Roleplay Kingdom Hearts: Vanguard Rebirth RP

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

 

<For over a decade, the worlds have been rocked by Dark attacks. Orchestrated by the Dark Keyblade Master Xehanort, these attacks were designed to bring about another Keyblade War, but that isn't the only result. Other beings, craving power and control, have begun moving to take advantage of the chaos to exert their own wills. The witch Maleficent is but the tip of the spear of these threats, leaving the hero Sora and the other 7 Lights frantically trying to fight on multiple fronts.

You can change that. Recently, you were either given or found a note, challenging you to make a difference. To protect what you care about and drive back the Dark. If you have the heart, you are invited to meet in Traverse Town's First District, where you will meet others like you. Are you ready, Vanguard?>

 

Sign-ups: http://kh13.com/forum/topic/102451-kingdom-hearts-vanguard-rebirth/

 

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Across the worlds, an air of tension seemed to permeate. Aware or not of the encroaching darkness, people feel uneasy.

The crab Sabation tells his musicians to take a break from rehearsal, since they were all hitting sour notes. He'd normally be more angry, but even he can feel something is off.

On the main island of Destiny Islands, a young man in a beanie and dark sunglasses moves through a market uneasily, and not just from his discomfort with the setting.

In the headquarters of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, Merlin and Cid bicker as they try to work together to upgrade the CLAYMORE system for magical integration. Aerith can tell this is more than their differing views fueling this arguement.

With the worlds so on edge, it wouldn't take much to push them off. And many shapes in the shadows prepare to give that push...

 

{Traverse Town; First District}

Vaner added a little milk to his tea and stirred. He was seated at the little cafe in the main square of District One, with a good view of the square and the doors to the arrival area of the world. He too could feel the tension, but he was use to it. He sometimes wondered if he had ever truly been at peace, but usually dismissed these thoughts as fear and anger talking. Though it had been getting worse of late, but he was doing something about it now. He just had to wait to see what resources he had to work with.

As Vaner took a sip of his tea, Stella exited an old item shop and joined him at his table.

"Are stores of curatives should last as awhile, even if the worst comes to the worst." She said, adjusting her position in her chair. "I thought I'd double check."

"Sounds good." Vaner said, not sure if he should mention the three times he checked.

Setting down his tea, the Vanguard Master watched Stella for a moment. He was generally good at reading people, and the young lady was radiating worry.

"Relax." He told her in a gentle tone. "Deep breaths. This isn't that different from what you told my of your adventures on your world."

"Except there is more on the line." Stella answered, in a tone that was more factual than emotional. "I might not have known it in my head, but my heart knew there was more to the universe than just Eos. Now, I'm trying to protect them all."

There was a moment of silence before Vaner spoke.

"You could go back." He said in a soft tone. "Make a new place on Eos. No blame would be on you if you tried."

"No." Stella said firmly. "Too much is at stake to back out now."

She looked up at what seemed to be just another star, then back to Vaner with a penetrating look.

"And it wouldn't truly ease the ache to return to your own world you feel." She added simply.

Vaner's jaw tightened, then he took another sip of tea to cover it up. Sometimes he wished she wasn't as good as reading him as he was of her. Before Vaner had to come up with a reply, the entrance doors of Traverse Town cracked open, and a young man walked in, eyes wide.

"Whoa!" Nilas said, his eyes full of wonder at this new world.

He was still marveling at the skyline when a clearing of a throat dragged his attention to ground level and to the two people sitting at a small table. One, an older man, gave Nilas a pilots smile, while the other, a blonde woman, gave a smile and a wave.

"Hey!" Nilas called out, running over to the duo. "This where the secret meeting for enemies of darkness is being held?"

"Sort of." Vaner replied. "But more complicated."

"I'm Stella." Stella introduced herself. "And this is Vaner. Nice to meet you, Nilas."

Nilas eyes grew wide.

"You know my name?" He asked, agog.

"Yes." Vaner said with a slight chuckle. "We invited you."

Edited January 4, 2017 by rikunobodyxiii

[KHLegendIII 709]

A Corridor of Light opened up in the room where Vaner and the others were, and Seracus walked out of it. He looked at Vaner and the others, and smiled. It would seems that he was heading to the Vanguard hideout to join up. He folded an arm behind his back, and looked at Vaner. "Ah, so this is the place where you've been recruiting Keyblade Wielders, to help fend off multiple threats of Darkness, a rather noble goal." Said Seracus, talking to Vaner.

[Stardustblade358 806]

"You can make a difference."

Deseo narrowed his eyes at the words of the bloodied paper, a hint of disgust within them. He sat down, somewhere in between, whatever was inside a portal of darkness in between one destination and the other. Though the darkness was strong, creeping ever so much, Deseo had yet to lose his mind, his humanity, in a way. Though emotionally scarred his heart was clear, not yet fully influenced or in danger of being eaten up. Yet, how Deseo acted, many would think otherwise. Deseo's grip on the piece of paper tighten to the point of crumpling it up. "Make a difference?" Deseo mocked the phrase, scoffing afterwards. "Like the difference that it made to my world? To my home?" He found it ridiculous. How could they possibly make such a difference if they couldn't keep a world full of innocents out of harms way? Too late! Too late! Too late! If they could make a difference, why were his parents, his whole world, dead? Too late! Too late! Too late! Deseo lessened his grip on the paper, looking down on it as he read it once more. Traverse Town. That would be the place of meeting. There were no more details of it other than the world. Not that it mattered. Deseo had been there before, when he was alone, desperate, and he was taken to a place to get back on his feet after his whole world had simply seized to exist. He liked that place...it was warm. It was kind. He straightened the paper out, trying to fix the creases he had made. Once he did his best of it, he folded it up neatly and got it in the pocket of his hoodie. He had found it, on a Heartless actually. He figured that whoever the Heartless was before its heart was stolen, was a brave warrior that had gotten this invitation, and on his or her way to do such a noble act, was struck down, overwhelmed, and their heart stolen. For a moment, Deseo pitied them. But that moment was gone. "Maybe they are worth a visit, wouldn't you say?" Deseo asked, asking to nothing but thin air as his voice echoed. He paused for a moment before chuckling to himself. He stood on his feet, pulling his hood up over his head. His swords remained in their sheaths across his back. "Lets see them. I want to see them. I want to see if they can change anything." With that, he raised his hand, a portal of darkness opening before him. It had taken him a while to perfect this. Now it was almost as natural as simply drawing a circle. He walked through, the portal closing behind him, his destination: Traverse Town.

