open log

[showmeanguish]

WHO: Vanitas and YOU?
WHAT: The abomination beyond all hope of redemption has landed amongst you.
WHEN: Afternoon, June 16th.
WHERE: Various spots around the city, as he observes and checks out his new surroundings.
WARNINGS: Some violence and Vriska's potty mouth.

Is that movement, out of the corner of your eye? Blink, and you might miss the dark figure standing at the mouth of that nearby alley, or rooftop, or street corner.

Vanitas had awoken in the hospital almost two days earlier, but because of his... "special" temperament and abilities, had had to be extensively assessed before they'd finally allowed him to leave. Guess they looked down on unleashing dozens of Unversed within the hospital grounds. But hey, how was he supposed to know that? And it wasn't like they'd actually killed anyone.

Yet.

In any case, he'd been released. Which should have made him happy, but instead he found himself even more frustrated.

He felt cold. His connection to Ventus' feelings and emotions had somehow, inexplicably, been severed. He'd noticed it in the hospital, but now that he was out, the absence was even more profound and disconcerting. Like suddenly being blind, or deaf, or dumb in one, sudden blow. He'd never gone without that extra chatter in the back of his mind, and losing it made him feel oddly out-of-sorts. Which bugged him more than he'd like to admit, because if anything he should feel relieved by it.

More importantly, though, it meant that he couldn't sense Ventus if he was, in fact, on this world. Which had left him with little other choice but to do some investigating and hunting on his own. He just had to be here, somewhere.

But the more he looked, the more alarmed he became, even if the mask he wore hid his expression from view. There was no use panicking, but the words he'd been given upon waking up kept repeating themselves over and over in his head.

You were fictional. We cannot send you back to where you came from.

"Stupid," the word's somewhere between a mutter and a hiss, as he turns away from yet another street corner, and stalks in the opposite direction.

Comments

[tookthename]

Carol's seen enough of shady figures in her time to know which ones should be followed. This one definitely looks like a shady figure that needs following. So she quickly changes her civilian clothes into her uniform and takes off after him.

"Hey, you!"

[showmeanguish]

As soon as he's hailed, Vanitas stops, and suddenly pivots on his feet. He turns around with a smooth motion, and simply gazes at the person who's called his attention, sun glinting off the top of his smooth black helmet.

He doesn't recognize her, at all, and half-way wishes she wasn't wasting his time. But he doesn't say anything, either, waiting to see what she'll do in response.

[tookthename]

Yeeeaaaah, outfit definitely screams villain. Great. She stops when he does, but stays hovering just a bit above the ground.

"You new around here? What's your name?"

[freezespirited]

Jack enjoyed rooftops. They were a good place to go when he just wanted to get away for a little while. He had been startled at first by the fleeting shadow seen out of the corner of his eye, leaning forward in intrigue. Had his eyes played tricks on him? He leaped off the roof, deciding to chase whatever it was, or whoever it was. He kept his staff held out in front of him, just in case, and had to search a few streets, jumping from window ledges and gently landing onto cars, before he actually saw Vanitas. That was...was that a skirt? He blinked a few times, before deciding to follow him until he was noticed. He had never seen this guy before, and he kind of wanted to see what would happen.

[showmeanguish]

After a little while, Vanitas realizes he's being followed. Shaking this guy off his tail doesn't seem to be working, because he's surprisingly nimble and quick, able to at least keep up as long as Vanitas doesn't use portals to sneak away.

Which he's tempted to do, but at the same time, he'd like to see if anyone here is better than just a stupid townsman. So after playing cat-and-mouse for a few blocks, he finally stops, and waits for Jack to catch up. Vanitas stands at the edge of a three-story building, stance rigid and alert, as he stares at the spot he expects the other to follow him onto from the previous roof.

