Kingdom Hearts: Apocalypse ~Part 1 Rebirth " Machinecken Town"~

[Rhapsody]

The relief makes her shoulders fall in slight relaxation. No one fought her, accused her of murder, cursed her to hell. All in all, it’s a… pretty decent reaction. A look of surprise from the keyblader, and an aggravating taunt from the other hybrid that, for some reason, still hadn’t screwed off.

"Guessing the gloves aren't just for show eh? You get more fascinating...and attractive in the passing moments Cal."

Cal scowls as she shoves her hands back into her pockets. She wants to punch him in the face. Like, for real. But she holds back, because just a drop of blood for Dante and It wins. Anyway, she’s still enduring the remnants of her travel, of just keeping everything together.

This kid is selling herself to the devil; Cal, ever the concerned and caring and kind sort, observes the deal take place with nothing more than a hooded stare, lips pulled in a slight downturn. She’s already made her decision about the terms the keyblader kid set forth. Meanwhile, the hybrid right by her is having a field day. Dante can practically taste the frenetic excitement rolling from the other hybrid when the dumb offer was put on the table. Dumb kid.

You’re not gonna chase this girl at all, are you. The hybrid’s last words before descending to the other side.

Of course she’s not.

Sparky is.

Cal clicks her tongue at her feet, where the purple heartless nibbles at his nub of a tail. “Sparks.” At the call of his name the heartless dog perks to attention. Earlier, he’d whimpered at the loss of their new keyblader-friend and heartless owl-friend. And now, as if his new keyblader-friend and owl-friend had never existed in the first place, he’s chasing his tail. What a dumb dog. He goes with the flow, doesn’t possess the brains (or the desire) to do mental gymnastics over this... mess. Dumb, smart dog. She loves him so much. And trusts him with her next order:

“Fetch.”

The dog melts to the ground without a word, the purple ooze he’d become moves towards the roots of the Christmas Town tree. Sinking until it’s half its original diameter, then a fourth, then gone. In search of the keyblader.

Cal can take care of herself, Dante doesn’t have the impressive, unshakeable control on her like it used to… Or at least she wants to think that. She isn’t afraid of him, isn’t afraid of anything anymore. But is she… concerned? A little. Someone has to save that kid. ‘Cause Vi clearly doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into. Hell, just a minute ago she was crying her eyes out and screaming about suffering, about a wager. Cal grimaces at the door to Christmas Town like she’s heard an ill joke from the offensively bright-colored door.

...if neither of you can...then you'll both travel with me, looking for someone...
Don't leave yet. I'll make you a deal...
...The catch is, you actually have to try and catch her.
See ya soon, babe.
...You’ve got five minutes.

She almost laughs. Oh, that misguided kid! And, Oh, that highly irritating hybrid, Trace...

Cal turns on her heel, draws her hood a little tighter against her neck as her back faces Christmas Town’s door.

Screw this. No one tells Cal what the hell to do. She’s not going on any Grand Adventures across worlds like some side character to the protagonist; she’s not going to be a pawn either. Been there. Done that. It sucked. Period.

 

[Deimos]

A sneeze. "Ah-Choo!" Trace sniffled, "Someone must be talking about me. Calpurnia most likely, sickening aren't I?"

He touted, his eyes spun around in slow motion, as two gifts came from his left side, followed by a third. Without time to react as they were literally within a few feet of him, he raised his arms.

Tat. Tat. Tat.

"Hmm? They're...soft. Like, they have no weight...? Dude seriously."

Anti laughed, at Trace, but that shit wasn't funny at all. The hybrid face-palmed hard, this girl...was on the knifes edge of being a perfectionist, genius even, and a complete moron. The brilliance she showed really was something, but it was getting downplayed hard by some really stupid decision-making and words she used.

[Music]

"Bray"

The hybrid's heartless companion perked up at it's named being called, "--kill the lights."

The owl swooped across the factory and pushed down the largest lever it could see, and everything went dark, everything, went quiet.

"Now your on my turf Vi...you won't even see it coming...or hear it."

Below there were sets of yellow eyes, literally, EVERYWHERE. The heartless that joined Trace in marching in were already covering the assembly lines, and the escape paths. Trace let his breath escape slowly, and his eyes trailed upward, "There you are."

The hybrid cupped what looked like an orb or darkness, and threw it like a fastball towards the ceiling, scoring a direct hit on the lift next to the catwalk. There was the sound of feet shuffling onto the catwalk, quickly breaking wind into a full on dash.

SHATTER.

Glass broke, and outside the girl landed on the ground and started bolting.

Anti. Apprehend her for me.

Trace's body surged, swirling in darkness at the drop of a pin. Anti-Form.

HRAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!

Anti's feral shriek as he took form. Jumping through the window and breaking the glass, Trace's body was being piloted by his hybrid, on all fours he galloped speedily behind the fleeing keyblader. She swayed in a panick dodging the heartless, but never attacking them, which even Anti was impressed. The hungering heartless hybrid did a rabid lunge for her as she was approaching the tree trunk where the door would lead back to halloween town.

Sixty-Seconds. Gone.

She turned tossing one last thing towards the sky above the heartless-hybrid, but his bird already moved to intercept. She lingered in the air for a moment with some upward momentum, but the bird was sharp. It would tap her once as she fell, no more tricks this time. The owl closed the gap quickly.

Ten-seconds. He missed?? No, she moved again. Her hand was on the door and she opened it, the nose of that damned dog touched her briefly, before Anti-slammed the door and grabbed her by the wrist pressing her back to the door and it's entire body against her.

"Times up. Keyblader."

Anti's face lit up with excitement. His entire form and appendages were dripping with darkness, his teeth were razor sharp, and his yellow eyes flickered, red, bringing forth his tendrils cracking red lightning asserting his proof as a hybrid. Finally realizing he was too close, something pressed against the hybrid and it wasn't a basketball.

You goddamned pervert.

Trace resumed control reverting to his usual look and leaned in close to her ear, as he did with Cal before.

"Listen carefully Vi. Technically...the dog touched you in time and Trace, myself, nor Anti did. So we'll do this..."

He pulled her away from the door, opened it and proceeded to push her through it, back through with the dog.

"Let Cal decide, her dog was the one that touched her, it's only fair." Trace shrugged, and stepped through the door to travel back through the other-side behind them.

 

[Story Keeper]

~- Uh, Susanno? -~

Henry didn't know what Yoake's deal was, but he could tell that his words upset her. It wasn't a surprise, most normal people would have been upset by so much death. He envied her in all honesty, because she could feel what she wanted. Him? He couldn't, he was expected to act a certain way, to feel a certain way. Lowering his head as everyone seemed to be in agreement on Halloween Town, Henry traced patterns on the floor of the gummi ship. It was of Yomi, and the different souls that had passed on. He could feel that Izanami was scrambling to deal with all of them in a timely fashion, after all it was common for her to get such a large flood of them at once.

He could tell that Sevastian was distracted, and even Susanno seemed off. He was calmer than usual, not nearly going after Henry as much as he typically did. Glancing in the direction of the taller host, Henry saw the thoughtful look on Susanno's face since the storm god was sitting on the floor. "Nani desu ka? (roughly: what is it?)" Henry asked the storm god, drawing his attention to him.

