One Heartless Slain. [OPEN]

[inheritedlight]

Characters: AU7!Kairi (inheritedlight) and YOU.
Setting: Starts out on Floor Three, but moves into empty hallways.
Format: Prose, but I'll do action!
Summary: Kairi decides to do some exploring to get used to her surroundings. Unfortunately, this means that she runs into some creatures - specifically Heartless.
Warnings: ...not sure? Keyderps being keyderps, I guess.

After Kairi made her post on the network, she decided that it was better to do some exploring to get a feel of this place.

She held high hopes that maybe, just maybe, she'd be able to find her friends in here and keep them safe. The last thing she remembered was Mickey's request to go save Terra, Aqua, Ven, Xion, Roxas and Namine and then she awoke here with none of her friends being around. That worried her due to the fact that if the letter was true, then they could have been lost in the wreckage and she didn't want that.

Though, what snapped her out of her thoughts was the appearance of Heartless and instantly, her Keyblade was summoned, teeth grit in both annoyance and determination. She knew about the Shadow Globs and Darkballs due to fighting them enough, but she didn't know why they infested this world, too.

Drat, how did they get here? she thought to herself before leaping right into attacking them with several strikes and dodging attacks when necessary.

If anyone came to investigate, she'll tell them to stay back so that she could handle this. After all, Heartless were only slain with a Keyblade, right?

Comments

[keybearer]

[And what if somebody nails one of the Darkballs with a Strike Raid? What then?

Particularly when the Keyblade that does it bears a thalassa charm as the Keychain... and the one who threw it looks eerily familiar. Silver hair? Not to mention his yellow, sleeveless top, the goofy pants... It's like a twisted image from the past.

...with a Keyblade.]

[hero_of_smiles]

Cross had wandered around the tower again today. He was kind of just patrolling on his own when he heard the sounds of a fight going on. Blinking, he ran towards the sound of the noise, when he came across a girl taking out these black creatures.

Well a hero can't just let someone fight alone, now can he?

Cross drew out his throwing knives and hurled them in the direction of several of the heartless, stabbing into their heads. He knew now the things here were monsters, so they were okay to kill. Just not the residents who were, well, people.

[inheritedlight]

[ Then she'll be pleasantly surprised that someone else here can wield the Keyblade, which makes her happy - if not a little weirded out.

However, she notices that the clothing is eerily reminiscent of what Riku used to wore, but the Keyblade...

It makes her stop in her tracks. As far as she knew, Riku could wield a Keyblade, but not in this stage. Unfortunately, that stunned position earns her a few slashes, but it's nothing too bad. ]

[keybearer]

[...Come to think of it, this girl looks a lot like Kairi. The red hair, her eyes... but she's older. Plus, she's got a Keyblade, for crying out loud.

Then again, this place is full of doubles. Rather than dwell on it, Riku launches himself forward, using Graviga to flatten some of the Heartless on the floor.]

Stay focused!

[Even his voice sounds like Riku's. Crazy, isn't it?]

[inheritedlight]

Kairi has, for the most part, fought valiantly like she had been doing this for years. And that? That wasn't too far off the mark. She noticed Cross' help and smiled at it before aiming a few strikes herself.

"Thanks for your help!" After all, teamwork tended to make things go a lot easier in the long run.

[hero_of_smiles]

"No problem! Looks like you needed the help!" Cross answered back. Running towards her, he swung his leg at an oncoming dark ball, sending it flying into the wall with a loud smack. Coming up next to her, he had drawn out his sword, his back facing her's.

"You'd think these things would stop popping back up! How can this place get so many monsters anyways?"

But it was no time for small talk as he slashed down the middle of a charging darkball.

[inheritedlight]

[ To her, something as little as scratches really doesn't hurt. She's been through too many battles for something as little as that to affect her.

Kairi nods at Riku and soon slashes at a few Heartless on her side while launching a ball of fire for one coming right for him. ]

Right, sorry - it's just, you look like someone I know.

[keybearer]

[...Her voice, too. It's gotta be--

Riku's brow furrows, and he spins around, slicing another Heartless in half.]

... You're Kairi, aren't you?

[Another Kairi, but definitely not his.]

[arise_within_you]

[Aya is a new arrival to the Tower as well, and also decided to take a look around. Unfortunately, while Aya encountered many a monstrosity during her adventures, Heartless was not one of them. Nothing this cute, that's for sure.]

Dammit.

[Aya quickly throws several fire-imbued bullets at the creatures, more than a bit frustrated.]

Hey, look out!

[Seeing Kairi, Aya's appalled that the Tower has also taken young girls to this horrid place. This was no place for children.]

[forceless]

Oh no, you weren't telling him to stay back, were you? Even with his Heart back to total light, and a month of fighting to help protect people against monsters with the power out, he was still itching to go. It was a wonder Eraqus was able to suppress his wanderlust for as long as he did, because now being stuck in one tower was really leaving him restless.

So when he sees this girl fighting off some monsters, Ven is gonna jump up and bring Lost Memory down on one of the monsters once Kairi was out of the way, grinning all the while.

[inheritedlight]

Yeah, that must make you... Riku, right?

[ She rolls along the floor to land a horizontal slash to a group of Heartless and defeats them head on. ]

[inheritedlight]

"I'm used to fighting these guys with a couple of friends, so thanks again!" Kairi replied, noticing that these Heartless seemed to be a little bit stronger than what she was used to. No problem with that as she summoned another Keyblade, Oathkeeper, to her side. She ran to take care of a group of them, slashing and hacking at will.

