A Thin Line [Warrior]

[Nike]

So, she wasn't the only one in this cycled dimension that a man could call perfect.

It didn't come as much surprise. Cid did appear to love churning his manikins out in short order, like some genetic assembly line. Some ended up better than others, yes, but to Nike it seemed that when he actually put the effort into it, he produced a specimen like her instead of one of his fragile, crystalline shells that served as the pawns in the chess game between Chaos and Cosmos. Apparently, he'd settled in and built perfection - or near-perfection, in the other case - twice. And the other case sounded so very interesting when the rumor had been dropped to her. So interesting, in fact, that the wheels had started turning instantly. One of Cosmos' closest followers who had possession of absolutely no memories whatsoever? She didn't have to care much for Chaos' overall ambitions to know that this manikin provided her an opportunity to give herself quite a bit of leeway over all the other players in the aforementioned chess game. Weren't the others busy considering her as nothing because she'd been genetically engineered? To her, her creation and the other warrior's opinions of her just gave her another advantage and more motivation. Let them underestimate her. No one else was pursuing this other manikin at the moment, either, save for the knight with the sword, and he was too slow for his own good.

So Nike strode, unperturbed, into said knight's stomping grounds that they called a shrine. It might have been a shrine once, but the place was unimpressive now. Nike had to pick her way over top of a fallen pillar just to get to the center of the room. Now, what of this man they called "Warrior of Light"? She knew the basic rundown, which was why she expected to be able to draw him out here. He was a manikin, yes, without a single memory. Ridiculously, he didn't even know his own name. Time without purpose had eventually drawn him to Cosmos' side. Funny how he'd draw towards the restrictive, narrow path instead of having all that freedom placed before him with his lack of memories. She also knew that the knight, Garland, saw him as a recognizable enemy for whatever reason. She supposed it was like her own recognition of the Yuna that also served Cosmos, though the knight had some sort of absurd reason to be fixated with the Warrior. Most of the other facts were irrelevant, though, save for the fact that he wasn't aware he was a manikin. Hence, the reason she was here, and the reason she knew that, even without meeting him, she already had a leash on him. Nike planned to inform him of just what he was...and do a little dealing in the process that could ensure for her exactly what she wanted - off of this damn chess board, with all the other pieces out of her way if necessary.

She slowed her gait when she reached the center of the room, propping a hand onto her hip and staring at the floor. If he was here, he could hear her. Besides, she was someone new to him. What else would bring one of Cosmos' right-hand men out of the woodwork but curiosity? "Warrior?", she called into the empty room, listening for the footsteps or rattle of metal that would indicate he was wandering to her like a lost puppy. He was not going to enjoy this conversation in the slightest. Let the other warriors think what they wanted of her. The less they knew about her and what she could do, the better. She only needed to work behind the scenes while the rest disregarded her and pile up the resources on her side of the board, and she'd have this won. Just like a certain war she could barely remember now. Her somewhat pleasant expression fell at that thought, and she shifted uncomfortably in place. The unfortunate part of all this? She and this Warrior weren't at all unalike...she merely had to prove to herself that she was better.

Tagged - Warrior
Words - 732
Muse - Great!
Place - Old Chaos Shrine
Outfit - Da suit, of course (she can summon her weapon here, so she's not hauling that giant thing around XD)
Notes - Odd starter, but hey, if it's my first post with her. [/size]

[Warrior of Light]

The promise he’d made to Cosmos…well, it wasn’t exactly a promise, but it might as well be one. He was never going to lie to her, he’d do what he could to keep her happy, and apparently one thing that the dubbed ‘Warrior of Light’ could do was continue to search for those lost memories. For some time now he’d been on this journey. He’d traveled to Order’s Sanctuary, he’d even been back to his so-called home world, to the town of Cornelia where Princess Sarah lived. The names, a few of the things he’d heard about some legendary warriors, it seemed almost familiar, it just didn’t click. Obviously he’d heard the tales before, or something along those lines, it almost seemed like there were no memories to recover. So there was this question to be asked, and believe me, Warrior had asked it many times to himself, though never expressing his concerns to Cosmos, why worry and stress her more?

Lost memories? Or…did he even have any memories to fall back on?

