Kingdom Hearts: Oblivion

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Fritz stumbled back as the monstrous woman beat at the ground. Pounding fists down like some kind of rabid gorilla, she seemed to have just lost all reason. The one thing that was right about all this: Yeah. She was definitely past any rational mood to talk. She had lost any rational thought and turned all at once into a monster.

What was this? Some kind of sickness? A curse? Whatever it was, she was coming at them fast and Fritz tried his best to be brave. Thinking first about Kaiya, his first instinct was to try and shove him out of the way in the little time they had to react. Taking a blow, he saw stars.

The world went dark for a moment and he first felt pain, then numb, then realized he was lying on the ground staring up at the sky and the roof edges of the market buildings above him. His first thought was a pretty simple "Am I dead?"

Was Kaiya okay? Did he get out of the way in time? Was he also hurt? Fritz tried to sit up, but his body didn't seem to want to respond. Everything felt numb and distant and there was a serious worry that he'd broken something. Lying there, stunned, all he could do was turn his head and look for the woman, fearing she was going for his friend next.
 
Kaiya hit the ground after being shoved, dropping his board so he could brace himself from landing on his face.

WHAM!

Eyes shot wide in realization, head whipping around to see Fritz on the ground and the woman looming over him.

"Fritz!" He shouted, scrambling to his feet as the woman raised her arm again, but this time the air spiraled around her fist and kicked off enough heat to set a banner suspended above her ablaze instantly. Magic? That kind of stuff only existed in video games, yet here it was in the real world. A monster right before his very eyes. His blood went cold seeing Fritz unable to move, struggling to get up. Stunned. Was he about to watch his friend die?

"Don't give in!" Called a mysterious voice in his mind. Tugging at his heart.

Kaiya's body moved on it's own, breaking into an all out run. As the woman brought her fist down, he jumped onto her back and stopped it short of halfway down by throwing all of his weight backwards and bracing himself against her shoulder. His grip on her arm was right, ignoring the searing pain of the heat given off by that spiraling energy above him.

"I don't think so!" He growled, holding tight as the woman stumbled backward. She reached at him with her other arm but her size didn't allow for that level of flexibility.
 
He could hear his name being shouted. Kaiya was alive, okay, relatively at least, he supposed. He tried again to sit up, but it felt like the weight of whole boulder was pushing down on his chest. Fritz ground his teeth, hissing as he struggled and fought. Lifting an arm felt like trying to lift a hundred pound weight. It was hurt, it was pain, but it was also nothing. It didn't feel like his arm at all. He could see it move as he managed to roll his head to the side, but he just felt so disconnected from his own body.

Darkness was enveloping his vision, clouding his sight, and a pain radiated through his entire body.

There were sounds of struggle, but he could barely even make out what was happening. Something that felt like hands gripped at him, clawing at his chest, and he was feeling so... so sleepy... like all he wanted to do was close his eyes and give in... Just to drift into the dark and see where it wanted to take him.

But no! No! He couldn't go! Through the pain, he fought, forcing himself to move.

One arm. Two Hands pushed into the cobblestone street and he pushed upright, slowly. God, it felt like something was ripping at his chest, trying to tear him back, but he couldn't just let himself give in. He needed to help his friend! "Kaiya!" he shouted. Making it to his knees, he tried to stand, "Kaiya, I'm..." he wanted to say he was coming to help, but what was he supposed to do except fall over and die in front of this demon lady. Still, maybe it would distract her or something.
 
Thank the gods. He was alive.. that was good.

"I'm fine!" Kaiya shouted, holding tight to the flailing monster. "You need to get out of here! I don't know how much longer I can hold -"

The woman smashed through some of the "infected" onlooker, scattering them to the wind much like the cart had. This time they could get a look at the effect it had though. Shattering them like ink in water into an intangible mist. Maybe their bodies were deteriorating? A brief relief brought crashing to a halt as they reformed into smaller shadow-like creatures that scurried along the ground toward Fritz.
 
Fritz was on his knees, hands pawing at the ground as he scrambled forward, crawling when he wasn't yet able to stand again. He kept trying, yet kept stumbling over, falling back down. The darkness seemed to be closing on all sides; cloying blackness and humans that were more like strange and evil creatures that had lost their rational thought and ran on anger and instinct alone.

The other people who had been looking on in their zombified states started coming forward, their forms no longer anything Fritz could or would have called human at all. Dark little creatures of black with bright yellowed eyes, they seemed to move WITH the shadows as though they were a part of them. Their hands were gnarled claws, slashing as they lurched forward.

