Men Hate to Die

[valentine]

"The living come with grassy tread
To read the gravestones on the hill;
The graveyard draws the living still,
But never anymore the dead.
The verses in it say and say:
"The ones who living come today
To read the stones and go away
Tomorrow dead will come to stay."
So sure of death the marbles rhyme,
Yet can't help marking all the time
How no one dead will seem to come.
What is it men are shrinking from?
It would be easy to be clever
And tell the stones: Men hate to die
And have stopped dying now forever.
I think they would believe the lie."

Over and over again, the words rolled through his mind as he walked aimlessly down the streets of The Void and he was just about to call it a night. He hadn't found anything of interest in the town so far and was quickly becoming infatuated with the idea of returning to The World That Never Was. At least there he would be able to amuse himself with a drink or two, or even a person. Here, where the sky was always dark and the buildings rose up over one as if they were about to devour you, there was nothing of interest. Plum colored eyes peered out from within a grey hoodie, their normally bright depths dull and lucid, and turned upwards to the sky. Funny, it almost reflected what he was feeling; lifelessness. All the clouds were a dull steel color, interspersed with pale greyish-green whisps of smoke and even black tinted flecks of something. Even when the clouds parted, nothing was behind them but darkness--though he would have to say that it was more of an emptiness than a darkness.

He shuddered and returned to his walking, both hands sliding beneath his long hoodie to check for his weapons. They were both there, of course, but he couldn't help feeling a bit of misgiving towards this town as he continued onwards, occasionally peering into a shop or two as he went. And as he did, the words returned to him again:
How no one dead will seem to come.
What is it men are shrinking from?
It would be easy to be clever
And tell the stones: Men hate to die
And have stopped dying now forever.
I think they would believe the lie."

Oh how the poem fit this town.

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[Mechanical-Menace]

The laughter started deep in his throat, slowly getting louder and more ominous with each passing second as it escaped his mouth. All the residents of the Void quickly entered any nearby building, quickly locking up and barring the doors, even the windows. They knew who the laugh belonged to, and what was probably going to happen next. The figure dropped from the roof of the building he was perched upon, crashing to the street, sending debris and dust upward and outward. His black and crimson eyes illuminated behind the curtain of dust. Chain rattling could be heard as he stood back up, rising out of the cloud around him as it settle. "What's this? A Nobody?" he asked with his large, signature smile. "Now, what's a nothing like you doing in our dark paradise?"

[valentine]

Valentine took a step back as the male dropped from seemingly nowhere. Amidst the chaos that ensued, he could see several people watching him from behind drawn curtains while others scuttled away into alleys and homes. All this happened in a few seconds, and because of what? Well, because of the half-hidden massive figure standing behind a massive cloud of dust, and both hands slid once more into the recesses of his outerwear to clamp around the handle of his blades. In the dim lighting, Valentine could see nothing but the outline of the stranger and the red of his eyes. What he said, however, was clear as a bell.

"What's this? A Nobody? Now, what's a nothing like you doing in our dark paradise."
Almost instantaneously, a lazy sort of smile slid across Valentine's pale features and he reached to brush a piece of hair from his face. The other's thinly veiled sarcasm registered, but being the person he was, Val simply brushed it off and relaxed his posture. The fact that the individual before him had taken the time to smile--even if it had death written all over it--gave him an air of confidence. It was interesting; his boasting tone, that is. But even as his outer appearance relaxed, from within his hood, Valentine's sharp eyes never rested, the bright plum irises silently gauging his opponent--well, what of him he could see. Right off the bat, he noticed that the people around this place obviously knew and were terrified of the individual standing before Valentine. That being said, caution would be necessary if he valued his life. Which, as with most people, he did. And in all honesty, after having walked the bland streets of The Void for the past three hours, he was fully prepared to leave this place, and although he had no hunger for a battle right now, he would retaliate if provoke. If not, then the both of them would be able to walk away happily unscathed.
His one-over completed, Valentine tilted his head to one side and slid both hands away from his blades and into his front pocket, taking the moment to lean against a strategically placed lightpost.

"Sightseeing, I suppose," came his reply, his lazy voice soft and laced with a hint of amusement.

