A Night on the Town (Open)

The moon was just rising as Kairi emerged from the Old Mansion. She felt . . . different, actually. More secure with herself, more aware, somehow.

The experience with King Mickey had done a great deal for her. She didn't feel quite as helpless as she had. She wasn't quite as afraid.

She walked out of the gates and looked around at the city of Twilight Town and smiled softly to herself. She might not be as strong as her friends, but at least she was no longer completely helpless, and that was something to be proud of, she supposed.

Now, the question was, where to go next?

As the young girl walked out of the gates of the Old Mansion, a big shadowed figure was looking at her. This man, if that was how he could be called, had seen something different on that girl... She had a different heart and soul from the other beings he had seen. In her heart, there was only light. Not a bit of darkness could be found by him, and that confused the armored warlock. How could that be? In each heart there was light and darkness... Maybe she had some darkness, but it was swalowed by the great amount of light in her heart. Such a strange... and interesting being.

Exdeath then simply shown himself from where he was hiding, and faced this girl. He was looking at her, but she would know in which way. He still didn't have anything planned for this girl, yet something was going to come. Meanwhile...

You shouldn't be around here this late... Someone with such light would be helpless in the darkness of the night... And more right now, that there seem to be some of "those creatures" walkinga round.

It was true, he had felt some of those "Heartless" around, but they were no problem.

OOC: As you predicted, Exdeath is planning something that involves you XD. And it seems Twilight Town is my RP place...

"I dont think we'll have to worry much about those heartless" Said a voice, which seemed to come from a distance, somewhere around the exterior of the castle. Jumping off the side of the building, a being landed on the top of the gate walls, the light slow to catch up to him, but when it did showed the being to be human, and male. The light reflecting off the armor on his left arm, shown off his face, showing a smirk as the man looked down at the girl. "My god, you sure do look like her.." Said the man as he jumped down. Landing on his feet, he dusted up his pants and then raised himself up to once again see the girl. Walking towards her, he put a hand on top her head and smiled towards the other man. "Anyways about the darkness, this girl isint as helpless as she seems to look, she can handle herself..otherwise she wouldent have passed" Said the man as he laughed a bit, he hadent seemed to reveal his name yet, but already it would seem he found an interest in Kairi and was there as an ally.

Riku leapt down from his position on the wall surrounding the mansion, landing with a loud thump inches from Kairi. Face beaming, he casually looked her over, relieved to not see any wounds; a person's heart can be a dangerous place, to your body as well as your heart, and Riku was glad to see no wounds. Rik grabbed Rondine's hand, and, with a bone-crushing grip, slowly pulled his hand off her, head, staring straight into his eyes.

Riku turned to the newcomers; One's heart was filled with Darkness. Riku summoned his Way to the Dawn, and stood protectively in front of her. Remembering himself, he stepped to the side, slightly, but still where he could easily intercept any attack. he didn't know how much stronger she was, but until he saw it for himself, he couldn't be too careful.

"She can go wherever she wants to. She is, by no means, helpless, either. Sorry for being rude, but who, exactly, are you? It's not too smart to just be hanging around here at night, as you yourself said, so we ought to get going."

Riku, despite his words, stood his ground; he wasn't quite sure who these two were, but he didn't trust them.

Perfect. More interesting people were showing up as the time passed... Something that was unexpected, but entertaining for what he could see. From all this people, it seemed that now the girl was not the one with most of his attention, but the white haired male. This man was a fusion of light and darkness, mixed in his heart. It was rare to see a man with those qualities, and more when he summoned a strange weapon and put himself into a protective stance. Exdeath didn't even pulled out his weapon. There was no need to fight against this young one... Not yet.

How rude... You shouldn't be talking like that to an elder, kid. Tonight was fresh, and I decided to go for a walk... happy to hear that? And by who I am... I am the warlock Exdeath. Giving more details than that could not be good for the situation, eh?

