The Stuff of Nightmares [Kadaj, open]

[claire]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][classy=hi] [/classy]

[atrb=border,0,true][classy=bg][classy=text]This wasn't cool at all. Three times Claire had lost to that fool Hayden. Three times she had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat. His weapons were tarot cards. How in the hell could she possibly lose to little pieces of cardboard? She had always prided herself on her skill in battle but maybe she just wasn't as good as she thought she was. Of course she was first in denial about that but maybe it was true. Maybe she was weak. No, she couldn't start thinking like that. If she did she would be ridiculed and made fun of for the rest of her days. Especially if that idiot Hayden caught wind of it. All of these thought whirled around in Claire's mind as she lied strewn across an old and worn down couch inside the living space of an equally old and worn down mansion. A corridor had dumped her here and she was too tired to even complain about that. Her mind too focused on her screw ups and failures. She had no idea what world she was on and at this point she really didn't care. Silence reigned supreme in the Shinra Mansion and the chakram wielder reveled in it. She let her anger consume her thoughts and mind. She would kill Hayden. No, first she would break his body, and his mind and his spirit. Then she would kill him. She just needed to figure out how. Eventually a restless and dreamless sleep overtook the angry girl. Would things ever work out they way that she wanted them too? They say that evil never wins and the villains die in the end. It wasn't the thought of her dieing that prevented peace from finding Claire's mind while she slept. It was the thought that she could never be as strong as she wanted to be. After all, if she couldn't even slaughter a pathetic guy like Hayden then she would prove easy prey for anyone. And that was her biggest fear to feel vulnerable and scared. Maybe that's why she put on the "tough girl" act. But even if that was the reason she wouldn't let anyone in, she couldn't. So there it was, she would live her life alone in the dark. Sure she might form some shaky alliances with other beings of darkness but she knew that they, just like her, didn't care about anyone or anything. They would just as soon betray her than look at her. Of course she would do that same so she didn't really expect any better. But none of that was important. Claire needed to get stronger, she needed to do whatever it took do be able to do what she wanted, when she wanted. But for now she would sleep, devoid of dreams. Her mind wandering aimlessly in the black empty nothingness that was her sleeping consciousness. At least until she woke up or until her slumber was disturbed. tagged | words | notes [/classy][/classy] [classy=credit] created by NIKKI of BTN and OTE [/classy] [newclass=hi]width: 400; padding: 3px;[/newclass][newclass=bg]width: 400; overflow: auto; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/FoMcy.png); margin: -20;[/newclass][newclass=text]font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana; color: #B9B9B9; text-align: justify; width: 350; margin: 20; align: justify;[/newclass][newclass=credit]align: center; margin: 2; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana;[/newclass]

[kadaj]

Weren't the only residents of the Shin-Ra mansion these days supposed to be ghouls, ghosts and other fiends that had made their way into the city during nightfall? Wasn't this entire city supposed to have been burned down as well? It didn't matter. Shin-Ra could try and cover up their dirty secrets as much as they wanted. Some people walking the worlds simply didn't care enough to take any action or to speak up against it. But that still didn't answer the question as to why there felt like someone was actually inside the Mansion. Sephiroth had supposedly learned of his past here, claiming himself to be the son of JENOVA and that he was tasked to do her bidding. Ehh... well, like Shin-Ra, some people didn't care about Sephiroth either. Niblehiem did have human life though. Civilians were walking the streets. The shop was open, the hotel was taking lodgers. It was just like any other small village really.

"So why do I feel someone inside the Mansion..?"
The Remnant Leader asked himself aloud as he walked past the hotel outside, making his way up the hill towards the mansion itself. The path to the right that lead up into the mountains was empty of all life. No trees, shrubs, people, animals. It was spooky, though all the Remnant did was blink a couple of times, a clear expression on his face showing that he was not interested in what was down that way. No, it was the mansion. Less his senses were playing tricks on him, there was a stranger within... an off-worlder. Less it was by accident or fluke, hardly anyone came to this world who had the ability to travel between them. Stories of Sephiroth more then likely being the reason to turn most travelers away. But again, that didn't answer his question.

