Chrys just sat back and listened as the others made their plans. She didn't have much of an idea on how to be helpful, so why bother? Questioning Gladio's intentions seemed to last for all of two seconds, and it wasn't as if she was in a position to argue. Still, you had to figure that the million dollar corporation had some kind of fail-safe in case their invincible super weapon was turned against them. Or maybe the chasers had some secret way of taking them out. Chrys was pretty sure that the two groups were just itching to stab each other in the back. Still, no way to gain any information without moving some form or fashion. "Oh, I suppose I'm ready as I'll ever be." She answered Chrono with a dismissive wave of her hand and a relative lack of enthusiasm.
Chrys made sure not to sigh in relief when Gladio decided to not ask further questions. Silently, the information that everyone was giving rolled around in her head. Wondering about what to do would serve her no purpose: The choice would be made for her, even if she had something more to contribute than baseless conjecture and pointless worries. This was really a sort of aptitude test for the others anyway; too much interference from her might be unappreciated since she had already been named master. Not that it stopped them from sending her out. They probably just wanted her out of the castle, really. She resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the thought
Steel just yawned as the drama unfolded around him. He thought about getting involved once or twice, but... it didn't really matter. They were working it out, so he could probably just sleep for a couple more minutes. He yawned, his sharp teeth on full display. He stretched, more than ready to just lie down on the floor and go to sleep again. However... "Yo, Don't think we have been properly introduced. I am Faust: traveling magician and keyblade haver. It is always great to meet you senior members of this group." Steel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. It wasn't really too common for anyone else to try talking to him anymore. Mostly just Ananta telling him off for moving at his own pace. Occasionally trying to dig deep and then not listening to his response. He couldn't help but wonder about such a sudden an open greeting, considering most of his old comrades barely seemed to have blinked when he suddenly became a wolf. Some days he wondered if anyone even noticed he was there. Still, not all of his interactions with Ananta had been terrible. Just all of the most recent ones. He should probably give the guy a chance. Besides: he was amusing. His amusement showed in the form of a small smirk as he accepted the extended hand to shake. "Steel. Nice to meet you too."
Chrys couldn't help but roll her eyes as the group reached the playground. Not for any dislike for Tunes' hiding place; it was more that she had gained the impression that they were trying not to be too liberal with certain pieces of information. For example, the fact that this was the place Stopwatch and Tunes were from. Guess they were just gonna tell him whatever he wanted to know then. So much for low profiles. She was not exactly jumping for Joy at the prospect of talking about her old teammates. She didn't even want to see them; talking about them when they weren't even there seemed unnecessary. She remained standing whilst impatiently tapping her thigh with one hand and putting the other on her hip. Silently waiting for any cue she would need to answer to. Hopefully Gladio would decided he didn't really need details about the chasers.
Steel Cast Thundaga x3
So apparently Illiana wasn't rash. She was just plain stupid. Chrys had literally been betrayed before she had left the chasers and she was one of the ones who harbored suspicion. If she had shoved her misgivings down for that long, what made Illiana think Koa would be any easier to convince? Then again, Illiana had probably just slept through the part of the meeting they had talked about that. No, he just 'wasn't thinking about his decisions.' Chrys was pretty sure Koa put a lot more thought into his decisions than his sister did at this point. Maybe Chrys should just call her snake, but that would insult snakes. Chrys wasn't really surprised that Illiana was a two-faced basket case like everyone else, but she was appalled at the girls lack of competence at it: Especially for someone who continued to insult everyone else's intelligence regularly. Projecting a bit perhaps. The brother she loved so much wasn't going to last very long if the freaking world ended. Koa knew that. That's why he was working to save the worlds. As things stood, even if she convinced him what he was doing was wrong, he would just switch sides. Illiana was embroiled in this pretty much till the end, like it or not. And then there was the fact that he had outright attacked her last time they had met... and she didn't think she would need to defend herself? She was delusional. "Well, guess the little blight is gonna go get her ass kicked then. Not my idea of a fun time, but hey..." She shrugged. "Anyway, Tunes, you said you knew a place?" She turned to Tinarah.
