Kingdom Hearts: To The Bitter End [Part One]

[Cracklord]

Traverse Town

Traverse Town. Sooner or later, all travelers end up here. It always seems to be night, the sky dark with no clouds and the stars mere pinpoints, an all-pervasive, inadequate light that waxes and wanes the only hint of passing time. Lanterns flicker, and light shines through windows, but the streets are still dark. A blend of architecture, from pre-victorian houses to gothic buildings that dominate their neighborhoods, and even older buildings huddle between them. Here the promises of science have been ignored in favor of a pervasive stability, and though technological wonders are built behind closed doors, life continues without it's presence.
The town is said to be pseudo-geographically located 'at the center of all the worlds', though several scholars argue that this is impossible since the worlds are ever moving and the universe is infinite in all dimensions, therefore there can never truly be a center to any of them, let alone all of them; thus, the town is of no special importance.
The city serves as a safe harbor for the refugees and their companions; in the city, they forget for a brief time the burdens their roles lay upon them. But the safety it seems to offer is an illusion of safety, for, even here, darkness always falls.

Terra
With Xenmas dead, you're free once more from the realm of darkness, your keyblade has returned to you and once more you have your body. It is a relief, to say the least. But it leads to even greater questions of how exactly this came to be.
The heartless have never acted this way before. Something has changed, and it's worse then Xehanort this time. You're sure of it.
So where are your successors? Where are the next generation? Or is it just you? You don't know that you could bear to be the last hope of the universe. Not alone.

Zhou Yu
This city is strange. So strange you do not know where to begin. The buildings, the lighting, the technology you've never seen before and have no words for, and the culture shock. The clothing, the shape of the buildings... nothing is familiar. Even the language they speak you sense is neither Mandarin nor any of it's dialects, though you understand it and have no trouble making yourself understood.
At the moment, you are sitting in a bar, all alone, trying to come to terms with what you should do next. You haven't ordered anything, as the food is as strange and intimidating as the rest of it.

Nameless
You are nameless. You awoke on a slab in the Mortuary in Traverse Town, covered in scars and tattoos, your memory gone. Who has done this to you, and why? You don't know... yet. But you're going to find out.

Meta Knight
The Halberd is docked. It is easily the biggest and most terrible ship there, few of the others have more then basic weaponry. Nobody so much as gives you a second look, as you waddle to a bar looking for accommodations and someone to inform you what is going on. There are stranger things then you walking the streets these days.
You must find out more about these 'Heartless' and why they attacked you ship.

Ventus
Here you are, on the streets of Traverse Town. Your keyblade rests comfortably on your hip, and you feel a certain rightness with the world. You've seen Terra, but never got close enough to talk to him, and either he has been avoiding you or just hasn't spotted you in the crowds. This place used to be so empty. Now there isn't nearly enough room.
There has been no sign of Aqua, or any of your old friends at this point. But you're sure they'll show up. You have to believe that. That in mind, you'll need to track down the newer keyblade wielders, and more to the point find out what happened to Sora, as you gave him your heart.

Xianghua
Nobody has professed any knowledge of the Azure Knight. Just the same, this is the place to be. Sooner or later, a fleeing refugee from a world will make it's way here, and then you'll know where to look. It's just a matter of patience.
You look up, and see a man in red robes sitting on a table on the other side of the common room. You haven't talked to him yet, but he looks somewhat promising. Besides, you recognize his dress, and it will probably be a relief to him to see a somewhat familiar person.

Ike
You're with Ventus. While he is introspective, you're aware and staring around and keeping your eyes open. Which is why you catch a blur of red in your peripheral vision. Turning, you catch a familiar face.
It's Marth. He waves, but takes no further movement.

Knuckles
You're asleep in you're room, and your spines tearing apart the bedding, though you don't care. At the moment, there is nothing to fight, and everyone else is out gathering information. Leaving you here.

Fayt Leingod
You look down at Ventus. You're used to being shorter then everyone, so it's odd to look down on another. You owe him your life, without his intervention, you'd have either died of suffocation, or been killed by that silver haired man in the long coat with the very long sword, who led the shadow over your world.
You've asked around. Nobody has seen or heard anything about Sophia. Either she never escaped, or she's still wandering. But the silver haired man they've heard of. His name is Sephiroth.

Cloud Strife
Yuffie and Aerith are both in the room, conversing in low voices, while Leon Squall paces, arms folded, hard eyes never fixing on a single point for more then a moment. Kilik sits in a corner in full lotus, eyes closed and breathing sedate, as though he had not a care in the world He looks so sedate and peaceful, you have to envy him.
That's it. Four front-line warriors, Aerith wasn't really a fighter afterall, and nobody else was willing to totally dedicate themselves to it. Allies you had, Scrooge was funding you, and others would offer you shelter, supplies, whatever, but weren't really behind the organization.
This was alright when it was still a cold war and the Heartless were seeking out specific targets. Damn you miss those days.
Furthermore, apparently Sora and Riku have both disappeared along with the King. SSo where does that leave you?

Princess Zelda
You awake in your small bed, in your small room in the small building of a downtown bolt-house in Traverse Town, after a bone-gnashing nightmare of Hyrule smothered with darkness and he that is the King of Evil striding through the ruins, fire in one hand, shadow in the other and crowned in ice. You shudder. You have been getting a lot of such visions lately, ever since you fled, and your heart aches for your people. But since the hero of time failed, dragged into the shadows and never to return, you have searched the worlds in search of a savior, someone who can help you save your people before Hyrule is no more.

San Andreas

Los Santos is the largest of the three cities, a huge, sprawling co-mingling of cultures and perspectives, full of two-bit hoodlums and small-time actors. Everywhere you look are movie and television studios, multi-million dollar estates and crack-ridden ghettos.