The only thing that really triggered this thought to occur to him was the fact that he was FOUND, found by Prishe in the Old Chaos Shrine. Warrior had been so disoriented at the time, dazed and confused when Prishe was encountered by Garland, but it all seemed too odd and out of place. What exactly was he? Who was he…? Why was there not even a name to remember? Shaking his head in frustration, silvery hair whipping around his face as he stood where his memory of first seeing Prishe had occurred. Standing on the side near some of the pillars of the Old Chaos Shrine, Warrior placed his hand against the still standing pillar and frowned. Those memories he could remember as clear as day, but anything before that was just…blank. There was more than a few missing pages in his story, it was as if the entire beginning and middle of his life had been ripped away from him. It was too complicated to explain, but…it was enough to frustrate a man down to the very core, questioning who he was, what he existed for…and why his memory was full of so many holes that he just couldn’t fill.

Moving slightly, Warrior leaned back against the pillar that was still standing, resting against it with a frustrated look on his face. How was he supposed to find these memories? He’d told Cosmos he would quit on searching for them…but what if they just weren’t out there? Moving a hand to his forehead to rub at his temples, soon moving his hand to rub the bridge of his nose, the only thing this Warrior of Light could do was sigh heavily before hearing and feeling a new presence in the area. He could hear footsteps, but instead of making himself known, he simply turned his head slightly, able to see part of the room from an awkward glance, he saw…someone with blonde hair, but not his favorable shade of blonde, that shade only belonged to Cosmos. This was…definitely someone new. Moving his gaze forward now, keeping still and making sure not to make any noise, he listened to the footsteps of this woman, until they stopped. He’d waited, he was curious of course, the only time he really came here along his journey through Dissidia, he’d ended up fighting some form of evil, one of Chaos’ lackeys. This one certainly didn’t seem familiar. He hadn’t remembered a whole lot of women on Chaos’ side, there was…The Cloud of Darkness and Ultimecia, this woman was neither.

Upon hearing his dubbed name, Warrior blinked. She knew he was here? She came searching for him. Was this for real? Maybe she was in need of guidance, he could only remember the assistance he’d provided for Leonhart back when he was searching for Cosmos, this could be something along the same lines? But the twisting in Warrior’s stomach told him that this wasn’t the same. Resting a hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword and keeping a grip on his shield, he rounded around the pillar, his armor now making the noise she had been listening for as he approached the edge of the slightly uplifted section within the shrine. "You called for me?” he said in almost a monotone voice as he remained pretty stoic about how to approach this, not that that wasn’t his normal attitude anyways. “I’ve never seen you before, how do you know of me?” he questions bluntly, wanting to get that out of the way, there was no time to waste…especially if he was going to continue on and hunt down those memories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 893
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Nike
Wearing:[/color] Dissidia Armor, minus goofy helmet.
Listening To:[/color] Trading Yesterday
Notes:[/color] 8'D so cruel...

[Nike]

And there it was. Heavy footsteps reached her ears and had her eyes impassively cutting towards the near side of the room, where he was emerging. Nike had never seen him before, only had him described to her in minor detail, but the man she found in her peripheral vision proved rather unique-looking. Who here wasn't unique-looking, though? Her eyes settled fully on him. Tall, strong-looking, long-haired, sturdy armor. Bit of a pretty-boy. And as fast as her eyes had shifted to him, they moved to stare at the far end of the shrine. The appearance didn't change much about how she was going to handle the situation, but it did make her notice something. He didn't have a particularly memorable face. Was it because he was a manikin? Maybe. Was it why he wore such memorable armor? Maybe, again. Just a little tidbit she'd picked up, but it could have been that he wanted to be unique-looking so people wouldn't forget about him like he'd forgotten about himself... Not that there was anything to remember. It was just a tidbit she was picking up, but an interesting, and oddly satisfying, one nonetheless.

He began speaking, all business-like in tone. Nike didn't answer his first question - she supposed it was rhetorical anyway. How many people would wander into the Old Chaos Shrine and ask for someone named Warrior and not expect the only person in this fight to emerge? Probably plenty, but only if they were fools, as most humans seemed to be lately. What really brought a smirk to her face, though, was the second question. She took in a thoughtful breath, still not looking straight at him. "How do I know of you?", she mimicked. "First off, there's not enough people here for everyone not to get acquainted, and since I already know you're the Warrior of Light..." She finally settled her gaze on him, meeting eye-to-eye. "Nike," she said, indicating herself. If he wanted more details than that, he'd have to ask for them. He'd know about her soon enough, once she started dropping the bombs. Speaking of which...it sounded like just about the time to drop him a little bit of bait as to why she was here. It'd be just what she needed to have him falling over himself for information, wouldn't it? A little satisfying, too.

