In a cataclysm known as the Nightfall, the worlds were almost completely destroyed by a harrowing surge of darkness.
In the shadows of the ensuing chaos a new group has taken shape. Led by an Aegyl named Kalos, the 11th Hour touts an esoteric knowledge of how to combat the darkness and restore the worlds. They might be the worlds’ best chance at survival; but nobody really knows enough about them to confirm or deny their claims.
On the brink of collapse, the universe holds its breath in anticipation. Of restoration? Of destruction? It is up to individuals like yourself to decide.
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There aren't enough praises in the world I'd like to give to wonderful coders for the Proboards community. The following have contributed to World Destiny in some way: W3 Schools for countless how-tos and countless of other souls who have helped get WD up to where it is.
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Leading the way into clearing outside of the old mansion, Avari glanced around. With an energetic look in her eyes, though still alert to her surroundings- somewhat. She was excited to prove herself, and to get another chance at fighting the heartless. And with Oswald and Charme's help, they'd wrap things up in no time. The team just had to get in, find the book, beat up some heartless, and get out. Ava glanced back to the other two with a grin, "You guys ready to fight some heartless?" She wasn't entirely sure what Charme could do, but Avari did recall seeing Oswald use lightning before. Surely between fire and lightning, it would be enough to deal with whatever awaited them in the mansion.
Avari stepped forward towards the gate, wrapping her hands around the bars and glancing up at the large lock. The chains holding the lock in place were somewhat loose, enough to where they could squeeze through if they pushed hard enough. It was surprising to see that despite parts of the mansion falling apart, as was a common theme around town these days, the walls surrounding the property had somehow held after all this time. With a small grunt, Avari pushed on one side of the gate, and called over her shoulder, "Little help here?"
She had never really explored the mansion itself before, as it had always been locked up so in all honesty she had no clue what they would find inside. Avari didn't feel too worried about it though, it couldn't be any more dangerous than the underground tunnels had been when she explored them with Jin. Somehow it made sense to her that there would be more heartless where it was dark, and the tunnels were a far darker place than this mansion could be with all the windows on the structure. And looking on the other side of the gate, she couldn't see any heartless outside, so if there were any still around, they were waiting inside.
"Oh man, this mansion is gorgeous!" Decadence could be so beautiful. Charme jumped aside Avari and did his best to assist her. The petite dancer pushed his body against the gate, a bird of paradise in the dreary light of the forest clearing. "Avari, we should make this place the main base! -Er, after we kill all the shadows first." He smiled as he looked over the mansion. It brought back memories of home, of defeating vampire lords and his lavish room in the sentient airship known as 'Jerry'. His smile lessened somewhat. Giving his airship the choice of names might have been a small mishandling.
Regardless! Charme brought himself back to the present, where his lack of physical anything was making it difficult to push this gate. He put a hand to his lips, looking at it thoughtfully. "Love, are you comfortable with a little climb?" He turned to the rabbit as well. Did rabbits climb? Or did they just jump? He shrugged and pulled out the needle that kept his hair in place. The ponytail dispersed and splayed down his back. The staff was in his hand in a second.
Perhaps they could find a way over the wall? Would his staff help, he wondered. He put a hand on his hip as he looked for points of weakness, or a place where he could wedge his staff in to get through. Two of the chain links might work... He stabbed his staff into the holes of one chain link, then one hanging on the other side. With that, he jumped onto it, carefully avoiding the pointy bits of the oppressive gate.
Oswald caught himself staring at the mansion, it just reminded him to much of Dark Beauty Castle. With a quick shake of his head he brought his attention back to the task at hand, getting over the gate. All he really needed was a boost to go as high as the wall and he could hover over, maybe if he jumped on that pole Charme was pushing into the gate he could hop over, or maybe he could just ask Charme to boost him higher.
"Yeah, I think it might Charme," he said as he jumped on to the pole, "Hey do you think you could boost me higher? I could probably hover over then, and then probably pull you through the gate." As long as he could get over the gate he was positive he and Avari could probably both pull Charme through, probably. Oswald wasn't the strongest, but Avari pulled herself through so it could probably work.
