Let's Get to Work (The Guardians/PM for Invite)

[Shun]

((This takes place minutes after "How to Seek Passage to a New World"))

"All right, now to wait."

Taking a seat outside the café, the former soldier sat, arms folded across his chest as he leaned his back on the comfortable chair. His eyes firmly bounced around as he looked for some of the people he had seen earlier, but, as he had suspected, none of them had stayed. Probably just the bunny waitress. Having his thoughts back around her, the teenager frowned. She had quite a big deal of information about Organization XIII and nobodies, perhaps even about the Dark XII.

While the tall woman could prove to be quite the fine ally, she could also turn out to be a formidable opponent. He had to be careful about what he would say at such public place. Sure, they would have to talk somewhere more private, like his Gummi Ship, afterward.

He looked back at his watch. His friend was late. Max had sent a message to his ship saying he had successfully retrieved Rellen, but he had just recenty seen it as he had been training non-stop for one whole month. Or had they been two? Either way, the pyromancer would have to start without him.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as he stood up, grabbing the caramel frappuccino he had bought moments earlier before sipping it's contents. Hmm, delicious. Mikael Darrow had been traveling to the Second and Third District quite frequently lately... mainly to watch other people fight the Heartless. He had been quite impressed by a few of them, having such a living fighting spirit. Some, in the other hand, fought like graceful swans, sweeping the dark creatures gently but with speed. And there were even others who dedicated themselves to support their party with healing and protecting chants.

Indeed, he was looking for fine Guardian material, and a few people had caught his eye. But would they all fit the bill? Probably not; for now, they couldn't be such a public organization. There was no room for betrayal in their resistance, and they needed to choose their members carefully. Every little detail was important, no matter how insignificant it could have been in the past. These were other times, full of darkness, distress and turmoil.

It was time to lighten them up a bit.

Moments later, his wish would come true. The raven haired man would notice a human-like figure approaching the café, amd he couldn't help but feeling a bit relieved. A soft smile graced his features as he eyed this courageous kind stranger. Actually, the real stranger would be Mikael; he had watched this candidate before and he was determined to get most of them recruited.

"And they come to me... like children searching for candy."

[cody1215]

Rokaku liked coming to the café, it was always to quiet and peaceful. Well most of the time, sometimes(like today) it wasnt so peaceful, meaning fighting. Rokaku tried to ignore the arguing as he patiently waited for a waitress to come over to his table, OUTSIDE the café so Aramus could be there as well. Rokaku always tried to be as polite as possible and stay out of other peoples business and not to eavesdrop, but, tonight he had been waiting almost an hour and he couldnt help it. He moved over to a table that was closer to where he could see what was going on.

Apparently a winged woman had brought some sort of an animal into the café, she didnt want to leave, started a loud argument, people tried to get people to calm down, more and more people showed up, someone hit someone else, someone tried to light him on fire, everything settled down. Who Rokaku recognized as Shiro and Ravian, but he decided not to say anything to them. Rokaku looked down at Aramus who had his ears perked up, and un-blinking eyes staring at the inside of the café.

Rokaku heard someone mention an Organization XIII " Hmm, I wonder what that is." He didn't know much about nobodies other than how they are created, and they are enemies to him, but nothing other than that. Rokaku also heard talk about going to Halloween Town, a strange place that Rokaku didn't like at all. Suddenly Aramus started growling even more fiercly, and Rokaku looked back into the café, seeing that a dark portal was in the café. "Heartless? Here? How?!" Rokaku shouted as quickly jumped to his feet, unsheathing his sword. Rokaku was about to run into the café when he saw people walk into the dark portal, and it dissapear. Rokaku stood there staring at where it had been with a blank look on his face."What just happened?" He asked out loud to everyone.

[poseidon]

Jack Styx now had enough Munny to leave. He had been saving up the little amounts that he had earned from the Heartless, and now, after nearly a month of being in this place. He was almost sad to leave, considering all the Heartless-fighting merriment to be had, but Jack felt that he could do more elsewhere. There was only one thing left to do-- tell Saga.