[freezespirited]

As the chase continues, Jack begins to have more fun. He isn't sure if Vanitas has noticed he's being followed. Usually, people would be surprised to realize he's there. He has no idea where he'd see Vanitas next, part of the fun in the uncertainty of it all, but as his feet touch down onto the next roof, he has a feeling the other guy didn't just stop to enjoy the view.

"When did you notice?"

[inherited]

The unversed are what he notices first: the color is what catches his eye, and then the inexplicable darkness about them. Sure, it's different ... but there's still something about them. And if there is anything that Riku has experience with, it's that. He hesitates from a distance, his keyblade jumping into his hand without him even trying. His first inclination is to rush forward, but he thinks—it wasn't rushing forward blind that got him named as the keyblade master. It was everything else, combined with his ability to be resilient at the end. (And that control and command of darkness that made him different, but Riku is still somewhat in denial of that part.)

So, he pauses—he sends a message, and he prepares to multitask.

It doesn't take him long to catch up with the center of these things' beginning, though. From a distance, Riku draws in a breath. The appearance of that source—it's not identical by any means, but it's enough to make him hesitate. Yeah, that isn't something he wanted to see running around.

Even then, he considers a harsher approach, but decides on somewhere betweeen the two: definitely straightforward but not starting this with a fight.

What that option is ... is landing just behind him and saying, "Hey," firmly. Well, it's a shot.

[showmeanguish]

Well, Riku, glad to know you at least recognize your own fashion designer.

Because as Vanitas turns around in response to that, it's apparent that the clothing he's wearing is a variation of Riku's Darkness suit. It lacks the large Heartless emblem on the front, but the rest of it's obviously of the same material, organic or otherwise, that makes up Riku's own.

Except, his head is also completely sealed off by a helmet of shiny black glass and silver metal. Which lifts a bit as he lays eyes on Riku, though the rest of him remains unmoving.

"What?"

[inherited]

The worst part is seeing himself reflected back off that mask, but he tries to focus his gaze elsewhere. The last thing he wants is to have to experience that. The rest of it is difficult to look at. Yeah, it's definitely similar enough ... too similar. If this isn't connected to Xehanort somehow, he'll be surprised.

"Who are you working for?" he asks. Riku decides to take it slower, to see what happens. "And what are these things? I have to know." He tries to keep his voice steady rather than forceful. It's not that hard, but the longer he looks at this guy, the more he knows: this isn't good. The rest of his senses are just adding to that, but the visual is bad enough.

[ceded]

[ So she's out and about, once again dressed in normal person clothes, because, well ... it's cute! And Lea liked it.... as did Davesprite. So, you know. She likes looking like her own person, now... especially if the people she cares about think she looks nice, too.

So when Vanitas spots her from behind, at first all he'll see is a girl in a cute dress. But she still has the latent skills of a warrior, and her senses start clanging, telling her something's wrong. Which makes her stop, looking around for whoever might be nearby. ]

[showmeanguish]

[At first, Vanitas barely notices the girl in the blue dress walking down the street ahead of him. It isn't until she stops, and turns mid-profile that he gets a start.

Because that black hair suddenly shifts into blond, spiky locks that are all too familiar. Her profile, too, makes him pause as he draws in a sharp, silent breath. But, this isn't possible. If Ventus was here, he should be able to sense him. Especially if he were standing only a few yards in front of him.

More importantly, too, why did he see them wearing a dress, before this sudden shift in perception? Picking up the pace, he takes a few steps closer before she stops completely and glances around.

Don't mind the weirdo in the helmet staring straight at you, Xion. It's perfectly normal.]

[ceded]

[ Well then. Deeply unnerved, Xion turns to face him fully, frowning. The way he's dressed... ]

... who are you? What do you want?

[doublebladed]

[Walking around New Moore usually wasn't a threat as far as Roxas could tell. Things were pretty quiet except for when people didn't remember things correctly or when people were screaming about lions running around the island. But it appeared as though all of that was going to change; he heard it before he saw it, the whizzing sound of something zipping by his head and dashing off to the distance. He whipped his head around to see what it was and stopped in his tracks.

