Not-with-a-whimper

Very nice! Great job.

"Hey, sounds good to me," stated Troy, ready to be doing something, anything productive. "So are we going to be staying with your family, Joy, or are we going to have to find a place and get jobs? I've been homeschooled by my nanny for quite a while, but my parents have sent me tons of money, like they think that the money alone will make up for their absence. I figure that it would help out in this situation."

Hades summoned a number of heartless to fight the both of them and then summoned his scythe to fight James. "The heartless on their own aren't a threat, but when focused entirely on a fight with another individual, they become bothersome. This is to increase our vigilance and awareness, along with experience gained from simply fighting one another. You ready?" Ethan asked. Without bothering for an answer, Ethan launched himself forward, brandishing his scythe with the blade facing out, aiming to impale James unless he was blocked or evaded.

"Hey, sounds good to me, brudda," replied Tyler, leaning back to yawn and place his arm around Tudi. He wasn't terribly sure about his status with her, but he couldn't help but try to get close to her. She was something special, for better or worse.

Tyler jumped into the vehicle with Jayson and said "I'm Tyler, by the way, and I hope that I'll be able to help with whatever you decide we should do." Ethan appeared out of the portal, meeting up with James. "Whoa buddy, looks like someone took your lolly pop. Wanna talk about it, or get right down to the training?"

Thanks!

"Sounds like as good a place as any to me. Point me in the right direction and we'll get started right away. Being able to summon heartless has it's advantages as far as training goes," Ethan responded. (OOC: And I'm out for the day. See ya later!)

"You know, we're going to have to train and train hard if we're going to take down all of the people Felix has manipulated. Have any ideas about where we should do that, or should I have the honors?" Ethan asked James seriously.

If he accepts and I'm not online then do you want me to tell Always what I wanted Zalia's intro post to be?

Glad you approve! I suppose with Azure Flame gone it's back to Number XV to accept us.

I love it! The combat is the most over the top and ridiculous combat in any game I've ever played and to me that's a wonderful thing.

Name: Zalia Evans Appearance: Inhabitor: Barbossa (yes, Always and I did plan this) Weapons: Pistol, knives, and Jack the monkey (more of a utility, really) Personality: Born and raised a Rom, or American Gypsy, it was a natural fit for Barbosa to become her inhabitor. She likes things, the shinier the better, but doesn't have any strong attachments to much of anything. She enjoys a challenge and she likes manipulating people, but not from any real malice. She's just looking for fun. Flirty and morally loose, she's generally a good person who justifies the means with the end. Age: 22 Height/Weight: 5'2"/115 lbs.

Troy sat next to Keilani on the bench and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arm around her, enjoying the breeze and the closeness of the girl he loved. Tyler turned to Jayson. "I don't know about Tudi, but I think I could be helpful to your group. You've got the power down with Terra, ya? But I could act to sabotage enemies as we confront them. Blind, confusion, silence, etc. Wakka's got 'em all. I figure that Seichi, Arina, me, and you should be a pretty versatile team, but we might want to train for a little bit before going out and really doing much. Seichi's the only one here with much actual battle experience." Tyler was still a little upset that Tudi had seemed to basically ignore him earlier, but he was determined to be helpful to the group anyway.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Both of them are great fighters, but neither have a keyblade or can make a dark portal, which is where you and I will come in," Troy responded as he thought through Keilani's decision out loud. Honestly it made a lot of sense. "What do you say Joy? Sound like a plan?"

"I know," stated Ethan, inwardly thankful that the kid was as thick as concrete. "Keep in mind that some of the guys, namely the one who looks like Ven and the one with Vanitas and especially the one with Terra are probably in Felix's corner, so if taking them out means keeping the others safe then that's what we'll have to do. After all is said and done we should be able to fix Alexis back and take Scott out before he goes on a rampage and kills any more people. We're a family, now. Tied together by Alexis, the girl we've sworn to save." Troy turned to Keilani. "It's up to you, hun. Where you lead I'll follow," he whispered into her ear as he gently squeezed her hand.

