Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Merry Christmas, Noelle! biggrin And everyone else, too... But I'll probably be on Christmas day anyway to wish you all a Merry Christmas, haha!))

[Anthony ~.~ The Black Pearl ~.~ The Brig]

After Dawn had pulled her hand from his grip, Anthony remained silent as the group spoke amongst themselves. Concern was evident on his face as Kyle explained what exactly the symbol burnt on Dawn's hand really was. With everything the girl had to go through today, it wouldn't be a surprise if the emotional distress alone could make her a convergent point for darkness.

"There are more Replicas out there?" the boy thought after Kyle had mentioned other doppelganger .

As Kyle responded to Jacob's questions, possibilities ran through Anthony's mind as well. "What if they're using Davy Jones?" he finally spoke, thinking out loud. "Maybe Jones has something they need, but not necessary goons. I mean, one Replica alone is a challenge for us. There's no need for lowbie fish pirates--especially if they can control Nobodies anyway. If they're out looking for allies, they'd probably look for higher leveled enemies." He shifted the crate of fruit under one arm and used his free hand to scratch his head, chuckling as he tilted his head back. "But unfortunately, my memory is crap and I can't think of anything Jones may have that the Replicas may need... other than the Kraken."

"Or...," Anthony began his second thought. "They could be totally playing with us--which we know they like to do. Like you said, they could just portal wherever they want. Why do they need a ship? ...then again, the Dutchman isn't just any ship... it does have the ability to submerge." The warrior-knight paused to think about what he had just said, putting the two ideas together forming yet another. "Actually, if I were the Replicas and I wanted to unleash a full out assault on Atlantica, I'd totally send the Kraken in as well as submerge with the Dutchman and allow my crew-o-fishy pirates to wreak havoc to just make sure the job is done."

Sayrike::The Black Pearl::Lower Decks

Sayrike's eyes narrowed at Kyle's sarcastic, self-deprecating comment. Ajora was nothing like Kyle. And saying 'roger roger' would not be the smartest of--

But before she finished formulating her thoughts, Dawn spoke up. Oh, goodness, so that's what Ajora was doing to Dawn. She felt a measure of empathy for the girl, the one who had healed Sayrike with a breath of wind as she fell out of the tree back in the woods by Port Royal. Dawn didn't deserve something like Ajora's mark.

The masked girl continued to listen as they talked about the Replicas and their plans. Anthony was definitely smarter than he looked, or at least he had his moments. "I agree...the Kraken would be incredibly useful for assaulting a place like Atlantica and Atlantis. However, I find that the more important question is not what they're about to do with the Dutchman, but what they're going to do with the Compass. What do they want that they can't find? Or keep track of?" Sayrike took a breath before beginning her onslaught of questions and thoughts from the past few hours and looked at the rest of the group. "You mentioned that there's another group trying to find King Mickey. What if...the Replicas, or whoever they're working for, want to find him and exterminate him by using the Compass? You're also gathering leaders from our...fables from back home. Are they waiting for us to get all the leaders in one place and just eradicate all of them at once, using the Compass to find Disney Castle? Though then it wouldn't make sense for them to attack you repeatedly, since it'd be better to not have you know that there are people after you...unless it was supposed to throw you off their true purpose? Or maybe they're just trying to test you and your powers? Obviously someone else is interested in your group and wants you alive, otherwise the Replicas would have ended you by now. And why didn't you just give the Compass to the other group to find the King? Wouldn't that have made their job easier?" It was a lot to say in one sitting, and unfortunately Sayrike still had a few more questions.

[MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! and have a nice, normal day, Kichi!]

[Cloud : Hawaii : Village Outskirts]

"Powers like Sora," Cloud said, "their weapons appear just like the Keyblade, but I have yet to see one Heart being freed when they destroy Heartless. Those Replicas attack them. . .," Cloud shook his head uncertainly, "There are powers behind this that I can't see. I know these kids are vital. I just don't know how." . . . Or why.

"And again with the kids. I don't know why I call them that. They're a bit older than Sora was."

[[Holidays make you miss SO MUCH.]]