Susanoo shook his head, not wanting to answer before returning to his train of thought. Ooookaaay, that's not good. Henry thought to himself, looking back on the floor he saw an image that he'd carved into the floor and the X that had been drawn over it. His expression tightened at the image, it wasn't good. No way in hell was it good. Tracing the image again, he tried to figure out how it'd been burned into the floor.

"Probably because you accidentally lost control of your powers." Susanno spoke, startling Henry for a moment before he went back to a calm state.

Susanno was focused on it, it was a sketch of Harley, with the word Hachi (eight) written above it. A worried light coming to Susanno's eyes, he ordered, "Use your powers again and draw, I need to see something."

Henry shot him a look, uncertainty clearly in his eyes since it would mean damaging the gummi ship again. "I'll have Sevastian take the blame, draw." Susanno explained, pointing to the space next to the sketch of Harley. Closing his eyes, Henry channeled more of his power into his fingers and went to drawing the image in his head. Stopping once it was done, he opened his eyes and saw the sketch of another man, but this one had Nana (seven) written above it. Next to it was a sketch of woman, the word Roku (six) written above that one.

Susanno swore before retreating back to Sevastian, leaving Henry temporarily confused at what had happened. Looking down at the sketch, he carefully traced all of them and tried to connect the pieces together.

~- Hugs! -~

Andrew was waiting for Bahamut to put them down, his mind turning over what Astral Bahamut had said to him. Bringing his thumb to his mouth, Andy lightly started biting his nail in answer. He could sense the hearts below, analyzing them to try and identify friend or foe. A swirl of darkness caught his attention, making him look towards a hill as there was a swirl of sadness and fear. He became entranced by it, wanting to go to the person suffering and heal their pain. Starting to rise to his feet, he stopped in a half-crouched position as his brain whispered, Andy, you're on the back of a dragon, stay down.

Looking to Topsy in an effort to distract himself, he said, "What was that about that dream you had? And it wasn't an issue, I didn't see you like that for long." His mind quickly returned to the source of despair, a concerned light coming to his eyes as he added, "Do you feel that Topsy? Someone's extremely sad." Reaching a hand out into the open air, Andrew disappeared as a portal manifested beneath his feet.

He was spat out on the ground of Moonlight Hill. Looking around him confused, Andrew leaped to his feet and almost called out for Topsy. He didn't though because that sadness was closer, and he could hear some ragged breathing. He turned in the direction of it, following the sound to the source like he was in a trance. It was a girl, and she seemed to be having a meltdown of some sort. Crouching down in front of her, Andrew gave her a hug and said, "It's okay, everything's going to be okay. I promise." He was so focused on the girl that he didn't notice the fox ears or the seven different tails that had been added to his person since arriving on the world. His outfit had been changed to a blue and white kimono, tied shut by a dark blue sash. His eyes also appeared fox like and his right was a pale, icy blue and the left was an odd shade of green. A soft smile spreading across his face in an effort to comfort her.

 

[purgatory]

I was this close to doing the impossible, but Sparky flubbed my plan so hard!

I could cry, again, I was so upset. I'd been drunk, sick to my stomach, berated, and now sexually harassed. This hybrid seemed to be having fun, finally seeming...somewhat less hostile than earlier. I was pinned briefly to the door, any second now I was just expecting the worst. This is what I get for being so...stupid...so overconfident...exactly what I deserved. I accidentally butted my hips backward and stifled the hybrid's balance, before the growling and electrical cracking stopped. I heard a name, no two, no three.

Trace. Anti. Cal.

Why is he giving me his name..?

"Let Cal decide, her dog was the one that touched her, it's only fair."

As if gasping for a breath of fresh air, I looked surprised, the door open and sparky was on the other side jumping into my arms as my back was pushed through. The sensation was similar to last time, it felt as though were were falling in reverse this time. Guiding us until we cave to another door with cracks of light, and then all three of us fumbled out of the door. It felt heavier than usual when I pressed it, but I couldn't stop trace from pushing me and collapsed through opening it toppling Calpurnia of all people. I was beginning to think she'd left.

"You didn't run away like you said. I'm glad!"

I was on the ground hovering way too close from her face, and Sparky between the small crack, separating us.

Trace was over the top of us both, I almost didn't want to turn my head, I already had seen his face become disfigured in an attempt to terrify me earlier. I'm sure if I read Cal's expression, it'd tell me everything I needed to know. It wasn't long before he got up, because he was locking the three of us together for an eerily long time. I really didn't need any ideas on what was going through his head.

"Well...you'll be happy to know, he didn't tag me. Technically...you did." I said pointing to her dog. "He bumped into me at the last second...literally the last 10...and well, a deals a deal. Trace said the decision was yours to turn me or not, your call."

 

[Hazen Gregory]

Topsy shrugged, trying to get his thoughts together about the dream he'd had and looked to Andrew. He was about to try and give some kind of explanation when Andrew, stepped off the side of Bahamut and abruptly vanished into a portal. "Oh geez...juat what has gotten into him??" Topsy wondered what was going on with the young man, He patted Bahamut on the back and said, "Thanks Ba, I'll call on you again when my reserves are recharged enough, hopefully this place won't fall apart as fast as the last one."

The dragon growled and swayed to the side, "Hmm. Okay Abby..." He turned upside down and dissipated into a stream of light and scales, setting Topsy into a free-fall to the ground. As Topsy fell from the sky, he turned and maneuvered himself to spiral a few times as he got closer to the ground before righting himself again. With about thirty feet until impact with the hill he could see Andrew and so girl on, Topsy summoned Progonoskes and chucked it down into the ground a few feet away from Andrew and kept falling downward. He landed atop his blade with unnatural poise, wobbled a bit and then stepped down.

After he'd dismissed Bahamut, his ritual clothing had reverted back to normal but had apparently been affected ny Halloween Town. "Hmm, more new threads?? I need to report this to Galbadia. Carbuncle is having too much fun with this it seems." His outfit had changed once again but for the time begin he didn't plan on wasting anymore magic to switch it to something other than what his magical garments had chosen for this area. His gazed moved down to his legs which were covered in a pair of tight fishnet leggings with a variation of black, white and grey threading. His top was a black vest that had a white furred hood on it with extending coattails that closed around his waist. A pair of skeletal wings were closed upon Topsy's back.

Trying not to immediately interrupt the moment that Andrew seemed to be having with the girl on the ground, Topsy just stared at the pair while taking in the details of what Andre was wearing. The lil heartthrob was wearing a beautiful kimono and had grown seven tails. Topsy pondered the reasoning for this change. He'd known that several worlds employed powerful magic when entering their borders which could cause entities to change form but had no idea why Andy had such a dramatic appearance change in contrast to the semi-dark world they were on. Topsy thought the new look was adorable. He couldn't help himself as he reached forward and lovingly scratched Andy behind his green fox ear.

"So Andy...you left me up there pretty unexpected. Umm...who's your friend??"

 

[Eternal Dream]

~- Outrun, Outlast -~

"It's okay, everything's going to be okay. I promise."

For a moment, the words didn't penetrate the growing panic and despair swirling through Leyla; but the touch did. It was so warm, so kind and gentle. It reminded her of sunlight, and days on the beach, riding with her friends. She focused on that warmth, trying to push aside the growing ice, the pain that threatened to overwhelm her anytime she gave it more than a moment's thought.