Los Santos' police are corrupt and the politicians avoid the streets like the plague. There is a motocross track, several basketball courts, and an observatory to satisfy stargazers. Occasionally, independent drug dealers are seen carrying huge wads of cash from recent transactions. Graffiti is commonplace and gambling venues like the racetrack are frequented by many of the city's denizens. The suburbs nestled in the north hills are home to wealthy businessmen, movie stars, and musicians, as well as those whose money comes from less legitimate enterprises. The occasional shack or trailer park can also be spotted within this highly affluent district, testaments to the period prior to the gentrification of northern Los Santos.

[Scene]

A black mercedes winds its way to through the streets, exceeding the speed limit by a ridiculous margin, but nonetheless never stopped, pulled over or causing an accident.
Zexion is in the drivers seat, dressed in his robes, the book in is right hand, and a smirk dancing on his narrow lips, although it seemed a tad insincere. Only one eye was visible thanks to a fringe of electric ice blue hair, but that eye revealed a lot. He had the sort of face that, while it had all the perfection and cold beauty of a statue of a roman god, made it clear he thought it was the height of hilarity to douse a blind man in lighter fluid or feed children candy with fish hooks or razor blades in it. The sort of face people would once have said was 'born to be hung'. But even diversions of that nature wasn't enough for Ienzo Dorene, particularly since he became a Nobody. Of course, he was almost unmatched when it came to inventing new methods of vindictive sadism, and almost everyone who met him had the scars to prove it.
He wasn't driving. He was never taught, so he simply placed a low level heartless in it's engine and mentally controlled it. He sighed. "I'm going to miss this place." He says, swerving to run over an unfortunate puppy, but missing it's owner by inches.
The figure on the back seat looked up, revealing a pair of glowing yellow eyes shadowed beneath an enormous, shapeless brown lump of a hat. The total presented image looked like nothing so much as a pile of old, seldom cleaned and hard worn clothes. The robes might once have been blue but now were so encrusted with dirt and stains that calling them almost any color would be just as fair. Even having re-arranged itself into what was probably a human, it wasn't much nicer to look at.
"OK, I don't usually ask. But I have to. Why do you care? I mean, normally you'd be laughing about now."
"I like to drive fast cars and snort cocaine, that's why, and here both things are free of consequences like having to kill everyone when you're done, which bites. And I keep the people on it, so that there are more of them to give money to me, and produce daughters who someday I shall fuck. That's why."
"Huh."
"Pretty much. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to give this place a proper send off. First, I'm going to pistol whip this pregnant lady, then have myself some fun. Go burn down an orphanage or something, will you?"

The Point Man
On your unregistered cell-phone, you have a text giving you precise instructions. It seems there is something particularly top-secret going on, and the agency wants to minimize both their involvement and contact with it, either for reasons of accountability, or (you hope) security.
The message tells you to go to a certain address in San Andreas, where you will meet a contact who will tell you more, and be introduced to the rest of your team. It does not leave a traceable number, therefore they have nothing further to say to you, and they wish to play with their cards close to the chest as can be.
Not that they had much choice. Black Ops were called that for a reason, the sort of things they got involved in sunk administrations and entire governments.

Jack Ryan
((pick your ending, then we can introduce him))

[draxx]

Nameless
His muscles ache. He rolls them, alternately flexing then relaxing them and trying to work the stiffness out of his joints, but it makes no real difference, he still feels cramped, and there is a chill that sunk all the way to his bones. His skin felt brittle, like dry parchment, and there was a omnipresent weariness that had sunk all the way to his bones. Who was he? Why was he here? With far more effort then it should take, he lifted his right arm to look at it, surprised that it was his, seeing it for the first time. He didn't know anything about who he was.

He knew where he was. He knew things to fill any life, how to break horses and breed them, how to make clothes, how to hunt and dress his kill, how to fight with weapons he recognized and some he didn't, he knew how to fashion his own clothes and shelter, forge weapons, make men love or hate him, and the answers to questions he'd never think to ask. He understood the secrets of the cosmos enough to wield magic as he wished, from parlor tricks to altering the very fabric of the universe, but he didn't know how he knew. He had the knowledge and experience, but not the memories that should go with it.

He knew what he could do. But who was he? Unsteadily, he got to his feet, adjusting his clothes, such that they were. His breathing was heavy, and unsteady, and occasionally it would stop drawing breath until his vision swam and he remembered to again. Finding a door, he forced it open, breaking the lock without even realizing it, and stepped into the cool night air outside his room.

And onto the streets of Traverse Town.

Terra
He was always practical. He had to know more before he sided on an action. Take a look at this problem from as many angles as possible. Decide on a solution, and then act.
For now, he needed more information.

With that in mind, he heads for the third district, intending to meet several people he knew well. Beginning with Merlin. He makes his way through the brightly lit, pseudo-gothic stone streets and buildings. Coming to the end of an alleyway, he knocks loudly on the red door, right on the flame symbol.

Vincent
The door to the house that was the site of the committee opened, allowing a lean, tattered red figure in. He paused, staring at each of them, then cracked his neck, cartilage and bone making a most satisfying popping noise.

Without a word, he strides across the room, and sits down on the only other piece of furniture, a three-legged stool far too short for him. He's silent, not offering a word, though some of them are old friends he has been closer to then anyone and spilled blood with, he acts as though seeing them again after all this time is nothing to take note of.

Zhou Yu
The strategist has a reputation for always being calm. He could stand in the frontline of any war without so much as flinching at any point. But he knew war. He knew how to deal with people who could demand his execution. He knew how to dance, or scale a mountain, or predict the weather, or any of a thousand things that let him fight a war, from logistics to martial arts.

He didn't know how to deal with this. This was a problem for which he was not mentally prepared. He didn't understand enough of the context to venture a solution from his own experiences. And so this made him blink as looking certain death in the face never could. Withdrawing into himself, he mentally surveys his situation, his trained mind looking for a crack in the insurmountable problem.

Metaknight
The knight vanishes into the crowd, looking for the person he knows will be here. The leader who will help him toss back the shadow. He'd know him when he saw him.