Jack had decided not long before that he was not going to continue with her. She wanted to capture the Heartless and study them for a weakness while Jack already knew it- a sharp sword and a spell or two. It was an effective strategy, and worked against all of them, save a few- namely the pesky, flying yellow ones. They seemed to be unaffected by thunder- even absorbing it. Jack guessed that it was their element- sort of how the red ones used fire, the blue used ice, and the green used cure to heal the rest.

In any case, it was time to make his leave. Jack traveled to the café that he first met Saga at, with his sword in its sheath and with his bag on his back. As could be guessed by any observer, he planned on leaving tonight. Someone had offered to give Jack when they were going to leave, so he took them up on it. The Munny was partially to pay for the ride, but also for food, items, and whatever else he might need.

Upon arriving at the establishment, Jack passed several people who were talking about a woman with wings, an arguement, a fight and some sort of fire. Immediately curious, Jack moved to take a seat, but heard the tell-tale sound of an unsheathing sword, and a shout of "Heartless? Here? How?" He used his eyes to pick through the people until he saw a person running, holding a sword, to the entrance of the café, stopping at the doorway.

Quickly walking towards the stranger, he had his hand on the hilt of his own sword, ready to pull it out with all this talk of Heartless. "What just happened?" the person asked, which was nearly equivalent to Jack's own, which contained a number of rude words, in his mind. He waited for an answer, realizing shortly thereafter that the person would likely wonder about a random person looking over his shoulder about five feet back. It would've been closer, but for the surprisingly large wolf nearby.

Instead, he sat in the closest chair, which he failed to notice soon enough was literally right next to that of a black-haired individual who happened to be waiting for someone. Jack glanced over, but had to do a double-take to realize that there was a person there. "Oh- I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were..." he started, then stopped. Instead shifting to a different topic that Jack frankly cared more to voice, he asked, "Do you know what happened here?"

[Deleted]

Sitting at a table in the shadows of the cafe, Arthas sat and watched the people walk back and forth. He sipped on a vanilla latte, a delectable treat he had discovered during his time in Traverse Town. He had his hood up, hiding his face from the other people. Anybody could be a potential enemy.

"Heartless? Here? How?!" was the next thing that Arthas heard. He gave a small start, but remained sitting down as he watched a boy stare into the cafe. Looking himself, Arthas saw a dark portal close. He smiled, unable to believe the boys ignorance. "Stupid boy, he can't even realize a Nobody's portal......" he murmured to himself, smiling. But when he looked back up, his smile was wiped off his face. The man across from him, his face was familiar. Arthas was sure he was the one watching him fight in the Second District. He got up from his table and moved to one closer to the man, but just far enough away to be inconspicuous, and began watching him.

He hoped he wouldn't be noticed, but unfortunately, that's not always the case.

[Shun]

((@rokaku: Organization XIII is quite the elite group... I wonder where did he read about them?))

"...What just happened?"

Mikael quickly turned away from the coming male (Jack), his attention attracted to a man (Rokaku) who was appearantly making an outburst about the recent events. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he noticed the uneasiness and distress expressed by the way he held his blade. He was indeed a clueless one, possibly one that needed guidance. Hmm... no, that would be part of Jadis's job. The rumor said she had been picking quite a number of addition apprentices; not that it bothered him, but it wasn't wise to give out free information without some kind of test.

Yes, he was going to test them all.

Glancing away sapphire eyes met a blank gaze, its source being a male customer (Arthas) from the nearby café. A small smirk graced his features as he looked away, immediately recognizing the man. Quite foolish of this "stranger" to think he would go unnoticed. But he would learn soon enough... very soon.

The sheep were indeed gathering around him, and it all seemed like fate's kind work. This was proving to be quite easy... too easy for his liking. The pyromancer had expected more of a challenge regarding gathering them all. Still, there were quite a few missing and he would have to look for them later. But now, only the circumstances at hand mattered: the boy he had noticed first soon approached him.

Mikael nodded with empathy, not looking alarmed or irritated at all. After all, this was turning to be quite a pleasant day. "No need to apologize," he calmly began, cutting him before he could finish. The man glanced at the other two males for a second before addressing Jack once again. "After all this isn't the first time you have ignored my presence, unlike the man over there." The older teenager cocked his head at Arthas, keeping his voice low enough so Jack could only listen.