He…wasn't familiar with this kind of creature. It was similar to the Nobodies and Heartless though, if the emblem embedded on it was any indication. Without thinking about it he summoned both of his Keyblades, throwing Oathkeeper in a strike raid to take the creature down before it got away.

Whoops. There went a small chunk of the building. But at least the monster was gone.

…but only that one. There were others now and they were spreading out faster than he liked. He had to find out where they were coming from. He summoned the Keyblades away and dashed forward, running against the flow of monsters toward the center of what he was hoping was the answer. And it was then that he saw him.

He thought it was a him, anyway. It was actually kind of hard to tell what with the outfit and the helmet. But it was definitely someone Roxas had never seen before, and there wasn't any kind of doubt in his mind that this was the one causing the trouble. He really should have thought this through more, maybe planned a little bit. But Roxas was never very big on planning when he wanted answers, and right now he was going to get answers if it killed him. He could have settled for the easier sort of "Hey you!", but that wasn't going to fly. That would give the guy a chance to run away. Instead he focused for a moment, creating a dark portal in front of him and stepping through. With any luck it would open in front of the stranger so Roxas could stare him down.

It didn't exactly work perfectly. Roxas stepped out a few feet to the boy's left, but it was enough to give him a clear view of his front. He settled for stepping over to put himself right in the boy's line of vision. That had to get him to stop, right?

'Don't you dare try to run.']

[showmeanguish]

[...Ventus?

Though the figure continues to stand there, unmoving, the name echoes within his thoughts with a sort of desperate note at the end. Which, afterwards, makes him reproach himself internally for that sort of response; it's not like he needs the cast-off to complete the plan.

But he'd come so far, too, that he can't help but be hopeful.

It's surprising, when the blond uses a portal to reach him. It's the last thing he would've expected from someone with Ventus' face, because it shows at least a mediocre mastery over Darkness and it's workings, which his other definitely isn't capable of. It shouldn't be possible; couldn't be possible, but here it was. The evidence right in front of him.

So when he catches up to him, Vanitas just tilts his helmeted head slightly, and greets him in an even voice.]

Huh. And who're you?

[doublebladed]

[Well, the voice was definitely male, and definitely not belonging to someone he already knew. It was almost disconcerting to have the boy facing him inside a helmet. It was hard to tell where his gaze was and Roxas felt himself tensing up a bit, prepping for a fight if he had to.

The question was also a bit odd to him. Wasn't that supposed to be his question?]

...someone from the dark. I'm more interested in who you are though.

[ohmyblack]

Maybe it was the fact that he was a spandex wearing superhero that was tipping him off but, seeing someone with a black bowl for a head in a tight outfit either meant you were a sentai or a faceless foot soldier and that outfit would makes you fall under the later category by a mile. With the exception of the colourscheme, lack of dreads and lack of amoeba all over, the black blur that went by did resemble a Zorima.

"That's something new." Ian thought for a second before deciding to follow this strange person and determine if it was a threat or not before alerting King and the others.

[showmeanguish]

It takes him a block or so to realize he's being followed, and when he does, he immediately ducks into the nearest alleyway and out of sight from the street.

But not out of existence. If the other were to suddenly catch up, they'll find themself confronted by the helmeted teen, standing straight and alert, at the back of said alleyway. Watching.

[ohmyblack]

Ian was keeping a safe distance. So far no sign of any immediate trouble and now that he got a better look, it definitely wasn't a Zorima and there was no insignia to identify it as Deboss either. Likely it was just someone from one of those 'other worlds' that kept getting mentioned. Still, as soon as it ducked out out sight, Ian jogged slightly to catch up to whoever it was. Just because it wasn't Deboss didn't mean he couldn't find out what it was.

But after a few more steps and still no sight of them, Ian stopped and stood on the street corner, hands on his hips. "Aaah, looks like I lost them."

