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Sayrike::Train

Sayrike shrugged her shoulders at the explanation for the arrival of the train and it's occupants. "Stopping for pleasure, or for scouting out?" These people didn't seem like they were the kind for lounging around; they were on a schedule. "Current situation? You make it seem like there's urgent business to attend to." The guy in front of her seemed a little nervous. You could always tell by the voice. Was he the leader or something? He seemed to be the one who would direct the conversation. She absentmindedly wondered how he came into that position of authority--intelligence? Power?--although it wasn't really important at this point in time, so she set the train of thought aside; he was asking a question, and she needed to pay attention. Sometimes it was a bit hard for her to multitask.

Jacob gave an answer that she didn't realize was close to her own. Sayrike had thought much over where she was and the possibilities on how she got here, but, like usual, her meanderings through philosophy and fantasy yielded vague conclusions at best. Wasn't it best just to take it day by day, accepting things as they were? Thinking about the "situation" was an exercise in imagination, nothing more. Facts and information hadn't presented themselves, no explanations given, no omniscient narrator guiding her onto the stage, no trail of floating coins to lead her to the next level. How was she expected to know what was going on? It had been six days of survival--hiding, scrounging for food, dehydration, pursuit, stealth, stealing, adrenaline, endurance--and, honestly, Sayrike hadn't much time to investigate anything else. This wasn't some fantasy adventure rpg that she played all the time at home; this was real, and every day was a test to see if she would wake up tomorrow. This group didn't look like they had nearly the same experiences as her. Sure, if today was any indication, they had battles and hardship aplenty, but here they traveled in the comfort of the magical train wearing clothes that would probably never rip and never tear, and most likely had access to whatever food and supplies they needed. They probably thought they had a higher calling, be it fighting against evil or saving the world or whatever else. It's not that Sayrike felt resentment toward having their creature comforts taken care of while she hadn't--in fact, Sayrike never regretted her experiences--it's just that she felt that certain knowledge was expected of her that she didn't possess, and that she was suddenly being thrust into a life that defied logic. Weren't those people out there real? Didn't they, too, have thoughts, feelings, and needs? Up until a minute ago, she had been of that world, however fantastical it may have been, and she had been a child of the world. This felt more like she was a party member being added late into the game, rising from the status of the common and elevated into the group of the heroes, ones untouched from the daily burdens of living. Sayrike knew an oncoming explanation was imminent, but she hadn't been expecting the tension she now sensed in the air, nor the feeling that she was about to be pitied--pitied that she didn't know what was going on while everyone else did, pitied about whatever reaction she was about to give to news on the "current situation." Pity didn't piss off Sayrike. It was ignorance. Her ignorance. Her ignorance combined with the inferior social status bestowed upon her by such ignorance. The ignorance that caused the "outsider who has to catch up" exclusion, which didn't happen intentionally on anyone's part, but was a result of just not knowing what everyone else already did. For a long time she knew she was going to be out of the loop and constantly asking questions.

She sighed, once again having to reassure her emotional side with practical thought: This too shall pass. Just do what you always do: be friendly and kind. You must ask questions to gain knowledge. Everyone has to start from scratch somewhere. You have to humble and embarrass yourself with dumb queries before you can understand more fully what's going on. Don't you want to know?

Yeah, I do, but it's almost like cheating and asking Death what it's like after he comes and collects you on his pale horse, she internally smiled. I don't know if I want to know the twist to the story before I finish reading.

