is this what we deserve, can we break free

[sandandflannel.livejournal.com]

Who: Everyone
What: The Darkness has taken the Denizens of Light. How will they retaliate, having reached their destination?
Where: Alexandria
When: Sunday, June 12

Koios stood silently looking out of the window of Jagannatha's former quarters. He watched as their enemies rose from the Darkness that had pulled them in, stealing them away from their safe havens and bringing them here, where perhaps all of their worst fears would come true.

Alexandria's sky had turned black. The only things illuminating the false world anymore were a scant few lamps and candles... and the Hearts of the Allies of Light themselves. One had appeared with a fortress of Light, destroying many of the homes around them as Darkness threw her out of its arms. He watched, morbidly fascinated, as one by one, they rose into their cage.

Chernabog glowered down at them from above. He was a fine choice for the role of sentinel, boasting nearly as much power as the First Darkness himself. Koios, as well as the Heartless and Nobodies swarming about below, were nothing short of a safety measure - not that Jagannatha found it particularly necessary. In truth, it was more of a courtesy for the Nobody, a chance to properly boast to the losers, should he wish to take it. But for now, he remained where he was, observing the scene unfold impassively.

If Koios knew anything about the Key Bearers and Refugees, they wouldn't give up simply because they'd been trapped here, in Darkness, with no way discernible way out. No. That would only empower them. But the question remained: what would be their next step?

In any case, he thought, it would definitely prove to be a good show.

OOC: If you were not on the list of exceptions, you are now in Alexandria. Anyone who has any way of sensing the Hearts of others will know that any people native to this world have no Hearts, just as the world itself is lacking one. And yet, not a one of them is a Nobody.

All methods of transportation will fail.

Comments

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

Seph froze at the sound of a child's laughter. If he'd spent more time around him he might not have taken so long to realize who's laughter it was.

This time making an effort to be silent, he went towards the sound. It was very unlikely that the child was here alone.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

Straining to hear, Awiergan scowled. Damn it, she couldn't tell if- Well, now she was being stupid. If Amy could do it so could she. Closing her eyes for just a moment, she tapped into Amy's little 'gift'. The girl was good at sensing people, wasn't she? So maybe it could tell her who was here.

Someone that was dark, but comfortable. ...That didn't make any sense. She was tempted to release her hold on Amy long enough to ask but decided against it.

"Time to get out of here, Elijah. We've got company." She made sure the kid had a good grip on his toy and opened a portal. Coming back here had been a dumb idea.

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

And that was when Seph found them.

Before he even realized it, his sword was between the woman and the portal. However, he recovered his composure in an instant.

"Oh but you just got here," he said with a smirk. "It would be rude to leave without even saying 'hello'."

Apparently stress brought out his inner creeper.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

Oh. It was him. Now Amy's vibes made sense. Only she could be comfortable around a remnant of Darkness wielding a six foot long sword. The obvious joke occurred to her then, and she made a note to taunt Amy with it later.

"All right then, so hello. Would you mind removing your impossibly long weapon? It's past the little one's nap time, and he's grumpy."

To the contrary, and much to Awiergan's annoyance, instead of yawning or crying, or anything a baby did when they were grumpy, Eli instead beamed at Seph, waving his toy.

"Seph! Hi!"

Oh Darkness, what a mess.

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

Seph had a rather difficult choice to make. If he let the woman go he could possibly be giving up his one chance of getting the kid out of an enemy's hands.

If he decided to try taking the child from the woman he'd then have to take care of him. That would be rather inconvenient. Not to mention Seph didn't know the first thing about taking care of children.

"You have an odd definition of grumpy." The sword remained where it was. He was almost surprised that the boy knew his name. He'd barely spent any time near him when he still lived at Rainbow's End.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

"More like Eli does."

She frowned down at the toddler, who had begun to bounce in the hip carrier, reaching out for Seph. She took a step back, away from the sword barring her way. Her options, as she saw them, were rather limited. She could open another portal and possibly be skewered in the process (Or Eli could, by accident, and the thought sent a shudder through her); She could give him the kid and come back later (Oh, but what a bother), or she could freak him out and toss Amy at him. It wasn't what she'd intended when she'd taken over this last time; Awiergan had plans for her Other to stay locked up and out of her way for a very long time. Not to mention her secret would get out a lot faster and she'd lose the element of stealth. On the other hand, no one trusting Amy anymore...that'd be entertaining to watch.

"Want to know a secret?~"

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

"You've piqued my curiosity."

Really Seph was debating whether he should try to take the kid. Honestly the woman would probably do a better job of taking care of him. It already seemed as if she was good at it.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

"The Darkness is always a lot closer than you think."

The portal faded and Awiergan smiled at him, stroking Eli's hair. The little boy glanced up at her, tilting his head to the side as if he was seeing something not obvious to Seph. Then, it was.

The woman's red hair began to fade to a lighter color, a brownish blonde. Brown eyes shifted to blue-grey, and a set of glasses appeared on her face. The clothes she was wearing, a thin green summer dress, stayed the same. Amy blinked a couple times and shook her head, confused.

"What- Eli?"

She frowned down at the child on her hip, who by now was beaming and patting her chest.

"Mama! Mama, hi to Seph!"

