The Dance of Chaos

[ThePromise]

The rain that had threatened to wound them all had subsided, and with it gone, Roy found it unnecessary to display so much power. Eventually letting Hana move out of the shuriken tornado, he halted the shuriken and they ultimately glowed brightly before returning into three single, larger shuriken in front of him, hovering and slowly rotating around both himself and Venus. "Wait a second Hana!" he called to her, but she already appeared to be gone and heading up towards a building. What Hana didn't consider is that they were after Venus, and by leaving him here, that left Venus with a little more vulnerability.

"Man, she's quick to act without thinking ..I guess I have no room to talk, being in this mess with you." Roy rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the one person everyone seemed to be after so much. Venus' plan made sense but, Azusa had the advantage at a distance, yet also had a disadvantage. She could be just about invisible and attack from a distance all day long, that was her advantage. However, it was more than obvious Roy was skilled at long range combat as well. It was going to be a stalemate until Azusa changed things up, or if Venus herself could move in and attack.

"I mean, if she's choosing to keep her distance, it means she's not good face to face."

"I disagree, she could probably just be assessing our powers, I think she's pretty good." Roy had begun to look around, examining his surroundings and examining the building she partly destroyed to use her last attacks. She was there, and somewhere in the area still, but she was smart enough to move. This girl wasn't stupid. Walking around Venus, he perked his ears up, trying to listen for her. Meanwhile, Venus had presented him with a challenge while his back was to her.

"...You know, if we can safely get out of this somehow, I'll give you a kiss."

At first he didn't move and seemed to lower his head for a moment, thinking about what he had just heard from her. A moment later, he had looked back at her face, formulating a plan. There was a way to lure her out, but he would essentially lose the fight, or worse, his life. Still, he was expendable ..something about this girl, and he couldn't explain it so don't even ask him, told him that she was more important than he could comprehend. Eventually that neutral stare would turn into his smile again. Turning around, he had his hands come to her waist and hold her snugly.

"I don't need your lips to tell me to do the right thing, Venus .." Roy began, thinking long and hard about his next move. Slowly bringing his head forward, he pressed his lips against hers, shutting his eyes and giving her a genuine and warm kiss that she had offered to him as a reward for getting them out of this situation unharmed. He had held her there for a good six seconds, pulling away and being afraid he was taking more than he should have. Roy expected a slap of some kind, but ..it never came. "I'm cheating though." he picked her up off the ground by a foot or so, one of his shuriken coming below her and grasping at her with its magnetic capability. When he released her, she would be hovering five inches from the shuriken, allowing her to levitate. Another came above her and grasped her as well, just to ensure that she would have balance and not threaten to tip over if she moved too much.

He released her hips and stepped back, and immediately the third and final shuriken prevented her from stepping out if she tried. It came between them and spun quickly, glowing brighter than the others and revolving around her quick enough to prevent her to leave without sustaining a serious wound with her lack of armor of any kind. Again, his smile was shown as he stepped back again and again. "You said 'we' ..but I'm not going with you. I'll cover your escape." Turning around, Roy would end up punching his left hand with his right fist, growing pumped for a fight that could potentially end his life. Venus would be almost invulnerable, at the cost of his own vulnerability.

"Oh." he looked as though he had forgotten something. Turning around as he manipulated the shuriken, Venus was slowly being raised above him. "It was nice meeting you Venus. You'll make someone happy one day, I can tell." Venus was a special girl, Roy read that much, so he had a hunch that someone would be lucky to have her as a friend, a partner, a lover ..anything. She was something. Pumping his right fist towards her, he smiled, his pearly whites showing and displaying that massive range of confidence.

"Let's meet again sometime, later!" his thumb raised and giving her the thumbs up of a man who was risking it all, Venus would find herself being forced farther and farther away from him, and the area itself, Roy serving as a repelling force for his shuriken that acted as magnets. She was quickly, yet safely being pushed away from him and off from the battlefield. The destination would be, funny enough, an ice cream shop that was at least three quarters of a mile from here. The way he saw it, he had to last for at least two minutes if Azusa went for him.

Watching her leave from sight, he wasted no time in raising his left hand to the sky, a sphere of strange energy erupting from it and drawing forces in, but this force only repelled Venus away further. His Magnera spell was proceeding to draw a lot of things in and gather them in one spot, above him, trapped.

"Okay, I am the one thing in your way right now and your only chance of getting to her, is getting right through me! So how about you take me on instead?" Roy shouted, the spell growing stronger. With Venus airborne, you'd need to be airborne to have any chance of reaching her, however you'd also have no way of resisting the force that would suck you into this sphere. Already he was gathering dust and debris caused by earlier attacks. His peripheral was kept on Venus as she got further away, nearly ending up nothing but a spec, since the spell was forcing them away further.

She didn't even want this battle, why force it on her? ...Where are you hiding?

He looked around, over his shoulder, up and above, having a good feeling this was going to work. It posed great risk to him, but Azusa had to realize he wasn't going to stop. She either dealt with him now, or dealt with him for the rest of her attempts at Venus' life.

"I'm unarmed, you don't need to hide anymore." Roy mumbled. If she really wanted to fight this force and remain invisible, then she was welcome to ..but if she was that afraid, then maybe he was overestimating her skill as well as her bravery.

