Radiant Garden [COMPLETED]

[Skwinky]

Merlin's Home

Roxas blinked. Then he blinked again. Wow… that was a fast decision on Yuffie’s part. So much, in fact, that it through him off guard. She really seemed indecisive on the message board and then just like that? Well… guess it was for the best anyway.

But the message board… and the network… Roxas had spoken to both Sora and Riku more and the conversation with the prior certainly did not end well. It was almost as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. The once-Nobody attempted to apologize to Sora as he did to Riku but Sora would have none of it. The bigger problem was that Roxas understood completely. He’d probably do the exact same thing should he have been in Sora’s shoes.

That didn’t mean he felt good about it though. He felt like he left this person that he considered a friend above friends, almost like a brother, in the dust... like he betrayed him somehow.

The boy snapped back to reality. “Yeah…” was all he was able to say to Yuffie. He really wanted to leave now… just to get his mind off of things.

Almost everyone had formed a group now. Good. But… “Cloud, Aerith, why don’t you two join Ienzo and me? We’re heading off to Neverland and still need to complete our group.”

Neverland… Leon had never been there before but his destination was not all too important to him. There were only two things on his mind. One was the Heartless. They need to find clues of their whereabouts yet and how to fight them.

Two was… Rinoa. Where was she?

But now was not the time. “Hey everyone!” Leon yelled for a second time but not with the frustration from the first shout. “Do you think you could tell me your groups here? Then we can get going right after that!”  

[queen_qing]

Stitch, for once, was a picture of good behavior. Well....relatively. A little annoyed by the finger poking him in the side, he didn't bite when Xaldin poked him.

Hey, this was yet another strange looking individual, dark hair and funny sideburns and all, but hey, who was he to say someone else was strange, eh?

With that particular thought decided, Stitch simply gave his hand a wet, sloppily lick and grinned like a miniature furball shark, which wasn't difficult, considering the amount of teeth he had.

Ooooooh, he was going to have so much fun!!  

[queen_qing]

Tifa didn't miss Saix's blush, and briefly wondered at it. Seriously, it was just Seifer's mistake, right? Not that she minded, really, but oh well.

So they were going to the Pride Lands, huh? The smile on Saix's face said everything, and she almost felt her heart skip a beat when he turned to her. For all intents and purposes, Saix was a good-looking man, easy on the eyes. Only, he was much, much easier when he smiled.

Nodding slightly, Tifa's eyes sparkled with amusement as she simply responded, "Ready when you are."

They were there to deal with the Heartless problem, she knew, but she would worry about that a little later.  

[queen_qing]

Deciding to practice selective memory at this moment, Sora simply shook his head, his mind already occupied with thoughts of seeing Jack and the others again. The pirate was a strange one, but he left the deepest impression on the Keyblade Bearer, and the boy had been looking forward to seeing him once more.

And really, rum was just like....40 percent. And throwing up didn't feel so bad, not when Riku was around.

But then...Riku won't be around anymore, right? If he kept that promise with Pride - whenever that was - chances were that he wouldn't be around him anymore.

"Hey," Sora spoke, forcing a note of cheer into his voice. It wasn't as difficult as before, because the thought of meeting up with Jack had cheered him up a little. "One last tiny sip?" He smiled broadly. "I think Jack would be mighty offended if we rejected his drink of choice."

Okay, well, that was probably a lie - Captain Jack Sparrow was the most easygoing - if not erratic - guy he'd ever known.

Probably.  

[Diazu]

Merlin's

Xaldin smiled. No bite to the hand. Guess he can get along with Stitch after all. Four people. They were now a group going to Beast's Castle! Joy.

"Alright, I guess since we are now a group we can now go about to the world then?" He suggested, wiping his wet hand on his pants before petting Stitch for a few seconds and then lowering his hand to the side.

Xaldin was excited now. At first, he felt afraid. But now he was wondering what he might encounter! It is supose to help his memory, which made the journey all the more better.  

