Piercing Light

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

The meeting was over, and as of now the mission had begun. Everyone had left to get in position near the factory, however, while they were on their way Ace had exited the abandoned train tunnels and made his way to an old house. The building was the picture of the perfect suburban domicile, with a white picket fence, trimmed front yard, and vibrant green paint job. Ace walked along a smooth stone path up to the front door, and rapped it with his knuckles. The peep hole on the door lit up with a red glow, and a horizontal beam of light scanned him up and down like a barcode on a carton of milk. The door then opened on it's own, and once he stepped through, closed on it's own. The inside of the house was a far cry from the image presented by the outside. At first glance, one may believe they had walked right into the command center of a space program. Monitors and computers lined the entire far wall, and what appeared to be severs of some kind lined another. The floor was carpeted with wires, leaving one to wonder how anyone could manage walking through it without falling over constantly.

Sitting in a swiveling chair in the back of the room was a teenage girl, she had long green hair and pale skin. "Yo, DJ Acesto, what's up?" The girl greeted Ace with a grin the Cheshire Cat would cringe at. She was busily moving her fingers across a device on her arm, typing upon a holographic keyboard. Regardless of the fact she was typing on electronic images, the clicking of a physical keyboard could be heard mingling with the hum of the machinery. She had likely added the sound herself, if only because she enjoyed the sound.

"Chizuma..." Ace said, looking around the room. "I know I told you to try and make your home inconspicuous, but... you do realize that compared to how run down the other houses are it sticks out like a sore thumb?" He said, kicking a wire off the top of his shoe. Chizuma chuckled, as if he had just said a joke.

"As far as anyone knows this house is owned by a wealthy gummi block salesman, and with the connected proxy account making transactions across the worlds to fit that farce, I'm effectively incognito." She said, typing away. She rolled her chair over to a computer, somehow not falling over the minefield of wires on the ground. "You've come to see if the software is ready, right?" She hit a key on the computer's keyboard, and endless lines of coding filled the screen. "I heard about how Shizuka was attacked by heartless in broad daylight, which I found about as weird as you did. They usually only come out at night,and even then the Empire has them on leash. So Shizuka must have been found by a scouting Heartless of some kind..." Chizuma scratched her head, thinking. "That or she ran into a small tear in space that connected the realm of light to the realm of darkness, but the chances of that are less than 0.000001 percent."

"I'm pretty sure it's the former, that's why I asked you to find a way to prevent it from happening again." Ace said. "Have you?"
Chizuma's eyes seemed to gleam, and she grinned a toothy grin.

"Heh, just who the hell do you think I am? Of course I have." She adjusted an imaginary pair of glasses in a condescending manner, and hit the enter key on the computer. "I just upgraded every member of the Unbound Heart's communication badge. From now on, as long as they wear one, Heartless will not be able to find them."

Ace looked down at his badge, then back to Chizuma with a quizzical expression. "Umm, how?" He asked, prompting Chizuma to snicker like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

"Well you see, contrary to what many people believe, the Heart isn't simply some magical object, it is grounded in scientific fact just like everything else. A little while ago I found out that the Heartless sense powerful Hearts via a certain wave the heart emits. It was only a matter of finding this wavelength, and creating my own wave signature to-"

"Nevermind, I get the gist of it, thanks, Chizuma." Ace said, cutting her off before she started rambling on for who knows how long. "I'll see you after the mission, take care."

_____

Under the cover of night, Shizuka and Rika were nearly invisible to the naked eye. The district that housed the Empire's factory was unpopulated, and unlit. The assault team was just behind them, hidden behind large bushes. In front of them, the loading bay of the factory was in view. Just as they suspected, it was unguarded, leaving the entrance wide open. "I'll be honest." Shizuka said to her partner Rika in a hushed tone. "I'm a little nervous, even if we can't be sensed by the Heartless there's no telling what's waiting for us inside there." She said. Ace had informed them of the upgrade Chizuma had applied to their badges, it was pivotal in allowing them to get in and out with as little trouble as possible. Shizuka took a deep breath. "But I'm ready, we've all been waiting for the moment we could finally strike back in a meaningful way. I won't slow you down, I promise. You lead and I'll follow."