[AnimeKid]

Ike

He looks directly at Marth as he sees him in the crowd. He turns to Ven and Fayt as he says, "I'll be back." He walks through the crowd to where Marth is pushing through rather easily. He finally reaches Marth as he looks at him and says, "What are you doing here Marth? Your a prince you should not be here. Unless... Our world has really fallen," He says with grim look.

Ven&Fayt

Seeing Ike walk off Ven says, "Alright time to get down to business. Hey Fayt can that Scanner thing of yours to find out where there are high concentrations of magic? It's or best bet for finding people who can help us." Fayt nods and pulls out his Scanner and looks for places in the city with high concentrations of magic. Ven nods while he is doing this. Ven then says, "Ok once you find a location give it to me and I'll go there. In the mean time I need you to find a guy named Leon, if need be take Xianghua with you. He might be a little jumpy and distrusting so tell him your with one of Sora's friends."

Xianghua

Seeing as everyone else has no info for her she decides that even if the guy in red doesn't know anything she could a least get a good conversation out of him. She walks over to his table, sits down, and says, "Hi there, I am Xianghua. What's your name?"

Knuckles

He finally wakes up as he yawns ripping his spikes out of the mattress and pillows. He then looks into the common room to see if everyone is done gathering info. Seeing that they have not he sighs. He then says to himself, "Well mabye I should go see if any of the shards of the master emerald are here." He then heads outside using his connection to said emerald to try and sense if any pieces are here.

[Cracklord]

Ike
He puts a hand on your shoulder companionably. The smile he had when you first appeared fades a little, and there is a haunted look in his eyes. "Not destroyed, but dangerous. Particularly for a prince. My family were killed, and I was exiled after I was blamed."
He sighs. "Which is what brings me here, the search for a way to solve our problems, and prove my innocence. But it is good to see you, my friend."

Fayt
You quickly program your scanner to filter out all other readings, and focus on the radiation exuded by magic. Due to the nature of the place there is a base level far higher then you'd find on any other world, which has the issue of leaving most minor cases lost beneath the average. There are three major examples you can see, two in the third district, the final one beneath the second district.

Nameless
The area feels familiar, and you find yourself unconsciously recognizing things, and knowing your way around without any idea how you learned. You're in the second district, below the hotel.
And your body is hungry, even starving, which in a way is more pressing then your lost memories.

Ventus
Leon could be anywhere, if he's even here. You have some memories, second-hand as they are from Sora, that say that he uses a small house in the Third district as his base of operations while he's here, as well as an underground cavern.

Xianghua, Zhou Yu
The young royal guard sits before the Wu strategist. Given the position of the table, the clamor of other voices didn't really make there way to them.

Knuckles
To your considerable surprise, you think you do sense a fragment of the emerald. In this very hotel, two rooms away. The green room.
It wasn't there when you came, it must have been put there since, while you were sleeping.

Terra
The door slides open, creaking slowly as it does. It leads to a massive moat of dark water, seeming to go down forever. A small house is perched on a small spur of rock in the center, from which emits a weak light.

Jack Ryan
You're asleep in you're apartment, above the docks of the city. Even now, ten years after escaping Rapture, you still like to live within sight of the sea. Both because it feels a part of you, and because you like to keep an eye out for trouble. Your sleeping soundly and deeply, so that the first tremors pass unnoticed. Then the Earthquake begins in earnest, the entire room shakes, furniture topples and glass breaks.
You awake to see the ocean churning and shaking as something begins to drag itself out from beneath the ocean, or drag the entire city down into the ocean with it. Something big beyond belief, seeming too big to exist.
But somehow, you don't doubt that it is alive.

[industrious]

Jack Ryan

His first thought is of the children. The moment he can stand he does so, rushing to the other bedroom in the apartment, where the remaining Little Sisters (not so little anymore, he muses. Fifteen.) sleep together in bunk beds. Thankfully, their construction had held, and none of them appears to be badly injured. A few cuts, a few scrapes. They've had worse.

"Jack. What's happening?" one of them calls out. They always called him Jack; he told them too. He wasn't their father, was technically younger than all of them by about two years, thanks to his false memories. And if they called him "Daddy," he'd have a heart attack. Most of them still flinched at that word.

"Get your things ready," he replies. "We're going to Tanenbaum's."

Jack worked as a mechanic now, fixing expensive cars. It was a good enough living, if one didn't intend on living luxuriously(especially taking care of five other mouths) and he was surprisingly good with a wrench. He guessed rewiring Rapture cameras and security robots had a great deal to do with it. Tanenbaum worked as a pediatrician-a far more lucrative position. The Little Sisters(he couldn't help but call them that. It was wrong but he couldn't.) would be safer at her home in the suburbs.

Jack grabs his shotgun from beside the wall, checks the chamber. Rapture engineering had kept it working for over ten years, and the lightning rounds it held were still potent. He then grabs a backpack next to it, heavy with other assorted armaments. And stares, for a moment, at a plain black medical bag, his hand trembling as it hovers towards it.

"Come on, Jack. We have to go."

His mind made up, he grabs the bag, glass clinking inside of it, and with the Little Sisters behind him, starts heading out the apartment.

The Point Man

Years of paranoia kept him alive, and following his instincts The Point Man keeps to the shadows and back-alleys. He had rented a car earlier via credit card, and deliberately not shown up for it. Too dangerous. It was a bluff, nothing more. He trusted two people in the world: himself and the one who spoke in his ear. His handler, a man he had never seen. His handler had never betrayed him.

The Point Man, pistol drawn, creeps towards the building, and enters through the back door.

[Cracklord]

Jack Ryan
The lifts are not working, locked. The fire-escape, which apparently the landlord had decided not to maintain in favor of spending the money on cars he shouldn't be able to afford, has broken loose and smashed onto the ground below. And the regular staircase is full of a stampede of people, all of them doing their best to get in.
Dust was trickling down from the plaster ceiling, and it was seriously cracked. The floor is wet, as several pipes have ruptured, and the lights are winking on and off with buzzing sounds of static electricity.
And the quake is only worsening. You can only fear it will get even worse.