[Elrandir 783]

Ardyn Izunia - Fifth District Garden
"Such a pity," the Chancellor said calmly, "Such potential going to waste."
There was a black mist all around the garden, one would think it was because of the heartless, and it was, in a sense, since it was the only remaining thing from a group who dared to attack the Imperial Chancellor. The man picked a note that fell from one of the heartless, slowly reading its contents.
"It seems all of you had an important mission before my arrival," he said, "too bad you will miss your date with this "Vanguard" group"
Ardyn then turned around and walked towards the exit of the garden, his amber eyes scanning his surroundings. And idea forming in his mind.
"Perhaps I should take your places?" Ardyn asked to no one, "Do not want to leave your date waiting.  It wouldn't be polite if you did."
Without another word, the Chancellor calmly made his way towards the first district. This new world was a peculiar one, but that could be said from every world he had visited since the fall of Eos. Poor Crown Prince would have to wait for some time before he could return to the waking world, maybe the Draconian was protecting him from falling into the darkness. Apparently there was some kind of flaw in his plan to make the Crown Prince gather the light of the Crystal, because the moment he did and he began to twist Eos for the Prince's return was the moment the Heartless came and found the so called keyhole back in the citadel in Insomnia.
"Who would have thought such thing existed!" Ardyn said to himself, "I haven't been this excited since...well, I long time ago. Something tells me this will be an interesting reunion."


Hotaru and Aranea - Fourth District
"So... where are we supposed to go?" Asked Hotaru, "Never been here before today."
The woman who was currently traveling with Hotaru, a woman named Aranea turned to look at him.
"The note said we should go to the first district of Traverse Town," she answered, "It should be somewhere around here."
Yeah, they were lost, but after asking a couple for directions they learned that they current ly were in the Fourth District.
"This place is huge," Hotaru said, "and really different than Twilight Town."
Aranea shrugged and nodded.
"Sure is interesting," she answered, "And if you think this is different then you should have seen Eos. Maybe you will, if the world somehow comes back from whatever pit it's on."
Hotaru looked at the armored woman next to him for a moment, it was hard to read her emotions, but he was sure that she wanted to go back to this Eos place. Hotaru wasn't going to bother his companion if she wanted to keep some things a secret, everyone had the right to have their secrets. The two of them slowly made their way towards the first district where they woul join whoever was going to be there. After a couple of minutes, and getting lost a couple more times, the duo finally arrived at the First District were they saw a rather peculiar group of people.
"Do you think this is the place," Hotaru asked, "They certainly stand out."
Aranea didn't answer right away, she was focused in the young woman there. She looked familiar, like, very familiar. The face of the woman was the splitting image of the Oracle of Eos, Lady Lunafreya. Obviously she wasn't her, but the resemblance was uncanny.
"They really do," Aranea answered, "we should ask if this is the spot."
After walking towards the group, Hotaru was the first to speak.
"Excuse me, my name is Hotaru and this is my friend, Aranea," he said, "are you with the Vanguard? We found a note asking to come to Traverse Town's first district."
To both Hotaru and Aranea the sound of another voice came as a surprise, more to Aranea than Hotaru since said voice was one she knew.
"I was wondering about the same thing," Ardyn said with a smile as  Hotaru and Aranea turned around, "Miss Highwind, it is a pleasure to see you again."
Aranea was stunned, there he was, the Imperial Chancellor, one Ardyn Izunia, alive and well.
"What a coinscidence to find you here, Chancellor," she said, "I see that you survived the fall of Eos."
Ardyn kept his confident smile and nodded.
"Indeed, I was lucky enough to survive," he said before looking at everyone else, his eyes stopping with Stella more than anyone else, "Permit me to introduce myself. Ardyn Izunia, chancellor of the Empire of Niflheim, at your service. Now, as my young friend here asked, is this the meeting spot for this so called Vanguard?"

[Arya Stark 1,337]

A portal appeared on a table of the First District cafe. Selvera stepped out, and stretched atop the table for a second, before then picking up the coin that had produced the portal. It vanished just as a ball of flame seemed about to shoot through the doorway between worlds. Selvera took a look about her surroundings, noticing the two people who seemed very at home, along with one who was speaking with them. Her eyes were drawn also to two people who approached question in their voices. Vanguard. Sel pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded and stuffed in her waistband. Yep. First District. Traverse Town. Vanguard. Sel looked back to the pair of new arrivals. "It'd be a real shame if some allies of darkness heard you say that huh?" She said, an eyebrow cocked at how easily they had given their purposes. It seemed to her that they ought to be more careful. Everyday more and more dangerous people came into the world. Who's to say one of them might not have stolen this piece of paper off of someone who'd actually deserved it.

 

It was at that moment that a loud hovering motor sound came overheard, and a shadow covered the night sky. Thumps on the roof followed and then the shadow flew away, back up into the stars. A blond figure slid down the roof tiles then leaped off the edge of the cafe roof, doing a flip in the air, and landed on his feet. A bright smile on his face, Nikolai immediately began to talk. "Hello comrades! How are you this fine evening? This is the meeting for that whole Vanguard thing right? Good. That's why I'm here after all. Oh does this establishment have good coffee? Had a long commute, would love an energizer before we get to the whole kicking ass thing." Nikolai said, with a ready grin. A darker figure slid down the roof, then jumped down onto the ground behind Nikolai, no flip this time.