The white haired male possibly knew how high was the darkness that was covering him. It was something common for a man with his skills to do not trust the warlock.

Exdeath then walked towards him, without even preparing his weapon if for some reason this man decided to attack him. By pointing with his finger at him, he said:

Put that sword down...

Kairi was stunned for a moment as several things all seemed to happen at once. First the strange warrior in the even stranger armor appeared. She turned to look at him, at his comment about her being helpless, and she was about to respond to him when . . .

The man jumped down from above, and showed something akin to affection towards her. Kairi didn't know who it was that she supposedly resembled, but he didn't seem at all dangerous or threatening. The way he put his hand on her head was almost . . . familial in nature.

But then Riku showed up, and she had to work hard to stifle a grin at his possessiveness where she was concerned. She appreciated his worry, though she didn't expect him to show up here to meet her. She probably should have expected it. After all, the last time she had gone wandering on her own she had ended up kidnapped to be used as hostage bait in a trap.

But then the armored one spoke again, to Riku, and she didn't like his tone. She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Perhaps if you took some of your own advice," she said quietly, "then we could all be on our way peacefully."

Wait....Exdeath? he had heard that name before......From where? That traveler, the giant. with strange armor and an odd, talking animal at his side. He had told him a story about Exdeath....he had been forced to work under him, as a subordinate. This was a terrifying though, as that stranger was probably one of the most powerful fighters had ever met. He had met the strange, powerful warrior on one of his trips to check up on Sora. The man had appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and, after telling his story, had left just as quickly. One thing, though, was for sure; if that traveler had worked under Exdeath, and had been a mere pawn to him, things could be troublesome indeed.

"Exdeath....How can you be here? He said you were dead. he said they had killed you, centuries ago. What are you planning?"

Riku tightened his grip on his keyblade, his knuckles white and a small sheen of sweat covering his face. he was nervous, never having faced anyone quite like this before.

The man smiled as Riku attempted to hurt his hand, he could sense he was protective over the girl. "Watch it there mr.sunshine, im not here to hurt her" He said as he looked on to the armored one, who now walked towards Riku and Riku's sudden reaction of fear. "Dont worry yourself kid, I wont let him hurt her either" Said the man as he held his hand to his side, a bright light shining from his hand as a large Keyblade appeared, the man grabing its handle and holding the blade to his side. "King's Judgment" Said the man, as if stating the keyblades name to the others. "..Oh by the way, names Terra" He said, smiling at Riku and Kairi as if to reassure them of his alliance to them. Now facing the armored one again, he looked him in the eye, with a sense of curiosity. "You dont look like the type to pick on little girls, but I can always beat you down in case im wrong" Terra said, as he smirked at the armored man who called himself Exdeath.

At least this man was well informed about the situation in another universes. He had information about him, and probably the man that had told that story was his ex-subordinate, Gilgamesh. Exdeath knew that sending him to the Rift would not kill him, but he was a bit surprised to see that he had traveled to this far away place. Well, he was only a pawn, so there were no worries. Yet, not that he was talking with this white haired man, he deserved to know the whole story. Exdeath stopped his walk without paying attention to the woman, while he said to the male:

He said I was dead... He said I was killed... And that's true. I died by the hand of the Warriors of Light, but it was a few years ago, no centuries. Yes, I was dead, and I went to a place I cannot describe... Until someone resurrected me. The god of discord... Chaos. He recruited me as an elite warrior for his army, but again those light brats stoped us and defeated Chaos. But... They forgot to completely eliminate me, like the last time. I was severaly injured, and I used the powers of the Void to transport myself to this universe, to save my life...

What a long speech, but it would be enough to clear this man's doubts. He then turned his head to the female girl, and stayed looking at her for a while, without turning to any other person. He still had some plans for her, but it could wait... Until the plan was made.

Yet... There was an interruption. The other man, Terra, had now summoned another weapon. He deserved to be replied...

