Video Game: Kingdom Hearts SOS: The Road To Light

After walking through the other districts, Luna decided to head back to the ship and await for their departure. Upon climbing aboard the ship, she noticed Karina just a little ways away from her. Reflecting back on her conversation with Kel, she thought to herself to try and explain her circumstances. The princess hesitated before taking a step towards the other girl. She took a deep breath before walking towards. "Hi! Do you have some time to spare?" She lifted her hand and waved it slightly as if to say 'Hello'.


Karina hadn't actually expected anyone to pay much mind to her until they left, but she was in a more pleasant mood than normal when Luna greeted her. "Well there isn't much else going on right now, so I would say so." She tried to make it sound nice, though it didn't entirely come off as nice as she had hoped. It was just the tone of voice, even when she was being pleasant it was still flat and not as cheery as someone like Luna, especially in comparison to someone like Luna.


Luna smiled before standing next to Karina. She gave herself a few moments to to think about how to start this conversation. She looked down before a small laugh left her lips. "It's kind of funny to think of how far we both have come since the day we both found our way to this group." Luna looked up and paused for a moment. "I like to think that we both grown a lot during our time here, our time with this group. I almost can't recognize the girl I once was when I first joined." She chuckled again as she reflected on earlier days. The princess then looked at Karina. "Would you agree with the same?"


Karina thought about it for a moment before giving Luna a wry smile. "Well I am sitting here talking to you now. I have to say that is an improvement from where we both came from." Karina didn't tend to bring up what happened when they first met anymore, but it still took her a long time to come to terms with it and start trusting Luna. It was hard to claim that wasn't improvement in some way.


Luna chuckled a bit before nodding her head. "I don't believe either of us ever thought we would both be talking like this back then." She paused. "It is more evidence that we've come a long way." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. The princess fiddled around with her necklace before she decided to speak up. "Speaking of beginnings, many apologies are in order." Luna wanted to clear the air with Karina about various things regarding the beginning when they first met. She never really had an clear time of when exactly to speak on it, however, now would be a good time than to not speak on it at all.


Oh Karina really did not want to have the Ananta talk with Luna as well. She wasn't much for apologizing, just getting better, and Luna certainly had gotten better. "There are no apologies in order. From what I see you are perfectly fine and aren't wronging me, so I don't see a reason to apologize." Karina purposely used present tense to try and get the point across she didn't care about apologies of the past.


Luna nodded her head and smiled. "Alright. However..." She paused. She knew Karina wasn't looking for apologies nor was she expecting any. Though the feeling of guilt that Luna harbored still sat in her heart. She opened up to resume. "I still owe you an explanation of sorts. You deserve to know at least that." The princess looked over to the girl, as she wished to tell her tale. "Would you allow me that at the very least? If you do not wish for any apologies, then no apologies will be given. However, I do wish to tell you my tale at the very least to answer some, if any, questions in the past." She pulled another strand behind her ear, awaiting Karina's reply.


"I cannot stop you from talking, nor do I have plans to walk away, if that makes you feel better." Karina answered, not sure if she even wanted the story, but if it was something Luna felt the need to tell, then so be it, she wouldn't stop her from sharing whatever story she needed to share to put the record straight from what happened in the past.


Luna nodded her head. "I appreciate that. It would definitely lift a weight off my shoulders." She was relieved Karina would let her tell her story. Even if she didn't need to hear it, for Karina to say she would listen calmed Luna. "Well, this tale isn't entirely my own. While part of it is mine to bear, a good portion of it will not be told from my perspective." She paused. "It'll be told from another's perspective." Luna looked up before starting the story. "This tale stems back over 3000 years ago, when our kingdom was first established." She paused once more. "A great war broke out and countless upon countless lives were lost. Throughout our history, events such as that had occurred; for which we had thus called them 'Tragedies'." She turned her head toward Karina. "During the events of the first Tragedy, most of the lives that were lost were at the hands of a savage female ex-soldier. It got so out of hand that the first Queen had to intervene and use a good portion of her power." Luna looked back forward before continuing. "She casted a spell which separated the butcher's body and soul. The queen hid away the body and sealed it while she took the soul upon herself and be the soul's warden." She closed her eyes. "She set the spell to keep the soul sealed within royal blood until the day comes when the woman's soul would reignite once more."


