Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tsurumi

I'd prefer if you were to just...

...disappear

{Castle Oblivion ~ Commons Area}

Watching as Vereor continued his onslaught, Tsurumi quietly sipped at her tea, enjoying the display. Analyzing the fight, she began to imagine that it was her that was fighting him, and how she would respond to his attacks. However, the 'fight' was over much too soon. She hadn't gotten to really see anything.

And then a most disappointing thing happened. Vereor drained the entire pot of tea. Really now, was there any need for that? To calm the mask? Regardless, the tea was gone from the pot, and she no longer had any tea in her cup. A bad situation.

"Well, I don't know about anybody else, but I could feel another spot of tea. Vereor, could you teach me how to make it? It's quite a delicious blend. And please tell me the name again, I've completely forgotten it." She said, placing the, now empty, cup on the table and looking up towards where Vereor was.

[Second District Cafe']

“The fact that you attract heartless is probably a good thing in this case” Rufus said in response to Alex moving slightly closer to her. His attention quickly changed to Sory and Rufus was about to comment as he walked out but the boy had already left. Rufus closed his eyes and smiled moving to follow the boy pulling out what looked like two small thin pieces of metal attached to each other. “Excuse me for a moment…”

He moved out into the restaurant again and as he approached Sory he tugged gently on the two pieces of metal, they gently slid apart and in between them was a thin almost holographic looking screen with various data on it. As Rufus came up behind Sory he clicked a few things on this pad and then slid the screen down on a table that Sory was standing in front of directly in his line of vision. “I thought you might need a little more incentive, but maybe even this won’t be enough…” he said this just in time for a recording to appear and begin playing on the screen. It was relatively low volume so other patrons wouldn’t hear or see it.

"How do you know Vereor?!"

The recording of Sory’s interrogation continued to play out, a slight smirk on Rufus’s face as he watched a few moments of the surveillance footage. He then turned his head to the blonde boy, speaking to him from a distance that might have been slightly personal space invasive “I’m sure someone with my kind of resources would be a large help in finding what you seek, especially when your going up against people of this kind of caliber…” he then clicked his fingers on the pad again and dragged open another window playing a video next to the one already playing. It was footage of about ten people taking on the two attackers from earlier… and not doing very well. “…besides-“ he opened yet another window making this one the largest. It displayed schematics for an absolutely massive ship, the image rotating and showing various angles and details, mainly a docking bay for other gummi ships within it. When he displayed this at the same moment the image would appear on the screen in the meeting room where Elde, Alex, and Nomaa were seated.

“-I have room for guests” Rufus said giving a polite look to the other members around the table. They could spend some time on the vessel, they just might not be getting paid or access to various resources, besides it would be a good idea to keep an eye on other prospective clients for the future. With that though Rufus clicked the pad again and closed the window of the ship and combat, he left the window of Sory open for a brief moment longer…

"Now, tell me- who is he to you?" ... "How do you know him?"

... smirking at the desperation on the boys face for a moment before closing it and retrieving the pad, the two metal pieces sliding back together as he slid it into his pocket. He then turned to leave turning to speak to the side of Sory’s head before going. “Think about it…Bonne journée” with that he proceeded to walk back into the conference room.

When he re- entered he walked to the front of the room again and off to one side of the screen that was still displaying the ship, gesturing to it. “The Highwind and much more will be at your disposal should you choose to help me” he then placed his hand back behind his back and waited for the responses.

((Note that the ship is only Highwind in namesake and the appearance of the interior and exterior is different, though if you would like the ship to be some kind of plot point for Cid Sory then PM away))

[ Ϩ Ѳ Ʀ ¥ Ʉ ϑ Ʉ ]

{Ignorance is bliss... until reality throws a Heartless siege at you.}

[Traverse Town : Second District Cafe]

The blond male tensed as Rufus appeared shortly after he'd arrived at the table, mere seconds away from instinctively incinerating the man with his dragon breath. People really needed to learn not to sneak up on him. Regardless, he watched silently as the man pulled out a rather fancy looking computer, revealing footage of the previous battle and showing a rather large ship of his own.