Chrys held down the smug feeling of satisfaction that bubbled beneath the surface as Gladio confirmed that, yeah, no, he didn't randomly have a secret base. Seemed that Tinarah knew a good spot to hide out though. Of course, the minute Illiana had heard that her brother was indeed there she decided she'd just go off and do something stupid. 'Salamander...' She was going to have to remember that one. "Oh no you don't!" Chrys began. "I may not be in a position of authority here, but if you think I'm going to just stay quite while you do whatever the heck you want, then you've got another thing coming. We have a mission for one thing, and if you didn't want to take part you should have just stayed back at base! As things stand, you're going to go off all by yourself and make yourself an easy target for the chasers. Regardless of your intent, they won't hesitate to corner you. Just because they won't hurt you, doesn't mean they won't otherwise debilitate you. That in turn could endanger the mission for everyone else." Chrys sighed. "Look, Professor Garlic..." She began anew, intentionally getting Illiana's last name wrong. "Ko-star's not going to be in the mood to listen right now, and you're hardly in the position to demand otherwise. You especially won't be when you're surrounded." She shrugged. "Or are we all just going to forget my pathetic attempts to talk things out peacefully. Let's just focus on the task at hand; Your brother can at least wait until you can actually stand on even ground with him. Or have you forgotten even that aspect of why we're here?" The Mark of Mastery. The chasers already had it, but most of those who sided with the council didn't. That included Illiana and when Koa inevitably decided he didn't want to listen, things would go south for her very fast.
Steel was pleased to see that he and his companions were making excellent progress. Not too much longer now and the beast would be eliminated. Drawing from the stored power that had accumulated, Steel activated his Aura. "Speed!" He stated as energy began to glow around him. He then dashed forward as he cloaked himself in a barrier of light. He detonated the energy as he struck the opponent before leaping backwards to a safe distance once more. From there, he took out an ultra potion before tossing it into the air and cutting it open. The sharp sound of breaking glass accompanied the restoration of the entire party. OC: Steel activated Speed Aura Lvl.1! Steel used Barrier Surge! Steel used an Ultra Potion!
Steel coughed miserably at the feeling of poison running through his veins. "I have been fighting these things for less than 10 minutes and I already hate them." He muttered indignantly. Gathering light around his weapon, he summoned several pillars of light to damage the Parasite Cage before dashing in for a six hit combo. OC: Steel Used Faith! Steel Used Splattercombo!
Chrys rolled her eyes and sighed at Illiana's... everything. Sure, she hadn't wanted to just up and follow a random stranger, but she supposed she could see why Tinarah had done it. They had limited options, and it wasn't as if Illiana had to follow... Chrys would actually have really preferred if Illiana hadn't followed. Such behavior seemed as though it would be nothing but a hindrance to any mission she went on. It begged the question of how she had made it this far. It was far stranger though, that Stopwatch had agreed, considering... "Oh goddess of wisdom..." She began in a clearly sarcastic and mocking tone. "Where would you have us go? Perhaps back to the stadium to discuss our hostile intent with the masses? Or maybe the nearest ice cream parlor where any schmuck wearing a stupid hat could hear us whilst taking our orders? Nay, surely you meant we should head to Sir Gladiolus's secret underground lair, where he has accumulated various trophies of victory and cutting edge custom gadgetry acquired with his millions upon millions of dollars in local currency." She pointed over to a nearby manhole. "To the Rat Cave!" She actually hoped they would go in, to an extent, because Illiana had probably attracted far more attention shouting about how they should stop doing suspicious activities in an alley than them doing suspicious activities in an alley had. Admittedly, the bickering and the sarcasm were also probably not helping them avoid discovery. "Returning to more important matters, might I ask if among those 'kids' you mentioned were a girl with long blonde hair like mine and a set of armor? Perhaps a male with short brown hair wearing a suit?"
"I feel like it won't let go of it's food that easily: just a hunch." He said to Kel as he let loose a powerful burst of electrical energy... in the shape of a bell. The projectile sped towards the Parasite Cage, but Steel was already charging another attack. Another surge of electricity sprang forth from his keyblade, zapping his opponent just as soon as the first attack made contact. The sound of the ringing bells of Notre Dame echoed throughout the whales stomach as both a Thunder Bell and Fox Taser blasted the enemy. Steel looked satisfied for a moment before abruptly frowning. "You, uh... don't think we're hurting the kid, do ya?" OC: Steel used Thunder Bell and Fox Taser!
