~- Static -~
For a moment, it seemed as if the rightful heart was about to break free as, seemingly goaded on by their words, another's voice came from the emperor's lips, requesting... no, pleading for them to end him. But then, a shout rand out from the crowd, causing the skeleton soldiers to renew their assault. Mere moments later, a young man charged Nihilus, a blind rage flashing in his eyes.
Whatever presence that had taken over the armored man seemed to fade as, kicking the boy aside, he snarled something at the boy, malice dripping from each word, before rushing through the crowd. Spinning on his heel, Lucien made to pursue him; but a dark corridor soon swallowed the man, making further pursuit impossible as the swirling mass collapsed in on itself. Lucien might be an angel, but even he couldn't divine where another would will a portal to take them to.
Gritting his teeth, the angle gave up on the emperor as a lost cause for the moment as he turned his attention to the matter at hand. With Nihilus' retreat, the skeletons went into a frenzy, their attacks morphing to deadly efficiency. Lucien felt the sorrow of wrongful death rising in his chest, making it a challenge to suppress his wings. But it was a challenge he had become use to during his time traveling the worlds; instead of giving in, he called his lance and shield to his grip, raising the latter just as a skeleton brought its scythe down to cleave the angel's head in two.
For a moment, the combatants tested one another’s strength, until, a gleam entering his eyes, Lucien shoved up and back, destabilizing the skeleton's center of balance. "Don't ever try to best me with a scythe; you'll always fall short!" With that, he ducked and swung around behind the transfigured being; rising swiftly, he struck at a pressure point, causing the soldier to crumple into an unconscious heap.
A wall of earth rose up, forming an effective prison around the fallen soldier. Following the magic to its source, Lucien saw the boy from moments before use the same spell to incarcerate even more of the soldiers, removing them from the fight without killing them. The angel smiled, pleased with the boy's tactics; his attack against the emperor had been fueled by reckless rage, but the imprisoning of the skeletons showed that he still remembered that they were innocent souls transformed into hellish demons against their will. Acts like this always reaffirmed the angel's faith in humanity, despite the boy's recklessness; if anything, he reminded Lucien of Varen in that regard.
Sparks danced across Lucien's hand, the intensity of the magic crackling in his eyes as he called more of it to him. Thumping the shaft of the lance against the ground, he discharged the magic, sending static racing toward several of the soldiers; many of them crumpled to the ground, paralyzed from the force of the lightning magic. Some of the skeletons tried to resist the effects, but the angel's magic was too strong, and soon they succumbed as well, a few of them even gaining an earthen seal as the boy's magic incarcerated them.
Releasing another wave of static, Lucien sensed that the situation Mira was in was escalating as well; several deep, echoing chimes seemed to back this thought up, filling the air with a sense of foreboding. However, there was nothing he could do to help the mouse unless he wanted to reveal himself to all of the mortals nearby. For now, she was doing fine, with the fight she was in being nothing she couldn't handle on her own. So for now, he'd keep a watch on her battle and consider it an impromptu test to evaluate her abilities.
~- Firewall -~
"This is not mine... Its power is flawed. Its beauty tarnished... I must restore it back to its gracious glory. I know its here... The keyhole that is. I also know the wrath it may wrought on this town of serenity and boredom, but my key must no remain the same."
That, thought the little mouse, watching Chi walk away, Is not a very good or comforting reason to want the Keyhole. Yeesh, no reason's a good reason; they're all either deeply wrong or desperate denial!
"I don't like the look of that guy. And I'm Llyndellia. Nice to meet you."
Turning back as Llyndellia gave her name, Mira resisted the urge to make a joke about it being a mouthful. Actually, with her mind occupied by Chi's ominous quest to restore his Keyblade, it was pitifully easy to keep the jokes in check as Mira said, "You and me both, sister. Listen, I really need to get going; that guy's giving me..."
Her words were cut off as a deep, throaty peal rang through the streets. Confused, Mira whipped her head around to face the Gizmo Shop; to be more accurate, she was looking at the bell on the shadowed rooftop. Hadn't she heard that it was boarded up? So why was it ringing now?
Two more peals rang through the air, filling the little mouse with dread as several pedestrians stopped in their tracks, raising their own eyes fearfully to look at the bell tower. For a moment, time seemed frozen as the bell's echoes faded away; but then, a rumbling scrape shook the ground as the mural behind the fountain slowly turned, revealing a new painting and, Mira sensed, the Keyhole.
A triumphant shout echoed through the air as Chi almost flew back toward the fountain. Readying herself, Mira was a breath away from calling her own Keyblade to stop him; but the appearance of a large, armored Heartless stopped all three of them in their tracks, though Chi did have some choice words for the monster. Come to think of it, Mira had a few of her own she'd like to say; but between the fact that this was neither the time nor place, and she honestly didn't want to antagonize the mentally deranged boy, she bit her tongue and chose to save the tirade for a later date.
