A Growing Shadow.. (Dark Members)

[Ellie who has 0%]

Title: A Growing Shadow: taking a new step forward

Activity as been running into a wall, absolutely know where. In both lives, Elaeus had knew and learned that he can never please everyone, but one can make an attempt to travel in a single direction, and hopefully as a united group they can stand behind one another in this. The moments of doing nothing but "contemplating" without true "actions", which only birth scenarios, is over for him. Even so it took too long for the Heartless to cultivate and leave the comfort zone of the realm of darkness. It would take small steps to actually get somewhere, and Elaeus had already passed his first objective, getting out of that bloody castle. No it wasn't an annoying or entrapping setting, but it was the main place where he had stayed. It's time to make a move, even if it meant outside the castle's walls.

The first step was to go into the corridor of darkness for travel. There Elaeus had contemplated on the members he had met and reunited with. There was Arumial, the Elegant Sword-master, who was nothing, but business, moving, and achieving. The last glimpse of that Heartless was when he left him behind with Relena and Ienzo claiming to take care of some organization related projects, but for this Heartless and the way of this life seeing is believing. Having things implied without hardcore facts wouldn't do much good if they were to build Kingdom Hearts and destroy their nobodies. Next there was Relena, the trouble-making Steel Blitzer. The Heartless rather not linger his thoughts on her. She may be a handful at times when he would want to strangle her to get a point across, but Relena isn't idiotic. He was sure of it, but he had learned to cope with her as well, while being to lazy or generous to construct in violence to gain control. It would benefit the group as an entity. Ienzo had too arrived back from a long slumber in the darkness cove. Although he had altered a bit, he was still the young apprentice he remembered with a little spirit embedded in him. He heard a few whispers about Myde and Braig, but that was it, the Dark XII he knew of with the disappearance of Even. Such similar thoughts of the small group and the gatherings with them had halted once an opening came to view to his new destination, Yen Sid's Tower.

This famous tower were the king trained and studied was awkward and abstract as it bends unevenly that one will swear that with a gentle breeze it would collapse. Although it was strange it matched everything else in this ...dimension, abstract and unnatural. Looking up, his black hood fell off the top of his head, which folded at the base of his neck and the tips of his bronze hair. There was no way he would go up the stairs; now wasn't the time, and he wanted to make sure what he was looking for was there as soon as possible. With a wave of his hand, a portal opened, and he entered to emerge in Yen Sid's Study. Now it was time for a little research.

An hour or two has passed, and Elaues took it upon himself to fill his head with the books in the room. His fingertips softly touched the book's cover, while thinking on the information it had held.

At times when something with strong heart and will, be they good or evil, becomes a heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own... a spirit that goes on even as its body fades from existence..

"That would explain why there are more heartless than nobodies, but how can one manipulate their deteriorating process of fading?"

"No matter, that question can be on hold for a while longer..."

[Deleted]

(Joined with approval of Elaeus)

Ahh Twilight Town. Seed loved this town so much he literally exploded with joy...or rather made the civilians of Twilight Town explode in his place. But this place was hardly visited by Seed, he just never found the time to break in. But things change in life as everyone knows. It only made things better that Elaeus was also here. After all Seed still works for the guy.
Plus that other girl, Relena. Its actually ironic that he works for both of them now. It was Elaeus who told him to spy on Relena,....not even Seed knows how this combination happened. All he knew was that he could kill twice the amount of strong people. Thats all he wants. But Relena did mention something about Teapartys and Thursdays. Sigh.

Another portal formed in the book room of the tower that held Elaeus. Seed came strolling out of it with his usual expression on his face, that probably has something to with the fact he killed Richard a little bit ago. Stupid accountant actually asked for Seeds taxes. Cue the eye roll, when will they learn. But now it seemed that Elaeus was the move again with some sorta plan. First was that chick Yulia and know something new. He sure does move fast for a little guy. However it looked like Relena was know were to be found. Good, he didn't feel like being around both his employers at once. Time to ask Elaeus whats going on now.

"Hey, Elaeus. What's got your motor running now. Didn't I just get you a Heart of Light to play with? Or did you already break the toy." Seed said with humor intended in every word he spoke. He loved messing around with Elaeus, mainly because he always replied with a witty comment as well. Believe it or not Seed enjoys intelligent conversations with others. Execpt those idiotic Humans. Whoa, got way off topic. Seed looked around at the books and just grined. Books wern't the most fun thing to read acording to Seed. But Elaeus loved them. With more joking needed Seed asked, "Don't you already have enough book smarts".

[Ellie who has 0%]

That voice, that scent, the dark signature, added up to one particular individual, Seed. It has been a while, since he have used the Heartless' services. To further fill his observations, Seed have a keen sense in either coming at the oppurtune moment or have an impecible worst time. At the moment, the Earth Titan doesn't know which skill he had used today, but since he's here not might as well make use of his company.

