MISSION: The Navy Passage [Ansem's Path]

The nature of this forsaken place had worked its magic far too well, as the exiled king at this point was not even aware he had left the beach he was once at. These new surroundings were far more...jagged. Narrow. Columns of stone and rock stretching for what seemed like miles on up, sinister bands of navy, black, and grey creating depressive rainbows on these weathered spires. The narrow stretch gave way to a canyon, still being freshly carved from waterfalls on each side. 

Waterfalls. 

The sounds of the falling plumes morphed his surroundings. Dark became light, violet became blue, night begot day, and black became green. What was once lifeless was now anything but. A new rock to sit on soon became a stone chair in his warped mind. The flowers. The sun. 

The garden.

"...the garden is lovely this time of year....."

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@even  @aeleus  Xion  @ventus

Even nodded, silently looking at the man in front of him. His old friend and fellow apprentice, Aeleus... Both on the same mission... When rumors of Ansem existing in the Realm of Darkness emerged, Even was instantly intrigued, hoping to find his old master and, with a distant fear that it would be rejected, atone for the experiments that had started this whole mess...

"Of course." The blonde pulled his hood higher up, casting a shadow across his face. Crossing an arm over his chest, Even put his other hand out, Freeze Pride floating around him with a dazzle of snowflakes. It had been eons since he and Aeleus, or Lexaeus even, had partnered, eons since Castle Oblivion... While he himself was a coward, he trusted Aeleus with his life, knowing that if Ansem the Wise trusted him to be a guard, there had to have been a damned good reason.

"The darkness is eternal and infinite, take care not to get lost." He said, not truly so much to Aeleus, but seemingly to the darkness itself. "No better direction than forward, my friend.

A low hum filled the air almost immediately after Xion had cleared the corridor of darkness of her own creation. Buzzing emanating from the shadowy fixture, the noise steadily grew louder and louder to the point of annoyance before breaking through into a deafening tone as it finally reached the group. Bursting out from the corridor, nothing but a blur of azure metal and light could be distinguished as the humming shape spiraled into the Realm of Darkness.

"W-Woaaaah!" Waving his hands wildly as he became cognitive of his sudden change in surroundings, a certain blonde keyblader swerved wildly on what looked to be some sort of mechanical glider-ship. On top of the Keyblade Glider was none other than Ventus, frantically trying to retain his balance while narrowly avoiding the pulsating passage of navy darkness surrounding them. However, Ventus was outfitted a bit differently on this day; surrounded in what looked a suit of stylized armor. Navy blue, gold, and red color composed the plates of Ven's figure as he finally managed to come to a slow, safe stop next to the group. "Phew..."

The already obscured visor embedded in the armor's helmet fogged ever so slightly as a relieved breathe discharged into it. Shaking his head before stepping off of his glider, the board-like vehicle disappearing in a flash of bright light as if it had never been there in the first place. However, this light only persisted for a moment at best before the surrounding darkness devoured it into nothingness; sending a chill down Ven's spine. "Aqua's... in here?" Uneasily murmuring to himself, Ventus' eyes darted around the area; someone as light-filled as him feeling near-claustrophobic in a place so permeated with the opposite element. It was hard to imagine someone like Aqua was stuck in here... but this was where his Wayfinder had pointed him and Xion towards upon entering her Corridor of Darkness in the first place (The aforementioned good-luck-charm crazily flashing it's magic light the second he'd even gone into the portal between worlds.)

Speaking of his new friend, Ventus cast his gaze over towards the cloaked girl with a worried gaze unfortunately invisibly beyond his obscuring visor. "Are you sure you're okay? This place is so..." He trailed off, as if trying to find the right word to sum up just how off-putting and dangerous the shadowy realm felt. "-dark." A wordsmith, he is not.

Speaking of people not wearing armor, it was then that Ven had the opportunity to finally take notice of the other two that had accompanied them to the realm. His eyes scrolling back and forth between the two, a halting sensation suddenly traveled through the blonde's mind as recognition momentarily filled his eyes. "Wh-ghgghh..." Clutching the helmet between his gauntlets, Ventus doubled as the throbbing in his head spread down to his chest... before suddenly disappearing. In the span of seconds, seemingly random images flashed through the youth's mind faster than he could even comprehend before coming to an abrupt halt.

