Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

"Sure!" Tocsax said, amused at Agni's denseness as he led the way to the cafeteria. "I'll tell you everything you want to know! What are your questions? Keyblades are versatile weapons, after all. And yes, they can work as 'Keys' as well, able to open mundane and some magical locks. They also increase one's ability to use magic, and can change into many different forms."

Then he turned to Yuuta and the 'Trickster God', saying, "Hello there, my name is Tocsax, the... Guide of this band. Let me give you two the necessary exposition."

Then to the newcomers, the young man repeated his explanation about Ascot, the Keyblade War, the Seekers, and their first Destination World. Once he was finished, Tocsax said to Agni:

"By the way, we're both sweaty and dirty from the fights we've been earlier and the stresses of the day. Want to bathe together?"

The kitchen, meanwhile, was a a few meters away from the conference room, and yes, Georgia's raptor was being served steak by the Moogles, who were doting on the small dinosaur. More craziness for Hirutila, one should be afraid, although at least he can smell some vegetable dishes made for his Graeco-Buddhist tastes. It seemed that some consideration had been shown in this aspect.

Zekaraya

N/A

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Tenma Tendo@Shoddy McCoy

Agni followed Tocsax and the rest to the cafeteria, with Ignitio and Victor following from behind, as they finally finished talking. As they walked, Tocsax gave Agni a quick rundown on Keyblades. The Oracle came to have a better understanding about them, although still holding many questions. "I see... that truly appears to be the case, since they can aid us in using magic and also function as a wrod. The name also implies the part about the locks, which it was obvious from the start and I shouldn't even raise a question about it. Still, how can someone comes to wield a Keyblade? Does it choose the user or is it a different process?" Agni asked. Suddenly, Victor joined them and decided to ask something.

"U-Umm... I-I'm sorry to bother both of you, but why are we here? I-I mean, I just arrived so I want to know... kinda..." He asked, nervous. "Well, let's see... how should I explain to you?" Agni thought about it, but with the arrival of a mysterious swordsman and a cat in the group, his thought line stopped momentarily. "More people arriving out of nowhere. This is starting to bother me... alongside many other things." Ignitio commented, while glancing at Tocsax for a moment. "Wow, it's a cute cat! Look, Agni!" Victor looked at the cat, eager about the small pet. That's when Tocsax gave another rundown of information.

"Oooooh, I see. Well, I'm sorta useless, b-but I'll do my best!" Victor spoke. "Stop labelling yourself as useless. That could not be farther away from the truth, Victor." Ignitio commented. "Ignitio's right. Have some more self-confidence in you and in your music, Victor." Agni spoke. Hearing their back up animated Victor a bit.

As they reached the cafeteria, they could see a dinosaur in the kitchen as the Moogles seemed to be feeding him nonstop. Victor got distracted with the raptor. "Wow, a dinosaur! Look, it's a real dinosaur! It's so cool! I'm going to take a closer look!" He spoke. Victor liked animals, from the most innocent to the most deadly. He walked closer and stared at the raptor from outside the kitchen. As Agni looked, Tocsax spoke about bathing. Before he could ever answer, Ignitio interrupted Agni. "Agni, I have something to speak with him for a second. I suppose it is best if you stay near Victor before he gets hurt." He spoke. "OK. I'll wait there with Victor." Agni spoke, leaving to watch over Victor.

Once Victor and Agni were distracted looking at the dinosaur, Ignitio grabbed Tocsax by the neck and turned him until both were staring at each other. From the calm demeanor he had with his brothers, the Death returned to his frigid, cold-hearted tone. "Do not even dare to do something of your sluttish sort with my brother, you bastard. He might be trusting you and Victor may not have seen reason to doubt, but that does not extend to me. If you betray, distort of defile either Agni or Victor, you will be answering to me. And I assure you-" He spoke, while squeezing Tocsax's neck. "I am not nearly as kind as they are, so I will show no remorse on taking your life." He finished speaking, punching Tocsax in the stomach and releasing him from his grasp. After that, Ignitio joined Agni and Victor. It was clear that he wasn't exactly an ally and he would kill the rest if necessary from protecting his brothers.

Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

"Oh!" Tocsax said, "It chooses the user, but there are reports of ordinary weapons being transformed into Keyblades by people with strong hearts, or being inherited from another person who had manifested or transformed their own blades, or some combination of all three."

He would have explained more, but Ignitio was asking for a private chat with him for obvious reasons. Tocsax indulged him, and barely restrained a chuckle when Ignitio grabbed him by the neck and began making threats. As the 'Death' spoke all protectively about how he was going to slay the Nobody if the latter ever did anything bad to his brothers, Tocsax had to force a look of distress onto his face so as not to mock Ignitio.

The punch to his stomach almost made laughter escape his mouth - Tocsax knew that raw power-wise, he can squish Ignitio like a bug. But this was a Multiverse where Love was powerful enough to get around such petty things as power levels. That and Ignitio's evident bond with his brothers was heartwarming, and Tocsax didn't want to get in the way. So while Ignitio was distracted with the others, Tocsax opened a Corridor of Darkness back to the Infirmary or wherever Felix and Asher were... And began laughing madly.

"Hahahahaha! Can you believe it?! The Gunblade guy actually thought he could hurt me! Seriously, you guys should have seen the look on his face when he felt I would actually harm his little brothers - I wouldn't have, by the way! That said, though, I should probably keep away from Agni, just in case I hurt his brother should he try anything..."

Zekaraya

N/A

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Tenma Tendo@Shoddy McCoy

A series of distressed kupos echoing out from the cockpit caught Audry's attention. Yevon had yet to make a return to the conference room, and the growing despair in the little creature's voice was catching her attention. Figuring that Yevon would likewise hear the noises and come to investigate, Audry leaped out of her seat, and began the advance towards the pilot's section. The first connection with feet upon the ground was met with a low vibration running throughout the entirety of the vehicle.


Must be turbulence, maybe we hit a storm... Audry pondered as she continued on her path. The vibrations became increasingly intense with each step, as a low, resonant sound began to echo through the air. Audry's eyebrows furrowed at the sound, unsure of what it could be, that was until she was knocked off her feet as she was thrown to the wall with great force and the lights were cut to darkness, managing to pick herself up and tossing herself into the doorway. Finally entering into the cockpit, she was met with a panicked Amalthea slamming onto the ship's controls, with a distressed kupo with each peck of the buttons and pull of the levers.

"Kupo! Kupo! Kupo!!!! We've lost control, the whole ship is going down, I can't control it, Kupo!

Audry's face was washed pale upon the news of the imminent descent.

"You've lost control!? Ho-How!!! I thought you were the pilot for this thing!"

Amalthea demonstrated the complete loss of control, pushing onto the light switch, but no lights returning. "The power is gone, kupo! The panel doesn't connect to anything! There might be something wrong with our engine, and if there is, kupo, it could be really ba...

The Moogle's fears were met with a loud explosion, followed by a series of smaller explosions.

The pale Audry immediately turned pure white as she heard the bursts. "Wh-what was that?"

Amalthea stammered out her reply, "The-The Gummi Blocks are collapsing, kupo. This whole ship is going to collapse in on itself!"

"What!" was all Audry could spit out before the entire room exploded into purple mist, as the Moogle standing just before her was pulled away at light speed, fading away into red before disappearing entirely. The former interior of the ship disappeared into an orb of purple behind Amalthea that disappeared with her, as Audry was left in pure darkness, only for the entire space around her to become consumed with light so bright that she could not help but let out a scream of agony before all consciousness was ripped from her.


Audry opened her eyes met with a curious crow that stared at her. The woman responded by shooing away the bird, which let out an annoyed caw as it took off with its kin. The heat radiating from above was more than she could bear, removing the heavy jacket she was wearing, and tying the garment around her waist, exposing the sleeveless black top underneath. As she looked to her sides, she caught sight of Amalthea and Capella, both unconscious, at her sides, but one of the party was not accounted for.

"Yevon?" she inquired, met with no response. "Yevon!" She called out, still receiving no reply. Audry rose to her feet, running a short distance into the sand, still receiving no response. That was until she was found by a figure in the sands

"Looking for someone?", the man asked.

Audry instinctively rose her blade, though the woman was quickly disarmed with a wave of the other figure's hand, as the blade dematerialized, reappearing in the other's hand.

Audry glared hatefully. "Who are you?", she snarled.

