A Stranger in Black (Aya Brea/Invite)

[mordred]

Deling City. Once upon a time, it was the home of the Galbadian President and his sorceress advisor. That advisor later killed him in front of a crowd of people and held them in thrall as she openly declared her plans to wreck havoc. Pity. His Heart would have helped.

Mordred walked down the sidewalk as cars drove past him under the perpetual night sky. Many people either gave him no notice or spared a passing glance to him. The Nobody sensed everyone's Hearts but didn't attack a single person. He was subtle, or at least that's how he preferred things. Attacking someone in a crowd was not Mordred's style. He preferred manipulation or at least using some manner of stealth. Besides, he could harvest these people's hearts until there Deling City was a ghost town and it would increase Eden's size, but there was too much of a risk, especially with the Keybladers running around. Luckily, the WoC could be counted on to serve as a distraction for the heroes. It helped that they were hopelessly arrogant, comfortable in their own power. Mordred supposed it was natural, but it left them vulnerable, something he himself couldn't afford.

Mordred stopped at an intersection. No cars were around. No people. Not even a mouse. Mordred looked up at the sky, towards his Eden. "Emotion is such a fickle thing." Mordred muttered. "Those who avert their eyes from it lose themselves to darkness and those obsessed with it enough to protect it with their lives suffer the same fate. It would seem those who control emotion, not being controlled by it, are those who last the longest. But I wonder who among these so-called Light Beings and Dark Beings and even those in-between are able to do such a thing."

Then Mordred could sense it. Darkness. "They come. Such is the dark emotions that still cling to this city like cobwebs." Heartless crawled up out of pools of darkness or appeared out of Corridors of Darkness. A few Hot Rods, Soldiers and Shadows, no less. Mordred folded his arms across his chest as the Heartless looked towards him and hesitated, seemingly unsure how to attack. Then a few Shadows decided to pounce, to which Mordred sent Reaper of Light, which slithered out of his robes and struck like a serpent, killing all three. Mordred seemed frozen in that position, arms folded and an indifferent look upon his face. He really didn't feel like being pressed for time.

[Aya Brea]

It was only a few hours after meeting Tseng, but a certain blond vixen was wandering around Deling City right now, pondering her best course of action. With the information Tseng had given her, she had a lot of options now in how she decided to search for both her daughter and his own associates. She could look for them directly, asking people if they had seen them when she gave a general description as pictures of them weren't given to her. That was one option while the other was to look for their enemies, specifically that Kadaj charater as he seemed to be their biggest annoyance and if nothing else would have Rufus with him if not the other Turks as well.

He may also have an urge to kill any of those who oppose him as well if the stories are true,[/i] she thought as she tugged at a pair of black gloves she was currently wearing, really makes me wonder what exactly I've gotten myself into, she finished as she came upon an intersection, one that was normally full of life now devoid of it. It was a bit odd but considering the Heartless threat it wasn't too suprising to see people didn't want to get out of their houses. It was a shame really for the intersection was a rather beautiful sight to behold, something about it really pleasant to look at, at least for this former officer.

Then again, if more people were equipped with a semi-automatic and the strange powers I have I'm sure they wouldn't be as troubled going out at night, she mused a bit melancholic as she still had no idea why she had the powers she did. Before she could think on the matter much longer though a man appeared dressed all in black. She raised an eyebrow at this as he stopped in the middle of the intersection, seeming to be talking to himself since his lips were moving but in a hushed tone as the blond was unable to discern what he was saying. Regardless, she stepped forward to ask him what he was doing there, driven by her natural instint as an officer before a threat reared its ugly head... Heartless. Indeed, they appeared without warning and at the moment didn't seem to notice her, having their attention fixed upon the black cloaked stranger. She observed the situation for a moment, perplexed at the Heartless' odd behavior. They seemed to hesitate in attacking the man, hesitation having been something she had never seen in regards to the Heartless and how they acted. After but a moment though the hesitation was gone as the Shadow Heartless pounced toward the man, attempting to do what they did best... kill. Instantly Aya reacted, drawing her pistol as she aimed it toward the Heartless and about to give a warning to get down but was preempted as the stranger took care of them himself. Yes, they were slain rather quickly as he struck them with a peculiar looking weapon, a sickle attached to a rather long chain.

Why's a civilian carrying something like that around? Well that's assuming he's one anyway,[/color] the former detective thought as she watched the scene from the man's flank. Soon enough though, the Solider Heartless that had been otherwise inactive were springing into action as well, attacking the man from behind. Despite not knowing the full grasp of the situation, the former officer wasn't about to allow anyone be slain by Heartless on her watch, dropping to one knee as she lined up her crosshair on the opposition.