It didn't take long for Ace to arrive, once he did they quickly made their way to the loading bay. Ace tried to open the garage, but it was locked. A quick swing of his blade cut the lock, and allowed him to pull it up. After everyone ducked inside, he followed suit and lowered it back down. It was eerily quiet inside the factory, the only sound that could be heard was steam running through pipes, and the distant grinding of gears.The air was stagnant, and smelled as damp as a rain forest. It was also dark, as if there was no need for lights to be on here. "Feels like an over sized metal coffin." Ace mumbled, stepping forward to the edge of a corner. "Rika, Shizuka, go on ahead, we'll cover your way back." Shizuka nodded, and waited to follow after Rika. "Lin, Cori, stick with me. We need to clear this floor first, if we see anyone or anything, we take it out, got it?"

Ace moved down the hall, making sure to make as little noise as possible. He reached another corner, and peeked around it. "Cerden?..." He saw the middle aged man with an unfamiliar woman, he turned back to Lin and Cori. "I don't know how, but that ex Empire soldier we met made it inside, and he's with some woman. We should avoid them, without one of our badges it's only a matter of time before Heartless find them, and we don't want to be there when that happens."

_____

"Just lost your cool, huh?" Ryoko rolled her eyes, and leaned down to Gavin's level. She grabbed the hair on his head, and looked him in the eyes. "You're here for a reason, someone like you doesn't just walk around with nothing to do. Now I'm only going to ask this once, why are you here in Hollow Bastion?" Ryoko's eyes looked hungry, she almost wanted Gavin to keep stringing her along, if only so she had an excuse to beat him within an inch of his life. Before Gavin could answer, there was a knock at the door to the room. Ryoko banged Gavin's head against the wall, and stood up. "Who in the hell..." The door opened, and a man in a black body suit walked in. He was carrying a lifeless man in his right hand.

"We found him just outside the factory, He appears to be dead, but-"

"So you dragged garbage down here? For crying out loud, you should be patrolling the factory, not bringing in random stiffs." Ryoko grabbed the still man by the cuff. His face was a mess, he looked as if he had just lost a fight against a truck. "...He isn't dead, he's just been knocked out. Get out, I'll figure out what to do with him." The suited man left the room, and Ryoko tossed the unconscious man to the ground. "Okay... nap times over." Biting the tip of her index finger, she let a drop of blood fall on his bare arm, it quickly drilled into him and entered his blood stream. "The pain should be enough to wake you up... any moment now..."

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

The voice of a familiar rogue of a woman came from the back of the boxcar, everyone's eyes shifted to this woman, a few eyes shifting more than they should. Shizuka looked to the entrance of the car, and then back to Rika. She had not seen her while entering, she must have used the same trick from yesterday, when she sneaked past Ace. Seeing the woman's face once again, Shizuka recalled the last words Rika spoke to her, they hadn't exactly parted on a positive note. Her shoulders slumped, and she sat back in her seat, silent.

Ace had a feeling Rika would return, if only for the assurance of munny. His attention focused to the disk she was brandishing like a trump card, there was no doubt in his mind that it was the data they had been after. She decided to greet Ace by insulting his plan, not that he minded so much, he wasn't in much of a mood to be cordial either. Besides, she was right, his plan was dangerous, he knew that. The moment they raided the Empire's storehouse things had been set into motion. If they didn't attack soon the Empire would likely fortify Hollow Bastion, and their chance would be gone.

Rika walked up to him and waved the disk in front of his face, she told him not to ask any questions, and focus on reevaluating his plan. Ace took the disk, and put it inside the computer. "You seem different." He said, typing away as he extracted the data on the disk. "In a good way." He added, his eyes fixed on the monitor before him. Ace was very perceptive, and while others may not have noticed, Ace could sense a light in her that had been absent before. While he was in the academy, his master had told him that this was often a sign of talent in wielders of the keyblade, he appreciated the complement at the time, but now it didn't seem to have much importance.