Push it down, push it away. There's no time to think about that. Focus on right now. Who is it that's touching me? Do I need to defend myself?

"So Andy...you left me up there pretty unexpected. Umm...who's your friend??"

Leyla pulled herself away, clambering quickly to her feet. Her wings flared slightly, instinct readying her for multiple possibilities as adrenaline still flooded her system. Her right hand went to the small pouch at her side that held about a dozen crystals charged with powerful spells; with her Master's fate now uncertain, these crystals had become precious to her, and she was loathe to even think of using them for combat. But if that's what it came to...

The smaller of the two put his hands up, the ears on his head sweeping back in what was an admitably adorable show of consternation. She could tell he was keeping his stance as non-threatening as possible as he said, "It's okay. You're safe; I promise, Miss Angel."

A smile pulled at her mouth, one that she felt was laden with sorrow as she said, "Am I really, though? I don't know anymore..." Even so, she had regained some control of herself, and she'd finally gotten a look at the two in front of her. She could sense the Hybrid's lightning around the second man, but the auras of the two of them seemed friendly enough to her.

She straightened again, holding out her hand as she said softly, "My name's Leyla. I... I'm sorry about that. I just came from Traverse Town. It's... my Master..." her voice faded away again, the raw edges still too much for her to put into words.

 

[Story Keeper]

~- Don't Like the Pain -~

"So Andy...you left me up there pretty unexpected. Umm...who's your friend??"

Andy perked up at that, quickly twisting around in the dirt to look at Topsy. A smile burst to life as Topsy wound up petting his head. Snuggling as close to Topsy as he could while still being close to the girl, he looked at her with sympathy in his eyes as she talked about her master. Smiling slightly, Andrew piped up, "It's okay, you've been through a lot. Although I'm sure she's okay Leyla."

Glancing back at Topsy again, his ears flat against his head, Andrew said sheepishly, "Sorry Topsy, I didn't mean to. It's just I sensed that she needed some help, so I thought I'd see if I could. Leyla's a girl I just met, haven't seen her before now." His eyes were gentle as he peered up at Topsy, and noticing the costume, Andrew's ears perked up as he quickly twisted around to start investigating closer. Touching the bone wings, amazement made his eyes grow wide as Andy chatted, "This is so cool! Leyla's an angel and you look like a badass warrior." He just didn't want any of them hurting so he was trying to distract as much as possible.

Then focusing on Leyla, he shook her hand before pulling her into another hug. After a couple of moments he held her out at arms length. "My name's Andrew, but you can call me Andy. The guy behind me is Topsy. We'll help you find your master, and I'm sure you'll see her again." A gentle smile spread across his face as he let her hands go, looking up at the night sky Andrew could tell something was amiss but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Glancing back at Leyla, and then to Topsy he asked, "How about we head into town? Maybe get some info? Besides, it feels like there's a heart from Machinecken back in the graveyard where I told Ba to drop us originally, Tops." Andy glanced back in the direction, his brow furrowed slightly in confusion as his tails rested lightly on the ground.

~- Another kidnapping -~

He'd abandoned Santa, finished with his task with the jolly old man. Hiding on top of Santa's workshop, the man watched the game of "tag" that was going on. He tilted his head to the side, a silent question to himself. Deciding against it ultimately, he called forth a portal and stepped through it again. This time stepping through into Oogie Boogie's lair, the roulette room was abandoned. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and pillars, it even clung to things that the bag of bugs normally didn't have covered.

Walking along the cobblestones, he listened to the click of his shoes on them. A melody drifted from his lips as he hummed, mapping out his way to the evil playroom. He cut down the Heartless that tried to attack him with ease. Lightning crackled along his skin, a signal of his hybrid nature as he moved toward his target. The three young hearts burned with mischief, yet also terror since they too had heard about the recent disappearances. He found the door that he wanted after some searching. Conjuring up some heartless, he sent the creatures inside to soften up the targets.

He heard the children scream, he heard them running around and throw things to try and get rid of the heartless. He'd give them some time and then he'd finish the kidnapping. Turning around, he leaned against the door and stared out at the barren field. He could sense the powerful hearts that resided on the world, and a couple of them gripped his attention and refused to let it go. A slow smile spreading across his face, he whispered, "Interesting, very interesting. Let's see what you do little one."

Pushing away from the door, he walked into the playroom and shut the door.

 

[Rhapsody]

"You didn't run away like you said. I'm glad!"

Oh, Cal is absolutely leaping for joy. Rather, she would have if the keyblader kid wasn’t crushing her. One minute she was on her way to freedom and the next she’s pulling herself from underneath the baggage she thought she abandoned.

This wasn't supposed to happen! All Sparky needed to do was check up on the girl, return back to Cal's side, and on theirway they'd be before either keyblader or hybrid returned! Besides, it looked like Halloween Town was beginning to get as much attention as the ill-fated Machinecken Town if the dragon she had seen flying earlier was any indication. Time to scram.

Except. Here she is. Pancaked underneath akeyblader, thanks to Cal's unfortunate placement by the door and them just falling right on her.

“No," Cal bit out through grit teeth in response to Vi's enthusiasm, managing to pull herself together and get to her feet with a huff. "Was definitely running away.” You guys just can’t take a hint.

"Well...you'll be happy to know, he didn't tag me. Technically...you did.”

Happy?

Happy?

Cal would be ecstatic if she could reclaim a bit of the peace she had before meeting these two. That would make her truly happy. Instead, it continues, and the more they linger the less effs Cal has to give when she, with a small, sarcastic grin on her face, caustically interjected, “Oh, my ‘call?’ Time for me to decide? Super.” The grin falls to a grimace. “I’ve decided. You,” she points to the girl, Vi, “I played chauffeur. I got your mint, thanks. Get lost.”

Then, she tips her head towards Trace, just barely able to keep her lips from pulling into a deeper scowl. “And you… don’t get any ideas. I didn't agree to any wager just because I sent my dog out there. Speaking of which...”

Cal bends down and snatches her dog’s face by the chin. Sparky, tongue lolled out from his maw, looks positively ecstatic in the attention and wiggles with excitement. If one wasn’t looking for it, it would have been hard to see the partially crushed nose. Kinda smooshed against his face in a puglike manner. It would have bruised, too, except this is a Heartless. Sturdy. Sparky couldn’t have looked any healthier or dumber despite Cal bristling at the offense done to her companion.

“What the hell happened to my dog?”

 

[Shinra]

~Halloween Hijinks~
"No objections? Then off we go!" Renn zoomed off as quick as he could and He soon discovered a semblance of what seemed to be halloween town's appearance.He didn't see anything resembling a gummi dock but he saw a curled hill and parked on one of the sides closest to the gate. But as the door of the landing strip opened a wave of magic overcame him as his body grew itchy and his body was covered with a brown tinted fur while his hair retained it's primary color, setting apart from Renn's new fur color which was a tad darker . His clothes now resembled a orange and black vest with a black muscle shirt and his blue jeans remained. He was shocked as he looked at himself in the visor of the ship. "I never thought this would actually happen to me but this is pretty awesome!" He smiled.

"C'mon! let's go explore everyone!" He stepped out to see the dreary grey landscape but it did nothing to diminish his newfound mood.

 

[Deimos]

Trace brushed his shoulders off.

