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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Arthas nodded to Skell as she mentioned the cafe in Twilight Town. He had been there before, and liked the food quite a bit. As they began to walk, he noticed the boy zone out for a second, then refocus and follow Skell. He followed the couple as well, keeping an eye on the kid so he wouldn't get seperted from them. He seemed a bit confused, so Arthas decided to try and help him out.
"So, Ricardus, do you have any idea on how you got here or where you're from? Anything at all?"
Skell took some notice in Ricardus's stall of action. She decided not to bring attention to it now -- get them settled in some place first, observe this younger teen a bit more, and then maybe inquire and make inferences later.
She smiled, though, at the boy's face as he reacted to the popsicle. Salty, yet sweet. How could it be the two at the same time? The world may never know...
The café wasn't too far off from where they were to begin with. Just a few corner to turn and it was in their sights. Skell approached the door of the café, "Here we are..."
After she was inside, she set her pack down on a chair to claim a table and went up to the counter. She figured she'd let Arthas and Ricardus discuss whatever they wanted alone for a bit. It seemed the boy may have been more comfortable with Arthas, but she wasn't entirely sure. She'd listen in from afar. In any case, her body needed some warmth. A nice cup of hot cocoa would do the trick...
R I C A R D U S D A R ' N A L A "UM... EXCUSE ME?"
As the trio continued to walk, all heading for this "special café", Ricardus couldn't help but to wander around his thoughts once more. His mind just wouldn't stop racing around that flashback of his; he knew it was important and it surely held crucial information about his past. The thing he wondered about the most, however, was the identity of that boy; the raven haired teen was quite sure he wasn't an ordinary guy.
He lowered his head, eyeing the now melting ice cream as the liquid fell upon his hand. Ricardus really needed to relax and stop thinking too much; besides, he really couldn't do anything more to remember. The boy proceeded to lick the popsicle, trying to avoid wasting more of it in a childish attempt.
Most people would have dismissed the confused teenager but, fortunately, these two people seemed nice enough.
"Here we are.."
Ricardus peeked his head inside the café, looking at the other people sitting inside. A relieved sigh escaped his lips as they curved into a smile; fortunately they were too busy in their own conversations to notice him and his amnesia problem. Sure, getting some help from Arthas and the red maiden was quite a blessing for him but the least he wanted was a mob of curious bystanders around him.
For some reason, he knew he wasn't quite gifted in socializing with others.
"So, Ricardus, do you have any idea on how you got here or where you're from? Anything at all?"
Emerald eyes blinked as they looked up at him; the boy hummed as he struggled to remember some of the things he had concluded regarding his current "condition". One thing was certain, however; it surely was not permanent.
"Hmm, well... I don't remember much other than my name. I'm pretty sure my ability to speak the language is still intact, as well as my concepts regarding common things... the rest, however, remains mostly, if not completely blank." Ricardus spoke, a bit too fast. His eyes remained unfocused and it seemed as if he had spaced out a bit again. "I think I can remember a bit about my home... a temple, screams and cries of pain from outside could be heard, and a woman... I-I think she was my mother from the look on her face."
He turned his head to glance at the girl, who had gone away to the counter. Biting his bottom lip, he wondered if he had done something to push her away from them...
With a look at the boy, Arthas saw him bite his lip as Skell walked away. "Don't worry, Ricardus, she's just getting us some drinks." With a sigh, he folded his hands and rested his chin on them, spacing out for a bit. He then focused on keeping an eye on the kid, watching his every movement. Judging by Arthas' reaction to seeing his world left as a ruin, it was understandable that the child would block out his memories.
But he didn't know what to say. He hoped Skell would hurry up.
During her time waiting in line to get the bunch some hot cocoa, Skell noticed that not much at all was being discussed from the two boys. She thought they may have had something to relate with, it was only a feeling -- wasn't her first time her hunches were wrong.
She returned to the table with the hot cocoas in a hand, her own resting inside of the crook of her arm, "Here we are, boys," she smiled softly as she handed one to the both, taking a seat down next to neither of them, but diagonally across -- the square table only permitted for one person to sit on each side, anywho.
"What's the matter? Can't carry a conversation without me?" she poked fun as she took a sip of her cocoa. She glanced at the boy, wide-eyed and seemingly confused, "Oh -- that reminds me. I'm sorry, I'm pretty bad at these things some times. I'm Skell, and welcome to my hometown."