Terra... Hmph... My intentions are not bad right now. I am remaining in neutrality, and I would like you all to put your weapons down... I was simply walking around, when the light of this girl called my attention. And you...

He turned to Riku again and said:

You seem to be a little tense with my presence here...

Kairi really didn't like this individual in his armor and his attitude. He made Riku nervous, and that was more than enough to worry her. She didn't know anyone stronger than Riku, other than perhaps King Mickey himself.

What really worried her, though, was the armored man's statement that he had been drawn to them by none other than her, her soul, her heart's light. She was still causing problems for those she cared about.

Her expression firmed slightly. She didn't want to cause more problems, but that seemed to be all she could do. She looked at Exdeath, as that seemed to be the armored man's name, and spoke very clearly. "Have you seen what it is you wished to see? We have places to go." She wanted nothing more than to get away from this person who made Riku so very nervous.

To tell you the truth...

Exdeath turned again to Kairi and remained in silence for a while, looking at the ground. It seems that she didn't like him, but he haven't done anything so far than appearing in their sight. Really, this Riku guy could be scared really easy... Not even that Onion Knight kid was nervous the first time they met, and god he was coward. Then by putting his eyes in her face, his actitude suddenly changed to a relaxed and even cocky one, as his personality usually was, and said:

I said that I was just passing through... Didn't mean to do anything bad. Not my fault that the white haired over there got nervous by only hearing my name, eh? I'm literaly new on this universe and I would like to know this place and its history better. As I said, I will remain in neutrality from darkness and light, nor good or bad side as you would say. You are different from that Sora guy... At least I could have a talk with him without "being pointed with weapons"...

As he said "being pointed by weapons" he looked at Riku and Terra, like saying "Please put down those things". He really had no bad porpuses right now, and he was now even changing his presence so it wouldn't affect Riku so much.

Anyways, might you tell me your names?

Terra laughed a bit at what the armored man said, spinning his keyblade around as he suddenly made it dissapear. "I already said my name, its Terra" Said Terra as he walked over to the armored one and put his hand out for a handshake. "I dont think your all too bad, but cant be too cautious, nice to meet you mr....death" Terra said, looking back at Kairi and Riku as he winked at them, using his other hand to signal to Riku that he could lower his weapon. "If he tries anything, i'll make sure to help you crush him, ok sparky?" He said, returning his gaze unto Exdeath as he awaited for him to move.

Riku banished his Keyblade, taking a more relaxed stance, but still keeping his eye on the large, armored figure. Regardless of his words, he wasn't to be trusted. Gilgamesh had been more than Riku's match, and Exdeath was, apparently, even stronger.

"Alright, then. Keep your... "curiosity" about Kairi locked up, and we'll be fine. As for you...Terra, was it? Nice to meet ya, name's Riku. That's an interesting Keyblade you have there, I haven't seen one nearly that big before. By the way, why did you say Kai here seemed familiar? Have the two of you met before? Any friend of Kairi's is a friend of mine."

Riku leaned back against the wall, relaxed, now. He didn't know who this Terra guy was, but he seemed to be a nice enough guy. Sorta cocky, though.

As Riku relaxed, Kairi did too. She was genuinely curious about this Terra.

"Yes, please," she asked, "who did you say that I look like?" She nodded a greeting to Exdeath, still a touch nervous about him, but if he said he meant no ill, and Riku was willing to let it go, then she couldn't say much.

She did, though, make sure to keep either Riku or Terra between her and Exdeath if she could. One kidnapping was more than enough to make her edgy, though that didn't mean that this man would attempt anything like that.

This man, Terra... Was too nice... Even if he did not like to have this kind of interactions with people, he still hand shacked (XD) Terra and turned to the others, that now were more relaxed and were talking about things. But before that, Exdeath simply said to Riku as a response to what he had said to him:

You don't have the experience, age and power to talk to me like that... But I'll do as you say only because I don't want to make any troubles... yet...

