Riku slumped against the wall, getting some rest in after that fight. It seemed like the guy hadn't had a proper stop moment since something went down with that massive door... maybe even before then.
"Thanks... for helping," Riku said suddenly. Looking at him, he refused to meet your eyes.
"I don't really deserve any kindness after what I did to everyone... what I nearly did to the Worlds, but thank you," he repeated.
"Deserve? Nothing to do with deserve. Good people help their friends. I'm trying to be that kind of person even if I don't have a Heart," you said promptly. Riku blinked once slowly.
"I have had my Heart consumed and used by Darkness, but I guess having no Heart must feel even worse," he said apologetically. You tilted your head.
"It doesn't feel like anything. It is what it is. But you should sleep. I shall watch over you for the time," you said, not offering because he'd be the kind of guy to turn such an offer down. After a few minutes, Riku's head dropped down slightly as he propped one knee up.
He looked like he was posing. The kid just oozed style... even if he did have two pairs of pants on. While he slept, you could finally do something about this bursting power within your empty shell. Ever since Lexeaus was defeated and you consume his...remains? His power? Something was different.
You would think about that later. For now, you began to channel this new gained power.
Sharpshooter is now level 2!
+1 to accuracy rolls.
Warrior is now level 2:
+2 HP
All melee weapon rolls gain +2.
The slight rumble of earth in your body made you feel... stronger. You may be snacked on by a zombie elephant twice now...
Besides that, some faint... echoes of training flowed to you. Like another life half-remembered in a dream that scattered upon waking. You could swing a sword, stab with a spear, or even hold a shield somewhat better.
You focused and your gloves vanished to be replaced by a solid clunk on your head. You felt a clunky battered metal helmet on your head now. It was more a bucket than anything... Cindy's bow acted like the tassel coming out the top.
"You look cool," Riku said sleepy as he yawned. You paused. You were sure maybe an hour had passed since you began the process of growing stronger.
"You looked tired still," you replied.
You both shared a moment, and finally... you noticed how at ease you both were now. You had become companions along the way it seemed.
Maybe soon... proper friends?
N-Link gained! Riku
+1 protection against darkness attacks.
Before you could really spark up a conversation, you felt a tug on yourself.
Era... I'm so...cared. Plea...
That voice sounded like... Cindy. Her voice called across the darkness, across a bond you shared.
"A friend is calling. Will you be oka-" you began but Riku stood up.
"Go. I need to find Sora and deal with the weirdos in cloaks. I'll meet up with you sooner or later. You'll find me," Riku gave a slight hand salute as he headed towards the door, holding a blue card.
For the briefest of moments, his form shimmered to show in that strange fleshy costume with the white kilt. The image flickered away and Riku was normal again.
You moved into a dark portal.
You followed Cindy's call back to her World, managing to aim directly for the right building she was in... but before long the connection became too hard and ethereal to follow proper and you had to gamble on where to come out.
You ended up in some dark chamber of relics. You could feel how secure and locked down this room was the moment you appeared. You reached out and the lack of light hindered you slightly as this dark treasure room seemed intent on crushing you or making you think it was.
After a moment, you managed to find a door knob and step out of what you saw now was a janitor's closet.
The hallway outside was dark and seemed to be made with a dull white colour scheme along with drab plants and paintings on the wall. It screamed 'boring office' to you.
But Cindy was somewhere around here...
You focused and with a confident sense, you headed down a corridor. You had Cindy so locked on that you could find her in your sleep... if you slept.
You turned down a hall, past two sets of torn apart doors, moving beyond what seemed like a massive spill of blood, and into a stairwell. Cindy was definitely this way! You got the bottom and stared at the secure door that had been slammed into the opposite wall.
"Guess someone lost their keycard," you mumbled. Down this hallway led to a more wrecked looking environment. Vents hung loose of their hinges, alarms blared, sealed doors to labs had little windows that showed their contents had been demolished.
A fire even crackled in one lab with something acting as fuel.
The bond you were using strained as you drew closer. This was the bond you felt at the zoo, but for some reason it didn't have that nice feeling Cindy had. You turned into a large space where little damage had been done here. Your bond snapped hard as it proclaimed you had arrived.
You stared at the massive laboratory and the single large test tube able to hold a giant in the middle.
You stared before sighing.
"Heart bond tie thing... that is David," you grumbled. In the test tube, David was suspended in a green liquid as his body was naked except for a tiny speedo. Interestingly, his skin was developing strange wounds across his body.
You had not been gone long... how did they...
You had a sudden feeling that time spent in some worlds... did not equate to others. This looked like a many day process. You peered at the wounds and saw the flesh had taken on a serrated style. Almost like teeth on a zipper. Nearby a computer screen. It flashed with five audio files.
You played the first one. They seemed like spliced together cliff notes if anything.