"My name is not important, Audry, what is important is the task ahead of you. A noble task indeed."

Audry screamed, "Tell me your damn name!"

The man smiled, though a look of disappointment was present as well. "Perhaps I have come at the wrong time... You must be distressed, very well. I will return when you are of more sound mind."

As if in the blink of an eye, the man was gone, only the silver sword of Audry in his place, stabbed blade into the ground. She went to pick it up, examining the weapon before returning it to the holster. A mirage, just a mirage..., she repeated in her head, as she walked back to the two other survivors of the explosion.



"Prepare the captives for transport, we will be departing for Mecca immediately."

The soldiers of Malachi were collecting a plethora of creatures to be transported through the Barracks portal to the exit portal to the Meccan encampment. It had been only a short few weeks, and already the Meccans were preparing for the total surrender of the city in exchange for being spared from total destruction. Malachi had a plan to win over their hearts, and the collection of cattle and other such creatures would be for such use.

A soldier under Malachi's command would be there to haul the two stunned captives into the cart next exiting the portal, which would be transporting Malachi himself as well. Ezra was quickly hauled into the back of the wagon with very little trouble. The soldiers then turned their attention to his brother. One whistled with admiration at the armor the other was wearing.

"Take a look at this one! How much you figure that cost him?"

The soldier took hold of Shun's paralyzed body, however, his hands quickly were pulled back, a cry of great pain coming off as he dropped the captive to the floor, looking on in horror at the burns covering the insides of his hands. "The armor is cursed!" the soldier shouted, getting the attention of Malachi, who walked over to the two.

"Control yourselves when handling my belongings!" The Mage shouted, looking over to the burned soldier.

"This one wears cursed armor, sir, we cannot touch him."

Malachi was intrigued.

"You, soldier, load this man into the cargo at once."

The other soldier looked at Malachi in horror. "You..You want me to touch him? After what happened to..?"

"Yes, pick him up and deposit him into the cart!"

The other soldier looked over once more, before doing as commanded, only to let out another scream as his hands touched the armor. Malachi looked over Shun, curious as to the nature of his wear.

"Very well, It seems I must take care of this myself," Malachi spoke, summoning his magic to levitate Shun's body up, and place him into the carriage without the need to touch him. "Now then, we depart for Mecca at once."

The soldier agreed, running to get the cart ready to leave through the portal. Mecca proper would be only a short while away.

"Inform the men to have the altar and the fires ready as soon as I arrive, the sacrifices will proceed the peace negotiations," Malachi informed them, as he took his seat next to the carriage driver.

And with that, the group was off through the portal to Mecca.



"I will try to make myself as useful as possible. Though I do have some questions.", Hirutila replied, "Firstly, What is a gun?"

As Georgia inquired as to the location of the kitchen, Hirutila caught the odor of cooking vegetables in the air.

"If my nose is correct, it's just down this way." he chimed in, pointing in the direction of the smell. Leading her to the source of the smell, Hirutila peaked into the room, to be met with the sight of Moogles providing the dinosaur with a veritable banquet of food. Hirutila sighed at the nonsense, "Well, there he is." he spoke.

The blonde and teal haired girl woke up slowly, waking to a dull pain reverberating all over her body. As she opened her steel colored eyes to a squint, Capella noticed a warm liquid oozing over her left eye, painting half of her vision red. Opening her eyes further, the girl noticed Amalthea laying beside her, while the sand around them was kicked around unnaturally.

What happened?

Frowning in attempts to pull the memories from their brain and failing miserably, Capella managed to pull herself up to a seated position, one hand going up to cradle her head, while her eyes moved to her unbraided hair. ...When did that happen? Finally bringing her attention to the only other movement near her, Capella paled drastically, the blood dripping from their face appearing more prominent in the process.

Despite her condition, Capella moved swiftly, reaching out for the unconscious Moogle, standing haphazardly, and summoning her Keyblade with a shaky hand. She faced the oddly familiar woman with furrowed brows, stance defensive despite her weakened state.
"Wh-Who are you and what do y-you want with me." The question came out more like a statement as the tip of her magical blade began to glow a bright light.

Now Playing: Rude Buster ~Orchestral Battle Arrange

“Tch...you dare compare me to him? I’ll show you that you’ll regret underestimating me.” Asher’s temper flared as he swiftly rolling out of his appointed bed to avoid the first few shots. He began concentrating his mana towards his now materialized keyblade, knowing it was ready as it began to give off a bright aura. He began to spin the weapon in front of him, resulting in the generation of a barrier, as requested. Any other incoming shots would dissipate upon impact, allowing him to close in on his opponent. Once he got himself into a proper range, he used his free hand to grab one of his daggers, dropped the barrier, threw the dagger at the mage, aiming towards his face, but curving the throw so that it would barely miss, pinning itself into the wall behind him. This distraction would allow him to advance and proceed with disarming his so-called “mentor”. He swiped at his hand with the dull end of his keyblade, attempting to make him drop the pistol. If Asher succeeded, he would kick the weapon away, and pin down Felix, showing no remorse towards the prankster as he did so, his grip as stalwart as steel.
As he moved to do this, an apparition projected itself into the room, giving them a way of listening in on the ongoing mission debrief in the main hull of the ship. Hearing of the events going on in this alternate world didn’t faze him. If anything, it put a grin on his face. In his world, the Nazis were snuffed out almost as quickly as their forces had been bolstered. Sure, they managed to pillage a village or two, but their forces couldn’t withstand the military might of the Royal Guard, whom had collaborated with his version of the Allies to corner them and force them into a final stand within Britain. Upon hearing Georgia pipe up and request she be the one to go after Hitler, Asher placed a finger on his earring. “If you don’t mind milady, I wish to accompany you on this venture as well. I’m currently on route from this vassal’s medbay. I was delayed by our court jester wishing to “teach” me some self-defense.”
After saying this, he looked over towards the corner of the room to see Tocsax exiting from a Corridor of Darkness, announcing his presence via his laughter. He gave a look of annoyance at the two Nobodies before disengaging from Felix, and briskly walks out from the medbay, heading towards where everyone else is, hoping he could regroup with his current party. Still holding his finger to the earring, he passed along another message. “Also..I wish to confide something to you, if you don’t mind. So far, out of everyone here, you seem to be the most reliable. I feel I can trust you with a bit of personal information.”

@Gentlemanvaultboy @Ryteb Pymeroce @Letter Bee

Felix was amused at the kid's reactions. Hmm, pretty quick, not quite at the level of a Sniper or Samurai, but certainly above the level of your average fighter. Wasn't entirely relient on the keyblade, but didn't discount it entirely like some novices. All that was capped off by a lovely look of visciousness in the boy's eyes. It would be amusing to watch that shard of darkness consume him. When Toscax arrived, and the boy had left, Felix dropped the happy go lucky persona. A fireball shot between Toscax's legs at insane speed, leaving only a slight burning sensation below his crotch. He began speaking in Latin.

"I'm going to unleash Belphagor on the next world, don't interfere. The morons need the challenge to grow."

Saying this he swept out and headed towards his room to meditate. Inside his mindscape, he sat on a white throne atop a dragon {Think Xemnas' king form from kh2}. Outside the bubble of the dragon, all was flame, save for six doors each with a symbol of one of the seven deadly sins upon them. The only symbol missing was that of wrath. As he sat there, his mind was assailed by the base instincts he had crushed in order to become stronger. They wanted him to destroy those that had slighted him, from Leo to the kid. Not for the first time he cursed his previous self for entering the world of darkness.

He looked to the door marked Sloth and gave a wry grin. At least he would have a break from dealing with this for a time.

---

In the sky above Paris, a black portal began to form. On the other side a battered Zane was holding the partily frozen girl to him as they were pulled towards the light.

Georgia lifted her hand to her ear and rubbed at the wearing as she got Asher's message. "Ten four, the more the merrier." She looked up at Hirutila. "That was Asher, the red haired guy. He wants to come with us." She was starting to get the feeling that if they were going to keep using this she'd have to get somebody on this tug to pierce her ears. The thought made her flinch.

" Anyway, you guys had slings right?" Georgia replied to Hirutila as she followed him out before Tocsax could reiterate what they were doing to apparently the latest random misfit to stumble through a dimentional portal into their laps. Did they really have no way to keep that from happening? Their enemies could do that, right? She shook her head as they walked down the hall. She should stay on target. "I'm gonna assume everyone that developed weapons had slings at some point. Well, a gun is like that. Except the rock in throws is not only wicked fast and damn near impossible to see in motion, it's got enough force behind it to go straight through a man and kill the one behind him. And instead of one stone every thirty seconds, it's about five hundred every minute."