Meanwhile, Rika had turned to the rest of the rebels and made a short speech, introducing herself. It was quite the impressive address, however, Ace could't help but smirk. "Rika, you're with the good guys now, there's no need to threaten anyone's life. As long as you're fighting with us you'll have someone to watch your back." He said, then going back to the computer.

Cori then chimed in stating his own view of the situation. He was in agreement with Rika, for good reason. The idea of rushing into an unknown Empire facility with no knowledge of what was in store for them was hard to swallow. Rika's skills would make her perfect for the infiltration team, and she would likely do well on her own, however, for a mission this important another volunteer would be fitting, as Cori suggested.

Shizuka's ears perked up, and she looked between Cori and Rika. She wasn't often one to feel as though she needed to protect her pride, however, she wanted to prove to Rika that she wasn't a waste of space. She sat for a few seconds, wondering if she should volunteer. Stealth wasn't her best skill, if she messed up she might simply hold Rika back. Even still, she could't let a little apprehension keep her down, as she saw it, if she didn't try then nothing would change. She took a deep breath, and shot up from her seat. "I'll go!" She said, probably a little too loudly considering the last few seconds had been so quiet. She walked up to Rika, and shook her hand. "Nice to be working with you, partner." She said with a wide grin.

"...What the." Ace stared at the computer screen, which displayed the complete schematics to the factory. As expected, the layout of the first floor up to the very top of the spire of the building was detailed in full, the only thing off was that there appeared to be an elevator and stairway that only went down, but the layout of the lower floor was blank, clearly left that way on purpose. Ace moved the display to the the projector so everyone could see it, and stood up.

"It appears this place won't be as well guarded as I'd feared, the inner workings are complex, and claustrophobic, the halls are almost as tight as that of a submarine. There's no way a large force could be waiting for us inside, if they picked anyone to guard the place it would be a select few of their best soldiers. If we are going to get inside, we can't take too many people... We'll still split into two teams, the infiltration team's job will be to uncover what is hiding in the lower floors, taking the stairway. The other team will investigate the first floor, and the upper floors if need be." Ace pointed to a spot on the side of the building. "This is a docking area, however, since the factory is self sufficient it has never been used since the completion of the complex. We will enter from here, hopefully avoiding any patrols. Now, the assault team's objective has changed, judging by the data I've looked through, using a dark portal device will not be possible inside the factory, not once the infiltration team has gone down far enough. There appears to be a concentration of darkness preventing it. The assault team will enter behind the infiltration team and secure the area for a swift escape if need be, in case anything goes wrong. I will lead this team, Cori, you'll be apart of it as well, I can only take a few others, so if you think you're up for it you should say so now."

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

11:40 PM

I've had this same recurring dream for months now, well, I guess the more accurate word would be nightmare. I've heard that there are people that can control their dreams, just so long as they recognize when they have fallen into a slumber. But I've never been able to do it, every time I sleep I know this nightmare is waiting for me, and yet I can't change it, I can't even wake myself up from it.

The dream always starts the same, I'm running, running through a large building. The building is on fire, burning so fiercely that the sounds of cracking wood and debris falling apart nearly drown out my senses. The flames lick at my body, and even in the dream I can feel the heat. My throat is sore, my nose burns, my eyes are red and watering. My body wants to give up, to collapse on the ground right there and die. This place was my home, the academy where I was training to become a Keyblade master. I'd always thought this place was impenetrable, that no matter how powerful the Empire had become that we would be fine, I was wrong, I was wrong and a fool for believing otherwise. For the first time in my life I had felt unparalleled fear and despair. There was only one thing that had kept me going, the hand of a friend pulling me along.

I can scarcely see him in front of me, between my stinging eyes and coughing fits, running was about the only thing I could focus on. "ell... go..." I hear myself attempt to speak, begging the person risking his life to save mine to leave me and go. I was weak and tired, all I was doing was slowing him down. But he didn't hear me, between the pain in my throat and the crumbling of the academy there was no chance he could hear me. But it didn't matter, I knew that even if he had heard me he wouldn't listen, he was going to try and save me no matter what, that was just who he was.

