Quill sat in this strange ship, the design and technology was new to him. The block like design didn’t inspire confidence at first but it did seem rather advanced. His large Keyblade sat at his chair's side, it was a depressing appearance. Quill looked around as the others seem to think to themselves, contemplating leaving friends and family behind. It was a feeling that Quill couldn’t summon now, so perhaps he felt awkward around the others now. Sleeping till they ended up at their destination seemed tempting, but Quill thought otherwise. This group was accepting of him, maybe it was time to try ingratiating himself. Tap, tap, tap tap; Quill tapped out a morse code ‘Hello’ on a nearby chair. He sat across from the young woman this group had risked so much to save. To be honest, he didn’t get it at first but she did seem rather inspiring when she unleashed a verbal tirade on that crazy judge. “Well it’s nice to speak face to face, name’s Quill.” Quill adjusted in his seat a bit “So tell me your take on this group, they all seem a little chaotic don’t you think? Bickering and jabs at one another, I can’t say the military I came from ever acted so casual with one another.” A slight smile came across Quill’s face “Though perhaps that’s not the worst thing.” Clearing his throat “But I’ll tell you I truly didn't expect anyone to understand my code, total shot in the dark. You must have a rather particular homeworld huh?”
Quill approached the group “AJ, nice to meet you. I apologize for how curt I was before. My name is Quill, I would’ve introduced myself earlier but uh, prison bars make things awkward.” Quill brightened when he saw a familiar face from jail “Faust! Good to see you face to face now, yelling across a room doesn’t make for good conversation.” Quill chuckled lightly. “Let's talk more later, I need to take care of small matter. I’ll be back promptly.” Quill excused himself and made his way to a room he remembered his snooping through security assets. The last survivor of his world. Quill was finding it difficult to breathe, he had doubts swirling in his head. This was a bad idea. But he’d been standing at the door for a couple minutes now, he needed to knock. But how could he face them- “I’ve been listening to your breathing at the door, whoever it is come in or get lost.” Quill took a deep breathe and entered, he already knew the voice. “Katie, it’s me Q- uh well Quill.” Katie, codename K, was a Keyblade master like himself. “Q-quill that’s you? You look- no it’s true isn’t it? You and the other masters went through with that idea?!” Quill was shocked to see her again, he was unprepared to be faced with his sins so quickly “You don’t understand, we thought you were gone. When you encased yourself in stone to save us, we assumed the worst...Master X, he said we didn’t have any other-” She was quick to retort “I don’t want to hear the excuses! OUR WORLD is gone because of your actions. I came here to try to save our world but this damn summit has been ruined.” Quill misunderstood “The summit? What could they- you don’t mean you want to bring other Keyblade wielders to our world? That’s insane, the darkness has swallowed our world-” She pushed him against a wall, holding his throat “You don’t get to say that around me! It’s not your world after what your group did, after the countless lives now part of a horde of heartless!” She created crystalline spears that orbited her “I should end you here, it would only be right for what you did.” Quill, at one time, would’ve agreed. He had done too much to allow himself anymore chances. That this was justice. But, an inkling of something these people he’d met crept in, that he still had things he could do to make the world right. Quill’s chitin grew into plated armor and repelled Katie with it. Her look was one of disgust “You’re tainted, like them now.” Quill was quick to respond “Perhaps, but as I still draw breathe I will try to make things right. Not spend my time planning suicide missions. Not anymore...Try to recruit your Keyblade wielders, try to save our world. But I’ll be moving on, you should try the same.” Quill turned and walked away, she was audibly enraged. “Never let me see you again Q, I’ll kill you!!” Quill arrived back with the group, more dejected but at the same time felt like he was in the right place for him. He finally smiled and joined the rest of the SOS.
Quill still faced away from them, a man he’d seen beforehand questioned his leaving “You misunderstand my intentions. I ‘broke out’ to keep that group from hurting people. And I barely managed that, I’m Not the Keyblade master I was on my world. Moreover, I’m guilty of too many sins that weigh on me, any judgement will be right for me.”