How many regrets did she really have? It's almost cute.

The hybrid listened carefully. This need to exit, need to escape seemed to be a proper obsession belonging to a coward. Cowardice would be combed back, reigned in, it had no place in his guild. It nearly reminded him, of the sheer terror he inspired in clearly both of them on arrival. He didn't forget, the hybrid followed every detail down to the letter in his written memory. His face started to settle back to it's normal version of jaded and turning on his heels--

He walked away.

The fluttering of wings that was his owl swooped from a tree above and landed on his shoulders. Santa was gone, the ideal next target to experiment on originally, seemed as though another had gotten to it.

“And you… don’t get any ideas. I didn't agree to any wager just because I sent my dog out there. Speaking of which...”

Trace paused, stopping in his tracks.

“What the hell happened to my dog?”

It occurred to him rather late, the dog seemed to have teleported through the tree and came out at the end of the door. When Anti-slammed the door, it must've pressed her mutt's face in a tad. Anti-smiled, it had other memories complimenting that one, and Trace simply slapped his forehead. Clutching his fist, he did Calpurnia a disservice here, by ignoring the question and walking towards the town. Traces amber eyes were hardened and focused, Cal made neither agreed choice, so Trace would get back to that, but not right now.

"Vrivianne. Come." Trace's voice was flat, serious, it lacked the sharp wit and playful humor from earlier. "Do what you will Cal. Remember what I said earlier...show me some of that anger."

He shot her a calm look, both of his eyes were red, followed by a heinous smile.

Opening a portal of darkness this time, Trace faded through it and delved even deeper into Halloween Town. To be completely honest, he was alarmed, the game they played was a nice little distraction, all the while suppressing this urge...to devour. Suppressing this urge of a set of expressions towards Cal, oh! Anti, and even Bray caught it from earlier. He came out over a small bridge of water overlooking a gate. Pushing past, there was a manor of an incredible scale, a grimace turned into a maddening smile. This was where "HE" resided, curious to see if the rumors off-world had any weight. Certainly making for a notable addition to Trace's guild, but did he have a heart? A wicked moving bag, even so, the world has been abnormally quiet save for the heartless that lingered.

"So we're clear, don't want to turn? Shut up and do as I say, when I say. Do want to turn? Run away, get as far as you did minutes ago. You'll be pursued relentlessly until captured."

Trace pointed to the keybade on her hip.

"Having a keyblader in service of my guild will help exponentially." His eyes jogged along the open bridge onto the manor. This place was huge, naturally there were heartless here, but to put it bluntly, his natural ambience and affinity would make "attacking him" a non issue. More so if Anti were present.

Traced reached into his pocket and pulled out charm with the heartless emblem on it. Tossing it to the young keyblader.

"That charm is blessed with Anti's ambience. Should ward off lesser heartless from pressuring you. You and I are going to split up, I'm going to search the bottom of this manor, you search the bridge. When your done, just come to the bottom, you obviously can get there faster than me."

Trace started heading down the hill.

"Oh. Calpurnia seems pretty pissed off, let her know exactly where I am and that Trace said, asphyxiate my throat with your dying hands...got that?"

He continued walking until he eventually reached the bottom.

 

[purgatory]

That confirmed it for me, I swallowed hard again, but brutally forced an indifferent expression.

"Ok Cal," there was a rapid thudding going on in my chest, "if thats what you want, sorry for being a pain..." clasping my hands, I bowed earnestly.

Trace, i'm positive thats what he said, had already started walking away. I was conflicted for a moment, but he stopped walking.

“What the hell happened to my dog?”

My head jerked back, a flash of memory to Sparky brushing against my leg before I was grabbed and the door slammed in the poor heartless face. I was a little mortified, I empathized with the little guy, he was by far the least hostile heartless I'd encountered. Sometimes I started to wonder if I was the right choice for this responsibility, my head turned to gaze at my hip. As I was fitting to respond, the other hybrid spoke...addressing me.

"Vrivianne. Come."

A chill traveled down my spine, thinking likely for the first time that game and wager dug a whole for me. A deranged psychopath to whom I couldn't tell what he was thinking half the time, and a perverted heartless that resided inside said psychopath. I skated along following behind him, all the while thinking, did I even have a choice anymore? This wasn't a dream, this wasn't even a dive to heart, this was reality that was actually happening. Our ideals were polarized with debate, he couldn't stand me and yet here I am...trapped in a pending situation. Calpurnia made it clear, very clear, and I was on my own to deal with him.

"Do what you will Cal. Remember what I said earlier...show me some of that anger."

He was definitely a hybrid, once I saw the flash of his red eyes, no matter how brief I remembered.

I remembered...painfully...

Ice. Darkness. Perpetual shock, as I covered my mouth. The clouds were pitch black as I was watching from the dock, she was being taken over by one of those 'things'. Attacking one of my classmates, both of them were, until the guy lost it and froze everything. Even though...I'd seen this before...even though I knew this would happen. I did nothing special, I saved not a single person, I didn't even touch a single heartless that spawned. I started to ask myself...why. I couldn't decide, even when the dark side slammed it's fist into the sand burying her into darkness, and the shadows tugged at the boy bringing him under. And just like then, a portal of darkness appeared in front of me, no one came out, but provided for me a way out. Rather than help the sinking pair, I followed my interest and escaped the doomed islands.

I clutched my head, seeing another portal of darkness that Trace had strummed through after giving Calpurnia a far less softened look as he had pitched to her earlier. Did he just realize something I didn't..? This non-verbal communication put my head in an already bigger knot from the drinking. I already know when I finally lay down that the hangover is not going to be pretty. With a less than somber look, I gazed at Calpurnia one more time before I walked through a portal for the second time today.

We came out at a manor, i covered my mouth as Trace didn't stop moving and pushed through the gates directly. The smell of sewage was...abhorrent. I tried really hard, and success, no puking...this time. I was a bit dizzy from the portal, thinking about it...wasn't Cal tired? They'd just left the Hinterlands (forest we were in) and ended up at Oogie's manor way out of site of the town. As Trace began to talk, he reminded me all too quickly that they had unfinished business, to part ways with the other hybrid seemed to range between a mistake, but did they really have a connection? Cohesion? Trust? I felt troublesome, or as Trace put it earlier, like baggage thrust on the hybrid at random that gave me a false name out of caution. I was really starting to get inside my head, half paying attention to what Trace was saying, but I followed his hand movements and snapped out of it catching a heartless emblem blazoned charm.

"That charm is blessed with Anti's ambience. Should ward off lesser heartless from pressuring you. You and I are going to split up, I'm going to search the bottom of this manor, you search the bridge. When your done, just come to the bottom, you obviously can get there faster than me."

"Oh...yeah...right." what was I even doing here, this was probably just insurance to make sure I didn't try to escape.

"Oh. Calpurnia seems pretty pissed off, let her know exactly where I am and that Trace said, asphyxiate my throat with your dying hands...got that?"

I couldn't tell if that was a comment a masochist would make or if it was the influence of Anti's perversion. I nodded either way, and looked back at the portal, and then towards the bridge leading into the manor. It appeared a hugely scaled spectacle looking at it from a distance. They could be searching this place for hours if they had nothing they were looking for. Speaking of which...Trace didn't exactly say what he wanted me to, what am I supposed to be looking for...wait. Looking for...someone? Anyone?

