Kingdom Hearts: Oblivion

"Thank you. Oh thank you!" He honestly tried hard to let some relief flow over him that he had something of an almost ally here in that this Aranea would keep an eye out for Kaiya. He was still feeling numb, but he could fake it well enough, knowing how he should be relieved and glad for the helpful words. Better even was the suggestion she gave to help him search and show him around the town.

"That would be great," he agreed, "It would be a lot easier having someone... show me around so I don't accidentally go somewhere dangerous." Of course, it wasn't that he thought this town might be dangerous, but it was a new place and he was a stranger here. Having a guide was loads better than aimless wandering. "I appreciate that a lot, I mean."
 
"Think nothing of it, you might be helping me out more than me helping you in the end." Aranea said, gesturing with her finger for Fritz to follow her as she began the 'grand tour' starting with the first district. The first building being a two-story with a cafe setup at the main entrance, and steps leading up to the second floor where the owner must've lived.

The owner in question was a hispanic woman with flowing dark hair and a kind smile she gave while waving to them from the balcony. The patrons at the tables below waved as well, tipping their cups and giving a little salute in passing, which Aranea took in stride. "Truth is what you described was how most of us got here. Maria up there talked about everyone around her turning into heartless husks too. She'd hidden herself away in her shop when the world faded to black, and woke up here. Those guys at the table too. Some tried fighting back, others hid until everything went dark."
 
So it wasn't just his city then? Learning that there were more places that came under attack by these creatures was shocking. He would have been alright knowing that it was an isolated incident, that something somehow had made monsters or lured them to his home, to his world, and attacked everyone. He and Kaiya barely escaped with their lives intact thanks in no small part to the cloaked man. Yet, to know that others had gone through the same horrors was starling.

"Why is this happening?" he asked, "Do you know?" People here had different styles of dress and seemed like they didn't all quite... fit in perfectly together. Were they really all from different worlds? "Their worlds get destroyed by these Heartless and the survivors all wind up here, huh?" Saying it aloud for himself and giving a chance for those words to really sink in just really drove it home that his home was gone and he was stuck here. Possibly forever. "That's terrible... I wish there was a way to help them."
 
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"It's hard to tell 'why' darkness chooses to do the things it does, but if you ask me? I'd say the only logical answer is because it can. It's an unsatisfying answer, but without a face to put behind the events, it's everything we can do to just keep from being swallowed up with everything else." She said, walking then up the steps toward the accessory shop and bakery.

The suggestion of some way to help them made her expression sour. "There might have been a way at some point, but the darkness does something to people who might have the power to rise up against it. Changes them somehow." She turned to face Fritz. "It's like some kind of infection or curse. It'd be one thing if you died when heartless set upon you. But they don't allow that to happen. From the moment you take damage you're at risk. If you're strong enough to keep fighting then leaving that battle without getting purified will end up just the same. You just turn into something worse. Then there are those who are just... hollowed. Like they've gotten some part of them removed entirely..."

Crossing her arms she sighed. "The fear of turning against your loved ones quells any talk of figuring out what's going on, but we can't just stay here forever. Whatever this town IS, it can't last forever. WE can't last forever."
 
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"Because it can," Fritz repeated. As simple of an answer as that was, it made whole worlds of sense. Why else did anyone do anything? They did things because they could... what more reason did they need? This darkness was clearly a destructive force and all those forces knew how to do was destroy.

Listening to Aranea's words left a pit in his stomach. There was a distant thought far back in his mind, like a feeling that was trying to claw its way up and yet he just couldn't summon it: Panic. He knew the feeling well, had felt it several times before arriving here, but when it tried to surface, everything felt blurry and far off... like the memory of the feeling instead of the feeling itself. It was sickening and he was envisioning it like someone at the opposite end of a large field. He saw them and tried to reach them, kept running to them, but the field only stretched larger and larger and kept the same distance between them.
Damn it! Why couldn't he feel anything?

Hollowed. That word specifically seemed to resonate in him and that... that memory of panic sprung up in his head again.

"What happens to these people?" he asked, "That sounds... like it would be terrifying. Do they even know that it's happened to them?" Had it happened to him? Had he been hollowed out? He'd probably have vomited if there was anything in his stomach. Just what in the hell happened to him?
 