...

Breathing heavy, Ven unsteadily brought himself back up to his full height; holding a palm to his head, while trying to play off the sensation. "I-I'm okay?" Sounding almost like he was trying to convince himself more than the others, Ventus shifted his gaze over to Even and Aeleus; his helmet thankfully hiding the boy's uneasy expression. "Do I...? You two look kinda familiar."

"Have we met?"

Even turned to eye Ventus, frowning a bit. "Perhaps we met once in another life." was all the blonde had to say. Turning back to follow Aeleus Even glanced around, hoping to find any sort of... Rift, perhaps? Something that would lead them from his forsaken place

At the same time Aeleus caught the feeling, Even turned his hooded head towards the same direction. "That does not bode well for us... Aeleus, take point. Ventus, watch behind us... Xion, stay with me..." the very last part was partially muttered, loud enough for her to hear, but not the others....

Perhaps we met once in another life.

"What?" Ventus questioned, tilting his helmet in confusion at the scientist's cryptic answer. At least the red-haired guy gave a straight and simple answer, although denying them ever meeting before after slight hesitation. But what kind of answer was that? Ven had no idea what Even could have meant by "another life", so he looked past the fair researcher to Xion for some sort of an answer... but it seemed like she wouldn't be any help in the situation either.

Just as he was about to speak up again, Ven felt a cold sensation wash over his armored form seemingly out of nowhere. Spinning on his heels to face back down the passage, the youth's body visibly tensed as an unmistakable wave of darkness cascaded towards them. "Heartless?" He echoed Aeleus' deduction in similar caution. "What's a heartless?" Pushing the mental question away for the moment, the blonde keyblade wielder nevertheless steeled himself before running off down the hall. Rushing past Aeleus in his haste, Ven completely disregarded Even's directions in his eager preparation for a fight. The reason? Although it was nothing more than a feeling in his gut, the boy nevertheless believed that whatever it was in front of him would lead them to Aqua.

Throwing caution to the wind, nothing but a blur of pale blue and gold would be visible as he hastily dashed down the navy hall. "Bring it on!" Shouting at a headstrong volume, Ventus' pace didn't falter in the slightest while the passage widened around the keyblade wielder; it's previously pulsating walls branching out the farther the group traveled into it's depths until leading into a more large, open, and cavernous area. Meanwhile, the farther into the realm Ven traveled, the more deep and sickeningly powerful the stench of darkness seemed to permeate around them.

Nevertheless, Ven wasn't deterred in the slightest. He wouldn't just sit back anymore... He would find Aqua. "That's a promise!"

Xion moved closer to Even, reaching to pull Ven closer too, if he would allow the contact. She was finding it very unsteadying to have the ground disturbance and small debris/dirt falling from what appeared to be the roof of a cavern they had entered into. She stared at the Heartless, only recalling seeing one once before, back in the past. She had never gotten up close and personal with one, and she certainly hoped not to this time, either. She did, however, summon a ball of Fire to hand, and a Blizzard cast in the other hand. She was afraid to attempt summoning the Keyblade she could supposedly wield in such a dangerous situation; if she failed, she would have lost time that would be valuable in this fight. She tossed both spells, aiming for the Darkside's head and hoping they make impact on target.

She thought she saw others nearby, separate from their own group; were there other people in this realm? And were they fighting this monster Heartless as a common enemy? She hoped so; if they weren't, then there would be more fighting to do. However, she put the concern of that idea away; right now, the maim concern was dealing with this Heartless threat. Hopefully they could all take it down if they worked together. She knew similar missions in her past had worked in favor of teamwork.
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Actions
Xion used Magic!
Fire: Ball of fire that is launched at an opponent, causing Burn damage. Cooldown - 1 post
Blizzard: Freezing crystal of ice that hones in on an enemy, causing Freeze damage. Cooldown - 1 post