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is this what we deserve, can we break free

Who: Everyone
What: The Darkness has taken the Denizens of Light. How will they retaliate, having reached their destination?
Where: Alexandria
When: Sunday, June 12

Koios stood silently looking out of the window of Jagannatha's former quarters. He watched as their enemies rose from the Darkness that had pulled them in, stealing them away from their safe havens and bringing them here, where perhaps all of their worst fears would come true.

Alexandria's sky had turned black. The only things illuminating the false world anymore were a scant few lamps and candles... and the Hearts of the Allies of Light themselves. One had appeared with a fortress of Light, destroying many of the homes around them as Darkness threw her out of its arms. He watched, morbidly fascinated, as one by one, they rose into their cage.

Chernabog glowered down at them from above. He was a fine choice for the role of sentinel, boasting nearly as much power as the First Darkness himself. Koios, as well as the Heartless and Nobodies swarming about below, were nothing short of a safety measure - not that Jagannatha found it particularly necessary. In truth, it was more of a courtesy for the Nobody, a chance to properly boast to the losers, should he wish to take it. But for now, he remained where he was, observing the scene unfold impassively.

If Koios knew anything about the Key Bearers and Refugees, they wouldn't give up simply because they'd been trapped here, in Darkness, with no way discernible way out. No. That would only empower them. But the question remained: what would be their next step?

In any case, he thought, it would definitely prove to be a good show.

OOC: If you were not on the list of exceptions, you are now in Alexandria. Anyone who has any way of sensing the Hearts of others will know that any people native to this world have no Hearts, just as the world itself is lacking one. And yet, not a one of them is a Nobody.

All methods of transportation will fail.

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"Koios," he replied tersely, crossing his arms. "The resident Nobody sent to watch over you and the rest." He glanced up at the form watching over the world. Chernabog. "I'd say that I'm also surprised you're not out attacking him, but considering the hellish headache you probably just gave yourself, it's understandable."

"Watch over..." Aya rubbed her head and looked at him, then at the sky, then way over at the giant Fantasia demon she was easily able to recognize on sight. "Oh. I get it now." She looked back to Koios, giving him an arch glare, "This is our Tartarus and you're our warden."

She looked back up at Chernabog, "...yeah, give me a bit on that one."

Turning away, she looked back to Koios and started to approach him, but not close enough to touch-not yet. Frowning, she walked around him, looking him over thoroughly, "So you're a Nobody, eh? Can't say I've seen you in any of the games meaning we've really fallen off the radar now." She circled all the way around again until she's standing in front of him so she could stare him down.

Or rather stare him up. The famed Ice Wolf was barely over five feet tall. "So what do you want?"

Aria just watched cautiously for now. She knew little o Koios' abilities and wasn't really looking forward to a possible fight.

That and she'd hoped to find a few more friends before seeking trouble.

At any rate if there was going to be a fight, she wasn't going to be the one to start it.

"How much use can a warden be when he's just as much a prisoner as the rest?" he asked with a bitter smile. He watched Aya do her little inspection, arching an eyebrow at Aria when she passed behind him.

"Don't I qualify as a welcoming committee?" He returned her stare in kind, amused. Funny how one of the Refugees' strongest allies came in such a small package. "But really, I'm just out to satisfy my curiosity at the moment. Not much else to do here, and I wondered if, with your history, you may have a better answer for me than Roxas."

"So why's he trapped you here then? Do Nobodies not qualify for his world of Darkness?" Aya asked, hooking her thumbs onto her belt. Looking just past her right hip, Koios would probably notice the fancy-looking handle of a pistol there.

Saying nothing, she stared at him for a while after considering his mention of Roxas. Koios was a Nobody. Roxas was formerly a Nobody. What question may come suddenly solidified in her mind.

"Sounds like you want to talk to me about something important, then. Why don't we both go somewhere a bit more private. No offense, Aria..." she glanced over to the Refugee, "...but if everyone got pulled here, there's gonna be quite a few people roaming around that won't be very happy to see me."

She smirked at Aria, "So I'll catch up with you again a little later, 'kay?"

She thought about it and didn't like it but, was also pretty sure they wouldn't end up fighting unless Roxas decided to show up.

"Well, I guess if he wanted to take you out he would have done it while you were still banging your head on the wall."

And now she noticed that her dream hare had wandered off.

