Kingdom Hearts: Kingdom Hearts: Light Chaser

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The group seemed to travel together with this kind of plan in place for probably far too long. Take couldn't tell if it was a few minutes or a few hours with how empty the place was. After a while of the silence, Take stopped and simply turned and said,"Obviously this strategy of looking for it isn't working... maybe we need to have it come for us. Ya know, make them become the hunters hunted." Take stuck his keyblade in the ground to keep it there while he gave his left arm a check. He was surprised to find it was as if the arm had been nearly completely healed. He didn't dare take the gloves off because he was afraid he might hurt himself. He adjusted his gloves a bit and said, "On my homeworld when they were trying to lure out a dragon that had attacked the village and escaped nearby, they would send out some kids nearby to talk and play to hopefully drag the dragons attention. The kids were protected of course, but sometimes sound is the best way to go with it." he stretched a bit and heard a bit of cracking which helped him relax a bit. Then he looked at Tinarah and said, "You and Chrono need to talk." he grew quiet and said, "You two are holding each other like you're acquaintances rather than family and it... hurts to watch. Not that I think you both don't care about each other or anything. But no one else is here. Well, I guess there's me... but I can block my ears." he motioned to show his hands up and then he covered them, "Hands are the greatest thing."
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Take watched her reaction and sighed a bit in disappointment and said,"When would be a better time? WIth people dropping without warning and people disappearing... you both at least deserve to be on the same terms in case anything happens again." the boy uncovered his ears and leaned against his keyblade for a bit. He waited for a while before he realized nothing was going to happen and he said carefully, sounding a lot like he wasn't entirely comfortable talking about it, "My... brother Yasushi and I weren't on good terms when he died. We weren't... fighting or anything like that... but we weren't talking. We both lost my oldest brother Iwao two years before that and we... never talked it out. We both grew distant, and we talked to each other like we were both strangers to each other. He kept looking at me as if something was wrong, like he wanted to talk about it and never could bring it up. I didn't want to push him about it... so I..." the boy let out a pained sigh as he tapped his fingers against the handle of his keyblade and said, "There's a pain that never goes away... right here." he brought his hand up to his chest, "When you aren't able to clear something up with someone before they go. You end up having trouble sleeping at night thinking about it. In my homeworld, I had to silently bare that pain every day." Takehiko looked between and Chrono and Tinarah and said, "I care about both of you enough to not want something like... a powerful enemy... a bad illness... a fire... to be the thing that suddenly appears and leaves one of you hurting. There's never a good time to talk about these things. But if you wait too long to talk about them... one of you is going to live forever with that."
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Illiana shrugged as Taran made some test swings with the sword. If Taran was going to help out in terms of fighting...Illiana had her work cut out for her. She sighed a bit before Eilonwy had called Illiana over to her. "Illiana you should come see this. Come here." Illiana walked over to the princess and looked through the hold in the wall. "Let's see what we're dealing with here, shall we?" Through the hole in the wall, she saw a green goblin, who she assumed was one of the Horned King's underlings, ordering the Horned King's soldiers to bring in carts of skeletons. "What could they be doing?" "I don't know but we should get out of here. There's a path down here we can take." Illiana nodded her head before backing away from the hole. "Kid's gotta point. Lead the way kiddo." Eilonwy's orb friend floated over to Taran as he was standing by a passageway leading out of the tomb. Illiana made her way over with Eilonwy.

 

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Chrono hadn't been expecting Take to try and be a therapist for himself and his sister and the latter wasn't quite up to it. He, admittedly, did agree that this wasn't the best of places to do that sort of thing, but another part of him knew that if they didn't talk now then the odds of this happening later down the road were slim. So he did what he was good at and silently listen as Take explained about his brothers and what happened to them. As Tinarah gave a response on how she felt and when it all had seemingly settled, he spoke up.

"So that's why you want to so back." Of course he was against it with that being the reason and he would continue to be against it as long as that Torrin was a possibility. What bothered him more so was how it reminded him of his own plans. "Either of us going back would give dad a heart attack. I left with no intentions on going back anytime soon, not until Mom's murderer is brought to justice and the damned company that hired him was brought to the ground!" This would be the first time that either parties would have heard about this and had it not been for Tinarah's own goals being similar to his own, it would've remained unheard. "Especially when said killer has already made it clear that he'd kill you and dad if I were to so much as whisper about the truth on that day." Talking about it allowed memories of that day to resurface and resulted in his fist clenching at himself more than anything.

"I know you're not the same Tinarah that I knew when I left and I honestly have mixed feeling about that. Part of me feels like I should be at least happy or proud that your not the same as when I left, but when I had left that day I did it with the intention to not get you involved with anything that'd cause me harm and you know better than anyone how wells that's gone." Letting her get kidnapped and going through all that in a different realm. By sheer comparison aging 5 years was the last thing that bothered him. "If you really don't know who you are, then let's start with that and just start over. You try to find your answers and I'll just support you as your brother. Sounds easy, probably too easy honestly, but what else can I do? This whole other realm incident has left with very little to work with to be of actual help."