Karina just looked at Luna for a moment. "That is... Interesting... But what does that have to do with what happened in the past? That was long between any of our times." Karina pointed out a bit confused with why Luna was telling her this.


Luna could see the confusion on Karina's face. She immediately replied to her question. "The story is not over yet. Only the beginning. I promise there is a point to the story." Luna looked forward once more and continued the story. "The butcher's soul went on and on from royal vessel to royal vessel. The soul moved from body to body when one vessel passes another is born and inherits the soul. 3000 years later, it just so happens I got the short end of the stick." She casted her gaze downward. "And unfortunately, I just couldn't keep my emotions in control..." She took a deep breath before sighing. "When I was 16, it was the night of my brother and I's birthday. Koa and I went to a special place that even the locals didn't know of." Luna smiled as she held her necklace. "He asked for my hand in marriage and in that moment, I felt like the happiest girl alive." Her smile soon faded. "However, disaster struck. Two assailants wearing cloaks had shown up and they tried to open a dark corridor beneath my feet. Koa immediately pushed me out of the way and he was sinking into the corridor. Before either of us knew it, the two figures were gone. I tried to pull him out but I wasn't able to and he fell through, professing his love for me before sinking in." She squeezed the hand that was wrapped around the necklace. "I was enveloped in so much grief, anger, and despair. So much turmoil that something in me pulsated and took over my body. I passed out right then and there and when I woke up next I was in my father's arms. When I looked around, I saw nothing but destroyed buildings and houses on fire. Nothing but destruction and devastation." Her left hand grabbed her right arm as she dropped the other to her side. Memories of that sad day had still haunted her. "Needless to say, I'm sure you can infer how my village ended up in such destruction. The butcher had risen from her slumber. My days had been numbered. Should the soul ignite once more, the vessel only has a certain amount of time to either extinguish the soul for good or find a way to soothe her pain and bring the soul back to the right body." She paused, continuing to recount the days leading up to the present. "What happened back in the Dwarf Woodlands was an episode such as that. I wasn't in control so to say. It wasn't me who attacked you and the others, it was the butcher. Her name is Miravel. Miravel Salavic." The princess turned her head toward Karina. "I do not wish to shift the blame of that day on her entirely. In the end, it was still I who allowed to happen and for that I take responsibility."


Of all the things for Karina to get caught up on, it was her age. "He proposed when you were sixteen? I thought it was just my world that was acceptable, but you, you were excited. For you it wasn't an excuse to get rid of you..." Karina thought about it. "If it makes you feel better I probably would have wrecked the town without the soul of a murderous *kupo in me. But it seems you got a handle on it now, and Koa is alright. I trust him and the rest of the black coats are doing great. Once we deal with No Heart you can be together again." Koa was one of her preferred people in that group, and she had faith in the both of them to make it back to each other.


Luna chuckled for a moment before nodding her head. "Yes. He was eighteen at the time. However, he knew I still had objectives to achieve and he understood that and told me he would wait however long it takes to have me as his bride." Luna smiled as a faint blush dusted her cheeks as she recollected the happier events of that day. She turned to Karina again as she mentioned her own situation regarding that. She wanted to say she felt sorry but she knew Karina didn't want apologies. She took a second to choose her words. "However, you took that situation and took fate into your own hands. That's definitely not something to laugh at or feel bad about. It shows how much courage and bravery you have." Luna chuckled again as Karina made another comment towards Mira. "Yes. I was able to quell her pain and get her back to her body. It was definitely a challenge but she and I were able to do it. Now she has a second chance at life and to atone for her actions in the past." Luna looked up, smiling a bit. She nodded her head in agreement. "I trust he'll be fine. If he goes before I do, I won't be able to forgive him." The princess chuckled a bit before turning her head back to Karina.


"It has never been about courage, it was cowardice. I couldn't face the consequence of my own actions. I disobeyed my father and he beat me half to death. I ran away before he could make me a servant of his house. I should have been killed by the law of our world. I never felt grateful that I lived, I just... Ran away and hid with a group of more powerful people than I hoping he wouldn't find me. When he did I nearly crumbled again. Perhaps it was reckless courage that drove me to do things I did but I have been hiding more." That all became abundantly clear when she had to face her father again.

