Trespassers [Axel; closed]

[Skell]

Twilight Town. She knew the streets so well. That's what happened when you remained nocturnal in the still twilight-lit streets to avoid causing a scene. Any sort of commotion. People didn't like that.

Not that Skell was a hooligan, no. She thought it a favor to the Town if she let her studies rest until the sleeping hours. Not that she could control when a Nobody decided to pop up and show its face to the World, menacingly or dauntingly. It was all luck. And for a year thus far, she's been rather... unlucky.

A year ago. That's when she last spotted a humanoid Nobody -- or that's what she believed. Never had she seen anyone conjure an orb of swirling darkness in which they could just disappear through. She had seen a few Dusks pop in through one if they didn't just seem to materialize out of thin air -- but a human? She couldn't even be sure; their hood was up. But in those two, vivid seconds she saw it, she knew she'd never forget that black coat.

But today was supposed to be her day off. She strolled around, pack hanging off her shoulder with sketchbook and utensils inside, looking for something to draw. Something she never really took the time to observe before. And so, her feet led her to the outskirts of town -- to the greenery past the bricked wall, and at a gate of a mansion.

"Wonder why I don't come here more often..." The gate itself was beautiful -- there was an odd archaic aesthetic to the black metal that Skell liked, yet her mind lingered on those words... why didn't she come here more often?

The place was rumored to be abandoned. Looking slyly over her shoulder, she placed a hand on the gate and gave a push. If it was abandoned, the ease of it opening was no surprise to her. After stepping passed the gate, though, she turned to place the gate back where it was to not raise suspicion.

Abandoned. That was for sure. The front door wasn't even closed all the way. Now inside, Skell quietly and cautiously observed the innards of the lobby area. The place as a whole was dimly lit by the light peering in from outside, and didn't in the least look as though it wasn't kept after. Sure, nothing looked used anymore, but nothing looked rundown either.

"Wonder who used to live here..." big brown eyes narrowed at a warm looking set-up of an armchair beside a side table and bookcase. What lavish things. She took out her sketchbook and a pencil and decided she could snoop around more later -- she should really stop before she got too ahead of herself.

She could technically still be trespassing after all.

[axie]

Trespassing was probably the last thing on one Flurry of Dancing Flames' mind. Well, aside from when it came to Organization territory, anyway. Knowing Zexion was confirmed alive, he wasn't about to go waltzing back to Never Was unless he did so under a certain alliance or seven. The fact that Saïx had been talking "maximum punishment" didn't bode well at all.

On the other hand, if Marluxia and Demyx were the only two left besides his presumably unruffled victim from Oblivion, Axel just might find a way to work with them. Not that he was keen to slip under Marluxia's yoke in lieu of Xemnas's.

But none of that had anything to do with the reason why he'd come back to the mansion, of all places. Just being in Twilight Town at all was taking a risk, and a single un-obliterated Nobody scout was all it'd take if Xemnas wasn't good and dead like Sora was supposed to make sure of, dammit. Sora aside, Axel's mind was blurred with possibilities about that Keyblade wielding Organization member who didn't go by Roxas, because just what in the hell was up with that? Whether it got him mysteriously agitated or not, Axel stood more to lose by letting this loose end pass him by unquestioned.

Finding a console to seek information meant trespassing, which was fine with Axel, except trying to find anything still in Castle Oblivion's database meant trespassing on Organization turf--better described as the opposite of fine with Axel. There was some rumor about a computer at home in Hollow Garden or Radiant Bastion or whatever they were calling it nowadays, but it was one Xemnas visited frequently in the past. That and Axel didn't completely trust Sora's friends over there not to shoot first and ask questions after.

By process of elimination, that left DiZ's old computer. With Roxas out and done with that falsified Twilight Town, Axel didn't exactly expect to find it in the best condition or highly protected. Even if it was, he could take DiZ as long as the man wasn't hiding behind his stupid glitchy cheats. Slipping back into the fake Twilight Town was just out anyway, he knew Roxas had done a number on that console and didn't think DiZ left anything on there that wasn't on the original.

So he spent a few tedious hours skipping through diagnostics. DiZ hadn't left a ton of passwords, probably since no one was likely to catch him in the middle and even less likely to fumble through this stuff once everything Sora was said and done. Long boring reports that DiZ wrote up on what was being done, blah blah revenge blah blah. Axel couldn't help smirking dryly at the thoughts on Naminé. Would DiZ have tossed her aside so casually if he knew what she was? Never know now.

