The Darkside launched an orb of darkness from the hole in its chest, striking Tinarah. Lonely Heartless: Round 1 - Turn 3 Tinarah Tinarah dealt 146 Damage! Tinarah took 21 Damage! Darkside HP: 461 / 700 ATK: 10 DEF: 3 BREAK GAUGE: 0 / 50% STATUS: None Tinarah's Info HP: 138/175 MP: 87/96 FOC: 5/17 FLUX: 1/4 STATUS: Magic's Dance (3 Turns) The trio entered the room and immediately their surroundings shifted to that of Eventide Town, looking ruined as half of its buildings were torn down and those that were still standing were crumbling. The sky was black and a Darkside, surrounded by a hundred Shadows, stood before the Torrin, Boreas, and Illiana. Blast From The Post: Round 1 - Turn 1 Torrin Boreas Illiana 100 Shadows (2 HP) Darkside HP: 700 / 700 ATK: 10 DEF: 3 BREAK GAUGE: 0 / 50% STATUS: None Torrin's Info HP: 130/130 MP: 40/40 FOC: 75/75 FLUX: 5/5 STATUS: None Boreas's Info HP: 150/150 MP: 31/31 FOC: 35/35 FLUX: 4/4 STATUS: None Illiana's Info HP: 85/85 MP: 42/42 FOC: 30/30 FLUX: 4/4 STATUS: None The room did not morph when Take walked into the room. Instead, three Darksides materialized before the boy, surrounding him in a triangular formation. The Other Side: Round 1 - Turn 1 Takehiko Darkside 1 HP: 700 / 700 Darkside 2 HP: 700 / 700 Darkside 3 HP: 700 / 700 ATK: 10 DEF: 3 BREAK GAUGE: 0 / 50% STATUS: None Takehiko's Info HP: 230/230 MP: 30/30 FOC: 32/32 FLUX: 4/4 STATUS: None The white room darkened when Chrysanthemum entered. From the ceiling hundreds of Shadows acting as a single unit poured out and a Demon Tower was formed in front of the girl. Demon Hunter: Round 1 - Turn 1 Chrysanthemum Demon Tower HP: 900 / 900 ATK: 12 DEF: 4 BREAK GAUGE: 0 / 80% STATUS: None Chrysanthemum's Info HP: 170/170 MP: 56/56 FOC: 40/40 FLUX: 5/5 STATUS: None
When Illiana came over and placed herself in their group Torrin simply shrugged in response and looked at the control panel once again to find an appropriate match. "Hm...this one's supposed to be for four people but seeing as how no one else joined us...Well I know the three of us can handle this." Torrin nodded to himself as he selected a match that held a list of enemies which he was unfamiliar with. All except the aptly named "Dark Leviathan" which he knew he had gotten the finishing blow on back when the others were struggling against it. That moment seemed so long ago now. The others had gotten so much stronger since then. "Alright well this match seems to be called...Blast From The Past. Guess that's accurate for some of us. Boreas and I didn't fight some of these things...and is...is Grandmother Willow an elderly tree? What?" Shaking his head, Torrin selected the match. "Let's get to training then." Torrin said as the door opened and he walked in.
Castur kept his keyblade in hand to stay ready for any upcoming fights as they group was led by Laguna who appeared have sided with them immediately upon learning Rourke's true plans. "A bad feeling? Well we're definitely going to have to fight Rourke. He doesn't look like the kind of person to just give up on a plan just because he's lost a few men. Still...the guy doesn't have magic. So it shouldn't be a problem. What's the worst that could happen, right?" 2/30
Castur kept his keyblade in hand to stay ready for any upcoming fights as they group was led by Laguna who appeared have sided with them immediately upon learning Rourke's true plans. "A bad feeling? Well we're definitely going to have to fight Rourke. He doesn't look like the kind of person to just give up on a plan just because he's lost a few men. Still...the guy doesn't have magic. So it shouldn't be a problem. What's the worst that could happen, right?" 2/30
The Darkside staggered backwards upon being struck and retaliated by bringing its large fist down to the ground, creating a shock wave that struck TInarah and shattered the fountain wall which caused water to spill out over the brick floor. Lonely Heartless: Round 1 - Turn 2 Tinarah Tinarah dealt 93 Damage! Tinarah took 21 Damage! Darkside HP: 607 / 700 ATK: 10 DEF: 3 BREAK GAUGE: 0 / 50% STATUS: None Tinarah's Info HP: 154/175 MP: 96/96 FOC: 5/17 FLUX: 1/4 STATUS: Magic's Dance (4 Turns) Gero nodded at the boy with understanding. "I see. The training grounds are free for you to use but hiding from technology when it is presented under safe and controlled conditions does not bode well for you. As a keyblade wielder if you hope to some day become a master then this is a fear you must learn to control as there are many worlds which thrive on advanced technology, worlds that you may be forced to visit if you are to aid in the battle against the Light Chaser." Gero clasped his hands behind his back. "I am not suggesting that this is something you must force yourself to get over in the span of a few minutes but it is something you should keep in mind, Lumen." The old master advised. "One of the outdoor training grounds can be reached by making a right once you exit this room. Head down the stairs and make another right at the end of the hallway. The courtyard it leads to is one of several that have been used for sparring and "whacking", as Selene called it, training dummies."
Gero nodded at the boy with understanding. "I see. The training grounds are free for you to use but hiding from technology when it is presented under safe and controlled conditions does not bode well for you. As a keyblade wielder if you hope to some day become a master then this is a fear you must learn to control as there are many worlds which thrive on advanced technology, worlds that you may be forced to visit if you are to aid in the battle against the Light Chaser." Gero clasped his hands behind his back. "I am not suggesting that this is something you must force yourself to get over in the span of a few minutes but it is something you should keep in mind, Lumen." The old master advised. "One of the outdoor training grounds can be reached by making a right once you exit this room. Head down the stairs and make another right at the end of the hallway. The courtyard it leads to is one of several that have been used for sparring and "whacking", as Selene called it, training dummies."
The room around Tinarah began to grow brighter as her surroundings began to change and in seconds she was no longer standing in an empty room but in the center of Eventide Town's fountain square. A pool of darkness materialized before her and a massive black arm stretched out from it. A second arm soon followed and the two large arms pushed against the ground as a large Heartless pulled itself from the dark pool. A Darkside stood before Tinarah, ready to battle. Lonely Heartless: Round 1 - Turn 1 Tinarah Darkside HP: 700 / 700 ATK: 10 DEF: 3 BREAK GAUGE: 0 / 50% STATUS: None Tinarah's Info HP: 175/175 MP: 96/96 FOC: 17/17 FLUX: 4/4 STATUS: None.
In the time the others took to reach the basement Gero had already settled down in the empty meeting room to read a large leather bound book in black that Selene and Qamar had delivered to him earlier that day. When Lumen walked in the old man looked up from his book and rose from his seat. "There is no need to thank any of us. I am just sorry we could not help you sooner." Gero spoke softly. "You look troubled, Lumen. Tell me child, what is on your mind?" The meeting had left him contemplating about the options Gero had presented before them. Some of them sounded eerily familiar to him but there was just something lingering that he could not put to words. He wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps the memory of a feeling or a phantom pain of some kind but something had caused him to go silent until Boreas had spoken to him. The offer of fighting together again just like "the old days" was a tempting thought. Torrin headed over beside his friend to take a look at the control panel as well. Torrin scratched his chin as he walked up to one of the control panels and searched through the available matches Kidemonas had set up. "Hm. There seems to be more than one of those kinds of matches. I think we could start off with one of those kinds of matches then go solo afterwards, unless anyone else wants to join in first." Torrin said, looking around at the group. "It looks like the largest match currently can hold five people." Torrin commented. Though he was tempted to just head straight in with Boreas and get to fighting he knew that a part of being on a team meant thinking about more than just what he wanted. Besides, he figured it could be fun fighting alongside the others in a non-life threatening battle for once. "Anyone up for joining us or is everyone fine with doing their own thing?" Torrin asked the remaining group seeing as how Tinarah seemed eager to test herself out on her own.
