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{James : Train : Dining Car}

James cringed as he saw that look of shock... if that wasn't a sign that she had received the cold hard slap known as a reality check, then he didn't know what was. She still seemed in a bit of disbelief though, which wasn't at all out of the question. The same magic that aided them so much in the training car, was now seen for it's darker side... Her body had been put through so much, in what she thought was four days, and it had only really been one night.

"Yeah... I'm sorry Noelle. It's not an easy thing to process, I'm sure. Some rest would do you some good. Do you want some help? It looks like you can barely stand on your own."

As he had exclaimed, it was no wonder she was so exhausted... The ether had helped to replenish her mana, but it did nothing for her mind or her energy. In her mind she had processed four days of what could only have been torture... Her body had endured the same. She had endured four more days of stress then any of them had... and now she was forced to process that all of had happened in the course of half a day. Just the thought of it baffled the corsair, he felt like his brain was working overtime just to try and figure out what her's was processing.

{Leon : Angel Grove : Outside the Red Rose}

It seemed that things had calmed down for now, no more Heartless were swarming the ship, and the earthlings weren't yelling anymore. It seemed that it was time for the introductions to the "Power Rangers" as he had heard the kids refer to them as, who had helped them. He walked silently towards the two, not sure what to think of all of this.

"I am Leon, and while we will do what we can to help you guys. We actually came here looking for someone very important."

{James : Train : Dining Car -> Sleeping Car}

James returned the smile as best he could, he knew that the news that he had given her was troubling, probably hard to get a hold of in her state. The corsair understood all too well the effects of sleep deprivation on a body, she wouldn't feel right without some sleep.

He could hear the exhaustion in her voice all too clearly as she accepted his help and scooted out of her seat, she had to use the table to rise. He quickly followed suit and looped her shoulder under her arm to help steady herself as she walked as they made their way into the Sleeping Car. He would help her get settled into an empty room.

"One more thing, how come I couldn't contact you through your charm last night?"

((If you dislike obscene amount of detail and/or vague implied nudity, skip to the dotted line.))

Showers. Warm, calm, soft showers. Louis loved showers, here, he felt as if he could truly relax and rest, more-so than he could sleeping.He let the drumming of water droplets numb him, nothing else in the world matted to him. But he knew he couldn't stay like that forever, ignoring everything. Soon he'd need to leave this sanctuary and go back to the world where he only knew pain.

Tearing himself away, Louis turned off the water and grabbed his towel, quickly wrapping it around himself and picking up his dirty, clothes which stuck out even more now that he could see just how ruined they were from the day before, That old guado was nice enough to give these to me. He said they'd protect me and were enchanted with protective spells... how'd they get this damaged then? Was Kyle's replica really that powerful?

Louis tried to remember what he felt when he faced Ajora, the overwhelming pressence, the still lingering after effects of his attack. At the time, it didn't seem so deadly, at least not to him anyway. That's probably why Kichi took such a beating... I guess I owe some of my thanks to that guado... I'll need to be sure and stop in and thank him myself when I get back.

Louis lifted his gaze from his ruined atire and bamde his way over to the door. He peaked out of the bathroom, looking both ways down the halls to check if they were vacant. Decent or not, he was not even close to being the kind of person to walk around a bunch of girls in nothing but a towel.

The train was quiet, unnerving, but quiet, which was what he preferred. If it was loud or rambunctious, activity could be random, people could enter or exit when he made his move regardless of timing. But things were quiet, and even the sound of his breath was loud in his ears as he concentrated. With not another second of hesitation Louis shuffled into his room, closing the door swiftly behind him.

He put his clothes on his bed and looked at them closely one last time. They were good while they lasted, but it was high time he try to dress in something less destroyed...

