Connecting Key

Otherworldly was a good word. The trees were completely different from up above. Different from anything Roxas could remember, in fact. But aside from the alien trees, there was something familiar about the rocks, and the darkness, and the water…. just what w– 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬?

That was… the first he’d heard of Oathkeeper in a while. They were right, this cavern was similar to the Realm of Da–

Roxas’ train of thought was cut off again. There was someone talking at him. Was that Lucas? If so, uh, Lucas seemed to fall back. He looked on edge, almost in a fighting stance? Roxas crouched down a little, too. “Did I hear what?”

Now, he’d asked what Lucas wanted. A pause. More staring. Finally, ‘I’ll help you out’... had Lucas been this direct last time? He seemed a little more ready to lead now, too... Still, enough thinking for now. There’d been enough silence as it was. “Fine, I guess you know the drill, right?” They’d traveled before, after all “There’s that big... triangle rock thing, so we should check that out I think?”

“Hey, you.” it’s more demanding than he realizes, more cold. Claus is reaching on near tip-toes to grab onto this stranger’s shoulder before they can get away. He wants to cover his ears, but he doesn’t have the luxury. Curling up and giving in here wasn’t an option.

Claus flinches immediately when he hears it again, staggering gracelessly backwards. And he gives the stranger a stern look too afterwards, like he meant to do it. “Did you hear that?”

Otherworldly was a good word. The trees were completely different from up above. Different from anything Roxas could remember, in fact. But aside from the alien trees, there was something familiar about the rocks, and the darkness, and the water.... just what w-- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬?

That was... the first he’d heard of Oathkeeper in a while. They were right, this cavern was similar to the Realm of Da--

Roxas’ train of thought was cut off again. There was someone talking at him. Was that Lucas? If so, uh, Lucas seemed to fall back. He looked on edge, almost in a fighting stance? Roxas crouched down a little, too. “Did I hear what?”

Still, back in the present, Lucas asked a good question. What was that? “I don’t really know but… remember the contract? ‘I assume the potential of the inner strength.’ It’s uh, that?” It also felt like magic, but would Lucas get that? This place was confusing enough without alternate worlds’ magic… He might as well wait to explain magic to Lucas if he didn’t understand it, but only once he got a- oh, right! “It’s called a Persona, I think?” That name seemed to just come to him.

Lucas raises a brow. Roxas calls the contract to mind, and… yeah, he supposes it fit the bill. Maybe he was just that unprepared for all of this. Lucas hadn’t exactly been in the most cognizant state of mind when he’d signed the thing, and he’d been trying to put it out of his mind anyway… getting taken by surprise probably oughtn’t be so surprising.

He tries to focus on the matter at hand.

“I kinda kinda know, but I’m sure they’re–” …Wait a sec. He’s a bit late on the uptake, but after a beat, he does a double-take.

“–What do I look like, a dog?” He scoffs, indignant. Smell them? He can’t tell if Roxas is being earnest or dryly making fun of him. “I’m not just getting scared! There’s definitely more of ‘em…”

Lucas rubs at his temple. Strange. He hasn’t even got the capacity to use any PSI right now, yet a vengeful headache is forming. There are dark flickers of movement in the periphery of his vision. When he turns his head, the shadows aren’t there, but he can feel it, he’s certain of it; they’re close.

“Don’t you feel it…? It’s like… somethin’s tugging at the corner of my eye…”

Anything further he says is inaudible (and increasingly nonsensical). The howling wind diminishes; whatever Roxas might have replied with is drowned out by a deafening, introspective silence. Everything seems to slow down.

The cold is as biting as ever. Curiously it brings to mind a memory from not too long ago; a time he’d had his head held firmly beneath the water of a hot spring. He’d nearly blacked out. In one sense, this feels much the same.

𝕕𝕠𝕟’𝕥 𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕣𝕪, 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕒𝕤. 𝕕𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕤𝕖𝕖? 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕖𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙…

Well. That’s new.

Lucas grips his forehead. Just like then, there’s something unknowable that wants to come out of him. It’s strange, it’s foreign, it’s frightening. It feels so like PSI–but his PSI never spoke.

Nonetheless, the phrase which Roxas repeated echoes in his mind. From within. That thing which he made appear… can he really do the same?