The Point-Man
You here a sound behind you. A tall, grizzled man, with gimlet eyes and stubble unfolds from under a cardboard box, dressed in soldat steel combat fatigues and kevlar, with a bandana wrapped around his head. He's pointing a silenced pistol at you, just as you are to him. Stand-off.
He holds it for a moment, glaring at you, then lowers it. "Solid Snake." He mutters for introduction. "Counter-terrorism. You?"

[AnimeKid]

Knuckles

He growls in his throat a bit. If it wasn't there before when he took a snooze cruise (Sonics words, not his) that meant that it was moved there, and that meant it was in someone elses possession. Knuckles walks toward the green room and knocks on the door as it nearly rattels off its hinges from his version of a knock. After thirty seconds if no one answers he breaks down the door.

Ike

he sighs as he says, "It is good to see you to, but to think that your own people would blame you. Well i have met someone who is trying to push the darkness back. Unfortunatly he has no concept of military strategy at all. In fact his definition of strategy is to 'adapt or die'. He is completly inept, however he is a good person and one of the only people fully capable of combating the darkness. If anyone will help you Ventus will."

Ventus&Fayt

Fayt reads out the readings as Ventus nods. Ven then says, "Okay then you go to the third district to find those signitures. Leon also has a house as a base in the third district as well so check in on him, it should be the first house to your left when you enter the district. I'll go to the second district and find the other signiture and look into the underground water tunnel to see if Leon is there." Fayt nods as he says, "Okay then, I'll go by myself as Xianghua still has things to do. Just make sure to flare your magical signiture if anything big comes up. My Scanner will alert me and I'll be there in the blink of an eye." With this both boys head off to thier respective destinations.

[industrious]

[quote="Cracklord"]Jack Ryan
The lifts are not working, locked. The fire-escape, which apparently the landlord had decided not to maintain in favor of spending the money on cars he shouldn't be able to afford, has broken loose and smashed onto the ground below. And the regular staircase is full of a stampede of people, all of them doing their best to get in.
Dust was trickling down from the plaster ceiling, and it was seriously cracked. The floor is wet, as several pipes have ruptured, and the lights are winking on and off with buzzing sounds of static electricity.
And the quake is only worsening. You can only fear it will get even worse.

Greater proof that his biological father wasn't right. Just what he needed. Jack thinks for a moment, makes up his mind.

"Trust me."

He reaches into the medical bag, pulls out a blocky, square looking syringe, half-filled with a softly glowing blue fluid. Hands shaking, he jabs it into the vein on his wrist, pushing the plunger down, wincing in anticipation.

It burns, and his vision gets blurry. He feels like he's having a seizure. His heart is pounding in his chest and he's gasping for air, and his vision has faded to pale blurs of color-mostly white. It's been years since he's done this. But it wasn't nearly as bad as the first time.

Jack stretches out his arm, then, and makes a gesture. Long-dormant plasmids reactivate, and fed by the EVE that he had just injected, act on his will, forcing the fire escape to rise to window level.

"Come on. I don't know how long I can hold it."

The Point Man

"The Point Man. F.E.A.R."

If he had a name, he didn't know it. He was covered from head to toe in black body armor, and goggles and a balaclava hid his face. The Point Man holsters his pistol as soon as Snake does.

[draxx]

Metaknight
"That was most unwise." Says a voice that seems far too deep for the tiny masked warrior it originated from. Metaknight's glowing eyes appeared in a shadowy alcove, followed by the polished steel of his armor where it wasn't concealed by his dark cape, dark as a moonless night that resembled a rip in the fabric of reality far more then it resembled any sort of fabric. With it furled around him, he was mysterious beyond belief.

The tiny figure stepped forward, out of the shadows, clanking slightly as he did, and stared at them both. Seeming satisfied by something only he could see, he continues. "You played directly into your enemies hands. They wanted you out of the way so there is no clear leader to contest their attempts to take control of your world. There will be chaos, then war, and then -" he paused, and looks at them both, one at a time. "- Silence. You had best return home as quickly as possible. Take what friends you can gather, but waste not a second."

A gloved hand blurs, and a pair of keys land in Marth's hand. "That is the keys to the Halberd, my ship. You shall find it docked on the upper level. It should be easy to recognize, it is the only Majesty Class Cruiser present. I suggest you take it, it is the fastest route there for all six of you." He snaps of what could loosely be interpreted as a salute, but is definitely a respectful gesture. "Until we meet again."

Vincent Valentine
He sits still, sullen and introspective, not saying a word or even offering a glance at his friends. He's totally silent, determined to wait for them to make the first move.

Nameless
Food. Hunger. His body was newly awakened, who knew how long it had been since he had last eaten? Certainly not him. But his stomach felt as though it was eating itself from the inside out, and it might explain his fatigue.

... There was a restaurant. In the first district. Right from the gates, to the left, beside a house with a green door. It served simple but wholesome food, and had magical self-lighting candles. Most people prefered to eat at home, so they could probably seat him. Did he have money, or a way to pay them? Yes. He did, a small fortune in Munny was kept in his house. He had enough to buy the entire district hidden away.

How did he know that? And, for that matter, how did he know so much about the restaurant? Had he been there before? He might own it for all he knew, and he would have no idea of it. He paused, but then shook his head. He doubted that, somehow. He did not feel like a chef, or businessman. The lack of memories was going to be a problem, and one that he couldn't deal with for long. He'd have to learn more about himself. But where to start? Who would he ask?

Since he was hungry, he could begin with a single problem, and the ask around, find out how he'd come to recognize the restaurant. From there, he could get more concrete information, and work his way up.

Zhou Yu
He looks up, gratified to see that in this city everything wasn't strange, and motions to her to sit down across from him, pouring her glass of tea as well, then placing it carefully down. Even the way they brewed tea was strange, with sugar and milk, and stranger herbs. Just the same, he savors it with every sign of enjoyment.