For how at peace the mansion seemed to the party, something still felt off in the air around the gate. Nothing stirred, not even the meager amount of wildlife that would be in the small forest, and where as a breeze blew in the darkness of the Market Streets, none blew here. It almost felt like everything was too calm. Struggling with the fence would lead to no avail, though it would be possible to squeeze through. However, it wouldn't be to much avail for the trio, save Avari, who was already on the other side, having squeezed through. Avari's presumption that the Heartless were inside the mansion, though certainly not incorrect, wasn't fully informed, and in the dusk of the Nightfall, before the other side of the gate, darkness began to swirl and gather. Soon, the inner part of the courtyard, just out of the party's reach, was coated in a thick fog of dark energy. But, for a minute, nothing happened. It just lingered.
Then, through the fog, glowing red eyes could be seen. It stalked through the mist, watching the trio, before a shadowy mass pounced forth, towards Avari. But, instead of an attack against the Somebody, it rammed into the gate, with a heavy slam. The chains strained, but held. The creature bounced off, and recovered, shaking off. Finally, the party could get a good look at it. Beast-like in appearance, piercing green eyes, and the distinct look of a Heartless. What the party would notice was the strong aura of darkness coming off of it, as the portal around it subsided. It watched them, almost curiously, before going to hit another ramming attack at the gate, once again disregarding Avari. However, in its charge, should the Somebody not attack, they would be knocked aside by its large mass.
The second strike to the gate brought a few more strained metal sounds, then a link on a chain popping off. With the chain going slack, a mere swipe of its paw caused the gate to fly wide open. It hadn't come there to attack them, that was for sure.
It was trying to escape. And they were in its way.
As Charme observed the mansion and commented on it, Avari glanced up in the midst of pushing against the iron bars blocking their path. She had never stepped foot in a place so prestigious, even back home where a great big castle stood as the centerpiece to the entire city. Avari couldn't begin to count how many times she tried to picture what the castle looked like inside. It made her all the more eager to investigate this manor, the one place she had been unable to explore since she arrived in Twilight Town several years ago.
With the extra bit of motivation, Avari managed to push the gate far enough so that she could shimmy through the small gap it created, The chains grew taught as she did so, and then the gate closed again once she was on the other side, the chains relaxing once more. She turned to look at her companions through the gate and flashed a cheeky grin, "Yeah, we can kick the heartless out and take over!" She turned towards the mansion, "You hear that heartless?! Better watch out for Team Heroes!" It wasn't the most creative name she could have come up with on the fly, but it was enough to get her feeling pumped for the mission as she turned back to help Oswald and Charme.
The other two seemed to favor going over the gate rather than through it, even though she was certain they could both manage it just as she had. As it wasn't too big of a deal however, she helped hold the staff steady (a challenge with their combined weight), rather than change their minds. So long as they all made it to the other side. It appeared that between the three of them, Avari would be the most suited to tasks involving physical strength. This was also the second time Avari noticed how Charme drew a staff from seemingly nowhere.
Now that the thought had presented itself, Avari realized that they should probably discuss all their skill sets, so they would have some form of game plan in mind when they started fighting. Well, better late than never! "What kind of fighting can you guys do anyway? I can shoot fire, and that's about it." As an afterthought, she looked awkwardly at Oswald and offered an apology, "Sorry about before by the way." As far as figuring out a plan, she had never really been one to think too far ahead, but she had the confidence they could manage just fine between the three of them. Or well, perhaps it was more so a groundless faith, but Avari wasn't the sort to slow down and let doubt fill her mind.
As she was asking them about their skills, however, Avari heard something stir from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see a shadowy figure had appeared near the mansion's entrance, and was coming straight for her- or so she thought. Avari was forced to release her hold on the staff to escape the charge. "Whoa!" She exclaimed as she threw herself to the side at the last minute, landing on her side and sliding across the ground a couple feet.
