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[Kyla: Disney: Hall of the Cornerstone]

“I thought so...” she smiled and looked forward towards the others lingering- “In light of everything’s that’s occurred, I would be shocked if I was the only one.” She turned back to Riku a moment-

He took the information quite well, and using his reaction she weighed how much more she could impart and decided on a final daring bit.

“You asked me back in the hangar- if I had the strength to do what was needed to be done. You said I expressed a balance between mercy and morality…” Her eyes went downcast again.
“I'll tell you the truth. I... don't know. I hope that’s true. I keep doubting myself when I think of what that could mean-it wasn't just about Louis then- talk about selfish huh?”

Truth was she was down right scared. For all the times she threw herself at danger for others- all this time she had some hope she would make it out ok- but for this. Unless something else was presented by the wizards- Kyla only knew one way to undo magic born from her own if it had a life of itself connected to her.

I’m a still being selfish? Asking to be saved?
She didn’t know.

She flipped her pages back- till it parted on the part where he could see a page torn- and recently tapped back in.

On that was a full out drawing of the creature. It looked old. Worn.

Original.

“Thank you, I seriously.. didn’t know if you would. I should have mentioned this a long time ago- but how exactly could I bring it up? I didn’t know- if I’d ever see -...her again. From what I saw in Joe’s mind... it was horrible.
“I’ve been saying sorry a lot- I’ll be saying it again in the time to come unfortunately.”Finally she closed her book with a finality that seemed like it was about all she had to talk about.

“No doubt, if I don’t know to swim properly- Kai is going to drown me when she gets her chance. So I very much appreciate the offer of a life preserver.” With that she turned to one side waiting for his prompt to return after he said his final piece.
‘ Sorry Maggie. I’m going to be a little late…’

[ Riku ; Yen Sid : Disney : Hall of the Cornerstone ]

Yen Sid looked upon the younger woman before him, his eyes gazing at her, around her, through her--indeed, if there were a wizard who could see hearts and souls, it likely felt like Yen Sid at this point.

"How may I aid you?" he asked, running his hand along his beard.


As she spoke again, Riku looked at the original image--maybe even the first she'd drawn. She called the creature "her"... his heart sank, not in condescension, but in pity. Both for the target and the artist. What had happened to cause such a... twisted outcome?

"Just remember, you're not alone. No matter what you have to do, as long as you stay the right course, you'll always have us backing you up," he said, nodding before looking toward Yen Sid--and seeing Noelle there, discussing something with him.

"Let's wait and let her finish," he said, walking forward but staying far enough away to give Noelle some privacy. "She'll be around for our conversation, anyway."

[ Yen Sid : Disney : Hall of the Cornerstone ]

The mage listened intently, his gaze hanging on the seal for some time before he looked back into her eyes, taking in what she had to say. He didn't respond immediately, closing his eyes in thought.

"You were wise to reveal this in the light of the Cornerstone. It pushes out malevolence and negates, if only temporarily, connections such as these," he explained, nodding slowly. "I guarantee that Chaos, nor his host, has any idea what is going on and cannot affect you here. The same, however, cannot be said once you leave."

"As for the seal itself... seals are a very basic form of personal magic, perhaps some of the most primitive still in use. Primitive, but malleable. You see, a seal is nothing more than a piece of the caster's personal energy--a signature, of sorts," he continued. "Because it is his personal energy, he remains connected to it at all times. Whenever he chooses, he can use the energy in any way that would normally be available to him--but from much greater distances. However, as I said, the Cornerstone has negated the connection. More accurately, if we were to compare the seal to a piece of the caster's self, the seal has been "numbed", like a limb losing circulation."

"You may still experience some of these... illusions, however. It depends on how he cast the seal, what he put into it... but simply because the dark connection is gone does not mean Nicholas is, as well," he went on. "There may be a piece of him in that seal, now disconnected from his true self, and that may give you insight into who he is without the weight of Chaos upon him. Given enough time disconnected, this piece of him may even grow beyond the original seal's intent. Should you leave, the darkness may not have so strong a hold over it--or you."

