Future Tense: Shiki Misaki

Future Tense: Shiki Misaki
Date of Scene:	15 September 2013
Location:	Castle Oblivion
Synopsis:	It is decided.
Cast of Characters:	Oathkeeper, Tifa Lockhart, Shiki Misaki, Zia, Deelel, Lenn, Chita
Tinyplot:	Fragmentary Passage

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Oathkeeper has posed:
THE PAST

A screen pops on, far in the distance. In a world far apart from this one.

Eerie green light pierces the dark room of the Shard Seekers HQ, an old beat up computer sitting around in a corner that runs off of a Thunder Materia somehow.

Its sole light awakens the inhabitants of that room.

________________________________________________________________________
/ ______________________________________________________________________ \
/ / \ \
| | | |
| | HELP ME | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS? | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | WHERE AM I? | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | LOST IN THIS CASTLE | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | DOES OBLIVION AWAIT ME? | |
| | | |
| | | |
| \________________________________________________________________________/ |
| [O] |
\__________________________________________________________________________/

Elsewhere, in a far different place. Emails get sent out by someone who has decrypted an unfortunate message. With the help of Isaac Hanlon and Deelel, a courier was intercepted between Castle Oblivion and Hollow Bastion through the digital world. Since then, they've assessed that someone is in danger in said castle. Not only that...

But there seems to be word of an 'experiment' in Castle Oblivion that seems to point out to people other that Deelel; who had also been invited.

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE PRESENT

The Castle Oblivion is a dark ch�teau with but a single door at its center. Towers jut out of the dark and wretched brown building in a variety of orientations, towering over the dark field surrounding it. The body of what looks like a demon is chiseled out at the center of the castle, above which one of its mightiest towers sit upright.

Even the powerful and reliable MaBelles seem to act a little odd today. Of those who arrived, their pockets seem to brighten. When they reveal their mobile devices, they appear to be blinking that very email they got. Screens bright. As if destiny itself is telling them to get a move on. Those who do not carry one, or didn't get an email, will notice the occurrence easily enough amongst their friends.

Yet at the entrance of the building, there is an obstacle. A man dressed in full black clothing, little silver ropes dropping down from the hood he wears. He stands before a Dark Portal, speaking to someone. Yet his voice abruptly stops, and the portal closes, as our heroes enter...

The man turns, looking on in surprise. Visitors had not been expected. Yet he seems to know why they are here. "You can not interrupt the process."

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE FUTURE

... The future is dark.

Rain splatters down at Shibuya's famous area outside of the 109 building. The buildings have all turned into dark hued versions of themselves. Dark figures move along the edges of this world. Neon lights burn brightly within the city, in the hues of blue and white and pale yellows. The skies remain equally dark. Lightning scars the clouds.

The 109 Building's single screen shows a white haze, amongst which there is a figure. It's just a faint outline. The vision of someone asleep. Just their head. Blonde spikey hair. And for someone who knows Sora, the single true /person/ who stands at the center of the Scramble Crossing, that person may seem... familiar somehow?

But it's not something she can worry about right now. Surrounding her are a sixsome of figures.

Oathkeeper has posed:
Where is Rhyme!?
I wanted to meet you.
Why didn't you just leave me alone?
Always talking...
Do you even know who you are?
Always...
Always... I was always like this...
Always...
Always and always...
Where were you?
When we needed you the most?

It is too late now.


The future is here.



Beat... Neku... Reize... Deelel... Faruja... Leida...

Darker figures, shadows of their true selves, stare at her in anger. Leida stands there as the Shadow Lord that Shiki once knew. Neku's face is smudged, and his headphones are broken. Beat looks tough, yet his expression broken. Reize looks at her in wary-ness. Deelel points a broken ID-Disk at her, flickering in and out of existance where she stands, while Faruja barely looks himself anymore. Missing an eye, missing an arm. And the single eye he has left looks like a demon's. Like it has a life of its own.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn grips her staff. Of course she'd come along to help Shiki! She's loaded for bear on healing crystals, and as ready for anything as she gets. "Sure we can. Step aside, and you'l get to watch."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Somewhere near the entrance of the Castle Oblivion, or C.O. for those in the know (which she isn't), the barmaid is standing, phone in hand. She has been fiddling with the unit, its been acting odd, not to mention the cryptic messages appearing on its screen. She's had a weird feeling recently, like someone she knows needing help, but without a clear source she couldn't do anything but wait.

But now, her fears have taken better shape, and brought her to the omnious castle at the beckon of Deelel and the others. She keeps fiddling with her phone though, until she spots the dark cloaked figures "What's going on here?" She recognizes most of them too, but its completly warped. Not to mention some of them are standing next to her too, so it couldn't be.

She stuffs the phone in her pocket, tightning her fighting gloves... just in case. She's never been fond of Shadow Lords either. "Interrupt what? Who are you?" She gives an uncharacteristicly mean stare at all of the robed figures present. Usually kind, the barmaid shows she's not appreciating the reception either. Nor the hosts.

Zia has posed:
Castle Oblivion. After so long of trying to get here, herself, it feels strange to finally stand before it. She'd been waylaid, gone for a few days to her own devices before returning to the Shard Seeker's Headquarters looking as if she'd had quite the adventure.

And, just as fate would have it, just as Zia arrived home, there was the call to go elsewhere. Shiki is in trouble. There's barely enough time to catch her breath, much less catch up on the specifics before falling in with the others.

This time, there is nothing to stop their path to the castle, and as she comes to stand with the others before it, her hand trembles slightly. Soon enough, she tucks it under her wings to hide some of her own nerves.

"Ye've got one of our friends in there, so Ah dinnae think ye've got any place te tell us wha we can or cannae do." The gargoyle speaks, tail flicking behind her.

Chita has posed:
How long had it been since Chita had found a reason, an excuse, to be able to actually wear his armor? Not since Hades had ripped away a piece of him and made him unable to deceive others. Every time he had tried previously, there was always the looming doubt in his own heart as to why he was doing it. To hide a part of himself away from others, to protect himself, to keep himself safe. That armor that had always protected his identity before, allowed him to masquerade as a figure of law and order.

But that armor was lost. Instead, the only suit of armor he had left was what was forged for him by the Archadian Judge armor-crafters at the behest of Gabranth for one of their missions. Something he had not truly worn since then either. Yet... today... he had found a reason.

He had to be there, and capable, to protect everyone else. He had to protect others, and he couldn't protect anyone if he simply got demolished by anything thrown his way. The encounter with Origin had shown that. And there he stood, besides Zia and Tifa, ominous black armor on with his arms crossed, silent. He had nothing to say at the moment, not caring to make the situation better or worse on the chance that something he said would do such. Instead, he watched, silently, for any signs of hostility from those who seemed to be blocking their entrance into the castle. He was waiting, prepared to leap between anything that would be launched at the party he was with.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel had discovered what was going on by dumb luck, she knows that. Or perhaps there was something else was going on here. Something had forced her to break up from Isaac and she isn't talking about what. She's got a focus on the task at hand, she's grabbed whom she could and come here. She doesn't like it and Isaac's warnings are taken seriously. When one whose more powerful than you? Is concerned about going somewhere that has to say something to her. Deelel doesn't go forward bot yet even as Tifa makes an outburst. She knows about the experiments has told the others but the person blocking the way? Well now, that could be a problem jut who are they?

It's only logical to think they are part of the whole thing. She seems very oddly quiet even for her as she stares the figure down. Her silence is finally broken as she does now have something to day.

"I'm going to tell you once, get out of our way. Our friend is in there."

She also was keenly aware she was a test subject herself in this mess but perhaps not a very cooperative one. So where are things going to lead here?

Oathkeeper has posed:
"The Process is very sensitive. I can't let you disturb it." The man in black answers. Zia might recognize the voice - and the figure as a whole. The man rests his sight on her for but a moment, before he looks on towards the others. This is the same man who sent her on her way in the past. "This is a journey she must finish on her own. If you interrupt..." It's obvious that the man is trying to convince them of something. But there's an irritation in his voice that betrays his nervousness.

