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 Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:59 pm
[[HAPPY 3000!!!!]]
[ Seymour : Hawaii : Village ]
The Maester had long-since left the group, going to search for Leon, Cloud, and Alan; however, he noticed down the street some time later that they were heading down to the beach. He mused that they looked slightly beaten up, but nonetheless in good health. That made his job easier; the group was merely relaxing now, and Azrael alone would be no match for their combined might.
As he neared the center of the village, he found a fountain that, though chipped in many places, still seemed to function. He walked over toward it, glancing into its depths to glance at himself. His clothing was still fine, and his face was no worse for wear. The veins on his face seemed strange to anyone who didn't know him, and his hair was certainly abnormal, but did he really give off such a suspicious aura?
"Well, well, looky what I found!"
Suddenly, his reflection was replaced with that of a familiar clown, looking just slightly less amused than usual. "Is there an issue?"
"Just a minor annoyance. Those Chinese morons were gone, and the spirits of their dead are gone, too," he said, his voice (predictably) dropping to a dangerous growl. "They were warned."
"Ah, yes, we were just there yesterday. Jafar proved no match for them, even with a boost from Hades," he mused; he was getting some odd looks from passerby, but none of them were in earshot, so it mattered not. "My apologies. Is there anything in Hawaii of note? Besides your plaything's completion."
"Playthin- ooooh, the esper girl! Reminds me, I need to chat with Luggie... Oh, right, Hawaii's got that giant treasure trove in the volcano, buuut," Kefka said, cheering up at first only to pout toward the end. "Vayne called dibs on that, the fun-sucker, and he always gets so miffed when I try to help him out!"
"Mmm, I had thought those ships looked familiar," Seymour responded, rubbing his chin somewhat as he glanced away. "Well, anything else to report?"
"Xehanort managed to capture his Nobody last night," Kefka replied, his tone entirely apathetic as he picked a bogey out of his nose and flung it away. "It's about time, really, the rock wasn't responding to him and we all knew it."
"True, I'd wondered if that were the reason for his presence there so frequently. The question, though, is if he'll be able to retrieve his memory or not-"
"Oh, don't you worry, I've got that all figured out," Kefka responded, smirking as he waved his finger at Seymour. "No spoilers! Don't worry, I'll invite you to the party- ooo, I think I smell Sephy! Talk to ya later, deadbeat!"
And with that, the image vanished, leaving Seymour once more glancing at his own cold visage in peace.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:00 am
[Michelle : Black Pearl : Above Deck]
{{Cue: Agony}}
Michelle was ignoring the voice's return as it mocked and talked of power but then her calm snapped like a dry twig. His voice was screaming, and the pain it caused her heart and soul to hear the sound made her fall off the bench and clutch at her head. It was as if she hoped to squeeze the pain out by crushing her skull. Her mind tried to remind her that it wasn't really him, but she couldn't hear the life-line thought through the piercing scream.
And then he was pleading asking for her help and tears streamed down her face as her heart wrenched aching to do something. The words help him, join him, be with him, just kept bouncing around inside her skull striking at her heart. Somewhere, some part of her, knew that there was a reason why this couldn't be, but she couldn't remember why."YOU CAN'T BECAUSE HE'S IN DARKNESS"He tried to scream at her, tried to break through the wall of pain and raise her defenses to whatever horribleness was taking place but she blocked his voice off after the words 'You Can't'. The pain made her snarl inside like a trapped creature, how dare her summon try and tell her what she could and could not do when it came to her husband.
And he screamed again asking why she wouldn't help. She cried harder she wanted to help but she didn't know how, she couldn't even reach him. Then he said she'd forsaken him...
It was as if her heart died, just stopped beating, and the pain went away because it reached a level where she couldn't even process it anymore. Never... Never... she tried to cry out to him but she couldn't find the link, couldn't focus enough. Hearing the voice of her other-half, her soul mate, claim that she didn't understand, call betrayal, was nearly enough to break her in two.
And then there was an image, clear as day in her minds eye she could see her beloved lying before her in torture, and when he seemed to look straight at her she reached out her hand as though she could reach him but there was nothing, it was all in her head.