Soryuju frowned, and stayed silent until the man left.

"The fact that he would go to such suspicious lengths to gain my attention is enough reason alone for me to deny him," Soryuju muttered, taking his seat again across from Souzourou, a rather frustrated look upon his face. The smugness, the arrogance, the pretentiousness- Soryuju could never work for a man like that.

Besides, if his 'sources' are so well connected that he might have knowledge of those people, who's to say they aren't his sources to begin with...

"Sorry about that, where were we?" he asked, attempting to bring back to more light-hearted mood.

[Traverse Town :: First District]

Window saw a point to Nalo's words; some of his home's technology or adaptive skills might be considered magic to others who were not familiar with it. Window had not been able to think through things as rationally as he might normally due to his being dumped on a mysterious planet with no memorable explanation. Window readjusted his perspective. "I think that...in the end, nothing is really 'magic,' only that which is misunderstood. Or, then, is everything magic, imbued with the undefinable power of life?" Two could play at the philosophical game. "The rock may tumble and scrape along its course, but the water itself powers it thus. The current knows not where it travels; only that it must do so. It flows and changes in each new place, accepting all in its waters." In the meantime, Nalo's little display of acrobatics amused Window. "And at this moment, I feel myself compelled to dine. I will follow you--your nose must be better than mine."

Rude sat beside his partner in crime saying nothing and occasionally readjusting his sunglasses even though it was dark inside the cafe. Come to think of it, it was dark outside too... but his glasses never came off, it was a rule of thumb. So he sat there, staring at nothing in particular... of course his sunglasses made it easy for him to look at nearly anything without other people catching on. Rude swirled his small shot glass of water before looking to Reno.

Their eyes met for a brief second as the red head stood up, there were orders. Rude followed suit, straightening out the wrinkles in his blazer and giving it a good tug as he rose. He coughed lightly once, twice as if clearing something from his throat and reached in his jacket, already locating his weapon.

Nalo led Window back down the familiar path through the second district. He let go of Window's hand for a moment so that he could twirl around light poles and vault over planters and mailboxes, all the while smiling. "C'mon! It's just up ahead. They turned the corner almost plowing into Aerith, but Nalo quickly spun around her, quickly shouting, "SORRY MISS!"before ducking into the cafe only two doors down.

[DESTATI ALLAN-MARKES NEVERMORE]
{"I really just don't give a damn."}

[Harmony's Sanctuary : ZTK Headquarters]


"Damn....What the hell's wrong with her, anyway?"

Destati knew that he was truly at fault. He really had been trying to spy on his parents. But that didn't excuse them from deliberately crossing by the "new Illusions hangout" on their way back. He shook his head at no one in particular other than himself, trying to let go of all of those thoughts. He was approaching the ZTK headquarters now. He dropped from the low-hanging roof of a still-standing house - still standing, but no longer occupied - onto the mangled pavement below. He approached the titanium double-doors of the front entrance, slid his identification card through the appropriate slot, and watched as the nearly impenatrable doors slid apart, leaving adequate room for the young man to enter.

The entrance hall was once a busy place. Destati remembered clearly the night, three years ago, when he and his five childhood friends had walked through the doors and were amazed by the ornate blue and crimson floral designs painted up and down the silver wall; the enormous, yet thin and delicate, gold and silver chandeliers; the wide glass elevators which rose all the way to the very, very high ceiling, supported by pillars of silver-and-black painted marble; the second, third, and fourth floor balconies with their green-blue railings; and of course, the multitudes and multitudes of people, some working at the green-marble desks, most walking hastily to and fro, obviously busy with whatever it was they were busy with during their comings and goings. But now, after they had lost so many of their troops to the Heartless attacks, there were only a few business-people (what Destati, in all his up-front rudeness, liked to call "desk-humpers") walking around the floor.