 

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And on the world went. Aria knew it couldn't be helped though. There were people still alive and who needed aid. She watched how her uncle dealt with grief while she was growing up on the farm. He replaced it with love and hard work, still keeping the memory close of the child he almost had, but also not letting it bog him down day in and day out. Although child loss was much different from a death of a friend or a comrade it was still a terrible pain to bear.

Aria looked up to the sky while holding Glyde's cloak close to her, remembering the conversations she had with her uncle, and recently Take, about the ones who die still living on. It hurt, but she had to keep moving forward.

She looked to the castle, seeing how they had to go back in to that dreary place. People depended on them though, and Aria was trusted to come along on this journey. She placed Glyde's cloak in her magical bag carefully, and then glanced to Qamar. "Onward we go," she said with a small smile. "Thank you, by the way..." She then followed after Fflam, trying to keep her thoughts focused on the positives to get through this quest.

 

"I'm not really sure either..." Chrys added into the general sense of quiet bemusement. There really wasn't much to be confused about, but... well, Zeno's comment probably hit it on the nose best. "Are there any preparations you guys think we should make beforehand?"

The Master may have healed them, but he didn't give them the impression that they were pressed for time either. If nothing else they should probably take a little bit to settle their thoughts on the new information they had been given. Though she wasn't too sure getting a bite to eat and chilling out while they did that was on the list of things to do while parsing said information. He expected them today at least, she was fairly certain...​

 

Qamar saw Aria trying to be strong. Even if she had post three friends, she was still trying to be strong. Qamar felt relieved that Aria was doing her best, but she was worried how this was going to affect the girl. Aria asked if they ought to go back, to which Qamar nodded in agreement. “Yes, before we lose another.” she noted.

Sure Thallasa wanted to tell Atmos in person, but that was just going to make things worse. Sadly, it was not Qamars decision, so she shrugged. Fflam appeared again and mentioned a way into the castle. It sounded like a good idea to her, especially if it housed less guards. She nodded her head at him, following along.

Her eyes gazed at Aria once she addressed Qamar. A smile spread and Qamar nodded, putting herself into a better mood. “It's what friends do, after all.”​

 

"Look you did what you thought was right, it's in the past and that isn't something we can't change. No, it wasn't easy but there was little else I could do but simply continue on. Being deployed onto the frontlines has definitely helped in that regard, it has a way of keeping your mind occupied like that." Boreas said, he knew his loyalty wasn't in question, he simply explained why he showed loyalty even in the face of such strong emotions. "It's good to have you back around." Boreas added and then fell quiet as he mentioned Mika. "So that's why you asked the Atlantean King how to return a heart to a vacant body... I'm sorry, Torrin, she must have meant a lot to you if you were even thinking about going that far for her." Boreas truly felt for his friend, having someone close to you dying by your hand, he personally didn't know what that was like but he could imagine.

"Also you're the most experienced combatant when it comes to fighting the Light Chaser, everyone fighting him is at risk whether they are near you or not. It's a core principle of fighting, you take out your opponents, it doesn't mean you put people in more danger Torrin, they were thrown to the lions when they signed up for this or dragged into it and now we'll just have to make the best of it." Boreas said. "Aye, as long as there are people to remember them, they'll live on in their hearts. Mika lives on in you as do all the other people you claim to have failed, I don't know the details but I don't think that their deaths are entirely on you. And well for me my comrades live on with my men and I. I've been promoted to Captain about a year and a half or so ago, been in charge of the Emerald Company ever since." Torrin had ran because he didn't want to send people he cared about to their deaths and Boreas could definitely understand it was hard but he knew that if he didn't do it someone else would and Boreas accepted the mantle of responsibility without question. He knew it needed to be done and he would always do whatever he could to keep his men safe, he owed them all that.​

 

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Tinarah's story had surprised Chrono as the first thing that had come to mind when she had said 'Mom's murders aren't there anymore' was that either they had been arrested or maybe they died and the company that hired them went bankrupt. His assumption was close, but not completely right. They had only moved locations. The rest of the story didn't leave him with the best of feelings despite it being one of the few times in which he didn't immediately think 'What if I had done something sooner'. It frustrated him that this happened, but there was nothing he could've done about it. "That's good, for dad's sake at least." Didn't change the fact that they both were still around and his desire to see justice brought down upon them, though apparently their power then they did five years ago.

Chrono noticed the nod to his suggestion and was relieved to see it. She was willing to try at least at most he could try to make things easier for him. As much that was actually within his realm of capabilities at least. "Sorry you had to hear all that. Even if you did set it up, it didn't go the way you'd imagined it I guess." Chrono said, addressing Take who had been quiet the whole time. Probably out of either respect or just surprise.

