long since noticed the other one there, but he didn't care either way, he was busy; elsewhere his companion was blotting out their conversation every-time either of Trace or Dante spoke regardless, the sound didn't travel to it's ears. Clutching the orb of darkness, Trace raised both of his hands to the sky, in the moonlight he was truly jittering, his teeth were stained with the color of his blood and he watched as the hybrid dug into it's body. As his arms came down, he took a slanted side motion pivoting himself into a bow curting his left foot forward and leaning. All manner of defenses were lifted save for the glaring emblem arching from both of their hands.

Troublesome brat.

Anti had been slowed for some time, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to actually be hit by a keyblade. It hurt, hurts more than peeling back Trace's skin, the nerves writing in agony as talons dig in between epidermis. That feeling, but times four, and Anti had to be realistic here, he's never see Vrivianne in combat, she'd either foolishly barely avoided heartless or strategically chose to hide her mete with a blade from Trace and him. Dropping to it's knees, the heartless reeled more so than it initially expected, but the daze would pass soon enough.

There was a sharp grip at Anti's chest. "Fucking bastard..." Anti seemed to let it escape it's lips, a tense grip on it's very existence, the fool wasn't as much of a fool as he'd thought originally if he plucked his core and isolated it. There was a heart-shaped hole in Anti's chest, and the core was missing, he'd been under the hell of that maniac even now. With a grimace no different than Calpurnia's expression, Anti simply stopped talking and drew the darkness towards itself.

Calpurnia would act as a vehicle for another hybrid welling up inside. The pitch black body of water, started to reduce to a gray colored floor, and the water washed around Anti almost in the shape of a small sphere, it twisted and spun around violently releasing a red-orange color, with the thumping and pump, before a hand tore through it and Anti punched dead into the surface just before the cage to knock the keyblader on the ground. Small bubbles from the swirl of darkness bringing forth lesser shadows that shuffled in a cartoony fashion towards Vrivianne and the caged Calpurnia.

The hand retreated into the sphere, and Anti in it's anti-form stepped out, sucking the rest of the orb into it's physical body. There was no longer an ocean of darkness, but the bleak and gray floor remained, with the two women, the cage, the heartless, and Anti itself. It raised its hands, and swiped so fast it pulled a broadsword into existence. Small wings protruded from it's back and horns buckled like antlers at the heartless crown. Anti's eyes, yellow, and with a depth that would peer into the souls of these young women.

The sword raised, with a single swipe, it whisked several smaller orbs of darkness to scatter and move at a slowed speed to cover the area armed to detonate if they weren't all dealt with.

 

[Story Keeper]

~- Choices -~

Henry wasn't sure what to make of the new world, even though he suggested them going here. Sitting on the floor ship, his eyes shut tight against the sudden attack of this world's residents. So many souls, so many begging for his attention. He could feel them flickering around him, some of them vanishing from his radar and others struggling to survive. He heard Renn called for him and Sevastian, but he sat there for a moment longer. Standing up, Henry opened his eyes before heading for the exit.

Setting foot on the world, Henry glanced down at his hands. There was a ball joint like design on his wrists, and he could just feel the location of the other ball joints. Knees, ankles, elbows, shoulders... His skin was extremely pale, almost translucent and when he looked up his eyes had taken on a black draconic shape with red streaks running down his cheeks almost like he'd been crying blood. His hair was pale and unkempt, something that was a little odd in his opinion but whatever. Glancing at Sevastian, he saw the other's costume and raised an eyebrow at it.

Sevastian had his own witty comment. Rolling his eyes, he glanced toward the town square where he could sense the souls lingering there, and then towards the woods where there was a calmer one that was watching two feral souls. He made a mental note on it, deciding that it'd be best to investigate it at some point. Looking at Renn, Henry asked, "Which way do you want to go? If we go to the town, we'll meet Andrew and Topsy, maybe even that boy that cut down Sononea. If you didn't want to meet them...."

He glanced over to see that Sevastian had taken off for the town, seeming to be laser focused on finding Andrew. Well, that was fine by Henry. Looking back at Renn, he pointed towards the woods and finished, "There's a couple of hybrids in that direction causing trouble, so what do you want to do? The town or the woods?"

 

[purgatory]

My head felt positively atrocious, but things were sort of ok. I kept mentally preparing myself for a "Scram" or "Get Lost" in Cal's voice echoing in my mind somewhere, and to my surprise it never came. As I thwacked Anti in the back of the neck he reeled and was out of the way long enough for Cal and I to talk.

“Never mind. Listen… I… I didn’t want to bring you into this… Any of this.”

