towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Sora (in Vanitas' body), Master Xehanort (in Aqua's body), possibly others later?
Setting: Floor 32; Day 5 of the Bodyswap event.
Format: Action
Summary: A tangle of memories leads to an all-out fight.
Warnings: Violence of the KH variety, a mess of Bodyswap effects

[The forest was empty and quiet, save for the sounds of a violent coughing fit coming from somewhere in the shadows. The mask was set aside for the moment, Sora leaning over and letting his fingers dig into his arms while he waited for it to pass. He was still shaking a bit when it was over, and he could taste a bit of blood (gross) in his mouth afterwards. The coughing had been getting worse for days, and his vision had been a little bit blurry every now and then, too. But being sick was still the last thing he was worried about right now.

Maybe it was past time to admit that he was scared. Past time, because it was too late for that to matter.

Sora didn't truly understand how the darkness worked, even after all the days of living in this body. He didn't understand how easy it was to cope with his fears through resentment, and anger, and finally hate that threatened to take the place of all the emotions he only wished he could still feel. The longer this went on, the less and less his thought process worked the way he was so familiar with. Now even his memories were trying to tell him that he didn't belong, that who he was and what he believed simply didn't fit. His thoughts already sounded like someone else's, so why shouldn't he believe that they had been? Why should he believe that he had ever been like someone so worthless...

No way. He wasn't worthless - he was fine just the way he was, and he'd be fine again once they fixed this ~~and there was only one way to do that, wasn't there--~~

There was a sound in the distance, something that definitely hadn't come from him. Was there somebody else there? He puts the mask back on and keeps to the shadows, even more on-edge than he had been as he takes a look around.]

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[It was difficult to really grasp just who or what he was. At times he felt old, at times she felt just fine. A displacement... faces that meant one thing one minute and something else the next. Emotions hot and cold. Light. Racking coughing pains that shook her, that stained tissues with blood. His time was running out, that much was certain...

Just how much really was certain, anymore? Which was the real and which was not? The form? The thought? But even the thoughts lied... when had she ever been anything but female, when had he lived less than seventy years...

It was all a strange mental blur in a way that was almost stifling, uncomfortable. She'd made her way to try to find a place to be alone, to try to sort himself out. Maybe some sense of what was going on could be found in solitude and peace...

Stumbling into the forest, he clutched his head, her head, blue hair and pale skin and youth not taken in the proper fashion...

A sound. Something unfamiliar. She tensed, trying to keep her ears open.]

Is someone there..?

[Of course he says nothing. It's not hard to spot the other person, even from where he was "hiding".

Figuring out how to identify her was another thing entirely.

He was able to recognize her right away, but for such conflicting reasons that it made his head spin. What he remembered contradicted itself. A kind woman who had greeted him after his arrival. A backup who no longer had any purpose. The wandering thoughts settled on the same name - Aqua - but he didn't know what to believe. What to make of her.

But he definitely couldn't ignore the fact that she was there.

He steps out into the light, stopping only when he knows that he's fully visable. When he speaks, the boy's tone comes out totally flat, as if he hasn't yet decided whether to be hostile or friendly.]

You again.

[Again? Even he wasn't sure what he meant by that.]

[The first instinct upon seeing the boy's visage is to jump to her feet, weapon at the ready. This... boy isn't the right word for it... darkness creature. Darkling. A creature of the darkness rended from a heart. Enemy. That's what he is... tool?

X-Blade...

She shakes her head a little. That's the only common word that comes out of all of the strange conflicting memories and emotions. This boy had done something to Ven...tus. Merged with him... attempted to forge the X-Blade...

The creature had hurt her friends. It had all been part of the plan, of course. He'd played his part well.]

Vanitas...

Edited 2012-09-30 21:43 (UTC)

[His approach is halted when she speaks, as if he was frozen by...his own...was that his name?

Of course it's not! He knows that his name is...

"Empty creature from Ventus riven..."

"S̕o͠r̛a, ̧d̵o̴n̢'t͝è̶̷v͏e̡̡r̀͝ ̸cḩ͢a̧͠ng̸̛͠e̴͢"

"...to you, the name Vanitas shall be given."