-

Venus would be soaring just above many of the buildings in the Influx, the drop not enough to kill her, but enough to make an area sore if she landed on anything but her own two feet. The Shuriken continued to keep her balanced and straight, while the one revolving around her kept a lock on Azusa in case she had tried something. By tracking a weapon, they'd track her. By now she was meant to be far enough to breath easy, but the magnet storm from where she was, would still be very visible. It was Roy's best wishes that she were to remain safe as she intended, but if she decided against that, she'd have to time the revolving Shuriken to leap out and run back, something he'd be alerted to. Not only that, but she would risk a severe cut as well. But Azusa had never come for her, and she had reached her destination sooner than expected, sitting right outside an ice cream parlor. She was set down, the magnetic forces holding her finally releasing her, and she was free to do whatever she so chose.

But she had to remember.

It was his treat.

-

The forces building from that kid were phenomenal, and it was only due to his shadow sneak digging itself into the ground by the soles of his feet that he didn't get pulled in. His expression still remained neutral, and the 'Caleb' fellow had been at a loss of words since he arrived. Azusa had to play smart. This kid might've been stronger than his personality showed ..and ..he was familiar, he knew that boy.

 

[Piercing Light]

Hanahime was surprised when Her foe dodged her first attack, her kicks usually always hit their mark. Thankfully her sweep didn't, and as the pink haired wielder flipped back away from her Hana noted how nimble her body was. Direct attacks wouldn't work so well against her, which was a shame since that was her favorite type of attack. Their distance was just far enough from each other where making the next move would be pivotal, and it seemed her foe had decided to go first. Darkness began to enclose her like a foggy sheet, even extending to her keyblade.

"Oh great..." Hana muttered, dreading the idea of any disintegration attacks. That isn't what she got however, as Fleur launched a current of darkness that blew towards her in the shape on an 'X.' Holding out her right keyblade with one hand she stopped the attack, still suffering a few minor cuts on her body.
"Get this shit outta here!!" Hana screamed, forcing her keyblade to cut through the darkness.

"Where are you?" Hana looked around frantically, only just spotting her above her as she sent out spears of compressed wind. In the position she was in dodging would be impossible without getting impaled in some horrible way. Gripping her keyblade with both hands she spun it around over her head rapidly. She felt the impact of the attack as the spears rebounded away from her. She was still in recoil from that attack, so she just knew Fleur would strike at this point. Sure enough she was right above her, Her leg out stretched, threatening to knock her off the building. It seemed like a bad situation, but she knew how to turn it around. Calling away her keyblade Hana moved her body just out of the way of the kick, reaching out she grabbed her leg.

"I have you now~" Hana grinned as she grabbed her right arm in a submission hold, then slamming Fleur to the ground with a full body slam. The roof of the building collapsed, causing them both to fall to the floor below inside.

 

[IceBlueWings]

Theia felt like a naive kid seeing two people kiss for the first time although the feeling was short lived. "Oh dear. What a mess." She mumbled to herself as Roy seemed to have unleashed his strongest ability.

Venus was lifted up and away from the battlefield, and Theia had a feeling she was too far to be caught by anyone right now. Once this was over, Theia would definitely meet her. There was a sudden force pulling everyone and everything to the center where Roy was. This was a little too much, she thought as she looked at Roy in concern. She glanced at the Master of Darkness who still seemed to stand in silence, fixed in his spot and unaffected by the pulling force.

Theia managed to make her way to him. "Call your allies right now and leave." She said, conjuring rings of Light beneath her feet, making herself fixed to the ground as well. She was concerned of the outcome of the fight, even for the Darkness. "Don't you think the outcome will not end well, even for your side?" She looked at him gravely this time. "I don't know what's your motive," She summoned her Oathkeeper. "But I will not let this continue."

 

[ThePromise]

Sounds of the scuffle from above were drawing his attention as well. Van had glanced up, hearing some profanity up on a building up above, rather large in size. By the time it sounded like a floor had collapsed far above them, the woman from before, Theia, who had seemed to smart, had decided to confront him. He paid her no immediate mind, her keyblade coming out hardly getting his attention when it came to how his apprentices handled things. Fleur was up there the entire time, and didn't intend to help Azusa with her task at hand. The Master of Darkness couldn't have been more clearer when he told her to give Azusa 'back up' if she needed it, and it already seemed like two people had gotten in the way of Azula's main target.

She was supposed to be smarter than this ...so why did she just watch?

I'll have to rethink her ability to understand what comes from my mouth..

After about a good minute of pondering and leaving Theia there as if she was talking to herself, Van's head didn't turn, but his eyes moved to his right, and she was directly in his peripheral vision. His expression held a mix of boredom and disappointment, expecting the Master of Light to consider what he was really after before judging his intentions so quickly. How naive. Even the drunks at Ostagar thought more about what was said than this.

"..I take back what I said earlier. Another typical wielder, rushing into everything they know oh so little about." Theia had been quick to judge him, and for what? Because he had happened to be here, not pointing a finger at anyone, or not threatening to kill them all with his combat skills? Because he used Darkness to move around, that automatically made him the biggest threat to her. So the boy with the magnet wasn't threatening to destroy this entire street? Was the little mean looking girl on the building above not threatening innocent lives with her reckless nature?

"Take a good look around you and ask yourself if I, an unarmed man, am the biggest threat at the moment ..don't think too hard, or don't think at all ..your good at the latter, having come here and considering nothing about my question."

She didn't even ask ...

They'll give the title of 'Master' to anyone these days, won't they?