Even longer boring reports on precise details and percentages--jeez, it took them forever just to get this thing underway. According to the initial data, it shouldn't've taken them a whole damned year to put Humpty Sora together again. In fact, at some point the work on Sora's memories had stopped dead, but DiZ didn't elaborate on why. Frowning, Axel rested a finger to one side of his nose and read over those lines again and again...The other reports were longer...something's missing...

The computer made a sharp, arresting noise, and a little red box flashing !Alert: Intruders! showed up near the bottom. He'd noticed that one already when he came in, but at the time he was the intruder so he didn't really bother with it. Now it had his attention, and he pulled up the details. The first intruder was less than one square foot away--yeah, well, figured--and the more recent one was just over twelve. At first Axel couldn't figure out just how in the hell they'd snuck up on him so fast, but when the aging ceiling groaned against a footstep he flinched. Uh-oh.

On the off chance it was some vandal kid from the town poking around, Axel let the darkness consume him and become his eyes. Another Nobody might sense him if they were paying attention, but being intangible helped at a time like this. From his vantage point near the front door, Axel could see one very hard to miss red coat. The girl in it seemed to be sketching something, prompting the inevitable thought of Naminé, and if this was a vandal then it wasn't your run-of-the-mill hooligan.

Eh. What's the worst that could happen?

Axel drew out the unearthly hum and dark oval of the portal for a more theatrical entrance, letting it unfurl from where he leaned against the wall. "Lost, sweetheart~?" And he unfolded his arms to outstretch one against the door, pushing it the last few inches closed with a click that sounded louder in the empty mansion. "Cuz I don't think the old man's expecting you."

[OOC: Watch my next post be like three paragraphs. And since I couldn't resist: !Alert: Intruder! (hyperlink)]

[Skell]

Still-lifes were such a bore to draw. Even if it was the most intricately detailed armchair, or the most unique table by its side, nothing could make a still-life less boring. She took a few steps to wake herself up a bit so that she could get through with this drawing, staring down at her boot as the floor cried a squeak beneath her weight. Good thing she wasn't concerned about her weight or anything... Head raised up to look back at the furniture, tip of the pen just tapping her lips in thought. Yeah, they really couldn't be any less boring...

Unless there was something magical about it -- something that made it thrum as it just laid there. It could be doing absolutely nothing, but the sense of magic in it would catch Skell's attention enough to get her mind to wander and ponder about it for who knows how long. It could do absolutely nothing with it's magic, so long as there was the hum to speculate on.

A hum... just a hum...

A satisfied smile slowly crept onto her face as she heard it. Maybe her imagination was just that good, and she was able to pretend that a hum was coming from chair before her. Or maybe the books... yes, the books...

"Lost, sweetheart~?"

She wasn't expecting that -- she thought this place was abandoned. Outright flinching at the sound, a harsh mark being cast across a page, Skell then swiftly turned around for her eyes to land on a rather tall and slender figure in the darkness. If it weren't for the diminishing sunlight from the closing door and his hard to miss mane, why, she probably wouldn't be able to tell who was talking to her.

Oh, and those eyes of course. Even when the door was closed, they seemed to cut straight through the darkness as though it were a joke.

But that coat she'd recognize anywhere. Even in the deepest darkne --

-- wait, old man? Oh man... so many questions already.

"Old man...? her eyes skipped over each limb of his body, trying to read him. Was this the same one if there was more than one coat? "I thought this place was abandoned... I'd leave, but seeing as how you closed my only exit, it doesn't look as though I'll be leaving any time soon..."

Skell spoke carefully. She had a hunch this guy was a Nobody, but there was no way for her to know for sure. At least for right now, anyway. That coat, though... as much as she wanted to hold off on asking about it, it just bugged her. That year of curiosity that bottled inside of her intrigue just wanted out. It'd probably be a mistake, but she had to know:

"Nice jacket... where'd you get it?"

[axie]

Well that was a waste, Axel thought at first. Here he was putting on a show and she wasn't even watching. Maybe she was expecting him, there's a nasty thought. But she flinched once he spoke, which told him that not only was she not expecting anyone, she was so sure of her solitude that she could afford to get lost in her thoughts. Her next words confirmed that much. And if she'd known who DiZ was, then a quip from one of his enemies probably wouldn't slip under her radar. Unless the thing was busted, not that Axel could tell just yet...