Lucas focuses, desperate. He must prove he’s more than dead weight. He made the choice to come out here, and now he must follow through. He knows, he knows they’re out there, closing in! But how does he know? He must do something to follow up on his claims; if he doesn’t, they could both very well perish. After their difficulty with that last fight, he’s certain of it.

It pulls at him so hard, it hurts. Lucas cannot say whether it’s PSI, an emotion, witchcraft, or something else entirely. What he knows is that he needs it. He strives to grasp it–and it responds, swelling up within him.

He groans, he trembles, and with a shudder Lucas releases the force which had been striving to surface.

𝕚 𝕒𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦 ! 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕣𝕖𝕗𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟.

𝕕𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕖𝕞𝕡𝕥𝕪 𝕕𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤; 𝕝𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕪𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕡𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕙 𝕘𝕦𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕖 𝕠𝕟𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕕. 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦 𝕞𝕒𝕪𝕤𝕥 𝕪𝕖𝕥 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕚'𝕥𝕙’ 𝕘𝕝𝕠𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘…

“Lynceus…?”

Though bewildered, the name comes to him as naturally as if he’s known it his whole life. The golden Persona appears behind him, embraces him, gently covers his eyes with strange hands. Lucas complies without thinking, shutting his eyes as Lynceus opens his.

It’s immediately apparent where his hunch had come from. Lynceus’ vision is sharp in a way Lucas can’t really put into words. But at the moment that’s inconsequential. What’s important right now is that he can see quite keenly through the snowstorm. 

Sure enough, there is a pack of shadows slinking nearby. To make matters worse, he realizes that they’ve bled into the snow, aiming to slink beneath for a chance at a deadly strike.

…and that’s exactly what causes a wave of relief to wash over him. There’s a clear break in their formation that’s fortuitously in the direction of the mountains, clearly visible through Lynceus’ eyes. They can take advantage of this!

And all in only a few moments. Incredible. His Persona’s form dissolves as quickly as it had appeared, taking a noticeable chunk of his energy with it. But Lucas is riding high on the solution his vision gave him, and he signals for Roxas.  

“This way,” he says, turning and pointing. “They’re underneath! Hurry!”

Though exhausted, Lucas almost wants to let out a brief laugh as he takes off. How silly he must have looked in his panic and confusion! It’s fortunate that his Lynceus emerged so soon after Roxas’ own did–he gets it now.

W-was that his this time? Dammit, it had to be, right? It hadn’t answered before but, uh, what was its na- 𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝... 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐝... Wait, listen? Right, Lucas pointed, shouted. They’re underneath? Underneath the snow? 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭... 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬... Right, right, just follow Lucas. Just get out of here, no more fighting.

Roxas just had to follow Lucas now... they seemed to be keeping a quick enough pace. So he could afford to zone out a little, maybe? Oathkeeper, he wanted to kno--

𝐢'𝐦 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬. 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞! Right, they were running... 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐲𝐞𝐬? 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭.

𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐞. 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧? 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥...

@twilight–x liked your post for a starter 477 days ago T_T

Somehow, it felt like the weather only knew how to get colder. Hot chocolate and coffee had lost its appeal a while ago, and now Minako only drinks it to keep her hands warm. 

All this caffeine can’t be good, though. 

Not only for her, but for a few unfortunate strangers, also. A few people smiled and wave, but others would rather go about their business as Minako chattered with anybody who pretended to listen. She couldn’t ignore a messy head of blond hair, and cheerfully approached him with an arm outstretched in greeting. 

“I’m looking for a shop I saw a couple of times. Sells ice-cream...” Roxas wished he’d remembered the name. It might be more helpful to ask an actual store-owner in the area... like he’d meant to. “I should have probably just asked at the counter. So, uh, never-mind.”

All characters have flaws, it’s part of what makes them interesting and relatable. But exploring those flaws can sometimes be tricky, especially when the character is supposed to be a hero. I made this little questionnaire to help me explore some flaws in my own characters. Feel free to use it if you think you’ll find it helpful!

Most of the questions should have some kind of answer, no matter whether it’s as horrible as “they murdered five thousand people in cold blood” or as tiny as “they forgot to return a library book that one time.”

Fill out all the answers or do it as an ask meme, whichever you prefer! (Please, remember to use trigger warnings for the more violent or upsetting stuff.)

What makes your character angry or upset?

What makes your character lose their patience with someone else?

What do they do when they get angry, hurt, or upset, and snap?