As the swirling dark fog began to dissipate, the creature took on a more solid form, appearing beast-like with green eyes, rather than the beady yellow she was used to seeing in a heartless. It completely disregarded Avari as it went for the gate again, this time successfully breaking the lock as the iron bars flung open. Her eyes grew wide with panic as she quickly leapt to her feet, "Oh no you don't-" She flung a fireball its way to get his attention, nevermind how little she could defend herself once it chose to attack her. There was no way she was letting this thing go on to attack the refugees in town. "Hey ugly! Over here!" Hopefully she would divert its attention long enough for her friends to figure out the team's next move. Once again, Avari proved to be an act first, think later type of girl, and right now her priority was keeping the beast away from town where it could do a lot more damage.
Charme was knocked away from the gate. He tasted grass as he toppled daintily over the lawn, his scarves and silks creating a tornado of color. His staff skidded into the dirt a few feet away.
"Awh! I only just washed these too..." Charme rose with pouted lips and a somber expression as he retrieved his staff. The golden filigree against his palm felt comforting and familiar, reminding him of the old days. Battle wasn't his thing- he was all about the performance. He pulled his hair into one of his ribbons, tying it into a ponytail. The gate swung open. The creature bore down on them.
But Charme was ready. The staff slammed into the ground. It dug deep and Charme threw his arms into the air, grinning. The Aether began to flow around his body- there was no way he'd fail this time! All around them, in their bones, they felt a low vibration. A beat. He grasped the staff and used it as leverage as he jumped and landed on it with trained precision.
The night of Twilight Town seemed to glow as the flora around them illuminated the 'stage'. Every part of the dancer caught the eye as an aura fell off Charme like heavy rain. Charme kept smiling as he danced. He caught his party members' gaze as the aura surrounded them, uplifting their spirits. The Aether swirled around them, giving them more light than the pale moon could provide. Giving them daring. Giving them life.
He held his palm out to the creature before him, curious. It was trying to get away from the manor. Why? The other shadows were able to take form in the city. What were its intentions if not attacking Avari? Charme smiled sweetly at it, tilting his head. His tied hair billowed like ribbons in the rose-tinted wind.
If there was something Oswald still wasn't used to it was the Shadows turning against their owners, although Charme creating music from nothing was also new. This was one heck of a shadow though, one a mere ice blast wouldn't be effective against nor would a stream of thunder but maybe, just maybe his thunder combined with Avari's fire could work. As Oswald thought the beast stared down at the group like it was questioning them.
"Hey Avari, is there anything you can do besides slow fireballs? I don't think that'll work on this and neither will my ice," he shouted, "although possibly the thing that might work is my thunder and your fire at the same time?" He wasn't sure but it was at least a chance, a small one, but still a chance. Hopefully this would get remedied quickly.
It was obvious by the Heartless' disregard that it didn't have the goal of attacking the party, and instead intended to escape. Later, further examination of the gate would show impact flaws, and it was clear the beast had been stuck there for a while. The beast lumbered past Avari, Charme, and Oswald, intent on just running. It, however, stopped dead in its tracks when the fireball hit, letting out a monstrous roar. If they were to be emotional beings, one would say it was angry. But this one remembered. The pain of fire, of ice, of wind. Memories of an adversary in a darker realm, using the same magic. It remembered losing to that enemy, retreating. Never dying. No Heartless died in the Realm of Darkness, not truly.
Red eyes focused on Avari, the source of such magic. She could see a slight limp in its step, where the fireball had struck. The most magic came from her - at least until Charme began using some sort of aura, his hand held out, almost as if offering the Heartless to study him. Eyes focused on him as well, watching, as his aura's effect surrounded the beast. But calming such an ancient mind, especially one of darkness, was no easy task, and its focus returned on who had caused it pain. As it crouched, darkness began to swirl around it, spreading. The same sort of fog it appeared in circled the three, masking all outside the circle in wisps of shadow. With yet another pounce, it flew not at Avari, but over her. Upon contact with the wispy wall of shadow, it seemed to meld with it, and disappear. But they all knew it was watching, they could feel it. Quick eyes would spot something dashing through those shadows, trying to hide from them, but it moved unpredictably.
All was calm for a brief second. Then, glowing red eyes appeared in the shadows behind Oswald. It was watching them all, and they would have to act quick so as to not be a target.