Then the words that took a mallet and smacked the wedge in the crack in her heart tearing her inner-self asunder and sending her spiraling, she had left him. He was right she had run away, it was the worst nightmare she'd had while at the Castle come true. Harm had befallen the most important person to her in existence and she hadn't even been there to try and stop it. She had been to weak to cope and she had lost it all. She was reeling inside a torrent of loathing, despise, disgust, fury all directed at herself, and it was the of purest agony. He said it was okay that she had been scared and she sneered at the ugly truth of the word, how right he was she thought, she'd been very scared. Then his final words were yelled, why did he have to make the sacrifices? Was there no justice in this universe? She was the coward, the weakling, why couldn't she be in his place. He didn't deserve to be put through this, the only one who deserved to suffer was her. And yet here she knelt in the middle of a ship surrounded by companions while he had been lured into the presence of their enemies only to be treated to so much pain. And she couldn't do anything... She slammed her fists against the boards in front of her again and again in rage, and pain, and frustration, completely lost to anything outside her mind as she focused all her will, heart/mind/soul into her cry across the charms to James...
"I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:47 pm
[ Ajora ; James : Charms ]Huh. More proof against 'go with your first instinct'... oh well."What you can do? I don't know, what can you do besides LEAVE ME BEHIND?!"At that point, the vision of James vanished entirely, only to be replaced by one of 'Kyle' in a suit of pure white, which contrasted with the completely black surroundings. He was standing in the same place James had just been lying down, and though he was smiling, it didn't seem to be out of joy or sadism, but rather of pity. "It goes on for awhile, but it's more of the same, to be honest, so I thought I'd spare you the repetition," he said, arms crossed as he looked her in the eyes. "It's amazing what you'll find when you look down into a person's darkness... all the things they want to hide, to repress..."
"I'm sure you've figured out that I'm Ajora by now, and I'm sure you and eeeeveryone else has this big rage-face when I come up in conversation, but," he began, lifting a finger as if to interrupt her, should she try to speak. "The fact of the matter is, what I did to James was really the same thing Xehanort-Riku did to Maleficent in Kingdom Hearts One- you know, when he stabbed her with his Keyblade and unlocked her Darkness?"
"That's really it. Yes, I have complete and total control of him, but do you really think me so powerful that I could do it without his permission?" he said, raising an eyebrow and chuckling. "If so, you people really think highly of me... I'm flattered! But the truth is, part of his heart enjoys this. The things I've been projecting to you? Those are his thoughts, thoughts that his light buried away. And you all need to come to grips with that... especially since the same is happening to Dawn as we speak."
At that moment, Dawn would have felt an intense, agonizing burst of pain in her hand from the mark engraved there, as if someone had dipped her entire hand in acid.
"Her light resists, but if her Darkness weren't as prevalent, I wouldn't have been able to do anything," he explained, once again crossing his arms and looking Michelle in the eyes. It was a mental image, sure, but it was as clear as watching television. "I'm merely opening the doors you people keep closed. It's your fault they exist in the first place."
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:14 pm
[Azrael: Hawaii: Beach]
The male watched as Demyx fled into the water, his wind dying down and a small smile of satisfaction appearing on his face. Yes, water boy, run like the little coward you are. Azrael knew the water nobody wouldn't have stood a chance. Of course, someone else was looking at him now. And smiling.
"Well, how you doin'?" Just those words, and a small, cocky smirk, and the replica went back to his spot, his wind working around him to blow dry himself as the giant snake seemed to separate and return underground, Az and Bal-Hur returning to the slightly damp blanket, and the three snakes returning to their resting spots.
Looking at Nick, the Replica blinked lazily, arms going behind his head and eyes closing. "So, what were we talking about, now?" He was mildly eager to go back to talking about himself.
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AldrickZearse Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:51 pm
[Anthony ~.~ The Black Pearl ~.~ Main Deck]
"...and I'm... I'm married to James." Anthony's body visibly jerked as he suddenly exhaled, forcing his stomach back, and his eyes widened. If he had been drinking anything at the moment, he would've surely sprayed it all over the people around him.