It was not long before Quill was overwhelmed along with Aux and pushed to the wall, they were both running on empty already and this lady was more dangerous than Gil or Sho. They held her off but they had little chance to stop her from getting to Aux’s friend, as the woman began to yell about something. But, perhaps from his own strange mutation, some of her words were beginning to make sense. Something about...light...seven...a thief. The rest was still unknown to him. But the woman began to stop her assault as another voice came from a device similar to Sho’s, she retreated into a dark portal and Quill fell to the floor. Today had been severely tiring, he wasn’t sure he could do another climactic fight to the death for at least a couple days. From down the hall a man ran up dressed in rather fancy civilian ware, but the devices on his person made him distinct. Aux seemed familiar with him, and honestly that was enough safety for Quill to pass for a bit. Later Quill was introduced in the medical wing to the new people of this group, DJ and Shiro. He also finally got her name, Luna, from Aux while they recovered. Quill followed the group to a room with many seats, which must've been for the summit. Several walls and seats were being repaired after a fight took place here, but otherwise things seemed to be winding down. He stood with the rest of the group, some more battered then the others. DJ and Shiro seemed to know the group well and were adamant about their charges being dropped, even in the face of this ship's judgement. Strange woman this Karen was. But...Quill still felt listless, this was all for them. He was just along for the ride. As their group began to disperse to discuss things, Quill approached the captain as well as DJ and Shiro “While it’s appreciated you came to save us all from near death, I’m an outsider in all this. I’m…still weighed down by countless sins, so if it’s all the same I’ll be returning to my cell until the courtroom is ready...” Quill turned away from them.
Quill honestly never imagined fighting like this. Every moment had to be moving or the chains would encircle and entangle him. They seemed to be endless, where one chain ended, a torrent of others would come around and block off his movement. Quill was already in serious pain from several fights but these chains were something new. Their sickening light seemed hell bent on consuming him, when they whipped at him he could feel a sting inside that seemed to empty his body's energy. Whoever this lady was, she was something different from the other members of this evil group. Aux for his part seemed to do well enough, a black aura encircled him seeming to repel any direct assaults. That was good since Aux didn’t strike Quill as the most nimble is his muscled form. Unluckily the woman still had tricks up her sleeve. Chains pierced the metallic paneling around and slung countless makeshift blades towards him. Many were easy enough for him to deflect with his keyblade, but the spin she gave them let a couple curve-balls impale Aux’s form. He wasn’t too fazed but it slowed his approach enough. The lady’s plan was likely to just beat us through attrition, Quill thought, then go after the young woman Aux had sent away with her friends. As he fought off the chains, Quill heard a voice ring out. Aux told him he needed to use his aura to protect himself. Quill wasn’t sure he understood but he could tell these chains were taking what light was left from his Keyblade. He stopped dodging and stood in place, concentrating on his connection to earth. The chains took the chance to wrap around him and cocoon him. Energy left him and he began to pass out, but something broke through. His Keyblade slammed into the ground and ashen branches grew out from the spot, breaking the chains around him. The woman was shocked to see the chains turn to pieces, as both of her opponents were able to repel her powers. Massive black wings sprouted from Aux’s back, and grey plantlike grew from the walls near Quill. They rushed her, slicing through chains as their aura’s shielded them. Quill threw his Keyblade like a javelin metal from panels collected around it into a massive boulder. The ball impacted a web of chains she put up, but from behind Aux came and let loose a flood of black flames to propel the sphere. “Black Meteor!” as the attack engulfed her and sent her flying down the hallway into a nearby wall. Aux and Quill began to breathe until the woman burst from the pile of broken pieces of the ship. She let loose a flurry of words in an unfamiliar language, cursing them out likely. She collected her chain together into a massive pillar in front of her, and the chains coalesced into a massive serpent. It coiled around, it’s massive size took up the entire hallway. It attacked and attempted to swallow them whole, it’s maw opened to a horrible blinding white abyss. Quill was quick to respond with a series of gray stone pillars along the hall to slow it’s assault, while Aux readied his body and dug in his heels. As the serpent barreled into them, Aux was able to impale his keyblade through the roof of its mouth and stopped it from clamping down. Quill was seriously impressed by how hardy this guy was. Still, the draining effects of the chain serpent ate away at Aux. Quill saw and went to help by repeating the same action, impaling his Keyblade through the jaw of the beast. They held it in place for a time before it’s form began to pulsate, and finally an explosion of pure energy sent them flying backwards. Aux recovered balance with his wings but Quill was less fortunate, pinwheeling down the hallway and grinding through the metallic floor upon landing. It was not pleasant.