"Nice jacket..."

The false mirth faded from Axel's eyes and the corners of his mouth tightened.

"Where'd you get it?"

He didn't recognize her face. And she didn't sound like the one he'd run into at Wonderland. But Axel couldn't be certain just how long he'd been dead, and without knowing what parts of the Organization were still around he couldn't be sure of whatever machinations took place in his absence. For all he knew this was a spy direct from Never Was. While he couldn't draw conclusions, he at least couldn't ignore the undertone of knowing to that question. That and it was just a little suspicious to be zeroing in on Axel's fashion sense at a time like this.

"Exclusive club," he said airily, leaning in away from the wall and straightening in a stride with catlike lethality. After all, if she wasn't a spy, no reason to give her information she didn't deserve. "Or maybe I stole it. Take your pick~." It didn't take pointy ears and a cape to see that the cloak was custom-fitted, but now that he wasn't part of said exclusive club, saying he stole it wasn't really lying. "Anyway. I'm not here to throw you out, so relax."

Squirm for me.

Maybe if she did he'd be able to see that sketchpad better. As it was, he'd stopped just short of striking range, assuming she had something to strike with in a short range. "Case you don't know how this works, we'll take it one step at a time. Tell me what I wanna hear..." Black fingertips closed around one of the silver trappings, sliding to the end and letting it clink back against its brothers. "And maybe I'll refer you to my designer, got it memorized?" Big maybe. More like a "no chance," really, but Little Red Jacketscarf didn't have to know that.

So Axel stretched out an open palm, feeling the space under it explode with heat so intense it almost hurt and catching the spiked wheel that spun to a stop against his fingers.

"Who sent you."

[Skell]

Well whoops now, his pursed lips seemed to have indicated that she pushed a button already. Definitely not her intention, but she can't say she didn't see it coming... either way, looked like there were some hard feelings toward that jacket.

If Nobodies could feel. And if he was even a Nobody.

Her body's reaction to him pushing off from the wall and nearing her were that of a fox's -- widened eyes, a completely held breath, and a rigidity of posture. Eyes darted from different details of his coat to always return to his eyes. The coat fit him well, and he presented options for her to pick and choose from; he was obviously playing games with her. And that was fine with her... she wasn't opposed to a game.

So long as it didn't result in an offing of her head.

"Anyway. I'm not here to throw you out, so relax."

He was a stranger. He closed the door on them. He was approaching her. She might be a bit more relieved at the idea of being thrown out, had he not been wearing that coat. That damned coat.

It wasn't until the man stopped approaching her did she find the sense to shift at least a little in her boots. Skell stared down at her feet once the floor whimpered out that squeak again -- there was a floor beneath them. It swirled in and out with his cool yet assertive voice. He tried to be a funny guy, too. What an interesting personality... a character. He'd surely be worth her focus if he turned out to be a Nobody.

And then he extended his hand and --

"Holy --"

"Whoaaaa-whoa whoa... hey now..." her fingers pinched her sketchbook by its bind as she held up her hands up in front of her, taking a cautious step back, "I... think you may be assuming me to be more important than I actually am. Flattered, but I'm seriously of no threat..." She bit her lip. Technically, she didn't answer his question, "Meaning, nobody sent me. I thought this place was empty, and needed a new scene to draw down. To relax. Drawing is what I do..."

Hands slowly lowered, still out open in front of her, to her side. She wanted to keep at least her right hand close to the idle paintbrush in her pocket. This guy wasn't going to kick her out, but if he was going to jump in on a defensive like this, well, something was up.

With the way this Redhead was reacting to her presence, it almost seemed as though he was in hiding.

"... you don't live here, do you?"

[axie]

She was understandably quick to show her defenselessness. That or at least she wasn't going for a weapon just yet, which was still a good sign. Axel never drew his without expecting to get countered. Things were much easier this way; as long as she didn't make herself a foe outright, he'd find out if she was hiding anything soon enough.

Because Axel was one hundred percent certain that the girl was truly startled.

Acting was nothing new, whether it was pretending fear or anger or closeness. And since the Organization was unhampered by the emotions that made lying difficult in the first place, catching a Nobody acting was actually harder--for one with emotions, anyway. Any Nobody starting up with some emotional tirade was lying and that was just a fact...except, maybe, where Roxas was concerned. Part of forgetting how things actually felt meant leaving out key impressions, but Roxas never seemed to do that.