My heart was in my throat this time. We hadn't run into a soul save for Trace this entire time...unless...he was eating them. WHAT?? No. That didn't make any sense, he wouldn't have reason to be this serious right? I was thinking way too hard about this that I hadn't moved an inch and Trace was already out of line of sight. I attached the charm to my keychain dangling from Grigori and felt a weird purge. As if Anti's eyes were looking at me, but the feeling lasted only for a second. For some reason, I never really questioned my ethics and value as a person, getting all preachy and patronizing...wasn't realistic, wasn't understanding how selfish we are. So did that mean I needed to be more, for my own interest in order to thrive..?

The heartless bird landed on my shoulders. It hooted, and pecked into it's feathers before asserting a wing in the direction of the manor.

I knew it. He's watching me...

 

[TruestSyn]

Syn sighed. The dragon landed somewhere else. More walking, that's fine. He'd heard some commotion from the direction of town but ignored it to find familiar faces. He headed through the hinterlands in the direction of the hill he saw the dragon land in. The woods were definitely creepy, faces were etched in...no they were a part of the growth structure on some of the trees. He knew Halloween was supposed to be spooky, but he didn't realize it was supposed to be downright terrifying. Wasn't this a kid's holiday? Do kids like being scared?

With a shrug, Syn walked on. It had been a long time since something actually frightened him, thoughts of his first day with the keyblade flashed in his mind as he walked. The darkness hadn't been a problem for years and it suddenly comes back now. Why? What changed in the worlds when the Hybrids showed up that made such a huge difference? The last time this happened it was because an old man wanted the power to control everything, is there a mastermind behind these Hybrids? Maybe it was a giant Hybrid that wants to take over everyone. Assimilation would have to be its end goal, or else it wouldn't keep possessing people.

The thoughts of a hive mind crept into Syn's mind as he reached a clearing where he saw the two from the dragon and one other he did not recognize.

"Hey, you three. It's good to see the two I know are safe. Pleased to meet you, third. The name's Syn. Speaking of names, I believe you are called Andrew, fox boy. I, however, still don't know your name, dragon summoner."

 

[Hazen Gregory]

When Andrew drew closer to Topsy and rubbed up against him, Topsy sighed, a feeling of deep comfort and familiarity encompassed him. He smiled and took a small breath, He noticed then how fat his heart was beating. A flutter of anxiety had come across him when Andrew had left him up on Bahamut which ha shaken him more than he wanted to admit. Topsy laughed inside as he once again tried to ponder what it was about Andrew that had him so...so, weak. It was like he'd known Andrew for years. The way he care about everyone he seemed to meet was an experience that Topsy knew all too well. Andrew was very much like Daaku. In fact, their personalities were almost identical. Fuq!!!,Topsy thought, itching his cheek before glancing over at Andrew and the angelic creature Leyla.

"Heyy that tickles??" Topsy was a tad surprised that the wings on his back functioned, or from what he could tell thus far; the wings weren't just part of his outfit. They were a part of him entirely. There was something about the way that Andrew hugged Leyla that made him feel a warmth spreading between them all that was refreshing. Topsy laughed out loud, as Andrew let the girl go. He didn't need to introduce himself because it had been done for him, but he still shook her hand and bowed. "Hello ma'am. Nice to make your acquaintance. Stick with us as long as you want and I'll help you in any way that I can."

Turning behind him, Topsy looked to see what Andy was talking about. He could see that Syn was making his way towards them. As the keyblader drew closer and spoke to them, Topsy rolled his eyes when Syn called Andrew, 'Fox Boy' and referred to him as, "Dragon Summoner.'

"Hi Syn, I see you're faring well. I'm glad you made in in one piece too." Topsy chuckled and walked closer to Syn, "Oh my...you've gotten stronger since I saw you last, that's a bit surprising. Hmm...how do you explain that??" Topsy's senses were so acute that even the smallest increase in energy or magical output was felt by him. His eyes narrowed. Had Syn allowed more darkness to consume a part of his soul to gain more power to work with?? "Heh, very interesting to say the least." Topsy didn't feel a need to leave Syn in the dark about anything so he proceeded to clear two facts up. "My name is Topsy Kretts." He raised one eyebrow, willing his bone wings to flap several times which in turn lifted him a few inches off the ground. "Oh, I didn't think that would work. I'll have to sort the details later on."

Topsy dropped back down to the ground and started to walk in the direction of town, linking one arm with Andrew and the other with Leyla. "I'm not actually a dragon summoner but it is factual to say that I can summon one." He snickered and sent a creepy glance at Syn, licking his lips as he sized the man up. "On my world there are entities known as guardian forces that strong warriors are able to bond with, mainly SeeDs." He sighed, "I'll admit that other people also have various guardian forces at their disposal such as myself, but I WAS a SeeD. Technically I still am. Bahamut is one of several of these entities I can call to my aid." The trio had walked further down the hill are were nearing town. "If you want to know, I have: Bahamut, Shiva, Leviathan, Diablos, a Jumbo Cactuar and Ifrit. I love them all. Well actually Ifrit and I aren't on good terns after Daaku died." Topsy looked sad for a second but then he grinned, "Andy?? Maybe sometime you'd like to go on an adventure with me to The Garden and help me acquire Alexander or the Queen Chocobo??"

 

[TruestSyn]

Syn sensed a sort of sarcasm when Topsy introduced himself.

"Topsy and the last name Kretts. And you're from SeeD, which I have heard of...and you told me in Machinecken town that you're essentially a spy. I don't believe that's your real name, but if that's what you're required to call yourself for your mission then that's fine with me there, Topsy. I have heard of Guardian Forces, allocating the power of monsters at the cost of brain functionality, right? How much of your memory have you lost since you became a SeeD?"

He reeled in his own suspicions. He had no reason to want to lash out at Topsy, but something about connecting these dots had him on edge. What did he really want with Andrew if he has some agenda?

"You noticed the power of my new weapon, Hybrid's Wail. Sorry if it bothers you, I know you both have one inside."


He summoned the Dark Sword to show Topsy, hoping that this little boost of strength would at least impress someone who pulled off everything he saw Topsy do at the castle. He began following them down towards town and decided he would trust them for now, since he wanted to know more about everything going on.


"This is the right way, I think I got here before you. I've deduced that the residents of this town have been taken away somewhere, but that much I haven't looked into. I noticed your dragon coming down from the sky and decided to try and catch up with you all. I also spotted a few others that I did not recognize having some sort of altercation, and earlier heard a sort of scream that didn't sound human. That's about all I know."

 

[Story Keeper]

~- Um? Excuse me? -~

Andrew focused on the voice that had approached from behind. Recognizing them from Machinecken Town, Andy beamed with happiness as he chatted, “Hi! Nice to see you made it off that world safely! Have you seen Savy? I got separated from him in the throne room.”