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[Mechanical-Menace]

"That tone," began Stark, "because of who I am, most of people wouldn't talk to me like that, save for my superiors. It's so refreshing!" He began to laugh again, slowly starting out as a chuckle, then jumping straight into full blown hysteria, all the while not losing his smile. As the Heartless calmed down a bit, he moved out of the small crater that had formed when he landed, his pitch black chains jingling with every step. "You must be new to the scene, I bet a wonderful Heartless formed from your Somebody to make a Nobody such as you. When the Dark Empress told me to go search for the nothing that was in our little corner of Darkness, I thought it would be a cake walk, specially since we could all sense you from within the Palace." Stark stretched his body backward, the chain that covered his arms and torso rattled as he shifted, revealing his true height, a towering 6' 7". After the stretch he walked over to one of the shops on the corner, the onlookers inside quickly closed the curtain and running footsteps could be heard from inside the store. Stark simply chuckled at their reaction. "Now, again, what are you doing here? I've been watching you for a while now, I noticed that you picked up a girl earlier, which didn't seem to work out for you, did it?" The last question was followed by a snicker. "Trying to fill the void where your heart used to be?" Stark tilted his head toward the Nobody, his wide toothy grin never leaving his face.

[valentine]

Valentine cringed at Stark's sudden outburst of alughter, the booming sound echoing aroud the darkened street and bounced around Val's head. He seemed rather obnoxious, his questioning tones and haughty attitude matching up almost identically with those of Valentine--though he would never admit it--and to the Nodbody's annoyance, he was observant as well. Thinking that led to a question of his own. How long had the Heartless been stalking him? Several hours had passed since he had found and let the female go, and since then, Valentine had been doing nothing but wandering and peeking into shops, which left plenty of time open for observance. His thoughts were interupted, however, as the Heartless stretched and seemed to grow.

"Sightseeing and looking for amusement," Valentine finally replied, a soft laugh sliding through his lips to hide the shock at the sudden change. The Heartless was massive. Towering above Valentine's short figure by a foot and some inches, the other was somewhat of a daunting figure. His red and black eyes watched from above while observant words flew from his mouth, his wide smile never leaving his face.
Smile... How interesting. It really never moved, did it. And from then on, the Nobody had eyes for nothing but the wide smile on the Heartless' face, his interest finally awakened.

"And pardon my asking, but do you ever stop smiling, Sir?" he continued in the same soft tone as before, finally pulling his hood off and away from his head so he could see better.[/font][/size]

[Mechanical-Menace]

"I've got nothing better to do, might as well smile." the Heartless replied nonchalantly. He leaned back over to his usual stance, the weight of the chain always trying to bring him down. "Also, I've heard, even from my own comrades, that the smile is creepy. Oh well, can't please everyone." Stark shrugged as he stated the last part. He tilted his head to the side, making his vertebrae crack, the sound was just like bones snapping. He then tilted the opposite direction, the same noises emanating from his neck. "Hey, Nobody, I've got a question for you. Seeing as how you don't have one of those nifty black coats, I assume you're not a part of the Organization, any particular reason why?"

[valentine]

"Strange answer, coming from a Heartless," Valentine retorted, his eyes holding just a bit of disdain, "I wouldn't think your kind had the ability to smile." He shifted his weight again, the cold metal pressing into his back and making him uncomfortable. It was all to no avail, however, for wherever he moved, the pole would chafe against his back and bother him. No, it wasn't just the pole, everything seemed to bother him today. Even the man before him whom he had met not five minutes ago was starting to irk him just the slightest, his haughty tone rubbing against some grain in the back of the Nobody's mind--well, that and his endless questions. Where the hell did all of them come from?!
Through the other's whole conversation, he kept these thoughts hidden well behind his eyes. Anxious as he was to retort back with several questions as he was, self-preservation warned him not to say anything and he somehow managed to keephis mouth tightly shut and his position relaxed. Within his mind, however, no-one could stop the sarcastic thoughts from rolling through to sit patiently on the tip of his tongue, not even a six-foot-who-knows-how-large giant of a Heartless.

