Beuce gave a heavy sigh. "Well, I'd imagine that's not the answer you were looking for." He shot Kel a questioning glance when he explained his kidnappers as if to ask if he was sure about this. "I'm afraid we don't know what happened to your friends. Although if it had something to do with that bunch, so we'll find out sooner or later. If you want to come with us, you could see it for yourself." He extended a glass hand out to Ven. "Though, I won't lie to you. Given what happened to you, you might not like the answer you arrive at. If you'd rather lay low for a while, you should be safe here. But if you want to chase after them with us, if you want to find out with your own eyes, we'll take you to see it. Just...make sure you're ready."
Beuce thought for a moment. The name master Eraqus rang a bell for him, but he couldn't quite place it. "Eraqus..." Finally, it dawned on him. He'd heard Lea mention the name the first time he'd met him. If this boy trained under him that meant... "Oh man..." Beuce took a deep breath. "Well, I don't have an exact timeframe. You'd need to talk to Kel for that one, but if Eraqus was still around when you were there...That would've been well over a year ago. Almost two. Come on, I'll take you to find Kel. He can probably give you a more concrete explanation on what happened. He's been here the longest of any of us."
Beuce heard the situation before he saw it. All he could hear was a fairly young boy he didn't recognize yelling in confusion. Speeding up, Beuce arrived on the scene just a moment after he'd finished speaking. The boy in question appeared to be the one they'd rescued but, up until now, had been comatose. Hurrying along, he approached them. "I don't think that was quite the answer he was looking for AJ." He ran through his head what all he should tell him. "My name is Beuce, this is Karina. We're with the Soldiers of Sanctuary, or SOS. We're a group of keyblade masters that have been protecting the worlds. You've been unconscious for a while. I don't know what happened to you, but we got you out of the hands of some pretty bad people we've been fighting against. What's your name, and what's the last thing you remember?" If this boy could give them any information on no heart or the red society, it could be an immense help. If not, at least they'd gotten him to safety.
Beuce at this point wasn't entirely sure what to say. He'd never really been good that the romantic stuff. All he could really do was reassure her. "We won't let him take anything away. He doesn't have any control over you anymore. You're stronger than him. You're stronger than anyone he could ever send for you. And even if you weren't, you aren't alone. I'll protect you." With that, Beuce grabbed the girl into a hug. "You don't have to be scared anymore." After a moment, he finally released her. "We uh...We should probably get back to the ship with the others. Once we get back to Central Haven, I can't imagine it'll be an easy fight. We need to prepare for things." Beuce turned to leave the alleyway. "Let's go...dear? hmm..." Well, now that he'd made that thoroughly awkward, he continued back to the ship.
Karina seemed to be avoiding eye contact. He could only imagine she was expecting the worst. After the response he'd given her last time, he couldn't honestly blame her. Beuce took a deep breath. He hadn't had to do this since he was a boy confessing to his childhood sweetheart long ago. Who...was in his heart right now, potentially watching this whole exchange. After a brief prayer that she was unconscious and unaware to spare himself a death of embarrassment, he began to speak his mind.. "I've been thinking about what you said...At Olympus. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt. I was so focused on what we're trying to do that I'd never given much thought to it otherwise, so you kind of caught me off guard. Sorry for blowing you off earlier." Beuce at this point stared directly at the girl. "When you weren't with us, your dad told us that you'd demolished your way out. I knew he was lying. I knew you wouldn't leave like that, but at the same time I started to think about if you did. And that scared me. I realized that it was...hard without you. That I didn't want you to go anywhere. That I cared about you more than I realized." Beuce turned his gaze to the side. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is...I feel the same way about you..."
Beuce was silent for most of the voyage. He couldn't get a thought out of his mind. He made up his mind, and bided his time. Finally, once the ship reached port in a new world, "Traverse Town", as it had been called. He stood up. They were greeted by the three young keyblade wielders they'd met in the belly of monstro. He made a note to himself to check up on their progress, but at the moment he had other matters to attend to. He tapped Karina on the arm and nodded to follow him. "Yo. My turn to kidnap you for a talk. Follow me." With that, he found a nearby alley around a corner. It seemed to be a dead end. Only a wooden barricade with a small red symbol containing three hearts on it. Beuce sat on a nearby box, thinking over his next words.