"I am Zhou Yu, of Wu. Might I have the honor of your name?" His tone was clipped, calm but forthright, but most of all, politely businesslike. He was not one to waste words on formalities or needless embellishments.

Terra
He sighs. Tests. Always with the tests. Nothing was ever simple. Taking a moment to stretch and survey the course, he stepped back a few times, giving himself room for a run-up, then broke into a sprint, letting momentum carry him more then his legs from stone to stone, his legs keeping his balance beneath him on the slowly moving stones. He only slips on the second last one, his balance wavering, and desperately threw out his hand, catching the edge of the island by the skin of his fingertips. His lower body splashed, then banged painfully against it, but he gritted his teeth and took it, not loosing his grip. He hung there another moment then pulled himself up one handed, got his elbow over the edge, then rolled up. Staring balefully at the obstacle course that served no purpose but to frustrate, he turned his gaze to the wizards house.

Straightening himself, and wringing the water out of his sodden Hakama so at least he would not drip, if he couldn't do anything about the damp, he squared his shoulders and knocked on the door, then waited.

[AnimeKid]

Xianghua

She replies to Zhou Yu with a smile on her face, "My name is Xianghua, I was an Imperial guard of the Ming Dynasty. The reason I'm here now is because there is an evil, not unlike that of the heartless, lurking around. His name is Nightmare, an evil azure knigh with the body and soul of a demon. He seeks the sword of evil, the blade known as Soul Edge. Currently the blade is in fragments, but can be restored, and I was wondering if you had heard anything about it. It is very important that I destroy it before Nightmare does or we'll have another world destroying entity running loose."

[Cracklord]

Metaknight, Ike
Marth blinks, looking down at the keys in hand. He looks up at the small knight, then down at the keys again. "Just... just who are you, exactly?" He says at last, in a small, confused voice, of a man who is well aware he has just lost control of the situation.

Nameless
You come to the restaurant. As expected, there are a few tables that are empty, and you get one to yourself. Your meal arrives. None of them recognize you, or at least claim they do not. And then you eat.

Terra
The door opens before you can so much as brush it with your knuckles, letting you into a messy, cluttered and low ceilinged room, full with everything, from crockery, to untidy stacks of books, to overflowing furniture, and everything else. It's also apparently empty, though it can be hard to tell with wizards.

Knuckles
You walk down the hallway to the door. You're certain now, part of the emerald is in there. Not a big part, so tiny it would likely have escaped your detection had you not, by total coincidence, happened to be so close.
You can't hear anything behind the door, which is locked. If you break it down, there might be problems, but on the other hand, if your emerald really is on the other side the you need to retrieve it as quickly as possible.

Ventus
You walk in on a meeting of the entirety of the inner-circle of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, none of whom seems to be doing anything more then staring into space or brooding. One by one, thy all turn to stare at you. Yuffie offers you a seat, but there are no welcomes or any words at all. Just a silence.
They'd lost too many people to be anything but morbid.

Fayt
You walk along the tiles, staring at the pseudo-gothic architecture in every direction. It seems positively deserted compared to the other two districts, and far smaller as well. At last, you come to a red door that apparently leads to the magical signature, still half-a-jar open, and swinging slightly. Somebody is just ahead of you. in contrast to the relatively light section behind you, the interior of the place is dark as a murderers heart. But you here the gentle lapping of water, and the air feels cold.
At last your eyes adjust, and you note the massive moat, bridged by moving stepping stones.

Jack Ryan
The exit stops it's collapse, held in place, then slowly begins to creak back into place, like a piece of slip-shod scaffolding, with the screeching of tortured metal. It weighs more then you can believe, but you haven't lost your touch. You can hold it.
The girls grab it and begin to scramble down, occasionally wincing as it buckles or shifts as the metal gives before your will can stabilize it.
The building is doing alright or now, but given the amount of suddenly exposed wires and all this water, there could be an electrical fire at any point, and then things will really start to get bad. Furthermore, what seems to be a maelstrom has formed within touching distance of land, and already dragged half the docks into the churning sea.

Pointman
"Right. We're to take out a man named Albert Wesker." He says, leaning against a wall. "You're to infiltrate, and talk me through getting in and shooting him. A man named Fisher, Shadow-Net, is already inside."
He pauses, then tosses you a radio. "Or if that doesn't answer your questions, you could hear it from the man himself."

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

He takes the seat Yuffie offers him as he looks around at the committie before he looks down at the table. They seemed almost... broken, like they had no hope left in the world. It looked like things truly were worse than he thought. He then shakes his head, no he couldn't think like that. After all if he lost hope, then things would be truly hopeless. He looks up eyes full of courage and determination. He then speaks to them, "Hello, my name is Ventus. I am here because through Sora memories I have found that you guys are the best when it comes to fighting and resisting heartless. I need your help to push back the heartless and retake the worlds. I have a group of my own, but we alone won't be enough to push back the darkness. Even Sora had support, from you guy and his allies on other worlds. I know things seem grim, but if we still live that means we can still try right?"

Fayt

He takes a look at the stepping stones that lead to across the moat. Fayt shakes his head as he concentrates energy around him. This causes energy and matter not unlike that of a black hole to surround him in a funnel-like fashion. He then cries out, "Dimension Door." With that the energy collapses inward in the shape of an orb taking Fayt with it. He then pops out on the the other side of the moat. He then walks forward into the decrepit house.

Knuckles

Well they had thier chance. He rears back his fist and breaks down the door and runs in to find the emerald piece. He makes sure to keep himself aware just in case this is a trap.

[draxx]

Metaknight
"One who believes in justice." He replies, and then vanishes, his cloak bending space around him and taking him elsewhere, leaving the two of them staring at an empty expanse of shadow.