"Fine then, here it is" stated Ethan, not even thinking of his words before they left his mouth. Doing things by the seat of his pants had served him pretty well this far. "Scott and I never kidnapped Keilani. She is Namine's host, so we figured maybe she could do some memory manipulation and erase the consciousness of our inhabitors. We wanted to be able to live normal lives. At least I did. Now I think that maybe Scott just wanted to take Marluxia's power for his own and get rid of the person who went along with it. Keilani seemed happy to help, but then Felix burst in and confronted us, having convinced everyone that we'd kidnapped Keilani. I don't know how he does it, but it's like he can manipulate memories just as well or better than Namine. How else do you explain his meteoric rise within the group? Last year he was no where in the news, unlike some of the others, but he still takes a leadership role? He even tricked Namine into believing that we'd kidnapped her, so Scott and I had no recourse but to run. We met with my sister at the spa and when I heard that she was inhabited too, and by Larxene, none the less, I flipped out. Scott may be crazy, but he was right when he showed you how much trouble inhabitors are in. It's like we've got targets on our backs just for being different. I was glad when you showed up and the two of you got close, because I felt that I could trust you to protect her. Scott played us all and had me kill Marluxia for him in that battle where Alexis was taken. I came to realize that Felix was the one who took her in the first place and abused her for information on the rest of us, especially you, since you're the biggest threat. His family has ties to military and government everywhere, and they want to kill any inhabitors they can't control. Felix..., well he turned her, man. Made her just as messed up and sadistic as that inhabitor of hers, nothing like the girl we knew. Maybe, though, if we're able to take him or some of the others down, we might be able to weaken his hold on their minds and on Alexis's mind. So what do you say?" Ethan asked, holding out his hand. "Want to help me save my sister?"

"I don't see any problem with it. I figure that Victoria should probably be a captain as well because she seems to be the leader out of her group/family thing. I don't know who should be the fourth captain, though," stated Troy. He was ready for just about anything as long as he was able to keep Keilani, Felix, Rebekah, and, because Ventus wouldn't have it any other way, Jayson safe from any potential threats. He realized begrudgingly that they might not be his team members, however. He knew that he absolutely had to stay with Keilani, however, and held her hand in his own to reaffirm this. "No lies, huh?" Ethan said to James. He considered it for a moment. What even was the truth anymore? Ethan wasn't confident he knew.

Ethan disappeared in a pillar of smoke only to reappear next to James. He then allowed the flames to settle around them. "Good. I'll get us out of here," Ethan said before grabbing James by the shoulder and pulling them both into a pillar of smoke and flame. Troy stopped his attack to keep from hitting Alex, then barred his teeth. He quickly calmed himself and cast a quick Curaga on Joy and Felix. Turning to Felix he asked "Do you happen to have the connections and cash to get Joy a mechanical leg and are you gonna tell everyone else why you've called them here?" Ethan pulled them both into the abandoned CIA head-quarters and leaned back against the wall. He turned to James with a concerned look on his face. "James, I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

"Kid just doesn't listen," Hades said to Ethan. "No kidding," he responded. He summoned his scythe and left it floating in the air as he gathered energy. He unleashed that energy in a tremendous wall of flame, surrounding Joy and James in a circle of pure hell-fire, cutting them off from the rest of the group. Turning to the rest of the amassing army of twerps he smirked. "Guess you guys will just have to settle for fighting me. Sorry if that hurts your 'wittle feawings', but I'll try to keep it entertaining." Troy finally recognized Ethan as the other man who'd kidnapped Keilani so long ago and rushed at him in a fury of slashes, unleashing Ars Arcanum.

Troy had blocked the kick solidly but still was pushed back quite a bit. With so many people around it was hard to pick the right moment to attack without injuring someone else. The X-blade had more range than the weapons he was used to, and energy flew off of it like crazy. He couldn't risk anyone else getting hurt. Ethan dropped through the roof and saw everything. He liked it at first when it was just a few of them, but as more and more people came through the door he was liking the situation less and less. "At this rate they may convince him. Shit. Can't let that happen," Ethan mumbled to himself. He dropped down several stories before billowing flames out from the bottom of his feet to slow his descent. "James! I sensed her near here too, but we can't fight all of them. I feel like some of them are innocent and are simply being manipulated by the one in the wall over there. We'll have to pick our battles wisely but I know we'll find and save my... sister," that last part was still hard to say for Ethan if just for the fact that he'd done things with her he never would imagine with a sibling.