With easy, casual steps, she moved towards a half-fallen pillar to his right and started speaking again. "The question isn't how I know of you. The question is - what do I know about you that you don't know?" She leaned up against the pillar, crossing her ankles underneath her and her arms across her chest. "And the answer is...quite a bit, actually." Nike paused, cutting her eyes at him to gauge any kind of reaction. Time to start pouring a little pressure on...because if she'd learned one thing while she'd been a soldier, it was that you didn't play around for too long. Eventually, you had to show your hand in full. "You don't know who you are, do you? Not a name, not an origin, not a single memory inside that dome of yours," she continued, "so you decide that your best bet in life is to take up sword and shield and dive into a fight that may or may not be yours. Strange choice. Most people would have grabbed a swimsuit and laid out on a beach somewhere without any kind of purpose weighing on their shoulders. But you needed purpose, didn't you? Couldn't live without it."

She settled eyes on him, almost giving him a friendly look. Completely fake. "And I wonder which between the two of us knows why. Can't be you...you're the one with the lost memories."

Consider the leash tightened.

Words - 703
Muse - Beyond excellent!
Notes - Ahhh, it's good to have an OC villain. XD (I should mention, I missed the no-helmet thing and had written a line or two about it. I think I took it out, but let me know if you notice anything about the helmet I missed. I'll fix it.)[/size]

[Warrior of Light]

Now, this was certainly interesting. What person would wander here upon their own accord, knowing Warrior was here, and call him out? It seemed not only strange, but rather…coincidental, as if someone knew he was going to be heading here. That was the part that really was concerning him, but no matter, those feelings would have to remain on the inside, his concerns would not be shown towards this woman, whoever she was and whatever it was she wanted with him. Emerging and keeping his expression rather blank, as usual for the most part, he eyed the blonde, not recognizing her in the slightest, if she wasn’t a part of the cycles…then…who was she? Never had the question of ‘what was she’ come to his mind, never questioning if she was something other than the same as he and his comrades – at least to his knowledge. She looked too real, too well put together to be anything other than a human being, and that was strange, the only unfamiliar beings lurking around these parts these days were manikins…

…even still.

So, she introduced herself – sort of – as Nike? The name didn’t ring any bells, and Warrior was pretty sure he was familiar with all of Chaos’ warriors, as well as Cosmos’ warriors too. Whoever she was, she wasn’t getting much amusement out of Warrior, he was starting to become not only confused as to why she was talking to him, but also frustrated with her. If she wanted something, needed something, why not get straight to the point? She knew him, he wasn’t iconic or anything, not in Cornelia, not even in these realms, was he? Remaining silent, hand still on the hilt of his sword as he seemed quite relaxed, his face passive and almost uninterested as his eyes – unlike hers – remained on the newcomer. She’d moved, starting to talk, it meant she was going to get the point, reveal what it was she wanted to say, her purpose for being here…but…it was sounding much more different than what Leonhart had asked of him, different than how his comrades would speak to him…it sounded almost more…oh what’s the word. It was just a bit unnerving, that’s all.

Raising an eyebrow at the blonde woman, Nike, Warrior still kept his mouth shut. He knew she’d continue onwards, or at least that his was assumption, she seemed like she was going to…after all, she’d just revealed that she knew quite a bit about him, what sort of encounter would this be if that was it? Moving his own arms across his chest, he kept watching her, a small spark of an idea or thought forming in the back of his mind. He didn’t know her, she knew him, she knew a lot about him…was…this someone from his past? Whether it be good or bad, the way she was speaking, Nike could provide him with some information. Was this what he’d been searching for? By a stroke of good luck, Warrior had finally found the key to unlocking his past…this woman knew something he didn’t know obviously…the things he’d been searching for, they were so close, but he could see just by the way things were going now that it wouldn’t be smooth sailing from here, the road ahead was going to be a bumpy one, of that he was sure.

“Everyone has a purpose, whether they chose it, or fate decides what that purpose is.” Warrior commented quietly, looking at that friendly look on the woman’s face. He wasn’t trusting it, but seeing as she’d gone through the trouble to lay out the bait, he’d bite…only for the chance of him getting some insight as to his past, those blank pages in his story that just didn’t seem to exist anymore. “So you know of my lack of memories, my purpose to take up arms to keep myself…busy in a way, what is it you intend on telling me? You know more than I do, so what is it? My past? My life before the cycles of Dissidia…what is it you can tell me, Nike?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 792
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Nike
Wearing:[/color] Armor minus helmet.
Listening To:[/color] Stuff
Notes:[/color]

[Nike]

