I haven't heard anything about the next volume, and I think it's been a couple of years since the 11th volume came out. I think it's still popular, but as to when it comes out...who knows?
Yeah, everything's cool. I don't have access to the internet until 10:30 p.m. central time, so that's why I haven't seen you online all this...
Okay. g'night.
Despite his being diabetic, he's surprisingly healthy. He's up, around, and driving us nuts again. What happened?
Fixed............
Yeah, he's much better. Still sipping chicken noodle soup, but otherwise okay. How was your day?
Yeah... We had a bit of a scare yesterday; my brother had a stomach bug, but because he's diabetic, it messed him up pretty bad. He had to go to...
Somewhat...we drive each other crazy, but we're most of the time we're complete opposites, although that doesn't stop us from playing together...
I've got a secret in the works, too....fufufufu....
So, does that mean the actual Pete makes an appearance? Or just some copy?
*sighs* Well, if anyone needed proof that the next generation is headed in the right direction, there's your proof: 11 year-olds getting pregnant.
Knows how to play with chocolate.
Sorry this took so long. School's been getting to me, but now I'm out, so there should be more story coming. Here's the next update: “Just what is going on here?!†Merlin appeared in his now trademark ‘smoke’ fashion, and was surprised at the rubble that everyone was now used to. Tifa walked towards him from a fallen bookcase. “Namine was attacked while you were out, Merlin,†Tifa reported, “From what we’ve determined so far, while we all were out on missions, given by Namine, somebody came, raided the castle, and at the same time made an attack in the town square. We haven’t heard word yet, but Sora and his friends went to investigate what was going on. It’s quiet now, so we aren’t that worried yet.†Merlin cocked his head slightly, confused, “Mission? Dear girl, I didn’t approve of any missions!†Everyone from Restoration Committee turned their heads towards Merlin, each one with a look that made the situation appear more and more disconcerting by the second. “What do you mean ‘you didn’t approve’? Namine gave us all these missions herself! Right in front of us!†exclaimed Zack, “She gave all of us different ones, too! Squall and I had to go investigate Crystal Fissure area to measure areas of dark matter, Tifa and Cloud had to go investigate one of the Organization’s abandoned laboratories, and Yuffie had to go with Cid into orbit! You can’t say we didn’t have anything that wasn’t approved!!†Squall spoke up, “It’s a little hard to believe that Namine would deliberately disobey orders like that, Merlin. Are you sure you didn’t forget that you approved them?†Merlin looked angry, “Young man, if there’s one thing that hasn’t left me in my old age, it’s my memory! I can say, with absolute certainty, that I was neither approached with giving you, nor did I approve of any, missions!†“I know what was stolen.†Everyone turned towards Vincent, as he walked through the doorway, “The security cameras found a few interesting things you all need to see. Also, Squall, Irvine’s on the monitor. He says he has an urgent report to give you, but Aerith’s taking care of it.†Zack shook his head, frowned, and muttered, “This day just keeps getting worse...†As everyone was starting to search through the rubble again, they all stopped: Aerith was standing in the doorway. She was crying uncontrollably. Zack raced towards Aerith, with everyone following close behind. “Aerith! Aerith, honey, what’s wrong?!†Zack asked, terrified at what could possibly have shaken her up so badly. Aerith managed to fight the tears back enough to say a few words. They weren’t much, but they were still enough to send chills down people’s spines. While Zack hugged Aerith tightly after hearing those words, Squall ran out the room when he heard, Cid’s toothpick dropped out of his mouth, Yuffie’s knees knocked, and Cloud and Tifa stood there stunned. All from the same three words: “It’s Sora. He’s…†“Irvine! Irvine! What’s going on over there?!†“Is that you, Squall? I can barely hear you over there!†Squall furiously adjusted the controls to try and get a better reception. Irvine’s face, covered in dust, appeared on the monitor. “Irvine! What’s going on over there?! Report!