At any rate, it got to a point where Axel automatically assumed everyone was faking, but after encountering those with hearts and intent to dupe, he learned to spot the hesitations. That persistent fear of being discovered made liars with hearts get all hot and bothered in tiny ways that a Nobody wouldn't betray. So they had to be really good to slip by Axel.

Without a Nobody's omissions or a liar's earmarks, that fear was real.

And it was weird to see it again. Aside from this one druggie, Axel hadn't actually encountered someone with a heart since he faded away under Sora's gaze. Being with Roxas had blurred the line between Nobody and Somebody, but now that those emotions were gone with the kid, Axel could make these distinctions again. Not that he wouldn't miss those pseudo-feelings if he still could, but the one upside about not feeling was never getting upset about it.

Her question made him hum questioningly, eyes wandering to the debris blocking off one of the doors. "Wouldn't bet on it." He returned his arm to his side, catching the chakram by the rim to sway it from his fingertips. Now it wasn't so much an immediate threat--more of a relaxed one. "So. An 'artiste,' huh?" The sketchbook only told him more truth in faint blocky shapes. "You also got a fashion sense or somethin'?"

With all the time the Organization had spent in Twilight Town, it wasn't out of the question for a local or two to have spotted one of its members. Even so, Xemnas normally took care of that, so Axel figured if any of them had gotten spotted it was probably Riku while he'd been skulking around in their duds. That said, chances were she was a local, but after spending so much time with Naminé, Axel couldn't rule out a connection there. Not when Naminé spent a year sketching out Sora's memories in this very mansion.

[Skell]

A shred of tenseness left her body as he swayed his in a relaxed manner, arm dropped to dangle his weapon off playing fingertips. She couldn't help but stare at it in its unique geometric form. Never seen anything like that before, and now that she wasn't being so bluntly threatened by it she could take the time to note its details.

Circular... red trimmings... points similar to arrow heads... could've crafted that himself.

His comment pulled her out of her focus, and she thought carefully. She had a bunch of Nobodies sketched out in the pages of her book -- she didn't want to reveal those to him. Well, at least, not yet. If he actually was a Nobody, she could foresee an angry reaction to renditions of his lesser kind. But, at the same time, there was a small chance he'd be willing to help her along her studies.

Most likely not. He didn't live here, probably not welcome someplace, wanted to off her. This man wanted to be very much alone.

So was he just toying with her before he decided to slit her in two?

"I suppose you could say that..." an idea struck her as he opened with his next question. Gaze casually falling down as she raised her sketchbook for her viewing, she flipped a few pages to a section she solely dedicated to people-watching.

"Oh, well look at you... was that a comment toward my style?" Joking a bit couldn't hurt her. Unless he wasn't a fan of anyone else's funny except his own, "I'm flattered. I actually am very interested in fashion and study it a bit... see?" Still holding the bind of the book between her fingers and thumb, she turned the sketchbook to him in case he didn't buy it. It wasn't a total lie -- she did admire fashion. She couldn't sew clothes together for squat, but the designing aspect she could pull off. Twilight Town was known for people with unique styles, sometimes outlandish, so their outfits were always fun to draw.

A smile on the inside grew as her face remained neutral, still casual, as her eyes lingered along the seams of his coat, up to its hood.

If it wasn't made of what looked like leather, she'd probably want one herself.

"S'why I inquired about your coat. Never seen one like it before -- looks like the material would be hard to work with, yet whoever made it did a great job of matching your measurements. You, uh..." she nodded down toward his metal frisbee, "... an 'artiste' yourself?"

She wasn't much a fan of flattery, but maybe if she ruffled his feathers a bit, she could get by him and out the door.

[axie]

Her eyes lingered on his weapon, but his new acquaintance was also quick to relax. Noted, even if it told him nothing definitive. If she didn't already have a certain flippancy toward people in positions of authority, she wouldn't be breaking into abandoned properties.

That comment bugged him anyway. He'd seen it coming almost the minute he'd finished saying, and he wasn't so sure he liked how calm she was. Most of the people who got on his to kill list didn't crack jokes, they just died. And typically being that sure of yourself meant doubt in your enemies--so Axel couldn't rule out hubris.

Axel didn't need to eye the drawings and he didn't, gaze flicking down in a cursory glance and back up with a directness that wasn't quite a frown. Just a little too much deliberation had already tipped him off. He didn't buy that for a second--something about the cloak that wasn't the cloak had her attention. And really, was there anyone so crazy about fashion that it was the first thing on their mind in a situation like this?

