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[[Louis : Train : Training Car]]

Louis barely took his eyes off Dawn before she was already upon him. Her speed was incredible, He only had time to draw his sword half way before her strikes hit. the strength of the blows, accompanied by gust of wind equivalent to the strength of her blows threw him straight across the room and into the wall.

Louis slid down the wall and dropped to the floor, he wasn't injured, thanks to the effects of the room, but he sure as hell felt the pain of breaking bones. He stood back up a moment later, wincing for a second at the lingering injuries, "I say... the verdict is good." Louis gave him a thumbs up, as he looked down to his side, and pulled his other arm away, realizing only then that he'd already been healed completely.

[Alan :: LoD :: Palace Courtyard]

Alan nodded, and turned to Jon. "So," he said, "Dress Spheres?" The promise of further power was nice, of course, but what really interested Alan right now was the prospect of a change of clothes. He had been five days now without the opportunity to change, and was beginning to feel rather filthy in spite of his magic enabling him to maintain a schedule of daily showers. He could only hope that the Dress Sphere would be able to do something about his five days' worth of beard growth, as well.

{James : Train : Dining Car}

James couldn't help but chuckle lightly as well as Jenny reacted to his story regarding the angry customer. He couldn't help it either, primarily because she was laughing too. Laughter was good, it made it easier to cope with the loss their team had just taken. If not for laughter and friends the corsair would have been in pretty bad shape both in this universe and home.

"Don't worry about it, I'll admit it had spooked me when it had first happened and annoyed me later on as I looked back on it, but it was over a year ago. Just part of the experience now... On the freight crew I don't have to deal with that kind of stuff which I am thankful for. The most interaction I get with customers nowadays is on furniture carry-outs or if I am working on the sales floor. I like my current position better. Helping customers is a lot better then just checking out their items and I don't feel like I'm being forced to run through a script with them like I used to on registers."

James took another drink of his ramune, emptying the bottle as laughing as he feel into an old habit that he had always done back home. He looked into the empty bottle and sighed. His voice taking on a fake exasperated edge that would sound very similar to a pirate that they all knew very well... Behind the words an unintentional smirk.

"Why is the ramune always gone?"

{Leon : Land of Dragons : Throne Room -> Imperial Square}

Leon by now had made his way back to the doorway that lead out of the Throne Room and back into the palace. He stopped, leaning his back on the door frame as his attention turned back to the group of Earthlings and his other companions. Cloud was fast approaching carrying the unconscious girl Maggie. While the others were still talking about random things, such as this "Final Fantasy" thing they all had talked about when he first met them, yet again brushing it off as meaningless. Others were saying what sounded like good byes to Mulan, Shang, and the Emperor even though they supposedly barely knew them...

'What is up with this group of kids...?'

"Let's go! We don't have time to waste."

Leon called out to the group, though there was no real hint of urgency or agitation in his voice, as he walked through the open doorway and began to make his way back into the Imperial Square. The sooner they got out of this land the sooner they could repair the damage that had been done. It was time for them to get back to the Red Rose and depart.

[Riku ; Demyx ; Yuffie ; John ; Kyle M : LoD : Throne Room -> Palace Gates (Imperial Square/Courtyard)]

"Glad we're getting outta here," Demyx said with an impatient wave of his arm. He held his fingers up and began counting things off, "No food, no parties, no dancing, no scantily clad girls. And no music. I mean, what the hell, man." He obviously didn't have any problem with offending people.

Riku passed him by, heading for the door himself. "Just shut up," he said, glancing at the Nobody briefly. It was long enough. Demyx grew quickly quiet and uncomfortable under that gaze. He looked away with a, "Whatever, man," but even that was quiet. Riku was already ahead of him, anyway, but he could feel Demyx's eyes on his back as he walked.

He exited the building, seeing a group of the kids gathered immediately outside the entrance. He left them alone and continued down the stairs. Yuffie was down there, and she looked none too happy.

"Freakin' Bluey and his !#$! #$!@$%!" The rest of her words were incomprehensible. She paced around, and if anyone so much as bothered to look at her, she'd snap with, "Who you lookin' at, huh?! HUH?" and go back to her pacing without another word.

Cloud was out there by now, too. He still held Maggie. Beatrix was nearby, making a head count of all the people as they exited the building. John and Kyle had followed Cloud out, and were standing idly by. Just waiting, it seemed.

[Kichi :: LoD :: Throne Room -> Palace Gates -> Imperial Courtyard]

Kichi nodded to Alan. "Oh yeah!" he said "See these?" He tugged on his shirt with one hand, and pants with the other. His friend probably hadn't thought of it beforehand, but these clothes were not ones Kichi had before this whole thing. "Dress Sphere gave 'em to me." He raised his arm. "Including a nice friend in my head." He said with a chuckle, and pointed to his golden Bracer, which had a stylized etching of a majestic dragon on it. "Don't worry, It's not like I've gained multiple personalities, I'm not any crazier than when we last talked."

'I feel it's worth mentioning that I help you with more than just your mental stability.' The aforementioned friend-in-the-head mentally noted to Kichi.

"Yeah, He helps me in more ways than just someone to talk to. You probably noticed I can glide. That's his gift to me." Chuckling a little, Kichi remembered the time when he had gained that ability. It had been a rather lame way to obtain the power to NEVER TOUCH THE GROUND.

[Alan :: LoD :: Imperial Courtyard]

Alan nodded silently for a second as he regarded Jon's clothing. "So," he said, "is it at all like Dress Spheres in X-2? I mean, can you change your, um," Alan paused, searching for the right word. The in-game terminology seemed patently wrong in a real life context, "Skill set?"

"Anyway," Alan continued, "does your friend have a name?" He didn't seem at all fazed by the prospect of voices inside his friend's head. Partially, this was the result of the current circumstances - nothing could surprise him now. "And where did he come from? Is he the personality of the dress sphere itself?"

It was good to have an opportunity to ask questions. Even if the answers wouldn't bring him closer to the truth, a possibility which Alan had a sinking suspicion was the case, it was good to have something to talk about. There were layers and layers to this puzzle, and even scratching the surface might produce a path to its core.

I wounded, he mused, how deep they've dug. If I'm right in thinking that this might be some kind of illusion, engaging the world on its own terms might hold us back in the long run. The whole group seem to be rather dedicated to the logic and workings of the surface aspects of this situation. I'll have to remember to be careful.

[Amy : LoD : Imperial Courtyard]

"No problem," Amy said, although the end of the sentence was cut off with a yawn. She laughed at herself. "Sorry. Tired," she explained, "You looked like you needed help. You and John both." She nodded with a, "Mhm."

She shifted her weight from one foot to the next as she stared down at the courtyard, wondering how they were gonna do this. "I hope we don't have to ride the horses back to the ship. That would take forever."

She glanced over at Alan and Kichi with interest, but trying not to seem too interested or like she was butting in. In truth, she'd like to know the answers to a few of those questions, herself...