That's when they might notice something. Further - far further down the hall - lies a single body. The body of a girl with dragon-like features and wearing a dark red hoodie with a flame design crested in the hood. It's hard to see her face, the hood covering her head; long red hair spilling out.

She's slumped over like a puppet, her skin... her body... her entire attire is pale. As if she's not quite 'there' in this reality. For most intents and purposes, she looks to be dead. The body of Priel; her time having run out.

But something is off about it.

"You must leave now." The Seeker calls out to them, moving one hand in a 'slash' through the air, motioning them to back off and leave.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Rain. Again.

When she gets out of this, Shiki thought earlier, she was going to spend a week hanging around the Tiki Room.

Right now, though, that's not necessarily one of the things she's thinking of to comfort herself. It's more like 'I've slept through thunderstorms at nighttime at home before'.

She's saying it to herself more often, though.

Shiki's eyes dart back and forth. She's looking for the hook, looking for what's the meaning to this. The trick she's missed before.

Mr. Mew absorbs water very easily, and therefore he's stood there covering himself with a newspaper.

The voices are simultaneously all at once and individually recogniseable, and her breath rattles in her throat as she tries to understand what the meaning of this is.

"Tell me why you're here," she says, plainly, "Standing here before me."

Chita has posed:
Silence yet, even though the man was trying to stall. His emotions, his state, actually did manage to slip past the Viera. He was no grizzled interrogator. He didn't know how to read people for the fineries of emotions. He was a Judge by trade, and practice. He Judged based on the obvious. He Judged based upon what he saw.

And what he saw, when the man in the robe shifted, caused the leather of his armor to creak as both of his fists clenched tightly. Those next to him might hear the fingernails grind briefly, a soft mumble, a mutter - the sound of worry, come from him. An attempt to keep himself from doing something stupid.

Priel... he'd recognize that form anywhere. He was really the only one who seemed to trust her after the 'betrayal' at Duagerreo. The only one who trusted that she had her reasons, didn't judge her for them, or her actions that followed, knowing what it meant to be in contract with Hades. Maybe it was only because he was projecting his clanhood friend Lia onto her, the Gria whom had a thing for him, but...
He still wanted to think the best of Priel.
And protect her, like most others, keep her safe in the process.

And there she lay, for all visual purposes, dead.

"I am sorry." Chita said softly towards those that were next to him before he leaned forward and leapt with a mighty kickoff straight towards the hooded figure. No weapon drawn, the Vieran Judge drew his arm back as if he was going to try and deliver a flying punch right into the face of the figure.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER YOU BASTARD?!"

Then suddenly a spellcircle of sorts appeared behind him and he kicked off it, vaninshing from sight only to appear in a brief flicker behind - a feint! Yet, that, too, was a feint, as he vanished again and reappeared where he was originally - hand prepared to grab the figure by the head and slam them into the ground hard before leaping past, if successful, to run as fast as he could towards the downed figure.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn shakes her head. She has a goal. She's not going to fight the figure unless she has to. She moves to step past him, if possible...

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart doesn't really get an answer. For some reason, she shouldn't have expected one either, probably. Shadow Lords speak in riddles all of the time "What process? What do you want with her?" And its not like she cares about getting an answer either, a friend is inside after all. She's ready to fight her way through if need is too.

Chita's outburst though is rather surprising, she didn't expect something like this opening the hostilities, she isn't sure who Chita is going after either, could be Shiki or that downed figure in the back. She doesn't really know, but like Lenn she rather not fight if she can avoid it "If you won't let us pass quietly, we aren't afraid of use strength either. I don't know what you want to do to her, but it can't be anything good from the likes of you."

Deelel has posed:
Deelel says "I can say I finished gathering the data."

Odd thing to say but she's not making any hostile moves just yet, no she's up to something however. She is looking at the man and notices whose down the hall. Priel? She does not comment last she knew Priel had been trying to kill several shard seekers because she'd become a reaper. Whatever the events now is not the time to worry about her. Is there some sympathy for someone making such mistakes that leads to such an end? Yes there is but she needs to focus upon the living ad she stares them downs he does not make any hostile moves, no she's sizing them up, she's darn well aware of the power they likely posses she's not a fool and has often run into trouble before.

She recalls how one speaks can effect things and flying off the handle as Shiki might put it? Is going to be bad for Shiki's own well being. She's thinking here, given he could possibly get into their minds given her own experience.

Meanwhile

Deelel's body is coming undone there's cracks forming, she's clearly in pain from the looks of her and she holds her broken light disc.

"Why Shiki...why did you ... you let this happen to me. Why?"

Deelel's voice is breaking her normal mostly human sounding voice is breaking with digital squelches as she seems to becoming undone.

"...a few strokes of keyboard, one little mistake ... and now I?m dying...your kind made us... are we just... your tools now that...you know we exist?!"

It's clear Deelel is fighting against the inevitable and seems to be moving for Shiki a bit more.

"Even ... if I don't become cubes I?ll still lose everything of who I am I'll be like Morri, but never able to become ... something more again...WHY SHIKI!"

The cracks at this point are moving up through Deelel's body and reaching her face.

Zia has posed:
That voice. Zia's ears twitch back, the slightest sign of recognition as she looks towards the robed man, feeling his gaze upon her. The last time she'd seen him had been in another world, but something about all this is wrong. The Shadow Lords, the dark castle and it's strange towers, the mysterious message that Deelel intercepted.

Beneath her wings, her hand clenches, but the gargoyle doesn't take a single step, forward or back. She glances towards the Viera in his armor, a quiet acknowledgement that perhaps such things might just be needed here. Whatever is going on here, it may very well come down to a fight.

Right now, though, she's looking to Deelel as a leader, waiting for the Program to make the first move. She wants to know what's going on here as much as anyone else. Just what are the connections between this robed man and the Shadow Lords? More-so than that, what is happening to Shiki?

Her eyes flash to red just once, protective instincts flaring. Shiki is part of her clan and gargoyle nature demands: protect, defend, ours. Then, there's the sight of Priel. Though she'd never really spoken to the dragon-girl much other than an ill-formed first impression, seeing her slumped form is enough to set her on her guard.

"Wha have ye done to them?" She demands. Her eyes narrow, and the gargoyle spreads her wings, leaping skyward. With Chita already jumping into combat there doesn't seem like much else to do but prepare for the worst.

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE PRESENT

"You can't even begin to imagine how important it is for her to complete this task..." The Seeker speaks, motioning his hand towards the others. "The process to become a Keyblade Wielder. To know the Truth."

O Shut The Seeker up

"Her future, all of yours depends on this task."

O Shut The Seeker up

"H~."

>> Chita (O) Shut The Seeker up

The man tries to raise his hand to his face as Chita approaches, but then he disappears. The man turns around, kicking a leg out towards where Chita is re-appearing, only to miss as Chita adjusts the feint and then ends up grabbing the back of his head... and proceeds to slam it into the ground, skidding him along the ground, until he finally just lays flat on the ground.

It even made one of those squeaky sounds as he was moved past the ground. That's one clean floor!

Chita reaches Priel safely. But... she doesn't move. Her body feels cold to the touch. It even feels as if she's not entirely solid. His hands touch her just fine. But there's just something... that feels like she's not Real.

Lenn passes past the downed man just fine. She'll notice a blue 'line' that runs into one of the far doors. It's the only door that looks in any way shape or form: remarkable.

THE FUTURE

The individuals speak when asked a question.

"You restored and united this world." Neku speaks.

"You gave us back our lives." Beat adds.

"You cut this world off from the others so that the Shadow Lords could not reach us anymore." Reize comments.

"But as you can see..." Leida...

"But then... we had no more way to defend against 'them'." Neku.

"They came. They were already here." Together.

"We were trapped... we tried anything. We tried to get our allies here through the Digital realm... copy them..." Leida.

"We tried everything. But you locked out all hope... just so you could have this world 'as it was'."

"And now..."

