KH: Visions of Destiny 2

[MrRigger2]

Personally, and I'm reasonably sure that I'm going to be outvoted here, I do think we should wake Kairi up. If I'm having a nightmare bad enough to make me cry in my sleep, I'd want someone to wake me up. I'm also okay with the Unguided Vision.

MrRigger

[JamestheFox]

IG:
Day 47
Traverse Town
Time - Deep Night

You sit on her bed, and pull her close. Her sobs continue for a while yet.

"... Why...?" She murmurs in the depths of her nightmares.

Vision:

Spoiler: show

You see a young Kairi struggling against a vast lake of darkness, quickly engulfing the room she's in. "Someone! Anyone! H-help!"

She's knee deep, and wades towards an edge that is expanding away from her faster than she can keep up with.

"Well, ain't this a shame. You just had to grow a backbone, didn't ya?" You see the eyepatched man from before, smirking even as he steps away from the approaching edge.

"Please! Help me!" Her eyes are brimming with tears. She's up to her hips in darkness. "I... I don't want to..."

"Ha, as if. You won't die from something like this." The man laughs. "Lucky you, huh? This old windbag, though..." His grin becomes more insidious as he points towards a another wall, where a portal opens up, revealing Kairi's grandmother, who promptly falls into the lake of darkness. "... Well, she ain't so lucky. So what are you gonna do? Come on. Save her. Go right on ahead. Or don't. She can't have more than a year left in her old bones anyways."

"Grandma!" Kairi screams, her chest starting to erupt a bright light. "Please... I-I can't do this! I... I..."

The man smirks. "You can do it. You know you can do it. I'm rooting for ya. Nevermind that this only happened because you got uppity."

Kairi screams as she tries to push through the darkness, sending balls of light flying in every direction. The darkness slowly yields to her as she glows, and pushes through the darkness. She is practically swimming in it now, though she seems to be horrible at swimming in general.

And yet she still pushes through, and reaches out to her grandmother...

"Kairi..." the old woman stares.

"G-grandma, I'm-"

And then the woman screams, her heart wrested from her chest and dragged into the darkness. Kairi reaches out, grabbing the woman's body, pulling it close to her only for it to dissolve in her arms.

"Aww, too slow. Guess you're not nearly as good as I hoped." Kairi stares at him now, her eyes wide. She's sinking too quickly, now, and her head goes under. "Welp. Good luck out in the darkness." The man snaps his fingers, and the dark lake shrinks, leaving the room smooth and featureless. "... Heh, if she actually survives... She could be the one."

"Indeed. But that is the question of this little experiment." A portal opens, and Maleficent smiles as she steps through. "Will it be she that conquers the darkness? Or will it swallow her forever? Either way... so long as she yet lives, she will be of use to me."

You hug her tighter, and let her sleep, hoping that her dreams will eventually hit their end.

Eventually, she settles a little, and you find yourself starting to fall asleep...

Day 47
Traverse Town
Time - Endless Night

When next you wake, you're still in the same position as before, letting Kairi rest in your arms. She intermittently twitches a little in her sleep, and you can still see the remnants of her tears.

The door opens. "Another nightmare?" Riku asks as he steps in.

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Music:
KH - Villains of a Sort


Characters:
KHVD Main Party Sheet
KHVD Main Party Growth Chart
Link Shards
Gummi Ship
KHVD Minor Party Members Sheet
Shop Sheet
Jiminy's Journal
Ansem Reports
Sora's Vision History

[MrRigger2]

"Yeah, still. I think I Saw some of what she's dreaming about..."

Time to wake Kairi up. Lack of sleep's not fun, but she's obviously not going to wake up well rested if she's going through eight hours of nightmares.

MrRigger

[Wraith5]

Okay, I vote we tell Riku that she was having a nightmare, but I don't think we should tell him about the *entire* vision. HOWEVER! I think we should talk to Donald about the full vision when it's just us (Sora) and him. Also, I'm not sure if we should mention this to Kairi when she wakes up... After all, didn't it cause actual pain for her to try to remember things that happened before she came to our world?

[Tempest Kitsune]

I suggest a combination of Wraith and Rigger's plans.

[JAGwin]

With Tempest.

[MrRigger2]

I don't want to cause Kairi any pain, don't think anybody does (except for Braig/Xigbar, stupid jerk), but clearly, keeping these memories repressed isn't doing Kairi any good. It may take some time, and probably should be spread across a good period of time, but I think full disclosure to Kairi on what we saw is the right way to go. Maybe a qualified psychologist has ended up in Traverse Town? Jessica Yamada from Worm, perhaps? If there's any World that's going to end up consumed by the Darkness, it's the Worm World.