[ Kyle : Caribbean : Pearl's Lower Decks ]

Kyle anticipated the influx of suggestions and patiently waited to hear them out, nodding at some, all while rubbing gazing off a short distance away in thought. There was a lot to consider... there always was. Though his mouth was closed, an audible sigh could be heard as he 'Hmm'd.

Using the Dutchman to attack Atlantica and Atlantis...

Using the Compass to track down Mickey and... no, not the Castle...

"Well, first off, it wasn't ours to give in the first place, though I didn't even know Joe had had it," he explained, feeling a bit on the defensive after that last question; it had definitely sounded like a prod at his judgment, despite him have had no control over the situation. However, he managed to keep any disdain he felt out of his tone, as he had learned to do over the years of negotiating and mediating between family members. 'The Negotiator', they'd called him as early as age 15.

"They won't need the compass to find Disney Castle, and I- and by 'I', I include Ajora- wouldn't be stupid enough to try and siege it in the first place. They have the Cornerstone of Light, which prevents any Darkness from penetrating the castle walls- hence why we're sending the leaders there. Using it to find the King... that seems more likely, though to be honest, Ajora probably isn't to concerned with eliminating him. If he was was so concerned with destroying opposition, he probably would have offed us, too. Hell, he had Sora powerless in front of him, the Keyblader that saved the universe twice."

"I think that, whatever he wants the compass for... we probably don't have a clue what it would be yet. There are too many possibilities, and we could theorize for hours," he said with another complacent sigh. Yes, that was definitely a tension headache kicking in- too much stress. But wasting time on rest right now would be reckless. "We'll theorize more later. There's still a few hours before we reach Shipwreck Cove."

"The Kraken would definitely be a threat against the undersea worlds, but as for the Dutchman... I'm not so sure. Remember, the Dutchman travels to and from Davy Jones' Locker, and we know that to get out of the Locker, you need merely turn your ship upside down before reappearing in mortal waters," he explained, remembering that particular bit in At World's End. "And even if it did traverse under the sea, and even if they did use the Kraken, there's still a key component that makes it all futile- the Trident."

"The Trident essentially makes King Triton an undersea god. If I know that, Ajora knows that. Odds are, Ajora's going to try to steal the Trident," he said, eyes furrowed, both in thought and pain, though it was particularly easy to hide the pain- years of headaches, years of experience. "That could be why he needed the compass- to find Atlantica or, more specifically, King Triton."

"As for who stays and who goes, we won't need to worry too much about an onslaught on this side of things- Shipwreck Cove is filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of pirates, all heavily armed and definitely dangerous- and also on our side," he said, finding a bit more hope in this string of thought than in the past few. "Even with all that power, the Replicas would still have one hell of a time surviving a hailstorm of bullets and explosions. Besides, you'll have Kuja up here as well- if they can take out the Negator with all their guns, his magic could wipe the floor with pretty much anyone."

"I'd rather not 'decide' who stays and who goes- that's up to them. We'll ask them in a bit. Now, this was sort of meant as a 'catch you up to speed' meeting- if there are no more questions about the past, and just more questions on the present and future, we might want to consider bringing the rest of them in. More minds to brainstorm with."

[Cory; Nithhogr .:. Hawaii .:. Foot of the Volcano]

The Unversed started making his way towards Cory, the rogue beginning to get back up from the kick to the face. Blood trickled down from the corner of Cory's mouth, a desperate look on his face as he resummoned the Revblade and gripped it tightly in his hand. "So tell me... Did your creator prepare you at all for my Burst Movement?"

[Meanwhile...]

Laan stopped suddenly, still roaming the halls of the Dutchman as something suddenly came to mind. "Oh. It seems I did forget about Burst Movement, didn't I?"

[Foot of the Volcano]

Nithhogr groaned as Cory's image began to blur, the rogue storing up Bursts for what he had been saving as a last minute trump card. "Five for Extravaganza..." Indomitable Will burst out around the rogue as the ground beneath him cracked under the pressure of the combined Bursts. "... And one for Momentum."

"Shi-"

The impact was instant as the blue blur struck Nithhogr, the two figures suddenly soaring through the sky. Before Nithhogr had time to react, he felt himself crash into solid ground and keep going, his body being dragged through the dirt by the still moving rogue.