"This, however, is only a guess. That is the problem with such primitive magic: it can behave in unpredictable ways," he said, stroking his beard. "For that reason, it is not something one can simply extract. The safest way to do so would be from within, which would require you or another to dive into your heart and purge the seal from there, assuming it has not already established too strong a connection with your heart."

"So long as you are within the city, you are safe to consider your options," he concluded, looking toward her. "Should you choose to expel the seal, we can prepare you or your chosen allies to attempt a dive. Should you, instead, choose to accept the risk and retain the seal, then we may be able to protect you outside the barriers, but I advise you to inform your comrades before such departure."

[ Yen Sid : Disney : Hall of the Cornerstone ]

Yen Sid nodded as she gave her decision, and left it at that, keeping what thoughts he had to himself.

"That, I cannot say. These... spirits that you Earthlings have acquired, while not unheard of, are not an area of my personal expertise. All I can do is hypothesize," he explained, making sure she understood that what followed was by no means a guarantee. "It is to my understanding, however, that the dress spheres Merlin conjured also induce a state of bondage upon your spirits, to ensure that such a loss of control does not occur. If you could somehow get Nicholas to take one, then the issue would likely resolve itself."

"On the other hand, if that is not possible, then it will be a matter of Nicholas struggling for control, with the final battle taking place inside himself... inside his heart," he continued. "Such battles are dangerous, and are determined less by the strength of one's magic and more by the strength of his or her will. Once induced, he will be comatose until its conclusion. You may be able to aid him from the outside. While it may also be possible to aid him within, I urge you to use caution. Should you enter such a battle and fail... I fear Nicholas will not be the only one lost."

[Kyla: Disney: Hall of the Cornerstone]
Riku’s words meant a lot, and it was weird because logically everyone here would have agreed with him right? As people fighting for the light wasn't this practically a creed they believed in? So why was it so hard to hold onto for her?

“Thank you... and if it’s not too much trouble-” she said staring at her feet a moment again- “I may need to be reminded once in a while.”
Kai would try and make her forget this, and she’d forget on her own. It was something she’d have to relearn, something to teach herself and practice to recall until she didn't have to worry anymore.

“-just a bad habit of mine.” She shrugged looking back up at Noelle. Whatever she was talking about looked serious and for a moment- she could have sworn- but they were too far to tell, and taking her glasses in hand Kyla rubbed them clean with the hem of her sleeve.

“I hope she’s ok.” That just slipped out without much thought to it- but it nether the less true. Noelle was someone she had been thinking about ever since that time on the train. She’d want to talk to her more but something always held her back- perhaps something more akin to why she never drew much closer to Riku or Sora-

A sense that she didn’t deserve to. They were in a league of their own, a circle of comrades of their own. It was a silly and stupid reason if you think about it- but it was still the reason. At least it felt like that. With every slip up- Kyla felt less and less able to approach her in any way. She looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders- and while she could sympathize that was all the more reason to keep away-

She didn’t want to put any more pressure on her then what seemed to already be there.

Now there was a thought- why was it just her? What gave Kyla the right to put such weight on anyone's shoulders? Seemed pretty presumptions. What about Kyle? He was a wreck-
What if their talk just made things worse?
What about Maggie? She nearly died- twice- It was a lot of trauma to bear along side the loss of earth.
And Bobbi- she had the same connection with Louis right?
What about Jenny- sweet gentle Jenny- the one who could hear peoples hearts right? Good grief the noise she must be making right now. what about Dani- didn't she have enough to deal with too?..and Joe.
Joe was different now. Even after this whole thing was resolved, there was a finality to his new persona which seemed permanent like Kyles.

Maybe there were more casualties then they understood.

Without realizing it- she had that far away look again.

