The Reunion

The Reunion
Date of Scene:	17 December 2012
Location:	Traverse Town - District 2
Synopsis:	Mercade and Celina meet in Traverse Town, which rapidly develops into a massive confluence of fate... and a meeting with the one responsible for their ills.
Cast of Characters:	Will Sherman, Riku, Mercade Alexander, Sarafina Carenze, Avira, King Mickey, Tom Magnusson, Celina Duvalis, Maximilien

---

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Traverse Town is a busy place these days. A massive influx of people have come to this place of refugees from the fall of Manhattan. Some are adapting better than others. Many are just looking for ways to survive in this new and strange world they find themselves in.

Because you can't go back.

"BACK! BACK ALREADY!"

"Wark!"

Mercade wishes he could go back, he's kind of stuck in a bit of a traffic jam when his ride, Watson the Chocobo, decided that a local stand looked tasty. He's pulling the chocobo away, trying to keep it from functionally devouring his wallet. "Wark! warkwark!"

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina has not, frequently, been in Traverse Town. Celina was a explorer and she also was taking care of stabling the chocobos; as such, the woman has been more out in the chocobo Fields by Goug than in the Town with the Manhatten residents.

She is riding a pretty yellow chocobo, a patient one that is very well behaved.

"... Mercade?!" She yells from the top level, leaning precariously over someone's head. "C'mon, Moonie, we've got a boss to save."

"Wark?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Watson is as inquistitive as his rider and as hungry as Magnusson. He's not all that pretty, but he does have a nice gray bowler hat. You can guess how this typically works out.

Mercade struggles with the chocobo, and he turns it with a final yell. "Look, I'll get you one. ONE. Just STEP BACK!"

"Wark waaaaaaark~"

He finally turns as Watson relents...

And someone yells his name. He looks up, craning his head. "Huh? What?" He looks up a little too far, and falls right off the chocobo.

Watson, left to his own devices, happily begins snafing from the stand as the vendor yells, waving his hands.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina blinks. Yup, that was Mercade. She sighs, and they fight their way through the crowd, the magess starting to frown when people are just a little too slow, and the like.

She promptly reaches out for Watson's bridle, Moonie warking in greeting at the other Chocobo. With the other hand, she flicks a wad of munny at the vendor, guiding Watson away from it and the Mercade-on-the-ground.

"Mercade!" She cries out, again, a smile crossing her face as she leans over to offer her hand.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade gets pulled up, smiling. Watson, meanwhile, is easily guided away by Celina's practiced Mom Touch. He warks in greeting to Moonie, flapping and bobbing his head.

Mercade himself rubs hie head. "Well, you're a sight for sore eyes, Celina. I'm glad you're safe. I heard we were all gathering here in Traverse Town, and came to find you guys." He pauses, his face falling as he looks away. "I'm sorry."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"God, am I glad to see you." Celina says, anxiously. "I haven't heard from Will since the night Manhatten fell, I don't know if he ... got caught in the Darkness, or what. It's not fun running this place solo, not that really have anywhere -good- to do so."

Moonie flaps her feathers and warks back, not moving her head but doing the practiced dance of one chocobo to another. "I was afraid we weren't going to find you again." She watches him look away, and she sighs.

"We're all sorry, Mercade. Trust me on that one."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"What are you talking about? I was just being kept captive by an underage stage magician. You guys were fighting for your lives. Why would you even be worried about me?" Mercade says, grimacing. "I wasn't there when you guys needed me the most. I screwed up, bad, and I don't deserve your guys trust."

He looks back to Celina. "I was coming here because I was going to resign. You guys don't deserve to be held back by a loser like me. You guys don't need me."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"... I am not arguing this here. Get on your chocobo and let us get somewhere quieter, Mercade." The older woman leans in towards him, her thoughtful eyes sparkling as she explains, very quietly:

"You are dead wrong, Mercade Alexander, because you're very much what we need right now. You're smart, funny, and you have an attitude that makes most people willing to calm down. You've been keeping us going for years, and that is what counts."

"If we lose you, we might not have a agency anymore."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade doesn't respond immediately, instead he gets onto Watson as requested/ordered, and follows along wherever Celina leads. He still looks depressed, but he'll wait until he and Celina are in a more comfortable location.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina leads the way down an alleyway, eventually leading them out behind the hotel, by the waterway. It's fairly quiet back here, and considering she's got at least one of the rooms booked, it'll have to do for now, as Moonie dips her head in to the waterway to drink.

Celina slides off of the chocobo, pacing back and forth as her hands wave in the air.

"Mercade, we need you. /I/ need you. Will and I together are a good team, but neither one of us have the way you do with clients and the like. You've probably gotten us another job while wandering around, haven't you? I couldn't do that. I'm just your forensics girl."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Well... yes, I did..." He does admit. He gets off Watson and sits down next to the fountain, flumping down. "But I've just been moving on because I honestly don't know what else to do. I'm just trying to survive. These Shadow Lords... IF they can do that to Manhattan, they can do it to anywhere. They probably /have/ done it to all those other words."

He looks back up to Celina. "So I know how to talk to people. Congratulations. You could do it just as easily, plus you can actually cook and pay attention to the details that keep the place from falling apart. Avira, Tom and Han are way better at fighting, Will has his eyes to basically shortcut any investigations, and the sneakthief can break into anything he wants to get evidence and information. I'm useless, Celina. I'm just holding you guys back."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"Aha. But... none of us like doing paperwork." Celina says, with a grin. Moonie looks up with a 'wark'. "See? Moonie's been listening to me complain about all of this for the past couple of days. You're the glue that holds all of our unique skills together."

"Plus our dear sneakthief has sneaked his thiefy way out of Traverse Town, I don't know where he is."

"Mercade." She kneels down next to him, her face drawn. "We can't let the past get to us - this is why we've got to bond with everyone else. To restore our lights, our hearts, and our worlds."

Will Sherman has posed:
There is a BRIGHT Flash of light above Mercade.

It is bright, like a door, before...

Something walks out of it.

"This looks like...Traver-..."

"I can fly!" then gravity decides that it's working again.

Will falls, but will he land on his butt...?

Not if his luck has anything to say about it! Hi Mercade!

"Ugh...ow...Worst door of light ever.." he says.

Riku has posed:
"Ow. Worst--" Riku squints, shielding his eyes from the shrieking pain that assaults him from being in real world illumination again. Even the relatively gentle twilight of Traverse Town is more than likely unpleasant. "It's Portal magic, Will. Portal magic sucks." he scoffs, still mumbling. "owowowow.." to himself from where he lays on the floor.

There are healing scars on his face and black fluid over his chest that has bled through the golden shirt. He squints, looking down at himself. "Hn." he looks at his hands and seems to mentally shrug. His 'freakout' for the year having been expended.

He still has some room for 'Oh.. crap." as he focus long enough to see that there are more people here-- and -- just who he didn't want to see right now. Riku tries to summon a gate with the same effect of trying to light a fire with soggy branches. Option 2? Run like hell? Yeah. He'll get along to that when his feet start working again.

Maximilien has posed:
"Aha, so this is where you had hidden yourself away, Monsieur!"

It's like he's /custom-designed/ to be as obnoxious as physically possible. Maximilien Amadeus Renard-Sylvianne just sort of slips out of the crowd; he's not dressed in his usual over-the-top fineries, his massive and delightful cloak and carefully-crafted tuxedo built to engender a sense of wealth and sophistication. No, instead, the redheaded thief is wearing a jacket, a cap, and pants of a decidedly more dull nature. He tips the cap at Celina, then Mercade, his usual smile grown quite firmly across his face. "Bonjour, mes amis; you do seem to be on hard times, do you not?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Look, Celina..." Mercade says, "I..."

What he might be about to say, is unknown, as he freezes up when he gets Frenched at. "AAAAAAAAGH!" He says in surprise. How does Max DO that? "God dammit, Max, I..."

SPLOOSH!

Mercade then gets landed on by Will, who knocks him flat on his back. Since he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, this means Will is effectively holding Mercade under the edge of the fountain, causing him to flail wildly as his head is kept underwater.