Hiroki grumbled, "You do not need an energizer." Sel watched the debacle, then slowly shook her head. Just what had she said literally three seconds ago.... This might not be worth the work.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

{Traverse Town; First District}

Vaner looked up and gave Seracus a polite smile. Though the new comer was not on the list of direct invites, people just showing up was expected and welcomed, but watched carefully.

"We think so." He replied, taking a sip from his tea. "Though those without keyblades are more then welcome as what's coming affects them too."

Stella stood up and went to greet Hotaru and Aranea, though she paused at the look the Dragoon had on her face. Was that recognition? She thought of asking is Aranea if they had met when Ardyn showed up. Him, she recognized. He was an advisor to the Emperor of Niflheim, in the Eos of her memory. She had caught glimpses of him a few times at official functions at Tenebrae. Now he was a Chancellor and got out before Eos fell.

"Yes, this is were potentially Vanguards were summoned." Stella answered, noting Ardyn's lingering look. "My name is Stella."

She refrained from saying her full name because she wasn't interested in dealing with the questions it would raise.

"Whoa" Nilas said, looking at Aranea's armor in wonder.

Vaner glanced around as the prickling of his senses indicated another portal. Selvera's appearance on a table got an eyebrow raise from the old warrior. The entrance didn't impress him much, but her comment on dark listeners did make up for that.

"It's safe to talk here, for now." He told her. "Though your caution isn't unwarranted."

Vaner jerked his head to the side when he heard the roar of an engine. A keen observer would see a flicker of energy on his dark eyes as Nikolai made his entrance. Stella too seemed to be half reaching for something, but both Vanguards relaxed as the prince introduced himself.

"Your enthusiasm is appreciated." Stella said diplomatically.

"But curbing it might save lives." Vaner added darkly, finishing his tea.

"There's a fresh pot of coffee just inside the café, help your self." He finished in a lighter tone.

 

{Traverse Town; 2nd District}

On the clock tower on the Gizmo Shop, a sidecar glider came in for a silent landing. The pilot and only occupant hopped off immediately and jumped to other roof tops. Staying just a shape in the shadows, the pilot slowly made her way to the 1st district. There was a plot to foil.

[KHLegendIII 709]

Seracus smiled, and bowed his head at the welcoming. He looked at everyone around, merely smiling. He waved at all of the newcomers, as he smiled on. He seemed to be wanting to talk to the newcomers. "Hello everyone, my name is Seracus. I have come here to join up to deal with multiple threats. I look forward to working with you all." Said Seracus, talking to everyone. He bowed his head again, although there was a small, brief glint of mystery in his eyes, but it quickly went away as it came.

Edited January 7, 2017 by KHLegendIII

[Stardustblade358 806]

Traverse Town always seemed to be in perpetual nighttime whenever Deseo came by. It was as if day time never existed in this world. It wouldn't be the first time. Regardless, it made he town seem prettier. His portal of darkness appeared in an alleyway, the darkness of the shadows covering up the portal itself as he stepped out and the portal disappeared. The first thing that struck him was the strong scent of coffee. It smelled delicious. Deseo followed the smell to the cafe, quickly stopping at the corner of it before taking a peek. It wasn't hard to detect. Strong beings. Strong people. The Vanguard the letter spoke of? Maybe. He wouldn't be attacking them at any time soon, however. For one, he was outnumbered. Secondly, he was hungry, and coffee sounded very, very good right now. "Right." Deseo hummed. He would keep watch on them...after he got himself some nice, warm coffee. He got his hands in his pockets, walking down at the cafe, doing his best to ignore the growing group of people, making his way inside. He quickly served himself a cup, his eyes glistening at the options of things to add to the coffee. He decided to drown it with sugar, before it adding one of those cinnamon sticks into it for extra flavor. He paused, reaching into his pocket and taking out a bag of munny. He gathered it where he found them. From abandoned houses, held by Heartless...on corpses. He bought himself a large cinnamon roll to go with his coffee, and calmly proceeded to take a seat by the window, where he could watch the group from the warmth of the inside. He lowered his hoodie, dipping his cinnamon roll into the coffee and taking a large bite into it. Even in despair, his sweet-tooth remained, at the very least. "(They aren't all so innocent...nor light. At least, not all of them.)" Deseo thought, drinking his coffee. No. Light was the only one. It surprised him. He thought all good guys were light. Maybe this Vanguard would teach him a few new things otherwise.

[Mystics Apprentice 2,397]

The coffee was just the perfect temperature to the blonde; not too hot that she had to fear burning herself, but just hot enough that it warmed her very soul as she drew in a sip of the black beverage.  Her face was hidden in shadows, silently observing as Vanguard collected itself.  Her fingers rubbed against the slip of parchment in her hand that she had received.  She too had been invited to join the Vanguard, fighting against the darkness.

 

Yes, fighting against the darkness.  Those who lingered in the darkness deserved to meet their match, to have their noses thrust in the dirt while light prevailed, the way that it was always meant to be.

 

Clarice uncrossed her legs and rose from her seat, coffee in hand as she approached the jovial knights.  They hardly looked like knights or soldiers to her, however, but rather just a ragtag group of children aimlessly hoping to make a difference.  Oh well, she thought, rubbing her tongue along her bottom lip, it would be worth at least seeing what their organization was about, given that the letter was motivational enough.

 

Carefully she set her coffee down on Vaner's table before giving him a nod.  "Are you the one in charge of this organization?" she inquired, her voice holding an air of authority and high order.  "Regardless, my name is Clarice.  It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.  I understand that you all are here concerning the same letter?"