They all look up at the skies. This world remains... but as the clouds break. There are no stars. There is only one thing...

Darkness.

Out in the far distance, the dark figures move closer. Strange heartless unlike ones seen before. Standing mostly upright, long black thin ears that run back along the lengths of their body. There's no Noise to be seen. Just these creatures.

PRESENT

"Hehe... hehehehehe.... I... have done nothing."

The man puts one hand down onto the floor. And then the other. Then suddenly, Zia rushes towards him. The man moves faster than before, and catches her air-freezing attack with his hand, letting black jagged creeping lines form out from his hand. They wrap around Zia's very spell, crawling towards the airborne Gargoyle in an attempt to corrode her with their dark magics.

The man dusts himself off, "I didn't do a thing. It was Shiki who killed her. It's just that simple." Words that, to these people, must come off as nothing but a filthy lie.

"Very well then. If you all will not leave on your own free will, then I will just have to make you all leave." The man tilts his head down, the hood further falling over his head. He stretches his arms outwards, fingers outstretched... and then suddenly slaps his both hands together, forming a massive outwards wave of dark flames that try to cover the entire room, followed by massive dark flames lighting up the entire hallway.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
To use the quote from some cartoon rabbit from some other world 'You guessed it, this means war!'.

Sure, she got some answers... which are as cryptic as she could have imagined. She doesn't understand. She doesn't even know that Shiki is a keyblade wielder yet either, its been a while since she last met her. But the future? The truth? How would they get that from Shiki?

The act of agression cuts it though, with dark flames engulfing the barmaid's body, she doesn't stand there to wait for the end of it. Scorched, but not down, she leaps right through the curtains of black flames straight at the nearest seeker, fist slamming forward, with the residual black flames trailing it, perhaps even adding to the punch if they are affected by their own dark magics at least. "Shiki would never do that, without good reason! Now give us our friends back, and disapear!"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Hey, who was that on the screen just then?
"...I have no idea what's happening," Shiki says, voice guarded. None of this makes any sense to her. She's faced a real person when she hoped it was an illusion and illusions when she trusted them to be real... so to meet with these twisted visions is... maddening to her.

She is searching for a purpose to it. "So you can ask me why, but why's just a word! Why what?!"

Is she missing something? Something to do with what's happened before? She defended herself... she trusted in other people to help her when she helped them in turn... this is all getting to be a little too much!

So, the others provide her with some explanation. But something... pricks at her mind.

"Why would I cut this world off?" Shiki asks back, very quietly.

"Why would I want to put things back as they were?"

This doesn't sound /right/. This doesn't sound... like her. Shiki's nostrils flare. "Don't any of you remember?"

"Didn't some of us bond together because of the horizons out there? The different worlds? Why would I /trap/ you in my world?" she asks, hand around her phone.

"The places you came from that I want to see some day. The worlds whose shards we'd put back together."

"Why would I close myself off, after the Game we played? How could I forget that?" she continues, looking at Neku and Beat. "This is wrong. This isn't me."

She takes a look left and right, at the darkness on either side of her eyes. She knows what those are. And yet...

"First I have to use it, then I shouldn't use it. I have to fight to survive, then fighting will get me killed. What am I supposed to do this time?"

She tightens her hand on her phone, filled with hundreds of pictures of the worlds she's visited, instead of the handle of her keyblade. She is starting to think... someone's playing a game with her.

Chita has posed:
'I have to kill him...' ran through the Viera's head even as he sank down to his knees next to Priel, ripping the gauntlet off one hand, leather and all, so his bare hand could touch her cheek, press against her chest to see if there was any sign of life. Her state of being confused him greatly, though what he said towards those when he got up, that Shiki killed her, caused him to shiver a bit.

Death. He hated it so much. The act of taking a life, of a life being snuffed out, terrified him. It always had, ever since he was a child. And here he was, with someone he had tried to consider a friend/being on friendly terms with, supposedly dead in front of him. Supposedly killed by another friend.

He continued to kneel there silently a moment before he leaned down to scoop Priel's limp body up. "I am sorry, Priel... that I couldn't protect you from Hades' contract." And then a loud, shrill whistle could be heard from him. The door that led into the castle was suddenly kicked open courtesy of Chita's chocobo that he had left outside and the bird comes running straight through towards where Chita was, attempting to leap and bounce off the obvious threat in the room(Said threat dodged in some fashion). No such luck there, it followed the sound of the whistle towards Chita before stopping and turning slightly. The Viera stood and brought the limp body up with him, resting her carefully on the Chocobos back before looking towards the main room and seeing the chaos that was ensuing, and the wave of dark flames that were flaring towards him. With a quick toss he threw the harness leash around Priel and gave one end to the Chocobo to bite onto. Giving the Chocobo a pat, he shooed it off further back down the hall to try and be safe from the attack. Safe, for now, the both of them. Just in time for him to dive for his ripped-off gauntlet and roll into a protected ball to try and avoid as much damage as he could.

It was painful though. Magic, and the elements, were the Vieras weakest point in defense. It was only thanks to the armor he had on that he was doing as good as he was after that blast - which really, wasn't that good. He looked visibly fine, but chances were he was probably hurting, even as he stood back up and pulled the gauntlet back on. "Alright you robed bastard, time to beat the desire to talk into you. A Keyblade cannot possibly require killing anyone to obtain! They are a force of nature that will allow those chosen to save this world, and I'll be damned first before I let you use such a thing as a method of hurting others!" Out come two spears in the Viera's hands, his last two that he had left of his Judges Arsenal, before launching towards the back of the figure in an attempt to try and sweep him off his feet with a swift movement using both spears before leaping up into the air and pouncing back down, trying to jam the butts of both spears straight into the figures chest - trying to knock the wind out of him and keep him from putting up a fight.

Meanwhile, Senra, the Chocobo, takes the moment when Chita dives for the man to run like hell back towards the exit to get him and his passenger out.

Deelel has posed:
Whelp with Chita's actions there's nothing left to do but fight it seemed to be where it was going anyway. She had hoped to perhaps to get a bit more out of the Seeker but it seems unlike last time he has no desire to really chit chat about things at all. So fight they shell even as Chita makes it for Preil, Deelel had some warning about the nature of this place after all so could it really be her?

There's too much information to process when one's life is in danger along with the rest of the party's so it's time to fight. In a swift motion Deelel's got her disc off her back, it hums to life and she seems ready. Several commands are quickly run given how things are going she's going to need them just as she's force to weave in and out of the dark flames. They come far too close for comfort.

"Not cutting and running on a friend. What do you take me for a null unit who cares only about herself?!"

She doesn't attack yet, no she's just getting into gear. This is going to be one hell of a fight given what the Seeker was aware of? Deelel likely only had a tiny portion of what's going on, yet? She knows far more than anyone outside the Seeker and Merlin's kind. So that's certainly something.

Meanwhile Deelel is silent as the others speak and Shiki replies to them. Perhaps the program is thinking or perhaps their time is almost up but she's looking right at Shiki very damn hard at Shiki. Did she get through or is perhaps something worse happening?

Zia has posed:
The robed man seems to know her magic, so in that split second when he catches her, the gargyole's hand freezes, her own power turned back on her. She tugs once, trying to free herself, the ice cracking as she backwings. It's not often that she encounters another mage who knows how to use countermagic. Though it doesn't cause her any harm, it does freeze her in place just long enough.

Drawing her arm over her face, the dark flames lash at her, blowing Zia back a bit from the entrance to the building. She tumbles in the air, only able to right herself after nearly being sent into the ground. Dark lines linger on her forearm, which had taken the brunt of the attack and she trues to brush off the lingering effect of the spell to no avail. A small bit of smoke rises from these strange wounds, causing her to wince.

"Bloody dark magic." Zia draws her hand in against herself for a moment, but her ears catch the conversation all too clearly. Shiki is being tested. Could this be...? No time to think. No time to comment on all the thoughts seizing her mind. Shiki? A Keyblade wielder? No. The gargoyle has to push the thoughts out of her mind and focus.

