Welcome to Gaia! ::

[John.:Hawaii:.Beach]

John stood there for a little bit just staring blankly at Nick.

"Nicholas, huh...? Uh... if you don't mind me asking... where does your name derive from? I mean, Nicholas in earthen terms comes from the Greek language. If anyone's seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", ya know? Nick Nick Nick Nikki and I am Gus... alright you probably don't know that, but it's just weird that that might be a coincidence..." John rambled on.

He stood there slightly confused, but slowly realizing that actual logic and physics would often fail him... no matter what he did.

[Amy : Narnia : Enclave]

Amy stood in awe as the forest around her bloomed back to life. She had not expected it to work quite that well, or that quickly. A closer inspection of the trees revealed that they were still scorched; some of them retained the scars of the fire even as they were healed. Some of them didn't magically recover all of their leaves. What was clear, however, was that they were saved, and that was the important thing.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Curious, Amy turned around to see a dark portal there and waiting. Riku assured them all over the Trinity Charms that it led to the beach- Demyx had been able to find them using Kyla's memories of the place and Riku repeating it aloud. In fact, it had taken five or six tries to finally get the right location- the first one led off the edge of a waterfall.

Drained, Amy couldn't wait to get back to the beach and her friends. The forest would survive. She looked back to the road Cory had taken. They all would survive. She entered the portal and exited onto the beach, immediately collapsed onto all fours, and ridiculously made a show of kissing the sand.

{Genesis, Leon : Village Outskirts : Clearing}

Genesis watched, surveying his enemies below as they managed to dodge and block his attacks. His attention though was mostly on Cloud, which was a big mistake on his part. He didn't see as Leon charged and unleashed the Thundara Spell. The bolt of lightning from above struck right down on top of him.

"Gah!" He yelled out, his body stunned by the electric charge.

Leon watched as the bolt of lightning crashed down right on Genesis, a pleased smirk on his face that he got in a hit. He looked over at Alan and saw that he was chanting something, obviously getting ready for some kind of attack.

"If you're going to hit him, do it now!" He said, hoping that the black mage would take the initiative and strike while Genesis was stunned.

Jacob ll Below Decks ll Black Pearl

"Alrighty Kyle. You win. But Noelle...Dawn...James is a rad dude, but if it takes a boot to the head, and some rope to get him back, then that's what it takes. He won't be missing limbs, and we buy time trying to save him. But he gets anywhere near me, and I'm telling you this so you don't flip out later, I will attack and try to subdue him with any nonlethal methods at my disposal. He's rad, but I'm not going to die to a zombie. I'm already freaked out by them enough..." He said with a sigh, shuddering slightly. He took a step further from the door, away from Dawn and Noelle and glanced over to Sayrike, then to Kyle. That was a MUCH better question than his. By now, the pain in his muscles and sweat from his brow had both subsided and effectively vanished. As soon as Kyle finished up, Jacob wanted to head back outside.

((Woo, GMing! Thanks, Amy! Sorry I haven't been posting as often. Work's being EVIL and all I want to do anymore is kill things read my Christmas presents when I get home. ><; This is apparently gonna go on through next week, too, but I'm gonna try not to poof off the face of existence again. HOW the crap Dawn handles the BS we put up with at work and still has the will to be creative and post I still don't understand.))

{Bobbi, Demyx .:. Hawaii .:. Beach}

Bobbi grinned at Amy's antics as the gunner came back through the portal. She looked around at the rest of the group, feeling slightly removed from the crowd. That wasn't any different from how things had been back home, but over the last few days, she'd been getting kind of used to being in the thick of things. And then she had that nice little mental breakdown and stayed at the castle for a bit, and she felt like an outsider again.

The archer breathed a heavy sigh, figuring she might as well get used to being on the outside looking in again. She wasn't as familiar with most of the people on this quest as she was with... well, everyone who had stuck with the task Mickey had originally given them. She was quite convinced, especially after her trip to Disney Castle, that Mickey had the right idea.

War was not a pretty thing...