Avari glanced over towards the rest of the party as music emanated from their direction. Charme had begun dancing around and even on top of her staff. As Charme smiled at Avari, her look of confusion turned to a smirk; if Charme was confident enough about their chances to dance in front of this thing, then surely they were strong enough to defeat it. Avari felt unstoppable. Of course she didn't understand where the music was coming from, but she had more important things to focus on at the moment.
She heard Oswald call out to her, and she gave a nod, but kept her gaze on their opponent. "I already told you, fire's all I got!" She was about to say more when the heartless turned its gaze on her, and she noticed the limp in one of its paws from where she hit it with a fireball. The beast then turned to look at Charme, and she took the opportunity to tell the others, "It seems hurt by my fire, we can do this if we keep attacking it. We can't let it escape into town!"
Avari looked around, shocked, as the darkness began swelling around them, and the world around them becane misty and distorted through the shadows. She braced herself when she turned and saw the creature leap towards her, but rather than attack her, it jumped over and vanished into the shadows behind her. Avari looked around wildly for its reappearance, thougg she was only looking around the inner courtyard she stood in. As she had been the one to anger it she didn't suspect it would target Oswald or Charme, and therefore kept her distance from them, so as not to lure it to them if it did attack her. As her gaze darted around the wall of shadows though, it didn't seem like it was coming.
Charme searched the area wildly. He couldn't know if his attempt to seduce the creature had failed or not- it was distracted by the fireball. He didn't blame Avari by any means; after all, he hadn't really told her what he was doing. Pulling heartstings to produce a song was a nice way of saying he was manipulating the monster's feelings. The dancer felt his heart plummet as the shadows crept around them and ran towards the center of them, as far away from the walls as possible.
"It's still near. I've seen them- they disappear into these walls." He held his staff at the ready knowing fully well he wouldn't do much with it. "It's like they're darkness itself." He paused after saying that, thinking about the concept. How impossible- light was energy and darkness was the lack thereof. But he'd been screwed by the darkness once and he wasn't willing to cast the shadow of a doubt on them again.
Heh, shadow of a doubt. Gods, Charme, you are good!
He examined their surroundings. Pitch black ate at the corners of his vision- the earth underneath his feet was the only thing tying him to this plane. It was the only assurance that he wasn't lost in the void between worlds again. If only he could... shed a little light.
Charme smiled. His humming would fill the environment as the rose-tint continued. Light blossomed around them, touching the shadows. While it had no true elemental affinity, could he persuade the shadows to retreat with his illusion?
Oswald had not usually had the feeling of being watched, but it was coming to him in spades. It was especially disconcerting with the fact of the giant shadow creature disappearing into more shadows. And, for some reason Charme knew how they worked, Oswald had only ever encountered smaller shadows so it was entirely possible that these things had corrupted more worlds than his and this world. Which was something he couldn't stand.
Looking around there wasn't really anything to attack besides the fog and that was just fog, that was until he looked behind him to see the glowing eyes of the beast, he then smiled, "Gotcha," he thought to himself. Immediately he pulled his remote out of his pocket, and pointed it towards the eyes and fired. It passed through the fog but definitely hit something.
"Hey Avari, throw a fireball at the spot I just fired, or you could target the glowing eyes." he yelled at her angrily. 'Seriously how long have those been there?' he thought to himself.
The beast watched, as its enemies slowly adapted to the new arena they faced. It was a creature of patience, waiting for somebody to notice, but in waiting, it almost thought nobody did. Fortunately for the party, Oswald did, and reacted in time. The Heartless burst from the shadows as his attack connected, coaxing another loud howl from the beast, now standing before Oswald. The red glow seemed to become more piercing, however, and after its initial recoil, it acted.
As the Heartless charged forward, it swiped at anyone it got near, running the circumference of the arena. One thing of note was that it avoided the glow around Charme, sparing him from damage, as if the light unnerved it. Once it had made a round, it pounced into the middle and put its body low, growling. Orbs of darkness formed around it, one for each of the party, and each fired, hitting not directly on them, but before them. They would find that, instead of taking damage, gravity intensified, seemingly pulling them to that singularity point for a few seconds. A pounce brought the Heartless back into the darkness above their heads, but instead of fusing with shadow again, it grabbed onto it, a fireball forming at its mouth.