If you could imagine my surprise I almost blushed, almost. Scratching the back of my head I looked at Calpurnia in earnest, I had to be realistic here. She was a hybrid, but at this very moment she looked like a prisoner and part of me couldn't ignore that. Pointing my keyblade at the cage, I did what I read in books, what they showed the privilege kids that were adorned key blades by masters at the academies, and unlocked the cage that Anti tried to bend the bars of.

My body was tense, I couldn't explain why I did this, but I hugged Calpurnia in between her last question. Something about my choice of who to endear lately, if you only knew half of what i've seen in the last year.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I let her go and brushed my sides before I cleared my throat. "You...really remind me of someone I knew a long time ago, I really can't leave you alone, and I know it's kind of annoying...no...really annoying...oof."

I never get the chance to talk. Trace's heartless wasn't in the best mood either, as I quickly noticed that the dark water from the floor was being drawn into the heartless. The water sloshed around like some wicked crazy geyser tower thing, and wrapped in some cool looking globe that turned colors like a lava-lamp. There was a definite feeling of unease...was I really going to have to fight this...I really didn't want to...because...I would wreck the living hell out of it if I actually tried.

I took a deep breath, and remembered all those years of tutoring. My concentration broken when a hand emerged from the ball, and slammed in front of me knocking me on my ass for the third time today. Go figure, it was irritating let me tell ya. I grounded myself, taking note of the sets of yellow eyes coming out from the mini-pool that the fist created before it drew back. Shadows. Pure-blood heartless you see quite literally...everywhere. I raised my arm to stance and pulled Grigori in close.

[GO!]
"Don't blink Cal. Sabre."

Grigori blistered with light as I used the third of the three fencing styles (the other two being Foil & Epee). My wrist motions and swing speed were a bit out of practice, but I released a few quick diagonal slashes from my single-hand wield. Striking directly at the head of each shadow before moving to the next as quickly as one burst into dark blue ooze. I whipped a swift tap, blowing away the ooze from the shadows and looked on to see that Anti had accumulated ALL of the darkness in the room into itself. I will not lie to you, I was a bundle of nerves, but fencing as a professional once you hit master level, your concentration is to be FEARED. I gracefully whipped Grigori downward and shifted the placing of my foot to change my style.

"Foil."

Twisting my wrist, my Grigori disengaged a large number of my markers. My wrist motion was clean and precise as I jabbed 4 times in a second, launching the markers like miniature pin missiles to intercept the balls of darkness, causing them to explode on contact, creating a hell of a light show inside of Cal's inner space.

That's so friggin cool!!!

My zeal got a little swollen for a moment, two moving orbs through the thick red and white-orange light show managed to slink through the explosions on route for Calpurnia's cage. I jumped to swat one, and turned to parry the other, but it exploded and knocked me onto the cage's exterior. That hurt, but whatever adrenaline I was on at the moment was seriously downplaying the pain a tad. I bolted for the heartless switching my form one more time for a heavy attacks reduced in speed but aimed for the torso with horizontal twisting motions.

"Epee!"

Metal clanged trying to keep the hybrid on the defensive as my thrust weren't as fast as the foil, but they were incredibly strong and one couldn't afford to either directly block or miss an evasion. I could do roughly 2 and a half jabs in a single second attacking with heavier and forceful thrusting motions. This was annoying, they shouldn't have even been fighting to begin with, but who really knew what the hell was going on, I just didn't want to see Cal get eaten. Screw that! My last jab locked the blade down in the dirt and with a closed fist, I jabbed the heartless dead on knocking it away from the broadsword.

"Oww! Owowowowowowowow, what is your face made of bricks?!?? Crap man!"

I shook my hand and rubbed it, caring for it like my tender child. I won't lie, it felt really good to dish back, but at the same time I felt like this ordeal Trace insisted on putting us through...was probably in some ways good. I couldn't really be sure, I didn't know what to expect, it looked like Anti was being pressured. Watching it clutch it's chest uncomfortably, suddenly gave me an idea.

"Wait a second. Cal! Does your heartless...have a core too?"

 

[Story Keeper]

~- Never Let You Fall -~

Andrew saw the darkness swirling in Topsy's eyes, and he was taken aback when he was knocked away from Topsy. Landing on his butt, he winced inwardly at the shockwave that went up his right wrist. Pushing himself to his feet, Andy froze as he saw the mass of darkness that had consumed Topsy, the voice that came out was wrong on so many levels. Shying away from Topsy, he stared as his brain tried to process what to do. The faint howl of an animal drew his attention back to the lab, and he thought he saw something up there, perched and watching them.

"No.. stop...I"

His eyes darted back to Topsy, desperation rolling off of the older hybrid, it coiled around Andy. A suspicion tugged at Andy, making him take a couple of steps forward. "Shiva, I need you." He breathed, his eyes glowing as an icy woman appeared in the air. Looking at her, he motioned to Topsy and Syn, his eyes pleading for assistance even as he shivered. Shiva nodded, the terrain around Andy turning icy as more icy women appeared and rushed Topsy, parrying some of his strikes to make it easier on Syn.

Going to Leyla, he called his lance even as a gust of wind kicked up around them, shielding them from any wayward attacks. "Come on Tops, you've got this. Don't let him control you," he whispered, hoping that Topsy could feel the intention of his words even if he couldn't here them. A cold laugh drifted through the air again, and again Andy looked in the direction that he thought that it was coming from but he couldn't find anything. Where was Savy when he needed him?

 

[Shinra]

"let's go see if topsy and andrew are okay first... Sure there's a lot of us now but I think we should stick together as much as possible."

"He does have a point... let's go with them..."Yoake responded in turn then they ran after Sevastian to Halloween town. But suddenly Renn felt an enormous presence overtake the town and it wasn't a good one and Renn could sense... Topsy?! He summoned his keyblade and Yoake followed suit. But this darkness, bolstered by topsy's impressive strength made Renn think as they saw Andrew come into view as he summoned Shiva. Syn was there as well but ice clones were hurling themselves at Topsy. "We're here to help too!"

 

[Deimos]

This obstruction was proving to sway the heartless initial opinion. Her motions were fluid, possessing a vigor akin to the escape attempt earlier, valiant as Anti said before. She cut through the orbs of darkness using tiny projectiles of her own and using them to collapse the orbs, causing miniature explosions to happen. Not long after, pressuring Anti himself back to defend against a single-handed sword barrage, thrusting with tenacity.

She was worthy to be turned after all.

The heartless fell backward and rubbed it's cheek from the somewhat hard tap, not as lethal as the keyblade, but felt. This keyblader, this human chose to defend one of Anti's kind, even from Anti itself. Though Anti would never recant on an order or it's own intentions, when he felt the force of Vrivianne's punch hit him it was clear Trace made the right call. Fighting to kill was not an option, fighting to stall too, was not an option, deviating from Trace's plan to remotely control Dante by finding it's core, should be left to Calpurnia and the girl as his human played with Cal's hybrid a while longer.

You always had the craziest schemes...i'll trust you just this once.

He knew how to bring it out. The heartless originated from the darkness spawned by a Guardian type, systemically their cores were woven by a vein twisting appearance. Reaching with it's own darkness it released as a shockwave and covered the area, revealing a small hiccup in the sky. It was loud.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

A mesh of red-pink and white, beating repeatedly suspended by what looked like a web of nerves. Looking to be about the size of a pumpkin, Anti dreaded the very site of Dante's core as his was that large not very long ago as well. With wide yellow eyes, the heartless watched as it slowly floated downward and was a dead even distance between the women and itself. Truthfully, Anti was interested in what either of them would do.

Compressing his darkness from a wrapping and constant moving aura, to a thinly layered veil in order to reveal the form of it's body. Trace's body. His hair a pale white, both eyes yellow and without irises, Anti cupped it's fist. Rolling it's eyes, the heartless sigil beamed on his right hand, same as Trace, same as Cal's body, same as Vi's charm. The time limit was nearly reached and rather than stick around and have to deal with Dante, Anti sank into the ground muttering inaudibly, if you could read lips he said this.

Well done, but this is only the beginning.

Awash, Anti was gone, resurfacing on his human's side who'd slunk down to a purely mad state. In direct contact, Anti could "feel" Trace's strong connection, this was completely out of the ordinary considerably based on their past encounters. Human women fleeing. Getting things thrown in his face. Even attacked on sight due to the color of his eyes, the dead give away.

A little over a minute remaining, you're back early. Whats the deal?

You sent Vi in there on purpose didn't you...

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Trace grinned, still buried underneath his own powerful spell of insanity. Truthfully speaking, tempting Dante with reckless abandon, teetering on the edge of an infatuation that was persisting even now. He'd stop at nothing for furthering the prosperity of their kind, so Calpurnia would see that in due time.

 

[Rhapsody]

Woah. Woahwoahwoahshe’standingtoodamnclose.

What was up with people… crowding her today? The keyblader girl had penetrated Cal’s self-imposed jail with the keyblade itself, and plunged right into the hybrid's chest like her life depended on it. Getting crushed into a hug by the girl wasn't half as weird as the mention that she reminded Vi of someone. So, yeah, this was an odd day.