Without a weapon to defend himself, Fritz did the only thing he could: He turned and he started to scramble away. He didn't want to leave his friend, couldn't leave him to fight these things alone, but there were too many... so many... and he could barely even stand. "K-Kaiya, we need... we need to get out of here!" They needed to escape. They needed to find help, find a weapon, find a hiding place, find anything that might save them from this horror.
 
While on the back of this creature, listening to and watching his friend trying to get out of the situation, something within Kaiya clicked. A warmth flooded his veins from head to toe. The heat of the energy given off by the womans fist hardly felt any different from a warm day in the sun.

A powerful desire to protect.

Light built up in his eyes and at the palms of his hands. He didn't know what was happening, nor how to control it, but it was here, and damned if he wouldn't try.

Then a sweeping chill burst from him. Ripping down banners, and toppling standing signs. The air didn't howl, it crackled with magic that itched along his arms and stung his nostrils with the deep inhale that followed. Then all was still. Silent, save for the crack and groan of ice. Everything immediately around them; the shadows, the woman, even the very walls and asphalt, had been frozen solid.

They'd gotten their saving grace.
 
Trying to get as far away as he could, his chest felt like it was on fire. It felt like he'd been stabbed, like something had plunged into his chest cavity and gouged at his heart. It was still pounding, still pumping, it just hurt like nothing he'd ever felt before. Pawing at his shirt as he crawled away to a safer distance, there were no visible injuries. There were no scratches nor bruises, no blood seeping out. Everything seemed fine, looked fine, but his insides still felt like had reached in with a knife and scrambled everything about.

The air seemed to grow frigid and spark with static and a feeling of ice yet warmth somehow... like light. Like safety? Fritz wasn't really sure if that was a proper way to describe a feeling, but maybe it was because it was his friend that seemed to be emanating this strange and bizarre power.

Fritz could only stare, mouth gaping wide in astonishment, confusion, almost to a state of tears that, by some stroke of luck, this had happened.... and everything froze. Quite literally.

Even through the pain from whatever unseen injury those tiny creatures had tried to inflict upon him, Fritz moved forward, just a few inches, a few more. "What... What happened? Kaiya... Kaiya, did you do this?"

He was shaky standing, knees wobbling and threatening to give out, but he dared one single solid little tap of curiosity to the first available surface: one of the monstrous bystanders, the backup attraction to the terrifying woman beast. "Are they dead? What... What the hell even are they?"
 
Kaiya was just as confused.

He climbed down from the woman's shoulder. Adrenaline kept his heart pumping but the loss for words stayed his hands from grabbing the nearest blunt object and going to town shattering them like glass.

"I have no clue.. I was worried you might get hurt and there was this... voice and this light? I.." Running a hand through his hair, Kaiya took a deep breath, watching Fritz poke one of the bystanders. They didn't move, though their eyes did. They were just as aware as before...only stuck. Frozen solid.

More importantly, Kaiya noticed the way Frits struggled to move, the way he'd gripped his chest moments ago. "Hey, Are you ok?"
 
"What the hell was that? Some kind of... of magic?" He couldn't stop staring at the woman, seemingly frozen in place, frozen in time. Fritz wondered if she was alive within that icy coating. Was she frozen solid, lifeless now within an icy prison? Or... would she unthaw with time... and go back to the same inhuman rampage? He also wondered if he even cared which it was. He wanted to feel bad if she and these other people were gone to the world, dead for every point that mattered, but... if they had become these horrid and nasty monsters, then they were already gone anyway, weren't they?

"It was... amazing whatever it was..." He admitted. Gritting his teeth, he leaned against a market stall post for support, trying to keep himself from keeling over. He wasn't hiding his discomfort very easily, but, then again, he hadn't been trying to hide it. Shaking his head at the question, he said honestly, "I don't know. One of them... touched me. It didn't hurt me, or really make any sort of visible mark, but it hurt... in my chest, you know?" He tried to shake the feeling away as best he could, but it barely did anything. "Like having... a heart attack or something, I dunno."

"I-I'll be fine," he said, "I'm... I'm okay. Whatever you did... you saved me... Thanks, Kaiya. I owe you one."
 
"Anytime, man. I couldn't just watch you die -- " Said Kaiya with a reassuring smile, " -- The way you took that blow for me earlier, maybe you broke something?"

He thought back on when the woman had slammed her fists down on Fritz, wondering how he'd survived in the first place..there's no way he wouldn't have been hurt. His heart specifically though? That was concerning.
 
