Organization XIV - The Story So Far

The remaining archers began to panic as they couldn't decide which target to fire at. Jackie was able to pick them off at range, but Dispatch was taking them down much faster from the front. After a few seconds of flailing, they gestured at the Saiyan, opening fire on him as quickly as they could, as their brethren up front kept trying to stick him.

Dispatch slashed through the air, creating a burst of wind to deflect the arrows. Unfortunately, the enemies were quick enough to keep him busy on defense now that they were all focusing on him; it wasn't so much that he was struggling as it was that keeping his defense up prevented him from attacking effectively. Still, he was more than willing to take an arrow or a spear if it meant holding the line. For as overdramatic as that phrase was.

Jackie glanced at Dispatch, mentally remarking that this must be second nature to him: tons of weak, simple critters with no chance of fighting back except through sheer numbers. His words from earlier rang in her mind, how entire worlds were cleaned in service to a tyrant. Pushing it out of her mind, Jackie focused down each of the archers that remained, making sure to aim with pinpoint accuracy lest her lightning jump incorrectly.

It didn't take long at all for their remaining archers to be wiped out by Jackie's magic. This left the remaining soldiers struggling to fight Dispatch, and unable to even reach Jackie. Several in back broke off to escape back the other way.

Dispatch let them go, unconcerned. They didn't seem to be quite the same as Heartless, but if they didn't seem too different, either. And in that case, they'd just run around the corner and vanish, so he kept his attention on the few spearmen that remained in front of him.

The assault didn't last long. They went down almost too easily; were they really soldiers?

The breeze from outside blew into the halls, fiercer than before and chilling as death. The room looked darker than before, even with the torches lighting the area. Something was really wrong with this world. Like it was sick.

Dispatch shook his head as the last of their enemies either fell or retreated. He'd never been the most perceptive, but even he could tell something was wrong. The woods were empty with no signs of life for miles, and the castle was full of Heartless. Maybe the weakness of this last squad was a sign they were going in the wrong direction.

He turned and started to head back. "Hey! I'm goin' upstairs. Somethin' about those guys didn't feel right. They weren't strong enough to be guarding anything important. I think we're gettin' colder."

"I'm thinking you're right. Perhaps I focused a bit too much on 'following a trail' over what made the most sense," Jackie admitted, letting Dispatch lead the way back. "That being the case, though, I think a mazelike castle with no inhabitants save monsters is an easy manor to get lost in, no?"

"That...won't be a problem," said Dispatch. "If it comes to it, I can make a way out for us. Not that that'd be the best idea, but...it's an option." He rounded the corner to the spiral stairs from earlier, and began to climb.

The stairs led up some ways, opening up into a dilapidated tower on the castle's roof. Gray clouds swept over the horizons, quickly coming towards them as raindrops began to fall. Still, in the distance, on top of the twisted castle, there was a silhouette. It was hard to tell if it was a human one, though, or another monster.

Something about the sight made Jackie clutch at her chest for a moment. Naturally, the castle could reasonably have had only monsters... But they were warned. *Beware of the witch...* "I can't make out who... Or what that is. Do you see a way to reach or approach them?"

There was a path leading to where the figure stood, but it was long and unnecessarily winding. Still, its curving and twisting brought the sections near to each other, close enough that jumping ahead on the path was feasible. Outside of that, however, the roof was a mess of jagged and uneven surfaces. It'd be hard to go straight for the sinister-looking silhouette.

Footsteps echoed from back down the stairs. It wasn't as chaotic and loud as that previous regiment that they'd defeated, but someone might be on their tail. And the storm approaching looked dangerous. Being on a rooftop in a thunderstorm could prove fatal if they stayed too long.

The electricity in the air bristled Jackie's hair. Looking up at the sky, a grimace began to form: while this could end poorly, a thunderstorm could potentially be beneficial to her... if she could seize the opportunity. Regardless, it seemed like the path before her was winding and narrow. Dispatch was beside her, staring off into the distance. And behind them, the roar. Footsteps and the wind. 

"Whoever that is, they're here for a reason. Good or ill, we open our mouths before we strike. And whatever happens, let's get out of here together." Jackie darted forward, not looking behind her for a second. This was the big one.

Dispatch blinked as Jackie took off ahead of him. Open their mouths before they strike? He'd always been the "fight first, questions later" type, himself. If the opponent was an enemy, better not to give them a chance to strike. And if they weren't, that always sorted itself out pretty quick. He wondered for a moment whether he should fend off their opponents in the rear, but it was more likely she'd need his help in the front, and getting away from their pursuers would be...well, trivial. So he followed after her, hopping past the longest detours on the path.

As the distance between them and the figure narrowed, its silhouette became easier to make out. Tall, curved horns, a wide, pointed collar, and a cloak on their shoulders, with one slender hand clutching a staff with an orb fixed at the top. Hearing the approach of the heroes, this person turned to look at them, revealing a pallid green face with harsh cheekbones and eyes that held no light. A sneer crossed their face.

"I see that this world still held some rats to be flushed out. I wasn't expecting this..." From the voice, she seemed female. She spoke with a calm, condescending tone, as if everyone present were beneath her notice, yet she deigned to address them regardless. "Who are you? ...No, it matters not. You'll soon be wiped away with the rest of this world." Waving dismissively at them, she turned back to her outlook, a smile twisting the corners of her mouth.