"Would you believe me if I said I saw worse hordes?" she joked while spinning around and launched Oathkeeper to automatically cut through one of the Shadow Globs.

[inheritedlight]

[ There were still people that needed to be taught about the dangers of Heartless, though Kairi was willing to perform this task. ]

Don't need to tell me twice! If you're not used to these guys, just be careful to not get hurt!

[ It seems like she's used to fighting these creatures on a nearly daily basis. Odd, isn't it? Since she notices Aya using fire magic, she decides to cast Fira as a few shots of fire go to vanquish the Heartless. ]

[inheritedlight]

Well, yes, she was because this was her job to do - slay the Heartless, protect the world from devastation, and then go wipe the floor with the world's boss. You know, typical Keybearer stuff. Though, she couldn't help but notice that he looked and felt familiar. Perhaps he was the one who called out to her that many years ago?

She looked at Lost Memory and could see it was a Keyblade. How many Keyblade Wielders were there?

"Thank you for your help! Is that a Keyblade?"

[forceless]

"You bet!" He said cheerfully, spinning around on his heel to face the girl and spinning the Keyblade on the back of his hand, until it came to the right position where he gripped it in front of him. You know, gripping it like a normal person instead of backwards.

"Been training since I could walk, so helping out's my pleasure."

Another spin of the weapon (yes he's just showing off) until it was back to its correct position, and he dismissed the weapon in a flash of light, extending his now free hand for a handshake. "Always nice to meet another Keybearer, especially around here."

[capax_infiniti]

The sounds of a battle echo through the hallways easily, but there's a characteristic note that draws his attention. The keens of Heartless being properly slain, as opposed to simply just vanquished as is the usual case.

It's almost curious enough to investigate, but he'd rather not get involved directly. Not yet, at least. Pooling some darkness, he summons a few Shadows and a Neoshadow, before sending them out to their demise, to report on what's going on. A bit of magic, and he's riding behind one of the Shadows' eyes, watching the phalanx as it darts and wriggles down the hallway to the source of conflict.

[inheritedlight]

The position the Keyblade was wielded was unusual, but it wasn't out there. Every Keyblade wielder had their own proper ways of handling the weapon.

"That's really cool! I've been able to do it for a few years now. Neat, isn't it?"

She decided to dismiss her own Keyblade in a flash of light and stood back up to her feet as she shook Ventus's hand. "I agree! How many do we have here?"

[forceless]

"Hm, let's see..." When the handshake was complete, he brought a hand to the tip of his chin as the other supported his elbow. "With you that makes... at least seven or eight?" Does Vanitas count as a Keybearer he's not really sure. He was pretty OK with just counting Vanitas as a jerk and leaving it at that.

"Some... aren't as nice as others though." Said with a bit of a defeated sigh. But he quickly picked back up and smiled again. "I'm Ventus. But everyone calls me Ven. Nice to meet you."

[inheritedlight]

For a moment, Kairi thought that she had took care of the Heartless around here for now, so she took a small break and panted lightly.

Though, she knew better than to think that the worse was over already as she noticed the Shadows and Neoshadows, her Keyblade spinning around in her hand before she fought through the new hordes again.

"Does it ever end?" she asked aloud as she shot a few bursts of ice from her Keyblade.

[capax_infiniti]

That's the last image before he drops the link with the Shadow in order to avoid the mental recoil of the thing's destruction. A girl whom he's never seen, wielding a keyblade. Just how many more of these people are there? What lineage is she from? Too many questions...

Perhaps he'll put in an actual appearance and see if she's from the future and knows him - or his Heartless, as that seems to be the more common case. He begins to head towards the location he'd seen in the unfortunate Heartless' vision at his usual pace.

Of course, it wouldn't due to have her run off. While he walks he summons random Pureblood Heartless at random intervals, directing them towards her.

[inheritedlight]

Seven to eight Keybearers... That was a lot and probably more than enough to protect the denizens of the tower, but still. She had to be cautious. "That's... a lot. Wow."

Though, she knew that not all who wielded the Keyblade were nice. "I'll keep that in mind, Ven. I'm Kairi and it's nice to meet you, too."

Strangely, her heart resonated a bit at the mention of his name. Odd how that worked, huh?

[inheritedlight]

Kairi took a second to wipe the forming sweat on her brow with her sleeve as she twirled the Keyblade in her hand and threw it through the new group of Heartless and caught it again.

She decided to stop just for a bit and grabbed her Wayfinder, summoning Tifa's power from within. Soon, she rose up again to fight and aimed a strong kick at the Heartless with a burst of water coating the floor itself.

For the remaining ones, she shifted to her Limit Form and attempted to land a few Sonic Blade and Ars Arcanum attacks to deal with the horde.

[attheclocktower]

Kairi would probably be surprised (or maybe it wasn't that surprising at all) to find a lot of people not willing to step aside, and stay safely out of the fighting. Xion had been handling Heartless all her life, even if she'd only become familiar with this particular variety upon entering the Tower.

Instead, when Xion heard Kairi's call, a part of her froze, because she knew that voice, despite the slight differences. Knew it as well as she knew her own. A moment later though she shook her head and charged forward, summoning her own Keyblade in a flash of light.

She'd be ready to help, if nothing else.

[keybearer]

Wow, you catch on fast.

[Not that he's surprised. This is a Kairi, after all...

He leaps up and slams his weapon into another enemy. Hopefully they're running low on Heartless by now.]

[inheritedlight]

And you even have the same attitude as him, too. Yep, you're definitely Riku.

[ Hopefully, but Kairi knows better than to underestimate Heartless of any kind, so she'll jump up and launch herself at a small group of Heartless, whamming through them. ]