”GET DOWN!” she shouted in a rather demanding tone, hoping that the stranger would comply hastily as she didn't want to accidentally shoot him. Regardless, her trigger finger soon got happy, firing three well-placed shoots into one of the Solider's cranium. It disappeared rather quickly and with the loud noise the other Heartless felt compelled to look toward the source, distracted if only momentarily. The element of surprise was gone now but the former officer stood her ground as she fired off six more shots at the remaining two Solider's with great accuracy and putting them down rather quickly. It was at this point the Hot Rod Heartless seemed to be getting ready to attack the blond, this not going unnoticed by the pistol wielding vagrant.

”Watch out!” she shouted out once more, watching as one got revved up to charge toward him whilst the other two had set their sights on her. They came at her rather quickly although luckily from the same direction and with a roll to the right, the former officer was able to avoid being ran over. She wasn't sure what the stranger's status was right now but figured he could take care of the other remaining Hot Rod as she began unloading the rest of her clip on the other two that had passed her by.

OOC:

Liberation[/color] – During battle Aya’s mitochondria begin to create vast amounts of ATP that can later be used to give her a temporary boost too all stats. When the energy stored is released, Aya will also be granted a second pistol to attack with and all shots will actually be made out of ATP thus eliminating the need for ammo as well as increasing their power two fold. Furthermore, Aya’s movements will change drastically and instead of running forward she will mostly teleport, four feet per teleport. Before activating this ability though, Aya must be in battle for at least three minutes (three posts) and once it runs out (duration = 2 posts), the amount of time necessary to generate the ATP to activate it again will increase by one post per subsequent use. Cool down = 4 Posts after first use, 5 posts after second use, and so on and so forth.

ONE POST INTO BATTLE

[mordred]

Mordred heard a woman shout behind him and calmly looked over his shoulder. What he saw was a blonde woman with a handgun aimed at him. Or was it aimed at the Heartless and he was merely in the line of sight? He had missed what the woman yelled out, not particularly interested in what she had to say. However, she intended to shoot and that was the crux of the situation. What intrigued Mordred, not that he'd admit it or show it, was when he Analyzed the woman. She had a power that was vastly different from what he was used to. It was not particularly strong, but had the potential to be so. However, it was just so... different than Mordred was used to. She was not a Heartless nor a Nobody nor a Keyblader nor any mage or fighter he'd ever come across in his long life. How to twist that...

Ah... that would be very intriguing bait to use, yes.

Right before Aya fired her pistol, Mordred stomped his foot. An ornate magical circle, with runes, odd writing and a Nobody Symbol at the center of the circle, appeared at ankle-level around Mordred. The Soldier that leaped up to violently hug Mordred's face was perforated by the bullets. They looked like they'd do the same to the human-like Nobody until they hit the circle's Boundary. The second they did, it was like they hit Jell-O, slowing down to a speed that could still damage, but definitely not kill. Mordred then simply moved his body out of the way of the slowed bullets as they seem to defy the laws of physics within the Kinetic Field. It looked comically like he was letting someone go past him in a hallway.

He saw more Heartless attacking Aya and knew that others were getting ready to attack him. Luckily, the Heartless were in the middle of an urban street. Mordred backflipped over the Hot Rod charging at him without even looking behind him. He then raised his hand and seemed to be concentrating on something down the street. He then balled his hand into a fist as if grabbing something. Far down the street, there was a telltale crunch of metal being crushed. Then Mordred pulled his hand back as if tugging something. It wouldn't take Aya long to see what Mordred was tugging, because soon a large (and empty) car literally flew down the street, big enough to hit the group of Heartless that had assembled... and Mordred, potentially.

Of course, Mordred was far from foolish enough to pull a car at himself. He could not guarentee the safety of Aya, but he had a hunch she would dodge. As the car barrelled through the Heartless, Mordred ran after it. He then ran onto it as it was rolling and bounching along the street, running on impossible footholds and maintaining an unearthly balance. When he climbed to the top, (in this case, the passenger's side door, given the car still being in motion) Mordred front-flipped back onto the ground and then stood tall as the car finally ground to a halt, kicking up the last of the sparks. Mordred wasn't sure if he got all the Heartless, since the Shadows had a nasty habit of melting into the shadows to dodge attacks. However, instead of acting alert, he turned his head towards Aya and locked his scarlet eyes onto her face.

"You do not belong here, Aya Brea."

[Aya Brea]

As the shots rang out and the scene began to unfold in front of Aya’s eyes, she couldn’t help but let out a small “hmph” as she watched Mordred’s reaction to all the chaos.
 