He hasn't noticed Riku yet for obvious reasons. Just hold still a minute, he'll be /right with you/.

Watson, meanwhile, is chatting up Moonie in chocobospeak. He is a simple bird and doesn't care about all of this drama.

King Mickey has posed:
The portal of light closes. However, wasn't there supposed to be a trio, instead of just a duo that emerged from the portal?

A letter slowly falls like a feather from where the portal originated, which falls into gently into Will's hands. The letter is addressed to both Riku and Will, sealed with The King's royal symbol. *o*

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina approaches, practically covered in bandages from the last night's battle.

She passes by the fountain. She glances towards the group, noting Will Sherman sittng on Mercade and possibly drowning him and Riku trying to summon a dark portal.

She turns her head back and continues walking.

A MOMENT LATER.

Sarafina rushes by, "WHAT THE HELL?" She asks.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
"Hello, Max." Celina says with a sigh as she heards the French man go Frenchie at the non-French boss-man. Then she heards a subtle noise and the woman ducks, Will going over her head so that he and Mercade both end up in the fountain.

"I am so done."

This is a flat statement. THen she however... blinks. "... Riku?"

Will Sherman has posed:
Will stands up!

There is a letter...

He pauses...

Realization comes to his mind, he doesn't know Max except as that voice on the Ma Belle, Riku was hurt, but otherwise all right!

"Sarafina! You're alright! Celina..." Will starts to tear up... "*Sniff* I....I thought when...when the world fell that..." he is litterally trying to keep himself together...

"But...I'm sorry...I..." he pulls out the shotgun of leadership.. "Mercade..." he says, revealing that he held the only piece of Mercade left.

Oblivious to the guy he was drowning in the fountain.

Riku has posed:
Riku, exit stage left? Yes. That is sounding like a better and better plan. He looks at Celina, raising a clawed hand in greeting.

"uh.." he remembers turkey. Oh yeah. Celina? "..Hi." He then looks at Mercade and Will and just starts /laughing/. His sides hurt but he still can't help himself. Will Sherman, again, has made reality just that slight bit more ridiculous-- a shade more than he can stand, right now.

It's just too much. He just holds his sides and laughs. He /points/ to Mercade-- in the fountain-- and continues laughing.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina cares enough about Mercade that she would prefer him not to drown.

"Will, it's good to see you're alright." She says. "You might want to stop drowning Mercade."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will looks at Sarafina, "I am sorry...I really am! Poor Mercade was lost to the heartless...I found his guns...in that place." he shudders, "If only I had held out a little longer...and if...that thing didn't get out.." he says, putting the shotgun away. "It's all my fault..."

Maximilien has posed:
"Bonjour, Madamoiselle Duvalis," Max replies cheerfully as he slides his hands into his pockets, looking between Will, Mercade, and basically everybody else. The letter fluttering down from the sky does catch his attention - he can't help but be curious, after all, because magic letters do not normally fall from the sky in the middle of Traverse Town, as far as he knew. Maybe once in a blue moon, as they said.

"Ah, j'mexcuse, Monsieur Alexander; it is a habit of mine." A habit he had honed to truly unnerving levels; the man was just damn good at what he did! He bows to Riku and Will as well, a flourish with his hat before he straightens and smiles. "How do you do? Any friends of Monsieur Alexander are mine as well - regardless of how soggy they and he may or may not be at the moment, mmmm?" He chuckles and straightens, placing his hat back on his head and pulling it a bit down over his face.

"You as well, Madamoiselle," he adds to Sarafina, sliding his hands into his pockets. "My, but you have been busy, haven't you, Monsieur Alexander? So many people to meet! And still no sign of the lovely Avira!"

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina Carenze glances to Max, "Ah sorry but my friend is drowning, you see." By the light, Sarafina thinks as Will goes on about Mercade. "WILL!" She shouts. "STAND UP!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade continues to flail and drown.

"HURBLRUBLRBURGLRUGLRULBRLRUL!" He says, eloquently.

Maximilien has posed:
"Of course!" Max replies, "By all means, madamoiselle, please take care of that!" He's still smirking, of course, mostly at the water, because he's pretty sure Mercade can hear him just fine.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina pulls Mercade out of the fountain, smacks him on the back to clear the water out of his lungs, and then she pounce-hugs Will.

Will Sherman has posed:
"Huh?" Will says to both Max and Sarafina, "Oh god...and Avira...I watched what happened to her, unable to do anything..." he says!

"Stand up? But I can't mourn standing u-"then suddenly Celina tackles him off of Mercade!

"C-Celian..." he says, hugging her, "Oh god...I'm...I'm so glad your alive..." he says, trying not to sob.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina Carenze's left eye twitches. Her chainsaw hand twitches. She starts shaking in place.

Riku has posed:
Riku gasps for breath, picking himself to his feet. "Mercade." he says with a laughing wheeze. "Here. Have a Will Sherman. You are welcome to him, with my condolences."

he inclines his head to Max, who is extremely something-- he isn't quite sure WHAT though so he decides that he'll ponder that another day. He looks at Sarafina.. and then at the chainsaw. Yep. NOT HAPPENING. He raises a hand to Will and just bows out of the unreality of his situation by bolting into the crowd.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander can totally hear you, Max.

Celina, thankfully, saves Mercade from drowning. He coughs and gasps, spitting out water as he recovers, his top half soaked. Numbly, he looks over at Will, and says, roughly, "Will... You're alive..." He says... And then looks back to Max. "You're well, too... Good..." What's this? An expression of well-wishing from Mercade to the excessively French man?

His gaze looks over the scene before him, and then he is addressed.

By Riku. "You." He says, simply, and then rushes to his feet and starts giving chase. "RIKU, DAMN YOU! GET BACK HERE!" He yells, his voice harsh and enranged. He stumbles to a halt, pausing to cough up some more water. "Get..." He gurgles, "Back here..."

Maximilien has posed:
Max is holding his sides and shaking with laughter. Dignified French laughter, of course, and thoroughly silent laughter, but laughter nonetheless. Mercade would be fine, of course; he'd've actually HELPED OUT if he'd needed to protect Mercade from death, and not just stood there and waited for someone to solve the problem.

But damned if this isn't funny as hell.

"Monsieur Alexander, you seem to be having some difficulties! Would you like some assistance, perhaps?"

Will Sherman has posed:
Will is shaken from his hug with Celina by Mercade's voice!

His eyes widen...he looks at him in absolute shock...

"Wait! Mercade no!" he says, trying to stop him. "Wait, it's complicated!" he says...and then...

Proceeds to give his friend a hug. "God...damn it Mercade...I was so worried..." he says, finally starting to break down.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina gives up.

She sits down at the fountain and after looking up in the sky to make sure nobody else is about to fall from the heavens, she holds her head in her hands and thinks about her life choices.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
If Will is about to start crying, then Celina -is-. "I THOUGHT I HAD LOST BOTH OF YOU." She says, even as Mercade fails to take off after Riku. "Don't you ever do that to me again, either one of you, /and do you understand that?!" She shakes Will thoroughly.

Avira has posed:
OH NO THERE IS A MONSTER COMING RIGHT AT RIKU

"Outta my way!" The black-furred beast says in a frantic voice, shoving Riku aside while she looks over her shoulder. Yeah, it's definitely a she-monster of some kind because the beast is wearing a shirt. Only girl monsters actually bother wearing shirts.

Whatever had Avira so spooked apparently did such a number on her that she didn't even notice that it was Riku she had pushed aside. At least not until she gets several steps away before she stops. "Wait, that was-" just as she looks over her shoulder, she hears a familiar voice. In fact, several familiar voices. Slowly, the mutate turns to spy the harshly-yelling Mercade and the protesting Will. Her jaw drops.

Normally, she would hesitate, the harsh sting of being called a monster a mere half hour ago still ringing in her mind. But that cannot compare to actually seeing Mercade alive. "MERCADE!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Riku..." Mercade gasps to Max in between coughing. "Get... Riku..."

