Darkness Meets Darkness (Selena)

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Rick was in Traverse Town, for what felt like the hundredth time, he had been here so many times, but like so many times failed to meet anyone of any interested. He was still on his own, so he was bored out of his mind. No sign of Izzy either, but she was almost pushed out of her mind for the moment. Without her, there was very little point in anything apart from his ultimate goal of putting things into darkness… But so far, that was just a feeble dream, he needed to become stronger and faster to make that one work.

Looking around the area he could see that a few things had changed since he last left but very little worth commenting on.

Walking over to the balcony area that was around District One, but it was a weird thing to see. No heartless, what was the difference between District One and Two apart from a number, but then again, maybe the number meant something. Pondering this thought for a moment Rick shrugged it off as a stupid idea.

Truth was, Rick was here to find some-one like him. A complete Heartless Nobody. When said out-loud it would seem weird to your average person, but that is what he was. Some-one who was a heartless and a Nobody, but is now complete again. Only Sora was like that, but there was very little chance of meeting him here.

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Selena had been to Traverse Town once before and that was during her first encounter with Kadaj as Black Angel. He had been causing trouble and was curious about her Heartsickness keyblade. Although she answered a few of his questions, Selena was only surprised that Kadaj didn't lose his temper after she had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on him.

But this district was new to her as there are no Heartless within its boundaries which made it a safe haven for the troubled citizens of this world. And because there was no Heartless, the dark keybearer was using the time to stock up on needed potions.

Rick would have a hard time searching for a 'Heartless Nobody' as it was something unheard of and it certainly didn't fit Selena's description. She was only a keybearer who had accepted the darkness inside her heart and hiding her wings underneath the velvet cloak.

The winged keybearer had kept her hood down to avoid unneccessary attention as she walked through the district. Selena wasn't looking and didn't want to fight. It simply wasn't at the top of her 'what to do' list at the moment.

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How was he to move along? There was very little to do in this town, there was people about, sure that was no problem. But the thing was, why does he need to be here? Something was telling him that he was going to meet something, the voice that darkness gave him was telling him to just move along and look for some-one. But who?

Giving a bit of a sigh he turned around and looked about. There was nothing special about him to even draw attention to himself, but in the end he just wanted to chill out. Spotting a place on top of a building, he decided to puff up there. In one second here was standing with his back to the railing and then there was a puff of black shadow magic smoke. He then re-appeared on top of the building he had spotted a few people gave him some odd looks but he didn’t care. Why should he? It was a wonderful spot though, but a little bit too bright. Bright in the way of the stars. They were all worlds that needed to be wiped clean. Sent into the darkness and then returned to their true essence, but how could he do this?

His mind was riddled with questions but no answers. Putting his elbows on his legs and his chin on his hands he looked around, wondering what was next…

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...The potions can wait...was Selena's thought as she was one of the few 'odd people' that had been giving him strange looks for poofing to one location to another. Why would he be so reckless to use his dark power in the open for the world, even an enemy, could see? His carefree use of the darkness appeared strange to her who had kept her dark power hidden.

The cloaked woman took a quick turn around an empty corner and opened a dark portal that would lead her to the roof where Rick was. Selena entered the portal and it closed as soon as she arrived directly behind Rick with her arms crossed. She clearly disapproved it even though her expression didn't say otherwise.

"What exactly are you here for?"asked Selena unemotionally but stayed standng. She noticed that Rick was looking at the sky and glanced up while wondering what exactly he was staring at. There was nothing interesting up there but stars and they were shining bright. Even though the dark keybearer had seen and more likely been to a few of the stars, they all looked the same to her with the only difference being the amount of light they shed.

What is exactly up there that she isn't seeing?

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”Hm? Oh hello there.” Rick said as he smiled slightly. He was in a very odd mood, something that was most un-like him. Chatty.

Well, Chatty enough to even give this woman that reply for one. But he felt like he should do more, talk more. This person clearly was one of dark power as he turned his head just to witness the portal fade completely into nothingness.

”Who me?” Rick said once he realised that she was talking to him, he pointed his finger idly at him. Maybe he just wanted to play stupid today, it was hard to keep track of all his feelings when they were as jumbled up as he was. ”I’m looking for things like me. Things that were once whole, then spilt, and then became whole again. It’s a complicated cycle… That and wondering how the worlds will fall… One. By. One.” He pointed to three random stars up in the sky as he did this.

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Selena glanced down at Rick who smiled at her and quickly thought of him as one of the oddest people she had met so far which was a very small list. The dwellers of the dark aren't usually chatty, but that hadn't been the case with kind Nihlus or even the cruel Kadaj. Maybe the variations have changed.

