He appeared, without warning, sitting in a nearby cushioned chair, leg crossed, arms resting comfortably on the rests. His brown eyes gleamed, despite the lack of lighting.
"Not gonna lie, I'm actually really impressed," he said, shrugging, running his hand up through his brown hair, keeping it parted on right, mostly going left. "I mean, I knew you had it in you, of course. How could I not?"
The tenor of his voice was fairly indifferent, though there was a sliver of pride behind it.
"I'm just glad I was able to help. Hah," he said, softly laughing to himself. "Who would have thought... me, actually feeling glad. Just this morning, I wouldn't have thought it even possible."
He stretched his legs and the blue jeans he wore before casually standing, straightening out the basic thin blue-striped white button up, and strolling over to the bed.
"Everything's changing. There's no time for me to rest—so I envy you that, really," he said, standing over the man to whom he spoke. "Things will be different, next time we meet. And though you owe me for that save, consider it on the house. Or repayment for earlier, I guess. You helped save me, I helped save you."
"Though, I am here for a bit of a favor," he said, almost as if embarrassed to be bringing it up. "I gotta borrow something. Well, copy it, honestly. You won't even notice it happened."
Gently, he placed a finger to the sleeping man's head, and the finger glowed a soft blue light for a moment. Again, the man laughed.
"Oh, who am I kidding. You won't notice any of this," he said, rolling his eyes before glancing back down. "Still, it was nice to talk. Not many people care to listen to me."
Walking toward the door, he stopped, hesitant... pausing. After awhile, he looked over his shoulder.
"A storm's coming. Before today, I wasn't sure it could be stopped. But now... I know you guys can handle it. And better, I won't be a part of it." He couldn't help but smirk slightly. "No, now... now I get to fight it, too. No more being a puppet. You guys cut my strings... thanks to you, I'll get my chance to make them rue the day they made me."
His smirk grew, and his brown eyes gleamed back at Kyle's sleeping form. "Now, the real fun begins. Sleep tight. Because by the time you wake up, I'll have changed the game completely."
Without another word, Ajora vanished into thin air.
Banshee, NOW go and read the other two ATEs, The Rebel's Prologues and No Rest for a Rebel.
Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:54 pm
[ Characters! : Disney : Everywhere! ]
Each of the Earthlings, as well as the canons, would have felt a single, tiny sensation. Not all at once, but one at a time.
In the town, it was as if one of the many people in the crowd had accidentally brushed too close in passing, or like the air had gotten a bit stuffy, if only for a second.
In the castle, it would have felt like an odd, small breeze of air against their skin, or like a sleeve had bunched up oddly around the elbow.
They'd all feel like any other completely insignificant itch that happened every so often. Indeed, each of these would have felt entirely ordinary, identical to every other common itch or bump. Forgettable.
"Wha-- Hey!" Yuffie spluttered. She crumpled her empty ice cream dish and tossed it in a bin before following. "You can't just say something like that and walk away! Get back here and face me like a man, you spiky-haired jerk!"
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:06 pm
[Kyla: Disney Town: Festivities]
“Oh.. .yeah-right.” She laughed weakly as Kairia and Mickey closed the distance.
It was great watching Sora tell Mickey and Kairi the good news. Though- the way Sora said ‘watched his heart explode’ made the girl flinch and absentmindedly clutch the fabric over her own while the three gleefully hugged.
As their talking continued Kyla became lost in thought- it was easy for her. She hadn’t realized she nearly disappeared when Sora suddenly remembered she was there, turning around she saw the boy motioning to her to come forward and releasing her tunic front she came closer.
"Kyla, Kairi and Mickey. She wanted to meet you guys, so you can all chat while I go find those two. She's—" "One of the people from earth," Kairi said, smiling as both she and Mickey held out a hand to shake. "You were at the end of the parade with the rest of them, right?"
“Uh-“they remembered her? Kyla was more surprised-that she was surprised,” y-eah.” As Sora left to find Donald and Goofy Kyla extended both her hands to shake theirs when she felt- funny.
She felt like someone had bumped her- and instinctively the anxious girl turned to apologize, only to see no one there and the thus the apology died on her open lips. The air felt stale, too close, and Kyla visibly breathed a moment harder looking around confusion before it just as quickly passed.
This disturbance obviously interrupted her greeting Kairi and Mickey, and realizing she must’ve just stood there a moment looking so strange the artist quickly recovered chuckling nervously- “ err. S-sorry.. I’m not used to crowds- got a little jitter-bugged. Pleasure to meet you both, I had wanted to do so properly.”
After retracting her hands she looked around one more, before finally dismissing it. Yeah- she was probably just tired. It was catching up to her again probably.
“It’s good to finally catch a breather, this quest has kept us on our feet so much, I’ve not taken the time to properly understand everyone. I think it’s important that I take this chance to. Are you having fun?”