Before Louis reached his destination, he stopped to look at a mirror conveniently placed beside a wardrobe. He stared at the reflection for a moment, almost unable to recognize the man in the picture. It was Louis, but he wasn't at all as he remembered himself, at least, not how he thought he appeared. His hair was longer, not all over, only in the back, a thin rope of hair lay over his shoulder and half way down his chest, a rat tail grown half way down his back. Louis tried to remember the last time he'd looked in a mirror since he arrived in this world. He couldn't. This wasn't all, something else caught his eye was he followed his hair, hanging from his neck was a necklace, a white gold emblem, it was foreign to him, he reached up hesitantly and took hold of the necklace, "When did... I start wearing this?" He couldn't remember, "Have I really been wearing it the entire time?" Still he couldn't recall when he had put it on, not when, not where, nothing. It was like trying to find words on a blank page. Louis reached around the back of his neck and undid the necklace, putting it down on the night stand for a moment, moving on from the mirror.

Louis opened the large wardrobe to find something rather peculiar. It was as though the very thoughts running through his mind were multiplied and projected into the wardrobe by counts of a hundred or more, and of all the things in the world, boxers.

Louis stared blankly for a moment, the first thought running through his mind being, They keep entire wardrobes of just boxers? What the heck! Followed shortly after by a most logical deduction, "Oh... right. Everything is magical... meaning whatever I think of before opening the cabinets, drawers, and I guess wardrobes shows up in all varieties... in this case..."

Louis quickly put something on since he wasn't picky about what no one would ever be seeing, though he did make sure to avoid the one pair with hearts and polka-dots. He closed the doors, and paused before opening, "Wait... what kinda clothes do I want anyway?"

Louis thought about his old attire, mentally lining it up side by side next to Kyle, his earthling example. I want to fit in and gain their trust. I guess looking like them wouldn't be a bad start...

Louis tried to imagine an outfit in his mind, then opened the doors, revealing the first part, a pair of pants, or more, a flood of pants all in the same style. He sorted through the pants and finally picked put one in a dark purple shade.

He slipped them on and moved on to the next piece, closing and opening the doors one more to reveal a half and half selection, on one side a rainbow of colored muscle shirts, on the other, a similar color spectrum of dual layered jackets with hoods. Why hoods? Because they were awesome... at least that's what Louis thought. Louis picked out a much darker shaded purple muscle shirt and had a bit of trouble at first with the tight fitting shirt, even more of a hard time with his skin still damp from the shower. He was surprised to find at the end of the sleaves were two loops for him to slip his fingers through, holding the cloth in place when he slipped on the jacket, colored the same as the pants.

He bucketed the straps on the jacket, and looked back at the mirror next to him for a moment, "It's still... missing something- Ah!"

Louis closed the doors and opened them again, this time finding a parade of belts. Searching through them he found one that would work just right for his colors and practical needs.

With a bit of effort he bucketed all the sections of the bent together around his waist. He looked into the mirror one last time, smiling at his accomplishment, "Now this... looks cool."



Louis strolled over to the side of his bed where his daggers, rapier, rifle lay waiting. He listened as he heard some ruckus from outside. It didn't matter much anymore now that he was dressed, he he hoped everything was alright and the screaming was only out of fun. Wishful thinking.

Strapping the daggers first on his right hip, he put them on one behind the other. He wouldn't wear them one on each side anymore, he wanted to keep them separated from his rapier so he could draw either without having to feel for the dagger or rapier hilt. He tugged on them a couple times to make sure they were secure and stepped away from the bed placing his hand on the handle of the first dagger. He drew the first dagger with his left hand and followed up with his right in one smooth motion to draw the second. He held the battle stance for a moment, then slid them back in one at a time, content that the belt would not hinder his efficiency in case of danger.

The noise outside seemed to worsen, not that Louis was worried, but he hastened his preparations so that he could find out what was going on sooner. Louis latched the rapier in place to his left hip, not bothering to check if he would be able to draw the rapier effortlessly because he simply wasn't worried like he was with his daggers.

With a small groan he slung his rifle onto his shoulder and headed out the door.