Amy raised her head and stared blankly at Seph for a moment before lifting Eli out of the hip carrier. She cuddled him in her arms and seated herself on the floor.

Just in case she got the rug yanked out from under her again.

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

Seph wasn't exactly surprised. He'd half suspected almost everyone since finding out about Song.

The question now was what to do. The other was clearly better at taking control and there were few options. He wasn't even sure whether he had one of the options with him. The tiny world in the orb would probably be useful in this situation...

"Are you alright?" She didn't seem it but, he had to say something.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

Amy heard his question but it took her a few seconds to respond to it. She looked up from her study of Eli's fingers and nodded.

"Mostly. I think. Just...surprised. Too much tea with Darkness-infested plushies, you know."

Sure, like that would make sense to him. So she was out of her prison now, but-

"The others are gone, aren't they? Have you- have you heard from them?" Jalen was okay, she knew he was. Her warrior tuna. He was probably kicking Darkness ass from here to Kingdom Hearts, right now. Song, though, and everyone else...

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

"They are trapped in Alexandria. It is inaccessible and communication is not possible. They are alive, for now."

He started digging around in his bag of holding. Mostly to keep from thinking too hard about the situation. He found the Wayfinder Aria had given him but, quickly shoved it back inside.

It turned out that he didn't have the orb. He considered a moment before speaking again.

"I don't know what to do," he muttered. "I was searching out Jagannatha but, what will happen to Eli if she takes control again?" He felt bad about considering leaving the child with her earlier just because he didn't know how to care for him.

But, he couldn't take care of Eli and go after the one who sent everyone to that prison of a world.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

Rocking Eli and watching him start to drift off clutching his toy, Amy didn't seem to have heard Seph's muttering. But then she spoke, her voice quiet.

"She loves him. I don't know how that's possible considering what she is, and she hasn't actually told me so, but...call it mother's intuition."

She glanced up at Seph and smiled faintly. "You should help the others if you can."

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

Seph sighed in frustration.

"I believe you are right. Darkness does not make one incapable of love." He has experience with this. "Leaving him in her care may not be good for him in the long run but, he will be fine for a while."

The situation really sucked. He couldn't really trust her and he certainly couldn't kill her.

"I think I'll see if there is anything edible left in the kitchen before I go." He didn't ask if she wanted go with him but, he waited a moment to see if she would.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

She wasn't sure when the last time she- Awiergan had eaten, but she didn't feel hungry. Maybe it was just shock at being in charge of herself again.

"There's some coconut-covered chocolate fish in the drawer where we keep the measuring cups, if you want 'em. I'm not hungry."

What she really wanted to do was change out of this silly dress, put Eli down for his nap, and cuddle up with him, but she was almost afraid to sleep. What if this was the last time Awiergan let her out? What if she wasn't strong enough to fight her, despite what Jalen had said? She ran a finger down Eli's cheek, the faint smile from before still in place. He looked so much like his father it was almost scary.

"Besides, Ladybug's asleep now, I don't want to disturb him by getting up. We'll be okay here for a while."

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

"Alright."

He started to walk from the room.

"I will be in the kitchen if you need me and I'll check on you before I leave." That mostly involved just checking to see if she was still there and herself. He didn't expect her to have too long but, there was a chance she could manage to remain in control if she tried.

[ondraedan.livejournal.com]

"'Kay."

Do you really want to sit here and be babysat? Oh, sure, he'll be leaving soon, but don't we have better things to do?

Amy shook her head, focusing on Eli. Ignore the bitch, ignore her...why the hell couldn't Awiergan like jeans? Probably wore dresses just to spite her.

Yes, that's exactly it, dearest. Can we leave now, before he decides he'd be better served tying you to something and putting Eli in the safe room?

He wouldn't do that. He's my friend.

Amy winced as Awiergan laughed, sharp-edged and bitter. Your friend? How often do you hang out with him? Play any games with him lately? Let him babysit your precious son? Friend indeed. When he comes back in here, he'll have made up his mind about you. He'll take Eli. Wouldn't Jalen want him to if he had the chance?

Bullshit. If Seph was going to take Eli from her, he would have done it already. He had other things to do, and couldn't drag a toddler along with him. She doubted he'd leave him alone in a locked room somewhere with her incapacitated while he went off to help the others.

Frankly, I don't trust him. You're right, you know. I do love Eli, and I want him safe. If you love him, you'd do the right thing and not take a chance. You'd leave.

Awiergan sounded perfectly serious, not taunting at all. She sounded as if she was trying to help. Amy sighed and rubbed her forehead with her free hand. She was beginning to get a headache.

"Go away." She muttered. "You're a liar and a pain in my ass and-"

There was a second of blankness, then she found herself standing, cradling Eli to her chest. There was a portal in front of her, so close she could reach out and touch it.

For Eli. Only we can protect him.

No longer arguing, and without even stopping to think about it, Amy stepped through. The portal closed seconds later, leaving silence in it's wake.

[creepy-son-of-a.livejournal.com]

Seph wasn't gone for much more than ten minutes. He wasn't surprised to find them gone. He sighed sadly and turned to leave.

"I'll help Jalen find you when he's freed from that place," he muttered to no one.