Organization XIV - The Story So Far

Dispatch, who'd been staring off after his senior, turned his head at the boy's words. As long as the three of us stick together...definitely sounded like something the Chief would say. Even if there were four of them. And then he'd give an order to divide and conquer or something. The notion brought a smile to his face. Geez, today had been insane, now he thought of it. The Coliseum, the exhibition match at the gates, the tournament itself, and now meeting the Chief again...this was nuts.

He shrugged, half at himself and half at the MC's question. "Eh. I'm used to this sort of thing. We do tournaments back home all the time, and I'm always off flying through space for...well, a few reasons. Chief there's one of 'em. First real headway I've made in way too many years. But now I've met up with him, there's this feeling in my gut that tells me I can find the others, too."

Dispatch paused for a moment to crack his knuckles. "Not to mention, I'm looking forward to showin' off what other cards I've got up my sleeve."

Back home? Gestalt tilted his head. Now that he thought about it, something was off about what Dispatch had just said. 'We do tournaments all the time', in present tense? Then 'back home' couldn't be his home world, which had vanished under the guy's very feet. And for that matter, he hadn't seemed nearly as shocked about something so traumatic having happened only a short time ago. Either it was just an odd choice of phrasing, or there was something he wasn't telling them. But, well... Gestalt hadn't told them a damn thing about himself, now that he thought about it. They only knew him by his made-up name, at that.

Jackie had lost her home and family, too, and while the Saiyan seemed almost apathetic about the loss of Vegeta, the young woman seemed to harbor a deep aching for everything she'd lost. Her trust in him had been somewhat shaky to begin with, would it break their fledgling bond if she knew he had simply abandoned his own home? No, no, that wouldn't be enough to shatter their trust. But it'd probably be a blow, and that wouldn't be advantageous. He wouldn't dance around it, but he wasn't going to invite trouble when he didn't have to.

Perhaps spurred by his worries, he turned to her. "And you? You're smarter than me, I bet you've got a few ideas. What do you see in our future?"

Jackie looked down at her hand, flexing it twice as she recounted the last few days. She'd really had barely a moment to rest, being flung from fight to conflict, from refuge to a dying world to one that collapsed around her entirely. She thought about the home she'd had, the father who had raised her himself, alone, and brought her up in the world. He'd watched her flourish and become more for herself, and imagined what it was like, seeing her put herself out there for others. How she'd declared to the King during her induction ceremony to the guard that she'd become the Head Scientist and Royal Guardsman at the same time. How that bravado had failed her in a moment of darkness, how she'd betrayed the hand that had helped her a half-day before in order to seek solace. She started to feel it eat away at her stomach, but brushed it off as being hungry. 

Hungry... maybe that was a good word to describe her right now. "I think I'm ready for a good meal. I've come from a crippling loss not too long ago, so having a victory like this is just what I needed. We'll probably have both coming up, but until we get there I can't really say. I'm looking for someone. I think a lot of people here might be. I can't dwell on it for too long, but even if I get beat down, I have to think of something else. There's always a solution, as my dad used to say. Sometimes it just isn't the one you wanted it to be."

Herc smiled and nodded as each of them spoke, making eye contact and not interrupting until Jackie had finally finished. When she did, he let out a heavy, satisfied sigh through his nostrils and spread out his arms. "I'm happy to have heroes in the making like you placing first. If you don't mind, I'd like to introduce your teams tomorrow using some of your testimony from right now. If that's alright with each of you. And really... I think that's it. I might have something a bit more for you all tomorrow, but for now I'll leave you to rest up."

Jackie looked to see where Hercules was headed, before turning back to the rest of the group. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm famished after everything today. I gotta restore my magic supply, and easiest way for me to do that is some good food. You guys wanna come back to the inn and grab a bite to eat? I'm feeling up for a lot more of the local food, something about it is just so..." Jackie paused for a moment, hands in front of her, as if the food was in her hands but still just out of reach, searching for the right word. "...good? It's divine, though that's probably heresy given current circumstances," she added with a wry grin. "C'mon." 

Once they'd arrived and gotten settled in with an appropriate (for their appetite) amount of food, they were soon approached by Finn, who spun a chair backwards before resting his arms crossed upon the top of the back and settling in. "So. Good Show, Good Fight. Got Some Time For Some Questions, Though?" He turned first to Dispatch. "You Handled That Power Up Really, Really Well. I've Been On The Receiving End A Couple Times, So I Would Know. The Fuck Is Up With That?" Finn then proceeded to very casually steal the drink Kain brought to the table, but had not yet touched, and began sipping from it. All the while, his red irises never left contact with Dispatch's own.

Dispatch didn't register the question immediately - he was too busy tearing into a very large chicken leg in that moment. Not quite as good as T-Rex Tail Steak, for sure, but the novelty of such a large drumstick made it worthwhile, and though he wasn't sure how the chicken was cooked, he knew it was done well.

He swallowed a large mouthful - for anyone else, nearly enough to fill the stomach on its own - before looking over to the questioner: Pottymouth!

"Oh, hey!" he said, making it apparent he hadn't noticed the visitor straight away, though his manner was still friendly. "You again, huh? Yeah, that was...pretty rough. Can't believe one guy was able to do that much for me, seriously!"

As he spoke, Dispatch's eyes scanned the table in search of his next taste test. The thought of toying around with Pottymouth and his supposed foresight did come to mind, but the food was distracting him too much. No need for that right this second. "Really, I thought I didn't handle it all that well. Where I come from, we're used to sudden, convenient power-ups." He reached for a hot roll and began to fill it with a few slices of lamb. "Let's just say I haven't even begun to fight for real, yeah? Although the way things're going, that'll prob'ly change. I gotta good feeling about you guys specifically, even."