Might be going out on a limb here but I’m fairly certain he isn’t normal at this point,[/i] she thought as one of the Soliders was promptly taken care of and a stray bullet or two that looked like it would have skimmed Mordred came to an abrupt halt. Well maybe not a complete halt but they had certainly slowed down quite a bit as the cloaked figure walked casually out of the weird bubble he had put around himself. It was at that point the cars had come at Aya and whilst she dodged Mordred did much the same although in far more extravagant display. While the officer normally would have made a comment about the unnecessary use of energy in doing a backflip, she figured it would have fell on deaf ears and thus kept it to herself. No, instead her attention had been focused on the Hot Rods that had passed by, firing the rest of her clip at them although not having finished either of the two with the clip. She grimaced as she quickly loaded the next clip as they revved up toward her, charging at her once more. Before they got that far though, a distinct crunching noise was heard a little ways from her, the former detective sparing an eye to glance over to the sound. The source of the noise was an empty vehicle nearby, her eyes widening as she noticed it come straight at her as if to intercept the cars that would be running over her shortly if she remained stationary.
 
I’m in no mood to go to the hospital right now, the blond vixen thought as her feet pushed off the ground, her body moving to the south-east. She tucked and rolled backwards, landing on her back a bit roughly as she did so before getting to her feet once more. A heavy breath escaped her lips as she cocked the gun back, ready to fire at any remaining Heartless although they had seemed to be taken care of for the moment. Regardless, she would then look back over to the cloaked figure once more that once again flipped in the air in a rather redundant display of agility. After landing on his feet, Aya had stood up fully, crossing her arms as she looked at him with a facial expression that showed she wasn’t impressed.
 
“So you’re a freak and an acrobat… what’s next a cyborg?” the former officer spat out, sarcasm evident in her tone. While she wasn’t sure the insult had been heard by the stranger, he spoke his piece unabated seeming to know her name for some odd reason.
 
”Oh it looks like your psychic instead I’m quite impressed. Either that or you can use the internet,” she shot back as she pulled her hands up to get the man’s head in her sights, ”Now I suggest you tell me what you’re doing here otherwise you’ll be eating 9mm of lead rather shortly,” she added, her tone certainly far from gentle. She wasn’t in the mood to play games and if the stranger didn’t speak up soon she’d end him. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that this monster was bad news and that if she let him go the results could be disastrous. On the other hand, with all the noise they had made, it was quite possible that someone had already called law enforcement. If that were the case, her lack of a badge wouldn’t put her in a favorable situation and would probably end up with her in prison for some time.
 
And I don’t have time to rot in a damn cell,[/i] she noted, an image of Eve flashing before her eyes, I’ll find you Eve… no matter what,[/i]
 
OOC: TWO POSTS INTO BATTLE

[mordred]

"I'm afraid to inform you that I am not a cyborg, Aya Brea." Mordred said, taking off his hood and brushing the hair out of his eyes before adjusting his glasses. He seemed rather nonplussed about Aya's sarcasm. "I doubt any mechanical enhancements would fair well with me." Mordred then put his hands in his pockets as Reaper of Light slithered back into his cloak. Mordred then walked closer to Aya, despite having a gun pointed at him.

"I'm not entirely a psychic, merely insightful." Mordred kinda explained. It was a half-truth, at the last. He wasn't about to display his hand so openly. Mordred then stopped a bit closer to Aya, enough so that he and Aya weren't constantly shouting at each other. "As for your weapon, I'm afraid it is rather useless for the time being." Mordred pointed down at the magical circle rotating around his ankles. "As for your use of the word, 'freak', it is... an accurate enough assessment to be sure. I would certainly be considered a freak among normal humans. However, you are not one of them, so it would seem to be rather hypocritical of you to label someone a freak."

Mordred then turned and stared up at the sky. "I am here conducting research. I am a scientist at heart, after all." The irony of that statement was not lost on Mordred. "Although, it would seem that something more intriguing has cropped up instead." Mordred then turned to Aya. "How did you acquire your powers, I wonder? You are nothing like anyone else I've encountered before and I've met quite a few people in my time." Mordred then turned to look at the Sky again, trying to find Eden. Unfortunately, the city skyline made stargazing, or Worldgazing in this case, rather difficult. "Although, perhaps a more private place should be utilized for such a discussion."

