Take All Of The Shadows Away

Take All Of The Shadows Away
Date of Scene:	22 November 2012
Location:	The Old Kingdom
Synopsis:	Mercade takes a rest near a river in a land far from Manhattan, where he meets a strange girl who is afflicted with a terrible condition. Will hope save the day?
Cast of Characters:	Mercade Alexander, Leida

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Mercade Alexander has posed:
The TDA has become a lot more crowded lately, and Mercade needs to go think. When Mercade needs to think, he goes out on walks.

What with Manhattan being reduced to just Manhattan, those walks have gotten... pretty long. Portals lead to portals lead to portals, and Mercade Alexander, intrepid invesitgator (hapless detective) ends up in a deep, secluded valley in a mountainous forest. He looks over the area, examining the natural surroundings for a minute before he walks to the side of the rushing river, kneeling down to splash some water on his face.

This looks like as good a place to rest as any.

Leida has posed:
So deep into untamed wilderness the sounds of nature echo all around. The waterfall's crashing crescendo drowns out many of the more subtle noises but the trill song of birds and rustling of foraging deer still manages to get through every now and then. And... something else...

The noise is soft and faint, almost little more than the hint of a whisper floating on the wind as it drifts down from the towering cliffs. The tone is vaguely melodic, something in the short irregular pauses between each moment that carries the weight of rythm to it.

As the sound approaches it grows in intensity. The other noises of the forest cease and grow still, only the hiss of the river's crystalline surface continuing its steady timeless babble. Eventually the whispers begin to gain some clarity. The hazy notes resolve into words sung by a high-pitched wispy voice that echoes hauntingly through the air.

Your life is futile, can't you see...
So join the devil and follow me...
Sell your soul and slay your kin...
Close your eyes, embrace your sin...
Feel it squeezing your body tight...
Let it take over, you just can't fight...
Into your dark heart, burning it cold...
Now be a good girl and do as you're told...

Halfway through the lyrics the underbrush at the treeline on the far side of the river rustles suddenly and parts, revealing the source of the dreary poetry. A girl strides out into the open field moving with slow deliberate grace. Long slender legs take each step with almost painstaking care as if she were afraid that they might snap if too much pressure were applied. Her face is hidden from sight by raven lockes, her head hung low to stare at the ground as she slowly makes her way torwards the edge of the water.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade stares into the water, holding a cellphone in one hand with the Xanatos Enterprises logo on it. A small wire runs from it up through his coat. The perceptive might notice a thin wire running up into a cunningly designed earpiece with a subdermal patch along the throat for quiet communications.

However, those communications are cut when Mercade's eyes prick up, his senses noticing a change in the area. Animals only quiet when something disturbs the area significantly. Even his passage didn't do... this.

And then the words call out. He slowly turns, looking for the source of the sound as his hand reflxively dips into his coat. When the rustle comes, Mercade turns, his eyes wide in surprise as a girl appears. He watches her for several moments... And then removes his hand from within his coat.

"Nice song. I admit the lyrics don't agree with me though." He says, taking a casual tone as he folds his arms. "Are you from around here?"

Leida has posed:
It takes several long moments for Leida to make her way from the edge of the trees to the water, one foot slowly moving infront of the other. She sways as she walks, a few times looking as if a hazhardous misstep might send her tumbling to the ground. But there are no pitfalls here to trip her up so the source of her disorientation is not obvious.

When the lapping river touches the toes of her boots, she finally pauses. A few seconds go by in silence until finally her head tilts up towards Mercade. Leida's youthful features are blank of expression as she locks her hazy amber gaze onto the man, staring without seeming to really see him. But eventually she speaks, her voice still soft and thin as if she were speaking in a whisper that seemed to carry over the ambient noise.

"Well, hello... who are you...? Do you wish to be my friend...?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Okay, this is spooky.

Scratch that. This is really spooky. Mercade watches the girl, and he rubs his chin as he tries to determine the nature of the odd behavior.

When she speaks, Mercade thinks for a moment, and shrugs faintly, as if to say 'why not'. "Sure, I'll be your friend. What's your name?" Mercade asks. "Are you... all right? You look like you're having some trouble."

Leida has posed:
When Mercade shrugs the girl mimics the gesture, allowing her head to lull to the side and rest on her shoulder. A faint smile plays upon her face and she closes her eyes with a deep sigh.