 

[IceBlueWings]

Theia dismissed the lack of reaction he gave and once he did respond, she couldn't help but feel guilty. "You're right." But you're certainly not unarmed... "But you're wrong." She knew she said two contradicting statements. She wasn't bothered.

"There are weilders who are willing to know and ask. I know someone very well who does that." She had a small smile to herself.

"I apologize for my assumptions...I made an ass out of 'u', and me, right?" She grinned but it faded, scratching her cheek awkwardly. She was being silly, making a lame joke in the current situation. "...That was a joke." She added quickly. Well of course he knew it was a joke, you idiot. She mentally berated herself.

"Anyway," She gripped her Oathkeeper tightly. "I don't know you, or your past..." She said. "Why do you choose the Darkness? Something must have happened along the way." She spoke her thoughts aloud. She was honestly afraid to ask. He might leave.

"I understand if you do not want to tell me." She couldn't force him, and he was kind enough to be staying here right now to listen to her. She would have liked to have this conversation in a nicer place, without the concern she had for the people around. "But...I'll do my best to figure out what your goal is."

 

[King Wolfe]

Azusa sighed as Venus was whisked away like an eagle piloting a blimp. How annoying, little heroes decided to jump into a fight they had no clue about. It's as if they had this assumption that Azusa was out to murder Venus even though they most likely didn't know who Venus was and why Azusa was doing what she was doing. She felt ashamed because she had failed such a promising assignment. It was frustrating because Azusa had no one to blame but herself. Chuck Norris himself could have descended from the heavens to fight Azusa and defend Venus but it was Azusa sole responsibility that she allowed Venus to escape. It didn't matter if Azusa had her eyes gouged out or if she had her throat sliced open, her failure was her fault no one else was to blame.

So, what to do now? She could take out her anger on the little hero or she could be the bigger person and accept defeat humbly. Azusa materialized to life reappearing a few feet away from Roy. She sighed and sheathing her weapon she shrugged reluctantly in defeat.

"Fine, you win little hero." She felt like crap, to everyone she was a failed assassin, to herself she was a failed person undeserving of sympathy. And for what? So a little hero could look cool or gain some sense of justice? Life wasn't fair but once again, it was still her fault.

"I'll admit you are impressive," she managed to say all of that without her voice cracking as she swallowed her shame, "But next time that girl won't be so lucky. You know nothing of this conquest, refrain from interfering little hero but don't worry-" she turned around so he couldn't see her crying, "-For you little hero I will make sure she has a fraction of life left."

An aura of darkness exploded in front of her and engulfed her in the shadows of fury and she blinked out of existence.

Reappearing suddenly to Van's left she bowed embarrassingly, "I have failed. I misjudged the capabilities of everyone around, there are a few strong ones out there." She refused to meet his eyes, it was unbecoming for such a failure to look at Van. But that didn't mean she couldn't look at her.

"Why do you ask of his affinity to darkness? Why is it such a bad thing? You don't understand anything so don't even bother to try. Don't try to sound like you're knowledgeable then secede so quickly." She stopped herself, it wasn't her place to defend Van. She bowed her head again and mumbled under her breath.

"I'm.. going home." Midnight Cat engulfed her and she faded into the background as if it were all part of nature, as if she never existed.

 

[Eva]

"I don't need your lips to tell me to do the right thing, Venus ..."

Er, maybe that was a bit much. Venus thought to herself, scratching her chin somewhat half heartedly. Before she could (try) to redeem herself, however, she found Roy inches away from her face. And as she was about to react, he actually kissed her. Completely thrown off guard, she was in complete shock as he pulled away. She didn't think he'd really do it, and...wasn't it her offer to him?!

"I'm cheating though."

Tell me about it.

Before she could reply, however, he had picked her up and placed her on one of his shuriken, which was, to be honest, odd. She was actually floating! On normal circumstances, she would've been absolutely giddy at something as new as this, but

"You said 'we' ..but I'm not going with you. I'll cover your escape."

WHAT?! Her jaw dropped. It was very weird how she somehow just couldn't pull any words out, her gestures and expressions speaking for her.

"Oh. It was nice meeting you Venus. You'll make someone happy one day, I can tell. Let's meet again sometime, later!"

"Ah, wait--!" She cried as she was pulled away. She would've jumped out if she could, but truth be told, beside that one shuriken blocking her from jumping off, she was pretty damn high. One she did land, however, she carefully stepped down, turning to see the spell behind her.

"Damn it!" She muttered, kicking the ground in anger. Did it really have to be this way? He'd be okay, Hana too, they'd come back. Right? Really though...he was so daring. She thought to herself, a finger touchin gher lower lip. She could still feel it, but her head was swimming in too many thoughts at the moment. Argh! Why did it have to be this way?! We could've made a break for it together, at least! But as she fumed, one thought really just kept bugging her, out of everything else.

Why was she attacked in the first place?

 

[ThePromise]

"..Did she leave?" All that preparation for nothing it appeared, Azusa wasn't going to fight him. Ceasing the drawing in of debris and anything that didn't have something to hold him back, the debris of rubble fell around him, all while Roy looked puzzled. Azusa wasn't the person to run away from a fight she could win, right? Man, it would help if he knew her better. Stroking his chin, he looked up towards the area where Hana was fighting thoughtfully. In time though, she reappeared a few feet from him, not in a fighting stance. Turning to her, he waved.

