Looming Shadows

Well, this certainly looked like there was going to be more of an adventure in store for him than he had originally intended. Sighing a bit, Hinode finally smirked and looked back at Euryale, "You trust them to collect up all those things in our absence? If you think so, well, okay I guess but I was figuring that if we haven't stopped their gummy system or whatever it's called yet we should go after it directly. What do you think?"

Azuma: "You really want to take him to Order HQ?"

He then looks at Safian memorized by the total lack of facial injuries.

Azuma: "And that raises further questions."

===========================================

OOC: Pretty sure what's his name wasn't of African descent.

Taiyo: "This won't be the last we've seen Demona?"

OOC: Because why would it?

Artexi:<He was the one that wished Roatha would join us, and he got his wish...>
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*So Monu does that, Safian looking sad her work went to waste*

OOC: As Leafy points out, Lilith blocked Xyukuse's stab. Also, Dr. Facilier is definitely black....

Macbeth<Most likely not. Nor is this the last time you'll see Xanatos or myself>

E"Whatever it is sounds boring & tedious."

Th"More importantly, we have to address the source. I think you're right, the gargoyles are trustworthy, & this is their world. It's most efficient to work together to protect it."

*Suddenly, the sky bursts into flame, so Thiera & Euryale look up.*

E"...Do you think it worked?"
===============================
*Lilith continues binding him & Angela approaches.*

Angela<Thank you for helping to save my clan & our home.>
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Zexion<Apparently, he couldn't deal with the guilt, so he convinced himself that there was some kind of...evil conspiracy. Isn't that right?>

Senthose<Sounds like it.>

Lexeaus<I saw the whole thing, Senthose didn't attack once.>

Axel<I can vouch for that.>

OOC: The initial one. Also he wasn't exactly Blackest Night.

Taiyo: "Should we go somewhere and look?"

*Safian stops for a moment and looks at Azuma because he's acting weird*

<What? I can't let this dry on my fur.>

Monu:<Thank you for all of your assistance!>

*He bows*
===
Artexi:<Of all the reasons to go insane, it had to be over that dipshit.>

Hinode's head popped up when Thiera and Euryale looked that way, having heard the explosions going on around above him. That being said, he didn't look entirely surprised by them considering how loud it must have been.

"I hope it worked Euryale. I hope that's the last of any of that...End of Line."

E"End of what line?"

*Thiera moves to the edge of the roof, peering down.*

Th"There are people & cars moving down below! It worked!"

Macbeth<Well, I'll just be on my way, then.>

*Macbeth starts towards the staircase.*
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L"We're always glad to help. And trust me, there's no one better equipped to deal with him than Mom. I'll tie him to my glider, the rest of you can fly around me, & then we can go."
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Xigbar<So--whattaya wanna do now?>

Senthose<We'll have all personnel search for any sign of what happened to Nero in addition to their other projects. Focus on worlds close to the Realm of Darkness. I'll go down below to search the Dark City again.>

*Xigbar shrugs.*

Xigbar<What, don't trust my scouting skills?>

Saix<This is a concern of security. We can't take any chances.>

*Xigbar waves him off.*

Xigbar<Yeah, yeah, take it easy, buddy....>

Hinode blinked as though Euryale was speaking a foreign language to him, "You know, the end of line marker concluding a data transmission stream?" People who didn't grow up on the Grid certainly had a tendency to speak funny, he thought.

"Anyway, does that mean we're ready to go, Thiera?"

Artexi:<Can I come with you? If he's out there, I want to find him.>
===
*Safian stretches*

<Then let's do that and get back!>

Taiyo: "Should we be letting him leave?"

E"Computer magic thing, got it."

Th"I think he was little more than Senthose's pawn. He's not significant enough for us to worry about."

Macbeth<You do realize that I haven't left yet, & can still hear you, correct?>

Th"Meet me in the Lanes Between. I'll just need a few minutes to fill the gargoyles in on what's happened."

E"Okay. Then back to the Land of Departure, right?"

Th"Correct."
================================
Xigbar<Can't say I'd recommend it. The Dark City's always crawlin' with Heartless. Plus I don't think you're gonna find anything.>
================================
L"Thanks for helping us with the Organization. Hopefully the next time we meet, we won't have a crisis to deal with. We'll also try to come up with something to help you get in contact with us faster."

Goliath<It's been no trouble at all.>

Angela<Thank you again.>

Elisa<Good luck.>

*After shaking hands & claws, Lilith summons her glider & starts tying Xshittyname to it. She also fires another poppy into his face.*

L"We'll have to work fast to get there before he wakes up. Unfortunately I don't have any skills that can immobilize him without risking that."

"...it's not magic, it's..." With a shrug and a deep sigh, Hinode just stopped. He deeply admired the users, but those who from organic species were just so confusing.

"I'll follow you back Euryale." He straightened himself up again, figuring that it was going to be some time for traveling once more now.