"Did you hear that...? I have a new friend...!"

Slowly Leida's body tilts forward again as she seems to lose her balance, forcing the girl to take an awkward step into the bank of the river to arrest her movement. Her hair swings around from the sudden motion and dangles loosely over one shoulder as she stares into the reflective surface of the water. Seemingly entranced with her own mirror image the girl slowly knees down, soaking her boots and the front of her armor.

Her head tilts back and forth like an owl, examining something it finds intriguing. Suddenly she cringes and looks away, a pained expression on her face.

"Don't look at me like that... I didn't do what you think I did..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade is going to eventually really regret the fact that he has all the magical capacity and sense of a brick. This moment is not quite one of those times.

When Leida apparently loses her balance, Mercade leaps into the river, quickly beginning to splash across in order to draw closer. "Hold on there, stay with me, here. What happened to you? Did someone make you drink something? Eat something? Are you sick? Poisoned?"

Poor Mercade still thinks Leida's problem is a medical one.

Leida has posed:
The sound of the splashing interupts Leida's thoughts and she turns to regard the approaching man with the same dull look as before, peering at him through her scattered bangs.

"Are you trying to catch me...?" She leans back on her heels, hands folding neatly into her lap. An expression much like a child who has been reprimanded spreads across her delicate features. "Did I do something wrong...?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade reaches the other bank, and holds up his hands, slowly. His voice is calming as he tries to reassure her, "No, no... You did nothing wrong. You just look like you're not feeling well." Carefully, he kneels next to her and stares into her eyes, perhaps trying to get an idea of what might be afflicting her.

"You'll be fine, all right? Tell me, what's your name? Where did you come from?" He asks carefully, calmly, just trying to stay reassuring and pleasant.

Leida has posed:
The girl stares down at her hands for a while but slowly lifts her gaze up to meet the detective's probing eyes. After looking at him in silence for several seconds her head rolls to the side against her shoulder again and she mumbles softly, as if to herself.

"What... is my name...?" Her voice takes on a deeper tone, a strange mix of resignation and ominous threat mixed together. "I cannot seem to recall... Did I ever have a name...?"

Leida stands up, water dripping down her legs and the front of her clothing as she turns and takes a few tentative steps into the grass. "The river is calm today... like a lull in the wind..."Her voice takes on a threatening timbre again.

"It won't last..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade stares, comparatively steady when put next to the girl. "I can't get through to her." He mutters to himself, and he stands, turning to face her. He drips himself, water pooling around him from his fording of the river. He didn't even caulk a raft, the fool.

He walks over towards her, slowly, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder. "Please, focus. Try to listen to my words and remain calm." He says slowly. "My name is Mercade Alexander. What is your name?" He introduces himself.

Leida has posed:
His touch causes her to flinch slightly but she doesn't pull away, instead wrapping her arms around herself protectively as if to ward off some chill breeze that only she can feel. The girl shivers and twists.

"I hear a voice... someone is calling to me... can you hear it...?"

Her eyes screw up tightly and she takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly, over and over. "Lei... da..." She whispers through clenched teeth. "Is... is that who I am...? Why are you calling to me...?" She falls to her knees, collapsing weakly in the grass. "Who is it that beckons me...? That voice so dark, so quiet, so alluring..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade doesn't think his voice is quiet and alluring. "Could something else be going on..." Mercade mumbles to himself.

Leida falls to her knees, and Mercade kneels as well. "Poor girl. Leida... That's your name, right? Leida? Listen to me, focus on my voice. I am Mercade. Mercade. I want to help you, Leida. Focus. I need to know what is wrong before I can help you." And she definately, definately needs help.

Leida has posed:
"Yes... poor, poor child... so terrible..." Taking the initiave this time, Leida leans against the man kneeling next to her. She snuggles against his chest and smiles faintly, her body going limp.

"Thank you... this is a very peaceful song..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade looks a little nervous as Leida slumps next to him. He carefully reaches out and gives her a consoling hug. "Leida, I want to find a way to help you. Would you like to come with me?" He asks. Well, if nothing else, he supposed he could... carry her across 3 or 4 worlds back to Manhattan...