It's dangerous dealing with another mage, but for now, she choses to try to whip the Seeker about using her wind magic. With a swish of her wings, a hard gust of air seeks to send the man unto the ceiling, then to the floor in a quick buffet of tornado like winds.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn frowns. This is not good, at all... "If she's having a hard time, it's the job of her friends to be there." She produces some jewels, and gets to work, dispersing their protective energies with a wave of her staff, over Zia and Tifa. "Friends protect and strengthen each other."

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE PRESENT

"I do not know her reasons." The seeker answers Tifa, as his entire body shifts around, drifting off of the floor and allowing him to meet her fist half-way. There's a loud /BANG/ sound, his robes moving back from the power of her impact, but the hood remains over his head. All she can see under the shadows is the flash of his white teeth - before she has to concern her with the dark crawling jagged magic that forms from his hand and comes to cover over her arm.

From that position he quickly floats further into the air, leaving Tifa to dodge the Chocobo that Chita sent on its way to ram him, hovering over it and then coming down to the white floor once more. It's such a contrast, the white room with the outsides of this castle. They are practically polar opposites.

The man then quickly turns, raising one hand under which Chita's launched spear ends up moving, and then quickly moves further down to avoid getting stabbed in the chest. And while in his crouched position, he pushes his hand straight at Chita's chest, pushing that same Darkness that he's been pushing into everyone - into his body as well -- straight through the armor.

In comes the Gargoyle. The man quickly tilts his head up as she comes for him. The wind cast from her wings brings enough of a gust to throw the man into the air. He ends up slamming his back into the ceiling, just before the second buffet of wind comes. He extends his hand and throws a massive ball of black flames towards her, before the wind sets him down onto his feet. The man makes a few scrambling steps backwards to get his balance right, and sweeps out an arm to right himself.

THE FUTURE

"You always wanted things to be back the way they were." Neku answers her. "Or at least your delusion of how you thought things were. Sure we bonded."

"We were your best friends." The group speaks at the same time; it's kind of creepy, and really punctuates just how 'wrong' this future is.

"You thought it was the only way to save this world. For every world to have a keyblade wielder to protect it. But then you disappeared when it got too tough!" The Shiki they speak of... is it really her? Or is this some other... possible future Shiki? Someone else.

"And now it's too late."

"And before 'they' get to you..."

"We will..."

The group ducks down and rushes towards Shiki, arms outstretched, boomerangs thrown, and dark claws aimed at her. She's in for a /tough/ fight.

PRESENT

"I am not that foolish, Deelel." The man halts and points a hand towards the girl. "You could have completed the same journey. But you refused. Defying me like this means you have no interest in learning The Truth. It is not too late to stop now." He declares, before glancing towards Lenn. "Friends would only slow her down right now. I will not let you see her until she has completed what she must do on her own."

The man brings out both hands, summoning two weapons to himself. They appear in clouds of darkness. One short blade, the other a massive and long cudgel. "Do not defy me further." The Seeker demands, stabbing both weapons into the ground, and creating an empowering circle beneath him. Darkness rising from beneath him, engulfing him with a black aura.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn shakes her head. "I can't do that. I have to help my friends. If there's no way, then I'll find a way to do what seems impossible. I've done it before, and I'll do it again." Her magic flares again, this time protecting Chita and her own self...

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Acrobatics, flshy at time, but often effective for the barmaid. She possess a great sense of personal space and incoming movements, so she doesn't even need to look back to know that chita's chocobo is stampeding through. She jumps up, a graceful backflip as she lands on top of the saddle, and uses that to vault herself even higher, and forward toward the Seeker.

As he pulls his blades up, she hands between the two weapons, and in the same motion, she jumps back up, a flashy backflip that connects a heavy boot right under the seeker's chin, hoping to rattle teeth and brains out some.

"You have no idea of the bonds and strength that comes from friendship, saying that we'd only weight her down is absurd!" And that's something she truly, deeply believes in as well. All of those present here can attest to that.

After lifting the hooded man up with the strong kick, she doesn't even give him time to descend back down, as she grabs him by the ankle and SLAMS him down by the leg into the ground harshly, hoping to knock more sense into the shadow lord servant.

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Suddenly, something runs from top to bottom through Shiki's body. It's a jolt of energy, or perhaps a wave, through her spine, down her arms and legs.

It's anger.

More upsetting than such terrible things being said by the mouths of her friends is the idea- the sheer idea- that this could be possible. Oh, she's not going to just dismiss it as a lie- she knows that would be the simple answer. No...

If this is in any way remotely possible, then it's a disappointment. She must have made some /really/ bad mistake to have forgotten so much. To be so callous. So /stupid/ as to discard so much of the ideals close to her heart.

And yet, there is something to be learned from it...

But that's not something to think about right now. Shiki leaps backwards.

The keyblade, plain and simple, appears in her hand. She saw it release a heart from the Noise- she knows, at least, that if it can do something like that, she can trust it. But at the same time...

"Come on, Mr. Mew. Let's get to the bottom of this."

The cat bares its claws as Shiki deflects a boomerang, and the fight is on.

Chita has posed:
When The Seeker attempts to shove the wave of darkness through Chita's armor, the Viera was waiting for it and just as the hand connected with the armor, his right foot cocked and, similar to his feint earlier, vanished and leapt straight up, appearing above. This gave the others clearance to dive The Seeker, and it also gave him a chance to try and center himself, to rid himself of the anger he had going on right now and get a stable head.

Now wasn't the time to beat someone senseless, now was the time to make sure Shiki, too, was not like Priel. "Where is Shiki?! I doubt any of us trust a thing you have to say, with Priel having been in the condition she was! Tell us now!"

Zia has posed:
The protective spell that Lenn offers up seems to dull the dark magic that still it's claws into Zia. The dark lines of the curse fade a bit, helping her mind to focus. Thus far, her magic has proven to be next to useless. It's no great surprise. The Seeker knew much, so he'd probably encountered many heroes in his time. Then again, just how much /does/ she know about him, anyways? Not much at all, since she had no idea he was working with the Shadow Lords. What else doesn't she know?

Questions, questions. Maybe that's why she's so distracted. That, and a lack of sleep after an unknown number of days. Being tossed around between worlds does that to a person.

Seeing the mage take time to use magic on himself, the gargoyle decides that the best course of action would be to try to get rid of some of that extra strength he might be building for himself. Holding her uninjured arm out, the gargoyle summons up a geyser of water, which moves like something out of a cartoon, threatening to splash right into the Seeker's face.

Shower time for baddies.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel also has not forgotten what happened to the courier whom they had spared. Some sort of self termination protocol or the program themselves committed suicide. She'll never know there wasn't anything left to go over. Still it gave the idea of the character of the sot of person the Seeker actually was. The offer of power? A keyblade, this way it be tainted and what she'd seen? It would lead to no good.

Deelel now gets off her bitmap she's prepared this time and she launches her self at the Seeker. Her disc move quickly as she strikes up close and personal with the blade she's trying to force him back. Hopefully if that works it may distract him enough to focus on her rather than the rest of the team. Her world? Her layer of reality does need someone who understands it who can deal with the black virus as most basics call them. Yet being able to combat the Heartless at such a cost is not something she's willing to pay. She has to wonder at the back of her mind, how much his hooks are into Mercade and Ang? They likely need to be warned but first the matter is saving Shiki from this mess. Whatever she's facing? Deelel has faith that her friend will be able to endure whatever she's facing down.

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE PRESENT

Tifa's foot is intercepted by the heavy weight of the long Cudgel, her foot stabbing into its body, but unable to move it back as its tip rests in the ground. Instead, a sizable crater is forced into the formerly perfect floor, shattering its tiles. "I will not argue the statement." The Seeker answers Tifa, before swinging the cudgel at her and forcing her back.

Her attempt to grab him succeeds merely by grabbing the cudgel, and her attempt to slam him down towards the ground is met by him letting go of the weapon and stepping back. The weapon disappears just as it appeared... and then reappears in his hand just like that.

"You don't stand a chance."