To everyone else, after Jacob's reply it would have seemed that Sayrike sighed out of weariness before relaying her own answer to the question. "Well..." she began, glancing up as the thought carefully about how to phrase her words, "My theories about the 'current situation,' as you vaguely put it, are this: I seemed to have come upon a group of wandering travelers who have some kind of agenda, but I have no idea what it is as of yet. You seem nice and friendly. Your costumes are oddly out of place and, combined with the presence of Sora, make me inclined to think that you guys are from a Kingdom Hearts-based world. This goes with the night I also had a dream where there were Heartless in my apartment, I got sucked into darkness, and I fought a giant Heartless. But, this wouldn't be the first time I've had dreams that involved video games or movies to TV, and this certainly is not the first time when I've had a dream that involved me going on some kind of adventure or quest. Heck, I've even had a dream in which Sora and Maleficent showed up. The only difference is that, when I'm dreaming, I usually have a knowing in the back of my mind that I am and things don't feel as real. And I change perspectives a lot, from first person to third person, and I'm not always myself. This, however," she said, shifting the weight in her hands so that a metal piece stopped digging into her palm, "doesn't feel the same. I mean...I have beliefs--well, I wouldn't say beliefs, because that implies some kind of trust or faith--about the nature of dreams, and that it's not impossible that I've...fallen into one," Sayrike finished, rather reluctant to get into a discussion about what she thought dreams were. It wasn't the time for philosophical or metaphysical or scientific debate, no matter how fun it was to explore those fields. Keep it short, explain later. She continued, "I'm also not opposing the idea of death, which this situation also fits into my thoughts on that. Death definitely sounds like the more plausible choice to me. There's lot of other ideas I've had, and...well, let's say that the craziest one is that I'm a character in a book or a fic or an rp or something, and this is what it feels like to be one. My life, and all that I think I know, is being written as we speak." Sayrike smiled. "Which is a scary thought, but a funny one to entertain nevertheless."

"As for where I was, well, it looked to be a port town from the late sixteen or seventeen hundreds. It's a large time frame, I know, but I'm kind of bad with dates and I haven't seen a lot of the town. But, the ship trade, the hats, the uniforms, the accents, and the clothes make me think it's got to be from somewhere--or should I say somewhen?--not too far from the time of the American Revolution, although this would be in the British Empire somewhere. It's too warm for England, so I'm guessing one of the colonies in the south. Jacob's idea of this being Port Royal means we're in Jamaica. Makes sense. Although, I haven't been to Port Royal, so I have no idea what it looks like."

"Before here I was actually caught by a bunch of pirates when this--whatever 'this' is--started. I don't mean pirates like these, I mean pirates in flying ships. Like Treasure Planet. Solar sails and everything. Thank goodness I watched that movie enough times to get a good idea about the way their ships worked and their technology. Nothing serious and useful to know, obviously, but enough to let me break out of the decks below and steal and pilot one of their solar surfers. Which, sadly, is this pile of metal and sail I hold in my hands right now. I sailed for two days with barely any rest or food or water, but it took a toll on the surfer, and one of the wires in there burnt out. I ended up crashing into the forest we were just at, so I didn't get too banged up, and I've been here for a day and a half, about. I think. Maybe closer to two. I'm not that good at keeping track of time. So, really," Sayrike finished with a sigh, "it's just been pirates, pirates, and more pirates. And that's all there is to know about me."

Now that she had mentioned her solar surfer, she wondered where that girl had gone with a few of her parts. Dusk. No, Dawn. Yeah, that was it. She'd have to find her later and get those.

Sayrike suddenly realized how much more than Jacob she had been talking. "Sorry, I'm a bit long-winded. A motor mouth, really," she apologized. "I mean, I keep secrets about others well enough, but heck if I can't shut up about myself or my thoughts or telling stories." She looked down for a moment before realizing that she might be risking a metal rod through an eye if anything should jar her. So, she took another glance around the group before resting her eyes on the male who had asked what they knew.

{Kyle : Halloween Town: Graveyard}

Listening to the ongoing conversation between Cory and Alan, he didn't speak up, Alan voicing his thoughts and concerns for him. It was rather convenient. It allowed him to simply think, listen, and ponder his own things. Most prevalent was the question of using the darkness. I suppose that I wouldn't really mind using the darkness. It would be a good way to amplify my, admittedly, weak abilities. But there's always the chance that I could be consumed by the darkness. And if that happens...well...I have a feeling that I wouldn't be all that concerned with what happened to this place anymore.

Don't forget me. I'll be here to pull you back from the darkness. I'll force you to look into the light that lies in your heart.

God. You're just like Nick. Always making me do things that, at the moment, I couldn't imagine wanting to do. Yet it always makes me feel better. You sure you're name is Midgardsormr? Because you feel like a Nick to me.

A low rumbling seemed to echo out to Kyle, shaking his body slightly. If either Cory or Alan had been paying close attention to him, it would have seemed like a small shiver. However, Kyle soon realized what it was. You're laughing at me, aren't you. No question, just a pure statement.

Me. No. Why would I do that? Foolish boy. Regardless of whether I'm laughing at you or not, Alan just asked you a question.