The last question caught his attention, though, and the smile that lay so quietly on his face finally widened into a smirk,
"Why?" he said, returning a question with a question. Taking this as an opportunity to take his back away from the pole, the male pushed himself off with one foot--hands still safely in his pockets--and took a few steps forward, his eyes and tone as bored as his smirk was amused. "I don't know. I can't and don't want it, I suppose," came his soft reply, the words accompanied by a half-hearted shrug as he watched the Heartless cautiously. Harmless as the male seemed, Valentine had no doubts that he knew how to use the chains wrapped around his figure, and with both brains and brawn, he could prove a formidable opponent.
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[Mechanical-Menace]

"Interesting." responded the humanoid Heartless. "You seem on edge, Nobody. What's bothering you, do you think I'm here to kill you?" There was a large amount of curiosity in Stark's question. "Well don't you bother your pretty little head, I'm only here to investigate, sadly." His smile turned to a frown for a second or two, then readjusted back to it's former self. "It's been awhile since I ended the nonexistence of your kind." The Heartless seemed saddened by the fact, but maintained the smile. "However, I've also come for this pesky Somebody that's been hiding out here, and I've found her." Without looking away from the Nobody, Stark shot his chain in through the window he had just peered into. There was chaotic screaming from within the shop. "Got you!" Stark roared as he reeled the chain back in, grabbing the girl by the throat. He then threw her up into the air, high above the building she was just fished out of. "Your heart is mine!" he howled as he sent the chain from his other arm up toward her, wrapping it around her neck. He jerked down hard, pulling her down to the street. A split second before she crashed to the ground, the Heartless jerked upward, effectively hanging the girl. There was a sickening sound of bone snapping and a weak death moan escaped her mouth. Stark could no longer contain himself, and erupted into a laughing fit that was both sadistic and hysterical. As the girl's corpse lay on the ground, Darkness began to cover her body, coming from the chain. As the Darkness engulfed her, Stark drew his deadly accessory back onto him. The girl quickly became a Shadow and sunk into the dark.

[valentine]

"I'm not on edge, I'm bored," Valentine muttered, more to himself than the Heartless. He realized that the other wouldn't listen, but that didn't stop him from continuing, his tone growing more and more edged as he went, "And I honestly could care less why you're here. I just want to leave this god-forsaken place at the moment, and you, Sir, are the only thing standing in my way." His words finally faded into silence, however, as the other continued his endless rant and began to explain the reason he had been running around The Void for the past however many hours--a fact that, honestly, Valentine could care less about--and then his mouth closed completely. Like a whip, the chain the Heartless had been holding snapped through the nearest shop window, breaking glass and throwing dust and a small female into the air.

The girl in question, of course, was quickly disposed of, the sharp sound of her breaking bones ringing through the air. Valentine didn't flinch. It wasn't as if the scene were an unusual one amongst any of the darker races and actually, Valentin found himself almost envying the Heartless. When was the last time he had been hired out or been able to hunt anyone down? As the times had matured, it seemed that jobs grew less and less... Again, however, he found himself taking a step back at the sight of the Darkness. He didn't like darkness, particularly the malevolent kind, and had seen just what the strange substance could do when employed by an experienced individual. And if Val was judging correctly, the man before him was a Heartless to be reckoned with.
"How amusing..." he ended morosely, one corner of his mouth lifting up from its frown to form a smirk for the umpteenth time. There was no reason for the other to realize how much he abhorred the darkness; it was a meaningless affair that Valentine lived with and overcame daily. Being a Nobody, he was almost constantly exposed to the stuff and had to deal with it. Besides, he had to admit that the way the Heartless had exterminated the girl was interesting. It wasn't every day you came across someone with giant chain draped across their figure that they could wield as well as--or better than--a whip.

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[Mechanical-Menace]

" 'In your way,' ha! I'm not stopping you from doing anything. Actually, I'm rather surprised that a Nobody such as yourself has lasted this long. By now, one of your kind would of been completely oppressed by the Darkness, collapse in on themself, and fade away. What makes you so different? The Dark Empress was right to express curiosity toward you." Stark pondered on the thought for a moment. A Nobody, that wasn't in the Organization, and didn't seem to be bothered by the Darkness of this realm. Stark began to walk toward the nothing. "What's your name? If you don't mind me asking." The Heartless continued to approach the man he had been sent to investigate.

[valentine]

"Tell me why that doesn't suprise me," replied the Nobody with a harsh laugh, taking a step forward to meet the other. Yes, he had a slight case of midget-syndrome, but in his mind every person who backed down from a person considered his or her enemy was a coward, and so he naturally stepped up to the challenge. As he did so, however, he felt more as if had begun shrinking as the Heartless drew closer than he felt taller. And towering over him looking for all the world like some personal demon, the Heartless had Nav suppressing a scowl. He didn't want to ruin his smooth features.