I look back, and see something coming towards us. My vision is blurred, and yet even still I know what it is right away. A figure clad in black armor from head to toe. The armor's black finish was chilling to the eye, the flames around it wavered and died, as if it's presence was imposing on nature it's self. It was running towards us, it's movements swift and devoid of any needless motion, it was like a machine carrying out orders. My legs almost gave out, whatever that thing was, it was responsible for this disaster. It was catching up to us quickly, I knew that as long as I held back my friend he would be caught along with me. I strained my voice as hard as I could, and yelled out his name. "Capell!" He turned his head, but by then it was too late. The dream always begins to fall apart at this point, The armored thing smashes into us, all I can see is a black mass fighting with the white silhouette of Capell. He is no match for it, and the last thing I see before my consciousness fades is a cold blackness cleaving through white...

_____

"Hey you two, wake up!" Ace yelled to his two sleeping friends. Shizuka stirred awake, slowly opening her eyes. Her cheeks felt moist, and she realized she had been crying in her sleep. She kept her head down, feigning drowsiness to hide her face from Ace. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve to erase the evidence, and looked to her right. Lin was asleep on her shoulder, it seemed the two of them had fallen asleep while catching up with each other, though there wasn't much to catch up on other than how crappy their days have been since the Empire had taken over. As she was surely awake now, she went ahead and stood up from the wall mounted bench, stretching her arms out and yawning.

"That time huh?" She asked, grumbling.

"Yeah, it's that time. Come on." Ace said, turning around and leaving the maintenance room. They walked through a hall walled with bricks, and exited out onto a train tunnel. The trains here had stopped running more than a decade ago, as other forms of transportation had long since made them archaic. The three of them made their way down the old, decrepit tracks, passing old train cars and rusted equipment. They eventually made their way to the end of the line, where the carcass of a boxcar had been made into a makeshift meeting place. The red paint job on the car had long since peeled away, leaving only white plastics and rusty metal. Entering the car, they joined a small crowd of fellow Unbound Hearts. The windows had been boarded up using wood planks, and the only light source was the florescent bulbs in the car's roof. Ace stood in the front of the crowd, and Shizuka took a seat on one of the cushioned blue seats.

Ace pulled down a white projector sheet, and turned on a computer that was nestled on a round table. Light spilled from a monitor, and the image of a large building came into focus on the projector sheet. The building was made of dark steel, and at first glance seemed to be made out of nothing for large, thick pipes that narrowed into a single spire at the center.

"Today is the day we destroy this factory." Ace began. "The moment the Empire gained a foothold on our world, they built this monument to their conquest. They keep it's purpose away from us, though we know it is key to their goals. Each world they invade has a factory built onto it, without fail. We do not know what is inside this place, but it must be highly valuable to the Empire..." Ace paused for a moment, thinking back to their raid of the storehouse, they had missed their chance to gain more information about the factory then, knowledge of the building's layout would have greatly benefited them.

"The building's structure is unknown to us, so we will be going in blind. Because of this, we will be split into two teams, the assault team, and the infiltration team. The assault team will attack the factory head on. Thanks to the raid yesterday, we have the best weapons available to help us in this mission. While the assault team is dealing with the factory's defenses, the infiltration team will covertly enter the building. Once the infiltration team has shut down the factory and learned of it's purpose, they will escape using a dark portal device. Any questions?"

_____

Deep inside the factory, in a dank and dark room, Ryoko paced, agitated. Gavin sat chained to a wall, leaving him just enough slack to sit. The boy was lucky to still be in one piece, when Tyra-Zhen has interrupted her in the alley she nearly blew a gasket. The woman's timing was terrible, and a massive killjoy. After informing Tyra of the situation she told her to get out of her face, though knowing her she would do as she pleased regardless. It was well past midnight, and she just knew the rebels were planning something. The data on the factory going missing could not have been a coincidence. Ryoko stopped pacing, and turned back to Gavin. "Are you in the mood to talk now, Gavin?" She said, tapping her foot with impatience.