[Aya Brea]

With her firearm at the ready and the former officer prepared to jump at a moment’s notice, she was quite surprised to see that the black cloaked figure was remaining civil at the time being. Perhaps she had seen one too many children’s cartoon shows with Eve but she was under the impression that these “super-villian” types weren’t the type to mince words and resort to force. Indeed, for his response to her comments came rather quickly and while one sounded like it could be sarcastic, the stoic expression on the man’s face didn’t lead her to believe it was. No, he seemed rather serious and also answered Aya’s half-question regarding whether he was psychic or not, something she had said in jest.
 
He’s got me curious now that’s for sure,[/color] she thought as he continued on with his speech, admitting that he was indeed a freak. While that was the case, it was rather hypocritical for the former officer to call him on that regarding her own abilities… something he quickly pointed out. Her eyes widened briefly before she sharpened her stare at him once more, adjusting her arms to pick the gun back up as it fell just an inch out of place… who was this guy?
 
Not only is his sudden arrival in Deling City beyond weird but now he even knows about my powers?![/color] she thought to herself before shaking her head, closing her eyes briefly before opening them once more, No, it’s too early to determine that, he could just be throwing out a wild guess for all I know. I didn’t use my powers to fight them although it is true that during the fight my body has been heating up. I’m not sure what it means but that’s not something he could have picked up in the middle of a fight right? Whatever the case is he’s probably just trying to drag me into his pace and I won’t allow that to happen, she finished her train of thought as Mordred looked up to the sky and continued talking. Yes, he continued to speak, unabated by the gun pointed at his face or the sharp stare that Aya gave him. He spoke almost as if he was used to this type of situation and noted Aya’s powers once more inquiring how she acquired them.
 
Your guess is as good as mine buddy,[/color] she thought in regards to that statement. Indeed, the former officer was just as perplexed by her powers as Mordred was and if she wasn’t busy searching for Eve she certainly would have made it a point to look into how they came about. The only thing she knew was that they came when the Heartless invaded Deling City and while some people may be satisfied with the possibility of “Divine Intervention” or something similar, the former detective didn’t think it likely. No, there had to be a reason she wielded these strange powers, there was no way it happened by something as fickle as chance.
 
I just wish I knew what that something was, if I did perhaps I could gain a better understanding on how to use them, she thought for a moment before her attention was brought back to Mordred’s suggestion to vacate the premises. Aya grimaced a tad at the statement, not wanting to comply but with the sirens being heard from the distance and getting closer she didn’t have much of a choice. Indeed, she would have to be this man’s accomplice for the moment until she could find a place where she could either take care of the threat he might possess to society or…
 
See if he knows anything about Eve’s whereabouts,[/color] she figured, thinking there was a possibility for it. She sighed lightly as she holstered her gun for the moment, crossing her arms as she continued to give the cloaked figure the same sharp stare.
 
”Well I certainly don’t want to deal with the headache of having the police involved in my business so perhaps we should,” she began, her tone neutral for this sentence, ”yet I hope you don’t believe you’re off the hook for even a second,” she finished, her tone as cold as ice. She took a moment to look around after her statement, attempting to figure what was the best route of escape. With the amount of sirens she was hearing the numbers would be great and if the report given by whoever made the call mentioned Heartless, even SWAT could be coming. If that were the case standard routes of escape wouldn’t suffice and thus she had but one choice as she looked down to her feet to a manhole.
 
”I hope you enjoy the smell of raw sewage,” she stated sarcastically as she lifted the manhole cover and moved it aside for the moment. It was a stroke of luck that before Aya had been kicked off the force one suspect had attempted to flee in the sewers, an experience she had always wanted to forget. Had it not been for that she wouldn’t have thought of the idea and when the police arrived here to see that whatever humans detailed in the report (if any) were missing, they’d probably figure the Heartless had killed them. That being noted, Aya began to climb down the ladder motioning for the cloaked figure to follow.
 
”Follow me and close the manhole on your way down… wouldn’t want any uninvited guests to our private conversation right?” she asked rhetorically as she proceeded down. Soon enough her feet touched on cement, letting out a breath as she began to walk forward. While she didn’t like to admit it, thanks to the earlier mentioned case, Aya was also rather familiar with how the sewer was built and its layout. Thus, assuming Mordred did indeed follow her, she would lead him a fair distance away from where they met, her senses focused in case he struck from behind. Whatever the case was, after a few minutes she would stop to turn to him, crossing her arms as she glared at him once more.
 
”Now before we talk about me I want to know who you are and what you know about me, she began, leaning her back against a wall as she would turn her eyes to adjust the for the change of position, ”Forgive me but I have a hard time believing you just came here by chance and even if you did that sure as hell doesn’t explain why you know me so start talking, she demanded, her facial expression showing she wouldn’t budge an inch from her stance. If Mordred wanted to get anything from her he would have to answer her questions first.