The gate joining the fences surrounding the mansion squeaked as it was pushed open, clearly in need of oiling. The whole building itself was in a state of disrepair. The grass hadn't been cut, the windows were smashed, the roof was falling in. You'd have thought that Shin-Ra would ave fixed this place up too when they rebuilt Nibleheim after the fires? Ah who cared? There was an off-worlder within the mansion walls and the silver-haired youth was interested to see who or what it was. After Masked Man had disappeared, Kadaj found himself lacking a means of reliable entertainment. Maybe this stranger would prove a good challenge? The thought caused a smirk to spread across the lips of the Remnant. He enjoyed having fun, and the best fun was to see peoples faces become contort and twisted with fear.

The mansion door was thick, made from wood and heavy. A hard shove with his shoulder didn't make it move, the hinges were rusted tight no doubt.
"Tch..."
Kadaj sighed as he reached his left arm back behind him, his leather bound fingers gripping the handle of his Souba that was slowly drawn and brought back to his front. Resting the blade by his side for a second, the silver-haired youth eyed the large door once more before he brought the twin-bladed weapon up in a swift vertical slash. Two sharp 'SNAPS' came from the door as its hinges were severed. A wooden 'THUD' came next as Kadaj raised a boot and kicked the door down, followed by a echoing 'SLAM' as the heavy door crashed into the mansion entrance. Dust was kicked up and blown out the entrance that swallowed the Remnant, though his brightly glowing eyes were the first to be seen as he emerged out the dust cloud and into the hallway.
So... where are you...?

[/i]
Kadaj thought to himself, his eyes peering about the large entrance for any signs of life.
[/blockquote]

[claire]

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[atrb=border,0,true][classy=bg][classy=text]There was some semblance of uneasy calm that was beginning to overtake Claire's still dreamless sleep but it did not come. The reason was several loud noises that overtook the silence of the Shinra Mansion. The sound awoke Claire with a start and she quickly shot up and looked around. The direction of the noise seemed to originate from the front of the large building. Cautiously and silently the raven-haired girl walked along the wall until she approached the doorway that connected the room she was in to the front foyer. Claire peeked just enough over the edge of the doorway to see the front door of lying on the floor of the foyer and a man standing where the door used to be. He wore a leather suit, silver hair, and wielded a double bladed sword. She could sense a great amount of darkness coming from the man and wondered what he was doing here. He couldn't actually live here. After all, he knocked down the front door. It could be that he sensed her darkness from inside the building just like she could sense hers. If that was the case Claire would have to be extra careful not to reveal her position until she was good and ready. However if he somehow could determine where she was she needed to be prepared. She junctioned Thundara to her attack and Fire to her defense and unsheathed her chakrams and remained deathly silent as she waited to see what the man would do. tagged | words | notes [/classy][/classy] [classy=credit] created by NIKKI of BTN and OTE [/classy] [newclass=hi]width: 400; padding: 3px;[/newclass][newclass=bg]width: 400; overflow: auto; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/FoMcy.png); margin: -20;[/newclass][newclass=text]font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana; color: #B9B9B9; text-align: justify; width: 350; margin: 20; align: justify;[/newclass][newclass=credit]align: center; margin: 2; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana;[/newclass]

[kadaj]

Small pieces of rubble from the plaster covering the ceiling bounced from the massive impact of the front door crashing down onto the wooden plank flooring. Shards of wood and splinters were also kicked up and blown away when the air escaping from under the door blow up a dust cloud which quickly escaped out the entrance and spread across the rest of the foyer. A subtle cough shattered the silence that had befallen the Mansion after the destructive way of opening a door. A leather bound fist was brought up to the lips of the silver-haired youth as he coughed into it, having breathed in some of the dust from his little display. Leather creaked once more as the hand was brought up from the Remnant's face to his hair, fingers gliding through the silver strands to brush out any dust and shards of wood that might have got caught there. Finally, chuckling. The Remnant laughed as he stepped forth into the middle of the foyer, across the felled door and down onto the wooden floor beneath.