Zhou Yu
"Indeed." He says, examining that and satisfied. He had never heard of the Ming dynasty, given that he came more then a thousand years before they came to power, in a very different world, but nonetheless it is a point of origin from which he can extrapolate the rest.
"I am regretful to say I have. He sided with a man named Lu Bu, who, though he is human, is a man of a nature most alike the demon you describe. The two of them destroyed the three kingdoms with an army of shadows. He is amongst those I am hunting."

Terra
"Figures." He sits down on the bed, shoving some of the clutter aside, and picks up a book at random. The book he picks up happens, by total coincidence, a copy of the compiled notes called Ansem's Report.

Vincent
Vincent looks up, and smiles slightly at Ventus's speech. The words were hardly inspirational, but the boy had fire, and a real, earnest belief. He was going to grow into a great man some day.
"Well spoken, sir." He says softly, inclining his head. "I for one intend to do the same, starting with finding the missing keyblade wielders. I was hoping we could co-ordinate our attack."

[Cracklord]

Ventus
"Yeah. Don't worry, nobody is giving up. Least of all us. We're just a bit..."
"Drifting." Yuffie says helpfully. "But don't worry. We're here, and we'll help you out, if you need us."
They seem to be a little more motivated. A good start.

Terra
Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge.
That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that.
I am blessed with people's smiles and respect. But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand.
I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times.
Darkness...Darkness of the heart. How is it born?
How does it come to affect us so?
As ruler of this world, I must find the answers. I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness.

Terra, Fayt
Fayt opens the door after Terra had been within for only moments. It's at this point that there is a flash of light, a puff of smoke, and the resident wizard appears.
Said wizard is an elderly man with pale skin and thin arms and legs. He wears spectacles with circular lenses. He dresses in a sky blue cloak that stops just above his ankles and has large, hanging sleeves, with pointed slippers and a tall, floppy, conical hat, both of which are the same sky blue color as his cloak. He also has bushy eyebrows, a walrus mustache, and a long, floor-length beard, all of which are white.
"I am Merlin." He says, gesturing dramatically. "I sense you both have questions."

Knuckles
The door splinters under your fist, smashed into kindling, and leaving a cloud of splinters. Within is a figure, tall and square shouldered, with a brown beard and big muscles. He looks at you, surprise in his eyes. "May I help you?"

Nameless
You hear of a wizard, who apparently has books written with characters that look like the language your tatoos are written in. Perhaps he can help you.

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

He places a hand under his chin as he speaks seemingly thinking a great deal. "Well the Keyblade is a weapon of the heart. It is powered by the heart and connects them. This is why Keyblade wielders tend to be able to forge connections with people so easily." He then materializes his own Keyblade, the Wayward Wind. It is unusual to say the least as the design shows that was meant to be wielded in a reverse grip. "I should be able to act as a sort of detection device for Riku or Sora as i travel throughout the worlds. Also there is the fact that I have a friend who has the qualities for a keyblade wielder. Although the probability of him becoming one are slim at best. As for what we can do the first thing is that we need to raise morale. I know it sounds corny but we need the people to believe that they can push the darkness back in order to actually be able to do it. The people need leaders who can reach across worlds. I don't know about you guys but that sounds like the Hollow Bastion Restoration Commitee to me."

[Cracklord]

Ventus
Leon starts. "Really? Huh." He cocks his head. "Take him to Yen Sid then. Best we find out fast if he makes the cut, and if anyone can do that it's him. As for Sora, well Donald is working for Scrooge again. Maybe he knows something about what happened? And a kid who looks like Riku entered the tournament in Olympus stadium. That's not a good idea, however. We looked into it. Hades has has a coup planned there, and we really don't want to get caught up in that. Trust me. Better to react after the event then get caught in the confusion."
He shrugs. "Yuffie is following leads on the King. He went after Xehanort, and never came back. We believe he's a captive in the World that never was."
Then he sighs. "No sign of Aqua. And that's all we have been able to find out. Hope it helps you. Anyway, we're going to keep on doing what we can to keep a few worlds clear."

[AnimeKid]

Knuckles

"Yeah, I'm looking for a jagged piece of emerald. About ye big? I know it's here, I can sense it. So I'll just have a look around to find it. Don't you try and stop me either because its important that I find it. So no sudden moves or your teeth will be looking like that door." His piece said he starts looking around the room as he keeps the man within eyesight at all times.

Ike

He looks at the keys and then up at Marth as he says, " I hate to sound suspicious, but that knight actually made a good point. You should at least look at the docks. If their really is a magisty class cruiser there it would be at least worth checking out. However if it uneases you your welcome to come with us. Although coming with me may be more dangerous than trusting that knight. It's your choice Marth.

Ventus

he nods as he says, "All right then, I'll go take Fayt to visit Yen Sid after I talk to Donald to get some info on Sora. Oh yeah, before I go how are things going in Hollow Bastion?"

Fayt

He nods at Merlin, "Your right I do have questions. For you to expect us and know what we are here for you must have great wisdom and powerful magic at your disposal. You see I'm here on the behalf of my friend Ventus. He wants to know if there is anyway you can help us out. Also do you know where my childhood friend Sophia is? If you do could you tell me where she is? Finally where is the nearest world where the heartless are trying to take over and what would be the easiest fallen world to try and liberate from the darkness?"

Xianghua

She looks at Yu as she says, "Lu Bu huh, well this is not good. Nightmare was bad enough on his own, with someone else who shares his tastes and power? Thats not good at all. Do you know where this Lu Bu was last seen?"

[Cracklord]

Knuckles
"You mean like this?" He asks, holding up a small, bright green sliver of a gem. "Have it. besides, there are hundreds more like it in the arena at the moment."
With that, he tosses it to you casually.
Call yourself paranoid, but this here strikes you as a little too good to be true.

Ike
"You know I'm not afraid of danger, old friend, but he was right. No matter how dangerous it has become for me, it is my duty to do what I can for my people, not look for others to support them." He shakes you hand, the pauses. "Tell me, do you have a ship of your own? The least I can do is offer you a lift."