Beuce turned to see a the man claim his countless sins. "Before you go, let me ask you. What do you think will make up for your sins?" Quill’s walk to the elevator stopped by one of them speaking to him. The man with that strange arm. Quill sighed heavily “Isolation, imprisonment, and a swift return to darkness. I don’t deserve to be here.” "Huh...Well you know I was kinda hoping you'd be leaning more towards doing some good and righting wrongs..." Beuce put a hand to his chin. "That puts a bit of a damper on my plans...You need to lighten up dude." Quill began grow irritated, he turned around to face the man now "I'm not who you think I am. I helped your group because it seemed right. I fought those crazy people because they hurt people. But after all the destruction I caused to my world, I don't have the right to do any more. Why should I stand here instead of the thousands who I've hurt?" Quill looked to the floor. "Besides...if you see the keyblade on my back, I'm not exactly a paragon of light." "Well, you wouldn't be the first like that. You've met Aux, I take it?" Beuce looked over to the man. "He used to be an enemy of ours. He did a lot of bad things, and he hurt a lot of people. Some of those people can never be brought back. Some of the things he's done, he can't ever undo. But he's here with us anyway. He's doing his best to help. Just because you've done something wrong in the past doesn't mean you can't do something in the future." Beuce turned back to Quill. "Besides, we aren't fighting the darkness. We're fighting the people who abuse it." Quill was still shocked how casually this man spoke, his confidence was unwavering. Quill had suspected some conflict in Aux's past but for him to reform and join his own enemies...but be that as it may "The people who abuse darkness...my world is gone because of those very people. It'll never return, and any chance of me returning to my former of life is gone. Are you serious? Look at me!" Quill dropped all pretenses and let his pain come out, black chitin covered his body and his black and yellow eye grew bright with intensity. "I'm. A. Monster! I....I'll never have my old life back. I would rather end this than risk causing anyone more pain..." Beuce raised an eyebrow at Quill. The man showed his deformities with shame in an effort to convince him of his unworthiness. "Yeah, and my arm is made of glass. Also have you seen Aux's face? You're not that bad." Beuce sighed, taking a more serious tone. "I'm not going to promise you that your world will ever come back. Believe me, I know what it's like. But do you really think they'd want their sole survivor to spend his days rotting in a cell? If you'd been on the other side. If someone else stood where you stand, what would you want them to do? Spend the rest of their days sitting in the dark as a self-inflicted penance, or make a legacy worth remembering? I can't speak for you or your people, but I know which one mine would've preferred." Quill was...taken aback. His crimes, his Keyblade, his mutations. All had repelled others when he returned to life, but still this man didn't falter. He could still joke and treat him with humanity. Quill's was genuinely touched. His armor began to recede, and even his posture became more relaxed. Quill looked the man in the eye "I'm not in a position to say what my people would want. We were determined to win out of the darkness consuming our world.." Quill looked upward for a moment before returning to his gaze "..so much so that we turned our Keyblade masters into something called Darklings. What...can i do to make those sins right?" Beuce scratched the back of his head. "Well, that's a bit hard to say. There's not much that'll undo it, but making it so that others don't have to suffer would be a good start" His simple response was a bit lacking for Quill's tragedy filled heart but the advice was fair. He began to consider "Well I can't say I have many life skills, I never did much but fight. I suppose I could stay on the ship and help those on the ship adjust. Perhaps I could even find another world to make my own. Unless perhaps, well if you guys needed help hunting down that terrorist group.." For the first time in years Quill felt real embarrassment, I mean Quill didn't know how to approach the subject. "I mean you seem like you have plenty members but a couple more hands is always good. And my fight with Gilgamesh and Sho and that other lady show I fight well on my own and with you guys. And a couple of you guys seem to know things about controlling darkness so that help would be appreciated. And, and...uh forgive me where was I?" Quill was honest to god flustered. Beuce put a glass arm around the man's shoulder and began to walk him toward the rest of the group. "Don't worry, I'll introduce you." "He. Ha he. Well that's good." Quill was quick to suppress a sniffle and cleared his throat "Errm, well I didn't get your name but I appreciate this. More than you know- Oh that reminds me I was keeping this in case one of you know what it did. It's a terrible weapon honestly but consider it thank you." Quill handed the weapon to the man, the strange blue sheathed sword he got off of Gilgamesh. Beuce could scarcely believe his eyes. He took the blue sword and whacked it against himself. While he felt no real pain, the sword did make a high pitched "squeak" sound and a white number 1 appeared above his head. "Man, i remember this thing. It doesn't hurt until it hits you a bunch of times, and then you take all the damage at once. It's wild."