He knew where he needed to go - the same place he was summoned to whenever he was in trouble, or on the rare occasion that he was awarded or congratulated for something - the Chief Administrator's office on the fifteenth floor. With a quick-paced stroll across the entrance hall, he reached one of the great elevators, and pushed the round white button marked with a downard-pointing arrow. He needed wait only a few more seconds before the cylindrical elevator box moved slowly down the tube to the first floor; the door slid upwards to open, and he stepped into the elevator, pressed the button marked "15", and tapped the heel of his boot on the floor as he was carried to his destination. Soon he was seeing the metal innards of the building as the elevator carried him up and up and up, until it delivered him with a full stop to the fifteenth floor, in all its blandly decorated glory. He ignored the brown, white, and puke-green color scheme of the floor's main hall, and headed straight to the right until he came across the door he was looking for.

He had long ago tired of knocking at this particular door before being given permission to enter. He did what he usually did these days: just opened the door and walked right in. The usually expected host - Saggitarius Cygnus, Chief Administrator of Zodiac Tower - was, of course, in his seat (Destati himself had been given a one-time opportunity to sit in it for a few moments, which he had taken at once, only to spin the chair around and around in circles for a headrush) and waiting for the young man. Saggitarius had been a sort of "pal" of Destati's for years; even long before he had acquired the Chief Administrator's position. As such, Destati was far less of a thorn in his side than he usually was to most other grown-ups.

"Hey, Saggy! What's up? Am I in trouble again?"

"Quite the opposite, actually, Mister Neverm-"

"Ah-ah-aaah!" Destati cut him off, raising his hands out in front of himself, as if trying to block the older man's words. "You promised me, Saggy."

Saggitarius chuckled lightly and nodded. "Indeed I did. I apologize...Destati."

"That's better. So what's up?" After this question, he (quite informally) flopped down into one of the two chairs on his side of Saggitarius' desk (he didn't like these, of course, because they didn't spin), popped his knuckles, and yawned. Saggitarius didn't seem to mind this rude behavior at all; in fact, he continued, as if Destati's actions and lax speech were perfectly normal; it must have been all those years of hanging around the boy.

"I would like to congratulate you. We have all been discussing it for a very long time (by "we", he obviously meant he and the other head officials in Zodiac Tower), and have finally reached a decision. You are now promoted to the ZTK Elite."

At this, Destati finally sat up straight. "Wh....A-are you sure...?"

Saggitarius nodded. "Quite."

"Wh....Why?"

"Why? Why not? You...aren't happy?"

"...That's not......I'm sorry, sir.....I am happy, and I thank you......Just....Do you really think I deserve it?"

"I don't really count, seeing as how I'm biased, but they do as well, apparently."

"But....Lee deserves it more, sir. Honestly. She's the best damn soldier anyone's ever seen. She doesn't have a single drop of Elemental blood in her, but she can still kick my a** in training. And on a Full Moon!"

"I have no doubt that she is a very fierce warrior...But the decision has been made." At this, he set down on the desk a silver badge. It was almost identical to the one Destati now had pinned to his denim jacket, except that below the ribbon on the twin dragon and goblet symbol, in all capitals, was emblazoned the word "ELITE". Destati took the badge, then, slowly, unpinned his old one and put the new Elite badge in its place. He placed his old one into his jacket pocket with a sigh before looking back up at the C.A. He had a feeling that, whatever Saggitarius might say, the ZTK officials were only promoting him because of something they wanted out of him.

"So what is it?"

"Pardon?"

"Whaddya want me t' do? This can't just be for my performance in the last few battles. What's the real deal?"

"Well, I see nothing is getting past you today, Destati," Saggitarius said with another chuckle. "I'm afraid you are quite right. There is a certain assignment we need you for."

"Saw that comin'. So what do I have to do?"

"Well, as you are aware, we are only in the possession of one Gummi Ship. All of our others have been destroyed by the countless Heartless swarming around our world, and we simply have insufficient time and munny with which to build them as quickly as we would like. But the one we do have may be our last chance of survival."

