Event || The Answer

[melodiesmods]

Characters: All characters who signed-up for the event.
Where: South Continent of Balance (Imperial Territories)
When: April 20th to April 30th.
Summary: The Heroes of Light have lost consciousness and now find themselves in the middle of nowhere, without their Moogles and away from everything they know. They will have to get back home, but what awaits them on the path? For more information, please check the First OOC Post and Second OOC Post.
Warning: Bad things.

Group 01: Team Hijinks House
Group 02: Team Brigands
Group 03: Team Discovery Channel
Group 04: Sephiroth's (In)Sanity Squad
Group 05: Team (Bad) Shipping Advice
Group 06: Team Blue-Haired Lords on Fire
Group 07: Team Mom and Late Sleepers
Group 08: Nothing Bad Will Happen
Group 09: The Hellhounds
Group 10: Loftwings, A Working Title
Group 11: Team Oni
Group 12: Team F.N.T.I²
Group 13: Team Name-In-Progress
Group 14: Team The-Mods-Couldn’t-Brain-A-Name
Group 15: Seraphim Shenanigans

Comments

[stupid_erika_shenanigans]

"A spirit? So that's your thing today?" said Erika, whirling on Kumojacky. "So what, are you some kind of disembodied Kumojacky like the ghost of Christmas past?"

[answernpcs]

"Come at me then, Red."

He sneered, grounding himself, before pointing his cane at her in manner as if he were going to start a fight with Ruby right then and there, though the girl as in for a surprise if anything.

He didn't care for the other red haired guy that was next to him. It seemed like he could hold his ground well enough in any case.

"All I hear is useless talking and it's quite rude to call me a crook."

[just_want_normal_knees]

With a battlecry, Ruby threw herself towards Torchwick,, using her Dragoon's initial ability, Jump, to leap up and drop in on him. Of course, where they were, there wasn't much room to really jump...

[answernpcs]

Unfortunately, for Ruby, the attack connects but doesn't connect with flesh. In fact, it merely slips through him as the man laughs.

"Is that all you got Red?"

[just_want_normal_knees]

"Wha...? How...?!" Ruby stammered as she just... Went through him. Like a ghost. "There's no way you can be that fast!" Even without her weapons, she swings her fist, intending on using Crescent Moon to strike him with a swung fist.

[her_rose_is_red]

Ib watches the fight nervously. What's going on? Are those guys ghosts? Or illusions? The attacks are going through them like they aren't even there. She tugs Kaji's sleeve.

"Sh- should we try to help them?"

[iknowtheconsequences]

"They cant touch them, but they can attack back..." Kaji muses out loud. He stares intently, focused and worried in a way he rarely gets. "It's a trick, or a trap. I thought it was another of those tests! That they had to pass..."

But maybe they're going about it the wrong way. "Wait. This still might be for them to do." Kaji raises his voice.

"Ladies! I know you've got some pretty personal vendettas with your targets there, but they know it too. Con man only works on a mark that he has confidence will fall for it. Might I suggest?"

"Switch places."

[stupid_erika_shenanigans]

Erika and Coffret paused in surprise at Kaji's statement.

And then the pair facepalmed as one, seconds before Coffret proclaimed, "COUPE-SAMA USE CHOCO BEAK ON THE GUY WITH THE STICK!"

"WARK!"

And there's a divebombing Chocobo coming at him.

[answernpcs]

Unfortunately, Erika and Coffret passed right through Torchwick as well, which caused him no small amount of amusement.

"I can't believe you guys. You idiot keep on fighting like it's gonna change anything." He turns to Kumojaki with a smirk. "In more ways than one, right?"

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji continues to stare at the result of his new plan. He was sure that would work. Unless. Unless that was never the point.

There is applause. Slow, mocking, loud applause, broken when Kaji reaches into his pocket for a cigarette. "I've got to hand it to you. No, not you two." He lights the cigarette. "Whoever's controlling you two. You're not the brains of the outfit."

"Girl I know from back home, you put the right image in front of her, and she'd drop everything to attack it, too. This is a con. I don't know what you'd gain out of just this." Kaji takes a long drag off the cigarette. "So this has got to be a distraction."

"The ball's not under shell one," points at Kumojacky, "or shell two," points at Torchwick. "So we've gotta ignore these two to find the con man who's hiding the ball in his hand."

Kaji pushes off from the wall and starts walking towards their 'opponents,' as if expecting to just go through them like the others had.