"Mikael." He turned to him, offering his hand for the energy user to shake. The pyromancer was pretty sure he had freaked out the younger boy, at least slightly. Here came the first test for him. Would he take and shake it or simply turn away and leave?

Darrow raised an eyebrow, eyeing the café before speaking once again. This time, however, his voice was slightly louder so one could listen if they paid attention. "As for what happened here, a man offered a girl safe passage to another world by using the Corridors of Darkness, which our friend over there misunderstood as a Heartless invasion."

[Deleted]

(Hmm, i think Cody's time is up.)

[cody1215]

(Well theres not really anything i can do, other than sit down, so i was waiting for more people to join or something, and i was just gone for like almost 4 days. Oh and Chris wouldn't Arthas recognize Rokaku?)

[Deleted]

(Have they met? I thought it was Kova and Rokaku.....)

[Shun]

((I thought I had posted this, apparantly I forgot. @.@. Let's keep this thread clean of OOC conversations, ok guys? If you need to post something other than an actual RP post, please do so at our Water Cooler thread here. Cody and Zexion have been both skipped, I believe, so it would be Chris's turn.))

[Deleted]

(Sorry, Shun. Back to buisness!)

Arthas smiled under his hood. The boy had obviously noticed him, and he decided to make his move. He got up from his seat and walked over to the clueless boy's (Rokaku) table. Sitting down, he whispered, "I see that that man over there has noticed you as well as me. Tell me, have you seen him watching you as you fight?" He glanced over at the man and whispered, "This is strange. He could be an enemy, but he's acting too friendly. What do you think?"

[poseidon]

Jack was slightly startled by the stranger's statement. Eyeing him, Jack figured he was a bit older than himself, and he seemed to be here for a reason. As a matter of fact, Jack got the nagging feeling that he was part of that reason, from the stranger's statement and the way he was openly interacting with Jack- and only Jack, at the moment..

After the boy introduced himself as Mikael, Jack nearly hesitated in shaking his hand. As he did, he felt like he was making a secret deal. One so secret he didn't even know about it. But no propositions were made, so he thought he was safe. For now. "Jackson Styx," he replied as he broke off the handshake after a second.

Mikael explained the events of not long before. Corridor of Darkness? What was that? It sure didn't sound good. And he could see where someone mistook it for a Heartless attack- the things were pure Darkness. But a humanoid Heartless (assuming the person who offered passage was indeed humanoid)? Was that possible? They were all like animals in Jack's eyes. Animals that were a plague upon the Worlds. Animals that needed to be exterminated.

Returning to the present events, he spoke to Mikael. "Er... What did you mean when you said that it wasn't the first time I ignored you? I'm not sure I've ever seen you," he said.

[cody1215]

After a few minutes of Rokaku standing in the doorway to the cafe, he decided there was no danger right now and started walking back to his table."Well I have noticed him looking at me, but after what just happened it's understandable. No it's my first time seeing him I think." He said to the man who was at his table.(Arthas) He sat down, and started drinking from his coffee which was now getting a little cold, while waiting for an answer he called for a waitor so he could get something to eat, then he looked back at the man and saidHi, my names Rokaku and this is Aramus by the way. Do you know anything about what just happened inside the cafe just now?"

(I modified the post where I said that Rokaku read about the Org.)

[kagerui]

(Was wondering, we ARE able to control some of the npc's, well the unimportant ones right? xD)

Falling from the darkness, he fell... On a street?! ''Itaii...'' he painfuly whispered. People were staring at him, but in a few seconds acted like nothing happened.

'' Where am I?! What is this place?'' he whispered to him self.

He was confused, but tried to not make a scene. He stood up, tapped his clothes to clean some of the dirt and walked to a... cafe as it seems and sat on a stool. A waitres came to him and asked:

'' Would you like something to drink, sir?'' with a smile.

He was confused, but replied to the waitres:

''Would it be OK to order just water for now, miss?'' he replied in a sad tone of voice.