Yeah...and this is where it gets a bit difficult. They both want to keep this world. And I do too...but...there were around seven billion people on Earth. Should I just blow those people off to keep this world? Or strive to get the Earth back? Because I have to consider all of the people in this world too. If we brought the Earth back, then all of these people might disappear. Along with this entire world. But, at the same time, these people are still suffering. This world is made up of hundreds, I don't know, maybe more. And this isn't right. These worlds should be separate. Everything is mixing, and not in a good way. Even though we've only been in three places, it's still evident. When Halloween Town combined with Beast's Castle, it severely disrupted life in Beast's Castle. I don't know about Halloween Town, but I'm assuming the same. And the Land of Dragons was too big to see exactly where and what it was bordered by, but the Emperor was worried about the other places as well. And it was never more evident to me than in Hawaii. I mean, look at everything that happened! There were airships flying around, shooting anything that moved! And it combined with the Power Rangers as well. They had Zords running around, having to fight the airships to protect the population. It's just...it's one huge mess. The worlds need to be separate.

Kyle, in that case, go for the middle ground. It may be the hardest path to follow, but if you really feel that way, then you'll need to bring back the Earth and somehow separate these worlds into their original forms. If you truly feel that way, then there really isn't anything for you to do otherwise. Because you'll carry that burden with you for the rest of your life if the Earth is never brought back, and even if it is, you'll carry the burden of never having saved these worlds as well. Now you'll have to give them your answer.

Looking up at them, he glanced between Alan and Cory, his glowing yellow eyes piercing as the only visible things on his face. "I want to bring back the Earth. There were around seven billion people on the planet and I have people precious to me on it. However, at the same time, I want to save the inhabitants of this world. But" He said quickly, allowing no interruptions, he would speak over any that came, "this world cannot be allowed to continue as it is. The worlds need to be set right. There are people who are suffering right now because the worlds are merged. They need to be separated again. However, I want these worlds to still be accessible. I can do things that I've never been able to do before, and I would like to find a way to bring my family and friends into this world with me. Cory, what if you could bring that girl who stops your hallucinations with you into the worlds? You could travel and never have to worry about the hallucinations ever again. Alan, I don't know about you, but I imagine you have loved ones that you would like to see again, friends to spend time with again. If we could find a way to do this, then wouldn't that be the best option?" Finished, he watched them wearily, wondering about their responses.

[Alan :: Halloween Town :: Graveyard]

Alan's expression turned dark. His friends . . . he certainly did miss them. "Yes," he half muttered, "of course! Of course that's the best option, and of course everyone's committed to that solution, but it may not be possible. Anyway, I wasn't talking about the current state of amalgamation. I meant the Kingdom Hearts world in general." He sighed deeply. "Anyway, I'm not convinced that the amalgamation is a bad thing. Once the political situation settles down and people get used to this state of affairs, it might be preferable in some ways, but whatever. Separated or connected, in the end it's only a matter of logistics. The Heartless, on the other hand . . . they need to go. Or at least be greatly reduced. They're a threat. Anyway, I just want your opinion on a hypothetical: if it turns out that the Earth can be brought back, but at the cost of the world, which would you choose? And don't forget that we don't even know how many people live in this world - in these worlds."

What Alan didn't voice was his ruminations on the Darkness. For him, the question of whether or not to follow Cory really boiled down to whether or not he was willing to accept the Darkness into his heart. While half of his mind was engaged in conversation, the other half was going over everything he knew or had gleaned about this enigmatic force.

The optimistic view came largely from the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. Darkness was half of everything, they said. "Let's be the darkness," they said. It's not the Dark, they said, it's what lives in the Dark. All of that seemed to imply a sort of yin-and-yang relationship between Light and Darkness. If that was the case, Darkness was a perfectly innocent force, perhaps misused or misunderstood. Alan desperately wanted to believe that.

But he was finding the alternate view more and more compelling. Every single character who was aligned with the Darkness was consumed by misery, anguish, pointless pride and futile wrath. Every. Single. One. Darkness was part of Hearts, yes. It was half of everything - the terrible half. Entropy. Unbalance. The Light, by contrast, seemed to embody everything desirable - even what might ordinarily be thought of as Dark. The spooks and horrors of Halloween Town, where Alan found himself? Aligned with Light. (Life's no fun without a good scare, after all.) Proud and glorious combat? Fighting for fun? The domain of the Light. (The Olympus Colosseum sprung readily to mind.)