A veritable river of gravy made its way onto the lamb-roll, and Dispatch made certain to savor it. All at once. As he swallowed, he gave a sly smirk to the red-haired, red-eyed oracle.

Gestalt, who had been quietly munching on a flaky, layered pastry, set it down and wiped his mouth free of sauce and crumbs. Clearing his throat with a sip of water, he looked back at Finn and his partners. "Care to sit with us? I invited some other contestants, but they haven't arrived yet."

There was indeed plenty of both room and food at the table; the proprietors of the inn had been fairly generous with the group, in light of their recent victory. Gestalt had nearly had a heart attack earlier when he saw it, but it was apparently a tradition to offer hearty food at a discounted rate to prospective champions. It had been a while since he'd had seen so much food all at once, even. It was all enticing, and he had to agree with Jackie's opinion on the local dishes, but he noticed that his own appetite wasn't as strong. He was hungry, but it was an almost unfamiliar feeling.

Leaning back in his chair a little, he glanced back at Finn. "I hope this isn't too rude of me to ask, but, uh... why do you keep emphasizing every word when you speak? What the fuck is up with that?"

Kain seemed to have choked on his food at Dispatch's first line of response, thumping his chest twice and clearing his throat before speaking up. "Oh yeah? A warm guy like mewas really able to do it for y--"

And that was as far as he got before Finn and Isis both, on either side of him, thumped him on the back themselves, stopping his interruption. Dispatch didn't seem to have noticed, though, as he kept speaking as he had before, lost in conversation and food. Finn nodded to Gestalt at his offer to sit down, and produced a tray in similar fashion to how Kain had produced his scouter and his tracking device. His was filled with well-spiced foods, and was accompanied by a warm cup of tea. Isis for her own part, merely stole bits of Kain's food -- much to his chagrin -- and merely sipped on her own cup of warm tea. 

When Zero sat down, it seemed like she'd gotten a second helping of Dispatch's proportions. Lots of meats and vegetables, but no bread, nothing dairy either. She began to steadily work through her food, eyeing the rest from behind dark sunglasses... despite being indoors. 

As Gestalt finished his question, though, Finn turned to face him. Kain paused mid-lean-in to his food, face stuck in a strange expression. He glanced quickly over to Finn, and leaned back. 

Finn: Bro
Kain: Why would you $ay $omething like that?
Finn: It's Just How I Was Raised Bro
Kain: That's not very ¢opa¢eti¢ my good man.
Finn: You Should Take A Minute
Kain and Finn: And Ju$t Tran$¢end


The exchange, while brief, seemed to flow naturally, as if rehearsed. Both of them stared blankly at Gestalt for a while, before both slowly cracking up into laughter. "But Naw," Finn said after a moment, "It's Seriously Just How I Talk. I Was Raised By A Guy Who Was Very Exacting And Precise, So It Rubbed Off On Me."

Jackie herself had been busy chowing down until the end, and sensing a momentary lapse in conversation, directed a question over to Gestalt. "I haven't really seen you fight yet, aside from our very first encounter. Do you not like fighting, or is it something else?" Jackie involuntarily took a big bite of gyro before somewhat impolitely asking, "Da fuh ih up wit dat?"

Gestalt's eyebrows very faintly raised as he watched them do their bit. "...Huh. That makes sense, yeah. I'm sure my speech sounds strange to some people." His question answered satisfactorily, he returned to eating quietly until Jackie spoke up.

"Oh, fighting?" He cleared his throat, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "I can't say I dislike it - well, I don't like losing. But it's really mostly been coincidence that you haven't seen me in action; you were too busy with your own fights to pay attention to what I was doing in our practice match." His shoulders sagged a little as he pushed the food around on his plate. "Just as well, though. I wasn't exactly impressive against Jill after our opponents swapped places, and Theo dominated our fight. Maybe it's just that up to now, I kinda sucked. But I'll try and put on a good show tomorrow - it's the least I can do for you."

Lifting his gaze, his mood seemed to improve. Looking around, he saw Dispatch was in the middle of chewing, so maybe asking him a question could wait a bit. Kain, however... "Hey, Kand- I mean, Kain. Now that you've dropped the facade and all, I've been wondering... what the fuck was up with that, anyway? Why the fake name and Hidden Dragon routine?"

"Well..." Kain said, before trailing off for a moment. "Considering the state we were all in when we got split up, and mind you it was pretty dire, I decided keeping my real identity hidden couldn't hurt. New people after all, who didn't know who I was... and if they did, the disguise and act could hold up to just a little bit of scrutiny. We came from a situation with a lot of political backstabbing and other... extreme inconveniences, all told. It wouldn't have done to wind up somewhere in their waiting grasp, so I did what I did out of self-preservation, mostly." 

"Nothing wrong with wanting to safeguard future breaths and heartbeats." A new voice came from behind Kain, though not unfamiliar to some. Shane Delbon, vampire, had appeared behind them, along with Jasper and Orlando. "We'll be back after this conversation, should you still wish to have us. We will be out front, taking in the pleasantry of the sun."

Jackie watched them go, then turned back to the conversation at hand. "I'd like to know what's up with them, but speaking of what's in front of us... Miss... Isis, I believe it was? Why haven't you spoken up much? And why no food? What the fuck is up with that?"

"Fair for fuck frankly, for friendly frank fraternizing is freely frittered." Isis paused before continuing. "I... er... it's customary for me to alliterate, absolutely and abstinence abhorred, but I'm afraid aural acceptance may abruptly abjure attentive acquaintances."

Kain jumped in to translate. "She's really fond of alliterating but it's become such a habit she has trouble communicating outside of it. As for her dietary choices..."

Isis' pale skin shone a little red before she continued, but seemed to continue regardless. "Simply said, my subliminal slips served to slake and satiate salivating sustenance cycles, so sincerely and surreptitiously I'd subsume... well..."