In the time the others took to reach the basement Gero had already settled down in the empty meeting room to read a large leather bound book in black that Selene and Qamar had delivered to him earlier that day. When Lumen walked in the old man looked up from his book and rose from his seat. "There is no need to thank any of us. I am just sorry we could not help you sooner." Gero spoke softly. "You look troubled, Lumen. Tell me child, what is on your mind?"
The meeting had left him contemplating about the options Gero had presented before them. Some of them sounded eerily familiar to him but there was just something lingering that he could not put to words. He wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps the memory of a feeling or a phantom pain of some kind but something had caused him to go silent until Boreas had spoken to him. The offer of fighting together again just like "the old days" was a tempting thought. Torrin headed over beside his friend to take a look at the control panel as well. Torrin scratched his chin as he walked up to one of the control panels and searched through the available matches Kidemonas had set up. "Hm. There seems to be more than one of those kinds of matches. I think we could start off with one of those kinds of matches then go solo afterwards, unless anyone else wants to join in first." Torrin said, looking around at the group. "It looks like the largest match currently can hold five people." Torrin commented. Though he was tempted to just head straight in with Boreas and get to fighting he knew that a part of being on a team meant thinking about more than just what he wanted. Besides, he figured it could be fun fighting alongside the others in a non-life threatening battle for once. "Anyone up for joining us or is everyone fine with doing their own thing?" Torrin asked the remaining group seeing as how Tinarah seemed eager to test herself out on her own.
Castur made his keyblade disappear when Laguna showed up and held his hands up, seeing that this soldier did not seem too keen on shooting first and asking questions later. "Rourke's the bad guy here. He's after the Heart of Atlantis. Once he takes that from this place, everyone who lives here will die. We were going to make a move to stop him when he stole the princess away and used his men to try killing us. So either you help us or we'll force our way through you." December Attendance: 1/30
Castur made his keyblade disappear when Laguna showed up and held his hands up, seeing that this soldier did not seem too keen on shooting first and asking questions later. "Rourke's the bad guy here. He's after the Heart of Atlantis. Once he takes that from this place, everyone who lives here will die. We were going to make a move to stop him when he stole the princess away and used his men to try killing us. So either you help us or we'll force our way through you." December Attendance: 1/30
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"Alright well if you're all ready, just follow me." Kidemonas motioned for those ready to train to come with him as he began to lead the group out of the meeting room and towards the stairs. "There are fifteen training rooms. More than we need, yeah, but we had the room so I figured why not?" Kide said as he began to head down the first flight of stairs. "I've programmed sets of matches each with a maximum limit of people who can participate in them. So if you see a room that's full, just use another one." He began to descend the second flight of stairs leading them into another set of white halls that looked nearly identical to those on the ground floor. "Anyway..." The hall he led the group down opened up into a large circular area with heavy metal doors lining the room. Both Thyella and Kaio were already waiting in the area waiting to observe over the training sessions of the students. Each door had a large glowing green number overhead that Kidemonas was sure to make note of by saying, "Green numbers for vacant rooms. Red numbers for occupied rooms. No one can enter an occupied room. Simple, right?" He motioned to the control panels affixed on the wall next to each door. "Just use those panels to access whatever match you want to start and walk in. If you're not feeling up to the challenge just call out "End Program" and the simulation will end. If there's no other questions, you guys can get ready to start splitting off into teams and get to training."
"Alright well if you're all ready, just follow me." Kidemonas motioned for those ready to train to come with him as he began to lead the group out of the meeting room and towards the stairs. "There are fifteen training rooms. More than we need, yeah, but we had the room so I figured why not?" Kide said as he began to head down the first flight of stairs. "I've programmed sets of matches each with a maximum limit of people who can participate in them. So if you see a room that's full, just use another one." He began to descend the second flight of stairs leading them into another set of white halls that looked nearly identical to those on the ground floor. "Anyway..." The hall he led the group down opened up into a large circular area with heavy metal doors lining the room. Both Thyella and Kaio were already waiting in the area waiting to observe over the training sessions of the students. Each door had a large glowing green number overhead that Kidemonas was sure to make note of by saying, "Green numbers for vacant rooms. Red numbers for occupied rooms. No one can enter an occupied room. Simple, right?" He motioned to the control panels affixed on the wall next to each door. "Just use those panels to access whatever match you want to start and walk in. If you're not feeling up to the challenge just call out "End Program" and the simulation will end. If there's no other questions, you guys can get ready to start splitting off into teams and get to training."
"It would be in your own best interest to use the Mirage Arena to train. Training on your own would yield next to zero results. Besides, I think you'll find that it won't be nearly as cramped as you imagine. Give a shot and you'll see what I mean." Kidemonas spoke towards Lumen. "You're too soft, Kide." Thyella sighed. "Anyway. As for the armor, you'll just have to wait on that. We don't have the necessary materials here to even construct them for you guys. We're working on finding what we need but once we do, I'll get to making armors for you guys. Well, everyone except the one person who already has one and the other who's refused." Kidemonas answered, narrowing his eyes at Torrin as he did so. Gero clasped his hands together and looked at Chrono. "The answer to your question is both simple and complex. The darkness from the Heartless is strong but uncontrollable and those born in the Realm of Darkness simply do not have the levels of darkness within them that we would require. Attaining it from any other natural source could cause immeasurable damage to a world and, again, would likely be uncontrollable. No...a person with a heart of pure darkness would be the only reasonable option. However, all thirteen have been destroyed or rendered inert." Gero stroked his beard. "But such an option is best saved for a last resort no matter how we go about it. Discussing this further at this point in time would be meaningless." The old man pressed his his palms against the table and pushed himself up to stand. "I am afraid I must call an end to this meeting for the Council must return to their duties. Those of you who wish to begin your training now follow Master Kidemonas to the basement and he will instruct you on the use of the Mirage Arena." As he spoke Fost and the Council members stood up and began to head out of the meeting room with only Kidemonas and Gero staying behind.
"It would be in your own best interest to use the Mirage Arena to train. Training on your own would yield next to zero results. Besides, I think you'll find that it won't be nearly as cramped as you imagine. Give a shot and you'll see what I mean." Kidemonas spoke towards Lumen. "You're too soft, Kide." Thyella sighed. "Anyway. As for the armor, you'll just have to wait on that. We don't have the necessary materials here to even construct them for you guys. We're working on finding what we need but once we do, I'll get to making armors for you guys. Well, everyone except the one person who already has one and the other who's refused." Kidemonas answered, narrowing his eyes at Torrin as he did so. Gero clasped his hands together and looked at Chrono. "The answer to your question is both simple and complex. The darkness from the Heartless is strong but uncontrollable and those born in the Realm of Darkness simply do not have the levels of darkness within them that we would require. Attaining it from any other natural source could cause immeasurable damage to a world and, again, would likely be uncontrollable. No...a person with a heart of pure darkness would be the only reasonable option. However, all thirteen have been destroyed or rendered inert." Gero stroked his beard. "But such an option is best saved for a last resort no matter how we go about it. Discussing this further at this point in time would be meaningless." The old man pressed his his palms against the table and pushed himself up to stand. "I am afraid I must call an end to this meeting for the Council must return to their duties. Those of you who wish to begin your training now follow Master Kidemonas to the basement and he will instruct you on the use of the Mirage Arena." As he spoke Fost and the Council members stood up and began to head out of the meeting room with only Kidemonas and Gero staying behind.