Beuce could feel a headache growing at every word Karina's family said. He didn't realize there was a depth this far for how wrong someone could possibly be. "Hey Karina, they're your family right? Is it alright with you if I have a few words with them?" Karina nodded in approval Beuce approached the man with glasses calling Karina a traitor. "So, Eric. I get where you're coming from. I really do. I come from a military world myself. I was part of the leadership of my faction, and I would do almost anything to protect them. But buddy, you need to get your head out of your *KUPO* and see the bigger picture. Your world and anything that happens on it is such a small, insignificant part of what's going on that you'll have to forgive her for disregarding its rules and traditions. I don't know if you have the slightest inkling as to what's going on, but this affects every single world in the universe. Including yours. If we fail, your world goes up in flames too." Beuce narrowed his eyes in a glare at the man. "The whole situation here should prove that we're capable of dealing with their ilk, and that your military isn't. This wasn't even their strongest. Not by a long shot. Karina is one of our comrades helping defend the worlds from No Heart. If you and your family can't see beyond your own agenda and try to get in her way, that makes you our enemy. And we won't hesitate to defend our friends from our enemies. So take my advice, go back to your world, forget she ever existed, and stay out of our way."
Beuce glared at the dark portal as it opened in front of him. The black-haired man stepped out of it and sighed. "You know, we've really got to stop running into each other. I'm getting bored just looking at you." Beuce didn't seem phased by this, however. He simply summoned his keyblade and took up a stance. Luther, meanwhile, looked to Karina. "Well, I don't really have any interest in the prisoners so if that's your intention, I'm happy to oblige." Luther darted at the girl behind a double to throw off her timing. At least he was away from her mother, but Karina hadn't entirely expected the attack that was thrown at her. She managed to dodge out of the way, but it threw her off enough that there was no time for a counter-attack. Karina spun to face Luther again as flames ignited along her keyblade. "This ends here Luther. I will not let you walk out of here alive, not after what you did." She stated before launching at Luther full force, only to notice X-ray try and attack her from behind. and she was forced to abandon her attack in favor of pushing back X-ray. Luther went to press the advantage, but his blade was knocked to the side by a red keyblade. Looking to Beuce, he sighed. "Still upset about the last time you lost to me are you? Bent on proving that your strength?" Again, there was no response. "Have it your way." Both of them activated their blade aura as they took up a stance. Beuce, however, covered his blade in energy and activated his second tier. "Well, it seems you've picked up a new trick since last we met." Beuce attacked without a word. "It's like I'm underwater. I can still hear, but it's muffled. Muted." The clangor of blades rang out. Luther darted in from every direction and thrust at Beuce's vitals. The master deflected them, only for him to reposition and attack from the opposite side nearly instantaneously. Yet as fast as Luther was, he wasn't making much headway into breaking through Beuce's parries. "This aura...It dulls your senses. No...That's not quite it..." Luther ignited a blaze in his hand and hurled it at Beuce. Bringing up the blue end of his keyblade, he fired a shot of water out of it and canceled the magic. Victor, however, wasn't far behind the spell. The deadly strike from his weapon was narrowly avoided by its would-be victim. "It cuts out anything unnecessary. I can't feel the air on my skin. I can't make out details in the background. I can only feel the steel in my hand. I can only see his movements. It's like I'm underwater...I'm sinking...And I can almost..." Luther leaped backward away from him and began to focus his energy. There were no more illusions. There could be no doubt in anyone's mind that this was the real Luther. He took a deep breath, and his presence was amplified tenfold. Even the attention of bystanders would be drawn to him. With an attack that had all his power put into it, he sprinted forward. His weapon hummed with energy as it prepared to make a truly brilliant strike. No one's eyes would be able to part from such an attack. Before it came, however. It slipped from his hand and fell downward toward the ground. The second it was in the air seemed like an eternity. Luther brought his hands up to bring them together. Beuce's eyes, however, weren't on the weapon. "I can almost...see the bottom." The aura around Beuce was gone, and a trail of grey flashed in his eyes. He didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't feel his hands. All he knew was what he need to do to win. CLAP The sound was deafening after what seemed like eons of utter silence. Luther's eyes went wide as he was torn out of his concentration. His stance, his form, his training. In that moment, his mind ached as he struggled to remember any of it. It had deserted him in the face of such shock. Though it was only a second, he was defenseless, and Beuce didn't need any more time than that. In one swift motion, Lofty grasp pierced through Luther's torso. He could only stand there, stunned at what had just happened. The keyblade master pulled his weapon from the man and left him to collapse on the floor. A million things raced through Luther's mind, but one of them stood out among the rest. A dying thought so laughable he couldn't help himself. He'd found the opponent he was searching for but hadn't even realized it until after they'd already fought. He closed his eyes. Maybe it was better this way. Beuce sharply inhaled as he left his aura. He was a bit overwhelmed as the world around him came flooding back. Their fight wasn't done, so he turned back to the other red society member and took up his keyblade against him.