Without hesitation the Turk hopped out of the aircraft, unsheathed his blades, and stabbed them both into the ground. A pool of blood red ink coated the ground in a large circle, expanding fast.
Relaxing a bit, Daniel stood up. If any magic based traps were in the area his ink might be able to sniff it out, but there was no guarantee. His experience with the ink versus other magic users was, unfortunately, limited.
The Huntress almost followed behind.
"... This had better not stain, Hun. Couldn't your ... ink, was it?",Lucil grimaced as she plopped down onto the ground, "Could it not have been something less messy??"
The ink beneath the Huntress retreated from beneath her feet as Daniel chuckled, " You are right. I should turn these things back in and get ones that dispense something more useful. Like Bees. Or Spiders."
He turned towards her briefly, " It won't stain, I won't even let it stick to you if you don't want it to, but it will allow me to find you easier if we all get seperated." Daniel did not wait for a response as the expanding ink took his attention. On the outskirts of their clearing the nearest patch of sinister vines began to be covered by ink.
"... Seems as though the vines are not reacting to my 'attack'. They are.. probably safe to cut through."
Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 7:51 pm
[[Shen : Malevolent Thicket : Basilisk Clearing]]
"Good to hear," Shen replied, drawing his katana and slicing through the closest thorn-ridden vine. His expression remained stoic as he placed the blade back in its sheath and he watched. He stood like a statue observing for a short bit before he noticed the vines that had been cut were actually, swiftly repairing themselves.
"That could be problematic," he stated plainly, shifting his weight, "If we're to move forward, it would seem we can't expect a clear path of retreat. These vines grow back too quickly."
"What?", the Spellblade turned and closed the distance between him and his comrade, "What do you mean--?"
The vines crackled and snapped, spurred into slow growth by what Daniel could only assume was magic. A passive trap, but a trap none-the-less.
"If the owner's of that castle know we are here, an attempt to exit will be our demise."
He nodded, "If they don't, we would need to get our fellow Turks out before they find out." The broken piece of vine that now lay at Daniel's feet did not share the regeneration abilities of its rooted counterpart, which was a good sign. They wouldn't want a thicker jungle to deal with on the way back.
"What if we planted explosives? Path-On-Command?"
In a sweeping, dramatic motion Lucil brought her hand up to shield her eyes from the light, despite there being little sunlight, and gazed in the castle's direction."I don't think so Danny-boy, we only brought enough for some door breaching. I think we'd run out half way there!"
"Here's the plan-",The pool of ink stopped expanding when the Spellblade yanked both blades out of the ground, "I will leave a trail of ink all the way there. As long as nothing messes with it we should be able to make a path that can be detonated later. In this environment.. I think it will last ten minutes, fifteen tops. Let's make it quick, sound good?"
'Don't ask for permission', remember?
hmm?
Lupin's training. "Don't expect validation for your ideas; If you know what you are doing then just do it. hesitation is weakness"...basically, everyone will realize what a loser you are~
...Thanks a lot. Appreciated.
Lucil was glancing at Tseng and Shen for support, uncertainty in her face.
"Good. Let's roll."
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:20 pm
[[Shen : Malevolent Thicket : Basilisk Clearing]]
The katana wielding turk caught Lucil's glance and looked for a second in Tseng's direction. He looked back to Daniel and reset his glasses, "You going there by yourself, Daniel?" Shen replied, lifting an eyebrow. He crossed his arms and gave Daniel a stern look, "Because that's what you'll be doing, if you think that was what you call a plan."
The Spellblade halted mid stride, turning on his heel. "Stop me if you have a better idea. I'm all ears."
Worry bubbled up the surface in the Huntress' eyes as she glanced between the two Turks.
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:49 pm
[[Shen : Malevolent Thicket : Basilisk Clearing]]
"I believe I just did," Shen replied, expression still stone along with his posture, "You have allot to learn about working in a team. You don't just decide things on your own like that during a mission."
"I have alot to learn..?", Daniel replied, glancing to the ink-soaked ground on his left.
"Lupin taught me that if your team doesn't trust your decision making..." the Turk's gaze realligned with Shen's, "then you are not actually on a team. I specifically asked you for a better idea, Shen. I'm disappointed. We don't have time to waste."
Once again, Daniel turned towards the ominous castle and began walking. The blade in his left hand produced a gritty clinking sound as he dragged it through the earth, leaving an ink trail. His other blade made quick work of the vines.
"Good Luck."
You don't need him anyway!
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 5:28 pm
[[Shen : Malevolent Thicket : Basilisk Clearing]]
"Lupin, is not a team player," Shen replied sharply, "He's a great fighter, I'll give him that, but he's a solo act, and can't be trusted to follow orders or stick to a mission. He's chaotic and a danger to his team when he runs off on his own without explaining himself to the rest of us. You expect us to follow your plan, when you haven't even stopped to discuss that plan with those here that have far more experience in the field than you."