Quill perhaps acted a touch familiar with Aux, but Quill really felt they shared a strong connection that made them life long friends. Or it could be the blood loss and shocks to his brain making him horrible loopy. Honestly it was hard to tell. The woman approached him and knelt down, beginning a concentration “Wait- don’t-” Before he could finish, her hands let out a gentle warmth, the light seemed to burn away his body for a moment, then his wounds were gone and flesh was there. It felt different from the healing he had once felt, this lady was something special. “Well uh, thank you Miss.” While much of his injuries were left, he felt a cautious optimism about his condition. Quill laid on the ground on his side, he felt like perhaps he could rest now. “Princess Luna!” Damn. Stepping out from a dark portal, a strange woman with stark black hair and elegant dress rapidly approached. The loud clicks of her heels was telling of her intentions, she was in a rush and she was rather serious. Instantly a torrent of chains snaked toward the two from this group, they radiated a sickeningly intense light. Aux was able to repel them with a black aura, it felt familiar to Quill. Carefully picking himself up, he began to notice chains spread out from the woman and snake along the walls. The main assault was focused on Aux but some snuck out of his eyesight, where the lady was taking her friends out of their cells. They coiled around the cell bars and struck towards the two bystanders. Quill was close enough to interject his Keyblade, having it catch the entangling. Quill wrested against the solid light chains “We should talk under better circumstances, we’ll hold her here.” Quill twisted his blade and pulled the chains away from the three. She nodded and left with her friends, clearly with some hesitancy but ultimately resolute. Quill focused on his Keyblade’s magic, he tried to bring out a modicum of the aura he resorted to repel Sho. A single spark, no more. From the weapon an air of oppressive darkness blew out, the chains hissed and returned to the villainess. She cursed and told him of her disgust for Quill, something about a Sin? Quill stepped forward with Aux, neither of them seemed in a condition to fight her but there was little choice. The aches of body of his two previous fights echoed in him. Quill decided he wasn’t a fan of fighting this group.
“Q, you need to wake up. It’s training day for new recruits. Hey you ok? You’re a Master now you can’t shirk your duties. Q, c’mon get up. Q!, Quill-” Slam Quill awoke upon hitting the floor, the shock from his recent injuries made his sleep all the more impossible. He was still slumped against the wall outside the confiscation area, now a complete wreck. As was he, Quill couldn’t forget the feeling of disgust at himself after his fight. Though honestly it was a small matter in perspective, he likely could break down any moment. His body and organs had gotten prolonged shocks and various broken bones and gashes left him rather invalid. What little battlefield medicine he’d bothered learning told him he shouldn’t have survived that fight. But he had, and he had a feeling he knew why. The black plating, it grew from his bones. Perhaps it was keeping his body together, at least in a temporary sense. Some unconscious reaction his new body creates to hold my bones in place and keep blood from leaving rapidly. It raised more questions frankly but Quill could only complain so much, he had other business to attend to. Quill raised himself with his Keyblade, leaning on it to give his damaged legs less pressure. Slowly, painfully, and loudly Quill dragged himself down the hallway. He could feel his body ache with every step, cursing under his breath about literally everything. First Gilgamesh, now this Sho guy. Quill was getting really tired of this little group. Quill managed to make it down three hallways without collapsing, but luckily he had dropped near an elevator. He wedged the doors open, seems like the fight he had with Sho had caused electrical damage as far as here. But Quill wasn’t a fool, a negative charge would likely undo Sho’s damage “T-thun..God this sucks.. Thundaga!” Electricity came from Quill’s palm, reactivating the machine. Now he just needed to figure out where to go. But he- Slam Oh Quill had really exerted himself too much, he slammed against the control console and collapsed again. He must’ve hit some series of buttons on his way down, the lift began moving. Quill dug his Keyblade into the floor and brought himself up again. Quill didn’t really understand where he was moving to, he was in no shape to fight. And none of the citizens of the ship would take him in...perhaps it was better to just let himself collapse here. This elevator could be his final resting- NO, no he needed to keep moving. Don’t think about right now, just keep moving. The doors opened and Quill began to check around the immediate hallway. He heard noise down a corner, it was familiar. Quill approached quicker now, he had been right. “Well you’re a sight for sore eyes big guy, how’s it going Aux?” Quill approached but fell against another wall to his side. “Don’t believe we’ve met Miss, name’s Quill. Hope you don’t mind if I lay here for a bit. I brought some complaints to Captain Minamimoto and we had COUGH COUGH...philosophical differences.”