"You think so?" Fritz pressed his fingers into his chest. Light at first, he pushed harder until it began to hurt. Had he cracked a few ribs maybe? It WAS a little hard to breathe. Rolling up a corner of his shirt, he checked for bruising. He was no doctor, but he knew what bruises looked like and at least could guess what broken bones must have felt like. "Wish I... I knew what was up with these guys." What if... What if they could also do some nasty weird horror show magical stuff? They turned into monsters and attacked the two! What if they were also capable of inflicting some weird invisible damage!

"M-Maybe... there's internal bleeding or something..." As soon as he said it, he started shaking his head. Trying not to panic and get paranoid, he didn't want to open up that can of worms. "No... No probably not. I think... If I just rest, I'll be okay."

He was shivering, hugging his arms tight to his chest. "We should get out of here before those creature... unthaw or something. Hey, did you notice something? Like... Listen." Looking up and down the street both ways, he said, "You hear anyone? Anything? It's so... quiet now. How did no one hear this and come running?"
 
He walked around him to look for maybe something on his back as if maybe one of them passed through him like they did the ground, but saw nothing. It... was unnerving to think he might be hurt in a way they couldn't see.

"Ok, if you're sure." Kaiya nodded, walking up beside him. The way Fritz was shivering reminded him of the frost on the air. Kaiya didn't feel cold at all. Maybe it had something to do with the fact he'd been the one to it? Too many questions.

He stood very still, listening for a moment. Fritz was right, it was dead silent. Not so much as a car honk from the streets. Eerily still, and somehow more unnerving than if they'd somehow been ignored. "Let's get back to the hideout."
 
To be totally honest, Fritz really wasn't sure if he was as fine as he said he was. He didn't want to lie, but also didn't want to worry Kaiya. There was so much more to be worrying about right now and he was trying to focus on at least, for the moment, getting the hell out of here. The hideout. Yes. Yes that was a good idea. He nodded his head eagerly. "Y-Yeah. We can hide there before these guys thaw out or something or some friends of theirs suddenly pop up."

He made for the hideout, working his legs hard to keep upright. Taking a brief break to lean against a wall in the alley, he pressed a hand to his chest. "Swear I think I busted a rib," he grumbled. It hurt more to breathe, but once they got up to their rooftop hideaway, they could rest and get a much better vantage point over the city to see if there was anything else crazy going on around here... like if anyone other than Kaiya was slinging ice around like magic or if more people were turning into vicious shadowy whatevers.

Hiking up the ladder was a chore, but adrenaline powered him through to where he at least got to the top before collapsing in a heap on his butt, peaking over to make sure he hadn't pushed too hard and too fast and left his friend behind.
 
Kaiya was tired, but the events of the day thus far had him fidgeting with nervous energy the entire way back.

The streets were so empty, like no one was left. The town was small, sure, but never barren. Had everyone else turned into those creatures too? Had they been attacked? He had no idea, but something told him things were going to get worse before they got any better. Watching Fritz drop to his butt, Kaiya worried.

"So.. you're what's left? Well that's just boring." Came a cold, dry voice.

Kaiya turned quickly to look to the source. A figure cloaked in white and gold rested against the mini-fridge. An adult judging by their height, but their face was obscured heavily by their hood in such a way it made Kaiya think the inside of the cloak was made up of the same darkness that spawned the monsters in the Market.

They popped the cap of a soda, lifting it to the void of their hood and taking a sip.
 
There had barely been a moment to sit and rest before someone was speaking up and Fritz felt his blood run cold. He wondered for a moment if it was one of their buddies hiding out, but, without even looking he didn't even have to convince himself that wasn't it at all. The voice didn't fit and the tone was rather a little condescending even with the supreme disappointed apparently at just seeing the pair of them. And it clearly wasn't Nate anyway just judging by the size of this guy. Taller, maybe a bit bulkier, this wasn't one of their friends. It was someone older, someone bigger.

And there was something just... off about them. Whether it was the cloak or the mystery over who or what was beneath it, it set Fritz's teeth on edge.

Lifting his head, he watched the strange figure in the cloak help themselves to one of their sodas and Fritz groaned at him. He definitely wasn't feeling completely up to this, but bared his teeth and tried to look as tough as possible in his condition. "Who... Who are you? Are what are you doing here? This is our spot. Go... Go get your own."
 
"Tough talk from a kid with one foot in the grave..." Replied the figure, pointing with the can. "Maybe I should just put you out of your misery? Do you a favor?"

Kaiya stepped between them, holding out a hand in front of Fritz. "You'll have to go through me."

