During the excitement of the scene, Take was grateful that Choma nudged him and pointed out the map. When the floor was shutting, Take was aiming to run up to pull the lever, but Choma seemed to have most stuff under control. But when Take went to look at Jim again, he saw the orb fall and saw... two of them. He watched one head down the stairs and the other seem to be drawn towards Jim. Take eyed that orb near him skeptically before he realized what was going on and he turned towards the lifeboat and said, "If I don't make it back in time, go without me!" and Take ran off down the stairs and grabbed the orb, keeping himself low and looking it over a moment confused. Nini let out a mew and quickly jumped out of the bag and sprinted up the stairs and jumped down at Aria and curled up nervously.
Spoiler: Episode Takehiko: Part 1 Chapter 3: Crimes of Conscience There was a long pause after what Atmos said. It seemed to be in processing before there was a sheer anger in the boy's eyes that betrayed his relatively neutral demeanor. The boy shoved his way past her saying, "Akio!" and once he was in the house, he saw Akio standing there, and he looked like a deer in headlights, The boy walked up and said, "You're late for training, we're heading out." Akio shook his head and said, "No. I'm gonna see Take, and I'm gonna say goodbye." "No you're not." the boy responded, grabbing Akio's arm before the younger one pulled it away, "Yes I am, Shoji!" Shoji grabbed his arm again and said, "Are you gonna disobey the orders of the commander over the informal orders of an outsider?" "Her name is Atmos, and she's a keyblade wielder!" "I'm aware." "And she's taking Take with her to train! It'll be better for Take if I can say goodbye. Please Shoji." "This isn't about him, this is about your training, Akio." "I'm not even supposed to be training right now!" Akio screamed pulling away from him again with tears in his eyes, "Why won't you let me see Take? I want to see Take! If he has a keyblade, that means the rumors have gotta be true and Take saved you life. Don't you want to see him too?" There was a clear discomfort in the topic being brought up and Shoji spoke up, "That didn't happen. Take ran in front of one of the dragons trying to be a hero." "But why didn't you tell me?" Akio replied angrily. "Because this right here was going to happen. Where you start getting hysterical and looking up to Take when everything he's doing is wrong." "I think everything you're doing is wrong!" Akio hissed out backing away and trying to turn around to back away and eventually hide behind Atmos. "Everything Take has done is selfish. Everything I've done is to protect the village. To protect you. I've done everything perfectly." Shoji responded walking up closer. Akio's feet planted firmly as he stood just in front of Atmos, but with his back facing towards her and his face still towards Shoji. He tightened his fists and yelled, "If you're so perfect, why are Iwao and Yasushi dead? Huh?! If you're so much better at protecting than Take is, why are they dead?! I think you're just a scaredy cat who's too afraid to break the rules once in a while. You're a coward!" Almost without a second thought, Shoji reached up and slapped Akio across the face. The force of it was actually pretty heavy and Akio fell down holding his face. Akio was still for a bit of time before Shoji said in a low voice, "Go." and Akio looked up at Atmos apologetically before he ran away and out of the house. Shoji stood still for a bit, watching Akio run for a minute. There was a bit before he looked at Atmos and shrugged a bit saying, "If they were actual orders, tell the commander and I'll take full responsibility." Shoji looked at her and there was this very off energy about the boy as he said, "Besides, Take already hates me. And seeing that Take's gonna be shipped off to another world with you to train and distance himself from us even more just ticks me off. Now I'm gonna be stuck with Akio thinking he's gonna be able to do the same thing. This is why I hate it when outsiders like you get involved." Atmos's heart went out to Akio and a part of her even wished she could take him in but she knew their laws forbade such a thing. Not only that but it would have been akin to kidnapping. Atmos narrowed her eyes at Shoji, anger clear in her eyes. "Is that how you treat your brothers?" If she had any less control she would have slapped Shoji for harming his younger sibling but this wasn't her family and this wasn't her world. Her training told her that she wasn't meant to interfere and she had been doing enough interfering since her arrival to this world. "If all you can do is survive there isn't anything worth living for. On that note, treat your brothers like brothers. Otherwise there will be a day you won't be able to call them your brothers." She spoke harshly, her eyes having gone cold. Shoji listened to her and looked a bit confused, "I'm not sure what you mean by treat your brothers like brothers. I'm pretty sure I am." he started to walk away from her and stopped before the door and asked her in the direction of the door, his voice sounding almost... scared, "Can you just make sure he comes back in one piece?" he paused waiting for a response but was pretty sure he wouldn't get one before he opened the door and whispered low, almost hoping she didn't hear it, "Cause this world wouldn't." and Shoji left the house. Atmos folded her arms, her eyes intently following after the boy and even lingering on the door for some time after he