Meanwhile, the villains were all awful. And not only awful, but (Alan thought) deeply unhappy. Riku, too, when he accepted the Darkness. His redemption arc largely centered around his growing allegiance to Light. And Cory! Consumed by paranoia and madness, he did little to recommend the Darkness by his own actions.

And that dream kept replaying over and over again in his mind. Creeping Darkness, consuming the Earth. All of the suffering. All of the evil. All of the Sin! Alan, not even sort of religious, did not even hesitate in his mind to call it Sin.

Part of Alan felt like he could control it. He could keep a clear mind and only use the Darkness as a tool - never serving it. But that same hubris was the root of the ones Amy was talking about earlier - the ones who studied what should not have been studied. It was probably also the root of everyone who had ever fallen to the Darkness. Why would Alan be the unprecedented exception?

Cory's offer was certainly seductive - and seductive was exactly the right word. She had shown extraordinary foresight. Part of Alan - a large part, ached for the power the Darkness had to offer. He could see himself take it and use it to forge his own place in the world - to enforce his will. He would destroy his enemies utterly and stand before his friends as a savior. And all would love him and praise him.

The temptation was mitigated somewhat by Alan reminding himself that the high-end Light aligned people were easily on par with those aligned with the Darkness. Light did have its dividends, it just required patience. And wisdom. And, in fact, it enabled those things. Followers of Darkness lived fast and died faster. Alan had no desire for that sort of life.

But the power . . . and, moreover, the power now, not in some uncertain future. He would never have to lose to strange ice-armored men. . .

The Darkness called to him, but he loved the Light. Beneath his calm exterior, Alan's Heart was being torn in every direction at once.

The effort of keeping from crying out was beginning to turn his face into a grimace. Alan hoped that the others didn't notice.

[Kyla: Angel Grove: Outside Red Rose]

It wasn't even a question, teatime deffinitally have to wait for a while. Least until things settled down. Now it was time to head off to the Command Center Base. Oh boy- Kyla had never imagined she'd be doing that! It was like a childhood fantasy come to life. Then again, everything here was... but this was a much much earlier dream.
Unaware of the conversation's progression between Cory, Kyle and Alan, Kyla was already thinking about just how she may make up for her debt to the insane Revblade user. Though she didn't agree with his methods, Kyla understood, and somewhat appreciated his own desire to protect this world.

In it's simplicity, it was a good goal. It's execution was what she refused to follow through with. There had to be a way.
Standing in their way to finding out the truth wasn't the way to do it.
What if there was a way to achieve everything they wished for?
What if there was a way to save the Earth, seperate the worlds of the Kingdom Hearts universe while saving it from the current threat, ALL at the same time?

As far fetched as that sounded, this was such a universe where an answer like that could exist. Or at leats had a better chance at existing.
It all depended on what you do to achieve it.

Kyla knew what she wanted, but it wasn't enough to simply fight for her own goals, there was everyone else to consider.
As someone who was chosen by whatever forces there are, the same powers that spared her destruction from Earth's demise and equiped her with the power to fight...
she didn't have a right to fullfill her own needs alone.

Kyla, like everyone else here, was chosen because she was supposed to do something that no other human from Earth could. That; or she was responsable, and or connected to what happened. The dream gave her that clue.

There were also the mistakes she needed to correct. Kai wouldn't wait forever.

" I'll remember that Kichi. Thank you." Kyla replied, then looked at her charm around her wrist.

" A-anou... should we send a message to the other group? Or wait till alan and Kyle return?" Surely it had been a while since she last transmitted her condition to the other group, and the last message she relayed had been a most distressing one.

Kyla didn't want her kidnapping to distract them if they were in danger. Judging from what she heard from their side, her messages came at a bad time.

{Kyle : Halloween Town -> Dark Margin: Graveyard -> Beach}

Well, it was good to know that Alan agreed with him, at the very least. But Cory...he seemed to be rather annoyed. Considering he held the weapon like he was going to fight him. Oh, Kyle could have summoned his weapons to defend himself. But he had a feeling that Cory wouldn't attack him. And he was proven right. Still, it was good information. If he ever needed to bait Cory into attacking him or something, that girl would be useful. He couldn't quite figure out why he would need to do that, but he filed it away as an important note.