Three soldiers were left standing. Their enemy was now outnumbered and the soldiers who had chanced their way out of being beaten up until now looked more ready to run than capable of putting up a fight. Castur looked over towards his allies and almost considered letting them take care of the remaining trio of soldiers but he just wanted to get this fight over with already. They had taken up too much time being held back by these grunts that Rourke had probably done some serious damage by now. Castur rushed the first soldier, abandoning his own defensive posture, to knock the rifle out of the man's hands with his keyblade. Castur then hooked the man by his leg and tripped the soldier with his keyblade, bringing the blade down on the man as he fell to knock him forcefully into the ground and incapacitate him. One of the two standing soldiers opened fire making Castur roll to the side to avoid getting hit. In retaliation he cast a simple Fire spell to blast the gun out of the soldier's hands. Sighing that he had broken he "only Gravity magic" self-imposed rule, Castur shook his head in disappointment. Seeing as how he had already used a different spell once he saw no harm in using another and knocked the soldier across the area by sending a Blizzard spell his way. Castur stared at the lone soldier remaining and snapped his fingers creating a gravity spell that flung the man backwards and pinned him against a large stone stalagmite. "Oh boy...I'm just not feeling creative enough to really lay down an interesting beating on you that would not be considered sadistic." Castur called off his keyblade and scratched his cheek, wondering what to even do with the soldier. It seemed a little extreme to just beat on the lone man now that the rest of his squad had been knocked out or killed. Taking the soldier along as a prisoner hardly seemed like a better idea. What would they do under those circumstances? Make him betray his commander, keep him around just because he was the last man standing, call him some bland name like Kevin, and use him as a pack mule if need be? If Castur was being honest, that idea both amused and intrigued him. Having someone around they could throw first into a room to test for traps would come in handy. But, unfortunately, they were supposed to be the good guys. Knowing he had to get this over with already Castur released his Gravity spell to let the soldier go. Foolishly, the man must have believed that Castur was just going let him get away and began running. Castur sighed and immediately fired off another Blizzard spell to knock their final enemy down and put him out for the count to keep him from causing any further trouble for the party. Castur called off his keyblade and looked at the others. "Good fight but we should get moving along, right? This distraction took us too long." Words: 511 Total EXP: 700 Soldiers Defeated: 3 0/50 Remaining
Three soldiers were left standing. Their enemy was now outnumbered and the soldiers who had chanced their way out of being beaten up until now looked more ready to run than capable of putting up a fight. Castur looked over towards his allies and almost considered letting them take care of the remaining trio of soldiers but he just wanted to get this fight over with already. They had taken up too much time being held back by these grunts that Rourke had probably done some serious damage by now. Castur rushed the first soldier, abandoning his own defensive posture, to knock the rifle out of the man's hands with his keyblade. Castur then hooked the man by his leg and tripped the soldier with his keyblade, bringing the blade down on the man as he fell to knock him forcefully into the ground and incapacitate him. One of the two standing soldiers opened fire making Castur roll to the side to avoid getting hit. In retaliation he cast a simple Fire spell to blast the gun out of the soldier's hands. Sighing that he had broken he "only Gravity magic" self-imposed rule, Castur shook his head in disappointment. Seeing as how he had already used a different spell once he saw no harm in using another and knocked the soldier across the area by sending a Blizzard spell his way. Castur stared at the lone soldier remaining and snapped his fingers creating a gravity spell that flung the man backwards and pinned him against a large stone stalagmite. "Oh boy...I'm just not feeling creative enough to really lay down an interesting beating on you that would not be considered sadistic." Castur called off his keyblade and scratched his cheek, wondering what to even do with the soldier. It seemed a little extreme to just beat on the lone man now that the rest of his squad had been knocked out or killed. Taking the soldier along as a prisoner hardly seemed like a better idea. What would they do under those circumstances? Make him betray his commander, keep him around just because he was the last man standing, call him some bland name like Kevin, and use him as a pack mule if need be? If Castur was being honest, that idea both amused and intrigued him. Having someone around they could throw first into a room to test for traps would come in handy. But, unfortunately, they were supposed to be the good guys. Knowing he had to get this over with already Castur released his Gravity spell to let the soldier go. Foolishly, the man must have believed that Castur was just going let him get away and began running. Castur sighed and immediately fired off another Blizzard spell to knock their final enemy down and put him out for the count to keep him from causing any further trouble for the party. Castur called off his keyblade and looked at the others. "Good fight but we should get moving along, right? This distraction took us too long." Words: 511 Total EXP: 700 Soldiers Defeated: 3 0/50 Remaining
Castur smirked and nodded at Ignis's words. He was glad she too shared his sentiment about their current enemy's absent coward commander. "Seems like something we can finally agree on. Though I doubt it'd be a fair fight. Rourke obviously has no experience dealing with magic otherwise these chumps would be putting up more of a fight!" Castur spoke with a tone of amusement in his voice as he absentmindedly twirled his keyblade in his hand. "Hey!" One of the soldiers called out in response, obviously annoyed with Castur's insult. Castur waved his hand dismissively at the soldier. "You'll get over it when you are passed out on the floor. You'll get your turn! Just stand there quietly." He called out to the man. Clearly having had enough of the keyblader's words the soldier slowly raised his rifle, took aim at Castur, and opened fire. Clearly this man had not seen what had just been going on earlier and how Castur had been dealing with them before. Castur readied his keyblade and in a single deft upward swing of his keyblade the bullet struck the blade with a high pitched ring and rocketed back towards the soldier who had fired it. There was a splatter of red mist as it connected with the man's arm. He yelled out in pain yet fired another hopeless shot at Castur in the vain attempt to try to hit him. And once more, history repeated itself as Castur swung his keyblade down and reflected the bullet so that it hit the soldier's remaining uninjured arm. He dropped his rifle and clutched his wounds, falling to the ground. Conscious but completely incapacitated. "Eh. You'll live. You're lucky you're not paste like your friends over there." Castur spoke simply towards the man. "Alright and next up we have...you." He pointed at another soldier with his keyblade. Almost immediately the man began to tremble in fear. The soldier took a step back just as Castur took a step towards him and even thrust his arms outwards to throw his rifle to the ground and hold his hands up as a gesture of surrender. Castur sighed and shook his head slowly. "Sorry but I simply can't have you changing your mind later and picking up that gun to shoot at us down the road. No. You're definitely not going to be the problem that bites us in the ass later." Castur sprinted forward and the soldier dropped to the ground to scramble for his weapon but he was far too slow and froze up when Castur planted his shoe on the soldier's outstretched arm. "What? I'm not gonna kill you. Just stay still and maybe this won't hurt so bad." He warned before lifting his leg and swiftly bringing it back down to smash against the side of the soldier's head. The man went limp after having been kicked unconscious. Castur looked up to see that now the tables had turned and that the soldiers were the ones outnumbered this time around. He smiled faintly and waved at them as friendly taunt. Words: 514 Total EXP: 600 Soldiers Defeated: 2 3/50 Remaining 1 Injured [18/40]