"S-so, she's the one James was talking about with Ajora back on The Dutchman." the warrior-knight thought to himself as he recalled the time the corsair and Ajora spoke during their captivity.
Anthony's gaze lowered to the deck, feeling nothing but guilt and compassion for Michelle. Though he couldn't see her, her faltering words were enough to give away the grief she was feeling. Michelle already knew what happened to James... The young man's heart went out to the poor girl, and all he wanted to do is reach out and comfort her, but it wasn't his place to do so. He was a stranger after all.
The man's attention was directed to Sayrike as she began speaking hastily, as if looking for an excuse to leave. Anthony stared at the girl, confused and oblivious to what she was trying to do. "We want to check out what now?" the young man asked bewilderedly. "What's at the crow's nest? And what're you doing? What does this mean?" he kept questioning, this time mimicking Sayrike's subtle maneuvers until finally he caught on. "OH! Crow's nest! Right! There's a thing and a thing... and the view... thing..." He turned to Michelle once more and said, "It was a pleasure to meet you," before quickly following Sayrike to the mast, hoping Jacob would follow shortly.
"If you really wanna go up there," began Anthony as he looked from the mast to Sayrike, "I could help you up there. Just hop on my back." He paused, thought about what he said, then quickly said after, "Carefully though... You could carefully climb on my back." It wasn't longer after before Michelle began crying and slamming her fists against the boards of the ship. "What's going on with Michelle?" he asked, concern evident in his tone. "That doesn't seem like normal grieving... ...then again, I don't know how I'd react if I were in her shoes."
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:35 pm
[Dawn : Black Pearl : Above Deck]
"Michelle?!" Dawn looked at Michelle in confusion as Michelle fell in front of her, not only holding her head crying, but soon afterward started to pound the ground. Something she had never seen her do before, "What is going on?"
Dawn stood up and started to lift her left hand to touch Michelle's shoulder in effort to try and figure out what was going on. Her hand was about half way to Michelle's shoulder when all of sudden she felt the sudden burning on her hand that caused her to scream out.
"Ahh What the hell?!" Dawn shouted out as she grabbed hold of her left wrist and fell to her knees, then laying with her side on the deck. Tears going down her face as she waited for the sudden pain to stop.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:31 pm
[Michelle : Black Pearl : Above Deck]
{{Cue: I Will Not Bow}}
The infinitesimal moments between when she asked what she could do and James replied felt like eternities in Michelle's mind. She shuttered caught in the agonizing grip of her own pain and loathing, what if he didn't say anything... And then it came, better than silence but barely, the confirmation of her uselessness. There is no knowing what further depths she would have been driven too if the screaming had continued, but at last the image and his voice ceased, to be replaced by something new.
It was extremely confusing at first to see and hear the voice of Kyle, but he cleared the misconception for her by revealing that he was Ajora. It all clicked now in her head, Jacob's statement about a look-a-like, the title 'replicas', this was horrendous. The expression on her face became a derisive sneer as he tried to pass the Bull**** off about it really being James fault, his choice not Ajora's. He reminded her of every stereotypical villain she had ever read or watched, trying to blame their own actions and choices on their victims.
And just like a good Megalomaniac, as he tried to talk and rationalize his crap, he gave away valuable information. He confirmed what Michelle had already known in her heart, that James was no longer in control of himself and had been taken, not chosen to go. The shocking piece of news was that her sister was being attack similarly, she would tackle that bit of drama when they were done having their little chat.
In a tone of pure steel Michelle sent one last reply through the charms. "James will never be yours because I already have a prior claim, and no matter how long it takes I will break your hold on him and restore his balance. I wasn't there to stop it happening and I have to cope with the consequences of my choice, but you have proven with your words that you are to pitiable to ever understand us. Our very duality gives us the opportunity to struggle against ourselves and grow infinitely in true strength. Mere power can only hold it's own for so long against the kind of strength we have the potential of gaining. So if you are capable of self-preservation, feel fear, and be wise enough to go cower in some dark corner. Because I will never forget what you have chosen to do, and you will never be able to break the tie that binds my heart and soul to my love."