She then raised a brow. The two boys weren't native here, and she doubt either of them took the train to get here. Different means of transportation excited her, because it could possibly assist her in her Nobody studies -- maybe even be able to track down the mysterious figure cloaked in black.
"Ricardus... you don't remember how you got here, but maybe we can help you get to wherever you need to go. Find people you know, too, maybe. But, I'm afraid I'm little help in getting us places I've never been..." which is when she turned to Arthas, a gleam of suspicion in her eyes, "How did you get here, anyway? Care to enlighten us? Maybe even help us out -- Ricardus getting home, and me with my Nobody studies? Promise we'll get along..." she gave a soft laugh and her eyes turned back to Ricardus. Not knowing how much he knew about Nobodies, she decided to elaborate:
"You know, Nobodies. Creatures whose hearts were pulled from them, but were so strong that they didn't degenerate into those Heartless creatures. They've been told to have no feelings nor emotion, but I find that hard to believe... especially if I'm right with my hunch in that they greatly resemble humans and have societies of their own -- assuming the black-coated figure wasn't the only one of his species."
R I C A R D U S D A R ' N A L A "UM... EXCUSE ME?"
(Apologies for the delay. Also, to avoid a possible confusion in the future, Ricardus's hair is still black. It hasn't been dyed red yet.)
Ricardus tried to believe Arthas's reassuring statement; he really wanted to believe that he hadn't pushed the girl away. But for some reason, the young boy felt as if dismissing those that were willing to offer their aid was a common thing he used to do every now and then. But of course, he had just entered what you would call "the denial phase"; the fact that he was completely and utterly confused was quite predictable.
He turned his head once more, eyes of emerald fixing themselves on the drinks the now returning female had brought to them. A rush of pleasure ran through his veins as he inhaled, his nose detecting quite a handful of delightful scents. His lips curved into a smile as he closed his eyes for a moment. This thing smelled delicious! What had she called it, anyway? Colon? Cotton?
But to be frank, Ricardus didn't mind much. His sense of smell had already told him that this beverage would be quite delicious.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Skell. Thanks for the c-... for the co-..." He slightly blushed, embarrassed by the fact that he didn't remember the name of that wonderful drink. The boy quickly dismissed the thought though, proceeding to speak once again in an attempt to cover up his big fail. "I appreciate it but, seriously, I really don't want to be much trouble for you guys. I owe you two already..."
His voice trailed off and he did not emit a sound for quite a long time. Fortunately, Ricardus stopped being the conversation's focus as the young maiden of red began to bombard Arthas with questions. The young male blinked twice, now eyeing the older boy as well. He had to admit he was quite curious about how he had traveled to this unknown place... willingly.
Skell then mentioned these creatures, the Nobodies. As she had expected, Ricardus was quite confused by the word; were they beings without a physical body? But that was impossible and quite ilogical! How could one exist without really -being- there?
His brain, like a sponge, sucked nformation as she continued to vomit it at him, trying to capture all it could. Nobodies... creatures with no hearts... with no emotions; their name was certainly misleading. And then she mentioned another race, the Heartless. Perhaps -these- were the ones lacking a body? But he couldn't be sure... never too sure...
Arthas smiled as Skell bombarded him with questions, something that he found enjoyable. "Well, on the subject of world travel, I can actually give you an example." With the flick of a finger, a white rip in space opened next to him, then disappeared within a second. "My old master taught me to use portals, so that's how I get around." He sipped his cocoa, then heard Ricardus' question. "Hmm...the Heartless aren't a pretty thing to discuss. Simply put, they are beings created from the darkness in somebody's heart. If the darkness overwhelms them, then they will usually become a Heartless. There are some...exceptions, the Nobodies, but I'm afraid I don't know much of their existence yet." He sighed and sipped his cocoa again. "And on the subject of helping you two around...I wouldn't mind it in the least. And don't worry about owing me, Ricardus. It's my pleasure to help people who need it."
Skell couldn't help but squint her eyes with a smile as Ricardus tried to grapple the name of the drink she just handed him. Boy, he must be from a different world or something to not know what hot cocoa was. Or perhaps he was just that struck by amnesia -- an oddly selective amnesia, but she wouldn't know.