Moments later, Will glomps Mercade, and he promptly gets rid of some more water when he clamps down. "BLAAAAAARGH!" He yells eloquently, borne to a skidding halt by the hobo and finally just collapsing to the ground as he gives up. "Will..." He says, ruffling the hobo's head fondly as he gets hugged...

And then he realizes again whats going on here. He suddenly reaches down and begins shaking Will. "What do you /MEAN/ it's complicated?" He yells at Will. "HE GODDAMN DESTROYED MANHATTAN and also made me put up with an underage stage magician and killer robots and pirates and a giant snake and chocobos BUT ALSO DESTROYED MANHATTAN!" SHAKESHAKESHAKE.

He hears a familiar voice, then, looking up. "Avira?" He looks around, and suddenly sees... "OH HELL! AVIRA, LOOK OUT!" He yells, fumbling for his gun as the massive, frightening Mutate lopes towards them. TOO BAD THERE'S A HOBO IN THE WAY. "GOD DAMMIT, WILL!" He yells. "STOP GETTING IN THE WAY OF MY GUN!"

Maximilien has posed:
Max looks at Mercade, then looks down after Riku. The young man is, realistically, long gone; he could maybe keep up if he used some of his magic, but that would draw an awful lot of attention. Max puts a finger to his lips thoughtfully, tapping it gently. Well, Riku destroyed Manhattan, but on the other hand...

Max just quietly moves to snag the gun out of Mercade's hands. "Monsieur, causing a fight here will injure people more than it will help," he points out, gesturing at the crowds already beginning to pay attention to the group. "All things in their time, mmm? J'mexcuse, but I do not wish to provoke-"

And then Mercade is accosted by a monster, and Max blinks.

Huh. Traverse Town. Who knew?

Riku has posed:
Riku is knocked several steps away by the partial collision. He barks his shin hard on a market stall, steadying it so nothing falls over by reflex. He doesn't so much as look surprised at the Mutate as sort of mutely certain at this point that he's seeing things. If he wasn't more certain that he was in the real world, he would pretty much think he has simply been knocked sideways from nightmares into the kind of dreams where you forget your shoes or penguins made of pudding wander across the desert.

--Then he remembers vaguely that his real life was USUALLy like this and his sense of reality is restored. Riku looks back behind him with a sad smile, sighing quietly at the frenzied scene behind him. This pretty much affirms everything that he thought.

Time to return to reality. Such as it was. He turns away from the chaos and continues to run, weaving through the crowd and disappearing into another series of alleyways.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will's head shakes violently as Mercade shakes him violently.

@_@

He tries to straighten himself out, and he takes a breath...and then...the voice. Will turns to stare at the Mutate, and thankfully Will is in the way of Mercade's gun. Will, however, stands there...

He knows what he sees, he is seeing Avira, his eyes do not lie to him. The black strings he saw...and the transformation underground...that's what it all ment. "Avira..." he says, giving her a hug...or trying to. "Avira...I'm so sorry..." he starts to sob.

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina looks at Moonie and Watson, who are currently holding a simple conversation via wark-kwehs.

Then she looks at Sarafina, who seems to be figuring out her life.

Then Will hugs -- the mutate, who seems to be Avira. Then she looks at Mercade. Then she looks at Max, who is standing there laughing what little he has off.

She sighs. "It's ... good to have everyone back." She declares to the sky.

Avira has posed:
"Mercade!" she calls out again, overjoyed that he seems to 'recognize' her, at least, he recognizes the sound of her voice. Except what Mercade sees is a monster coming at him and he reacts accordingly, raising his gun. Avira sees this and balks immediately, a lump of fear forming in her gut. "M-mercade it's..." she had to forgive him. He didn't know.

Fortunately, Will is in the way, so she doesn't get shot! But...this doesn't seem to be much better.

The mutate takes a step away from Will, eyeing him warily. "...are you? Are you really?" Avira can't help it, she starts to tear up a little too.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina looks towards the girl monsters but having experience with the mutates doesn't immediately try to carve into her. It's hard to tell from just her voice and she hasn't talked with AVira post mutation as of yet. She had assumed it had not worked due to AVira, well, not having been a monster immediately. Her science score is focused in engineering and not really on much else.

She jolts a bit as the mutate approaches and--

Avira?
Pause.
Her name is Avira?
"Woah Merc--" She's about to say, startled from her retrospection.

"Maybe...maybe we should all relax a moment, take it easy. Calm down." She says. "There's...a lot of relevations going on here." She looks to AVira frowning. "I'm sorry that I could not stop this." She says. "If I hear of anything, a possible solution..."

Maximilien has posed:
Avira's appearance does change a few things up for Max - namely, that Riku isn't just vanishing into the crowd anymore, since the crowd is actively, actually parting. They are moving apart. They are splitting, which meant he could do something. He thinks about it for a moment, gently tapping the grappling hook positioned just underneath his sleeve. There were a couple ways he could deter the wonderkid from running away; he could always...

No, that would cost him. Possibly too much.

Grappling hook is best option. Max flicks out his hand almost lazily, clicking a hidden button under his sleeve; the wire fires outwards, shooting through the crowd with quite impressive accuracy towards Riku, aiming to wrap around his arm with a little jerk of Max's arm to keep it from sticking in somebody's head or a building. "J'MEXCUSE, MON AMI!" Max calls at Riku, "BUT MONSIEUR ALEXANDER SEEMS TO WISH YOU NOT TO LEAVE, AND I THINK THAT IN LIGHT OF THINGS, I WOULD LIKE TO AGREE WITH HIM!"

Oh please don't make him spend, Riku. Please don't make him spend. "IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME BACK SENSIBLY, OF COURSE, IT WOULD BE A GREAT HELP TO ME!"

Max's ear perks at the name Avira. So that was Avira? Well...one couldn't deny that Mercade had, ahmmmmm....politely speaking, interesting taste in women! Who knew that he was into /those/ sorts of things? In Max's day, that sort of thing just didn't happen...

Riku has posed:
Riku is snagged before he can disappear down an alleyway. "ACK!"The sudden jolt of backwards momentum sweeps him off his feet. He pushes himself to a kneeling position. Now he knows EXACTLY what Max is a lot of. /Annoying/. Riku throws himself at the corner of the alleyway, looking at the grappling hook.. and down the long distance it is to where Mercade sits. There is still a gun, in the hands of a stranger.. and Avira (from what he can hear of the voices).. and Sarafina.. and Riku narrows his eyes, suddenly afraid and much more than liable to do stupid things. It is too soon, too soon after the nightmares and the horrors and the struggle with himself.

He digs deeper into himself for strength. He would not go down without a fight. He would not kneel like a prisoner and a supplicant.

Riku wraps his arm around the grappling hook, claws gripping the line as he yanks hard on his tether, slicing a hand down at the taut line and potentially providing a great amount of abrupt presssure on the other end of the line.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
It's a whirlwind of revelation tonight. Max so kindly keeps Mercade from doing something precipitous, as the gun is swiped from his hand with deft fingers. The Detective barely even saw the hands move. "You..." He almost says angrily to Max, but then he sees Avira speak.

"Avira? That's... you?" He says, shocked. "Dear God..."

He steps forward, towards Avira, his expression confused. "Why did this happen to you?" He begins to reach out towards her, to touch her arm, feel the fur there. Guilt flashes across his features, as he looks down and away. "I'm sorry, Avira. If I was there..."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina stares at Max. Then Riku. "NO FIGHTING." She yells, anxiously. Moonie kwehs in confusion, the younger chocobo wandering through the crowd to headbutt Celina, which gets a oof from the magess. "It's okay, Moonie." She says, glancing around at the er... shall we say, Mass Chaos?"

"Riku, please, just... talk to Mercade. Please."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
There is a rush of fabric. There is a strong hand. A shadow rushes into the distance between the boy and the master thief. Its fist seizes the wire lashed around the young man's back just as the silvery haired boy pulls.