[mordred]

Mordred seemed to take no interest when Aya seemed surprised at his knowledge of her condition, but that was merely on the surface. On the inside, Mordred knew he had set the hooks into her early and was more than ready to see how he could manipulate this person into his plans. Aya agreed that they'd better fine some place quiet, but said that the Nobody wasn't off the hook quite yet. Mordred merely shrugged at the comment and watched as she quipped about enjoying the smell of raw sewage before making her down into the sewers. "There is not much I could enjoy lately, so we must do what we must." Of course, it would be more accurate to say that there was nothing he could enjoy, but he supposed he could keep the charade a little longer, much as he despised (well, as much as he could despise something.) pretending to be something he wasn't. It made him no better than the other Nobodies who pretended to have Hearts and emotions, who he considered deluded morons.

As Aya finished climbing down the ladder into the sewers and took a few steps forward, Mordred merely jumped down the entire way, gracefully landing on his feet. As he followed Aya, his mimed closing the manhole cover above him and a noise from above indicated the manhole cover closing on its own. As they walked for a few minutes, Aya suddenly turned and interrogated the Nobody. Mordred merely shrugged again, took off his glasses and started to clean them with his cloak. "Very well. Only fair, correct? I am Mordred and I'm a scientist that has been researching the Hearts and the Heartless. As for how I know you, I am blessed with a... heightened intuition, I guess would be the proper parlance." His glasses cleaned, he put them back on his face and gave them one last adjustment.

"As for you... you seem to have a condition I've yet to see anywhere else. I'm not quite sure what world you belong to," Mordred continued. "but it must come from there. It is power etched into your very blood it would seem. It is quite a curious thing. But there is also something that troubles you more than this power." Mordred took a few steps closer and locked his emotionless, scarlet eyes onto Aya's.

"Who is Eve?"

[Aya Brea]

The questions the former officer had fired off soon began to be answered, the perp she was interrogating seeming to comply with her desire for information. Once again he stated he was a scientist, one that seemed to specialize in the study of Heartless, Heartlessology if you will. And while he still seemed to deny being psychic, Aya figured the answer she was getting in that regard was about as good as she was going to get.

Furthermore if he was psychic I’m sure he wouldn’t be asking me about my powers as he probably would already know what I know about them… nothing,[/i] she thought briefly as she nodded and thought for a moment what to ask next. Before she could though, the scientist took the initiative after having cleaned his glasses, changing the subject back to her. She perked an eyebrow at this as her arms remained cross, shifting in her position as she kept a wary eye on him. While she didn’t like letting him take back control of the conversation she allowed him to speak hoping that he would reveal a little more inadvertently or by will. And that he did, revealing that he had no idea where she was born and that the power she had was perhaps beyond even what she had imagine. More importantly though was the last thing he said as he took a few steps toward her, their eyes locked in a stare that Aya didn’t back off from.

”Who is Eve?” he asked, his tone without emotion much like his lifeless eyes. Acting on pure instinct, Aya unaware she could ever move her hand that quick, withdrew her pistol from its holster as she instantly lined it up with Mordred’s chin, her glare growing fiercer at the mention of Eve’s name. She gritted her teeth as she held back the urge to pull the trigger, just the thought of this bastard knowing Eve’s name without her telling him sending her into quite a rage. Yet she restrained herself, knowing fully well that it could all be part of the games that this demented individual seemed to enjoy playing. Plus, on the off chance he knew anything relevant she’d have to play along with this charade… for now anyway.

”That’s for me to know and you to never find out!” she growled, not able to hide her anger completely, ”The better question is how the hell do you even know that name cause I’m sure you didn’t just randomly guess at it. And I’m hoping I get some better answers than what you’ve given me thus far because while you might be able to stop bullets from a distance, I somehow doubt that applies when the barrel of the gun is touching your chin,” she threatened, her tone showing it was far from an empty one.

I swear if you’re the one that took Eve…[/i] she started in her head, her eyebrows furrowing at the very notion, You’ll be eating more than just lead, I guarantee it,[/i]

[mordred]

Mordred's gaze had not moved away from Aya's eyes. He hadn't even flinched, even when the gun was touching his chin and he could practically smell the steel. Emotions. Mordred failed to see the value of them. They clouded judgement and impeded logic and reason. Mordred had merely asked a question and Aya's emotions had taken over, fogging her rationale. He supposed it was natural, given the Heart, but Mordred still couldn't see why people stocked such value in such an impediment. Case in point, the admirable jump to conclusion Aya made and how her mood switched from indifferent to homicidal rage. Yes, that was the perfect bait. Mordred adjusted his glasses and pointed at Aya's chest, where her Heart was. "My... 'intuition' saw the name engraved into your Heart. It is impossible to miss. It is also not hard to miss that she is very important to you. Beyond her name, though, I have no knowledge of this 'Eve'. A lack of information would hinder my efforts on finding her for you."