Daisuke still couldn't belive what happened back there, before the portal. He wasn't sure, was it really a portal into a new world? Or is he dead? Of course he hoped for the first option, because he still has a purpose and thats to learn what he fought or at least to learn of the condition on his world. The waitres replied:

''Water for now... Sure. Just one moment, sir!'' she smiled and walked away.

Daisuke heared some strange people talking, but wasn't concerned at the time being, he had so many questions, but didn't know who to ask.

''I feel alone... Where are my family and friends? Is this a nightmare?''

he thought to him self and looked down on the floor sad and deep in thought.

[Shun]

((@cody: Thanks, sorry I just get slightly pissed when people get this knowledge out of their sleeves when there are people who have earned it legally aka. via roleplay. @reaver: Can I call you Reaver? xD. Anyway, yes you can control extra NPCs. @everyone: Those who are going to be in the Oogie thread as well, Mikael is giving you a ride if you don´t have the means to travel to Halloween Town. Post at the Water Cooler so I know which people are tagging along.))

The man couldn't help but feeling a bit disappointed when the boy shaked his hand. However, he wasn't expecting Jack to act like he was supposed to so there wasn't really any harm done. Mikael shaked these thoughts off, looking at the younger male once again. "I appreciate your trust, but it would have been wiser to not accept the handshake. If I was one of the "bad guys" I could have used this as an opportunity to strike you down." He paused, a small chuckle escaping him upon sensing the confusion in his query.

"Well, I've been watching you fight in the other districts. Against the Heartless, that is. Don't worry, I'm not a stalker; the reason why I decided to approach you face to face is that I believe you could be a valuable member in a group I am creating." It wouldn't be wise to say anything else, as they were in quite the public area. Besides, Jack hadn't agreed to help him yet, and if the Dark XII managed to learn about this conspiration...

They would hunt them down.

All of them, and she was included.

Mikael had stopped trying to keep his feelings away; he knew he cared for Antique, he had known it all along. You could say that what he felt was something more than pure attraction or infatuation; it was love. Still, he knew it would be unwise to form a relationship with the current circumstances as it could be used against both of them. Perhaps after this was all over, they could give themselves a chance...

"There is another candidate in the cafe, and he knows I have been watching him. Don't worry, once I get him over here we will go somewhere safer where I will explain everything." Confident that Styx would follow him, the pyromancer walked around, approaching the table where two men (Arthas and Rokaku) as well as a wolf (Aramus) sat. The older man probably knew he was the one Mikael needed, so the latter went straight to the point.

"I need to speak to you, care to spare a few minutes of your time?" he said, looking at Arthas with friendly sapphire eyes. While he waited for an answer, the pyromancer glanced at the other man, sensing his aura. Well well well, he could be a possible candidate as well. "You can join us as well." he told Rokaku before turning to Arthas once again.

[heaven]

Within a quiet Inn, the young, white haired summoner readied herself to leave Traverse Town, she didn't need much, just a few potions which she placed in a white sachel. She took one last look at the room in which she had been staying in and smiled.

"New day, new destination," she spoke softly before snapping her pale fingers, soon her form began to break down into one hundred soft, white feathers that moved together in a swarm out the window. A small gift was left behind on the bed which Heaven had slept on.

Soaring through the sky like a flurry of doves, Heaven's transparent form within the feathers searched Traverse Town from above, it wasn't long before she noticed a small number of unusual people, two of which, she recognised.

"Sir Arthas?...I wonder what he's doing here," her voice whispered as the feathers slowly began to descend, beginning to swarm and form a sphere that Heaven soon stepped out of, as for the feathers, they dissolved into her pale skin. "Mikael is here also...?" she tilt her head to the side, wondering what must've been going on, she decided not to interrupt...

It wasn't long before Heaven saw something fall from the darkened sky, almost causing her to jump with fright. "Oh, my..." she said, worried, even though the young man had stood up and acted like nothing had happened, either way, the young summoner wanted to see if he was OK, so she rushed over to him.

"Uh...! Excuse me?" she spoke with concern as she stopped and stood beside him, her pale features seeming quite worried, she carefully placed her hand on his "are you alright? You're not hurt, are you? If so...I can help..." the young girl's silver eyes saddened at the look on his face "...are you lost? You don't...look like you come from around here..."