THE FUTURE

Shiki stands ready to defend herself; weapons clash. One thing is certain, she isn't skilled enough to take on six people like that at the same time! She is forced back easily. But there's another issue. The light of her Keyblade doesn't seem to shine as pure as it did once before. She's fighting her friends after all...

Is her heart in it? Are there no other options? Still, she's managing to at least remain out of harm's way. But she's being pushed hard.

THE PRESENT

"Like I'd tell you!" The Seeker barks at Chit, before he's forced to move again. The power of the water-Geyser hits The Seeker straight in the stomach, and he's blasted into a nearby wall. A fierce crack appears in the white tiled wall, before the man points his cudgel forwards and 'breaks' the magic on the water, causing it to splash down onto the ground a few feet away from him -- as if he's protected by some sort of invisible bubble.

But this takes a great deal of concentration, so when Deelel comes in with her disk and strikes at his side, the bright light carves black fumes from his robed body, and he's forced back until Zia's water can strike him once more. When it all finally falls away...

The man still stands strong, looking up at Chita. "You closed your minds the moment you saw her broken body. This is not a matter of trust. You've closed your mind to The Truth. Leave this place!" He demands once again, bringing out his both hands and sending another wave of darkness through the entire room before he suddenly... moves. He moves at almost unseen speed.

He jumps through the air with his cudgel out, and attempts to slam it into Zia - so he might propell her into Chita. And from there he throws his blade down at Deelel before landing with his heavy weapon upon Lenn's position. And then summoning the blade again to try and cut towards Tifa's very chest!

Lenn has posed:
Lenn shakes her head. "The only thing we're closed to, is accepting what YOU say... And you proved you can't be trusted! So here's some Truth... We're going to WIN!" Crystals of a new sort come out as she slips aside from the cudgel's strike, and the energy this time directed into the man's torso, wind to injure and weaken him.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Aiming at Tifa's chest tends to be an easy target.

... :/

Joke aside, it did come VERY close too, cutting a bit of the leather just under her chest, cutting the tanktop underneath and leaving a small gash and a few drops of blood, but nothing very worrisome. She's seen MUCh worse. A close shave you could say, as she barely had time to hop back from it. "We don't care about your truth! We just care about our friend, let her go!" She's fiercely protective of her friends, and won't give up this easily either. Which is why she doesn't hesitate of going back on the offense, displaying a barrage of attacks on the Seeker while dodging his blades.

Those blades are rather nasty. "If you know about the power in numbers, why are you even fighting against it!"

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Doesn't this feel familiar?

Shiki could swear she's been in this situation before. But nothing makes /sense/! Just a few minutes ago she couldn't win against the horde because, as she was told, Castle Oblivion is a place of memories. But this /can't/ be a memory. But it also can't be real... and if it isn't a memory and it isn't real, then what is she supposed to do? Look for another door?

Nothing is forthcoming. Nobody is giving her the answers she wanted to come here to find. Nobody is going to help explain what will put her on the path to helping the worlds. Where's Lucas now, anyway?

She brings a pillar of ice up to deflect a ranged attack as she looks around. She looks up- looks left and right. What's she supposed to look for? What is she missing? What path? What mistake is she making?

"What do you want from me?" she shouts, defending herself as best she can. "What do you want to do to me? Huh? What's going to make you happy?"

She stiffens her arms. "There's a Shiki Misaki who hurt you, right? But everything she did- I did-"

"I could see why. I would have done it to make you happy. I would have thought I was protecting you. I would have wanted what I thought was best for you."

"Maybe we had some happy times before 'they' showed up, whoever 'they' are. I know we had good times before that happened. Even when it was hard, we were there for one another then."

"All I wanted," Shiki says, breathing heavily.

"All I ever wanted, was friends. I wanted to be the kind of person who could make friends instead of being a little nerd behind a pair of glasses. But in all of your own ways, you showed me how to become a better person! You changed my way of thinking! You changed my life! And all I want is to repay that kindness! I want happiness, for myself, for everyone!"

"If our friendship ever meant anything, then please!"

"Give me a sign!"

"And if my voice can't reach you--"

"Then maybe it all meant nothing after all. But I'll never stop believing in you."

"I'll never stop reaching out my hand, until the very last second!"

Chita has posed:
"Yes you will, even if I have to beat you senseless before searching this place top to bottom after!" Chita responds angrily, the anger seeping back into him. He didn't want violence, he didn't like violence, but this man was pissing him off. Lying, as far as he knew, in regards to Shiki and Priel - Shiki in danger. None of this felt right.

And he was a user of Darkness. He knew how to use Darkness as a weapon. Who was he?! WHAT was he?!

Before the Viera could respond the next wave of darkness shot him straight up and against the ceiling, blowing his helmet right off his head. Before he had a chance to respond or try to deal with that pain, before he even began to fall(with the force of the darkness having pushed him into a dent in the ceiling of the hallway, Zia's form suddenly impacted against him and the impact didn't help any of his ability to make sense of things. There was too much going on.

"Yo... you okay?" he asked, reaching out to grab around the Gargoyle as he noticed something seemed off about one wing, the other hand pulling his Judge Sword out of the air and throwing it towards The Seeker, hoping the blade might pass through him as it was wont to do living things, 'tearing' at his defenses and weakening him. Of course, given he was rather disoriented from the wave of darkness that had hit him so hard, it didn't help that when he attempted to 'kick' off the ceiling and land on the ground, instead he simply wound up crashing in a heap, though he had enough sense to land on his side and throw Zia as 'up' as he could to try and keep her from getting hurt worse.

By the looks of it, Chita was pretty close to simply being out for the count. That impact hit him square on the head, and the fall might have done something to the arm that got caught between him and the floor too. He hasn't gotten up yet.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel has always been fast, she's not going to argue at this point, the time for arguments has passed. The time for talk is really over as she's stuck facing the fight. Something seems off about the seeker he's behaving differrnly or this way of behaving? Is more just his real self. She manages to cave a hit in and falls back. She's quick enough to void the incoming counter attacks.

She flips back landing just out of harms way she's seen some of the truth she knows there's more going on she will seek it but in her own way. Yes she'll do it her way even as Zia and Chita make their moves she's already recovering again. She got lucky against the blade toss that might have cost her a limb had it hit her, still she's got to keep on her toes.

She's got to recover and prepare for another attack so she's going to take a moment as she throws her disc at the seeker while keeping her distance.

"Chita...Zia?"

Okay things could be a bit worse than she thought she's going to have to perhaps not play her normal style of keep away with the seeker and get really aggressive.

Zia has posed:
The 'Truth'. It's the reason that Zia had followed her strange dreams. It's the reason she had listened to the Seeker. Yet he hadn't told any of them the truth about where his allegiances lie. "Trust is somethin ye earn." Once, she had given him the benefit of the doubt, now... Now she holds her tongue. She'd have time to make sense of things later, maybe.

Then, there is darkness roiling at her, pushing her back, buffeting her wings until there is a sound of a *crack* and a whiteness forms at the edges of her vision. Pain lances through her back, barreling her down out of the skies.

It's by sheer heroism that she doesn't end up street-pizza, as she is thrown hard into Chita. The impact nearly makes her eyes roll back into her head from the pain, but the Viera's voice has her pushing through it, "Ah'll live." She hisses, trying to meet his eyes for a moment as a way of offering silent thanks, but all too soon she's being tossed upwards and out of the way of force of the Seeker's darkness.

With her wing unable to really support her further, Zia lands on the ground in a crouch, her wing tucking in against her side. It would need to be tended too later, but for now she'd have to be without the benefit of the skies. Her attention immediately goes to Chita, but he doesn't seem to be moving. "Damnit."

She moves herself to stand in front of him, attempting to return the favor, her wing cocked at an odd angle behind her. Lightning crackles at her fingertips. Though much of her magic hadn't done much thus-far, it's worth another try while he's distracted. A hard rush of wind slams forward, trying to buffet the Seeker around and off the pale walls of the entryway.