"Fine, you win little hero."

"Huh?" Roy's cheerful demeanor dropped for a moment. He won? But ..but he was expecting a really good battle and everything! This wasn't fair at all, but now that he thought about it, it wasn't fair that he interrupted her attack on Venus either. Still, she didn't seem like she wanted to fight. He didn't think he had any other option but to help her.

"I'll admit you are impressive,but next time that girl won't be so lucky. You know nothing of this conquest, refrain from interfering little hero but don't worry-"

"Hold on a moment."

--For you little hero I will make sure she has a fraction of life left."

It was hard to see, but his interference had a negative impact on her, not one of anger, but it seemed like she was frustrated. All that disappointment depressed him and really made him feel dirty all of a sudden. "I just wanted to say I was sorry.." but the darkness had already exploded, and she was gone from his immediate sight again. Rubbing his sand blond head in disappointment, he looked up towards the sky and to that building Hana climbed up to. His Shuriken would be coming back soon, but he didn't need them to get up there. Sprinting towards that building, he jumped up and climbed, not needing to jump repeatedly like Hana did, and instead appeared to stick to the surface.

"Hey, Hanahime, its over now, we can stop!~"
-

"Your mindset is so cliche, it hurts Theia.."Van had responded immediately, not beating around the bush and instead addressing her head on. The joke wasn't making him laugh, it was just stupid if you heard it more than once. By now, his entire head turned to face her, his eyes not showing a hint of rage, but still finding her more of a nuisance than anything else at the moment. He really misjudged her. She was no better than any other average keyblade master after all.

"I'll give you a question right back. Why do you choose the Light? You, who follow the Light and embrace nothing further couldn't possibly understand a thing about why I follow the darkness. Your as blinded as everyone else." by now, that boy up ahead had stopped his Magnet spell and was looking around, confused. He had drawn a lot of debris in, and it was falling around him, though he didn't seem bothered. Free to release the hold on the ground, the darkness at the soles of his feet dispersed and was gone.

"I don't care about your use of the Light, but when you talk down about Darkness when you appear to have never wielded it, then your nothing but a blind fanatic like the rest of them. This cycle of darkness and light fighting against one another is because of people like you who shun it and would see it destroyed entirely if you had your way." While he was a Master of Darkness, Van had wielded both powers long ago, but ultimately began to wield the darkness, so as to never let his power grow out of control again. It stuck since then.

"..And worst of all, its people like you who would see death to any who showed prowess in such a thing."

What happened to his apprentice was tragic, and never should have happened in the first place. Theia was the type to spread fear of darkness, and thus have people like Azusa killed off immediately. He was probably misjudging her right this very second, but it didn't change the fact it was the one who was so quick to summon her key blade that was instigating a fight right now.

It seemed on queue that Azusa would appear by his side, bowing her head and asking for his forgiveness for her failure, not with words, but with her refusal to look him in the eye. As quickly as she had come, Azusa also gave parting words to Theia, similar to his own, and left once more, wanting to go home. The entire time Van looked down at her, not with pity, not with hate, but with concern. She expected things to be a cinch, perhaps he'd need to remind her that failure was entirely natural. Truth be told, he expected this outcome, but not for Fleur to just sit back like that.

"Would you kill her too, Theia? ..you've only mastered your blind hatred of darkness. You really are nothing when compared to my student."

Stepping forward to her, Van came to a stop with her weapon just inches from where his heart was.

"With drawing this weapon so quickly, I take it you'd like to fight me ..I won't stop you from trying. This is your chance to kill me. But I'll warn you now." Raising his right palm towards her face, his eyes narrowed. Perhaps ..she wasn't worth using his key blade on after all. It had been a long time.

"One strike from you ..and I will drop my restraints." Whether it was Dark Hour or not, he was still capable of killing her on the spot. Would Theia call it a bluff? Or would she heed his advice and stand down?

 

[Lumine]

"I have you now~"

Fleur winced slightly as Hana grabbed her in a locked position. The girl wasn't bad, she had took on her prior attacks fairly well and even countered mid-way. Fleur tried to break free from the lock, but before she could, Hana had abruptly slammed her down the concrete roof, the impact cracking the roof's top and utterly demolished a good portion from it as it couldn't take on the rammed force causing them both fall down to the floor below.

"oomf..." Fleur coughed through the dust and the falling debris, feeling a good bruise burning up her left shoulder, and one in her right leg. Though, the flecking darkness had reacted well and enough in time to save her the worst of it. The perching heaviness on her was what annoyed her. "Get-off-me!" Fleur let out, using the air blowing in the newly made hole to form a quick burst of wind. In a blink it flocked around her, repulsing Hana's rather heavy figure with a rebounding shock wave, sending the girl to crash backwards. Wow, for one with her size she sure is sturdy..., Fleur quickly sprung to her feet, shaking off the dust on her clothing. That's when her ears perked a little, realizing that the noisy carnage that dominated the area outside had suddenly stopped. Her pink strands flopped lazily about her eyes as she whipped her head behind her back, listening intently. Was it already over?

"I would've loved to continue our fight, but I'll save that for later" Fleur said rather apologetically, her voice trailing with a simper smile as she scattered and disappeared in a rain of sakuras dancing in the wind.