"Either way I am glad you got the courage to face your demon and once again prove that you really are the best of us." Well maybe Besides Beuce, but he was the best of them in a different way. Luna was just unearthly good, to everyone. She was a light like no other in their group.


Luna shook her head. "In my eyes, that is anything but cowardice. You took yourself out of a horrible situation. That's not cowardly at all. You did what you had to do in order to keep living. Nobody in their right mind would fault you for that." She paused before a slight smile came across her face. "Well after seeing your father, he is most definitely not in the right mind." She hoped her small little comment would cheer Karina up. Luna shook her head again. "I'm not the best. I'm far from that. I'm just merely fighting my battles just as everyone else. I am not anyone special." She smiled for a moment before casting her gaze upward.

Several moments of silence passed before Luna spoke up. "You know..." She paused. "You're more than welcome to stay in Solara Lua, if you would like to." She turned her head toward the girl. "When my brother and I restore it, that is." Luna scratched her head as a small chuckle left her lips. A smile running across her face once more. "We'll more than ecstatic to have you. The door will always be open for you, all you have to do is just say the word and we'll set up everything." Luna wanted to help as much as she could but still respect Karina's boundaries. "I hope my saying that didn't make you uncomfortable. I just wanted you to know my door is always open, should you need it." Another smile wiped across her face.


Karina just shook her head at Luna. "I hid from it far too long, escaping wasn't the problem, it was just thinking I never had to face it again." Karina tried to explain before Luna tried to insist that she was nothing special. "Like it or not Luna you are special, and you are the best. That is just something you have to live with." Karina retorted. The conversation then turned to Luna offering her some place to stay and Karina found herself looking away at that offer. She didn't think she would have to say anything on this so soon, but now she felt like she had to explain at least in the vaguest of terms.

"Thank you for the offer Luna, I do appreciate it. Kel also offered to have me back at his home when this is over, but... I think I will be sticking around Beuce for a while. I don't need a home if I am wherever he is." She hated it the moment that she said it, she realized how stupid and cheesy it sounded. "What I mean by that is that I don't care if I have to live the rest of my life on the move, as long as I get to travel with him." She tried to correct herself but still cringed at her own words.


Luna smiled before she laughed a little. "I assume this won't be an argument I can win, will it?" She chuckled a little bit more. Karina had then rejected Luna's offer but Luna wasn't surprised she would reject it. However, her reason behind it took Luna by surprise. A huge smile painted across her face before Luna made a huge grin. "Ah! Gratulationes!! Quam admirabile!!" Luna grabbed Karina's hands as her excitement over flooded. After a few moments, Luna released her hands immediately and apologized. "My apologies!! I got so excited that my Latin slipped out. Congrats! How wonderful!!" Luna clapped her hands together and moved it to her left. "I had a small inkling something had changed. Your eyes carry a certain warmth to them." A soft smile went across her face. Karina quickly corrected her statement but Luna was still happy for her regardless. "I am so happy for you, Karina. You deserve to find a happiness such as that."


Karina was a little thrown off about the pure excitement that Luna had over what she implied. She didn't even outright say that anything happened between them. Karina found herself a little confused and embarrassed about how to reply to all this. "Oh... uh thanks... I guess?" Karina sounded as confused as she felt as she just kind of looked at Luna for a moment. "I guess... it is kind of great..." Karina finally offered a bit of a warm smile.

 

As we make our trip to this new location, seemingly a home base that this group once used, Quill still felt strange from his dream. He knew that this group had taken him in, he wasn't alone. Quill could hear chatter and see everyone's determinatio. Yet inside he still felt this deep pit, was all this not enough? In some time we began to depart the ship and while a good chunk seemed eager to head off, some others seemed to drag their feets. Aux was one, he seemed like he was a mixed mood since him and Beuce talked. Karina and Luna seemed to chat about something in private with some strange fervor. Still Quill exited and found a large motley crew, many were in races and forms he had never even heard of, a duck talking and wearing no pants walked by him. Very strange. But still he felt something that carried over from Sanctuary, the stares. Many of these people were Keyblade wielders or traveled closely with them, but the Keyblade Quill carried on his back was...wrong. It signaled to anyone walking by that he was an outsider, that he tarnished his mastery of the Keyblade.

