Kingdom Hearts : Heartfelt Adventure {Day 8 ; Invite Only}

[fractalJester]

[ Zexion ; Mercer : Port Royal : Gallows ]

In the time it took the crew to arrive to the walls around the gallows (they'd flown above the rooftops, hidden by Zexion's illusory enchantments), the two prisoners had been brought above from their prison cells, shackles binding their hands tightly together behind their backs, and an added pair of shackles around their legs just as tightly bound (to limit the amount of struggling that could happen after the drop).

The nooses had been tightened around their necks (likely not without some struggle on Jacob's part, which would have only resulted in a rifle-butt to the back), and they stood, waiting for what was to come next. Mercer stood to the side, waiting to pull the level that would drop the trapdoors and let them fall. A priest was reading allowed their final rights, stammering everyone now and again, showing his nervousness.

A crowd had gathered in the plaza to watch, with guards stationed at every possible entrance. A good number of guards also surrounded the gallows, keeping on-lookers a safe distance from the prisoners in case they attempted to help. Each guard was equipped with a sheathed blade and a rifle at the ready.

Zexion had come to a stop first, having started first and having cloned Joe's speed. Much to his displeasure, the Haste spell had worn off by this point, leaving the four of them at normal speed. With no more need to retain Joseph's speed, the Nobody dispelled the bo-staff, resummoning his own tome, awaiting the others.

Even now, they couldn't be seen as he retained the illusory mirage...

"- May God have mercy on your souls."

With that, the priest nodded his head in prayer, stepping away from the duo but remaining on the deck, as was his responsibility. Mercer sneered somewhat, his hand leaning against the lever.

"Any last words?"  

[fractalJester]

[ Kyle : Port Royal : Clearing ]

Kyle had resorted to pacing back and forth, waiting for something to happen, for someone to appear... he'd long since asked Zell to keep the Train Engine running, in case they had to make a flying escape shortly after their return. He expected as much; with a break-out like this, they'd likely be ordered to scour the entire island, which would inevitably lead all the guards to them.

What's going on what's going on is everything okay oh Gooooood.

He was still outside, pacing in front of the train, bouncing a Starlight back and forth between his hands as he did so. He glanced again to the three guards, bound and gagged against the Engine Car. They seemed to be watching him like a hawk; two fearful or confused, and the third angry and waiting for his chance to attack.

"Sorry about earlier," he muttered, though he remained pacing as he did so. "Not that you'll believe me, but we're the good guys. Can't have you killing innocent people."

The more formidable of the trio scowled, obviously disagreeing.  

[AldrickZearse]

[Joe: PR: Gallows]

Joe had perched himself in the spot on the wall closest to the Gallows. He needed to be quick, strong, and focused. The fighter had definitely sobered from his running high, and was concentrating on the targets, and the wind, and his magic.

"Ready..." Joe said, his voice riding the wind to the ears of his companions in this rescue. He just hoped everything worked out like it was supposed to. Cut through the rope, not hit the person, and have everyone safe.

"Any last words?"

Joe immediately winced. Why did that always come up? And Lord knows people tend to do some really idiotic things...

His voice riding the wind once more, it carried a serious tone down to the masked girl and the male beside her so only they could hear it. "Don't say anything stupid."

Don't need them trying to kill you faster. he thought to himself.  

[Raziel Hotokashi]

Jacob ║ Port Royal ║ Gallows

"Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe. The truth is, you are all very, very wrong. This is what you give those who seek no harm and seek no evils? I WILL NOT GO QUIETLY!" Jacob struggled slightly in his noose, his veins starting to bulge on his arms."You cannot kill an idea; you cannot destroy a fundamental truth, and the truth is, you are a wicked man, and like all wicked men, Mercer, you will be cleansed from this world. YOU WANT ME? COME AND GET ME!" Jacob barked out the last of his sentence, his blue eyes gleaming with a fire. His mouth had grown dry, and he felt like he was going to choke. His eyes darted around, staring at everyone in the crowd. This totalitarian imperialism was going to be the end of him. He knew it would catch up to him one day.