When has their curiosity or thoughtlessness lead them to intruding over another’s boundries?

When trying to relate to other people, what does your character find difficult to understand?

Does your character have any prejudices?

When have they totally failed to think of another person’s needs?

What’s the most inappropriate thing they’ve ever done (whether by accident or deliberately) and why?

When have they put their own goals above the safety, happiness, or general wellbeing of others?

Who have they hurt, and how/why? Were they sorry for what they did?

What’s the worst thing they’ve done out of frustration or a bad temper?

What’s the worst thing they’ve done out of pure malice or hatred?

Regardless of whether they would actually act on it… what type of angry, violent, disturbing or vengeful thoughts does your character have? 

What crimes or bad deeds has your character committed?

What are some of their worst habits?

What’s the most selfish thing they’ve ever done?

What lies or dishonest/misleading comments have they told? (Including “white lies” to spare someone’s feelings.) Have they ever withheld the truth?

What’s the most violent thing they ever did?

What might tempt them to go against their own moral code?

What do they feel sorry for? What do they regret the most?

What’s the stupidest mistake they ever made?

Why did they split up with their last romantic partner (if applicable)

What made them end a friendship? (if applicable)

What’s the worst thing they’ve said or done to a family member? and finally…

“That uh, took a lot out of me. I just need to get this to wo–” The cloak faded out of sight. “Dammit!” Why had it… Had he not used it fast enough? He assumed he could use it. It had been called ‘power’ after all, but, how? Roxas heard some sort of grunt. Right, the Shadow. It- It was getting back up. Already? Oh man, he just needed some way to- a voice, Hama.

“R-right!” Lucas stammers, and lunges for the stick he left lying in the snow.

He lets momentum carry him forward, swinging it with the greatest force he can muster. Already weakened, the creature visibly shudders; the blow isn’t half bad for a child his size. It’s not dead yet, though. Lucas sees his opportunity and kicks it, strikes it again, stomps on it until the Shadow’s writhing form finally dissipates, leaking away, ink into the snow.

He’s really missing his PSI right about now.

Lucas drops his stance and his stick and lets his arms fall to his side. His heart is beating wildly. He crouches, bracing his hands on his knees, mouth dry as he heaves the icy air. It stings his lungs.

Roxas. Is Roxas okay? Lucas turns and trots up to him, worry clear on his face. 

“It’s gone,” he confirms, breathless. “Thank you. But… what was that? Are you alright?”

His question is aimed at several things. The Shadow, that odd weapon, that phantom-like thing which Roxas (somehow, assumedly) called to their aid, that light which he could only presume was an attack either it or Roxas or both had used. Whatever it was Lucas expected, it hadn’t been any of that. All things considered he’s surprised they’ve been faring as well as they have.

…But a hunch hits him, and the post-victory high is quickly replaced with a looming sense of dread.

Trying to remain calm, Lucas lets Roxas give his reply. He doesn’t know how he knows, exactly; he can’t see or hear much of anything out in the winding snow. It’s just that something within him is telling him so: their fight with the one Shadow has only attracted its ilk.

He doesn’t know what to make of it, but he can’t help but trust it.

He tries to look around, agitated. There are no landmarks in sight. Their trail is long gone. Wonderful. Lucas curses under his breath, and eventually, speaks up.

Still, back in the present, Lucas asked a good question. What was that? “I don’t really know but... remember the contract? ‘I assume the potential of the inner strength.’ It’s uh, that?” It also felt like magic, but would Lucas get that? This place was confusing enough without alternate worlds’ magic... He might as well wait to explain magic to Lucas if he didn’t understand it, but only once he got a- oh, right! “It’s called a Persona, I think?” That name seemed to just come to him.

May wasn’t quite sure how she could get any impression from what appear to be an animate set of clothes, but she got a sorta…calm, reassuring presence from Terpsi over there. Would she mind being called Terpsi?

‘There could be worse’

The guitarist gave a start as she realized. Oh yeah. ‘I am thou’. Right. She gives a nervous blush. But dangit, she could think about this later.

She took a look around, breathing heavily. It seemed there were only like…three or four left. Yes May, you can handle this. ‘Shall we sing their requiem?’  “Zan!”

Finally, a shadow pulled closer towards him, striking him. Keyblade swung towards it, missed. Dammit, shadow hits him again. Roxas did need to focus still. Right.