As we walked in and saw my group, Quill made a note that there were still people he wanted to get to know or have matters to finish. The green haired girl and the blue haired boy he had only met briefly, and now there was a very young kid who was sitting in the cells with Quill now traveling with us. They treated him important but Quill still hardly knew him. Then there was Aux, it was important to Quill to talk to him about what happened in that fight with that crazy chain lady. Luna and Beuce as well, they seemed busy at the time but talking to them seemed prudent. And Faust, well he just made Quill smile when we talked and that was no easy feat. He observed the others too in the party, AJ, Kaida, Karina all seemed to do their own thing but Quill thought it best to know them better now that he wasn't behind bars. To be honest the prospect of talking this much with this many people made Quill nervous, for a moment he missed the quiet boredom of being locked up.

 

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Soon Oswald said somethings along with DJ and Shiro. Then sora, Kairi and Riku left to stay on the world. The one interesting thing that was said was 'Besides, Traverse town is one of the hardest places to find, making it one of the safest... You can only find it when you're lost or in need of refuge. Something our villainous adversaries don't seem to grasp.' That would explain why there was no sign of the red society. Soon the arrive at some sort of abandoned base and he wonder what the point of coming here was. He glanced at Shiro who seemed to be hiding something in fact he was completely different then the last time he saw him at the battle of the heartless. What was he hiding? Then he looked to Aux and knew he had not talk to him at some point but now was not the time and if he got the chance that was fine and if not what he wanted to ask was not that pressing.

 

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From the moment they had arrived to the now empty halls of Central Haven, there was this sense of unease that lingered. It had been a whole year since they last been here and fought that massive horde of heartless and yet now there wasn't a single sign heartless here. Just remembering that incident sparked the dull pain in his back once again. "It feels like we're being allowed to get in this far." Kel whispered back, his eyes still scanning around in the event there was something that stood out beyond the silence.

 

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Kel really could only nod after Karina glanced at him. "None taken. I'd rather not be in a meeting like that unless we can somehow stop her from spying on me." However that would work, he still wasn't sure how that brand on his shoulder allowed for her to hear everything he did. He looked to the group that they currently had and nodded again. "I'm going to agree with Karina that they are probably our best bet as representatives."

 

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As he looked around Karina said something about she did not trust what was going on. The red society or the hellfire members attacking them here was beyond stupid considering how many of them that was here. That said both the groups have never been all that smart. 'It feels like we're being allowed to get in this far.' "Maybe" 'Places looks deserted for the most part. I can not make heads or toes of it. Everything was just wrecked about or burned. The library alone is decamated!' "So they got what they came for more or less." It seemed who ever did this was still gathering information. For what purpose? Then Shiro said, 'Not everyone need attend, but we need a strategy to conquer this threat.' "It seems like they left for the time being or are waiting in hiding for something." What other information were they after tho. So they where going after other worlds to spread darkness. The first task is to find them before they find them. What where they waiting for? He had some ideas on how to stop the red society.

 

Beuce relaxed, just a little bit, as it was confirmed that there was no one else on the world outside of an old man in a pod. That at the very least meant they wouldn't need to conquer their way through here. Still, though, it was unnerving how they would make such an incredible effort to capture the place, only to just up and leave it. A few theories raced through Beuce's head, but they were no more than blind speculation at this point, so he didn't feel they were worth sharing.

As Beuce listened to Shiro as he said they needed to choose three representatives. Before he said anything, Karina piped up nominating him, Luna, and Aux. Aux was likely the most important of the three, given the information he had. Luna was a competent leader, and Beuce knew better than to doubt himself at this point. He quickly cycled through the other candidates just to be sure. He'd have suggested Kel if not for his unique circumstances. However, he was left with naught but the three listed nominees.

"No complaints here."​

 

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Ven wasn't sure what to think of the whole situation. Apparently something bad had happened here, but he wasn't sure what exactly. And a threat was around? Now they were nominating people for a meeting. He smiled nervously and shrugged his shoulders, moving over to Kel and dropping his voice down. "Sorry, I'm a little behind everything... What threat are we up against again that has to call for a meeting? And what happened to this place...?" Man he was beginning to wish he wasn't in a coma for nearly a year.

