The Darkness Approaches {Stroud, open}

[stroud]

What a pitiful existance.

The world of Vanadiel. A world filled with races that were in constant warfare with one another. So consumed by their petty differences, they would never see him coming...

Stroud waltzed through the stronghold, his Heartless running rampant and unchallenged throughout the empty structure. He had killed off most of the inhabitants, and become bored of them now. But at the same time, he was quivering with anticipation. He had located the location of the world's keyhole here, in this spring in the middle of the desert, and soon he and the Heartless would take the heart of this world for their own.

It was a simple plan, really. He scoffed at the other heartless who attacked the public places of the populated worlds first, too excited at the prospect of stealing so many untainted hearts and causing chaos amongst the stronger ones. They didn't see the bigger picture, but all the more for him. He would take the heart of the smaller, less populated worlds, and add them to the power of the Kingdom Hearts. But this world, full with hearts and no understanding of the Heartless, was too tempting to resist. Before he unlocked the door and took the heart of this world, he would harvest as many hearts as he could, before any of the stronger warriors here and from other worlds became aware of his presence.

He could sense the power of the door nearby, deep beneath the earth, almost begging to be opened. He would have to be swift and quick in it's rapture, as it was still unlocked and therefore still vulnerable to him. He could feel the lesser Heartless begging him to be let in, but he held them back. It would open, soon enough, for him to reap the benefits of his reward.

There was no audience beside his lesser bretheren to witness one of his crowning accmplishments - and yet, no-one to stop him now...

[rosso]

Rosso was slashing her way through the place. She only met Heartless and was getting irritated. "Why are there so many of these critters? What are they? They don't bleed at all, but go up in black smoke. These critters are worthless! Where are the people?" Rosso ran through, slashing through any Heartless that appeared in her path. She didn't care who appeared, as long as it wasn't one of the Heartless. She was feeling like she could use some blood spraying around this place. "Why... Get out of my sight!" She slashed through a few Shadow Heartless before getting bounced back by a Large Body Heartless.

Rosso looked angered at the Large Body. "You're blocking my way, you annoying fatty!" The Large Body started to run at her and Rosso started shooting with her weapon, but all her attacks bounced off and Rosso had to jump out of the way. "This feels absurd! I'm not gonna loose to some fat black thing that appears out of nowhere!" Rosso slashed at the large Body from behind and her blade went through the Large Body much easier. "So these things have a weakness?" She watched the Large Body go up in smoke. "Again no blood."

Rosso moved further and slashed more Heartless as she saw a more normal person walking. "Do these things have a master?" Rosso had heard of summons that went up in smoke. "Hey you! Who are you? Are you their summoner?" She started to run after the man with the plan to slash him up to see if the Heartless would appear afterwards.

[stroud]

The Superior Heartless glanced up as some woman addressed him. She looked like one of the warriors of this world who had noticed the Heartless presence in the stronghold, but Stroud did not care. His lesser Heartless had failed to exterminate her, and she had come this far, but this was as far as she would get.

Like an ant begging to be crushed.

So he did not answer her. Soon, she would be dead. Stroud suddenly teleported with his Heartless powers and appeared behind Rosso, aiming his sword in a stabbing motion into her back. Stroud laughed evily at how deceptively efficient this death would soon be, if she didn't die first from this.

She wanted blood? She'd get it... only it would be hers.

[rosso]

Rosso saw the man disappear. "Just like those black critters, huh?!" She shouted loudly and took out Materia. She turned around, jumping and saw Stroud just about to strike with a sword. She threw the Materia right at him as she dodged the blade. "With that your face might become better looking!" She laughed and her lust for blood was still growing in her dark heart as she started shooting with her weapon at Stroud.

Rosso didn't care who this man was or if he could be an answer to getting out of this place. All her heart desired right now was blood as the darkness started to overwelm her heart. "Do you know why they call me ‘The Crimson’?" She laughed at Stroud, today it would be a nice day. "... Let me show you."

[stroud]

(OOC: Hey Rosso, by saying: 'She threw the Materia right at him as she dodged the blade.' I assumed she was throwing the actual Materia sphere at him, not that she was casting a spell. Umin/Yazoo kindly pointed out what you meant, so just letting you know you need to explain things a bit more when you're writing out your future attacks. Okay? Cool.)

The man missed Rosso with his sword attack, looking amused rather than irritated. "Hmm... interesting. For once, one of you somebodies didn't die." he muttered to himself. He dodged the Explosion materia cast at him with another teleport, laughing under his breath darkly. "Ah... foolish girl. Do you realize what you have done? You've invoked pain upon yourself for engaging me."

To demonstrate what he meant, he summoned more stronger Heartless, gaint Defender Heartless that shot fireballs at he from the mouth on their shields, and like the Large Bodies they were impossible to destroy from the front. He was hit by the shot from her weapon, staggering backwards, but didn't seemed phased by it.

"I could care less, for all I care they call you Crimson... because it is your destiny to bleed out. But in that case, let me tell you why they call me Stroud... the Manipulator." he told her, his expression tingling as much as his hand was when he threw his sword at her like a javelin, coming at her with blinding speed, laughing darkly. "Heh heh heh... I'm tingling with excitement."

[rosso]

"Hmm... interesting. For once, one of you somebodies didn't die." The man seemed to be amused instead of anything else that was expected. Was he the same like her? The man dodged the materia by disappearing and reappearing again. Ah... foolish girl. Do you realize what you have done? You've invoked pain upon yourself for engaging me." Rosso laughed maniacally. "So? What if I engaged you? I don't care. I invoked pain?" Rosso looked with a fake sad face at Stroud. "Oh... I'm so scared." She laughed further.