"That pet you have chosen had a lucky escape with Santa Claus; I had sent a neo-shadow to go after her, but he have failed to return to me. I am very unsure of his whereabouts and outcome of the hunt, but I feel that he may or may not be wiped out the face of the earth with such destructive artifact stored in her heart."

"As for the books, there's no such thing of too much education. What was the saying 'knowledge is power', but then there was one 'education is dangerous', I find it only dangerous when one is oblivious and doesn't use it properly. You can learn alot from books, and this holds an intriguing question and a fact. Do you know what it is?"

Elaues turned his head towards Seed. His eyes were covered with a black cloth, while strands of bronze hair fell over it like soft drapes. His voice was mellow and calm in sync with the smooth black cloak he wore. The intellect Heartless continued to gaze at the other awaiting a silent answer for the question was rhetorical. He would usally say guess not, but he only turned back to the book in silence with a soft clearing of the throat.

"It states that nobody's spirit continues to go on with free will despite it's body fading from existence, which leads to a question: How to make that body deteriate? With having a body it would need nutrients, stripping that away would only weaken it, since it's still a body. The soul may give the body life, but nutrients only keeps the body stable. I wish to find a quicker way in destroying that body, while keeping that soul. Maybe something else would be born out of that, but I think now in this time and age we will need more destruction than birth."

"Not only does that gives me a new experiment to test, I must continue another. Have you notice lately...," his elbows propped on the table as his fingers laced with each other for his chin to rest on them, "some mortals are able to sense our dark energy and signature. As for a nobody, they are nothing, but we are atleast something. In other words, I want to find a way to mask the dark energy; that will make all heartless not seem to be a heartless."

Pushing the chair back, he rose from Yen Sid's chair in his chamber towards the Three Good Fairies room, "Do you know what is so special about this world, Twilight Town." He turned back to see if the Heartless was still listening and saw the message to follow him. "It is directly in the middle of the Realm of Darkness and Light. I assume that every object in this world would have that middle ground quality. Including thier fabrics of clothing. For example, if one was to make clothing originating from an animal that lives, breeds, and origins from a world in the Realm of Darkness, then by nature it should have a dark quality or enhancements. Do you see what I reaching towards?"

[Charme]

Ienzo chuckled as he brushed his black hair out of his face, moving forwards. All of this plotting, all of this moving, and they were finally acheiving something. He remembered too many times when those idiotic humans had somehow known what he was without him even saying anything. It made him angry when he was searching for food. It's quite annoying, especially when you're hungry, eh, Sin?

His arm twitched slightly as cold pulsed through it. He rubbed the tattoo that stretched under the coat sleeve, feeling goosebumps rise.

But he walked through the door and sat against one of the walls, watching Elaeus and Seed. One of them he didn't know, or didn't remember. "So... A new jacket?" Ienzo looked down to his shabby brown one. "Sounds nice. Mine's getting a bit worn out." His silver eyes examined the room around him and he smiled at all the knowledge. He slowly strolled over and took a book from the shelf. "Hope the old man doesn't mind if I borrow one. I mean, considering he disappeared a while back, I don't think it matters." He smiled mischeivously and sat down in the high-backed chair to read.

"So... Where do you think this fabric would be?"

[Ellie who has 0%]

“That was the next question I was waiting for…” Elaeus looked over his shoulder towards Ienzo, while beckoning him with Seed to follow into the other room where a strong magical aura could be felt. His pale hand waved over the door to open a portal as he stepped through it to get to the other side. There’s no need to use the door to leave dark signatures behind.

The room the portal opened to was the workshop area of the three good fairies: Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It seemed that they were all absence. Even so entrapping them would be far from difficult with their measly wands limited to do great harm. They can only bring happiness: childish bubbles, youthful sprouting flowers, and so on. Crystalline eyes scanned to look around; he found the wardrobe; he was starting to wave it open and saw what the diverse reflections showed him. Before anyone else could he closed them; he didn’t feel like displaying his other forms, but only time would tell how long it would stay anonymous.

“It would be helpful, if I can find their wands, or Master Yen Sid’s sorcerer hat. I had read a book of King Mickey’s training here; his master usually leaves it in the basement in this Tower where the king took it and hexed a brom to life with buckets. I doubt the master would change such habit now, especially when this place seemed to be well hidden. The last heartless to be here was under Pete’s order. It’s probably still there. Now as for the sister wands, I remember them leaving in a deco box when they tried to live a life like mortals. It was like a little safe for them then, and it can still be now.”

“Seed would you do the honor to see if you can find it within the Tower walls. Have fun for I can assure you that there maybe dusks swarming about. Finding a way to make their silent bodies scream may be entertaining for you.”

This would leave a moment for Ienzo and Elaeus to be alone; it wasn’t that Seed was in the way, but Elaeus needed enough things to be handled to ensure some progression.