The nod towards Eternal Flames shifted his train of thought. Zero Gear manifested in different ways for all of them, of course, so maybe Axel could be held responsible for the design. Still, he didn't mind being straightforward on something that minor. "Heh. Only if you're my canvas." Couldn't let her think his guard was down. Not when she was telling stories.

He drew his eyebrows together with a faint hum of consideration, as if gauging what angle to get that first red splatter to fan properly. What to do. Call her bluff? Nah, he didn't know that much on the subject, they could run with it if she wanted. But with both of them dancing around the issues, neither one would get any answers--and Axel was the one with the deciding factor in hand. "But~. I'd rather not get hasty here." Only a lie in that Axel couldn't "rather" anything. Still, he punctuated it with the burning halo of a disappearing chakram, maybe a little slower than truly necessary. He didn't need her knowing just how lightning fast he could be armed when the gesture was calculated to seem open. Maybe touching base would get him some results--and after showing his face to someone who could report him back to the Organization in a heartbeat, it wouldn't affect his impression to leave his name behind. "What say we start over, here? Name's Axel. A-X, E-L," he rattled off, poking the air for each letter. "Got it memorized?"

[Skell]

She narrowed her eyes subtly, pulling her sketchbook back as he merely dismissed it with not even a glimpse (sure, his eyes flickered down, but no one could register anything in less than the figurative "fraction of a second"). But that was fine by her. Good news if he didn't take further interest in her sketchbook. Then there'd be little chance of him glancing upon the pages of Dusks she's drawn over the year, and a few of an ambiguous figure wearing that coat. His coat. It could have been him... she couldn't be sure.

But she highly doubted it was him she stole a peek at a year ago. He seemed too cautious with his moves -- very smart. If he wanted to remain hidden from attention, she wouldn't have been able to spot him so easily and so out in the open. Unless something happened to him from that time to now that changed him.

She was thinking much too hard about this, and his snide remark caused her to grow more wary. Using a canvas in a metaphor was always deep and dirty business, it was just such a loaded object. She barely knew him, so she crossed out all the positives that that remark could have meant and was left with an image of a contortion in the making at his hands. She let out a deep breath in distaste -- he was a charmer, all right.

And in a shroud of flame she stared as his spiked wheel vanished, familiar to how her creations would vanish once she decided to dispose of the materializations. Wider, curious browns zipped up to his face as he literally spelled out his name for her. A hand went to her pack to unstrap it so she could slip her sketchbook back in, protecting it from being looked at more for the time being. A soft laugh slipped past her lips as the air of a catchphrase slipped by his.

"Axel, is it? Pleasure... I guess..." she contemplated for a good, hard, but gravely fast moment whether or not she should disclose her name to him. Her gaze busied itself at her pack as she latched the magnetic button to its leather strap, securing it. If she gave her name, he could track her down later and pester her for whatever reason. If she didn't give her name, well, he could probably off her then and there for being uncooperative. She really had no choice in the matter so far. "Name's Skell," she stared back at his face, unable to not observe his unique features. Nobody entirely human beared markings or hair like that... a Nobody could, though.

Not much of a fan of his proximity to her, even him currently weaponless and with her own ability to conjure one with the flick of a paintbrush, she took a few steps back. It was a mere couple steps before she hit the armchair she was drawing earlier. She turned her head to look at it as though surprised, and caught a glance at the book case again. Thinking she could distract him enough as she perused slowly about the room, she could make her eventual escape.

"So... Axel..." the name rolled off her tongue smoothly this time, as though saying it more would allow her to warm up to this guy, "Who's the 'old man' you mentioned earlier? He like to read? Big place to live in solitude, too..."

[axie]

Well, so far so good. He could get torturous if he wanted, but Axel couldn't legitimately "want," and that'd just get messy. He should probably silence her, but it wasn't too too important that she'd seen him. Demyx and Marluxia already knew he was alive and well, so that'd get reported to Xemnas whether he liked it or not. And being in Twilight Town wouldn't be a surprise. He'd just have to be careful; if they picked out one of his favorite hiding places, that'd be annoying.

As long as he didn't tell her anything he couldn't afford for her to know, he didn't have to...wait, what was he on now? Spare her just 'cause she had a heart? What if word got back to Sora instead? That wasn't an alliance Axel could afford to sever.

