recolle | [closed-ish] if the clouds don't clear

Huh? [Dante twists, catching sight of James--it's the distraction the voice seems to have been waiting for.] James? What are you--

Open your hearts.

[It's a voice that both of them will be able to hear, and Dante shouts as all of his limbs suddenly tense up, pulled in each direction as though he's being quartered. He can feel what he's come to know as the darkness twisting in his heart, that mass of dark emotions, anger and jealousy and resentment and hatred all rolling in on itself and fueling the fire in his veins. There's darkness in everybody, but he can't see if James is lifted from his feet as well, can't know...]

Why do you resist? Your heart already belongs to darkness; it is easy for me to control you.

James, get out of here!

Out where? I have no idea where I'm--hey!

[ He runs over to Dante, in an attempt to help...whatever the hell this is. He hears the voice, but doesn't know what it means, or what the sudden jerky movements are meant to be. All he knows is, something about this is wrong, so James is going to try to pull Dante's arms down. It's really the best he can do for now. ]

What the hell's going on?!

I don't--it's Ansem, but why are you even here?

[James might as well not even be there, for as much good as his actions do. He can pull on Dante's arms as much as he likes, but they won't move until the darkness holding Dante releases him--in fact, a dark crackle of energy seems to shoot off of him, a little bit like the shock from static electricity as it hits James.]

Still you fight! Then let me show you--the true power of darkness!

[Dante yells out as there's a sudden flare of energy around them, a pulse of darkness that's all-encompassing, driving the entire hall into blackness. It lasts one, two, three heartbeats, and then it's gone again, leaving them in a place that's familiar to Dante, but likely won't be at all to James. James will find himself at one side of the platform, and on the other, standing normally once more, is Dante.

But if James gets close to Dante, he'll see that the boy's eyes are now a bright amber-gold.]

[ James doesn't have any time to process any of this before he's dropped into some strange arena facing a...Dante who somehow feels different.

It takes him a moment to pinpoint the strange eye color. ]

What the hell was that all about? "True power of darkness"?

[ He's talking to Dante, but cautiously. Something's clearly happened to him but he's not totally sure what. ]

[Something feels different about Dante because he is different--he's trapped within his own body, robbed of all control. He can still feel his own consciousness, his awareness, spreading throughout his form, but seeming to stop just short. It's as though his sense of self stops just a couple inches beneath the surface, leaving him trapped in some sort of all-encompassing prison while he stares out helplessly through changed eyes.]

The true power of darkness...

[When he speaks it's all the more obvious that this isn't Dante. His voice sounds as though it's two people's at once: Dante's own, in a droning monotone, underlaid by a deeper, more velvet purr. The voice that had been speaking to them both in Castle Oblivion.]

Allow me to demonstrate.

[Watch out, James--Dante's summoning up his Keyblade and without any further preamble, is rushing him. Think fast!]

[ Oh what in fresh hell. Something is clearly, clearly not right with Dante now.

James barely gets a second to start forming a question around it before he realizes Dante is sprinting towards him with...a giant key weapon of some kind? He ducks the approach and dodges left and whips out his pistol.

He fires one warning shot--close to Dante, but not aimed for him. If anything, the bullet should be whizzing just over his shoulder, close enough that he'd be able to feel the wind shear as it soars past. ]

You're not demonstrating anything! Pull another stunt like that and I won't miss!

[The thing about Keyblades is that they are remarkably tough. Instinctively his sword comes up in a block and the bullet pings off the metal, ricocheting off in another direction.]

Try as hard as you are able. You cannot beat me. Such is the power of darkness!

[Yeah, sorry James, he's attacking again. However, this time he takes a moment before he moves, a swirl of dark energy surging up from the floor around him... and then he draws back his sword, slashing forward and forcing a curved blade of dark energy out of it, spinning straight toward James. The dark energy crackles around him as he moves, a sensation that makes Dante sick with its strength. But he's lived through this battle once before, only it was Sora he was fighting; how's he supposed to do anything now to stop it from happening again?]

[ James has no idea what this is, but anything coming for him can't be good. So he darts to the side immediately, avoiding the energy altogether. He brings up the gun again and--wait no, this isn't supposed to be this instinctual, firing needs to be a last resort-- ]

I warned you!

[ --pulls the trigger. This time, the bullet is aimed right for Dante's calf. A disabling shot, not a killing blow. But still, actually shooting at another person, and without any hesitation at all, is making James feel sick to his stomach. ]

Edited 2017-10-16 06:10 (UTC)

[There's a grunt of pain from Dante as the bullet strikes true. Logically Dante knows he should feel pain; he should be collapsing to his knees, but he isn't doing either of those things. Instead, his body continues to move on its own, repeating the same maneuver as before. Another blade of energy is coming his way, this time followed up by Dante behind it, prepared with a horizontal slash. Get out of the way, James...!]