“You said you need a new jacket. Do you remember when you said a sneak attack? What if we were involved in the sneak attack as us guised as mortals among mortals and as Organization XIII members? They all wonder about in the uniformed back cloak, and that is what everyone familiar with them as, or simply have Seed grow in his performances with illusions. For some reason, I think that will work better: chose a selected group to manipulate, while acting as one of them.”

[Deleted]

So Yulia escaped huh, not something that Seed thought wold happen to Elaeus. But Santa Clause? Who knew that a apparently now real person would come by and ruin everything. But now he sent a Neo-Shadow to get that little girl? Seed reminded himself not to question his boss.  "If knowledge is power then you and I must be pretty strong then huh?" Seed said the Elaeus. He knew that Elaeus was extremely powerful from their last battle. Speaking of which thats how Seed got into employment. Funny how time can fly. Now Elaeus was ranting about the empty shells known as Nobodies. Seed too had wondered how a "being" with no heart could in fact be "alive". It was a heart that pumped blood through the body keeping it running. BUT Heartless themselves don't really live....do they?  "Hey Elaeus. If Nobodies don't have hearts and don't technically exist. Then what about us heartless. Are name itself indicates that we don't have hearts. I know thats not true but all we do is draw our power from the heart. So....are alive or just darkness walking around." Seed asked with the up most seriousness. Then another person emerged within the room. He had a certain energy single about him, it was almost the same as Elaeus just a little.....different. Seed was about to greet the new person but Elaeus dragged him away to a new room with mirrors in almost every corner.
Then all of a sudden Seed was given a new order. But to look for three little sticks within the walls. Too easy. Looking around he said with some exictment about killing some Dusks, "Sure thing, but makeing them scream might be a bit of a challenge, given that they don't really have mouths. But I'll have the wands back here in no time". Seed opened a portal and ran through it not wanting to wast time.

[Charme]

Ienzo stared at Seed as he departed, and he smirked at the question. It was nothing against Seed, the smirk, it just reminded him of the human mistakes that had made them what they are.

Xehanort had destroyed him... ((Although he didn't mind) And Ansem had given him the name "Heartless", which was a complete oxymoron. If anything, they had the purest hearts, hearts of Darkness itself. They could abosorb Darkness from other Hearts, and the Light in those Hearts made them stronger. They, being human, not only had the strongest heart, but also had intelligence to give them power over other Heartless.

They were indeed a force to be feared, at least in Ienzo's mind.

He kept smilin as Elaeus explained his plan, and nodded, his silver eyes gleaming. "Our distractions... They will be "Organization" members. And just as the mortals think they have allies, we eat their Hearts. It sounds quite fun, and incredibly..." Ienzo chuckled. "Entertaining. It's been too long since I hurt somebody emotionally. Anybody can fight physical pain, but emotional pain is something much harder to face."

He put the book on one of the desks in the fairies' room and walked to the dresser. His eyes scanned the row of fabrics, and he ran his fingers upon them. "How can we test these fabrics, Elaeus? Maybe we can summon Shadows and cover them with it. Then we can try to sense them..."

His eyes widened slightly as he looked to his comrade. "Elaeus, this has a bad side. We will not be able to correlate positions. We won't be able to sense each other's presence or our emotional stress. How will we know if the other is in trouble?"

[Ellie who has 0%]

"You brought up a good point, if the articles truly covers it expeditionously. Unless there is an item that we can all take." Elaues began to ponder as he started to walk about the enclosed area. His gait was slow with contemplation, because he couldn't do two of the actions at the same time. His fingers started to snap against each in a loud click.

Like Ale with a flame, a sharp diamond pierced for him thumb. It was black like an onyx with a gleam like a Tahitian pearl. A bronze brow perked at it. "If I could used this to inject darkness, it can be used to absorb it as well, our own. Such small little trademark of our own darkness would be recognizable by us, since this diamond in particular was made out of my own." The Heartless muttered softly.

"I think I may have found the solution, but like everything it needs to be thought over and possibly perfected. Then again you have you neo-shadows to send message through the corridors of darkness."

(sorry for shortness)

[Deleted]

(Skip me. All Seed is doing is prowling around. Dont feel really inspired to post that) (My Muse tank needs a refill *Looks at Muse gas prices* Twhat!! 7.98 a gallon *Sighs*)

[Charme]

((Sorry, I thought Seed was posting. But I forgot he left. XD *braindead*))

Ienzo nodded, looking at the crystal. He leaned in closer to examine it. What would the crystal do? How did it work? He couldn't really understand. Did the Darkness give them a symbol to go by?

Would anybody else be able to sense that Darkness?