"By the way, who was the moron that rang the bell? Can you fight? If not, then please remove yourself from this situation miss, I'd rather not be held responsible for your injuries."
Llyndellia and Chi went at the Heartless almost instantly, still trading verbal blows. Mira hung back, for a moment, calling magic to her as she weaved her spell. Jerking her head in Chi's direction, she answered the brunette's question, "That guy's one that rang the bell. And I can fight just fine, so don't worry about me, worry about yourself!"
Feeling the current peak, she released the spell; instantly, a ring of flames appeared around the four of them and the Heartless. The flames were cold to the touch of all but the beast, so the fire wall wouldn't hinder them; but it kept the Heartless from getting away and attacking any pedestrians while forming an arena a hundred feet out, giving the Keybladers and the new guy ample space for spells and techniques.
Mira's shoulders itched, but she kept a tight hold on the wings as she jumped from the fire wall seamlessly into another spell. Crouching low to the ground, she centered the flow of magic into her fingers and palms; placing her hands against the round cobbles of the street, she intoned, "O sorrowful waters, I want to end this!"
Raising her hand from the ground, Mira released the magic as a great geyser of water erupted from the fountain. Directing it to surge, she sent it straight at the Heartless, knocking it apart from the force. Looking to Llyndellia and Chi, the mouse called, "Whenever you're ready; save the clawing of each other’s throats out for later!"
~- Darkness -~
Varen threw a look at Ivy, but hung back all the same. Studying her face, he could see that the Druid girl looked pale; gently, she hopefully wouldn't notice, he focused on her mind, tuning into her thought to try and find out why...
Nice try, Noctis, but I know you're there. I think I recognize one of them, maybe, but that's not enough to be the cause of whatever made you decide to try a mind probe. I'm fine, so focus on the matter at hand!
Man, those sisters could be scarily similar when they wanted to be. Smiling slightly, if still worried, he turned back to watching the two guys in the clearing; a but a soft rustling in the jungle on the other side of the space drew his attention. Varen's eyes narrowed as he watched the spot, waiting.
Suddenly, two hyenas burst from the tropical undergrowth, racing for the two in the clearing. Varen was tensed, ready to race into the clearing, when a hand wrapped around his forearm, fingers gripping him in a vice of steel.
Looking to the clearing, he saw that the two were handling themselves well enough that they didn't need his help. Turning to Ivy, he placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to steady her. Feeling how cold she was, he drew her cloak tighter around her as he studied her stark white face. "Seriously, what's wrong, little sister?"
Shaking her head, the girl closed her glassy eyes, hiding them as she bit out, "Don't leave me."
Rubbing her shoulder to try and warm her, Varen started talking softly, just trying to keep the normally serene girl calm. They way she was staring, he felt almost certain that she was having a vision; but at the same time, the thought made no sense. Ivy's visions always came to her as dreams; why the change now?
A low crackling sound reached Varen's ears, setting him on edge. Squeezing her shoulder, he whispered, "I'm not leaving you, I swear. But there's something stalking us..."
Snarling, a hyena burst from the bushes; sensing the girl's weakness, the animal went for Ivy, the hunt blinding it to Varen. The hyena was reminded painfully quick of the young man's presence as, growling himself, Varen tackled the beast, sending both of them crashing into the clearing.
Rolling on his shoulder, Varen used his momentum to throw the animal off of him. Clambering quickly to its feet, it watched with hungry eyes. Using a trick he picked up from Jordon, Varen adopted a threatening posture and growled at the hyena, a clear command for the animal to get lost. It watched him a moment longer, but the hyena turned around and ran off, no doubt following the scent of its fellows.
A soft rustle had Varen turning around, but he relaxed slightly when he saw Ivy picking her way delicately into the clearing. Her face looked drawn and pale, but her eyes had regained their trademark calm, displaying none of her fear or weakness of a little while ago. Shoving aside his curiosity for a better time, Varen laughed softly in an attempt to dispel the tension that was slowly building in the air, as well as to draw the other two's attention from Ivy. "Fist time I've seen those animals since I've been here, and they seem out for blood; terrific. Mind if we share your campsite for the night in keeping with the safety in numbers philosophy? It'd give you a couple more sets of eyes, in case they come back with their pack."
Waiting for their reply, Varen's eyes went to the dark haired mind, his senses on high alert. While the boy didn't concern him at the moment, Varen could feel the Darkness clinging to this man as easily as he could feel his own. But unlike Varen's, which Willow had described as feeling like a warm summer night, the shadows around this man were a malignant miasma, as cold as midnight in the dead of winter. Varen wanted to let Ivy recover first, then ask her opinion.
He was sure they'd found their man.