As pressure was applied to the floor, the wooden planks creaked together which echoed about the room clearly due to the utter silence. That silence didn't last for very long though.
"WHO'S HERE??!"
The silver-haired youth shouted out, his brightly glowing eyes peering about the room. To the left and right to either door then up at the top of the stairs. There was another hallway leading off to the left and right at the top of the stairs but for now, the Remnant Leader decided to stick to searching the ground floor. Turning, the wooden floor boards creaking once more under his weight, the youth headed through the door to his left, emerging within what appeared to be a lounge or some sort of living room. The place was too much in ruin to be sure.
"Your Heart gives off great Darkness... it's not hard to miss it you know!!"
He spoke once more as the wooden echo of his footsteps turned to carpeted ones as he walks across the rotten, ruined material.

The wind outside wasn't too strong due to the mountains protecting the village, but what little wind there was, blew in through the cracks around the windows in this room causing a howling to rush through the air. The draft reached the Remnant's skin and he glanced towards the dust and dirt covered windows. Pacing across the room, a gloved hand was brushed across the window pane, a squeak joining the howling of the wind as a stream of light cut into the room and lit the place up slightly. The silver-haired youth glanced over his shoulder and peered about the room once more, eying the decayed chairs, tables and whatever else was laying about. There was certainly someone here, their Darkness was still present, but appeared to be stationary. It was difficult to pin point the exact location of whatever they were hiding, but that would be boring if it were that easy. Carpeted footsteps turned back to wooden ones as the Remnant Leader made his way back out into the foyer, his glowing turquoise eyes peering back up the staircase to the second floor.

"Are you upstairs? Are you going to hide forever? I will find you, regardless of what you do."
The youth's voice shot up the stairs before it echoed back down at him, silencing returning to the mansion once more for a few seconds. Again the wooden floor boards creaked as Kadaj turned and made his way across the foyer into the room opposite the one he just checked. It felt like he was getting further away from the Darkness residing in the Heart of whoever was in here, but it didn't seem to bother the silver-haired youth as he poked his head into the next room, leather hand clinging to the wooden door frame as did so.

[claire]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][classy=hi] [/classy]

[atrb=border,0,true][classy=bg][classy=text]If the man could indeed sense where she was due to the darkness in her heart like she could sense his then hiding would be futile. Claire knew that this man, whoever he was, was considerably more powerful than she was. She really should have checked for other exits before when she got here and now the silver-haired man was blocking her only escape route. Not to say the Claire was a coward. Far from it. She simply knew when a potential opponent was to much for her to handle. But now she was stuck with the fact that she was now in a situation that could be very bad if she didn't play her cards right. All was silent for a moment longer until a feminine voice sounded, piercing the silence. [red]"That's really scary. Should I quiver in fear and surrender to you mercy. Although I seriously doubt you've shown any mercy ever. I don't.[/red] The raven-haired girl said as she came out from around the corner with her chakrams held firmly in her hands, looking at Kadaj with a slight smirk on her face. Sure it wasn't in her best interest to fight at this point in time but she wasn't going to give this man the impression that she could be pushed around either. So here the two stood in this abandoned and decaying foyer. What would happen? Would these walls bare witness to a battle between these two beings of darkness? Would there be some kind of shaky alliance formed between them? Only time and the man's response to her appearance would tell. A part of Claire wanted nothing to do with him but another, deeper part thought that maybe, just maybe, this man could be of some use to her to help her get stronger. Of course once that happened who could tell what would occur next. She could kill him or she could forge a stronger alliance with him. Nothing was certain at this point. tagged | words | notes [/classy][/classy] [classy=credit] created by NIKKI of BTN and OTE [/classy] [newclass=hi]width: 400; padding: 3px;[/newclass][newclass=bg]width: 400; overflow: auto; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/FoMcy.png); margin: -20;[/newclass][newclass=text]font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana; color: #B9B9B9; text-align: justify; width: 350; margin: 20; align: justify;[/newclass][newclass=credit]align: center; margin: 2; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana;[/newclass]

[kadaj]

A sound came from behind, the creaking of the floor boards but not from the wind or due to the planks warping. No, a figure was present and the creaking had came from them instead. Their voice also rung about the mansion that had fallen silent after the silver-haired youth had peered into another one of the rooms, still in search for the presence he could feel. Sure enough, the woman clad in black was indeed the owner of the Darkness lingering about the mansion. At first glance, she looked a lot like Tifa Lockhart. Sleeveless black shirt, long black hair. It was only after looking at her for a couple of seconds was it confirmed this female was indeed someone completely different. How bizarre would that have been had the woman in Cloud's life turned to the forces of evil? That would be an excellent way of provoking the chocobo-headed fool, but the fake-SOLDIER had vanished recently. Who knew where or what he was doing? Who cared? What was of interest right how was this woman who had been lingering within the Mansion.