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

accepted

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

Exhaling a deep, heated breath, Ryoko watched the exchange between Salforge and Gavin. The shaking in her limbs had ceased, and the color in her skin had returned. She pushed off the rough wall she was leaning against, and stood tall.

A warning from the mercenary had informed her that the red-haired boy was surrendering, Ryoko scoffed and chuckled derisively at the gesture. Escaping punishment would not be so simple, begging was a nice start, but it was not enough. Gavin pleaded with cryptic words, words that did nothing to persuade Salforge, nor her. She took a step towards him, but stopped as she noticed him gripping his arm at an awkward angle.

The sound of a bone cracking reverberated through the alley, the moment the sound entered Ryoko's ears her body tensed. She was quite familiar with the sound of bones breaking, she could recognize the sound amid the crushing of twigs and plywood, it had a certain tone that nothing else did. She adored this sound. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her face flushed red, there was a quivering smile on her face that spoke of perversion. This boy was groveling, and in such a magnificent manner! Never before had she seen someone willingly cripple himself, it gave her a rush of ecstasy like nothing had before. Gavin believed he had righteously sacrificed his arm, but all he had done was flip every switch she had. She walked closer towards him, her posture becoming demure and titillating.

Her heel found a place on his chest, and she kicked him to the ground. "I'm afraid you are preaching to the choir, dear." She said, leaning in close to his face. She gently cupped his chin, and the blood she had spilled on his body came to life, it trickled up his body, pooling around his neck into a black collar. "Now as long as I am near you, I can slice your pretty little head off any time I want, so don't try anything, got it?"

Her mission had taken a severe drop on her list of current objectives, when it came down to it, her personal pleasure always came first. "If you really want to impress me," She looked over his body, her eyes gleaming like a child picking out a treat at a candy store. "go on, break something else, cut something perhaps? Show me how regretful you really are and maybe I'll trust you."

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

I'll be doing a short time skip soon, so it'd be best for all engagements to be wrapped up asap.

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

"Burden of proof?..." Ryoko stared back at the red haired youth, undaunted by neither the pool of darkness swirling at his feet, or the cold he was expelling from his body. He had broken out of Salforge's make shift prison, but what of it? He stood on no ground high enough to speak to her as if she were a peon he could command. She would have laughed if she had not known he was serious. If he wanted to play the fool and toy with them, that was fine.

Ryoko's head tilted slightly upwards, a motion one might expect from pompous royalty. "Perhaps you should have crushed his arms and legs." She muttered to the mercenary beside her. The boy was confident in himself, and he had the power to back it up, but this only triggered the sadist inside her. She would enjoy seeing his copacetic demeanor fall apart beneath her heel. Reopening the wound on her right wrist, she pooled blood into a ball, the quantity being nearly five gallons. The sphere of black blood was made to rotate and vibrate, until the point it was boiling hot. With a thrust of her palm, the sphere was shot towards Gavin. Before it was allowed to make contact, the sphere exploded, splashing the entire area in her blood. With Salforge's shells blocking all escape routes, there was little chance Gavin could have avoided getting her blood somewhere on his body. Ryoko's vision turned blurry, and she leaned against the alley wall. Her breathing had become heavy, and her hands were shaking. "Keep him busy for a moment, while I catch my breath." She said to Salforge.

The average human body has anywhere between 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood inside them, losing more than 40% of that blood is typically lethal without immediate medical assistance. Needless to say, Ryoko's body was not average, however, she still needed to watch how much blood she loss. It would only take a short moment for her to get back to her feet,

_____

Ace and Shizuka were both surprised when Lin grabbed one of their hands. They knew the business with Cerden had left her rather bitter, however, hearing about her brother revealed that it had hit her on a highly personal note. Shizuka smiled, and returned the tight squeeze of her hand. "Of course. The only reason I joined the Unbound Hearts was so I could be with my friends again." She said. "And I hope to see Han again too, he should know that he doesn't need to do things alone. What's he thinking making his cute little sister worry?"