"...Go on..."

"As you are also aware, Destati, our world is ruined. The Heartless continue their seige day by day. They never stop multiplying, and our numbers are constantly falling. It will probably only be a matter of weeks before they finally break through all of our barriers, get to the Keyhole, and devour the Heart of Harmony's Sanctuary, just as they have done to countless other worlds. There is no possible way we could ever hope to defeat them all, much less defend what remains of our world from them, with just our handful of soldiers. Tell me, Destati, which Unit are you in?"

"Number two-thirty-one, of course. You know that."

"Out of the 233 Units we had before this war began. Now there are six left. Six!"

"I know, sir. And we're doing all we can, as you're aware."

"Indeed you are. But in the end, it won't be enough to save us. We need help, Destati."

"Ah. I see now."

"Yes. We need you to take our last ship and go find....something. I won't lie to you or pretend that you have much hope of success at all, or that I even know where in the name of the Twelve Houses you could even go to look for any sort of aid in the first place. But it's the only hope we have left. Oh, how I wish we could call on a legendary Keybearer."

Destati gave a short, humorless laugh. "Ain't it a little late in the game to start lookin' to old mythology for help?"

"I'd look to anything if it would deliver us from this nightmare. Anyway, they say faith can work wonders."

"I wouldn't know" Destati said with a shrug. "Anyway, I guess I'll go pack my sxxt."

"Indeed. I'll give you the night to spend with your friends and family. Come to the main hangar at around 07:00 with your things, and we'll set you up."

"Alright, seeya then."

"Oh, before I forget...You earned this," Saggitarius said, handing Destati a small medal. It was silver, in the shape of a shield, with the image of a great dragon. The ribbon holding it was deep purple, and the pin holding it was the same shade of purple, with a dark red stripe running horizontally through the middle.

"The Dragon's Heart? Why?"

Saggitarius pointed, with a none too pleased expression, to the fresh wound now marring Destati's face. The blood that he hadn't wiped off was dry by now, but it still wasn't something pleasant to look at, apparently. "Your ever so charming Captain told me of the selfless, rather chivalrous way in which you got that. Well, it would be more accurate to say he yelled it at me."

"Yelled?"

"In his usual way."

"Ah," Destati sighed, nodding his head and letting out a slight chuckle. He then cleared his throat and altered his voice to sound a bit more similar to the gruff, shaggy-haired Captain Leo Bluestar. "...'Why is it always MY soldiers that get beaten int'a bloody pulp f'r all the rest o' y'all bitches? Our unit gets no respect, n' I'm tired of it. That's some ol' BUUUULLLSHIT! Get yer own damn punchin' bags!'" They both laughed at the fairly passable Leo impersonation, and Destati slipped the medal into his jacket pocket. "Well, Saggy, I guess I should be goin' now. I'll seeya in the mornin'."

"Very well, Destati. Oh, stop by to see Sergeant First Class Hazel on the way out, will you? I believe he wanted to speak with you about something."

"Will do," Destati said with a quick salute before turning on his heel and heading out of the office. He added his afterthought only in his mind:

Visiting Zachariah? Dammit...Hope I'm not in trouble again. I don't think I can afford it right now...

[ Ѵ ͼ Ʀ ͼ Ѳ Ʀ ]

{A heart shed for power is the only heart of worth.}

[Castle Oblivion : Commons Area (AKA Kitchen)]

"Indeed, t'was Paopu Tea. We keep a storage of the tea leaves in the cabinets at all times," he replied, beginning to make another pot for the others. While doing that, he held out one hand toward where Diogenes body had been- the alondite necklace zoomed into his hand before he slipped it into his pocket. "And we have an assortment of lab equipment down in the actual labs, which we keep in the basement floors. However, you still haven't given us your title-"

Just then, one of his preferred members- Aiko- pranced into the room, her 'clothing' revealing her previous location. Right, her mission in Agrabah. "Indeed, it is Number Ten. Would you like a cup?"