Eh well. It wouldn't surprise anyone if the old mansion caught fire.

Axel should have skipped out on this encounter from the very beginning, she hadn't given him anything worth this kind of jeopardy. And the fact that she was so flippant about it might annoy him if her moments weren't numbered anyway. "Hell if I know." Meantime, he anchored his hands to his hips, elbows poking out behind him like a cat's forelegs. It was still a closed position, but a little more authoritative than crossing his arms. "We're not exactly pals, and looks to me like he's got a thing for young boys. Kidnapping, brainwashing, darkness knows what else. Guys like that? Get on my bad side." If she was anything like Sora, maybe she'd leap to the guy's defense, but Axel wasn't counting on it. She was already dissembling enough to have him on his guard.

Hearts were heavy things. Axel still intended to bear the weight, but he could see it now and again when that relaxation gave way to tension and awkwardness. The deliberation over giving her name was interesting. "S'matter? Think I'll look you up?" He casually shifted his weight in tune with her movement. "Worrywart. After all, if you're just a Twilight Town fashion nut, then you got nothin' to worry about~." Well, ish. And striking now would be hasty, she was expecting it too much. Not that it'd do her any good, but Axel knew better than to underestimate a liar.

"Seems to me, if that were the case--you'd already be running."

The second she did, she was his.

[Skell]

"Yeah... doesn't sound like I'd be much of a fan, too..." she said in response to his description of the old man. Really though, who would be a fan of someone who kidnaps and brainwashes people? Little children, in fact. Although, minds like that fascinated her. The mystery of why they were geared the way they were was on the surface disgusting perhaps, but at the core perplexing and intriguing.

In any case, back to the active situation at hand. If she could continue tracing the edges of this room... she could get around to that exit. He didn't seem to be moving much to her steady movements.

Within moments, she was right beside a doorway looking in to a pretty rundown room. Curiously, she glanced at what she could make out through its darkness. Nearly reminded her of a bad night at the opera house -- table collapsed beneath a limp and shattered chandelier. Her mind worked to rewind the scene that could have happened without any outside intervention. The chandelier, springing up from the table, its glass limbs rectifying itself. Light immediately filling the room, warm and golden. It softly swaying once it relatched to the ceiling.

"Seems to me, if that were the case--you'd already be running."

And the picture was gone. She turned her head to him slowly, albeit with a nervous twinge in her eye. Did he catch on to her trying to make it to the door? Surely he had by now... unless he wasn't just toying with her and was thicker than he had let on.

"Oh, yeah..." a smile broke out as she, with one last final glance into the rugged doorway of the chandelier room, gracefully slinked onward. Didn't seem as though there was any visible way out of that room. There probably was a window, but it was so dark she was skeptical, "Not a single care in the world... except, I may have left an appliance running at home..."

Placing a dainty hand on the doorknob of the main entryway, finally having gotten to it, she cast the Redhead a jesting smile.

"Wouldn't want to burn the house down, you know?"

Click.

[axie]

Either this chick had nerves of steel or Axel had up and lost his touch. Whatever the case, she was certainly coy and playful enough to seem dangerous and at this point that's all Axel really needed to know. He hadn't gotten anything else out of her. Wasn't like he liked the way she was moving behind him to get at the door, either, but to start with he only turned with slow, deliberate steps. She was well within his range.

"Wouldn't want to burn the house down, you know?"

And she seemed to know it.

Whoever she was, Axel didn't think she could be trusted with her life. There was still a hesitation in the back of his mind--echoes of a friendship that never was clouding his intentions--but Axel was already a master at shoving aside the twisted wreckage of all his burned bridges.

His expression didn't betray that, eyebrows turning up in a kind of detached disappointment. "I see." Both hands dropped from his hips to spread in a way that was almost like a shrug. "Guess you leave me no choice, huh?" And with a sharp snap of his wrists, heat blasted his palms and thighs as both chakrams appeared between them. He caught them and dipped in a leap backward, sending one at her like releasing a coil of energy. The distance was automatic, just to avoid a counter, and he didn't think twice about it; instinct told him to watch it just in case she wasn't everything she appeared. After all, she seemed too comfortable for the situation to start with. Just to be sure, he followed up that strike with quick volley of fireballs. It might not kill her yet, but Axel could afford to be merciful once it was obvious she didn't have something up her sleeve; she only seemed interested in running at the moment. It was a sentiment Axel was familiar with.

