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 Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 6:32 pm
Sousei Tatsu [Cory .:. Angel Grove .:. Outskirts]
Cory grinned as Cloud cut open the Heartless' side, deciding to take that as his own cue to do some heavy damage himself. The rogue burst off to the side, both Revblade held overhead as the Engine began to fall. Both Revblades began to roar loudly as they gathered energy, the ronin grinning before shouting, "God Cutter!"
Cory swung both blades, unleashing a massive crescent-shaped shockwave from them and into the side opposite of the one attacked by Cloud. The ronin grinned, thrusting the tips of his Revblades into the ground before sliding his hands in his pockets and watching the Heartless slowly vanish as it crashed into the ground. This was the first time Cory had the chance to use his Summon Drive in battle... and he was pleased with what it had to offer. Cerulean Samurai... I'll have to make sure to charge my Drive back up after this so I can use it again later... It was then that it hit him again. Not the hallucinations, but the sudden sick feeling. The feeling that he had simply attributed to his return from the dead, the one he thought had passed. He covered his mouth as he coughed, pulling his hand away to stare at the black phlegm he'd coughed up. It was clear now to the ronin that this was not a side effect of returning from the dead... There was something wrong.
But it would have to wait for later.
The ronin remained in his Drive state just in case something else happened and walked over to Cloud, leaving his Revblades where they were. "Any special reason you're here watching me throw building-sized Heartless around instead of helping the losers?" ((Sorry for the delay. Responses should be faster now.)) [Cloud : Angel Grove : Outskirts]
"Losers?" Cloud said. Like Cory, he cautiously kept his weapon out. Unlike Cory, he couldn't dismiss his weapon even if he had wanted to, a fact that had a lot to do with his current thoughts.
He turned, facing the Azure Ranger fully. "I don't know why you call them that. You're an Earthling, too." Cory's face was obscured by the outfit he now wore, the Power Ranger suit; the Dress Spheres had done that for all of the Earthlings. So long as the weapon remained summoned, the suit would remain.
Nearby, the building sized heartless, that Cory did indeed lift into the air, was going through the last stages of vaporizing into an obscuring black mist. It looked odd in the daylight.
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 6:39 pm
[[Louis : Flying Dutchman : Brig]]
The Arcanist lifted his gaze to the offer, immediately sharpening his eyes on Joe, he spoke up quickly before Ajora changed his mind, "If you promise to give us back our boat and equipment, then let us leave, you'll get your compass the moment the last of us are delivered to safety." Louis ran his fingers along his arm crossed over his chest like a pair of legs walking along, then as it reached his elbow he lifted the hand and held it out as if holding an invisible item, "You get what you want... we get out of here alive and unharmed. Everyone's happy. How does that sound? If all of this is over a stupid compass, then there's no need to hold us here. Am I wrong?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 7:56 pm
[Dawn : Flying Dutchman : Brig]
Dawn's lip twitched as the others joked and such about the situation, but she remained otherwise emotionless and silent. When Ajora made his way into the brig, however, Dawn lifted her head from where she was laying it on her knees. She eyed him silently from where she sat in the back of the cell as he spoke, then to Joe and Louis in turn as they said their parts, then back at Ajora. Her mind agreed with Louis silently, but her mind was in too much mental fear, cause of the surroundings and their current situation to say anything.
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 8:23 pm
[Cory .:. Angel Grove .:. Outskirts]
"You don't know why I call them losers? Well here's a hint for you- it's because they are." The ronin removed his face mask, grateful that his suit was blessed with a more Sub-Zero styled mask rather than a full fledged helmet. He wasn't sure if it signified his status as "not quite an ally" or if it was his personal preference, but whatever the case the simple mask didn't give him helmet hair. He resummoned both Revblades and fell into a more relaxed stance before adding, "Just because you have the same origin as someone doesn't make you an ally to them. Even with the best of intentions, I'm an enemy to them. There's no exception to that rule, though I've worked pretty hard to earn their contempt. I'd be proud of it if I wasn't so damn busy working alone all the time... Speaking of which." The ronin dismissed his Revblades and exited his Drive form, his dress sphere returning back to normal.