Kadaj blinked a couple of times, a stoic expression across his face as he peered at the female from over his shoulder. His eyes could be seen glowing through the strands of his silver hair that covered half his face. Silence returned to the foyer as the chakram wielding woman finished speaking. Kadaj didn't move. He just kept peering at her from over his shoulder, the only sound coming from him was when his gloved hand flexed it's fingers, clenching the wooden door frame tighter which caused a soft wooden creak. The Remnant's eyes shifted to her weapons. Strange choice. Were they primarily a thrown weapon or a melee one? Could they be thrown or were they used more like a pair of katar? Did she even want to fight? Her words indicated she was not frightened of the Remnant knowing she was here.
"Mercy?"
Kadaj asked, his voice carrying a curious tone as he continued to hold his over-the shoulder stare at the mysterious female. A powerful word, one that Kadaj knew he shown little off, just as the female predicated. Why were all the new people he had bumped into recently, women? Altima, the female Keybarer with Sora and now this woman?

Wooden creaking echoed softly about the room once more as the leather-clad youth finally moved. Flexing his arm at the elbow which was pressed against the door frame, the Remnant pushed himself up and turned about on his feet, the leather soles scraping against the floor underfoot as he whirled about and continued to keep his glowing turquoise eyes locked onto the black-haired woman.
"You're still alive, aren't you? Should I wish you dead, why would I have called out to you?"
Kadaj, not having any pockets to stick his hands in, slide his arms behind his back before he relaxed his arms and cupped one hand about the wrist of the other. The silver hair of the youth was shifted to one side slightly as he tilted his head to take a better look at her, sizing her up.
"No, I don't show much mercy, but that's usually towards people who upset me. I'm actually a pretty 'fun' guy."
Kadaj chuckled. His description of 'fun' being completely different to any ordinary person. He moved forth, walking across the foyer towards the female before him, keeping his hands behind his back to show that, for now, he wasn't a threat.

"So, you have a name?"
Kadaj asked as he stopped walking forwards when he had drawn closer to the woman. She was fairly attractive. A common thing about most of the females he had come across during his travels. Sadly, there was little care for anything to do with love or similar emotions. He only cared for his brothers.
"And what brings you to this place?"
He asked curiously, the shine within his eyes confirming said curiosity. This woman felt strange... sure, she was of Darkness, no doubt about that, but there seemed to be something else. Was she possibly upset over something or someone? It was hard to tell, hard for Kadaj anyway since he never really looked at a person and could tell how they were feeling. But he was genuinely curious. Why was she here?

[claire]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][classy=hi] [/classy]

[atrb=border,0,true][classy=bg][classy=text]After Claire had mad herself known to the silver-haired man he merely regarded her with an expressionless look on his face from over his shoulder. Claire inwardly rolled her eyes. She was sure this guy was trying to intimidate her with this stare of his or something lime that but it wasn't going to happen it didn't matter it that was truly the case or not. In any Claire held her gaze on the man even as he finally turned around to look at her face to face. The first thing she notices were his glowing eyes. Claire wondered what is was that made his eyes glow like they did. But that was just a fleeting thought as the man spoke to her. He had a point. If Claire was going to kill someone she wouldn't have called out to her target either. No the only time she would talk to one of her victims was if she was taunting them in their last moments before she delivered the final blow. [red]Alright I'll give you that. But who knows? For all I know you could have been the type of idiot that would do something like that. Glad t see you're not completely useless."[/red] Whether he took this offensively or not really didn't matter to Claire. Besides she figured he wouldn't unless he had sensitive man-feelings that could be hurt easily. [red]"A fun guy huh?"[/red] Claire asked the man with just a hint of evil laughter. Something told her that this guy's idea of fun was much like her own which consisted of killing and torturing and all manner of remorseless methods of hurting those of the light. But whether or not that was truly the case mattered little to Claire. Soon after though the question came that was guaranteed do to the normal thought patterns of human nature. He wanted to know what her name was and what she was doing here. Truth be told she wasn't entirely convinced that she should give up any of said information. [red]"You want to know my name? That's about as valuable as information about someone gets. Besides, you'd failed to give me a reason as to why I should tell you anything. But I guess I could throw you a bone and tell you why I'm here. The truth is I'm only here because one of those corridors dumped me here. I'm just waiting around until one shows up again and I get whisked away to the next useless planet. As for my name, you need to earn the right to know that."[/red] She finished letting malice and darkness saturate that last sentence. He might not believe the simple truth of her reason for being here but then again that was none of her concern. tagged | words | notes [/classy][/classy] [classy=credit] created by NIKKI of BTN and OTE [/classy] [newclass=hi]width: 400; padding: 3px;[/newclass][newclass=bg]width: 400; overflow: auto; background-image: url(http://i.imgur.com/FoMcy.png); margin: -20;[/newclass][newclass=text]font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana; color: #B9B9B9; text-align: justify; width: 350; margin: 20; align: justify;[/newclass][newclass=credit]align: center; margin: 2; font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana;[/newclass]