 

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Shiro left with Eraqus without saying much. Part of him wondered how he got here. The only thing he knew was that Eraqus was taken to a different world. Ven asked some question but left it to Kel to answer. Then Aux said said something about not wanting to be involved in planning. He tryied to rank his brain on what he knew about No Heart but nothing really came to mind truth be told he knew more about Nequa then no heart. He looked to Karina and wondered what input she could give considering she was from a military homeworld. No heart was powerful and fighting him the last time did not go that well. What he had planned for the red society would probably not work on no heart. He tried to think of someone that could join in Aux's place but no one really came to mind. Kel would be a good option if they knew what to trust. Was what Nequa said true or was she just playing games with them? It was hard to say maybe that was what she wanted. "Why would No heart just up and leave this place?" He asked offhandedly. No heart leaving this place did not made much sense.

 

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"Well other than Nequa and her group, there's also The Hellfire Club and No Heart. He and his followers led a massive attack on this place the last time we were here. We had managed to hold off against the first massive horde of heartless, but we were forced to retreat after the next wave showed up." All the more reason why after all of that this place being a ghost town was unnerving, but if after all the precautions being taken and still nothing up was found, then he would allow himself to relax a bit more. Seeing Eraqus again after this long was a different kind of surprise. "I'd like to think he'd love to see you first thing when he wakes up." Kel said to Ven.

 

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"That bad, huh...?" Ven was starting to believe what ever mess he was caught up in wasn't very good news. When the strange dog... human... thing? showed up and the duck too, he gasped when he recognized the figure. "Master Eraqus!" With the condition he was in, he wondered if he too ended up in a coma somehow just like him. Or if something more sinister had happened. He looked to Kel and nodded his head and then followed after Shiro, looking at his master with worriment. "What's wrong with him? Is he like how I was?"

 

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The news was very disconcerting to say the least for young Ven. He wasn't exactly sure what Shiro meant. All he knew was he got caught up in something strange and life-changing. He was so confused right now, trying to make sense of everything. When he tried to think hard back on the night of the kidnapping and the events after that, he was met with a weird, shock-like sensation in his head that made him wince and grip his hair. That one girl said he was evil and did some messed up stuff for someone named Nequa... But that wasn't him! He would never be somebody's puppet! Would he...?

His eyes landed on his Master, hooked up to a machine and laying there, lifeless. He frowned heavily and released his hair, sighing out a weight on his chest. It went away for a moment, then it seemed to flutter back. "Master... I don't know what to do. I don't even know what's going on." He found a dusty old chair and pulled it up, straddling it so he was sitting on it with his chin resting on the backside of it but still facing the bed. "I know it's something bad... and I was caught up in it. But that's about it. I want to help out, I really do. I just don't know if I'm strong enough to. Apparently it's been a whole year since I've been awake... I've been used for something, too. And I don't like the sound of that at all." He shook his head a little and rested his chin again on the back of the chair, staring at the machine's lights. "I wish I knew where Terra and Aqua were. They probably would know what to do."

 

Luna took her seat as the ship was starting to take off. She looked out the window and pondered for the duration of their flight. She thought back to her discussion with her brother, her initial fight with Whiskey, and her last altercation with the woman.
"Tu es un voleur. Et un jour bientôt ... je prendrai ce que tu chéris!"
Luna's mind began to fill with worry and concern over Whiskey's words. A thief?.... She took ahold of her necklace with her left hand before holding it with her right. Visions of Koa and her family filled her mind while Whiskey's words echoed and replayed in her mind. Take what I cherish...No....I...I can't lose them again...Especially not him...I...I... As if to pull her from her thoughts, DJ called out on his comm link. The princess turned her head toward him as he then called out to the Black Coats. She tightly clenched her hand that was around her necklace, praying her beloved would answer. However, the voice that responded was far from Koa's. She shook her head and tried to reassure herself that he was alright.

The ship made its landing. Luna looked out toward an abandoned Central Haven. She stood up from her seat and made her way off the ship. She stepped off the ship and looked around what was Central Haven. She followed after Oswald, Shiro and DJ into the building. Inside the main hall, several people awaited for their arrival.

Koa rubbed his ears to try and relieve the volume of Finlay's voice. "Finlay, if I told you once, I'm gonna say it a thousand times. In. Side. Voice! And another thing, let me answer the comm link!" Koa shook his head before rubbing his temple. He looked at the remaining Black Coats that were here in Central Haven with him. He looked around the hall before reaching into his pocket to grab a necklace with a lock on it. Koa pulled out the necklace and stared at it for a few moments. Although he knew she would be fine, Koa prayed for her safe arrival.