She didn't have to be so nervous, though. Once he caught her, it'd only hurt for a second.

After his last visit with Sora, Axel would know.

[Skell]

Light began to filter in from the outside through the widening crack of the door as she pulled it open, blinking as it surprised her eyes a bit. She was a bit surprised and mostly relieved that this guy was just letting her go so easily after his threatening approach. No matter -- worked out better for Skell this way.

"Guess you leave me no choice, huh?"

Then she sensed a surge of heat swell up somewhere in the room.

"Choice for wha--"

Pausing, looking over at the cloaked one, she could only stare like a deer in headlights as that spiked disc returned, bringing a friend back with it, too. Eyes widened as he took a lunge backwards, breath getting caught in the back of her throat as the world around her seemed to feel so heavy, and yet he moved so smoothly and quickly.

The stranger was going to kill her. What? What the hell was she to do? What the hell did she even do? Would it have made a difference if she didn't make to leave? Would he have chosen to not attack if she acted more rashly? She didn't think she was behaving too uncooperatively... if at all. Maybe she should have tried to seduce him? That wasn't her usual style...

Maybe putting that sketchbook in her pack wasn't the best idea, and fire wouldn't help her now.

So she could only stumble. And stumble she did.

Sschup.

The spikes lodged into the door, closing it with a slam.

Dum.

Her pack hit the ground, its sliced strap flailing beside it.

Instinctively, she whipped out her paintbrush in defense, unconsciously streaming through it her urgency with an output of a stream of thick, red paint, in hopes of troubling his senses. Yet as she did this, tracing his first trajectory was a flurry of fireballs, setting the door frame ablaze along with her leather sack on the floor.

"No!" and a muttered flurry of swears spilled from her lips as worry filled her eyes. Immediately retracting her attack, and without concern of the fire, she bent down and sent black gloved hands in to rip through the bag to snatch her sketchbook. The only shred of thought that crossed her mind aside from the safety of her book was how hot the flames were. They weren't the largest of things, but their color was misleading of how hot they were, too.

Finally -- the book. Too scared to be relieved, or to even think properly, she bolted. She wanted to yell at this guy, demand him to clue her in to what the hell he thought he was doing, but she found herself voiceless.

She knew the chandelier room had nothing to give to her, and that other doorway in the lobby was blocked off by debris. No choice but to speed off passed him and shoot up the stairs. The parts that made this place must have been older than what the outside let on, cringing at every squeak the wood made with her steps, and how her heels seemed to send a clack that echoed off everything. Getting to the landing, she hurriedly crouched down and ran her paintbrush along the base of her shoes, commanding them to rubber to shut them up before speeding up the stairs again. It was a miracle she took the couple seconds to do this what with Hot Head after her.

A way out. That is all she wanted. Answers would be nice, but they wouldn't do her any good if she was dead a moment later. Maybe he wouldn't bother chasing after her. Maybe he'd just stick downstairs, or disappear just as sneakily as he had entered.

She was met with a hallway of sorts, and too many choices. Wrong time for indecisiveness to kick in.

[OoC: I blame the rambling on the illness. Ex-choo--me.]

[axie]

Not accustomed to combat, or that's what Axel's instincts told him. Standing there like a deer in headlights wasn't about to help her case, but even a shocked Nobody will do that if he doesn't have the reflexes. But the fact that she did that after realizing he had a weapon meant the kind of inexperience that might stay Axel's hand--were Roxas still around.

Eh well. Corner her first, find out what happens then.

Meantime he wasn't shy about going through with the chakram and the flames. They certainly charred the door, but once the chakram vanished from it so did the flames, burning themselves out since the door wasn't his target--and really, burning it down now wouldn't help. Not that Axel wouldn't be completely at home in a burning building, but despite his inability to care about it he'd rather not do anything to compromise the information on that computer.

It's a good thing that was reflex, because the second he got done with the chakram he was almost certain he'd hit her, from the sudden slew of red that fountained from her position, hazy from the fireballs that followed. Axel completely wasn't expecting it and it hit him right in the chin with the force of a hose, making him both reel and hurriedly leap out of the way of what he perceived in that confused moment as both an attack and a disastrous result. He rubbed his jaw and his fingers came away red, which made him glance down at the splashed wetness that smelled of chemicals.

Paint?

Axel wasn't normally this boggled by things, but for a noncombative girl to act this coy and then hit him in the face with paint, he needed a few explanations.

