Witchy Woman

[notnicefairy]

WHO: Open!
WHAT: Maleficent is going to do a lot of wandering. You might stumble into her. Or not.
WHERE: Zones 6-2
WHEN: Nowish!
WARNINGS/NOTES: I'm doing a open log style thing of multiple 'events'. Basically, pick a scene and say what you're walking in on, or poke me and we'll work out something else. Feel free to repeat anything someone else

Comments

Zone 6

[sumptushubris]

He'd never seen one of these before, and wasn't quite certain what to make of it.

To be fair, Nemesis Prime had seen a lot of things he hadn't seen before in this Nexus; others, he simply hadn't seen in longer than he could remember, and the remembrance, once in a while, simply made him stop for a few seconds. But this...

This tiny black creature upon his finger didn't register to the Darkness; the force showed no interest as it did any form of life. And yet it was clearly active, blinking yellow optics as it twitched his antennae towards him, as if unsure itself how to react. Nemesis allowed a frown behind his mask as he turned his hand, watching the creature quickly adapt and move to stay balanced. A primitive intelligence, at least.

"Where did you come from?" he wondered aloud. He hadn't noticed it until it was crawling upon his armor, and though his first instinct had been to swat it - he had realized that the fact that the Darkness hadn't even registered its approach. Which meant that it wasn't just an annoying creature. It was an annoying creature that could be a problem, if there was more of them.

It straightened, apparently understanding his words - and then quickly skittered down his forearm. Curiosity overwhelming his disgust, Nemesis lowered his arm to allow it to reach the ground, whereupon it began to scurry off. Then pause, and look back at him, move back before going forwards-

It wanted Nemesis to follow it. With a 'hn', Nemesis did so, giving the Darkness a subtle prod as he did. The force responded to him, but still was 'blind' to whatever this other...thing was.

Intriguing.

Zone 6

[notnicefairy]

She'd managed to create four Heartless so far, which wasn't a terrible number though nowhere near what she needed. It was unfathomable to be in a world without the Shadows to call upon at will and need, and yet the Nexus seemed to lack any direct access to the Darkness.

This would have to be remedied.

She hadn't entirely intended on corrupting a machine - she wasn't sure if they had hearts to manipulate - but this particular one had decided to press his point and attempt her harm... and she wasn't inclined to be patient with anyone in this city.

The mech was currently making static noises that could have been considered sobs if one was familiar with Cybertronians. It was missing both legs and arms, as well as much of it's armour plating and energon. It was dying - in a slow and painful, messy sort of way - and only the fact that her first blast had fried its communications had kept it from calling for help.

The mech was slumped against an alley wall, Maleficent perched almost daintily small atop of his chest and attempting to coax it into surrendering to her when one of her shadows returned. She wouldn't have paid it much mind - the creatures were flighty - but it brought a larger mech with it...

One that felt different than the others.

She turned to face the machine, holding her staff before her and raising her chin to look haughty... which failed as she had to continue to crane her neck to see up into the machine's eyes.

"Well?" She managed to express in the one word that if this wasn't important, the machine ought to move along.

[sumptushubris]

The Darkness finally reacted to the feeling of life up ahead...more specifically, the strength of it. Already sensing something wrong with its host, it became alert when something strong was noticed. Something strong, and something with a unique sense. The other was weak, about to fade out; it could consume it, but no, no, the other, it wanted to see the other, it wanted to touch, it wanted to taste...

And Nemesis paused, regarding the small organic with narrowed optics. He felt the Darkness, of course, but what was more on his processor was the fact that all signs pointed to this one defeating one of a superior species.

Hn, indeed.

Ignoring her for a moment, he instead pointed a hand forwards, summoning the Darkness to the surface. It took no small amount of will to force it to target the weaker mech rather than her...but it reached in a swirl of dark violet, a force to put the wretched Cybertronian out of their misery.

Let her reconsider her tone after that sight of his power.

[notnicefairy]

She'd been suitably impressed, as the machine regarding her called forth his own darkness and controlled it. It felt... similar to the power that she was familiar with, but different. Enough so that she knew not to assume anything, no.

Of course, calm and collected was hard to manage when the machine took the life of the one she had been working on.

"That was mine." Her voice was clipped, lacking the usual musicality in her anger. "It's considered polite to ask before taking something that isn't yours."

The irony of the statement was likely lost on them both.

"Do you have some point machine, or are you merely hoping to intimidate me?" She called the shadow to her feet, the others she'd created answering the call moments later and appearing as if out of the mech's chest. They weren't an army - but they were a start.

[sumptushubris]

"Yours?" Nemesis asked of the small organic. "I have more of a claim to them, seeing as I am Prime and you are..."

He made a dismissive gesture. Nothing, it seemed to imply. The voice was familiar, certainly...hadn't they spoken before? Hadn't she wanted a chance to try and prove herself his superior?

So she could best a Cybertronian. A pauper, at best. He was, as he had said...a Prime.

He noticed the new shadows, and tilted his head. Again, the Darkness was silent, registering only the organic. It was doubtful they would be a problem, and yet, the fact that the force he had come to coexist them didn't think them nothing - didn't think them anything - was enough to interest him.

"What are these creatures?" he queried.

[notnicefairy]

"Hah. Prime. I'm sure the pithy title means something to you, but I do not care machine, and if you have no interest in polite conversation you can leave. I do not need to waste my time with you - remember that well." She could speak for hours about herself and her exploits to those willing to ask, but she just wasn't the type to stand for such blatant ignorance. She deserved proper treatment.

"These creatures are shadows. Born from hearts I have liberated in this city. As I was intending to attempt with this machine, before you killed it." They shifted, always moving around her feet, occasionally slipping into the body of the mech and popping back up a foot away, twitching.

