005 @ the one who survives by making the lives of others worthwhile

[hikari_no_kundou]

Who: Eraqus, Terra and Ventus (with coma-cameo by Aqua, with mun's permission)
When: [SRSLY BACKDATED] 19th September: 7pm-ish/around evening sirens | An hour after this conversation
Where: Sector 4
Summary: The House of Departure is making a very bad habit out of unhappy homecomings.
Warnings: Srs faces.



Forty minutes ago, Terra had called his Master back with news he hadn't wanted to tell, and that Eraqus hadn't wanted to hear.

A plan of action was then formed on the fly with his eldest apprentice, keeping things short and to the point, before Eraqus fired off a quick message to Ventus. He had promised to let the youngest know what was going on, though Eraqus sincerely wished it had been better news. But between the three of them, they would be able to cover more ground. At worst, they might meet at the middle, and be forced to fan out again from there..

They could only hope that Aqua, where ever she was, could hold out until then.

It was news that seemed to push the building headache he'd been nursing into overdrive, and when he had reached instinctively to call for the Master Keeper, he had been hit by unexpected and very forceful resistance.

One could not call upon a Keyblade that was already in use, after all.

But he could follow where that attempted call might lead.


Five minutes ago, a new text had been sent to Terra and Ventus both. Short - abruptly so, especially given the Master's preference for full sentances and grammar even in text message format.

[ Found her. home soon. beware unversed. ]

Any replies to that, text or audio, went unanswered there after.

It was bad enough to be cutting things so close to the wire. But when the sirens' wail began to fill the streets, heralding the fall of evening and the approach of darkness, neither the Master or Aqua had returned.

Comments

[todomarishi]

Terra wasted no time getting back to the house after he received his Master's unusual text message. Ducking into a nearby alley, he stretched out his left hand and called the darkness forth, letting just enough of it gather to create a portal in front of him. He directed the shadowy passageway to his bathroom, trusting it was one place in the Departure house he could safely step into without fear of being seen. Once he was sure the darkness had dissipated fully, he dismissed his armor and headed out to the living room to look for his friends and Master.

It seemed his return had been especially quick: save for their small menagerie of pets, the house was empty.

Terra settled down in a chair, his eyes following his direwolf as Oro paced around the room and occasionally vanished into the hallway leading to the front door.

[feverpitching]

Like Terra, Ven headed for home as soon as he received the text message from the Master. However, unlike Terra's convenient method of travel, the youngest of the Departure team had to rely on his glider like always. The usual hum of energy that it produced as it moved was pushed to a roar as Ven sped through the sky and back to the house as fast as he could.

The siren still hadn't sounded when Ven dropped off his vehicle and dismissed it along with his armor in the front yard. The houses stood quiet, and he fumbled for his key before sliding it into the front door lock and heading inside.

"Hello?" he called out, poking inside and stepping into the hall. He immediately spotted Oro and knelt to pet him.

[hikari_no_kundou]

How soon was 'soon' going to be in this case? The sirens droned, yet there was no further word nor late arrival of the remaining two residents of the House. When the sirens finally did cease their harrowing call, the tense silence outside dragged time into a weighty, uncomfortable pause.

A pause that was broken twelve minutes after Darknessfall by a sudden surge of light: a portal of white and silvery-blue energy was spun into existance between the living room and kitchen, forming there rather than the corridor leading to the front door. The swirl of Light magic took but moments to materialise, yet there was a prolonged wait for something -- anything -- to come on through.

Given the speed that darkness could descend once night had fallen, that surely was not a good sign.

When a figure finally stepped through, it was armoured, silver-grey steel slightly tarnished in places and Keyblade held tightly in its grasp, though at a somewhat awkward angle. This was in no small part due to the crumpled tangle of limbs carried ever so carefully in its arms. A bloodied, battered and bruised figure wearing Aqua's face.

The Master's armor dematerialized in wisps of golden energy as he strode forwards towards the couch. The Master Keeper vanished at once, the portal snapping shut with the Keyblade's dismissal.

"Towels, clean cloths and hot water," said Eraqus, Now an order that was implied in his tone of voice, evenly matched by the grim expression he wore.

[todomarishi]

He spent the long wait drumming his fingers on the armrests of his chair and shooting uneasy glances at the nearby clock. He was just considering heading back out to search for the Master when the blinding light of a portal graced the room. Terra was up on his feet in an instant.

The rest of the night would be a harrowing blur of blood stains, Cure spells, and questions with no good answers.