So heavy, so much pain..don’t wanna move, warm blood pools around. I could let myself start to pass off..he’s felt this way before. The feeling of being broken, your mind coming apart and fading away... No! Move! Quill pulls his arm from a large piece of rubble, managing to push off several layers of crumbled machinery. Quill wasn’t sure how long he’d been out for. He wasn’t feeling great, bringing the equivalent of a house on Sho hadn’t missed himself. Quill was lucky enough to have been against the wall, it was mostly the center of the ceiling. A large mountain of ship parts piled up, the excess broke down the door frame and slid out the doorway. “So I guess err, he’s gonna be out for a bit. The..the rest of that group can pick him up…” Quill climbed the wreckage for a moment and luckily found his Keyblade quickly. It perched itself near the top, embedded in some paneling. Quill went forward and, well some feeling told him this wasn’t right. But he was too slow and in pain to act on it “Infinity..” muffled from under rubble. Teleporting in a noisy static behind him, Sho grabbed Quill’s temples and began shocking him. “AAAAGGGHH!” Quill could feel the lightning pulse through his head, his body convulsed, vision was blurry. Sho’s cool demeanor had broken down, his clothing had ripped and covered in blood. Strange noise armor had covered, and his pupils were blood red. “I..despise..dealing with you little tangents. I am Nequa’s greatest agent, and here I am..being ripped a new one by a weak digit!” Electricity increased, Quill could feel his eyes bleed and burn. He attempted to reach for his Keyblade but it wasn’t possible. Only his degrading aura kept him alive now. Sho’s fingernails dug into his head “Who even are you? Some garbage radian that lost his world, if you couldn’t stop the heartless what chance did you have against us?!” I tried, I failed “You can’t be serious, how many people died because Keyblade wielders like you couldn’t realize how far out of their vector they were.” I should’ve been stronger, I should’ve known what would happen “Course when Nequa gets done with everyone of those childish keyslingers, your death will only be a notation in history. Lot like your world.” I hate weakness, I hate selfishness, I hate myself “So let's get to the best part huh, my n Factorial, goodbye scrub and hello Aleph Null-” Sho’s mouth was covered by a large chitin gauntlet, and subsequently thrown into the rubble below. Standing above was a body completely covered in layers of black plating, radiating a black Aura. “I failed, never again.” Sho attempted to launch a lightning lance like before but his hand was caught and shattered. His bones in his right hand were in pieces, the black armor pulled the Keyblade out and began ravaging Sho with crunching strikes. “Never again, NEVER AGAIN!” It repeated for sometime until the pile had worn away and turned into the crater. The armor broke away and Quill nearly fell and passed out, catching himself on his Keyblade. Sho wasn’t in sight. Quill crawled out of the room and found an empty hallway, slumped against it and sat down. “Never again, please..” Down a dozen hallways, Sho reappeared and barely held his balance. He found a panel on the wall, electricity from his other hand surged out. “H-hotel, it’s Sho. I got an update for you-” Sho coughed up blood, the internal bleeding and broken hand had nearly made him pass out “might take a bit..not in the best vector right now.”
Quill was backed into a corner, the creature Sho had summoned surrounded him. Sho himself floated above the room, clearly having the time of his life. “I see you understand your situation, we’re in control of your world, and frankly that world is garbage. Let's commence the Test, now die radian!” The beasts pounced on Quill as he took a deep breath and remembered. This wasn’t the first time the odds weren’t on his side. Quill began by making some room with a wide swing, turning the slamming his blade into the ground to shake the room. Focusing on keeping his defense strong, his other arm began to form a shield and half plate from the chitin on his body [Paladin Form]. Quill’s shield caught the razors from a wolf creature, Quill pushed it off onto an incoming dragon creature. Both fell and were quickly slain as Quill jumped high and impaled them on the ground. He was then tackled into a wall by two bear creatures, their metallic claws scratching against his chest armor, holding him down as they attempted to gore him. Quill was quick to react “Aeroga!” wind burst around him and knocked the bears back. Two other dragons came in quick and attempted to bind him, Quill took the offensive and rushed forward “Barrier Surge!” as a barrier cloaked his body and deflected any attacks. Quill tackled a bear and started chopping, the blade finally decapitating the creature. Turning again, Quill concentrated his aura through his blade and threw his Keyblade into a group of monsters. “Strike Raid!” The Keyblade slammed through 5 creatures and ripped their forms apart. Quill began to notice that after they were destroyed, they would dissolve into some strange electrical noise. These weren’t normal heartless, there were something created from Sho’s control of electricity. Floating above, beginning the process of reforming a computer monitor through magnesis, Sho said “You need to learn to multitask zetta scrub, the noise forms too fast for your big club. Sorry to say but you’re out of your vector.” A cackle rang out from him. Quill deflected attacks the best he could, trying to buy time. “Oh is my gamemaster worried about me, perhaps we can pause for a quick drink and snack.” Quill slammed another noise creature into the ground. “Well I’d love to but my ship awaits, and you don’t seem like much of a good recruit for Nequa. You move like a rusted machine, where’s the beauty in that?” Sho began forming the computer back together and a brief signal came out. “S-h-o, pick u-” Quill acted fast and lobbed his Keyblade like a spear, impaling through the computer and hitting the ceiling near Sho. “Damn cheeky digit, alright Test 2 then!” Sho slapping his hands together. “Sine! Cosine!” Electricity formed in his hand “Inverse Matrix!" and again noise creatures warped, and became 3 chimera like creatures that took up most the room. They began to slap Quill around, grabbing him with dragon tails and dragging him against the walls. Their maws broke through Quill’s shield and claws slashed his chest. Quill struggled to stay awake from the pain, but he needed more time. “Alright no more play time kitties!” Quill dug his heels in, grabbing hold of its tail. Quill leaned forward “Sliding Dash!” but instead Quill stood in place and spun, using the propulsion of the skill to spin himself and creature. One went flying and slammed into another, breaking through the doorway and deformed into static. “Ha, no one’s throwing me through another wall AAAGH'' A bolt of purple lightning pierced through Quill’s chest, breaking through the resistant chitin. Quill fell against the well. He coughed up smoke and blood, it felt like his lungs were on fire. “Like I told you scrub, you’re out of your vector. So why don’t you sit down and let me work huh? I doubt you have other plans- what’s that look?” Quill smiled, this was the moment he had waited for. He noticed some time ago that Sho floats around absent minded, and he had ended up right under Quill’s Keyblade. “Oh, nothing important. Clay Maker!” From his Keyblade, a torrent of gray stone pillars came from above Sho, smashing into his spine and sending him hurling into the floor. The chimera attempted to pounce Quill, but fortuitously the attack had collapsed the ceiling. As well as a couple ceilings above, a metallic avalanche engulfed Sho, the chimera, and Quill.