As soon as the gallows drop, if the initial force doesn't snap your neck, slip the handcuffs to the front and grab a knife. Cut the rope.

His eyes darted back to the guards, to Mercer, to the attendants.

Drop to the ground, roll, pop up. Push through the crowd. They fire first volley, or they move in with sabers. Keep low, shove townsfolk into the guards.

He saw Mercer's hand on the level, his last lifeline. His eyes darted in the direct he would run, out, zig-zagged.

Out, knife those two, monkey vault into the cart. Dodge volley, or maintain vantage point. Take out another two. Ummmmm.....

His mind was racing.

Butterfly kick out of the cart, throw knife down the hall. Out of here. Now what about the girl. 3 minutes.....Pick these shoddy locks, then come back, rape, save the girl. Don't fail. What's the worst that can happen? You die. Of course I do. Don't go quietly~  

[Kaegoe]

[Dawn : Port Royal : Gallows]

Dawn remained crouched on the roof near the real Zexion, from where she was she could see everything, the prisoners and all the guards. Including where Joe and Louis had taken positions. She listened mildly to what the priest said. Dawn personally wanted to get closer to the prisoners to help, but Joe told her to hang back while he went in. She tried to argue but for the sake of cover just did as she was told. Then the order came for the last words to come, and they came.

'He has a lot of fight in him, I'll give him that much.' Dawn thought as she listened to him.

Dawn looked over at Zexion as he concentrated on his spell. She glanced back at the young man and woman that was about to hang, she gripped her fans tighter as she waited for the moment she could do something.  

[ArcanaFate]

[Quistis :: Gallows]

Quistis couldn't help but sigh under her mask, unable to move her head. She had resigned to this unfortunate fate, the noose around her neck, her arms and legs bound, her life balancing on when this a-hole decided to drop her below.

"My last words? They're quite simple. Allow me to look at the sky one last time before my demise, please. You owe me that much, at least."

Another sigh escaped her, and she could only pray that Mercer would be merciful and remove this mask off of her face.  

[RhikoDemson]

[[Louis : Port Royal : Gallows]]



[[Cue: PotC Theme]]

After coming in by rooftop and locating the gallows, Louis slipped away into a nearby building. He sneaked in through the balcony and quickly silenced the room's inhabitant, with the butt of his rifle to the back of their head. He moved to the window the unfortunate soul had just been observing from and glanced out at the gallows below. He could tell immediately by the clothes, though dirty, the two that were not like the others from that world, God I hate pirates... why do they have to make such great movies?

He opened three tiny portals at his side and spoke in a whisper through them, his voice carrying to the other sides popping up by Al, Dawn, and Zexion, "It looks like our targets are on the gallows now. Lets make this quiet. Al, Dawn, concentrate on cutting them lose when they give the signal. I'll deal with delivering the packages to you. Just STAY WHERE YOU ARE. Zexion, I trust you can handle any pursuers with those clones of yours, we'll need distractions if we're to make it out of this city with prisoners in tow."

Louis leaned back up and over the windowsill, nodding once more confirming the location in his head. The shadowmancer opened a dark corridor and crawled through. Another dark corridor formed from the shadows in the pitch black silhouette cast by the early morning light underneath the gallows themselves. The two guards standing with their backs to the darkness underneath the gallows to collect the bodies when they fell, quickly, without a sound, and completely out of sight found a tendril and a dagger each to their throats and would soon join those who had already taken the plunge from the noose.

"YOU WANT ME? COME AND GET ME!" Louis listened to the boy yell at the top of his lungs confidently.

Not today~  

[fractalJester]

[ Zexion ; Mercer : Port Royal : Gallows ]

Just get them back up to the rooftop, Louis. I'll handle it from there.

The voice had easily carried to Louis' location, Zexion being able to find it via scents. With a slight roll of his eyes to the man's 'orders', the image of Zexion seemed to blur, as if he was being pulled in multiple directions.