†“Everything was quiet at the Destiny Islands, then, from out of nowhere, Sora appears and goes berserk…†As Irvine gave his report to Squall about all that happened while on the Destiny Islands, Squall couldn’t help but not focus. Sora was gone…out of all the warriors, all the fighters, all the people, he seemed like the last one anyone expected to die. He was so full of life and energy. Sure, he had his annoying qualities, but those paled in comparison whenever a problem presented itself. He always seemed eager to take it on, no matter what the risk, as if some other worldly force was guiding him, protecting him. And now this happens. At the height of Radiant Garden’s peace and prosperity, the greatest hero ever known was taken away… “Boss?†“Irvine…how are the others?†“…I think you need to send somebody over here, sir. The Kairi girl isn’t looking too good.†Squall sighed and rubbed his temples. It wouldn’t surprise him that Irvine didn’t know that much about relationships, especially those of a steady couple. But, just to be safe, he took a chance, “What do you mean, Irvine?†“She’s passed out, and she hasn’t woken up yet. It’s been a couple of hours now.†Squall flinched. It appears as though his suspicions were confirmed, “Irvine, her boyfriend just died! She’s not going to take news like that well, at all! No one does!†“That’s just it, boss! Her sister knocked her out before her boyfriend was erased, also by her sister! It was just a simple knock on the head, and she’s been out almost ever since!†Squall was starting to understand his concern. That did seem a little odd. He made up his mind, “Okay, Valentine, Merlin and I will rendezvous to your location in a couple of hours. Have everyone meet at Sora’s house, and we’ll compare notes then. Squall out.†Irvine nodded, and then disappeared from the monitor. A couple of hours? That’s how long Sora’s been gone? They could’ve had time to help Sora…if it hadn’t been for those…missions? Squall’s head jerked up. Could that be it? As Squall, Vincent, and Merlin appeared in a puff of smoke, they all flinched. The Destiny Islands looked worse than when Squall and Cloud picked up Sora and his friends. Everywhere they turned, there was wreckage of every piece of whatever. It was only a miracle that nobody was seriously hurt. The three proceeded to Sora’s house, grimacing as they proceeded. Irvine and Selphie were on the porch of Sora’s house when they arrived. They were sitting in a bench swing in the front yard. Irvine was holding a crying Selphie right next to him while they slowly swung. Irvine looked up as Squall and the others arrived. Squall opened his mouth to speak, but Irvine slightly shook his head. He mouthed I’ll meet you inside in a second. The three of them started to walk forward, until Selphie looked up at them. “You!†Squall was surprised at the look on her face. The anger that Selphie displayed was like that of which no one on the islands had ever seen before. She quickly got up and started attacking Squall with one of her nunchuku. “THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!†Her swings were that of a madwoman. They were wild, without focus, and weren’t coming anywhere close to hitting Squall. Despite that, he dodged them anyway. “IF YOU HADN’T TAKEN SORA AWAY FROM US, HE WOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED IN ALL OF THIS!†Irvine and Vincent each grabbed an arm of Selphie’s. She screamed bloody murder as she struggled to get free. Tears were running wildly down her face as she struggled. “LET ME GO! LET ME GO!! IT’S HIS FAULT! ALL HIS FAULT!!†Her struggles didn’t last long. Eventually she slowly sank to the ground, sobbing and mumbling. Vincent slowly let go of her, but Irvine continued to hold her close to him as she continued to mumble. “Let go…his fault…all his fault…†Squall lowered his head slightly, then raised it again. He motioned his head towards the house, while looking at Vincent and Merlin. Merlin looked appalled, but Vincent looked his usual grim self. Regardless, they both followed Squall inside. The rest of the group was in the living area. Wakka and Tidus looked terrible. Wakka appeared as though he aged 10 years in one moment, and Tidus…considering he always looked happy whenever anyone was around, it was a shocking and unusual thing to see him sad, let alone depressed. Sora’s parents didn’t fare much better. Like Selphie, Sora’s mother, Mary, was crying, her head in her hands. Sora’s father was holding his wife, while trying to fight back his tears. Sora’s mother looked up at Squall as he approached them. “Squall…what happened? Why did those people…why did they take my baby away from me?