Castur smirked and nodded at Ignis's words. He was glad she too shared his sentiment about their current enemy's absent coward commander. "Seems like something we can finally agree on. Though I doubt it'd be a fair fight. Rourke obviously has no experience dealing with magic otherwise these chumps would be putting up more of a fight!" Castur spoke with a tone of amusement in his voice as he absentmindedly twirled his keyblade in his hand. "Hey!" One of the soldiers called out in response, obviously annoyed with Castur's insult. Castur waved his hand dismissively at the soldier. "You'll get over it when you are passed out on the floor. You'll get your turn! Just stand there quietly." He called out to the man. Clearly having had enough of the keyblader's words the soldier slowly raised his rifle, took aim at Castur, and opened fire. Clearly this man had not seen what had just been going on earlier and how Castur had been dealing with them before. Castur readied his keyblade and in a single deft upward swing of his keyblade the bullet struck the blade with a high pitched ring and rocketed back towards the soldier who had fired it. There was a splatter of red mist as it connected with the man's arm. He yelled out in pain yet fired another hopeless shot at Castur in the vain attempt to try to hit him. And once more, history repeated itself as Castur swung his keyblade down and reflected the bullet so that it hit the soldier's remaining uninjured arm. He dropped his rifle and clutched his wounds, falling to the ground. Conscious but completely incapacitated. "Eh. You'll live. You're lucky you're not paste like your friends over there." Castur spoke simply towards the man. "Alright and next up we have...you." He pointed at another soldier with his keyblade. Almost immediately the man began to tremble in fear. The soldier took a step back just as Castur took a step towards him and even thrust his arms outwards to throw his rifle to the ground and hold his hands up as a gesture of surrender. Castur sighed and shook his head slowly. "Sorry but I simply can't have you changing your mind later and picking up that gun to shoot at us down the road. No. You're definitely not going to be the problem that bites us in the ass later." Castur sprinted forward and the soldier dropped to the ground to scramble for his weapon but he was far too slow and froze up when Castur planted his shoe on the soldier's outstretched arm. "What? I'm not gonna kill you. Just stay still and maybe this won't hurt so bad." He warned before lifting his leg and swiftly bringing it back down to smash against the side of the soldier's head. The man went limp after having been kicked unconscious. Castur looked up to see that now the tables had turned and that the soldiers were the ones outnumbered this time around. He smiled faintly and waved at them as friendly taunt. Words: 514 Total EXP: 600 Soldiers Defeated: 2 3/50 Remaining 1 Injured [18/40]
Choma dropped his keyblade and fell to his knees panting heavily and removing his helmet to take a breath of fresh air, despite it being desert air. His armor was cracked and dented, his body was drained of magic, and he found himself without the strength to even stand anymore. As Choma looked up to see his opponent standing over him, Choma let out a pained chuckle. "I see..." He coughed and felt a pair of arms pull him back to his feet and support him as he was dragged backwards away from the Warrior. "All that and there's not even a scratch on him." "Don't take it so personally. You put up a hell of a fight." Atmos patted the man on his shoulder as she stepped forward. "Take a breather. At your age you definitely need it." Atmos teased. "Not funny. I'm not old, woman." "Shhhh. Take your nap. Let's see if I can outpace the legend." The woman summoned her keyblade. The massive man let out a hearty laugh when Atmos stepped forward yet readied his blade anyway, accepting the master's challenge. "THIS small one challenges me? HAH! I shall take care not to crush you like an insect. Now! Prepare yourself for GILGAMESH!" "Master Kaio and Master Thyella will observe your training." Gero answered Tinarah, unfazed by her clear annoyance with the state of things. "They will be stricter teachers than what all of you may be used to but the time for such softness is over." "Don't waste our time and we won't waste yours. That should be simple enough for your little heads." Kaio spoke condescendingly. "And as for our alternatives to Gilgamesh, there are three options we are currently exploring. An example of the first can be found flying around this castle at this very moment." Torrin leaned forward in his seat. "You don't mean Flammie, do you? For all we know she's the last of her kind! I don't think we'll be finding any more of her species to help out." "No." Gero answered. "But you seem to fancy yourself an expert on the dragon. Train her, if you can, and in time we hope to find other powerful entities like her to summon to our side. Another alternative are weapons of an ancient legend...I do not believe any exist but perhaps the materials to forge such powerful weapons can still be found. However, the chances that even a single weapon of old can be made are slim." The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully and shook his head. "No...but the last option available to us is both simple and unpredictable. The Light Chaser's powers are, obviously, derived from the light. He has found a way to maintain a pure heart of light despite his actions and with his enormous strength, that light can be amplified to levels beyond any of our power. The logical solution then would be to pit him against an overwhelming dark force. However, this is a path we would wish to avoid altogether." "That all being said, all of you need training. Seems like at least one of you isn't quite bright enough to understand that." Kaio directed towards Kal. "Though I'd normally give someone who just lost their master and the world they were training on a break, you are not the only person in this room to have lost people you care about. Unless you want to die fast, you'll do as your told and like it. Otherwise you can rush off on your own and get yourself killed pretending you're actually strong enough to play hero. Worlds will fall regardless of whether we act now or later so we should make our actions count so that we can end this catastrophe instead of getting everyone killed and have it continue anyway."
Choma dropped his keyblade and fell to his knees panting heavily and removing his helmet to take a breath of fresh air, despite it being desert air. His armor was cracked and dented, his body was drained of magic, and he found himself without the strength to even stand anymore. As Choma looked up to see his opponent standing over him, Choma let out a pained chuckle. "I see..." He coughed and felt a pair of arms pull him back to his feet and support him as he was dragged backwards away from the Warrior. "All that and there's not even a scratch on him." "Don't take it so personally. You put up a hell of a fight." Atmos patted the man on his shoulder as she stepped forward. "Take a breather. At your age you definitely need it." Atmos teased. "Not funny. I'm not old, woman." "Shhhh. Take your nap. Let's see if I can outpace the legend." The woman summoned her keyblade. The massive man let out a hearty laugh when Atmos stepped forward yet readied his blade anyway, accepting the master's challenge. "THIS small one challenges me? HAH! I shall take care not to crush you like an insect. Now! Prepare yourself for GILGAMESH!"
