Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ichigo's face had suddenly went from serious to a comical, sweatdrop ridden face as he listened to Yusuke's plan.

"I thought I said Sun was right in us not being able to just barge in there, Urameshi..." he groaned. He knew Yusuke liked the direct approach just like some fighters did. Hell, Ichigo wanted to bust in there right now. But after facing Malachi, he knew that they all had to take this into serious consideration if they wanted to succeed.

Kon was oblivious to all of this, seeing that Raven had pulled him into her lap. "Well, this is kinda nice," thought Kon. "Doesn't look like she's gonna eat me. Now's my chance!"

And thus, Kon would make a lunge to steal a hug from Raven, trapped in his own mind in a dream-like state. "Ahhhhhhh...."

Meanwhile, back where Ichigo was, the orange-haired teenager had caught Rain's words as he addressed Yusuke. He seemed to know Yusuke, which wasn't hard to believe since Yusuke was in last year's Heaven or Hell tournament. But how did he hear about Ichigo?

Still, his how of respect by bowing was a little unexpected. Ichigo wasn't nobility or something crazy like that. The teenager blinked for a moment, then replied.

"Heh...don't worry about it. We're just doing what we have to do." He reached out a hand towards Rain.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo would promptly shake Scarker's hand, whether he did so before or after Rain's. He wasn't sure who was in the group completely or not, or who was listening to him when he stepped up there to speak to the group. He only hoped that they could get past blaming eachother and figure out what had to be done in order to bring Eden down.

Kuroha would look upon Asherah with only a smile. For what reasons it was there was unknown, but its all he did as she spoke.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to get into this as well. It sounds like its an unavoidable thing anyway, so what harm could it do to help the cause? As for me, I've been okay. As you can tell..."

He waved his arm outwards, gesturing more to his appearance than anything else.

"...Quite a few things have changed since we've seen each other though. I went on a little trip for some training, and came back looking like this."

Battle scarred, aged, and yet very fit and with some really kickass silver hair. you don't get to many of those generic samurai anymore, unless you go to some sort of toy store.

"Duty?"

The man considered the word for a moment before it clicked in his head.

"Oh! Responsibility! Hehe, no, that's not it, I just thought the whole fighting up a storm and saving the world thing sounded like a fun afternoon."

Even though Scarker looked easily in his thirties and had age-bleached hair, it would be really easy to mistake him for a kid if all one considered were his words and mannerisms. If anyone had taken him seriously beforehand, it would be extremely difficult to continue to do so now that his memory-washed personality was shining through.

Then again, these people had seen everything, and if the fact that a man without pupils or irises could see doesn't raise any questions, maybe a grown man who acts like a kid isn't too out of the ordinary.

If that tall stranger decided to let them in on what he knew about the concept of 'Endless Nothingness' Lucind would wait and listen. Then however she walked back to the bar to ask the dwarf if there was another free room upstairs and, if that was the case, if she could get a key for it.

Unless the response was negative, the Siren would make her way upstairs without commenting on Kurosaki's speech - and without deinstalling the pain blocking shield from Rain's mind.

Upon entering the vacant room she directly locked the door and refrained from switching any light on. Furthermore, she went on to make sure the window's blinds were closed and/or its curtain was drawn so that the room was as dark as possible and only the tiniest hint of light allowed you to guess the outlines of your hand.

The bed made a soft groaning noise when she sat down on its edge.

Several minutes went by. Muffled voices coming from the first floor found their way through the walls and doors.

She leaned forwards to rest her elbows on her thighs and finally sent a plain question into the blackness.


"Max...?"

((Let's do the time warp again!))

"Would..."

Through all the shouting and arguments, the explanations and heroic speeches, the one man who had done nothing but pick fights from the moment the tournament had ended and aside from Kael wanted answers most was nowhere to be found, having disappeared upstairs a bit before everything had gone down. However, in the moments before Sun began his explanation, a woman, familiar to some, despite her efforts to hide her face, with a waist-long green ponytail pushed the door open, sat down at the bar, and ordered a barley brew without calling much attention to herself, save for the fact that, although she was wearing a t-shirt and a button-down shirt on top (left open), her entire left arm was wrapped in bandages except for her fingers.