The question made Aranea frown, she stopped to lean against a light pole, crossing her arms and shaking her head. Eyes of sharpest scarlet regarding the boy with a mixture of concern and pity. "Well.. depends on who finds them. What would you do if someone you cared about ended up being nothing more than a shell of memories and instinct?"

Just then, a comet streaked across the sky in a brilliant blue. It caught the eye of everyone outside due to not only how bright it was, but that it seemed to only just clear the rooftop of the cafe before it smashed through the upper floor of the accessory shop, scattering wood and mortar into the road as it vanished over the wall of the 2nd district.
 
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Now that sure was a difficult question to answer. Fritz thought about it, eyebrows crinkling and drawing in as he thought about it. "I suppose I'd be concerned," he answered, "And worried. Probably scared..." Would he be any of those things? He tried to imagine what Kaiya might think seeing him like this. He was hollow. That was the only way he could explain it. What was he? Some kind of a monster? A freak? He tried to think a little more hopeful so he said after, "Maybe I'd try and find a way to help them... find out what was missing from them and... put it back."

Flinching, something bright lit up the sky and he looked up to see a comet streak by, smashing up a shop to go landing somewhere over the district wall. "What... What was that?" he asked, mouth gaping open. "Did you see that!"
 
"A good answer, Kid." She'd had a feeling about Fritz, one solidified by the boys answer. He was special, had to be.

People scattered to run clear of the destruction, her guards running into the shop to clear out anyone who might be injured or needed help. Aranea's gaze was locked on the door of the second district and the smoke and dust kicked up from wherever that thing had landed. "I'm not sure, but it can't be good. Are you able to defend yourself at all?"
 
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Fritz had started to move towards the door to the second district already, thinking nothing past a fascination over what that object could have been and a desire to help anyone that may have gotten hurt from the wreckage it caused in its wake. Only Aranea's words had him slowing and finally stopping. Right. It was dangerous past that door and he didn't have a weapon.

He patted his clothes like he needed to make sure of that fact, then shook his head. "No," he answered honestly. "I don't have anything I could use to defend myself. I... I mean I used to play sword fight with some friends, but I haven't held a real weapon."
 
It only took a quick glance to see how busy people were trying to get to safety. Doors and windows slammed shut, streets were cleared of all but those injured, and the guard looked to Aranea for instruction as she weighed the chances of Fritz not being lost in the shuffle should she just leave him to go and investigate.

"Lock off the district until we find out what the hell that was." She instructed the guard, stopping one passing by to pull a shortsword off them and tossed the blade (scabbard and all) to Fritz. "The kid's tagging along with me."

The guards nodded, marching off quickly to seal off the other entrances.

"Fritz, we're moving, but don't play hero. Keep low and out of sight. There could be heartless drawn to whatever that was. Got it?"
 
Catching the weapon as it was tossed his way, Fritz looked it over. He knew he should have been scared and nervous so he gave his best anxious nod to Aranea. "I understand," he answered, "I won't try anything stupid. Thanks." He was grateful for the weapon, satisfied to at least have something to defend himself with. He gave it a few practice swings while still in the scabbard before he attached the whole thing to his belt.

Clearly this was not a common occurrence by the way that everyone hurriedly sealed up their doors and windows. They were used to strangers showing up in their town, but nothing like a comet (or whatever it was) streaking through and crashing into the next district.

"I'll stay behind you," he promised, "And... keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Like monsters, he supposed. Heartless.
 
Upon entering the next district, Aranea and Fritz were welcomed by smoke and flames.

The Dragoon naturally took point, running forward to the edge of the shattered walkway overlooking the square. Or what was left of it.

Stone and mortar were scattered as if a bomb had gone off leaving the windows of the surrounding buildings shattered and people fleeing for their lives. Aranea gazed down into the pit where whatever it was had landed with all the grace of a cannonball.

Still, someone was there. Small, but definitely alive. They struggled to stand amidst the rubble, placing a gloved hand on an upturned slab of stone to slump against. They took strained, deep, breaths while trying to stand; then spoke.

"Where... Where am I?"