"Master Kaio and Master Thyella will observe your training." Gero answered Tinarah, unfazed by her clear annoyance with the state of things. "They will be stricter teachers than what all of you may be used to but the time for such softness is over." "Don't waste our time and we won't waste yours. That should be simple enough for your little heads." Kaio spoke condescendingly. "And as for our alternatives to Gilgamesh, there are three options we are currently exploring. An example of the first can be found flying around this castle at this very moment." Torrin leaned forward in his seat. "You don't mean Flammie, do you? For all we know she's the last of her kind! I don't think we'll be finding any more of her species to help out." "No." Gero answered. "But you seem to fancy yourself an expert on the dragon. Train her, if you can, and in time we hope to find other powerful entities like her to summon to our side. Another alternative are weapons of an ancient legend...I do not believe any exist but perhaps the materials to forge such powerful weapons can still be found. However, the chances that even a single weapon of old can be made are slim." The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully and shook his head. "No...but the last option available to us is both simple and unpredictable. The Light Chaser's powers are, obviously, derived from the light. He has found a way to maintain a pure heart of light despite his actions and with his enormous strength, that light can be amplified to levels beyond any of our power. The logical solution then would be to pit him against an overwhelming dark force. However, this is a path we would wish to avoid altogether." "That all being said, all of you need training. Seems like at least one of you isn't quite bright enough to understand that." Kaio directed towards Kal. "Though I'd normally give someone who just lost their master and the world they were training on a break, you are not the only person in this room to have lost people you care about. Unless you want to die fast, you'll do as your told and like it. Otherwise you can rush off on your own and get yourself killed pretending you're actually strong enough to play hero. Worlds will fall regardless of whether we act now or later so we should make our actions count so that we can end this catastrophe instead of getting everyone killed and have it continue anyway."
Castur backhand struck yet another bullet intended for him though this time the deflected projectile missed its intended target and ricocheted off the rocky floor and struck something in the background. "Hm. Did not mean to do that. Strike one for me I suppose." He muttered under his breath. The soldier fired again before he could rush in and stop the man forcing Castur to take another swing and, this time, hit the projectile in such a way that it hit the soldier's hand causing him to yell out in pain and drop his rifle. Castur kicked a rock at his feet with enough force to smash into the soldier's mask and crack it. Yet still this was not enough to bring the man down. Raising an eyebrow, Castur almost considered just doing it again and pelting the poor guy with rocks until he was rendered unconscious but this would have been cruel. Though no more cruel than what a certain party member did. Not by a long shot. Instead, Castur sprinted forward and used his keyblade's guard to hit the enemy and knock him out in a single blow. "And down you go." For a moment, he wondered about infusing more magic into his attacks to spice things up but at the same time doing so would have done little to change the outcome of the battle that was already obviously heavily weighted in their favor. Castur scratched his cheek and considered his options for a moment before he returned to his usual guard stance, having to nudge a fallen enemy's body back to make room now that the area was beginning to be littered by bodies, unconscious and dead alike. After having taken down so many faceless goons he started to miss having someone with better banter around to fight with. Even if he was heavily exaggerating certain traits under the "Arctus" persona he still had more fun in those battles than in this one. He sighed and decided to put off the useless thoughts for another moment when they weren't being shot at. Castur looked around the area only to find that there were eight soldiers left standing amongst the field of fallen comrades surrounding them and they did not look particularly confident. Their numbers had grown extremely thin now and had, until now, somehow managed to stay out of harm's way. "Things are definitely not looking good for you nameless goons. You guys really should have quit when there were still more than half of you standing." Castur sighed and then shrugged in disappointment. He spun his keyblade around in his fingers and then lunged forward, closing the distance between himself and the enemy at blinding speed where he then struck the soldier in the chest with his elbow. The man crumpled to the floor immediately. "I can't wait until we finally catch up to Rourke and show him what for." Castur spoke in an almost eager tone, clapping his hands together and rubbing his palms against each other. Words: 503 EXP: 100 Total EXP: 500 Defeated: 2 7/50 Remaining
Castur backhand struck yet another bullet intended for him though this time the deflected projectile missed its intended target and ricocheted off the rocky floor and struck something in the background. "Hm. Did not mean to do that. Strike one for me I suppose." He muttered under his breath. The soldier fired again before he could rush in and stop the man forcing Castur to take another swing and, this time, hit the projectile in such a way that it hit the soldier's hand causing him to yell out in pain and drop his rifle. Castur kicked a rock at his feet with enough force to smash into the soldier's mask and crack it. Yet still this was not enough to bring the man down. Raising an eyebrow, Castur almost considered just doing it again and pelting the poor guy with rocks until he was rendered unconscious but this would have been cruel. Though no more cruel than what a certain party member did. Not by a long shot. Instead, Castur sprinted forward and used his keyblade's guard to hit the enemy and knock him out in a single blow. "And down you go." For a moment, he wondered about infusing more magic into his attacks to spice things up but at the same time doing so would have done little to change the outcome of the battle that was already obviously heavily weighted in their favor. Castur scratched his cheek and considered his options for a moment before he returned to his usual guard stance, having to nudge a fallen enemy's body back to make room now that the area was beginning to be littered by bodies, unconscious and dead alike. After having taken down so many faceless goons he started to miss having someone with better banter around to fight with. Even if he was heavily exaggerating certain traits under the "Arctus" persona he still had more fun in those battles than in this one. He sighed and decided to put off the useless thoughts for another moment when they weren't being shot at. Castur looked around the area only to find that there were eight soldiers left standing amongst the field of fallen comrades surrounding them and they did not look particularly confident. Their numbers had grown extremely thin now and had, until now, somehow managed to stay out of harm's way. "Things are definitely not looking good for you nameless goons. You guys really should have quit when there were still more than half of you standing." Castur sighed and then shrugged in disappointment. He spun his keyblade around in his fingers and then lunged forward, closing the distance between himself and the enemy at blinding speed where he then struck the soldier in the chest with his elbow. The man crumpled to the floor immediately. "I can't wait until we finally catch up to Rourke and show him what for." Castur spoke in an almost eager tone, clapping his hands together and rubbing his palms against each other. Words: 503 EXP: 100 Total EXP: 500 Defeated: 2 7/50 Remaining
Torrin considered knocking Lumen aside to get to Chrys, finding it more than a little strange that the boy would defend a total stranger when she was claimed to be the enemy. Then again, Torrin himself might as well have been a stranger to Lumen. Qamar had stepped in and, rather than join in on threatening Chrysanthemum, she said that the Council had extended their protection to the Chaser. Torrin lowered his keyblade slightly but kept the point trained on the girl. "What? That's nuts! She's not our ally!" Torrin's eyes narrowed but he made no motion to attack the girl just yet. If it came down to it, he knew he could get through to the girl but if what Qamar said was true, that would be a fast way to make an enemy of the Council and he was not prepared for that kind of fight, even with Boreas at his side. "Hm." Torrin took a deep breath and called off his keyblade seeing as how even Chrysanthemum had still not drawn her blade. There used to be a time when he would have cared about attacked an unarmed enemy but after the sheer number of worlds he had seen fall... "Fine. I'll hold back for now. But one wrong move and there won't be anyone on this party that would be able to stop me from putting you down." "Aaaaaaand Torrin's already threatening the new girl. Great. Why don't we all just take a chill pill, Chryssy you can get yourself some munchies to go, and let's all head over to the meeting room." Selene motioned for the group to follow after her. "A meeting already? Hopefully that'll explain this." Torrin looked at Chrysanthemum. "Mhm! Get moving!" Selene led the group to the meeting room, a large circular white room with seats located a large round table. The room's seating arrangement differed from the last time. In fact, the seating typically varied depending on the Council's need and given the sheer number of people, this arrangement was most appropriate. After Selene had led that group to the room she left to retrieve everyone else in the castle until eventually the room was populated with everyone, student, master, and Council member alike. Masters Stamatis, Varos, Thallasa, Choma, and Atmos were the only masters missing from the meeting. Once everyone was settled in Gero began to speak. "As some of you might have noticed, there are several of us missing currently. The five masters not currently present are on a mission to recruit a powerful ally. The Warrior of Light, a powerful swordsman of legend who may give us an edge over the Light Chaser. The Warrior, Gilgamesh, is just one of several options we are currently exploring for defeating