As the smell of sizzling meat and steamy vegetables started wafting down the hallway into their noses she sighed and looked up with a serious look on her face. "Considering what Tocsax told us I don't expect there to be many humans left where we're headed, but if we meet one that's the sort of weapon you can expect them to have. That means we've got to stick together out there. I've got a technique that can defend against that, but I have to be between you and them to use it. So if I say something like 'get behind me' or suddenly yell your name, then you've got to do that. Okay?"

The concern on her face was evident, something born of agonizing pain in the past, but the look was replaced when she saw what her boy chowing down. A narrow eyed look of pure reprimand that the dinosaur felt before it saw, suddenly going rigid with it's latest slice of meat still hanging halfway out of its mouth. Slowly and bashfully it leaned down and put the steak on the floor before turning its regretful little head to look at its master, dipping it low and facing her with one eye.

"Don't look at me like that, you know you're not supposed to beg." She said, tapping her foot but still softening somewhat. This was when the new boys came in, one of them exitedly pointing out Snopes to his brothers. This softened her further as the boy stepped a bit closer to admire him.

Oh what the hey, Snopes could have it if he was willing to work for it. She pulled out her rope, spun the end around a few times, and tossed it at the steak that had been deposited on the floor. Snopes followed the rope with his eyes as it wrapped around the steak like an eel and he chased after it as Georgia yanked it back into her hands.

The raptor skidded to a stop in front of her and wiggled with anticipation, and followed along with her as she led him closer to Victor and Agni. "Hey." She said. "Want to see a trick. C'mon boy." She patted the dinosaur on the side and it stopped its wiggling as Georgia laid the steak perfectly across his snout. "Easy, easy. Wait for it." She said, stepping backwards as Snopes held stock still, his eyes intently focused on the treat. Georgia snapped her fingers, and in a flash the raptor jerked his head, tossed the steak into the air and snapping in down in three quick snaps of his jaw. "Hahaha, good boy." She said, walking over and scratching him on the neck. He made a low rumble in his throat and leaned into it.

Georgia turned back to Victor as the third brother now sauntered up. "You can touch him if you want. C'mon over here, I've got him well trained. He's gentle as a lamb if you're not trying to kill me."

She looked away for a moment as Asher relayed another message, this one about wanting to give her some personal information. She tapped the earring again and said in a low whisper. "I'm all ears. I'm always up to learn a secret or two." Then she continued, slightly louder. "Also if you have another of these it would really help to give one to Hirutila, seeing as we're riding into battle. Uhhhh, you can pierce ears? Right?"

@Nerevarine@MagusDream@ShadowVentus

Renovation, Gummi Ship "Renovation's Might"

A true soldier sizes up the situation around him. He analyzes his surroundings and the people around him. He listens to any figures of authority present and calculates the most convenient way to get out of a sticky situation, should one arise. A conman does the same, with the added bonus of determining how he could make money out of it.

Yuuta wasn't in a sticky situation, but in an odd one. The hooded man in black was giving a rundown on the specifics of the situation, until flirting with a white-haired young man in fancy armor (Yuuta could already gauge the cost of it: 60000 Eastern Dollars. It probably had an in-built cooling system too.) and promptly getting punched in the stomach by the man covered in whatever noxious miasma that was. He shook the punch off and opened a portal to what was probably another room of the ship, where a fox-person and a red-haired man threw knives and magic at each other. An old man apparently didn't know what a gun was, but somebody explained it to him while Yuuta was readying the most awe-inspiring speech he could deliver on the inconveniences of warfare.

"Wait, so as you can see here, I've already got a weapon. My pockets are empty but always welcome. How much would I get if I rented my Keyblade off?"

I'm afraid you can't. From what I gathered, it's bonded to you.

Yuuta heard the message almost exclusively in his head. He knew this because he couldn't hear it. He could sense it, though, as a faint voice in his head. He turned around to see the cat looking at him. Cats looked cute, but they were almost always exclusively after your food, so Yuuta kept his distance should this cat be one that needed to eat people to sustain his magical powers.

"Hey look, it's a talking cat. Are you lost?" Yuuta thought this to himself, as he was sure that was how to reply to telepathic messages. He'd never received one before. Perhaps those eggheads over at Enlightenment's Reach were going to invent psychic ear chips in the future.

Yuuta's slight grin was turned into a a look of shock as the cat transformed into a humanoid cat-like creature wearing a poncho with odd inscriptions on it. It was Astus, the God of Trickery. He was the star of every creepy story his friends used to tell him. Heck, if he wanted to, he could probably transform into a dragon at the very moment just for kicks. Either that, or he could transform into a voluptous woman and seduce you but leave you in the dust as punishment for desecrating holy grounds. He was just that unpredictable.

Perhaps this is a form you're more used to. Are you familiar with me? Despite asking, Astus knew damn well that Yuuta had at least heard of him. He then proceeded to stop delivering telepathic messages and talk using his little cat mouth.

"Hello, beautiful men, women, and whatnot of the Multiverse! I am Astus, a wee little cat person, and I am going to serve as your team mascot. Meow!"

Yuuta clamped his teeth together. The God of All Things Sour and Prickly was not going to be the team mascot under his watch.

Astus then sent a telepathic message to Tocsax.

Hello there, I'd like to make a deal with you. You see, I'm an illusionist of sorts. My powers are pretty much useless in direct confrontations, unless I plan accordingly. However, I've heard that as I gain experience wielding a Keyblade, I will be able to improve on my powers. I might just be able to project those illusions into reality. You and me, we'll be unstoppable.

However, I'll need some cooperation on your part. You need to help me gain new abilities other than telepathy and illusion-weaving. I need to be at least a little bit more useful on the battlefield.

As for why, let's just say that I've got my own problems to solve.

@Double @Gentlemanvaultboy @Ryteb Pymeroce @ShadowVentus @Nerevarine @Tenma Tendo @Letter Bee

Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

Tocsax nodded at Felix's words, thinking: I have something else to do anyway. Then he went to a private room to apply burn ointment to certain parts of his anatomy, but not before glancing at Asher and his eternally contemptous face. He was destined for perdition if things didn't change soon, but the thief deserved his time in the limelight like everyone else and so Tocsax will give him that.

Once the ointment/burn cream had been applied, he sent word to the Moogles to, "Clean up the bedrooms and disarm all of Felix's pranks if he has placed any there. If he objects, tell him that he's going to have his fun later anyway."

Then, listening to Astus' telepathic message, Tocsax replied in his thoughts, Interesting bargain, master of trickery. Very well, I accept your proposal, and we can begin training immediately through telepathy. Keyblades allow you access to the metaphysical energy called Mana, you see, and allows for the shaping of said Mana into new and wonderful forms. For example, the mental exercises for a simple Aero spell are...

Tocsax then gave a minor lecture on how to cast Aero, both as an offensive and defensive spell. He also taught the mental exercises on a simple prestidigitation, namely the ability to actually transmute one material to another instead of just making an illusion.

After that, he instructed a lone Moogle to, "Try and console the boy named Vic. Allow him to pet your fur if need be. Also, bring ice cream or candy or whatever kids like nowadays. I'm going to shower."

And then he went off to his own quarters, though not before sending two more Moogles as cannon fodder to disarm any pranks Felix set up there. One cannot be too careful with the prankster. Plus, he needed to plan out his 'side trip' anyway - He needed to select someone to accompany him. So he thought to Astus once more, assuming that they still had a telepathic connection, Want to go on a side trip with me once we get to our destination?

Zekaraya

N/A

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Shoddy McCoy

The raptor skidded to a stop in front of her and wiggled with anticipation, and followed along with her as she led him closer to Victor and Agni. "Hey." She said. "Want to see a trick. C'mon boy." She patted the dinosaur on the side and it stopped its wiggling as Georgia laid the steak perfectly across his snout. "Easy, easy. Wait for it." She said, stepping backwards as Snopes held stock still, his eyes intently focused on the treat. Georgia snapped her fingers, and in a flash the raptor jerked his head, tossed the steak into the air and snapping in down in three quick snaps of his jaw. "Hahaha, good boy." She said, walking over and scratching him on the neck. He made a low rumble in his throat and leaned into it.