Her attention then switched to Arthas, whose space-ripping abilities caused her to go wide-eyed. How was it possible for him to do that? The only time she had seen something similar to it was when she saw that cloaked figure disappear, except it disappeared into something much darker and overwhelming. Her eyes gleaned with interest and excitement -- if she could get to other worlds, with some sort of reliable direction as Arthas, she could make significant strides in her studies. Wonderful... absolutely wonderful. The confirmation of his help only made Skell's lips stretch out wider, but not too much, for she wished to remain reserved. She took a sip from her cocoa and eyed Ricardus' reaction to the explanation of what Heartless were. She could have added more, but she decided to leave it at that; Arthas was right -- they weren't an entirely pretty thing to talk about. Interesting, yes. But suitable?
"Sounds like a trip to another world or so could do us all some good," she took another sip of her cocoa and hugged it to her face. She liked the warmth.
Eyeing Ricardus, she continued, "You're more than welcome to come along with us. I actually highly encourage it, seeing as how you don't know where you are, really... don't worry, I know at least I won't bite," she smiled softly and pulled out her sketchbook, "You can take some time to think. I'm ready to go off when you are. Just give me the heads up."
And with that she started losing herself in drawing strangers in a nearby table. She wondered if either Ricardus or Arthas would allow her to have themselves in her sketchbook in the future. With their permission, their materializations could come in handy for some trickery in case they run into trouble...
(OOC: Ready when you are, Shun. :3 I don't know how much exploring you'd like Ricardus to do, but just let us know when you're set!)
R I C A R D U S D A R ' N A L A "UM... EXCUSE ME?"
(A bit crappy, sorry >.<!)
Ricardus watched in awe as Arthas created a portal out of his finger, ripping a piece of space in the process. Such power was truly fascinating; he had never seen anything like that, or at least he didn't think he had. How could the man do that, anyway? It technically wasn't supposed to be able to happen, but still... could he teach others to use the same technique? That power could turn out to be certainly convenient under many circumstances though using it frequently could have serious drawbacks in a universal scale. One wasn't supposed to play with time and space a lot.
The boy tilted his head as the gold-headed man explained what the Heartless were. It sounded confusing, especially since he had gone a tad too quickly across the term. Beings... created from the darkness in somebody's heart? Another thing that sounded off... but eh, most of the things he had learned in the past hour weren't logically possible! Either way, was it really -that- of a sensitive subject?
And before he knew it, Skell was already planning a trip to another world! Wait... "another world"?! Was he in -another world-?! The young boy offered them a shockful expression as she spoke, biting his bottom lip when she addressed him. This was all happening too quickly... it almost seemed like a dream.
And all dreams had an end.
"I-I think I'll go and join you, guys." he said, low enough that it seemed like a whisper. Not that he had a choice, right? It was better to stick with these two who had shown kindness to him while most people would have sent him away instead. "But... if it's okay with you... could we stay just one more night here?"
Setsuna Hirodomo had just finished cleaning up the mess of books in the library; the mess that those guys in white had left. He sighed as he put the final books in their respective shelves, but really regretted that almost all of the town history books were destroyed.
Why those books? He wondered. Why not any other books? Maybe they had some sort of goal, a plan... maybe they were controlled by some sort of higher power.
The truth was, Setsuna knew virtually nothing about them; only that his shield could actually do any damage to them. He was thankful for that, at least. He stood up, dusting himself off.
"Damn... I need a coffee." With that, he strode out of the library, pausing to lock the double doors with a key. As he walked, his tanto Solitaire hung quietly at his belt, slapping softly at his grey jeans. A sudden breeze came into being, ruffling his long black hair. His black running shoes made soft sounds of contact against the cobblestone. A simple silver band gleamed on the ring finger of his right hand. Pausing only to catch a glimpse of the eternal sunset, he strode on until he came upon a small cafe. He sighed. He was no good at dealing with people; he sincerely hoped he would be the only one there, aside from a girl who frequented the establishment of course, whom he knew and was slightly friendly with. Her name was Skell.
Setsuna pushed the door open, and immediately his heart sank. There were two other people in there besides Skell, and something immediately grabbed his attention; the older man raised a hand, causing a sort of rift in the air! He overheard the man casually mention something about world travel. World travel! I had no idea there were other worlds! His curiosity had been piqued, and he decided to sit at the table directly behind them, nodding at Skell in greeting.
His blue vest and white T-shirt rippled quietly as he sat down. In fact, the only sound he made was the clanking of the tanto against the wooden chair.