Leida has posed:
Rather than answer, Leida continues to lie there like an empty sack, her breathing calm and steady as if sleeping. Not but moments after he speaks, however, the atmosphere changes. The faint breeze coming down the valley suddenly ceases and the air goes stagnant. The girl's eyes snap open and she quickly, compared to her usual speed atleast, sits up, looking around as if searching for something. A rustling comes from the underbrush close to where she herself emerged not long ago. Pushing out of Mercade's grasp and getting to her feet, she makes her way over towards the sound tenatively.

Without warning a pair of Heartless leap from the shadows, their squat impish forms twitching and alert. Leida stares at them with equal parts curiosity and admiration, crouching down to hold out a hand towards the inky creatures.

"Oh... how very cute. Just like a doll..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
OH CRAP HEARTLESS

Mercade's eyes widen as the rustling noise happens, and he stands, immediately snapping a gun out to point it at the Heartless approaching them. "Leida! Get back! Those Heartless are dangerous!" He leaps forward, trying to pull her away while brandishing the gun at the Heartless. "Get back from her!" He yells at the dark creatures. They won't respond. They never do.

Leida has posed:
As the detective rushes forward to protect the girl something unexpected happens. His outstretched arm hits an invisible wall, probably painfully. A faint coruscating light begins to waft off her body, a sickly aura of black and purple energy bleeding into the air around her. Thick ooze burbles up from the ground beneath her feet, so black and empty that it almost looks like pure darkness given form - almost like the Heartless themselves.

The tiny creatures cock their heads curiously to the side at Leida when she approaches, scampering forward like rabbits to investigate the outstretched hand.

"I'm a doll too, you know," she says softly. The pit of darkness around her feet continues to spread. All colors quickly drains from the grass at its touch, crumbling to a flaky ash substance that melts into and feeds the source of its demise. "That makes us friends..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade hits the barrier and is repelled, being thrown back with a yell of pain. "AGH!" He yells, whipping his hand to try to get the numbness out of his hand. "You... Leida..." He looks down at the growing pool of darkness in horror, backpedaling from it. He really ,really doesn't want to get caught in that. "You're someone who controlls the Heartless?" He says, a sick expression crossing his face. "Damn..." He calls out, "Leida, stop this! You're going to destroy yourself and everyone around you! You don't have to do this!"

He doesn't raise his gun. He's not sure if it would even do him any good against that kind of power.

Leida has posed:
A happy childish smile plays across Leida's features as the Heartless wiggles cutely at her but it does not touch her nor she it as if both instinctively understand the danger the other poses. "Was it because you were lonely? Is that why you beckoned to me?" She curdles her finger up in a mock scratching motion, as if teasing the little monster.

Standing, the girl slowly turns to face Mercade again, the smile still plastered on her face though it look somehow more sinister now. The creepy longing tone of her voice doesn't help matter. "No matter how much you cry, it won't wash the blood away... I've tried so many times..."

The trees all around begin to rustle now, Heartless trickling into the clearing as if drawn to the dark energy. Strangely they avoid the spreading mass of blackness, the two close to her even going so far as to back away from it apprehensively. She takes a few steps foward, moving towards the man.

"And you're wrong...," Leida's voice drops to the low sinister tone from before, her head tilting forwards as she staggers almost drunkenly, forcing her to peer up at him through her bangs with eyes that glow with the same dark light. "Everyone is already dead..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade grimaces as he stands, watching the pool of consuming blackness roil closer. He's seen things like that. That pool that spawns darknes, consuming all it touches. People vanish into it, never to be seen again. And this girl... Sweat rolls off of his brow as he clenches his jaw. Adrenaline pumps through him, his mind screaming with fight or flight responses. He had to make a choice, and fast.

He could argue with her, but how would she even process his words? She's barely cognizant of the world around her. His hand clenches on the handle of the gun, as if he is hanging between a decision...

And with a quick movement, he holsters the weapon. He isn't going to need it here. "You're still alive, Leida. You're still in there. I know you are. This isn't what you really wanted, it can't be." He stops backing away, forcing himself to stand still in the face of that blackness. Even if she didn't kill him, would the Heartless? There's so many...

But it's the only choice he could live with himself to take right now.

Leida has posed:
Leida's smile turns into a look of panic as he retreats, her hand reaching out to him. "Please, don't leave me here...! Not all alone..." Her tone is desperately pleading, genuine anguish etched into her features.