Cory walked past Cloud and back to the ship he was working on, adding as he went by, "I call them losers and proclaim them my enemies, but time after time I have and will continue to stick my neck out for them. That's just how stupid I am, and that's why I'm teaching myself to fly one of these." The rogue hopped into the cockpit and began inspecting all of his labels before shouting for Cloud to hear, "While we're on the subject of the goody goodies, why aren't you helping them?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 9:19 pm
[Anthony ~.~ Caribbean Sea ~.~ Brig of the Dutchman]
Anthony stayed quiet during their time in captivity, a peaceful expression evident on his face. He had been sitting in the corner of their cell, a knee up with an arm resting on top the knee, listening to the conversations around him. He wasn't quiet out of fear or anger, but out of hope. He had faith him and his companions would get out of this alive. Not necessarily unharmed, but alive, which is always good.
Upon hearing the whistling, Anthony's attention was directed to the entryway to the brig just as the Kyle lookalike, Ajora as everyone called him, stepped into view. He proposed a compromise--Jack's compass for their safety, but not necessarily their release. He was sure everyone's reactions would be similar to Joe's (though perhaps a little less angry), but he was taken by surprise when Louis spoke up and agreed to Ajora's terms.
"Woah, wait!" Anthony said, breaking his silence as he pulled himself up onto his feet with the aid of the prison bars. You see, the warrior-knight's mind worked at a whole different level then the regular person's. His mind worked at a cinematic level. He'd compare real life scenarios with scenes from movies. Their present situation was no different then the typical "bad guy proposes seemingly favorable compromise for the heroes only to betray them later down the road." Something was bound to go wrong... "We can't trust this guy!" he continued. "He's a villain! He's likely to to have some sort of trick up his sleeves! The moment we think we're safe--BAM!" he shouted, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. "Him and his batch of merry men will chase us down and capture us again!" He paused for a moment to take in a breath as he sometimes forgets to breathe when he speaks passionately about something. "Villainy 101... I mean, you said it yourself. If all he wanted was the compass, then why is he holding us here when they could've just snatched the compass from Jack back on the Pearl while we were powerless."
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 2:01 am
[Alan :: Angel Grove :: Outside Church]
Things had suddenly gone from bad to worse. As he was occupied with dodging Terra's Flare, The explosion of energy had caught Alan off guard, and it seared his flesh as he strained against it. Thinking quickly despite the increasingly familiar sensation of pain, he cast a quick Quake spell, creating a wall of stone as a shield, which absorbed at least some of the blows. For better or for worse, he was still on his feet. He cast regen on himself to heal his burnt flesh.
The gravity, though, was even worse, and Kyle was down. Kyla did have a plan, and it might just work. If the failure of Alan's simple countermagic had been due to a persistent effect created by a specific ongoing source (that is to say, the spell was effectively recast as soon as it was removed due to some link to an existing font of power), isolating the subjects with barrier magic might be the right approach. Still, there was so much untested, and it was a risky maneuver. Alan wished that they had better conditions for experimental magic.
In the end, though, it was worth a try. And Alan was pretty sure he could help.
He had some communication to do. First, to the whole group: "I think I might be able to make Axel appear. Give me a second."
Then, to Riku: "Yes! I'm sure! Please!"
Frowning, Alan slipped into Clarity, scanning the battlefield . . . he had to learn the exact nature of Axel's non-presence. Considering the intensity and frequency of those attacks of his, it was likely he was nearby, either out of sight or invisible or moving too fast to be seen. Either way, there should be some indication in the spell itself.
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Je suis a toi Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 10:12 am
[Carribean Sea ~ Brig of the Dutchman]
Noelle glared at Kyle for his comments. She knew they were in some deep ish, all of them knew, but sitting there and panicking about what might come next wouldn't do any good. That's all Noelle did while away, sit in fear, jumping at small noises, thinking her replica was going to come out at any second and kill her. She was largely concentrated on her fear instead of putting all of her energy into preparing--that is until Titan gave her a nice blasting for it. If only all of them had a little Titan in their heads. She wondered what things would be like then.