“Zio!”

“Ha yeah, ride the lightning, bitch!”

As she threw out her music-reference taunt, she leaned over to pant a bit more before shakily getting back up. “Nah, I…should be good to take out these last…three. Yeah, three, we’ve got this! Cool sword by the way, gotta talk about that more after this.”

But the introspection could wait. There, he saw one of the last two Shadows. Roxas started running towards it. He would have gone for the long range, but... it was a lot like magic had been before. A definite limit on how many times he could cast. Though not near empty, he should still keep a reser-- ugh, introspection. Focus on the fighting.

Lucas came up to him again, he seemed to be looking for the Shadow through the snow’s haze. Great, they’d both lost track of it again. Lucas said something, and almost shoved him to the side. Oh damn, that… yeah, there it was, the Shadow was coming back into view. Seemingly straight at Lucas too, dammit.

He could… he could block it, maybe? Something inside Roxas seemed to lurch. He moved in front of Lucas, Keyblade rising to bl– huh, when had that come back? Wait, focu– the Shadow slammed into him. Roxas went skidding into the snow, Keyblade out of his hand. Oh dammit, this wasn’t working at all. He needed a moment. He could… play dead maybe?

He needed some kind of trump card right about now. Without magic, his Keyblade alone wasn’t going to cut it… He’d need more firepower. Huh, power… power… the contract had mentioned reviving some kind of power, right? Yeah, that sounded right. Did he need to earn it? Or did he have it already somehow… Actually, there was something, deep down right now… he could, reach out to it, right? Same as he would for his Keyblade…

It wouldn’t hold… ugh, he was getting a headache, lying in the snow sucked… No, focus now. Ok, he couldn’t quite ‘reach’ it… dammit! He pulled himself to his feet, maybe it was harder lying down… nah, that was arbitrary… Roxas spotted the shadow again, headed right for him. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Another lurch… “OATHKEEPER!”

“I am thou… Thou art I… from nothing we begin, and so too shall we end…”

“We are nothing… but nothing is real…”

“I am Oathkeeper, promise made to none…”

“You have been given name, been given purpose… use them well…”

One second, the two of them are prepared. The Shadow is going to lunge for Roxas. It takes a dive at him instead. Lucas reacts too late, and he’s certain the thing is going to pin him. Instead, there’s a light; Lucas flinches as Roxas steps directly into its path. He’s holding an object Lucas has never seen before. Where did he get that?

There’s too little time to stop and wonder before the creature tackles the both of them. Roxas takes the brunt of it, and that strange thing he’d suddenly got a hold of goes flying. The same happens with Lucas’ stick.

At this point, Lucas is in better shape than his companion, who the Shadow has switched targets to again. Lucas lifts himself and goes for the first implement he sees. The foreign object Roxas had been holding is sticking out of the snow near him, nearly perpendicular to the ground.

It has a handle and a blade; no guessing why it’s here, but it must be a weapon. He feels an odd heft to the opposite end as he tugs it out of the snow. For all intents and purposes, it appears to be an extremely large key.

Lucas nearly jumps out of his skin when the thing abruptly dissipates with a flash of light just as he’s gotten a good grip on it. Damn it! Roxas screams something strange as the Shadow pounces on him…

It never makes contact.

The look of utter bewilderment on Lucas’ face must be something to behold. Who–what is that? It looks as though it’s some sort of giant, cloaked in the same sort of hood his companion is wearing.

It’s… not human, he realizes quickly. But it is speaking, audible surprisingly clearly over the howl of the wind. Lucas doesn’t comprehend the meaning of its words, but one thing is clear: it’s on their side.

“That uh, took a lot out of me. I just need to get this to wo--” The cloak faded out of sight. “Dammit!” Why had it... Had he not used it fast enough? He assumed he could use it. It had been called ‘power’ after all, but, how? Roxas heard some sort of grunt. Right, the Shadow. It- It was getting back up. Already? Oh man, he just needed some way to- a voice, Hama.

May wasn’t quite sure how she could get any impression from what appear to be an animate set of clothes, but she got a sorta…calm, reassuring presence from Terpsi over there. Would she mind being called Terpsi?

‘There could be worse’

The guitarist gave a start as she realized. Oh yeah. ‘I am thou’. Right. She gives a nervous blush. But dangit, she could think about this later.