Georgia turned back to Victor as the third brother now sauntered up. "You can touch him if you want. C'mon over here, I've got him well trained. He's gentle as a lamb if you're not trying to kill me."

BGM: Dose of Innocence

"*gasp* That was SO COOL!! He's so smart! Dinosaurs are awesome!" Victor spoke, showering whatever shards of innocence he had. He loved animals and, for whatever reason, animals tended to love him. That's when Georgia told that he could pet him. "Really?! Pet him?! Agni, I can do that, right? Right?!" Victor asked, completely excited. "I am against the idea. He could bite you off and-" Ignitio commented but Victor interrupted him. "SHHH!! I'm not asking you, stupid Ignitio! I'm asking Agni!" Ignitio could only look and get mad at Victor's snarky attitude. "Well, but you are a spoiled 22-year old brat, are you not?! You are a prince, Victor! Act like one!!" Ignitio tried to correct him, but Victor looked at him and showed his tongue, like a 6-year old child would do. The eldest of the trio was ready to snap, but Agni began to talk.

"If she gave you the permission, then you can pet him. Be careful, though. he's a dinosaur, not a dog." He spoke. Ignitio stood dumbfounded, with his mouth open, as Victor smiled from ear to ear and approached the raptor. He then began to pet the dinosaur's head. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? Who's the best meat-eating boy? Yes you are, hehe!" Victor laughed, completely happy about the situation. Ignitio sighed at how Victor was being innocent while Agni also rose a smile. "I still cannot believe you are letting him pet a dinosaur, Agni. You are far too lenient with Victor." Ignitio complained. "Stop complaining for at least two minutes. We're trying to get a friendly ambient here." Agni spoke.

"Hehe! He's so obedient and cool! This is the best!" Victor commemorated, but hit Agni's chest. Suddenly, his armor began to glow and fade away. Agni's hair grew all white, his heterochromatic eyes went into a deep shade of purple and normal clothing appeared under his armor. The last thing was a pair of pegasus wing hairpins forming on his hair, both on the left and the right side. "A-Aaaahh! I-I'm sorry, Agni! I didn't mean to deactivate your armor!" Victor apologized. "It's fine. I was planning to deactivate it sooner or later, so it's OK." Agni spoke.

A genuine yet discomforted smile appeared on Audry's face, undercut by a look of sadness.

"You're bleeding", she spoke, eyes moving towards the fresh gash left over the girl's eye. Audry made no gestures of aggression nor hostility, merely a concerned look. "It's a long story but, I was sent to protect you. If you'll let me, I can heal you."

Audry advanced towards Capella, walking slowly, and reaching her hand out, slowly as not to invoke a defensive reaction from the other, but offering her the chance to comply. The familiar glowing green eyes no longer narrowed in opposition as before but open and inviting. "There is a lot that needs to be said, and to be explained. She looked away as she spoke, eyes turning away from Capella towards the ground. "I can't change what has happened before...but, I can only ask that you forgive the harshness of our encounters.". The smile returned to her face, "I'm Audry, I was sent to protect you.". Her hand remained outstretched, inviting the other woman to take hold of it, the palm and fingers emanating and glowing with faint energy, calming simply to look at.

"Where I am from, they call you Jadyata al-Nujumiyyah.", she spoke, "The Nazarenes, I mean. When I lived with them, they told me about how you saved the founder of their order, and how you saved the world from the False Messiah. But, something happened, and...they needed to send someone back to help you.". Audry returned to her awkward phrasing, eyes once more turning away. "So...they sent me.". Audry cursed herself under her breath. In the short time that she had arrived she had already more than likely compromised a good deal of the mission. The Nazarenes had proven themselves mistaken in their assessment of her abilities. The Gummi Ship was lost, Yevon had been lost in whatever spacial flux that transpired with the collapse of the ship's medium. "But I suppose I don't know your real name!", she responded, as if jerking herself out of the depressive slump back into a chipper mood, a bright smile returning to her face in that brief moment.



As the procession approached the gates of Mecca, a small collection of the city's leaders had gathered, the tribesmen speaking among themselves until the advance of the Axumite excursion had finally appeared beyond the horizon. The forces of the Ethiopians were not particularly large, but the Meccans struggled to remain steadfast in the presence of such imposing soldiers. At the head of the party was the leader, Malachi, seated upon his mount, a dwarf elephant, one of the last of its kind, captured and broken specifically for his use. Flanking him were a collection of powerful soldiers, dressed in resplendent armor and luxurious furs, carrying long polearms to show their status. Behind the nobles was a small dispatching of infantrymen, dressed in simple armor and bearing banners of the Kingdom of Axum with them. The human soldiers bore a striking trait, glowing green eyes that seemed to shine out of the darkness of their helmets, as if phosphorescent. But perhaps what frightened the men of Mecca most of all were the legions of heartless that followed in formation with the standard soldiers, still small in number but nearly twice that of the standard swordsmen and the horsemen.
As the Axumites came closer to the gates, the three most senior tribal leaders stepped forward to meet them. Abu Talib, Abu al-Hakim, and Abu Lahab all undertook the ceremonial motions, Abu al-Hakim taking hold of a quiver of arrows, and throwing them at the feet of Malachi, who awaited the assessment from the decided diviner.

"Hubal smiles upon our negotiations" he announced.



While up on the bluff, Audry's attention was briefly turned away from Capella as she heard the commotion and sounds coming from below.

"Huh? What the?"

She rushed over to the edge of the cliff to get a better look

Back at the city gates, Malachi stood upon a platform to address the people of the city.

"People of Mecca! While my army has come today to take control of your city, do not fear our coming, for the wise men of your tribes have settled upon an agreement that will ensure your autonomy even under the rule of our blessed Messiah. All we ask is the rights to take of your food and water as we need, and to root out any subversive elements that may dwell within your walls."

The Meccans remained caught in their fears, yet Malachi continued his speech.

"To prove that your right to worship your gods will continue under the protection of the Messiah, and that we will not force you to our ways, we shall provide an offering to your lords Hubal, Shams, Bal, Allat, Al-'Uzza and Manat, with the blood of one of our own to demonstrate the sacrifices we are willing to make for you as our subjects."



With the wave of a hand, the soldiers at Malachi's sides advanced, pulling forward a collection of tinder and wood, which the leader ignited with a burst of flames. Meanwhile, the soldiers went back to retrieve the sacrifice. Between the two recent prisoners, the soldiers decided upon Ezra to be the sacrifice. The men took hold of him, dragging him through the sands over to the burning pyre. Though Shun was struck with the paralyzing spell, he would begin to feel the effect rapidly fading away. The armor he was cloaked in upon his arrival had weakened the magic, and now the effects began to decay away. All the while, the soldiers tossed the still stiff body of his brother at the feet of their leader, who took hold of Ezra, raising him before the three Tribal Leaders, and proclaimed,

"With this man, burned to ashes for the honor of the Gods and Lords of Mecca, may our new alliance and integration into one nation be fruitful and prosperous!"



"Yallahi! They're going to burn him alive!", Audry screamed in horror as she saw the pyre lit and the leader of the forces announce his desires. Without thinking, Audry leaped off of the cliff face, landing hard into the sand and rolling a short distance before taking off running full speed towards the conference. There was no time for thinking, just to save this man, whoever he may be, and get out before anyone noticed her. Not that she really knew how she was going to do it, but she'd figure it out when the time came.




The image of a sling firing stone after stone faster than he could comprehend send a cold jolt down Hirutila's spine. It was moments like this that made him wary of this entire trip. The Emperor and the rest of these people were fools. He fought with swords and crossbows, this was an element that he was not certain he could even make the jump to effectively fight in. Georgia assured him that she had a method deal with such things, but the thought still left a feeling of deep unease in his stomach. The journey they were to go one seemed to get ever more difficult and imposing as time went on. This wasn't like piracy, pirates and the Marines he fought would at least have abided by the laws of his own world's reality, yet here everything was turned on its head. Hirutila sighed at the thought. Georgia even seemed to express discontent, the look of anguish on her face only served to make his anxieties increase. Georgia knew these things, yet she did not seem to be any more eased by her knowledge. It was terrifying to say the least.