Instead of answering his question right away, the newcomer, Syn decided introductions were in order. Confusion coloring his features, Andrew tilted his head to the side as he listened to Syn call him fox boy. Was this guy crazy? He wasn’t a fox! It was then that Andy finally felt something furry brush his ankle, fidgeting a little in discomfort he glanced over his shoulder and noticed the seven tails behind him. Eyes widening in surprise, Andrew wiggled a little bit in place before he started spinning in a tight circle, trying to catch the fluffy new appendages. Finally grabbing one, Andy dropped to the ground and proceeded to nom and kick it, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

Stopping in his actions, Andy scrambled back to his feet and bolted over to Topsy. Tails wagging, he chatted, “I have some tails! At least one has a flavor.” Allowing himself to be guided toward the town, Andy snuggled closer to Topsy as the other guy talked. Perking up at the idea of chocobos, Andy nodded his head in agreement, smiling from ear to ear.

“Yeah! I love chocobos! I haven’t seen any since I was five when I left home, Machinecken was boring in that regard.” Andrew chatted, trying his hardest to ignore the mention of Ifrit. As Syn trailed after them talking, Andy glared back at him, his eyes flashing a dark violet color before they returned to the two tone color they were for this world. His left most tail brushed against Topsy’s back, laying in a protective fashion even as Andy snuggled closer to Topsy so their hips were basically touching.

“So, who cares if we’re hybrids? It’s not like it’s a problem, unless you’re going to make an issue of it.” Andy snapped, growing agitated with the implication there was something wrong with them. He heard the comment about the residents disappearing, which caused Andy to soften slightly since he’d noticed it too. There wasn’t nearly as many hearts here as there should have been, which was giving Andy a headache.

Andy tried to figure out how to comfort Topsy about Daaku, he wanted to help but he was at a loss of how to without knowing the exact problem. Sure, he said that stuff to Leyla but that was because he was taking a leap of faith. He wasn’t sure if he was speaking the truth, he just wanted to give her a glimmer of hope since he could tell that was what she desperately needed. Reaching out, he grabbed Topsy’s hand, weaving their fingers together Andy decided to just listen to the conversation instead.

 

[Rhapsody]

The dense forest is… quiet. Absent of the chatter from the two unusually odd folks that were with Cal before.

She’s tired.

Creating portals, maintaining a heartless… it’s exhausting. Double-exhausting these Herculean tasks are achieved without Dante’s support. So, when she backs against a tree trunk and collapses onto folded legs, the first thing Cal decides is: It’s time for a nap. The hood of her coat falls below her eyes, and off to the side she hears an animalistic grumble. A nudge against her arm. Cal peers down below her her hood to meet wide, yellow orbs for eyes.

“Don’t gimme that, Sparks. You saw him. That hybrid was bad news. Creepy as hell.”

Okay, fine. Was she… scared? Yeah. She’s too damn prideful to admit it aloud, but… yes.

Sparky is the exact opposite. Stupid dog has no fear, throws caution to the wind. He likes that owl heartless. And even the other hybrid smelled interesting. And the keyblade holder! It stung a little when he accidentally brushed against the keyblade from time to time, but it was well worth it for the attention she gave him!

“The kid will be fine. She’ll learn. She’ll be alright. Keybladers are resilient. Power of friendship and all that.”

Sparky growls again. Clear disagreement.

And, yeah, Cal kinda gets it, even though she’s definitely not having the same train of thought as her companion. That hybrid, Trace, is bad news and that Vi just blindly followed him is. It’s unnerving. And Cal maybe should have kept an eye on her. On the other hand, she can probably talk and try to convince the girl why exactly hanging with this guy is bad news… and go nowhere. Cal doesn’t have much confidence in her persuasion tactics, namely because most of her words are inherently regarded with distrust as a hybrid. And, honestly, she can’t blame anyone for thinking that.

Cal feels her legs move a bit as the dog crawls into the triangle-shaped space within her folded limbs, falling onto the grey-tinted dirt and curling into a tight ball. Cal smiles, genuinely smiles for the first time that day, and scratches Sparky behind the ears. She then pinches the dog’s smushed nose between her gloved fingers.

Still pisses her off no one owned up to that… Instead, she was left with:

Do what you will, Cal.

Cal had scoffed at that, met his ugly smile with a hooded, unimpressed grimace before he disappeared into the portal, along with a remorseful-looking Vi.

“Screw you…”

She should have never given him her name.

He had been egging her on the entire time, that hybrid. Wagging his finger to beckon her closer, but she refused to answer. She’s not about to get herself killed over nonsense, nor will she ever let Dante get the best of her in his thirst for carnage. Yes, she is afraid. But that fear has kept her alive until now and has kept her hands clean for the time being.

Not that she would get killed if things were to get crazy. Dante would make sure of it. Oddly quiet, she reaches into the depths of her consciousness to try and rouse the heartless, but he’s silent. Probably sulking about not joining that other hybrid.

Which is fine. This peace, and quiet, is perfectly fine for Calpurnia.

 

[Deimos]

Anti was strangely quiet. It was on high alert whenever the savage among savages was completely stilled in place of it's infinite restlessness. It didn't take Trace long to figure out why, their company grew...yet it waned so quickly. The number of their kind, was exponentially greater upon treading here, and even more arrived.

Calpurnia was an odd one. Her beautiful other half has to of gotten some mileage out of her sanity and ability to self-preserve, it was almost woeful to the completely balanced hybrid. His one pointer, wasn't deceitful or distrusting, but the honest truth to overcoming the dynamic between heartless and human. She was truly in a rut all her own, but she didn't possess the same level of hatred and unwarrented malice that Trace did, just Trace, before Anti's own were even accounted for. She was so...jaded, calm, disinterested, it was a likely side effect of the inner battle, and Trace couldn't let her continue like that. His hybrid army had to surpass both sustained or consumed monikers and catch up to him, who was still evolving by the passing days. Complete was the understatement of the century. Trace raised a hand and form and cup his chin in a thinking position, closing his eyes and remembering closely.

Anti was an abomination. The first night the late professor Wendel Blake turned, an entire civilization was slaughtered and eviscerated in a matter of hours. Consumed by Anti, Wendel was a weak fanatical scientist, researching that he believed the heart needed to be freed from the body to realize it's true form. That the human body was just a walking and talking cage that acted as a prison for the most powerful source of magic known to heartless and human-kind. Wendel Blake...the shunned researcher that was turned on by his colleagues, dubbed a traitor to the human race, the same Wendel that abandoned his name for a more symbolic one.

Trace. To trace the outlines of humanity with darkness, right before releasing their true selves, the heart. To...only be devoured, whole.

"Trace?" Anti broke the silence, the swirls in it's yellow eyes as it was lingering at the base of the pit. "Theres a powerful smell beyond this door...but look. Locked."

Trace peered at the door, it was made of several tons of steel. Clearly the bag of bugs didn't want anyone getting into this room lest he willed it open, it seemed to make for an excellent game of keep away. Keeping out unwanted guest, and keeping in his captives to torture and game most likely. The itch of anticipation widened the smile on Trace's face beyond natural physics, actually unassisted by Anti's partial transformation this time.

"No sense asking Vi to open this infernal lock. I'll bust it open myself."

[Cool Music]

Trace held up his palm and forged a partial portal of darkness at the square of the lock, and teleported it behind him, watching it butt from the portal and thud hard on the ground. When canceling the portal, there was a grip in the darkness, and it began to pull the portal back open, looking behind him, the exit point was gone, so what was coming out of it. Long claws, the sound of metal clanging, as a heartless ripped and pulled it's body through the portal of darkness. Trace's usual look of aloof was but a memory as his heinous expression of excitement seemed to be the go to since coming here. He didn't know what this beautiful creature's vendetta was with him, but he dove forward like an Anti-pounce and hugged the magnificent creature of darkness. It was juggling...HEARTS OF ALL THINGS. Slowly gobbling all three and expanding in size after each chomp.