She took a look around, breathing heavily. It seemed there were only like…three or four left. Yes May, you can handle this. ‘Shall we sing their requiem?’  “Zan!”

Finally, a shadow pulled closer towards him, striking him. Keyblade swung towards it, missed. Dammit, shadow hits him again. Roxas did need to focus still. Right.

“Zio!”

“You mean die?” He assumed that’s what ‘bite it’ was. “… It won’t go that far, I’ve done this sort of stuff before.” ‘Course, even then, he’d had a stick… maybe he could borrow Lucas’? Still… “You know what they look like, right? You saw that pictu–” A growl cut through through the wind… Dammit, where had that come from?

At the last second, he saw the dark shape charging towards them. Bringing up his Keyblade to block, ugh! Reeling, tripped backwards into the snow, right. No Keyblade. Roxas righted himself again, he’d be fine, he’d taken hits before. He pushed himself into a run, still wobbling slightly. He had some distance away from the shadow now. That gave him some time.

Now that Roxas mentions it, he does recall that. His visit to the Velvet Room had been a little while ago, but–that’s right, that “Avery” person had shown him. What he doesn’t remember is it looking this big.

Lucas hears the snarling, and he whips around just in time to see Roxas get barreled over by the Shadow, still a blur in his vision with the speed and the snow. He yelps, stumbling as he flinches away. Shit–is he okay? Lucas brandishes the stick in front of him, but the Shadow has already passed him by, a shape in the distance again.

Roxas seems all right. That’s good. Lucas jogs to his position, glancing skeptically at that motion he keeps making with his hand. He lowers his center of gravity, keeping his eye on the foe in the distance as best he can. It’s wheeling around back at them.

“Watch it!” He says, and nudges his companion a little harder than he should. The Shadow is charging directly toward Roxas again, but this time, they’ll both be ready to counter it.

Lucas came up to him again, he seemed to be looking for the Shadow through the snow’s haze. Great, they’d both lost track of it again. Lucas said something, and almost shoved him to the side. Oh damn, that... yeah, there it was, the Shadow was coming back into view. Seemingly straight at Lucas too, dammit.

He could... he could block it, maybe? Something inside Roxas seemed to lurch. He moved in front of Lucas, Keyblade rising to bl-- huh, when had that come back? Wait, focu-- the Shadow slammed into him. Roxas went skidding into the snow, Keyblade out of his hand. Oh dammit, this wasn’t working at all. He needed a moment. He could... play dead maybe?

He needed some kind of trump card right about now. Without magic, his Keyblade alone wasn’t going to cut it... He’d need more firepower. Huh, power... power... the contract had mentioned reviving some kind of power, right? Yeah, that sounded right. Did he need to earn it? Or did he have it already somehow... Actually, there was something, deep down right now... he could, reach out to it, right? Same as he would for his Keyblade...

It wouldn’t hold... ugh, he was getting a headache, lying in the snow sucked... No, focus now. Ok, he couldn’t quite ‘reach’ it... dammit! He pulled himself to his feet, maybe it was harder lying down... nah, that was arbitrary... Roxas spotted the shadow again, headed right for him. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Another lurch... “OATHKEEPER!”

“I am thou... Thou art I... from nothing we begin, and so too shall we end...”

“We are nothing... but nothing is real...”

“I am Oathkeeper, promise made to none...”

“You have been given name, been given purpose... use them well...”

She did eventually managed to land another solid strike, this time whamming into it’s ‘side’ with the broad back of her instrument. This staggered it enough to become open to May’s foot planting onto the mask, pinning it for a final smack on top of it. “Shiyah! Critical hit, baby!” She cheered as the shadow seemed to dissipate from the trauma. She was decently tired, sure, but that in no way brought down the spirits of May Morseland. She’d managed one, right?

“Didya see that, Ro-” She quickly turned around, her brash expression faltering when she say the boy on the ground, assaulted by the shadows. Oh crap. “ROXAS!” She rushed over, desperately trying to fend off the one he’d been in the process of fighting. She had to keep fighting. They weren’t going to lose here!

And as that determination swelled within her once more, something else seemed to start emerging. A sensation she wasn’t sure how to put into words; a rush of…power? Yeah, that seemed about right actually. The pulsing energy, burning through her very essence. That was probably the best way to describe it. A word also seemed to grow on the tip of her tongue; it wasn’t really one she understood, but it just seemed right. Natural, even. The crescendo to the most intense song she ever encountered…

“TERPSICHORE!!!”