[rescuerdownunder]

[If he's honest, Lea can admit that he has very little interest in being out and about around New Moore, especially since he recently made a fool of himself doing just that thanks to recent events. But Riku's message is enough to get him out there with no hesitation. Lea's starting to feel like he might be enjoying the hero gig a little bit too much.

Also even before the hero gig Lea had a thing for following shady characters fuck you pete minigame in agrabah, so when he spots the guy with the bondage outfit that looks suspiciously familiar and the helmet, of course he follows him around.

(It's also giving him an excuse to not try his hand at actively fighting with only his Keyblade, which is really just a bonus because he is so bad at it, oh god.)

basically Lea follows from a safe distance for a while like a creeper, does Van notice y/n he's not exactly inconspicuous he still has his hair and coat and his everything]

[showmeanguish]

[It takes him a while to realize he's being followed, but when he does, he picks up the pace and begins to jump around even quicker than before. He's not utilizing his corridors of Darkness, yet, because he wants to see just how well the other can keep up.

But it's definitely a challenge, as he leaps straight from the ground to grab onto two-story buildings and flips himself onto their roofs, keeping ahead as long as he possibly can.]

[rescuerdownunder]

[here is a thing one should not do: challenge Lea to anything, ever, whether it's unspoken or not.

Lea's got experience as a stalker on his side, and he manages to keep up pretty well-- until he decides that's enough and decides to use a corridor of Darkness himself, because Lea cheats and has no qualms about doing it. At all.

so, yeah, he steps out of it in front of the guy, extremely casual despite the fact that he was LITERALLY JUST STALKING HIM, raising a hand in greeting]

Yo~ What do you say to agreeing you're it for now?

[of course if van wants to he can go to the sides, since Lea didn't try to corner him so much as just-- show off, the prick]

[hypertoxic]

What's stupid?

[ Hey, isn't that weirdly unlucky? She just happened to be nearby and overhear. And this boy with the mask and the weirdo outfit definitely merits some investig8tion.

Hello, Vanitas. Say hello to the grinning troll girl suddenly all up in yo business. ]

[showmeanguish]

...

[Damn. He either managed to overlook her (though how, he's not really sure. Are those horns coming out of her head?), or thought he was far enough away from everyone else to not be heard.

He could just keep walking and pretend he didn't hear. Which actually, sounds like a good plan. Most people would just give up after asking a complete stranger something and not receiving an answer, after all...]

[trytryagain]

Homura has spent her day hunting Unversed since they first appeared. This means a day of rooftops, sniper rifles, and careful time-freezes when necessary to keep others safe.

It is exhausting, and irritating, and when she sees a dark figure, she has a shot lined up instinctively before she realizes it's a person, and not some manner of familiar.

But it is still suspicious. She stops time in several short pauses, for long enough to hurry down the fire escape, move through two blocks worth of alleyways, exchange her rifle for her Desert Eagle, and take up a position about thirty feet behind the figure, gun pointed at the ground, safety still on.

Unpause.

"Who are you?"

[showmeanguish]

The sudden voice surprises him, and makes him instantly come to a stop, hands held into loose fists at his side. He hadn't heard or sensed them sneaking up on him, which makes him curious and more than a little wary... there've been very, very few people who've ever been able to accomplish that without him noticing prior.

He doesn't immediately respond, waiting a few, tense seconds before he pivots and turns to face her, sunlight glinting off his helmet.

Vanitas isn't sure what he expected to find, but a schoolgirl holding a gun wasn't it. His gaze lingers on her weapon for another moment, though it's difficult to tell because he keeps his head stationary and just moves his eyes behind his mask. It's an assessing glance, because he's not very familiar with that type of firepower.

But he felt something taking out his Unversed with systematic precision, too. A little pinch in his chest every time their energy returned to him, defeated. She couldn't be the only one fighting them off, but he was willing to bet she was responsible for a chunk of the damage.

"A visitor."