The "yet" word seemed to be something like a joke by the way he said it, so it shouldn't worry the other people. Terra was also carrier of a lot of light, and that disgusted him a little. He was not comfortable with this kind of warriors of light... And mostly because he was killed by some of them. This were different, but only because they haven't seen what he is capable of. It was best to keep that in the dark until something big happens.

He took from his belt one of the many magical spheres that he had hanging around, and threw one of them through the air to Kairi, directly to her hands so she could see it.

Take that, girl... It might be useful for you. Break it when there is trouble, and you'll receive help...

Before she could say anything, he started to talk again more loudly:

Don't even think I'm giving this to you for a good reason or because I like you! I simply don't want to have debts with anyone... Thanks to you, I have found a very exciting night...

He said the last words with a lower voice... It was not his style, but it was true that he did not wanted to have debts with people. Otherwise, he would became soft, and they would start considering him as a "friend". Such a disgusting word...

"So the hulking metal monster has a heart" Terra said with a slight laugh as he turned and walked towards Kairi, a smile on his face as he looked at her. It seemed he was picturing someone else when he saw her, and his eyes where sincere and kind. Stopping in front of her he put his finger on her forehead for a light poke, as if he had done so with a friend long ago "You remind me of my friend, someone I care about..a lot. Her name is Aqua, and my god does your face resemble her so.." Terra said, setting yet another, although softer smile towards her as he then looked up at Riku and waved. "Yeah my keyblade is kind of different then yours, it has no keychain, but I can change its shape and size to suit me" Terra said, then returning his gaze unto Kairi, it seemed his memories had taken hold of him for the moment.

Kairi looked for a moment at the globe in her hands before she slid it into the pouch at her side. She nodded a thank you towards Exdeath, it would not do for her to forget to be polite, if at all possible.

Terra's words, though, tugged at her heart. So he had a friend who looked alot like her, a friend he cared about alot. It was so much like how she felt about Riku and Sora, though admittedly in Riku's case, the term friend had different meanings.

She smiled at him, gently. "Where is your friend? What happened to her?" For a moment she hoped that she hadn't made a mistake by asking. What if he was searching for his friend the same way Sora had been looking for her and Riku after the Heartless attacked?

The girl smiled at him and put the sphere on her pouch... Well, it was enough. Exdeath jumped from where he was when Terra said his words, and then by heading towards him a bit annoyed and agry he almost shouted to him the following words...

You... Dare to say something like that again and I guarantee, you would have wished to have never been born...

Exdeath was a ruler and conqueror, yet his sense of humor and everything that could be similar to it was not in a good shape. Exdeath simply turned around and went to a tree, so he could relax a little in that night. But then, something caught his attention. It was a strange feeling floating around in the night, yet he couldn't describe it. He simply looked to the sky a bit interested, and then forget about it instantly. It was possibly some pest walking around, that's all.

Since he arrived to that place, he have not found anything more interested than this childs... And he had the right of calling them childs, because he was probably more than 50 times older than them, for what he could remember.

He closed his eyes, or belived that he did, and started to hear...

"Sure, sure Mr. death" Terra said, letting the jokes go for a while as he seemed to be caught on some other subject. Terra half smiled when Kairi asked about his friends whereabouts, he seemed to delay an answer. "I dont know..Ive been looking for her and another friend of mine for a while, then I sensed you here and once I saw you I felt bound to stay for some reason." Terra said as he walked towards a wall and just as Riku did layed against the wall. "Also, I noticed mickey putting you through the trial, you succeeded, congradulations." He said, throwing a slight wink at her for her effort as he then folded his arms and looked up at the sky, his face rather serious. "Hey Mr. Death, seems we have company, I can tell you felt that too.." Terra said, keeping his face serious, he looked at Kairi as if to signal her to come over to him and Riku. "I suggest you guys get ready.." He said, he cracked a smirk of excitment as he hadent exactly fought in a while.