"Easily distracted little bugger, she muttered, looking around for the critter.

She paused to look at Koios.

"Alright look Flannel Man. I'm not happy about what you did to Roxas a while back but, it's not enough to make me want to start a fight with you." She grumbled in annoyance. "So, I'm just gonna go look for my fuzzy ball of trouble and hope I don't find Roxas first." She left it unspoken that she'd send the brat this way if he asked about the Nobody.

Unfortunately, Aria would be finding not only her adorably troublesome bunny and Roxas, but the Wild Onion named Shrek. Roxas was... upset, but he knew better than to let his worry stop him from acting. He was pretty sure he knew who would send him Sora's pendant like that and if that bastard was around, Roxas would find him.

He wasn't expecting to run into Aria, and would have missed her actually if Pancake hadn't dashed off when they got close to Aria. Following the bunny naturally led to the bunny's owner.

"Huh, who else got dragged here," he asked, before shaking his head and changing the subject before the question could even be answered, "Never mind, have you seen anyone we know for sure is an enemy? Morgan or Koios, maybe? I doubt Jagannatha's here."

Well that was a short trip. Aria squashed the urge to say something silly.

"Probably just about everyone." She was distracted by Pancake begging for attention and she finished the thought while fishing a cookie out of her bag. "I saw Aya and Koios over that way," she said, giving the cookie to Pancake and then pointing back the way she came.

So scary, that little refugee. Koios thought dryly. He was just trembling in his flannel.

"I qualify," he answered, voice hollow and void of even a memory of emotion. "Said he needed someone he could trust on the inside here, someone who wouldn't be caught up in the tide of emotion that could easily overcome everyone, even Key Bearers. I just so happened to be the only one of those sorts sentient enough for the job.

"So. Aya. Denizen of Light, child of Earth, Refugee, Kickassian, and the one and only Ice Wolf of Ivalice. You would be willing to help a Nobody like me, huh?" It was almost too good to be true. Sure, Koios had only asked for a couple of answers. But coming from this one, who had so strongly opposed the Organization that came before him... He'd expected nothing short of a Spine in his gut.

But who knew? Maybe he was jumping too far ahead. Time would tell.

"Seems to me like you got the short end of the stick. Unless he full expects us not to stay here and bust our way out in not very long, eh? Else you'd be trapped here with us FOR-EV-ER and that would really suck." Aya mused, taking note of Aria and her little dream hare. She suddenly found herself suppressing the urge to steal its wool and sell it.

She started to walk away, forcing Koios to follow if he really wanted to continue this conversation. "Wow, all those titles. You flatterer. Well let me tell you something, buddy, I didn't fall for Demyx's shit because he had a cute face and a sweet tongue. I won't fall for it when YOU do it either."

Suddenly, she whipped around to face him. Surely this would be where she pulls out the Spine and stabs him in the face, right? Except she folded her arms. "You want your heart back. But if you do that, then YOU become a Denizen of Light. You lose your powers. You get on Jagannatha's bad side. This smells like a setup to get on my good side so you can start feeding whatever escape plans we come up with back to your boss."

She stepped forward, lifting a finger to jab into his chest. "You want my help? You want my advice? First you gotta convince me that you seriously want this. Then you gotta promise to help ME. And believe me, I can help you but I sure as hell ain't gonna do it when you're just planning to dick me over."

Aya backed off and spread her hands out beside her, "So what's it gonna be, Mr. Nobody?"

Hands shoved into his pocket, he followed Aya obediently, listening to her tirade. And what a lovely little tirade it was. He had to fight to keep from laughing.

"All I was going to ask is why your Heart gives you such power," he said finally, one eyebrow raised and a grin on his lips. "But yeah, depending on the answer, I might end up wanting my own Heart back. What Jagannatha thinks about that doesn't matter much at this point, and frankly, I don't give a damn in the first place. We've had our disagreements about the power of the Heart from the very beginning."

He spread his hands out in imitation of her own. "Sure, why not? I'll take your help. I'll take your advice. I'll help you out. Obviously Jagannatha doesn't have any use for me anymore, if he left me here." His expression hardened. "There's only so much jerking around even a Nobody can take. And trust me, kid. If I wanted to dick anyone over, I would have kept after that Song. She's easy. You're not." The grin returned, all traces of amusement long gone. "I'm all yours, Ice Wolf."