Oh God. The philosophizing type. Nike had to strain not to sigh audibly and roll her eyes at the whole spill he made about fate and purpose. Why was everyone here a classical orator? They needed a few days out in the real world. They'd been in this demented little realm a little too long, apparently. Not that their own worlds were any better...any world that could tolerate a man marching around in sequins, pointed armor, a clown costume or a thong couldn't be called particularly respectable, either. She gave him a disinterested shrug of her shoulders. "What a horribly romantic way of looking at things," she said, in an unimpressed monotone. "You should have taken on poetry." It was only sarcastic advice Nike was giving if she ever told anyone to indulge themselves in poetry. She saw poets in the same realm as politicians or bankers or anyone else who spent too much of their time sitting in a chair and preaching to other people about how things should be and what they should be doing. She would have loved to see one of them on the battlefield for an hour. Heck, she had to start wondering if this manikin before her had really earned the "warrior" nickname...not that everyone here wasn't full of hot air and yet were still considered warriors of some kind or other.

Some people's purpose was a little more base anyway, but that was an debate for another time. Nike wasn't here to bounce philosophy off of him. She wanted tangible victories today.

Ah, and then came the questions, like fish to the worm. Nike diverted her eyes to the other side of the room while his short array of questions drummed against her ears. He thought she'd come all this way just to drop the answers in his lap, didn't he? Wasn't that cute...or pathetic. Either one. She wasn't completely unfeeling to the situation, though. In the same spot she would probably react in the same way...though she'd provide much more incentive for the person to answer her briskly at the end of a gun. Frankly, with his sword and shield, he didn't appear the gun type. Yet another way people here were too damn romanticized in their "warrior's ways." She might get to see just how fantastic a sword functioned against a spray of bullets, now that she was ready to finally play her hand. She let her eyes fall closed a few seconds and let the feeling that she was in complete control here sink in, before she finally pushed herself off of the pillar and started pacing towards the wall behind Warrior.

"Your past life...funny you should say that...", she hinted, one last time, before finally dropping the weight. "I can tell you all about this, ah, 'past life' of yours....but not just out of the goodness of my heart, I'm afraid." She started motioning her hands with her explanation. "You see, Warrior...we'll use that as your name, for now...unless you are willing to make a few favors to me in return...there's not a single chance you're finding out who you are..." She paused for effect, turning blue eyes on him just as she passed. "..or what you are....because, as it turns out, I'm the only person who knows about any of it." He crossed around behind him. "And I know all of it. Start to finish, top to bottom." Finally, she stopped, staring at the back wall with her back turned to the "poor guy." "Of course, if you're not interested, there are always other incentives. You'll be losing a lot more than just some information about yourself if it comes to that..."

Did she ever love being vague...at least with this situation.

Words - 692
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - Muahahahaha. [/size]

[Warrior of Light]

Warrior was in no mood to play games, or hear sarcastic advice coming from this woman, Nike, whom he still wasn’t so sure about. She seemed to be playing the role of a random third party very well. She didn’t seem like a warrior of light, nor a warrior of discord…but somewhere in between, at least to Warrior’s first assumptions about her. One wasn’t supposed to judge someone by first impressions, and Warrior certainly kept his guard up, watching her and trying to place her somewhere within his thoughts. Was she merely a nuisance? Or was there a purpose for her? Though his stoic expressions didn’t say much, his mind was constantly contemplating different things, asking different questions to himself and trying to figure it out before she actually started speaking, answering his words…once that hit, then he could most likely have a good read on her and be aware as to how alert he needed to be.

Of course, anyone who had something to offer always wanted something in return. But what could one want of a simple warrior? He was nothing all that special, even as Cosmos’ right hand man, there wasn’t much he could think of in terms of favors to help this blonde with. He simply raised an eyebrow, letting her finish speaking as she stalked around him, it made him feel uncomfortable, sure, but it was with these words, the tone and what she was getting at that was finally allowing Warrior to place her in the proper category of where she stood in his mind. She was definitely no good guy, but she hadn’t started throwing out threads of world domination, destruction or anything like that…but the threat of him losing a lot more should he not do what was being asked of him, whatever it was. He was no puppet to be controlled, and that’s what really dug under his skin. Was she threatening him into doing whatever bidding she needed done? It caused a small scowl to form on his lips, feeling the weight of his hand on his sword increase, as if he were ready to jump into battle should something call for that.

“What favors is it you are asking of me?” He asked as he watched her, not facing him. She knew much about his life, who he was…but the ‘what he was’ part did strike up a bit of curiosity, which brought him to asking about the favors, but there was always the chance that she was simply bluffing. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Warrior was without memories or a past to look back on, anyone could try and take that to their advantage. “And how do I know that you really know about my history? For all I know, you could be bluffing, trying to make a fool out of me.” He added on in a bit of a darker tone, still remaining where he was, wanting to see what other moves she dealt towards him. Her well hidden threat wasn’t going to sway him so easily, but first…he needed to hear what it was she wanted from him, after that, it’d be decided as to what to do…seeing as his right hand was just itching to grip at his sword and fly into battle against someone with such nerve.