"I don't think my friends are done talking, kiddo." Tom Magnusson, standing tall, strong, and mercilessly /there/ as he has ever stood has arrived to make the situation so much worse. His lips turn downward into a frown as he walks forward, slowly reeling the boy back in. "How about you stay awhile? Have some coffee. Maybe answer some questions."

If it seems like Tom doesn't remember seeing Riku under Manhattan, it's only because he's not about to punch someone through a wall for ending his world in front of his friends. He'll punch someone through a wall for ending his world when he has the chance to catch him alone, and if that particular someone says something to make him upset enough to punch that someone through a wall.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will pauses... he winces as if struck.

He turns away from her, guilt running deeply through him. "I know...it doesn't make sense...but it wasn't me. I got to watch...I got to watch what he did. I tried...I screamed...I fought against him with everything I had...but I couldn't..." he says, and just finally sits down at the fountain. He sniffs, "I just..." he takes a breath... "The day that happened is just as fresh now as it was three months ago...Avira...not a day passes that...I don't have the nightmares." he takes a breath, "I thought you were all dead. Or worse...heartless."

"...And it was all my fault."

Avira has posed:
"It makes no sense at all! What are you, Will?! Who /are/ you?" Just looking at him brings back that memory of being fallen in front of him, looking up at him in confusion and fear as he tried to erase her existance. Squinting her eyes shut, she tries to calm herself down and the darkness inside her begins to throb painfully. "L..look..j..just don't do it again, alright?"

Hesitantly, she reaches out with a clawed hand and places it gently on Will's shoulder.

She watches Mercade's reaction, her heart breaking a little at his dismay. "I turned my back at the wrong time." she says softly, looking to the side as Mercade touches her arm. It's definitely fur there. Thick black fur like the kind one would find on a husky. "In the Labyrinth. There were...genetics and Heartless and...." she seems to be having trouble pulling words together and just gives up. Without much more warning, she throws herself onto Mercade to hug him.

"It's not your fault." she says, muffled into Mercade's shoulder.

Riku has posed:
Riku gives a small noise, the prelude to a rumbling snarl. It's-- a sound that Will has heard only once or twice before. Once very recently. His eyes widen further as the grappling cord refuses to cut. It only makes his fingers bleed.

His strength gives out, trembling muscles still fighting against the pull in vain but without magical schenadigans he's pretty much what it says on the tin. A very frightened 15 year old being yanked like a landed fish towards an unknown fate. Possibly certain doom.

"Does this look like TALKING?" he yells at Celina, attempting to brave himself against the side of a stairway and pretty much being annoyingly defiant to the very last pull of the grapple.

Maximilien has posed:
Max takes a moment to think about it; he looks at Riku, thinking back on his own life. On the number of times he'd been in situations of uncertainty, fearing for his life, his existence, his very sense of self. Fearing for the completion of his goals...for the completion of what he had to do that no one else could. He looks at Riku, and he pulls his hat down, and very, very stealthily hits the release button hidden in his sleeve.

The grappling hook comes undone, going limp in an instant; Riku's free to run if he wants, now. Or he's free to actually stay and talk, and return the empathy...Max doesn't really care.

But Phantom Thief MARS isn't the sort of person to keep a man tied up...such hypocrisy was unbecoming.

Tom Magnusson has posed:
Tom growls. It's an angry sound that he directs at Riku, "You destroyed my home. The only home I've ever had. Don't say that you didn't- you were there, standing in the middle of those monsters. Leading them. So many are dead, because of your actions."

He takes another step forward, before dipping to reach and clasp a hand around the boy's shoulder. "But I want to believe, because Will thinks that there's more to this, that you weren't in control. That something was pulling your strings- that something was threatening you, or something you loved. I don't know. But I want to think that someone Will thinks of as a friend is better than that."

"But if you run away here, from the boy who calls you friend," he rumbles, steel in his voice, "Then what am I supposed to believe? What am I supposed to do? Tell us what happened. Talk to us. Prove me wrong, kid."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
"Or," Tom dips into a whisper, "Don't. It's up to you."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina Carenze apologizes but Avira is focused on Mercade. She sits back a bit and observes the proceedings, scratching at her nose. She doesn't quite grok what's going on all that well, reports were pretty unreliable. But there is something that Will says that DOES resonate with Sarafina.

"Three months ago?" Sarafina says. "You haven't even been gone a month!"

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina stares at Riku as Riku tugs free out of the line. She's not close enough to tell.

Then she stares at Tom as tom goes all... Tom-y on the poor boy.

"... Back off, Tom." She says, steadily, quietly. "I trust Riku."

Will Sherman has posed:
"Wait what?" Will says at Sarafina...

"What?" he says, looking at Riku who was no free but being Tomed at. You can't stop Tom,he is like a force of nature, you just sort of point him in the right direction...Tom was fine too. Will takes a breath... as Avira both asks for a answer, and...comforts him.

Will stands up, taking a deep breath, trying to arrange his thoughts as Riku has his own choices to make.

"I am Will Sherman...but my true name...Well I don't have one. Will is allthat I have ever known. I am not a human..." he says infront of them all, "I am...a magically created seal to seal the mad god Loki in human form. That is...what I am. Using my powers like I have, or rather...Loki's power, has been weakening the seal...so when the thing inside Riku hit it with darkness during the fight.."

Will takes a breath, "Loki became in charge of my body. The more I use my powers...or rather Loki's...the weaker the Seal gets. However...Riku met someone over there that says that I haven't awakened my own powers...so I..."

"I don't know."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Manhattan fell a week ago." Sarafina explains. "But for you it was three months?"

She listens to Will's tale. She gets it to a certain extent even though it sounds like the tale of a madman and after some consideration adds something else.

"Magic." She blames.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade doesn't back away when Avira lunges for him.

He hugs her back. "No... If I was there maybe I could have stopped it..." He says. "I'm... Ugh. I'm just a fool." He sniffles a bit. Huh, she smells different. "Did you change shampoos?" He asks, absently.

Mercade hears Will explain, but says nothing. He's /busy/ over here. He's not sure what's up with Riku, but if he gets away, he gets away.

One day, he'll catch up.

Riku has posed:
Riku glares defiantly at Tom. He doesn't show any remorse, or the fear that had so recently shown up on his face. "Let me go. Right now." he says in a calm and deadly voice. "I'm only going to warn you.. this once." he is practically trembling with something pent up deep inside him.

He isn't distracted by Will's outpouring of explanation. He isn't distracted by Celina. He doesn't even notice that the grapple line has gone slack he's focused so hard on containing himself. Riku just continues to glare at Tom, hands trembling. "I'll talk to you." his voice has dropped even lower. "just.. back.. away."

Avira has posed:
The urge to hug him-to really, really hug Mercade, was strong within Avira. But at the same time, she feared accidentallly crushing Mercade's spine. She is so careful.

Pulling away just slightly, she does answer Sarafina after a moment of consideration. "You don't need to apologize. You and Mercade and Will...it's not all your faults at all."

She can't seem to meet anyone's eyes at that point. All the sudden it all felt very terrifying to be out in the public like this for all sorts of reasons. "Will...you're..." Wait, 'thing inside Riku?' Avira's eyes narrow. She remembers that night..felt real to her. Maybe this was another trick from Loki.

That wariness returns as she looks at Will.

She hugs Mercade again, because he made more sense right now, and bites back tears as she does so. "Maybe...but thinking about what coulda happened isn't going to help us, Mercade."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
Tom returns Riku's glare. His eyes smolder and roil with barely subdued rage as he seems to stare right into Riku's own. It's enough to distract him from Will's revelation, but only for now. The realization likely strike him later on, at the least opportune moment. Tom's mind works in mysterious ways.

The eyes are the mirror to the soul, some say- but more importantly, Riku's eyes mirror a sensation that Tom is familiar with. It's the same expression he wore for years.

A defiant stare to show the world that you're not weak, no matter how you might really feel about it.

The grip on Riku's shoulder loosens and falls away. Tom takes a step back, but offers the boy a hand. "I'm trusting you," Tom's voice rolls like deep but warm thunder, "Come on. Let's go."