The sounds of a ship touching down outside, reached the main hall. Koa put his necklace back in his pocket and stood up to await for the SOS' arrival. The group walked in and greeted those who were already here in the main hall. Koa scanned the room before laying his eyes on his bride-to-be.

A small sigh of relief left both Luna and Koa's lips as they laid eyes on one another. A small smile graced Luna's face before reaching Koa's face. Shiro had then asked for 3 representatives from each faction to participate in this meeting for their next course of action.



Dawn wasted no time and immediately asked Koa who would be going. Koa nodded his head before looking at his group. He looked at each person closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "Alright. Dawn and Vallus..." Koa opened his eyes and turned his head toward the two. "You guys will be accompanying me to the meeting. Finlay, Dastgir, you two will wait out here with the others. And please be mindful and respectful towards the others." Koa walked over to Shiro, motioning to Dawn and Vallus to follow him.



Luna turned her attention toward her group. Karina had been the first to nominate her 3 choices. She had nominated Beuce, Aux and Luna. Luna was a bit surprised but she agreed. Out of the group, as far as she knew, Luna was one of the rare few who has experience with meetings such as this upcoming one. Kel had then agreed with Karina's choices as well. Beuce had no complaints either. Luna nodded her head before putting in her two cents. "I think myself, Beuce, and Aux would be the best at this moment of time. We'll do our best." A small smile left Luna's lips before she looked to Beuce and Aux. "Shall we, gentlemen? We'll be back soon." The princess bowed slighly before going on ahead of the two and made her way to Shiro. "The SOS have their representatives." Koa spoke up right after. "The Black Coats have their representatives as well." The princess turned her eyes towards Koa before facing forward. Koa had done the same thing before the two groups followed after the Order's representatives.

Inside the Hall of the Order, the three factions began their meeting. Those in attendance listened as Shiro and DJ opened the meeting. They had went over what has had happened up to this point before opening the floor to choose a topic to go over first. Luna stood up and spoke up. "I propose we go over the state of the worlds. As important the other two topics are, I think it's best we secure and establish the safety or dangers the worlds are currently in. Should we defeat No Heart and Nequa's Red Society, if there are no worlds that are left, there will be no point to all of this." She paused. " Is there anyone who wishes to discuss something else first?"

Koa stood up as Luna opened the floor to the others. "I have no complaints, however, I feel that we should go over this current clash. If this clash, between light and darkness, gets out of hand, no amount of safety and protection will help any worlds." Luna nodded her head before responding. "I'm very concerned about the collateral damage this might produce as well, however, we need to make sure no innocent civilians will get caught in the crossfire of all this." Koa nodded his head in agreement before looking to the others. "Is there anyone else who wishes to chime in? I'm sure we all want to reach an agreement. Especially at the start of this meeting's agenda."
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As the others began to split up, Quill decided to attend the meeting, He could only benefit from knowing more about this situation and of what they were facing. He sat in seats on the outer rim of the meeting hall, 12 chairs aligned for the representatives of each group. Others like himself filed in the room but Quill didn’t recognize a single one, and that wasn’t even accounting for talking animals and strange cartoony creatures. As they spoke about the identity of the strange man they referred to as No Heart, 3 others appeared on screen. Quill couldn’t help but take notice of the center large figure, in his own experience and knowledge, he could tell that wasn’t just a simple form of armor. It was a transformation brought on by Darkness, under the same principle of Darkling Creation. Quill kept these thoughts to himself but wondered if there was some connection he could make? He mumbled to himself some “Darkling..needs..but..some catalyst..this isn’t a full Darkling…?” However it was done this man was more...taken over rather than transformed..rather strange.

The group spoke of the current goings on and how this ‘clash’ between light and darkness would be incredibly dangerous. This group had really done an insane amount, and now knowing that time travel was somehow involved only made it all the more head scratching. Though they spoke of the need to secure other worlds, Quill knew well that his world was already gone, regardless of what could be done. “I hope to not disturb things, but as one of many who have lost their worlds to their encroaching darkness, time spent securing worlds risks only giving No Heart more time to plan his next stratagem. We are at war here and quick decisive action is the essence of war, for as debate over precautions, more worlds are swallowed.” Quill could imagine others like himself wishing not to see other worlds fall as theirs did.