An instance later, she rematerialized on the ground a couple of steps from her master and just in time to see Azusa's figure blend out. It didn't escape Fleur, however, how Azusa looked... unbelievably sad. And that in turn, meant one thing. Fleur's gaze didn't catch Venus anywhere, so she realized, surprisingly, disappointedly that they have failed. Greeeat~, she groaned mentally, her shoulders slumped slightly with frustration at the result, but she still couldn't shake off Azusa's earlier expression. It was just bitter and...disorienting to Fleur uncomfortably. Fleur tried to shake that off and shifted her focus to Van.

"I'll be off as well." She murmured depressingly, a feeling of sour shamefulness needling her insides as she looked at him, rubbing the back of her head with uneasiness. And soon enough, she too scattered in the winds, leaving behind nothing but a plethora of rosy petals.

That was a bad day.

 

[IceBlueWings]

Hm... Theia grumbled in her mind from more guilt as she paid attention to every word Van spoke. She should have made things more clear to him. Her intention to talk to him was to understand him more, not to pick a fight over which side was better. And she had never once thought of killing someone.

Azusa then appeared, her eyes noticeably filled with tears. Theia was concerned, seeing her sad and disappointed expression until Azusa looked at her, upset, and spoke of similar things to what Van said. She disappeared soon after.

He asked her whether she would kill the young girl. He still thought she hated the Darkness. She admitted herself that she was too ignorant towards her knowledge of the Darkness but she never held a strong hatred for the Darkness.

Her Oathkeeper was just pointing straight at his heart. She frowned. "I'm sorry." She dismissed the Keyblade while her other hand was placed on his extended hand and pushed it down gently. "I never intended for anyone to be hurt, from the Light or the Darkness." She paused, trying to put all her thoughts into words.

She crossed her arms across her chest, looking thoughtful. "I am at fault for saying what I have said earlier. I won't kill your student. I won't try to hurt you. I just wanted to know the answer to your question." She smiled. She glanced at the young boy who was now climbing up the building, making sure he didn't leave without her.

"I am fearful of the Darkness, because I don't know much about it. But don't misunderstand. I didn't show up to pick a fight, and I certainly hope we do not end up fighting one day. So let's call it a day, shall we?" She grinned at him. "Your student seemed to be very upset. Tell her I'm sorry." With an apologetic smile and a small wave, she turned around and walked away towards Roy and Hana.

Looking up at the building, she jumped and summoned her power to jump once again while she was in mid-air, as if she jumped on a trampoline. She continued this until she landed what was left of the building and looked at Roy. "I'm curious as to where you sent your girlfriend. Would you please show me where she is?" She gave a friendly smile and looked for Hana. She spotted her and then realized they may think she might be another enemy. "Sorry, I always forget. My name is Theia, the Master of Light. Pleased to meet you!" She grinned.

Everything the Master of Darkness told her stayed in her mind, and it only made her curious of what happened to him and that student of his. But there was something good that came out of all this, at least for her.

 

[King Wolfe]

She had been practicing. It was unbecoming of Azusa to laze around like a sloth doing nothing especially after that failure. Besides, out of everything - even cats -, sword fighting was the only thing Azusa could understand. It was an art to her, it was a dance of beautiful white blades starkly contrasting against the morbid blackness of the night, it was a harmonious symphony against a monotonous colloquy from a bored man, it was an elegant paper that painted pictures of bright blue skies with puffy white clouds, and strange things like "summer".

It was the only thing Azusa really could grasp in this messed up situation. Thus it was the only safe-haven for her. She had stripped off her clothes and left herself bare with a simple white gi wrapped around her curves. After several minutes of practicing however the white gi was soaked with sweat and clung to her body desperately. Azusa hacked, slashed and stabbed at the wooden dummy who stood there with an awe-struck expression; as if even he found Azusa's form magnificent. She spun on her heel and with a single strike she cut the dummy's head right off.

Azusa stood there breathing heavily and yet oddly at peace. It wasn't the mere fact that she just decapitated an innocent dummy but she just felt proud of herself at the moment. She felt empowered, as if she could do anything. She wasn't that weak little girl who cried when someone said something bad about her. She was Azusa: Slayer of Wooden Dummies and Anything Alike. Then reality came crashing down on her. She had nearly cried like a child because she lost a target. She was going to have a fit like a baby who had their toy taken from her.

That was far worse than the failure itself. Biting her lip Azusa desperately threw her sword at the wall and it stuck there. She could hear that voice in her head chiding her for mistreating her sword that way: "Azunyan don't treat your sword like that, it's a part of your body! That's like punching a wall or something~"

She felt guilty and took the sword out and profusely apologized to it. What was she doing? She should be tracking Venus right now, she should be taking her down and bringing her back home tied up like a pig with a gag in her mouth. Okay, well maybe not that. But she should be doing something right now! Azusa sat down on a bench and looked up at the sky. Although hastily built this little balcony served to please Azusa. She kept her wooden dummies out here to practice and whenever asked why practice in such an odd spot Azusa would reply with a smile, "I like looking at the sky."

She thought about Roy. Roy reminded her of those people in her class that would stand up and puff their chest out and declare that Azusa was a freak for her powers. They would stand there defiantly in front of Azusa's friends as if she were terrorizing them and with a proud glare they would say, "Get out of here you weirdo and stop bothering them!" Azusa hated them. She despised their heroism but she wanted to be like them as well. She wanted to be a hero like them and help people as well. She couldn't even do that...