[kadaj]

The wind howled as it blew against the outside of the old Shin-Ra Mansion, finding it's way in through cracks in the windows and between warped pieces of floorboard. The entire building, seemingly standing up on it's last legs, could be heard shifting ever so slightly every time the wind blew into it. It was a picturesque 'haunted house' due to it's location, the damage endured and due to the fact that it actually WAS haunted. No one every came in here because of that had happened here so long ago regarding Sephiroth, Cloud and Zack. It was still a puzzle to the silver-haired youth to find someone here at all. Though such thoughts were answered by the woman in question as she mentioned the only reason she was here in the first place was because of those portals that randomly opened up as they saw fit, only to whisk you away to a completely new or random world. They were completely unreliable for getting around. Good job that the Remnant Leader had mastered the use of them and could summon them at will. A possible technique he may pass onto this young woman if she so desired, though more important, cooperated.

But such a thought posed a question. What would Kadaj get out of it in return? Why should he help her leave this world and get back to whatever it was she were doing? The leather clad arms of the Remnant slide out from behind his back and raised up across his chest, folding about one another accompanied with the creaking of leather that tightened about his lean frame. His glowing eyes remained focused on Claire at all times, trying to discover her angle and seeing if her words held any truth. He was trying to read her, essentially, but this young woman was pretty good at keeping information about herself, to herself. Kadaj chuckled and he closed his eyes as he turned away from the dark-hearted female. Casting his gaze upon the wooden staircase leading to the second floor, body following a moment after, the silver-haired youth let out a small sigh.
"Yes of course, I should have known. The Darkness lack trust towards one another, a quality those of Light share without hesitation. Obviously this is one of the reasons we keep losing to those fools. I mean, without trust or respect towards follow 'enemies', how are we supposed to fight the Light back?"

Kadaj shook his head, his silver hair shifting from side to side softly as he did so before he glanced back at Claire out the corner of his eye. Her Darkness was powerful. It lusted for something that every other use of the Darkness shared; The desire to see the Light crumble. But, it was such a foolish thing to want. Without the Light, the only other people they could turn their blades upon, would be each other. Where as the Light fought to create peace, sending the Darkness back from whence it came, every Hero could then rejoice and share the company of others they loved or cared for and everything would be happy! For the other side of the coin however, such a reality would never exist. Everything would be set aflame, everyone would be dead. It would be a hellish world to live in... well, worlds essentially. But, some people were simply born to do such a thing. Was this young woman one of those people?

Turning back to face Claire directly, Kadaj lifted his left arm up and waved it forth subtly in a gesture of greeting.
"My name is Kadaj and from my limited observations, I am wondering if you're really wanting to 'leave for the next useless world' because you're either running away from something, or searching for a certain someone. Am I wrong?"
He asked with a calm and cool tone to his voice. If he was right, then she'd be wanting to move to the next world as soon as possible, no doubt. But, why? What WAS she running from if anything at all, or WHO could she be searching for? It was very curious to meet someone completely new who had their own goals, their own desires and their own battles to fight. If he was wrong, then he wasn't going to lose anything from this encounter. She'd either not reply, simply leave or attack him. Or maybe not, who knows? It was so exciting!