"Sorry. No final requests," Mercer sneered, smirking somewhat as his other hand went to the lever, ready to pull-


"S̴̷̨̺͍͇͇̲̈̄ͪṬ̝̠̳̦̬̣̯͖̈̈̽ͩ͛ͦ̚O̴̴̗̜͉̠͖̺̰̥̎͒͑̏ͧͧ̀̚P̵̗̲̬̙͒̊͐ͥ̈́̏͠!͍̰̖͈̠̠̲ͣ̑̆ͪͦ̎͢"

Suddenly, flames erupted from within the crowd. Standing catercorner from the gallows, two brightly-armored angels appeared, their giant wings made by pure fire, their arms out to their side, palms up, sprouting giant geysers of flame. Even their bodies were blazing with fire, burning the very ground they walked on.

"I̛̐ͮ͜҉̫͖͈̖̖̥̤̪Ņ̳͉̼͎͖̣̹͇̂ͪ̿͆ͣ́ͫ̚ ̧̙̪̲̬͉̖͈̙̻̎ͯͭ͡Ţ̴̥̱̪̟̍̉͊H̙͙̣͛͐͂̈́̃̓͆Ė̶̛̼͔̫̼̞̏́ ͍̭̤̳͈͔̓̓N̶̼ͫ͌̏ͣ͠A̸͔͕͚̦̩͔ͩ͛͂ͨ̉ͩM̱̮͈̘̹̯̄͋ͭ̈̀͜ͅE͙̺͙̳ͦ́͐ ̦̺̼̰̘̍̍̈́ͥ̿ͅÒ̴̧̧̩̟͓ͣ͋̓F̶̷̜͍͎̗͈͍̊͜ͅ ̢̘̫̣̠̼ͩ̚ͅƠ͚̮̝͎̽ͫ͊̅͡Ȕ̶̠͉̟̌̚͠R̫̞͉̉̄͆̈́ͧ̏͗̚ͅ ͮͦ̐̓̇̑̅̾͘͞҉͈̺̭̘̮͎͉L̵̷͚͂̋̚̕ͅO̟ͨ͌R̯͒̀͠D̰̰̓ͬͮ̉̐̃͒̇́͞ ͤ̊͐ͪ̿҉̷̭͍̤͓͙͎̼S͉̼̜̿ͥͭͫ̓̂ͮ̂́͠O̤̦ͤ͞͡V͔͋ͦ͌ͬ͆ͣ̎͡͡Ḙ̡͚̼ͧ̑̅͐̏̓͞R͉̝̳͇̔̌ͩ̆ͭͧ͢E̫̦ͯͣ͞Í̴̱̞̫ͤ̿͂ͨ̈͢Ğ̹̱̝̠̜̯̥̺̏́͑ͩ͐ͪ͠ͅN͉̠̮̩̿̍̆̽,̼͕̪̣̃ͭ̌̈́̒ ̰͓̪̖̬̹̹̽ͮ̈͋͝T̢̟̜ͣ͒H̴̵͙͕̖̹̮̔͟Ę̦̼̹̱̣̝͇̓̅̆́͞ ̡̘̟̮̹̺̳ͮͦͬ̏̚A̛̙̠̙ͯ̔̓͌͘Ḷ̤̦̱̦̈̔ͯ͗ͮ͢L̴̹̲̑ͯ̊̀͢-̷̢͚̺͙̹̠͓̘͗ͦ̾ͣ͡ͅM̺̗̦͉̤̩̘͓̣̌̈́͂̊̏͋͒̅͢͝İ̴̱̲̥̝͓͉̯͚̺͒̈́͡G̛̘̮͉̣̾̒̄̍͗H̠͉̪̻ͩ̌̄̓͌ͩT̷̡̡͕̺̗̞͖̤͆̀̌͂Y̛̛̘̠͉̭͙̳ͨ̾ͧ̾͒,̘ͣ͊̽̉̓̀͠" they shouted, their