Hirutila followed after the girl and her pet towards the two other new arrivals. Hirutila was unsure of how to parse the trio of brothers that had made their late arrival to the party. A strange mixture of innocence and stern orthodoxy was the theme that he perceived of these two who the little dinosaur had lead them to. Hirutila had to at least attest to the novelty of the creature. Never before had he seen anything quite like it, and what exactly it was and where it came from intrigued him. He had some ideas, the creature resembled a cross between a lizard and large bird. The Greeks living in Egypt often told tales of a local creature called an ichneumon, that killed and hunted dragons for food. They were like large roosters but lacked feathers for scales. Was this creature really an ichneumon? The girl did say that her ancestors came from Africa, though he did not place her as an Egyptian.

Hirutila perished the thoughts over the animal for a second and focused on its behaviors. The animal was certainly useful, like a dog of some sort, though he imagined far more dangerous. The third brother, Agni was his name if he remembered correctly, also made the dog analogy, but he emphasized the differences above all. Hirutila was taken aback by the sudden change he underwent at the strike of his younger sibling. Hirutila frowned, annoyed with the mysteries and surprises that kept popping up. He could only hope that things would even out eventually, though somewhere in his mind he seriously doubted that to ever happen.

The Paralysis spell was strong, almost too strong. The brothers were helpless for what felt like ages. Both were still conscious, still aware of their surroundings, and painfully aware of just how much time was passing. If something didn't happen, then things would become a whole lot worse, not just for Ezra and Shun, but for everyone. Fortunately for Shun, he eventually began to feel the spell slowly start to wear off. It seemed the Makai Armor did it's job in nullifying the brunt of the spell's effect. The same couldn't be said for Ezra though, his body remain stiff and unable to move. But even as Shun was able to start making his body move in a stiff manner, he did his best to remain still for the time being. Even though time was not on his side, he had to wait for a better opportunity to act.

The brothers were brought before a huge gathering in a city that they heard someone call Mecca. Mecca? As in the Middle East? They were that far from home? Of course, the idea of them being on a whole other world didn't cross their mind because, well, why would it? Eventually Ezra was hauled off by a couple of men and Shun caught the slightest of glances at where. Was that a...? Why would they do this? What had the brothers done to apparently deserve such an execution? In his armor, Shun looked like an unholy warrior, granted, but what about Ezra? There had to be more to this, but Shun couldn't afford to think about it. Ezra, he had to save Ezra!

15 seconds remaining.

His armored hand clenched into a fist before Shun suddenly pushed himself upright and into a surprise lunge at the man standing guard. Thankfully his paralyzed hand held onto the Makai Sword's hilt so he still possessed it even now. Shun used it to instantly cut the guard down. He was breaking all kinds of rules doing this, using his power against mortals and preparing to let his fully armored self be seen in full view by the public. But no, no that was Ezra being tossed onto a pyre... Ezra! Shun's brother and, truth be told, his best friend as well. Screw the rules, Shun was going to save his little brother no matter what price he had to pay!

8 seconds remaining.

"Let my brother go you bastards!" Shun let himself shout in a guttural voice that was also rendered somewhat distorted from under his helmet, "6 seconds before we're all dead, what's it going to be?" he pointed his sword in Malachi's direction, a threatening gesture to be sure. Even then, pulses of Darkness already began appearing to seep out from within the armor. No matter what the response was, it was already too late.

0 seconds remaining.

BGM: Hellfire

The sounds of a beating heart resonated from Shun's armor. The Darkness had only been pulsating a moment earlier suddenly exploded like an erupting volcano. The light red eyes on the helmet suddenly glowed a much brighter crimson. Then a voice that sounded somewhat like Shun's let out a guttural scream that seemed to morph midway into a beastly roar. As the roar came, the beastly creature depicted in the armor's motif seemed to spring to life, as if taking control away from the armor's wearer. The Lost Soul Beast tightened its grip on the hilt of the Makai Sword. Where before Shun had to put extra effort into swinging or heaving such a heavy blade, the Lost Soul Beast displayed no such limitation and lunged with inhuman speed and in its rage swung the sword at whomever was nearest to it. It's strength was unnatural, like some kind of unholy demon beast able to swing a heavy weapon with ease that would take a man all his strength to do so.

And to make matters worse various blue and purple creatures began to emerge from the Lost Soul Beast's ever growing shadow. They were the Unversed, drawn to this world by the unbridled Darkness and Hatred that fueled the Lost Soul Beast's rampage.

And Ezra, still paralyzed, could only watch in helpless horror as his brother sacrificed himself to the greatest flaw and limitation of the Armor he wore.

Protect her? Heal her? What's with this sudden change in personality? And why did she look so concerned? Although Capella's memories up until this point were foggy at best, none of this felt right at all.

"D-Don't touch me." The star child wasn't going to be fooled by something like this, the grip on both her Moogle and Keyblade tightened as she approached. Despite the other's slow and deliberate movements towards her, she backed up as the woman brought a hand out, probably wanting to 'heal' her like she mentioned. Like she'd ever fall for that.

Fortunately the much smaller girl wasn't the kind to immediately resort to violence, at least hearing out what the green eyed woman had to say. Capella could see it in her eyes. What she was saying was the truth to her, but to Capella it felt almost like some kind of made up story you'd find in a book or cartoon.

Audry, a woman from the future sent to protect her. Sent to make sure she completes her tasks in Green Sahara. And apparently, Capella was Jadyate al-Nujumuyyah, savior of the world from the False Messiah. She didn't want to believe any of this, she really didn't but...something in her chest was telling her that there was some truth in Audry statements. It would also explain why the woman was being so nice to her now...

Halcyon disappearing in a collection of light particles, Capella found her shoulders relaxing at the sight of the woman's outstretched hand, the same one she was scared of touching her earlier. Giving the other one last look, just to make sure she wasn't tripping and this wasn't some trap she was letting herself easily fall into, Capella completed the handshake, her smaller hand hesitant at first now relishing in the calming energy that surrounded it. Despite this feeling, the shorter was quick to pulled away, nervousness creeping up on her features.

"Capella. My n-name is Capella Auriga." Voice small from the overwhelming information, the star child looking down at Amalthea, wiping the fresh blood still oozing on the side of her face with her charred sleeve. She only looked back up when voices from below seemed to catch both her and Audry's attention, following hesitantly behind the woman to also see what was going on. It didn't take long to realize what was about to happen, not to mention how it also seemed to fall in line with what Audry told her earlier.

The False Messiah. The Heartless. The oh so familiar glowing green eyes. And...a sacrifice?!

"Gienah!" Before she could even stop to think, Capella's body moved on its own, drawing out the Corvus constellation with her fingers and watching as the glyph melded onto her back, black wings spouting from her back much like before. Leaving the Moogle behind where she'd be safe, Capella stretched out her new formed wings before propelling into the sky with a single flap right when Audry took a leap down the cliff herself.

Capella soared through the sky, blonde and teal hair whipping around from how fast she was going. There was no way she wasn't going to help someone who was wrongfully being punished just to prove a point. Ugh, just thought had the star child's blood boiling. At least Audry seemed to be in the same mindset of rectifying this situation...

As did someone else.

It was hard to tell from here, but what looked like a monster(?) also saw the horror of the sacrifice and proceeded to attack those that opposed it. It was reassuring for the briefest of moments, then things turned for the worst. A guttural scream up ahead had Capella reaching up to cover her ears. Eyes glowed a liquid gold as the same monster she thought might be on their side let loose a swarm of beings she could only assume were another form of Heartless.

They needed to act quickly!

Capella knew that using another Messier Object so soon after the last would not only give the Big Three back home a hint at her location but also push her body to limits she didn't think she could handle, but now wasn't the time to be worried for herself. Save as many people as she could was the top priority, including the sacrifice. And in order to do that, she needed to get as many people to safety before she could try anything of the sort.

Landing on the ground right on the outskirts of the conference, Capella called upon Halcyon and drew out the Ara constellation in front of her.
"Callisto's Sacrifice!" Behind Capella a large, transparent, and slightly curved altar rose from the ground covering what looked like almost half a mile horizontally. She the took off again, body remaining low as she flew over the people. "Everyone, p-please get behind the altar!" The altar should hopefully be able to wall off enemies that get a bit too close. Whether they decided to listen to her or not was their choice. But what she did know was that things would get much worse if they wasted time fumbling around.

And with that, Capella headed to the pyre, golden eyes set on the sacrifice who had yet to move. She wasn't that surprised, as the sight of some beast rampaging on anything in sight was more than enough to make anyone paralyzed with fear. If only she knew...