Beuce listened silently to Karina's story. He felt bad for her and all she'd had to go through. "Karina, Kaida's right. It's not your fault. What happened would've happened either way. Your father probably just wanted to kill two birds with one stone and make you obedient by convincing you that you were to blame. I understand how hard it must be, but you need to try to not let him get to you. If you do, it only brings you closer to what he wants." Beuce couldn't help but feel a twinge of frustration at the bits about the arranged marriage. When she mentioned the part about stabbing her would-be fiancee in the neck, he felt an uncharacteristic bit of satisfaction. Once he'd overcome his brief lapse in heroism, He turned around. "Now, come on, let's get back to searching dear." He said with a smirk. She didn't honestly think he wasn't going to tease her a little bit, did she?
Beuce looked a little puzzled at Karina as she held out her manacles. "Huh. That's odd. I wonder why he didn't. Don't worry, I got ya." Beuce summoned Lofty grasp and twirled it so that it was centered between her arms. He lowered it and with a slight tap at both ends, the manacles both popped open and fell to the ground simultaneously. "There you go. All set."
Beuce panted slightly as he stopped at the entrance to the jail. He opened the door to their destination and felt a weight lift from his chest. His pant briefly turned into a sigh of relief as he walked over to Karina, seeming to not even notice her poor state. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close to him. "I'm glad you're okay..." He muttered quietly. It only lasted for a moment, but he felt it was something that needed to be done. Once he released her, he turned back to everyone else. "Alright, for anyone who hasn't been caught up to speed yet, a couple people have been kidnapped by the Red Society. One of them is Kel. They're probably somewhere still on the ship, so we need to split up and look for them as quickly as we can. I imagine we were all just in combat, so if you need healing, see a mystic until you're good to go. If you're seriously injured, go with them to the medical bay." Beuce scanned who they had left. Luna was out of commission, as was Aux now. That left them with nine people. "Otherwise. We'll split into two groups, four and five. Castur, AJ, Faust, Aislinn, and Stratos. You all go together, you're A team.. The rest of you, with me. We're B team. A team starts from the east. B team starts from the west. We don't have a lot of time, so let's get going while we can. Any objections?"
Beuce was a bit taken aback by Aislinn jumping down his throat at the mention of blowing up the ship. He hadn't expected her to be so adamant about the ship being a...well, sanctuary. He sighed "Look, I take that to mean you haven't seen a lot of what else they've been doing. If you want a more thorough explanation, later on, I'll give you one, for now though just trust me when I say that Xares being generally a bad guy is far from the biggest problem this place has. It's rotten to the core, but right now, that doesn't really matter. Priority number one is saving everyone else." Beuce turned and began to run to the jail
Beuce made a tsk as Luther abruptly left the fight. He'd only been there to distract him, and it had worked. The man leaped over to where his comrades were, slightly surprised to see Aislinn. "Hey. Glad to see you aren't dead." He looked around, taking a mental headcount. "What could they want with Kel...?" He muttered to himself. "First things first, is anyone hurt? If so, we should heal up while we have a minute. Second, AJ has a point. We should get everyone else out of jail. It's not quite the circumstance I wanted to get them out under but it works all the same. After that, we need Kel back. I don't know what they want with him, but it can't possibly be good. Lastly, we should get everyone off this ship and blow it to hell and back. It's rotten to its core, and we wouldn't exactly be doing our jobs if we left it operational."
