Not-with-a-whimper

Anfang agreed. "Even if we are powerful enough to defeat this upcoming enemy, who's to say that there won't just be someone even more powerful later on? Master Takku, I'm not as strong as you guys and I can't go super saiyan, but I think that I can use my limitless energy to some effect to give me a winning edge. Goku heard that and piped up. "Limitless energy? Man, I wish I had that. Kio Ken is super exhausting, even if it does boost your power level." Uncle Leroy seconded Goku's oppinion, grumbling that he was "sick and tired of feeling sick and tired," and that he "wished that he had as much energy as that whiper-snapper nephew of his." Anfang took less than a second to speed over there to him and beg "Goku, do you think that you could teach me how to use that ability?"

"I can understand that. I'll get out of your hair and go see if I can't find something in the kitchen to help me get to sleep. Night," he finished as he drug himself off of her bed. As he began walking down the hall he wondered back to the mysterious girl and her issues. What was Gen's secret, really, and could it be that bad against all of the stuff she already knew about the two of them? Finding milk in the ice box he grabbed it and chugged some back before crashing on the couch in the living room. He guessed he'd see what tomorrow had for him when it got there.

"Would I mind?" Joseph asked, somehow finding the question a bit ridiculous. How many times had she saved his but already? They had just met, for goodness sakes, but he knew that he couldn't think of anyone he'd trust more to watch his back. Thinking about that, Joseph realized that the fact was kind of a pathetic one, but a fact none the less. "As long as you can hang with my attitude and Brutus's loud voice I'm sure we'd more than like you to come along. We'll just have to deal with your obsessive introversion. See? One big happy family of misfits. Welcome to the club," he ended dryly.

"You're right, of course. I severely doubt that we would've lasted much longer without the Knight," he said in response, though he felt as if Gen just wasn't in it. "When we get to Balandor I'm going to ask the king everything I can about Knights and this new Magi threat. It'd be nice to get some cash from this whole endeavor, but only enough to get this whole "adventuring thing" off the ground."

See, at this point I really wish that they had named Kingdom Hearts II something other than Kingdom Hearts II. If it had been something like Kingdom Hearts: Thirteenth Order or whatever then people would have had to consider each subsequent game in the series as potentially important. However, since there was a II, people are being stupid and only looking for a III, instead of going by individual merit.

August was still waiting on the phone for Victoria, but knew that if she didn't pick up soon that they were going to have to do this without them. He wasn't very fond of that thought. Vaan began to sort through and consider different battle tactics and weapons to summon for different situations, which worried August even more. Vaan was never one for planning, so this must be some pretty bad business.

(And the Kienzans created basically a storm of lazer saws. Sorry, Rixku, but you're not getting out of this one.)

Anfang, tired of hearing all of Disk's crap and now far more powerful than before after having nearly died, launched as many kienzan's as he could manage and followed it with a Full Throttle Masenko, merging with Valcon's and amplifying it. The Kienzans' separated into a cloud of energy saw blades, surrounding and cutting off all means of escape for Disk. (P.S. In case you didn't know, Kienzan is just another name for Destructo Disk, and he was able to launch several in a row because, as an Android, he has a virtually unlimited power supply.)

(Yeah, Rixku! Throw Kyle a bone here! He wants the hope of a romantic relationship on Valentine's Day!)

^This. The third thing is hilarious.

Joseph tossed and turned fitfully, his discomfort overcoming his need to sleep. The wounds were healing fine, but Joseph still didn't feel well. If you add to that his troubled mind, you get a picture of how futile sleep seemed. One thing was for sure, the three of them needed to head back to Balandor as soon as possible. There had been too many unusual things happen in a short period of time for it to all be coincidence. Joseph got up and began to walk the halls, heading to the kitchen to hopefully find milk to drink to hopefully make him sleepy enough to get some rest. If not then he could always drink a lot and pass out. That seemed to be the preferred method in this town anyway. Along his walk Joseph heard some muttered words coming from Gen's room with the slightly cracked door. Peering through out of curiosity, Joseph opened the door a little more. The slight movement made the door creak, so he knew that he'd drawn too much attention to himself to walk away now. He cautiously stepped through and sat on the edge of her bed as she stood at the window holding a pillow. "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked. "Yeah, this whole 'Brutus getting a Knight' thing is really doing a number on me too. I mean, why not you or me, right?" Joseph knew that the "Knight" thing wasn't what was bothering Gen, but he also knew not to pry. He wished that he could help her with whatever she was going through. At first he tried to pretend that he was just wanting to keep her from being distracted or tired in battle, therefore potentially being hazardous, but honestly Joseph was starting to care about her. Nothing much, mind you, but a faint glimmer of emotion none the less. (Note: I'd like to know how long you guys want this story to be, that way I can shape the rest of it accordingly. Also, I'm thinking about having Joseph become romantically interested in Gen, but it can simply be a concerned friendship instead. Let me know what you guys think!)

(@AzureFlame, sorry for re-asking the question earlier! I was just confused. Xeveemon, this post is relevant to you.) August, aware that the exchange of Jenova probably wouldn't put an end to the violence and James' plans, prepared himself for a vicious battle. Now that he was more synchronized with Vaan, he should be able to do a lot better, but James and Cain were on a whole other level. Deciding that it would be best to get as many reinforcements as possible, August tried calling Victoria up to get her and Paul out here. From what he remembered, both Zack and Lightning were amazing fighters. August just hoped that instinct alone would allow them to do well, because Victoria and Paul had a total of zero fighting experience. August dialed the number and let it ring.