Quill’s trance took several minutes of quiet concentration, collecting the shards of his old self was painful and he was not ready to confront it face on. But he needed this power again, even if it was going to be imperfect. Connecting to one’s core, the sturdy force of nature ever enduring is still within. As his Keyblade connected to his soul, a taint of corruption could be felt. This was his opportunity. “Hotel, I got these yoctograms routed now. Null problem except for-” Quill burst in and glowed with a powerful aura. Quill slammed his Keyblade into the metal straight up and focused power through. The blade buried itself deep in “Grave Digger!” as the metal began to warp and rip as ashen gnarled tree roots burst from the ground. The ripple of massive re-dead plant life formed a line that slammed through and unheaved the computer consoles. The attack managed to knock Sho away from his setup and hit the wall, but he managed to recover. “Sh- sho-- you th- r-” The last sparks of power leaked out and the man looked up with a wry smile, clearly annoyed with Quill. “So much for ignoring you hectopascals, you’re not in that group of key-slingers correct? So what’s the beef?” The man began to radiate a strange energy, wings made of static began to form behind him. The remaining devices began to spark and levitate, along with the man himself. “Well, I had urgent business but your group’s little ‘rave’ was a tad loud for me. So taking you down a peg went up on my priority list.” The man began to laugh. “So some bystander key dunce wants to get involved, well another player for my game is welcome. I’m your gamemaster Sho Minamimoto and now I’ll show you Infinite pain!” Sho’s static wings shattered and orbs of purple electricity whizzed around the room, a torrent of voltaic explosions centered on Quill. Deflecting and blocking with his large Keyblade, the brunt of electric attacks were taken well. Quill’s theory about his carapace being non-conductive was correct. Quill rushed forward, manipulating the ashen roots from before with his aura, they began blocking Sho’s attacks. They formed a walkway up to Sho, Quill jumped along the roots and brought his blade down. But he wasn’t there, he had appeared behind Quill and shot an orb at his back. Quill swung again and he could see the static of his afterimage as another blast zapped Quill’s back. Quill swung again one handed but with the other grabbed the teleporting man's throat. “Ha, so you’re zetta slow but not stupid. That’s a plus.” Quill told him to shut up, and demanded the plans of his group. “Oh now you’re too zepto, look around you new kid.” Quill looked around the room and began to realize. The explosions were a distraction for the various creatures forming from black static. Monsters with mechanical augmentations began to surround the two, the smile on Sho’s face told everything “Test Number 1, begin!”
