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[Joe: Narnia: Castle Hall]

The male had his hand on his little heart-shaped aethecite, thumb rubbing it over and over again. Why in the world did he agree to come? This whole thing was just...stupid. And he didn't like surprises. Or crowds. Or giant parties like this. But he had been asked to come, so he came.

He...couldn't remember why he had been focused up, ready for an attack. He didn't think he was that anxious of it. But he accounted it to being in that blizzard. What else could he attribute it to? Not that he...really knew how to get rid of the pent up energy. But he was pretty sure destroying something in the castle was in bad taste....

Still, as the woman in the blue dress spoke, he tried to listen, but his attention was drifting because of his anxiousness. He already knew he wanted to head back to Disney Castle. This wasn't his scene. He wasn't the face of the group. Thank god, considering an acid scarred face and eyepatch wasn't exactly easy to look at. But he also wasn't...social. This was definitely more Kyle's thing than Joe's.

The call of Kyle's name caused Joe's attention to refocus.someone was running at him, and Joe tensed before relaxing after a moment. He looked familiar, both in appearance compared to Kyle, and also thanks to Joe's drop into Kyle's heart. He had to assume it was Kyle's brother. Plus he suddenly got distracted when he heard his own name.

The fighter's good eye blinked, then suddenly watered. Partially out of disbelief, somewhat out of joy. What...what was his mom doing here? She...the world was...but...Joe couldn't think straight as she ran up and hugged him, his body frozen with all the emotion running through him, even as she pulled back, looking at his eye in worry, moving the eyepatch to get a better look and worrying over him.

THe male talked with his mother some, giving vague details about stuff and not wanting her to worry about all the danger he had gone through. She didn't need that worry. He even tried to show her some of what he could do. Nothing like strength, considering destroying stuff would still be...bad. So he had tried to do some of his magic to show that off. Only nothing actually happened.

This confused him, and made him look a little foolish as he sat there, flicking his hands and fingers and nothing was working. He was almost sure his mana levels were good, but...he couldn't do a thing, magically. Was something...blocking him?

It unsettled him a little. Mainly cause it reminded him of the last time he couldn't use his abilities. Though he was...almost sure there wasn't another one of those machines around.

His mother gave him a questioning look, one that matched Joe's own 'what the ******** are you doing?' look. He shook his head, attempting to brush it off while he went back to rubbing his charm. And of course it got him to thinking about Mathy, and his mom meeting him finally. So he used the other charm, the one that allowed him to communicate with everyone, to call out to Mathy, find out where he was to easily find him.

But nothing came back. It was silent in his head save for his own thoughts. Even the buzzing on his summon seemed silent...and when he tried to reach out to Sylph, he got no response.

His mom asked him what was wrong, and Joe realized his face had fallen, looking confused and worried. He shook his head, letting go of his mother's hand he hadn't even realized he had grabbed with his free hand. "I just gotta go check on things. Leader, after all. I'll be back."

The male started to wander the crowd. He looked for Mathy, watched the other Earthlings reunite with their loved ones, and chewed on the inside of his cheek. Was it cause he was so anxious? Or was something off with the fact that none of his magic was working? Be it his own, or the charm, or his summon....it was weird for him. Unsettling. It left him feeling open in a crowded place that he was unfamiliar with.

He kept his eye out for anything weird or odd, gnawing on the inside of his cheek as he rubbed his little charm.

[ Kyle : Narnia : Grand Hall ]

He didn't know how long ago it'd started, but his heart felt... heavy.Entering the grand hall of the castle was like walking into another world. It was so much more elegant in appearance than anything he'd experienced, personally. The two-story tall monuments to the six great influences were particularly grandiose--a bit off-putting, if he were to be honest, but royalty did always have decadent tastes to match their banks. All together, though, the atmosphere, the art, the interior, the attire, it was all very sophisticated--he couldn't help but smile.

And yet, his chest still seemed a bit tight.He wasn't all that surprised. Large crowds made him a bit uneasy; the promise of a surprise only heightened his anxiety. His mind had been racing for what seemed like the entire ride there; what was this surprise? Why did they need to come to some coronation fest to receive it? The most he could fathom was some sort of magical reward or gift for their efforts, but that didn't exactly help.

The dress sphere automatically changed into appropriate attire, a fairly reserved yet handsome suit that fit the period, but he hardly took notice. He was too busy trying to take everything in. It wasn't very often you got into a place like this, especially when you're just a lower-middle class kid from the south.