Isis produced from thin air a small bag of what appeared to be beef jerky, covered in some kind of liquid. Curious, Jackie leaned in a bit closer, only to recoil the second Isis opened the bag. It was a smell all too familiar to her in the specimens' lab back home. A preserving agent, and assaulting to the senses.

"Beef-jerky, covered with formaldehyde," Kain explained.

"No really, the fuck is up with that?" Jackie asked with her nose pinched. 

"I used to preserve animals..." Isis answered back meekly. "It was... a terrible, very bad, no-good habit."

Finn turned back to Dispatch. "So You're A Warrior Used To Timely Power-Ups? The Fuck Is Up With That? What Kind Of Work Do You Do, If You're Capable Of Much More Than What You've Already Let On?"

Dispatch looked up from his plate, an innocent expression on his face, and used his thumb to wipe a trail of sauce from his chin. One could see his jaw moving double-time, and he coughed a bit as he tried to swallow some food only half-chewed, though a quick beat on his chest sent it the rest of the way down. He chuckled sheepishly before clearing his throat to reply.

"Space mercenary," he said. His tail poked up over his shoulder and flicked as if looking for attention. "Saiyans, see, when we get beat to a pulp, come back stronger than we were. Recover from any real nasty injury and suddenly your ceiling is higher than it was. And since most of us make our living getting sent out on violent odd-jobs, we get pretty tough pretty fast."

"In other words, he's as tough as he is because he's always getting the crap kicked out of him."

Dispatch's attention turned towards the voice of someone who hadn't been there before, and beamed. "Chief!"

Tabago strolled over and dropped himself down into an open seat, starting to heap even more food onto his plate than Dispatch. "Sorry, know I'm a little late - thanks again for the invite."

Dispatch turned to the younger swordsman and gave a discreet thumbs-up.

"So," Tabago continued. "Strongest of us get sent out on more, tougher missions, fight tougher opponents. Then get beaten within an inch of life, come out on top, get stronger for it and do it all again. The ones who can't keep up die, and the cowards don't fight, so they stay weak."

"You can't grow if you don't dare to make it happen." Pleased to see that everyone had shown up after all, Gestalt nodded to himself. Well, the team he'd spoken to out in the arena had stepped out, and that was unfortunate, but the table had already gotten pretty crowded. He grimaced and tried to take another bite, but the acrid odor made it difficult.

As he slowly chewed his baklava, he looked at the people gathered around. They were a scattered collection of oddball crews, certainly. He wanted to ask them all about where they'd been, and what they'd seen, but they'd be there all night if he did.

Fuck it. Lightning round.



"So, your name is Zero, right? Is your name related to your power? How did you do even half of the stuff you did in the match? Are you enjoying the competition?"

"Tabago, if you were in Dispatch's squad, then were you a mercenary, too? You must've been to a lot of different worlds, with your line of work; what kinds of worlds have you seen? And what kinds of jobs have you done? What's the best food you've ever eaten?"

"Isis, do you like animals? What kinds of animals do you like most? More of a cat person or a dog person? How do you not run out of needles while fighting?"

"Dispatch... where are you even putting all of that? I swear, you've eaten more than your body mass in food by now. Is your gut just a furnace? ...Is that part of the secret to your power?"

"Your name was Finn? What's this 'transcend' business you mentioned a minute ago? How many other worlds have you visited? What are you hoping to gain from this tournament?"

"Kain, does our magic really eat away at your vitality, or was that a part of your cover? If it does, then how are you compensating for it? You seem perfectly healthy, to me. You run into any giant Heartless recently, or have you managed to avoid anything too nasty?"

"Hey, Jackie, why do you always use lightning magic? Is there some special reason, or is it just what you prefer? Come to think of it, where did you learn to use a spear? Was it part of becoming a guard in Traverse Town, or did you have prior experience? And how did you come up with that sick move? I know I saw you do it twice, but I can't get over you zooming all over like living lightning-"



"Those are all very curious, but I have a better question." Asked a tall, gaunt figure, who had appeared behind Gestalt as he fired off several dozen questions all at once. "I turn my back for about a minute, and you all vanish without a word. The fuck is up with that?"

The young man froze before craning his neck up to see the pale face of his employer. "O-oh, hey, boss..."

The ghostly king launched into a monotone explanation, his eyes moving from face to face as he spoke. "I happened to see someone strange arrive from the main gate, and when I went to ask them where they had come from, you had all left. It took me a whole day to track you to this coliseum."

The small swordsman raised an eyebrow. "Huh? You disappeared on us, not the other way around."

"I have never been an easy person to lose track of. I do not know how you could possibly have simply missed me striding past you all." Reumos explained with a mildly furrowed brow, as he stepped over to an empty seat and occupied it. His footsteps made almost no sound as he did. Even as he sat there, it was hard to tell if he was really present at all.

Tabago was about to inform the boy that the best food he'd ever eaten would likely make someone vomit just by description - the surprising sort of appetizing, best not actually spoken of at the dinner table - when the "boss" showed up. Tabago spared him a glance. The man was practically ethereal. Something about him struck Tabago as being off. In fact, it was the same sort of off-feeling that pervaded the young man himself. Tabago looked to his squadmate, whose attention was also on the newcomer.

Dispatch shrugged. "We went out looking for info, you weren't there when we regrouped. So we kinda just kept going." Tabago gave the other Saiyan the eye, trying to catch his attention without notice from the other diners, but Dispatch had already turned attention back to dinner. He continued, "And as for where I keep all the food, not something I ever really thought about, I just keep going until it won't go down any more. But yeah, you do gotta eat enough to keep your energy up. Gotta work it off, too, though."

Zero froze mid-way through bringing a huge hunk of meat towards her, as if someone had paused a recording. She looked up to Gestalt. “It is… cosmically ironic, in a way. You could say it is my power, most say it is my name, and others may refer to it as my worth.” At this, Kain looks over at Zero from the corner of his eye, extends one forefinger, and lightly bonks her on the head with it, before returning to his meal. 