Ventus
"All quiet. She's gathering all her strength, anyone she can coerce or bribe. She's keeping out of the organizations way, but, and as long as she does that they seem content to leave her alone. No doubt we'll all be hearing from her fairly soon, of course."

Fayt
He strokes his beard. "Sophia... no, that name does not ring a bell. I'll put word out. Come and visit me every now and again, and I will keep you appraised. As to your other questions, I am more then willing to help. I've forgotten more about magic then most can guess, and will be more then happy to instruct you in it's arts, if you are willing to learn."
Then he pauses a moment, seeming to consider something. "Oh, and as to the worlds, well that depends. Do you have a gummi ship?"

[Dark Cloud]

Cloud Strife
Cloud snapped out of his introspection. The boy reminded him of someone. Who, he could not say, but he'd seen him before. Maybe in another life.
"I'll go to the stadium." He says softly. "Alone." And that's all. With that, he stood up and walked out of the room, to where his hoverbike was docked. He stopped to nod at Vincent, though neither said so much as a word to the other. He carefully does not look at either Tifa or Aerith. That would only be painful for all three of them. Swinging his leg over the side, he leans down and starts it up, pausing to put his goggles over his eyes.
It felt right, being alone again. Nobody to depend on but himself.

Princess Zelda
She wakes up, sighs, and walks down onto the streets to see what happened while she slept.

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

He nods as he heads out of the meeting rooms and to the Scrooge mansion. He needed to know where Sora was and what happened to him.

Fayt

He nods, "Yeah we do, I actually modified it myself."

Knuckles

He inspects the emerald shard closely. He had watched over the emerald for many years now. If there was a inconsistancy in it that he did not recognize that would mean this was a fake. "What do you mean there are hundreds like this one in the arena?"

Ike

"Don't worry we have our own ship. You just get back to your kingdom and unite your people like I know you can." He the heads back to the hotel and upon seeing that Ventus and Fayt are gone sighs and sits down to wait for them.

[Cracklord]

Cloud Strife

BENEATH OLYMPUS

The gates to the Colosseum are so massive it seems impossible to believe it was built by human hands. Made of pristine white marble and decorated with two imposing golden statues carved to excruciating detail, with delicate, fluted columns adorned with complex scrollwork. The entire thing seems like a monument to human achievement, which of course is the point.
In the small area before it, a crowd is already gathering, each of them more unusual then the last. The greatest heroes in Greece alongside men from countless worlds, all competing to show themselves the strongest under heaven. Phil is forming them into a line, haranguing them, blustering and otherwise forcing order through the sheer power of his grumpy and argumentative presence.
Phil has the lower body is that of a goat with orange fur and brown hooves. He is bald, but has a curly goatee and five o'clock shadow over most of his lower face. His nose is pink and bulbous and his ears are pointed. There are two brown goat horns sprouting out of the top of his head. Given how short he is, he seems extremely comical, ordering the assembled fighters who tower above him.
"Alright then, teams of no more then two, got it? Now, there are two rules and nothing else! You can either enter separately or sit this one out. Everyone works their way up the ranks, same as everyone else. There's an hour between each fight, use that time however you want. This is not a fight to the death, kill your opponent and you will be disqualified. Stepping out of bounds will make you disqualified, no leaving once the fight is underway unless you wish to forfeit. No touching of the hair or face, and that's it for rules! Also, I would like to thank our sponsor, Scrooge McDuck." He gestures to a poster showing the old, somewhat benevolent face of the obscenely rich resident of Duckburg "-for organizing this, supplying the entertainment and paying for everything."
He then gestures expansively two the massive double doors. "Alright then, kids. Audience, the game starts tomorrow, buy your tickets. Fighters, put your names down, and you'll be inspected. Lets get the prelims over quickly, got it?"

Fayt
"Then remember, nothing worth doing is ever easy. Closest to us is Olympus, but there are many worlds, all of which have their own brand of problems. I cannot tell you what will be easy and what will not."

Ventus
Scrooge lives in Duckburg, near Disney castle, but has a series of offices here which look over his investments and business. To your (considerable) surprise, Donald is in charge. Scrooge must be softening, he always used to keep his nephew in semi-livable-abject poverty.
You arrange a meeting, then wait. In no time, Donald comes bounding out, dressed in his magicians outfit.
Donald is the Royal Magician of Disney Castle and the royal assistant for King Mickey, but that is an honory position. His real occupation is working for his uncle, as he still needs to eat. You don't envy him. Scrooge did not become rich by being free with money or lax about maintaining hard work.
Donald blinks, his bill dropping and his eyes widening in surprise. "Ventus?"'

Knuckles
"They are being given out as prizes in the preliminary rounds." Yes, it's definately part of the gem. You can even tell where it would fit in when you find the rest of it (a little left of the top). The only question is whether he is telling the truth or not.

[Cracklord]

Oda Nobunaga
A man appears outside Honnoji castle, dressed in black robes of leather, a strange projectile weapon on either hip. He resembles nothing so much as a wolf, all lean, rangy muscle and a feral brass eye that was burning like fire. He looks more animal then man, the strands of grey in his hair reminiscent of a tigers stripes, and his movements carried the easy grace of a feline. He smiles a smile of a hateful man, that say more eloquently then any words that he can already see you dead.
Swaggering past your guards, he slams open the door, not even bothering to lower his head as he does so, kicks Katsuie in the knee before he can offer protest or restrain the man, then looks you up and down, his grin widening. He's tall, and given you are sitting seems taller still, towering above you.
"So you're the big man in these parts. Nice beard, really plays the creepy plotter angle. Names Xigbar. Lets be friends." He laughs. "I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse."