As Stopwatch (or Chrono or whatever) listed off Gigas' known technological achievements, Chrys noticed a severe lack of mentioned weaponry. However, she remained skeptical. A corporation with a monopoly on technology that abused that right to issue death threats, but not manufacture weapons? It seemed... unrealistic. Before she could begin to discuss it with the others, the timer ran out. She waited patiently as the crowd began to whisper, and the results were.... explosive. The sudden and violent arrival of a dark follower prompted her to summon her keyblade alongside Tinarah, just as everyone was trapped by a barrier of ice. However, she couldn't help but feel confused. Was this a trap for civilians? Was Gigas so confident in their might and actively malevolent in their intent that they would begin an abrupt and violent takeover, rather than bank on the trust they had built over the years? Her thoughts took an entirely new turn when she saw where the ice wall had come from. Her former comrade didn't look to shocked to see her. Didn't look too worried either. Why should he? Surely the master had found out and told them, and she was sure he already had the perfect plan in place. She felt the sudden urge to hurl. Still, something was off. If the Light Chaser's apprentices were involved in the Expo too, then it didn't make sense for this to be a trap: they were too devoted to light to intentionally sacrifice a bunch of random civilians to a heartless. Then again, considering all that had happened, that might be naive of her to consider. Still, there was the distinct possibility that... The heartless was rather abruptly eliminated. By a weapon. "Bingo." Chrys couldn't help but feel slightly validated as she dismissed her keyblade. The others however, did not share in her satisfaction. Rightfully so. As they were talking it out, a suspicious stranger appeared and... Tinarah began following him. "I guess we're doing this then." Part of her wanted to stay and listen to the speech, wanting to see if they would explain anything about it and try to determine any possible weaknesses. She wasn't going to turn her back on a mission she had assigned herself, though. Especially considering the possibility that Tinarah could be walking into a trap. So she followed after her. "Should we really just be following the first random guy on the street who talks to us?"
Steel, who had been in absolutely no hurry to reach the destination at all, now lie face up on the platform he had been sorted onto with a relatively blank look on his face. Having already looked around at who all was with him Steel sighed up into the humid and damp air of whale's stomach. "Yay. I get to hang out with Karina again." He muttered with sarcasm as he rose to his feet. "We've been so close ever since the noodle incident. I do so look forward to every occasion we can be together." The monster, seemingly upset with his lack of interest, gave a loud roar in his direction. "Yeah, yeah, put a sock in it." An orb of fire energy appeared in the wielders hand and was promptly shoved towards his opponent. The air was relatively damp of course, and the heartless was as well, so the Firaga spell didn't do all that much damage. Burning things made him feel better though, so he was satisfied for now. It was around then that he noticed Riku. "Oh good, and we have the genetic definition of cool here with us too. Now there's no way we can lose. Not like that other team. They've got 'genuinely cares' with them, and everyone knows he's a loser. After all, King Cool himself said that he wasn't strong enough, so it must be true." The Parasite Cage roared again as it appeared to ready an attack. "I'm sorry, I didn't say you could move yet." This time, a murky green energy appeared, and the Parasite Cage was locked in place, not even breathing. "So where was I? Oh yeah..." He cleared his throat before proceeding to go through a series of stretches. "Sure must be nice to have people you have no actual emotional attachment to respect you like that. You can trounce on their feelings all the time that way. Isn't that what friendship's all about?" OOC: Steel Used Firaga and Stopga!
Steel heard a familiar voice and felt a prodding at his side. His ear twitched as he groaned in protest. "Yes, I'm dead." He muttered loudly. "Leave me to rot." He didn't understand why Ananta felt the need to act like a cattle prod whenever he was taking his time. It's not like anyone would even notice if he up and vanished one day, or dwell on it too much if they did. There was always something going on after all. Never much time to dwell on things. Ananta herself was prone to just wander off the minute she was done dragging him away from where he was-already-quite-comfortable-thank-you-very-much, so why did she bother? It was becoming a nuisance. He took a deep breath to calm himself down: Just because he had two noticeably large ears didn't mean that it was obvious to the others whether or not he was using them. Which he was. Paying VERY close attention to the argument, thank you. He climbed to his feet muttering about 'stupid darkness' and how it was 'louder than anything else.' "Whatever, let's go." He said as he stormed off, muttering 'so much for silent night' as he trudged onward.