When Ajora entered, the agromancer stood up straight, walking slightly closer to the center of the cell. Her jaw was set and eyebrows were knit together, she immediately didn't like where things were going. When Anthony spoke up, Noelle thought about giving him a little "shush", but was distracted by the next person who entered. Elleon sauntered in, her shoes clicking against the wood with every step. It was a wonder she wasn't cold with how little she wore all the time, but she didn't show a shiver or a goosebubmp. Immediately her eyes locked with Noelle's and a vague look of surprise formed on her face.
"Oh . . . you're still alive . . . that's interesting." The Replica said said in a slightly bemused tone.
"Yeah," Noelle replied cooly, her left hand twitching like it desperately wanted its spear companion, "Ultimecia and I decided to be friends and she let me go."
"Hmm, isn't that a shame," Elleon continued with a smile, "And you ended up here? From the clutches of one right into another . . . that's pretty funny."
"Hilarious." The agromancer seethed, watching as her Replica looked to everyone else in the cell, her smile remaining. It dawned on her that this was the first time any of the others had seen her since she had taken Rae's heart.
"Hello children. Did you miss me? Or are you all still sour?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 10:24 am
Sayrike::Brig of the Flying Dutchman Well, hell. Sayrike needed to give Anthony more credit than she had previously. Minus the theatrics, his concluding point mirrored her own thoughts exactly. Why didn't they just kill them all and take the compass off their dead bodies, even now? What were the Replicas playing at? She felt like there was some kind of ulterior motive going on. They needed the Earthlings for something...but then why keep around the others who weren't, like Auron? She didn't even know who Louis was, since his clothes didn't seem to mend themselves, but that only meant he didn't have a dress sphere; no one had really explained anything about him to Sayrike, and during the battle, he seemed suspiciously absent...but this enigmatic character was for another time. (Still, Louis had made a nice gesture of a few comforting words as the two of them initially boarded the ship, not that she was the one needing comforting at that moment. Sayrike glanced at Dawn, who did not seem able to speak.) Sayrike made a mental note to stay wary of him, as she was of everyone now since Zexion's---that was his name!---betrayal. Sayrike had stayed standing, relatively quiet during their imprisonment, emerging from her pensive contemplation only when James had started humming the tune from Final Fantasy X. (Even she knew where that was from.) But now there was something amiss, and she felt she had to say something. "I agree with Anthony and Joe. These terms are too vague to agree to any sort of deal, and even Louis' stipulations are too ambiguous. There's also too much conflicting information. From what I understand, you've worked to kill this group before; why spare us now? And why keep James in a separate cell?" That observation had been bugging Sayrike the most. She crossed her arms. "Clearly you want something else, and before any of us agree to anything, I think it's in your best interest to share a little bit more about our situation. I don't even know your name or your organization, for example." She gave a half-grin. "That's not very gentlemanly of you, is it?" Another Replica walked in---only this one was a copy of Noelle. How many copies were there?
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 10:50 am
[ Kyle ; Sora ; Kuja ; Ajora : Caribbean Sea : Brig of the Dutchman ]
As they spoke up, all predictably against his proposition, he couldn't help but smile; with each passing comment, that small smile grew larger, as if this was just dreadfully entertaining. He seemed particularly amused by Sayrike's 'brilliant' observation, going so far as to give a chortle before he spoke.
"My, you're right! How rude of me; I'd simply assumed I had a reputation by this point... it seems I'll just have to work harder to stick out in your minds," he mused, the words almost obviously a warning of things to come. The Replica began to dip into a dramatic bow. "My dear Sayrike, I am known as Ajora, and it is a pleasure to meet you."