 

---------

 

"Hmm, this place is just like a maze," murmured the blue-haired man, scratching his scalp as a frown furrowed his brow.  "Each district looks practically the same.  How the heck am I going to figure out if I'm in the first district or eighth?"  It was true: Skylar von Duree has been wandering Traverse Town for over an hour, though he felt that he wasn't getting anywhere.  At this rate he was going to be well late for the meeting with Vanguard.  Worse, he may even miss his opportunity of joining them altogether.

 

He fidgeted with the zipper pocket of his backpack, finally withdrawing a rolled up sheet of paper.  It was a rough map of the town, though he didn't find it to be of particular aid since he couldn't figure out where in blast he was to begin with.  With a frustrated growl he crumbled it back up and thrust it in its original location.

 

"This just sucks."  He turned his back to the building alongside him, one that seemingly offered parts for ships or tanks or some other device he had little interest in.  "Why do I always have to get lost when I have somewhere very important to be?"

 

Not far ahead he saw someone wander into a building.  Being the first living being Skylar saw in Traverse Town that night, he was clearly impressed.  He began to walk in that direction and was half-tempted to bother the boy.  While he knew it would be rude to just barge up to the first living soul he encountered he certainly needed to know which district he was in.  Maybe then he could translate the stupid map and figure out where to go.

 

As he approached he was surprised to see a number of tables filled with quite the number of individuals.  How had he not noticed them from his original position?  Now immersed in the group, he overheard "the Vanguard" a number of times by surrounding people, so it would've seemed that he found his way after all.  He also heard Vaner offer coffee, to which he was going to gratefully help himself to.  Along his way, however, he came across a red-haired woman standing upon a table.  A rather lovely one, in Skylar's opinion.  "Hey there, beautiful," Skylar said with a grin as he passed Selvera, offering her a slight salute.  "Has all of the good seating been taken that you have resorted to tables?"

 

He meant it in good nature, though it didn't occur to him that Selvera may take his joke in the wrong way.

[Elrandir 783]

Ardyn kept his smile while looking at Stella, oh dear Stella from the forgotten memories of a forgotten world. He saw that glimpse in her eyes when she saw the former commodore, and him, of course. Recognition and hesitation. The others were interesting people too, and so it were their own alliances and agendas, which one would triumph in the end, Ardyn wondered.
"What say you, Young friend," Ardyn said as he patted Hotaru's shoulder, "Should we get a cup of coffee while we wait? You are welcome to join us too, Miss Highwind."
At that moment Aranea was glancing in Nilas' way, a playful smile on her lips.
"See something you like, kid?" she said as she once again turned to look at the Chancellor, "A cup would be nice, Chancellor, thank you very much. It was a long journey from Twilight Town, and something warm would be good for me and my friend here."
Hotaru listened and looked at both Ardyn and Aranea, something was up with those two, more with Aranea than Ardyn. The tone of her voice was something the young wielder didn't heard that often.
"Is everything alright, Aranea,?" he asked, "you sound, i dunno how to explain, strange?"
"Just peachy," Aranea answered with a smile, "Come. Let us get something to drink."
The young woman was the first to go inside for a cup. Hotaru looked at Ardyn, who only gave a small bow before following his partner.
"Interesting," Ardyn said before looking at everyone else before stopping once again with Stella, "If you excuse us for a moment."
Oh, this was going to be so much fun. Something to ponder over while he waited for Eos and the Crown Prince's return. He had waited for a long time, a little more wouldn't hurt.

[Arya Stark 1,337]

Selvera's eyes went towards Vaner as he indicated that it was safe. For now. For now was definitely the operative in that phrase. The state the worlds were in, nowhere remained safe for very long. She began to look around more from her vantage point, taking all of it in. A younger boy who seemed quite energetic, a blond woman quiet and reserved, an older man dressed in large coats. He in particular struck her as odd, and she felt a tighter tie to him than to many of the others. He had the stubble, the scruffy hair of a man who had no home, like her. She continued to analyze them all, the fine gentlemen who'd come from the sky, the blond one had gone to get some coffee whilst the dark haired one watched the armored woman who'd gone to speak with Vaner carefully, cautiously. He seemed to have some sense, keep quiet and understand before doing anything further. Sel's thoughts were rather suddenly and rudely interrupted by a blue-haired man, who came in out of nowhere. "Easier to see simpletons like you from up here," Sel retorted swiftly, the compliment while not unwelcome, certainly had a time and place that was not right now. She did step down from the table, having forgotten to do so.

"Soooo!" Nikolai declared loudly as he came back from the coffee bar, a steaming mug ready in his hands. "Are we gonna play a name game or something now? Wait a little bit longer perhaps? Who knows, someone might have gotten lost, don't want anyone losing out on valuable name game time." He jested easily, as he took a sip of the coffee. He nearly spat it out. It was really hot, and that had been kind of dumb to drink. But he recovered, and flashed a smile to all as he went to stand by. Hiroki meanwhile was engaged in watching Clarice, he'd overheard her name when she'd told it to Vaner. She was full of light, like many of the others here, but hers was harsher, crueler. Hiroki wasn't sure how she might react if she saw his darkness utilized. But that was a problem for another time. For now, things should be getting started soon.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

{Traverse Town: 1st District}

Vaner gave Seracus a friendly nod. His apparent serenity was a trait the Vanguard Director found familiar. He encountered it many times in his past. He just hoped it was ended up better for Seracus than it had for the other sorry bastards.

The silent way Deseo came into the group captured Vaner's attention more than some of the more dramatic entrances. He was getting a strong feeling of pain and anger from the boy. He was tempted to expel the boy from the group to save on a potential danger. But... in one so young, perhaps it wasn't too late to alter his path. Vaner had to believe that it wasn't too late for Deseo. He caught Stella's attention as the small group she had been seeing to moved on, and gave her a subtle gesture to Deseo.

Stella watched the boy Vaner had indicated for a moment, a little relieved to have something else to think about then the refugees of her old world. She had accepted the reality of her situation, but that didn't mean it still didn't hurt that she no longer had a place in her own world.