And his Neo-Shadows. His eyes slid to his own shadow, and he put his hand into it. One of the very creatures pulled itself out of the darkness and cupped its hand around his own. They were like children, so innocent... But they were so deadly. They were simple-minded, unable to truly contemplate any decision... He didn't know how they could help. When they sunk into a shadow, they lost all form, so they couldn't carry notes or messages. And they couldn't speak properly.

He wondered what Elaeus had planned. It was true that he was at least more intelligent that everage, but Elaeus was gifted with wisdom and battle smarts. Ienzo was more of an assassin than a tactician. He was best at improvisation, while Elaeus was best with the initial plan.

"What is running through your mind, friend?" Ien's eyes flashed as a smile lit across his face. He had a feeling that his friend's invention would be very fun.

[Ellie who has 0%]

Elaeus looked from the corner of his eyes towards the Neo-Shadows. They were the closest humaniod heartless specie, which made him curious of them even more. They may actually be the closest creature to the Dark XII member. After all the stronger the heart of the heartless the more human it may appear. That reminded him of a particular little creature, a neo-shadow who has been bouncing about collecting hearts. He wondered if Ienzo knew about it.

"What's running through my mind? The thought of sliding so slyly under other noses amuse me so. This place is left so unguarded as well as so many others. How safe is Traverse Town compared to Twilight Town. They seem so vunerable and ignorant to their own surroundings like their inhabitants. The only difficulty would be Radiant Garden. Plus working underground amongst the prey would be far more easier for you and the daemon within you. I'm sure such ploy can stimulate a heartless desire and urge."

"That diamon in your hand is made by yours truly. I could sense it regardless including the dark signature in it. If it has yours, then I would be able to detect it easily. If we were to combine such fingerprint in one everyone can be linked like a telephone to radio waves."

"Speaking on connections, I have met a neo-shadow. Quite an intellect when it comes to the thrill of hunting with small understanding to words, which I feel will grow in time. It understands what a heart is, which is its favorite snack time. I wonder if you have ever ran into the little one at all."

[Deleted]

(Skip again) (Ill post next time around)

[Charme]

Ienzo paused. His silver eyes sharpened as he listened to what Elaeus was saying. So the diamonds could be made for everybody... And a mere touch could activate a Dark frequency between them. He understood much better now. And he had a feeling it would work. It was quite a brilliant idea. And the neo-shadow...

It was being independant. He didn't know if that was a good or bad sign, nor if he had ever seen one. He may have, but he may have forgotten about it. A simple neo-shadow, even if they were his own, would soon fade back into Darkness. But this one that he was being told about, it hadn't faded. It was living similar to them, but without intelligence.

He would have to look into that. It opened up new possibilities for the neo-shadows, if they were learning and discovering. It seemed that even Heartless evolved.

He examined the cupboards next to a covered mirror. His eyes flashed along the side of it. An image of you overcome by the power of darkness flows into your mind. In the mirror, he was Ienzo, but his right arm... It was not. It was black and swirling, multiple eyes surfacing every few seconds or so as Sin looked from place to place. Evolving Heartless... Sin was a perfect example.

"My Neo-Shadows... Do you have any ideas that I could use with them? We are of the same, me and them, and I have strategies... But with your abilities, we can discover new ways of attacking."

[Ellie who has 0%]

"With such similarities, you should be very intuned with them. If you are able to gather a few, you can start assimilating more hunting techniques. They are like wolves; they run together towards a similar goal. For that, they are surely hunters. If we ever needed to use someone was a pawn, the neo-shadows can easily force them in a particular direction."

"With my abilities, I can increase thier hunting skills as they learn to hunt in diverse environment like a laberinth, in a sand storm, during an earth quake. It would give them a challenge and motivation. In short, they will excell in hunts including manipulating their prey, a schemer. So if we wanted the Twilight Town inhabitants away from the Train Station. A pack of neo-shadows should have the hosility and skills to hunt after them to make them run like a wild herd of zebras."

"Soon I will have to call upon Relena to see if she have better control or sought out her heartless. They can help disembling the train tracks or pontential shut down the train station."

(Needs to be edited but continue)

[Charme]

Ien nodded. Yes, he was right. The Neo-shadows worked very well in a group. And with the correct training they could succeed in any mission. But Relena... What would her Heartless be? How could it benefit them? His only thought was that he hoped it wouldn't be a frenzied Heartless. Maybe it could be a bit more like Relena herself. That would work more to their favor.

He summoned a shadow to his hand, where he threw it up and down. "How are we doing with those suits? Found anything?" He really wanted this new jacket. No more being completely obvious in the eyes of those sensors. It would allow Feeding to be so much easier.

His gray eyes scanned the area. Ienzo pulled out the large book he had selected earlier and looked through it.

Heartless: The History

He would find out what Sin was, hopefully. Then maybe he could find out how to unleash its full power. It was like it wasn't whole sometimes, as if it was split in half. If so, he wondered how he could unlock its true abilities...