omnipresent voices striking absolute panic into the crowd as they slowly marched toward the gallows. "C̤̠͈̺͉̿̄ͥ͘E͓̮̩̫͔͂̾͆̇̌̊ͯ͘͞A̳̬̟ͫ̐̃ͧ̎͋̍̇ͧ́̕͢S̡̛̺̖̑͋̿ͭ̓̾͝E͕̖̬̠̫̣͙̪ͬ̐ͤ́͜͝ ̬͉̠͓̗̦̎̃̐̋̀͑̊͜ͅTͬ͑̍ͣ͞҉̬̦̮̣͚͍H̷̱̦͊I̴̜̠͎̭͓̳̙͐͌͢ͅŞ̘̯͂͂́̆͋̚ ̵̨̜̮̰̩͕̎̇ͪ̄ͯ̄̎̐́͘A̹̞̤ͥͤ̇ͮ̂̅͐̕T͙̟̖ͬ̔̐̌R̯ͦ̒̍͟O̢̙͚̣̱͓̪̊ͭC̡̬͖̤̗̖͋͑ͅI̳͙̯̝͕͌̅͞T̸̯̖̘͔͖̖̯̲ͫ͛̔̂͗͐͗ͤ͜Y̵̫͇͙̰̤͊ͭ͒̽̆͆̋͟ͅ ̨̟̆̿ͦ̽͊͒͑ͥ͝A͇̺ͤ̑̀ͤ͆͒̍͒̀͘ͅT̬͇͙̦̘̺̐͂ͪͣͣͪ͐̔̅ ͙̭̟̠̩̭̜͇̍Ö̹ͨ͑̑̀̈̌̚͘Ṋ̛͓͈ͦ͋C̶̢̛͇͈̩͇̓̄̿ͅE̵̶͉̘̰ͮͨ̽̃̓ͥ̊̉,̛̺̺͎͚̠ͪ͒̾̂̍͑ ̽ͥ̎̀̿ͩ̈̿͏̻̰L͖̘̔̎̊̒̉̾̌̂̇̀͟E͖̩̙̤͔͕̱͉̐͗̄̊S̨̬͙̤͇̠ͮ̾͑̄̂ͨͯͭ̔͜͜T̸̨̻͖̦̲̟̊̄ͧ͛̄͊ ̶͎͍͖͇͐̍̄͐ͤ̈ͧ̂Ț̈̊͋̆̉ͧ̔H̤̼̜̭͉͔̾̀͋ͅỲ̡͈̖̗̹̥͇͉̗̃ͩ̄͛͠ ̜̳̥̲̾͊͊͌̏͑S̷̗͂̓́O̢̢͕̺̮͖̮͖͚ͬ͆͑ͬ͢Ų͉̹͍̰́̍L͔̜̹̤̥̼̠͓̈̿̄ͯͭ͆̕S̠̤̩̗̮̦̖ͮ̐͗̚͘͟͝ ̬̺̳̜͓͆̑ͨS̵͚̲̯̰̪̹͇̙̟ͭ̉ͯ̿̾͗̉̾U̍̒ͬ̄ͮ́͏̺͉̰̗̤͕͟͟F̠̪̦̰͍͊ͦ͌̊ͦ́F̙͓̹̯ͧ̃ͭȄ̢̫̘̙̗͎̮ͫ̎̈́̽ͪ̍̀̒͡R̵̝̮͈̬͓̆̍̾͑ͮ̏̿̓͟ ̡͕̼̞͙̜̳͎͕̲̉̿̚͟T̢̛̰̞̠̳̥́͛͂͝H̺̻͕̬̫̥̯͕ͦ̑͑̒̿͢ͅE̻̣̋̎̌̓̾͊ͭ̂̚͟ ̆̈͂͂ͦ̄̉̽ͤ͏҉̰̥̺̤̪̝E͚̮̟̦͇̙̓̓̽T̵͚̜̥͍̺̋̾ͮ͛͗̌E̪͚͔̖͔͍̓͊ͯ̃̐Rͦ͌͌͆̑ͯ̃͋ͤ҉̰̞͕̦̥͔̀N͔̣͎̞̻̿͂͊ͣA̛͕̭̦̟̗̯̩̮̮ͫ͊ͮ̚L̛͇̬̩̺̥̘̿̄̔̾ͮ̂ ̢̢̪͓̮ͩ̓̏ͨͩͯͪ́̕F̭͉͖̲̬̩̥̜͛̐̄̈ͣ̂͑́͢I̵̡̱̪̙̰͖̺͈͍͗̑̓̈́͛̒R̨̩̜̭͕̊̿́͟Ȩ͉̟̺̭̱̱ͣ̈́̎́S̪̲̟͇̰̿̽ͬ̈̀͘͜ͅͅ ̄̍ͤ̑̽ͦ͏͉͇̰̘̟͔̬̲͟͠ͅƠ̡̡̝͎͕̰̮͕̰̰͒͑̾͆̈ͬͬ̊F̴ͬͭ͏̬͕͙ ̴͙̬͔̺͕̩̲͊ͥ̍̅̓͋ͫ͛ͅH̛̪̪̭͔͈̬̱̪̰̑ͬͩ̇͒̌E̵̼̻̪ͩ͐̆L͎̄̍̑́L̗͕͓̜̗̲̤̟̤͛ͤ͆̾̀͘!̴̡͈͎̭͇̬ͥ̅́"