As she shot with the gun on her weapon, Stroud had summoned more Heartless. "So I were right, you're the summoner." She hid the man, but the man didn't seem to care. "I could care less, for all I care they call you Crimson... because it is your destiny to bleed out. But in that case, let me tell you why they call me Stroud... the Manipulator." The man threw his sword at her and she moved using great speed and blocked the sword with her blade. "Heh heh heh... I'm tingling with excitement." Rosso grinned, this man was the same as her, craving for blood. She grabbed the sword and now with two weapons in her hand she quickly ran past the Heartless at Stroud. "I wanna see your blood! I crave for this excitement!" She laughed maniacally as she slashed with both weapons in a cross-shaped fashion. She was enjoying herself as the darkness filled her heart.

[stroud]

"So? What if I engaged you? I don't care. I invoked pain? Oh... I'm so scared."

"Allow me to teach you the meaning of true fear." Stroud offered darkly, and teleported away from Rosso again as she grabbed his sword out of thin air and missed him while attacking with both weapons. He appeared again behind the four Defender Heartless as they continued to shoot fireballs rapidly at Rosso.

He opened his hand in a gesture, and his weapon teleported out of his hand and back to his. "Do not delude yourself, wretched fool." He simply spoke to her, letting her Heartless deal with her as he watched, rotating his sword around in his hand amusingly. "It's been a long time since my blood has stirred. You will never see anyone's blood here... but your own."

He had to admit, he was also having fun inflicting pain. Before he would eventually kill her, that is.

[rosso]

"Allow me to teach you the meaning of true fear." The man disappeared again and reappeared behind the Heartless which were shooting fireballs at her. She used both weapons to slice through the fireballs as they came at her. "So you just keep hiding behind your summons?"

The weapon disappeared out of Rosso's hand and reappeared in Stroud's. "Do not delude yourself, wretched fool." He was still only watching behind the Heartless. "You are weak. You hide behind your summons. You will never stand above me! I defeated death!" Rosso started moving towards the man, which only said that she would only see her own blood being spilled. "A weakling like you does not deserve to live!"

Rosso jumped over some fireballs and onto one of the Defender Heartless as her blade ran through it's head. Then she jumped over at Stroud. "Will you run once again? Weakling!!" She let her blade come down once again at Stroud.

[stroud]

Stroud's blade came up to meet Rosso's, blocking her attack easily. "You talk too much." he said simply to her, unphased by her taunts. He was simply trying to save his energy while is Heartless depleted hers. So she wanted a fight? He said he'd show her true fear.

"The weaker they are, the louder they bark." he added to his earlier comment, smiling suggestively as he locked eyes with Rosso. With his might, he pushed back on Rosso's blade quickly enough for her to lower her weapon, then the point of his sword came up to her neck.

Suddenly his hand formed a ball of darkness within it, and the same darkness began to appear around Rosso, her emotions becoming strongly effected by his. At the moment, he was feeling rather vengeful. "You are the weak one... you let your emotions guide you... stab yourself in the stomach." he commanded, and Rosso started to feel his words commanding her, willing her to do something against her will and the movement in her body start to react to carry out his words.

((Hand of Manipulation: Dark energy surrounds his hand, and at the same time darkness engulfs an opponent, forcing them to do anything he chooses against their will. Can only focus on one person at a time, cannot be dodged but can be blocked out if the person's mind is strong enough with happy thought, and can be interupted while he casts it. Cannot use any other attack as he is casting this.))

[rosso]

"You talk too much." Stroud blocked Rosso's attack. "The weaker they are, the louder they bark." Rosso grinned, "the weak ones usually hide behind a force, like you. But to summon such large numbers, you must have quite some power, all wasted in that weak body of yours." Stroud pushed Rosso a little back so he could point his blade to Rosso's neck.

Rosso was having great pleasure in this and noticed Stroud went over on magic again as a ball of darkness formed in his hand. "So your next pathetic trick is gonna appear?" She pushed Stroud's blade back with her own. "You are the weak one... you let your emotions guide you... stab yourself in the stomach." Rosso laughed maniacally. "Are you telling me what to do? The great Rosso the Crimson?" She felt thatshe was actually moving her body on his order.

Rosso blinked confused. "What...?" She stared angered at Stroud. "No one will stand above me!" Her dark heart wanted to see blood, Stroud's blood, and started pushing back on Stroud's darkness. "I see..." Rosso nodded as she jumped away from Stroud. She stepped on a Heartless. "Hail Weiss!" She shouted and not far away a portal appeared. Rosso jumped away from the Heartless. "We will meet again!" With great speed she ran off and jumped though a portal, which closed behind her.

Rosso the Crimson has left this thread.

[stroud]

Stroud laughed darkly as Rosso resisted his power and ran away like the scared, little girl she was. "I do not hide.. merely strategize. No longer will I fear anything." he retorted back to her, calling after her as she fleed like a common coward. "Shame, weren't going to show me why they called you Rosso the Crimson? I guess my example was more... dominant. This is not a weak body at all. That was but a taste of my power." He chuckled in a dark laugh.

As she portalled out, he sighed. Interesting... that one had positive thoughts about slaughter... hmm... perhaps I could use the darkness in her heart, before I steal it. All in good time, if we are to meet again, he thought to himself.

Suddenly his head jerked up as cannonfire exploded on the stronghold's walls, and hundreds upon hundreds of soliders began flooding into the scene. Curses... she distracted me long enough for this filth to arrive. I can't have the heart of this world now. But I will, he thought to himself scathingly. I won't allow myself to be distracted so easily next time...

Before the soliders could reach him, he unsummoned the remaining Heartless and portalled out, into the darkness. Onto the next word.

End thread.