"JOY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Trace's excitement was deranged, titillating, completely unfiltered.

It's claws when to grab him by the arms, and slowly raise the hybrid above it'self as it's mechanical jaws opened, and you could see green flames burning from within it's innards.

MORE. MORE. SHOW ME MORE OF YOUR MAJESTY! IM....SOOO....HUNGRY!!!!

The hybrid's face mutated, sharpening his teeth and extending the natural formation of his jaw, even larger than the steel one, and bit down hard into the face of the heartless, and tearing away the steel. His arms partially transformed into super sharp claw and like a wild animal, Trace started relentlessly tearing at the face of the heartless, shredding more of the metal as it started to whimper, yet the maniac didn't show ANY sign of stopping. When he reached the core, he dug his sharped teeth in deep and and amassed a massive heart, whole managing to swallow it. Trace wiped his mouth, and lifted the remaining pieces of scrap and used his transmogrified hand to side swipe the metal off to the other side of the pit near the small creek.

Buuuurrrrp~!

"I feel a bit better now. Poor soul thought he had a freebie and ended up becoming my snack. Damn that sucks."

He looked at the door again, and like with Santa's workshop kicked the door in. Instantly, you could hear shrieking of what seemed to be children. The dimly lit roulette room had bugs crawling over the walls, there was a smell of freshly slain heartless, purebloods were always the messier of the two breeds, damned things could be tracked for days after they died. The hybrid could smell it, he took it all in, he was hardly here to play the kidnapping game, oh hardly no. His aim was his own, his aim...the guild. A pathetic caged-watchmen heartless, a lock the size of a thanksgiving turkey? Who the hell was going to come all the way out here, that wasn't akin to the very things keeping normal pedestrians out?

"Now you're talking. One hell of a trap and keep-away game whoever this belongs to is playing."

Trace could no longer hear the screams of the children. Going in the last direction he'd heard the screams, he'd entered the play room and it was then he saw it.

Red.

Another one was here, and his excitement almost pitched a fever as he applauded with unrequited glee and complimentary joy to see another of his own kind. His eyes swelled, surging yellow with incandescent swirls, eventually pouring blood-color, until you could see the squiggles of vein and solid crimson. His feelers, emerged from his back and they cracked with red lightning, abundantly over-joyed.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance. Now tell me, how long have you been taking from your family, bretheren? Even spying on me without introducing yourself? Playing hard to get with your species is quite unkind...be more humble going forward won't you?"

To say that Trace was insane was the second understatement of the day. He'd found his stalker, and low and behold, also a hybrid if you could believe it.

 

[Story Keeper]

~- What Now? -~

Nana called forth the heartless, having them drag the children toward him before they were release. Scratches decorated the exposed skin of the little terrors, twisting his wrist he sent a fireball soaring past the devil dressed one. Calling forth a cage type heartless to restrain the little monsters. Here he sent the heartless toward them, the heartless reaching into the cage to claw at them. Walking forward, he manifested a dagger into his hand and slowly approached them. Reaching the cage, he trailed the blade along the bars as the children cower away from him since they could see that something was off about the man in front of him.

He heard someone enter the room, and he could tell that it was another hybrid before he even turned around. Rolling his eyes, he turned to face the new occupant even as he snapped his fingers, the heartless lunging at the cage and murdering the all but one of the children, the shortest of the boys. Unlocking the cage, Nana opened the door and sent the boy scrambling away from the two hybrids.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance. Now tell me, how long have you been taking from your family, bretheren? Even spying on me without introducing yourself? Playing hard to get with your species is quite unkind...be more humble going forward won't you?"

Nana rolled his eyes at the reprimand from the child in front of him. Who did this boy think he was? Although speaking of boys, the smallest of the children had almost reached the exit when Nana sent a Neohadow after the child. It didn't take long for the Neoshadow to devour the heart of the child, something that was beyond his usual tactics for dealing with his targets.

Focusing back on the hybrid-child in front of him, Nana crossed his arms and eyed the man. He could tell that something was off,but it wasn't too concerning for the older hybrid. He didn't move from his spot, his grey-red eyes focused on the other one intensely as he asked, "How long have you been one? Do not assume to call me your brethren, I am in a class all my own child. So, for that reason, there is no need for me to introduce myself."

Turning his back on Trace, Nana crossed the floor to the back of the playroom, his mind going over the best way to lose this annoyance. Pausing near the back, Nana turned to face Trace again, a magical force standing between the two to guarantee that Trace wouldn't be able to invade Nana's personal space. "Tell me, what about your keyblader friend? Don't you think you should be watching her?" He taunted, heartless heading toward the girl to test her.

 

[Deimos]

Stock Character Hybrid? Good Guy Hybrid? Stoic Hybrid? ????

He did a finger twirl, before using the same hand to rest on his neck.

Another wall. Not Calpurnia type where theres more there, just a wall.

Booooorrrriiiiiinnnnnng. Stoic, I get it stock character, you must've gotten bullied as a human ahahahaha.

Trace wasn't kidding, he immediately made a mental decision to leave the hybrid be. Maybe this was harsh of him, but he already determined the length of his involvement, and it would not progress into any formalities. Calpurnia was just infinitely less...flat, in multiple departments. Trace, ever the talker, visceral with wordplay and easily a mixed bag of nearly infinite mental and emotional fortitude and expression, but this...this wasn't worth his time.

"Day 1. I think my anniversary passed. Anyway, just pretend like you didn't see me, got things to do, murders to commit, et cetera."

They seemed to be on the same page, him with safeguarding his life perhaps, this over-protective vibe they all seemed to give off, yet surprisingly not Trace himself? There was a wall the propped up in between them. This is the funny part. Both of them were hybrids, there was no where darkness could not touch. Portal. Do the math, too hard? Don't worry about it, he tossed this out the window but it blitzed through his head with a scheme of other humorous jokes.

Anti was eating this up, laughing it's possessor/invisible hybrid traited ass off. 'Colder than suicide. This is why I love you.' The monotony would play back in Trace's head if he didn't get out of dodge as fast as he possibly could. Starting back through the door, the kid was as good as dead, probably a light snack on a good day

"Tell me, what about your keyblader friend? Don't you think you should be watching her?"

"Feeling chatty now?" Trace stopped and gave a half turn, "Friend? A master knows only his pieces that serve him. My rook, if thats what your referring to, doesn't need any help from me."

He turned around and resumed walking.

"Like I said, pretend like you didn't see me. Later."

Anti opened a portal of darkness that closed immediately behind Trace as he came out again at the bottom of the pit. Digging in his pocket, Trace was holding something extremely valuable. Bray retrieved it during the game, but it was a small dart or canister it seems that Vrivianne used to travel across distances. Actually looking at it closely, and inspecting it with his full attention, there was no mistaking the canister's make and origin. A crucial detail best left as a play for him to make a manipulative play later on if his rook didn't cooperate. Tucking it into his pocket, this hybrid was a problem...for the town to deal with, beating Trace to the punch in eradicating a population or worse, turning them, who really knew.