[ He should be stopping. Falling. Slowing down. Anything. Why isn't this working? He knows he didn't miss!

James doesn't have more time to think about it because he sees the energy coming for him again. He rolls out of the way again, but only just clearing it by a hair this time. And as soon as he's safely out of its path, he rebalances himself in a kneel. Automatically, he brings the gun up again and shoots--this time aimed for the other leg's kneecap. Still not a killing blow, but far more disabling. ]

[It is disabling. This time, Dante feels the pain of the bullet as it shatters his kneecap (or at least, the dream has him convinced that he does); he howls, his voice wholly his for the first time since they've arrived in Hollow Bastion. They're likely too far apart for James to see, but his eyes are back to their usual tint as Ansem steps back just in time to avoid taking the brunt of the attack, leaving him to feel all of it and to stagger onto his good leg, not daring to find out what will happen if he drops to the ground.]

James--wait--

[Except he probably shouldn't wait, because as Dante tries to stretch out a hand to stop him Ansem's seizing control again, and his entire body starts to glow, the room seeming to darken as though he's sapping all the light out of it. "Open your heart to darkness!" his layered voice says, and that's all the warning James gets that something Very Bad is about to happen before the first of the portals opens up.

One doesn't have to worry about a shattered kneecap when one is seeming to fly, after all.]

[ Hearing Dante scream in pain makes him recoil, feeling guilty about the shot. He barely even remembers aiming and pulling the trigger--like he did it on autopilot. He did this to him without even thinking.

Not that he gets a lot of time to wallow, because then Dante (or whoever/whatever is controlling him?) makes his next move, darkening the entire room. James tries to step out of the way of the first portal he spots, but he's not really sure what to expect here. Is the room going to swallow him? Is it just the portal? He looks around him, tense, trying to get a 360 view of what the hell is going on. ]

[A 360 view won't help him. Portals seem to open up all around the perimeter of their "arena," and "Dante" is hurtling through them at top speed, his sword braced for impact. It seems as though the point of this attack isn't so much accuracy or skill as it is brute force.

After a few seconds of rapid-fire runs, he'll come out of nowhere, slamming his blade into the ground and sending out a series of shockwaves that are almost impossible to avoid. But as long as James doesn't let that stop him, he'll be wide open, arms spread to either side and leaving a clear shot directly at his chest.]

[ Suddenly everything is happening all at once and James can't keep track of what's going on. Dante is moving almost faster than he can see, and the next thing he knows, some sort of vibration has thrown him off balance, sending him falling to the ground where the shockwaves continue to rattle him.

It's only after the second or third wave that he finally manages to open his eyes and realizes he's right in Dante's path. He's got a clear view of him, a clear shot. And once again, his arms raise automatically--even as he wills himself not to. But his hands are on autopilot, and almost before he can grasp what he's done, James pulls the trigger, sending a bullet soaring right for his heart. ]

[It happens almost exactly the same way it did before--Dante realizes that he's suddenly in control of his body again a split-second before the bullet hits him, but this time it's not just a shot to the knee that he's taking in Ansem's place. This time it's a bullet to the heart, a punch that makes his shoulders collapse and his expression freeze in place, a choked gasp escaping him before he drops to his knees.

His eyes are aqua again, and he should be more concerned with the blood that's coming from the wound, staining the front of his clothes and bubbling up beneath his fingers as he tries to staunch the flow, but Dante's staring at James instead, eyes wide. It hurts, a voice whispers inside his mind, and although he's dreaming his mind is convinced he can feel the pain, white-hot and arcing out from his heart throughout his entire body. And yet, he has to make sure James gets to safety...]

James... [He tries to say it, his body refusing to support him any longer and dumping him the rest of the way to the ground. In reality, it actually comes out as more of a wheeze, an attempt to voice a word when there's no air behind it to give it sound.] Get... get out of here...!

[This is it. This is how he's going to die, face-down in a puddle of blood from a bullet wound trapped in this world of his other self, his...

His other self?

James's time in this world is limited now, because Dante snaps awake a moment later, gasping as he sits upright and claps a hand over his heart.

His very whole, very real, beating heart.]

Oh man. [He tips forward, face meeting the blanket.] Just a dream.

[It was just a dream.]

[closed-ish] if the clouds don't clear

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject