[IC] Kingdom Hearts: The Lights of the Multiverse Redux [No Longer Full]

[SMS]

The big guy was no joke. His blocks managed to send her recoiling backwards from the force of their weapons clashing with each other. Thanks to her injuries and fatigue, she lost her balance and fell onto the ground which disoriented her for a while.

After several seconds, she forced herself to stand and got into a defensive posture, panting hard all the while. "What can I do? I'm not strong enough to beat him right now." The big guy was strong, and it looked like the others were too busy fighting... Drake? "Is he being possessed by someone?" It looked more like him going berserk than possessed though.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Tocsax casted a healing spell on her. Her strength and focus were coming back to her. It's like her injuries and fatigue didn't exist. Everything felt normal. "This is... convenient." She silently thanked Tocsax for the moment as she focused her gaze on the big guy.

However, before she could do something, they just up and left. Their malice and aura disappeared from the area, so Mai thought the coast was clear for the moment and led her ground down. Just as tendril suddenly smacked her in the side, rudely reminding her of their presence. "Oooph." She didn't find herself flying however. Tocsax's healing spell on her earlier must have increased her... strength too? Or would it be defense in this case? Either way, she had caught the tendril that had hit her with her right arm and smacked it a few times with her Keyblade.

The tendril seemed pissed off as it shook off her grip, and a comment from one of the newcomers prompted a reply from her. "You think a snake repellant would make them calm down?" She was unsure of how to take the guy's comment. On one hand, it sounded logical, but on other, it could just make things worse.

Just then, a massive cluster of tendrils slammed down by her side. It took the girl a second to realize that someone was trying to pull themselves out of the mess. "Cheese!", the girl shouted as she helped her companion free herself. As she pulled the fairy to safety, she had only now noticed the injuries her friend had sustained. "A-are you alright?" Her hands trembling as she held them out towards Cheese, unsure of what to do. Her eyes darting all over the place as she tried to thing of something to try and help her.

[Ryteb Pymeroce]

As the snake heads lashed out towards Ryteb, a foreign instinct took over his body. Raising his hand, he whispered: "Begone."
For a second, his eyes turned entirely yellow, and then the snakes were pushed back by some invisible force. Coming back to his senses, Ryteb felt a shooting pain up his arm. The ward was weakening, gods damn it. This was no time to worry though, as A) the snake heads were coming back, and B) people might still be able to use his help.

Speaking of helping people, he heard a girl's shout. But why did she want some cheese? These people were definitely weird. Grabbing his keyblade, he fought his way through the tendrils until he reached a girl standing near a clump of tentacles. There seemed to be something trapped in there, but it certainly didn't look human. In fact, it looked like that time he had tried to send a guinea pig through the mail teleporter. Not a pretty sight. Especially not for the guinea pig.

"Is this really the time to be eating?" he said, "I mean, I could probably create some shaved ice, but cheese is pretty hard to make. Especially without milk..."

[Arty Fox]

Mac and Cheese

Mac coughed out a few clouds of noxious smelling smoke, lighting and metal didn’t always mix well especially when such metal is part of someone’s head. Tentatively Mac limped over to Drake still very weary of any tendrils of darkness that might pop out to bite at him.

“Feeling alright there mate? Not gonna go nuts again any time soon are you?” He still held his keyblade tightly by his side just in case.

“That aspirin or something?” He cocked his head with a cracked screen and covered in scratches to the pill Drake had taken. “Don’t suppose you could spare one at all? Got a killer headache for some reason.” He coughed out another black cloud.

“Ah screw the Heartless.” Mac called to the robot. “They can wait for like a minute or two can’t they?”

In all honest Mac was slightly scared about the answer.

“I’m fine.” Cheese lied and happily accepted Mais help. “I just need a moment to pull myself back together.”

The tendrils had thankfully withdrawn and Drake appeared to have come back to his senses. Cheese also noted, with no small amount of annoyance, that she and Mac had taken a lot of damage. On top of that the enemy had gotten away with another Princess of Heart. Cheese shook with equal parts anger and pain. Simply put, Cheese considered herself to have failed her duties.

“Cheese is my name.” A warning glare was shot at the boy.

“And I have failed my duties.” Pushing herself off of Mai Cheese spoke directly to Tocsax. “I offer my sincere apologies. I won’t let it happen again.”

Only after Tocsax had acknowledged her apology would Cheese begin to heal her injuries, passing her hands enveloped in a green glow over them and returning her appearance back to how it was.

“Oh good grief.” If he had eyes Mac would’ve been rolling them. “Always one for drama she is. Bloody typical of her.”

[Letter Bee]

The tentacles that had attacked Mai were the last of the lot, as Drake had snapped back to normalcy. Tocax then used a Curaga on Cheese, before shouting:

"Okay everyone, battle's over! The source of the tentacles has been destroyed, and now, time to mop up!" the eighteen-looking Nobody would then face Drake and Seth, saying:

"Seth, I understand why you had to do what you did, but you risked the allegiance of one of the people we need, and you have to be punished for that. Scrub the toilets of the Gummi ship for a month." Tocsax would then turn towards Drake, saying:

"Okay, what's the story? I can already guess what the source of your Heartless powers are, but I want to hear your point of view." But he would then be interrupted by Cheese's apology.

"It's okay," spoke Tocsax, "We didn't fail; we drove them off." He would then help Mac and Cheese heal by casting Curaga on them. Adelle le' Agathe, who was still there, walked up to them, saying:

[French: "For saving us, why don't you stay in our village for a while? Perhaps you guys can talk there?"]

"All right," Tocsax replied, his Keyblade translating for Adelle. "Also, we do have to talk to you; remember that woman whose hands shone with Light? Well, you have that power, and we are willing to hire someone like that. We'll also repair your village for free, seperately from our offer."

Adelle was nonplussed and suspicious, but at the mention of free repairs for her village, she would continue:

[French: "Oui! That would be great! Perhaps the person who helped destroy much of the town with his Heartless tentacles can help?"]

"Why not?" asked Tocsax, before he would call out to the others:

"Keybladers! Clean up whatever Heartless remain, then..." he looked for, and found, a still-intact tourist guesthouse, "then let's meet in that guesthouse - we have a lot of things to talk about."

Timeskip

The group were now in a large circular conference room where guests can meet and discuss matters; there were plenty of chairs, most of them arranged in a circle around Tocsax, who would then speak:

"First order of business, introductions from our newcomers. Second order of business, asking Drake what exactly his story is and why did he lie? Third order of business, following from the second, what should be done with Drake after he tried to kill us?"

"Oh, and Mai, and everyone, are welcome to give their opinions as well..."

@Double@Arty Fox@SMS@Rex@Ryteb Pymeroce@Gentlemanvaultboy

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

v2 stood up from his seat. "My name is Souji Kamiya version two, an artificial humanoid anti-heartless rapid response weapon." Introducing himself like that was most enjoyable. He decided to keep going. "In laymans terms, a robot. I am pleased to meet you and look forward to working with you in the future. Please refer to me as v2 for the duration of our mission. It is more concise and honest." After that he sat back down in his seat, straight back and arms at his side, looking at Drake then at Tocsax with his wide cold eyes.

"Query; should you not have determined whether this man was a heartless or heartless-like entity before recruiting him? Your organization discovered my true nature. I only have my world as a frame of reference, however I can not imagine a more closely protected secret that that."

[Double]

Scene of the Battle - Aftermath

"So wait..." Seth pondered, chuckling in spite of this being no joking matter, "...he almost tried to kill us, but I'm the only one getting punished?" Seth just shrugged, his usual response to most things. And although it looked like Tocsax was about to have some words with Drake, the Nobody didn't actually stick around to hear everything. Instead he vanished into a Corridor of Darkness, deciding that he needed some alone time. They could surely keep themselves out of trouble for a little while without him, couldn't they?

Timeskip - Realm of Darkness

Well, one had to hand it to this place. As dark and horrible as it was for most folks, it made for a convenient private location for people like Seth. The Nobody found himself on a shore of some kind, not too unlike the previous place. He leaned against a rock and stared out at what he could only assume was an ocean of some kind. But whether the sea here worked like it did on the other side - or if that was even actual water out there - was another question entirely. He picked up a small stone and flicked it out to the water, watching it skip a few times before sinking to the depths.

A yawn, and then the Nobody closed his eyes a moment, as if dosing off. Suddenly, though, he let out a frustrated grumble as he slammed a glove fist into the rock he leaned against, leaving a small cracked impact on the spot his fist made contact, "How else were we supposed to deal with them?" Seth demanded aloud despite no one being around to here, "It was the logical move... even Tocsax can't argue with that. Yet..." Seth lowered his gaze, and began to focus it intently on his gloved hand that soon balled into another fist.

"Yet that was small potatoes compared to what he did! So why am I the one being punished here?" he angrily slammed his onto the ground next to him, "Who am I fooling? Drake has nothing to do with this," he leaned back and stared upward, "but what is this frustration all of a sudden?" couldn't be guilt. He'd have to have a Heart to feel that. Was he simply second guessing himself? Questioning his own logic? But why...? His logic was perfectly sound... wasn't it?

[Ryteb Pymeroce]

Ryteb rubbed his arm nervously. During the mop up of the Heartless, he had sneaked off to take a peek at it, and the sight make him anxious. The wards that kept the darkness locked to his arm were fading, and small tendrils of darkness were beginning to climb their way up his bicep. To distract himself, he conjured up a couple of flame soldiers, and had them fight each other. In a way it was relaxing to just focus on controlling the flames, making the dangerous element into a tame plaything.

As they fought, one of the fighters began to turn black and become more monstrous. The black soldier picked up the other one with one hand, and smashed him into the table, the two exploding into a small purple firework. Looking up, he realised that people were staring at him. Presumably they wanted him to introduce himself.

"Uh... Hi." he said, still a bit unnerved, "I'm Ryteb, former apprentice of the elemental archmage of Terra Atum, Odin Stone. I'm looking for this guy, have you seen him?"

Saying that, he waved his hand, as more flames appeared, taking the form of a man in his early twenties, with black hair and piercing orange eyes.

[SMS]

"No, no, you don't look fine, Cheese." The worry on Mai's face and tone was very evident. That soon slowly dissipated as Cheese used her healing magic on herself, as well as Tocsax using his to get her back into form.

"I'm sorry, this is partly my fault. I should have stayed with you guys and not have run off on my own." The girl felt guilt and regret for her actions earlier. Her decision making skills needed work, especially in the heat of the situation. Had she stuck with everyone else, maybe things wouldn't have gone this badly.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Tocsax telling them to clean up any stray Heartless in the village before rendezvousing at a guesthouse afterwards. "Well, that's one thing I won't mess up I suppose."

Timeskip

"Phew." The girl let out a loud sigh as she dropped onto one of the chairs circled around her Nobody leader. After clearing out the Heartless, she couldn't resist not helping out a little with the repairs of the village. Lifting and transporting heavy materials weren't her forte, but they were jobs that needed to be done.

Apparently they also had two new members joining their group? Had she not been so tired, she would have been all over the humanoid who called himself V2. His name, Souji Kamiya, did catch her attention though. "Is he someone from my world too perhaps? But I don't think we've advanced that far yet to have a... robot was it?" The other one seemed to have been busy doing... something. "Was he playing with fire?" She answered his query by turning her head from side to side, indicating a no. "That looks cool though," her curiosity sparked with what the boy could do with fire.

She heard her name being called out as she was fanning herself with the collar of her kimono, and with confusion answered, "Eh? I honestly don't even know what exactly happened here, so I don't think I'm qualified."

[Rex]

@SMS@Ryteb Pymeroce@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Letter Bee@Arty Fox

Mac asked him what the pill was and Drake responded, “It’s called Rapture. The pill is filled with tiny nanobots that course through your body to repair and heal your body. They also release a sort of drug that’s kind of like morphine, but you don’t have the sluggish after effects of it. You might want to steer clear of it. The nabobs might disrupt that Computer screen you got on your head.

Time skip

Drake sat at the table with the others and waited for what he would have to get into. The two new comers introduced themselves. Ryteb seemed to be like him. An elemental ability that was genetically infused into his body. He almost thought he could have been from his word, but he didn’t look like he was. Must be from another world with magic Drake thought. V2 on the other hand was a different story. Chrono was filled with robots and they were made to just be slaves to humanity. After V2 introduced himself Drake said, “I’m glade the old man got a shield for us. At least if one of use has to die, we can sacrifice the robot to get to our goal.”

Seth seemed to be in a foul mood and Drake couldn’t blame him. Drake seemed to just get off scotch free while he was given a punishment. However, he knew he’d need to explain his actions and he knew when he did. There would be an even worse punishment. Hell, they’d probably just throw him into a prison. Drake took a deep breath and began to explain himself.

“Well, for starters: remember when I talked about that human subject that received Heartless and nobody DNA. I wasn’t totally honest about the subject dying. Let me start from the beginning,” Drake said before he continued,
“When the heartless nobodies first attacked. The researchers thought it would be a good idea to capture and extract the DNA from them. My parents were part of that research group. Instead of just using some prisoner for the experiment they chose me. I went through the Shadow Nexus project and was infused with Heartless and Nobody DNA. It fused with my DNA and created my other half.” Drake took a second to sigh before he continued.

“That’s what that was. When I’m knocked out or my life is threatened. It takes over. To be honest, I can’t really complain about it. My Shadow Nexus has saved my ass more times than I can count. However, I’m guessing you all really don’t care about that since it attacked you,” Drake said before added, “just another reason why Science can be a double edged sword.”

[Arty Fox]

Mac and Cheese

“Nice to meet you, I’m Mac.” Mac nodded tiredly at the new comers. “Shame it couldn’t have been under better circumstances but, ah well.”

Setting his glass of lemonade down Mac felt his face, almost tracing where the crack down the screen had been a few hours earlier. His appearance had of course drawn a bit of unwanted attention but for the most part a simple explanation of ‘I like wearing a screen on my head’ had been enough for people to shrug and hand him the next piece of rubbish to wheel away. A simple lie but one that worked all the same.

“Cheese.” Cheese sat as far away from V2 and Ryteb as possible. The pair had too much metal on them for her liking.

Cheese had however glanced toward Ryteb when ‘Odin’ was mentioned, but then looked away again having mistaken the name for someone else’s. She didn’t recognise the human displayed in fire and Cheese wasn’t really paying too much attention.

“What happened was Edgelord-Megee here,” Mac jabbed a finger at Drake. “Went off the deep end after he got out and started attacking us out of the blue. Can’t really blame Seth for buggering off to who knows where for a bit, probably blowing off some steam of his own” Mac huffed and lifted his glass to take another swig. “Lazy git.”

Drake then took sometime to explain himself.

“Oh jesus Christ man.” Macs tone and body language softened as Drake explained his situation. “Sorry to say it mate but your parents were crazy ass-holes and I mean, high tier ass-holes.” A hand reached up to the ceiling for emphasis. “You gone to see a Doctor or a psychiatrist or something? Maybe they can get you some meds or some coping stuff or something?”

Cheese rolled her eyes. “He’s strong either way Mac, we just need to find a way to direct it solely at the enemy rather than us.”

“And all the while posing a danger, heck actually being a danger to both us and himself!” Mac had had raised his voice to almost shouting levels but then quickly returned back speaking. “He needs help like we did. Don’t you think?”

An uncomfortable silence hung between the pair that wasn’t quite agreement, but also not quite disagreement. The wicker seat creaked when Cheese leant back to chew her cheek in thought.

“I can make some calming spells if you like.” She leant forward again addressing Drake. “You’re human right? The spells won’t get rid of your…problem? But they’ll help.”

“Moving on. What’s wrong with your magic?” Cheese locked eyes with Ryteb, having felt something lurch in the air. “You had full control of it for a second there and then it just…” She looked around as if hunting for an applicable word. “Lurched.”

@Rex@SMS@Ryteb Pymeroce@Gentlemanvaultboy@Double@Letter Bee

[Letter Bee]

"Our organization?" spoke Tocsax, "Emperor Michael or Shahrukh sent you, v2? If so, they didn't contact me about your coming or the coming of the others; probably because they were busy with their own affairs while I was in battle at those times. Nevertheless, I'll confirm with them." He then took out his communicator and, after a hurried conversation, looked at v2 and Ryteb, saying:

"Well, guess you two - and Drake - really were sent to help us, although what Apokaukos was thinking when he didn't purge Drake of a potentially dangerous Heartless side..." Tocsax would then turn to Drake again as he told his story.

"To be honest, we understand how you feel, but at the same time, I think there's a reason you haven't been in groups much." He would then look at Drake.

"First up, you are not helping your case by saying that we should sacrifice a sapient robot when things get too bad, even if the robot agrees with it. Second, your case, by the way, would be that we are going to need to remove your Heartless side if you are going to continue fighting beside us. And you will; I believe in atonement through action." Tocsax would then turn to Adelle.

"Remember what I told you? About you having the same power as that woman, Nora?" Adelle nodded.

"Well, I'm going to need that power for an Abolution - capital A is deliberate," Tocsax would then turn to Drake and the others.

"An Abolution is basically the forcible removal of Heartless corruption from a person's body, where one channels overwhelming amounts of Capital-L Light into a person's body in order to purge himself of uncontrollable Darkness - as opposed to controllable, like with me and Seth. It is excruciating, time-consuming, and yet, extremely effective. It basically resembles Philippa's 'Exorcism', except that the Heartless side isn't forced out of the body, but rather eliminated inside it. It is both punishment and a cure." And now, for Ryteb.

"Now, Ryteb..." Tocsax would turn to the Mage. "That person you showed me feels familiar, only his eyes are gold, not orange. Basically, in the final confrontation with Leo and the incomplete Thirteen Seekers, one of Leo's incarnations lost his hood, revealing someone who looked like your...enemy, only again, with golden eyes."