Mordred then lowered his hand and adjusted his cloak. "I am offering to return Eve to you before the Heartless can devour her Heart or some other villain gets a hold of her. Unless you intend to find her yourself, which I assure you is a fool's errand, it would be best to work together. If I manage to find her, I will return her to you immediately. However, you cannot have something for nothing. But what I ask for is meager at best. All I ask is that you keep your ears open for news of interest. That's all. If you find something of interest, all I ask is that I be made aware of it. I believe that is not too terrible of a task in exchange for the safe return of Eve."

"However," Mordred continued, for me to find her, it would help if I had some information regarding her appearance. The circumstances of her disappearance would also be of benefit to me." Mordred stared at Aya and waited for a response. He didn't seem at all scared or nervous. He was, of course, telling the truth. He would help find Eve in exchange for a bit of reconassaince. However, such a deal could be used to serve Mordred's plans and the Nobody knew that. He knew it very well.

[Aya Brea]

Despite having the barrel of a pistol shoved into his chin, the cloaked man Aya was interrogating continued his act of indifference. It was as if he had no fear, no sense of the danger he was in, nor any regard for his own life. This didn’t go unnoticed by the blond vixen of course, mentally sighing at the fact as these types of people were always the hardest to deal with. Intimidation tactics wouldn’t work and even if you roughed them up a bit they’d still give you the same blank stare. It was as if one was talking to a doll, a lifeless husk with a piercingly cold stare that even some of the strongest of people couldn’t help but cringe at. Yet with her mind on Eve the former officer paid no mind to that stare and simply listened to the man’s words as he pointed to her heart, a gesture that she found rather odd as he began to speak. Her ears remained attentive as she kept her stance rigid, not allowing herself to budge her finger an inch from the trigger no matter what he said… which was becoming increasingly strange.
 
Wait so now he can look into my heart? Last time I went to Biology class that was just an organ for pumping blood but apparently now it records memories as well? she thought as he paused and his hand began to lower, On the other hand, with everything that’s been happening thus far it certainly wouldn’t surprise me and if nothing else he just revealed to me an extent of how that power works. If he looks into the “heart” then he can probably only gather basic information and his statement following seemed to confirm that,[/i] she finished her train of thought as Mordred began to speak once more. As it would seem, now the mysterious stranger wanted to offer his assistance, assuring Aya that finding Eve on her own was an impossible task. She knew that well enough and while her gun remained cocked her eyes softened for a moment, a melancholic expression replacing the anger rather quickly. She hated hearing those words, hated coming to the realization that she may indeed never find her daughter, and hated even more the thought that she could already be dead. A sharp pain stabbed her chest that told her two things… one, perhaps that heart of hers did more than pump blood and two reminded her just how much Eve meant to her.
 
I know I have Tseng helping me as well but… I have no idea if he’ll even make a difference. He looks capable and with that company backing him I’m sure he has resources at his disposal but it’s not like Eve is his #1 priority,[/i] she thought as her glance turned back to Mordred, reverting back to the sharp stare she had earlier, Even if it means selling my soul to the devil,[/i] she finished in her head just about the time Mordred had finished speaking. She took a deep breath, as she removed the gun from his chin for the moment, knowing that her next words wouldn’t be particularly convincing if she didn’t at least give the man room to breathe. Furthermore, she wanted to show him that despite having let her emotions get the better of her for a moment, she was still a professional and wouldn’t be roped around by some stranger.
 
”That’s an interesting proposition and while it certainly seems like it’d be rather meager what I have to exchange in return for your assistance in finding my daughter I’m not an idiot,” she started, extending her unoccupied hand and snapping her fingers as she pointed toward Mordred, flipping her hand as she did so ”Let me turn the chessboard over and tell me just why I can’t trust you. By diving into my heart you have gathered valuable information about me in regards to Eve and the powers I have. Seeing as you know how important Eve is to me and you seem to be interested in both my powers and having me as an informant of sorts, if you wished to keep me under your control keeping her hostage would be a great way to do it. If you happen to find her first I have no guarantee you’ll actually return her safely to me wouldn’t you say? In that scenario then you’d be able to keep me as both as an informant and a guinea pig to satisfy your curiosity with in regards to my powers as I’d be unable to decline,” she spieled as she brought her extended hand back, crossing her arms as she shook her head. She turned her back to him as she walked a few steps away turning her head with that stare still as cold as ice.
 