Beuce casts aeroga on himself Beuce covers Karina Baymax uses healthcare on stratos
TITAN 16,373/30,000 Stratos > Stratos > Faust > Faust >Beuce > Beuce > Karina > Titan > Titan > Aux Aux used a mega-potion Everyone was healed to full Stratos entered Rhythm Mixer Stratos Summoned Fairy Godmother! Fairy godmother returned Baymax! Stratos Guarded Aux Faust used Blizzaga x2 Dealt 962 damage! Faust used Final Ragnarok Dealt 999 damage! Marshmallow used Blizzard Breath Dealt 369 damage Beuce entered Rising Wing Beuce summoned Baymax! Baymax used Rocket Fist! Dealt 469 damage Beuce Guarded Aux Karina used a Combo Dealt 419 damage! Titan used Gigaton Punch on Aux! Beuce and Stratos covered! Aux takes 25 damage Beuce takes 91 damage Stratos takes 50 damage Titan used Tremor Jab Faust takes 71 damage! Karina feels the pressure of Titan's Ire Beuce Stratos CLAYMAKER Aux CRITICAL IMPACT Karina Faust Party Buffs 24/115 HP 2/11 MP 45% CG Buff: Resistance: None Spoiler: ATTACK Ground Combo - 000% - 00 CG Air Combo - 000% - 00 CG Rising Wing Ground Combo - 100% - 5 CG Air Combo - 225% - 20 CG Spoiler: MAGIC Curaga Aeroga Spoiler: SKILL COMMAND Faith (3/4) Break Time (5/11) Launch (11/11) Reluctancy (11/11) Magnify (11/11) Reflect Spoiler: SUMMON Dumbo Fairy Godmother Cheshire Cat Baymax Marshmallow Spoiler: ABILITY Dodge Roll Guard Cover *gasp* Cheer Second Wind Damage Syphon Lucky Lucky MP haste MP Rage Auto Aura lv 1 Second Chance Reload Boost Battlecry Cure Boost Life Giver Divine Caress Brightest Light Duty of the White Mage Spoiler: LIMIT Mystic Aura Trip Around The Sun 71/121 HP 2/8 MP 25% CG Buff: Resistance: None Spoiler: ATTACK Friendship Nerd Spoiler: MAGIC Firaga Blizzaga Curaga Thundaga Minega Aeroga Graviga Drain Balloonga Ruin Spoiler: SKILL COMMAND Bass Boost (7/7) Spoiler: ITEM Ether Balloon Letter Hi-Ether Hi-Potion x2 Mega Potion Spoiler: SUMMON Baymax Sparky Fairy Godmother Cheshire Cat Maui Tinkerbell Spoiler: ABILITY High Jump Guard Cover Dodge Roll Magic Lock on Item Boost Cheer Second Wind MP Haste Lucky Lucky Damage Syphon Reload Boost Battlecry MP Rage Second Chance Critical Plus Healing Guard Berserk Entrust Libra Auto Aura lv1 Auto Aura lv2 Spoiler: LIMIT Hunter’s Mist 122/147 HP 10/10 MP 111% CG Buff: Aeroga (2 turns) Resistance: Thunder Spoiler: ATTACK 275% 35 CG Earth 425% 40 CG Spoiler: MAGIC Curaga Graviga Stopga Spoiler: SKILL COMMAND Sliding Dash Hyperjump Powerline Treasure Island Spoiler: ITEM Hi-Potion x5 Hi-ether Phoenix Down Mega-Potion Spoiler: SUMMON Fairy Godmother Cheshire Cat Bambi Baymax Experiment 221 Spoiler: ABILITY [2] High Jump(Equipped) [1] Magic Lock-On (Equipped) [1] Cheer (Equipped) [2] Dodge Roll (Equipped) [2] Guard (Equipped) [2] Item Boost (Equipped) [2] Berserk (Equipped) [3] Damage Syphon (Equipped) [3] Lucky Lucky (Equipped) [3] MP Haste (Equipped) [3] Healing Guard (Equipped) [3] Cover (Equipped) [3] MP Rage (Equipped) [3] MP Gift (Equipped) [3] Critical Plus (Equipped) [4] Reload Boost (Equipped) [10] Auto Aura (Lv1) (Equipped) Spoiler: LIMIT Guardian’s Wall 121/121 HP 6/6 300% CG Buff: Aeroga (2 turns) Resistance: None Spoiler: ATTACK 525% 40 CG Spoiler: MAGIC lol Spoiler: SKILL COMMAND Strike Raid (3/3) Zantetsuken (2/4) Powerline (3/3) Magnify (2/11) Fist Bump (3/3) Cross-Slash (1/3) Spoiler: ITEM Potion x1 Spoiler: SUMMON Locked Spoiler: ABILITY High Jump Dodge Roll Damage Syphon Second Wind Lucky Lucky Second Chance Critical Plus Reload Boost Auto Aura 1 39/110 HP 3/11 MP 35% CG Buff: Aeroga (2 turns) Resistance: None Spoiler: ATTACK 150% 15 CG Spoiler: MAGIC Thundaga Graviga Firaga Blizzaga Spoiler: SKILL COMMAND Hummingbird Fox Taser Thunderbell April Showers Spoiler: SUMMON Bambi Cheshire Cat Marshmallow Fairy Godmother Spoiler: ABILITY High Jump Magic Lock on Cheer Second Wind Damage Syphon Second Chance Lucky Lucky MP Haste MP Rage Critical Plus Spoiler: LIMIT Final Ragnarok Luck: 35% Life Giver Cheer x4 Ice Commands +250% Summons +200% Strength and 200% Magic