"That's not helping." She mentally chided herself.

Watching Deseo for a few moments, Stella thought she could pick up on what Vaner had seen. The boy could be difficult to reach, but they had to try. She took up a seat across from Deseo and gave him a warm smile.

"Hi, I'm Stella, though you might have already heard that." She introduced herself.

She glanced at what Deseo was eating and then to the café.

"Are those any good?" Stella asked. "I haven't tried to eat here yet."

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd decide to join us." Vaner said as Clarice joined the group. "And yes, I'm the one in charge, and sent most of the notices that you received or found."

As more and more people arrived, Nilas felt like he was in some sort of of adventure tale. He had done his best to protect his town, but never thought he'd actually be with other heroes trying to save the world. Now there was a knight here. A Knight! But there was one guy he didn't fully get.

"Are you a wizard?" Nilas asked Ardyn, looking at his odd garb and hat.

"I waiting to see if we get a few more stragglers before starting a more formal introduction." Vaner told Nikolai, overhearing the young man's question among the hubbub. "If all else fails, I'll make name tags for people."

Grinning, the Vanguard Director picked up his tea cup, but remembered he had already finished it and put it down.

 

{Traverse Town: 2nd District}

She had to move slowly so as not to set off an alarm or be spotted. If she wanted to maintain her partner's safety and keep their edge on Xehanort, she had to do this perfectly. As she edged along the rooftops, about to cross into the 1st District, she saw a shadow up ahead change shape slightly. She froze in her tracks and stopped breathing. She wasn't alone up here...

[KHLegendIII 709]

Seracus sat down at a table, looking around at everyone, getting a cup of coffee, and taking a sip, smiling. He could feel that things were getting interesting. He had many things on his mind, thinking about something, before than taking another sip of his coffee. He continued to look around at everyone with a smile still remaining on his face. He could tell that joining the group was simple, and he felt that the situation was about to get interesting.

[Stardustblade358 806]

Deseo felt his body tense up as he watched Stella come over to have a conversation with him. She asked about the cinnamon bun, which by this point only a small piece remained. "It's good." Deseo spoke, hoping that answer would have her to stand up and walk back to the rowdier group. Was it due to his age? Most likely. It angered him, in a way. The last thing he wanted was pity, but getting into a fight now would not be the wisest thing. Especially considering he just ate. He had to wait at least an hour until doing any strenuous activity by will. "I don't want your pity." Deseo finally spoke, insisting on it as he finished his cinnamon bun. Pity brought nothing to no one. "I came here because your letter said that you could make a change, make a difference. I wanted to see if it was true." Deseo said as he glanced over to the growing group, his eyes narrowing slightly. Such...a loud group. "Right now you all look more like kids on a field-trip than an actual force of reckoning." Deseo said, scoffing slightly as he finished his coffee. He settled the cup down and reached into his pocket, searching for the letter from before. He took it out, neatly folded despite having it crumpled it before, settling down on the table in front of Stella, the parchment still tainted red with the blood of the poor soul that had lost their heart with it at hand. "This letter was meant for another. I just happened to find it on a Heartless." He admitted, staring at Stella dead in the eyes. "Do you really think that you can make a difference in this, even after dozens of worlds have fallen into darkness, countless of lives lost and hearts stolen? There is only so much one can do. We're only human."

[Elrandir 783]

Hotaru was looking between the strange man named Ardyn and his friend Aranea. He had to ask, and after some deep thought, he finally looked at Ardyn.
"So," he said, "you two know each other? from the same world, correct?"
Aranea was drinking a cup of coffee but she was glancing at both men.
"Indeed," answered Ardyn, "She had the rank of commodore within the Imperial Forces of Niflheim. Before that she was"
"A mercenary," Aranea said, a slightly strained tone in her voice, "Working for the Empire."
Hotaru slowly nodded, there it was again, the tone in her voice. There was some history between these two besides their ranks and working for this empire.
"Working diligently permitted you to rise through the ranks, Miss Highwind." Ardyn commented with a smile, "You should be proud. Imagine my surprise when I saw you safe and well. Perhaps we can cooperate with each other to return the world of Eos back from the darkness that engulfed it."
Aranea remained silent, this guy was hard to read, not a single hint was coming from him. Hotaru simply listened to the conversation, and Aranea was not sure if he needed to be around the strange Chancellor. Her thought was broken when the kid from before came closer.
"A wizard you say, friend? " The Chancellor asked, "Heavens no, but I do am able to cast a vast diversity of spells, for example,"
Ardyn raised his hand, the palm facing upwards, before it began to burn, the flame dancing in a non existent breeze, Aranea was surprised by this act, wasn't the Lucian royal family the only ones who were able to use magic? The Kingsglaive members too. How was it possible for the Chancellor to use it? The flame then changed into sparks of electricity moving around Ardyn's fingers before it suddenly got a little colder thanks to the blizzard spell. The Chancellor looked at Nilas and shrugged.
"Spells such as Fire, Thunder and Blizzard are easy, " he said calmly, "but more complex spells require a little more time to cast."
Hotaru was slightly impressed, this man was strong, he could at least tell that. Yet the true extent of his abilities was a complete mystery. Aranea meanwhile was looking at the Oracle look alike while she was talking with one of the people who arrived for the reunion. It seemed that the boy was hurt, his tone was harsh and there was pain and anger hidden in his words. The way he spoke to Stella was something she was not used to, her face made Aranea thought as if someone was bad mouthing the Lady Lunafreya, which was impossible, of course. She calmly made her way towards the two of them.
"And it is because we are humans that we want to try our best to help those who have fallen in these hard times. You speak as if you think of us as children on a field-trip , which is hardly what we are." Aranea said coolly, "You, of all people here, calling us kids is rather hypocritical. You are perhaps the youngest from all of us, and yet you must be the one who has been hurt the most. Your words hide a lot of things behind them, not all of them are good, at least I can tell that much."
The Dragoon turned her back at the troubled child, looking at Stella with a rather blank expression in her face.
"You offer salvation to those in need, to make a difference for them," she said, "but remember that there are those who are not looking for neither, those who would rather see a person suffer just because they suffered too, Lady Stella. My thoughts are that this child is one of those people, an issue that must be dealt with before it spreads to everyone in the group and hurt those around you, even if they did nothing to deserve it. Those feelings are a dangerous thing, they can swallow you whole before you even realize it."
Ardyn was looking at the Commodore, her words were rather dull, at least for him. Dark feelings were a dangerous thing, that was true, but it was also something that made you do many things, he was proof of that. Hotaru was a little worried for Aranea, Stella and this other kid, the meeting didn't even started and there was a problem already. This was going to be a long day.
"Mister Ardyn," Hotaru said quietly, "shouldn't we stop Aranea before something bad happens?"
"Just Ardyn, or Izunia if you do so wish. Do not worry yourself for Miss Highwind, my young friend, "Ardyn said with a rather cryptic smile, "She can take care of herself. She is a rather strong individual, capable of great things."