Watching Cory step through the portal, Kyle glanced back at Alan before stepping through the darkness once more. Upon crossing through, he glanced around at the Dark Margin. It was such an interesting place. Walking over to the shore, he wondered what it would be like to swim in those waters. Would it feel like he was just swimming in darkness? Was there anything there? He would love to find out. Turning back to Cory, he walked over to a rock near him and sat down. "I'm surprised you haven't been training here. Realm of Darkness, that's where all of the strongest Heartless can be found. It might be interesting to try to find some." He said, expecting some form of bravado.

Closing his eyes, he decided that it was time to bite the bullet. He had to make a decision now. "I suppose...I suppose that I would choose this world. I don't want to let another world be destroyed, just to bring back ours. Make no mistake though. I will search for a way to bring back our world and keep this one. There has to be a way." He said, the last part almost to himself.

[ Kyle ; Sora : Port Royal : Lounge Car ]

Before Kyle had a chance to answer either Jacob or the newly-introduced Sayrike, Kichi's words entered his mind, and he breathed a short sigh of relief. 'Good to know. Currently giving some new members what we know, I'll contact you in a little bit.'

Sora also heard Jon's mental call, but let Kyle answer it for him as he simply nodded to Sayrike when she introduced herself. "If you go down the hallway, you'll enter the next car- the Dining Car- and beyond that one is the Sleeping Car. The taken bunks all have curtains in front of them, so you should be able to find an empty one pretty easily."

"As Sora said, there are a number of different cars- this is the Lounge Car, the next one is the Dining Car, beyond that is the Sleeping Car, the Stable Car- where we keep our Chocobos, should we ever need them- and beyond that is the Training Car," he explained, pointing in the direction Sayrike was sure to be walking. "The other group is in Hawaii. They have about as many as we have, 13 or 14, give or take, including all of our native allies."

{James : Train : Dining Car -> Lounge Car}

James had been in the dining car, just relaxing, lost in his own thoughts. That was the way he had spent his time while the small group had gone to the town to save the people who were about to be hanged. He just stared out the window facing the forest, lost in his own little world. That was until the people returned and Sora came rushing in asking him for the dress spheres. The corsair had completely forgotten that he had them as he pulled out the small satchel and handed it to Sora, who then quickly ran off again.

'If he's asking for that, we have some new earthlings... better go see what's up.'

James slowly slid out of the booth that he had been sitting at and followed after Sora, into the Lounge Car right as Kyle finished explaining the situation to Sayrike and Jacob as well as telling them all of the different cars as well as the other group's location.

"Ah, I was wondering where they ended up. Hawaii though... that's interesting." James said as he walked into the car, he smiled at the new faces, one of which he recognized as another canon. Quistis Trepe, definitely not one that he had expected, but still it was pretty cool.

"Good to know where they are though, I'm James by the way." He said as he looked at the three new people.

{Auron : Train : Outside -> Lounge Car}

Auron wasted no time getting into the train as soon as the group returned, and good thing too. As he looked out the Lounge Car window he saw the bullets start to fly, though he didn't hear the impact. The train didn't seem to take any damage either. When they had taken off he turned his attention to the group.

"What's the plan?"

{Leon : Angel Grove : Outside the Red Rose}

Leon rested his gunblade on his shoulder as the situation with the Heartless and Cory resolved. His eyes scanning the area making sure no other Heartless showed up. Kyla was back, but two of the others were gone. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he was sure they would be alright. He turned his attention to Billy as he spoke.

"Ready, I guess. Let's go guys."

{James : Train : Lounge Car}

James smiled as Sayrike introduced herself, however that was soon followed by a metallic cacophony as she dropped what she was carrying onto the floor. Some of the pieces were pretty large, and he was thankful that none of them had hit him. However, he picked up a few of the pieces before turning his attention back to her. Her constant apologizing reminding him of someone else he knew very well.

"Yeah, that's right. Next car over is the dining car and then the sleeping car. Would you like some help with all of that?" He asked her.

He was already holding onto a few of the pieces in his arms, so he figured he might as well offer his assistance. It would probably prevent her from dropping them again. His eyes narrowed at the pieces curiously. He couldn't really make out what they were, but he figured it must be important if she was holding onto them.