The statue at the far end, behind the throne, seemed peculiar and caught his interest. It wasn't anything special, really--a blindfolded man, chained to brazier-holding statues of a suit of armor for the red fire and robed woman for blue fire. He figured it the symbol or representative of the new king, whoever it was--and it seemed almost as if to embody the idea of justice, with the two scales. And yet... it made his chest squeeze.

He never liked the idea of blind justice.Of course, this was not his place, nor his jurisdiction. If Aslan put his support behind the man, that was that. You don't get more 'chosen by god' than a vote from Lion-Jesus.The woman dressed the color evening sky greeted them as heroes--he was briefly reminded of the parade earlier that day--and motioned over to their friends and allies. Ah, right, they'd come ahead in the Red Rose. Probably had better parking than the train, he mused with a chuckle--though Daniel's presence was strange. He hadn't taken part in anything Narnia-related. Or anything at all, really--he was a Turk.Kyle's face scrunched in thought as he looked at the young man, and he unintentionally tuned out the woman, rude as it may have been. What was he doing here? The only common denominator for him was his status as an Earthling. So did that have something to do with it?

"Kyle!"

The voice caused his heart to feel as if it were going to explode, or compress into nothing, or strangle his throat.What?

His gaze turned not 5 degrees to the person nearby, almost his height, teal eyes, oddly similar features, hair curled so thickly it could be plunged underwater and come up dry... and that was just in the time it took for him to run across the hall and wrap his arms the dragoon. Kyle instinctively did the same, squeezing his brother tight against him. The unease he felt faded almost to nothing, but he could not move, could not breathe, could not blink. He simply held him there, squeezing him, and the world around them was silent, empty.

"You're alive.""Shut up."

His breathing started again, but it was heavy, labored... shaking. He wasn't crying, but his body felt like it was going to collapse at any second. All the strength and all the facades he'd built up over seven days were suddenly irrelevant. He'd wanted to save his brother, and here he was.

"They said you fought--"

"Not now," he interrupted, having not moved since the hug began. He was only now loosening his grip, but just barely. "Just... not now."And so they stood there.

[[ Joe : Narnia : Castle Hall? ]]

"...so I've been here ever since. Your brother's in bed upstairs, your sister is getting ready for a performance, and Paul's still trying to come to terms with everything."

Joe nodded and smiled as he looked at the older woman in front of him. Compared to him she was short, almost comically so, but the hair color and the facial structure made it clear that she was his mother.

Joe was shaking a bit, trying his best to hold back the emotions inside him. . He was failing.

Coughing and straightening his necktie to repress a sob he looked around, just to get his bearings straight. The room was grand, the food looked great, and their were plenty of drinks. This wasn't normally his scene, but considering that his family was OK...

He could live with that.

Hugging his mom tight, Joe let himself go for a minute, finally just happy that things were going right for once.

"OK..." Joe said, collecting himself "OK. I've got a lot to tell you, I' ve got a lot to tell everyone. I'll go get us drinks."

Joe bounded over to a nearby table and started looking for wine, mead, something to drink. He was so focused on how content he was he didn't even see the table until he had already knocked into it, sending a goblet flying into the air.

'Crap'. Joe thought quickly as he saw the cup fall to the ground, trying to cast a gravity spell on it to keep it upright.

Nothing happened, and the goblet's contents spilled all over the floor.

'Wait...what?' Joe thought as he stared at the cup 'Why didn't that work?'

He focused more on the cup, trying to get it to move, but nothing happened. The cup wouldn't budge even the tiniest inch.

"Is something the matter sir?" A serving person said, passing by to pick up the goblet and wipe the wine off of the floor.

"N-no, no. Everything's fine." Joe stuttered. "I'm just a bit clumsy is all."

"Well, don't drink too much. The king hasn't even arrived yet."

Joe just nodded dumbly as the server walked away, picking up two more glasses of wine and making his way back through the crowd.

'Hey, Atomos? Any ideas why I'm drawing blanks here?'

Nothing.

That was...odd. Atomos would never just ignore him. The creature loved attention almost as much as it loved itself. Was their some kind of ward on the castle? That'd make sense. Everything felt so warm and inviting, almost like the Cornerstone was protecting them.

Making his way back towards his mom, he happened to pass by fearless leader and Nanaki. Maybe they'd know what was up. They'd been at this much longer. He'd need to be quick though. For his mother's sake.

"Hey guys, having fun?" he said, smiling in an uncharacteristically warm way "Does the castle have some kind of ward on it? My spells are drawing up blanks."