left. Something was off with the people of this world and she did not like it at all. Tolerance was what her own master had preached yet some worlds just rubbed her the wrong way and she couldn't help herself. The house was quiet for quite a while, with no one really seeming to come near it and no sounds besides the occasional roar of laughter from some of the neighboring kids playing outside before they were quickly hushed. About an hour later, the door finally creaked open and a boy walked into the house. They seemed to kind of just stand still for a minute looking around a little like their eyes were taking in everything. But the boy wasn't exactly reacting.... at all. He was dressed up in a pretty standard military uniform and his hair looked recently shaved. He didn't look as though he was physically abused in any manner, he carried himself almost healthily but from the way he swayed it was clear the boy was feeling an immense amount of fatigue. The boy stopped and took a breath before he seemed to kind of walk towards the kitchen. He didn't seem to be... well... looking for anyone. Almost like he didn't even know someone was in the house waiting. In the kitchen he just seemed to get himself a glass of water and start drinking it. Time passed as she was left alone with nothing better than to pace about, sit on a couch, then pace some more. Eventually, after what felt like hours, there came the sound of the door opening. In stepped a young boy with a blank expression on his face. He headed towards the kitchen carrying himself like a tipsy ...person. He should have been able to see her as he walked by but he just didn't. Atmos stepped over and knocked on the nearest wall behind the boy to get his attention. "Hello there, stranger. Who might you be? Takehiko I presume?" She spoke in a tone of half-amusement and half-intrigue. The boy almost jumped a bit at the sudden voice and turned at her, alert. He looked a bit on guard but was otherwise emotionless. The boy just seemed to scan her for a moment before saying, "Usually, strangers don't walk into strangers houses before they are familiar with them." the boy's voice was very monotone, but also slightly cracked, like it had been a very long time since he's spoken. He nodded his head at her and said, "Yes, my name is Takehiko..." he paused a bit longer before he tilted his head, "Are... you an outworlder?" he reached up and held his head a bit clearly trying to hold back a headache, and hide his exhaustion, "Who are you?" "I am Master Atmos. You wield the keyblade, do you not? I have come to take you to a place where you can learn what it is to be a keyblade wielder and, perhaps one day, become a master yourself." She raised an eyebrow, noticing that he was in some pain. "Of course, that can wait. Are you well? You look a bit...tired. What kind of training did they put you through?" She questioned, wondering if it was common for someone to come back looking so exhausted. Was he training up until this very moment or did the training cause some kind of abnormal fatigue? Takehiko listened to her words and it took him a bit to process, but there was a moment where some genuine emotion, almost a bit of... disappointment, seemed to shine for but a moment as he whispered softly, almost as if he wasn't trying to have her hear it, "You're not him..." Takehiko paused a bit and when she mentioned him being tired, he straightened himself out and said, "I'm fine." he kept his mouth shut tight about the training, in fact, he seemed to ignore the topic before saying, "We don't need to wait for anything... they actually ordered me to quickly collect my stuff to be prepared to head somewhere for a long time. I didn't know it was because of the keyblade." He hadn't questioned why he was ordered to do what he did, he just readily accepted it, without much thought on specifics. Atmos folded her arms, now suspecting something was off about this kid. He didn't look like any kind of troublemaker despite what the others have spoken about him. It was odd to say the least. And she didn't like it. "Alright spill it. What happened at that training they sent you off to? You're a completely different kid than the one I expected to meet based on what everyone's said about you. And don't tell me they're exaggerating as the people of this world don't seem to have the creativity for such a thing." She said with a tone of annoyance unbefitting a master in her voice. She wasn't a fan of having her questions being dodged and it was still something she never fully got over with her own training. "If you're going to prove yourself to be worthy of the keyblade you're going to have to start with the truth, Takehiko." Takehiko stared at her for a long moment after the sudden confrontation about him dodging the question, she seemed really intent on getting the answer, and he didn't feel comfortable explaining it. But then she brought up being worthy of the keyblade, and he took a moment, lowering his head and processing stuff before he looked up at her, and the straight face he had been maintaining broke, but the emotion in his voice didn't come back as he said, looking at her very defeated, "They put me through an accelerated training program, so I was as they put it 'ready for the outside worlds'. But... the physical training isn't what got to me..." Takehiko started playing with his hands a bit as he spoke, a little more emotion coming through, "They didn't want me to lose the mindset of a soldier... so they..." the boy looked confused, like he couldn't figure out the