Still, it was this arm that she used to press the glass against her lips, shooting glances here and there at the other people milling about the bar. It was Sunstrike who chose to speak first, or perhaps just spoke the loudest, doling out information that many had been waiting to hear for quite some time now.

"Things were not supposed to happen this way."

If anyone were paying attention, the green ponytail and bandanna would bob slightly in a silent laugh as she mouthed the words "do they ever?" in silence. Despite the overall noise, her ears were able to continue to pick up on what the man was saying.

"Getting back to the girl. I can only think that he actually needs Teira for something, maybe Ra'kar thinks she can draw source...from.... ..... Nah, thought I had it but it's gone. Anyway they won't kill her, got it on good authority, the demoness enjoys her pets."

More silence; it seemed the woman was thinking out loud, but keeping it very much to herself. No real point in going through and stirring the pot when it was already filled to the brim. Tensions were already too high as it was. "The longer we sit here, the less time we have, but the more likely we are to succeed if we can get some sort of plan together. A cat will tire of it's prey after only so much time...."



Another one of those head bobs as the blue-haired woman with the funny ears spoke. She couldn't be faulted for her statement; rather, it was just kind of odd that so few people would know about something so damning to the place where they lived by no fault of their own. But it was always this way, wasn't it? And maybe for the best. They needed those who were strong, and willing.

Gaia had no real army. It was up to people like those that were here in the Firebrand to protect their world. Another sideways glance; that girl did look familiar. Wasn't she on a highlight reel from Heaven or Hell...?

"...you already knew that Sunny!"

"She got stabbed in the back! Wasn't even a fair fight at all!"

"So. What you're saying is you gakked up big time."

"What's this GUARDIAN thing anyway?"

The voices were starting to become muddled again as the young woman stared downwards into the amber liquid in front of her. She wondered briefly if her glass was half empty or half full before deciding that there was about a third left and being done with it. It was one of those trick glasses that was designed to make it look like you were getting more than you really were anyways.

"If Gaia falls then its influence will only spread until everything is consumed. Eternal nothingness."

"I'm not sure if anyone has any better of a plan on how to stop this world-destroying plot..."

The woman threw her head back, taking another swig from her glass before slamming it down again, holding up an index finger to indicate she'd like another. "... apparently not."

The two teenagers started shooting off their mouths with big ideas and bigger plans. The threat was much larger than the end of Teira. It was the end of existence, and they were dealing with things far larger than themselves. Far larger than the Fahs, or Ra'kar. Frozen Flame was just a front to analyze and protect Teira... until they found out that she wasn't who they wanted.

And as far as she could tell, Sun simply handed her over, with his part done in all this, wiping his hands clean.

But if he was to be believed, Teira hadn't met her end yet, had she? Ra'kar was like a cat, playing with her food before devouring it, torturing her subject before using it for it's grand, final purpose. They still had time. But it was tough to gauge how much. And they were all sitting around talking up a storm about what they should do...

... instead of actually doing it.

"...you kindly all shut the hell up? Some of us are trying to drink in peace here."

With one final chug, Sakura slammed her glass down against the counter, spinning around in her chair and kicking out so her legs could stabilize against the ground. As much as she hated admitting it right now, Kael did have a point. They needed to get to that island as soon as possible, unless someone had a better idea besides storming the gates and hoping for the best.

Her voice carried particularly well over the sounds of the environment, as if she was used to this kind of noise.

"Looks like everyone's good and ready to throw their lives away on this one, so what are we all waiting for? C'mon, let's all go get ourselves killed. Really, if the best plan that we have is to go barging in, I don't even want to know what the worst one is. We don't even know if we can even GET to the island at this rate, let alone get ONTO it. We're dealing with some powerful stuff here, and I don't think anyone has a contingency plan.