The once piece of cliche advice that Warrior needed to remember was to 'look before you leap.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 667
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Nike
Wearing:[/color] Dat armor, minus helmet
Listening To:[/color] Stuffs!
Notes:[/color] Wolly's getting bullied...how nice.

[Nike]

So he was going to leave it open-ended. Ask just what favor she wanted in return without any parameters. Well, she could think of any number of things...would have been fun to work out exactly what she wanted if she hadn't already decided. She waited to let the whole situation sink into him - to let him really think about how badly he wanted to find out about his past. Still staring aimlessly at the back wall, she only turned once he asked about the subject of his past yet again, and if he could trust her not to be bluffing. "I don't think you're willing to pass this up on the chance that I might not be bluffing," she confidently told him as she stared right back into his face. "How long has it been now? How long have you been looking without finding a single clue about your own past? And here you stand in front of the one person you've ever met who's actually given you hope to find out about yourself, and you're doubting her. Huh, I thought you were more interested in the subject than this...guess I was wrong." She capped the rant with a shrug of disinterest, before she started walking back past him again, trying to give the slightest hint that she'd just walk away without telling him a thing if he didn't respond in the right manner to the next few words that came from her mouth.

Nike stopped and swung around to him. "What I want from you is to come with me - with or without a fuss - and leave behind this group of misfits you never belonged to anyway." Now that would come as a surprise to him, wouldn't it? "There's nothing about your past that tells me you belong here, trudging out a life as a simple servant to some goddess. But if it's a servant you want to be...that can be arranged too." She jabbed a finger at herself, slowly becoming more animated as she continued on. "But what I need is a wild card in Chaos' ranks that makes sure I don't end up staying in this place any longer than the asinine rules of this place dictate that I have to. I don't care about any fight between gods and goddesses and you shouldn't either, which is why you're going to help me and you're going to come along quietly. The power in this realm lies with Chaos', but you and I are the only two of our kind in this place. That's why we're gonna take that power for ourselves and make sure no one gets in our way on the path out of here."

Her rant complete, Nike stopped and resorted to a more casual stance, taking in a breath before a slight smirk crossed her face again. "The clincher? I'll take that power Chaos grants and I'll use it for a completely different reason if you aren't feeling 'up' to my proposition. I hear you have quite a few 'friends' back in Order's Sanctuary, if someone as confused as you can make friends..." She made a mock frown, followed by a mischievous look from her eyes. "I'm sure they wouldn't like to meet me on a more personal level, do you? I don't exactly make the best of first impressions."

Words - 622
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - I was dead when I wrote this. XD Dialogue everywhere.[/size]

[Warrior of Light]

Warrior was in no mood for games, and this was being dragged out much longer than he wanted it to be. He wasn’t going to interrupt and then trudge off though, there was a part of him that told him to stay, to suffer through the long encounter that this was turning out to be and just see what it was she had to offer. Blue eyes continued to follow the blonde, watching her, assessing the situation, and of course he was listening to her continue to blabber on. With a bit of a small sigh escaping his lips, he continued to listen, to watch and to think. She obviously wasn’t taking this as serious as she could have, but that’s probably what kept his attention. Being blunt and straight to the point was boring, it didn’t make you memorable, and believe me, Warrior had met many boring and many memorable people over his time within the Dissidia Cycles, but this…this was something he’d never encountered before…this would surely remember, especially since it partially had something to do with him.

Keeping silent was something he was good at, even now as he watched her move around, swing around him, but he kept his eyes forward this time, instead of watching her. It wasn’t like she was going to stab him in the back, not just yet at least, she wanted something from him and the least she could do was explain what that was, while he decided whether or not he wanted to call her bluff. Thus far, her favor didn’t seem reasonable. To leave behind the warriors of Cosmos? To bail on a fight for harmony…how could he even fathom the thought? When she continued onwards, that’s when Warrior began to see clearly where this was going. A wildcard on Chaos’ side? That fool of a god must’ve put this young lady up to this, did he really thing that there was any way that Warrior would switch sides and become one of Chaos’ goonies? Further into the explanation, his thoughts turned a bit more, this wasn’t Chaos’ act…this was…Nike’s. She wanted out of this endless cycle, which hey…he could understand that was well as any other warrior, but he wasn’t fully understanding why he was the one she wanted to cross sides. It didn’t seem like an option right now.