words to use before he slipped out, "It was... like mental torture. Trying... trying to make me..." Takehiko went still and his eyes almost looked panicked before his face molded back into it's emotionless state as he finished, "Trying to make it so I don't act on emotion... Master Hotaka said it was safer for me to not feel emotion. He said it attracts the dragons the most. But... he also said it was the best way for me to hide... I don't know what he meant by that... someone said something one night about the strongest lights being the ones unblocked... I think he meant that if I let my emotions show while others aren't... I'm painting a target but... it doesn't matter." Take reached up to his chest and put a fist over it as he said, "Good soldiers put their feelings last..." Takehiko stared off for a bit before he looked at her and said, "I.... can't imagine you feel the same way about it but... they told me the reason outsiders don't understand because they don't live with the dragons trying to kill them." Take's hand fell he looked away from Atmos before sighing and saying, "I'm not the same because... I don't.... I don't want my family to look at me like they're ashamed of me. And... I almost got myself killed because I was stupid...." Takehiko shivered a bit and asked, "Why would I repeat that?" he looked like he jolted himself scared and said, "I.... shouldn't be asking questions like that. I'm sorry. I know full well I wouldn't repeat it." but those words didn't sound like his, they sounded like they were someone elses, he was forced to repeat until he thought they were his. Atmos summoned her keyblade and held it out to aim the tip at the house's entrance. A ray of light shot forth and stopped when it hit the door, causing a radiant light to grow and shape itself to fit the door frame. It was a portal back to her castle. Takehiko's story pained her enough to wish to get him out of this terrible place and away from the people who were scarring him emotionally. He needed to get out now if he was ever going to heal. "Never apologize for asking questions." She looked at him with concern. "Being able to wield and master the keyblade requires you to tap into your emotions. It's what makes us strong. Sometimes it's the only thing keeping us sane." She motioned for Takehiko to go towards the portal. "Go on. It will take you to the castle where you will be training at. Don't worry, it's safe." Atmos was sorry she could not get the brothers to reunite but now her main concern was Take and finding a way to undo the damage that his own people did to him. Take stepped back a bit at the sudden portal of light. He had never seen anything like it before and he was worried what exactly it did. But when she explained it he was a little less on guard. When she told him to head through, there was a moment where he looked over, clearly as if towards the mantle where the picture of his family was. But he didn't say anything or really react much to it. Instead he just nodded at her and walked towards the portal. He stopped a moment as if reaching to put his hand through it, but pulled back a second before and took a deep breath and walked through it. Takehiko seemed to get to the lifeboats before anyone else did, though he was closely tailed by Choma. He figured at the very least maybe Jim would have been here by now, but this was probably a good thing. He could get Jim into the lifeboat and figure out a way to steal the map from him, hopefully naturally so they wouldn't have conflict. But he figured that would be the best. The boy looked around and sighed, "Well, I'll get them ready at least." the boy started getting the lifeboats ready to be deployed so people could jump on in and he looked over his shoulder and said, "Just gotta make sure none of the mutineers get in here and try to destroy them..."
Take nodded at Choma and said, "I can do that then." he hoped that it wasn't ruining anything for the captain, doing something like that. But if it saved their lives, it was probably better off. Take turned a bit and said, "Otherwise, I think they might try and get to the lifeboats. I'm betting that's where everyone else'll be." he looked over at Glyde and said, "So, you could either head with them. Or come with me, and join a mutiny." he put on a bit of a fake smirk before he stopped and said, "I know it sounds odd, but we're just doing this to keep people on both sides so we know what's going on." Take backed up and withdrew his keyblade and said, "Just in case..." and he ran to the stairs and up to the deck.
Take was surprised by the sudden pull to the side by Choma. It was more because of the randomness of him happening to be right there at that moment, but after a moment Take did as he was told and stayed quiet as he hid. As they spoke, he put together the fact that they were planning a mutiny before Choma spelled it out for him, but he was glad it was at the very least not just him thinking that up randomly. The boy looked to Choma and said, "And it definitely doesn't sound like a mutiny with no blood... we should probably tell the captain... though..." Take thought about it for a minute and said, "Maybe the mutiny was provoked by the darkness somehow? Hm..." Take was quiet a second before he looked at Choma, "Master, I know this is gonna sound odd but... I think it would be best if not only the group helped out the captain... but if someone stuck with the mutineers just so we have tabs on all sides." he was silent afterwards before saying, "Unless... you think that's a bad idea?"