MrRigger

[JamestheFox]

oog:

Re: Therapists, man! - HAH, what do you think this is, real life? Tough it out, loser.

More seriously, there aren't a lot of folks officially qualified to be psychologists, though you have a few options. Laguna in this verse does decent therapy... for an untrained guy. He does spend time checking up on new arrivals and making sure they settle alright. The major breaks, though... well, he at least refers them to some people he knows... though they don't always go.

Jiminy Cricket isn't formally qualified, but does know his stuff when it comes to counseling others. He has the advantage of... you know, traveling with you. You guys (or at least Donald and Goofy) already tell him enough offscreen for him to write his Journal Entries.


ig:
Day 47
Traverse Town
Time - Endless Night

"Yeah," you mutter. "Still is, I think... but I think I saw what she was dreaming about."

Riku raises an eyebrow.

"... H-hey, it wasn't on purpose. It just sorta... came to me."

Riku sighs. "... I really want to know... but at the same time... Well, anyway. It's about time to get up."

You nod, and gently nudge Kairi. "Kairi. Kairi."

She groans and wakes. "... Sora...? She clenches her eyes shut. "Ughh... m-my head. What time is it?"

"About 8ish." Riku says. "... You gonna be okay?"

"Um... yeah, I think..." She frowns. "Just... just give me a bit."

You nod. "Right. I need to get ready for the day, too."

You head out with Riku before beelining to your room to shower and get dressed. You arrive in the kitchen to find Riku and Donald chatting with Squall.

"... from there, you'll need to head through the sewers until you find a floating platform of bricks. Climb aboard, and Merlin's house is just above. It's currently the easiest path to the place."

"Why would he live somewhere where going through the sewers was the best option?" Riku asks.

"He tends to like keeping his private property... private, and he doesn't worry about commuting anywhere, because he can kinda teleport. Only one person has visited him since he came back... Some mousey little guy. I gave him the same warning I just gave you, and he laughed and said he'd be fine. Haven't seen him since, though."

"... Wait, a mousy guy?" Donald asks.

"Yeah. A literal mouse, about as tall as you, with big ears."

"That sounds just like the King," Donald says, "and it'd make sense. For a Keybearer as strong as him, a few Heartless would be a joke."

Squall frowns. "Well, those 'jokes' aren't exactly thrilled that they can't effectively hunt on the surface anymore, so they've been running around like crazy in the sewers. Can't even train there anymore."

By the time Kairi arrives in the kitchen, you have already had your breakfast. "Hey." The shower doesn't seem to have really helped her much. She sits next to you, and leans on you as she eats.

"Hey yourself," you say. "How are you feeling?"

"... Head still hurts."

"Headache?" Donald asks. "Let me take a look." As he's tending to Kairi, Riku sets a sheet of paper on the table.

"So, uh..." Riku says. "Laguna left us a list of things we can do to help out... so what are we gonna do today?"

Traverse Town Missions, Day 47, Endless Night.

Spoiler: show

Can We Build It?: Bob the Builder needs extra hands completing the bunker. Donald's suggested using his magic to help speed that along. (Enemy Encounter Rate: Low. Donald must be included in the assigned team)
Patrol Practice: Squall can show us the areas the defense teams will be stationed at when the emergency starts. It might be a good idea to know who will be where. (Enemy Encounter Rate: Medium)
Supply Delivery: Dr. Haruno is moving her medical supplies to the bunker. Light and Serah have agreed to help, but maybe they could use an extra hand? (Enemy Encounter Rate: Low)
Menagerie Mayhem: The 5th District, home to lions, tigers, and bears (oh my), as well as other assorted creatures, is gonna have their hands full transferring the residents to the bunker. They should be fine, but any extra help is appreciated. (Enemy Encounter Rate: Medium)
Alley Cats: There are a lot of people living in the Back Streets, and it's possible that not all of them received the evacuation orders. Maybe you can go look around for stragglers? (Enemy Encounter Rate: Medium)
Puppysitting 102: One particular family is having trouble preparing to move their entire group to the bunker. Maybe someone can help with that? (Enemy Encounter Rate: Low)
Off to see the Wizard: We should check in on Merlin, and see if he can help in any way. Maybe he can teach us some magic, or give us info on The King. (Enemy Encounter Rate: High)
Stock Up: Maybe we should spend some time checking the shops while they're still open, and stocking up on useful items. (Enemy Encounter Rate: None. Munny Needed to buy items.)