the Light Chaser." "In other good news, Master Fost over here has joined our cause and has lent his blade." Aster spoke up. "The bad news is that the last masters we had any contact with have vanished. Two of their students, Kalik and Lumen, survived their worlds' destruction but I fear that is the last backup we will be receiving." "Other than Chrysanthemum here." Fost added. "From a very thorough investigation into this former Chaser, I've found that her old master turned against her. And all those students of his have been promoted to the rank of Master. I'm not sure if all of them quite deserve that rank but I suppose we can allow Chrys here to retain her rank. She'll be useful to the cause either way." "Back to what I was saying..." Aster continued. "Masters Gero and the currently-away-Stamatis are the oldest acting Council members. Before the rest of us joined the Council there were five others who served on it before suddenly retiring. Masters Sanda, Dasos, Varka, Kryo, and Imera." "Wait...did you just say Imera? He was the master I trained under in this realm. He never told me he used to be on the Council. He never even mentioned it to me." Torrin spoke in confusion. "Yes." Gero answered. "Unfortunately, every member of the old Council outside of Stamatis and myself have met their end. Likely this is due to the Light Chaser seeking revenge against us." The old man looked over at Fost. "Though Master Fost is not a Council member, he too has a history with the Light Chaser which makes the three of us his next targets." He stroked his beard and paused for a moment before speaking again. "Despite this, we know that this is not his end goal. He wishes to rid the realms and people's hearts of all darkness by using the combined power of the Seven. The damage that would be done...the number of people who would die from such an act is unfathomable." "That being said..." Kidemonas raised his voice. "The most concrete plan we have for now is making sure everyone here is ready for when the battle against the Light Chaser truly begins. He knows where every Pure Heart is. He'll have to come here to achieve his goal. When he does, everyone needs to be ready and right now...the vast majority of you aren't. Your training needs to increase. The number of masters here needs to increase. To that end, I've been spending all my time in the basement working on a project to accelerate everyone's growth. I call it, the Mirage Arena. A series of rooms capable of creating simulations based on battle data I've collected from everyone's stories and sensor readings from your communicators. These training rooms will recreate battles you have seen before. Of course, there's no risk of you dying should you lose a fight but you'll still feel the pain of getting hit just to keep you on your toes." "It can even be used to relax if you don't set up a match and just want to visit a simulated location you've been to!" Selene excitedly called out. "Uh...yeah...but why though? They're for training. Not relaxing." Kide muttered. "Anyway, kids." Master Thyella interrupted, brushing a strand of reddish brown hair from her face. "You guys aren't strong enough. If we let you all out there while you're still this weak and the Light Chaser is looking for a fight, you'd find yourselves dead real fast. In the meantime, Aster over there will be searching for materials to make armors for those of you who don't have any. ...Though it seems like the only one of you who actually has one is Boreas over there." "On that note, count me out. I'd rather my armor be made by my own blacksmith. So you have one less person to worry about." Torrin responded. "Are you saying I don't know how to build a set of armor? You know what? Never mind. Royal types are always picky..." Kidemonas sounded hurt but said nothing more on the subject. "Hm..." Gero stroked his beard and leaned back in his chair. "There are other topics to discuss but we have spoken enough for now. In the interest of openness, do any of you have anything to say before moving on to the next subject?" The master asked.
Torrin considered knocking Lumen aside to get to Chrys, finding it more than a little strange that the boy would defend a total stranger when she was claimed to be the enemy. Then again, Torrin himself might as well have been a stranger to Lumen. Qamar had stepped in and, rather than join in on threatening Chrysanthemum, she said that the Council had extended their protection to the Chaser. Torrin lowered his keyblade slightly but kept the point trained on the girl. "What? That's nuts! She's not our ally!" Torrin's eyes narrowed but he made no motion to attack the girl just yet. If it came down to it, he knew he could get through to the girl but if what Qamar said was true, that would be a fast way to make an enemy of the Council and he was not prepared for that kind of fight, even with Boreas at his side. "Hm." Torrin took a deep breath and called off his keyblade seeing as how even Chrysanthemum had still not drawn her blade. There used to be a time when he would have cared about attacked an unarmed enemy but after the sheer number of worlds he had seen fall... "Fine. I'll hold back for now. But one wrong move and there won't be anyone on this party that would be able to stop me from putting you down."
"Aaaaaaand Torrin's already threatening the new girl. Great. Why don't we all just take a chill pill, Chryssy you can get yourself some munchies to go, and let's all head over to the meeting room." Selene motioned for the group to follow after her. "A meeting already? Hopefully that'll explain this." Torrin looked at Chrysanthemum. "Mhm! Get moving!" Selene led the group to the meeting room, a large circular white room with seats located a large round table. The room's seating arrangement differed from the last time. In fact, the seating typically varied depending on the Council's need and given the sheer number of people, this arrangement was most appropriate. After Selene had led that group to the room she left to retrieve everyone else in the castle until eventually the room was populated with everyone, student, master, and Council member alike.
Masters Stamatis, Varos, Thallasa, Choma, and Atmos were the only masters missing from the meeting. Once everyone was settled in Gero began to speak. "As some of you might have noticed, there are several of us missing currently. The five masters not currently present are on a mission to recruit a powerful ally. The Warrior of Light, a powerful swordsman of legend who may give us an edge over the Light Chaser. The Warrior, Gilgamesh, is just one of several options we are currently exploring for defeating the Light Chaser." "In other good news, Master Fost over here has joined our cause and has lent his blade." Aster spoke up. "The bad news is that the last masters we had any contact with have vanished. Two of their students, Kalik and Lumen, survived their worlds' destruction but I fear that is the last backup we will be receiving." "Other than Chrysanthemum here." Fost added. "From a very thorough investigation into this former Chaser, I've found that her old master turned against her. And all those students of his have been promoted to the rank of Master. I'm not sure if all of them quite deserve that rank but I suppose we can allow Chrys here to retain her rank. She'll be useful to the cause either way." "Back to what I was saying..." Aster continued. "Masters Gero and the currently-away-Stamatis are the oldest acting Council members. Before the rest of us joined the Council there were five others who served on it before suddenly retiring. Masters Sanda, Dasos, Varka, Kryo, and Imera." "Wait...did you just say Imera? He was the master I trained under in this realm. He never told me he used to be on the Council. He never even mentioned it to me." Torrin spoke in confusion. "Yes." Gero answered. "Unfortunately, every member of the old Council outside of Stamatis and myself have met their end. Likely this is due to the Light Chaser seeking revenge against us." The old man looked over at Fost. "Though Master Fost is not a Council member, he too has a history with the Light Chaser which makes the three of us his next targets." He stroked his beard and paused for a moment before speaking again. "Despite this, we know that this is not his end goal. He wishes to rid the realms and people's hearts of all darkness by using the combined power of the Seven. The damage that would be done...the number of people who would die from such an act is unfathomable." "That being said..." Kidemonas raised his voice. "The most concrete plan we have for now is making sure everyone here is ready for when the battle against the Light Chaser truly begins. He knows where every Pure Heart is. He'll have to come here to achieve his goal. When he does, everyone needs to be ready and right now...the vast majority of you aren't. Your training needs to increase. The number of masters here needs to increase. To that end, I've been spending all my time in the basement working on a project to accelerate everyone's growth. I call it, the Mirage Arena. A series of rooms capable of creating simulations based on battle data I've collected from everyone's stories and sensor readings from your communicators. These training rooms will recreate battles you have seen before. Of course, there's no risk of you dying should you lose a fight but you'll still feel the pain of getting hit just to keep you on your toes." "It can even be used to relax if you don't set up a match and just want to visit a simulated location you've been to!" Selene excitedly called out. "Uh...yeah...but why though? They're for training. Not relaxing." Kide muttered. "Anyway, kids." Master Thyella interrupted, brushing a strand of reddish brown hair from her face. "You guys aren't strong enough. If we let you all out there while you're still this weak and the Light Chaser is looking for a fight, you'd find yourselves dead real fast. In the meantime, Aster over there will be searching for materials to make armors for those of you who don't have any. ...Though it seems like the only one of you who actually has one is Boreas over there." "On that note, count me out. I'd rather my armor be made by my own blacksmith. So you have one less person to worry about." Torrin responded. "Are you saying I don't know how to build a set of armor? You know what? Never mind. Royal types are always picky..." Kidemonas sounded hurt but said nothing more on the subject. "Hm..." Gero stroked his beard and leaned back in his chair. "There are other topics to discuss but we have spoken enough for now. In the interest of openness, do any of you have anything to say before moving on to the next subject?" The master asked.