Celina Duvalis has posed:
Celina looks at Moonie.

Then she mounts her chocobo and rides Moonie away into the night.

Maximilien has posed:
Max hides a smile in the collar of his jacket as he turns to deal with the whole Avira/Mercade situation. He might be kind of an insufferable jackass, but he's smart enough not to get in the way of a fated reunion; these people were having a Moment, and he wasn't part of that Moment, and he didn't want to intrude on it.

And with Riku...that would just cause problems if he got more involved. He just reels the grapple in silently, then slides his hands into his pockets, looking away from the situation and off into the sky. The end of the world...

He closes his eyes and smiles. "I see."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Watson is now sad and alone.

He couldn't even get Moonie's chocophone number.

Avira keeps hugging him. He kind of likes it. However, all the talking of his friends around him causes him to suddenly throw up his hands. "GOD DAMMIT!" He yells, suddenly irritable. "How the hell can I be all guilty and depressed when you people are all alternating between ridiculoudly supportive and also guilty and depressed! Ugh! What the hell."

He grumps, and hugs Avira some more, grumbling as he buries his face in her furry shoulders and nuzzles in a bit.

Maximilien has posed:
"Well," Max replies airily, still looking off into space, "If you need something to be depressed about, mon ami, I believe you may have just been robbed."

Max may or may not have just slipped Mercade's wallet while he was busy being hugged and crying and trying to be SAD at stuff, and everybody else was watching Riku. But he is smiling, and if he really meant it, he PROBABLY wouldn't tell Mercade outright.

(Might be about a hundred munny less than he had in there, though...)

Will Sherman has posed:
Will looks at Sarafina, "More like gods are dicks." he says to her. "Seriously. I think I'd have to take a course in being a jerk to even be half the jerks they are to each other." he grumps, and looks at Avira...and Mercade is just... basicly...

Huh...he never would have figured he was into that sorta thing...that explains so much.

"A week huh...that's weird, it was...months in there." he frowns... "Oh Mercade..." he says, and pulls out the shotgun. Handing it to him butt first. "I found your guns. WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR GUNS?! YOU FRIGHTENED THE HELL OUT OF ME!" he shotus, suddenly excitabl-...

"...HEY! Nobody steals Mercade's wallet...but me!"

Riku has posed:
Riku lets out a breath, rubbing a hand very carefully across his face and shuddering from repressed reaction. He looks from one person to another, shoulders hunched with tension. He.. notices the grapple line, following it to Max.

He considers them for a moment, then starts to untie himself from the grapple without a word. It then slides away and disappears along with the attacker. He rubs his wrists, staring warily at Tom and other others-- he watches Celina leave on her chocobo, then looks back to follow Tom to-- wherever.

He might think this was a trap if he didn't know better than that. The TDA, from the little he knows, are about as subtle as a kicked down door. He bites back a retort to Mercade, keeping himself to himself but the 'Isn't this a relatively NORMAL day?' is obvious in his eyes and expression. Also. Will hands Mercade the Shotgun. This immediately puts him back on the defensive. Riku Dislike Shotgun.

Will Sherman has posed:
Will suddenly pulls the shotgun back. "Maybe later." he then realizes after Riku shows back up.

Avira has posed:
"It's been a hell of a week!" Avira burts out, "No, a hell of a month. Ever since our world.." Avira reaches up a clawed hand to push against her forehead. "So much has happened, Mercade. I-"

He hugs her some more. Now at this point she'd be blushing and flustered. In this form, thankfully, nobody can see her blush. She does look a little flustered though as Mercade snuggles into her shoulder.

Will's sudden excitable yelling illustrates Mercade's point greatly! "Months? No, it's only been a week...where the hell were you, Will?" More suspicion. She just didn't know what to believe with this gu-

Riku. Avira slowly turns to glare at the kid. Something moves within her.

KILL HIM

The mutate grits her teeth, "How dare you...how dare you show up here..."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina nods to Will. "They did not think this one through, it seems, though I suppose that to them, suffering is a means to an end. I would have a word with these 'gods' if I were not simply glad they no longer seem to be in the picture." No argument here, it seems.

She turns to Riku. "Riku, yes? I've heard a lot about you, mostly through incidental chatter. I don't suppose you wouldn't mind explaining what is going on? I apologize if matters have been tense, but you understand us, yes? Our position? After Manhattan, it's hard to be entirely rational, unfortunately, or--forgiving."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
Tom nods his head. There might even be a hint of fatherly approval there! He turns to lead the boy back toward the rest of the TDA, and... frowns at Will. "Put that thing away," Tom sighs, rubbing one temple. "Ugh, day after I wake up and we're already wavin' guns at everyone."

He glances to Mercade. "So." Tom asks. "What the hell happened to you? And why're you all mope--"

Avira.

Tom steps between the boy and the mutate. one arm extended. "Stop," Tom rumbles. "Will trusts this one, and so does Mercade, I guess. So that means I do too. If you've got a beef with him, take it up after he's done sharin' his side of the story."

Maximilien has posed:
Max grins at Will cheerfully. He tosses the wallet to the younger man, then steps to the side as Avira begins to get REALLY ANGRY; given that he just (secretly) let the kid off the hook, he's got no interest in letting her kill him. Max reaches out to grab Avira's hand and smile.

"Bonjour, madamoiselle. So you are the beautiful Avira I have heard so much about, mmm? The one who makes Monsieur Alexander's heart thump-thump in all the sorts of ways a man must enjoy?" He steps between her and Riku, quite innocuously, and moves to kiss whatever passes for a hand politely, keeping his eyes on her. He was probably about to ROYALLY piss off Mercade, but...well, better than lettin them kill the kid.

"If he is willing to walk, madamoiselle, is it not better to let him talk? No matter what evil he has done, if he were truly guilty and unrepentant, he would have run the moment he freed himself from my grapple, I think. Perhaps rather than starting a fight here, cherie, in the middle of this rather crowded street, we can...mmmm...talk?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade has missed a lot of people. The spunky, asskicking Avira is definately high on the list.

Unfortunately for Riku, Max just joined the TDA so 'subtle' is back in the playbook. The Detective looks up, suddenly, as Max mentioned he was robbed, and immediately checks his wallet. "How..." He stops talking, a look of epic confusion on his face. He looks over to Will, and says, "I was there, Will. When the world dissolved. I dropped my guns before I was pulled back into the portal. They must have found their way to you, somehow."

Mercade, however, is only subtle when he wants to be. And right now, subtle is not it. He gently untangles himself from Avira, looking towards him with narrowed eyes. "Riku." He says, his tone grim. He glances over at Max's display of French politeness. He grits his teeth for a moment, but says nothing, returning his gaze to Riku. "I believe you have a /lot/ of explaining to do."

It's probably to the efforts of the rest of the TDA that he isn't trying to throttle Riku right now. He doesn't /need/ his guns to hurt someone.

Avira has posed:
It's...actually kind of a shame to have the hugging end, a small part of Avira thinks. This is easily the part not dominated by that oddly alien fury. The hatred reflected in Avira's eyes, apparently directed at Riku, was not something /ever/ seen in the cheerful Avira before. Even that was unnatural.

"I have a beef alright..." the mutate hisses, holding up a claw at Tom. She might go THROUGH him to get to the kid...until...

Max intercepts, taking that held up claw in his hand. Right away, given that accent, she knows she faces Max. "W-well I..." she seems to defuse as he smooth talks her, growing even more flustered than before, "I...I don't normally look like this! I'm a human, I swear." Avira actually kind of believes him too. Hey, he was french...didn't the french not shave their armpits or something? Maybe Max liked his women furry.

A look of guilt settles in her eyes-Max is right though. Starting a fight in the middle of the super crowded Traverse Town right now would be a horrible thing to do. Frankly, thanks to that woman in the sewers, she already felt enough like a monster today.

Riku has posed:
Riku feels the darkness stir as he looks at Avira. He hunches his shoulders but the fear returns as he knows he wouldn't be able to fight back.