"Traverse Town. 2nd District." Aranea answered, but she didn't approach this person as she did with Fritz. Something kept her guard up, and her lance pointed right at them. "Who are you?"

"I... don't remember."

"Where did you come from?"

The figure paused, trying to think. Their hand raised to brush through long blond strands. "I.. Can't remember that either..."

Aranea's frown intensified. "That what do you remember?"

A chuckle. Something hideous and broken like salt in a fresh wound left the figure. Brief at first, until it seemed it was all they could do to keep from collapsing under so much mirth. A keen eye would see too that they weren't at all unharmed. Furthermore, this person laughing at the end of the world was absolutely covered in blood.

They turned to face Aranea and Fritz as the laughing seemed to finally subside. A hand raised, poised to do...something. "I only remember the screams..."
 
Being greeted by a blast of smoke in his face, Fritz coughed. Oh good. At least he still seemed to have lungs that worked. That was a good sign, right? He was hollowed out of whatever emotions he should have been feeling, but he could apparently still choke on smoke. Covering his mouth with the back of his hand did little to nothing and he was soon pulling at the collar of his shirt to cover his nose and mouth and breathe through that. At least there'd be a little bit of a filter.

Surrounded by debris, it looked to Fritz like maybe one of those craters you'd see from a big meteor crash or something. He might have suggested that was what it was, but a bloody figure standing in the middle killed that thought before it even left his throat. Was it a victim that got struck by the falling object, or... was this person the one who fell and left that rubble behind?

Fist tightening around the hilt of his offered sword, he stood ready to defend himself should it become necessary. The laughter was unsettling, but he just couldn't bring himself to be scared. He should have felt fear, wanted to feel fear. This was going to be incredibly cumbersome if he wasn't going to be able to feel literally... anything. "What screams?" he asked aloud, curious. Apparently that was something he still possessed... maybe because it wasn't so much a emotion as it was just a desire for knowledge.
 
" 'What Screams?' " There was a moment of piqued interest at the lack of fear in the child's eyes that settled into disgust as the person stepped forward from the smoke and into the firelight. "Cries for help, Screams for Mercy, take your pick, they're gone either way. And soon, so will you."

"He's..so young." Aranea said, and she was right. The boy had the build of an athlete, but overall looked to be barely older than 19. His clothes were torn, overalls frayed, boots worn down and filthy. The very arm he held out toward them sporting some kind of padded armor, yet it appeared to be barely capable of holding up to anything as battered as it was.

"Guess it's safe to say you don't intend to stay peacefully...." Aranea's answer came in the form of a stream of fireballs sent rocketing toward them. "Fritz, Get down!"
 
Fritz swallowed hard, taking a step back to give the appearance of being afraid. People screaming for help. Were they also being attacked by those nightmarish creatures? The Heartless? He wondered what was the better fate for those who were attacked. Was it better that they got killed than winding up like him... all hollowed out like some empty doll pretending to be a human?

He had very little time to think about what to say in response when he was suddenly being shouted at to get down. At least his instincts still worked perfectly fine and he ducked without only a fractions hesitation. Fireballs streaked overhead, narrowly missing him and he put an arm over the top of his head to try to shield himself. "Hey, what the hell!" he shouted. Confusion seemed another not quite emotion that he was capable of expressing and he filed that right alongside curiosity.

Clearly this kid was not a friend that had crash landed and wanted to coexist with the people of this town like Fritz was. "Who are you!" he shouted at the stranger.
 
"Call me Tidus, Not that it'll matter!" The boy called, leaping toward them with a half-spin, dragging his hand through the smoke to draw from it a blazing red longsword that sparked with embers right up until he clashed with Aranea in a flash of steel.

"I know that name.. you're supposed to be a hero!" Grunted Aranea, pushing Tidus back with a shove and jumping after him.

"I ain't supposed to be anything but myself!" He shot back, unleashing another flurry of fireballs, each of which were deflected by the deft twirling of Aranea's lance spraying embers out and away from her and Fritz.

"Fritz! See if you can sneak behind him!"
 
Tidus.

Trying to rack his brain for anything that sounded familiar, Fritz wasn't sure if he ever heard that name before. It didn't sound like anyone he knew, or maybe he just didn't remember or didn't recall. A hero, Aranea called him. A hero? If he was a hero, then why was he trying to attack her?