"You were hidden in plain sight. If you had been told that you were one of the Seven the chance that you would have been discovered far sooner than you were would have increased dramatically." Gero answered. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you were found out and I simply wanted to delay it as much as possible. A direct conflict with the Light Chaser is inevitable, that much is certain. What is not is who will be left standing when the fighting is over. For all the power I have gained in my years, I fear that even with the combined might of the Council at my side we will lose this battle." The old man smiled despite the grim delivery of his prediction. "However that does not mean there is not hope. I may be old and I may have to make peace with the fact that I will not see this through to the end, but I am surrounded by youths determined to protect that which is most dearly beloved by them." "Believe it or not, Takehiko, you are stronger now than you have ever been. Just because you have much to learn does not change that fact."
Torrin was about to comment on Kal's desire to fight, knowing exactly how frustrating patience could be. It was clear no one else was on the right level yet to be prepared for a confrontation with the Light Chaser and it was inevitable that some of them would grow frustrated but before he could say anything when Kal left an all too familiar face showed up. Torrin summoned his keyblade immediately upon seeing Chrysanthemum and stepped forward. "What the hell are you doing here?" He had no idea why the Council hadn't stepped in by now and even wondered if there was an assault on the castle already but, by the look of the girl, she wasn't even ready for a fight. "I don't know why the Light Chaser would send you here alone but you're not walking out of this in one piece." Gero looked at the graves spread out before him, his eyes settling on Adalric's. "A tragedy that such young people had to die." He spoke softly. "The battle is not yet over and there are still thousands upon thousands of worlds that must be saved." The man stepped over towards Aria and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "When you have said your goodbyes I would like to speak with Takehiko alone." "W-what!? No! It only recorded battle data!" Kidemonas sounded flustered as he quickly shook his head. "I'm not into that voyeuristic stuff!" The young man folded his arms, his eyes narrowing at Qamar. "And if I did, I definitely would not be violating anyone's privacy by giving my nosy student a look into any kinds of conversation logs." He huffed. The device in his pocket beeped and flashed. Kide pulled it out and gave it a nod before stuffing it back into his pocket. "That's my cue to get back to work. The sooner I can focus the sooner this will be done. Expect a meeting to be called in less than an hour. Now go! Shoo before I turn your keyblade into a mop and make you clean the halls."
Torrin was about to comment on Kal's desire to fight, knowing exactly how frustrating patience could be. It was clear no one else was on the right level yet to be prepared for a confrontation with the Light Chaser and it was inevitable that some of them would grow frustrated but before he could say anything when Kal left an all too familiar face showed up. Torrin summoned his keyblade immediately upon seeing Chrysanthemum and stepped forward. "What the hell are you doing here?" He had no idea why the Council hadn't stepped in by now and even wondered if there was an assault on the castle already but, by the look of the girl, she wasn't even ready for a fight. "I don't know why the Light Chaser would send you here alone but you're not walking out of this in one piece."
Gero looked at the graves spread out before him, his eyes settling on Adalric's. "A tragedy that such young people had to die." He spoke softly. "The battle is not yet over and there are still thousands upon thousands of worlds that must be saved." The man stepped over towards Aria and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "When you have said your goodbyes I would like to speak with Takehiko alone."
"W-what!? No! It only recorded battle data!" Kidemonas sounded flustered as he quickly shook his head. "I'm not into that voyeuristic stuff!" The young man folded his arms, his eyes narrowing at Qamar. "And if I did, I definitely would not be violating anyone's privacy by giving my nosy student a look into any kinds of conversation logs." He huffed. The device in his pocket beeped and flashed. Kide pulled it out and gave it a nod before stuffing it back into his pocket. "That's my cue to get back to work. The sooner I can focus the sooner this will be done. Expect a meeting to be called in less than an hour. Now go! Shoo before I turn your keyblade into a mop and make you clean the halls."
Castur brought his blade down onto a soldier's gun, slicing off the barrel in one clean stroke and on the return strike he bludgeoned the man with the blunt of his keyblade's shaft to knock the soldier back and render him unconscious. With the soldiers' numbers dwindling Castur began to find it odd that they still stuck around despite clearly being outmatched by the keybladers. Was it stupidity or the simple ignorant thought that one of them would get lucky and eventually take them out? He briefly wondered if the lucky man would get a substantial pay raise for taking them out but, looking back at the mess of dead men Ananta had left, he could not fathom any amount of munny that would be worth the likelihood of getting crushed to death. Even back home no one was ever particularly eager to find themselves going on a suicide mission and if ever turned out to be one the penalty for retreat was, surprisingly, not punishable by death. Severe discipline? Of course. But death? Never. After all, why waste a good operative due to poor mission planning? Castur's thoughts were interrupted when the sound of gunfire reached his ears. He rolled out of the way of incoming fire and looked at the soldier who had shot at him. "You want to try that again?" Castur asked rhetorically. The soldier nodded in response as if Castur had been serious about letting himself get shot at on purpose. "What? No. That's not what I meant. Never mind. Lights out for you." Using another altered Gravity spell he pulled the soldier closer towards himself with a sudden shift in gravity in Castur's direction where he then used the falling soldier's momentum to deliver a powerful strike to the gut, knocking the wind out of the man and incapacitating him. Castur looked around at the remaining standing enemies in the area and lifted his arm to extend a single finger to point at a lone soldier standing away from the rest of the crowd. The man must have looked confused under his mask because he stood there not reacting for a moment before Castur suddenly threw his keyblade at the man. The blade missed its target completely. The soldier pointed back at Castur and laughed. "I wouldn't have taken my eyes off that keyblade if I were you." In that instant the keyblade came soaring back and struck the soldier from behind before arcing around and knocking over another soldier before it returned to his hand. Castur looked down at his keyblade and made a mental note that controlling his keyblade like that was much more difficult without the elemental he had during his time with the Black Coats. Though he missed his nigh-total control over Gravity, being able to use his keyblade openly again was worth the minor inconvenience. He looked up to see another soldier ready his gun and fire at him to which Castur responded with by using a quick backhand cut to return the bullet back to its sender, delivering yet another crippling leg wound. Words: 515 EXP: 100 Defeated: 5 9/50 Remaining