"Even if it's not done by me, I'm not gonna stop that stock character. Less humans is always a win in my book. Trace waved his hand nonchalant and dismissively.

And the girl?

"Time limit. Chill for now. Train for now. Same shit as usual, you still haven't used those traits yet. Whats the hold up?"

Less time you spend galavanting and the more time you spend practicing we can actually use it!

"Oh yeah. We'll do that after we train Calpurnia, though you know she's stubborn, but secretly likes the attention."

Could you really say that you met a more cunning, depraved hybrid that was dripping with malicious intentions. His body coursed a thick pressure when he wasn't actively suppressing it like he did just moments ago. This magnified, when Anti and Trace where acting simultaneously, something still in beta-stages. To be the first dual-personality, he could see this in Cal when playing his head games. The more he mentioned her, he ought to see if she was at least getting some rest. Looking all the way up to the bridge from the pit below, it was a long way up. Surely Vi was fine, Bray was with her to make sure namely, that she didn't run away, and secondly a tie in to one of the perks of the charm.

They were already sentient, but not many retain semblance of a personality behind the wall of their feral nature. Its said in old books that the heartless were tainted hearts themselves, masterless and free, as hearts in general should be in Trace's eyes. Trace does not "control" Anti, far from it. Anti decides and acts in accordance with Trace's intentions upon a mutual respect for the former human's retired sanity being even greater at times than his original savagery, as if the two can exchange personality components over time. Another piece of data Trace would need to document and add to his reports. Earning the beast within's respect and offering up parts of his self to give the heartless inside more of a personality than it had when it was wild and rampant. The fear of 'something' was ever present in Trace, but he did not run from that fear, and it eventually submerged him into a madness that even overwhelmed Anti.

Crouching down, Trace drew names in the dirt.

Trace. Calpurnia. Flat/Stoic Hybrid. Vrivianne. Giant DORAGON. Ghost Dog. Barrel.

"Geez...I knew this world was dead, but not in the way I was hoping. Fine, lets get this over with."

A little while later. Trace had come back unescorted by the keyblader, no portals, no crawling out of the ground, he actually walked this time. Calpurnia was curled up by a much different tree this time, the ambience surrounding Trace didn't omit the same this time. As he crouched down, he looked at Sparky, then at Cal and tilted his head. Just a simple tilt, not a full head rotation, though that was possibly an option.

"Lets talk without the keyblader here. I said I wouldn't leave you alone remember, well, not for very long."

Snapping his fingers, a cross jabbed into the ground behind him almost like a headpiece for a tombstone. Trace rested his back to it, sure enough, it was an actual cross and it belonged to him. Sliding down, he sat fully and placed his legs one fully extended and the other tucked in resting his right hand on the tucked leg and the other on the ground.

"Your hard on giving answers Calpurnia, hell...hard on giving your name even. So tell me one thing. What is ITS name."

 

[purgatory]

It thumbed through my head the entire time. My keyblade was mounted to my waist, and my "drunkness" was starting to linger away finally. I could feel a light knock at my head, and it was just me and the heartless owl, Bray now. Flying off of my shoulder it scouted ahead, landing on posts here and there and scouting as only the bird could. Just about everything was pretty sucky, I didn't know what the hell I was doing right now.

I looked up for Bray, maybe it knew what the right course of action was. The more the manor wound itself up like a top, the architecture looked even more decrepit. It was insanely quiet, to a point of alienation, similar to how I felt when talking to two hybrids at the same time. Her face flashed in my mind, equally as stubborn as me you'd think. Why though, why couldn't I stop thinking about both of them? God I really was alone, I wouldn't have been out drinking if I didn't have temporary company if you really thought about it.

I really started to go into overdrive, thinking that maybe the wager was chancing that they wouldn't up and leave or worked against me if it meant I wouldn't have to go through the motions alone. I slapped my cheeks, this was too much stress on my body, I was already in one of my moods.

The heartless owl and I climbed the manor for as high as it could go. We found not a single sign of life aside from the ghost orbs of heartless warily floating around ignoring them both, and the statues.

Rolling my eyes over my shoulder, there was a door, but there wasn't even a keyhole or a knob. Solid plate, no push, you pull, nothing. Guessing it was a room that was sealed off maybe? I didn't invest too much time. There was nothing else of interest up here, just what appeared to be a rather dead manor that you couldn't even enter normally anymore.

"Why did he send me up here...this was a waste of ti-"

I was quickly interrupted by what sounded like a howling sound. There was a slamming sound against the "sealed off wall" or so I thought. Coming through the wood, a giant dog jumped through forming Bray from it's perch meters above it. There was a loud snarl, transferring into a growl before it barked, much, much louder than Sparky did. As I took a step back, it planted a slam of it's paw down forward.

"Can today get any worse," Spoke too soon, there was shuffling coming up from the base of the bridge but towards me. "Another one?? Oh for fu-" I growled, being out outraged by this pinch attack.

"Screw it." I held my hand up as if I was surrendering to the heartless, and prodded a marker in my hands. Bray swooped down and picked it clean out of my hands.

"I already said it, I'm not fighting heartless! Dial it back please!"

I this provoked them both to lunge at me at the exact same time, and I moved in that instant with a horizontal momentum as Bray was closer to the bridge this time. The only problem with my plan, i didn't have another spot set up near by. I was aimlessly falling about to become a pancake. I thought about it for a second, maybe revisit christmas town? That was way too far away, there had to be an active marker I set up, and I mapped...one. I was about to become roadkill, and I reached out to touch Trace's heartless bird before I moved again. I didn't have any more magic to use after this, so this was my last time.

When I jumped this time, my back slammed hard into something and I plopped into the hybrid's lap of all places in the hinterlands. The impact put me out, not going cold without a loud "guhhh" sound and falling unconscious almost immediately afterwards. My motor senses failing released the bird heartless as it took it's perch back on Trace's shoulders.

"You suck..." was all I could mange to say before rolling over on the surface, completely out of it.

To tell you the truth, I hadn't slept at all in several hours in Machinecken Town and here we were just busy. I'd just been having a rough day and I really needed to sleep. As much as Trace made my skin crawl, and how somewhat alienated Calpurnia made me feel, it was an odd sensation to just not be totally isolated, without company. I kinda...wanted that, wanted company, wanted them around even if by all rationale and common sense it seemed morally corrupt to what virtue I was supposed to have as a keyblader. They'd learn, I didn't get drafted to save the world, I was just a damn kid that did nothing when the world was going to hell and was expected to make a decision to save it when I never had those intentions to begin with.

I started to talk in my extremely lowered state of consciousness.

"Dont...hate me Cal...I won't be a burden...I promise."

My body shivered a bit, I felt like I was doing it again, but I couldn't help it. I was starting to form these ideas on what direction I would officially move in at an abnormally slow pace. What was the point in even having the key blade if i wasn't using it optimally for one of it's primary reasons? Expunging heartless. I don't know, I just know that I couldn't after having interactions with non-hostile ones, even still I've only ever fled...but I know I won't always be able to. Maybe I needed to be trained, i don't know! I've never actually used my fencing skills outside of exhibition matches in which we where both guarded up. When I regain consciousness...after my nap, maybe i'll get an answer, but til then.

Vi was dead to the world, but unconscious where she surprisingly felt the safest.