Please do what you can to intercept any further messages, I have nothing more to say to that creature and I need to concentrate to talk to Dawn now. She could feel her summon's relief as she re-established contact with him, he'd been extremely concerned that she was headed for another fall into darkness when she blocked him out.
As Michelle took stock of herself and began the ascent out of her mind and back into her surroundings the first thing her ears heard was Dawn screaming. She felt drained and weary, the news about James being gone, and then the pain of hearing him tortured, and then the agony of her own self-reproach, all topped off with the wave of pure rage that had risen... no wonder she felt burned out. Crawling across the boards to where Dawn was clutching her hand in pain, she lay down next to her sister and pulled her into her arms.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:50 pm
[ Ajora ; James : Charms ]
Soooo worth it.
He could tell, through his connection to James, that Michelle had cut him off. That... that was just so cute.
Immediately, the pain in Dawn's hand would have increased, and if anyone were to look at the symbol, it would seem to be festering, swirls of Darkness around it; of course, since she had it covered, nobody would notice until the glove was removed.
"Dawn, sweety," Ajora whispered, giggling to her through the charms. "I just want to give Michelle one last message and a head's up, and she seems to be unresponsive, so that leaves you. Tell her that I hope she can back up her words, because rearranging with James' mind and heart is proving more boring than I'd thought..."
"And tell her I'm looking to complete the set of four."
An image of Bobbi flashed through Dawn's head, but only for a moment. Though he no longer spoke, the pain in her hand continued.
---
[ Ajora : Beach : Hawaii ]
"CANNON BALL!"
The shout came from far above (and, to them, sounded just like Kyle had over the charms). Should anyone look, a speck in the sky was descending fast toward the deeper parts of the ocean, definitely at terminal velocity. As it neared, it was obviously a person curled up into a ball, and when it finally struck the water, a large splash flew upward. Not large enough to hit anyone, especially since he'd fallen so far away, but definitely noticeable.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:52 pm
[Anthony ~.~ The Black Pearl ~.~ Main Deck]
As Dawn collapsed to her knees and screamed in pain, Anthony's suspicious were confirmed. "Yup, that's no ordinary grieving process," he said quickly as he dashed towards the two ladies. As he got there, Michelle seemed to have come back to her senses as she crawled closer to Dawn and took the tessen-wielder in her arms. The young man crouched in front of the two ladies, placing a hand on Dawn's forearm to let her know he was there.
"It must be that mark Ajora left on her hand," Anthony immediately suspected. "That means whatever Michelle was experiencing was caused by Ajora as well through the trinity charms." The man mentally groaned, frustrated. Even after they had escaped, they were still at the Replica's mercy. The young man silently prayed for comfort for the two girls, which was all he could personally do at this time.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 6:39 pm
[Dawn : Black Pearl : Above Deck]
Dawn felt some relief when she felt Michelle's arms around her, soon followed by the feeling of Anthony's hand on her arm. The relief was canceled out by the ever increasing pain she was feeling. Her tears increased as she stared at her hand which twitched, wishing for some sort of relief. She let out a choked sound came from Dawn's throat. Both from the pain that was making the rest of her body numb, and in reaction of Ajora's voice in her head, followed by the image of Bobbi.
"Damn you. Damn you to hell. Leave my friends alone. Do whatever you want to me, just return James. Keep your hands off of Michelle and Bobbi, or so help me...." Dawn said to Ajora over the charms. She shook her head as she tried to fight both the pain and darkness that was accompanying it.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:29 pm
[Cloud : Hawaii : En route to Beach]
"Right," Cloud said, collecting himself. The reassurance and comfort of friends meant a lot to him. He hardly knew Alan, and the support he received made him feel ashamed of his behavior. Attacking someone without knowing who they were, and reacting to everything instead of reasoning it through...
When Leon started to leave, Cloud followed.
((Cloud is Sue-like in so many ways. O_o Sorry. DX))
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:46 pm
{Kyle : Hawaii : Beach party 'round the bend}
Nodding his head when Bobbi mentioned Azrael, he grimaced a bit. He still had vivid memories of getting beaten by the damned replica. And his damn summon. The damn summon was just as annoying. Fast, quite a few of them, and fairly deadly. His face seemed quite a bit darker as he contemplated the replica. Then his thoughts turned to each one that he'd fought with, the incredible power that they all possessed. It's going to be nice when we get strong enough to destroy them.