Zero continued, “I was born in a wintery, cold north, in a quiet castle, alone with me, my Master, and a few nice things. My Phoenix Style martial art is a secret one, passed from sole master to lone student, burning and reborn, dying and reviving, master to student, student to master, the cycle repeating. My other powers…” Zero pauses, looking out into the distance for a moment. “They just come naturally to me, essentially. I do not relish the thought of how, so we will table… erm, set that aside for now.” 

As Zero spoke, she bore no lilt or cadence to her voice, no accent or other quirks, and seemingly bore no emotion at all.

Isis giggled at the pun, seemingly excited that her penchant for puns was having some effect. Turning to Gestalt as Zero tore into her food, Isis quipped, “Quite curiously, cats cat-er quite cat-thartically to kind question. Needles necessitate niche knowledge and needle-ss information; nay, nigh on nefarious nonce: any numbered instrument need near numero uno and nix no knoll, nasties nor any encumbrance null needles in kneaded knuckle anon.”

Kain’s eyes looked up, to the side, then down for a moment, needing a little time to parse what was said. “That first one is kinda… self explanatory. The needles… basically, all she has to do is get near them, and really nothing can stop them from returning to her. And she has a huge supply of them. Like a massive amount.” Clearing his throat, he speaks up for himself. “As for me? The nature of my disguise was such that if needed, to save someone, I could reasonably help in a pinch, but given the prodigious state of my powers… I didn’t want to be the man for everything. Trying too hard spreads yourself too thin, and even for someone of my talents, I can’t fix everything. And if I miss something, I feel this guy–”, Kain says, clasping Finn on the shoulder, “--tug on the back of my cloak and I get yanked through time, sometimes dimensions, to fix whatever it is that needs fixing. And at no point during my stay in Traverse Town did he show up. Us being separate was of some importance, at least.”

Kain paused for a moment. “There was quite a few Heartless over by my workshop in the Second District. I wound up starting to routinely set traps, and eventually started setting self-starting and self-refueling ones with a bit of time and application of my powers, but eventually I thinned their herd a little bit. The worst ones I’ve seen are the little red teacup guys. I have to use workarounds for them, but I have hand-to-hand training as well. There’s also the big, fat ones, and generally most flying ones are awful.”

“Imps, man,” Finn stated rather simply.

“Imps, man!” replied Kain, much disdain and contempt in his voice for the blasted creatures.

Finn turned to Gestalt for his turn. “Kain and I have a… rather long history together, not all of it as fuckin’ beautiful as this wonderful rom-com shit that you see before you today. The transcend thing was something we ended up coming up with together that doesn’t really make really any fuckin' sense out of its own context, so sorry for that one. As for other worlds… there were about 10 of us, each with our own world, so to speak, that we became in charge of once we all got bailed on by our original world. Wasn’t as grand as you might think at first, we were all kind of just dumped into our own little locale and told hey fuck you figure it out and so… we did."


Finn paused, before adding, "Most of us. Turns out my time power really fucked me up, in a lot of different ways. Imagine another version of yourself just showing up out of nowhere and telling you hey you’re in charge of timelines now and people WILL die if you don’t, by the way you’re going to be getting flashbacks and flashforwards and they will feel very real because they are, comes with the package. So yeah. And after a time, things… went to pot, more or less. Now there’s just us 4.”

Jackie was stunned enough by Lord Reumos showing up that she managed to ignore the formaldehyde scent for now. “Yeah, you showed up, got us out, talked with us for a moment, and I just… left. Came back, Kain showed up, and we just… left.” Jackie paused for a moment, considering how quickly things had transpired yesterday. “Did I... just run off, for a twenty-minute lookaround, come back, and we just… LEFT?! Did I lose my sense of time, or something? I’m… overthinking this. A lot had happened at the time, I’m a mess. And I think I need a drink.” Jackie stood up, taking a slow, deep breath, and went over to the bar.

Finn extended a hand. “Mister Reumos, a pleasure to meet your… workers? Subjects? Friends?” He looked back to Gestalt. “So what the fuck is up with this guy?” And then back to Reumos. “Unless you want to clarify, yourself.”

Jackie sat back down with an ale. “Lightning round, pun… somewhat intended. Lightning is all I know, was taught the spear by the local royal guard, I came up with the sick move by being, also, a scientist with my dad. Cheers!” And proceeded to lose herself in her mug.


Zero looked over at Jackie. "Did you lose track and just dissociate for a while? You seem a little... erratic. The fuck is up with that?"


Jackie paused for a moment. "I guess there's a lot going on recently that's stressing me out. Yesterday I saw a world vanish for the second time, and I did some unfair things to others before that. I feel... a little shaken, and there's things happening that I don't like. But I should just... be me, and calm down. So... cheers!"

Dispatch blinked, his eyes tracking Jackie in bemusement as she returned with what very much looked like booze. There was a bar here? Had it always been? Without another word, he stood and started over there, attempting to keep his stride in check.

Tabago, sitting nearby, took notice, and stood to follow. As Dispatch stood at the bar, trying to understand what most of these drinks were (Tabago recognized them as being mostly different kinds of wine), the Chief put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, that guy - your boss right now, it looks like?" Tabago started, but Dispatch was clearly only half listening.

"Eh? Uh, yeah, I guess you could put it that way. Hang on a sec." Dispatch indicated to the barman which drink he wanted before nodding back at Tabago. "Yeah?"

"I don't know what it is about him, but something doesn't feel right."

Dispatch cocked his head. "How so?"

"Not sure," Tabago replied, scowling a bit. "His tone of voice, the way he carries himself, and...there's a feeling in the air around him. All just empty. I'm not even sure he's really here. That kid with the sword is the same way, but not anything like as much."