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE PRESENT

"That's fine. You're allowed to win. But not before her trial is over." The Seeker answers Lenn. He's basically admitting to them that he's merely stalling them! "She must do this on her own. She must learn to deal with what lies beyond those doors by herself. You would only interrupt it." The wind Lenn fires at him however hits him straight in the chest just as he swings that cudgel at her, sending him straight into the same spot of the wall where he'd been sent earlier between Zia and Deelel's efforts.

Tifa's retaliation follows shortly there-after. He keeps swinging his blade at her whilst she punches at his chest and stomach. He avoids any blows to the head with the guard of his short bladed weapon, even as she pushes him back - The Seeker slowly moving away from that wall.

He quickly glances up when Chita's blade comes... eyes widening...

THE FUTURE

The assault on Shiki slows, either because of her words, or because the pillars of ice are halting the path of her 'future friends'. "Nothing will make us happy. But if we can at least finish you... at least our hearts will be at ease!" They reply.

Still, they halt as Shiki continues to speak, listening to her. There's nervous glances between them. "Little nerd with glasses?" They mumble amongst one-another. They'd never seen Shiki wear glasses.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Beat calls out in anger, raising a fist into the air and taking a single crooked step forwards.

Then Reize and Neku both touch Beat's shoulder. "Let her speak."

Leida however speeds right past the threesome; "I'm done waiting! She's paying now!" Sending several tendrils of darkness towards Shiki, as well as through the ground. Red eyes gazing upon Shiki's position from those very dark tentacles.

THE PRESENT

The Judge Sword is cast upon The Seeker's position, and tears into the left arm's sleeve, tearing the material. The man quickly grabs for the wound with his other hand and covers it, while glaring at Chita. With some quick movements, he pushes himself out of the way of any further attacks from Tifa - only to put himself into the path of Deelel's Disk, which hits him square in the chin and sends him reeling backwards to the ground.

It's there that Zia's lightning catches him, carving over him along with the wind and ends ups slamming him from one wall to the other. The power of wind is strong within enclosed spaces like this. It also sends Deelel's disk back to her.

Still, amidst the storm, the man still controls magic. He opens a hand towards the others and sends a whole array of what appear to be homing-lasers... made out of darkness! What kind of mad magician is this man!?

The beams of darkness slice through the air towards a smaller sum of the targets. They are clearly starting to tire him. Or perhaps he has no intent to actually /kill/ them?

Lenn has posed:
Lenn slides to the side, weaving her way around the beams as they come to her, slipping a crystal onto first Chita, then Tifa, then Deelel... Once she's done, and the last beam hits the ground, she stops, and snaps, causing the crystals to release their curative powers. "I told you before: We won't lose. That's The Truth."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Shadow tentacles appear from multiple directions! Shiki, who is past any idea of fighting back by this point, is pretty easily bound up in them, and since this Leida is playing rough then it's going to hurt. Mr. Mew is also grabbed although it takes just one. On the plus side, this means he's going to get the rainwater wrung out of him!

You always gotta look on the bright side.

This isn't going to be comfortable for those of us with nerve endings, though.

"Don't you remember?" Shiki replies, although her voice is pretty strained. "This appearence... Eri's. She was the only person who stuck with me to begin with... and I was so unfamiliar with what having friends meant that I got all the wrong ideas. That's how all this got started..."

"I was wrong then, too. I had to find out... had to learn a lot of things..."

Shiki's phone falls to the floor. Whereas before there was only one picture in it, of her with her green clothes and huge glasses next to the far more boisterous pink-haired girl in her hat, there are now many more alongside it. Pictures of many worlds Shiki's visited, beautiful locations- and all of them with a picture of a friend in it. Months and months of pictures... months and months of memories...

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart's gets shot by the beams of darkness, hitting her square on the shoulder, and almost right through her it seems by the sheer magical power behind it. Fortunatly, they have a healer with them, and the wound isn't as serious once Lenn applies her magical powers to it. She still holds her shoulder for a moment, glaring at the Seeker "We are here to support Shiki with all of our might, and you can't do anything to stop us either! I don't care if its a test, fate, or truth, the only thing I know is that she needs us as much as we need her!"

Her feet slides into a wider stance, as she charges herself up with all of her power, focusing it all into her fist that starts to glow with a sun-yellow light. And then she moves, dashing in low, and meeting him from under with a powerful uppercut, followed by a flipkick while airborned... and then finishing it off, she literally appears over him, striking straight down with the glowing fist, releasing her Final Heaven while sending him crashing down into the marble floor with the released explosion of chi.

Zia has posed:
The beam of dark energy is only partially blocked by her remaining wing, leaving Zia looking more than bit haggard as her talons dig deep trenches into the ground to keep her from being blasted backwards. Her breaths come quick, one hand reaching up to her shoulder, trying to work through the pain in her wing.

Shiki had things she needed to face for herself, just as she had, but... something still doesn't feel right about this. Experiments and mysterious Seekers and the Shadow Lords? Is this the sort of thing that a person just has to accept to become a Keyblade Wielder?

Already weakened from taking so many attacks from the darkness, Zia's fingers tremble. She's only just barely staying on her feet. There's nothing to say to the Seeker, as he doesn't seem willing to be reasoned with. There's only one option: Defeat him, and save Shiki.

So, with what little strength she has left to muster, Zia calls on the winds, pulling down the force of a storm with them. Water, wind, lightning. It's not quite as impressive as those times she's actually able to call forth a true storm, but it's something at least.

Chita has posed:
A soft groan comes from the downed Judge as the curative effects of the crystal begin to work. He could hear the fighting, hear the speaking, hear the one known not to them by name or phrase remarking that she has to finish, that it was a trial. That she had to do it herself. But if that were true...

'If that were true... he would simply prove she is well and not in danger somehow'. That thought ran through the fallen Viera's mind as he slowly and painfully pushed himself to a stand, right arm hanging rather limp at his side. Probably not broken, but there's a good chance his shoulder was dislocated at the moment.

"Whoever you are... you fail to realize one thing." Chita looked up towards The Seeker, a large bruise having formed on the side of his face from where he impacted the ground, still looking a bit dizzy. Probably easy enough to simply knock over at this point. He did have a spear in his other hand, though, the one whose arm wasn't dangling at his side. And the spear, and the Viera, were both glowing.

"We don't give a damn about your trial. We need to know if she is safe, and all you have done is stand in our way. It ends now!" The shout came as a dazzling explosion of light came from Chita's spear, light absorbing into it or so it visually appeared, the Viera raising it and throwing a projection of the spear made of energy towards The Seeker, trying to pin him to the wall. It wouldn't pass through him, it wouldn't kill him, but it would sure as hell hurt. This was followed by another, and another, trying to down him for good. After that assault, though, something caught Chita's eyes.

A blue line leading towards one door. "There." he said, pointing his spear towards it. The ghostly visages of the spear that he had thrown vanish and the energy returns to his spear before he turns sharply and throws it right towards the door as hard as he could - the impact causing an explosion. His /intent/ was to make Shiki hear them - if she could. If she was, indeed, behind the door like he was hoping. It was the only thing in this place that stood out.

Deelel has posed:
One can not dodge forever, she's got to figure out how to get past, but she's not sure how she can do as much. There has to be a way, but how. He's too fast even if they broke past him he'd cut them down. It's a stalling action and she knows it. He does not even have to say a thing about it. Then comes Chita who seems perhaps to be up to something.

Deelel is not fast enough this time the she's caught by the strike. He disc comes back she managed to catch it but what sort of magic is this? It catches her pretty hard and she's clearly hurt there's a break more or less in her body there's a jagged glowing wound and one could see the voxels. She's clearly in pain but she's not fleeing the fight. Lenn thankfully is there and manage to over drive Deelel's self repair functions. She's healed up enough to keep going but how much more can they give?

"Lenn, I owe you one."

She flips back into the fight heading for the seeker again engaging in a number of strikes from her thrown disc trying to keep him off balance for a bit she's got to set up for something and needs just a bit more time. She then throws herself right at the seeker.