Take had always been a light sleeper, or perhaps the term was 'alert sleeper'. When something seemed amiss he always woke up instinctually, and hearing Jim make a pained noise, in a place he was unfamiliar with, made him sit up quickly. It made Nini mewl slightly over being woken up as well. Take gave her a quick pat on the head before he tried to look for wherever Jim ran. He hoped it wasn't actually something important but, well Take was awake now so he might as well get up and grab something to eat if anything else. The boy grabbed his jacket and his bag, Nini hopped onto his shoulder before finessing her way back into the bag while Take put his jacket on as he moved to follow Jim. He rubbed his eyes and followed Jim asking, "Everything alright? I heard an 'ow' before you started running off." he yawned a little while he asked.
Melus had been pretty silent the whole time that Finlay was doing... whatever he was doing. His reactions seemed a lot more aggressive and over the top than they really needed to be. The girl strummed a bit at her recently resummoned harp and after a chord or two she asked, "So uh, is that guy just constantly overcompensating for something?" the girl strummed a bit more before replying, "Anyway, at the rate we're at. We might as well just go. Because if we sit back, we're just sitting ducks here. I'd rather get some form of a surprise advantage this time, rather than bring the fight to home and have a repeat of the events that transpired. Just... just don't let me get too close to the combat people. Casters are squishy." she played another note and said, "How are we gonna deal with Mr. Green Anarchist in the future though? Don't exactly want a guy like that taking away stealth advantages. Granted, Kiara and Arctus aren't exactly stealthy either."
Choma explaining them only needing to have one princess to keep his plans from working seemed... odd. So, what about the rest of them then? Are they supposed to just let the others get taken as long as they can protect one? He hoped that Choma meant that they were going to save as many as they could. But when Choma mentioned how late it was, Take definitely felt tired. It'd been a while since Take was so tired he could feel it in his bones, but this was one of those times. He looked to the rest and said, "I'm gonna turn in then. I'd rather not be overtired tomorrow." the boy waved at the rest of them before he headed towards the deck. There were some beds, nothing amazingly comfortable but he never expected boats to have them. Take lofted himself up onto the bed and heard a mewl which made him panic. He shifted his bag and Nini popped her head out looking angry and Take gave her some scritches saying, "Sorry Nini. I.. kind of forgot you were in there." Take moved to take off his jacket to get a bit more comfortable while the tiny black cat moved around to find a more comfortable spot. When Take laid back to finally be in a better resting position, Nini climbed up onto his stomach and curled up. He was bothered by it a moment but he eventually just resigned himself to his fate of being a cat bed before falling asleep.
Username: C S T A R Age: 21 Join date: 12/19/2008 How did you find KHV? AMV editors using the cutscenes from here What made you decide to join KHV? The community, mostly around the AMV editors at the time How active are you on the site? Well, I'm in the rpa, so probably more active than most people. What section or subsection are you most comfortable posting in? Roleplaying Arena What KHV event, either discontinued or still running, do you like the most? Top Fives What event do you dislike the most? Previously? Whatever those wonderland events are. Currently? Probably the KHUX dress up events, though they don't bother me THAT much. What is one event idea that you would like to see implemented on KHV? Some micro-event type things where you get people to make something creative, maybe to hype up KH3 or something, then the winners get to have their stuff shown on the front page. Like maybe fanart, or someone makes a scarf. I don't know what people do for fun. What are some of your hobbies? Creative writing, AMV editing, playing video games, singing every once in a while. Do you think you’d like to stay on KHV for awhile? Probably Why or why not? Well, I've gotten this far. Might as well keep going ya know? lol no but seriously, at this point those I talk to actively on KHV are like a family to me, I feel no real reason to just up and leave unless I wanted to be dramatic. Extra comments: A-are the staff doing alright? I barely see you guys anymore. I see like, two of you. You guys feeling the winter okay? Take care of yourselves.
I decided to go for another coloring. This time with Terra. I liked the lineart but I decided to do a little bit of a terranort type thing, like it's escaping or something. I'm not sure how well I pulled that off though. Original Lineart: https://maxx-v.deviantart.com/art/Terra-Lineart-193499368 Spoiler: coloring let me know what you guys think! I didn't really go for shading or shadows as much this time so I know it's a little flat. I'd probably improve on that next time.
sure (i'm sorry i'm super late)
Take thought about Glyde's answer and said, "That does make sense... hm... wait." Take blinked a moment before turning over to Aria, looking over at Choma, then looking back at Aria and saying, "Aria, you're a princess? Like, not the princess of heart thing I knew that. I meant like, actual royalty?" he blinked a bit and said, "I-I didn't mean to come across as rude... your majesty... I just... you didn't exactly seem like what I'd expect a princess would be like. Not that I am... sure what a princess would be like. You just, after the conversation we had..." Take was quiet and thought further about it, "It doesn't necessarily change anything it's just that I thought you were more on the level of peasant. Does that even make sense? You mentioned a farm once. You look like you've been on a farm. I'm gonna just... shut up now." And Take did.