Shizuka's smile turned into a full on cheesy grin, it didn't take much to get her in a good mood. She considered Lin to be a close friend, for the feeling to be reciprocated was akin to receiving a gift. She noticed that Ace was being quiet, which wasn't very unusual for him, but she expected him to say something here.

He let out a sigh, and looked to the two of them with a pleasant expression. "Between the two of you... You sure do put things in perspective. If it weren't for you, I'd have nothing but revenge on my mind. Thanks."

Shizuka let out a noise like air escaping a bag, the tell tale sign of someone holding in a laugh. Using her free hand, she punched Ace in the arm. "Ow!" he said, quite eloquently.

"You know," She said, her voice distorted by giggles, "You can be really sappy sometimes."

"Me? What about you!?"

"That's different." Shizuka said, covering her heart with a proud motion. "I have that type of character, you're the gloomy, silent type."

"What even..." Ace couldn't help but laugh along with her, bringing a palm to his face.

Lin then called out to an elderly man that had been among the crowd, pulling the two of them forward towards him. Lin wanted to know the man's name, however, he insisted upon leaving his identity blank. Instead of a name, the old man expressed his faith in the three of them, as if he saw something great in them that dwarfed his own existence.The words of this kind stranger struck a cord in Lin, and her friends could see her becoming emotional.

"Y-you tear duct terrorist, if you start crying you'll get me started too." Shizuka sniffed, watching the old man walk away. "He kinda... Reminds me of our late keyblade master. He would always give me and Ace advice about nearly anything. It would be nice to see him again."

Their talk with the old man over, it was time for them to keep moving, as Lin was about to point out, however, a bright light off in the distance caught her attention, as well as that of her friends. The light was only visible for a moment, however it was bright, bright enough to be seen even during the day. Ace was tempted to investigate the source of the light, however they had more important things to do. "Let's go back to the bunker." He said to Lin. "We are preparing to infiltrate the factory on this world, so we need to gather some of our members and make our move. Are you going to join us, Lin?" Ace asked, knowing that there was a factory on her home world as well, she could understand the desire of ridding it from the landscape.

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

"Selling out your villainous brother, huh?" Ace said, his stare glaring into the man's eyes. He was prepared to respond, however, Lin spoke up once again. She didn't trust the ex Empire General, and as Lin was a girl that wore her heart on her sleeves she made no attempt to hold back her tongue. Ace wanted to tell her to wait, but he thought better of it. The truth was that for as impassioned as she was right now, he likely held more ire for this man than she did. It did not matter how he had approached them, nor did it truly matter what he had to say. Ex General or not, he had worked for the Empire, that was more than enough to earn his contempt. A throbbing pain ached in his chest, reminding him why he was in the position he was.

Hearing this man say he liked him granted him no pleasure, it only made him feel sick. He hated him, he hated his brother, he hated every single last person that had ever fought for the Empire. He had lost too much because of them. Friends, family, his home, they had taken it and more away as if it belonged to them.
"I have no intention of working with you, Cerden." Ace said calmly. "However, there is one thing you can do that will change my mind. Kill your brother." Ace tapped the hilt of his blade, a habit he had when severely irritated. "His rancid machines are becoming a nuisance, and seeing as how you know him best, I figure this shouldn't be too difficult for you." Ace turned to leave, grabbing Shizuka by the shoulder to force her with him. She got the message quickly, and began walking in pace with him.

"Ace... are you alright?" She asked. "Did you mean what you said, About him killing his brother?"

"Yes, and that's all I meant." He said. Shizuka looked down, a subtle melancholy on her face.

"Is it hurting again, your scar?" She asked. She lightly touched his chest, and felt his heart beating like the roar of a cannon. "Ace... Are you sure..." She mumbled. Ace gently moved her hand, and patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm fine, let's get back to Lin, I think she may be upset with us." He said watching as a fireball exploded in the air brilliantly, letting the two of them know where their friend had gone, she was standing in front of a crowd of people, a slightly familiar sight to both him and Shizuka. The people had come to express their gratitude to them, though it looked like Lin got the brunt of it. "Lin." Ace called to her, his voice noticeably somber. "I'm sorry if I offended you back there, however, you should know that the last thing I intended to do was honor that man. I simply... Wanted to deal with him in my own way. I wouldn't have cared if he had rode in on a white horse and a suit of shining armor, I have no respect for anyone that has worked for the Empire."