(Deciding to start some action, and Kaze im going with what your post said, hope you dont mind)

Riku strode toward the forest, Way to the Dawn re-appearing in his hand. Two dark portals opened, and, through them, stepped a Darkside and a Twilight Thorn. The two gigantic monsters stepped forward in tandem, the Darkside reaching down for the nearest target, Riku, while the Twilight Thorn continued past him, towards the others.

Riku leapt onto the gigantic arm, running upwards, digging his Keyblade into the 'flesh' of the beast as he ran, ripping its arm open. The creature's left arm swung around, nearly knocking Riku of, but he leapt onto the incoming limb, continuing his way upwards. Riku called over his shoulder, to the trio standing there.

"C'mon, guys, I can't take down both of these by myself. Some help would be appreciated."

Riku had to cut off, as the Darkside began summoning many small Shadow heartless onto itself, impeding his path. Riku had to cut a swathe through the small terrors, and dodge the beast's flailing limbs at the same time. He hated Darksides; so annoying.

"They are so very annoying.." Terra said as he put his hand out and King's Judgment appeared, Terra quickly grabing its handle as he ran past Kairi. "Take care of the small ones, aim high and swing hard.." Terra said, his eyes with a certain fire to them, he hadent seen action in some time. "Ok then you big, tall and ugly, time you go for nap" Terra said, evading two of the thunderous pounds of the Thorn's fists as he then jumped unto its arm and climbed up its body. "Transform" Terra said as the keyblade grew in size, slowly reaching twice its size, as Terra suddenly felt the increase in weight. Leaping into the air, Terra aimed a large cut at the Thorn's head, the impact would definately have an effect on the creature. As he attacked, a swarm of nobodies came down, heading towards Kairi, as if drawn to her light. "Kairi, dont be afraid!" Terra yelled, as if he already knew the fear she was probably feeling.

Kairi felt her heart thudding in her chest and for a moment it was all she could do to call the Keyblade to her hand. This . . . was so much worse than what she had seen before.

"The small ones . . ." she muttered, tightening her grip slightly. "What have I gotten myself into?" The question was hypothetical. She knew that it wasn't anything she did that caused these situations, it was what she was. There was no getting around that fact.

Heartless and Nobodies came running, because of her. Sinister intent found them, because of her. Sora and Riku were warriors, because of her. And now even Terra was fighting to defend her.

She pinched her lips together. Well, if what she was caused this, then she was going to face it like any of them. "Fine!" she said, just short of a shout. "I'm right here." She took careful aim at the closest one. Terra said to aim high, so that was just what she was going to do, an upward flowing stroke, gut to chin. The motion would flow like an arc.

Hopefully, she wouldn't look like an idiot in the process.

(...See, this is why I love Reaction Commands. Watch and learn.)


"HEY, UGLY!!!"

The Twilight Thorn turned and looked down, to see who dared insult it (not that it cared).

And, none other than Mickey Mouse was the source, jumping around, talking trash, and generally making a spectacle of himself.

"Why don'cha pick on somebody your own size, ya big lummox!?! Ya wanna fight? I got yer game right here, MEAT! Come on, guys, move in! This guy's a lightweight!"

If it had emotions, the Thorn would've been outraged. Casting the Curse of Holding on the mouse, it wound up for a punch to silence the small creature.

Much to its chagrin, Mickey'd been anticipating this. Summoning the Kingdom Key D, he broke the hold on his right hand, and slashed at the demon's fist.

(Reaction Command: Key Counter)

The Thorn was as shocked as an empty shell could be. Grabbing the mouse, it threw him into the air, and reared back for another punch. But the tiny Keybearer wouldn't be beaten so easily.

As he came down, he slashed at the fist again, and kept going, scoring a massive downward stroke to its head.