The dark keybearer nodded and raised abrow when he asked if she was talking to him before answering her question. Things like him? What did he mean?[/i] wondered Selena before deciding to let that subject go, "The worlds usually cause their own downfall." She watched him point at the three stars that were chosen randomly.

During her ten year search for her own homeworld, Selena have been to many different worlds. Some of them were technologically advanced while others weren't but were efficient in magic. There was even that underwater world where her ebony wings was traded for a fish tail. All of them were different in their own special way yet have so much in common. It was strange but beautiful.

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”Hmmm…. You might have a point there. But I like to think that although they are returning to their true state. That I some-how helped it along the way. You know, being a factor in it all. Imagine that, being a factor in a world. Just as it goes ‘poof’” Rick made a quick two fists and then as he said ‘poof’ he opened them quickly.

Smiling, he had no idea why he was so chatty, he just seemed in the mood to talk, one thing that made it easier maybe was that this person wasn’t trying to kill him, or a light person. Maybe this person was here to help or just to listen. ”Feel free to join me here” He said patting the roof piece next to him whilst he legs started hanging and swaying a bit more. ”Names Rick by the way, Rick Dawn. But just call me D if you want.”

Rick smiled as he turned his head back up to the stars. He almost felt like a kid, it was strange, so full of energy and enthusiasm that he felt like he could conquer anything.

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"True state?" asked Selena as she glanced down and watched him make his hands to fists before opening them quickly to add effect to his words. The dark keybearer wasn't sure if she liked what she was hearing so far.

Taking up his offer to sit, Selena carefully sits down next to Rick on the roof piece and bends forward slightly to give herself balance due to her wings hiding under the loose cloak but not enough to immediately notice their shape under the velvet cloth. She had come here for potions but listening could help her learn another dark dweller's view of the world. The Darkness may have different definitions depending on who one asks.

"Artemis."was Selena's immediate answer and lie but she had used it so often that it came out casual for her. If Rick could detect it, it would show her how observant he was but his cheerful mood might blind him to it.

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Rick was cheerful yes, but his senses were never sharper. He could almost feel the oddness in the voice when the name of ‘Artemis’ came along, but there wasn’t going to be any further talk of it. Whatever this person’s name was. To him, it would be Artemis.

”Pleasure to meet you Artemis.” Rick said, still as cheerful as ever. He might be in a weird mood, but he was still able to make it seem like he was thick. He wanted to make sure that Artemis knew next to nothing about him, but he knew next to everything about her.

”So, what brings you to ‘sunny’ District one then?” Rick gave a small chuckle, it was hardly sunny around here these days, but still it didn’t hurt to use a figure of speech every now and again.

Pausing for a moment he looked around, very few people were even bothering to look up and Rick and ‘Artemis’ now, which was almost annoying. ”Look at them, it was like they have just accepted the fact of weird things coming about and just want to carry on with their boring and normal lives. What is the point in the possibility of this world being turned to darkness if the people don’t either fight for it, or care about it. From the reactions of these people, I saw swamp the place with Heartlesses and Nobodys and lets be done with it.” Rick’s mood instantly went from very happy to very ‘mopey’.

Placing his elbows on his legs and his chin on his hands he looked down at the people, they had just made his mood crash, he was not a happy lad now.

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"Potions."answered 'Artemis' simply as she was not exactly a easy person to read but there were a few times when she wasn't on guard. The only people that were aware of her wings because of that exact reason was Kadaj and Nihlus. She had already made a mental note to make sure to not allow herself let her guard down ever again.

Her silver eyes watched the people who had barely glanced up at them below her while her ears listened to Rick's voice change from cheerful to a rather serious if not depressing tone. He seemed to be a rather moody one or it was simply wasn't his day.

"That is because they wait for a hero that might never come."answered the dark keybearer slowly but her voice was dead. Sometimes a world fell when the hero never arrives to save them from their fatal mistake. They fall because the hero was never there from the start or was too afraid to step up to take his role. The hero fails when they could have solved it themselves.

'Artemis' looked up towards the sky, towards the stars, and wondered which star could be her homeworld if it had not fallen to the same darkness that she affiliated herself with so long ago.

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Rick pondered for a moment, his whole body and attitude changing rather drastically, like his mood swing had just finished.

”Hmm. A hero?” Rick said out loud, his mind spinning around.

A hero, like Sora, or his people. They were known as people in the name of the Light, defending with the idea of the Light being ‘good’. But good or bad was an opinion. People feared the dark because it is able to hide, but the Light is see-able.