Dispatch shrugged, taking his drink - did they always come in these cups with stems? Wouldn't a bottle have been better? - before replying, "I mean, I can't say much about the Boss there, but the kid's alright. His energy feels a little weird, so I know what you're talkin' about, but he's prob'ly fine."

Dispatch downed his drink in one go, and Tabago stole a glance back at the table. "Well, you know them better than I do. All the same, keep your eyes open. And while you're at it, I don't know when you started drinking wine, but the way to go is this stuff right here." Tabago signalled the barkeep, and the two Saiyans shortly returned to the table, each with a large mug of mead.

Gestalt nodded - if he'd been unsettled by the spectral man's sudden appearance, all trace of shock had vanished by now. "Oh, yeah, he recruited me to go find more allies, and I found Jackie and Dispatch shortly after."

"My working hypothesis," Reumos began to explain, his tone still as calm as ever, "is that I am a ghost, a soul bound to this life after death by a need to complete some unfinished business. I was the king of a world which is now home only to other spirits like me; and these fine people here are, I would say, my employees. That is, if I were paying them. As it stands, I only offer free bed and board, a tiny sanctuary."

Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on the table, making a steeple with his fingers. "While we're on the subject of our group's arrangement... has anyone at this table ever defeated a giant Heartless, only to find that it dropped a set of documents? Forgive me for bringing up business at a celebration like this, but it's terribly important." His eyes briefly flicked towards the two Saiyans as they returned, but he made no comment.

A chorus of no's and negatives came from Kain's group. "No." "Fuck no." "Negatory, nein, and nyet." "Nope." 

Jackie thought back for a moment. "We found some back on that world we were on before it collapsed, right? Though with the wish we were asking for..." Jackie's eyes shot wide open. "So hey, may have forgotten to mention, but we've been promised a reward, a divine favor more or less, for completing the competition with good marks. We're on track to receive it, so long as we do well enough in the next two rounds, but I'm wondering if Lord Hermes would be amenable to changing it... depending on if you, Lord Reumos, had any new information?"

Kain perked up a moment. "That actually reminds me... what would the wish we had have been?" Kain asked Finn. 

Finn's breathing stopped for a moment, and it seemed like his hairs were standing on end for a long, silent pause. After a little while, he simply reached over and touched two fingers to Kain's temple. Kain did not flinch or pull back, but let it happen...

...an airy laugh greeted his ears, amongst a shining, radiant smile, the blooming wallflower he'd just begun to notice, the enlightening conversation, the method to the madness of that certain spark in someone's eyes. Traits belonging to Kain's friends and comrades, and more than that, quite real, and in front of him, without the nagging sensation of a jumped or averted timeline. A tragic loss, undone, and him with it.

After a moment, Finn pulled back, and the vision faded. Kain nodded solemnly and gave a wry, bitter smirk. "Ah, of course. Though... would we be able to help our other friends, here, should the worst come to pass for them?"

Isis perked up at a particular word. "Friends? Kainy-kins, could you kindly communicate clearly for keen kin?"

"I said what I meant and meant what I said. If they're looking for info, couldn't we get them what they need?" Kain seemed like he was about to belabor the point when the redhead from Team Hera walked by. She seemed by herself and alone, walking past the tables and upstairs, eyes not darting around as though looking for someone, but dead-set focused forward. With purpose, and without time for distraction. Kain reached over to Finn, grabbed a small cup he was drinking from, tipped it back into his own mouth, let out a loud 'PHEW' with a wince, and set the cup back down. "No time like the present. Let's go make an ass of myself, shall we?" 

And promptly left the table.

Finn seemed to pay it no mind, swapping out the cup for a fresh new one with piping hot tea in it. "We could, but it depends on other factors," he said, gesturing at Reumos and Jackie, who it seemingly fell to first. "Everyone being up to fuckin' speed and on the same damn page couldn't hurt."

"New information? I spoke to some travelers, but it's hardly good news." The specter of a man intoned gravely. "The other worlds in the vicinity are a nonsense-land at the bottom of a rabbit hole, and a teeming jungle with few signs of human habitation, if any. We'll not find the library or the witch in such places, I'm sure. This means we must expand our range of travel further, unless you wish to check those worlds for Heartless. I don't suppose your 'wish' had to do with that?"

The woman passing by caught Gestalt's attention as well. Wasn't she one of the competitors? ...What's Kain planning to do?

Reumos set about explaining what little they knew; how the Heartless seemed to be related to the stars vanishing, the collapse of the worlds, and how only something called a 'Keyblade' had any hope of truly repelling them. And how these 'Ansem Reports' held intimate knowledge of the creatures, perhaps a key to reversing the damage done. And, of course, the witch who appeared to command the Heartless, with power beyond anything they could match at present.

"I believe that was everything. Jacqueline, did I miss anything?"

Throughout the ghost-king's exposition, Tabago listened intently. That witch...she had control of those things? Tabago recalled the swarms of the creatures, covering the ground like insects gathering on rotten fruit, and wondered idly if or where he might be able to find one of these "Keyblades," but...why did he want to? He wasn't exactly out for revenge for the planet. Frankly, under Frieza, the planet often felt more like a punishment for not being at work. There was a reason the bars were always so crowded, after all.

"I can confirm the Heartless are what destroy worlds, anyway," Dispatch piped up - he hadn't gone back for more food when they'd returned. "They showed up right before the whole thing fell apart. What was it, Chief, inside of an hour?"

Tabago nodded. "Yeah. About that. I couldn't tell you how they did it, but they're definitely the cause."

Jackie thought for a moment, her chin cradled by the crook of her forefinger's knuckle and the pad of her thumb. "We did uncover one singular report: I believe it was... when we defeated that armor, during our first encounter in Traverse Town." Jackie's eyes darted upward slightly, as if she was reliving the moment. "It was a rather intense situation, but I feel like I got incredibly close to the two of you during that... moment."