Azusa used to think of herself as Van's little hero. She was proud that she learned how to control her powers so fast, she was proud whenever Van looked at her with an approving look. He didn't need to say it and Azusa knew that she was a hero to him.

"Naive." Azusa muttered, she wasn't a hero, she was this weird little creature leeching off an even bigger and grander creature. "A black kitty for my lost kitty!" That voice repeated in her head.

She stood up and took off her gi feel a bit comfortable at the nice breeze that blew through. Then something strange happen. She felt warmth on her back. Turning suddenly she saw the offender, a woman floating above her with an ineffable aura of light surrounding her. She had beautiful long black hair with startling gray eyes, white robes wrapped around her well-developed curves and she remained floating with her hands clasped as if she were praying.

She remembered this familiar aura. She felt it from Roy but it was even stronger from Venus. It was an aura of light. No, it wasn't that simple. It felt like love. Azusa's heart began to flutter as she looked at the woman, she felt dizzy but happy. Butterflies began to wrestle in her stomach as thoughts raced in her head of cute things like kitties, rainbows, Van... Wait what?

That snapped her out of it. She brandished her sword and glared at the woman. It was impossible that anyone outside of Azusa's company could find this place. It was enshrouded in darkness and anyone not used to it would literally go insane over the overwhelming strength.

"Who-"

The woman released her hands and more heat radiated from her making Azusa stagger back.

"I await you, lost kitten." The woman's voice sounded like it was coming from an old radio or something. It was crinkly and rusty as if she hadn't had a drink in years. Yet despite that she sounded beautiful. Azusa felt like she should know this woman but she didn't strike any bells. The woman neared and Azusa was extremely tempted to move but she stood there frozen. Then ever so gently she poked Azusa's forehead. Images flooded Azusa's mind and rushed by in a blur, Azusa could only catch only of them though. It was an image of a younger Van laughing with his arm wrapped around that woman's waist.

She retracted her hand and the images ceased. With a final smile she began to ascend again. Azusa stepped forward and tried to call out to her but in a blinding display of lights she was gone. Azusa broke out in a cold sweat as a single name came to her mind.

"Mio."

 

[Trukybldemstr2]

This place is atrocious! Laring thought to himself as he entered the Drunken Swordsman. Apparently the owner of this place was drunk himself. Laring couldn't concentrate because of the look and the....What is that smell? Laring thought he was going to be sick. Quickly he retreated out of the poor business establishment.

Where could he go now. He realized he wasn't actually hungry. He was bored and lost. He felt if he could find someone to talk to maybe he would find a job or somewhere to stay.

While walking he couldn't help but think about his past...Man what a life he had lived up until now. His mind began to work.

It was a dark and stormy night---

Hmmmm...thinking of such things made him tired and he really didn't want to get tired at a time such as this. He needed to find somewhere to spend time. So he just began to walk and think.

 

[Peace]

Victor jumped down from his perch onto the roof supporting it. He watched the battle intently wondering what the hell was the girl attacking wildly was. As he tried to figure out what's going on, something from deep within the darkest depths of his heart was stirring. No, not stirring, more like craving. Or maybe the two combined would be more appropriate. He looks down and notices his left arm and the hand holding his keyblade are visibly shaking. As a precaution, he dismissed his weapon in a flurry of dark blue flames.

Then, another odor entered the area but this one he couldn't describe. The sheer magnitude of it was almost enough to make him retch. To added to that, he smelled something else with almost the same measure, but this one seemed different. If he had to choose a word for it, he would say tainted. Whatever the case, it left a rotten lemon-like taste in his mouth.

Victor eyed something in the distance. He couldn't tell what it was initially, so he traveled along the rooftops while trying to avoid the battle. When he got near, he looked up and thought It's the girl that was with the crazy one. Why isn't she helping? After that thought, she was immediately attacked and she attacked back. What the hell is going on? He asked himself glancing at the two fights. He re-summoned his sword and jumped up to the top of the building using its powers. When he got to the top, he started to breathe heavily. Victor watched the two girls fight and go through the roof. Then, the girl with the pink hair disappeared. Damn... He thought while looking at the ground and as he made his weapon go away. He spots the other girl and jumps down to help her. "Are you hurt?" He asked her while offering a hand.

 

[Piercing Light]

As they crashed through the top of the building Hanahime kept her hold on Fleur. She tried to keep her in a hold by grasping for her neck but she resisted, screaming at her to let her go. "As...If!" She yelled back. Just as she thought she had her a gust of wind blew her off, which caused her to smash into the wall. Falling to her knees Hana tried to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her.
"I would've loved to continue our fight, but I'll save that for later" Fleur suddenly said. Hana jumped to her feet.

"Oh no you don't, you're not going anywhere!" She sprinted towards her, jumping to try and grab her. Much to her surprise she simply passed right through her. Looking to where the pink haired wielder once was she was shocked to see that she had vanished in a haze of sakuras. Sitting there covered in plaster growled, she hated it when they just ran.
"Are you hurt?" An unfamiliar male voice asked her. Figuring it was just a civilian she got up herself and brushed off some sust on her shoulders.
"I'm fine..." Hana jumped up through the hole in the roof, where she was met by Roy.