”As it stands we’re at quite the impasse and while you can try to convince me otherwise I’m only giving you a moment to do it. If you can’t convince me and your purpose is what I believe it to be, then I suppose it shall be a race to see who can find Eve first,” she added as she paused for a moment, allowing the scientist a moment to reply. Perhaps he was under the impression that she would be easy to take advantage of, that her emotions would indeed cloud her judgment but it was quite the opposite. It was due to her concern for Eve that she was able to think things through rationally and decide the best course of action to get her even one step closer to her daughter. While Aya was willing to sell her soul to the devil indeed, it wouldn’t come cheap and nor would she be conned into a crappy deal.

[mordred]

Mordred knew that Aya was considering his offer and that despite the fact that she was still resolute in refusing his deal, cracks had started forming in her resolve. It would take more chipping to break through, but he could do it. Unfortunately for him, there were other matters to attend to. This world was teeming with Hearts to collect and he needed to get started soon if he was going to be able to make progress. As such, he shrugged and said. "So be it. I cannot force it upon you, I suppose. It is not as if Eve's life hangs in the balance, her very Heart, her soul, if you will, threatened by the Heartless. But if you must be indecisive, by all means, do so. As for keeping Eve as a hostage, I see little point in doing so. Were I more ruthless, I'd have ripped out both your Heart, bending it to my will. Finding Eve would be of little consequence to me then. But I would not do that. After all, why expend the effort for just a paltry amount of information? And if I'm correct, your daughter is just a normal person. I have no special reason to target her or keep her from you."

Mordred then turned and walked towards the ladder that led to the street level. "It is your decision, Aya. Were I you, I'd put together a team to find your daughter. That is what investigative officers do, is it not? But I am not. If you need me again, I will be here for a while. However, I must impart to you the urgent need for haste in your decision. Even with my skills, it will take a while for me to track your daughter down. Every minute spent wallowing in indecision is one more minute the Heartless have gained. Do not give them that chance. Make your decision soon." Mordred walked over to the ladder, taking his sweet time of it. He waved his hand at the manhole cover, dragging it away, letting in light from the street into the sewer. Mordred then looked back at Aya, adjusting his glasses.

"Last chance. This offer may not come by a second time."

[Aya Brea]

Aya’s feet remained glued to the ground as Mordred spoke, curious as to how the cloaked stranger would try to weasel his way out of this mess. He was off to a good start when he began to stress the danger Eve could be in, the mere mention of it causing the former officer’s expression to turn melancholic. He wouldn’t be able to see it due to her having his back to him but it was plastered on her face none the less. She hated being reminded of the grave danger Eve was in and more than anything hated herself for not having been there for Eve. Had she just been home that day instead of finally giving into that one man’s incessant advances and going out on a date, she could have protected Eve. She could have grabbed her gun and shot down any Heartless that neared and if the powers she now possessed had awakened all the same, nothing would have been able to stop her. Not a single Heartless would touch a hair on her daughter’s head and even if she had to give up her life to protect her she would have done so.
 
Yes, Mordred started off good but his pitch slowly began to break down as he tried to assure her that a hostage situation wouldn’t happen. Not only had he failed to give her any reason to trust his words at face value, but he even implied that he could end the petite blonde’s life on nothing more than a whim. Not only was the statement beyond arrogant, it only proved even more so than before that this man was dangerous and considering his unbreakable poker face thus far, predicting what he may or may not do was impossible. Without being able to get a read on the scientist, it was hard to tell whether he was lying or telling the truth and those types of people were always the hardest to deal with.
 
Most guys like that end up being serial killers,[/i] she thought morbidly as she sighed lightly. Regardless, he continued to speak as he made his way toward the ladder, his footsteps not going unheard by Aya. As it would seem, now he was also trying to play hard ball, yet another irritating action made by this “scientist”. He was good at this, a bit too good and for a moment the officer blanked out as she simply listened. He was right, a team was necessary and as she noted to herself before she did have Tseng but it simply wasn’t enough. Even if Tseng and the team he lead searched for Eve, if it was by the same conventional means that Aya was employing it’d be futile. Aya hadn’t gotten any closer to finding Eve in the week she had searched, no one had seen her, no one had heard from her, and no one had checked up on her that day or any day since. And that was only in Deling City, even if she was still on this world to explore the entire world would take years let alone decades… yes and that was if she was still on Archipelago.
 