Her thoughts suddenly stopped. If her life had a soundtrack, there would be a record-scratch noise here. "Wait, you weren't gonna ask that? But...with Roxas and..." Aya looked confused and a little disappointed.

The barest hints of irritation could be seen in her eyes now. Her lack of patience was legendary amongst the Refugees. "I dunno. There are things I want. Things like "not dying" or "not living in a fake world" or "getting out of this damn cage." I want these things with all my heart and I make a promise to myself to get them. And it happens." She paced away from him, trying to think.

"Shut up." she mumbled and turned, pacing in the other direction.

Aya gritted her teeth, "More importantly, it gives me the willpower to resist."

Turning to face him again, she stared at him for a long while, her green eyes hard, "Song is easy." she remarked, "I saw him jumping all over Jagannatha when he first spoke up on the community. Made me sick. Reminded me of old times. Anyway, I can think of two ways to possibly restore you to yourself, and one's a bit riskier than the other. Both ways you'll have to play your own part in pulling things together."

She circled around him, watching him like a hawk. "You, though, you can help me by telling me more about this place. And by doing nothing to stop me when I make my move to escape."

This time, he did laugh. "Take you by surprise, did I? Well. I told you I'd help you, and I will. I dunno about whatever's going on in that head of yours - don't bother telling me nothing's wrong, either; you wouldn't have been trying to break your skull earlier, otherwise - but I can give you that much. And hell, I'll even help you, if you want. Always hated Chernabog, the bastard.

"Anyway," he said, taking a few ambling steps as he talked, "this world is Alexandria, and that castle over there served as the former headquarters for Jagannatha while he recovered from the War of Hearts. He found a new host, Patrick, and stowed away on Mirror Earth for a while, where he found me. He made this world when he regained enough of his strength, modeled it off of some game Patrick played, and stationed all of his allies here. You ought to recognize the castle from a certain vision of yours from before the fun really started."

"...just a little. Nobodies only seemed to want two things to me. Their heart or to screw us over for their Superior. Fangirls are easy to manipulate to either end, lemme tell you." Aya grumbled. At the mention of her initial attempts to smash her own skull open, she fell quiet.

"Head voices." She admitted sourly, "I think the Miasma did it." Or it was something worse, if her theory held any water. "But hey, I want a crack at the big devil so a team-up would be...alright."

Wary, still, she remained. Much as her heart wanted to be the one to push this guy in the other direction, she'd seen too much double dealing to leap into it without second thoughts.

Listening, she frowned, taking in the information and chiming in with, "That's from Final Fantasy 9. So this isn't the REAL Alexandria, just a sort of...Mirror Alexandria." Holy shit, this guy created a whole freaking world! This was serious business.

Without warning, Aya suddenly advanced on the flannel-covered Nobody and grabbed for his shirt, aiming to pin him against the nearest solid object in a sudden aggressive display. Short she may be, she was actually decently strong now. Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper, a growl as she snarled up at him, "How did you learn about that post? I locked it. You shouldn't know about my visions. He shouldn't know about my visions!" Just as quickly, she released him. "Fuck!"

"A lot of you still forget to lock your posts from 'Morgan,'" he replied quietly. "She would have told Jagannatha, and he told me. Or maybe you did remember, and one of Maleficent's kiddies saw it and passed the information on. Either way, things have gotten a little tricky for you guys, if you ask me. Don't even know if you can trust yourselves with sensitive information." Koios shook his head, straightening his shirt after being released, gray eyes watching Aya cautiously.

"Speaking of your vision," he continued as if nothing had happened, "you were looking for the Door to Light, right? You won't get to it without a fight. I don't know what Jagannatha's set up for it, but I doubt it'll be easy for you guys."

"Nggggh. Tell me about it. Though honestly, it still feels like business as usual to me. Though if you can't trust yourself, then who CAN you trust? Man, I bet it was Song again. She's got that Medrau person rolling around in her head, possessing her." Aya squinted at Koios, "How many of Maleficent's kiddies are there? Do you know?"

Numbly, Aya nodded. Her left hand reached up to grab onto the goggles around her neck. "Yeah, that's the original plan. I was sorta expecting that much since he went through all the trouble of hiding it from us. Figured he'd have a guard. But there are keybearers here. Well, and me of course, for what it's worth. Though...do you think you could go take a peek at what he's put there for me?"