"Hey, Hanahime, its over now, we can stop!~" He yelled to her. Crossing her arms Hana frowned at him.
"I doubt it, they'll be back." She looked over the side of the building. "So Venus got away huh?... That's good. We should catch up to her and ask her if she knows what's going on." Hana prepared to leap off the building when a blond haired young woman made her presence known. Hana looked her over cautiously, preparing herself just in case she was another of the Master of Darkness' 'femme fatales.
"I'm curious as to where you sent your girlfriend. Would you please show me where she is?" She said up front. Hana raised an eyebrow at her, they needed a reason to trust her before she told her anything.

"Sorry, I always forget. My name is Theia, the Master of Light. Pleased to meet you!" She suddenly blurted out. Hana raised her other eyebrow, creating an expression of surprise.
"Is... Is that so?" She remarked, not sure if she should believe her or not, all they had was her word after all... Then again, the others had already left, so she could at least give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Well, it's nice to meet you too then. I'm Hanahime Igawa."

 

[Sparks]

Starting to walk towards the feeling, she took snapshots of picture in her head, imagining a world of color. Her own favorite color was purple, but she would try to make it seem appealing to everyone. If she was to paint nature, then hopefully, one day she could see it come to life. Walking on a bright and sunny beach, tanning out her lack-luster skin, smiling. Already she could just put an idea of it in her brain. It might have been farfetched, but quite truthfully, she didn't care. All she wanted was peace.

Keeping her pace steady, she stopped, coming to the place that the feeling felt the greatest. It looked to be the end of a fight, where she saw people just dissapear, leaving others behind. Before her she saw one girl, a guy with blonde hair, much less neon than hers; another younger-looking girl was there, and another guy. None of them did she know, and they were just making they're first introductions to each other. Of course finding some way to talk to them, Nadine didn't want to sound stupid. She couldn't just say, 'Hi, I had a feeling that I should be here, and look! You guys were the source of it! Haha~!' It just wasn't like her.

So instead, she stood in the middle of the street, she looked at them curiously, and smiled softly before speaking.
"He-hello there!" She said, speaking loud enough for them to hear her, and stuttering on her first word, she walked a bit closer and gave a little wave.
"I hope I didn't come at a bad time... but, I'm wondering, are you all okay? I thougth I saw a fight...and I'm Nadine. I think I just caught each of your names by chance." A Master...of...Light? What was that?

She bit the edge of her lip carefully and looked at each one. The older-looking girl seemed to be giving off a greater feeling of vivacity then the other people around, but she had to be sure that her mind wasn't just confusing her.

Maybe she even felt something too.

 

[ThePromise]

Ascending the building and not even halfway up yet, Roy was wondering what was taking her so long in there. His thoughts would be interrupted as a woman flew by him and reached the top of a 650 ft building in one leap. How that was even possible, he didn't know. Shortly after that, the woman had questioned him all the way from up there, something about a girlfriend, he could barely hear her from all the way up there. "Can't hear you!!" he shouted back. He was beginning to think everyone was underestimating the size of a 650 ft building. Well, while he couldn't hear them, he could at least see them. Barely. "Man ..I can't hear them..I yelled for a reason." Roy scratched the back of his head, stopping in his tracks. Some other person seemed to be up there with them too, but he wasn't in the fight at all. Now they were up there talking, and he couldn't respond unless he heard them.

Too far ..I'm only human, I can't get that far in an instant, and my Shuriken are still coming back.

He could have summoned them back by now, but it felt kind of ..strange doing that, as if he cheated somehow by doing something so simple. Oh well.

"He-hello there!"

Roy turned around to follow the voice, seeing a girl there. Not noting any of her features, he waved back at her when she stepped forward and waved. "Yo!"

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time... but, I'm wondering, are you all okay? I thougth I saw a fight...and I'm Nadine. I think I just caught each of your names by chance."

"Ya just missed it, the bad time is over I think. We'll be fine ...how are you today?" he responded, proceeding to walk down towards her again. Well, it was a shorter trip than climbing another 600 ft.

-

Van didn't regard Fleur as she departed, unable to consider how he felt about her performance. He wasn't the type to purposely upset people, but he was confident enough in Fleur to believe that things could have been different here. Theia was polite but it didn't change the fact she was as ignorant as she sounded. When she had better understanding of the darkness, her words might mean dirt to him, rather than nothing. At least they'd mean something. She had left, as well as the boy who had prevented the successful operation. Van had no interest in attacking, but he looked up towards the group to begin with. Judging from the building, Fleur might've done a little damage, or perhaps it was the little mean looking lady. While he was unable to hear them and was hardly able to see them, they were no doubt checking on everyone's condition and exchanging pleasant words. He'd know ...he was once like them.

"He-hello there!"

Lowering his head, he looked just ahead of himself, ignoring the mute and deaf man in front of him to examine what appeared to be ..Hope. Hope? What were the astronomical odds that she would be drawn here of all places, where every do-gooder in Influx just happened to be? She was focused on everyone around the building, not paying him anymore whatsoever and instead focusing straight up. Ripe for the taking.

Her eyes are focused up above. Hope wasn't known for being particularly powerful, just a peacekeeper ..and incredibly naive. With all of them atop that building, she's ripe for the taking.

Van considered everything before he acted.

All Movement gives me the speed to get to her before they can blink .

"Ya just missed it, the bad time is over I think. We'll be fine ...how are you today?"