Once the momentum had finally vanished, Cory let go of Nithhogr, having grabbed him by the throat and smashed him into and through the ground until his speed declined. A devastating two-part attack that Cory had originally planned to use against Ajora when he finally had the chance to fight him. The rogue looked around, realizing that the Extravaganza had taken them all the way to Halloween Town. His power suit had now been replaced by his Death Knight outfit, and Nithhogr now wore a similar costume.

Cory stumbled off to the side, propping himself up against a gravestone as he tried to pull himself together. Using all six bursts at once was not only taxing, but extremely dangerous. I'm lucky... Using Extravaganza and Momentum at the same time turns me into a bullet, but I'm still flesh and bone. If I had hit something hard...

"Tha'... ... hurt..." Nithhogr struggled to move from his position, but found himself unable. A combination of injury and being lodged in the ground made it impossible for him to escape through conventional means. Even his fire had died down, leaving him vulnerable to Cory.

The rogue staggered back towards, standing over him as he said, "Created to beat me, huh? Even if your creator had prepared you for my Burst Movement, what could he have done to save you from that?" Cory summoned the Revblade back to his hand, having lost hold of it during the Momentum attack, and placed the tip on Nithhogr's chest. "But if you were created, that means you're not human. That means I can still sleep at night knowing I've killed you."

Nithhogr grinned up at Cory and said, "Do it, trash. Even if ye kill me, Ah'll come back. Mah master c'n bring me back as many times as he needs." He reached up, grabbing the Revblade and pulling it down into his chest. He slowly began to fade away into darkness before adding, "An' one more thing: 'is name is Laan, an' mine is Nithhogr. Don' ferget it."

Cory watched as the creature vanished from sight, falling to his knees in relief. "That was not fun. I wanted to save that ability as a trump card for someone else. And now this 'Nithhogr' guy knows about it, and can apparently be brought back by his master..."

~

The rogue nodded before saying, "Right, back to Hawaii it is, then." He held his hand before him to summon a Dark Portal when... Nothing. "... What?" Cory looked down at his hand for a moment, confused as to why the portal did not appear. He held his hand out again, summoning a Dark Portal without fail this time.

~

"Not sure... But it doesn't matter right now. I'll figure it out later." The rogue entered the portal, leaving the land of Halloween Town again and making his way back to Hawaii.

[Jenny :: Black Pearl :: Sleeping Quarters]

A small sigh of relief escaped Jenny's lips as Noelle moved in to hug her, so her magic did work still... but, why didn't it work on Joe? The mage followed Noelle's gaze to the bo-wielder, her brows furrowing in a small frown as she contemplated Joe's situation.

"I'm not sure, it could be worth a shot. Maybe since Alice is... my replica, her magic has an immunity to mine?" Jenny pondered, it was possible wasn't it? Although something in the back of her head told her that it was more than just that. Alice was different, she didn't have the same powers Jenny did, but instead could control poison at the flick of a finger. Jenny couldn't forgot the way her steps caused the floor to wither and twist as if poison coursed through her very body and pores. She so easily disintegrated the cloak she had on with a simple touch of her hands. The musician shuddered at the thought of ever having to fight her.

[Cloud]

Relief washed over Cloud. For a moment, he was afraid Leon would choose to leave, to seek out King Mickey on his own. It would probably be easier with just a one, two, or even three man team. When Leon had originally set off, he had taken Axel and Cloud with him; it was only later that the Earthlings had arrived.

"It's a large group," Cloud said with a hint of a smile. "Think you can handle this many?"

[Cloud]

Cloud had a smart aleck reply ready wherein he volunteered Riku to be the one to take care of any extras, but the words died on his lips, and he looked at a point somewhere over Leon's right shoulder. If Leon turned, he would see nothing there.

"Leon. . ."

A feeling of vertigo, brought on by unwanted nostalgia, had Cloud fighting to think clearly. It was a familiar feeling, and one he had felt with far greater intensity just yesterday.

There's only one Light that can defeat me...

Despite his dizziness, Cloud's footsteps were sure. He passed by Leon, gesturing for him to follow, and made his way through the outskirts of the village. He would recognize that darkness anywhere.

Sephiroth.

The darkness intensified, and Cloud stopped, looking around for the source he knew would be there.