Louis moved to the dining car where he found it vacant, an unusual occurrence from his experience so far. He moved next to the lounge car, where he found the door to the outside wide open and a crowd of people in the clearing beyond. Louis made his way out to the others and stopped once he spotted Noelle, That girl... she disappeared yesterday... didn't she? Chasing after the replica... how did she get back? Did she actually manage to beat her replica? Wait... no... the last time we fought against the replicas... they have every time... completely decimated any attempts to defeat them. Yet... here she is... unless...

It isn't her.

Would they try to pull the same thing again? Replace the real thing with a fake? Of course... they'd expect us to suspect them of that... so they wouldn't try it again... right? Unless... no... I can't keep thinking that way... I'll just run myself in circles. The others seem convinced it's her... so if that's the case... hmmm... I'll just need to find out myself... in time. Whether she's a fake or not... I'll simply play along, for now.

He next spotted the excited, energetic girl, she was new, was she an earthling as well? Considering her statements and composure and the world they were presumably in now... the probability was far more than just likely.

He looked over and spotted Jenny, waving with a friendly smile, "It would seem we've arrived already... sorry I'm late. Didn't even feel us stop... I would've sped up my shower if that were the case. Did I miss anything? I can't imagine much, I wasn't in the shower that long... was I?"

[Jenny :: Port Royal :: Clearing]

It seemed as if things had fallen silent on Kyla's end, and the flutist could only hope that the pictomancer was alright. Jenny still felt a little elated due to Noelle's return, but no Kyla was gone with Cory- Oh the mixed emotions!

Everything in the forest looked to be in control, although Jenny had to step a little further out to get a better view of things. She calmly noted three Zexion clones (at least it looked like Zexion clones, she couldn't recall three people that looked so similar on their train); if it had been a couple of days earlier, Jenny would've promptly freaked out but spending five days in the Kingdom Hearts universe had somewhat desensitized her mind from fangirling. She also noted another girl beside Dawn and Auron, probably the one who the guards were after in the first place. Shel hardly looked like she belong in Port Royal, but Jenny could always be wrong.

Turning her head to the source of the voice, Jenny returned Louis' smile with one of her own, "Only missed Noelle falling from the sky," the time mage gestured into the air and the clearing before pointing into the forest. "And apparently there were guards or something of that sort and some new... girl?" Jenny said, rather unsure before going on to tippytoe as if it'd help her look over all the greenery.

"Oh and Kyla got kidnapped by Cory," Jenny included, lifting her hand to show the charm in which they heard the conversation. "So I guess you can say you missed quite a bit," she replied sheepishly.

[Joe: PR: Clearing]

James had things taken care of with Noelle, and Dawn had things with the guards and new girl that fell out of tree. Good. That meant he could focus his thoughts to Kyla and not sound like he was screaming, and not scream out loud, either.

Kyla, be careful with that bet. He wants you for some reason, and wouldn't risk it all, including his hatred, if he didn't think he could win...and even if he didn't, desperate men do desperate things, like not following through with wagers when it doesn't suit them. Only Kyla would hear those thoughts, and while not loud, they definitely held an angry edge like they were being growled out through gritted teeth.

Damn that a*****e...sorry. Yeah, that message got sent, too, by accident.

[Amy : Angel Grove : Outside the Red Rose]

Kichi-Jon and Alan had disappeared inside the ship, searching for an Ether. Cloud was standing inconspicuously off to the side on the open deck, looking directly at them; he didn't seem in a hurry to move.

She hadn't seen John from Cleveland or Maggie all day. Odd. Perhaps they were still in their rooms. She had a hilarious thought of them sleeping through the entire thing, even after the ship jolted and crashed. Beatrix was also missing, she noticed, as were Yuffie and Axel.

Hmm. She stayed where she was, content to listen. Seymour had asked a pertinent question, one she had been curious about herself. After all, when one gets shot out of the sky, it stands to reason they'd want to know why. Space pirates plaguing Angel Grove. What was going on here?