Locking his eyes on his target, Van's outline began to distort for a moment. In a fraction of a second, he was gone, reappearing just behind her without so much as a 'thud' or a breeze to signal his sudden arrival behind her. With her back turned, and little to no mention of his presence that she'd pick up in just one second, he drew his right arm back and, with his hand in a chopping appearance, drove that hand across the back of her neck in the attempt to knock her out. Her odds were slim, but if she happened to dodge, he'd just kill her on the spot rather than struggle. Things were already more troublesome than they should have been.

She was meant to be Fleur's target ..but her opportunity was gone.

 

[Sparks]

"Yo!"
In front of her, the sandy-blonde boy, Roy, noticed her. The others were too high up, unable to really hear her speak. If they did, it was just going to be a little squeak of sound coming from below. She then saw as he walked down towards her again, waving back; he must not have wanted to climb all the way up to the top of that building. Giving another smile she was about to respond to his question, but then everything went dark.

Crap-ola.

Naturally, this could've been avoided. Of course Nadine never expected this to happen, but it did nonetheless, and she was the cause of it. Following her instincts must not have led her to what she ...expected, but at least there was some sort of excitement for her. Whatever happened next, she would still get to go on some adventure, leading to a bit of a change. She did have a keyblade, and if she wasn't unconsious, she could be much more useful.

But for now, she was knocked out. Hit from behind, right in a pressure spot. It took her completely by surprise, no notification of any motion behind her, besides a swift blow to the back of the head, which just led to her blackout. That would really hurt later... Someone had to see. It's not normal for another person to just get knocked out right there! Still, she proceeded to just go limp, her eyes rolling back into her head and closing, cut off from her own being, and everything around her.

 

[Piercing Light]

After introducing herself to Theia, Hana moved past her back to the edge of the building. The streets below were in back shape, all due to the woman's darkness attacks. Narrowing her eyes she wondered just why Venus was a target for them. Gazing at her open hand she thought for a moment that it was because of the keyblade. However that didn't make much sense, she herself had one and she wasn't a target. It must have been another reason. "Huh?" Squinting her eyes she spotted a girl down in the middle of the street. The girl looked up towards them, asking if they were okay and giving her name. Roy went ahead and spoke to her, dropping closer to hear her more clearly. Letting out a sigh Hana swung her legs over the edge of the rooftop. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes for a moment.

Her chi was all outta wack, she had to learn to control her energy better... Opening her eyes just in time she saw as the girl Nadine was knocked unconscious by a young man with blue hair. "A-another one?! I thought Roy said it was over!" Wasting no time she leaped from the roof top, hitting the ground with a crash that fractured the concrete. She pointed a finger at Van angrily. "Oi, pedo bear! let the girl go!" She yelled at him, not really caring who the hell he was. She wanted some answers for once...

 

[Trukybldemstr2]

Laring felt like he had been walking forever. Someday I will not have to do this. But for today....the journey continues. He really hated walking. If he had the energy he would fly....but he was famished. Those are the benefits of being an Elementalist. But such things required energy. And what helped with keeping energy up. Food! And he really had neither right now. Oh well, he would have to make due with what he did have. Oh wait.....that was nothing.

Man! Can a guy get some----Huh? He knew the sounds really well...Combat. And this time instead of just passing it by he went directly for it. How he had longed for combat! If there was anything he missed about his life pre-Influx (thanks to the signs he figured out what the name of this place was) it would have to be the combat. He missed shooting his guns and swinging his keyblade.

Keyblade. That word was still foreign to him. It just sounded odd, as if it isn't supposed to be or something. A wise wizard he once knew seemed to know all about them....but didn't wield one himself...or so he stated. But whatever, he helped expand his knowledge on the strange object. Maybe when he had some free time he could---

"OH!" He had rounded a corner and froze at he what he saw...chaos and destruction on a level he had never really experienced before. Well that was a lie. He had experienced it before but each time it was his fault. Those moments weren't exactly moments he was proud of.

He seemed to come in at the end of things. He witnessed a man(he guessed it was a man because it looked manly) chopping a girl down (he could tell it was a girl). And then another female went rage mode and yelling something about a certain species of bear. He had never heard of this "Pedo" bear. He would have to research it when he had time.

Should he approach them or would he be better off watching the drama unfold from a distance....He chose the latter and began to watch.

 

[IceBlueWings]

Hanahime, that's a pretty name. Theia smiled, pleased to have made a friend. Until she felt the presence of another strong power very near them. She looked down and around the area, until she heard a girl's voice greeting them and asking if they were alright. Roy started to talking to her, being closer to her than the two of them.

Before she could get down, she saw the sudden appearance of someone else. The Master of Darkness. What? Her eyes widened. The strong power of Light she held turned very faint as well. She had to be another Chosen. "Oh no, we can't let him kill her!" Theia grabbed Hana's hand, pulling her forward as she jumped off the building, bringing Hana down with her. "Don't worry, I got this."

They were about to hit the ground, but Theia conjured her Light Barrier to break their fall. It wasn't a comfortable fall, but it didn't leave them splat on the ground. She ran towards the Master of Darkness, "Stop!" She yelled, standing between him and Nadine, picking her up and jumping backwards and away from him before he got a chance to do anything else. She was relieved that Nadine was still alive, she could still feel her power.

Theia looked at Van, neither a frown nor a smile on her face. She was prepared to fight, but she didn't want to do it. And even in her mind she was trying to figure out what sort of action to take. Her questions were still unanswered, and he didn't seem to want to answer her at all. She placed Nadine on the ground as she walked towards the Master of Darkness once again. "What do you want?"