destinystrings | The Final Key

Entry tags:

The Final Key

Who: CLOSED. Nano, Kairi, and a special guest monster
Where: Castle Oblivion
Summary: Nano has a quest leading her deep within Kairi's home, and the redhead is happy to offer her a hand getting there.
Warnings: PG-13 by default

[It would be lying to say she wasn't surprised and perhaps a bit worried to get a call from Nano requesting to travel deep within the castle during the 13th hour, but Kairi was willing to hear her friend out on the matter. And, well, hearing it was a special request from the Velvet Room? She definitely couldn't turn her away from something like that, even if it did get dangerous in there; it'd at least be less so with Kairi around, now that she had inherited the castle. All in all, she had agreed to be her escort.

So, Kairi was waiting on the steps in front of the castle, laying back with fingers entwined behind her head, a small habit she had picked up from extended contact with her best friend. The stars were quite pretty and vibrant tonight, though she couldn't help but feel a twinge of homesickness staring up at them like this, even though that home wasn't technically even hers to speak of. Either way and despite the small bit of negativity, stars still had an overwhelming sense of hope to her, and she quite enjoyed looking up at them when she had an opportunity. So many other people in so many other worlds were looking up at the same sky and stars as she was, with all their own lives and dreams... and maybe, for all Kairi knew, the other her was looking up at them right now too. And maybe, just maybe, orbiting among all those stars way up there was the station, where her loved ones still lived and endured week after week of Val's whims. As long as they carried on... well, there was still hope they could end up here.

Glancing at her watch, a few minutes ticked before midnight would hit; Nano should be here any minute, so long as she hadn't gotten caught up in something. Hopefully she'd get here soon, wouldn't want to miss the rather interesting transformation...]

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N-no...! I can't give up now! I promised Caroline-san! Kairi-san risked her life to bring me here! Everyone believes in me...!

[Nano plants her keyblade into the ground in front of her as a translucent bubble of light expands outward from it, enveloping her in a protective barrier.]

[And just in time too, as the figure of Lucifer looms over her, attempting to hit her with a physical attack that is reflected by the barrier.

When that fails to connect, it sends another darkness filled attack towards her, shattering the barrier and leaving Nano vulnerable again.]

[As the barrier shatters, Nano releases her concentration, causing it to explode outward in an automatic counterattack - dealing some damage back to William in the process. Riding the momentum of the burst, Nano rushes forward, her keyblade glowing with power. In a final desperate rush of power, she makes five wide slashes at William in a devastating combo attack before finishing with a single charged overhead strike.]

(ooc: The first five strikes deal 1.5x normal damage, the last deals 3x damage. Stacked with the effect Physical Amp from her Persona, Nano's betting it all on this last series of attacks before the Wayfinder gives out.)

[It is an amazingly devastating attack. William falls back from the blunt of the blades, as each attack hits him directly, then bounced up into the air before the final charged strike hits and he falls to the floor.

What seems like hours are actually seconds as he turns around and slowly gets up.

That attack would have easily ended far lesser creatures than a being of power, but he miraculously still going, although there's a small strike of blood on the side of his lip. He taps it with his gloved hand to look at it, the red barely showing on the greyish gloves.

His eyes gloss over Nano's and for the first time, actually looks genuinely impressed. Now she's fighting with her all. Lucifer disappears and as another card is thrown into the air, a gigantic eye stares back at her from above him. While normally, the light spell would hurt him, two spells are cast in rapid succession, the first boosting his speed allowing him to cast another spell while boosting his attack and defense power, and the other blocking physical attacks...as long as he doesn't do anything.

~~He's like a cockroach that won't go down.~~]

Edited 2013-10-09 02:11 (UTC)

[It's a blessing in disguise. While Nano had been hoping that her attack would be enough to take William down, at least he had the class not to finish her off when it didn't. And now it seems that he's set up an unbreakable defense. But at least while he's guarding, she has the chance to use the last remaining vestiges of the Wayfinder's power to once again return herself to full health. The sparkling aura cascades around Nano one last time before shimmering into nothingness, Namine's power draining away from her body until only Nano and her Persona are left once again.]

William-san! Please come back with me! Caroline-san is waiting for us both!

[If he's not going to fight, at least she has time to try to talk him down.]

[It's an interesting idea. For a second it looks like he's seriously thinking about it, rubbing his chin, before shaking his head and laughing quietly. The gloved hand removes what is left of the blood on his lips and he cracks his fingers.