Reaching the sacrifice in due time, Capella waved her hand around, unsure of what she should do. Moving him as far away form everything was the best option, but if he was injured and she just couldn't see it, healing him came first. Furrowing her brows as she needed to make a decision and fast, Capella looked over the sea of beings in search of Audry. She still didn't trust the woman quite yet, but she wasn't childish enough to let that get in the way.

"A-Audry!" She tried yelling out, only to cringe at her own voice. They needed to figure out some way to subdue this monster before things got any worse than they already were. Shaking her head slightly, the small girl drew over the man with trembling fingers, the constellation of Virgo shining brightly before a heavenly glow of white and green energy fell over the poor sacrifice's body. "S-Spica..." Hopefully whatever was ailing him would die out with her spell. Unfortunately, her mind was split between that hope and fear as she watched the Unversed spew out of the monster's shadow...

Before he had a chance to even speak, the freed prisoner had escaped the bondage of the spell, and stood before him, crackling darkness wicking off of his body like water off wax. In the blink of an instant, the armored man was there no more, replaced with a beasty creature, the same that had been depicted in the protective casing around him. Malachi stood in awe, looking over the beast, a smile came to his face as he looked upon it. That power, he had known that his observations were correct. But the power was that armor. Yes, experimentation be damned, he would make a fine addition to the Messiah's army.

"Capture that creature!" Malachi barked out to the Axumite legionaries, who nodded in agreement as they began to advance towards what was once Shun. The legionaries held their swords out, as the weapons glowed with a blinding white as beams of energy fired upon the beast. Malachi's expression changed rapidly from that of gleeful awe to one of horror and fury as he saw the Lost Soul Beast go into action, cutting down the legionaries like nothing. Soldier after soldier fell to the beast as Malachi roared in anger.

"Horsemen! Surround and lasso!"

At his command, the mounted noblemen went into action, surrounding the beast with a double encirclement of horses, tossing thick electrified chains at the creature, wrapping the weapons around its limbs and neck, as the legionaries continued their assault with castings of Holy and Firaga upon the beast. But a simple torque of the beast's limbs was enough to pull the magicite enhanced soldiers from their steeds, dragging the men through the dirt, tossing them into the sky like dolls as they lost hold of the chains. Malachi cursed, screaming orders at the soldiers as they tried and failed to detain the rampaging beast. But the battle had only just begun, as the Axumite Legions found themselves facing not only the beast, but the strange, bluish creatures that crawled out of its shadow. The beasts overtook the Soldiers, as they turned to face them, only to fall victim to the still rampaging creature. The Lost Soul Beast and Unversed had totally taken hold of his attention, not noticing the two women descending from above to join the fray.

Audry could feel her feet sinking into the sand as she ran, raising her sword, now crackling and bursting with lightning that jumped off the blade, frenzy in the air as she rushed forward. She leaped, swinging the blade forward to cut down the first of the legionaries that she came upon, directing the blade to fire out a chain of lightning that jumped between the men just ahead of her. Audry seized up as she saw Shun make his final stand, looking on in pure horror as she saw him transform into the Lost Soul Beast. In the brief moment of her terror, she was pulled out by a familiar voice echoing from overhead to land at the would-be sacrifice. She got the message, though no further words were exchanged.

Malachi's attention was pulled away from the chaos by the sound of Capella's call. His eyes narrowed upon her.

"Rago," he uttered out, as his assistant's glowing green eyes turned to him.

"Your time has come for vengeance. Go take care of the girl."

Rago smiled savagely. "With pleasure."

Leaping into the air, Rago landed only a short distance away from Capella. The man stood before her. No remnants of their previous encounter seemed to remain, the charred flesh she left him with before was gone, as if it had never been there to begin with. His previous orange garment was replaced with that of a light blue one to match Malachi's priestly garb.

"Do you remember me, girl?" Rago seemed to purr out, his voice low and rumbling, with a hint of humor underneath. "Our last encounter was far from fair, but I've taken steps to make sure that we will have a more fair fight this time." As he finished speaking, Rago raised up his sword, the same twisted iron blade from before, but this time it glowed brightly with fire. But has he attempted to swing the blade down upon Capella and Ezra, a curtain of flames rose up between the woman and her attacker. Rago screeched in rage and turned his head over to the source of the barrier. Audry's hand still glowed with the flames, as she stared down the man. Rago charged at her, as the barrier around Capella fell.

Malachi grunted in annoyance, as he raised his other free hand to catch the attention of the Heartless.

"Go forth and deal with that woman!" he yelled, pointing his finger over to Capella, as the heartless obeyed, rushing over like a swarm to the location of the Star Child and the fallen Ezra.

Meanwhile, the people of Mecca had taken refuge behind the summoned altar. Abu Talib attempted to calm the Meccans, and direct them back into the safety of the city's walls. However, he found himself being the target of insults lobbied against him by his fellow tribal leaders.

"Abu Talib! Will you turn our people against our benefactors! Let the men of Mecca fight alongside the Axumites!" yelled Abu Lahab, pointing his finger at the other.

Abu Talib scoffed. "This fight is beyond the capacity of our own warriors, Abu Lahab. Would you have it that our men are killed to the last individual? The Axumites wish to defend us, then let them defend us. If they want to take our soverignty, then let them pay the price."

Abu al-Hakim entered into the conversation at the side of Abu Lahab. "You speak out of fear, Abu Talib. As their subjects we are obligated to aid them."

"Their subjects?" the other shouted, "We are not their subjects yet!"

Abu Talib's retort was met with Abu Lahab raising his hand to smack the other leader down. "Do not jeapordize the survival of this city, Abu Talib. We had predicted that you would not see reason. Did you think that these negotiations meant anything? We have already decided the fate of Mecca without you!"

As Abu Talib rose out of the sand, he sneered in rage. "You sold us out to the Axumites behind all of our backs!" he screamed, rushing to attack the other two. "You have killed us all. Abu Lahab! You have fed us all to the Flames! Amr ibn Hisham, Abu al-Hakim! You deserve no to wear that name! You are no father of wisdom, you are a fool! Anta Abu Jahl, you are the father of ignorance!"

But the two men were more than capable of overpowering the other tribal leader, beating him and tossing him into the crowd.

"If any other wishes to stand against us, know that we have the backing of the Axumites! If you stand against us, know we can destroy you with ease!"

After quieting down, the boy elected to himself. Socializing in completely normal circumstances was hard enough for Vic, but this was anything but normal. Conversations played out around him, and even an arrival of someone Agni already knew. But all this just sort washed over Vic, who found himself just barely registering any of these things. With a small sigh he moved himself to quietly slip out of the room, it was starting to feel crowded anyway. Instead he chose walk around and explore a bit. The dinosaur certainly interested him and Vic definitely wanted to try "listening" to him later but not right now. Right now he wanted to get a better idea of where exactly he was.

Someone had mentioned a ship earlier, and that certainly proved itself to be true. So they were in Space or something? The actual science or explanations of what any of this was and how it all worked was lost on him. And honestly, it was harder than it sounded trying to navigate the corridors of the ship despite the close quarters. But least he had some time to think a bit. Vic closed his eyes and thought back to Twoson, not out of fear this time. Instead he replayed events with a critical mind, trying to make heads or tails out of what exactly happened and just who the hooded monster was. They were a PSI user, that much was obvious. But even on his absolute best days, Vic had never reached such a level of power, in fact he didn't know such a level of power was even possible. But if it was, then maybe Vic didn't have to be so helpless after all. If the hooded monster could command such PSI then Vic would just have to figure out how to do so himself to counter them. But then there was the matter of the Keyblade. Not once was Vic able to summon it again ever since waking up in Renovation, and that made him wonder if he would ever be able to summon it again without Terrence and Ashley by his side.

"There you are, kupo!" the unmistakable voice of a Moogle cried. Vic gave a smile and wave to the Moogle, "Tocsax wanted me to make sure you were feeling okay, kupo."

"Uh-huh." Vic said with a smile and nod, "I'm fine, I think, but..." he interrupted himself with a small nod, "...could you point me somewhere I can rest? I'm pretty tired."

"Over that way, kupo! Just pick any of the doors that are unlocked, and don't worry, the pranks were already disarmed, kupo!"