"Aranea!" he shouted, though he wasn't sure why. Was he feigning shock and alarm? It wasn't like he was really feeling anything at all. He knew what he should have been feeling, and acted on that. Following her instructions, he searched the area for a way to sneak out and around without getting in the blast radius of that fire.

Rubble was piled up from the impact of this boy's arrival and it provided at least a slight wall that he could climb and stumble around. While they were distracted with one another, he could only hope to go mostly unnoticed. Sword drawn now, he was ready to defend himself or fight if need be. Maybe that was one good thing to this hollow-ness. He didn't feel any guilt or apprehension or reservations about trying to stab at the one who was attacking his... friend? Could he call her that? More like acquaintances, probably, and that was good enough.

"Hey!" he shouted, aiming to be the distraction now as he tried to get behind, to come in from another angle, "Try that with me why don't you!" Maybe it was a foolish move that would get him hurt, maybe not what the knight was going for, but maybe also if he could distract long enough, she could go in for the knock out.
 
In the midst of his barrage Fritz's voice cut through the howling flames, snatching at Tidus' attention.

"Oh? Think I can't hit a moving target!?" The boy cackled, eyes sliding away from Aranea to try find where Fritz had gone. "Come on out and play!"

In the laps of attention, Aranea gave one mighty swing of her lance, kicking up a spiral of smoke and dust. Tidus shook his head, charging up a much larger fireball and tossing it skyward. Jumping into the air after it, he flipped upside down to deliver a flash kick that spiked the fireball with such force and speed it not only parted the smokescreen but caused an explosion of fire that swept through the area, shattering windows of the surrounding magic and item shops.

When Tidus landed, he crossed his arms. "Hah! Guess I still got it. Now.. where's the brat?" He asked, looking around him.
 
Fire. There was so much fire.

Fritz was struggling to breathe, hearing himself choke and cough. Though robbed of some parts of him that made him human, his body was very much as fragile as a human's could be. It needed air and there was so very little of that here. Smoke was stinging in his eyes and making them water and his lungs were screaming for smokeless air that felt better to suck in.

He was holding one arm up over his head, trying to protect himself from shards of glass and falling embers. Tidus had dealt one massive blow of an attack against the knight and Fritz couldn't be certain whether she had survived that or not. He doubted that he would have under the same set of circumstances. Whether she was okay or not, he couldn't rely on her to protect him right now. For the moment, it seemed he was completely on his own. It was between him and the boy. Surrounded by smoke and glass and brimstone, this may as well have been a sort of Hell.

Even though he wasn't a proper fighter who knew how to wield a real weapon, he still had the element of surprise with him. Tidus was looking for him which was something he could use to advantage. Letting himself be as obscured as possible by the smoke, he moved as close as he could. Weapon held high, he shouted just before he ran in, swinging for an attack. "I'm right here!"
 
To be over the top and flashy had always been in Tidus' blood. The born-again blitzballer loved the glitz and glamour. The hype and attention that came with making a massive move on his opponents, and bathing in the praise. On the side of darkness he was no different, and that proved to be less than helpful.

Amidst all the smoke and fire it was all too easy for Fritz to get the jump on him. Even with the battlecry giving away the boy's opposition, Tidus was too slow to raise his weapon by a fraction of a second and turned only to catch a sharp edge across the chest.

White-hot pain forced him back a few steps, but it wasn't blood that ran down the scar of flesh, nor did scarlet stain the boys blade.

It was something thicker.

Like the very shadows from which the heartless spawned, a thick ink ran free of the wound as he [placed a hand over it with a sneer. "Why-you little punk!"

He took only a single step forward before a bright light streaked from overhead, parting the smoke with an impact so sudden the air cracked like thunder. His blade fell from his fingertips as he found himself impaled by a the strike from above, leaving his back arched and body only supported by the tips of his toes and the very lance piercing his chest. His gaze followed to the red eyes of Aranea, gripping the lance with the ferocity of a huntress, and the gaze of a killer.

"Thanks for the opening, Kid. Good instinct using the smoke and rocks for cover." She complimented, pulling her lance free as Tidus slumped over.
 
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