†Squall turned his eyes away, “When Sora was out helping us, he had to fight unimaginable odds to save everyone. The fact that he would never back down when things got rough, or that he would risk everything to save anyone made him enemy to everyone who dared hurt anyone†“Your son was a hero, Mary, one of the best. That’s he was attacked.†Mary’s lips trembled as she tried to smile, “…he never could say ‘no’ to help me in the kitchen, when I needed it. Back when he was five, he would always stop to ask me if I needed help with anything from cookies to dishes…†She leaned her head on her husband, trying hard to keep smiling. Vincent coughed, “Where’s Hiashi?†Sora’s father pointed up the stairs, “Kairi’s with her, too. She still hasn’t woken up yet, either.†Vincent nodded, and the three of them proceeded up the stairs. Hiashi was sitting at the bedside of Kairi. Hiashi looked completely drained, holding one of Kairi’s hands with both of hers. Kairi was sleeping soundly, hardly breathing, like she was dead. Hiashi turned towards Vincent and the others as they walked in. Her usual ‘no nonsense’ face quickly faded away as she saw him. She quickly got up and hugged him, as tight as possible. “You alright, kid?†Vincent whispered. Hiashi nodded, but didn’t look at him, “I don’t know what’s going on, pops. I barely gave her a tap to knock her out, but she’s still not awake. I know it wasn’t that hard…†“What about Riku?†asked Squall. Hiashi looked up at him, “He’s been gone since we took Kairi here. I’m not sure where he’s at,†She looked back down at Kairi, “He’s taken Sora’s departure worse than everyone downstairs.†“I can imagine,†Merlin said as he walked over to Kairi’s bedside and began to examine her, “Losing the best friend you’ve known all your life can’t be an easy thing.†Merlin sighed, “This just hasn’t been our month.†“It gets worse.†Everyone turned towards the doorway. Irvine walked towards the group. “I just got done walking Selphie home, an’ heard a lot of unsettling things. Everyone seems to be turning on Sora, after that little ‘show and tell’ skit with his powers. There’s talk of a mob going to formed to ‘escort’ the rest of his family out of the neighborhood.†Squall was shocked, “Are you serious?!†Irvine nodded, “Yeah, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. At least, not tonight; the mayor apparently is on our side and is trying to keep things under control. He seems to want to know what’s going on as much as we do, though.†Irvine settled down in a chair on the other side of Kairi’s bed, “So, boss, what has been going on?†Squall leaned against a wall, “From what we’ve uncovered, Braig had more planned than just wanting Sora eliminated. Everyone on the main members of the restoration committee was assigned missions from Princess Namine, all of which seemed very important at the time…at least until we arrived at the assigned coordinates. When we arrived, there was nothing close to match what we assigned to: This was the same for every member. When we arrived at the throne room to confront the princess, it was practically destroyed.†Irvine shifted a little, while Hiashi shook her head. This just wasn’t getting any better. Vincent spoke up, “We’ve reviewed several of the security cameras before they went dead. It seems that just after before noon, Namine had decided to leave for the market place, and while she was gone, a friend of ours decided to take her place and impersonate her. This guy,†he handed Hiashi a photo, “gave everyone those missions. Apparently, they planned on making sure the others were not here to help while Braig was having his fun with Sora.†Hiashi examined the photo. It was a rather small man, about 5’11, with shoulder length silver hair, with blue eyes. Hiashi rolled her eyes, “I should’ve known. This whole thing sounds like Ienzo’s doing. That little geek never did like getting his hands dirty.†Irvine smiled at the last sentence, but then frowned again, “You mentioned that they were after something, Vince?