~A couple minutes earlier~ Quill left the room after making sure the others seemed alright. They seemed stunned by the previous events, taking to waiting in the room for a time. They’d be fine though, their friends would meet up with them soon and get them to safety. That was the benefit of being part of a group, you always have someone to watch your back...But Quill couldn’t focus on their group for too long, they barely knew him after all. He couldn’t impose on them- No he’d be fine, and he had other matters to concentrate on now. After reaching a couple of different prison blocks, and finding other knocked out guards, it really became apparent how lost Quill was right now. Even with one of these high tech tablets the guards used, the interface seemed to be experiencing this strange static. What could be causing such strange interference. Figuring he might get some answers this way, Quill began to go down hallways where the static was more prevalent. Ten or so turns later he found himself in an empty metallic hallway and the tablet was completely useless. But a sign caught his attention, Confiscated Cargo. Well that was convenient. Quill found the area he was looking for, items labeled Prisoner Contraband. Peeking into the room, Quill found yet another guard passed out. He was holding his tablet close. Quill snuck in to check on the man, suddenly an arc of electricity came out and struck Quill. Luckily Quill’s strange new biology seemed to resist the shock as it hit his black carapace. It still scared the *kupo* out of him though. This might explain how so many of the guards were taken down at once, a false message sent out across their tablets that included a shocking surprise. Coming to his feet, Quill needed to finish his business here. Potions, oh that was a relief. Quill began chugging a couple and felt his bruises and cuts heal. He had been hesitant to use any Cure spells, in case his new biology had rejected the healing. He found various accessories and even keychains, but this wasn’t why he was here. Remembering the photos Karina’s dad had shown him, he remembered which locked vault had his possessions. Digging his claws into the metal, the door eventually bended open. His keyblade, Razor Vine, though that name felt..wrong somehow. It was a massive keyblade, as long as his body, supremely heavy too. The rough stone of the blade was hardly sharpened, just blunt and chipped. He had done this to his keyblade, he had committed this sin. Taking the blade, he placed it on his back. It would weigh him on him, this would be his reminder of his horrible deeds now. Suddenly something snapped his concentration, speaking from a nearby room. Taking a slow approach, he found a room with various monitors, while a man spoke through coms. "Some Zetta son of a digit is counter-hacking me!” This guy, his was the voice announcing the invasion! Quill nearly ran in, but the soreness from his fight with Gilgamesh gave him pause. He couldn’t expect anyone to help now, he had to try something smarter. Even if the plan made him uncomfortable. Taking a moment to pull out his Keyblade, he began collecting himself. He had done terrible things, he wasn’t worthy of this power, but he needed it to do the right thing. Even if his soul would ache for using it in his current state. Quill began concentrating on the power of the earth, his Aura.
Laying among the pile of guards, bleeding and bruised, and terribly flustered Quill concluded he’s had worse days. Pulling himself with this ridiculous sword, Quill began to examine the guards. They seemed to all have heavy injuries, but they would survive. Something also on them, some form of small pad. Possibly a device to remotely open cells and punish prisoners. A thought came to Quill’s mind. Taking the pad and pressing against the sensor on his collar, a registration for Quill came up. Pictures of his condition, his keyblade, but no information on how he recovered here. Information on his homeworld came up, including there was a survivor of his world here. No identity was given, but it was the first good news Quill had heard in a long time. Looking at the other functions, he saw there was a function for unlocking collars. Required either a passcode or a thumbprint of someone with correct clearance. “Hmm well I wonder where I’ll find that?” Quill mumbled to himself as he pulled a couple of the guards up and tried each of their hands. Finally he found the captains worked, and with a small zap and click, the collar fell off of him. Quill walked into the room of the cell block, where everyone seemed still rather off-put but the recent events. “So bad news, they kicked our asses good. I’m gonna be feeling those cuts for a month. Good news though-” Quill pulled the unconscious guard into the room by his arm and held up the pad “-I got a key for the collars.” Quill offered the pad to Kaida and Stratos.
It was a relief that he could still move, though the shock of pain upon trying to move was less than welcome. This guy...he was not like anything Quill had seen before. Though his demeanor shifted, his skill with his weapons were perfect. Every strike played into the other, like a chorus of blades in sync with one another. Yet this was very hard to appreciate as this was an enemy Quill could hardly take seriously, it infuriated him to no end. Pulling himself from the wall was no easy task, he was squeezed between sheets of metal and tangled wires. And this was without considering his own injuries. Quill pulled free after a couple pushes, and fell on his face. This day..has been a challenge. Quill began recovering his composure and forced himself up. It seemed Stratos was distracting Gil with his magic projectiles, which got the big guy’s attention well enough. Perhaps magic was particularly worrying for Gilgamesh, but he was still more than skilled enough to handle any direct magical assault. After using something new forms of magic Quill hadn’t seen before, Gil grew 8 arms in total each with dangerous weapons. But as Quill got a moment to look him over, something caught his eyes. Though each weapon was powerful and wielded deftly, a single blade in a blue sheath hung from Gilgamesh’s hip. That, it must be his trump card. Quill resolved to use this opportunity. Rushing at the beast of man, he was already aware of Quill’s assault and spin his left right side to pierce him through. But Quill was ready, detaching his chitin gauntlets upon striking as a decoy, weighing his weapons down. Quill slid under him and took the sheathed blade as he moved past him. Quill threw off the sheath, a shining blue sword with a visible aura came to Quill’s hands. He smiled “Your own foolishness has been your undoing Gilgamesh!” Hopping to the air, the blade came down and- 1 ! Quill could feel an audible silence in the room, as everyone seemed to notice a small number appear over Gil’s head. Quill struck his side again. 1 ! Hmm. 1 ! “So, this isn’t my day…” Quill got out that sentence as Gilgamesh’s greatsword sent him flying again. Quill slammed through the automatic doors of the prison block, landing among a pile of knocked out guards. “...I swear if I crash through one more thing...” Quill was near collapse from exhaustion, pain, and frankly embarrassment. The awful blade lay among the passed out.