He lets out a long breath. "I wonder.. what is it.. you are all expecting." he marvels at how calm and quiet is voice comes out like. He draws up his shoulders, refusing to cower as he glares at Avira with challenge in his face as he leans up against a wall to keep himself standing.

The glare becomes confused by Tom and Max getting in the way of the changed Avira, and he doesn't like the feeling that it dredges up. He looks quickly at Will, then at Sarafina-- frowning slightly at her before looking back at Tom and Max and Avira. Riku tries to dredge up.. something of what he felt before. He thinks about telling them about remorse. About endless days on a boat with a .. VERY.. strange hobo and passing the crazy bucket around. But the things he's seen-- he isn't willing to share those parts of himself anymore. He's done quite enough damn sharing. He did not kneel to anyone.

"Get it over with." he tells Mercade. "Do you expect me to whimper, to plead forgiveness and beg for your favor? I will tell you the truth, since it wasn't beaten out of me. I destroyed Manhattan for what I believed was a good reason. I destroyed your city because I believed it would keep my lost friends, and the many worlds I have already seen safe from a madman you kept in your kitchen and let raid your wallet. I was not mistaken. Not quite. Will isn't who I was afraid of, and he BETTER make sure to take care of himself. Of course.." he looks at Tom, and then at Mercade, and Max. Now His iron voice softens to something like regret. "I don't have to worry about that. Do I?" he sighs. "Has it really only been a week? -- "..It's been so long."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will rubs his head...

"It isn't entirely his fault." Will says to Mercade, "Remember when Leida came?" he tries to explain, "With the heartless threat...I've been forced to use my powers a lot lately. The seal has been getting weaker and weaker..but we just haven't noticed...well... We couldn't really know. I mean...remember when I turned that one heartless inside out? Or when DeSpella freaked out at me...or when the raven bit me? These were all signs...and then..."

"Leida weakened it enough that it got the attention of something tied into Riku's past. You remember Mercade...the story he told us. It wasn't just a story..." he scratches the back of his head, "Loki's voice messedup Riku's balance or something...really...really freaked him out. So that thing got a hold in him...We fought in the world heart...but then..."

"Riku's goal there was to try and seal me in the Relm of Darkness. So that I wouldn't destroy the worlds. He didn't know what I was...or did anyone really. The thing that was there was doing it because he wanted Loki released." Will takes a breath, "I think Riku's fixed it now...and I'm better now too. But...I don't think I can stay here with you guys. I...have to...I have to make sure this never happens again."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
Tom frowns as he realizes he doesn't like what he's hearing. He frowns even /harder/ when Will starts telling him even more things he doesn't like hearing. And then, Tom decides he's had more or less enough of all this depressing talk and unleashes a decidedly frustrated roar--

Before he turns, dropping his arms across the shoulders of both boys. "You're both being complete numbskulls, you know that?" Tom grunts, "First of all. If you're so worried about a world coming to an end, why don't you go and ask the person you think is endin' it in the first place!? Look. I don't know what this crazy Loki bastard you're talking about is, but Will Sherman is and has always been Will Sherman. That's the end of it. And if anyone or any /GOD/ has the balls to come and tell me otherwise, then he can do it over my own goddamn grave!"

"SECOND!" Tom thunders, "Will, what the hell? You're going to leave because of something you've got no control over? Just so, what, you don't hurt us?" His grip tightens, "Come on. Get serious. We all signed up for this of our own free will. You remember that contract, boy? The thing that the Boss made us sign. All of us. We accept anything that happens of our own free will. That's the end of it."

"So the both of you," Tom growls, pulling them both into a hug. An overwhelming, overpowering, Magnusson Trademark bear hug. "The both of you stop being such thickheaded, numbskull dumbasses and figure out that some of us signed up for this crap knowing /exactly/ what we might be getting ourselves into. You've got friends. You've got /family./ How do you think we'd just leave you alone if you go gallavanting off into the distance like that? Huh? I mean, get /serious!/"

"All this could have been prevented," Tom thunders, "If the both of you would have just told us about all the crap eatin' you both up. So instead of running away, how about you just face that knot of pain an' trauma inside of you and man up and tell us about it already?"

"Goddamn!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade listens to the explanation. The defiance. The self-blame. "Yes, Will, because I'm some kind of goddamn magician who can tell you have an ancient Norse god locked away in you. Sure! It all makes perfect sense now!"

He turns away, throwing up his hands. "NO! IT DOES NOT MAKE ANY GODDAMN SENSE!" He whips back to Riku. "What should I expect, you ask? Do I want you to beg and plead? Is that what you think of me, Riku? Do you honestly think I could even /give/ you forgiveness for what you've done? No, I'm not the one who can do that."

He goes quiet, looking down as he breathes, feeling the waves of emotion running through him. Ever since he was told that Riku was responsible for him being trapped, for the horrors that were unleashed upon his friends, he thought about what he was going to do when he found him. Elaborate fantasies of vengeance were constructed, examined, discarded.

They melted to ash in his mouth, leaving it dry, bitter. He turns away. "What do you /want/ me to do, Riku?" Will's desperate attempts to take or share the blame are falling on deaf ears with Mercade. He's focused only on Riku right now.

Maximilien has posed:
"Ah, but of course. A woman's true beauty is in her heart, madamoiselle; it shines through like a diamond, no matter her current form. Besides, Monsieur Alexander is so fond of you, I could already picture your real self in my mind's eye. I am so very eager to see it, too; it must be truly stunning." Max smiles and straightens, tipping his little service hat; he's dressed, as mentioned, not in his usual opera clothes but in a serviceman's uniform. "I am Maximilien Amadeus Renaud-Sylviane, though I suspect you have surmised that already; my accent is...a dead giveaway."

Max straightens, sliding the cap back onto his head and turning to look over at Riku. He can't really judge the other man; when someone you love is at risk, you do crazy things. Could he really say he would've done better, in Riku's situation, if it had meant someone he truly cared about? A little sigh escapes Max's lips, as exaggerated as everything else he does; he looks at Mercade again from under his cap, remaining silent. How would Mercade react to Riku's words? Would he start a fight? Would he forgive the boy? Or would he do something Max could not even forsee?

Or Tom could act like a character out of a children's fairy tale (like Max is one to talk...)! Max can't help but smile a little bit. He reaches out to pat Mercade on the shoulder. "You have good people behind you, monsieur."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Destroying a city to save many more people, in short." Sarafina says. She steeples her fingers and considers it. Will he feel anything if he sees the countless homeless? No he believes in his decision, it seems, at least with the information he thought he had at the time. Still, if they wish to make him pay, what to do? Kill him? Well that's certainly one option. Those who commit crimes even for what they think is the right reason are countless. Those who do for the actual right reason are fewer but everyone has to pay their debts, no matter how kind their cause was.

But Will says it wasn't entirely him. This is all quite complex.

"Alright," She says. "Enough posturing." She says. "Our purpose isn't revenge, after al. But for us, yes, it has just been a week." She admits. "For you--perhaps--it's been longer. And I think all of us should acknowledge that for them it's been three months--any wounds for them are not as fresh as it would be for us."

She privately wishes she could just flip out like Tom but not everybody can be flipping out or lord knows what could happen.

Instead she tries another track. "Will," She says. "You can't leave. You've been off work for three months and, as I recall, you are Mercade Alexander's employee. You'll have to convince him to let you go first though, I admit, I am inclined to agree with your decision but you have responsibilities. Loki is sealed for now, any solutions will take time, and perhaps--a detective."

She crosses her arms. "We can keep doing the blame game but lets focus on solutions. As Mercade says, what do you want us to do?"

Avira has posed:
Inner beauty? Avira looks shocked. That was really a thing? Not just some trope from fairy tails and animated children's movies? "Oh, my heart...is not shining the way it used to..I...is he?" She lowers her voice, almost conspiratorily to Max, "Is he really? I mean...are you sure you're not reading into it too much? Guys are confusing." Not something to confide in to a guy, really. This conversation would be a little better served with Sarafina, actually.

But enough of that, it's time for an explanation. Riku speaks and still Avira glares throughout it, unknowing in the story that Will is referring to about Riku. Will condemns himself to exile and Tom protests.