{James : Disney : Hall of the Cornerstone}

James was intent to hold onto every relevant piece of information Yen Sid had for them, especially when he revealed that he was aware of their games or "interactive Archives" as he called them, but to the same effect, it meant that the wizard had known, the need for the facade, so long as they didn't try to tell the characters of the world they were fictional was over. Not that any of them would, he was sure. Yen Sid then continued with very little further explanation and began to tell them the extent of what they did not know. The story of the one true Kingdom Hearts and the X-blade and how the keyblades they knew so well today were crafted in the shape of the original X-blade. He then told the story of Xehanort, Terra, Ventus, and the missing keyblade master that Genie had displayed, Aqua. As tragic of a tale as it was just to hear the master's summary, the corsair was sure living through it was far more tragic.

Yen Sid then went on to discuss the seven and thirteen and explained the significance of the original Organization XIII and the role it was to fill in reforging the true X-blade and the intent of the currently seven Fiends of Heart to fill the thirteen darknesses to forge it.

'Kuja, Seymour, for sure... Ultimecia, hard to believe she isn't one of them too. With the involvement of an Ivalician Empire Vayne could be one too, if they really are all FF villains, then Kefka is a pretty safe bet, Sephiroth too.Technically with Xehanort being one of the thirteen there only needs to be 12... and there are more than enough villains out there to make it easy,' The corsair thought as he listened to Yen Sid continue to explain that their objective aside from just helping the worlds now was to find Master Aqua, through her they could get the other keyblade wielders they were missing, at least that seemed to be the case.

After all the following discussion concluded, mostly led by Kyle the corsair noted, Yen Sid dismissed them to do as they all pleased, be it return to the festivities or go about their own way, or discuss more personal things with him and Merlin. The corsair merely stood there as most went off to do their own thing, he had a lot on his mind to be sure. However, none of it really needed to be discussed with Yen Sid or Merlin. His focus turned to Riku briefly but he and Kyla were already discussing something which over everyone else talking he couldn't understand any of, even if he had wanted to. He did want to talk to Riku about mastering the darkness, but it could wait. Noelle went to talk to Yen Sid, which made the corsair somewhat curious, but again it was a private matter he didn't need to know about right now, if at all, and Kyle was chatting with Merlin again surely intended to be privately. The corsair was never one to pry or eavesdrop, so he wouldn't even try and turned to walk away from the ones who remained, Michelle came up beside him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they walked away from the group towards the portal back into town.

"Let's go somewhere for a bit, just the two of us," he stated with a small smile as he looked at his wife, his smile broadened slightly as she simply nodded.

It was hard to navigate the way to the gates with all of the hustle and bustle going on in the town with the festival going on, many of the people they passed by clapped them on the shoulder or thanked them unnecessarily, or at least he thought so. However, eventually the corsair led them to the West Gatte of the town and out towards the forest. What all they had learned was a lot to absorb and think about, compounded by all of the thoughts that were already going through the corsair's mind. For now he just wanted to spend some time with his wonderful wife, catch up with her and gather his thoughts. Then maybe he would be able to enjoy the festival properly. Nature was where he could be most at peace, had always been, would always be. So that is where he decided they would go for some solace.

{{This will be continued in the ATE Thread}}

[[ Joe : Disney : Hall of the Cornerstone ]]

'Don't I just feel completely out of the loop' Joe grumbled internally.

The group had gradually dispersed after the debriefing, some sticking around to ask extra questions, others going to the carnival to see the sights. Joe felt like a complete outsider as he stood around, listening to the others ask Yen Sid about other things that had come up about their journey. These people had experienced things together that he never had even imagined, even while he was fighting for his life out in the badlands.

Still, there was one particular thing that had been gnawing at him since question time began. What exactly were they supposed to do now?


"Well, I do have something to ask." He began, scratching his head sheepishly "I was wondering what exactly is going to come next for all of us who've opted to stay on after the festival is over. I assume that there's something that we can help with."

[[ Joe : Disney : Hall of the Cornerstone ]]

"No, that pretty much covers it, thanks." Joe responded quickly before stepping back to see if anyone else wanted to ask something.

He had actually completely forgotten about the charm's existence. He wondered briefly where he had put it, before a quick flash bellow him answered his question.

There it was, attached to his belt like a buckle. 'Well', he thought 'At least I won't lose it easily.'