Turning to be able to see the blonde fully, Warrior kept his tone firm and stoic like usual. “What do you mean by, ‘our kind’?” he asked so bluntly, trying to put pieces together a little at a time before she continued onwards, getting to the part that he knew was coming. The ‘or else’ of each negotiation. You do this, or else this happens, that was usually how things went these days wasn’t it? She was threatening the lives of those he knew to linger within Order’s Sanctuary. How typical, but still, a threat was a thread was it not? Frowning slightly and gritting his teeth as well, he felt his muscles tighten, his hand just itching for his sword as he stood there as calm as they come. “You threaten the lives of my comrades and expect me to come quietly without a fuss? I find your favor to be highly unreasonable, if not for Chaos’ reasons, than for your own selfish reasons. You think I’ll drop everything and follow you? You are sadly mistaken, Nike. My comrades can defend themselves no matter what horrors you throw their way-“

Then there was Cosmos…she couldn’t use her powers all that much, it drained her completely…and the last time she did, she had died within the cycles of Dissidia, what if Nike went after Cosmos while he wasn’t there? He couldn’t follow the goddess around at all times like a puppy dog…what if in that moment he wasn’t around she got attacked…or worse. Reaching and unsheathing his sword, he stood aggressively, ready to leap into action. He knew well that taking up arms against this woman wouldn’t change her mind about her threatening words, but what was he supposed to do? Just…give in? Yes. Though he had his sword out and at the ready, he made no further moves, just letting it all sink in…the pros, the cons…everything. His comrades could protect themselves even without him…if he were that so called wildcard on Chaos’ side…who knew what kind of bomb Warrior could plant to destroy that side from the inside. There were long term opportunities here. “You’re not here by Chaos’ order, are you?”

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Words:[/color] 869
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Nike
Wearing:[/color] Dat armor
Listening To:[/color] Stuffs
Notes:[/color] Nada

[Nike]

She knew as soon as he asked his question that she'd dropped just the right hint to keep him interested. And that was all she needed to do here. She didn't even need to get a confirmation that he'd come trailing along like the confused puppy he was eventually. Planting the seed in his brain of what he could learn from her and what she would do if he didn't eventually follow along would be enough...because he was a manikin like her, and she knew it would be enough for her too, even if she didn't want to admit it. The thought brought a faint indication of frustration to her face, but it was gone as soon as it materialized. He'd know soon enough they were the same...but not the same in their confusion about what they were. No one would need to know that fact in the slightest. So she straightened and smirked all too sweetly, shrugging. "You want to know, don't you? You've dwelt among these people for who-knows-how long and none of them have told you a damn thing that can help ease your mind. What if some of them know? What if they don't really think of you as an ally...and just as a lapdog? Cosmos is a goddess...how can she not know about you, Warrior? Have you ever thought about that?"

In fact, Nike actually believed many of those here actually knew more than they let on, but they wanted to keep it to themselves for their own agendas. That's where her brutal honesty made a difference. And she could tell, with that brutal honesty, she'd begun to strike a chord with him. For some reason, though, his own angered response made her own expression darken slightly, and she bit darkly on her lip a bit during his little, admittedly well-controlled tirade. People had learned back in Spira that they would have to give into her. Seemed that Warrior would need to be taught that lesson too. What really set her off, though, was him reaching for his sword. Like some pitiful little sword was going to scare her off like it would some other, pathetic woman. Without hesitation, she closed the distance between the two of them, without threat aside from the look in her eyes. Her boots putting her eye-to-eye with him, she locked gazes, blue on blue, no more than a few inches away from him, again with hands on hips.

"You don't know who I am. You don't know what I'm capable of. You haven't the slightest clue," she began, pushing a pair of fingers against his sword to move it aside as she looked down at it. "And if you try using that little child's toy, you're going to find out my bite is much worse than my bark. You can't be with your....ah, 'friends' all the time. They could be out scouting. They could get lost somewhere without you knowing. They could be little, pretty blond goddesses on a throne all alone, when someone in a blue suit shows up and makes sure they're only in good enough shape to talk about her when her friends get back and find her. Are you going to take that chance, Warrior? Then you're more like me than you'd ever be willing to admit."

But his final question broke off her stare, letting the smirk return to her face. "Have you seen Chaos' warriors? They think they all have these realms in the palm of their hands...but they're all his little chess pieces. You should know I'm nothing like them...and you should start to figure out you're not, either." She jabbed her index finger into his chest. "Or you're going to learn."