Mora held Cerdic's keyblade a bit confused, surprised at the weight of it, she found it lighter than she expected. She heard Chrono's question and walked over still holding Cerdic's keyblade and looked at it a moment before saying, "Oh. Yeah, way back in the the day, this place used to be a kingdom. This was one of the kings that lived where the old castle is now. I don't know any of the king's names. But, I do know that this one was actually related to me. Think like a great great great great... great... too far to even count grandfather of some kind." Mora felt Cerdic's keyblade disappear from her hands and she turned and said, "I don't think it wants to stick with me." she turned back to the painting and said, "But yeah. I think the painter liked to make things super dramatic. There's a painting in one of these hallways that has one of the kings fighting one of those really really big heartless that's drawn almost to be the size of a mountain. I mean, I like the paintings but it's almost fantasy after a while." Mora shrugged and looked over at Cerdic and took the sword from him and smiled saying, "I trust you. But I think you'll do better fighting with a keyblade. I'll stick to the back." she then turned back to the tunnel and said, "I think we should all keep moving though." As she led them down the tunnel, they walked into other rooms similar to the first one that contained small supply areas that were less equipped. It was clear despite the first area being well supplied, that was all that they ever accounted for. When Mora reached a certain point in the tunnel, she reached her hand back for everyone to stop and she stared forward into the tunnel and she said, "You guys stay back a second, I'll be right back." and the girl ran forward into the dark. It took her a full minute before her footsteps were able to be heard getting louder again and she said, "We're here. There's a door locked tightly like it's a vault. I can unlock the door, but we should only have about a minute once we do to make our full decisions. Either get on your keyblade gliders and leave the world now, running towards the coastline, or we run to the right and I'll lead the way to climb up the cliff. But we need to decide before Ria figures out we're here." At this point in the RP, players should make their decision whether or not they will leave the world (and in turn the RP) with their characters still alive. Or if they will stick around to the formal end of the RP by fighting. There will be a strict posting deadline of once every five days (with exceptions for emergency scenarios people may have). If they don't, their characters aren't guaranteed to survive until the end. Once the door is open, this decision will be finalized in your post. Everyone should make their decisions now, and let the team know their intentions. If you don't post your character leaving, or moving towards the cliffs when the door opens, your character will be forced into leaving the rp. Everyone has until a week from today to make their decision.
Takehiko listened to Aria's explanation over events to Choma, getting a bit more detail than what he'd already known. Choma's response to Aria seemed... well, reasonable for the most part. But Take didn't exactly see how having the knowledge of being a princess of heart would make her instantly think that kind of 'self sacrifice for friends' was even on the table. And it seemed like something really big to not tell anyone. The boy listened to Choma explain how the plan was not changed and that they were going to keep going as planned with the goal of getting stronger. Though he was a bit more content with having a structured plan, a part seemed confusing to him and Take stepped forward, "How are we supposed to keep the princesses safe when we only know two of them, Aria and... Kida? And Kida was already captured. Do you have a good idea on who or where any of them are? Or even just a hunch?"
Take listened to the two of their's responses, both had their reasons why they couldn't hide. Aria possibly being tracked ruined the entire purpose of hiding anyway. And Chrono couldn't just abandon Tinarah at this point. The boy stood there processing it and closed his eyes. He was dying then. There was no other possible way this was going to go. Takehiko had only just convinced himself that his life wasn't going to be short, that he was going to have a chance to possibly be as old if not older than the Elders of his homeworld. But now? Well, at the rate things were going they were going to march to their deaths, and he wasn't convinced otherwise at this point. Take opened his eyes and looked at the rest of them and said, "Fine. We don't hide. But then what? We're just chasing hunches at this point. I know that's where we started, but these recent ones have been dangerous hunches. Are we going to just dive straight on in?" he held back from saying it was just a suicide mission. He'd all but accepted that.
Seeing Choma on the ship put Take at a pause for a minute, since he didn't exactly have much time to know Choma's face beforehand. So when properly in a spot to see him, and when he started speaking it clicked that it was Choma. He felt a little bad he didn't recognize the master immediately, but he could have been someone working on the boat they hadn't met yet so he was ready to suspect anything. When Choma revealed the results of his search, there was almost a pit in Take's stomach. It was going to be just them, and while their amounts for people involved seemed to fluctuate enough, most people weren't strictly speaking competent. Including himself. He took a breath before asking, "So what now then? We're getting stronger, but I don't know if that means we're necessarily good enough to deal with this." the boy moved his hand towards his wrist and asked, "...should... we go and hide as well?" Take realized what he asked and he said, "Look, I'm not saying we're giving up, I'm saying we don't risk losing more people when we aren't fully sure what we're up against yet..." Take rubbed his wrist a bit more before calmly asking, "Unless you figured something out on that front at least?"