For all I know she’s on some other world scared and alone, fending for herself against these goddamn Heartless and whatever other damn beasts the universe wants to throw at her![/i] she shouted to herself mentally as she leaned back against the wall, sliding down it and slumping her arms between her knees, Why couldn’t it have been me that was taken to some other world? She’s already been through enough; she’s been kidnapped, abused, homeless, and so much more,[/i] she thought to herself as she remained motionless and silent for a moment. As Mordred climbed up the ladder Aya’s head raised slightly from its position, her lips parting as her bangs covered her eyes.
 
”Just… give me a minute to think about this okay?” she requested, not entirely sure if he complied with her wish as she instantly went back to thinking about Eve.
 
Her entire life has been filled with hardship after hardship, never able to find a new family, never able to find a new home, and never able to find someone she could believe in. I found her frail and damaged that one day and took her into my apartment, let her into my life. Despite everything that has happened to her she smiled at me, she trusted in me, and she accepted me. She was willing to give me a chance and I failed her within only a few months of knowing her… but I’ll never give up on her, I’ll never lose hope,[/i] she thought as she stood back up heaving heavily. She pulled out her wallet throwing a picture over at the bottom of the ladder as she turned her back to the man. She turned her head to the right to look at him, a glare in her eyes unlike the previous one. It was one mixed with rage, sorrow, but most all determination… a resolve to find Eve and protect her forever more once she found her whatever the cost.
 
”That’s her picture and in terms of how she disappeared all I know is that she was at my apartment when I went out to take care of some business and when I came back she was gone. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive but I like to think she’s alive as I doubt even the Heartless could kill that girl easily after all she’s been through. While that may be the case I can’t speak for all the other monsters out there like us and how she’d fare against them but I can assure you…” she paused for a moment, turning around fully as she drew her pistol out of its holster once more. Assuming Mordred was still here, a bullet would be fired, aimed to whiz past his cheek and perhaps express just how serious Aya’s next statement was.
 
If any of said monsters even dare touch a hair on her head, death will be a more pleasant alternative to what I’ll do to whoever harms her. That being said, I wish you the best of luck in finding her and I will pass on any tidbits of interesting information to you as I receive them,” she finished, throwing out another threat. While it may not have made the Nobody shake in his boots, surely such a grave threat wouldn’t be ignored. She would then holster her pistol as she turned to walk away once more, waving a goodbye to the devil she had just struck a deal with.
 
Rest assured I still don’t trust you for a damn second though,[/i] she mused as she began stepping forward, ready to deal with whatever came of this agreement, whether it be being reunited with Eve and living happily ever after… or having to put her life on the line to protect her daughter from Mordred or anyone else that threatened her safety.
 
OOC: Sorry for the super long wait, I can’t apologize enough for it! *bows* At any rate this’ll be my exit post, feel free to write yours up and we can officially have this thread closed ^^! I enjoyed it while it lasted mate, let’s do it again sometime and hopefully at some point with an actual Eve thrown into the mix (if I can con anyone into playing the role :3).

[mordred]

And the hook was set. Amazing how those who bore Hearts suffered from the emotions brought about by them. Amazing, too, was how desperate the Heart made them when someone with a strong Attachment to the bearer was in danger. Desperate people were more apt to kill themselves, Mordred noted as well. As Aya pleaded for Mordred to give her a second to think about it, he shrugged and hopped down off the ladder. He stared back at Aya as she walked towards him. She then threw a picture to him, but instead of landing, Mordred's power "grabbed" it and it seemed to fly up into his hand. He stared at the child in the picture, getting every detail down. He was also listening to Aya's words and sighed. She did not know the Heartless like he did. It didn't matter who or what you were, aside from maybe other Heartless and Nobodies. If you weren't prepared for them, the Heartless would devour any Heart they came across. Strength alone would not avail anyone against that plague that was the Heartless.

Mordred didn't even look up as the bullet took off a few millimeters of hair above his right ear. However, he was well aware the woman shot at him to make a point. She would kill him if he tried anything with her daughter. Unfortunately, she did not realize the extent of Mordred's power or even that she really shouldn't have tried to threaten him. However, Mordred did nothing, merely pocketing the picture. He didn't need to do anything. Aya, whether she liked it or not, was already under Mordred's control. The devil, after all, was always looking to gain new subjects. He then gave a half-hearted wave of his hand as Darkness began to gather around. "A wise decision, Aya Brea. We shall meet again." Then the Corridor of Darkness formed around him and then dissipated, along with Mordred, leaving Aya to fend for herself in the sewers.

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Mordred has left the thread and this thread is finished!