Steel is removing his job. 60 Crowns will be spent on Strength, 20 on Magic, 30 on Speed, 40 on Defense, 50 on Resistance, 20 on AP, and 15 on HP. Crowns Spent: 235 Stats Points purchased: + 6 STR + 2 MAG + 1 SPD + 4 DEF + 5 RES + 1 AP + 1 HP Uneqquipping all Skill commands and Equipment. Equipping the Lionheart Keyblade. Equipping the Musketeer Hat and Ray of Light. Equipping the skills: Barrier Surge, Splattercombo, Stopga, Firaga, Thundaga, Faith, Thunder Bell, and Fox Taser. Stats: HP: 92 (+4) MP: 8 (+1) STR: 25 (+6) (+3) SPD: 54 (+5) (+3) DEF: 30 MAG: 25 RES: 30 AP: 54 Now for the super fun bit. Abilities: High Jump Dodge Roll Guard EXP Writer III Item Boost Lucky Lucky MP Haste Second Chance MP Gift Combo Lvl. 1 Combo Lvl. 2 Combo Lvl. 3 Air Combo Lvl. 1 Air Combo Lvl. 2 Air Combo Lvl. 3 Healing Guard Second Wind Battle Cry Tribute Limits: Vector to the Heavens Trip Around the Sun
Chrys turned her attention to the blue haired individual that Tinarah was speaking of. Her breath caught in her throat, her hands began clenching into tight fists at her side, and her teeth were of a mind to follow suit. "Zeno!" She spat the name with incredible venom, already less than thrilled at having to see any of her old so called friends again. But him? The boy that had dragged her into that exploratory venture that she had subsequently taken all of the blame for? Whom was so quick to believe a shallowly constructed lie, despite how much time he had personally spent with her and his own role in events? That mouth breathing, slow witted, vain little hair goblin was the absolute last person she wanted to see ever again! Right next to the Light Chaser himself. She was half tempted to walk over and knock his teeth out right then and there, but instead she took a deep breath and attempted to assess the situation. It seemed Zeno was talking to some kind of official from Gigas. From what Tinarah and her brother had been saying, it was a given that this company made weapons. Why the chasers would want any kind of weapon other than the keyblade was beyond her, but that didn't mean it wasn't possible. Alternatively, it could just be that they were talking about them, planning on using the worlds residents to destroy them. Either way, they were looking at having to deal with Gigas tech. She turned towards Tinarah's brother since the girl herself was talking to Koa's. His name escaped her at the moment though. Something to do with time? "Hey, Stopwatch." That was probably close enough. "What kind of tech does Gigas pump out?"
Chrys had to resist the very strong urge to roll her eyes at Fost obnoxious delivery of his warning. Who had given this decrepit five year-old the title of master? As far as she had seen he's done nothing but abuse and lord it over people. But then, that was hardly uncommon behavior from masters in her experience. She followed after the others as they worked things out, with Fost being about as helpful as one could expect. She found herself wondering if she would spontaneously become useless now that she too had the title of master. Given her position, that would really suck. She did not take the shot when Chrono mentioned 'something big.' It was too obvious a place to make a joke, and her voice would probably be appreciated as much as the sound of nails on a chalkboard. Take briefly voiced a concern about whether it would take money to get into the stadium shortly after their first lead flew overhead. She personally didn't think it would matter: If they did need money and couldn't pay, they'd just find a way to break in. All in all, she remained relatively silent as she walked with the rest of the group towards the Gigas expo.
Steel's ears twitched at all the ruckus that everyone was making. He had his own opinions about everything that was going on, but if experience had taught him anything, it was that his input would have a total impact of about zilch. Besides, the kid was already being swarmed on all sides by his teammates. Best not to add to the noise. Rather, he decided to rest his eyes for just a bit longer, seeing as the whole group would doubtless be on the move again very soon. Though they had already been hanging around here for awhile. Perhaps he should have taken the opportunity to ask Geppetto if he could sleep on the ruined ship? It would have been a less moist and odoriferous place to lay down at the very least. Then again, a single glance at him would probably scare the poor man half to death. Best to just leave him be.
They weren't very far before they were all greeted by a man whom the others regarded with open hostility. They called him Ardyn, and from the sound of things he was in league with her former master. She had never met him, but it wasn't as if he had never kept secrets from her. He immediately denied that the master was after Orichalcum, even claiming that the chasers already had their armor. Funny how they waited until she was gone to do that stuff. Shaking off any bitter recollections, she instead turned her focus to what Ardyn had said about familiar faces she should be glad to see. Take asked if she knew what it was all about and Tinarah said he was probably just trying to get under her skin. Still, she couldn't help but think... "The chasers are here, I think." Chrys couldn't help the wriggle of discomfort she felt in her stomach at just the thought of seeing those she had once called friends. It would not be a pleasant reunion. Take voiced his concerns, and she couldn't help but nod. "Not much we can do about it now, though. We'll have to be extra careful."
Steel, having long since decided that he would miraculously wind up wherever he needed to be, stayed lying on the ground inside the mouth chamber. Most of the comrades had left, with only him, Luna, and the unconscious Stratos and Beuce remaining. Watching Aux leave in such a hurry had certainly been funny, but once that was over, he decided to just roll over and take a nap. Of course it was a bit hard, what with the smell and all, but he had slept in worse places. Eventually stirring could be heard, and Beuce' voice called out to Stratos. Once both boys were up, Luna seemed to give them a mild lecture about how worried she had been. No sooner had she mentioned that they should try to catch up with the others than the entire group that had gone ahead was unceremoniously dropped from seemingly nowhere. "How convenient." The wolf said aloud over the pained mumbling of the party members. He was currently reiterating his thoughts on always miraculously being in the right place. He hadn't even had to move.