There was a long pause as Kaiya stared the figure down. He had no idea what this person was capable of, but he wasn't going to let anything else happen to Fritz so long as he could help it. The man seemed to get the hint, since he lowered the can with a shrug of his shoulders and turned his back to them, looking over the empty streets.

Kaiya didn't remove himself from between them, but he did narrow his gaze, curious. "You're not from around here.. are you?"

"Ha! Gods no." The man scoffed, folding his arms. "I'm from another world entirely, if you'll believe it. One of the Lucky ones... just like you."

"Lucky?"

"Yep." He tossed the can to the side. "They come from the Darkness. It isn't entirely clear how or why. One day they're just... everywhere. Then no one is left. Like the flip of a switch. Those with strong hearts are sometimes left in the Shell, right before everything goes."

The figure tilted his head back at the sound of thunder. "Shouldn't be long, now."
 
Fritz seethed, baring his teeth like nothing more than some wild animal. He didn't have the strength to get up and fight, but he would be damned if he was going to go down like a wounded rat. If this guy wanted such a battle, he'd promise to be the most angry dying animal that he could be; biting and clawing to the best of his ability. He was ever grateful to have a friend like Kaiya who was brave enough to stand between them. Honestly, while he worried he might get himself hurt trying to protect a friend, Fritz was just so lucky to have him here. "Kaiya..." he said weakly, voice trailing off, unsure what else there was to add after.

What the stranger said, he wasn't sure he even heard it right at first. "Another world? What-?" What did that even mean? How could someone be from another world? It made no sense, but then again, nothing here was making any sense. The stranger, the townsfolk, Kaiya's extraordinary whatever-that-had-been, even his own unusual injury, his discomfort. The pain. He was feeling weaker and weaker by the minute, almost as if the life was just draining right out of him. He kept wanting to say that he'd be fine with just but some rest, but this conversation sure knocked the wind out of him and he was having some trouble getting his bearings back.

"Darkness? What darkness?" he asked, "What do you mean there's... no one left? Are... Are those people dead?" No, they couldn't be!
 
The defiance in Fritz' eye didn't go unnoticed, but neither did the horrible state he was in. Maybe the kid had more fight in him, but it hardly seemed to matter. "Yes... and no." The man answered, turning to face the duo and gesturing at the sky which had quickly shifted a not so subtle hue of rose. "You might say it's worse than death, they've been turned into what we call the Heartless. Beings lacking in anything but the most basic desire to seek out and consumer hearts. Through them the Darkness spreads it's reach throughout the world, infecting it to it's very core."

"None of that makes any sense." Kaiya pointed out, shaking his head.

"Believe what you want, kid. This world's time is up."
 
"Heartless," Fritz asked. His hand drifted towards his chest rather absentmindedly, wondering just what the hell that must feel like. If it was anything like the ache he was already having from his encounter... Jeez... How did a person survive without their heart? Wasn't it an essential part of the body? Though, it explained why they didn't seem all that... together human anymore. "Is that why they were like that...? They were like... animals." No. Worse. They were monsters. Ferocious and hideous dark creatures.

"What do you mean this... this world's time is up?" Surely these creatures couldn't attack and consume every living person here. There must be some way to stop them! "They can... They can be stopped, can't they?"

Another question was aching at his mind, the pain in his chest from that unseen wound. He winced, grinding his teeth. "How does this darkness... work? How.. How does it even consume a person?" How did those poor people get like that?"
 
Kaiya listened, turning to face the figure who seemed to think for a moment. Whether it was a debate on how important it was to inform a "doomed world" or not was beyond him, but with their options limited to a crazy guy in a cloak on the roof, he figured it couldn't hurt to listen. After all if he had time to explain, it meant they must've had time to live and figure out a way out of this.

The man faced Fritz, resting a hand on his hip and giving a bored sigh. Then seemed to flicker across the space between them, tapping Fritz hard on the forehead. "What? you want me to give you a history lesson of the universe on a dying world? Don't be stupid...and don't think of it so literally. That thing pumping in your chest isn't the heart I mean. Think of it more like.. your soul or will. Best not to think about it too hard though."

Kaiya flinched at the movement; this person knew magic too. They must've. "Answer his questions quickly then! There's no way we can't fight back against something like this!" He demanded, clenching his fists.

The man folded his arms, "I'll tell you what." He said as thunder boomed overhead. "Complete my test, and I'll answer all your stupid questions for you. If you can't do that, there'd be no real point in my telling you a thing."
 
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