"He is probably one of the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness."

@Double@Arty Fox@SMS@Rex@Ryteb Pymeroce@Gentlemanvaultboy

[Ryteb Pymeroce]

Ryteb waved his hand, and the face broke apart into a thousand fiery butterflies, that flew off and evaporated. It took some time for him to think of a response to the woman, Cheese, and frankly he wasn't entirely sure himself. Deciding to move away from fire for now, he made an arcane gesture. Water flowed out from cracks in the ground to form a sphere in his hand, about the size of an apple, which he began to toss around like a ball.

"The whims of the elements are... complicated." Ryteb explained, turning the ball into a pair of dancers and had them begin a waltz around him, "I was never much good at the theoretical stuff, but I'll give it a shot. My magic works by channelling the elements through my body, my mind giving shape to the form they take. Sometimes I get a bit distracted and... lurch."

This wasn't entirely false, but also wasn't entirely true. He knew the reason lay with his arm, but gods be damned if he'd tell them about that. Never in a million years would Ryteb admit that he possessed anything that linked him to the darkness. He could still see Retsam laughing as the darkness swallowed Terra Atum. The pain of that loss throbbed in his heart, just as the fire of revenge burned just as brightly.

Upon hearing the central figure's response, the dancers splashed to the floor as the magic was cancelled. Ryteb smirked and said: "Then I guess you're goals and mine link up for now. Honestly, I don't particularly give a damn about the Princesses, nor this Ascot guy, but if I can remove Retsam from the Multiverse, then count me on board."

[Rex]

Mac calling his parents crazy didn’t bother him. In fact he agreed with him. However, he also knew why they used him as the first human test subject. At least they didn’t use someone else’s kid Drake thought. Tocsax’s comment about V2 made him sigh and rub his eyes.

“He’s a robot. All he is, is a walking bucket of bolts. If he gets destroyed just find where he was manufactured and get another one. Seriously, do you know how many robots I’ve shot and destroyed just because they looked at me funny? It’s a lifeless hunk of junk,” Drake said. He didn’t understand why Tocsax would want to keep a robot safe. Of course Drake’s earth was filled with robots so he really didn’t see the reason to help keep V2 alive. To Drake V2 was replaceable should he break down.

Tocsax mentioned getting rid of his Shadow Nexus and how it could be done. He placed his hand over his eyes and laughed before he said, “Do none of you listen. You can’t just wave a wand and magically remove my Shadow Nexus. It’s been infused into my DNA. You know, with science, not some magic spell from some pixie. You try and break if free and you’ll be tearing away my own DNA with it.” he still didn’t get the whole magic thing. His world was not a magical place. It was filled with technology and science. Even though he seemed like it wouldn’t work. A small part of him was hoping it would so he could be free from this cure. However, his demeanor suddenly changed.

“Or maybe you’re just like the scientists and want to use me as a weapon?” Drake said. He suddenly and out of nowhere slammed his hand on the table and yelled, “Or maybe your like that bitch earlier and would rather use my Shadow Nexus and get rid of me?!” Drake seemed as though he saw them as a threat. However, It seemed it wasn’t him. His eyes would flash from hazel brown to blood red every second like the Shadow Nexus saw the danger and was trying to keep hold of Drake.

“Maybe I like it? Maybe I like the power it gives me. It’s the only thing that makes me feel happy. Feel loved. But you wouldn’t know anything about that you Heartless bastard!” Drake raged on. His Shadow Nexus was in full panic mode. It was using Drake’s body to make him seem like he wanted it. To keep from being separated from Drake.

[SMS]

From what she could gather from the meeting and from snippets after the battle, sometime after she went off on her own, there was a group of individuals that arrived and fought them for Adelle. And it seemed one of the people involved happened to also be a Princess of Heart? Shortly after entering battle, Drake went berserk which complicated things and Mai arrived sometime after.

Seth seemed to be angry about something though. "Speaking of Seth...", she thought as she took a look around the room, "Where is he?" The Nobody seemed to be nowhere in sight. "He must be sulking by himself again." She notices a lack of a chair for the guy in the meeting, "His punishment doesn't start until we get back, right? I think he'll show up sooner or later." She stands up and pulls one of the chairs lying close to hers and sits it up right beside hers before sitting back down. "Well, hopefully he doesn't mind sitting here. I should ask him about what happened earlier."