He turns halfway from her so she seems him more in profile, as the giant eye produces another spell for him before being dispelled. William opens the book with one hand, pages spinning by wildly before he points to one in particular. This time the glow behind him is terrifying, illuminating his face in the process. This demon may not be as strong as Lucifer, the form itself is much more insidious, and it's reflected in William's own face.

Hope you're not afraid of giant bugs, Nano, cause there's one buzzing right above him. Even the wings have a skull symbol on them, signifying what is about to happen.

The first spell is all-too familiar, the dark energy draining her health as fast as she had healed it. The next, however is far more terrifying. Raising the skeleton wand in the air, dark purple circles of symbols circled around her, threatening to end the entire fight here and then, before they dispelled in a flash of light; the Mudoon spell had failed. There was no doubt, however, that he'd try again soon.]

[Nano happens to be completely terrified of bugs, and she lets out a shrill scream as Beelzebub manifests above William's head. Fortunately, she's steeled herself enough for this battle that she doesn't just tear out of there completely. The screaming, however, does continue - at first from the sheer fear and surprise of seeing such a horrible insectoid monster, but then from the pain of taking another devastating attack.]

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!

[Stumbling forward and very nearly falling over from sheer exhaustion, Nano raises her hand. For a moment, it almost looks like she's giving up, as the Wii Fit Trainer shimmers and dissipates into the air. But then there's a faint white glow as she clenches her fist, slowly stumbling to her feet.]

Pinocchio, please help me!

[In what is sure to be a last ditch effort to finish things here and now, Nano takes out her very first Persona - her Soul Persona, Pinocchio, the living puppet. Both robot and puppet, a girl made of living metal and a boy made of living wood, point dramatically toward William and Beelzebub at the same time, sending a wave of pure holy light cascading toward them.]

Mahamaaaaaaaaa!

[William's been using a lot of demons and scary monsters, so she's hoping against hope that this will be enough to hit a weakness and end the fight here.

It's a gamble, but it's all she's got left.]

[The magic spell turns around him and the Persona for a short while, as the white cards stop for a second and...

...disappear, the spell missing him.

For a last ditched-effort, it's unfortunate. Yet for all her trials and efforts she has done, now standing before him completely drained, she will find that William is not relenting. The bug behind him disappears, to be replaced once again with the godly form of Lucifer.

There won't be much to avoid this time. It's a single attack, and quite destructive.

Mimicking its user, the Persona raises its hand into the sky, causing three whitish spheres to appear from the sky and slowly descending upon her, before exploding, blasting the room with pure white light.

This time the targets don't miss. It's only due to the Endure Light skill that Nano is left standing. And Lucifer looks like it's getting ready to go again...]

[Nano opens her mouth to scream again, the gesture apparently producing no sound whatsoever as the loud explosion completely drowns her out. Her form is silhouetted against the huge burst of light, like the shadow left behind after a nuclear blast. All that's left as the effect of the attack fades is a last, desperate gasp from the back of Nano's throat as she falls to one knee, breathing heavily as she props herself up with a hand.]

S-stop... please...

[Her voice is hoarse and quiet, her movements stiff and jerky as her robotic body strains to keep itself functional in the wake of so much repeated damage. She's fought her hardest, but Nano is practical enough to know when she's beaten, and she is thoroughly beaten.]

Just... come home, William-san... you don't have to do this...!

[She hasn't quite caught on to the fact that this is largely a test of her own resolve, and still thinks that William has run away from home or decided to become a villain or something. So it's really more for Caroline's sake than her own that she continues to plead.]

I promised... I promised I'd bring you back...

[The plea falls to deaf ears, just like his unwillingness to speak. The music around them stops suddenly, creating a silence that is only interrupted by the beating wings of the persona above him.

This was it. End of the game. Touching his forehead, he gives a farewell movement to Nano as Lucifer moves over to her to repeat the same spell again. There would be no skill to protect her now.

Time seemed to slow down, as the lights appeared before her, the floor glowing, shifting, groaning from the strain of the upcoming spell. Pieces of it already flew into the air, flying upwards and disintegrating from the light's touch the sound growing higher and higher from the pitch. And it was going directly downwards towards her, as the end of everything.]

[And as she floats up into the exploding sky, Nano closes her eyes tightly, tears streaming from them as she whispers the names of her friends. The ones who believed in her. The ones she'd failed. The ones she'd never see again.]

Kairi-san...