(Dang, this story moves fast as heck. Glad Azure Flame got the collar off, or Anfang would've had to join the fight. Fair warning, next time Disk goes all "freaking crazy" I'm going to jump on the "let's kill that punk" bandwagon. We seriously have a vicious opponent we have to deal with soon, so taking on Disk as well seems like overkill. Also, since Anfang can't go Super Saiyan, I'm going to have him learn Kio Ken from Goku.)

Medens, still feeling guilty over what had happened to Desmond, had been keeping guard over him for the past long while. Seeing that Desmond was leaving, Medens decided to follow after him, aware that informing others and having them put him back in the med wing wouldn't change Desmond's resolve. No, in the end Medens knew what needed to be done. Medens knew, in that odd way we have of sometimes just knowing things, that it would be Desmond who brought an end to this war, and that it was his duty to protect Desmond as he reached his destiny. Casting a veil over himself, Medens followed closely behind and into the trees.

Totally Ven. They even have the same voice actor! Oh, and the whole "Ven and Roxas are super connected" thing. Some even say that Roxas took with him Ventus's heart when he left Sora. If we could get Ven/Roxas as a character separate from Sora within this next game then I will be very happy. Terra probably won't be saved, though, and I doubt that Aqua would be either.

(AzureFlame, I'd really appreciate knowing where Sephiroth is headed so that Marcus and the others could head that way. Don't worry, I've got a plan to keep them from reaching him immediately, but I'd love some direction. Thank you!)

God, I hope it's true. Playing as Lea? FTW!

Hate it? No. Find it incredibly annoying since I've never happened to be in a relationship at the same time as it? Yes. It is very annoying.

(OOC: This is basically a catch up post. Not written incredibly well or in great detail, but just to get it out there. You have been warned.) Taylor became aware of her actions, that she had somehow flown and had begun healing Anfang, but still couldn't believe it. After he eventually awoke to a shell shocked Taylor he helped her work through what was going on. She began remembering things. Turns out a man named Dr. Gero had taken her as a child (who had, even at that age, shown signs of great intelligence) from the adoption center she'd been living in. He then turned her into an android specializing in healing, defense, and pre-programmed with a number of utility functions. Her main goal was to defend Android #21 until he completed his focus, as Android #21 had the capacity to grow to be as powerful as necessary as long as he stayed alive. Anfang is #21. She witnessed his creation and the advent of Uncle Leroy's development, the product of an internet virus downloaded into Anfang's CPU. Her memory had then been wiped and she went off to college. She got the job looking after Anfang due to unconscious programming. Anfang had developed a personality out of necessity for being in social situations. Even though she knows all of this now, she still feels close to Anfang, but isn't sure if it's from programming or if it's her. Anfang's power level has increased by a lot from being hurt so much, but didn't grow as much as a normal Saiyan would. They then join up with Takku and the others.

Scardigne was briefly elated with the feeling of victory, though confused by Mariah's look of worry as she'd hit him before. "Why would a demon feel remorse?" he asked himself. Could it be that they weren't truly monsters? They had been fighting to protect the world, after all. Was he wrong in his snap judgements? Gabranth spoke up. "They are not normal! They do not follow the laws of reality that this world does. I am a Judge, and judge them I shall!" Gabranth shouted within Scardigne's mind. Scardigne looked out to see the two individuals and for the first time he saw them as they really were. People. The gleam in their eyes revealed as much to him. "You may be the Judge," Scardigne responded, "but I am the jury! I find these two, among their allies, to be not guilty!" In that moment, Mariah's fist connected solidly with Scardigne's face, sending him flying away as Chuck followed it up with a critical strike. Scardigne lay on the floor bleeding out and turned his head to face the two of them. "I'm sorry, to both of you. It seems that I have discovered too late the falsity of my actions. Fate, for whatever reason, has brought you here and connected you with your inhabiters. I pray that you use their power for good, instead of being used like me. Take what little strength I have left, and use it to once again right this world," Scardigne spoke between pained breaths. He then raised both hands, one to each of them, and passed on his power, his soul leaving his body shortly after. (I figured that the battle had been pretty long, so I decided to end it. Besides, battles like this do generally end. I didn't want my guy dying as a total jerk, so I wrote in that redemption scene. As far as the passing on of power goes, I figure that you could decide between getting a new ability from his set or simply "leveling up". If I need to change anything, just let me know.)

While I think that it makes a good deal of sense, I doubt that Nomura would use that as a story line device in KHDDD. I don't know for sure, of course, but that doesn't seem to be Nomura's style.

Scardigne, unprepared for the negation of his tornado, attempted to charge up energy for a concussive repulse burst, but wasn't fast enough and was kicked in his ribs, perhaps breaking one, and slashed, leaving a large wound on his shoulder. He stood his ground, however, and unleashed the burst right as the two of them were closest to him. He was exhausted and hurt, but had a duty to complete, and one thing was for certain. He would get it done. (AzureFlame, it'd be great if you could tell us where James went, that way the story with Marcus, August, Cain, and Jared can continue. Thank you!)

Scardigne noticed Mariah coming towards him, her reflection bouncing off of his blade. He kicked both feet up from the ground and let the force behind Chuck's attack launch him higher into the air. He was hoping that Mariah would run into Chuck, but created a mini tornado and sent it their way, just in case. The pain at his side was becoming slightly more bearable than it had been just moments before, though it still hurt. He took his hand off of the wound and prepared to use it once again in combat.

I kinda figured that Aqua7KH would end up taking the reigns because she started the rp, but it's all good.