Heartless Thief
WHO: Chloe executionerrose & Barnaby bunny_hero :: Closed
LOCATION: Disney Castle
TIME: Today~!
WHAT: Some darn heartless has stolen something important, Barnaby and Chloe are going to get it back.
RATING: PG-13 / R? - There will be a spot of Heartless fighting
( Bunny and … Rose? )
LOCATION: Disney Castle
TIME: Today~!
WHAT: Some darn heartless has stolen something important, Barnaby and Chloe are going to get it back.
RATING: PG-13 / R? - There will be a spot of Heartless fighting
( Bunny and … Rose? )
The situation made this turnover a few seconds after Chloe witnessed Barnaby with heartless. That was unbearably ugly… and shameful.
“Tsk…” The former hero muttered, hating to be on the passive side. To be honest, he had no experience dealing with heartless whatsoever - who do you even kill ghosts? All experiences he had with these creatures were the time that he was being engulfed, and that was absolutely not helpful.
The universe and the native creatures and the concepts of item shops still conveyed a strong sense of RPG game to Barnaby up to this date. If that was exactly how this world was structured, he needed at least some special weapons or magical powers like Blue Rose’s ice to kill these creatures, and apparently he had none of them. The heartlesses didn’t seem like they could be K.O.ed by punches and kicks. Even if they do… An idea popped up.
Barnaby slowed down his handsome escape and allowed the heartless to approach and initiate attack. A fierce claw attack struck against his face, but due to the Shadow’s clumsiness during the attack, Barnaby dodged the strike easily. Angered by the dodge the Shadow took the attack more seriously, striking with a faster pace and stronger force, as if wanting to defeat him in one strike. It was a bit tough at the beginning to dodge all the attacks - he suffered some scratches on his face - but Barnaby quickly picked up his combat instinct and eventually, recognising the Shadow’s attack and defence patterns. And that was all he needed.
He seldom did this because all his opponents before were humans, but now this strategy was urgently needed to understand the non-hunman, almost imaginary opponent. The point-winning game could start.
As the Shadow was a bit exhausted after all these attacks, Barnaby rose from the ground and activated his power. His entire body, even his already-azure eyes, was shimmered in the intense blue light. “Why not just return us the crucifix,” Barnaby naturally broke into a charismatic smile that used to do in front of the camera, “and give yourself up?”
With that said, Barnaby dashed towards the heartless - speed increased in one-hundred fold - and kicked the creature towards the nearby tree in a unbelievably tremendous strength; the tree could not take the hit and collapsed promptly. If it were a normal human being, he or she should be dead right now.
“That’s quite easy…” Barnaby muttered as the black Shadow began to disappear next to the fallen tree. As he walked over to the tree to pick the crucifix, strange things happened - more Shadows emerged from the ground… They seemed to love swarm attacks.
Without a proper weapon (pocket knife did not count), Barnaby couldn’t really handle a big crowd of enemies. Even with the hundred power he was able to take down 85% of the shadow by constantly kicking them against trees and walls (or simply, jump up high and squeeze them from above), there were a group of Shadows that were especially difficult to deal with. He only had two minutes left and he doubted the time was enough to devise a strategy or to find help. Only thing that was certain was, the situation was not as desperate as the one during the arrival, and there was no way he would be engulfed by darkness with his current bright and iron-willed heart.
And certainly he was not doing this for points anymore.
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A trap? As Chloe watched the retreat and subsequent battle raging on below his position on the little rise off to the left of the field of combat that was the terrible thought that dawned on him. This really did appear to have been a trap. The heartless must have made off with that most important item just to get him to follow right into this setup. Why else would there have been so many heartless here? Disney Castle was usually so peaceful…
It occurred that maybe this was retaliation against him? Maybe because he had been secretively attacking the heartless in the evenings they had decided to target him? He hadn’t thought the heartless really capable of plots like this but it was like the lady had said after all, doing this had made him a target. And the crucifix… they had gone after that because it was so important to him. Some how they knew it was his grounding influence. The thing that kept him from turning to the darkness. Their plot must have been foiled when Barnaby stumbled into the middle of it.