[Skwinky]

Merlin's Home and Leaving

… So this what it? That was easy enough. Leon almost expected fighting for groups but it was all solved very peacefully… for once.

By this time the man was itching to go. He just needed to get out of this world and away from the crowds for once. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to lead anymore after Ultimecia was defeated but then the Heartless appeared. After Sora defeated both Xehanort’s Heartless and Organization XIII, Leon thought he could finally relax.

Oh boy was he wrong.

“Alright guys,” he announced. “Thanks for telling me your groups. Sora’s group can go in his gummi ship to Port Royal. There’ll be four more waiting outside the bailey that I asked a few people to fly up awhile ago. Split into the extra ships and depart.”

“Remember to check in on the Network with anything you may find and keep in contact with each other.”

“And until we meet again, good luck.”

So now he was done announcing and done leading. Home free… well almost. “Let’s go guys,” Leon motioned for Cloud, Aerith, and Ienzo while walking out. “Let’s get out of here.”  

[queen_qing]

Nodding at Leon's announcement, Sora turned to his group as well and smiled, nodding outside. "Come on, guys, we gotta go, too."

Well then, at least they could finally get going. Good luck, huh? They were probably going to need it, considering what they were going up against. Feeling the tension rise to his shoulders once again as he remembered his face-off against Sloth and his subsequent defeat, he tried to focus on other things.

Like the finding out of weaknesses or something, probably. Looking over at where Roxas was, Sora felt bad for what he'd said to him earlier on the chats. He had been feeling less than stellar, but still it didn't mean that he could be mean to other people. Especially people who cared.

This was a part of him, for crying out loud, even though they were separated now. It was so easy to blame someone else for your pain, but Sora found that he couldn't quite go through with that, considering that he was the one who started it.

However, Sora didn't know just what to say to make it okay, no matter how much he wished he did. And so he settled for flashing a soft smile at the other boy and nodding slightly before leaving the house.

"Bye, Roxas. Good luck!"  

[Skwinky]

Merlin's Home and Leaving

Time to go, huh? Guess that was for the best… Roxas needed to get his mind off of everything anyway. But good luck? That would probably be good too. These enemies they were going to face were a whole new breed. Greed was only third and he could see what he could do. What about Pride or Sloth? The mere thought of those new enemies made him tighten on the inside.

"Bye, Roxas. Good luck!"

The blond’s eyes widened when he heard Sora’s voice. He wipped around to see the boy already leaving. What? He forgave him? Really? No joke?

A similar smile spread across Roxas’ lips. “You too, Sora! No goofing off!”

Suddenly a whole weight was lifted off his shoulders. Being forgiven was one of the best feelings in the world, it really was. The grin on his face did not dissipate.

“C’mon Namine!” He took the girl’s hand and turned back. “Demyx! Yuffie! Let’s get going to Olympus already! You’ve never met Phil and Herc before!”

And with that he, too, dashed out.

((Okay~ Leon and Roxas have officially left. When all characters run out of that door I’ll close the thread and open new ones))  

[actoratheart]

Riku was definitely ready to be out of there. It had a whole slew of rotten memories for him, being Hollow Bastion, but now new bad memories had been added. The mistake with Sora. The near murder of Saix.

But their most recent conversation was weighing heavily on his mind. He fidgeted with the blindfold back in his pocket BILBO WHUT?and smiled to himself despite the pain. He knew they'd made ground, even as they'd lost it at the same time. He knew he'd made his mistakes, but Sora couldn't let them go. He couldn't forget them, perhaps out of fear of forgetting the lessons learned, but he found it difficult to just let go of them too. He'd meant what he'd said- he'd built himself a cage to live in without realizing it.

And he hated it.

He grinned at what Sora said to Roxas though, and even wider when Roxas grinned so genuinely in response. As they walked onto the sidewalk outside, he nudged Sora with his elbow lightly, muttering "Now was that so hard?"