"...well Will is right over there now. Maybe as himself for real. I'm not sure anymore." Avira glances over to Will, a longing expression on her face. Damn it, she wanted the hobo king back, not this horrible awful evil god-thing inside him. "More importantly."

She looks at Will, her arms folded over her chest, "/Our/ world is gone. All the apologies and remorse in the world ain't gonna bring it back. So what will you do about it?"

Her yellow-tinged gaze turns to Riku. "What will /you/ do about it?"

Will Sherman has posed:
Will suddenly is TOMED.

Will is actually...kinda mad.

"NO NO! STOP!" he says, pushing Tom's arm away after a bit. "Seriously, let the *GOOSEHONK* go!" Will growls. "Don't trivilize this stuff! I knew the boss before you were born!" he continues, "I am not RUNNING away, I am not falling inward! I never did! You all told me to not worry about it...and at the time there wasn't anything I could do about it anyway. I didn't know, nobody knew...and I am not leaving because I have no control over it...I am leaving because /I need control over it/. I need to...do something, stop relying on it's power, I need my own. Something that is Will Sherman, and not just the echo of a mad god." he says, evenly.

"I am not /running/ I am trying to get myself ready to take back Manhattan from the Darkness."

Riku has posed:
Riku has never been on the receiving end of a Tom-brand crushing hug. It is an experience. Part of him is screaming that he is trapped, and is urging him to claw his way free no matter the consequences.

Riku takes in a small breath (because in a tomhug, there is no air-- only more Tom) and for once, listens to the other voice. The one who had been laughing their head off at Mercade floundering like a fish while Will mourned the tragic loss of his buddy. He goes as limp as a rag-doll Riku, simply suffering /through/ the Tomhug and muttering. "This is your fault, Will. They are even stranger than you are." as he tenatively doesn't know what he should be doing while the hug persists. When he gets free he then reaches over, trying to WHACK Will upside the head. He doesn't need to say anything. Will should very well know WHY. Or he can just insert the voices of his friends. Those will work just as well.

Mercade and Sarafina have a much more rational response to this. It is something he can understand at least. "I didn't exactly AIM to drop on top of either of you. I was expecting.." he shrugs. "Simply to keep away, and if you cornered me-- to defend myself, if you decided vengeance would somehow salve the wounds to your pride or give you some measure of control. It will certainly not return Manhattan." He looks at Avira, trying to hold something back but failing. He narrows his eyes at her, smiling sweetly as his calm shatters into something like cruelty. "You can even be first, Avira. You can carve chunks out of my hide while you urge yourself on by saying you'll feel so much better afterwards. But will you? Will you /really/? Or is it that if you go down that road-- you won't STOP WITH ME."

Maximilien has posed:
"It will not make you feel better," Max warns quietly, and there's something about his voice that carries more than his usual foppish over-the-top fairy tale-style attitude; he's still smiling, but the cap is pulled down over his eyes, hiding his mess of red hair.

Tom Magnusson has posed:
"Oh please," Tom grunts, releasing the two boys after a couple of moments. It feels like much longer than a couple of moments for the both of them, though. This can easily be explained by examining how time begins to extend as it approaches a black hole. In this case, Tom acts as a black hole, and his hugs are the gravity well.

This makes perfect sense, and if Tom was some kind of Calculator, he'd prove it.

Tom turns to regard Will first. "That's good. That's what you need to be doing. You know what you don't need to be doing? You don't need to be going off on your own to God knows where. If you need to learn how to fight on your own power, then let us help. Mercade has guns, I have muscle, Max has..."

Tom peers at Max.

"Max has foppishness. I'm not trivializing a damn thing. If we're going to fight those monsters, then we're going to do it together. A man who makes himself an island can drown in the sea, but a bundle of sticks is much harder to break than a single arrow." Tom crosses his arms. "Stay, not just we need you, or you need us, but because we've been buddies for years now. Besides, for someone who's lived three hundred years, you sure as hell don't have the judgment to show for it."

And then, he addresses Riku. "If he's going to atone, it's going to be done while he's alive. Dying's quick, you know. Quick and easy. No. He'll make up for what he did by helping us all fix what was broken, I think. That would be a good way to do it."

"I said it then and I'll say it now," Tom thumbs his chest, "As long as a heart still beats and a brain still thinks that remembers that city, it's never really going to die. We've still got it in here, and it's not going anywhere unless we do."

Maximilien has posed:
"The word you are looking for is subtlety and skill, monsieur," Max replies idly, "Have we even met?"

Tom Magnusson has posed:
"Once," Tom says to Max, "I think. I've heard of you, anyway. And you sound pretty foppish." He rubs at his nose. "Not that that's a bad thing. Soome people go for that. Though I guess skill's pretty great too."

Tom conspicuously overlooks the 'subtletly' bit.

Maximilien has posed:
"You do not actually know what the word 'subtlety' means, do you?" Max asks after a moment. He points at Tom, then leans to Mercade. "He literally does not know that word, does he?"

Will Sherman has posed:
"Oh my god, Tom seriously. LISTEN TO ME. LISTEN. HEAR THE WORDS IN ENGLISH COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH..."

"I...NEED...TO...LEARN...MY...POWER." he says, in as simple words as possible.

Tom Magnusson has posed:
"Right," Tom replies, staring at Will, "And you can't do that with us around... why?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade...

Finally, just slumps, falling to the ground. "Dammit." He says, in a defeated, frustrated tone. "Dammit, dammit, dammit." He punshes the pavement, then, puncturating his feelings. "When I found out you trapped me. When I found out you were the reason why Manhattan was destroyed, Riku, I wanted to kill you. I wanted to make you hurt. I wanted you to feel what I did."

He goes quiet for a moment, looking over his shoulder. "But I feel powerless. I know all of this. I know it's not going to solve anything. But DAMN IT!" He punches the ground again. "WHY ARE YOU TAKING THIS AWAY FROM ME?" He demands. Maybe from Will, maybe from Riku. "I don't... know what to do now. That's why I'm asking you. I don't know whether I should hate you, or condemn you, or just... not even care anymore."

He glances over to Max. "No. He has no idea what subtle means and he's about as stubborn as ten oxes."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
"Like, there's a leap of logic you're making here, and it doesn't really make sense. Besides, you just told me that you wanted to go and learn how to be 'Will Sherman' instead of that weird thing inside of you." Tom crosses his arms, "And I told you that the best way to do that is by staying with us. I mean, look at Mercade. He ran off and disappeared somewhere, and now he comes back and he's poundin' at the ground like some kind of crazy person."

He huffs. "Anyway, point is that you're talking crazy and not making much sense. The OTHER point is that we're going to help you get through this."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander looks over his shoulder at Tom, humphing. "You don't even know what I've been through, Tom. Seriously, not everything can just be fixed by ignoring it and charging on like it doesn't exist. I thought all of you were /dead/, dammit."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will just stares at Tom, just long and hard. His head lops to one side, with the sound of something heavy and metal being dropped.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OmPW3mamSE Plays.

Then he looks at Mercade...he frowns for a moment. "Let me go!" he says, and kicks Tom right in the diophram. He rusn off to Mercade. He just gives Mercade the largest hug he can. "Mercade, you know what you gota do, we both know you know. You wouldn't be the boss if you didn't. Right?" he says and lets go. "I need to go so I don't hurt anyone...you guys are my family. I need to find people who can help me...someone's gota exist out there. if I have...another lapse...if I can't stop using Loki's power...then I can't save Manhattan. I'll be a liability like I was at the World Heart. I'll...hurt you guys when you need me the most. I can't do that again..."

Maximilien has posed:
"And what if he does not?" Max immediately interjects, holding out his hand at Will as Will demands help from Mercade. "WHat if he does not have the answers? Are you going to demand them from him, monsieur, and shake him until they fall out like some sort of children's toy? Will you keep putting quarters in until dispensable pleasantries come out?"

"Monsieur Alexander is suffering as much as you. Will you simply demand from him until he gives you a course of action to blame himself over when it backfires?"

