Shadows Swarm

N"I could use something that lets me take a hit without slowing me down. And some lasers, because lasers are cool."

*Cid shoves him into a chair as he sets the tea cups down on the table. Nero rolls his eyes & takes a sip.*

Cid<Can't say I recommend the lasers, kid. Too many weapons in too small of an area can cause an overload. And possibly a catastrophic explosion. As for the other thing, you might try looking into a Shield Gummi. But you'll have to look elsewhere, 'cause they ain't easy to come by.>

N"So, basically, you can't help me at all."

*Cid shrugs.*

Cid<I'm an engineer, not a miracle worker.>
=========================
L"Sounds good to me. Don't stay up too late."

*She & Euryale file out of the room.*

T"If you need anything, just let us know, alright?"

R"I'll be fine, don't worry."

T"Well...alright, then."

*So she also heads out.*

The three head out, Taiyo's question unanswered.

*Monu heads off towards the library, while Safian heads to her room*
===
Artexi:<What about something to make it go faster?>

Cid<Looks like there's a couple of small thrusters in there that you could use.>

N"Let's make this quick, I want to get back to the castle before nightfall."
==============================
*Everyone goes to sleep.*

Artexi:<Ok.>

*I guess she summons her glider*

And they go to their rooms to sleep or stare at a wall or both.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

*The next day, the Order begins to gather in the court yard. Thiera begins shuffling what are obviously note cards.*

T"Now that we're all here, I actually have a report that I would like to deliver first, please."

*So Lilith & Euryale turn to face her.*

L"What is it?"

T"That doppleganger of Roatha stated that the Omega Weapon Keyblade came from him, correct?"

*Lilith & Roatha look at each other.*

L"Is that what you call it?"

R"Don't look at me, you know the Keyblades were all named a long time ago."

T"That's not the point."

*Lilith shrugs impatiently.*

L"Well, then, what IS?"

T"I'm getting there, please be patient. Now, I have a theory that I believe accounts for the mysterious appearance of the double Keyblades. You see--"

E"They come from Senthose, don't they?"

*Thiera throws the note cards into the air & points at Euryale.*

T"I wanted to say it! I mean...thank you for supporting my theory, Euryale."

*She then pats the large ex-mermaid on the arm. Euryale raises an eyebrow as she starts picking up note cards. Roatha opts to help her with that.*
================================
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Artexi is accosted by some asshole in the hallway, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Zexion<You. I want to know whose side you're on. You, & Nero, too.>

Azuma: Deja vu.

Taiyo: "Does that apply to everyone?"

*Artexi looks half asleep, and is carrying a cup of coffee*

<Eh?>
===
*Safian stretches like, well, a cat*

Monu:<Indeed, there are many here who have two keyblades.>

Zexion<We're all tired of just sitting around & waiting while the Order tracks us down. We're petitioning Senthose that WE should attack first, not them. And I want to know where your loyalties lie.>
============================
T"That is my theory."

E"So do they all have evil twins?"

L"No, I don't think so. Roatha's situation isn't like anyone else's. They don't take on a different personality when they use their second Keyblade."

T"This, I believe, is because you were all infected by Senthose's heart in different ways. From what I was told, I understand that Hitomi had a second Keyblade waiting for her--this is unsurprising, as Senthose probably infected her during the time that they worked together--and Euryale and Mortal must have become infected with the pieces of hearts that Senthose had intended for Euryale."

E"When he stabbed me with the Keyblade? But all that was inside of my heart was those giant heartless."

*Euryale puts a hand over her chest & Thiera holds up a finger.*

T"Yes, & that was the trick! You see, Pureblood Heartless are nothing more than broken & distorted hearts. If Senthose had created one based on his own heart, then destroying it would leave the pieces to combine with nearby hearts, similar to the case with Roatha. This is something that we would not know to look for. However, there is no struggle for power until some force causes your hearts to break, which only happened to Roatha. I do not know why he chose to use different methods."

L"I do. He wanted to see what would happen. We're just the next phase of the experiment. But, more than that, this lets him play both sides of the field in the Keyblade War that he's trying to start."