Namine-san...

Xion-san...

Yukko-san...

[The last name catches in the back of her throat for a moment before she manages to choke it out amid her tears.]

H... Hakase...

I don't want to die! I don't want to leave you! I want to live! I want to keep fighting... for all of you! For everyone! I... I love you all so much!

[Even as her body absorbs the unimaginable pain of William's final attack, that tiny spark inside Nano desperately clings to life, and love.]

[And in the moment when resolution met desperation and willingness to survive despite certain death...

A miracle happened.

A voice from deep inside her soul rose up and made itself known, louder than the others.]

Don't be afraid... ...take my hand...

Wh... who...?

[It's all she can get out before she extends her hand, almost by reflex.]

From the sea of your soul I rise. I am Geppetto, who shall protect you on your own quest. I am thou... Thou art I... may we carve your destiny together."

[Nano nods rapidly, her vision finally coming into focus as her hand tightly grasps that of the kindly old puppeteer.]

M... mm! Geppetto-san!

[And now that she's rejuvenated from absorbing that Light attack, Nano's ready to deliver her final attack. Geppetto pulls out a carving knife - the same one he used to carve his son - and unleashes his strongest barrage on William and Lucifer. After that earlier Endure, he should be close enough to the brink that this final blow will end it all.]

Edited 2013-10-10 03:26 (UTC)

[Technically, that should not have worked. But something in Nano's resolution changes the attack so that it passes over the physical barrier William should have. As the Persona moves towards its target, the Velvet Attendant lets off a scoff as he attempts to block the swipe with both his hands, grabbing the blade just as it's about to hit his chest. For a few seconds, there's a struggle between both of them in completely silence, as he fights the Persona and tries to push him away, his muscles tensing before losing the battle and the dagger hitting him.

He's pushed backwards as Lucifer disappears in a blast of light above him.

While he's not down for the count, William is definitely much weaker than before.

He stands up again, hand on his forehead...]

[..And begins to laugh. It's a strange sound to hear from someone who's usually so silent, but the hand slides from his forehead down into a small bow at her, as he grins.

The screen behind him reappears, as do the floor and the tiles when they began their battle.

I have now seen humanity's resolution in you. Thank you.

[And thank goodness for that, because even though Nano is fully healed, she's certainly exhausted energy-wise. Her legs wobble as she staggers forward, resting her hands on her knees as she catches her breath. The labored breathing soon gives way to relieved laughter, though, as she rights herself and looks back at William, one hand clasped over her chest.]

I couldn't have done it without my friends.

True, walking with a friend in the darkness is better than walking alone in the light. Congratulations.

[He takes a few steps forward until they are much closer to each other, before giving her a card with Geppetto's image on it.]

I believe this is yours. I cannot add it to my book.

Thank you, William-san!

[Nano looks down at the card in her hand, her smile growing ever wider as she nods at William.]

Does this mean you'll come back home?

Not yet.

[It's not that he doesn't like the Velvet Room. It's that the everything else was much more interesting, as far as he was concerned.]

I'm afraid my sister might have tricked you into coming here to fight me. Regardless, it was quite a powerful display of your inner strength.

Tricked...?

[Why yes, that did only occur to her just now.]

You mean you didn't run away from home and decide to become a bad guy?

[He shakes his head, looking a little panicked for a second.]

And make Master Igor angry? Perish the thought.

[Oh, so William WAS afraid of something...or rather, someone.]

I'll let them know you're all right, then. You should really visit your sister more often, though. She worries about you, and family is important.

[CAN HE EVEN WITHSTAND A LECTURE THIS MOE]

Are you patronizing me?

[HE'S ALREADY GETTING SPEECHES LIKE THIS FROM HER HE DOESN'T NEED PERSONA USERS DOING THAT TOO...at least her heart is pure and she means well.]

You should be concentrating on healing yourself. It's not like the creatures of the castle have disappeared now that we're done here.

Barrier (Light)

Strike (Physical) | Dark Verdict (Dark)

Counterblast (Physical), Bladecharge (Physical)

Endure | World Revolution | One Does Not Simply Walk Into Mordor

Curaga (Mind) - HOISTED WITH MY OWN PETARD

Angelic Grace | Dark Verdict | Mudoon

Persona Change -> Pinocchio | Mahama

Another Dimension (Light)

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Another Dimension (Light)

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SCREAMING INTO THE SUN - ALSO VORPAL BLADE (PHYSICAL)

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