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Music:
KH1 Traverse Town


Characters:
KHVD Main Party Sheet
KHVD Main Party Growth Chart
Link Shards
Gummi Ship
KHVD Minor Party Members Sheet
Shop Sheet
Jiminy's Journal
Ansem Reports
Sora's Vision History

[MrRigger2]

Hmm, don't really want to skip anything, because any preparations we don't take could spell disaster, if not for us, at least for the Traverse Town inhabitant involved.

Can We Build It?: Bob the Builder needs extra hands completing the bunker. Donald's suggested using his magic to help speed that along. (Enemy Encounter Rate: Low. Donald must be included in the assigned team)

Give this one to Donald. He can do the magic and as Court Wizard, probably knows a thing or two about protecting an area/structure.

Patrol Practice: Squall can show us the areas the defense teams will be stationed at when the emergency starts. It might be a good idea to know who will be where. (Enemy Encounter Rate: Medium)

Sora should go along with Leon on this one. At the very least, it'll be good information to have when planning, but we might be able to trigger a Vision to let us know more about what's coming, and which of these areas are going to be in the most trouble/need the most defenders.

Supply Delivery: Dr. Haruno is moving her medical supplies to the bunker. Light and Serah have agreed to help, but maybe they could use an extra hand? (Enemy Encounter Rate: Low)

Riku needs to do this one, partially because medical supplies are extremely important in an emergency situation, partially because the shipping doesn't stop just because there's a war on.

Menagerie Mayhem: The 5th District, home to lions, tigers, and bears (oh my), as well as other assorted creatures, is gonna have their hands full transferring the residents to the bunker. They should be fine, but any extra help is appreciated.

Goofy ought to go help out with this one. He's Captain of the Castle Guard, he should know how to get things in order and organized.

Alley Cats: There are a lot of people living in the Back Streets, and it's possible that not all of them received the evacuation orders. Maybe you can go look around for stragglers? (Enemy Encounter Rate: Medium)

Postpone this mission until next Mission choice.

Puppysitting 102: One particular family is having trouble preparing to move their entire group to the bunker. Maybe someone can help with that? (Enemy Encounter Rate: Low)

Kairi should go do this mission. I know the first inclination is to stick by her side (because the shipping doesn't stop just because there's a war on), but Kairi's never going to grow if we don't let her do things on her own once in a while. Additionally, Kairi did the first Puppysitting mission, meaning they already know her, and so she should have a leg up with getting the dogs to trust her and let her help them.

Off to see the Wizard: We should check in on Merlin, and see if he can help in any way. Maybe he can teach us some magic, or give us info on The King. (Enemy Encounter Rate: High)

Postpone this until the next Mission selection. As much as we want to go see Merlin, especially with the news about The King, helping others comes before helping ourselves. Can't call ourselves heroes if we don't even have that down pat. Merlin will be there after we've helped everyone else, and if he isn't, we're just going to have to write him off as a running joke that everyone but us is in on, and he doesn't really exist.

Stock Up: Maybe we should spend some time checking the shops while they're still open, and stocking up on useful items. (Enemy Encounter Rate: None. Munny Needed to buy items.)

Postpone this until the next Mission selection. Again, helping others before helping ourselves, and the shopkeepers should be preparing for war as well, so we probably shouldn't go about distracting them from that.

MrRigger

[Ristridin]

Seconding Rigger, contingent on getting the encounter rate for Menagerie Mayhem.

[Tempest Kitsune]

Echoing Ristridrin's vote.

[Mathematicae]

I like Rigger's plan, but I vote for a vision before everyone's sent by themselves.

[Ristridin]

I'll second that addition.

[Ristridin]

Hmm... So it's a Medium encounter rate... Do encounter rates only include Heartless, or do other encounters also count? If the medium rate is mostly Heartless, sending Goofy on a solo mission with Medium encounter rate might not be the best idea. If it's only lions, bears and tigers, he should be fine.

[JamestheFox]

Enemy Encounter Rates are just general encounters. Heartless, humans, Unversed, whatever. If I want to note that there's a chance of Heartless appearing, I'll call it "Heartless Encounter Rates."

[JAGwin]

I'm with Rigger, but hold off on the Vision. I don't think we need to use it yet.