{James : Narnia : Castle Courtyard}

They had no time, no time for any of this stupid antagonizing Nick, or disputing amongst themselves. That point couldn’t have been made more clear as all of a sudden the bridge began collapsing and they were forced to run for the steadily closing castle gate. The corsair looked to the gate, keeping an eye on those that made it across. He despaired when he realized that the canons, every single one of them didn’t make it through. The corsair watched in horror as they all turned to face the oncoming army of Heartless only to fall with the bridge’s collapse.

{{Cue : A Soldier’s Honor]}}

Silence was all that greeted them in the eerie courtyard of statues, with it a moment to think… an agonizing moment to absorb what had happened, what they fought through and what they had lost. It was a moment that James did not want, he didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to stop, he wanted nothing more than to keep moving, get to the castle and finish what they had set out to do. So he began, perhaps before some of the others did, to wind and weave his way through the narrow gaps between the statues. The cold and snow bit at his face, making him pull his coat in close to him, trying to preserve his warmth.

’How much further…. I don’t remember the courtyard being this big,’ He thought, hoping he hadn’t gotten lost, the snow so thick that he could barely see the others. Now all he wanted was to get to the castle, to find some shelter.

’Just a bit further, you have to keep moving,’ Fenrir replied sternly, trying to press the corsair forward.

It began to feel like it dragged on forever. The courtyard, the statues, the wind and the snow, it was a blur and slowly but surely everything that had transpired from their crash landing was, without the corsair even being aware of it becoming just as blurry. It all became hazier and hazier until it had all completely faded from his memory.

”What is the point of even being here….?” He muttered as he finally reached the front doors and along with the others entered into the warmth of the castle.

————

’How could I have forgotten…?’ James asked himself incredulously.

He figured the cold and the storm had addled his brain as he let go of his long black, elaborate coat. Narnia hadn’t been a great place for him the last time he was there. That was all to change though with this coronation ceremony that Aslan had requested they attend. Without a second thought he began to make his way amongst the crowd. He couldn’t believe it. The decadence, the elegance, just the sheer amount of elaborate details that filled all of his senses. This was the White Witch’s castle. However, the way it looked now compared if not even topped the appearance of the palace of Cair Paravel. It was all just beyond overwhelming. The corsair had attended some pretty elaborate events in his time, but none of that held a candle to this, and the additional promise of a special surprise for them all had the corsair excited.

Despite all of that though, the corsair’s eyes were mainly focused on all of the decor, not the people. He wasn’t really one for parties like this. When Kyle’s name was called and he was greeted by someone who resembled him, he assumed his brother showed up the corsair just smiled and watched as one by one the other Earthlings found someone they cared about. For Mizu it was her mom, someone he had personally met a few times.

{{Cue : Happiness - Requiem from a Blind Alchemist]}}

He didn’t have to look around too long himself until he spotted the special person that was waiting for him. Despite seeing the others reunite, he still didn’t believe his eyes.

”Tou-san?” He asked, lost for any other words as he called out for his father.

His dad, Richard, or as James affectionately called him, Richard the Gray stood at the edge of the crowd and smiled at his son. The corsair didn’t waste any time in rushing over to him, arms extended as he stopped in front of him and wrapped his arms around him. The gunner was overjoyed as he held onto his dad, listening to him as he answered his unasked question.

”Is Mom alright as well?” James asked, on the verge of tears, so happy to see his family again.

”She’s fine, she’s been worried about you. We had been told you have been fighting. Alex and Susan are fine as well, they’re upstairs getting ready, You’ll see them later.” He replied.

”I’m so relieved, I have missed all of you so much tou-san.” He stated, the tears no longer able to be held back. He had thought they were gone, he had even seen Alex taken in front of his very eyes. To find out he had survived was surreal, almost impossible to believe.

”We’ve missed you too son.”

[ Kyle : Narnia : Grand Hall ]

As he finally began to recompose himself and come to terms with the fact that this was actually happening--that if he let Josh go, he wouldn't just disappear--Kyle felt a mixture of emotions, not all of them quite so pleasant. Concern, of course, for what his brother had been through the past week; anger, because how dare they withhold this and treat it like some sort of 'gift' when it was basic human decency; and the returning sense of unease that he attributed to the crowd growing around them and watching what was meant to be a personal moment.

And of course, there was Daniel, acting uncharacteristically friendly considering their last icy encounter. If all it took was the presence of his loved one to make him a personable human being, he was all the more a hypocrite for not wanting to help them find them in the first place. Had he been the ones to find them in the first place? He wouldn't put it past the Turks to hold something like family and friends over others... unless there was some other reason he was so amicable.What actually jarred him was the news about the Negator. He'd noticed the lack of magic almost immediately; he was a mage, and he was pretty in tune with the magic running through him at this point, so it was much like a sixth sense being suppressed. He figured it was some form of anti-magic field pretty much for the same reason Alan suggested. But he didn't use those words. He used the word Negator.