He smirked before he could answer and jogged forward, calling back to the other three, "Come on, let's go already!"

((*edits* I HATE BBC. BOO.))  

[Diazu]

Okay. Everyone was ready then? Xaldin smiled, and much like the two groups before him, he took walked out of the door and towards the Gummi. Oh man, this was going to be fun!

"C'mon guys! Let's get out of here and to new worlds to explore!" Xaldin encouraged happily.

He heard Tifa give her que to leave, and he nodded slightly and walked for the door. "Anyone know how to pilot a Gummi Ship? I sure as hell don't know." Saix shrugged. He wondered if Tifa would. Or Seifer. He would be damned if Axel knew. Was there an auto pilot?

With those questions in mind, he left the door.  

[queen_qing]

We can probably power entire cities for weeks with our smiles alone, Sora thught to himself amusedly as he became the recipient of one of his own smiles. Roxas was so much like him in so many ways, and he silently felt glad for it, because it meant that no matter what, he wasn't going to be alone.

Catching up to Riku, feeling a little lighter even as he smiled broadly at Kairi, Sora nodded. He remembered his talk with Riku, and somehow, he knew that they would work it out somehow, no matter how much it would hurt.

Somehow.

He had to believe that it would all be all right.

Staying like this is fine, Sora thought silently as he smiled faintly. Riku had taken off his blindfold, and Sora had hoped that it would stay that way, even though it probably wouldn't. But then again, he refused to dwell on that. If it was something he learned, it was not to think too far ahead. Life was made up of perfect moments in time, just like this, with the three friends and Xemnas together.

Staying like this is fine, Sora repeated to himself. He wasn't religious in the least, but if there was something out there, he hoped that he would somehow be heard. Please...let us stay together always, okay...?

"Come on, Xemmy, Kairi!" He called even as he jogged alongside Riku. All things said, Sora was simply grateful for his presence. As for other more intense emotions...Sora wasn't going to go there. He couldn't afford to.  

[actoratheart]

"Sora- Sora, I've got an idea." Riku leaned over, murmuring "I'll race you," into his ear before breaking into a sprint and laughing as he ran. "Bet I'll beat you to the ship!"



((Okay, now I'm done. But admit it. That one had to be done. >3))  

[queen_qing]

"Hah!" Sora responded flippantly even as he broke into a run. Riku was not going to win THAT easily! "You bet wrong!!"  

[Trae prodigy]

"Leon's group is fine. It doesn't really matter" Aerith nodded, "Neverland sounds fun" she smiled and took Cloud's hand again, bringing him over to where Leon was waiting for them.

((Isso Short. Sorries! D: ))

Kairi watched the two boys break off into another race. She couldn't help but smile.

It's Just like old times...back on the islands. Before all this mess.

"Hey you guys! Wait for us!" she called after them. She would have liked to run after them to see who won...but she knew Xemnas couldn't walk well...let alone run.

"Come, Xemnas, Let's go" she smiled and lead him along slowly, careful that he didn't trip or anything.  

[BasslineRaver]

Xigbar nodded once, a big, goofy grin on his face. He was a sucker for adventure now. He (very) lightly shoved at Marluxia in the arm with a laugh as he pointed towards the door.

"Hey, yeah! Let's go explore!" He said as he followed in step next to Xaldin outside.

He turned one last time to stare longingly at the castle. "I hope we can go back, yanno?" He said as he looked at the other two members of the group and that strange little blue creature.

"... I really hope...."

--------------

Tottering and slow steps were taken as Xemnas followed Kairi. His body was weak from the blood loss. He clung to each thing he possibly could as he walked along, wondering why there was so much pain, but completely forgetting that his head was still gashed open from his horrible fall against the table.

But he got to go with nice people! Maybe they'd help!

He weakly smiled before stumbling and falling to his hands and knees. A part of him didn't want help, even though he desperately needed it. That part was his other side, urging him to keep moving...


(( "Dark Shines" - Muse ))