*Monu and Safian both glider up*

Monu:<I don't have any skills that would be of use.>

Safian:<Me neither.>
===
Artexi:<I just can't sit around here and wait for news!>

I guess they glider up being the only group to not suck.

L"Then we'd better hurry. Later."

*She gets inside of her Glider, finishes closing it up, & speeds off, as the gargoyles, Elisa, & Arthur wave.*
=============================
*Following Euryale's lead, Hinode winds up in outer fucking space. Euryale points to a particularly bright star.*

E"That is the Land of Departure, our base of operations. It's not as far away as it looks."

Th"Not quite, it's actually the star that the Land of Departure orbits. Also, it is quite distant, but the Keyblade Gliders retain the Keyblade's function to open any door--including warpholes that link vast reaches of the cosmos."

*Thiera flies up to join them.*

E"Okay, am I the only one who speaks plain English around here?"
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Senthose<You may come if you wish, but you should be prepared to fight a multitude of Shadows & Neoshadows.>

*Senthose extends a hand, opening a Dark Corridor that looks out at the base of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]*

*Artexi summons her keyblades and heads through*
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*Monu waves and Safian does a weird nodding thing, then they head through the portal*

Hinode sighed and shook his head, "What's wrong with the way I speak? It's plain DOS." Having pressed his hand to his forehead for a moment he seemed to treat the arrival in space as nothing out of the ordinary.

At this point, he probably would have just believed that they could have been anywhere...

"Just tell me one thing; are warp holes that link vast reaches of the cosmos going to make me car-sick? On second thought, don't answer that."

E"What's a DOS?"

*Thiera shrugs.*

Th"We can trade explanations on the way, come on."

*So she speeds off, Euryale following along after her.*
=========================
*As they try to leave Avalon, they become surrounded by fog. When the fog clears, they're in the Lanes Between alright, but not over the Land of Departure. Instead, they're over some kind of sprawling city with a castle at the center.*

L"Is this Radiant Garden? How did we get here? Wait...no, the nearest star is too shrouded in darkness, this world would be night constantly. Where the Hell are we?"

*While she's pondering this mystery, a teeming mass of yellow eyes emerge from the darkness. A trio of Invisibles dart towards them, while another pair hang back, stabbing their swords into apparent nothingness, a hoard of Darkballs bobbing around between them.*

*Monu attempts to ram one of the invisibles, while Safian sends her razor leaves at another*
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*Artexi looks around for something of interest*

The two follow.

===================================

Azuma rams an Invisible.

Soon enough Hinode was following Euryale, seeming to constantly inch into more comfort in the fact that he were still traveling around in the unusual manner that he was. He barely showed it any more, even if it were space or whatever.

"Disk Operating System; the plain language I speak. I'm also fluent in Assembler Code."

*The Invisibles that the Order tried to ram think to block with their swords & retaliate with a punch. Another gets shredded by Safian's leaves. Lilith hangs back & blasts Darkballs, which eventually start darting towards her in zig-zagging patterns, trailing darkness.*
================================
*Senthose raises an eyebrow & heads into the Dark Corridor. Once he's on the other side, of course, a bunch of Shadows emerged from the ground. When they tried to attack, pillars of light shot out of the ground around Senthose burning them to nothing. 5 Sorcerer Nobodies appeared around him.*

"Nothing comes near me while I search this area. Understood?"

*The Sorcerers nod, creating a box of cubes to guard him.*
================================
E"I don't know what any of that means."

*As they approach the Land of Departure, Thiera dives through the clouds. Presuming the others follow, they see that Master Psyche is standing on the hill outside of the Hall of Masters. She has strong physical resemblance to Thiera, but is an inch or so taller, obviously about 20 years older, & has white hair, which is tied off at the end. In terms of clothing, she has a calf-length white dress & armored shoes similar to Thiera's, but is also wearing a prominent green, floral patterned scarf. She looks down at Thiera as the latter lands in front of her, her Glider & armor disappearing.*

Th"Hi, Mom. Remember that new member I was telling you about?"

Binah<Of course. Do you keep referring to him as "a new member" to disguise the fact that you forgot his name?>

*Thiera looks around shiftily.*

Th"...No."

With a bit of a sigh, Hinode shakes his head. Maybe someday he'd get Euryale to understand the most basic things about life...well, simulated life anyway.

Soon he had, indeed, followed Thiera once she had reached the Land of Departure. It was there that he was initially surprised to see someone that looked like Thiera and originally he thought it was a copy of her, but forgot that organics lacked that ability.

"...Mom?"

He then showed her a deadpan face as he turned around, "Thiera, you can't even remember my name?!"

*Artexi tries to summon some nobodies of her own because what Senthose did was cool. In case that fails, she just follows after him*
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*Safian re directs her leaves at the Invisible Monu tried to ram, while Monu moves to use Air Gyre (the attack of his glider) on the Darkballs*