"We need this power but not with the likely price your going to be charging us for it. If I have to I'll find another way. The disc is in hand and she's lunging for a rather brutal disabling blow.

Oathkeeper has posed:
THE FUTURE

Shiki is squeezed hard by the tendrils, the future Leida slowly walking forwards. "Wait, Leida! This isn't like us!" Reize calls out towards her. The others form up besides them as they run towards Leida, trying to get her to stop. They all end up looking at Shiki as she's lifted up into the air.

And then that phone drops. It clatters against the pavement, yet manages not to break. It's Neku who ends up moving towards the phone, and then carefully picks it up. Flash. Flash. The white light flickers, as he goes through from one picture to the other. "I don't remember..." Neku whispers.

THE PRESENT

"She doesn't need you right now! She needs you to /not/ be here right now!" The man answers Tifa, bringing an arm back and then punching straight out towards Tifa with his Cudget, meeting her strike with the tip of the darkness weapon. There's an explosion of force. Then... a crack. More cracks. White light shines from within the Cudgel, until the dark weapon explodes!
"Tssk!" The man lets out an annoyed sound and stumbles back. That leaves him exposed enough for Tifa's backflip to connect with his jaw, sending him into the air! Her final strike sends him right into the ground... where he catches himself with both feet to the ground and glares up at her, partially kneeled - gritting his teeth.

THE FUTURE

"But I do..." There's a picture of Reize standing in front of Shiki with his back turned towards her, with his map the wrong way around. There's one of Leida sitting next to Shiki, her hair standing upright after having just bathed. There's one of Deelel just standing around.

THE PRESENT

Zia's wave of magic flashes across his body. The man quickly erects a dark magic shield around him, trying to supress some of the attack as Water, Wind and Lightning zap across and around his position. But that doesn't help against the sudden appearance of Chita's spear. The energy-spear slams into the shield he'd created. There's the distinctive sound of glass cracking, then breaking... and then finally shattering!

The man lets out a deep breath of pain as he is exposed to Zia's magical elements, while the spear finally slams into his arm and carves off another good piece of his uniform. The Seeker ends up flung to the ceiling by the sheer force of it, where Deelel makes for the finishing strike, slamming into his body with the disk and sending him literally skidding towards one of the doors... and breaks through it, forcing him to disappear - leaving a cry of; "NOOOOOOOO!"

THE FUTURE

"I won't accept it! All of this... all of this! It doesn't make up for it!" Nega-Leida calls out, trying to firmen the hold around Chiki's body and neck. Then, from behind her, a massive bulb of darkness appears, like a Venus Flytrap. Sick and blood-red eyes staining its body as it approaches Shiki, preparing to devour her.

THE PRESENT

Chita throws his spear at the door that gives access to Shiki's 'future' memories.

THE FUTURE

"I WON'T FORGIVE HER! YOU... THIS IS ALL... ALL YOUR FAULT!" Horns grow atop Leida's head. Neku and the rest try to stop her as the Neo-Shadows finally start coming towards the group.

THE PRESENT

People step through the door.... for...

THE FUTURE

THE FUTURE...

THE PRESENT

IS...

NOW!

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart lands just a moment after Zia sends the Seeker flying backward, a bit of a slump, as if she lost some feelings in her legs after the multiple dark attacks, but fortunately the menace is gone, and judging from the scream, for good... or for the moment.

She needs a moment to collect herself, wobbling herself back up "Now that was harsh... But he's gone now, let's go find Shiki." Not trying to lead things, but rather push them forward, she looks over to Shiki's memory door "... You think we should?" She wonders what will happen if they open that door now. She doesn't want to believe the words of that shadow lord minion, but she has to admit to herself that she doesn't know what will happen if they do.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel looks at the Man as she makes her strike against him the others have struck home. She's unaware of what's happening to Shiki at this point just she's being used by this man. This seeker he seeks information like a program would but seems to be heedless of the cost, or worse? The more likely he does not care at all. The force of all the assaults from everyone seems to be too much for him. No one's really holding back and all is said and done? Deelel pauses for a moment puts her disc back on it's mount and enters into the door. She stares at what's before her. There's Shiki but there are others there others she knows and then she's staring at Nega-Deelel. What the it looks like her but on her last legs with a broken ID disc. That's a thing of horror for the basic she just kinda stares.

Deelel isn't really focused on how it Scramble crossing she's staring at the doppelgangers that are standing before her. She sees Shiki, she sees everything else. Just what in the name of Sarah-42 is going on here.

She looks away from her double who also seems to be staring menacingly at her if it's a copy? The copy seems to think it's real enough. While Deelel's eyes just lock on to Shiki.

"Shiki?!"

Nega-Deelel seems to be suffering worse as she looks between Deelel and Shiki for a moment before speaking.

"Illusions?!"

Zia has posed:
There is no joy in defeating the Seeker. When he doesn't immediately emerge from the room beyond, there is that sneaking suspicion that this isn't the last of him. She owed him for giving her information she wouldn't have had otherwise, and perhaps for that reason Zia doesn't bother going after him. The halls of Castle Oblivion are place you can get lost in. Maybe he'll get lost there, too, but... probably not.

Right now, it's Shiki that matters. She limps towards the door, following a bit behind Tifa. When she hesitates, so does Zia, but after a moment's consideration, she shakes her head, "We've come this far. For all we know, Shiki could be hurt in there." Her thoughts flicker to Priel. Maybe the Seeker had been telling the truth, this place did strange things to people, at least that's what Skoll had warned her about.

As Deelel leads the way, Zia heads in not too far afterwards, making room for the others as she is brought into a strange world that she certainly doesn't recognise. "Wha in the..." She starts to ask, and then spots the dopplegangers. Her eyes flick one at a time to the different nega-versions of people she knows: Reize, Faruja, Deelel...

"Anyone else feel like they jus' stepped inte the Twilight Zone?" She murmurs under her breath. At least there's no Nega-Zia here, to deal with.

Chita has posed:
"Mmph..."

The sudden exertion of that much energy caused Chita to slump forward, eventually landing on his knees and propping himself up with his hand. The other hung rather limp as before and he looked at it before sighing, then looking towards the others who were thankfully going on ahead, focused on Shiki. As it should be. He slowly stood up with a pinch of pain shooting through him only to lean against the nearby wall and look towards the door where that man in the robes had gone. It was...
Shut?
He slowly walked over to check and, as he had thought, it seemed to have magically shut and locked itself. "What in the espers names... of all the damned luck. Hopefully he lives." came his grumbling remark. He didn't want to be the death of anyone, /and/ he intended to ask a question. Plus, if the man really /was/ just trying to look out for Shiki's best interests, like them, then he couldn't fault him for it. He'll come back later to see if he can be found. For now, though... the Viera walks over towards the door, leaning down carefully to pick up a spear before using it as a walking pole(pole down) to follow after the others. Even if he wouldn't be much help...

He could still try.

Suddenly he seemed transported to another place, a city of sorts. A 'futuristic' place, to him at least. And there was Shiki, and a bunch of others he recognized - and Leida? Looking like a monster? Were those heartless? "Heartless! Watch out!" he shouted, trying to leap towards one side where they were in an effort to distract them, to give the others enough time to get the rest and get the hell out - Shiki included.

Oathkeeper has posed:
The funny part is where, the moment Deelel calls out 'Illusions', there is another one who speaks those very same words:

"Illusions!?" The Deelel with the cracked ID disk calls out, barely still in existence. "What is going on!?" Things start to get odd, as memories start to 'break down'. Or rather, people enter the room, and their memories are added to this world.

The 'future' figures shift a little. Barely noticable differences accumulate, as everyone remembers people differently. However, that doesn't stop the Neo-Shadows from approaching. They continue to come. And those who know Sora might notice that faintly visible sleeping face on Building 104's big screen.

Faruja especially looks up, at Zia to be precise. There's this heartbroken look in his eyes... "Zia..." He whispers with a voice that's almost unbearable to listen to. Leida notices the presence of Deelel and Lenn on the other hand. "You guys..." She whispers, the tendrils faltering... and slowly dropping Shiki.