Time is a critical factor, but so is planning - we aren't going to accomplish much on high hopes and wishes. I don't care if we have to figure it out on the way there. So everyone shut up, stop talking about what you're going to do, and just do it already."

And, as if she had just reunited with an old friend, she casually sat down and ordered another beer. Ryu should be back in a few minutes anyways....

It seemed somewhere in the midst of all the conversation the very large stranger got very sheepish. It would almost appear that the near-giant, who dwarfed more than the dwarves in this bar, was nervous around people. Once Sun took off he didn't seem to have much to say. Until Sakura started to yell.

"This..." The giant didn't know Sakura well, considering he spent more time as a hatrack than a patron. But still his tone was quiet and calming. Not that that would do much.

Sakura continued on, and the stranger seemed to slowly step forward as he spoke.

"I..." He stammered after Rage sat down, "I will speak now."

From beneath an obscuring hood the stranger looked at the bunch.

"This Ra'kar and this Victor have alinged themselves with a very dangerous force. One that if I did not enlighten you of I... I could not live with that." Confidence started to grow in the strangers hollow yet slightly regal tone, "The entity has no name, as the universe itself wishes not to acknowledge it. For connivence it has been dubbed the Forgotten one, the progenitor of the shadowed soldiers I believe some of you fought. "

A pause on that thought.

"They are known as shades, though it is a dangerous assumption to make the connection between their darkened flesh and shadow. Instead they are made from a material that, much like their master, the universe does not acknowledge. Instead we just see all consuming blackness... Every shade was once a soul, or a fragment of one, bleached and reprogramed to be the battery for one of the Forgotten's war machines. While some have managed to break free, most will fight with no regard for their own welfare or the resources around them. They would salt the earth if it meant victory. And if you fall, there is a likelyhood your soul will be absorbed as well."

A brief pause to let this sink in.

"The generals of the Forgotten's army are the shadelords, most just higher functioning automatons with some sense of individuality. But there are a few that still think for themselves... The most dangerous being the Shadelord Prime, Alpha... Obscenely powerful, highly intelligent, devoted to the cause, and far from a zealot. Alpha's sword may cut you down, but his words are even more dangerous. For frighteningly enough... You may find that they ring true. You must stay strong... Never underestimate this foe, never..."

Wavering slightly, the stranger hopped he still had attention.

"I had mentioned eternal nothingness beforehand, and that is what Alpha and the Forgotten believe in. They believe the universe has no right to exist, that it is fatally flawed, that it only produces corruption. To them there is no virtue but nothingness, raze everything and be left with only the pure and unchanging. The Forgotten has the ability to bring this nothingness, but long ago it was sealed. Alpha strives to break the seal and fulfill its prophecy of destruction. " A pause for thought, "I do not believe this prophecy. This prediction that the universe is corrupt and needs to be replaced by the untouched and pure nothingness. The beauty in the world is in it's change and uncertainty, in its life, and even the corrupt elements are a part of this. Hence you can see the irony... They fight for a great change that will bring the unchanging, while we fight to retain the status-quo of constant change... This uncertainty is often why the Forgotten can woo mortals to it's cause."

Most would know where this was going.

"Mortals like Victor. Who I am positive believes his alliance with this entity will bring him closer to his own goals... But only brings him closer to his own end." Another scan around the crowd, "Which brings me to my last point... And my concern with this course of action. Firstly, I cannot see Teira being of much importance to the Forgotten save for her elemental affinity. Its plans are always in layers, and if we very well could be playing into a ploy to rush to the foe's stronghold and leave our own homes unprotected. The next problem, is that you must remember that you are not rushing to get yourself killed... You are rushing to get yourself erased. Killed means you remain a part of the universal cycle... A death on eden means you become a part of the Forgotten's nothingness."

The tall stranger gave a slight note of nervousness thinking about that.

"I do not wish to take the wind from your sails... But you all needed to be informed you are dealing with an entity that makes plans that span millennia. What is a victory for us now, may at best be a small setback for it or at worse... Just another part of the plan."

A look back and forth and then a slow step back from the proverbial spotlight.

"Thank you for listening to me."