 

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Take hadn't expected the conversation to go in this direction, at all. Not that he was expecting any of this conversation to be any easier no matter what the topic was, especially since he knew full well she was trying to avoid talking. Implying he expected this to end in some happily ever after where nothing was wrong. He listened and felt like he learned a lot about the two, and felt only awkward because he was party to a conversation that otherwise would have been held between the two of them. It began pushing the topic towards their murdered mother and the state of their father and he felt like something was at least being gained from this conversation. But something felt off and he wasn't quite sure why and he couldn't place a finger on it until it just suddenly came to him. Tinarah was diverting the conversation from herself and there was really nothing he could do about it. When Chrono addressed him he focused towards him with full attention and he said, "I didn't know where the conversation was going to go, I was seemingly poking a hornets nest. I... don't mind as long as you don't mind that I accidentally pried myself into something I really didn't belong..." Take grabbed the handle of his keyblade and pulled it out of the strange water, watching it ripple outward in circles into the distance. He looked up at the two and said, "I wasn't expecting this to be perfectly summed up and put in a nice box with a bow on it or anything. I was just hoping something could get out there between you two... I think there was at least something with that..." he wasn't sure though.
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Qamar followed along, knowing they were probably going the right way. Fflam wouldn't lead them to danger, would he? She kept her keyblade in her hand and was ready to fight with things went south. They eventually got to a place where they heard a voice. Once close enough, they found Taran and Illiana with another girl.

"Illiana! And Taran!" She had a look of relief upon her face. "At least you're okay."​

 

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Aria followed along with the others, seeing that Illiana and Taran were alright. It seemed as if they had someone else with them as well. Aria felt more at ease seeing familiar faces and that sinking feeling dissipated. "We were really worried about you," she chimed in as she approached them to make sure they were indeed okay. "You found a new friend," she gestured to Eilonwy. "We did too." She nodded her head over to the bard. "This is Fflam. Fflam, this is Taran and Illiana. I'm Aria by the way," the princess of heart introduced herself to the new girl. "And this is Qamar and Master Thallasa." Her attention then turned back to the rest of the group. "We were trying to find you guys without being spotted by the guards or whoever else is in this castle. Speaking of which, we should probably get going. I don't like this place at all."

 

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The sudden appearance of the clown was no laughing matter. And Take almost wished someone else heard that pun in his head so he could hi-five them but he had more pressing matters to attend to. Specifically, an attack that certainly shocked him more awake. He didn't like that pun nearly as much. A little nervous about the fact that the two heaviest hitters were gone, Take charged in and tried to get in a few attacks in with his keyblade, slashing at a couple spots on the clown before he quickly treated back towards the other two and cast Reflera on himself, feeling the wall activate to help out the others.

HP: 100/120
AP: 14/44 + 10 (Reaction Boost)
MP: 0/30
DP: 1/3
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Illiana kept walking along with Taran and Eilonwy. It had felt like they had been walking down this path for quite some time. Illiana took a small deep breath, almost relishing in the fact there was some peace and quiet. She then heard Taran's voice cut through her thoughts. "How long does this go? I feel like we've been walking for ages." Illiana sighed before turning back to Eilonwy as she asked them if they should turn back. Taran had shook his head before taking the lead. Illiana shrugged her shoulders and followed along. The sounds of footsteps echoed down the hall. Illiana immediately got in front of Eilonwy. Silhouettes of figures kept creeping closer and closer until a blade had been lowered.

The silhouettes had belong to Thallasa, Aria, Qamar, and a stranger. Illiana sighed a bit in annoyance. Thallasa immediately asked Taran and Illiana. "Taran? Illiana! Are you both alright?" Illiana sighed again before crossing her arms. "Uggghhh....And here I thought I was getting some peace and quiet...ugghhh" Aria and Qamar had then spoke up to the two, voicing their concern for them. "Yea yea yea we're fine blah blah blah...I was finally in my happy place and now....it's gone....Greaaattt..." Illiana sighed again, rolling her eyes before looking over to the strange-looking man. "And who's the old geezer?" Aria then introduced the man as Fflam. She shrugged her shoulders before Aria noted her discomfort of the area, suggesting they move quickly. "Uh uh. That's not happening. We got a dead end back there. Our best bet is back where you guys came from." Illiana pointed her thumb back where the trio came from as she explained. "Unless you like sitting in a circular room or sitting in a tomb...then by all means, I'm not gonna stop you. Though...making it into somebody's tomb....Nah that's an idea for another day..." Illiana shrugged her shoulders again before walking to Thallasa. "Mind filling me in? 'Cause boy do I have a report for you..." Illiana put a hand on her hip, waiting for Thallasa to tell her what she knew.
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