Son Son
You're father, the great Son Wukong, Bodhivista, Great Sage and Equal of Heaven, handsome Monkey King, has sent you from the mountain of fruits and flowers, to gain experience in the world and learn about all it's inhabitants, from the mightiest to the meekest. In his infinite wisdom and compassion, he told you that you may return in a year and a day.
Or at least, that's how he put it. More likely he simply wants you out from under foot for a while, and so invented an excuse. Either way, you have to leave your home.
The only way out is along the Mountain Trail, a twisting and curvy path full of ledges, dead ends, and treacherous bandits, demons and worse. And then, you are within the Land of Dragons.
The Monkeys do not take much interest in the outside world, being insular unless getting involved in other people's fights, but they have heard that the world is a dangerous place at the moment.
Even for spirits.

Zhuge Liang, Huang Yu Ying
You stand in the abandoned village, beside the mountain pass, and try to guess what came about here. There are no bodies, no signs of death, but signs of battle are everywhere. Broken and bent weapons, discarded armor, churned earth and the burned out shells of houses, forced doors and signs of a struggle everywhere you look.
And yet where are the bodies? Nowhere can you see any signs of a cremation or a mass grave. Either they disappeared, or they were taken away from the battle for some reason that currently escapes you. Somehow, you suspect that understanding that is the key to what happened here.

[draxx]

Terra
Ignoring the wizard and the younger man, he turns the next page, interested. The man who wrote this is obviously particularly insightful, and understands the human heart then anyone he's ever met, with the possible exception of Master Xehanort. More then anything else, this might have the secrets to defeating the heartless he has been looking for. Maybe even the secrets of his own heart.

Zhou Yu
"I am afraid not. The Azure knight is familiar to me, but I have heard no stories of his sword, or mention of it in the stories."

Vincent Valentine
He sighs, stretches, then gets to his feet. "I better go keep an eye on him." He says softly, staring after the blond S.O.L.D.I.E.R. Getting to his feet, he walks out behind Cloud. Outside, he finds a very different person waiting for him.
A small, roughly spherical in gold rimmed steel, with a cape of the void between stars.

Metaknight
"He shall be fine." Metaknight says to Vincent as he steps out. "But you are needed. Follow. The future awaits. And as done redemption." Without another word he lead Valentine to the underground cavern, through the tunnel bellow the magician's house.
Five chairs are set-up already, each to specific shapes and sizes. One fits Vincent perfectly. "For now, wait. We will soon have company. You may ask any questions you have"

[SeanHiruki]

Zhuge Liang and Huang Yue Ying
One minute the happy Shu Han couple was enjoying rice in the Sun Wu base at Chi Bi (Red Cliff), and the next they were in a different, yet oddly familiar land. It must have been the grace of the Gods, for Zhuge Liang had his Crane Feathered Fan on him and Huang Yue Ying had her hook spear next to her that had seemed to follow her.
"Well well. This is an interesting puzzle. What occurred here?" Zhuge Liang said with a calm grace that only a man with an intellect as vast as his could muster. He was obviously more interested than anything else. Zhuge Liang took out his fan and breezed himself.
"It seems a battle took place here,dear husband. I can still smell the blood. But what could have happened to the dead, I wonder. Could the survivors have buried their dead and then abandoned the village?" Yue Ying pondered. The gorgeous red headed woman looked around this new world along with her husband. They both searched the village look for clues.

Son Son
The daughter of Sun Wukong, The Great Sage; Equal of Heaven himself, skipped around the Land of Dragons happily eating her peach. She sang Chinese folk songs between each mouthful. She had never been to this place before, but she did not really care much. It as Chinese enough for her, and anyway she has lived through weirder events. Such as fighting men who could throw blue fireballs from their hands and some guy in red and yellow hard clothes that he called Iron Man. OH! And a big green anger man! Some pretty ladies too.
But anyway.
Peaches are awesome.
Wonder who else is in this game?
"Daddy told me to do sum training" She said to herself as she ate. "And stuff"

Oda Nobunaga
Nobunaga raised his eyebrow at the man as he entered. His stature was great, matching the stature of an Oni. Nobunaga knew the man's smile well. He had seen many like it. The Daimyo of Owari matched the stranger's smile with his own, a smile full of pride and amusement as if to say that he was unimpressed by the man. He wasn't He let him speak before responding.
"What arrogance you show,lad. You insult my appearance and then insult my intelligence. What an odd man you are."
Nobunaga stood, towering above the man, not in hight but in sheer power. He was a true leader, born to rule all he sees.
"State your offer and we shall see if you are indeed friend."

Lei Wulong
Not Good.
Not good not good NOT GOOD!
What happened to the Hong Kong Police station he was just in? Where the hell is this place? Officer Lei Wulong panicked as he ran around Traverse Town. Was this Munchkin land? No couldn't be, the people were not short. Where the hell was he then? He was not dead, because he felt pain when he stubbed his toe.
"WHERE THE CRAP AM I!??"

Bridget
The nun dressed boy looked around, slightly afraid but also excited. This place was weird,but also reminded him of his hometown. This was not England, though. That much the bounty hunter was certain.
"Excuse me, sir" He asked a middle aged man in front of what looked like a pub, "Where is this place?"

Ayane
The beautiful Kunoichi sighed as she looked around the strange place. It was not Japan, nor was it any country she had ever fought in. The DOA Tournament fought in every land on Earth, so it was obvious that she was no longer on Earth. Another dimension? Possible. Best to scout around and gather information.

[AnimeKid]

Ventus

he nods at Donald smiling, "Yeah its me Donald. I'm afraid this isn't a social call however. I need to know where was Sora last seen? What happened to him?"

Knuckles

He scrunches his faace as he says, " all right then." He then turns and leaves out of the room heading towards to meeting place where the others said they would gather after they finished their bussines and sits down beside Ike.

Xianghua

Seh sighs as she nods her head. "Well that thank you for your time and information. I should get back to my companions now. Their probably waiting on me." She then gets up and walks to the meeting place.

Fayt

he nods as he asks his final question. "You said I could learn magic from you, but are you sure? I mean my world had its own kind of magic that involved carving tiny symbols into our skin. Your magic seems much more traditional."

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