The next assault wasn't quite as lethal--well. It was still a flaming chakram, but that just meant it'd cauterize the wounds awful fast, and he wasn't aiming for somewhere vital on the fly. He heard her on the landing, so the chakram aimed at her top half went spinning in an arc back when she ducked down. Something about the way she ran away afterward struck him as off--he didn't realize it was the missing heavy thuds of the carpet until she was almost up to a door, and didn't connect it to anything in the rush of the moment. Without hesitation, he pulled a quick teleportation into the book-lined room that led back to the basement, choosing it as her next most likely target and coiling to strike. Of course, he wouldn't be able to hear her footsteps if...eh well, hadn't considered that. He'd improvise as needed, but it was still the door closest to her and chances were she still thought he was behind her for the moment.

[Skell]

This guy was nuts! Absolutely relentless in his throws with that spinning, spiked disc. You'd think she had attempted to stab at his heart or something, by the way he was so bent on slicing her in two. Or burning her to ashes. Either or. She had a feeling a quick and clean strike was more his thing, what with the clean handling of his weapon. But he could be the torture type, too.

There really was no time nor free space in her mind to contemplate that question of his character, though. She'd be a little bit loony if she stopped to seriously determine it. Just a bit.

A quick peek over her shoulder, just out of an odd reflex as she was investigating her choices of escape. She couldn't help but take a curious double take, at a complete standstill, only her breath heaving out of the initial shock being audible.

It was really quiet... really, really quiet.

A small hesitation crossed her as she hunched, backtracking slowly. Her steps were careful, eyes wide, lips parted slightly. Looking over the banister, her eyes traced the floor beneath her. She held her breath as she saw what she had not been expecting.

Nothing.

Where'd he go...?

He could have retreated to stand beneath the stairs now. But she didn't think he would have done that. That was just odd. I mean, if he was hoping to throw her for a logic loop like she was in now, maybe that would have been smart of him. But it wouldn't have been practical. And he seemed like a man of simplicity and practicality. Yet she was upstairs already, and she didn't want to take her chances by going back downstairs. She wasn't sure how he had snuck up on her to begin with, so he could very well be right behind her --

-- but he wasn't. God, she was probably overcomplicating this right now. If her life didn't seem to depend on it, maybe she would have been less paranoid.

Best not take any chances. Biting her lip, she placed a hand on her eye necklace and inhaled deeply as the magical energy from it consumed her appearance in a blanket of nothing. Her muted boots and now literal transparency could help her a lot now. She just hoped that she hadn't been particularly strong of vanilla today. If she only had known that she'd be a scurrying mouse later in the day, she wouldn't have misted it about her.

It was subtle. You'll be good. Stop psyching yourself out, Skell. [/i]

So she turned and went back into the hallway and ducked into the first open doorframe she had seen. It was immediately to her right. The room she walked in to was shelved with books. Books she'd probably take a greater interest in had she had time to waste. Paying no more attention to them, she scurried down the side of the room and made for another staircase she saw going down -- perhaps it led to a different way out than what she saw before.

A tingle ran up her spine when she heard a deep fluttering resound somewhere behind her. Turning her head, eyes spotted a familiar, swirling thing of darkness. It exactly resembled the one she coupled a year ago with that other cloaked figure. Oh man -- this could have been him. If there weren't more like him, this Axel could have been the one she spotted disappearing a year ago. And how funny that would be, her trying to hunt down the hunter. And you know, it was even funnier still how his casual demeanor at the present could have been something she'd find charming. Too bad he was trying to kill her.

Yet he couldn't see her. She knew that much. Unless he had vision that was superhuman in that it could see otherwise invisible objects, she could not be seen. He had surprised her so far, so she decided not to take any chances and continued to scurry down the stairs, as quickly, quietly, and carefully as she could.

When she found herself at the base of the stairs, what first caught her eye was a large computer screen. Its light was illuminating the darkened room, a bit shabby in its appearance. She swear she was probably a fox in a past life, if there was such a thing. Either the old man still lived here, or someone else was trying to go use the substantial thing. She tiptoed to it, eyes scanning the flurry of words on the screen. What was this?

She felt like she found a conglomeration of secrets, and that was dangerous. She looked over her shoulder -- she didn't see the reaper anywhere. Maybe two seconds... just a moment...

If only she took notice of the Alert! Intruder! words flashing at the very top right hand corner of the screen -- who in the world would put something so important at the corner least visited?