A big fireball.
Though the party could not see or hear outside the arena, something was happening out there. More shadow was forming, but not into the mist that brought the Heartless. Instead, a portal formed, and opened, someone running through it. Their initial shock at the shadow arena was replaced with determination to dispel the shadow arena, and great elemental magic was fired at the shadow barrier. Small disturbances could be seen as the magic combated the raw dark energy, and if a party member were to look at such a disturbance, they would be met with the sight of a black-cloaked figure wielding a strange looking weapon. But, the darkness would just grow again, and it was for the briefest of seconds.
By the time whoever was affected by the gravity would regain balance, the Heartless was almost charging the spell. It would certainly be devastating if fired off. Someone would have to act quick.
Once Charme explained that the creature had disappeared into the walls of pure darkness, Avari focused on them, waiting to see where it would reappear, or who it would attack. Oswald directed her to the glowing red eyes behind him, and as per his request, she fired at it. She was trying her best to heed the directions from her teammates, but there was only so much planning you could do in the thick of battle.
The creature leaped from the wall and bounded around the dark arena, swiping its claws at anyone who dare get in its way. Avari was one of those unfortunate enough to get hit by the attack, as she waited too long for it to get close so she could fire at its face. She did so rather successfully, but was rewarded in kind. The creature knocked her away, closer to the center. Then the force of a dark orb pulled her back in the other direction as the heartless jumped and latched onto the top of the very arena he created, and a great ball of fire began growing in his mouth.
Avari had no way of getting up there. This creature clearly outmatched them, and they were all in serious danger. She couldn't let up now, and she hoped the others wouldn't either, if they were to stand a chance. With only one method of attack, Avari continued shooting more fireballs up at the creature, hoping to damage it enough before it could attack. It was all she could do, and while the creature charged up its attack, it became fairly easy to hit it. She had to have nailed 4 or 5 hits by now. "Don't give up! Give it all you got guys!"
"Hey, you okay Avari?" Oswald asked the girl, that was until he was introduced to a small black hole. Which he was swiftly drawn into, and then thrown to the ground. As he looked up the beast, well it was charging a fireball up to monstrous size. If this was fired at them, they'd be toast he'd have to figure out how to stop it, which was easier said than done. Maybe if he shot the hand he thought as he pointed his remote at the beast's hand and fired.
It may not have done any damage but at least he attacked while pinned to a floor, which was quite the accomplishment to him. That was the first part of trying to get the Beast to stop casting fire, the second being for Oswald to stand up and look around. He tried to push himself off the ground, but only succeeded to do a push up. Maybe if he rolled onto his back and used his ears it might work, but for now he was assessing the others, Avari had somehow remained standing and Oswald couldn't even see Charme, so he started trying to push himself up with his ears.
Sept 18, 2016 21:37:35 GMT -4
Last Edit: Sept 18, 2016 21:38:15 GMT -4 by Oswald
The creature darted around the area erratically. Charme huffed. The teen pouted momentarily as he was pretty much completely ignored. What did a kid have to do to get a little audience around here? Then again, these shadows had always been difficult to work with.
He watched cautiously as the creature summoned his dark orbs. Charme jumped away as they fired and immediately felt the pull as his hair lazily lifted as though a steady wind was rushing by him. He shoved his staff into the ground, digging it in, and tried to pull himself away. As he did, he felt the gravity and pressure alleviate. The further away from the center, the less it pulled.
He looked around with more stable footing and noticed the creature was gone. A strange, warm light had filled their arena. His gaze turned skyward and he sighed. I'm not built for this, he thought sadly. Looking to his allies, Avari encouraged them as Oswald fought the gravity.
I'm really not built for this.
He pulled the Sunwu staff close and it shrank into baton form. He then began to twirl it and danced. As he himself turned he brought it low. He swung. The baton elongated back into staff form as he came out of his swing, hurtling it directly towards the creature. He might not have physical strength, but he was smart. If the creature was gonna use gravity to its advantage, Charme would show him the ropes.