The wordy reaction fell on deaf ears. Daniel continued into the thicket. His fellow Turks would lose sight of him quickly when the vines filled back in behind him.
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 9:34 pm
[ Noelle .:. Prote ~ Disney Castle ~ Main Courtyard --> Fairgrounds]
When Prote finally left the quiet sanctity of the library, the castle was quite empty. Everyone was out enjoying the festivities, even most of the castle staff. The Phantom wandered the halls in silence, most likely appearing to be an eerie spectre to anyone who might have seen him. Should anyone later make the claim that the castle was haunted, the Earthlings would know who was to blame. He emerged from a corridor and stepped out into the cloister surrounding the main courtyard and spotted a familiar little blonde laying on her stomach in a bed of flowers. She appeared to be speaking to them, but what was stranger yet was that they seemed to be talking back.
"What an unusual pastime." He commented as he came upon her.
Noelle looked back over her shoulder and smiled briefly, "Oh, I was just making friends. They're from Wonderland but were misplaced and brought here to be kept safe."
"You're talking to flowers."
Noelle snickered and bid her petaled acquaintances farewell before pushing herself to her feet "This is something you should expect from me by now!"
Prote seemed perplexed but didn't question her further, much to Noelle's amusement. "The castle has become quite vacant. Where has everyone gone?"
Noelle shrugged as she lead the way toward an exit, hoping to make her way off castle grounds and into the surrounding town where she might wander the fairgrounds. "I think everyone's gone to the festival. I was just about to head that way myself. I could use a distraction."
Tseng's voice was stoic but clear, silencing the rest of the Turks instantly.
"Return at once, and that is an order. Shen," he said, and only his gaze turned to face the younger Turk, his head remaining stationary. "If you are going to critique someone less experienced than you, you must do so with construction. If all you do is take away, you deny him your experience, and then how would he grow?"
His eyes turned back to the path Daniel cut, preparing for his presumed-inevitable return. "There is a difference between distrusting your decision-making and acknowledging the chain of command. When analyzing the situation, all ideas are welcome, but you are our lowest in rank--you do not finalize the decisions for the rest of us." * "First, we should analyze what we know," he said, though Shen and Lucil would know the statement was for Daniel's benefit more than theirs; analyzing was the first step by default. He spoke quickly, but concisely, wasting no time despite the thorough analysis.
"The castle appears fairly large, if decrepit, and just over a kilometer away, give or take, and we have no knowledge of the layout. Our path is obstructed by vines that quickly regrow after being damaged--quickly enough that we could easily assume magic is involved. Whoever, or whatever, has forced our companions to go MIA is potent enough to do so with one of our most experienced officers, Rebecca."
"We must take the implications into account. A fifteen minute window is out of the question, since we cannot run through these thorns, and the likelihood of finding Rebecca and Dominic within any possible remaining time is too slim to even consider," he explained. "Further, there is a sizable chance we may come into conflict with whatever is responsible, and it will very likely have magic, and if it is on this scale--" he motioned to the vines. "--then even I don't have the necessary experience to counter it. Which makes our safest choice another magic user: Daniel."
"However, considering the sheer distance involved, your plan would leave you with hardly enough... mana," the word came off his tongue as if it were foreign. "to combat such an obstacle on anywhere near equal footing. Losing us our only magic asset."
"We must plan accordingly. Daniel, draw back your magic and keep it on reserve until absolutely necessary. We'll form a single-file line to reduce the amount of vine that will need removing," he explained. "Shen, you take the lead, followed by Lucil to make sure we remain on track. Daniel, you follow her in case the vines return to quickly, and I'll form the rear."
"We move quick, but not hastily--only as fast as necessary to move beyond the vines. Haste leads to more error than we can afford," he continued. "When we arrive, we'll remain together. Splitting up would be quicker, but again, we already know that two operatives were taken out, so pairs are obviously not an option."
"If everything goes smoothly, we'll depart using the same formation, with Rebecca and Dominic at the center for protection. If we must hurry, however," he said, and though he never said why they'd need to hurry, it was clearly understood. "Then Daniel and Shen will both take the front. Daniel will clear out a short path with his magic, and Shen will follow up with continuing the path while Daniel readies another wave, ensuring a swift cut through this field."
"Are there any questions?" he asked, his gaze fleeting between the three of them. He made it clear he was not rushing for any response, and was in fact open to it.
[[ * -- Beyond this point is under the assumption that Daniel obeyed Tseng's order to return and has, by the point, gotten back to the rest of them. If that is not the case, I can make cuts. ]]