Isis quirked an eyebrow. "Que? Quite candid charismatic capitulations, gentle Jackie."

Jackie's brow furrows for a moment, before she seems to realize what her phrasing could be taken as. "N-no, that's not what... rather, it was dire straits for all of us, and honestly, I don't think I would be here without these two having backed me up. A-anyway, that's the only report we found, but I'd be hard pressed to remember what it said after these wild last few days. My thoughts are, if we could somehow swipe up these reports in the same fell swoop that we find the Keyblade, we might reasonably ascertain the meaning of such a weapon and its usage, and its relationship to the Keyblade itself."

Finn quirks an eyebrow. "And How Exactly The Fuck Do You Expect To Ask For That When You've Already Made An Offer To A Literal Fucking God?"

Jackie responds, "Well, considering the nature of our first acquisition, and also how Lord Reumos described him finding his report, or rather, his intuition on finding them. If our route took us to worlds with these alleged Giant Heartless, we could also assist others who might have been afflicted with the Heartless menace... and prevent their destruction, if only for a time. These worlds might also have any information at all ahead of time about the Keyblade, these Heartless themselves, or any other number of useful things that we might be able to find for ourselves." 

"Dispatch, you seem rather familiar with the Heartless compared to the rest of us, and you've also been directly affected by your world being torn asunder, as mine own world did. And Reumos, it seems your world fell to the Heartless to some extent, but your world and citizens still remain. How is this?"

---

Evelyn was minding her own damned business, glad to have been done with the boring events of the tournament so far... though admittedly she'd not gotten to take part and her role thus far was to sit in a boring, stone cell with her other companions as they awkwardly stared at the floor and made insignificant small-talk, though she herself did not partake of it. Rather, Evelyn had taken the time to reflect and look inward, honing her magic even just a little more, just the smallest amount more effective for when the time came to unleash elemental hell upon the other teams. She would be ready for it, come hell or high water, and Evelyn had survived her fair share of both.

Kain approached this lady from behind. He wasn't entirely which of his reasons was the most honest for approaching her: she did in fact resemble that certain someone he had lost not more than what seemed like a month or two ago, that her demeanor not only resembled that girl he fancied, but also, her looks and the way she carried herself was that certain irresistible je ne sais quoi. He wasn't also sure if it was the fact that Finn had more or less admitted that he was riding out a doomed timeline... doomed for him and the rest of his crew, at least. Maybe he could make a difference to the group he was a part of, maybe this one interaction would give him the solace he craved, maybe... maybe it was just a whim, and nothing mattered in it, so long as it happened.

As Evelyn reached the stairs, Kain holds out a hand and calls out to her. "Wait, miss... if you don't mind, may I accompany you for a little while?"

Evelyn stops, withholding a sigh. She didn't want to be bothered, but her friends and teammates were nowhere to be seen, and she was heading off to eat on her own. She didn't really care, but this other person... he seemed to have an immense control over the element of fire, so maybe she could sucker him out of some knowledge or get a better idea for her own talents. At worst, he'd be boring and too insistent, not taking a hint, but she could deal with him in other ways if it came to that. "Sure, why not? C'mon, I've gotta seat up here... wanted to be out in the fresh air, but not around the folks out on the street."

Kain smiles as he follows her. "Names Kain, Team Hermes. I didn't see you out on the playing field today, what team are you with?" 

"Team Hera, with some of my old friends. Cohorts, really, but we're pretty close. Can't find 'em, but it's fine."

Kain wonders for but a moment if his line of questioning would be considered rude, but presses on anyway. "Close, but you can't find them? Are you friends, or just... co-workers?"

Evelyn sits down at the table she was looking for, as the late afternoon sun shines down on the hotel's restaurant area. "Close enough that we've kinda dated each other and while that got messy, we're really just looking for a way to settle down and get past our... well, past."

Dispatch turned his gaze toward the table, his teeth set. Him, affected directly? Well, sure, it had, but that was nothing. All of Saiyan history, save for four children, a middle-aged bodyguard and an old man, gone. And not only had he not stopped it, not only did he just watch from the shelter of his space pod, he had actively run away, looking only out from behind the safety of the red-tinted pod window as his home crumbled to nothing.

He spared a sour look at his Chief, suddenly feeling as though the survival of a single Saiyan he hadn't known about was hardly any consolation. The Chief was the toughest guy he knew, so his survival didn't really say much about the fate of the rest of the species, or even their other teammates.

He'd thought he had put all this out of his mind. It had been easy enough taking the Scroll of Eternity to travel back to that moment. Participating in the battle had even relieved some of the shame he'd felt at his cowardice. But the question pierced him; he had no easy answer. He didn't know anything about the Heartless, or why they had shown up there, or how they'd destroyed the planet even more thoroughly than a massive fireball from an all-powerful tyrant, not a damned thing.

"...I wasn't there," he growled. Without ceremony, he stood, and walked away from the table. Forget this heavy crap. He was a fighter, not a researcher or a diplomat. He was here to fight, and if he was going to fight now, he needed rest.

Tabago stared after him. Wasn't there? But if he wasn't there, then how was he here? It wasn't as if he could have flown the space pod to a place like this, or the sanctuary town. Was this related to his sudden growth spurt, Tabago wondered? For a moment, he considered going after his fellow Saiyan...

"Truth be told, I know nothing." Said the king, something not unlike disappointment crossing his visage. "My world was assaulted by the Heartless, that much I remember clearly. I'm certain that I was struck in the chest after being overwhelmed by them - when I became aware of myself again, I was in the state you see now. As were the citizens who remained. I can only assume they never found the Keyhole, else the world itself would not still be there. The creatures simply lost interest in the people - I suppose they only care for the living. We were able to seal the Heartless into the castle's catacombs, to prevent them from attacking any still-breathing passers-by."