As if in response to the girl's pleas or simply having grown tired of standing around the Heartless begin to creep foward, their beady yellows eyes focused on the detective. They don't outright attack yet but if he waits much longer he may find few avenues of escape left to him.

"I cannot hear it... Where did the peaceful song go...?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Run, his mind tells him. That logical part of his head that analyzes, computes, and processes the area around him. That part that has served him all his life tells him, 'Shoot her'. Something, anything to stop this. She is the enemy.

But he does not shoot. He stands there as she begs for his presence again. But to get close, would require him to step into that blackness. This is an idiotic move, he berates himself. He would be throwing himself to the wolves for what? Some girl he's only just seen? Someone so far gone?

But he doesn't run. No more. He doesn't attack. He's come this far. He needs to see it through to the end. He's seen the girl trapped beneath the horror.

He steps forward, reaching out to Leida. "I'm right here, Leida. Please, come back." As he steps into the gooey blacknes, it begins to lick up his legs, drawing at his energy as he begins to sink into the ground. He struggles forward, trying to get closer to her. "Leida, please! Come back to the light!" He has no idea what he's saying, but something's got to get through to her.

Because it's too late to fight, and too late to run. All he has now is hope.

Leida has posed:
Hope. Once upon a time in a distant world now dead and black as heart, Leida had hope. All she ever wanted was love and acceptance. All she ever got was pain. Hope is an insidious poison for those who have fallen beyond redemption.

Leida slowly lowers her hand as the foolish man before her throws himself into the blackness. She does not smile at his willingness to brave such utter danger for her sake. She does not thank him. She just shakes her head from side to side, looking pitiful and forlorn.

"All my light has gone..." Her voice is different now. A second sonorous voice echoes behind it, mixing together into a demonic dischordant note. Her eyes close and she begins to hum another tune.

Shadows, Shadows of despair...
Shadows, Shadows, everywhere...

Shadows, Shadows, lurk inside...

Leida opens her eyes and surges forward, gliding across the surface of the black pit as it rises up to engulf her legs. The darkness wraps itself almost tenderly about her body and brings her up face to face with her would-be savior. She reaches out, placing a hand on each side of his face. The darkness creeps up her arms, spilling out to touch his skin. The sensation is like being covered with ice from the deepest arctic circles, life draining out of him at her mere touch.

The small girl pulls her face close, uncomfortably close and looks into his eyes with souless pits of purple light. "What ugly Shadows do you hide?", she whispers.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
The nasty thing about relying on hope, is sometimes it doesn't work out.

Mercade can't even scream, slowly sinking as his life energy is devoured. His breath is stolen away as Darkness crawls along his jawline, staining it black and curling up around his trembling face. His eyes are wide as Leida holds him, prying at the doors of his mind and heart with her dark magics.

The lifeforce is delicious. He has a bright heart, a good heart. No wonder why he has such trouble with the Heartless. Such a foolish man. But in every light, there is a shadow. There is no one so good that there is no hint of darkness in their heart.

There is a flash as she gains entrance, beginning to lay his soul bare, poring through it. It is not tender. It is chaotic. Maddening.

A fallen child with familiar messy hair, crying. A hand reaching out to them from above. Wiping away their tears.

"If I was stronger, I would not feel this pain."

A dozen voices, crying out and jeering. Again, that child, beaten and crying. This time, that hand was not there to lift them up.

"I hate them. I'm too weak. I can't beat them."

A stolen ball. Torn homework. Parents, yelling at each other.

"Stop it! Leave me alone! Go away! Why don't you stop yelling?"

An empty place at the table. The mother could not answer her son's questions. She shook her head, smiling, and told him that she would tell him when he was older.

"You are lying to me. Stop lying to me!"

The child is older, a man. His mother still cannot say why there was an empty place at the table.

"Even if you cannot tell me, I will find the answer. He will tell me why he abandoned us. I will find the truth."

Newspapers. Corruption in lurid print and on the television. Murder. Lives destroyed not by horrible beasts but by more familiar terrors.

"I will have justice. I will make those who hurt others pay for their crimes."

A small, dingy apartment, barely able to be called an office. A woman in white, far classier than her surroundings. Her breath smelled like cigarettes and whiskey. Her perfume was of lilacs and trouble.