[Ristridin]

Enemy Encounter Rates are just general encounters. Heartless, humans, Unversed, whatever. If I want to note that there's a chance of Heartless appearing, I'll call it "Heartless Encounter Rates."

Sticking to my vote then. Vision included.

[JamestheFox]

oog: Vote counted.

Donald's heading to help rebuild...
Sora is traveling with Squall...
Riku's helping Sakura..
Goofy helps the zoo...
Kairi escorts the puppies...

ig:
Day 47
Traverse Town
Time - Endless Night

You all decide your goals, and split up. Kairi looks... a little worn out already, but you're just gonna have to hope she can handle things on her own. You give her a smile before she goes, and she returns it before heading out the door on her way to the Second District.

"You... sure it's alright to let her...?" Riku asks.

"I'm... not sure. I think she'll be okay. She has a thing for those puppies, right? Besides... well, I feel like we've been hovering a little... you know... too much."

"... Right." Riku nods. "Just checking. Good luck on your end."

"You too."

Donald and Goofy finish their conversation and head on out. There was the temptation to drop everything and go see Merlin... but at the same time, you can't just let everything here go to chance.

Speaking of which... You rush out after Donald.

"Donald, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"

"Huh?" Donald raises a brow.

"It's... about Kairi."

Donald frowns. "Sure. What about her?"

"... Last night, I found her having a nightmare... and I think I saw what it was about... I saw a man... I've seen him before, and he... he was testing her, or something. Trying to make her do something, and endangering her family to do it. Light came out from her, but... she sank into some kind of dark... liquid. Then he... he said something. That woman, Maleficent, appeared, and they speculated that she'd be of use to them... Talking about her being 'The one.' 'Will it be she that conquers the darkness? Or will it swallow her forever? Either way... so long as she yet lives, she will be of use to me.' That's what Maleficent said... you think that could help us figure out what's wrong with her?"

Donald rubs his chin. "... Could it be...? I've been barking up the wrong tree? ... That would explain the light... Some kind of weapon they have sealed inside her...?" He devolves to muttering to himself, turning away from you... before he shakes his head. "... No... Even if... find another..."

"... Donald?"

"Gak!" Donald jumps a little. When he turns to face you, he's all smiles. "... Don't worry, Sora. This was real useful. I'm one step closer to being able to help Kairi, thanks to you."

You smile back. "Great!"

Donald gives you a thumbs up. "Now, that one guy... Leon? Is probably waiting on you."

"Yeah."

With that, you return to the Mayor's house. "Sorry, Squall-"

"My name's Leon."

"-... Leon, I just had something I forgot to say to someone. Thought it'd be a good idea to get it out now."

"Understood. Now... Let's head out."

He leads the way, and starts to explain the current plans.

Ten different groups are going to be patrolling the town, starting tomorrow morning, and consisting of teams of three. In most cases, it's specifically a mage and two fighters to guard the mage (while they take care of Heartless) and any stragglers, though some parties have grouped up differently. Two parties each will be patrolling a specific District, swapping places as one tires or needs support. All parties will be supported by the Claymore System. However, unless they can get something rigged up in time, the Claymore's manual orders will have to be relayed from the bunker to the Mayor's house to the individual guns, which may lower their accuracy and timing.

Apparently, they've spoken with the few people who live in the Junkyard, and they've elected to stay put... and begun work on tuning and cleaning up the "giant monstrosity" they came into this world on. The Claymore System hasn't been fully erected there, yet.

Squall points out specific areas that will be treated as home bases for the patrols. A small store here, a diner there... The owners have (somewhat grudgingly) donated these locations for tired warriors to rest at during the attack.

"Should you find yourself having to use these... try not to break or steal anything, alright?" Squall asks.

"No problem."

You also meet a few of the patrols reviewing their stations.

In the Fifth District, you find a group of four... green... shelled warriors, wearing bandana-masks of different colors, munching on some kind of... cheesy bread food. What was it called again... pizza? You know you had it back on the Highwind. There are several boxes of the stuff lying around them, to the point that some of them are sitting idly on empty boxes.

"How are things going?" Squall asks.

"Good so far. Looking forward to bringing some shell to the Heartless," the one in the red bandana says.

"Huh... aren't you that Key-guy?" the orange-wearing one asks through a mouthful of . "Saw you during the Tumble. Righteous, dude. Pizza?"

"Uh... thanks." You take a slice they offer.

"Don't get lazy, you four. And for goodness sake," Squall says sternly, "please clean up after yourselves."