(Reaction Command: Lunarsault)

Using the force to propel him forward, almost pole-vaulting off its head, Mickey landed near to Kairi and Terra.

"And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is how we do that!"



With a heavy groan, the Twilight Thorn fell backwards, crushing a bakery under its massive weight.

Mickey visibly flinched, and hissed through his teeth at the noise. Without even turning around, he spoke.

"It just fell on something important, didn't it?"


...Can't be the man all the time, I suppose.

"Right on Mickey, but you know, I had this under control." Said Terra as he put his hand on the mouses head and laughed as he realized his mistake. "Let me finish this.." Terra said as he ran towards the Goliath of a nobody and jumped, spinning his Keyblade in the process. Kicking off a tree to gain some more air, Terra turned and aimed the keyblade at the Thorn's chest. "Lets turn you into a heartless" Terra said as the Keyblade began to change, its shape becoming bigger and the teeth of the blade beginning to rotate. After a few moments, the blade had become a giant drill, the likes of which sped towards the nobody, the drill breaking the air around them. "Instantaneous Change, Courage Drill" Terra said as the drill landed on the nobody's chest, a giant thud produced from the impact as earth went flying from the source. The nobody now had a large gaping hole in its chest, where Terra stood, a smirk on his face. "Now you really are a heartless" Terra said as he walked back to the other two, a smile on his face. "And that's how that's done.." Terra said, walking past Mickey as he went towards Kairi who had successfully eliminated a nobody, the nobody destroyed by the uppercut she had used, the Twilight Thorn had disappeared in a large puff of smoke. "Good work Kairi, but it isint over yet." Terra said as 5 nobodies came after them, Terra returning the blade to its original form, holding his keyblade next to her, as he smiled to her, as if accepting her as a true keyblade wielder. "Lets do this partner" Terra said as he charged at the group of nobodies.

Hmph...

It was all what Exdeath could say about the situation. Two large creatures simply appeared out of nowhere, maybe attracted by the night or by the source of darkness that was walking around. It was going to be some kind of good training to fight this little pests... After all, they were nothing compared to what he could gain from his former army. Exdeath walked behind a tree and disappeared for some moments, until the time was clear to make an action against the "enemy".

This kids were fighting very well, more than he thought. But they still lacked experience... But with time, they would gain it... and would become dangerous for him and his plans. But it wasn't his style to eliminate his enemies while they are still weak... He wanted them to grow, to become stronger, so he can defeat them in a more fair fight.

They were taking good care of the Twilight Thorn, but what about the Darkside? After some moments of looking the battle, he decided to do something. Exdeath was floating in front of the Darkside's head, looking directly at the creature while this one looked at him. The Heartless seemed to have enough mind to know that Exdeath was stronger than him, but for some reason, its nature was willing to fight the armored man.

Well, so be it.

As the creature consumed in anger swung its arm against the warlock of evil, the armored man simply moved some meters away in the sky to avoid being hit. Following act, he landed on the creature's arm and started to walk through it, heading to its head. His walk was slow, but safe. In one opportunity, the Darkside tried to catch him while walking with it's other arm, but quickly Exdeath created a Magical Sphere in his hand, sending it flying away towards the arm and making it explode when it hit, stoping the attack.

It was not too much time after that when he finally managed to get to the head, and he stabbed his weapon through the part of the blade into it. The pain that the creature suffered was probably huge, because it haven't been hit in that way through the battle. As the creatured put both of his arms into his head to decrease the pain, Exdeath jumped from there and landed just next to King Mickey. When he turned to face the king, Exdeath took some time to say this:

You're... YOU'RE A FREAKING TALKING MOUSE!

He was surprised, obviously, because it was the first time he saw a mouse of that size, walking in two feet, using clothes and talking. This mouse had a strange childish figure, like kid's cartoons (XD). It was a wierd sight...

What are you, creature?

((Magical Sphere = 10 MP. 20 MP Left))