Just why had that man decided to follow the heartless? To return that crucifix?
Chloe was still watching when Barnaby decided to stop running and turn to fight. Foolish. He nearly stepped in right then but Barnaby must have used that magical power of his, the one he had briefly mentioned during their earlier conversation, since he suddenly seemed able to do the heartless a good deal more damage than he had been able to earlier. Maybe this battle could just be observed then and he wouldn’t have to blow his cover? Or… he thought as he watched a tree fall to its death… maybe he should step in if only to save the landscaping?
How Chloe wished for a flash bang right now. One of those tossed into the middle of that growing horde of heartless might have been enough to scatter them and allow Barnaby to escape without showing off his own abilities. Unfortunately those items were not readily sold on any of these worlds and in a moment Barnaby might be entirely overrun… Chloe sighed wasn’t there a time when he was an expert at hiding? Why had he been forced to reveal his talents so often here?
The heartless materialized from the shadows, sliding over the ground towards their intended prey, before rising from the ground to strike. It looked like they were going for a group attack this time. Four heartless in unison glided over to Barnaby who was already engaged by another group of heartless from the front. The group of four crouched and leapt as a company towards Barnaby’s back. The four heartless were brought up short when four matching gabishi lodged themselves in their necks. Instead of an attack the heartless dissolved in mid-air.
“Do heartless believe in God?” Chloe smirks as he readies another bite rose in his hand, “I will give even you a chance to cross yourselves before I send you to meet Him.”
A second target forces the heartless to split and regroup, half continuing their attack on Barnaby and half having to turn to face Chloe. It helped to even the odds a little.
Even if Chloe’s weapon of choice was only slightly longer than a pencil he had experience with these creatures. He knew where to strike where they would be the most vulnerable and he had no qualms about killing them… even if heartless couldn’t really be killed. They just sort of dissolved and came back later when their injuries were healed.
A heartless lashed out with its claws only to find the attack parried by the sharp metal bite rose, a twist and the object slid down the creature’s arm and into an unprotected chest. One more heartless disappeared from the battle.
There were still several dozen more heartless left… did they ever stop coming?
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The former hero began to pant, for he was so out of shape. “I wonder are there gyms in this universe…” He sighed sarcastically as he prepared to take other round of attack from the enemies in from of him, realising that something else was approaching from his back in a ridiculous speed. There was no way he could deal with both groups at once, and without Dr. Saito’s armour these claw strikes could be lethal. I should have not gone here…
….What?
The first thing registered into his brain was Chloe’s voice reciting some sort of catchphrase, followed by the death of heartlesses.
Then he was the beautifully crafted rose on the ground, as if being shot down like an arrow. Promptly turning back his head, the scene of Chloe smirking and fighting with roses confirmed his early ideas in the flower shop that this man was not ordinary. He was like the opposite of hero - Lunatic, who executed justice in his own way. To put it simply, assassins…
“…I knew it,” Barnaby projected his voice so that Chloe, who was far away from him, could also hear him. Acknowledgement could be save later; it’s time to get rid of the heartlesses first. 1 minute left.
Since Chloe apparently had no magic power but could still “kill” heartlesses, Barnaby took out his pocket knife as weapon to enhance his strength. The split was much easier to deal with, and by 30 seconds his opponents were down 3. All others were dissolved. Before finishing off the battle, he ran up to the tree and took the crucifix while Chloe was concentrating on fighting, and put it in his leather jacket.
“See you tomorrow~” Barnaby greeted the the rest of the heartlesses farewell with one of his fans’ favourite lines on TV interview, also a beautiful crescent kick bonus. The blue shimmer disappeared along with the darkness, and left Barnaby a bit exhausted.
Seemed like Chloe was done with his side too. Let’s see what he had to say before returning him the crucifix.
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I knew it.
And said loud enough for Chloe to hear even over the fray of battle… Sadly he felt the need to counter.
“Is now really the time for ‘I told you so’s’?”