Negators were Spiran. The only time they'd experienced a Negator, via Ajora, was due to Seymour providing it. It was Al Bhed tech, and Cid had allied the Al Bhed with Disney, but it felt oddly personal that the higher ups would have that level of cooperation without letting them know, considering their... past experience. Just thinking about Ajora made his chest tighten again.I need space.

"Come on, let's go talk," Kyle said, ignoring the rest of them and pulling Josh along in a one-armed embrace over his shoulder. They walked off to one side of the grand hall, near some refreshments. They looked delicious, but Kyle couldn't bring himself to get any--he didn't really feel parched at the moment."Alright, now tell me everything," he said once they were far enough way that they had some privacy. "You've heard about me, I know nothing about your week."

"Well, it's not as action packed," Josh said, shrugging before covering the main points.

Josh wasn't much of a talker; in fact, he probably didn't like it because his older brother did so much of it. After explaining the basics of his survival--apparently they'd gotten unique powers as well--he revealed that their parents were around, but not at the ball. Dad would see him later (he was notorious for not liking anything too fancy), and Mom's sinuses were going haywire in the new world... no surprise. Still, as adamantly as he'd refuse to admit it, this brought up even more questions. No longer was it a random assortment of individuals chosen--it was a random assortment of families. Why? Random individuals is one thing--it was strange, because maybe it was a calling, or maybe it was luck--but now they had evidence it wasn't entirely by chance. It couldn't be. And yet...There was something else. A fraction of him felt guilty as he looked around at the festivities, seeing all of his allies and friends with their loved ones. Except... it wasn't all of them. Where were Maggie and Zeba, or Michelle and Jacob? What about the other Kyle? And, frustrating as they might be... what about Cory, or Timmy? Here they all were, with their beautiful happy endings, with amazing super-powered families, and he would never be anything less than grateful, but he couldn't shake that second feeling, that pit in his chest that noticed unfairness. Were their loved ones not found... or did they not make it? Why were some of them lucky, and others not so much?

And there was someone else."Hey, you alright?"

Kyle snapped his head over to Josh, who looked more concerned than he normally would have. After all, Kyle knew he zoned out pretty often--but then he realized one hand was tightly gripping the fabric over his chest. A bit startled, he released his shirt and laughed, grinning as best as he could. "Yeah, everything's fine, just been a looooong week."

"You're telling me," Josh replied, and then Kyle spotted a familiar glint in his eyes. He realized the high energy and density of the hall was getting to his brother. "Anyway, let's check out one of these other rooms, maybe they'll be less crowded."

"Yeah, let's," Kyle nodded, walking with Josh around one of the refreshment tables. His eyes caught a glint off some of the silverware, and for some odd reason, his gaze remained on them rather than where he was going. He reached out for one of them as he passed the table, almost mesmerized, and he practically ran into his brother before snapping out of it. With a customary fake-scowl from Josh, Kyle apologized and chuckled, following him into the southeast wing to take a look around.

[Joe: Narnia: Castle Hall]

The monk was snapped out of his thoughts, looking down at Nanaki as the talking beast asked him a question.

"Well...it's...hrm...ah..." He stammered over his thoughts, before letting out what could only be called a noise of distress. "Something just feels really off about this to me." He didn't want to say it might have been him just being too anxious. Though he stopped his walking when the other Joe came by

Apparently, the leader wasn't the only one unable to use his magic. Which made his suspicions all that much worse, his thumb rubbing the small crystal heart even more. "I don't know...Keep your guard up, though. I don't like thi-ah!"

The boy that had run into Joe's leg seemed embarrassed, but Joe just shook his head, hand instinctively brushing his leg to get rid of the 'leftover feeling' of getting bumped into. He gave a look to Joe and said "Keep watch." Then, he turned away, going back to his search for not only Mathy, but anything that looked weird. Well, weirder. And also a place that maybe wasn't that crowded, especially with people that weren't with his group.

It just...didn't sit right. Having a part of himself sealed off from himself.

[[Narration]]

As Kyle and Josh made their way from the main group and gained some space, they came across the closest of the 5 main doors leading out of the grand hall. Exiting to the south east, slipping by the large statue of Susan, the boys opened the large double doors to perhaps a grander sight than the previous hall.