[sumptushubris]

"Should you seek politeness, it would do you well to respect such a title. Though others may think of it as nothing, those of us who wear it know its weight - we guide the very fate of planets."

Even in this deathless state, he was still a Prime. And he would never accept a slight to the title. Prime aside, he was still a superior species to this one...but he had the feeling that attempting to force information out of her would work against him.

So, veiling his reluctance, he forced some of the patronization out of his vocalizer.

"Cybertronians hold no hearts - such is a more organic organ. You waste your time, searching for one within them."

[notnicefairy]

She raised an eyebrow at the semi-reprimand, but didn't argue the point. Instead she resolved to find out just what a Prime was, besides illegal, and how their power worked.

"I'm not speaking of the physical heart." She fought to keep the annoyance out of her voice that someone who controlled darkness could know so little. "The heart. As in heart, body, and soul. All creatures have a heart if they live, and I was attempting to determine if you did live, or were simply mechanical beings. Robots." Fingers curling over the orb on the top of her staff, she continued in the same controlled tone. "Now I will have to attempt with another to see if I will be successful, and what shape of heartless you will become. I suspect you'll manage a much larger shadow, or perhaps even a dusk."

She stepped off the dead mech's chest and onto thin air, floating at roughly the same height as she had stood. The shadows followed her but sank to the ground immediately, unable to levitate as she did, scurrying underneath her as she considered the corpse. Moments later the mech burst into green flame, the unnatural fire hot enough to warp and melt metal which charred black and began to bubble and hiss. That would be enough to hide what had been done.

"And you, a Prime, guide the planets - whatever they may be. You hold a Darkness within you. You do not know hearts. I wonder what your power is, then, and what purpose your Darkness serves?" She raised herself higher, until she could look at the mech properly in it's glowing eyes. "What cause do you serve?"

[sumptushubris]

What nonsense was she speaking of? "The Spark?" Nemesis queried. The concept seemed similar; once he had heard Jhiaxus speak of souls, compare them to Sparks. How like they were remained to be seen. "While we are robotic, we are nonetheless fully sentient. Not mere drones or 'robots'."

A beat.

Did she just threaten him? His optics narrowed as she rose, watching her incinerate the corpse. A true waste.

"The Darkness I carry is a power beyond measure," he explained, matching her gaze. "My cause is Cybertron."

[notnicefairy]

"The spark? No, not that. Though it, at least, resides similar to the human heart. Sentient creatures are composed of these three facets that can be manipulated by the dark. Once a heart is removed, a heartless will be formed. That was what I was attempting to do."

She considered him for a moment, an eyebrow raised at the figure before her as the mech below her became nothing but a melted, charred pile of slag, hardly recognizable. "How can you hold the darkness and not understand this? What power does the darkness give you, if you are not manipulating hearts? And please don't bore me with 'limitless and vast'. Of course it is. That doesn't mean it does not give you specific.... gifts."

[sumptushubris]

Anger rose within him. How dare she suggest him a fool? And to use a Cybertronian to create another, inferior being...temper, he forced his anger down. Perhaps instead...a demonstration.

Wordlessly, he let it flare out from him - and then launch out to meet her. If she was so powerful as she seemed to think she was, no doubt she could prevent it from consuming her.

And if not...well. Let it sample a non-Cybertronian life form.

[notnicefairy]

Maleficent's calm, snide expression turned to one of fury as the power lashed out to meet her - whatever opinion she might have had of Nemesis' power was negated by his attack on herself. Her own magics were never caught idle and before the darkness could strike she was swathed in a shield of power, held in check by her staff as a focus point, and she'd summoned lightening - strengthened by the dark - to lash out at him in angry bolts. She could not see them strike - she was temporarily blinded as his attack crashed over and around her shield - but she sent her heartless to him, all five of them, to swarm up his sides and find his heart...

She was surprised that they couldn't, but only for a moment. Of course: This creature was a Nobody. How amusing.

/LATE

[sumptushubris]

Oh - so she was powerful enough to resist. And attempt a counter. Nemesis raised an arm in a more instinctive maneuver than not, feeling the bolts of dark energy strike the armor rather than his face. That might have been able to do some damage.

As for her other 'attack' - Nemesis's sensors registered them crawling over his form like disgusting insects, even if It was still blinded.

"Are these creatures meant to irritate me?" he questioned, little humor in his voice. "They appear to be doing little else."

/JUST AS LATE Is it cool to let this end before we FAIL MORE? XD

[notnicefairy]

Maleficent lowered her shield, looking at Nemesis in renewed interest. "You are a heartless - that explains much. That is why they can't affect you - they're reaching for something you don't have."

She snapped her fingers, and the heartless fell off of the machine, falling to the ground and bouncing without seeming to mind the height. "You're a Nobody, I suspect - you had the strength of will when the darkness took you not to be consumed by it entirely, and now you are a creature driven by your personality and will." She smiled, without mirth. "You have the powers the darkness gave you - and if your title directs these machines to follow you, then I can see how you've missed this aspect of the dark. You don't need an army."

Having decided exactly what the creature was - and that his powers were a match for her, at the moment, it was time to end this. She might be astonished at his misinformation and ignorance, but she certainly wasn't obligated to educate him - and he was far too angry to make use of right now.

"And knowing that - I'm afraid my interest in you is waning. I have work I need to do, and you're a distraction with little benefit at the moment."

Green fire flowed around her, wrapping her up as she...shrunk, and a moment later a glowing orb floated in her place. It flickered, once, twice - perhaps a farewell, or a laugh, who knew? - and then blinked out of existence.

The heartless flattened themselves to the ground, and scurried off in separate directions, aimlessly awaiting summons and quickly lost in the dark.