For the most part, Drake's story seemed to just confuse her. She wasn't one for science, and this was no exception. What little she did understand, mostly related to something within Drake taking over him whenever he is threatened, that much was clear to her. The other technicalities flew by over her head. The girl didn't like it when he mentioned V2 being expendable though, "Yep, I don't think I like this guy that much, he seems moody", her face distorting into a bit of a frown. Shortly after, Drake seemed like he was panicking.

She lets out a soft sigh before standing up once again. She walks over to Drake's side as he was spouting his lines and gives him a light slap on the back of his head. "Calm down, Drake." Perhaps it was her naivete on the topic shining through, but for the moment, getting Drake back on his feet seemed to be a good idea. "If we wanted to use you as a weapon, then I wouldn't be here because I'd object to it." Her arms crossing over her chest as she emphasizes her statement.

[Double]

Glory of France: Notre-Dame de Paris

The Nobody had switched gears and found himself in the Notre-Dame bell tower. It over looked it's portion of Paris, almost as if it were ordained by God himself. Or maybe that was just how the architects designed the building hundreds of years ago? The cathedral itself looked more or less like it does on many other Earths. No matter which way history swung on any given Earth, there were a few things that managed to stay relatively the same, a constant or consistency of sorts. This cathedral had appeared to prove itself to be one of those things. Its builders and architects could change, but the structure itself and what it often represented usually managed to stay the same. Not that Seth really thought that hard about such things. It was just a simple observation on his part.

Looking down onto the city square, he saw hustling and bustling. That was perfectly normal for a large city, but this seemed a bit different. There looked to be incomplete kiosks of varying sizes here and there. Perhaps they were setting up a festival, or cleaning up after one? Difficult to say from this distance. It didn't take Seth long to grow bored of watching people and instead started watching pigeons. They were all over the place, nests on just about every rooftop including Notre-Dame itself. In fact, the cathedral had a few extra nests, especially on and around the various gargoyles. Beyond them was a series of statues depicting individuals holding crosses and books, no doubt meant to be the patron saints of the cathedral, made of copper that had aged so long in the sun they looked green in color. As for the pigeons, there were some resting in the nests, while others were either leaving or arriving, perhaps for feeding purposes?

As for why the Nobody chose to come here instead staying on his little shore in the Realm of Darkness? Well, one could only relax on a beach for so long before they became tempted to fall asleep. Doing so in the Realm of Darkness, even for Seth that was a dangerous idea so he left the realm in favor of looking at one of the cities of this particular world. Thus, the Nobody found himself watching people and birds alike from his vantage point in the bell tower. He had also lost track of time by this point, so he wondered if he should meet back up with others or leave them be a little longer. Deciding that he was bored of the tower, Seth exited through one of the doors taking a staircase that lead down to the actual church itself.

Within were various nuns and deacons performing their duties. Sometimes that entailed collecting donations, other times it meant keeping the floors cleaned. There were also a few patrons, a few sitting in pews staring up at the central crucifix with their eyes and closed and hands pressed together. Others knelt at an alter closer to the crucifix, while others still appeared to waiting for a turn in the confessional. As for the Nobody, he was still in his black coat, in fact he had his up so he definitely didn't look like he belonged here. He looked around for a moment or two before turning toward the main doors with a shrug. He made a few steps before he heard a voice speak to him.

"Did you not have a prayer in need of hearing?" said a priest - or was he an arch-deacon? - his voice soft and his tone kindly. He also spoke French, assuming Seth was a native of this world. The Nobody turned his head to look at him. The man was around middle-aged, probably in his forties or fifties at the oldest. Seth shook his slightly, his grin never leaving his face.

"Not exactly. Doubt it would help me anyway." Seth replied, in the same French language. Though his wasn't exactly the same, it was close enough to get the job done. He tried to leave again but the priest spoke once more.

"No burden is too large or small for the Almighty. You just looked like you were carrying a heavy burden, but if you insist you are not, I won't stop you. These doors are always open if you ever change your mind. No matter where you are what you've done." with that the priest left to go about his duties, and Seth never saw him again.

"Right..." Seth muttered, no longer in French, and when he was sure he wasn't being watched he stretched out his hand and opened a Corridor of Darkness. He'd made everyone wait long enough, it was time to go back. He could find them easily enough by honing in on one of their Hearts. A strong enough Heart could radiate with enough Light to allow it to be tracked. It was one of the ways Heartless hunted their prey. In any case, all he had to do was hone in on either Mai or the Princess of Heart of this world. Either one would get him to the meeting place.