"As for all of your enthralling words of... I suppose we could call it wisdom? Well, riddle me this-" he began, rising once again and putting his hands behind his back, a look of faux-curiosity on his face. "Every time I've attacked you- hell, every time any of us have attacked you- we left you alive, did we not? Once we got what we came for, instead of finishing you off, which you all know is more than possible, we left on our merry way."
"Now why, oh why, would we do that if we wanted to kill you? Just doesn't seem very logical, does it? Why, honestly, if I wanted you dead, I could just as easily kill each and every one of you right now and search your pockets for the compass," he continued, beginning to dig through one of his inner suit jacket pockets, as if looking for something. "But, yet again, I want you alive. Do you really wish to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak? Or, perhaps... it's simply paranoia. Well, let me assure you, if I wanted any of you dead..."
At that point, Ajora 'pulled out' a glowing, translucent heart from his pockets, which hovered over his hand. He looked Joseph in the eyes, his smile turning into a very obvious, sinister sneer.
"I would have had you killed, just like your little friend Rachel," he hissed, enjoying every moment of their responses and wanting to get the most out of them. To that extent, he tossed it lightly into he air, as if to juggle it, then formed two black-and-crimson fireballs, juggling the trio without taking his eyes away from the group.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:28 am
[Joe: Caribbean Sea: Brig of Dutchman -> Rage]
Joseph feigned disinterest as Ajora spoke, looking bored even though he was seething and listening to every word. Figures, the replica would use them like pawns, because that's all they were. Pawns. Weak, with the potential to become queens, but still weak.
Of course, all thoughts stopped when the heart came out into the open. All thoughts stopped when Rachel was mentions. All thoughts became instinctual rage when said heart was juggled.
"YOUSONOFABITCHI'LLDESTROYYOU!!!!" The male reached through the bars, unable to grab at the replica. Raging and spitting and growling, he beat against the bars that dare get in his way with his fists. That didn't work, so he switched to bashing into the bars with his shoulder. How dare he play with Rae's heart like it was a toy!? Even when he stopped ramming, his left arm no longer moving, his right fist still beat at the bars. Dislocated shoulder, bleeding hands, they didn't matter. All that matter was making that f***ing replica PAY!!
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:51 am
[Dawn : Caribbean Sea : Brig of the Dutchman]
Dawn's eyes widened when the heart was pulled out of Ajora's pocket and started to be juggled. She rushed into a standing position as Joe started to rage. So much that he was injuring himself.
"Joe!" Dawn shouted at him, trying to figure something to say to him to get him to stop before he hurt himself further, but nothing came to mind. He was angry, and by his own right. Ajora was using his friend's heart as a play thing. Just like he was using the rest of them.
Dawn soon turned from watching Joe to Ajora. "Do you think this is funny!? Stop playing around. You told us you want the bloody compass. Then stop playing your games and take it already. Or are you going to continue being a coward and p***y foot around us!?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 12:25 pm
[Carribean Sea ~ Brig of the Dutchman]
"Oh my, it seems that they are still sour." Elleon scoffed, watching Noelle's expression change from one of horror to fury. "See? It was never mine to give. It's not my fault you're incredibly gullible."
It was clear how much she was enjoying this. All of them were throwing little tissy fits like the children they were. But this was far from her show, so for the time being she was going to slink back and watch. The Replica walked towards the exit and stopped short of it, leaning against a wall with her arms crossed over her chest.
Noelle was pulling at things in her mind, desperately trying to find a way to be useful. If only she had just caught her. If only she had just been fast enough when she first jumped through the portal. She could have caught her and taken back Rae's heart then and there. But she didn't. And now she wasn't sure if she could ever get it back, or even guarantee the safety of her own heart. The agromancer shivered, feeling the stress of the situation really beginning to take its tole on her. She wished everyone would just shut up and quit jumping to the conclusion that they couldn't trust what Ajora was saying. All of them might as well have stamped a big "well duh" on their foreheads. The truth of it was that this was Ajora's game right now and they had little else to do but play along, regardless of the requirements of the trade.
"Someone just give him the g*****n compass already! Jack!" Noelle seethed, looking back at the pirate.