What was she doing here? After last time, a few days ago...no, awhile ago. She had said her piece, and he had let her get away - let her think that he was down for the count.

It was so much easier to ignore that voice in the back of his head, the one that questioned why he would ever attack a friend like that and who tried to separate the memories of beaches and the smiles lighting up on the faces of the two best friends he could ever have from the darkness that told ~~them~~him that those feelings didn't belong. The same darkness that told him very firmly what did belong, that everything would make sense if he let it fall into place.

He looked at the weapon in her hands, grinning behind his mask as he summoned his own. He would have waited, let Ventus see her meet her end. But if she was that eager for a rematch, he could finish her off right here and now. There was no move to attack, though, or attempt to ready himself for a fight. The boy held his Keyblade casually, almost as if he were bored...or uncertain.]

Shouldn't you be looking after those friends of yours?

[The tone is still flat, but there's a certain edge to it, closer to how Vanitas usually sounds.]

[Each time he blinked things changed, thoughts jumped around, and why in the world would she ever think that the... thing in front of her was anything more than despicable? After what he'd done to Ven?

Failure, failure, the X-blade had not been forged.

The X-Blade was meaningless in the face of what had happened to her friends...

Resolve crept through her, and her grip on her former ~~brother's~~ Master's keyblade tightened, the heart-forged metal resounding with her. It wasn't linked to her heart, but it recognized her, recognized that she was a part of that lineage. It was comforting in the wake of the darkness emanating across from her...

Disgusting darkness that would consume and destroy all. Darkness that it was her sworn duty to eliminate for the safety of all the worlds.]

Once I take care of you for good, they'll be safe!

[Determination colours her tone and floods her face.]

[And it's that very tone and expression that serves as a wake-up call, that finally clears his head enough to truly focus. Why would he ever think of her as someone who he wouldn't want to fight? Or, worse still, as a friend?

She was in the way. Completely useless.]

Do you really think it's that easy?

[He's amused, maybe even on the verge of outright laughter. Does she think that he's a fool - that he would make the same mistakes twice?

She was more trouble than she was worth. This time, he'd finish her.]

Fine.

[Now slowly, carefully because he's not used to it, the movements and stance that are familiar to this body and not to him he draws the Keyblade back, finally looking like he's ready for a fight.]

Go ahead and try.

[Her response is to draw her own blade, although there's something not right about this... a sense of feeling and alignment being off... and the stance is wrong somehow even though it's the one she's always used. Even the last time that she faced Vanitas. She brushes the unfamiliar feelings from her mind, there's more important things to focus on than that. Once he's been dealt with she can figure out what is bothering her.

She bolsters herself, preparing for what she knows, what she remembers as being a difficult encounter.]

I'll do more than try!

[Rather than launch a strike, she instead reaches out with magic... it feels more familiar somehow. The cold fingers of a massive Glacial Arts spell fills the air quickly.]

[She's assuming that he'll give her the chance to finish.

He dodges to the left, leaping in her direction and releasing a scattered mess of dark speaks from his Keyblade. The masked boy lands well within range, especially of a magic user like Aqua.

You'd think he would know better than to not keep moving, after last time.]

[She presses forward, the familiar lavendar blocks of her shield rising in place, deflecting the sparks and shattering outward. Something faster that hits hard in the whole area... she cartwheels back, pulling the magic to her so that when she lands she thrusts her blade forward, sparking the tip and filling the area with the inferno of a Megaflare.]

[He wasn't ready for that. Normally, he's the type to keep moving no matter how hard he's been hit, but he has his limits. That spell is enough to send him flying backwards, letting out a cry of pain that he silences as soon as possible.

It takes a few seconds for him to recover, but he's on the move again when he does. He stops only to cast a spell of his own, sending a ball of dark fire hurling towards it's intended. The flame splits into three halfway there, speeding up and rushing straight for Aqua.]

[She lunges forward to close the gap, cartwheeling to attempt to dodge the flame... the heat is brutal and she gasps, but keeps on anyway, calling another spell forward, something else that will buffet the area...

Landing on her feet she grips her keyblade tightly again, calling down thunder... a spell both familiar and yet not. No matter, she had to keep moving, that much was certain. He wouldn't stop regardless of what she threw at him, she had to stay as much defensive as offensive.]