[answernpcs]

Kumojacky looks surprised at the applause. He didn't expect Kaji or Ib to be involved in this, but he closes his eyes and refrains from speaking until Kaji walks up and passes right through him.

"This is how you always think," he said, looking away from Kaji. "There has to be an answer. There has to be a way to stop the cycle. But it's just an excuse not to give up when you should." With that, he looks at Erika. "Garland will succeed in restarting the cycle, whether you fight or not."

[her_rose_is_red]

Ib gapes as Kaji boldly walks past the two men. That takes courage. She'd been about to quietly follow when Kumojacky tosses off that comment. But she's not letting that one go. She glares at him pointedly.


"If that's true, then why do guys like you keep showing up? If we can't win why are so many people trying to stop us?"


Maybe she's just being bold because Kaji set the example. But whatever the case, she's not going let people like this intimidate her anymore.

[stupid_erika_shenanigans]

"Man I should have known," said Erika, exhaling as she dropped her fighting pose.

"The real Kumojacky knows how tough partners are. And how strong people can be when pushed."

[answernpcs]

Kumojacky frowns and stiffens. He couldn't understand why Erika and Ib had to talk this way.

He first turned to the small girl. "You lot need to be reminded of this lesson in futility. The cycle has never been broken before, and why should it now?"

Then to Erika, with whom he was visibly angry with. "And you! Make sense, rookie Cure. I would never stoop so low as to rely on others to do my job."

[answernpcs]

"Good luck breaking the cycle, foolish Heroes of Light."

Torchwick snickered as the scene became more obvious. His laughter was pretty loud when they were all shocked with how the weapons and attacks simply slipped through them rather than connect into flesh. He flicks his cane some more, but it doesn't look like he's interested in fighting these brats anymore.

[iknowtheconsequences]

There is a part of Kaji that is incredibly relieved that worked, and he didn't get shish-kabobed in front of his daughter. The expression on his face doesn't even flinch on the outside. He pauses and listens to Ib's question. She really is sharper than people might have expected.

"That's it?" Disbelief. "Pretty lame attempt, if all you wanted was to get us to give up the fight. If anything, I think you've got two very angry young ladies more determined to find you and stop this."

He takes a few more steps up the passageway, keeping his back on the illusions. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain? Or do we get a peek?" Who's behind the visions this time? It's starting to get old...

[answernpcs]

The two men don't turn around, but they don't fight the girls any longer. Instead, they continue to glare at three in front of them, daring them to follow Kaji.

[stupid_erika_shenanigans]

"... Kaji's right," said Erika finally, recalling her chocobo and standing up. "We're not going to get anywhere with fighting them, and what you can't hit, you can't reason with."

Giving Kumojacky a smirk, she put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "You almost had me fooled, whoever you are. But that's a seriously poor excuse for a Kumojacky impersonation! The real one was defeated by Coffret and I years ago, and he's a good friend of ours now. There's no way his heart hasn't closed off again!"

With that, she starts to follow Kaji.

[her_rose_is_red]

Staying here would only be a waste of time. It is nice to know they don't need to fight though. Ib follows without hesitation now, walking right past the two men without so much as a glance.

[answernpcs]

Kumojacky's face contorts into something almost monstrous as Erika walks up to him, and once she passes through, his image doesn't completely form and little specks flick in and out of existence.

Torchwick glances at Kumojacky in alarm before turning to Ruby. He holds his head higher and leers at her through narrowed eyes.

[just_want_normal_knees]

"...they're right." Ruby said. She let out a sigh and pulled out of her stance. "I can't fight you anymore and you can't hurt me anymore. You're not here; you're locked away in Atlas. And hopefully, you'll stay there!" With that, she quickly went to catch up with the others. "Wait up!"

[answernpcs]

Once Ruby walked through the two men, Torchwick's image shimmered. After a minute, both he and Kumojacky burst into small particles of colored light that flew upwards to the cave ceiling, where it illuminated the entire room.

Once the light fell to the ground, silence and darkness returned to the caves, leaving the four Heroes alone.

[iknowtheconsequences]

Kaji looks back at the others. As much as he wants to press on, to find the answers, he'll pause for a moment. "Are you all right?" Would he be all right if he had just been confronted with, say, Gendo Ikari? Count his lucky stars.

"Whatever's doing this, it knows just what buttons to push. I don't like that."