"Subjects came in and honestly, I fail to see why this is worth our attention over our original goal of T-Virus infecting Butterflies, but I do not control the budget," an annoyed man spoke aloud.
"The male is borderline incompentent. He tried to escape and hit a door on his way out, knocking himself out. The girl, Subject-Zeus, does have odd readings of electo-magentic pulls, but I will inspect her after I admire the butterflies. They grow ever larger," the man sighed with affection.
You played the second file as you explored the room.
"Amazing! The girl was able to shift her clothes and output nearly thrice the amount of energy. She killed two Zombies when I tried to test her. Fried them to a crisp with a gun she did not have moments before. I believe we're looking at some form of nanomachines!" the man panted almost indecently into the microphone.
"Sadly, she appears to be one of the few rare able to resist the T-Virus. However, we were able to get a sample of her blood while she was in Zeus mode, as I call it. It seemed oddly to be mingled with a substance defies categorising. It is weightless, colourless, and only has thin membranes that contain nothing of interest. These bubbles of nothing seemed to be the source of her power, but I cannot see in any spectrum how they work.. I had kept Wesker out of this. His arrogant reign on this company has come to an end. Finally, I will shine... with my army of Zeus Butterflies!" the man laughed slightly maincially.
The room had coffee mugs, reports, charts, and so many ink ribbons it was obscene.
The next report was short.
"The butterflies exploded. I will need time to grieve."
You held up a green herb that smelled... odd. You put it in your storage for now.
Green Herb: Heals biological targets by 10 HP.
Tape four played.
"Having no use for the male. I spliced the T-Virus and the Null cells into him at the same time with some DNA of the butterflies. Surely one of them will produce something..." the man sighed.
The next tape played.
"I was a fool. Wesker is coming tonight for my Data. My Null cells would be immensely useful to him. I have lost everything... if I can't have my beautiful butterflies then Wesker can't have anything either! Tonight... every cell, every lock, every creature will be set free. Like from a cocoon, my work will fly. Except Subject Prometheus. He shall remain in his tube. His body has developed mouth like lesions on his body. Over the last day, the subject has expelled vital organs and bones as if trying to empty his own body of such things. Or perhaps... to make room for something?" the man pondered and the recording cut off.
Besides the herb, you found a heavy flashlight that looked like it could crush some skulls. You took it and it vanished in a flash of nobody energy.
It reappeared pure white in your hands with an ornate silver crown head that flickered with an eerie silver glow, mimicking the light of the flashlight.
Gained: Silver Crown Mace: Melee. Does 4 blunt damage and casts light with no energy cost.
Slotted into Warrior class.
"And what are you exactly?" came a voice over unseen speakers. The voice was a smooth elegant male's voice. It carried supreme confidence and authority.
"Nobody of interest," you answered automatically. The voice paused.
"I believe I quite disagree. You see, I've been looking for you. Was it Spencer... Marcus? Alex? Which one of them developed such a sophisticated weapon independent of the T-Virus? What are you?" the voice pressed again and lights began to turn back on in the hall as if responding to the man's voice.
You leaned on your new mace.
"No, none of them. Quite literally...Nobody.. You're not the crazy butterfly man, so would you be the evil Wesker coming to steal his research?" you asked, looking around as more machines began to turn on.
"Astute. If you've come to find Miss Lennox, you'll find her on the other side of this facility. She is currently turning on the power in some misguided attempt to escape," Wesker said, more amused by this.
"This means, for you, that Dr Ivan's work will also be waking up. He had set everything to be released. Even young David there in his last moments. I have no idea if this subject is worth salvaging. So, as new friends, would you gather some data for me?" Wesker chuckled as he disconnected his voice from the speakers.
You turned to the tube where dull grey eyes opened and then hands spasmed. His whole body began to convulse as if having some seizure. His many zipper mouths writhed as vein like legs moved inside them.
Honestly, David looked like he would keel over before he'd do anything.
The glass exploded as David fell to the floor. You stared as his back ripped open as his spine lifted out, growing new bone like a tree. Between each new tendril, thin glossy blood wings formed, moving erratically as they lifted the limp body up off the ground. It was stuck in David's body, whatever this thing was.
Your chance had come.
You raced in with your new mace. The end gleaming silver as young swung it over head in a massive downwards cleave. You cracked the main spine so hard it fractured into pieces barely held together by stringy veins. The creature inside David screamed and the body began to churn as it tried to just claw its way free.
Your mace glowed and you felt power rise in your body.
Warrior class ability created: Combo!
Combo: When you crit with a melee weapon while this class is equipped, you may do another strike without the foe able to defend itself.
You spun the staff like a baton and smashed David's head which had begun to wriggle. You felt nothing for the idiot, but you could give him mercy at least.
The head exploded and something else did too.