"GUARDS! KILL THEM NOW!" Mercer shouted, unafraid but clearly enraged by the angels' presence. The guards begins to let loose on the angels, firing round after round... only to find nothing hurt them. The guards were stunned, some trying to reload their guns while others simply ran away with the crowd, which swiftly fled the arena into the city.

Mercer even took out his own pistol, firing at the angel closest to his side; it hit the entity square in the forehead, but nothing happened. Recoiling somewhat, he finally turned his attention back to the level. Sneering at the angels, without even glancing at the prisoners, he pulled the lever, dropping the trapdoors and, inevitably, the prisoners...


[[Translation: "Stop! In the name of Our Lord Sovereign, the All-Mighty, cease this atrocity at once, lest thy souls suffer the eternal fires of hell!"

For those that aren't sure what that code is supposed to mean, imagine Avatar Aang in the middle of the last battle in The Last Airbender show, with all the voices at once.]]  

[Quiet Daydreamer]

Sayrike: razz ort Royale::Forest-->City Gallows

Sayrike had stopped a fair distance from the clearing and, making sure no one was around, not even a voice, she whispered, "Now you see me..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The edge of town was deserted. Of course; there was to be a hanging today, if she remembered correctly. No one would be home. Hiding behind a house, the girl breathed a sigh of relief as she released her spell. It seemed that her solar surfer was safe; when she had snuck to the outskirts of the clearing by its hiding place, it was still there. However, a few people had remained in the clearing, so she dared not move the wreckage lest she make too much noise. She had skirted around and gave a wide berth, very careful to take a well-trod path that was composed mostly of dirt. Once she had found footing on the main path, Sayrike quickly made her way to the town's edge, or at least as quick as she could be while using the spell.

In her outfit, Sayrike blended in with the increasing number of people that she met while walking into the main square where the gallows lay, and no one gave her a second glance. She was mildly intrigued that she hadn't encountered any of the group from the clearing; had she miscalculated her speed? Their speed? How was she supposed to observe them if she couldn't find them? Their clothes were fairly conspicuous to boot.

Finally, she reached the main square. There in front of her were two prisoners, one of which was wearing a mask. There appearances were a little off as well. Were they not from around here? Were they part of the cosplay group? All was silent from the crowd, enough so that Sayrike could hear the waves of the ocean breaking against the sea wall--a calm, serene noise that spoke of happier and more tranquil moments. It's a pity that death should take place in such a wonderful location. Looking back toward the gallows, Sayrike wondered, Where are those cosplayers? She discreetly searched the rooftops, windows and shadows around the square. Hmm, no sign of anyone, although there seemed to be sudden movement from an overlooking window as its viewer disappeared. Well, maybe they were still here after all, most likely as a rescue mission; they didn't seem to be the type to travel just so they could revel in the morbid glory of an execution. She hadn't heard them in the forest, leaving this the most likely place to be. Sayrike swallowed hard. This could have been her execution.

By the time she arrived, the one with the mask was saying, "My last words? They're quite simple. Allow me to look at the sky one last time before my demise, please. You owe me that much, at least." Why DID she wear that mask anyway?