As Arthas pondered this roposal, he sipped at his cocoa, leaving a strip of brown across his upper lip. Wiping it off, he said, "Of course, Ricardus, if it's okay with...Hmm?" He heard a small sound behind him, like wood hitting another surface. With a flourish of his hand, he charged a Fire spell under the table, the card on the chain around his neck slightly heating with the use of the magic. Hi swarrior's sense kicked in, and he was ready to move and attack if nessicary. As he looked at Skell, he pointed behind him with his thumb, trying to get her to understand:
Skell lifted her head from gazing down at her sketchbook as Ricardus posed his question. Her gaze wasn't stuck on Ricardus for long as the sound of the entrance door opening caught her attention. A familiar faced walked in, a man that she would see every once in a while as she frequented this café: Setsuna. She never really talked much to him, but they talked enough for her to know little bits about his personality. At first glance, he seemed relatively cold-shouldered. But maybe it was because of the warm atmosphere of the café that just made strangers more likely to converse with one another. Yes, that was probably it...
She caught Arthas stopping mid-answer, and eyed him curiously. His hand disappeared under the table, but her senses piqued as she felt heat. She shook her head at Arthas, with a slight smile, and leaned to the side to direct her glance at the now sitting Setsuna.
"Hey, Setsuna, right? Nice to see you in here again. Arthas, Ricardus," she tried to calm Arthas's nerves especially with her introducing them, "this is Setsuna. He comes here every so often. Nothing to be nervous about." She directed those last words subtly toward Arthas. She then leaned in toward him and whispered jokingly, "This is a public place... you going to start a fire for every stranger that walks in here?"
"And yes, Ricardus, we can wait to travel... take your time."
R I C A R D U S D A R ' N A L A "UM... EXCUSE ME?"
(I totally forgot... what I was going to have Ricardus do XD *improvises*)
Ricardus took a sip from his cocoa, eyeing both Arthas and Skell while waiting for a reply. There wasn't a special reason behind his request; he just wanted to explore Twilight Town a little bit, especially since they were going to be bouncing around the worlds. For some reason, he -knew- he was a total night owl and that he'd have plenty of time to wander around the city when the moon showed its face.
Suddenly, however, everyone went silent. It was one of those moments where that awkward silence took charge. Ricardus's eyes followed the older boy's thumb, finding themselves fixed on a bundle of dark hair. Arthas seemed quite wary of this newcomer, but were they supposed to fear him?
The teenager's fears were soon locked away when Skell addressed the man, Setsuna. He smiled, offering the newcomer a polite nod. "Pleasure."
Setsuna nodded and returned his gaze to Arthas. "World travel? I wasn't aware there were other worlds out there. Perhaps you could tell me about them... you've gotten my curiosity up, which doesn't happen often."
He gestures around the cafe. "Having lived here for 20 years, you get bored of seeing the same damn places every single day of your life. I need to get out of here - and I think I know my way."
Setsuna leans over the partition separating the two tables. "Take me with you. I won't be a liability. In fact..." he stands up, making his shield appear in his hand with a bright flash of light. "I think I would be a valuable asset. You have a katana, Arthas, that much I can see. You probably know some magic, too, judging by the way you opened up that rift in the air like it was nothing. As for Skell and Ricardus... I don't know if you two have weapons concealed. Skell, the few times I've seen you have been in here. You don't seem like the fighting type. Ricardus... you seem a little defenseless. Do you know magic? If you don't, there are some books I can go get from the library that teach you the basic theory. If I'm going to leave with you, I'm going to have to go back there anyway and at least leave a note."
Setsuna realizes that he was being almost... friendly. Perhaps it was the warm atmosphere of the cafe. But he normally was not like this. He sat back down. "At any rate, I would be glad if you took me along."
He suddenly realizes something else. "Oh... there have been some mysterious guys in white outfits here. They ripped up the library a couple months ago. Seeing as you're an inter-world traveler, perhaps you know about them?" Setsuna reaches into his pocket and takes out a small notebook. He opens the book, flipping through the pages. He finally shows a page to the others. It's a photograph of a Dusk. "Have you ever seen these guys before? What are they called?"
Arthas gave a tight smile as Skell introduced him to the new man and said, "It's an honor." He listened to what Setsuna had to say, then nodded. "I'm fine with you tagging along, but it's up to the others. And those "guys in white" are actually Dusks. I'd tell you about them, but the Nobody researcher is over there." he said, gesturing at Skell.
He then looked at the other two, smiling. "So, who wants to go to the library?"