And that’s not counting that stunt that Trace pulled earlier. Yeah, she knew about that, just as real as she felt the pain in her arm from Dante piercing its claws into her, she also felt that burning sensation on her mouth that wasn’t at all pleasant.

I really can’t leave you alone…

She really wishes Vi could, though, but what kills Cal the most is it’s become very hard to communicate this recently. She's getting attached. Yikes.

“You’re right. It’s super annoying…”

But there’s not enough bite to it to feel as caustic as it should feel. Cal doesn’t know what to think about that. So she doesn’t think about it, not now, not in the middle of a freaking battle with the maniac’s heartless.

It’s a damn wild one, too. And… wow, guess the kid can hold her own.

Cal feels useless having a human defend her like this, but it’s also. It does a warm-something to her half-dead heart. It’s not necessarily a bad feeling, either.

She doesn’t blink; after all, it was all a pretty flashy spectacle. And when the girl slammed into the cage from the impact of taking one of the orbs the heartless delivered, well… Cal tried to hide the concern in her eyes, she really did.

A smart hit to the heartless and Vi proposes something: A core?

“They all do.”

And just like that, one shockwave and the darkness opens up and Calpurnia doesn’t spare a thanks to the heartless because, well, he’s been kind of an ass up until this point.

But so has Cal, so. A small nod will do for now, before turning her eyes up to the bundled-nerve of a core.

Can she actually do this? ‘Course she can. Her gloves fall.

“We get out of this,” Cal announces to Vi, but not taking her eyes off the core, “and I’ll turn you--if you want. But listen to me: You’re a damn keyblader. You’re gonna throw that away to be some ugly... Thing that’s not human or heartless. Think about that. Think about it.”

Then, a change. A split second change, but a change nonetheless.

If someone told Cal the possession in her golden eyes looked eerily similar to Trace’s, she would have punched that someone in the face, but also not deny it.

“I’ll turn you. No one else. Got it?” She still doesn’t trust Trace. Or Anti. Vi can easily be taken advantage of if she isn’t careful. “We made a deal. And I’m your chaperone, ain’t I?”

It’s a flick of her wrists that her hands become talonlike. Claws of a heartless. She runs almost in an all-fours scramble, then stabs her claws into the core with both hands, the grip unshakable and rotting away Dante’s will. She doesn’t even notice Anti’s exit, only a brief glimpse of white in her peripheral.

“Alright. C’mere, shitbag...”



Dante barfs.

Blue blood spewing and overflowing from between tightly pressed lips.

It tries to collect the blood back, suck it back in through its cupped hands like a thirsty man would cold water. But Dante barfs again, and again. Wobbling on all fours like a wounded wolf in retreat, it blindly retreats to find purchase on the stem of its trident still firmly embedded into the tree. Rasping breathes, Heaving chest. Is this how Dante dies?

No, no, this isn’t death, but …. Something worst.

Submission.

Again. The weak one was regaining control.

Such a turn of events from only five minutes ago. When Trace had taunted Dante answered back with their own. When Trace had wagged his finger to come closer Dante showed him a finger of their own, the middle one.

And then.

Blegh. Blue blood puke.

Dante is chattering. About blood, about the one that barks, about the moody one and the smiley one and--

The puddle of blood bubbles. The heartless is too delirious to recognize the blue goop pulling itself into a vague shape, too focused on keeping balance to realize their second skin shedding from their body and shattering at its feet like broken blue glass only to dissolve into dust. Instead, leaning against the tree, the ends of their lips pull back to show the razor teeth in a demented smile. Yellow orbs peering back at Trace from behind the veil of messy white hair. It's slowly darkening to jet black.

A rasp, and a cough that spurts blood. “Teach moody one. She’s weak. Wont to running. Yearns for companionship. Disgusting. Maybe you are the better body. Dante will--” Another cough, and the final pieces of the second skin dissolve to reveal Cal, looking like a right wreck.

“Ah.” She coolly observes the blue mess on the ground, running down her chin, slopped over Vi’s prone, unconscious form. Her arm throbs. She’s bleeding. Sparky’s nowhere to be found. Her coat's zipper is... somewhere. Not on her coat anymore, that's for sure. “Well. That was... effing gross.”

 

[Deimos]

There was definitely something about this woman, she didn't run away, this time. Dante's movements slowed, possessing a slower pace and sickly and frail motions. It had been injuring the body of dear sweet Calpurnia, little thought persisted, but some existed and it was gradually sharpening. Dante was becoming aware of being subdued, reigned in, just like Anti's initial reaction. If you blinked, you'd of missed a dip in the madness, as Trace released a single tear past his wild and heinous smile.