"Three that I know of for sure: that Medrau, Awiergan, and Hex. If there are any more, they've been much more covert than those three."

He turned, hands on his hips, to squint up at the castle. "That's just the problem, though. Bastard didn't trust any of us to know where the Door was hidden. Not me, not Grimhilde, not even Master Xehanort." The irritation was evident in his voice. "But if you've got any more clues I could use, I'll do it, no problem."

"I wonder who the other two are possessing." Aya wonders aloud, placing her free hand on her hip.

She smirked and walked to stand next to him, "Nice to know there are other super paranoid people out here. I could take another look. See if I can find anymore details."

She pushed her goggles upwards, watching Koios out of the corner of her eye. Her fingers never fully left the lenses, her posture suggesting that she was afraid someone would run by and yank her trump card away from her. They needed these right now.

Beneath her breath she began to mumble, alerting the Lenses and providing them a request. An inquiry into the details around the door.

Regardless of what she saw, she looked back up at him, eyes wide, "Wait, did you say Master Xenahort?"

Both of Koios's eyebrows shot up. "What, you didn't know he was allied with Jagannatha? He's been around for a while now."

"I sure didn't." The yellow-tinted lenses at least hid how surprised she was by this news. "Didn't even know he was around. Well...after reading up on certain spoilers I assumed Xehanort was around somewhere. But allied with the First Darkness? ...okay, well that makes sense, but..."

She frowned, "The other Refugees sure didn't tell me about this."

That in mind, Aya turned away, staring off into the distance, "...Lenses of time, reveal unto me where Master Xehanort currently is." From looking at her from the outside, Koios would see the lenses shine white then appear opaque.

It had taken a little searching, since Aria hadn't given a precise location, but Roxas did eventually find the two. They weren't fighting and Roxas knew Aya wasn't as ready to trust a Nobody as Song, but it seemed highly unlikely that Koios could be up to anything decent, whether he was in this place by choice or not.

Wait a minute... what was Aya doing with the Lenses? Roxas wasn't close enough to hear what she was saying. Had Koios somehow managed to trick her into using them to find something for him? Concerned, Roxas broke in a run, closing up the distance. While he did have a few 'issues' he wanted to address with Koios, he was a little more concerned with the current situation.

"What are you doing?!"

"If you didn't know, it's just as likely that they don't, either," he said with a shrug. Then Aya became more engrossed in the Lenses than their conversation, and he watched in fascination.

...At least, until a certain Key Bearer showed up.

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'm certainly not rushing to any unfortunate conclusions," he answered Roxas dryly.

"AUGH!" Aya suddenly yanked the goggles down off her face, a disgusted look on her face. "I HATE it when that happens."

A familiar voice reached her as Roxas came rushing in. With that accusatory tone, it's not hard for Aya to imagine what the ex-Nobody is implying. He never did think very much of any of the Refugees, least of all her, based on the impression Aya got from Roxas.

"I'm dealing with some business. Did you know Master Xehanort is alive? And working with Jagannatha?"

There was no way in hell Roxas was going to ask what Aya had seen, not when her response indicated that she'd seen something unpleasant or disgusting. And while the news of Master Xehanort not only being alive but working with Jagannatha as well wasn't pleasant, it seemed more like just the icing on the cake.

As to Koios...

"Whatever you're up to right now, I kind of really don't care since you seem to be just as stuck as we are," Roxas replied, "But I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong in assuming that you're the one that sent me Sora's crown. How did you get it and where is Sora?" He wasn't asking whether or not Sora was alive. That he knew, could sense. But, maybe it was the infecting darkness clouding everything, but that was all he could tell. If Sora was hurt or in serious danger, Roxas couldn't tell.

A vague gesture toward the castle would have to satisfy Roxas. It was simply the best Koios could do for him, completely disregarding the fact that he didn't really want to do anything for him at all. Why should he, when Roxas wouldn't even answer one goddamn question?

"He's somewhere that way, last I heard. Dungeons, maybe." As if that would hold him. "He might have gotten a little overzealous with the Heartless when they came for him, 'cause I found that crown of his, dyed a pretty little red. Figured you might like to have it." Jibes aside... "Don't worry about him, kid. No one was killed in the transition. Traumatized - maybe, I don't know. But he ought to be alive and kicking."

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