"Pranks?" Vic tilted his head, not sure what the Moogle meant. But he nodded and waved as he left the Moogle, "Well, thanks! Wake me when we get there, okay?" and with that he was gone, choosing one of the rooms and letting himself collapse on the bed, sleep almost immediately washing over him.

Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

The very next day, the Gummi Ship arrived over yet another version of Earth, only large portions of Europe were literally shrouded in Darkness. Tocsax, despite still being miffed at the people he himself had turned against him (slightly in Asher's case, almost violently in Ignitio's), spoke, "All right people, we're here. I'll make this simple," he brought up a holographic map with London, Berlin, and Moscow outlined in glowing white letters everyone can somehow understand thanks to the Keyblades' language-translation magic. "Those of you going to the Princess of Heart go to London, while those going after Hitler and Stalin go to Berlin and Moscow."

Tocsax turned towards the group, his eyes settling on Asher's face for one minute before shifting to Astus' and then saying, "As for me and the Master of Trickery, we will be going to seal the world's Keyhole - A Keyhole is a special entrance into the Heart of the World, which if left open will allow the Heartless to eat the World's Heart and doom it to being consumed by Darkness."

A frown, as Tocsax thought, Next world after this, I am going to need to retrieve the true Felix's Heartless, then have the Lucy use her Princess of Heart powers to restore him. Won't Psilvux like that? His frown then shifted to a small grin directed at nowhere.

"As for how we will get to our destinations..." Tocsax trailed off as he looked towards the group as they gathered in the Operations Room, then tapped the ground with his right foot, causing a hologram of a smaller Gummi Ship to appear. "This vessel has a hangar that contains an even smaller Gummi Ship for transportation purposes - This can go from Orbit, where we are now, to the atmosphere and thence to the ground. The Gummi Shuttle - Shuttle being one of our terms for for smaller ships - will go to London first and drop off the negotiation team, then Berlin, then Moscow. Any questions?"

A holographic map of the ship then opened up to indicate just where the hangar and the Gummi Shuttle was. More automatically-translated words indicated that said shuttle, though small, had a couple of Magitech guns, a missile pod, and an energy shield of vague strength, though nowhere near what Empress Maria can muster.

Tocsax waited for some questions, then said, "All right, everyone except Astus - Move out!"

Zekaraya

<Zekaraya,> whispered the Angel into his mind, <The enemy is coming - Find the False Lion in the city of London, slay him, but do not harm the woman under his charge. I will give you the information you need.>

A mental map of the geography of London and Britain. Two faces: A young brown-haired man who wore a strange cloak - A Trenchcoat, the Angel called it - and a young blonde woman with blue eyes whose face and arms were stained with crude oil. <Others of the enemy are coming to meet them. Prevent this meeting, Zekaraya. Do not let them destroy what I guided Emmanuel to do...>

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Shoddy McCoy

Slow. They were always so slow.

It was ten hours ago that the dragon in human form was unleashed upon the Kremlin. That thrice damned fox and his bullshit plans, forcing him to go against the weaklings.

Thinking honestly, he was the only one apart from the damn cat who wouldn't kill them outright, accidentally or on purpose, but the cat had beef with the pervert. Still doesn't excuse the fox waking him up for mediocre opponents.

The Kremlin itself was still standing, but inside it was a scene from a horror movie. Blood and guts coated the walls as the guards and workers had been ripped apart with animalistic ferociousness. In what was once the throne room of the Tsars sat Belphagor (gods he hated that name) on a throne made from the torn out bones of his victims. It was impossible to see his face behind the bloodstained hood, and his body was covered in heavy metal restraints. In his hand he held the skull of the fool who thought he could command darkness, the flesh removed with vigor. Around him, Nobodies known as Warlocks worked to give the room a proper demonic atmosphere.

Standing from the chair, he threw the skull on the ground and crushed it.

"Minions of the Eternal Abyss, I offer you the blood, the bone, and the Heart of those who were arrogant enough to think they could control you. I ask that you aid me in the coming battle so that the Guardians of the Light may come into their own."

Darkness began to seep deeply into the citadel, morphing it into a bastion of darkness. Shadows poured forth from the Kremlin, intent on consuming the city itself. Belphagor returned to his throne and began to sleep, awaiting the arrival of a true challenge.

Renovation, Gummi Ship "Renovation's Might"

"As for me and the Master of Trickery, we will be going to seal the world's Keyhole - A Keyhole is a special entrance into the Heart of the World, which if left open will allow the Heartless to eat the World's Heart and doom it to being consumed by Darkness."

"Tocsax, I don't think Yuuta can go. He's pretty much incapacitated."

As soon as Astus finished speaking, Yuuta stumbled out of the hallway leading to the pantry holding an empty bottle of wine.

"Let's kill 'em! I'm going to rip the silly man's moustache off and wipe my ass with it!"

Yuuta then did a couple of inappropriate ballet spins and cartwheeled up to Hirutila. "See, a gun's a pretty little instrument of death. Point the nozzle, pull the trigger, and phsew pshew pshew! Death sauce will splatter over the ground and that insufferable asshole you've wanted dead all your life is dead! Ka-bam!" His speech was accompanied by wild gestures and motions, reminiscent of a certain little dimwit.

"Don't worry, I can explain."

---

The Day Before
Astus had struck another bargain. For a long time, his bargains and deals meant nothing much to him. What else would they cost but a ruined day for an unfortunate simpleton, anyway? However, this one was different. This one would cost the fate of the Merged World, the only place that he could ever come back to when all of this was over.

He began learning how to cast Aero. At first, he began visualizing a tornado, ravaging the landmasses of the earth and sending them into disarray. He got very tired from that, and then remembered that he was not exactly Astus. He wasn't the cosmic being who could cause discomfort with a single premonition, rather than that, he was a wimpy little house cat. He closed his little cat eyes once more and envisioned a ball of yarn, except that it was formed by raging air currents. He opened his eyes and saw it in front of him.

Within moments Astus took to manipulating wind in its purest and most essential form. He first used it to propel himself upwards. He then used it to create a miniature tornado. Things got out of hand quickly, and Astus, having used up so much mental energy, forgot that he was in the pantry. He ended up coating the walls with mayonnaise, sriracha sauce, squashed tomatoes, and many other foodstuffs he wasn't familiar with. After using Aero again to fly across the walls and wipe them with an assortment of towels, he sat down and meditated to regain his lost strength. He then popped another telepathic message into Yuuta's mind.

Yuuta, we need to talk.

Are you Astus? Do you possibly need anything from a wee little mortal like me?

As a matter of fact, yes. Our world is in grave danger.

I thought I'd never agree with Astus himself, but hey, you're right. Diplomats keep stuffing their pockets with tax money, gangs keep splitting the heads of helpless people open, and I can't get a damn job.

Yes, those are certain, but they, and many other atrocities committed upon our people, and caused by the divergence of the World of the Gods and the World of Man. To put it rather bluntly, God and Man cannot live without each other. Without Man, the Gods will become primordial masses of cosmic energy, and Man will fall into disarray and wage war with one another.

Wait, weren't the two worlds always, uh, together? Like, they were two places but also one place?

Astus tightened the psychic bond between the two of them in case anyone tried to listen to their telepathic conversation. He was sensitive to fluctuations in mental energy, so he could react to any unwanted listeners and even punish them. However, other powerful beings might've sneaked onto the ship, and it was better to be safe than sorry.

Ideally, that is the case. However, they are moving apart. You can't feel it, being the mortal you are, but I can. Now listen to me and, for your own sake, keep this between us. I've observed that Light and Darkness are two forces that keep the world in balance. While those people have tasked you with fighting in order to preserve Light, I theorize that we instead need to fight to retain the balance between Light and Darkness. The realm of the Gods, being the moral guardians of the world, may primarily contain Light, and the realm of Man, who are capable of free thought and therefore harm, may be attributed to Darkness. The divergence of the worlds might be caused by an imbalance between the two. We at least need to retain the natural order in our world, and to do that, we must partake on certain actions here that might diverge from the goals of Tocsax and the rest of the group. In fact, I hate to say it, but I think I agree with Leo the Second Mathematician.

What kind of lame stripper name is Leo the Second Mathematician?

Were you even listening?

I think you lost me before you even started. You're making my head hurt.

Astus cut the psychic connection between the two of them and approached Yuuta in order to make an even stronger connection. If he couldn't convince that simple-minded two-bit troglodyte to cooperate with him, then he'd force him to do so. He needed manpower, and that manpower was going to be Yuuta.