3 hp boosts, 2 ap boosts, and Reaction Boost
Episode Takehiko Part 1: Chapter 2: Only What's Needed Not long after the Elders had left, a taller girl, roughly about 14-years-old, ran into the room and paused to catch her breath before asking, "Master Atmos, right? I've been told to bring you to Takehiko's home. Would you like to come with me?" the girl's voice was rather monotone, and there wasn't anything particularly special about this girl. She just seemed to be there for the purpose of being a guide. Atmos had felt unable to interrupt in the Elder's conversation previously but because she hadn't agreed to any of their terms and had not been asked for her consent on them, she did not feel obligated to oblige them. "Yes, I am ready to come along." She spoke to the guide once the Elders were finished talking. They seemed like an unstable bunch but it was Takehiko who concerned her more, not them. The girl brought Atmos without much said towards Takehiko's home. As they walked, they passed by the homes. All were homes build almost exactly the same, with a couple of different modifications on them. They were all built out of stone, presumably because anything built with wood would be caught on fire. The houses closer to the Elder chambers seemed to take on an almost in-hill form, looking as though they belonged as part of the mountain. The further from the mountain they walked, the less and less earth covered the homes. And once out towards the center of the homes of those who were, for lack of a better word, poorer, the mountain could be seen better jutting above. It seemed to pass through the clouds above, the top not being able to be seen. They reached the edge of town, and while it was a distance away from the edge of the mountain, the landscape reaching could definitely be seen. They were definitely above clouds as well, presumably clouds that would normally travel lower. Other mountains seemed to be scattered across the landscape, the mountains ice capped, but lush with forests and greenery. On the ground, however, it was a barren landscape with no greenery, certainly not livable conditions. On top of it, the fall was quite a big one. The girl reached Takehiko's home, it was the same size as other houses in the area, but on the front there seemed to be a marker indicating four people, there were also visibly marks indicating three other people having lived there in the past, but they were moved. One more recently it seemed. "This is Takehiko's home. You should be all set to enter. I'm going to be not far from here, if you need anything please let me know." and the girl bowed before leaving. When Atmos entered the home, she would notice it was actually quite... normal. There was a large couch and a couple chairs in a sitting area with a dining area which seemed to be able to seat up to about ten people. There was a bookcase, not too many books within. Though all were bound with a fire-proof leather that must have taken time and care to protect them. The house was sparsely decorated, but on a mantle there were three pictures that sat comfortably. One was a picture of a young woman with brunette hair and bright green eyes. She was dressed in a light blue dress with a bouquet in her hands. She was pretty short, at least compared to the man, and she had a very small smile and looked almost... uncomfortable being in a frame of focus. The man in the picture with her was almost a foot taller than her, but he looked the same age as her regardless. He had a delicately trimmed beard and his hair was grown out a bit to be jelled back. He wasn't exactly smiling, but he looked happy to be in the picture with her regardless. The second picture was a group picture of five boys together. The oldest sat in the middle with brunette hair and blue eyes, his hair was the only one that was not as shaven as the rest, he looked roughly 20 years old in the picture. He had a small smile, very similar to that of the woman's in the other photo. The boy on his lap had to have been three years old with his head shaved but must have been a brunette color as well. His eyes were a bright green and he seemed unagreeable in the photo, as though he didn't want to take the picture. Directly to the older boy's right was an 17 year old boy with blackened hair and blue eyes. In fact, he looked nearly identical to another boy in the photograph, but much older and his eye color clearly took after the father. The 17 year old was not smiling, and also looked like he didn't want to be in the photo either. But he leaned in closer to the older boy in the middle. On the older boy's left, there was a boy who looked completely different than the other four, like he almost wasn't even related. His eyes were brown and his hair was red with a bit of stubble growing in. This boy was taller than the 17 year old, but looked only a year or so younger than him. He had a big smile going on him and was holding the shoulders of a smaller boy right in front of him. And that one was the look a like to the 17 year old. But he was only about 9 years old, and his hair was grown out and black. The boy's eyes shined a bright green and he had a big grin on his face. Like he was the happiest out of the five no questions asked. The third picture was clearly a more recent picture, the frame seemed to be tossed up a little as though the picture changed a lot, in the picture it was a full family photo. Well, seemingly, the problem was that only three of the boys were present. In the picture the young woman, quite a bit older in this photo, sat on the right side, while the young man, much older looking here with hair growing in silver, sat on the left side. In the middle was the shortest one, which was the toddler, now aged up to roughly seven years old. He had a big smile similar to that of the smiling boy in the