Ya did good kid...thanks.

If you blinked, you would miss how agonizingly difficult it was to express what you were feeling. What a heartless did to your mind, your emotions, your very humanity. Trace would eventually tell Calpurnia these things, his destructive responses of ridiculous charm operated a little differently from her cold and brief ones. She mentioned baggage...and Vi cried about it, but if that kid, if Calpurnia, hell if even Trace knew half of what the other had experienced, this whole go at their first meeting might've been...less painful, less...bloody.

Snapping from his trance, Dante stated his final words before dismissal.

“Teach moody one. She’s weak. Wont to running. Yearns for companionship. Disgusting. Maybe you are the better body. Dante will--”

Usually how it goes, at the very last second you never get that final piece of information. A hooting sound echoed across the dead forest, his owl swooping down and perching on one of Calpurnia's extended legs. Trace closes his eyes, and shrinks the dark sphere, assimilating it back into his form. Walking slowly back to their original places, Vrivianne was still unconscious and lay there in the same spot, sleeping as if nothing had transpired. Saturated in both blood and saliva, his own saturated and even staining his teeth, but this wouldn't do.

His cross pinned into the ground and the hybrid reached into one of the sides, taking from the storage space, two towels. Kneeling down, he lifted Vrivianne's head shockingly, raised it to rest under it. Trace looked at the keyblade she still clutched in her hand, if what Anti witnessed was anything to go by, it made him wary. The hybrid sighed and turned his attention to Cal, leaning down his bird was rustling it's feathers to cast a weak curative spell, releasing an odorless mist.

"I see you've managed to find your courage," Trace began to wipe her tattered arms and clear the layers of where Dante bore into her "--I'm finding mine as we speak."

What? Trace didn't know either, he's never said something cryptic like this, that he wasn't sure of, a mistake of the tongue is what he'd write it off as, or so he'd like to. For some reason, some strange reason, he was relieved that both of the women were ok, despite admittedly being a bit more cautious in association with the keyblader. Sure, goals mattered and ensuring the two of them were fine coincided with his set of convictions...but it was...more complicated than that. Gripping his head, he broke eye contact with Calpurnia and sighed before gritting his teeth.

Anxiety.

"No sense dodging this now, but you know what I did to you," and he looks her dead in the eyes as serious as can be "don't you."

 

[Rhapsody]

Now, this is a surprise. Cal can’t hide the raised brows when Trace pampers Vi with an oddly gentle touch, resting her head comfortably on a towel. She’s still high off her newly established instinct to defend the keyblader, so the ‘easy’ that falls from her lips in a guarded warning is, unfortunately, not as threatening as she would have hoped.

Things get weirder. He goes to her.

The cure spell is a balm over the skin. The flap from the owl’s wings produces a mist with a cooling effect, and Cal carefully observes Trace addressing her wounded arm. Meeting the strange interaction with a hooded, skeptical gaze and a derisive snort. “Interesting... So you’re that type.” The type that only reveals himself completely under dire circumstances. Basically, kinda like Calpurnia.

Of course, Cal doesn’t say this aloud. He wants to be cryptic? She can be cryptic right back.

She’s being too petty. The guy is healing her. (Saved her life, but she’s not ready to give that much credit just yet.) She’s never tried to learn those healing or offensive magic, and Dante never has the patience for it, and she’s been perpetually broke since… her entire life, so no potions or such things like that. They’re helping.

Shit. Where’s Sparky? Did she eat him again? It’s the only explanation for his absence, and this wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. At one of the blue puddles, she tries to will the already morphing form into shape, and with a bit quiet contemplation the blob forms legs, a stub for a tail, and shapes out a maw. It’s enough of a jumpstart for Sparky to take over from there, shaking out its body to fill in the rest of his existence.

When Cal catches Trace’s conflicted gestures in her peripheral, it’s so… off. She can’t pinpoint this new persona that seems far more serious and she almost can’t keep his gaze. Almost.

“What?” The corners of her mouth upturn slightly. “The teasing out my heartless? Getting inside my head? Kissing my other half?”

But she’s not looking at him as the last question leaves her. Instead, she focuses past Trace, off to the side. Something far off, in the distance, leaning against a tree and with the smell of death that lures Sparky from his owner in favor of an investigation. “I really wanna punch you for that last stunt, Trace,” her gaze sharpens, and her voice lowers, “but we’ve gotta down kid here, and another hybrid at 2 o’clock. So, later.”