A flash of lightning threw her into sharper relief. She looked like some kind of demon, and the wind barely moved her cloak. She was undisturbed by the chaos all around, and in fact, appeared to be reveling in it as it grew stronger.

"Wiped away?!" Jackie cried out as she skidded to a halt in front of the figure. Whoever this person was, she was clearly inhuman and dangerous. This could not be anyone but the witch herself, Jackie thought. "Are you the witch of this castle? And if so... why do you seek this world's destruction?! You're unlikely to survive the collapse, and you're going to take the whole world with you? Are you suicidal?! What's your plan?!" She spat the last word out, whipping her spear in front of her as she settled into a low stance. "What could the world have possibly done to you that you would or even could make this decision?!"

Pausing, the one before them turned back to face the duo directly. The grin vanished from her lips. "This is not my doing, no; it was the Heartless. I merely came to enjoy the show. I was indulging in a moment of nostalgia for my world as it fades into the darkness, never to be seen again. And then I heard a pair of yapping mutts approach me from behind."

She threw her arms out wide, her feather-like cloak billowing in the wind. "Insignificant wretches. It matters not what becomes of you; whether the Heartless devour you, you fall into darkness along with this crumbling world, or die at my hand, it is all the same. Come at me if you want to meet the inevitable."

"Mutt, huh?" said Dispatch. "That's a new one. I'm more used to 'monkey,' myself."

He spun his sword over his hand. "And by the way? If this is the best the Heartless have, they couldn't 'devour' a week-old cat."

Without waiting for a response, he leapt at the costumed witch, slashing down at her shoulder.

The blade ripped right through her, cleaving from one side to the other, completely bisecting the woman. What remained of her scattered into black ash and green fire.

Then Dispatch felt a bony hand on his right shoulder. "The Heartless in the castle were some of my first attempts to command them. I made the mistake of giving them inviolable orders, and so, they never left. They were little more than practice."

She loomed behind him, having appeared in a burst of that same green conflagration. "You seem familiar..."

This put her back facing Jackie.

That witch dissolved and grabbed him in an instant... There's no opportunity for lightning to strike in this instance, either. Dispatch is strong but his wherewithal to withstand lightning remains to be seen. Jackie leapt forward, and amidst a flash of inspiration, steeled her resolve. Upon landing, she pivoted in a full circle on one foot, attempting to sweep Maleficent's legs from out beneath her. Switching her grip, she switched to an over-hand grip near the spear's tip, and placed her palm on the butt of the spear. Using her continued momentum, she aimed an unerring, unwavering strike, so unlike the very lightning she wielded.

"WATERMELON..." she cried out in thunderous roar, pushing the entirety of the spear down a single point, aimed at the back of the Witch's skull. "...FESTIVALLLLLL!"

There was some give when the sweep connected, but it didn't feel like it struck flesh. Some other force was preventing it from hitting her in the first place. Turning her head to look at the oncoming spear, the witch smirked as a gust of wind struck Jackie, powerful enough to alter the course of her strike to miss.

Gingerly shoving Dispatch away, she raised her scepter, striking it into the stone below. Flames sprouted from the ground beneath them, all around her in a radius of approximately 20 feet. She appeared unharmed by them, but the heat they gave off was very real.

Dispatch gave very little as he was pushed away from the witch, and flipped almost casually away from the fire that burst from the ground under him. He thought about jumping over it and coming at the witch from above, but that hadn't worked last time and would definitely leave him trapped if it failed again. Instead, he swung his sword, using the slash to channel his energy into a shockwave.

Jackie's stance, planted as it was, gave her little time to escape the inferno. Bringing her feet together she leaps backwards, tucking and rolling before sticking the landing, spear held out defiantly in front of her...

Until she felt the fire. It burned at her leggings, the flame unnaturally hot and hungry as it began to race up her legs. With a cry, she dropped and rolled, patting and swatting to smother the flames, and barely rolled aside as Dispatch sent a shockwave rocketing over her. The flames subsided, but her legs were sore and singed. Nothing she couldn't grit her teeth through for now, but if this went too long... 

Shaking her head, removing her hair from her eyes, she fired three quick bolts in succession at and around the witch, hoping to score a hit when she vanished.

Holding up her scepter again, the witch swung her arms out, a wave of force expanding from around her, snuffing out the flames and deflecting their distance attacks. They weren't completely rebounded, but the lightning dropped into the ground and the shockwave went wide. The woman looked at the two of them, musing to herself.

Finally, she spoke up. Her tone was calm and quiet, but audible over the rain and wind. "You two seem to be quite capable. More-so than the pawns I left here, clearly. Why don't you put your talents to greater use in my service?"

As the rain fell, Jackie rose up to her feet, plucking a Potion from her pouch as she tightly gripped her shoulder. Ripping the stopper out with her teeth, she drank the whole thing in a single swig, never unlocking eyes with the witch. That gaze... they were worse than the inquisitive ones she had seen in the scientists in her kingdom. They were the cold eyes of a child finding an animal to abuse, and that gaze meant the abominable witch relished in it. Dropping the bottle, she calls out, "And to whom would we even pledge our so-called allegiance? Surely you don't intend to make puppets and Heartless out of noble warriors like we two?"