After a few steps down a fanned flight of stairs they entered the Royal Garden. Encased in a shell-like glass half-dome, the frosted atrium was warm despite the raging blizzard that could be seen through the windows that tugged at the flames of torches lighting the balconies just outside in the cold. Flowing fountains pouring into artificial rivers coiled about the garden and even through the air about them as cleverly placed ceramic statues, bowls, and eccentric designs drew paths for water to dance across the air between one pool to the next.

Flowers, plants, bushes, and trees of innumerable species were placed artfully midst the silver-lined furniture. Some hung like lanterns overhead with vines drooping down, others were flowers of obvious magical origin that glowed like streetlamps and candles along the pathways. Various small wildlife, small birds and animals scurried about and nested in the trees, chirping lightly as the doors closed on their own behind the two of them blocking out the orchestra.

By the entrance, directly between a split in the path to go deeper into the garden, was a stone pillar about 3 feet tall with a diagonal top and gold plate bolted down. On it were written the words,

[ Earthlings ; Melisandre : Narnia : Grand Hall ]

The scarlet witch Melisandre stood away from most of the festivities, quietly observing while trying not to interfere or draw too much attention; she was a lone giantess in garments not exactly suited for a ball, and if she were being honest, she wasn't really a high-class function sort of woman. As she leaned against a nearby column, her eyes continued to scan the crowd. She seemed fairly distant, with her arms crossed over her chest, but she was certainly laid-back as opposed to uncomfortable. From her height, it was easy to pick out all sorts of faces in the crowd, though she didn't seem intent on finding someone or something in particular.

She watched some of the Earthlings talk amongst themselves, hold each other, laugh and cry and both at once. Many of the others had similar teary or overjoyed reunions, be it with beloved family members or dearest friends. Some introduced each other, while others drifted off the have more quiet, private moments. Some of the native heroes even wandered over to chat, such as Sora and Riku, while others remained off on the sidelines, such as Cloud.

The messy, brown-haired time user went off what appeared to be his brother, all things considered, wandering into the southeast wing to have their own discussion. The short, gun-wielding healer held her lover in her arms, and together they seemed to be looking around at the various doors, something on their minds. The glass-wearing bow user (poor thing) was dragging her mother along to meet the naked Charr and the gruff staff-fighter, who looked none too pleased--stressed beyond all reason, really. The dancer was with a short young girl as they walked over to the others and looked over the moon with joy. The pirate united with his father, the anti-mage mage with his mother, and the little artist with a much taller young man.

It was all very sweet, but Melisandre didn't seem rapt with interest, moving on to note many of the other guests. She watched as a satyr chat with an assortment of humans and foxes near the opposite table, his hands waving around as he told a story. The hostess remained seated quietly on her chair in the corner, watching them as curiously as the sorceress. The guards remained at their stations, but even they seemed infected by the atmosphere, talking with one another and joking about, every so often making sure their positions were situated.

The masked dancers were displaying all manner of grace and poise as they moved in time to the rhythm of the music. The humans were some of the more finely dressed, though with their dedication to sophistication, it was no surprise. Nearby was a blonde woman dressed in the brilliant green of Eden, studded with tiny emeralds, masked by full-face ivory and ebony patterned by sprawling ivy, dancing masterfully in heels of green crystal. Her partner, a tall man more sandy than blond, was dressed in similar color, though the shades darker, with more wooden patterns than ivy; his shoes were made of root bark, his mask of unpainted, preserved oak. She saw a brown-haired man, his sides near-shaven and top short and pressed back, dressed in black soft as silk but deep as a new moon's midnight, with an ornate golden vest with a matching cowl of radiant gold feathers, and an upper-half mask of black, gold, and crimson; his hands drew her gaze as he reached out toward his partner, a woman in a sleek crimson dress, her hair long and silver-white, with a similar cowl of soft gray feathers, nearly white but not quite so pure, and her face was hidden by a matching mask of white, gold, and crimson, with more near-white feathers extending from the sides.

She also saw a man dressed in a subdued bronze, striped with sapphire dust with a matching upper-half mask, his partner similarly brilliant in silver, striped with ruby dust; across the hall was another woman gleaming like the evening sky awash with hues from soft yellow to deep red, her right-half mask the image of the sun and its extended rays, dancing with a man garbed by starlight and galaxies, his face half-hidden by the moon, opposite hers. There were various other pairs, and even more individuals with their own unique themes or looks, but at least at first these were the first to stand out.

The sorceress' expression, if possible, grew more contemplative--her stare led off into some unknown distance, her mind winding into introspective. It lasted a moment before she sighed, continuing to glance around the party.