Conference Room

Right behind where Mai stood, not a few moments after she slapped Drake, a Corridor of Darkness opened up. Seth stepped through, his hood still up but his grin was familiar enough to count as his identification badge at this point. The Nobody didn't speak, instead he silently took a seat and crossed his arms and legs to get comfortable. His face, though not fully visible under his hood, remained unchanged, he was still grinning his trademark playful grin.

[Gentlemanvaultboy]

"Despite his unreasonable behavior I am forced to agree with Drake." v2 said, standing up slowly as the man got more and more agitated. The heartless level that he had encounters before was spiking. v2 did not enjoy fighting humans by design. He was a weapon designed for the heartless. Drake, however, was very nearly a heartless. He did a quick hypothetical and found those parameters to be acceptable. v2 hoped that slap had knocked some sense into him, but was incapable of denying the part of himself that hoped it only agitated him further and gave v2 the pretext he needed to inflict violence on him. Such were the limits of his AI.

"If this Shadow Nexus is bonded to him at the genetic level removing it could result in irreparable damage to his genetic code." He continued. "In addition, the protection of the princess is top priority. She does not seem to be experienced in the use of her powers. If something should go wrong the power of the Shadow Nexus I observed in the battle could place her in immediate danger."

[Arty Fox]

Mac and Cheese

Things were quite simply going from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. Both Cheese and Mac had jumped in their seats when Drake started to have a small break down, or a ‘wobble’ as one of their friends liked to call it. The others were trying their best to help the situation but Mac had a sneaking suspicion that what they were all saying wasn’t quite what Drake wanted to hear.

“Alright, alright. Drake we aren’t going to do anything to you.” Mac winced when Mai slapped Drake. “Jesus Christ you lot don’t crowd’round the guy. Give him some breathing room.”

Cheese however, had very calmly and very gently moved close to Drake.

“Let me take care of this.” Cheese took Mai by the shoulders and gently moved her, though in a manner that also demanded she obey. Cheese also waved V2 and the others a bit further back as well. “I know what I’m doing, could you all just step back slightly please.”

Kneeling down Cheese rested her arms on the table and thought of what to say, opening and then closer her mouth a few times before she finally spoke.

“Drake, can you hear me?” She gently tapped the table. “Drake, stop being an idiot and listen to me; none of us here are going to hurt you, we’re not a danger to you, you are safe here. Drake lift your head up and look me in the eyes.”

Cheese could feel something stirring around Drake that made her stomach twist with worry. It was all very familiar to whenever Mac had one of his ‘wobbles’.

“I’m a Fae, Drake. A being of magic, as stupid and impossible as it sounds to someone like you, and I can’t lie as in I am physically incapable of lying.” Cheese continued. “So when I say that I will rip out Tocsax’s throat before he even gets the chance to make you nothing more than a mindless killing machine, I mean it.” She gave a small chuckle hoping to relieve the tension in the room.

“I know you humans are fond of breathing exercises for when you get all stressed and worked up, like breathing in through your nose for a second and then out through your mouth.” Cheese explained. “I personally find them to be a bit silly, but Mac and my friend Estel swear by them.”

Mac sat back in his chair thoughtfully as he watched the proceedings. Upon noticing Seth standing off in the corner Mac beckoned him closer with a wave.

“So then you jammy bastard.” Mac twisted in his seat slightly so as to face Seth better. “Where have you been? You missing out on the fun here”

[Letter Bee]

"We want to use you as a weapon?!" Tocsax's voice was growing louder, the young man was clearly offended. "Let me make this clear: You know nothing of being actually used as a thing, a tool, lied to so that you can be kept on an imaginary leash. You know nothing of being used to unleash the Heartless on innocent worlds, of fighting honorable and kind warriors who were only trying to kill you - me - because you - I - were a danger to them and those whom they loved. You know nothing of the years it took me to find out that I should have been rebelling, and you certainly only have a secondhand account of how, when I finally rose in revolt, I lost, and lost people I counted friends as well!" He was hyperventilating now, livid.

The young Nobody then noticed that Seth had returned, and greeted him with a curt nod, as well as an apology.

"Seth," spoke Tocsax, "sorry for punishing you first. Now, can you protect Mai?" Yes, he had noticed the girl's actions. He would then turn towards v2, smiling:

"Well, if you're taking his side despite what he said about you, then we can change Drake's punishment. However, as Gene Therapy is a thing as well as still covered by science, this is not the end of the notion of destroying the Shadow Nexus." Tocsax would then look Drake in the eye again, trying to see if the anger was still building up. Then, he would cross his arms, and continue with his judgement, though not before taking some more time to think.

