Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Sorry for the super lame and short post... I really had nothing more I could add. o.O))

[Anthony ~.~ The Black Pearl ~.~ Main Deck]

"And I'm Anthony," said the warrior-knight with a slight wave of his hand as he walked up from behind Sayrike, resting his right arm on the girl's left shoulder, then slightly leaning forward and extending his left hand out, clenched in a fist, as a form of greeting Michelle. "Knuckle touch?"

[[Louis : Caribbean Sea : Black Pearl]]

Louis followed the flow of traffic to the deck, strolling out into the open air and greeting the others with a smile. His eyes rested on the newcomer, or more, returner. The arcanist didn't bother to introduce himself and enter the fray, instead he sat on the stairs leading up to the captain's wheel and watched. He found it amazing how all the others bonded, how they immediately opened up and accepted one another as one of their own. It was warming to watch them greet the girl, it sent a slight shiver up his spine that gave him the chills.

"Seems we've picked up another stow away," he mumbled to himself before yelling to Jack, "Captain, how much longer until we reach our destination?"

[Dawn : Black Pearl : Above Deck]

Dawn looked over at Michelle sympathetically as she made her introductions. Michelle was still torn up from the news of what happened to James, that much Dawn could tell. Dawn placed a hand on Michelle's shoulder and rubbed it gently, giving Michelle a small smile.

'Of all times for her to come on board...' Dawn thought, as she remembered how she felt when she was first told by James that Michelle had left the group shortly before she reunited with him and Bobbi, 'I know I wanted to see her, but damn it all. Damn you Ajora. Why did you have to take him?!'

Her hand fell from Michelle's shoulder and landed in her lap as she tried to look up at the others who had gathered around, but she didn't quite look at them, but past them at the ocean as the wind blew her hair letting her know the ship was indeed moving. She wondered how much longer it was going to take them to get to the Shipwreck's Cove, where they were to split up and help those down below fight off Ajora and the others. And hopefully get James back.

Demyx grinned when Azrael's initial reaction was to look generally pissed. He really wasn't expecting anything else, but then Az summoned a ginormous cobra monster thing and started screaming, followed by Nick screaming.

"Really, can't either of you take a joke?" he responded to the outrage, holding up his hands in a kind of "I surrender!" gesture as he slowly backed away. "Dude, this is a beach. You've got babes in bikinis all around you and all you want to do is sit and chat? Hang loose and all that stuff, right, man? Gotta know when to let loose and party..."

Despite the imminent danger to his life, Demyx still wore that foolish grin, though it was becoming strained as he tried to babble his way out of a confrontation. He kept one eye on the monster and one eye on Nick and Azrael. Apparently the replica was touchy~ as all get-out, and Dem was having a hard time figuring out how the guy was going to react. Really, the dude needed to take some happy pills or something.

Bobbi started to pull her hand away when Kyle reached for it, then decided some physical contact couldn't possibly hurt in the slightest. She blushed and bit her lip a little when he kissed her hand, but started cracking up when he responded to her "wet" comment.

She took her cue from Kyle and studiously ignored the chaos going on behind her. She could hear Demyx, Azrael, and Nick all shouting, and heard a loud hiss that sent chills down her spine. She felt herself pale again, recognizing the creature that hiss could have come from, and tried to console herself with the fact that they were on the opposite side of the beach, and she didn't have to look at them.

"Just ignore it, Dani," she said after a fortifying gulp, but it was easy to hear the way her voice shook as she firmly sat on her phobia. Don'tthinkaboutitdon'tthinkaboutitdon'tthinkaboutit--hey, cool, fishies!--don'tthinkaboutit.

~:Hey, Bobbi, there's a s--:~

SHUT UP SHIVA.

~:--spot further up the beach, just around a bend, that should keep you out of the way of the s--:~

THANK YOU SHUT UP NOW.

~:--scuffle. Come now, child, do you really think I would purposefully invoke anything to make matters worse here? You're frightened enough as it is.:~

Scared out of my wits, yes, thank you Shiva, sorry for snapping, running like hell now.

"Hey, Shiva says there's a spot further up where we can go get away from the mayhem. I'm..." She swallowed hard in an attempt to steady her voice again. "I'm gonna go check it out."

[Sephiroth : Land of Dragons : Summit]

Sephiroth didn't look at the burning village far below, it's flames but a small speck from up here. The smoke, however, was far bigger than the flame itself, and could be seen for miles. Sephiroth never turned to consider it; he knew it was there.

His answer to Genesis was simple, and unhelpful. "I did not."

He turned toward the man. His degeneration was visible, to Sephiroth's eyes– there was something unique about it, a signature in the way he was... made.

His condition appeared to be getting worse.

[Alan :: Clearing --> Near the Beach]

Alan looked over his shoulder as if he thought someone might be watching. Really, he was just trying to cover up how awkward he felt. Cloud and Squall - that is to say Leon - were such intense people, and experienced fighters to boot. Compared to them, Alan felt like a lost child. He had questions, but couldn't bring himself to ask them. Some were too personal. Others, he knew they could give no answer.

"Apparently the others went to the beach," he said. "I should probably head back before they start to worry about me. Um, Cloud," he paused. "I don't know what's up with your past and your life, and I get the feeling your probably don't want to tell me. But, well, I hope things go well, and not just because you apparently have all kinds of mysterious foes. I'll always be willing to back you up - you just have to ask."