A wave of tension washed over Beuce as the bracelet clicked from his wrist. On the bright side, he could summon his keyblade and be now able to defend himself, but there was no way they would just release him so easily. A moment of anticipation followed, and then the loudspeaker tuned in. He recognized the voice instantly as the man who had hijacked their mark of mastery exam. He'd only ever really known him through a loudspeaker. One by one his friends were confronted by members of the red society. He summoned his keyblade and was about to go and help, but he heard the scrape of steel behind him. "Where do you think you're going? I hope you're ready for round two." The voice said. Beuce turned around and was confronted by a smooth black-haired man. The very same who had defeated him at the tournament. "What's that face for? Cursing your luck? Or are you just not happy to see me?" Beuce brandished his keyblade and shot a glare at Victor. With a deep inhale, he prepared himself. Victor took up a stance to oppose his. "Well, at least you're not demoralized. Show me if you've learned anything!" With that, he lunged forward and thrust his blade. Beuce remained unflinching, and the blade passed through his face and vanished. Beuce's eyes darted around to find the man's real location and barely managed to catch a glimpse of it in time to deliver a hard punch to Victor's chest. He staggered backward and Beuce moved in with a low thrust. It passed through where Luther appeared to be, so Beuce swept in a circular motion around him until it connected with the then invisible foe. In an incredible display of dexterity, Luther flatted his palm against the ground and pushed himself into a handstand from which he rolled back onto his feet. "Well, you've certainly brought your A-game. Unfortunately, it won't be enough"
Beuce Re-Enters rising wing Beuce Re-summons Baymax Baymax uses rocket punch Beuce covered Aux
Beuce narrowed his eyes at Krowley. With a man like that in charge, it was no wonder central haven fell. He made a mental note to ask Kaida later if he was always like this, as that probably should've tipped someone off. "You mean to tell me that you plan to assault his base and attack him on his own terms when eleven fully-fledged keyblade masters couldn't defeat him off of them? He won't even be alone. He'll have his allies who are all plenty strong. Likely stronger than any single member of the order. And even if it were just him, you have no idea what he's capable of. You'd be sending your men to their deaths, Mr. Xares. Unless you mean to tell me that's your plan. Just send people at him until he's crushed under the mountain of their bodies?"
Beuce listened to the opening announcements for the summit. They were pretty standard and well presented. If he hadn't known the truth, he might've actually even believed them. The sanctuary certainly wasn't a bad idea on paper, but not with the people running it. Not with the way it was being operated and stripping its people of any freedom they might have. Beuce stood up and cleared his throat. "I am Beucefilous Alexander of Riven. How-" There was a loud slap of hands being slammed against the rail on the opposite side of the room. Beuce looked over, but he didn't need to. He already knew who it was. The introduction was mostly for her anyway. "Captain Cranston, I object! The floor was opened to world leaders, was it not?" A thin silver-haired woman called out as she stood up. "This man is no such thing. I was chosen as the representative of Riven, and even if you were to count his faction as a separate world, He has no people to represent! He's the sole survivor!" Beuce glared at her as she looked back to him, wondering how he was alive and here of all places. "If I'm the sole survivor, then it's all the more reason I should be here. Who else could possibly be such a representative? In any case, what you did to my people isn't the topic we're here to discuss." The man said firmly, not breaking eye contact. The tension between the two could be cut with a knife. She seemed taken aback by his retort to her and his intense glare. Something about him had changed since the last time they'd met. There was a moment of silence, and she sat back into her chair. "Objection withdrawn. My apologies." She began to watch him with intrigue. Beuce let out a deep breath and turned back to the presiding board. "I have a question for General Xeres. How do you plan to defeat No Heart. Surely you realize that while protecting the worlds is all well and good, it's only a temporary solution. Unless the problem is dealt with at the source, you'd only be delaying the inevitable."