The tension in the crowd was rising. It set Sayrike on edge, feeling the anticipation, the horror, the excitement. She half-remembered a lecture on the theory of why public execution became a fad of the past--something to do with how people were executed in public to remind everyone that they were the property of the monarch, compared to more recent times when private executions were more of a punishment because it showed that the individual's self-autonomy was taken away--but no lecture could capture this feeling. The air was charged with heightened awareness, like the split second before lightning struck, as everyone watched the executioner's hand to wait for the fall.

Sayrike swallowed. This wasn't the first time she would watch someone die. But, it would be the first murder.

"S̴̷̨̺͍͇͇̲̈̄ͪṬ̝̠̳̦̬̣̯͖̈̈̽ͩ͛ͦ̚O̴̴̗̜͉̠͖̺̰̥̎͒͑̏ͧͧ̀̚P̵̗̲̬̙͒̊͐ͥ̈́̏͠!͍̰̖͈̠̠̲ͣ̑̆ͪͦ̎͢"

The lightning struck.

"What?!" Sayrike gasped, her words lost among the cries and screams of surprise. Now this was DEFINITELY out of the ordinary. Where the hell did these angels come from? They were indestructible! And how could that man at the gallows stay calm? Well, maybe calm wasn't the right word, but unfazed. The crowd surged around her and she couldn't help but be swept up in it like a rip tide. Well, just like a rip tide, you couldn't swim against the current, but at an angle. Sayrike did just that, and headed over to a nearby building and stood on the wooden steps, granting her a moment to look back toward the gallows where the man pulled down the level.

Sayrike's eyes widened in shock as the prisoners started to fall.  

[Enji_Chou]

[Kyla: Hooks Ship: Top Deck]

Even if she wasn't going to fall to her death, it was a little unerving seeing the ocean so far below while dangling like a baloon caught in an updraft. When Kichi called to her, Kyla complied and gritting her teeth as she reached for him with her other hand, clasping both around his own.

When he finally got her back on aboard, and out of the choatic air currents, she exhailed in relief. Which was a bad idea, her chest still stung from the slowly closing slash which ran from side of her collar bone, down her front, down to the opposide side hip.
She didn't want to look down to see what it looked like, but the hue of crimson staining the opening was hard to miss.

As they glided back over to the other side of the ship were Nick, Kyle, Alan, Seymour, Axel and the new girl were waiting, she listened to Kichi and would slowly shake her head. Though it was insanely tempting. SO VERY tempting, her inner voice screamed for the potion like a whiney selfish child. She shut that voice up with disgust.

Regen was working really well, no doubt she'd be sealed up within a few more seconds, and they needed to save their potions for worse situations.

Besides.. if she couldn't suck it up- she'd never be able to handle the bigger injuries that would surely come in the future. The pain was good, it reminded Kyla this wasn't a game and she had to keep herself sharp no matter what. This wound was what she deserved for not paying attention.
She summoned a reassuring smile and thanked Kichi, greatful for his concern none the less.

Cory and her were polar opposites, and he obviously didn't like her way of thinking either, and was just as soon to slice her clean in two, then have her help him.
He made that very clear.
The rest talked as if they didn't just see that happen- hmm, maybe they didn't.
At Cory's comment directed at her, Kyla's eyes only narrowed with irritation...

Pity, thats right, the only bargaining chip he had, and he threw it over the side of the ship.

.
Kyla didn't want to even look at him.
He spoke as if she was supposed to be sorry for not helping him like he asked-
Well, As the saying goes.
' Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'- and you certainly don't CLEAVE it in TWO either when they answer your questions!
Kyla instead looked down at the charm around her wrist, wondering if translating she was ok now was a good idea.  

[Enji_Chou]

[Axel: Hook Ship Entrance/ Dark Corridor]

Heh- maybe this Seymour guy wasn't so bad. He advocated their presence on the Pirate ship like some soap box vigilantee speaker. He could picture him holding up a carboard sign that read; "FREEDOM FOR THE DEAD! EQUALITY FOR NOBODYS!"

When Nick approached him Axel shrugged. Obviously the guys pride was hurt, time to salvage what you got left and stomp into the sunset. The Fury of Dancing flames regarded Kichi and the Starving Artist who looked pretty gruesom at the moment. Blood across her front, with a nasty slice into her flesh beneath. Thankfully he could also see the golden light of the spell Alan cast slowly closing the wound, but like the spells nature, it happened over a certain amount of time.