Quill was shocked to see the quiet boy from before, Stratos, stand up and begin fighting. He seemed to be in a world of his own for so long. But the sudden appearance of old enemies for his group had awoken him from his stupor. He began to use magic with his keyblade but the large man was hardly distracted, his endless swords putting Stratos on his back-foot. It seemed that this man, who now Quill knew as Gilgamesh- “Alpha! Your droning inner monologues are boring enough without also being wrong!” He began to struggle against Quill’s grasp, only barely holding on after digging his new jagged boots into the metallic floor. He whistled “Now that’s new, you got metal growing out of your skin now?” “Well actually it’s closer to a type of bone- ugh stop being so weird! So what’s the idea? Who are you serving? What did these guys do to you all that you need to endanger everyone on this ship?” Quill began pulling back on Gil/Alpha to try to get his attention, but he was treating his attack as an afterthought. “Ha that’s too many questions to answer in one post, so let’s slow your roll.” He began pulling forward until Quill’s face smashing into the bars, Quill was only slowing him by inches. Quill yelled “Well get serious then, I’m Ripping. This. Arm. Off!” Quill began to focus his energy into his claws and forced his body down. He didn’t need a keyblade for this, he would show this cocky *kupo* who he was. FUYU AKI HARU NATSU With each word the symbols for each element encircled Quill. Forcing the magic through his arms, the elements came through his claws in massive gashes across Gil/Alpha's body. Earth, Fire, Wind and Ice struck out of Quill's body until he felt drained. The man screamed throughout and really seemed to suffer, his right side looked battered and scarred. “AAHHHH WHY MY RIGHT ARM, MY ONLY RIGHT ARM! Oh wait.” He finally looked at Quill again, “Kidding.” From his body grew three other arms, each undamaged and strong looking. A greatsword, shortspear, and scimitar all appeared and primed themselves to strike. Quill looked in stunned silence “Uhh, that’s new.” In the blink of an eye, a flurry of blades came down on Quill’s body. He could’ve been cut in half if the bars of the cell hadn’t taken the initial brunt. Quill attempted to jump away with gauntlets crossed in front of him but it only did so much, the blades sliced through the chitin easily and sent Quill flying into the wall. He crashed through a series of electrical panels and machinery, Quill felt like he had cuts on every inch of his body. He was indented deeply in the wall and was near passing out. Alpha stared him down “You’re green kid, not literally of course. These kids know that I’m not someone to underestimate or use their cringy anime attacks on. Now-” He turned around and faced Stratos again “you got any other tricks?”
Quill was rather perplexed by the intercom’s sudden announcement, this didn’t seem like this group’s doing but someone else's. As the ship began to rumble and explosions echoed to their area, a click was heard from across the hall. The strange man, Vanitas, his cell just swung open and began strolling about. "Well, I held up my end of the bargain... they're all yours guys..." He could rip his own collar off, commenting on his part in this chaos. Quill was annoyed that this prick could act so calm, if he was a little closer Quill would grab by the throat. But suddenly shadowy portals appeared underneath him and disappeared, along with another man in the cells. A silence fell over the room “What did he mean-” The doors on both sides of prison opened. One, a well dressed man who stared daggers at Kaida. The other closer to his own cell...well he was indeed unique looking. Dressed in frilly armor, he was a massive man, with an incredibly muscular body. This was looking bad, but perhaps this was his chance… “Oh perfect I’ve been looking for someone to get me out of here, hey you guys look like you need help. Mind letting me out?” The man with a pretentious dress didn’t address him but the large man did. “Oh who’re you young man? A mysterious edgy new ally or mysterious edgy new enemy. Which could it be? And tell me why should I bother slaying one less person here, not much effort one way or another.” “Ah that’s true, but I’m guessing this is your little operation here. Not like I need the companionship but I’m getting pretty bored here. I could use a chance to stretch to old muscles.” Quill stepped forward to the cell bars, his full warped appearance now on display. “I’m guessing from what these guys have said that you’re enemies of them, and if these kid keyblade wielders have trounced you before, the help couldn’t hurt. How about it big guy? Name’s Quill.” Quill would only have this chance, he had to take it. The large man pondered for a moment, it was almost comical how much time he took. “Well, he makes a fair point. And the boss wouldn’t want to see these fools escape again.” The large man looked Quill over for a moment. “Call me Alpha, now where’s that unlock switch.” He looked down to see the keypad. “Oh it’s j-” If a single blink had happened, Quill wouldn’t have seen the blade coming from his other hand. The swift piercing strike was flawless in precision, reaching Quill’s throat in an instant. The blade was long and lithe, yet its sleek red color screamed a deadly intent. It’s ability cut