"Sorry mate," Jack said darkly, "But it not be in my hands."
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Je suis a toi Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 1:42 pm
{James : Caribbean Sea : Brig of the Dutchman}
James felt a bit better after his song, though he wished it had been able to drown out the whistling, the tune was interesting in that there was no gap for breathing, but the corsair knew that whoever was whistling could do so on inhale and exhale, he could do the exact same thing. In fact, it was how the corsair had originally learned how to whistle was through inhaling and then later by exhaling. The Moonlit Corsair was not all surprised to find that it was Ajora who was coming to visit. He didn't complain as Ajora turned his back on him to address the rest of the group.
From what Ajora said, he wanted Jack's compass, for what, the corsair had no idea though. Regardless it was Joe who had it currently, he had been there when Noelle gave him the compass back in Narnia to go after Rae and the Pirate Lord had yet to reclaim it. The corsair remained silent as everyone tried to strike deals and made comments, until that is, when Elleon showed up and Ajora pulled out Rae's heart and began to juggle it.
"You monster! Quit messing with us!" He yelled, his own hands wrapped around the bars of the cage. Ajora was still too far away, though that didn't stop the corsair from trying to hit him.
He knew Noelle was pissed off too... she had gone to all that trouble to try and get the heart back, only to find that she didn't even have it.
"This isn't a negotiation unfortunately. Just give him the compass! There is nothing we can do right now!" He replied, he just wanted the replicas out of here for now.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 4:21 pm
[Jenny ; Alice :: Caribbean Sea :: Brig of the Dutchman]
Staying quiet was her only option, so Jenny bit at her tongue to keep her voice from escaping her. What could she have said to either of the replicas anyways, aside from the slur of insults she had coursing through her mind. That definitely would not have added any to the 'conversation'. As much as Jenny wanted to summon a meteor on Ajora's face, she couldn't. And as much as Jenny wanted to comfort Joe, she knew she couldn't. Even without hearing everyone's heartsongs, she could tell that Joe's anger wouldn't be quelled so easily with so much a few words and a hug.
Her eyes drifted to the glowing orb, it was so close... just on the other side of the bars. She could almost grasp it, normally bars would mean nothing but today... today, she felt so small.
Alice on the other hand, stood against the stairwell well hidden by the shadows; she was only there to take in the threads of conversation and store them in her mind. She had not let down her hood since earlier, in fact she held a bundled bolt of fabric, a deep red in hue. It was likely that it had been stained darker from the sea as the velvet material held gradients from its time aboard the Dutchman.
Alice gingerly tossed the fabric into the air where instead of falling back down, stayed suspended and rolled itself out. The threads slowly unwound themselves and settled across Alice's shoulders where they proceeded to weave a hooded floor length cloak.
Satisfied with the results and the conversation, Alice leaned back against the wall; introductions were close at hand... she could afford to be patient for a little while longer.
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Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 4:47 pm
[Anthony ~.~ Caribbean Sea ~.~ Brig of the Dutchman]
Things got heated up rather quickly once Ajora pulled out a glowing, translucent artifact in the shape of a heart from his pocket. Of course, Anthony had no idea what that was, but everyone else sure did as they began to bicker and shout amongst themselves, Joe going as far as injuring himself in an attempt to get to the Replica. A few questions filled the man's head such as "how long have these Replicas been badgering the group" and "who was Rachel."
Ajora's counter argument wasn't exactly comforting either. The question still remained, what was the point of forcing everyone into these cages when they could've just beaten and taken the compass from them while they were all aboard the Pearl? However, James was right. They were in no position to negotiate. Regardless of how Anthony felt about the situation, they only had two real options: stay and rot on the Dutchman, if the Replicas were so gracious, or trust the Replicas and fork over the compass and hopefully be released.
The warrior-knight stepped back and sat at the end of the cage as the group raged on. Though he understood the situation, he wasn't about to admit coming to terms with the enemy was their best bet. He'd play along with whatever the group decided on.
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