"...How did you even do that?" Gestalt asked, tilting his head a little. "You couldn't even fight them off, how could you pack them into the basement?"

"They aren't particularly smart, and they ignored my movements unless I attacked directly." Reumos explained. "It was simple enough, with the citizenry's help, to funnel them into a path leading down, then bar the doors. Our remaining arcanists placed a magical seal upon it, as well. Perhaps this is why the world has yet to vanish; the Keyhole must not be accessible from the underground."

Jackie stared off at where Dispatch had left towards, not saying a word. Sure, the tragedy that had happened was probably something that he didn't want to discuss, as devil-may-care as he usually seemed, but... hadn't he talked about seeing his planet fall? Jackie tried to recall, but she couldn't remember on her own. She listened to the recounting of how Reumos packed in Heartless as a shepherd, then furrowed her brow, steepling her fingers, elbows now on the table, leaned forward in direct concentration. "That... doesn't go against what we've seen... though the ones we've found were rather combative. Maybe we were targets set by Maleficent? Maybe she was smart enough to corral them, and control them, in that way..."

Jackie shuddered. "If she could, then that's new. I've only encountered ones that were generally wild, though you seemed to have calmed them. If we could find out what different rules the ones we encountered fall under, versus the ones she controls, versus the ones you corralled, or what we did wrong in each case... We might find out something useful. If nothing else, knowing where and how to pick our battles could prove fruitful. At best... we could turn them on each other, even, or use them as bodyguards."

Zero glanced over at Jackie. "You might find surprise in that search. What you once considered a lesser intelligence might prove more resourceful than you realize. We fought minions before, but after some diplomacy, it turns out they had a whole society worked out, and could reason. But before that, they just seemed like mindless, angry grunts."

Finn rose, and Isis with him, eagerly clinging to his side. "I think I'm full up on talk and food for right now, so I'm off to my room. I think you're all on the right track for now, but I don't think I can really add more." As he turned, he gave a small smirk and tapped the side of his head. "Don't fuckin' overthink what I'm sayin', either, tends to be the worst fuckin' way to take words like mine. See you at the competition tomorrow." He took a few steps before Isis poked him and he stopped, saying over his shoulder, "Don't forget to stretch, by the way." And then finally left.

--- 

"So it's like that, eh? I think I can relate a little. My own group were just acquaintances until we were forced together, though some of us did have a thing for one another. It made getting everyone to do their job a little harder, sometimes, and I think some of that is precisely why we ended up the way we did."

"You all had some kind of a falling out?" asked Evelyn, idly biting the strawberry off her fork as she gazed at Kain. "Sounds rough, friend."

"More like the worlds we were in all fell apart and that whole... session was basically null and void. We were responsible for creating a new world together and out of the dozen of us, only four were left. But yeah, not good. I got my fire powers from that point in time, too, so it hasn't been all for nothing, but I'd trade them back to get the rest of them back in a heartbeat. I'd rather be useless than alone."

"But if you're useless you'll eventually wind up alone anyway," said Evelyn, stabbing towards Kain with her fork. "If you're useless, then even if you're fun to be around, you'll get left in the damn dirt. It's rough, but I'd rather be useful and lonely so's I can find people to work with or just subjugate them outright. If you're strong, if you're smart, if you're good with others, you can get something done, and people will want you regardless of whether or not you're a good person or had friends before then anyway."

Kain chuckled, sipping a new glass of tea he'd ordered from a waiter. "Truly? It sounds like your lot in life was a lot rougher than mine, though your comrades definitely tell that story themselves. That other woman, that... specter? The ghost-woman, in particular, is horrifying but fascinating. I'm trying to figure out how her magic works, but--"

"Huh? Oh, Gwen. Yeah, she's a ghost, she died cursing the world so now she haunts it as a specter. Basically latched onto anyone she could, she gets stronger the more heat and energy she gets, and she's pretty greedy about it too. The whole thing is just so inefficient for her, cause she prefers body heat, and what she really needs is Mana anyway but she can hardly get any because she wastes what she has killing the way she does. She gluttonous, and lazy to boot, so no wonder the guys love a spoiled girl like her."

Kain could really only take a moment to drink in what she said, and a little bit of tea besides. It wasn't like he'd acted in self-defense before, but it seemed like their group went out of their way to do what they did, to stay on top of whatever dog-eat-dog world they lived in. The idea of mana, or energy from another source, intrigued him, however. "This... mana, that you speak of? How does it work, exactly?"

Gestalt waved to Finn as he left, as Reumos tried to clarify. "I believe their lack of interest is explained by the fact that my people and I are ghosts. Whatever the Heartless desire, it was already taken from us. Whether it is vital essence, flowing aether, nutritious flesh, palpable terror, or something else entirely. We are the dead, after all. There is no longer anything within us which sustains life, even that of those dark creatures."

The diminutive swordsman's face paled slightly. He glanced after the members of Team Hades who had left earlier, making sure they were out of earshot before he spoke. "...On that note, perhaps you ought to leave this world for now. One of the gods presiding over this event is Hades, and I'm not sure how he'll respond to a wandering spirit like yourself. It'd be bad if you were dragged off to the underworld."

"Hm? You're certain?" The gaunt man quirked an eyebrow. "Perhaps I could remain to observe the matches? Surely he'll not interrupt the sport for the sake of my soul. I can lay low between events if need be."

"That... seems like an awful risk to take."

Something not unlike a smirk crossed the dead king's pallid face. "These Olympic Games are an uncommon event. It would be a shame to miss them, wouldn't you all agree?"

Tabago, his attention diverted from his former subordinate, snorted and waved a hand flippantly at the ephemeral king before resting his chin on the back of his hand. "Well, given that my intent was to compete in the Games, I've already missed the ship on that one."