Edited January 13, 2017 by Elrandir

[Saber Lily 1,543]

Twilight Town stood in perpetual sunset it seemed...but as the current day began to wind down, as the final sunset began to slid behind the horizon, a lone girl sat inside the clock tower. She was sitting before a shrine, hands on her knees, legs splayed to either side. Rocking a bit from side to side, eyes closed, she was singing to a shrine. It was a simple rectangular column, atop it a small plushie, a WINNER ice cream stick, and a Keyblade charm. The girl's voice could be heard even down below, her haunting, sorrowful song but a tune...for no words were needed to convey the sadness within. But her song faded as behind her, a shadow came across the shrine. She looked over her shoulder.

"There was a letter at your house."

"What of it, Eclaire?"

Lightning huffed. She song till preferred Lightning over her pastry name. "Vanguard."

Zion sighed, almost sadly. She leaned forward, lifting her rump songtilladlyo she could bring her legs together. She jetted back as soon as she was on her toes, getting up...but Light was already dusting off her shorts and legs.

"I'm per-"

"Just enjoy."

"...that can be take- " Headsmacked, Zion rubbed her head. "You could just say don't make it inappropriate." She hugged Lightning, who only used one arm to return it. "I guess duty will always call."

"I shall guard your home."

 

"Our home." She smiled, then slipped around her friend and headed out. She placed a foot on the sill, looking out over Twilight Town.

"Zion."

Looking back, she caught a sword. "Altria said to borrow Himitsucalibur. She'd rather you not reveal your true identity with your Keyblades."

"Tell them all thanks."

 

She smiled. Holstering it on her back, she leapt off the tower...and disappeared in a flash of light.

 

Appear in the First District, she tripped over the lamp post nearest to the cafe and crashed down hard onto Vaner's table.

"Ow..." she groaned in pain. "Who put a lamp post by my wardrobe..." she complained confusedly.

[Stardustblade358 806]

Deseo glared at Aranea, not really minding to hide any distrust or anger towards the stranger. If he hadn't finished his coffee he would have not hesitated to throw what was left at her head. It really angered him. "Don't you dare come and judge me as if you were a saint of your own accord when you know nothing of me!!! Your simple-minded words are almost laughable, actually." Deseo said, obviously rather insulted that this woman had tried to set him straight, or whatever she meant with her words. She knew nothing of him. How dare she speak to him, and then about him as if he weren't even there? With his unstable mind and emotions, her words angered him more than probably anyone ever meant for them to have. Deseo stood up from his seat, quickly standing right up to her as he kept one arm on the hilt of one of his swords. his fingers twitching. If she wanted a fight, oh he would not hesitate. Fighting was the only thing that kept him alive. It might also be the only thing that kept him sane. "You speak to me as if I were a pest. If that is your reasoning, I invite you to try and get rid of me. Your little sheltered mind obviously needs some smacking around for you to realize how ignorant you sound." Deseo hissed, his eyes glaring at Aranea with something at the verge of insanity, or simply revenge. By this point he had completely forgotten about Stella, more focused on snapping back at Aranea and her words. He was ready to pull out his weapon at any time.

[Elrandir 783]

Aranea stood  very still, not because she was afraid, on the contrary, she felt that she didn't had a reason to rise her spear against the kid behind her.
"And as you can see, Lady Stella," Aranea said, "this just proves my point."
The Dragoon turned around to look at Deseo, her face not showing anything, not anger or frustration, just nothing.
"I do not consider myself a saint, that is the last thing I would be," she said while looking at the boy. "You have a lot of growing up to do, kid. This temper tantrum of yours just confirms my, what did you called it? simple-minded words? Not that I particularly care. Now, if you wish to fight, please do not include me, it would be a waste of my time, and I'm sure there are more important things to do."
Aranea once again turned around and made her way back to her table. Hotaru had a worried look on his face, while Ardyn just kept smiling and, once Aranea took a seat, he began to clap.
"Bravo, Miss Highwind," Ardyn said, "What a splendid display, rather strange coming from you, but splendid nonetheless."
The woman snorted at the Chancellor while the young Keyblade Wielder looked at the Dragoon and shook his head.
"Aranea, you're not like that," he said, "Why did you do it? We are supposed to be part of the same team, aren't we?"
She was about to answer when Ardyn spoke.
"Are we? Are you so sure, my young friend?" he said, "We are from different worlds, we have different ways to look at life. Take us for example, our work was to conquer a kingdom by any means necessary. We, or at least I've done things you could barely imagine, and yet here I am, having a rather nice cup of coffee with you, someone who wants to save the worlds. Miss Highwind has some skeletons in her closet too, everyone does, and yet you're willing to be friends with her."
The look on Ardyn's face was one of complete calm, but Hotaru could feel something was hiding under that look.
"Take some time to reflect on that, yes?" Ardyn said, "We want the same, save the worlds from the darkness, but after that you don't have to worry about what everyone does in their own world."
Aranea did not fully agreed with the Chancellor, but some of his words were true, would it be possible to go back to Twilight Town once the worlds were back to normal? She would miss the place that was her home for a few months. Hotaru on the other hand just looked at the table and sighed.
"I wish I could understand you, Ardyn," he said quietly, "but I think that is going to be a very hard thing to do."