In the First District, you see Pinkie, Deadpool, and Mr. Dumbledore, who seems busy with wandwork.

"Hey, Sora!" Pinkie smiles. "Ready for some action?"

"Pinkie? You're fighting?"

"Yep! No way was I gonna miss out on this party? Right, Wadie? Dumbly?"

Mr. Dumbledore nods, even as he waves his wand, sending strange canvases of light and energy about. "I am getting rather on in years, but I think this area shall be quite safe under our protection."

"Eh, don't break your back with all that fancy magic, big guy." Deadpool smirks. "We're fan favorites. We'll make it through this easy."

"Welllll," Pinkie starts. "The GM might not care about that. But I think we can take what he throws at us."

"What are you-" Squall stops himself. "... Just don't get overconfident. This isn't the Traverse Town Tumble."

Squall stops you over in the Ninth District, which is mostly residential. Down a street to the northeast you see a rather large dome, with holes in sections, being built up.

"Whoa..."

"That's the bunker, District 10. If we can finish it, it'll be our last safe haven against the Heartless. We've been working on it for a while now... Rinoa, Selphie, and I will be guarding District 9, and this main road in particular. It'll be our jobs to make sure refugees make it to the bunker safely." There's a slight shiver to his voice.

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Music:
KH1 Traverse Town
FF8 - The Stage is Set

Characters:
KHVD Main Party Sheet
KHVD Main Party Growth Chart
Link Shards
Gummi Ship
KHVD Minor Party Members Sheet
Shop Sheet
Jiminy's Journal
Ansem Reports
Sora's Vision History

oog:

You may interject questions to any allies you've encounter during this mission, to better prepare yourself for the battle ahead, and I'll retcon an answer into the next post.

[Wraith5]

OoG: No invisitext? Odd. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I was kind of in a rush.)

IG:
To the pink and red pair: "Try not to break too many walls, please?"

General musing: "Hmm... 'Giant robot' sounds familiar..."

Regarding the turtles: "Uh... Wha... Ha... WHERE DID THEY FIND SO MUCH PIZZA???????"

Oh! Maybe we should ask if any unusual creatures (meaning things like Heartless/Unversed/non-standard/stronger-than-normal enemies) have been showing up lately. Might be a good idea?

[JAGwin]

I agree with asking where all that pizza came from (TMNT, huh? Didn't recognize them until I got to Wraith's post), musing about the giant robot, and with asking about unusal creatures (although, I don't think Heartless would qualify as "unusal" at this point).

However, I would also like to ask Pinkie and Deadpool to make sure the Fourth Wall is so badly broken when this is over that it'll take Bob at least a week to fix it.

EDIT: Also, I think now would be a good time to use an Unguided Vision. So many triggers...

EDIT2: As an addition to the question about the pizza: "AND WHERE DO THEY PUT IT???"

[Wraith5]

Come on, who else would ever say "Let's give them shell!" and eat a literal metric ton of pizza? (Also, I will admit that I actually started laughing as soon as I read the sentence with the vision trigger.) And I included Heartless in the list since we keep running into new ones, and, as Keyblade wielders, we're the only ones who can really 'kill' them.

Hmm... AH! Let's ask Pinkie and Deadpool to try to keep the walls intact, but do it VERY sarcastically!

I fully agree with edits 1 and 2.

[MrRigger2]

I'm going to vote in favor of an unguided Vision, and against any Fourth Wall Breaking by Sora. Pinkie and Deadpool get a pass because it's an established character trait (and it's still kind of annoying), but Sora doesn't have that, so no wall breaking for him.

I'm in favor of asking about enemies seen in general, whether they're Heartless, Unversed, or creepy guys in top hats. Beyond that, ask Squall where we're going to be set up.

MrRigger

[Ristridin]

Really wanted to have a Vision to warn people of potential risks they'd face... Oh well.

Still voting for a Vision. Use our Visionary VP. I'd prefer guided to make sure to find out what's going on with the rest, but unguided is fine as well.

[Wraith5]

Well, by "walls" I was kind of referring to both physical walls and the fourth wall. After all, Pinkie DOES have a giant cannon.

Actually, I'd be more inclined to use a vision on the "let everything go to chance" prompt. After all, we want everyone to stay safe, right?

[bookworm702]

I don't have any real questions to ask, though if the enemy we're facing has changed, that would be good to know. No fourth wall jokes, an unguided vision seems fine.