Oblivion Caterpillar: HP202
The creature tried to haul itself with one almighty push towards a vent in the ceiling, screaming all the while. It missed horribly, crashing into a light where the exposed wiring from the crash caused it to ignite in energy and smoke. The thing screamed and fell down, bringing the light with it and a chunk of the ceiling before a steel pipe came loose and impaled the thing. You're unfired fireball just hung on the tip of your mace...
You just poked it with the spell and it crumbled to ashes with a moan.
Poor creature. It had gained David's deadweight DNA for itself. What a curse.
"That was borderline entertaining. I must say..." Wesker spoke up over the speakers, sounding like he had been laughing.
You just walked on. Ignoring his prying questions. Wesker was so rude...
In ten minutes of kicking doors open or slithering through vents, you came upon Cindy blowing some monster with a long tongue to pierces with a minigun... you stared as she screamed in rage and defiance as she tore through countless undead with unstoppable force.
"Hello, you called?" you asked and Cindy turned around, looking mad for a second before she froze.
"Eraqus?" she whispered.
"I would hope so. Hate to have lost another name," you answered as she lowered the heavy gun and looked ready to cry.
"David... they did something to David," she sniffed and looked rather fragile for someone with a minigun.
"I did something to him too. He's in idiot heaven now," you said as soothing as you could. Cindy sagged.
"He's free… Thank you," she breathed. A voice sounded out.
"Self-destruct in 5 minutes."
Cindy stared at the ceiling.
"We're five floors below ground! We'll never make it," she panicked. You told her to focus on her shift mode. She changed with some effort and you dragged her into the portal, hoping her Nobody mode would be a good enough protection.
Cindy's scream went curiously quiet after a moment.
On outset Island high above the village, you pulled Cindy out as she stared blankly at the sky blue... so blue sky. You were wondering if her heart was taken or harmed when she shivered.
"I'm cold," she whispered. It was warm enough to make you feel the heat, so the fact she was cold was odd.
You helped her to sit up and she stared at the blue ocean beyond.
"Where... are we?" she croaked.
"Another World. A new world where Wesker cannot find you," you promised.
Cindy's heart was challenged by the trip. She will need some time to recover.
Cindy suffers from 'Weakened heart'. Unable to do battle or risk another trip for some time. She also gains +1 defence from future travel.
You knew you would stick out, but Cindy looked nothing like the people here. It was like two different art styles when side by side. Cindy would need to blend in somewhat.
Riku could change clothes, and you changed shape... maybe you could cast some spell to do the same for Cindy. You saw a shimmering green Rupee nearby. It was covered by grass and rocks, but you held it up.
You called on the Moogle that never was.
"Kupo... you called?" it appeared in a puff of black smoke.
"I need to make this woman look like the people here," you explained bluntly. The moogle shook its head with a sigh.
"You're skirting the rules, ya know? Bringing people to other worlds with your power makes them your responsibility, Kupo. If she ends up telling people or inviting danger, the consequences could ripple back to you. Very few can break the World Order and benefit. You lack a Keyblade or a Heart to manage either," the moogle chided.
"She would have died. That was not acceptable," you stated.
"Kupo... I'm just letting you know. The Worlds regulate how many Hearts they have in it. A few here and there moving about is not a big deal. But too many? You could cause a world to become very ripe for Darkness," the moogle explained.
He passed over a curious orb to you. Taking it made it sink into your noodle arm.
"This is a fitter-in-spell. It calls upon the World to disguise you a manner it sees as normal. Once cast, that world will remember you that way forever unless you mature or break down... or maybe connect another sub dimension, kupo," the moogle added.
"Heartless use this spell automatically because they crave the world's heart. You can do it too, but I'm not sure it'll work too well," the moogle instructed.
He vanished, leaving no trace behind as Cindy inhaled once softly.
"I've never seen the ocean so clean," she whispered. You tapped her with your new spell and with a puff of smoke... Cindy reappeared with enlarged eyes and slightly elvish ears.
"What?" she yelped as if this was a bucket of cold water. She stood up to show she was maybe only five feet now.
"Come... let's find you someone to help you out," you said tapping yourself. The feeling was much like an egg running down your head.
When the smoke vanished, Cindy stared.
"How do I look?" you asked calmly. Cindy's lips twitched then she began to make some weird chattering noise before she broke into laughter.
It didn't take long to find your reflection in the water.
You were a blank-eyed staring child with an oversized cooking pot on his head. Your pale skin and mouth were all people could see as you stared out a grate like visor in the pot.
Removing the pot showed you were a silver-haired clone of Link. You had his features exactly. You guessed this was what the moogle meant when he said it didn't work exactly on Nobodies.
It was also strange to have hands again. Your outfit was just a generic white shirt and black pants.
Bland and uninspiring. You moved around and while you didn't hip thrust. You had a permanent slant backwards as if your head was far too heavy.
You watched Cindy stare at the tiny village with awe.
She began to smile.
EXP gained: 40!