Still, something about this pale, sickly-looking man unsettled the warrior. Much like his very being, the man's smile seemed simply empty. To the Saiyan, it seemed that a bout with the ghastly king would be as effective as picking a fight with a puff of smoke. An unsettling taste rose in his throat, but he gave no sign of it, and stood, giving a cordial half-bow. "Well, if that's all, I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave. I look forward to watching tomorrow's matches."

Tabago turned to leave, and as soon as he was out the door, he took off running in the direction of the competitors' lodgings. The sun had all but set, but the town was well-constructed, easy enough to navigate, especially as he'd planned on staying there himself. With that having fallen through, he supposed he'd have to make camp somewhere, but that was fine - Saiyan conquests often took more than a single day, so he was well used to sleeping in the elements.

More pressing was Dispatch's behavior - what did that boy know, and what didn't he? It was just outside the lodgings that Tabago caught up with his target, approaching quickly and none too quietly; the younger man had always been jumpy, and over-eager to prove his strength, so he had often taken blind swings at people who "snuck up" on him.

Hearing the loud footsteps, Dispatch looked over his shoulder, annoyance plain on his face at first before fading to suppressed surprise. "Oh. Chief. What's up?"

"Look, I'm sure you've had a long one, so I'll make this quick. What was that exit you pulled?"

Dispatch hesitated. How much was he allowed to say? ...Did he even care? But even if he didn't, how much of it was believable? "I...dunno if I can really explain."

"How did you get here if you weren't on the planet when it was destroyed? Your space pod wouldn't take you to a place like this."

"It's complicated, Chief. Real complicated." Dispatch sighed. "Let's just say I went back after it all fell apart and leave it at that, huh?"

Tabago's eyes narrowed. "It's not that simple, kid. You don't just 'go back' to a world that's been destroyed."

Dispatch wrinkled his nose. "Like I said, it's complicated. But how do you know that, anyway?"

Tabago's fingers twitched, curling into a fist, but relaxed just as quickly. "...It's complicated. How about this, then? I'll stop asking questions if you do the same."

"I..." Dispatch trailed off. "Look, I just--I mean, it's not--I, uh..." The more he tried to unscramble his thoughts, the more they jumbled in his head. What the hell was he supposed to say? He couldn't figure it out. So after another couple of seconds, he sighed again. "...Alright, fine. Maybe later. G'night, Chief, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Tabago replied somewhat cautiously. "Yeah, see you then. Good luck in your match, if you don't get put on a shelf."

Dispatch snorted. "Don't even joke about that." With a quick wave, Dispatch turned back toward the hotel, and wandered quickly up to his room, throwing himself on the bed. What a crappy way to end the day, he thought, as his eyes drifted shut for the night.

Jackie turned towards Reumos. "From my understanding, it seems like Lord Hades is being pretty cool about everything. He cancelled out someone dying in combat, he's brought people back... including someone who definitely did not die in a way that I thought they could even conceivably be brought back, and he even offered to bring someone back from the dead for us when we went looking for a sponsor." She stood up to stretch, interlacing her fingers and reaching towards the ceiling. "I think most of the gods are "on holiday" when it comes to the games, otherwise I'm sure Lord Zeus would be adamant about an air contest of some kind, Lord Poseidon would want us to do something underwater, and Lord Hephaestus would leap at the chance to outfit us all. I think you'll be fine, my lord, and I relish the chance to show you some of the new things I've worked on in short order." 

---

"Mana is just the soul-bound lifeforce of most anything that's alive. You can get some from the atmosphere but unless the place is just saturated with it you're gonna have to rely on your own reserves, and we take that life-energy and use it for all kinds of things." Evelyn popped the last cherry on her plate into her mouth, then set her plate aside. "'Course, the fastest way to accumulate Mana for us is just to kill. You absorb their soul essence and the more they killed the more you yourself earn. Rinse and repeat and make sure to stay on top of current events and the current food chain and you'll live for thousands of years as a demon."

"I take it you're not really one for contracts so much as power and general hedonism?" Kain asked as politely as he could without betraying the fear that was creeping into the back of his voice. 

"Well, you know what they say about assuming, but less so me more so you right now. More or less, yes, but I'm not even one for hedonism, I just want our jobs done so we can reincarnate and this Game," Evelyn just about spat the word out, throwing up air quotes and saying it in a disaffected voice, "is the fastest ticket to skip all that work. We're tired of what we're doing, we want to start over again, but there's just so much that we'd have to do we'd be at it for too long for it to even really matter. Then you have the chance of us winding up dead, and today was a real stark look at that. Shin died. Ino did too. Guen gave up almost everything for getting revenge on one guy. Even if I reincarnate with them, I can't afford to let them wind up dead again."

Kain paused for a long time, truly seeing that interacting with this girl was a bit more than what he'd bargained for. After a while, he held up his tea cup in gesture of a toast. "Well. To teamwork obligations, then, and to an ending of the old ways. Cheers." Evelyn nodded and took a sip of her own drink, and Kain himself turned to head off to bed. 

"Hey." The girl called out, and the boy turned around. "Dinner tomorrow, and don't be late, unless you got turned into paste."

---

The sun rose all too early the next day, and Jackie and Kain took to the daily ritual they'd taken to yesterday. After a quick meal, most teams met up, though Isis hung onto Kain the whole way over to the Coliseum before nearly leaping off of him towards Finn again, and the full set of teams passed through the old grounds with the maze from yesterday, towards a new part of the arena where the crowds had started to gather, and where the lit braziers guided them.

As they stepped out into the new area, it became clear with the oval-shaped track and the chariots that awaited them what was to be expected of them for the day's Game. 

"Oh dear," sighed Kain. "Chariot races. Lovely."