”But heroes can come in many forms. But they often arrive when they see it fit. One man’s hero is anothers tyrant isn’t that the case?” Rick turned his head away from the people and towards Artemis. ”How can people know what the truth is when they fear some-one without a valid reason…? You ever asked yourself that Artemis?”

He went silent after that, his breathing become a lot less noticeable, his mind racing at a million miles per minute. Something needed to be done about all this trouble, but the key problem would be Sora and Riku. Or at least from what he heard, they were the worst…

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'Artemis' glanced at Rick then at the midnight sky again as she listened to his input about her statement and her mind began to drown in the many possible answers. She needed to choose just one and stick with it; but which one should the dark keybearer choose?

After a few minutes pass, Artemis unemotionally spoke her answer. "It's common for a hero to rise then to fall when he reaches the top....But it's not always the case." Her mind had wandered to Sora, the Keyblade Master, back when she first met him at the End of the World. He was of the Light but trusted her despite being aware of her Darkness (Or so she believed.) anyway. Plus, the spikey brunette seemed like the type that can manage get along with everyone.

"...You ever asked yourself that Artemis?”

Silver eyes stayed focused on the stars of the midnight sky. "No."answered 'Artemis' quick with no specific tone to it. If she had been stuck in any similiar situation Rick had just described, either the berserk ability would be triggered or it would greatly annoy her.

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Rick turned his head to Artemis and paused for a moment, he was giving her some rather serious thought. Things could play out well or badly for him right now. If he could get her on his wave length, then some more things could help him with what he wanted. But if not, then it was another problem to be dealt with some-where down the line.

”The thing for me is that, I just don’t get this ‘Sora’ guy that I hear so much about. He is the chosen one, a strong fighter ‘master of the keyblades’ and all that sort of thing, yet at the same time, he is seen only in the light. Why does he do it? Is he scared of the darkness? There is nothing wrong with it if you ask me…”

Rick was hoping this wasn’t going to upset Artemis here. Sora was always a dodgy conversation to bring up when it came to anyone. Some loved, some hated, others didn’t really give a damn about him.

Rick raised his hand slowly and put it through his hair softly, the feeling was still something he enjoyed. Knowing he was still him was something that his experiences had taught him. You rarely get a second shot at anything, so make the most of it and repay all those that deserve it… Good or bad.

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Silver eyes stayed focused on the white stars that contrasted against the ink black night sky as she listened to Rick's input on Sora's affiliation with the Light. 'Artemis' had only met the Keyblade Master once and she knew that he could not have been afraid of the Darkness if he was searching for the Heartless Horsemen. Not to mention, Sora would have freaked out about the location, the End of the World, if he were truly afraid of the Darkness.

"I don't know."answered the dark keybearer with no trace of emotion in her voice. She doesn't know why but somehow the conversation was off to her. It wasn't the words but the tone. It didn't sound right.

'Artemis' glanced at Rick just when he ran his hand through his odd-colored hair. He didn't seem to be a villian but she knew that appearances are deceiving from a decade's worth of experience traveling alone.

The dark keybearer also didn't believe in second chances. Not after drowning so deep into the Darkness and not after what she had done. (Why should I?)To her, Redemption was a miracle beyond her reach. 'Artemis' unbeating heart knew that it was simply too late to go back now and so her heart stayed on the path to Darkness.

Her eyes returned to the stars once more before 'Artemis' stood up carefully to prevent herself from falling over the building's ledge. Her wings would not do any good when they're cloaked and tightly flattened against her back now would it?

" I'd better get going."said the dark keybearer and turned around to leave. She was here to purchase some potions to replenish her inventory after all. Her right hand lifted up and a dark portal formed centimeters in front of her palm.

If Rick Dawn has anymore questions to ask her, now would be the time.

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At her last sentence, Rick was almost shook from his world of thought. It was true he was a bit on the loopy side, but end of the day, that was who he was. He turned his head around and smiled at Artemis.

”Yeah, I had better be off to. Thanks for the chat, was nice. Might catch you around some time. Or at least, that’s wishful thinking on my part” Rick gave her a small smile, it wasn’t meant as anything, it was just the way he spoke his mind.

He turned his head around for a moment, looking out towards another set of buildings and paused for a moment. But before he had even got up he had vanished from the building top, nothing but a couple of strands of hair and an outline of his body in black smoke form.

He liked Artemis, maybe she could be useful in the future, but he knew next to nothing about her. Time would show if there paths would cross again, and path of him was looking forward to it, but just a part of him.

Rick Dawn Exits