through the collar like paper to reach Quill’s throat was terrifying enough. “You’re really a terrible liar kid.” The man said with a sudden seriousness that was non-existent in his previous demeanor. “Ha, you're pretty good.” This was his opportunity. “But don’t be cocky.” Quill, forcing his body to move in this terrifying situation, hoped this would work. It took days to even begin using it but it had to work now, Quill’s chitin armor began growing around his hands. Grabbing the blade, his body armor had shifted to have plating on his arms and legs, and allowed for better defensive mobility in this form [Monk Form]. Suspecting his arm would hold his weight, Quill flipped over and used the bars to bend his arm into an awkward position for cutting. The man went back to his other personality “Wait you can do that, pretty sure that’s godmodding!” The blade stayed in a loose grip, he had to be careful of a quick stab. Quill was using his whole torso to force the bulky arm into its twist and Quill was still struggling. “So I’m guessing as an experienced swordsman you know what a shattered arm will do for your skills. So let's not make any sudden moves now Alpha.” He probably only could hold him like this for a couple dozen seconds, even as Quill’s claws attempted piercing into his skin for leverage, it resisted. His muscles were like a folded metal, flexible yet durable. But if this gave the others a couple moments to do something to get out of their cells, it’d be enough. He still insisted “Wait no, did you get permission to Godmod!?”
Quill began to grow tired, the ship felt virtually silent. The sounds of marching guards, the echoes from the persons of lost worlds, even the whirling of the machinery felt muted. There must’ve been so many at the summit, the discussions of how to recover from the tragedies they’ve had inflicted. But this was entirely unpleasant, yet to Quill, also felt familiar. It was the calm before a conflict, the serendipity that occurred when one was about to be in the throes of violence. It was familiar, times of near death battles flashed in his memory. It was hopefully just the paranoia from a stir crazy moment..hopefully. 30/30
Quill considered “Well your reasoning is fair, it’s your decision to make so I won’t fault you there.. Though unless circumstances change, for the general and this uh..Karen, your innocence might not matter to them much.” Quill looked towards the door again, half expecting the late guard to come through. “Course you have friends on the outside trying to get you help, hell some of them are at the summit. Perhaps you guys will be free sooner than you think.” 29/30
“Huh how many charges could he-” Kaida began on tirade tearing this ‘Karen” woman apart. The judge must’ve really hit a nerve with her but she was really going off about her. Not sure what a boomer was but it did seem a little strange. Quill began to say “Hey if you’re trying to get shocked there’s easier- Kaida?” Quill didn’t hear a shock. For the first time in a couple days Quill walked out of the shadows of his cell and stood in full view to look over to Kaida’s cell. He expected to see her curled up on the floor in immense pain, but she wasn’t. She was inspecting her collar and her violent outburst hadn’t caused the collar to go off. This was very strange. Quill whispered “That's very strange, ok don't do anything too flashy. Summoning your Keyblade could still cause external alarms to activate.” Quill considered for a moment. "This might be your chance, magic might work for now. You could try escaping with some subtle shorting of the cell's circuits." 28/30
As he spoke with Kaida about the goings of her group, a thought occurred to Quill internally. The normal guard shift was a tad late, normally coming in around now, they'd normally look around for a couple minutes and leave. Now honestly this wasn’t that strange, with the summit going on and more worlds entering the ship, guards were needed in other places. But something about it bugged Quill a tad. From some general gossip from guards who’d keep an eye on him, he’d begun to keep tabs on the dicks who’d come around to shock him. “Hmm, it’s around dinner time so probably...the guy who works in the confiscation room. Huh, wonder if some new cargo came in recently.” Quill mumbled to himself. It wasn’t really pertinent, but just something on his mind, there was little else but waiting to do in here. 27/30
Quill felt conflicted by Kaida’s statements, though in a way he understood. “My own world was a place of conflict and death, but it was mine. Home doesn’t have to be where you came from, but it’s a state of being we try to create. You have your friends now, and they have you. It’s a little cheesy but, I guess you're a part of their ‘home’ too. They wouldn’t leave it without a big damn fight. I know, I felt the same way for my homeworld. And I fought for every inch of it I could. I still failed. It’s still gone.” Quill couldn’t help but wallow in his own self-loathing at the end. He could only imagine it wasn’t much worth listening to. God he missed a positive guy like Faust for these situations, Quill had never been an upbeat person. "Either way, try not to focus on the cell too much. You can't see them but the gashes on my walls show how stir crazy you can get ha ha..Hey, shouldn't Aux had finished with his Trial by now?" 26/30