"I don't remember the last time I met someone who was actually able to size me up without getting their ass kicked. Not," he added carefully, "that I'm looking for a fight. I'm smart enough to know when I'm beaten." His eyes shot upwards as he blew another strand of grey-brown hair from his eyes and he pursed his lips, "and though I may be prideful, I'm not an idiot. Fighting you would be almost as bad as asking to be killed. At best I would have several severe injuries." Why he was telling the giant this, he knew not. The knowledge, of course, could hurt him in the long run. But since Naventil didn't believe in bluffing before a fight, he said it anyway. Besides, if the Heartless was going to attack him, he would have done so already. At least that was what he was telling himself.

Name? Why did he want his name? And, above all, why did the thought of Nav being so immune to the Darkness suprise him? From the Nobody's elementary experience with his superiors--well that was just it, wasn't it. He had barely any knowledge of others like him and didn't really know or understand the boundaries of a Nobody...
Again Nav's plum eyes flooded with confusion and he tilted his head slightly to one side as he answered the final question, the one question he knew the answer to without a doubt.
"Naventil... But why does that matter?"

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[Mechanical-Menace]

"You think that you can 'kick my ass', ha!" Stark laughed, clearly the Nobody didn't know who had the home field advantage. "First off, I, as a member of the Eternal Black can only be completely purified by a Keyblade, second, if you decided to fight me here, any injuries I'd take would be almost regenerated instantaneously. Look around you, you are in the world of Darkness. Naventil, for someone who says they aren't looking to pick a fight, you're doing a good job of actually starting to get on my nerves. I already told you, I'm not here to kill you. Which reminds me." Stark snapped his fingers and a dark orb formed in his hand, the shadow disappeared and left a piece of paper. He pushed it against a sign then bit the the tip of his right middle finger, allowing the Heartless' black blood to bead up. "N-A-V, E-N, T-I-L. " he spelled out. After he was done, the cut healed and the paper disappeared just as it had come. "Oh, by the way, my name is Stark." he held up his hands, the backs facing the Nobody, revealing his inverted Heartless Emblem and seven tattoo. "I am the Seventh Eternal Black," he lowered his hands, "and it looks like my job here is done. Unless you've got something else interesting to say or show me, I've got to go." He snapped once again and a Corridor to Darkness opened, the black rift ripping a hole in the space behind the Heartless. He turned away from the Nobody and began walking toward the portal.

[valentine]

Valentine held a hand up, "actually, I specifically admitted to you that I would be the one with his ass kicked. But that's beside the poin--what is that?" he asked suddenly, his voice dropping back to a low murmur at the sight of the blood and foreign paper. Strange enough was the fact that he was conversing openly with a Heartless, but watching the other spell his name out without even hesitating, Nav's eyes narrowed a bit more. /'The hell was that?'/ he asked himself silently, groping violently for an answer to the questions bubbling up inside, but he had no answers. He was the odd one out here, and, sadly, one of the few people who could answer his questions was both pissed off at him and now running away.
"Wait, what?!" Rushing forward, Naventil brushed past the Heartless and, in his haste, threw himself in front of him and flung both arms out. "I've got something interesting to ask, if that counts. What does 'Seventh Eternal Black' mean and why did you just write my name on that piece of paper?"

With all this happening, Nav was beginning to curse his lonely existence. About now, he ought to have been taking his leave and heading back to The World That Never Was to find something to do. But since he was ignorant of what was going on and had a terribly curious mind, he had no intentions of going anywhere quite yet... Even if it meant he would have to draw his weapon. No, maybe not that far.
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[Mechanical-Menace]

Stark cocked an eyebrow and snapped again, closing the Corridor. "Well, I'm horrible with names, so I wrote it down in my blood, so I can always find it. For some reason, I can detect anything anywhere if my blood is on it. I am the Seventh Eternal Black, I'm in a group of special Emblem Heartless and I'm ranked number Seven. There are ten of us and we are ranked by strength. Our numbers constantly change because our Queen of the Abyss constantly is either finding others of us that are stronger, or she beats us to a bloody pulp and expels us. Our Heartless Emblems are randomly on our bodies, mine just so happens to be on my hand, and the Dark Empress alters them, showing that we are Eternal Black members. We also get our rank tattooed near the emblem. There, satisfied?" asked Stark with a chuckle.