"You all look like you're not from this time. Then what Shiki was saying is the truth." Neku suggests, looking at the others. Leida slumps to her knees, her head bent down. "They're from our past. They don't belong here."

The group then all look up at Shiki, then towards the Heartless, and then to Shiki again.

"Go..." They speak in unison.

"Make sure this never happens."

The group then turn around entirely and draw their weapons and aim them towards the Neoshadows. "It is too late for us. But maybe..."

Deelel looks back at Deelel for a moment again, then glancing down at her cracked disk. Then up to her again; Without a word, she suddenly throws the ID Disk straight at Deelel. Not to erase her - there is no line of light for her to hurt herself on. But to hold onto. For safe keeping. But what's more... it carries a message. An encrypted one at that. One that quickly transfers into Deelel through that very disk, before it finally crumbles.

The dark Deelel then too, turns around. Her body still flickering. "I don't even know who I am anymore..." She calls out towards the 'real people' storming in. "But even without my memories... I still feel you all. That you are all... 'my friends'."

The Faruja too looks upon Zia for a little while. "Don't let yourself ever be separated from your friends. Don't ever give up."

The Neku and Reize both smirk at Shiki, and the former tosses the girl back her phone. "Maybe at some point... there could be a few more pictures of me in there." He calls out to her.

Beat just raises his thumb. "Never stop /Beat/in' these guys up. And watch Rhyme for me."

Reize then adds; "Take Shiki with you... and leave. This is not a place for you."

The Future people look amongst themselves for but a moment. It's one of those all too telling looks. People who are prepared to let things end - yet determined. The Neo-Shadows continue on. And in moments, the two forces clash.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart enters the door along with the others, as everyone agrees on the course of action... no matter what might be behind the door.

But what she sees is different than she imagined. 104 looks like Shinra's tower at first glance, a giant tower of glass and metal. But its not Midgar. Its different. Its Shiki's world, although they never really talked about it before, the mix of memories just seem to... make it obvious, as if it was something she always knew abuot.

The Nega-friends get a long glance from the barmaid... but they seem... friendly. They are different, warped, corrupted, but they still seem to keep the same core and personality. This is the future?

She moves to Shiki, offering her a shoulder if she needs support, as she's a bit taller and stronger than Shiki "If this is the future you saw... We will fight with every ounce of strength we have so it never happens." She bows her head, simply, as an answer to the 'future's wishes. "We all care for Shiki as well, we'll protect her."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
Admittedly the pictures of Neku are less than the ones of everyone else, but that's because he's been kind of a jerk lately. But there's still some of 'em! And he didn't pose for any, for the same reason.

That's one well-reinforced phone though, huh? Shockproof and waterproof!

Also, Shiki's beginning to feel a little light-headed, but, y'know, maybe she'll be dead any minute now so it's not like it'll really matter.

Then the shadow demon comes out and we can shorten that to 'any second now' perhaps.

"I'm sorry... please... everyone!"

And as if called, we suddenly get a lot more everyone. Shiki is almost nose-to-nose with the rather nasty red-eyed thing, plus there's a lot of other things to worry about, but mostly that!

She starts squirming around, shooting a desperate but happy expression towards the group. "Everyone!"

It's a... reunion in more ways than one. Shiki looks stunned, things starting to click into place... and this is... a memory of the future?

Or not...

A future she can change, perhaps. She looks, one after the other, across each of the future versions' faces, and those of her friends and in a way her brain isn't really processing everything and all of its implications right now. The words are instead processed by her heart in its stead.

This is too much for her to take in right away, and so all she can do is nod. The phone clicks against the guard of her keyblade as she catches it, filled with determination. "I'll do everything I can..."

She turns to the others. "Blue line. That's the way out... boy, I'm gonna have words with Lucas. Come on, Mr. Mew! Let's go, everyone!"

Lenn has posed:
Lenn nods to Shiki, with a smile, "Let's get you back home, Shiki.

Zia has posed:
There's that brief, breath of a moment where she looks into the strange eyes of the mouse she knows so well, only to see such sorrow there. It's then that she realizes why some of the others aren't here - why she isn't here. Dead. Whatever future this represents, they didn't survive to see it. Not even the supposedly immortal Skoll. Her ears tuck back.

Then, the sight of the strange Heartless catch her attention. Taking a step back, she moves towards the light from the hallway. They were in no shape to take on these enemies - then again, neither are the phantom doubles who look so much like their friends. Strangely, though, there's no real surprise on her features. This seems all too familiar.

Her heart aches for these people from some possible future. They aren't real, but that doesn't mean that their sacrifice isn't any less heartbreaking. "Ah... Ah will." She murmurs in a low voice, and somewhere in her mind, she's making a mental note to give Faruja a hug next time she sees him.

It's hard to look away, but her eyes find Shiki. "Come on, lass, let's get ye out of here." As she hears the name Lucas, the gargoyle pauses. There's a hint of recognition in her eyes, but it soon enough she's following the line towards the exit. "Ah dinnae think tha will be quite so easy as ye think. We had te defeat him te get in here te help ye. Ah think ye'll be surprised aboot wha Deelel found out aboot him."

Chita has posed:
Chita visibly shows hesitation even as he backs off from the Neo Shadows. This was the future? Certainly not. It couldn't possibly be the future. A future? Some magic made to make one think of the future? Surely no one could possibly do something of this sort - would do something of this sort. This was...

Wrong.

Impossible.

And yet, here they were. Some he knew, some he didn't. Every part of him wanted to stay, wanted to try and protect those here - protect these people, fight with them, try to keep them from getting hurt - and yet.. the others were giving up so easily and running away. Fleeing. Leaving. "But they will..."
A soft plea, likely one that fell on deaf ears as he closed his eyes and shook a little before saying, "Please... just flee all of you. You don't have to stay here and buy them time for us. Even if this future has already happened, in some time... it is still your future, and can be changed by you." He hoped. He'd probably have nightmares on this entire ordeal, just the thought of multiple futures. Until then, he turned and tried to make out after the rest while feeling absolutely guilty about simply getting Shiki and leaving.

Deelel has posed:
Deelel is beside herself, wait? Is that other her not just some fake. After all Deelel is a being born of data, so some questions about existence are a bit strange the idea of being copied is rare but not unheard of by a basic such as Deelel. She looks t the Dark Deelel there's a look of sympathy on her face this dark copy does not seem to be evil and something happens even as people start talking to her. She looks at the shadows, the copies clash and she finds she's got a message she catches the disc. A Basic doing something like this knows they are about to die. Whatever is one the disc is important. It's very important she makes careful note of to take the disc.

"I understand..."

What was happening here? She didn't fully know there would be time to think later.

"Hey Shiki, caught wind you were in need of a bit of help so ... I gathered who I could I think whoever they are? Your right it's time for us to go and get out of here. It's also good to see your all right and we were in time."

She looks to Chita "They can't leave this place Chita, from what little I know of this place."

Shiki Misaki has posed:
It's time to go. Shiki wants to hug everyone, but there's no time. "I knew I could trust you all."

She has to go, supported by Tifa, smiling back at Lnn, as they head for the door they came in from. She doesn't have time to say anything to Chita- but Deelel beats her to it. Once they're out, Shiki replies to Zia- "Looks like we're gonna need to swap some stories when we get back home, yeah. I've... got some things to tell you all too."

As they leave, Shiki's keyblade- which had previously resembled a plain, normal-looking one with a square guard, grey shaft and triangular teeth, changes. It splits down the middle- one side aquamarine, one side pink, similar to her hair color. The guard is similarly split down the middle- one side is more circular, the other is made of overlapping 'tribal tattoos'. The shaft is quite long, and ends in a needle point. The teeth of the keyblade resembles a wing. The keychain becomes the same square pattern used for her necklace, an ice-blue gem in the middle.

Shiki looks at it as they walk. "I'll never use this to lock myself away. It'll unlock our future instead."