"Right!" Shizuka chimed in,

"What? Weren't you saying I was being rude to him?" Ace asked, confused. Shizuka returned an even more dumbfounded expression.

"Well you were, you need to mind your manners Ace, besides, you and I both know there's no way I'd be okay with letting him join us." Shizuka said, then turning to Lin. "I have appearances to keep up after all, right?"

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

accepted

Solace In Night: A Kingdom Hearts RP

"What the hell?" Ryoko took a step back, speaking with a hastily escaped breath. The red haired boy before her was drawing in darkness, and in spite of courtesy for logical sense, was feeding upon heartless. Her cautious foot backwards changed to an anchor for a defensive stance, she glared at the boy with fresh eyes that only now regarded him as a threat. "Are you sure you're on the right side, boy?" Ryoko said through gritted teeth. Gavin, as he called himself, wielded a containment of darkness that rivaled even her own, if he was a member of the unbound Hearts, she questioned their sanity for allowing someone such as him in their ranks.

The boy's body was momentarily lifeless, it was clear he wasn't dead, so she took the time to devise a plan. Even with Salforge's shells scattered on her body, she was still vulnerable to his cold, she needed to change that. She thought of cold blooded creatures, and how they seek the refuge of the sun to warm their bodies. Warm rocks and sun bathing would not help her, however she had an idea. This would hurt, but she was used to pain.

Gavin's body spurred to life, and he charged towards her with a new found hand of cold death. Ryoko did not retreat, and she had no plans of evasion. Reaching out with her right hand, black blood spurted out of the wound on her wrist, though there was an accompanying sizzle and rising of steam from the blood. Her blood was boiling, and in turn nearly cooking her from the inside, if not for her body's robust nature she would have died quite quickly. Her blood bubbled as she shaped it into the form of a blade along her arm, She was prepared to counter Gavin's attack, however she was shocked when Salforge's body got in between her and the boy. "Sal-" She gasped, jumping back as his body was frozen solid. She was about to berate him for his rash behavior, however, she realized what he was up to. Salforge was able to easily breakout of the ice, and quickly enclosed him inside a box.

Ryoko let out a sigh, and allowed her body to cool down. The blade of blood liquefied and returned to her blood stream. Looking up at the box, and then back to Salforge, she realized he had tried to save her twice now. If he was expecting a thank you, he shouldn't hold his breath for it. "Please don't tell me you keep pets, Mr. White Knight." She said in response to his off cuff question. She had changed his nickname, for now, she couldn't call someone with such a rampant guardian complex a tin man, now could she?

"Anyway, before he throws up in there, we need to get some answers out of him, like where those rebels took the supplies that were in the storehouse."

_____

Shizuka watched with wide eyes as the man that had just arrived made quick work of the rotating death machine that had risen from the remains of the robots. It seemed it was true that the robots were harder to take down than they had figured, and it was clear this man did indeed know of them. Ace grimaced, and put away his katana, thinking in his head that he was about to do the same thing to the machine.

As the man landed, he then decided to introduce himself, something he probably should have done in the first place. "An Empire General, huh?..." Ace mused, as he and Shizuka exchanged glances. Lin's first impression of this man was not positive, mainly in part because of his nonchalant attitude towards the danger the citizens had been in. The man being an ex Empire solider, there was a feeling that he was no stranger to looking idly by as innocents died. Lin's frustration was not unfounded, she could not stand perpetrators of evil, and neither could they. Ace tapped his katana impatiently. First Rika, and now this man, Ace's trust was surely being tested today. "What do you want? We have somewhere to be, somewhere you won't be following us to." Ace said, his face stoic and his voice tempered.

"That's rather rude, Ace, he did just help us, you know?"

"He was also being attacked, as far as I see it he could have been defending himself.." Ace turned back to the ex General. "Give me a reason to not walk away now, and make it good."