With that, Alan said goodbye and, without treating his own injuries, walked off into the wilderness.

Coming to a crooked tree that struck him as particularly charming, Alan felt oddly compelled to stop. He sat down, resting his head against the tree's bark, and looked around. Where he was sitting, there was no sign of civilization. The air was warm and humid, and the sound of birds and insects commingled in an arresting melody. It was a far cry from the time he had spend lost in the Land of Dragons, and yet he was strangely reminded of it.

He closed his eyes, and his thoughts drifted towards lost Earth, and the Darkness that consumed it.

How odd, that a world full of life and joy and sorrow could be subsumed in a blink of an eye. But, it wasn't in a blink of an eye, was it? Earth had been the demesne of Darkness for a long time - from its conception, in fact. In the history of Kingdom Hearts presented in the games, Light was the original power and Darkness only arrived later. Such was not the way of Earth.

Ever since the first greedy life forms crawled out of the primordial soup, the world had been ruled by conquest and consumption. The strong lived and the weak died. The victorious prospered, and the defeated were swallowed up by history. The wretched of the Earth entered without ceasing from Darkness into Darkness, ignorant even of the Light of the moon. If this was the World of Light, that world must surely have been the World of Darkness.

And yet, the moon shone, and beauty continued in its course. Perhaps that was a greater wonder than the end of the world - that somehow, from the war of nature - from famine and from death - a Light undeniably emerged, if only for a second.

In the end, though, that Light wasn't enough. The bearers of that Light - the proud Humans of Earth - fell to their own natures. Greed. Pride. Sloth. Lust. Gluttony. Envy. Wrath. Unpardonable sins without number, both against their fellow humans, and against the Light itself. One of the oddities of the world is that the most depraved acts of all are committed by those who hold Light in their hearts. A mindless beast, living only for destruction, cannot be thought of as evil. But when a Human sins . . .

Perhaps it was the stress of the contradiction between the Darkness inherit in the world and the growing Light in its heart that led to the Earth's final destruction.

That world had so little to recommend it, and everything it did have - joy, love, colors and flavors - this world had to a much greater degree.

This is the World of Light. That was the World of Darkness.

Then, why won't my hands stop shaking?

Ani-ue, what's wrong?

Huh? Um, nothing.

You're crying.

No I'm not! Alan reached up to touch his eyes. they were wet. Okay, maybe I am.

So what's wrong?

I was just thinking about . . . the Earth. And the Darkness. It's really nothing

Ani-ue . . . I'm sorry. It must be hard for you. I can only imagine what it's like to lose your whole family . . . all your friends . . . your normal life . . .

Alan laughed through his tears, I haven't lost my whole family. I have you. And, my life wasn't anything worth getting worked up about over losing. I'll be okay. I just need a little bit of time.

Alan sat beneath the tree, and cried until his sleeves were wet. Then, wiping away the last of his tears, he headed over to the beach, where the others were waiting.

The scene he saw was a bit more . . . confusing than he had expected. Not knowing what to do, he stood silently at the periphery. He wanted to sit down and read, but felt like he needed to pay attention to what looked like a conflict with . . . a strange man he had never seen before. Something about Azrael made him feel uncomfortable.

People were leaving to go further up the beach, apparently. Should Alan follow them? Maybe in a bit. He wanted to see how this played out, first.

[John.:Hawaii:.Tides]

John had noticed Amy continued a silence for a little bit. It didn't bother him, but really, what he needed was just to get his thoughts in line. The others were preoccupied with bothering evil incarnate, and Catholic boy was no where to be seen. It figured as much...

aaaaand Amy...

"Hey, I um... I gotta say a few things I guess..." He began. "I really don't know what to think of life right now, and I don't even know if I am dead yet or if like this is like a form of purgatory we're all stuck in, and to get out we have to do good deeds and get s**t done and stuff... but, I mean, I know what I did in my past life, and from the looks of it, everyone here I couldn't even imagine them having to share the same kinda fate that I was supposed to get."

At this point, the tide had begin to go out a bit away from the shore. The water was up to his thighs just past the swimming trunks he was wearing. John couldn't make eye contact with Amy, for a reason only known to him.

"I know we're all confused, and what I'm getting at is that... well, I really appreciate your friendship. Like, you have no idea how much this has helped me. I would honestly rather die than have my heart consumed by darkness, so you're making life... or whatever the hell this is, here- a lot better Amy... and I want you to know that I have your back no matter what. If I am dead, then I better make the best of it, right?"

[Azrael: Hawaii: Beach]

"What's wrong, Water Boy? I thought you wanted to 'play'? SO LET'S PLAY, DAMMIT!" Azrael was stepping forward as he was speaking, Bal-Hur stalking behind him and the snakes slithering along, large mass of them included. Azrael was mad, yes, but he didn't quite want to fight. Not really. He wanted to relax. But a small bit of amusement at Demyx backing off made smile, the anger making it look sadistic.

If Demyx were to back off, Azrael would go back to relaxing like nothing ever happened. If Demyx didn't, or other people joined him...well...a sandstorm was very likely. With lots of pain.