'...jeez that's gotta hurt. They wanna actually think about handing her over to him after that? Guess these Earthlings aren't so sensitive about stuff like that.'
Maybe he wasn't the only heartless person here. This Alan guy was as cool as a cucumber. Nothing shook him. He talked like they were deciding what portions of produce they were going to share. Or signing a peace tready.

Well, for now it seemed only Nick, and possibly Kichi and Kyla were coming back with him.
"Ready to go?" he asked all 3 of them so far.  

[Kichi Kuronagi]

[Kichi :: Hooks Ship :: Deck]

Kichi did a small loop to catch the charms from Kyle, one in Kyla's lap, and one in his mouth, which he dropped into her lap. "Since you don't have charms, we're gonna come back to check in...let's say 30 minutes. If negotiations are still happening, we'll leave and come back in another 30. If they're over, we'll decide what we're doing from there."

He looked at Kyla, and nodded slightly at her refusal for the potion. "You'll be alright. Hang in there, that Regen spell should have that wound healed in another minute or two." He said, with as much reassurance in his voice as he could, though inside, he was simply beating himself up for letting it happen.

He turned to Axel, and nodded. "Yes, please open the portal, thankyou." He glanced at the portal Cory opened. "I'm still not sure I'd trust that one."  

[Sable Argent]

[Alan :: Hook's Ship Deck]

A minute or two? How weak do you think my magic is?

Or so Alan would have said if this wasn't such a delicate situation.

If Alan hadn't been wearing a helmet, he would have been running his fingers through his hair by now - one of his main nervous habits. It was a lot messier than he'd hoped, but he'd earned an interview with Cory. He'd have to pick his words carefully from here. Fortunately, he would have Kyle with him. There was no one in this group he would trust more in this sort of situation.

"Wait," Alan said, out of the blue.

"Before they leave, Cory, let me confirm something: you no longer wish for Kyla's help, but you maintain that she owes you a debt . . . which you will collect later. Is that accurate? And, if so, what are your intentions with her?"

Beneath his cool exterior, Alan's heart was pounding. The ship felt like it could burst into violence again at any moment, and his purposefully non-aggressive stance made him feel vulnerable.

She was even more uncomfortable: "Ani-ue . . . why do we have to do this? I don't like this guy. Why can't we just beat him up?"

"We might learn something important . . . even gain an ally. This situation is serious enough that we can't afford to think selfishly like that."

"Just be careful. Don't fall for his seductive tricks."

"Seductive?! - - - What do you think is going on here?!"  

[AldrickZearse]

[Joe: PR: Gallows]

Joe was watching carefully, noticing every movement and motion of Mercer and the two prisoners. And resisiting the urge to smack his own forehead as the male on the gallows opened his mouth and let the stupid pour out of it.

You idiot.

"S̴̷̨̺͍͇͇̲̈̄ͪṬ̝̠̳̦̬̣̯͖̈̈̽ͩ͛ͦ̚O̴̴̗̜͉̠͖̺̰̥̎͒͑̏ͧͧ̀̚P̵̗̲̬̙͒̊͐ͥ̈́̏͠!͍̰̖͈̠̠̲ͣ̑̆ͪͦ̎͢"

Joe's gaze drifted to the Zexion clones, and had to admit how impressed he was. Definitely started a panic. Then again, how would he feel if burning angels came down and told him to stop?

Of course, when Joe looked back at the gallows, he saw that 'divine intervention' didn't seem to stop Mercer. On the wind, Joe called "DAWN! CUT THE WOMAN'S ROPE!" and he fired three wind blades, one right after the other, as fast as he could at the same point on the male's rope. If anything, he'd cut up most of it if not straight through, and the rope would just break from the weight. If it didn't look like the invisible blades(to all those who weren't magically inclined, with those people seeing the shimmer of the magic) would cut through, a sudden updraft would be under the male to raise him back into the air and another wind blade sent to finish off the rope.