†Vincent flinched at ‘Vince’, but continued, “We know that he stole a few books from our main library, one from the astronomy section, one from the magical arts, and one from the scientific journals. As to which books, or what he’s planning, we don’t know: Ienzo decided to make a mess in there, too. We only know what the security camera showed us.†Hiashi stood up from sitting down, “So, what’s our next move? We can’t just let them get away with this.†“We don’t intend to, either,†replied Squall, “but we still can’t make much of a stand. Our forces have severely dwindled, and the only one who could stand a chance against him is…†Hiashi looked away, then looked back at him, “We can still take them! I can more than handle Braig and Ienzo!†Vincent put her hand on her shoulder, “Hiashi, we can’t. This isn’t about you’re hist-,†She shrugged his hand off her shoulder, “You’re right, it isn’t. That little punk erased someone very noble at heart!†She turned completely around to face Vincent, “I’ve acted horribly to a lot of people here, pops. I’ve treated them like the enemy when I shouldn’t have. This has to end now, and quite frankly, I really don’t care if you agree with me or not: I’ll go by myself if I have to!†Vincent raised an eyebrow. Hiashi’s eyes were different from what they used to be. They weren’t as…cruel. “I’m afraid we still have another problem.†Everyone turned towards Merlin. He raised his head slowly, with a worried and drained look on his face. “Kairi is very unresponsive, and from what I could gather from my instruments, she won’t wake up at all.†Hiashi shook her head, “There’s got to be something you can do!†Merlin sat down, “Her symptoms are very…unclear. It’s as if she’s entered a state of suspended animation. Her metabolic functions have slowed down to a very near stop. If she doesn’t wake up soon, she could suffer serious problems, assuming she wakes up later.†“How long until these ‘problems’ start to set in?†asked Squall. Merlin shook his head, “As early as a month.†Irvine’s face was furrowed, and he cocked his head, “S’cuse me, Merlin? Does this have anything at all to do with Sora’s demise? I mean, this happened almost practically the same time.†Merlin raised his arms in a shrug, “We don’t have any where near enough information to even begin to come to that conclusion. We’d have better luck going to the supermarket for fruit.†“Fruit…†Everyone turned towards Vincent, who looked like an idea was forming, “….I wonder… Merlin, could teleport a copy of ‘Legendary Fruits: The papou fruit’?†Merlin, confused, waved his wand, and a book appeared in front of Vincent. He started searching furiously through the pages. “What are you looking for, pops?†Hiashi asked. “Kairi was looking through this book before this mess started, and I remember hearing something about the papou fruit having magical properties…†Vincent replied while searching. “I don’t see how,†replied Merlin, “Most of those legends are merely romantic ones, and some of the lesser known ones are for star formation.†“I was thinking of the romantic oneactually,†Vincent stated, still not looking up from the book, “Kairi seemed very surprised at what she found in the book when I came into the room. What if one of the bonds established by the fruit…Aha!†He stopped turning the pages and quickly sped read through the pages. Hiashi tilted her head up to see what Vincent was reading. The heading read ‘Side Effects’. “Okay, I think we’ve found it,†Vincent looked up, “Irvine’s right. This has everything to do with Sora’s being gone. What’s worse, unless he returns, she won’t wake up.†Squall buried his head in one of his hands, “Is there anything we can do?†Vincent shook his head. “Yes, there is.†Everyone looked at Hiashi. She looked like she was ready to punch the next person to disagree with her. “There’s one thing we can do-,†“Look!†Irvine’s cry made everyone jump. He was standing up and pointing at Kairi like a madman. “She’s trying to say something!†Hiashi quickly put her ear next to Kairi’s mouth. After a minute, she pulled her head up, with a smug look on her face. “Looks like Kairi’s on my side, after all. She just said ‘coliseum’.â€
Sometimes, it can be.
That's pretty good for speed drawing O_O
19 and 17.
Well, as far as I know, someone uses the name 'sephiroth' on the forum, but I don't know the person...personally.