[Mystics Apprentice 2,397]

At Selvera's response the blue-haired young man whistled. "Ooh, a little icy, I see," he commented, though didn't press the issue further.  This one certainly seemed to have an attitude problem.  Skylar made a mental note of having fun by pressing her buttons later.  Now it was time to get to know more of his future comrades and the first objectives of their mission.

 

A man who had just returned from the cafe, Nikolai, had proposed that they exchange names, something which seemed like a reasonable idea to Skylar.  He was usually terrible with names, especially those affiliated with women, but it probably wouldn't hurt the situation more than being a group of nameless heroes.  The presumed leader of the group, Vaner, had wanted to wait on names until everyone had gathered, which seemed reasonable to him.  However, he still kind of hoped the name tags would be a thing.  Then he wouldn't have to worry about name memorization at all!

 

He slipped inside the cafe to get himself a cup of coffee, though when he returned with it others would probably assume that he'd gotten a "splash of coffee with his cream."  He really couldn't stand straight coffee and had to dilute it tremendously in order to enjoy it.  On his way through the crowd he noticed Seracus, a man with a smile plastered on his face as he watched the group.  "Anyone claimed this seat over here?" he inquired, placing a hand on the chair alongside the Keyblade wielder.  "The name's Skylar, by the way.  I'm assuming that you're joining Vanguard in like?"

 

------

 

Clarice nodded, accepting Vaner's answer and extending her hand in greeting.  "Well, then, I look forward to serving your cause and hearing what you have to say."  The blonde was going to inquire as to when his speech would begin, but then she overheard some words between Vaner and another man that names would be exchanged at a later time when everyone had arrived.  "No doubt his speech would start then, too," she thought to herself, lifting her cup of coffee to take another sip.

 

It was a good thing she had lifted it, too, or else it would've been knocked over by the woman who had seemingly fallen from the sky and landed on their table.  Clarice gave a start, spilling coffee onto her lap as she jerked in surprise by Lightning's appearance.  Her brow furrowed, gaze hardened upon the rose-haired woman.  That was certainly the rude entrance.  Just when she opened her mouth to speak the woman muttered something about a lamppost in her wardrobe, a statement that made absolutely no sense no matter how you looked at it, according to her.

 

Despite the harsh words that desired to leave her tongue, Clarice felt obliged to be polite.  "Are you quite alright, ma'am?  That was . . . quite the fall you had there."

[Saber Lily 1,543]

Zion looked up and Clarice. "Yeah. I just didn't see the lamppost in my way." She laughed, sitting up. "I'm fine, I do that all the time. I'm surprised I didn't flatten a cute girl. That usually happens." She smiles and slides off the table, brushing loose food and such off of her. "Well, maybe I should have brought Lightning with me...she's a lot better at landings." She chuckled, turning. "Hi! I'm Zion! Who're you, and is this the place where the Vanguard is meeting?" She asked politely.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

{Traverse Town; 1st District}

Stella had been expecting some backlash from trying to talk to Deseo, but she hadn't been expecting the ferocity of his response. She was considering how to best respond when Aranea came to her defense. The venom in the Dragoon's tone made Stella wonder what kind of nerve Deseo had struck with her. It wasn't until Aranea addressed her directly did Stella began to understand, and flicked slightly at being called "Lady Stella". She only got a few glimpses of the new Eos through Etro's Light before falling asleep, but she had seen her replacement, Lunafreya, had been some sort of holy woman. If Aranea was viewing Stella with the same reverence, this would further complicate Stella's life.

As Deseo retorted, Stella could see Vaner giving the interaction his full attention. While she knew him as a good man, he tended to deal with problems in a direct, final way. She gave him a small sign that she could handle things, then waited for Aranea to finish.

"My thanks, Miss Highwind, but I can look after myself." Stella said a little tightly as the Dragoon went back to her table.

She regarded Deseo a moment before speaking again, knowing she had little time to defuse the situation. Her eyes seemed to shine as if it was reflecting a light, but the angles coloring were wrong for the lamps of the 1st District.

"You wear your loss on your arm like a badge." She said, speaking directly. "It has eaten at your heart to the point that you cannot feel anything but anger and hatred."

She cocked her head to the side as she seemed to be reading Deseo's soul.

"I'm not even sure that the prospect of saving others from the pain you have experienced would effect you, which makes it difficult to explain why we are trying to make a difference. You don't want pity? Very well, then accept a warning. You are traveling a destructive path. It ends with you becoming what destroyed your happiness. If you think this fate suitable, then there's not much left to say. If not, then we are here to offer you an opportunity to change your path. We have all experienced one kind of loss or another, and we are determined to prevent it from happening again. Yes, we are human. Yes, there is much to do. But not trying simply dooms more to the fate for your loved ones. And if you choose to protect the happiness of others, you can find your own again."

Stella closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, the strange reflection in her eyes was gone.

"The Light of Etro makes somethings plainly seen." She explained, sounding slightly apologetic. "Now, it's up to you. Give into hope or give into despire. You already know what despire feels like. Why not give hope a try?"

By the time Vaner had returned part of his attention to the rest of the gathering, Zion had already arrived and was conversing with Clarice.

"Ah, Zion de Wynter." He said, standing up. "You have come highly recommended by some mutual friends. I'm glad you could join us. I'm Vaner, current head of this little meeting."

 

{Traverse Town; 2nd District}

"A trap." The infiltrator thought. "Of course."