The Phantom Thief tugs on his hat. "Think about what it means to put your faith in someone."

Avira has posed:
"I want Earth back." Avira murmurs under her breath, watching them both. Waiting for either one to pledge to taking action. In a way, Will kind of does, even though Avira does not really agree with the approach of him leaving them all.

She makes eye contact with Riku and right away, the anger returns the second he smiles that cruel smile. "You aren't the first one to offer this-" Why, Morrighan, just the other day put her through this very thing. And at that time, they were both alone. She could have done the deed easily with no witnesses.

But right now, after having used that darkness to fight not too long ago, her will to be so charitable had lessened. Ominously, she takes a step towards Riku. "No..." she growls, "...no, I wouldn't stop with you, Riku. I'd get every bastard that was there."

'It will not make you feel better.' Max warns. Avira shivers.

"But.." she sounds pained and frustrated. Mercade falling apart as he does seems to make it even worse and while she sees her detective break down. "...Mercade..."

She looks back to Riku and her rage rises again, darkness roiling painfully inside her. After a moment, she tears herself away. "I...I need to go..." she admits, a small amount of fear in her voice. "...Mercade.." she bends down, hugging him. After a moment, she reluctantly hugs Will too. "I..I'll be in my guild house, I need a moment."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
"And I thought /you/ were dead," Tom growls in reply. "But does that mean I should just... Spend all my time crying over it? I've been unconscious for half a goddamn week, and I still don't know what's been going on since I passed out, but this ain't like you, Mercade. And who the Hell's ignoring a problem?"

He rolls a shoulder, "If you're alright with this, with sitting here and not knowing what to do, that's fine. But I can't do that. Even if there's no clear path forward, we gotta keep moving, because staying still is getting us nowher-oof!"

And then Tom takes a kick to the chest.

"Ugh," Tom grunts, "I already let you go. What'd you have to kick me for?" He pauses to recover as Maximilien makes a frankly disturbing amount of sense, and then he nods, crossing his arms. "Fop's right. You aren't the only one pissed about this whole situation. We all lost our city, our home. The best we can do is keep moving forward and try to find a way to make it right again. But we'll make it through this together."

"To do anything else," Tom rumbles, "Is an insult to that memory."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina decides being subtle about her point isn't working.

"Will." Sarafina says. "Mercade is a detective. You can give the TDA a job to help find out how to deal with this. They are willing to take the risk in order to be there to help you. Your investigative prowess is not as competent as the TDA as a whole and your contacts are not as varied and has less breadth than all of us. Tom is being a jackass because he's trying to get this point across to you really badly."

"Besides, Will, are you really in such a hurry to dump us after thinking we were dead for three months?"

Riku has posed:
"I.. did not.. SUFFER, three months in a boat for you to run off to find yourself, Will. Sure-- okay. Wherever you are going. It's not on the map. So you'll need someone to point out you're being an idiot when you are so focused on the whichness of why."

Riku raises his hands in exasperation. "How can you be so blind to that?! You're Will Sherman. You'll figure something out! That's-- that's your whole-- thing. So stop being a jackass and take the help of your friends when they all but cram it down your throat!" He sighs, shaking his head. He is immune to the threat of Avira, perhaps by death wish or perhaps because he simply doesn't care. When she is gone, he tells Mercade very quietly in a wrathful whisper. "If you ever-- EVER, say to me again that you might just decide not to care anymore I will force you to defend yourself, Mercade. All I did was because I cared. All I did was not out of APATHY- I robbed you of NOTHING. I intend to make my own way, and a PUNCH or a shotgun-- is much more honest than you breaking yourself on the wheel of doubt. Hate me if you wish. Depise me. Condemn me. But Do SOMETHING."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Will hugs him again. There's a lot of hugging going on. Avira hugs him too. He sighs, as he tries to compose himself. He forces it down. Everything down. Puts on the metaphorical hat again.

He clenches his jaw, jaw muscles rippling for a moment as he considers things. He puts a hand on Will's shoulder. "Here's what you're going to do, Will. You're going to stay with us, and we're going to find out what to do. Stop goddamn tormenting yourself. You're /trying/ to find a better way. Relax and pull yourself together, okay? Also, you're not fired, I'm not accepting your resignation, and you better work twice as hard to make up for your missing time." He sighs. "Looks like we're all having to do that, now."

Avira hugs him, and Mercade puts a hand on her arm for a moment, about to say something. He is about to says something, but he nods. "I understand, Avira." He says. "I'll... see you later."

Tom is Tom at things. Mercade sighs. "You've got a point, Tom. But let some people work themselves out, all right? We'll all be the better for it, I think. Not all of us can just bull our way through our issues like you can."

And then Riku comes up to him, talking to him. Mercade's expression flattens as Riku speaks. He is quiet for several seconds. "All right." Mercade says, and then he stands, turning to face Riku. "You and I are done. For now, I don't want to see you again. Maybe that will change in the future. Go ahead. Make your own way. But if you forget what you've done... If you forget those two million people that you killed or worse... Then when we meet again, it will probably be the last time."

Mercade turns away, then, walking towards Watson. "Come on, guys. We need to get ourselves organized. We have a lot to fo."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will pauses...

Sighing, he lets his shoulders sag and nods once. "Alright...alright. You win. I'll...come quietly." he says, holding his hands back up. There is a bit of tension when Mercade dismisses Riku, and Will shakes his head. He can't...blame him, He can't...Will, well...to his timeline three months ago wanted to put a shotgun to his head...

However, the letter! He pulls it out, and starts reading it...

Will, laughs a little, closing the letter and handing it to Riku. "You need this as much as I do, I think." he gives it to Riku, and turns away. Slowly, he follows everyone else... "Guys..." he says, before his stomach lets the largest growl anyone here has ever heard. "I haven't eaten anything in about a week..."

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Then perhaps," Sarafina says, standing up. "We shall eat. It will be on me." She says. "Mercenary contracts with Xanatos pay very well and I haven't spent that paycheck yet."

Tom Magnusson has posed:
Finally, people see reason.

Tom heaves a great, big, Tom-like sigh. He places his hands on his hips and shakes his head. "I don't even know what they'd do if I wasn't around to push 'em forward sometimes. Old Boss used to do this, not me. He'd always know what to say, but--" Tom shrugs, "Ah, I'm sure it'll all work out."

Before he leaves, Tom pats Riku's shoulder. He gives the boy a quiet smirk, "Hey, kid. You. You're not a bad kid. You're responsible for murderin' my entire world but besides that, you know how it is. Don't make yourself into somethin' the world will hate, just for its own good. A soul needs to indulge itself in the simpler things sometimes, y'know?"

"You ain't a bad kid," Tom says, turning away. "We'll fix this mess. Somehow. Someone like you-- I don't think you really wanted to do what you did. So make up for it. Live better."

And with that, Tom begins moving away, following after Boss Mercade.

Riku has posed:
Riku nods to Mercade. He seems strangely satisfied with this outcome. It is something he expects. The hugging? Everything else? No. That was confusing. It worried him. Now he is on safe ground again. He knows what to expect. It strengthens him to know that reality works the way it is supposed to work. Not the way people like Tom and Will Sherman bend reality like a pretzel to make things different.

Riku runs a hand through his hair, rubbing one hand with the other and wincing slightly as he cuts himself slightly. He rubs the spot of blood with his palm and turns away from Mercade without another word. He looks at Will, then at Tom, then back at Max. "Goodbye Will. I hope.. you find what you are looking for."

He stops when he's handed the letter. "Hn?" he opens it and reads and then starts laughing. "oh. Come on.." he sighs. "Yeah. Okay." he throws up a hand as if giving up on the entire enterprise. It's the TOM that does it. He is an absolute-- he is too much like Sora, and he can't face that right now. The cheerful complete CERTAINTY.. No. He's done. Riku walks away from the group, peering at Max for a while before disappearing into the crowd.

Maximilien has posed:
Max just quietly smiles; he pulls his hat down over his face, then vanishes into the crowd without a second thought. Time to go get things done.