"People will need me. They will love me if I help them."

A man is devoured by the heartless, a gleaming heart rising into the air and pierced by black thorns. A thousand-thousand golden eyes open, turning towards the screaming black-haired man in the doorway.

Shattering glass
"and i"
Falling
"will never"
falling...
"be alone"

From cracked, dry, cold lips, a whisper. "again..."

And then Mercade, finally, screams.

Leida has posed:
The darkness takes it all in.

All of the foolish self doubt and ugly hatred. The lies and regrets. The despair and anguish. It revels in it, soaking in the foul sensations like a fine wine festering and aged in the blackest of cauldrons. The emotions give it power, flowing into Leida as dark tendrils of purple light that race up her outstretched arms and seep into the cracks of her tarnished soul.

When the screams finally come she just smiles and holds Mercade's head to her chest, cradling it lovingly. "Yes... that hurts, doesn't it? Deep deep down inside... the most delightful sorrow..."

Her fingers run through his hair, caressing it as a mother might for her child. "Don't worry... I'll take all the Shadows away..."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade can barely move. A hand trembles, reaching up to clutch desperately at her shoulder as he is cradled to her chest in a terrifying reversal of a few minutes ago. His face is pale and lips blue, as if from exposure, but he whispers nonetheless. "L... Leida... Stop... Please..."

The other hand is reaching into his coat.

Leida has posed:
"Ssssh... Quiet now... It's time to sleep..." Leida lowers her hand from the top of his head, dragging it delicately along the side of his face until it drifts down across the drained lips. She starts to rock back and forth, the beginnings of another one of her macabre tunes forming.

"On and on the path does go, down to where the shadows grow...

Around them the Heartless have gathered like a flock of crows. Some perch on fallen logs or tree stumps, other clamber over each other like squabbling cubs. None of them seem to be paying the two of them any mind. It's like they don't even exist to the foul little demons.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade fights against the pull of slumber. Eternal darkness waited for him, warm and comforting. He would never need to think again. He might even flit about her like the others, bright-eyed and attentive, wanting nothing more than to eat once in a while.

It would be so easy.

Mercade's voice croaks one more time, barely audible. "I'm... Sorry... Leida."

There is a click as a shaking hand turns off the safety of a gun. The barrel is pointed directly at the side of Leida's head. With all of his strength, he pulls the trigger back.

The hammer strikes, the .45 caliber, mythril-tipped bullet slamming through the rifled barrel at supersonic speeds at a range that is impossible to miss.

He knows better to assume that will be enough to kill her. But it might be enough to survive.

Leida has posed:
The bullet does its grisly work with all of the brutal effectiveness than one could expect. The girl's head snaps sideways as the blast of gunpowder explodes into the depths of her inky black hair. She does not scream as she falls but her eyes go wide in innocent surprise, unable to comprehend what had befallen her.

The sudden noise startles the Heartless and they stir into maddening action, scampering this way and that in search of the source. The pit of darkness recedes like a tide, swiftly moving to catch the fallen Leida in its gentle caress. Beneath the grass is gone, crumbled to a thick ash that cakes the ground like dirty snow. As Mercade hits the ground, a thousand yellow eyes turn as one to focus intently on him. It seems the darkness was as much a shield as it was a killer.

Leida lies motionless on a stretcher of the foul inky blackness, her head slumped sideways, eyes closed as if she were sleeping peacefully. A thick ichor of black and purple light pools beneath the wound but even now the shadows seem to be sinking into her tiny body, restoring the girl like new.

If there's going to be any chance of escape at this point, now is the time to act.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade doesn't wait. He doesn't consider the horror he just witnessed or the state of Leida's body after he shoots her.

All he can do is survive. The thousand eyes turn towards him, and Mercade turns away, scrambling as fast as he can away from the horde of Heartless. He doesn't have nearly enough bullets for that.

But later, perhaps, he will remember that image. It will not be something forgotten easily.

Leida has posed:
As Mercade flees with dozens of Heartless hot on his heels he might catch a sound on the wind. It is faint and shallow but carries with it the unmistakable hint of music.

Lay down your head and rest my dear...
The dark will steal away your fears...
You will never be alone...
Shadow will always call you home...