~:Oh, stop with the dramatics, child,:~ Shiva scolded gently. ~:You take far too much on your shoulders. How many of you are there now? You children are practically a small army yourselves. You have all been through so much in the last several days. Take a small moment to yourself, will you? I believe the others plan to enjoy the beach now that the girls are back safe.:~

Yeah, but... The Archer sighed. I guess. The only "beach" I've ever been to was at the lake back home. No ocean, just a lake, but it was fun.

She started to wonder what the Dress Sphere would make her bathing suit out to be. And also wondered if her figure had improved at all in the last six days. She didn't exactly have a beach bod at home, but with all the running, fighting, and just general exercise that had been forced on her, she wouldn't be surprised if there was already a noticeable difference in her body.

Demyx waited for the girls to finish their way through the portal, then let it collapse. He looked around at the group, noticed the girl-to-guy ratio, and grinned.

"Okay, ladies," he said, purposefully bringing all attention to himself. "Now that you're back safe and sound... Who wants to get wet?" His grin became a bit lewd, flirtatious. And he braced himself to duck anything that went flying his way, because he knew how many different ways that question could be taken.

He spared a moment, though, to wonder where Cloud and Leon went. If anyone needed some time on a beach surrounded by hot babes in swimsuits, it would be those two.

{Genesis ; Leon : Village Outskirts : Clearing}

Genesis was trying to shake off the lightning strike, before he could though he immediately felt intense heat as a column of fire shot up from underneath him. He folded his arms over his chest, bracing for the heat before it faded not more than a few seconds afterwards. He did not even have time to lower his arms though as Cloud came down with his blade striking down upon his left shoulder. Anger showed clearly on his face as he looked down upon the three.

"I... will not... be defeated so easily...." He said between pants for air as he flapped his wing to stay airborne. He raised his blade high and began charging energy into it. "Not without killing you all first!" He yelled unleashing the energy.

A massive green circle, far too wide to escape from in time appeared beneath the three fighter's feet, intricate runes and writing appearing on the ground and circling slowly. It didn't last though as Genesis lowered his sword a massive explosion of green non-elemental energy erupted from the circle as Genesis' Limit Break Apocalypse went off.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return." He said calmly, falling back into the recitation of the poetry he knew so well, as he watched the explosion subside.

Before any of them would have a chance to react, a portal of darkness opened behind Genesis which he simply glided into, disappearing from sight and trace with a light chuckle.

Leon stayed focused on Genesis as Alan unleashed a massive pillar of flame, from which the gunblader could feel the heat. Immediately afterward, Cloud came down with a strike that hit Genesis dead on as well. Leon was starting to get the feeling the tide of the battle was about to turn in their favor. When it was all said and done though, Genesis emerged with little more than a slice to his shoulder and a few burns. He knew this fight wasn't going to end well. He listened intently to Genesis' words, anticipating some kind of attack. He prepared for the worst as best he could. Though there wasn't much he could do with the attack erupting from the ground upward. He was immediately blown off his feet by the powerful explosion of energy.

"Aaaahhh!!!" He yelled out in pain as the blast enveloped him and the surrounding area before he crashed to the ground.

He laid still, his body unwilling to respond for a moment due to the pain of the explosion until he finally started to move, his gloved hands closing around the soft sand on the ground as he tried to find his gunblade.

"That really... hurt..." He exclaimed, panting as he tried to get off the ground.

[The Black Pearl ~ Lower Decks]

Noelle squirmed under Joe's arm, rolling her shoulders forward. She appreciated his gesture and it wasn't him she was reacting to. Everyone was deciding to be . . . sensitive about the situation. She was with Dawn when the girl said she didn't want to have to fight him, but the difference between the two of them was that she would if she had to.

I just wish everyone would stop using the term "hog-tie."
'They're not trying to be rude, human. Stop being so sensitive.'
. . . Yeah, that helps me feel better. You're good at this.

If Titan wasn't familiar with Noelle's sarcasm before, he was now. The agromancer sighed and leaned against Joe, still feeling frustrated. She wanted to stay and help with James, but she couldn't. Without her magic she'd just get herself killed.