Castur brought his blade down onto a soldier's gun, slicing off the barrel in one clean stroke and on the return strike he bludgeoned the man with the blunt of his keyblade's shaft to knock the soldier back and render him unconscious. With the soldiers' numbers dwindling Castur began to find it odd that they still stuck around despite clearly being outmatched by the keybladers. Was it stupidity or the simple ignorant thought that one of them would get lucky and eventually take them out? He briefly wondered if the lucky man would get a substantial pay raise for taking them out but, looking back at the mess of dead men Ananta had left, he could not fathom any amount of munny that would be worth the likelihood of getting crushed to death. Even back home no one was ever particularly eager to find themselves going on a suicide mission and if ever turned out to be one the penalty for retreat was, surprisingly, not punishable by death. Severe discipline? Of course. But death? Never. After all, why waste a good operative due to poor mission planning? Castur's thoughts were interrupted when the sound of gunfire reached his ears. He rolled out of the way of incoming fire and looked at the soldier who had shot at him. "You want to try that again?" Castur asked rhetorically. The soldier nodded in response as if Castur had been serious about letting himself get shot at on purpose. "What? No. That's not what I meant. Never mind. Lights out for you." Using another altered Gravity spell he pulled the soldier closer towards himself with a sudden shift in gravity in Castur's direction where he then used the falling soldier's momentum to deliver a powerful strike to the gut, knocking the wind out of the man and incapacitating him. Castur looked around at the remaining standing enemies in the area and lifted his arm to extend a single finger to point at a lone soldier standing away from the rest of the crowd. The man must have looked confused under his mask because he stood there not reacting for a moment before Castur suddenly threw his keyblade at the man. The blade missed its target completely. The soldier pointed back at Castur and laughed. "I wouldn't have taken my eyes off that keyblade if I were you." In that instant the keyblade came soaring back and struck the soldier from behind before arcing around and knocking over another soldier before it returned to his hand. Castur looked down at his keyblade and made a mental note that controlling his keyblade like that was much more difficult without the elemental he had during his time with the Black Coats. Though he missed his nigh-total control over Gravity, being able to use his keyblade openly again was worth the minor inconvenience. He looked up to see another soldier ready his gun and fire at him to which Castur responded with by using a quick backhand cut to return the bullet back to its sender, delivering yet another crippling leg wound. Words: 515 EXP: 100 Defeated: 5 9/50 Remaining
Torrin raised an eyebrow upon seeing yet another new face. "The name's Torrin." He introduced himself after Lumen had, giving the new-newcomer a slight wave as a greeting. Lumen had asked who were the other two who had left and Torrin felt obliged to answer him. "The old man is Gero. The Master of Masters, if you're someone who cares for titles. The girl is Aria." He spoke simply. The name Sanda had a familiar ring to it but Torrin was uncertain where he had heard such a name before. It would have had to have been a name his master in this realm had mentioned before. "That's Kal," He motioned towards Kal as he spoke, "and those two are Chrono and Enzo." Torrin then motioned over towards Chrono and Enzo. When Kal had spoken up about finding the Light Chaser he shook his head in response. "No one's seeking him out. That's the fastest way to wind up in a trap. This group has already been in enough traps without even directly seeking him out." Torrin added. "The best thing we can do for now is gather our strength and train to be ready for when he comes to us." Gero patted the girl on her head and returned her embrace before letting her go. "Yes. Though I hope it does not go to your head, Aria. It seems that there's more than one royal in the castle." The old man motioned for the girl to continue following him as he walked forth. "Ah...yes. The other matter." As they continued to walk Gero could sense another presence up ahead. The boy. Knowing that there was still much left unsaid with Takehiko, it would have been an inappropriate time to drop any other major information for the girl just yet. "It is nothing but good news for you but I am afraid that it must wait for now. In an hour I will convene a meeting to discuss the current state of affairs. Perhaps after that will be the best time to deliver the other information regarding your origins." As he finished speaking they arrived in the area in front of Illiana's makeshift graves where Takehiko had been meditating. "Good morning, Takehiko." The man greeted. "Mm. You're more impulsive too. Not always a bad trait but it's something you want to keep in check." Kidemonas mentioned. "Hm...what two students? Sorry, I haven't been totally up to date with all the things going on with all my work here. Though I did hear some bad news about more worlds disappearing. I don't really know any of the details about that though. Maybe Gero will say something about it when he calls everyone in the castle in for a meeting." Kide shrugged. "But I might have to take you up on your offer for more data at another time. The communicators are pretty...limited in their data gathering capacity. First I just want to get the simulators up and running before thinking of adding more data. There was some interesting battle data recorded on a particular communicator that might interest you. I can't comment on its authenticity yet but if you're excited for a rematch against Dentro, I think I've got that covered and then some."
Torrin raised an eyebrow upon seeing yet another new face. "The name's Torrin." He introduced himself after Lumen had, giving the new-newcomer a slight wave as a greeting. Lumen had asked who were the other two who had left and Torrin felt obliged to answer him. "The old man is Gero. The Master of Masters, if you're someone who cares for titles. The girl is Aria." He spoke simply. The name Sanda had a familiar ring to it but Torrin was uncertain where he had heard such a name before. It would have had to have been a name his master in this realm had mentioned before. "That's Kal," He motioned towards Kal as he spoke, "and those two are Chrono and Enzo." Torrin then motioned over towards Chrono and Enzo. When Kal had spoken up about finding the Light Chaser he shook his head in response. "No one's seeking him out. That's the fastest way to wind up in a trap. This group has already been in enough traps without even directly seeking him out." Torrin added. "The best thing we can do for now is gather our strength and train to be ready for when he comes to us."
Gero patted the girl on her head and returned her embrace before letting her go. "Yes. Though I hope it does not go to your head, Aria. It seems that there's more than one royal in the castle." The old man motioned for the girl to continue following him as he walked forth. "Ah...yes. The other matter." As they continued to walk Gero could sense another presence up ahead. The boy. Knowing that there was still much left unsaid with Takehiko, it would have been an inappropriate time to drop any other major information for the girl just yet. "It is nothing but good news for you but I am afraid that it must wait for now. In an hour I will convene a meeting to discuss the current state of affairs. Perhaps after that will be the best time to deliver the other information regarding your origins." As he finished speaking they arrived in the area in front of Illiana's makeshift graves where Takehiko had been meditating. "Good morning, Takehiko." The man greeted.
"Mm. You're more impulsive too. Not always a bad trait but it's something you want to keep in check." Kidemonas mentioned. "Hm...what two students? Sorry, I haven't been totally up to date with all the things going on with all my work here. Though I did hear some bad news about more worlds disappearing. I don't really know any of the details about that though. Maybe Gero will say something about it when he calls everyone in the castle in for a meeting." Kide shrugged. "But I might have to take you up on your offer for more data at another time. The communicators are pretty...limited in their data gathering capacity. First I just want to get the simulators up and running before thinking of adding more data. There was some interesting battle data recorded on a particular communicator that might interest you. I can't comment on its authenticity yet but if you're excited for a rematch against Dentro, I think I've got that covered and then some."
The announcement was the announcement of a stream on Monday (Nov. 26) about a Twitch Prime exclusive, a new trailer, and new DLC. So we'll find out what's going on tomorrow.