other. But the other two boys, on the left side and right side of the seven year old, sat with their postures proper and with not smiles on their faces. While the older boy seemed comfortable with not smiling, it was clear that the other one wasn't smiling simply because he wasn't allowed to. The oldest boy and the red haired boy were not around in this picture at all. As Atmos would have gotten herself comfortable, there was silence before a voice softly chimed in behind her, "Are you the inspector they told us about?" as she turned to look, hiding behind the couch was the seven year old in the photo, not looking at all much older than he did now. But his head was shaved this time. The boy raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't look like an inspector... you don't look at all like... are you an outworlder?" The boy suddenly looked excited but kept his voice down. Atmos thanked the girl who led her to the house and as she looked around the place it felt fairly cozy if a little...spartan in design. A necessity she assumed. She walked around the room, taking up the family pictures and examining them closely as she pieced together what kind of family this was. At first, she smiled. It appeared to be a happy family, but that smile soon faded when she came across the final picture with two of the boys missing. The sound of a child's voice interrupted her. Atmos smiled slightly and looked at the seven-year old. "Yes, I am. My name is Atmos. I'm here looking for one of your brothers. Takehiko." She knelt down to get a better look at the small boy. He looked quite different from the picture she had last seen him in with his hair in its current style. They must have taken the military approach at a very young age. Far younger than she anticipated. The boy looked concerned and said, "Uh, Take hasn't been here for a while now... is he coming home?" the boy looked a bit excited at that news and almost spoke too loud and he covered his mouth and said, "I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to leave, my brother Shoji is probably waiting for me right now... uh..." the boy held his hand out and smiled, "Nice to meet you though Atmos, my name's Akio." Atmos nodded in response. "Take," she started using the same nickname the boy had given her, "is coming with me on a journey to grow." She took the boy's hand and shook it. "It's a pleasure, Akio. If you wish, you can wait here for your brother a little longer and if anyone asks, you can tell them you were on official keyblader business." She grinned hoping to keep the child around a little longer so at least the two brother could be reunited for some time before Takehiko had to depart with her. Akio looked confused before his eyes opened up in realization, "What? What does Take have to do with keybla... aaaaah." Akio covered his mouth, "The rumors were true. I thought everyone was just being crazy. I mean, Take getting a keyblade? That seems..." Akio got still and very calm suddenly before saying, "Actually... that's not that weird at all." Akio quickly hopped over the couch and sat on it and slammed the seat next to him welcoming her to join him, "So did you give him a keyblade then? That's so cool... My dad told me that when he was younger there were a lot more keyblade wielders around but they started... well..." Akio scratched his head, "They... abandoned this world and didn't want to come back...." Atmos plopped over beside the boy and leaned back finding the couch to be almost comfortable. Though even now nothing held a candle to the comforts of her homeworld. It was probably a good thing that she was chosen by the keyblade otherwise she would have been just as soft as everyone else there. "No, I didn't give him one. I actually haven't met the man who did. I've only heard stories of him but...well you could say he's the one who sent me looking for your brother." She scratched under her chin as her mind wandered for a moment before returning to reality. Akio said something that piqued her curiosity since it wasn't something she had heard before. She knew of certain worlds that naturally were more suited to bringing keyblade wielders into the universe but she had not known this to be one of them. "Do you know what kind of training your brother is being put through right now?" Akio thought about the question and said, "I heard he was at Jeral's Point. That's usually the place they send higher level officers who've been doing this for years..." Akio shifted awkwardly before twiddling his thumbs and saying, "Someone told me it's like they suck your soul away... but... I don't know. If it helps the dragons not sense us... but..." Akio looked up at the picture on the mantle of him and his brothers and admitted, "I don't remember the last time I've seen Take smile like that.... it used to make me happy... now he's just like Sho-" "AKIO." A voice suddenly boomed from outside and Akio jumped and stared at the door, "You're late! Get out here this instant!" Akio looked between the door and Atmos a couple times before getting up, "I have to go, he's gonna get mad...." he stood up but he wasn't leaving quite yet. Atmos eyes flashed with an intense fire behind them. From what brief description the boy offered her this Jeral's Point was an awful place regardless of the motivations behind it. "Take is the one with that silly grin? Well then-" The boy got up from being called out by an angry voice. Atmos stood up as well, her eyes narrowing towards the source outside. She motioned with her hand for the boy to stay put. "You may not see Take for some time. I believe it's important you see him off before he goes. Wait here." Atmos made her way towards the door, her mind jumping from tidbit to tidbit of information. What she knew wasn't much but this place was no place for children and it