"All right, we'll treat your Shadow Nexus side as a genetic disease for now, and from my knowledge, there are medicines that can suppress the symptoms and effects of genetic disorders. This, however, is something I'll need Cheese's help for, as well as v2's; Cheese because she knows how to make...non-scientific compounds and items, and v2 because his databanks ought to contain the scientific knowledge I need. Agathe can also help." Another look at Seth.

"But," the Keyblade-wielding Nobody would say, "we cannot let your attempt to indiscriminately murder us pass. Apokaukos told me you were a mercenary, but decided to forego payment as you thought that this cause was worthy enough. That is something I respect. However, you're going to be helping Seth clean the toilets from now on, as well as be the official combat trainer for anyone not Mai; she's my pupil. This means that you're going to be the sparring partner of Mac, Cheese, and Ryteb, with the customary amount of exercise pains."

"Would that be better?" Tocsax genuinely asked, facing Cheese this time. "Or are you still threatening to strangle me?"

@Double@Arty Fox@SMS@Rex@Ryteb Pymeroce@Gentlemanvaultboy

[Double]

Mac addressed him first, asking Seth where he'd been. The Nobody gave his trademark shrug, "Eh, nowhere, really. Skipped rocks on a beach, got bored and decided to check out one of the big city views from the top of some musty old Cathedral in Paris, got bored of that and came back here. Nothing to tell, really." if any of the Frenchmen present were Parisians then they may just take offense at the Nobody essentially scoffing one of their most holy sites in the city as "old" and "musty".

Looked like everyone was laying into Drake for what happened. He probably deserved it, but Seth kept out of it. He had no interest in deciding someone else's punishment. Tocsax seemed to keep looking at him as he ranted at Drake. Why? Seth had no idea, nor did he care to know. If some of that frustration was supposed to be aimed his way, then Tocsax wasn't doing a very good job at it. Or maybe there was some other reason Seth just didn't notice? Oh well, it must not have been that important anyway.

"Seth," spoke Tocsax, "sorry for punishing you first. Now, can you protect Mai?"

Seth shrugged, as if he had no idea what the other Nobody was talking about. Then he snapped his gloved fingers as if suddenly remembering something, "Oh right, yeah of course..." his voice trailed off and then, Seth's grin changed a bit, and he narrowed his eyes knowingly, "...Oh, man, I just remembered I can't." he snapped his fingers again, pretending to be disappointed. He stood and opened up a Corridor next to him, "Those toilets aren't gonna scrub themselves, are they? I better get on that. You guys can finish the quest without me, right? Great, catch ya later!" and without giving anyone a chance to object or stop him, the Nobody was gone.

If Tocsax wanted Seth to scrub toilets, then fine. Seth would scrub toilets. And that was all he was going to do from now on. Unless of course Tocsax wised up and decided to end the silly punishment. Otherwise, the others were on their own for now. For what it was worth, Seth did actually keep to his word. The Corridor took him back to the ship, where he did legitimately start scrubbing bathroom toilets. Of course, he did this at his own pace, a very slow pace that ensured he could keep himself busy with this for as long as it took to make his point.

[Ryteb Pymeroce]

Ryteb stood up, tired of all this talk of 'science'. Moving towards the door, saying simply: "I don't train with darkness." The mage utilised his elemental magic to create a smokescreen to hide his direction from the others.

He kept moving, trying to find a secluded spot where nobody would disturb him. His searching soon brought him to the rooftops, where he eventually found a small alcove big enough for him to meditate in. Entering into a comfortable sitting position, he began to delve into his subconsciousness. It was the one place he could truly train his magic.

He had discovered this technique by accident years ago, a fair while before they had started meddling with the darkness. It looked the same as it had back then, a circular room with the yin-yang symbol for the floor. In the dots were doors, both of them locked tight. The first time he entered this place a voice had spoken to him. It had said; "One day you will have to make a choice. Will you be a light within darkness, or will you be a darkness within the light?" The young Ryteb told his mentor about this dream-like state, and Odin taught his student two techniques, how to avoid being drawn into his subconscious, and how to enter it. Over the years, he had found that the room could make doors to his memories, which he could use for training, or just to see his mentor again.

"Take me to the Heartless Invasion of Terra Atum." He said, summoning his keyblade. A door appeared leading him to fields of Heartless. He knew that if he died here he'd just be returned to the door room, but this scene always terrified him. After a moments hesitation, he began to fight, using a left handed sword style so that his right hand was free for casting. He had to become strong, strong enough that he'd never have to rely on the darkness again.