(OOC: I'm finally back! Yay! I'm impressed by the stuff that happened and I had a little input into my characters in my absence, but I'm glad to get to see how it all unfolded. Only one thing, James used the One Winged Angel keyblade but never Masamune since he's come back, so I'm not sure if that would be okay. I trust Damion, though, so if he doesn't want to change it then it's fine by me.) Troy saw James come in and heard the discussion with Felix quickly descend into a fight. Now that he was sharing a heart with Ventus he felt concerned for Keilani's safety, but he was also worried about Felix. Fighting Riku was one thing, fighting Sephiroth was another entirely. He whispered softly into Keilani's ear "Go hide right quick, okay? I'm going to try to break up this fight but I don't want you getting hurt in the process." He then took a few steps out from the corner and into the middle of the floor, summoning the X-blade in a brilliant flash of light. Something felt distinctly different about the sword this time, however. At first he couldn't place it, but then he understood. The blade's power reacted to the power of one's heart, which is why it had been so comparatively weak before. Now that it could react to Ventus's heart, however, let's just say that it was a whole new ball game. He slashed vertically down with the sword and launched a wave of energy in their direction, attempting to separate the two. "James! We're telling you the truth! Stop this before someone gets seriously hurt!" Troy shouted in a desperate, yet determined tone. Ethan felt a sudden shift followed by a burst of power from the building James was in nearby. "What the hell?" he asked himself. Of course, Hades responded. "Eh, seems like that winged kid is finally getting interesting. How about we go check it out?" Hades asked. “Since when have you been interested in doing things yourself?” Ethan responded. “Hey, even gods change after a while, kid,” he retorted. With that, Ethan teleported to the roof of the building.

I'm pretty sure that it won't end that way, but I'd definitely like it if it did.

(OOC: So that's what happens when I can't get online for a while. I get super behind. Ah well, better catch up.) Tyler hadn't left Tudi's side except for when the doctors required it, and then only for as long as they needed him out. He was broken up inside that he'd been unable to protect her, but he knew that he'd have to do something to fix that and to be more prepared for the next time. Next time he had a chance he would speak to Felix about learning to fight and protect others. Axel's chakrams were probably the closest thing to Wakka's fighting style that the group had, after all, and Felix looked like he knew what he was doing, even if he seemed a little crazy from time to time. In any case, Tyler had prepared himself for Tudi to wake up and confront her injuries. He was determined to show her a bright and sunny outlook, despite the pain he held inside. When Tudi came back out after checking her injuries he smiled at her and said "Hey, all that means is that you're one determined chick, ya? You're still absolutely beautiful to me and I'm sure that someone as strong as you will be back to 100% in no time." Troy had been standing on the roof of the hospital and staring out protectively ever since they had all arrived. Upon seeing that Keilani was safe he'd fled to the roof, unsure of how to handle the situation with her and afraid of making things worse between them. He'd traded off shifts with Ventus, allowing his conscious to rest but not once allowing his body to sleep. Perhaps that's why the "doctor" who had left with the newest member of their group didn't raise any flags, despite the fact that his face was burned into Troy's mind ever since he'd taken Keilani. In any case, when Mariah left Troy decided to follow from above, insuring that nothing bad would happen to her. He knew how torn up Felix would be if anything happened to her, plus since she had Aqua as an inhabitor she was kind of like a big sister to him. He floated on his keyblade glider high above her and was relieved when he saw Felix meet with her, especially since that meant that Felix was okay. When he saw Alex across the street, however, he noticed something... off about the building. Deciding not to alert Alex about it, he approached quietly. Pulling the keyblade glider around to the side of the building, he discovered the crumpled Mona Lisa surrounded by shattered glass. His curiosity peaking, he rose to the window with the broken glass high above and stepped inside, returning the X-blade to its original form. What he saw shocked and appalled him dead bodies lay everywhere, scattered across the floor like so much garbage. In the center of it all stood a lone beauty, a blood diamond in the center of conflict. It made him sick. "Wake up Ventus, we'll both need to be alert for this one," Troy stated before stepping forward. Troy came into the light and confronted Alexis. "Hey! Bitch with the inhabitor! Something tells me it's no coincidence that you're alive while no one else in this party is. It's time for your reckoning." (OOC: I felt like it was time Alexis got the chance for a little action. Of course, if Always would like to avoid this conflict then she can feel free to have Alexis pretend to be innocent or corridor of darkness out of there among other things. If I'm not back, you guys know what to do.)

Well good! I'm happy things are working out for you.

I know that it must stink, but at least you're going to six flags instead of, say, the dentist.