Words - 694
Muse - Excellente!
Notes - I have written a few women and a few villains in my time...I enjoy Nike more than any of them. XD[/size]

[Warrior of Light]

This woman was succeeding in planting thoughts and ideas into his head. Warrior hated to admit that, but the things she said…she brought up valid points. It caused him to stop and think, it was a difficult thing to wrap his head around, but he couldn’t get discouraged. She had information about him, potentially, should she not be bluffing, and that was a risk Warrior really had to think about. He gave her almost a concerned look of sorts at her words. What if his comrades had figured something out and simply kept it from him due to his alliance? Maybe the things they learned weren’t good and they, as friends, didn’t want to upset or discourage him? Same with Cosmos. She was a goddess, she had to have some idea about him. How could she not have any idea as to what or who he was? Who would keep that from someone…especially after they’d searched for so long only to come up empty handed. That was simply cruel should that be the case, but he would never see the Goddess of Harmony in such a light, it simply wasn’t possible.

A lapdog…

…how could someone ever mention that? He was Cosmos’ right hand man, not a tool…not simply just a warrior who had a great ability when it came to fighting…or…was that a false thought he’d always trusted in? Shaking his head slightly a bit, continuing to let these thoughts flow through his mind, he was starting to gain an unwanted headache from all of this. Remaining silent for a few moments, Warrior just tried to think about all of this. Was any of this even real? Was this…Nike simply good at manipulating people and twisting their thoughts upside down? If that was all she was here to do, then she was doing a damn good job at it. She obviously had a lot more tact than the other warriors of Chaos. They were all bent on death and destruction, going about any childish way to get there…but Nike, she had plans, had it all thought out and relied on no one it seemed. Warrior had to give her some credit, she was far more intelligent than he would’ve taken her for upon first glance. She was probably smarter and more well planned out than any other warrior fighting for Discord, that coming from him was surely saying something, not that he’d ever think about feeding her such compliments. He had other things to worry about at the moment.

Having reached for his sword out of pure instinct, not wanting to give into her words, Warrior felt a sense of…failure within the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to risk losing information about his life, his past…everything he’d been fighting and searching for after all these years, but then again…he didn’t want to proceed with these favors for her, to help her out of here by joining Chaos’ bunch? It was simply unheard of for a warrior like him. With his sword out, he’d seen her direct approach, not feeling so content with the way things were, he felt his grip loosen on the hilt of his sword, especially as she pushed it away with a pair of fingers. From there he’d let it drop and clank to the ground as he dropped his arm to his side, listening to her threat, a threat that angered him from the inside out, but his facial expression didn’t change, not at all. His eyes though, they may have shown a bit of a flare up when she’d started her little threats. Finally, asking his final question to her…he’d listened just as quietly as he had everything else.

Chaos wasn’t a part of this encounter.

Blinking slightly when she jabbed a finger at his chest, talking about Chaos’ warriors, the Warrior of Light began to let the wheels in his head turn. “You care not of this war, but simply of escaping it.” He stated, understanding her a little bit more now that he’d had all this time to think about it. She wanted to leave this realm, just as any other warrior, but to a greater degree. She wanted to slide by the battles and just leave…right? If that was what he was getting, then he could understand. He couldn’t ignore the threat to Cosmos as well as his comrades, for them…he was going to do something he’d never dreamt of doing. “If I aid you, help you through this realm…you will leave my comrades and Cosmos untouched. In return for what I will do for you, I expect their safety. I know you have no hold over the other Chaos warriors, but keeping them at bay…keeping them…stalled, I’m sure someone by the likes of you can manage something like that.” He stated, as if…compromising as he folded his arms across his chest, giving her a final look of curiosity, wanting to know about his past. The things one did for information...for safety…it was almost saddening.

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Words:[/color] 948
Muse:[/color] Fantastical!
Tagged:[/color] Nike
Wearing:[/color] Dat armor.
Listening To:[/color] Stuffs!
Notes:[/color] NONE!

[Nike]

She thought she'd hit the nail on the head with some finality.

Of course, Nike'd noticed she'd been driving this conversation along at just the right pace thus far, but as she sealed the deal with her threats and undeniably good offer, she noted his expression and decision not to do anything rash with that pitiful little blade of his. Nike settled back in to staring at him face to face, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting with what seemed to be a great deal of patience. In reality, she would have been just as content to drive a fist into his face - or worse, involving her currently-absent weapon - if his answer didn't please her. But she had a feeling she'd hear exactly what she wanted to. What sort of fool would pass over an opportunity to find a part of him that was missing, or an opportunity to help his comrades, just because he was having a little hero anxiety because Nike was on the wrong side. Pfft, these people and their sides and good and evil and all that other bullshit.