Suddenly, a glowing figure emerged. It looked like an invisible lady, outlined by clothes that looked like one of those medieval bards you saw in pictures times. A voice emanated from her; she didn’t have a visible mouth and the voice seemed to echo from inside May’s head, but she somehow knew this was her.

“I am thou, and thou are I From the sea of the soul I come, I am Terpsichore, muse of dance and chorus May the song of our hearts guide the dance of life’s rhythm”

The air was getting uncomfortably cold now, even hood up, he felt the chill. And the viability was almost none! He was glad he’d never had to go into that sandstorm, and even then, the cold made this place far worse. And dammit, was that something he saw through the snow?

“I can’t see a thing! … Well, I think I saw a Shadow, but…” This was getting dicey. Roxas held out his hand, ready to summon his Keyblade. It didn’t arrive.

…

“What’re you doing?!” He asks through the wind, and the urgency is a little more apparent in his voice. “…You saw one? Where?”

Shielding his eyes, Lucas takes careful steps backwards until he’s level with Roxas. He takes a look behind them; the wind and snow has already begun to cover their tracks. Lucas runs his hand through his hair and lets out a high-strung chuckle.

”At this rate, we’re both gonna bite it out here, aren’t we?” He holds his stick to his shoulder, alert and nervous. “What do these things even look like?”

“You mean die?” He assumed that’s what ‘bite it’ was. “... It won’t go that far, I’ve done this sort of stuff before.” ‘Course, even then, he’d had a stick... maybe he could borrow Lucas’? Still... “You know what they look like, right? You saw that pictu--” A growl cut through through the wind... Dammit, where had that come from?

At the last second, he saw the dark shape charging towards them. Bringing up his Keyblade to block, ugh! Reeling, tripped backwards into the snow, right. No Keyblade. Roxas righted himself again, he’d be fine, he’d taken hits before. He pushed himself into a run, still wobbling slightly. He had some distance away from the shadow now. That gave him some time.

She begins to charge forward, her legs carrying her onward as she lifts her colloquial axe high, a determined cry piercing the cold air as she closes the gap between her and the creature. This certainly was something even she wouldn’t have expected from her, but then this was a fairly stressful situation she had never planned to find herself in.

She managed to get the drop on the thing, her momentum swinging into an overhead strike, bringing her instrument down into the shadowy mass. It half strikes the mask, half plunging into the dark body. It seemed to connect physically though, as the thing reeled back from the solid blow. May narrowed dodged it’s reprisal, the grasping hand almost grabbing her jacket.

He struck with Keyblade in hand, hitting the center of the thing’s mask. It recoiled, but snapped back at him. He could take a few hits at least. He brought his Keyblade up for an overha-- uhg! He went sprawling into the snow, face down, weapon flung out of his hand. His back felt colder than it had, some kind of ice spell. Something struck him in the back, once, and again. The other two had arrived, maybe more than that.

Dammit, he could not be lying down like this! Forcing himself up just, dammit, where was his Keyblade? He needed to... ugh, the last time he’d done this, it had taken a lot of energy. Stumbling slightly as he righted himself fully, he focused. As much as he could with the shadows circling them, at least. How had it gone last time?

“... OATHKEEPER!”

…

“If you want, I can lend you my scarf or something. It’s super cold out here…before I got the warmer robes I have on, I was shivering all the time too. We don’t get any snow in the area I’m from…” Speaking of that, the other seemed curious about just where he WAS from, judging by the question posed after his offer of lending the scarf he had on.

“Oh! I’m from a place called Yilesse - it’s a kingdom really far from here, with things like horses, mages like me, and pegasus knights - things aren’t as progressed as this world seems to be, but also…there doesn’t seem to be as much magic here as there is back home. I wonder why? Does the fact everyone’s only allowed to have Personas as ‘powers’ have somethin’ to do with it?”

Ricken said something. Yeah, he didn’t need a scarf, so he kept quiet. They walked further. And then, Yilesse, huh? Mages? Pegasus, ok, that he’d heard of. The flying horse at Olympus, that had been the name right? As much as he’d prefer to stay quiet, Ricken said something interesting... “Uh yeah... my magic is kinda... dried up too.”