---

"Sorry kupo, but all the paperwork and scheduling got to me and I got you on the wrong ship!"

"What are you talking about? That Tocsax guy and his merry crew are here."

"Actually, I think nothing bad really came out of it. There was a siege on the castle that the crew was brought to, and they might've been really hurt!"

Yuuta laughed to himself and smiled until he saw a visibly disturbed kid holed up in a corner of the ship. "Actually, something bad came out of it. I could've saved that kid from almost getting killed or whatever happened and she wouldn't have been that shaken up. Say sorry to her. Also, shower her with candy from the pantry or something. I heard that works." The Moogle was about to protest as there was another Moogle already taking care of the kid, but the thought of Yuuta appearing behind it and chopping its head off entered its mind and it headed off to the pantry, drafting the curtest apology it could give in its mind. As it headed off towards a hallway, Astus came out of it.

Astus concentrated, and without any warning, his consciousness began to merge with Yuuta's. Given that Yuuta was sleepy, he could've easily issued him some commands. However, to truly manipulate someone, one must know who he is inside and out. Astus visualized a simple hallway, much plainer than the gummi ship's ornate ones, and began to rush down the metaphysical memory lane.

---

"Aaaaaaaand that's a twenty-one!"

Yuuta wore a massive shit-eating grin on his face as Hans and another idiot gasped at what they were seeing: a six, nine, and another six. In order to win a game of blackjack, one must either be dealt the right combination of cards valued higher than the dealer's cards without exceeding 21 or risk everything on getting a 21. Usually, blackjack players only dealt with luck and misfortune, but Yuuta didn't. By memorizing the cards that had been dealt and the pattern the tired dealer always used to shuffle them and using his enhanced senses years of training had given him, Yuuta knew which position he needed to be in order to get a blackjack, a pair of cards valued at 21. All he had to do was inconspicuously switch places with Hans, and the money was his for the taking.

---

What a slimy excuse for a human being. Astus dived deeper.

---

"Go, Shizue! Show 'em that cleavage equals power!"

"Did you seriously bet on Shizue just because she was a looker?"

Yuuta, Hans, and the rest of the idiot gang were crowded in front of a TV. In the Eastern Lands, instead of playing volleyball, girls in sportswear fought each other with various magic weapons and martial arts across marked arenas reminiscent of volleyball courts. However, these courts were levitating on Magitek-powered platforms and if one girl got hit too hard, she'd fall off the arena. The winning team would be the one with the last remaining player. Most people voted on players based on their records, but Yuuta voted Shizue because she was "cute as heck". Needless to say, he walked away with his pockets empty.

---

Astus was getting tired of Yuuta's horseshit, so he decided to take a leap. He forced himself out of the hallway, making a small hole in it, and reentered it at a further part. As he re-entered, however, the hallway had become a stony dungeon beset by chains, rusty blades, and faceless prisoners hiding behind wilting bars. As he went further, his body yelled at him for pushing against a force he understood yet still found immensely dreadful.

What he saw made him nauseous.

---

He saw a battlefield stained with blood and sweat and whatever bodily fluids were left of the people and creatures that fought in a grand war. The ground was dry and cracked, the sky grey and lifeless, and what little light the sun seemed to emit revealed horrors no living being would ever wish to see. Whatever life the Gods had given Man was so utterly violated. What were once living men and women with families to attend to and goals to fulfill were now corpses helplessly strewn about the ground. A man in cracked battle-armor raised his hand and gasped for breath, then fell into a void so empty and lifeless that he couldn't comprehend it.

A young boy painted the unmistakable red of carnage walked around aimlessly. Whatever ambition he had was robbed by the sight of those rotten pigs raising the white flag, a symbol of the very hopelessness they had so greedily avoided. At one point he fell to the ground and clenched his teeth.

"DAMN IT ALL! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!"

Tears made their way from his eyes to the ground his crippled hands touched. He cried, and his cries made the earth shake, along with everything that wearily rested upon it. He punched the ground, sending cracks rushing as far as they could. Those diplomats and politicians that had negotiated the end of the war thought they heard thunder, and drove away in their flying ships at full speed. The boy cried and cried until he heard a voice, a faint light that glimmered in the vast abyss he had fallen into.

"Yuuta?"

The boy turned around to see a familiar figure wearing a ponytail, dressed in green robes, and carrying an unsheathed sword.

"Elise?"

He then rushed over to her and hugged her with all his might. Finding such warmth within the coldness of the battlefield gave him more comfort than he ever needed.

"Are you okay? Do you need any help?"

Elise did not need to answer. As soon as the boy took his hands of her, he saw them soaked in the same red his body was drenched in. He then saw her body leaning heavily against him, her breathing becoming more rushed and agonized. She tightened her grasp around his hips, pulling at the only hold she had left on what was alive and what wasn't. Her breathing ceased, her rival-turned-dear friend desperately tried to shake her awake, and she drifted away.

And with that, Yuuta let out a scream that pierced the heavens.

---

Astus wrestled the force that strangled and choked him. He had trouble visualizing it, he couldn't in the midst of all that was happening. Slowly, he tried to close his eyes and imagine a being of pure hatred, one that he'd encountered and dealt with before. Everything is okay, he assured himself, things won't go downhill from here.

He opened his eyes and saw Yuuta, his body lined with scars and wounds, lifting Elise's blade upon him. For that moment, he had stopped being a God.

Astus cried, shook, shouted, he did everything that denoted shock and fear. He closed his eyes again and shut out everything. From there, he opened them again, not to see Yuuta, but to see his own little cat body cowering before the colossal figure of an enraged man bringing a sword upon him.

His view zoomed out and his eyes flew upwards. His own body was nothing but a small dot, but the apparition was now just the size of a regular person. It went further and further until he was only a speck of light, a small fragment of existence, lying across an endless sea of stars and celestial bodies. Soon enough, all those were but a stain on an otherwise perfectly empty universe.

Whether you were a God or a Man, you were but a tiny and insignificant part of the world around you. Astus took comfort in such a thought. It meant that he was no different from any living being, whether they were weaker or more powerful than he. Everything was bound by Fate and Fate alone.

Yuuta sure wouldn't.

---

"Do you understand the struggles of being thrust into a situation so unusual that it makes you feel completely helpless? Yuuta here definitely did. That's why he went to the pantry and downed at least thirty different kinds of alcoholic beverages and is now currently able to fight or do anything that will benefit the team."

However, it was too late. Yuuta had already stumbled into a Gummi Shuttle and set it off.

"Either that, or Leo and his forces are at work here. By looking at footage of the recent incident, I've seen how efficient they are at sabotaging our efforts. I will investigate further. Anyways, have a great trip, you beautiful people!"

Astus then gave Tocsax a telepathic message.

Could you give me some time to telepathically sober up Yuuta? He can't be that far away, I might still be able to establish a psychic bond with him.

(i'm editing my character post for real tomorrow)

Now Playing: Beautiful Dead

@Nerevarine @Gentlemanvaultboy

Georgia’s question is answered by a chuckle, one resonating behind her as Asher finally found his own way into the kitchen. He gives a nod of acknowledgement to the Moogles and other associates within the kitchen before proceeding to answer her questions, beginning with the one pertaining to Hirutila. “If you would like, milord, I do have another earring to spare.” He takes out the case that holds the remaining two, popping it open and withdrawing the diamond-shaped Earring of Whisper, displaying it to him. He debriefs Hirutila of the accessory’s capabilities, giving a rundown of how it works, and how to activate it should he choose to accept it. Asher then looks back over to Georgia, smirking as the second question of hers came to mind. “Yes, in fact, I do know how to pierce ears. Why, it just feels like yesterday that I was…” he pauses, frowning at his sudden inability to recall what he perceived to be a fond memory. That break in his generally cheerful facade quickly repairs itself as he clears his throat. “Hehe, I just hope you don’t mind the odd needle.” He replies, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“About my request earlier..well, I’m game to have that conversation any time you wish. Perhaps we can have it over an ear piercing?” He chuckles once more, oddly finding comfort in such an idea.

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Location: Ongoing World War II - Paris
@Ryteb Pymeroce

Zane could feel the girl shivering within his arms. Morgan was still incapacitated, the Sleep spell having done a number on her, but, her body was involuntarily reacting to the sudden external drop in temperature, struggling to maintain a proper balance.