[Kyla: Hooks Ship: Top Deck]

Panic was a fickle thing. Consuming, yet sometimes fleeting. But no matter how long it chooses to stay, it's touch lingers on your heart, making it beating like a hysterical bird caught in a tight space. Things were easier once she was outside, the cool and fresh air cleared her head enough she got her bearings. What surprised the magic user even more, was through all of this her resonating connection through the charms had not faultered, and everyone had heard everything up to this point. This was both comforting..and embarassing.
She was being pegged as the weakling she feared she was. Guilt and shame stung her deeply.
In a perfect world, you could summon strength beyond your imagining, in the games there was always some special thing that came at just to right time that allowed Sora to handle any challenge he faced. But alas, there was no Deus Ex Machina here for her. Kyla was as weak and pathetic as Cory charged her for.
At least she thought so. She believed it, and it made her hot in the face.

I wont cry. God help me, I wont let them hear me cry like a frustrated coward.
Cory's bet was a good one, if he was fighting Kyle or Kichi or Al perhaps. Or one of the Canon's who acompanied them...
But Joe had reached the same conclusion she did already.
She couldnt' win, even at full strength. Cory was faster, stronger, and higher in power right now. Even if she somehow leveled during the fight, she suspected he was still much higher.

She'd loose, and worse, be forced into a deal that smelled more suspicious then it obviously looked. How can 1 day mean so much? Simple, it was more important then Cory was letting on.

Kyla backed away to the side of the ship. The wind whipped her loose hair around her face. The fire that surounded them licked at her legs.
Something caught her eye over the side. A body of land in the blue ocean, a few flying ships were soaring in the distance, and a plume of smoke rose from the farther side which-

It's Hawaii!! The tohers are right there!!

A plan hatched, wiggling it's way through the choas and buzzed into the forfront of her mind.

She turned to face Cory once more. Her Flight of Blades would drop any moment.
At this rate, she'd have to make another, and combined with the fighting she did earlier, her mana would be halved- not enough to make a door anyways. But if she was restored by the bet- she'd still loose. There was one thing she could do however.

Kyla wasn't his match in power, but she could still outsmart him.

"You're bet is a cruel tease Cory- and you know it. I wont deny I'm too proud at times, but I'm not stupid enough to think I could win in a test between us right now. Even if I somehow beat you- you'd never do as you say. That lie is beneath you. As for what I owe you- I'll repay my debt to you in my own time, in my own way. That is my right. I don't want to see your mind crumble... but I wont let you hurt my friends either."

Kyla backed up even more, stepping to the railing, and climbed up onto the edge. The ocean was very far below. The wind was very strong enough now and it howled in her ears even without falling. Careful...I wont drop you- but still it's unerving. Kyla would agree, but she was getting off this ship one way or another.

"Everyone! Look up! I'm right here!" She sent that message loud and clear. By then Cory must've figured it out. Kyla thrust her hand skywards and from her book launched the biggest brightest Bird strike she could muster. It wasn't an attack- just an image, so it was easier then it looked. The bird shape exploded like a giant firework right over Hooks Ship. She didn't know how far they really were, so she made it as big and bright and loud as possible! It lit up the already bright sky like a second sun, even Kyla had to shut her eyes for a moment.

[Kichi :: Angel Grove :: Red Rose Kitchen -> Outside Red Rose]

Kichi nodded. "Yeah. Carrying a few Ether's around might not be a bad idea." He rummaged around a bit more before finding their item stash. "Ah, here they are." He said, and picked out three Ethers and a Potion. He downed one ether, and one potion, having just been in a magic intensive battle before, and handed the other two ethers to Alan. "Here ya go...there are more in this cabinet over here. I'm gonna head back out an apologize."

With that, he headed back outside of the Red Rose, and slid down the side, almost tripping when he heard Kyla's voice again. "What?!" He saw a flash off to the left, in the sky, and looked over to see a rainbow explosion. "That must be it!" He glanced at the group. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, but that was a signal from Kyla! Can I promise a better apology later, and cooperate with everyone to get her back for now?!" He had a determined look in his eyes suddenly. 'I won't fail again.' He looked around for someone with teleporting abilities, and spotting Seymour, he jogged over. "Can you get us to the ship that explosion was from?"