Of course it was a trap. Why hadn't she listened to-

A gust of wind sent her a warning that she reacted to before she fully realized it. She dove forward, just in time for the metal point of a spear to hit the roof where she had been rather then her body. She rolled back onto her feet, pulling a wand from a braver.

"Ruin!" She cried, sending a spell wildly to deter a charge.

When she had regained her footing, she saw a dark cloaked figure land next to the spear and rip it from the roof.

"Care to explain?" The figure's deep voice demanded.

"Not to you." The infiltrator nearly spat before casting another Ruin spell at her opponent.

[KHLegendIII 709]

Seracu slooked at Skylar, and simply smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. "You could say that, young man. I've been from place to place, and I came across the recruitment during my travels, and I decided to lend a hand." Said Seracus, talking to Skylar. Seracus suddenly looked up, as if sensing the commotion between the Infiltrator and the hooded figure. He took another sip of his coffee, and he folded his hands together. He looked around at everyone, examining them, before then unfolding his hands. This was going to be interesting for him, seeing how many people there are in the Vanguard. "It would seem that someone has barged in uninvited from the rooftops." Said Seracus, talking to everyone.

Edited January 17, 2017 by KHLegendIII

[Stardustblade358 806]

Deseo was this close to dive right at Areana. Just quite literally run up and tackle her. But Stella spoke first. Deseo looked at her as if she had lost her mind. Though the look in his own eyes spoke volumes otherwise. He couldn't help it, and as he lowered his hand from his blade's hilt, he laughed. Loudly. Worse part was that it sounded genuine, childish and giggly. Once he did calm down, he looked at Stella with a wide smile. "My heart? Is that really what you think is wrong with me?" Deseo asked, leaning closer to Stella. He admitted, the look that she had in her eyes was intriguing. What kind of power was that? He would love to know. He wondered what she had seen in him if that was the case. Though it's possible she didn't see much, otherwise she would have attacked him, or screamed, or both. "You've all experienced loss? That includes you too, right? What kind of loss did you experience? I would LOVE to compare notes." Deseo spoke. Anyone else would have said that Deseo was insane if it wasn't for the remaining glint of life in his eyes. He hummed at the idea. "Well...I don't have loved ones anymore. Anyone who really loved me or I loved is kind of dead. I have nothing else to lose because I've already lost them! You should have seen that with those magic eyes of yours, miss Stella." Deseo paused, leaning in and reaching his hands out to Stella, a sudden innocence in his eyes as he held her cheeks momentarily. "But I will admit your normal eyes are pretty. They're just like mom's!" Deseo let go of Stella, but not before he poked her nose, looking as if he had just thought of something up. "I'll see where this hope you speak of leads. Maybe it'll be fun. But then, seeing that you remind me of mom so much, it means that from now on, I get you call you mom!" Deseo said, sounding rather insistent as he jumped back on his feet. "I'll stick around for the ride. Then that way, if you die, I get to keep your eyes, right mom?" Deseo said, despair in his voice as he spoke, even if he didn't notice it himself. Stella did look like his mom, now that he looked at her. Maybe the wrong hair color, the wrong age and the wrong tone of skin, but the eyes were definitely right. Even the warmth of them was nostalgic. Would she be able to make cookies like mom did? He doubted it. No one could make cookies like mom did! But if he could find mom, could he find dad too? He blinked up, looking back at Seacus as he spoke. Someone uninvited? He quickly looked at Stella. "I didn't bring that one."

[Elrandir 783]

Both Hotaru and Aranea looked up while Ardyn looked at Seracus.
"Indeed," he said, "It appears that this meeting will have to be postponed for a later time."
The Keyblade Wielder looked between Seracus and Ardyn before speaking.
"Shouldn't we, uh" he said, "you know, investigate?"
The Dragoon stood up, but the Chancellor swiftly grabbed her arm.
"Do not be hasty, Miss Highwind." he said, "Let's study the situation for a little longer, lest you end up in a bad situation. "
The Chancellor worried? Surely that would be a joke, but Aranea was not sure about the man, she never was. Meanwhile Ardyn was having some kind of fun while watching Stella, he could see many things in her eyes, this meeting was a meeting predestined by the divine.

[rikunobodyxiii 700]

{Traverse Town: 1st District}

Stella regarded Deseo with a neutral face. As expected, his words and attitude showed he wasn't interested in actually finding common ground. The way he assumed she hadn't seen that his parents were dead further showed his need to make the world see his pain.

"He might not want pity." She thought. "But everything about him invites it."

But before she could properly respond to Deseo, some of the recruits were commenting on hearing something.

"Don't worry about bumps in the night." Vaner said with a shrug. "We have some friends keeping an eye on the surrounding area."

The sounds became louder, with identifiable grunts and gasps of a fight. A few spells became audible, then the clang of metal on metal.

"Clangs in the night are a different story." Vaner continued in a dark tone.

He pulled out a yellow blaster from his coat and walked towards the center of the square.

"Stella, secure the witness." He said, his tone and manner changing from polite host to commander who expected to be obeyed.

Stella stood up sharply, knocking her chair back. A large, golden sigil appeared behind her as she nodded her understanding of her task, then stepped through it, disappearing. The sigil faded an instant later.

"As for the rest of you, it's time for your first trail." He said eyeing the assembled hopefuls to become Vanguards.

The sound of weapons clashing got louder, along with an erratic wind over head. Finally, there was a loud thud, and a man clad in loose black clothes and a face wrap came flying off the roof and landed heavy in the square. He tried to get to his feet, but collapsed. Vaner ran to the man's side to check if he was still breathing. Satisfied, the Vanguard Director looked up to where the man had fallen from. Standing there was a young woman, wearing a violet hoodie, a black skirt, black and white stockings, as well as dark brown boots. Her hood was up, concealing her face. What was not concealed was the wand in her right hand and the broad sword in her left.

"First task, Vanguards." Vaner said darkly. "Apprehend that girl."