pained her that she couldn't change any of that. But at least she could reunite two brothers. Akio looked nervous when she told him to stay put but he also wanted to see Take, and nodded at her as he stayed in the spot. Akio played with his hands a bit while she did. When Atmos had opened the door. The older boy in the most recent picture was standing there. His arms seemed to be crossed relatively impatiently before he saw Atmos and his arms uncrossed as he walked forward, "Excuse me, ma'am, what do you think you are doing inside my house? Where is Akio?" despite being a raised voice, there was no real indicator of any emotion lying underneath it. Like it had been whipped out of him long ago. The boy stopped when he was close enough to her, but not too close for it to be an uncomfortable closeness for a stranger, "And more importantly, who are you?" Atmos stepped closer towards the boy to the point where it would have been uncomfortable for just about anyone. "Master Atmos, keyblade wielder. Akio is waiting to bid his brother goodbye under my order. Takehiko's departure should be on the best terms if his training is to be productive." Was it a lie? Maybe. Maybe not but it didn't matter to her by this point. She looked at the boy with hard eyes and kept her tone authoritative. This boy claimed that this was his house. That meant this was another brother. "You must be another of his siblings. Perhaps you would like to wait here as well to see him off." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When the Demon Tower began to dissolve, there was this sigh of relief as the boy felt safe just being able to fly the boat without worrying about being attacked. Take turned the ship around to follow Jim back and looked over at Chrono and Aria and said, "I think we did pretty well. Maybe we're better fighting on ships?" he paused for a moment before he added, "Actually, no. Can we agree to not do this again if possible?" he looked around and said with a more deadpan voice than usual, "That was terrifying."
The tunnel lead to a split between two ways. One way seeming far more beaten up than the others, and Mora insisted they head in the direction of the one that wasn't. The black haired girl shifted her hair and explained, "That way is longer, goes the long way around this mountain. We're... under the mountain but not deep enough to avoid it entirely. I'm not sure why there's two paths. Maybe one was older?" she shrugged and continued along the other one anyway. Soon, they entered a room that was clearly designed more for long stay. There were bunk beds, dusted and aging but ready for someone to potentially sleep in. And inside the room were a few more supplies, some swords, staves, and shields. There were potion bottles, but the contents seemed to have dried up and were no longer able to be used. An old helmet of some kind was all rusted and beyond repair but lay on the shelves anyway as if it held the same importance as other items. An area for eating was also nearby, though no food seemed to be stocked either. A couple cans were on shelves. On the wall next to the table was a very large painting of a man in blackened armor, almost like a keyblade armor, with a golden trimming and a black cape to match. He seemed to be reaching up towards the sky as a great beam of light seemed to strike him in the back and through to the ground. Almost as if he was stabbed with it. Another painting was next to it, much more worn and damaged that showed armored soldiers fighting each other, but both sides being depicted in a very obvious black vs white colored armor type to show both sides. There was only one more painting, a man sat on a throne in full armor with a keyblade set forth in front of him. His helmet was off, but his head was down rested against the keyblade so the face was not seen and was blocked by a whitish-silver hair. A rug lay on the ground made up of some sort of animal's hide, blackened but fading slowly into a white, it looked to be the most recent thing in the room. Mora ran on over to the sword and grabbed it. She held it in her hands and then turned towards the group and said, "I... just want something to protect myself just in case. So you don't have to baby me... ya know..." she looked at the shields and grabbed one and put it on her arm and pointed the sword at them and said, "Unless I just look like a child playing with toys. Then I might just keep the shield." she poked a few more times in their direction to get the point across before she put down the sword and clung to the shield and said, "I get it." and she shifted on ahead towards the tunnel. But after a few more steps she turned around and her eyes glowed a yellow as she looked at them, "Unless something looked useful we should almost be there."
After the last round, Take felt a bit more confident that they could manage to finish this up. The boy looked back at Chrono and Aria, and while Aria seemed to be up for whatever method at that point, Take and Chrono locked eyes and he could tell the silver haired boy had a solid game plan in mind. Take nodded at him, not sure if he'd nod back before flying on closer to the demon wave. Keeping some sort of balance and making sure not to ride too close into the demon tower, Take got a good balance before firing blizzard with his keyblade. He ended up knocking some of the swarm onto the boat towards him and the boy held on as tightly as he could trying to maintain the steering. Take activated blitz and he got himself a few good attacks in until he felt sufficiently in control. After a few seconds of breathing, Takehiko moved himself closer to the edge of the boat and got a good large swings in at quite a bit of the swarm before he finally chose to back up and officially keep steering while the others finished the rest. HP: 31 AP: 0 MP: 5