There wasn’t time for much more than a quick rebuttal before the heartless laid in with another attack. Several of the creatures flew in only to be dispatched with a quick swipe of a sharpened stiletto. During his own battle he tried to keep an eye on Barnaby too, just to see how he was doing, but this couldn’t be reliably maintained… not with heartless flying in from all directions.
He had a vague sense that the battle had turned in their favor, a suspicion that was confirmed when the final heartless on his side faded, once again freeing his line of sight to catch a glimpse of a heartless free Barnaby standing there. So, he had been able to clear his area too?
Chloe took a moment to look around just to make certain that was really the case. It wouldn’t be good to lower one’s guard if there were more heartless waiting to strike hiding somewhere, but in this case it looked safe.
That just left Barnaby. With his magical power that could make him a dangerous opponent… if indeed it came to that. What would his intentions be?
“I believe you recovered something that belongs to me?” It was a good an opening line as anything could have been.
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It was Chloe’s fault who left his valuable crucifix somewhere unguarded and made him do almost all the tough work to clear up the heartlessness. He wouldn’t just give it out that easily.
“In this universe under God, let’s be frank and open?” Barnaby walked up to Chloe slowly with a poker face, taking out the chain of crucifix but had no intention to hand it over. “I presume that this is your dogma of life, and there should be an interesting story behind it. I believe you are a man who values fairness and justice, so…”
A long, deadly pause.
Barnaby curved his lips, less cold and a bit more sincere. “Any decent cafes around the area?”
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Barnaby was clearly no killer. Chloe had seen enough people filled with murderous intent to be able to judge that and from the other man’s actions today he was obviously a well-meaning kind of person. Though he did dangle the crucifix like a carrot…
“There are a few,” A gesture in the direction of the one he felt was the best, “The best tea can be found at the little shop on the corner.”
It also had a convenient little out of the way table that would be the best location for the kind of talk this was likely to turn into.
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Luckily the walk was not too far. They soon entered the cafe and found a table isolated from the rest, and settled down.
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Only when the waitress had wandered off to put their orders in does Chloe dare to mention the matter that brought them here in the first place.
“You still haven’t returned that item to me,” Calmly glancing at the jacket pocket he had seem Barnaby slip the crucifix into outside. “I assume from that you want something in return for your time?”
Barnaby’s words had not been forgotten. He wanted to know more about him? There really wasn’t much choice was there… he had revealed himself a little too much, feigning innocence now just would not work any longer.
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Strangely the waitress stared at both of them for a long time before wandering off... She look familiar too. Was she one of the annoying customers in the flower shop? Hopefully not.
"And vice versa? You obviously had an interest on my past and how it led to my dramatic arrival... so terribly that you might stab me with your roses from behind." Barnaby stated jokingly took the crucifix and instead of heading it back, he just placed it on the centre of the table. He had no intention to keep it, but he also hoped Chloe would be honest and open up himself too.
"This is not an interrogation, nor trade, since I am the one who will be contributing more. Just a nice setting for chat, how does that sound?" He leant back against the chair and placed his hands on his laps. "My power is exhausted, by the way."
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He found the need to pause again as their drinks were delivered so none of this information could be overheard by the waitress. He even took a sip from the teacup before continuing just to make certain she was once again busy elsewhere before he said anymore.
“Your earlier assumption was quite right. I don’t kill just anyone. In my search for justice I became a ‘Dark Executioner’. Some one who seeks out the people the law can’t touch and removes them before they can harm innocent people.”
He watched Barnaby for a reaction. It was the truth but, would it even be believed?
With the crucifix in plan sight on the table he felt a little more at ease. It rather clearly illustrated that Barnaby had no intention of trying to keep it. Not that it would really be worth much to anyone other than him.
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Perhaps the cafe specialised at tea more than coffee. The taste did not really match the espresso he used to drink back in Sternbild. He did frown a bit during the beginning of Chloe's explanation just because of the bitter taste of coffee, but when he mentioned his duty Barnaby wasn't surprised at all.