I know how you feel, but don't get swallowed up by darkness.
I thought you said you'd support me, even if I chose the darkness.
I did. But I want you to choose the darkness, not be swallowed up by it.
I'm not so sure that I'll be able to tell if I cross the line between using it and being used by it.
Well if that happens, your comrades will help you out. Somebody will be able to pull you back.
One would certainly hope so. Otherwise life could suck for quite some time. The mental chuckle that came from his summon put a smile back on his face. It didn't hurt that Bobbi was fairly excited about a seashell and Dani was asking for help finding some. "My mom was a seashell fan too. Decorated our basement bathroom in seashell decor that we picked up in Florida. Good times. And sure Dani, I have no problem helping you find some seashells. What kind were you looking for?"
Then he heard a shout, but he couldn't figure out where it had come from. It was really odd, especially since it sounded familiar. It sounded like...well, Kyle. The other one. But why was his voice there? He still didn't see the man, but he could definitely see the splash when he hit the water. "What...just...happened...?" He asked, wondering if anybody else knew what was going on. Maybe he was just out of the loop, but he thought that Kyle was with the other group, searching elsewhere.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:36 pm
[[Louis : Caribbean Sea : Black Pearl]]
Louis'eyes narrowed as the two girls suddenly collapsed to the floor, one seemingly in rage or frustration the other in obvious pain. And then the darkness reveals itself, he thought clenching his jaw tight, holding back anger of his own. Whatever was causing this needed to stop. Louis stood up and moved to join the other two, leaning down next to Dawn and looked up and down her trembling body. He looked to Michelle who seemed to have recovered from her own fit for the most part, asking promptly, "What... exactly just happened?"
His eyes were sharp like daggers. They seemed to say on their own, 'Answer me or I will force the answer out of you.' But there was something more in those eyes. There was anger, but beyond it there was a burning compassion and worry the others would not have previously seen, "Please," his eyes softened, "tell me. I may be able to help."
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:15 pm
[Michelle : Black Pearl : Above Deck]
Michelle had closed her eyes in exhaustion once Dawn's form was safely in her arms. But as her sister's cries grew more intense and her body jerked Michelle started crying again too, but silently. Tears of rage at Ajora for his cruelty, tears of anguish at her sense of helplessness. A new and unfamiliar voice spoke close by and she opened her eyes to look at the face of another earthling. The hardness of the anger in his eyes at first repelled her and feeling as vulnerable and protective as she did she wasn't going to answer, but then they softened. She was way out of her league and terrified of losing Dawn to Ajora too, surely someone in this blasted group of their's could do something.
"Ajora is torturing and controlling James who knows where and now he claims that he's going to take Dawn too. I've only just returned and I'm too useless to do anything but cry, PLEASE... Ajora claimed that he's opening up the door to their inner darkness and it's battling with her light. I don't know how and I don't even know if it's the truth but something is wrong. I can't... I can't lose anymore of my family." It may not have been true that there was nothing she could do however wrapped up as she was in her own guilt, she felt worthless and scared. Her voice was pleading and shaking as she held on even tighter to Dawn's form in her arms.
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Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:43 pm
[Dawn : Black Pearl : Main Deck] [Cue : Withdrawal]Dawn seemed mainly unresponsive to those speaking around her. All she could think about was the pain. Along with fear of the safety of her friends. Her left hand's pain seemed to only increase as she kept seeing the image that Ajora had shown her before of Bobbi. "Bobbi... someone protect her...." Dawn's pain filled voice came over the Trinity Charms, to those on the other Quest."Michelle," Dawn struggled her voice to a hoarse whisper struggling to say actual words through the pain, but failing to say anything else. "Be strong, Michelle." Dawn said to Michelle through her charm, with the only voice that was not failing her, "He won't get you or anyone else, I won't allow him..."Her eyes slowly starting to close as she let herself find some sort of relief from the pain....
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