T"Which essentially guarantees that he will obtain Kingdom Hearts."

*Artexi crosses her arms*

<I don't think we should necessarily go and pick a fight with the Order.>

Azuma throws his hands up.

Azuma: "Woah, slow down there. That's quite a bit to take in all at once."

T"I--apologize, but it was--necessary to understand the major points."

L"You probably could be a bit less wordy."

R"Well, what's done is done. Moving onto the Q&A, I can only assume that we'll all end up possessed by evil Senthose Juniors if we don't do something about this, but what ARE we going to do about it?"

T"I'm afraid I don't know. This is all so new that even Senthose himself may not know how to reverse the process."
===================================
Zexion<They're searching the worlds for the castle. You can ask Keter yourself, if you don't believe me. Unless, of course...you already know.>

Azuma: "Even if he did, what are you going to do? Ask him nicely to tell.you how?"

*Artexi glares at him*

<Just because I'm not big on fighting them does not mean I'm a traitor. They'd destroy me if they had the chance.>
===
Safian:<Beat him until he talks?>

*He points at her dramatically.*

Zexion<Which is precisely why we should destroy them first!>

N"He's right."

*Zexion lowers his arm & looks over as Nero hops out of a window from another floor, a pulse of darkness slowing his fall as he reaches the ground. He straightens his cloak & puts his hands in his pockets.*

N"Everyone in the Gray Area is talking about this. If they're hunting us down, then we need to do something about it."

Zexion<I'm glad you agree.>

*He crosses his arms & looks back to Artexi, so Nero follows his gaze.*

Zexion<That makes it nearly unanimous.>
=====================================
T"That isn't the point."

L"Well, if we all understand the problem, & that there's nothing that we can do about it right now, then we should move on to other business."

Artexi:<No it doesn't. If they ARE hunting us down, We need to try for peace first.>
===
Monu:<We should be heading on our way to the next worlds.>

Azuma: "What else would we be doing? Off to get some candy."

L"So I take it that communication spell was a bust."

T"I know of a few, but none that everyone could use, across any distance."

*She grabs her chin, summoning her Keyblade in her free hand.*

T"Though there is one thing that we all CAN summon across any distance. Maybe I can think of something using that."
============================
Zexion<Everyone else agrees but you, unless you're volunteering to deliver the message.>

Artexi:<I would be willing to do that. Let's just go see what Senthose says.>
===
*Monu nods*

<I found a few, but like Thiera said, not everyone could use them nor would they all work between worlds.>

Azuma: "You want to use the Keyblade as a means of communication?"

T"It's the only thing that I'm aware of that can be swapped across worlds. The difficulty is that anything that we would try to attach to the Keyblade would not stay with it when it was dismissed & re-summoned. The only solution that I can think of is to somehow transmit thoughts directly through the Keychain."
===============================
Zexion<By all means. He will be coming to the Gray Area. He says that he has a new member to introduce.>

Artexi:<Ok.>

*So she heads down there, presumably with Nero*
===
Safian:<So...how do can we do that?>

Azuma: "And here I was thinking we write something on the Keyblade and send it off."

Cross-world bathroom stall.

T"I don't know yet, that would require further research. There are a couple of books that I could bring with me."

*So she heads off to the library. Lilith turns.*

L"Alright, but be quick about it!"
===================================
*As they enter the lounge, they see the various members of the Organization clustered inside; including Luxord sitting on the couch & playing cards with a blond woman, a man with short & spiky blond hair sitting on another chair playing a guitar like instrument, another man with a wild mane of red hair standing in the corner with his arms crossed, & Keter staring out of the window along with a masculine figure with his hood up. Senthose strolls in behind them, but his skin looks very gray, & his zipper & such have an odd, purplish hue. Nero turns around.*

N"Oh, Senthose! Uh...are you feeling alright, man?"

???<I am not Senthose Rasheverek.>

*The real Senthose walks out from behind him.*

Senthose<He is the new member that I wanted to introduce to you. Ladies & gentlemen of the Organization, this is Avici. He comes to us from a virtual world. He is a security program for Radiant Garden, which I wrote at Braig's request. You all remember Braig, right?>