"Oh, you too?" Well, Barnaby already predicted he might be like Lunatic, so it sounded really normal to him. "In our world there is one person who performs that too. I was going to-" Oops, he just slipped something accidentally. "-Anyway, please continue your story?"
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But, saying something like ‘I was going to’… and then expecting him to continue.
“I am surprised you don’t find that more of a shock. People of my profession are not generally welcomed.” Even if Barnaby did know someone who had the same kind of take on villains… maybe because ‘he was going to’?
“Isn’t a thing like that against the law where you come from? It is in my time.” Really if it weren’t for the people he relied upon he might have ended up in prison long ago.
“What else is there to tell?” A lot he knew, but maybe there was something specific Barnaby was curious about? “I only kill those people who are committing evil acts. I am given a name, information about them, and then I decide if that person is truly deserving of death.”
A pointed look, “What about you? What kind of job is it that you perform on your world?”
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"Such as your obsession with this particular crucifix. Like I said, there should be a dogma behind it and I would love to hear more, but I guess it's my turn to state my occupation."
He took off his bracelet and placed it on the table so Chloe could take a look at it if he was interested. "In my world, I am a hero. Similar to the police, but we often do better since we possess NEXT power. My job is quite simple - to catch criminals and to rescue citizens when crisis occurs. Heroes are considered as public figures, and in some cases, idols. Perhaps that distinguishes us from the police force as well."
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Curiosity did get the better of him. The bracelet was offered for inspection so he did pick the object up and give it a look, rolling the bracelet around in the palm of his hand to see all sides of the device. It looked advanced to what he was accustomed to seeing.
“Some kind of communicator?”
As he placed the bracelet back on the table where it had formerly been laying he took the opportunity to retrieve his crucifix. He did feel better once it was secure around his neck once again. A dogma behind it… there was that. The reason why it was so precious was more than dogma though. It heralded back to a past he preferred not to dwell on.
“This crucifix is a reminder of what I am fighting for. A beautiful world without evil in it.” Some how it felt alright to tell Barnaby a bit more, “There was a time when I didn’t believe in anything. Some one showed me a kindness I no longer felt was possible to find and proved that the world could be a beautiful place after all.”
A girl, wasn’t it always the case?
“This is as much of a reminder of her as it is proof of my new faith.”
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Surprisingly, Barnaby had no difficulty understanding and sympathising Chloe's background. He didn't really believe in anything in this world - eccept Uncle Maverick and Aunt Samantha - if his innocent parents could be murdered in such tragic means. In fact, he still was in this moment. He knew that the world could be beautiful, but he highly doubted the possibility. People like Kotetsu were simply too optismistic about the society, thinking all his work would help cleaning the world. Speaking of which...
"Your philosophy of pursuing justice and your mask strongly remind me of my teammate," Barnaby couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Chloe wearing that mask. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to distrupt the serious mood.... But, I reckon that most people who knows you as Chloe will also recognise you in your mask, and vice versa. My teammate wears a black mask when he is at work too, but people recognises him anyway. I really doubt the usefulness of the mask, so maybe it's better to take it off? Or is that merely for aesthetic purpose?"
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It was true that the mask Chloe wore during ‘missions’ wasn’t very good at actually concealing his identity. It was only a half mask so the other side of his face, the portion not covered by his sweep of blonde hair, was entirely visible. That was part of the reason he hadn’t bothered to wear the thing when they had entered the café. He would have been far too easily recognized. It was better to appear in public as the friendly neighborhood florist and not the mask clad assassin.
“No, it isn’t really much of a disguise. Though at night, in the darkness, it can afford me a little protection. A mask like that can conceal a glance at a shadowy figure,” that wasn’t the only reason for it though and since Barnaby had showed him that advanced bracelet communications device of his, “It is also a communication device and it has a night vision feature to make missions in the darkness easier.”
Most of an assassins missions were performed in the dark of night after all. A feature like night vision was unbelievably useful and the built in communicator made speaking with his teammates simpler. There was no handheld device to fumble with.
“If you are a hero as you say,” It was the question Barnaby had to know was coming, “Why were you so close to giving into the darkness?”
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