Oh, and he had the little riddle right. Nike smirked a little at the way he worded it, cocking her head to the side as she corrected him. "Close, Silverlocks," she chimed. Needless to say, she didn't want to go spilling her whole idea to him (not that it mattered, because either way, she was determined to get what she wanted). Just give him enough to drag him along through the mud for a little longer, as it were. "I want to use this war and get whatever I need out of it, then leave Chaos and his cronies high and dry and, if push comes to shove, crushed under my boot once I'm tired of them. Doesn't sound like something you'd mind doing, what with your clinging to the skirt tails of 'harmony'." Sadly for him, all Nike had in mind would probably not do much for the real idea of harmony at all...no, she was going to be adding some badly-needed dissonance to the proceedings here. First, she had to get the right instruments, and Warrior would be one of them...or in the end, he'd be under her boot too. But he wasn't nearly as useful under there, was he?

And then came his own little dissertation. A smile slowly growing as she listened to his words, she could have easily corrected a few parts of what he said, but she decided not to. Just because she didn't consider "help" to be quite the right word was no reason to ruffle a little more feathers now that she had him where she wanted him. And his idea that she'd stall Chaos' warriors was a little more than she'd be willing to go along with, too, but he didn't need to know that. Those buffoons would stall themselves well enough, and if they knocked a few of Warrior's allies across the head in the process or presented her somehow with a greater advantage, she'd be perfectly happy. But, again, Warrior was in her palm now, so she wasn't going to go picking at things he had no real control over anyway.

"I wasn't the one who needed convincing here," she told him, unwilling to just say outright that she agreed to his terms. That would be giving him too much reason to think he held sway over her in her mind, even if she might have been exaggerating the situation. With the most smug of looks on her face, she trotted by him, eyes set ahead. "Then you'll come with me and be good about it, won't you?" She shrugged, still walking. "And maybe before the day's over you'll know what your friends haven't been able to tell you...if you're lucky."

Well, she was pulling on the leash with finality now. Time to see if he'd heel and she could move on from this exercise.

Words - 741
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Buahahaha.[/size]

[Warrior of Light]

This was madness. Calm madness. That was all Warrior could really compare it to. Never had he thought he'd be pushed or pressured into a situation like this. How someone could ask this of him was amazing, it was still almost surprising to him why Nike was targeting him. Maybe because there was some form of importance to him...maybe within those memories he didn't remember? Or maybe it was because he was indeed Cosmos' right hand man. It would definitely prove to be a bigger upset and something no one would understand. Confusing people...causing them to think but to come up with no logical explanation...was that what this would do? No doubt about it. Warrior hoped that his comrades would come up with something that put him in a better light though...instead of simply deeming him a traitor.

With an arched brow towards the blonde, Warrior folded his arms across his chest, a more stern sounding tone filling his words as he spoke. "What is it you wish to gain from this war?" he asked so bluntly. What she wanted was her business but if he was getting dragged along for the ride than he had a right to know what it was he was really doing and what for. Whatever it was, Warrior was sure he wouldn't like it. Then again, Nike just didn't seem like your typical bad guy as it was. Leaving Chaos' warriors high and dry though...that had a nice ring to it. If only it would be easily accomplishable by any other means. Oh well...Nike had information Warrior wanted. He'd promised Cosmos he wouldn't give up on searching for his past...and now that the answers were practically staring him point blank in the fact...he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Would it really be worth it in the end?

When all was said and done on Warrior's part, he continued to keep a sturdy stance. Arms folded, standing tall...and of course that no nonsense expression written all over his face. if he was going to get pushed around and whatnot by this lady.. he could at least have a bit of a compromise on his side. He wanted his comrades safe...he wanted Cosmos to be safe especially. Even though he knew Nike couldn't defeat the chaos warriors...he simply wanted her to stall them if possible, if anything came up. He would assist her as best as he could, but she surely could return the favor. Not hat Warrior actually trusted her on that one, it was mostly wishful thinking. Taking a glance at the girl in blue, warrior reached down and got his sword, sheathing it and keeping his gaze on Nike. She really was pressing her luck with him. This just couldn't be worth the trouble could it? "I will follow you, aid you...but do not treat me like some wandering pup. I am nobody's pet." he frowned. He was ready to get going...to figure all of this out and see what would become of it all.

Most of all...he wanted his memories back. If Nike could help him with that...then this really was the right choice.

[/size]

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Words:[/color] 609
Muse:[/color] good!
Tagged:[/color] Nike
Wearing:[/color] armor!
Listening To:[/color] football
Notes:[/color] sorry for he short D: