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Kingdom Hearts: Shattered Bonds & Broken Hearts (Athene & East)

Emrie Young & John Smith

"Eyup." Emrie nodded when Shania asked if Kefka had been the one to win. The man had managed to drain all the magic in the world and become a god, able to dispence justice with beams of light that incinerated entire towns, but from the sound of things this was form one Kefka. Before he became a god.

He turned towards Pocahontas, thanking her for the work on his leg. "I remember in the movie your dad had a walking stick that was also usable as a heavy club, do you know where that is, and can i use it to walk with?"

"Kefka has had the men of the town working nonstopped without food or drink for days. Digging holes at various locations, when someone collapses another person just goes in and works for them." He pointed to Thomas. "Almost everyone ends up looking like him, gaunt, sickly, he's working the men having them dig their own literal graves, The majority of men are too busy to search for us, but no one knows what he's trying to dig up. It's not gold, not a single piece of the stuff was found anywhere near the camps he set up."

"Yeah, we are in virginia, most gold exports will be found in the other side of the country like Nevada, but if he's digging than I think I know what he is digging for." Emrie waved his hand for a moment, as he tried to think of exactly what it could be, but the more he thought the more he came to the sole conclusion that it had to be the case.

"He's digging for Magicite." He paused for dramatic effect, but doubted even his sister would know what that meant. "It's the petrified remains of magic, I don't know exactly how it works but Kefka has some of the stuff implanted into him, it's what gives him his supernatural abilities. Normally it's not something you can extract from the earth, but here in your world, the earth is far more alive than in his or our world. You had a talking tree, a sentient raccoon, this stuff doesn't just exist, it comes from magic, and Kefka's obsessed with it."

"He came here to do one thing, to gather up this worlds magic, and he is going to wound the earth it's self if that's what it takes for him to get it, he's a leach, the man will sink his teeth in like a parasite and drain every single drop of magic from world after world, it's what he does." which of course lead him back to the question his sister had posed.

How do we stop something like that from happening?

How did Kefka die? When he had faced the man in the games he had a team decked out with the best equipment and were all level 99, so it wasn't really that big a deal.

but here they had no equipment, a few musckets, and no magic.

'where is yuna when you need her' "We need someone who knows more about magic than he does."
 

For a few seconds, Pocahontas looked hesitant to get what Emrie brought up. She looked less offended at the idea and temporarily seemed more afraid that heeding it would lead to somehow insulting her deceased father. Her head turned, however, as a gentle breeze swept through her hair, causing the princess to smile and nod.

"Sure," she replied, looking back towards Emrie and pulling the flap open. "It's not far at all. I'll be back shortly."

"Magicite?" Shania asked. Indeed, that had seemed to escape her. It sounded familiar ... but she couldn't put a name to the term. It wasn't until Emrie went on to elaborate and help her recall what it was.

"It does seem to make sense, but ... are we sure that's it? He didn't have a secondary goal or anything else he was looking for?"

Shania shrugged.

"I'm just making sure we cover all of our bases. There haven't been many villains I've seen or heard of who want more than one thing, but it is been used enough, so .... " Her voice trailed off, allowing Emrie to fill the blanks in. Statistically, it wasn't impossible.

"Besides, Kefka falls under your expertise. So I may know a lot more about where we are and who's who, but you ... you will definitely have a way better idea how to conjure an idea on besting this crazy guy."

It would be here that Pocahontas re-entered the tent, holding the club in her hand. She wordlessly handed it over to Emrie, sitting beside both John and Shania. Her head turned as she and Shania both looked over to Thomas.

"So .... let's assume it is just Magicite he wants and needs. Is there .... a way to undo what he's collected so far somehow? Or ... are we too late, and we just have to figure something else out?"

Fuck sakes; this 'saving a universe' gig is way harder than everyone else makes it look. Kudos to everyone else who can do this and not freak out.

Pocahontas smiled softly, rubbing Shania's shoulder reassuringly. "You'll both figure something out. The spirits told me of your arrival. Not when, nor even whom exactly to look for. But I distinctly was told two of my siblings would arrive to help get rid of the source of pain and despair."

" ... Siblings?" Shania mused, glancing down at herself and finally managing to weakly grin. "I guess we kinda are, if they're referring to use being Natives. I ... truly do appreciate the vote of confidence. But .... lord, this is giving me a headache."

"Well, to start off with ... are any of you hungry? You're going to need energy just to think, let alone act. I'm not saying this will be easy; but I am saying that I do believe you two are the ones I've been told of. Even if you weren't, you're our guests for now. It'd be rude of me not to offer."

"Honestly? Yes, I kinda am. A bit tired too."

Probably from the weird teleporting stunt they ended up succeeding in doing. Whatever the case, the ability to eat then sleep - and hopefully gain some ideas on what to do to help Jamestown, Pocahontas, and John all out - sounded like a very good idea.
 

"Getting shot kinda made me hungry." Emrie admitted, he flexed his foot a bit and tested it, there was a slight amount of pain for his leg, but with the support of the staff he was more than able to move about. He was certainly a little hungry, and he was lying if he didn't admit that all the chaos running, and everything had made him a bit tied, it seemed city life was a lot more easy going.

He thought what was being asked of the two of them. Taking down Kefka the mad mage was no easy feat. He was a final boss, but it sounded like he was still mortal. Magicite was probably the most dangerous thing here.

"Magicite is volatile it contains a ton of magical energy inside of it, so if you were to hit it with enough of a strong force, or drop some TNT into the mine you would be able to cause a pretty big boom." He said with a small shrug. "Course we would need some explosives."

John perked up at that. "There are some explosives on the ship. We brought a couple of crates of TNT with us, and I have a few skins of gun powder. The ship was left pretty well unguarded when we arrived, we never bothered gathering up the supplies for a return trip to Europe because of Kefka's war plans, so we just left where it was anchored while we set up the colony. Since all of the men have been used to dig the powder and bombs should still be there."

Emrie did some mental math, he admittedly had never handled real explosives before. The closest he had ever been to the stuff was an old construction job, he had spent a few weeks knocking down walls with a hammer before they brought in a few bars of the stuff to do a controlled demolition.

"I think if we could get our hands on a crate we could probably neutralize what they have currently collected." Emrie didn't know if that would knock out Kefka's current power, he doubted that the explosion would really kill the man even if he was directly at the center. "Why the heck did the spirits choose us, we aren't exactly warriors, I've been in a few bar fights, and a few scraps for sure, but I don't think I've ever been in a fight like this one."

John got to his feet. "We can go for the boat tonight while it's dark. Less chance of being seen that way, but for now it sounds like you two need to rest." He picked up his gun, and looked to Pocahontas.

"We can go gather up food while the siblings rest up a bit." He said extending her a hand and a smile. He wasn't so sure about them being the ones to save the world, but he did like that at least they had some plans, some ability to work out what was going on. John on the other hand felt more confused by all that they were saying.

Stepping out of the tent with the native woman he looked back at the camp, and kept his voice low. "They don't seem to be very combat ready, are you sure these two will really be able to help us?"
 

Both women rose their eyebrows, though for very different reasons. While Pocahontas looked uncertain what this 'TNT' was, exactly, Shania had a slightly worried and doubtful look. "You do know we're in 1607 still, right? I mean, there is gun powder and some forms of it. But just like the bullets ... it's probably gonna be weaker compared to what exists back home. Is that really going to be enough?"

But even if the answer was no?

It was the only thing the two had come up with that made any amount of sense. In a perfect world, Shania would just say they pray and have magical abilities. All that good jazz that tended to come along with both Disney movies and Final Fantasy games. Alas, they were only fighting against - and in - those types of factors. As far as they themselves went? No such luck. They were still their normal - and mortal - selves.

A scary thought, no doubt. Her head slowly shook as Emrie questioned why they were chosen once more.

"There has to be some reason," Shania softly murmured. Whether she was attempting to convince herself or Emrie more was anyone's guess.

Pocahontas offered the two other Natives another smile before taking John's hand and leaving the tent. At her own side was a weapon of her own; Kocoum's hunting knife. She didn't really enjoy resorting to violence. But she could make exceptions when it was absolutely needed. Hunting was one of those times, especially now that the hunters and basically all of her tribe had been murdered. The other? To defend herself.

It probably wouldn't do any good against this Kefka person. It wasn't sounding like that, anyway. But ... she at least wanted to have a chance to save herself.

John couldn't always do that; she'd already seen glimpses of that grim truth at least once before. In the very recent past, at that rate.

Her smile widened as she looked over at John, sounding far more optimistic than concerned in her response.

"I'll admit I'm unsure if they are the same two I saw. But discarding my vision, here's what I can say for certain. They are the first people to have arrived here since that Kefka came. Maybe not in the most traditional ways, no. But they're here all the same. Just as importantly? They have knowledge of this man and how to deal with him. Even if these were the wrong people your compass was pointing towards in my dreams ... they're very likely our best chance at surviving. These ... " She lightly patted the sheathed knife and then nodded towards John's musket, "Can only do so much. They keep wondering why they were chosen. And I can understand their worries. But I do think we'll all get an answer for that eventually. Everything does happen for a reason, after all."

Luckily, during the time Pocahontas and John were out hunting, neither Shania nor Emrie had any issues from Thomas. In fact ... it seemed like either John had hit him too hard or he was in such shitty shape that he remained unconscious. Either way, when two to three hours passed - most from hunting, though some was used to cook the meals properly - the night would arrive. And it would be peaceful - as much as one could call it that, anyway.

"Good night, Emrie," Shania would whisper. The two had been led to another tent. One with less blood and more rugs. Shania glanced around, pulling a deer skin over herself as a makeshift blanket and slowly closed her eyes.

Such a goddamned shame; this would have been a fun trip if the world she'd known hadn't been ruined.

There were some saving graces, though; and it came in knowing both Pocahontas and John were safe. At least she and Emrie weren't completely alone. And she was very grateful for that.

The scent of something new cooking would be what would cause Shania to slowly stir. Her hands rose, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, which soon confirmed ... they were still here. Still in 1607 Jamestown.

Okay. So we can't just hope to go home and it works that way. Noted.

In some regards, she was fine with this. Shania didn't want to leave Pocahontas or John Smith in this type of shitty situation. It just ... revolved to the question both her and her brother had repeatedly asked; how would they be able to handle Kefka?

Even in his mortal form, he was no pushover. No matter how much of one he looked like.

If Emrie was still asleep when she woke up, she'd let him get a bit more rest. After suffering the bullet wound, Shania would understand if he wanted five or more minutes of slumber. He'd need every ounce of strength. If, on the other hand, he'd already left the tent, she would exit and find Pocahontas already cooking. The sight hinted she and John had headed out relatively early in the morning, as she was - from the smell and looks of things - almost done.

"Morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I expected. What I mean is ... I don't usually fall asleep in foreign places so quick. It's nothing against you or your home."

Pocahontas merely gave an understanding smile, nodding as she continued working on breakfast. "I appreciate the clarification, but you didn't have to justify yourself. Thank you, though."
 

When moved to the new tent he was more than happy to lay down on thick furs. He relaxed seeing as he had Shania with him. He sighed softly and nodded. He couldn't help but think she was right, that there had to be some reason for the two of them being chosen for this. Still he wished Yuna was here, she seemed to have more of an idea of what was going on, and he had to admit that the thought of a white mage being here with them would have made the pain a lot easier to deal with.

He closed his eyes and wished his sister a good night as well. Their first day here seemed to pass briefly past them. During the night he twitched and rolled in his sleep. Dreams were not something he was used too having, and he couldn't help but feel a touch scared. Part of him still thought that this had all been some weird dream, but compared to being stuck in a disney movie the actual dreams that weaved through his mind were tame by comparison.

Their was no struggle to sleep. Rather it felt more like he was disturbingly trapped inside of his own sleep. faint memories came to mind, as with all things it began with wading through a murky dark water, the ground stuck to his feet as he walked through it, like a thick mire and breathing was tight, the dense fog feeling more like smoke and void against his lungs. Cold, and yet burning hot to the touch.

To the distance he could hear an engine, the roar of the familiar and the world he had come from, the world he would rather be in when it came to all honesty, but around him were not but shadows, water, and smoke.

Something pulled at his leg, and he felt himself sink a touch deeper into the sand and mud, his body bending, feeling more and more like he was going to drown or there was some great weight on his chest. Two very red eyes, teeth, claws, something black, and massive stretched out in that abyss.

Emrie awoke coughing heavily as a Raccoon sat on his chest Meeko's body was curled up, his wet nose touching Emrie's chin, and as he got up, he was shocked scampering away from the other native.

Emrie was left breathless, and shaking. His body working through a wide range of emotions as he woke up. He could smell breakfast being prepared. He saw that Shania had already left the tent. He breathed heavily. Picking himself up, feeling no pain from his leg, but still using the staff to steady himself as he stood up, and exited the tent.

Emrie breathed as he stood in early morning sunlight. "Morning." he said giving a yawn and a wave. Emrie excused himself from the company of the women walking around the camp till he found the edge of the woods where he could relieve his bladder.

Meeko stuck with Pocahontas scampering to her after being kicked out of Emrie's bed.

Emrie found his clearing, and releaved himself at the nearest opportunity to stumble across John whom was tending to Thomas, the man had woken up, though he wasn't untied John was seeing to the mans injuries and getting him some food as well. "Thomas?"

The younger redhead opened his eyes slowly before responding to the other. "John?" His voice was cracked and dry, and John helped the man take a drink of water.

"You feeling like yourself?" John asked waiting for Thomas to nod.

"A long nap helped. but I still... what happened?" John helped Thomas to his feet, and Emrie walked back with the two men after he had concluded his own personal business.

Emrie tried to help explain and bring Thomas up to speed on the current events, before joining the women for breakfast.
 

Both women would turn as the swift sounds of footfalls, albeit small ones, landed on the ground. Pocahontas grinned, her mouth starting to open before Shania beat her by a few seconds.

"Heya Meeko!"

Her head tilted as she continued cooking, "You ... really do know about everything and everyone here, don't you?"

Shania blushed, but nodded. "Heh, yeah. I guess ... if we wanna be completely sincere, your movie is my favorite among the Disney franchise."

"Oh?" A slight pause lingered before Pocahontas added, "Is that just because another Native is in it?"

Shania quickly shook her head, "No, no, no, no! Definitely not. Even if I were Caucasian - white like John and Thomas are - that'd still be my favorite movie." Now it was the Iroquois' turn to go quiet for a few moments. She contemplated her next part of the reply carefully, slowly nodding before resuming, "I don't wanna say everything - mainly because we're here to help with a completely different issue. But ... since you're both a historical figure and movie character ... you are a legitimate hero, Pocahontas. Heroine, technically, I suppose. Anyway I ... I've always admired you. Even before I saw the movie."

"Me? A heroine?"

A bittersweet smile appeared on Pocahontas' face as she continued cooking. "I've been feeling rather helpless the past few days. Granted, this ... Kefka hasn't really made much of anything simple, least of all surviving. And he has things I've never witnessed before. Especially his magic. I tried to put the flames that killed Grandmother Willow out, but .... they wouldn't die. It was like they were immortal or something. It was terrifying."

"I can only imagine," Shania gently answered, looking down in time to see Meeko had climbed atop one of Pocahontas' shoulders and was now trying to lean down and lick some of the soup she was cooking.

"Nope. No, Meeko. Not for you."

Taking a moment to pause stirring the contents of the stew, Pocahontas chuckled as she put the raccoon down, who almost immediately looked like he was pouting. Pocahontas flashed her furry friend a sly smile, shaking her head no adamantly. "See if John has any of those biscuits when he returns. Until then, you leave this alone. Not yours."

Whether he perfectly understood Pocahontas or was just smart enough to do so on his own, he turned and ran off ... likely to heed the advice given to him.

"Now then, what did I do to become a heroine?"

"You ... helped cease the fighting between your tribe and the British."

"I see ... " She looked briefly away, looking something between proud and distraught. "Then ... I can't be a hero here. It must be you and your brother who has to be take my spot, so to speak."

Shania's mouth opened, ready to protest, before Pocahontas looked back and scooted closer to Shania. Eventually, one of her slim fingers would gently push against Shania's lips. And she couldn't lie to herself; that single gesture - innocent as it was - made her heart race quickly.

"Don't misunderstand me, Shania; I'm not upset about you and Emrie's role here. I just ... don't want to stand back and force the two of you to do everything. Especially against such a dangerous man."

"No, no. You've already helped us immensely. You've given us the ability to rest, to help heal my brother's wound, food. The bare essentials are typically taken for granted. It may not seem like much, but I promise ... you and John both really have done a lot. And probably are going to help out more so. We're not done here, after all."

It would be now that a new set of multiple footsteps caused both women to turn. Shania visibly tensed as Thomas came into view ... but relaxed when both her brother and John stood beside him.

"Feeling better, Thomas?" Shania inquired, keeping her ears alert just in case he was ... still not himself.

"Almost done," Pocahontas chimed in, looking between the three men before adding, "Morning, Thomas, John, Emrie. All of you, please sit down; breakfast should be done soon enough."
 

Thomas still looked week, but he smiled towards Shania, though was a touch surprised to have anyone checking up on him sincerely. he could see she was alert, but that was to be expected after having shot at her and Emrie yesterday. He blinked slowly, his eyes slightly sunken as he looked at the soup that was being made. His stomach letting out an obvious growl. "Better yes."

Emrie sat down beside his sister, and as John took his place around the circle he was accosted by Meeko, whom John had to pick up to steady, so that he could give him a biscuit. "Easy little guy, we haven't forgotten about you." He said with a small smile. In a moment like this when the five of them had gathered around food, it was easy to forget that they prepping for a large battle.

Emrie sighed and leaned back for a moment stretching out his leg. "It feels better this morning." He said softly and looked to Shania.

"Hey sis can I borrow you for a moment?" He asked needing her help to get back up to his feet after a moment, only raising the question in his own head of why he had sat down in the first place, he walked with the help of the staff pulling her out of ears reach of the others.

"Last night did you have... any dreams?" He said cautiously for a moment this whole thing had started because two days ago he had slept and had a dream about Yuna, and last night he had a vivid nightmare that he couldn't really summarize in a good fashion.

"Last night I'm pretty sure I had a nightmare, now it could just be that I got shot, but either way it left me feeling a sort of dread." Oddly he felt more worked up about the dream than he did with everything else that had gone down, with Kefka and with being in a Disney movie. "Do you know of any dragons in the disney movies?" With the teeth, and claws, he wasn't sure what exactly he had seen under the waves of his dream, but a dragon fit pretty well in his definition of it.

"In final fantasy they are basically relegated to summons, the most important one is bahamut, but I'd describe him as a creature of good, or at least good intentions, not evil." He shrugged his shoulders for a moment and sighed.

He put his face into his palm for a moment frustrated. "Also i have no idea how we get back to our world... I don't even know if we can, and I have a parol meeting in three days." He said softly. "If I miss that then I don't know if I even want to go back in the first place."

He was pretty sure that the jail time wouldn't be significant more likely he would just be saddled with a much larger fine, one that he would have no chance of ever paying off.

John let the siblings talk for a moment, focusing on getting his food when it was ready, and looking over Thomas. After John explained some of the plan Thomas nodded. "I can show you all where the guys have been digging. Kefka has everyone focused in two different pits. When someone falls down or gets injured the others will just walk over the worker, burry him where he falls and continue digging. We started with about 80 men, I think he may have half that by now."

Thomas looked to Pocahontas. "Thank you, this is the first thing I have eaten in what feels like days."

"Just remember to go slow buddy, if you rush yourself now you won't be able to keep the food down."
 

Both Pocahontas and Shania would smile as Emrie gave them good news. Hearing his leg was better certainly aided in giving them a sense of relief. Whom felt it more was anyone's guess, though both females had it for their own rhymes and reasons.

"I'm glad to hear that, especially since you probably have more advanced medicine back in your real world. Still, I'm happy to hear despite using an older method, it's working for you."

"Mhm, me too," Shania agreed, smirking slyly as he asked his next question, "Borrow me, huh? That's an interesting way to word it, but ... sure. Excuse us for a second."

There was a sense of urgency that the younger sibling could pick up on. It had been what helped her playful mood shut off, even if only for the time being. He needed to talk, and so ... Shania would listen. And, if possible, help out.

"What's up?" she asked softly, blinking in surprise as he voiced what was on his mind. "Umm ... "

She paused, mainly to make sure that if she had experienced any kind of vision, it wasn't trying to escape her memory. When the answer remained the same, her head moved from side to side. "Nope. No dreams last night."

Then he elaborated on what he saw. Her hands fell atop her hips as she immediately began trying to come up with the answer. Was there a possible link between his dream and what they were doing? She began to move her head from side to side ... but just as suddenly halted. Her fingers lightly tapped against her jeans. "Actually," she began, nodding after double checking with herself, "Maybe. It may not mean anything ... however, it feels too ... dead on to be a coincidence. Beast gave me descriptions of a few other villains, male and female alike. One that I think he was trying to talk about was Maleficent. And ... she does turn into a dragon at the end of Sleeping Beauty. A black one, in fact."

Of course, in the movie, she still failed to beat the prince.

But ... they were in a very twisted version of Disney movies. And, if Yuna's visit was any bit of a warning, it'd apply to Final Fantasy worlds also.

"Aside from her? Oddly, there aren't too many dragons in Disney, now that you actually make me stop and think about it. For now though ... "

Shania gently placed a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"We got someone way more important to worry about. Don't let it get to you. Now come on ... I am hungry, actually."

Hunted game was not usually something Shania indulged in. However, the way Pocahontas had cooked everything so far, it tasted much better than Shania would have ever guessed.

Pocahontas would pour both siblings their own portion and hand it over to them in two wooden bowls before finally beginning to eat herself. She merely nodded and smiled as Thomas thanked her. "It's no trouble. We may not have the same origins, but we all have a common goal. It wouldn't be right to omit you from having a proper meal just because of a slight scare. There's more than enough for anyone who wants seconds to get extra servings afterwards."
 


Sleeping Beauty, why did that strike up a memory for Emrie? He hadn't watched that movie in years. But when she mentioned Malefacent something clicked with Emrie, the reason he didn't like Disney nearly as much as his younger sister. One of those things that he had grown up with, a short memory from when he was six or so. He remembered the green fire, and the transformation into a dragon had scared him as a kid, that he hadn't been able to sit through the film, something about it had frightened Emrie.

And that unsettling feeling had stuck with him for most of the hand drawn movies that Disney produced. Though the worst offender wasn't sleeping beauty it was by far the festival of fools scene in Hunchback, that film had frightened him to heck and back. Yet not so much the film's song about lust, and desire for a woman's body, if anything he could kind of relate to that one.

For now he shook off his fears, and returned to the group, taking his portion of the food. His sister was right they had a lot more important stuff to focus on.

Taking the food he let it cool for a moment before tasting it, and finding it delicious. Wild game was a bit tougher than store bought food, but once he got past the texture he couldn't really bet the feeling of fresh food. He paused for a moment blinking when it occured to him that this would have been the same type of food that their ancestors would have eaten. The amount of work that it took to make and prep even a single meal before the invention of instant food was something he couldn't surmise.

Once those thoughts passed him over and he was able to eat his fill which ended up being two servings he turned towards John and Thomas.

"You're sure we can get to the ship to grab what we need?" John asked as he was focused on eating as well, but wanted to get under foot. "The longer we stay here the more we risk being found by someone."

"No one has gone near the ship in days." Thomas spoke looking at the ground, taking John's advice to eat slow and rest he looked around. "Kefka, has this weird affect on people, when he tells you to do something your body is just compelled to obey, it doesn't matter what the task is, you just see it through and work yourself to exhaustion."

John nodded. "He even had that affect on me at first, but I snapped out of it." He passed some of his Soup to meeko, giving the raccoon some food despite Pocahontas telling him that it wasn't for the little guy. It was hard to say no to him. John was a bit focused on what exactly had knocked him out of Kefka's control, the only thing that he could really think of was that he had at one point stumbled and hurt himself, that was around the time that Pocahontas had found him.

"If we are going up against him, we are gonna need some way to block out the mans voice." Emrie said nodding. He put down his empty bowl and licked his lips. "That was one of the best meals I have eaten in a long time... Kinda reminds me of grandma's cooking." He said softly, shaking his head.
 

Pocahontas nodded in agreement upon hearing the need to move to one of the other sites was becoming more and more necessary. "After this is over, we'll go elsewhere. No matter how this ends, we can make it harder to be found after trying to weaken Kefka's power." It hadn't been overly enjoyable for Pocahontas to make temporary shelters elsewhere. But now, more so than ever? She was glad both her and John had worked on setting a small handful of other spots up.

There wouldn't be nearly as much. Still, the essentials would be there. Tents, blankets, access to untainted water, and ample wood for creating fires so food could be cooked.

Shania, meanwhile, listened in on the talk about how Kefka's abilities worked.

"Sounds like a Command spell or something," she mused under her breath.

"You ... also know of magic?"

Her hand tilted as Shania began to elaborate, "It's ... not something that is proven to exist in our world. However, certain games have lore - rules - on how things work. Magic is one of them. It's complicated and too long to explain fully; but in short, most magic requires at least one of the following. The ability to speak, the ability to make eye contact, immense concentration, or materials of some sort in order to cast the spell. In this case ... it does make more and more sense that Magicite is indeed what he's looking for. He has everything else, more likely than not. But .... "

Shania nodded towards Emrie.

"He better knows about the worlds people like Kefka come from, so -- "

Pocahontas frowned, interrupting, "Others?"

"Umm ... yeah. Not everyone is bad though. But yes, just like there's other worlds created by the same company that made your movie, the same is true with where Kefka is usually found. Anyway, he knows the technicalities of Final Fantasy a lot better than me, but from what I myself know ... Magicite is making more and more sense as far as what we're looking for and to eliminate. Or, at the very least, dwindle his supply."

She didn't partake in it as heavily as her friends, but Shania did play Dungeons and Dragons every now and again. She'd need to thank the friend who got her into it ... if she could ever return and properly do so.

"Something to cover our ears?" Pocahontas repeated, looking down and trying to think of what could help out with that.

What a time to not have my earbuds with me, Shania internally added, opting to keep those thoughts to herself for now. Instead, she finished on her meal and trying to figure out if there was something else that could be used.

"I guess my concern with plugging our ears is then .... I, personally, don't know any sign language. Or non-verbal ways of talking." An eyebrow rose as she looked over to her brother. All but silently inquiring if he knew anything of the like to begin with.

Though, even if he did ... then there would be the issue of whether anyone else knew about such tactics.

"The hunters had a method, but ... " Pocahontas slowly shook her head. "I wasn't really around any of them nor taught it."

Well, one down, Shania lamented, fighting off the urge to elicit an irritated sigh.

"Hmm ... we may just have to go in knowing that's a risk. With things akin to a Command spell - and I realize this is dangerous in its own rights - but will power typically can go against it. Especially if the order in question is something you wouldn't normally do. Like ... kill someone you care deeply about. You can usually have an easier time resisting the order and breaking free from the magic. Unfortunately, short of that?"

Shania grimaced.

"We really are low on alternatives to use. The best preparation we can do is know who and what we're dealing with and use that to our advantage."

Pocahontas nodded, flashing an appreciative smile at Emrie as he thanked her for the food. She couldn't help but notice no one was really going for seconds - and had a good enough hunch as to why. Everyone - admittedly, herself included - was probably eager to get this done and over with.

Not that it'd be easy. Nothing in life was simple. Still ... there was a sense of urgency as well as nervousness lingering in the air. Even though both Shania and Emrie could pass off as members of her tribe, the princess hadn't forgotten that wasn't the case. They probably wanted to go home, and frankly? Pocahontas couldn't really blame them.

She wasn't too different. Just ... her case was more wanting to get everything to normal as swiftly as possible. Granted, she wasn't sure what she'd do once Kefka was out of Jamestown or her life ... but she knew that while he remained here, she could never go back to an even slightly 'normal' way of living. That much she did want to remedy.
 
Even though no one took seconds no one could really say they weren't full. It was probably the strangest and one of the most filling meals that Emrie had ever had. A far cry from what he would have considered a modern meal. Standing up he stretched, the thing he missed most right now was furnature. Between sleeping on animal furs, and sitting on logs he was starting to long for modern seating technology.

"Like I said I can lead you to the boat." Thomas said, as he was about to stand up, only to stumble and nearly fall in the fire if not for Emrie's quick catch. He caught the man before he would fall over, and then ease him down to his seat.

John watched and shook his head. "Sorry friend, but you have to stay." He said nodding.

"There isn't enough room in Pocahontas's boat." John said heck it had been a tight fit when it had just been the two of them and the raccoon. With two aditional riders it was going to be a lot more tight. "So you are staying, and your gonna go out of sight. Heal up, hide, and get stronger. If we fail..."

John was cut off by Emrie, he cut off the soldier with a simple glare. "We don't say those words, if you invite the idea of failure into anohers mind than we bring a jinx upon us, and I won't have that."

Emrie turned towards his sister. "We are gonna win."

He wished he could actually believe what he was saying, but he had to stay confident in this. He had to think there was a way. After all, if they were selected for some reason they wouldn't be put out of it. Final Fantasy games didn't require a lot of grinding, they didn't put you at massive disadvantages, with tactical thinking, and a bit of magic the light side always won.

'gods I wish Yuna was here'

"Which of course brings us to our ride." He said looking to Pocahontas, leading them to the smaller Canoe he grimaced for a moment as he looked at the thing. It was classical, it was practical, it was the exact same kind of thing their ancestors would have used so long ago. He touched it tentatively for a moment. "This is gonna sound insane, but in our time, we don't use these anymore."

"I've flown through the sky more times than i have touched something like this." He said stepping inside of it. He looked around. "We won't all be able to fit."

"Someone will have to sit in another lap." John said as he took up the front seat, since his time with Pocahontas he had learned from her how to sale this thing. It was still unfamiliar to him, but not so bad anymore it was faster and more streamlined than one of the long boats, more useful in his opinion.

"Shania?" Emrie said holding out his hand to his sister and offering his own lap, it made sense the two of them were siblings, and in all honesty it wasn't like either of them was gonna be any good sailing this thing.
 

"Yeah. Please don't say that, John."

Not to say Shania still wasn't feeling a mix of emotions, including hesitation or doubt. Namely with working out how in the hell they were supposed to defeat someone like Kefka. God or not, it would not be an easy task. Even less so with the two siblings having all but no real clue on what they could do. All of this knowledge would, ultimately, go to waste if they couldn't succeed with this plan. Or, for that matter, figure a back-up out should this fail.

I mean, there is more than just exploding Magicite as a means to get rid of it. Right?

Whether her smile looked convincing or real enough was beyond the sister's guess. But it was at least real. If nothing else, hopefully Emrie would be glad for that much as Shania acknowledged his encouraging words.

The four would arrive at the small canoe that Pocahontas had indeed used time and time again. Shania stared at the small wooden boat, feeling a bit ... well, embarrassed, to be honest. For all of the traditions she did know linked with her Native American heritage, how to maneuver a canoe wasn't one of those topics. She'd been to her fair share of camps before. For some reason, though, none had taught her how to steer these things.

"I umm .... "

Pocahontas took her own turn to smile, shaking her head in understanding.

"I appreciate it, but it's fine. I've taught John well enough that we can get there. Mentally prepare yourselves for when we arrive."

"Right. Thanks."

So then came the next issue; how were all four of them gonna fit, now? She recalled that Meeko, Nakoma, and Pocahontas had fit inside perfectly. But this ... was four people. No animals, so ....

When her brother offered the smartest and best idea, Shania blushed. She didn't really get it. It was innocent enough. And ... well, it was basically the only thing that even she could think of to make it so all of them arrived at their destination. "Sure. It's ... been a while."

About twelve years, give or take. Primarily when the two would go to malls and sit on what they both believed to be Santa's lap together. There were other moments aside from that, of course, but ... it didn't change the fact that this was something she forgot about doing. However, upon sitting down, Shania felt ... actually relaxed.

Not that all of her nervousness up and vanished. Hell no, nowhere close.

But it decreased and got to a controllable level. She was able to close her eyes and pay heed to the breeze lightly touching all of their skin. Feeling the canoe eventually move as both John Smith and Pocahontas took their own seats and began dipping the oars into the water. Small gestures, sounds, or movements that would no doubt have been missed otherwise.

With them being as close as they were, Emrie would feel what Shania was keeping mostly hidden. The sound of her heart beating rapidly in her chest, pounding hard against her rib cage.

Can we really do this?

Even as the boat finally bumped against the shore, she had no idea. But Shania was able to look over her shoulder and take note of the much larger ship in question.

"I'm guessing this is it?" she asked, waiting for John to give a confirmation before taking a slight breath and slowly standing up. The trip hadn't actually taken very long. It'd simply felt like it.

"We'll be right behind you. If we all climb at the same time, it'll tip."

" ... Fair. Okay then."

Another breath, this one a bit shakier than the last, passed Shania's lips as she grabbed onto the rope ladder and ascended. This time, she didn't glance behind her. Mainly to avoid losing her balance and look like an idiot by plopping into the water. Once she finished pulling herself up, she moved aside, allowing for whoever was immediately behind her to get in.

"So," Shania would ask after the others joined her, "This .... Magicite. What's it look like, anyway? I mean, it'll likely stand out given it doesn't belong in this world. I just ... wanna know what we should look out for."
 


Emrie wrapped his arms around his sisters Waist when she sat in his lap, Partly because he was nervous, but also in part because well there was something to holding her. The first thing he had noticed was that because she hadn't taken a shower this morning or last night she had a stronger scent to her, their clothing though long dried smelled of smoke, and river water after the events of the day prior. Honestly if he was able too he would have rather replaced what they were wearing, but neither of them really had that option. They had come here woefully under prepared.

Then came the actual ride, for the most part it was calm, the Canoe glided over the water of the rivers, and it was smooth as it was piloted by the two experts in the art. he almost felt like could relax, till they hit the rapids.

Suddenly the smoothest course was gone, and the river waters turned rough as it approached the ocean, never having been on a boat before in his life, his stomach was jumbled, his body tossed around, and his tanned skin had a faint tinge of green to it by the time that they touched the boat.

Emrie waited for Shania to go up first, he then followed, feeling the boats sway, and shift under his feet, hearing the creaking of ancient and sturdy wood. Compared to the Canoe the galleon was almost immovable, but here they had to content with the constant shifting floor of the ocean at high tide. Every step felt almost like it had a bounce to it. Emrie started to look worse for ware as time went on.

When she asked about magicite he opened his mouth to talk, only to quickly dart to the side of the ship, loosing what had managed to eat at breakfast to the ocean waves.

By now John was on the ship, breathing the sea air, and by comparason walking with no struggle. "I know the first time aboard a ship can be unsettling, but I've never seen someone get sea sick while the ship was anchored." John gave a slight laugh at the situation and then started to search the boxes that were tied down above deck.

"Fuck... you." Emrie spat, trying to keep his intestines intact while he walked.

He wiped his mouth, and stretched his body, still unsettled by the travel, but now with his stomach empty he could at least talk.

"I don't know." He said in response to Shania's question. "It's a sixteen bit game, not exactly high definition, and since cutscenes weren't invented till final fantasy seven... litteraly. It's not like there are any graphical stand out moments, most i can say about the stuff is that it will glow."

Emrie sighed. Graphics were not everything, the game had a very compelling story, one of love and loss, and everything, in between, but in terms of graphics he had no idea what Magicite would look like. "Well gang... I think we should split up and search for clues."

Emrie picked chose to make a quick stop however, looking around before stepping into the captains cabin. This room was the most lavish on the ship. The only crew quarter that had a soft plush bed, and considering who owned the ship it was lavish. Ratcliff had been a footnote in Emrie's memory. A colonizer for sure, he could respect someone driven by wealth and gold.

Unlike the slaver that was Columbus anyway.

Walking around the cabin it didn't take Emrie long to find what he was looking for, a vintage bottle of wine. Just holding this stuff would have made him cry in the real world considering the year. Heck if he brought this single bottle back to their world somehow he probably could have sold it off. He held the bottle for a moment looking at it.

Outside John was opening boxes, trying to think of the last time they had stepped foot on this boat. Before Kefka had commanded them to shore with a quarter of the supplies. Aged food past it's use, and other more grotesque things were in the boxes here.
 

Pocahontas lightly tapped Shania on the shoulders and then nodded to Emrie. Shania didn't immediately understand ... until she noticed the faint but otherwise noticeable difference in her brother's skin hue.

"You ... okay?"

Apparently not. Her eyes widened ... and both women had to cover their mouths to stifle their own chuckles. Only one succeeded though. Emrie would turn back around and see his sister still giggling.

"Sorry, sorry - it's not at you. It really isn't ... "

For now, though, Shania decided to drop the subject. He was probably feeling crappy enough as it was for caving in and getting rid of his breakfast as easily as he did. Instead, she listened to his hints ... and inwardly scolded herself. It hadn't been recently, but considering she typically had a good memory? Shania felt as if she should have recalled the few times she had watched him play Final Fantasy VI. She would have otherwise reconsidered asking what was clearly a dumb question.

"Right. Yeah, ummm .... "

A knowing smirk appeared on her face as he took what would usually be Fred's line from Scooby-Doo and tossed it over as a suggestion. Her main issue with the thought was ... sure, this ship was big. But not super huge that it'd take them hours to go through the entire thing.

A soft sigh passed her lips as she looked around. Even took a step back. And in doing so, she winced, feeling some metal that had been warmed up by the sun brush along her bare feet.

Odd. Is this ... some sorta storage area?

With everyone else having already headed off to begin their searching, Shania decided to pull the bars up. It was unlocked and relatively light. Shania jumped in ... and almost immediately regretted doing so. There was a heavy scent lingering here. By itself, she felt the same urge her brother had not long ago.

What in the fucking world?!

One hand stayed firmly pressed against her mouth, keeping most of the stench out. A few steps was all poor Shania needed to take to understand what was causing the scent; death.

Numerous bodies were strapped down to tables, or even slabs. Some had devious instruments or weapons nearby them. Most were items like scalpels; older versions, mind you, but scalpels all the same. Crudely made hunting knives. Even some arrowheads that were still embedded in the bodies' flesh. Whether they had been taken from Pocahontas' tribe or others would be anyone's guess.

But what was possibly even more disturbing was noting the corpses looked direly underweight. These had been men well in their late twenties to early forties. They should not have been as light as Shania.

So ... they really have been starved? But then .... why were they kept down here?

A lone notebook caught her eyes. Deep down, she could already feel regret about moving forward and checking it out. Unfortunately, Shania had no real choice. If this would give any information about what had happened here .... she needed to read it.

So, with a shaky hand, she opened up to the first page.

"OH GOD!"

The book was almost immediately shut as Shania ran back under the metal bars. She was done. She wanted out of this room ... now.

Except .... she was too short, apparently, which made her panic. Shania continued to jump, failing with each attempt. Frustrated whimpers left before an actual, coherent plea finally left her lips, "Someone ... please get me out of this hell hole .... "

Pocahontas, meanwhile, had gone into a room adjacent to the one John entered. Shania's voice - especially the first scream - had been heard. Either the men hadn't heard, or ... something else had grabbed their attention.

Regardless, her room had nothing helpful. Definitely none of the 'Magicite' they were looking for. So, she half-ran, half-jogged out of the room she had found and began looking for the other Native. "Shania?"

"Here! Please .... "

Now that Pocahontas heard her voice again, it was easier to track Shania, though ... the bars made her raise her eyebrows. How did no one else notice those? Rather than asking or voicing her thoughts out loud, Pocahontas merely rose them, laying on her stomach and extending an arm downward.

Thankfully, Shania was indeed lighter than she expected. It made lifting her out all the more easier.

Once Shania was completely out, she held herself tightly against the princess. "Should I go -- ??"

Before Pocahontas could finish her inquiry, Shania shook her head from side to side. "I ... wouldn't recommend it. Even John may have a hard time seeing that."

That certainly got Pocahontas to raise an eyebrow. "Why? What's down there?"

Shania didn't verbally respond. Instead, she grabbed the metal doors and pushed them roughly down, trying to emphasize with actions that it was an area that shouldn't be casually examined.
 


Holding the bottle in his hand, he couldn't help but think that this wine felt a lot heavier than the bottles he had just two, or was it three days prior. He popped the cork with a satisfactory puff of air, and smelled the wine. It was ritch, it's flowery scent told him that this would have been high quality. Probably the heighest quality alcohol he had ever touched. He lifted the bottle looking at it splash in the glass container.

He was not exactly a wine person, he prefered his alcohol to be in the form of Whiskey or Vodka, wine lacked the burn that he enjoyed from the drink. But it was good stuff, even he could recognize that. He sniffed it again.

He felt his mouth water, his hand shake slightly. One gulp of the stuff couldn't hurt could it?

'I think I'm done drinking' That was what he had told Shania, he lowered the bottle and looked at it again. He wanted the drink, he was secluded from the others, he could have some.

'but I had made that promise.' He looked at the bottle a flash of anger running through him. 'what do I get for keeping that bloody promise anyway? We are in a situation far more fucked up than just needing to find a job. I don't get shit for taking a drink. I do not owe her my sanity, and it's not like I'm going to get anything as a reward for sticking by her.'

'But I would be disappointing her.' Emrie Growled because it was the truth and tossed the bottle as hard as he could away from him, smashing it against the back wall. He turned and exited the room. Just as Shania was getting help out of a dungeon.

"What did you find?" He asked trying not to sound too frustrated his hand still shaking. He was clearly a touch troubled after that, but could shake it off thimking it was mostly if not entirely the work of sea sickness. His hand steadied as he went to Shania's side, his hand landing softly comfortingly on her back, needing her to be close to him more out of his own need for a sense of a moral center than to actually comfort her, but at the same time she looked distressed and emotionally torn.

He glanced down towards the dungeon bars, and winced feeling something twist in his gut when he got wind of the smell. "Man the house of mouse is not gonna approve that one." He muttered under his breath. "This is starting to look like a horror film."

The sad thing was that Emrie recognized the smell of death, not intentionally, he had never killed anyone, but he had lived in a slum house with several other college aged kids, one of them had over dosed in a locked bathroom, and it had taken four days before anyone had noticed the door was locked.

The smell lingered in that house forever.

This was infinitely worse than that.

Down below decks Johns voice shouted out to the rest of the team. He had found the dynomite, and was starting to bring a bag of it back up to the rest of the team.
 

Pocahontas would allow Emrie to take Shania. He seemed to need her more for one, but also ... he'd be able to help her out better. Fair enough. They were siblings, so it was only natural they were closer with one another than herself or John. Although .... it did make her head briefly tilt.

Are they sure they aren't lovers?

The two had insisted otherwise. But scenes like this? Well ... it was easy to mistake them for a brother and sister. Their actions, particularly when it came to comforting and being close, mimicked lovers more so than siblings.

... Whatever. It wasn't for her to judge. But it wouldn't stop Pocahontas from being curious on the matter. Luckily for them, she wouldn't be around too long to dwell on the idea. The moment she heard John, she hurried down to help him gather some of the dynamite. It'd likely be quicker with another person helping out.

Shania would wait until the princess was out of sight and, preferably, ear shot before replying in stammers, "S-So ... remind me again. Kefka ... was he ... into .... really fucked up shit? Like ... vivisecting? Experiments? Because that's exactly what's down there. And I mean ... yes, this is a crappy time for medicine, but just .... "

Shania looked over to her brother, her own body and voice beginning to tremble, "Emrie, that's a whole different level of fucked up. How the hell are we supposed to do this again? To deal with someone who goes to those kinds of extremes? Emrie, I .... I'm fucking scared. I really wanna go home now."
 

"It's implied he did worse." He said softly in answer to his sisters question. he had no idea how to answer the rest of the problem how did they fight someone like this? He had no answers to be sure. When she said that she was scared he agreed, his body was shivering slightly and he was just wanting to get out of this world, go back to his own life where things like this didn't exist, or at least were far far away from here.

He held his sister a little tighter. He hadn't wanted to talk about it, but Kefka's appetite wasn't just about destruction. He had seen plenty of art, and posts, and even in the game details hinted about what he had done to Terra. The main character of the game whom Kefka had held as a mind slave for years before the events of the game.

But that would only make things so much worse. "I know... I want to go home too."

~~~~~~~

Down below decks John was glad to have pocahontas's help as he was lifting the dynamite out of boxes. It had been wrapped in cloths that had kept it dry in the damp hold. He looked to her, a small smile on his lips, as he passed it too her. "This should be enough... I hope." He said taking his own couple of bundles. and leaving the rest of the crate that neither of them could carry.

As he started to walk towards the exit, the ship was suddenly rocked his body slid along the floor and he tripped falling ontop of Pocahontas for a moment. He held her for a moment, wanting to kiss her just because the landing position had been fortuitous but he knew the immediate danger they were in.

"We need to run." John said softly, wanting to grab the siblings and get the hell out of here.

~~~~~~~

"I can help with that!" The voice called out from the docks was loud, booming, and somewhat offsetting, Emrie held his sister all the tighter as he heard the tone.

The side of the ship rocked for a moment, as a wall of water rammed the side of the boat rocking it, before it froze in place creating a staircase of ice as the click of boots hit the ground. A man, that wasn't really a man walked aboard the ship. His figure was ghastly, pale, his build lacked real muscle, he seemed sickly as he walked, yet he did so with a great amount of grace.

Kefka was mismatched, his clothing wild and colorful, he bowed slightly his lips an unnatural purple curved into a menacing smile. "I can send you two away if you so desire."

"Dimensional travel it's weird little quirks, I can see the threads that are keeping you two tied to this world, it's very weak a talented esper like myself can cut those threads with ease. All i'd ask in return is... a small favor or two." His yellow piercing eyes were locked towards Shania, looking over her body. "I'm rather tired of all the men i've gotten to play with."
 

"Worse?" Shania repeated, both wanting to have a better explanation with that response and ... not all the same. It likely was as bad as she was assuming, and even on the off-chance that wasn't the case? She didn't really need to see or hear much more. At this point, she was ready to just return. Even at the risk of looking and feeling like a huge coward.

We're just not ready. This is my fault ... I pushed for us to come here too soon. We had time. We could have gotten at least more ... everything! Clothes, literally almost everything!

Her head turned towards the only true source that had kept her here to begin with. The only controllable one, she supposed; her love and simultaneous fear for the two people going and looking for the dynamite. This world had suffered far enough. But the honest to gods truth was they could not help out. Not as they were and with next to nothing.

"If ... we wanna go though, we should at least .... agh!"

Shania yelped, her arms wrapping tighter against Emrie as the ship suddenly shuddered and shook violently.

Downstairs, Pocahontas let her own shocked gasp out. Some of the explosives even fell out of her grip, just because of how sudden the impact had been. Her mindset had been the opposite; intimate actions could come later. First and foremost were the siblings. Especially because ... whatever had hit the ship hadn't been natural. They were anchored down, like John had pointed out. So it wasn't like they'd hit something in the water.

"Yes, let's ... "

But then ... something bright and white seemed to coat the stairs. Her head tilted as Pocahontas leaned down and touched a bit of it. It was cold ... freezing, even. It made her shiver and pull her hand quickly away, looking over towards John in confusion. "What's this?" she asked.

Shania, meanwhile, didn't immediately look up as the new voice echoed in her ears. She didn't want to lift her head and see the very man they were somehow supposed to stop mere inches away.

And yet ... she ended up caving in, if only to better understand who was speaking to them.

Oh god ...

While not as knowledgeable as her brother, she had done enough Google image searches to know who was who as far as appearances went. Especially with the characters that were important, both pro and antagonists alike. So she knew, without Emrie telling her, that they were indeed looking right at Kefka Palazzo. In the goddamned flesh, at that matter.

Shania scooted even closer, her body practically pressed against her brother's side as Kefka's eyes looked right at her.

"Don't stare at me like that, you creepy bastard."

Her head shook firmly, eyes narrowing even, as she shot, "You truly are out of your mind if you think I'd ever agree to that."

Even if they weren't sexual favors, it wouldn't be much better. The room down below had been a good enough indication of that much.

"You probably are being truthful when you say you really can send us back. But I'd rather find an alternative way than doing anything for you."
 
"Oh you see that was the kindest offer I was going to give you." Kefka couldn't help but laugh, it was something Emrie had heard a number of times before in the games. Kefka's laugh was iconic because it was technicallly the first ever instance of spoken dialog in a consol game. But hearing it in the real world, made Emrie shiver, the cackle was more mad, slightly girlish, insane and had a slight giggle to it. The man was genuinely happy.

When they got back to their world, if they got they got back, Emrie was going to personally hunt down every copy of FFVI he could find and smash it with a hammer.

He swallowed but stepped forward for a moment, pushing his younger sister behind him. He knew Kefka better than most people, He wasn't going to let the mad man anywhere near Shania.

"Oh come now you can't stop me, you don't belong here. Here watch." Kefka threw his arm forward and opened his palm, immediately to his will fire sprang forth and formed twin lines dancing across the deck of the ship burning the air, as it encircled the siblings Heating everything, for a few seconds every breath Emrie took burned his lungs and felt like he was going to sufficate. The fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt helped him because he felt flecks of flame land on his body, if he was wearing fabric he probably would have been burned. He instinctively raised his arms to protect his eyes from the bright light.

And then just as soon as it had started Kefka had closed his hand and the world returned to it's normal color, the air around them steamed, the ground next to them was burned deep black scars ran through the ground with small flickering embers making the ground more than a little uncomfortable for their bare feet.

Emrie coughed for a moment feeling his lungs forcibly push out the smoke he had inhaled. He wasn't entirely sure if that fire would have killed the two of them if it had been a direct hit, but one thing was clear, Kefka was clowning around with the two of them.

"Damn it." How were they supposed to fight that? The idea of running, going for the side of the ship, jumping into the ocean wasn't even sound. "How do we fight that."

~~~~~~

"Nothing good." John said in regard to the ice. He moved to touch it, and found it painful to even touch with his bare hands. he looked to Pocahontas who was barefoot. His boots weren't thick but it was better than anything she had. "The only man who could do this is Kefka, he's here."

John swallowed, but gathered his courage, he moved to pick up Pocahontas, lifting her bridal style. "we need to get to the siblings. Hold on."

He started to walk up the stairs, keeping his balance while holding her. His feet hurt even through his boots, the ground didn't crack, and the ice seemed to be re-freezing. The entire hallway was getting colder and colder. He had heard of the demons magical abilities, but until now he hadn't really seen anything like this. "Take my gun."

"When we get to the top, shoot him." He had gone over how the weapon worked with her, but she had never actually shot anything with it before so this was new territory and it wasn't like he was giving her stable grounds to aim, but if the two didn't work together than they were all gonna die.
 

"The hell with him! Let's just go!"

That was what Shania wanted to say. But then ... would it be wise to turn their back to a man like Kefka? Not likely. Shania grimaced, bowing her head as she tried to think. Standing here surely couldn't be much better ... but her earlier train of thought didn't shift, either. Running would be just as dangerous. Even if that was to the side of the boat and into the ocean.

Is there nothing we can do?

"Emrie, what do we ... ??"

Shania's question would be unfinished, interrupted by the smoke and flames taunting their bodies. It was accidental, of course. Unfortunately, it didn't change that Shania had taken a breath when the magic appeared, causing a lot of the smoke to enter her lungs. Her eyes widened as she fell straight to her knees.

Both brother and sister were gasping, coughing, and desperately wheezing. Trying to get a break ... or some more clean oxygen to their lungs. Likely both.

But it felt like no such opportunity was going to arrive.

Is ... this really how we die? Like this?

Shania shivered, feeling her body fighting to do a typically easy function while avoiding the pain on the bottom of her feet. Somewhere in between trying to catch her breath and avoiding getting split apart from her brother, Shania's eyes had shut.

" ... Shoot him?" Pocahontas repeated incredulously. Sure, she'd seen John use it. Typically against game or animals to hunt. But he was talking about doing so against a person.

Admittedly, that had been why Pocahontas took Kocoum's knife. Despite never having personally seen, met, nor heard of Kefka prior to Shania and Emrie's arrival, one thing was deduced. Whomever had killed her tribe and Grandmother Willow was obviously a dangerous person. That theory was swiftly proven to be very true once the two finally arrived at the top.

Pocahontas had originally been shivering simply from the cold temperature.

Now, however, it was fear for the siblings - and maybe their only hope at getting Jamestown back to a somewhat normal life again.

She didn't like this. However, as Pocahontas rose the gun and took aim, she made a compromise with herself. Shoot to injure, not kill, perhaps? Hell, even a warning shot would suffice, wouldn't it? Something to get him to stop ... and thus allow the four of them to escape. Surely, that would be good enough.

It had to be, and at this rate for all of them. This was officially not just for her sake, nor hers and John's. Now the other two Natives were part of the equation.

"Both eyes open," she murmured, remembering the advice John had given her time and time again. She counted silently down from three ....

BANG!

As quickly as Shania and Emrie had been surrounded by flames and smoke, it all finally - if not suddenly - vanished. Had he disappeared? Gotten sick of messing around?

A glance upward from Shania revealed no. Was the answer a better or worse revelation? Shania had no idea.

She just knew a bit of blood was falling atop the wooden boards of the ship. Kefka's blood which was ... reassuring in its own rights. It meant he was indeed mortal. Slowly, she looked over her shoulders ... and couldn't help but feel a mix of awe and amazement. " ... Poc-Pocahontas?" she asked in between struggling gasps and pants.

"Get away from them. Them and Jamestown, for that matter. Have you not gotten ... ??"

Only to stop midway and alter her original thoughts, "No ... even if you have, just leave. We don't want anymore trouble. You've taken more than enough. Just go away."
 

The bang cracked through the air just as the siblings were starting to loose the ability to stand. Emrie was still on his feet, but his entire body was shaking, he saw the drips of crimson, and Kefka regarding his own out stretched arm. An arm that now had a hole in it.

John used the moment of silence to put Pocahontas down on the ground and shake off the cold he felt from the hallway down below, now that they were on the open air, he was reminded that it was late afternoon, the sun was at it's zenith point and he was immediately starting to feel the difference to that warmth.

Kefka looked at his hand, regarding the hole that had been shot into his arm, the man felt pain, and looked over himself with an odd sort of fascination.

He turned towards the woman whom had shot him holding the riffle, telling him to get away from everyone, and Kefka started to laugh. His mad cackles filled the air, and John found himself shivering again, just not from the cold this time. He was a hardened soldier he had fought in a number of battles, and he had never seen a man react to being shot with laughter.

"Really? You get one shot and you wound me?" His tone said everything, the fact that he was hit was hysterical. He danced on the spot his feet pounding into the ground for a moment with his odd colored boots, as he shivered in pleasant delight he turned towards her. "I've been looking for you."

"Tsk, tsk, my dear, when you shoot someone who is unaware of you, your supposed to aim for the head, don't worry it's not a mistake any of you will get to make twice." His voice was almost sing songish as he moved about the place.

"Run!" Emrie commanded, he grabbed his sister, pulling her to her feet, he didn't know how they would fair, but there was no way any of them were gonna be able too hurt this man. All the gun shot had done was piss him off. Emrie could see it, undernieth all the jovial dancing. Those yellow eyes that tone of voice it was a play.

Kefka was pissed.

Water started to form, almost immediately like a bubble around them. Emrie tried to reach out and push Shania so that his sister would be spared, but there was nothing he could do, he was powerless to stop any of it. John managed to grab a knife of his own before the air around him became water, the metal pounded against the bubble but it neither stretched nor broke, it was like trying to stab against metal.

The water kept forming around them like a prison, a thick bubble that became harder to move in, filling slowly with water. Kefka was no longer dancing the man was focusing on the prisons.

"Don't worry... I won't kill the women, it's been a long time since I cut up one of them into tiny pieces." He was glaring at Pocahontas. "my bed hasn't had company in a long time either, so i'm sure one of you will be useful for that."

"The men though I'm afraid I have no use for such Cadavers."

Emrie had to take a deep breath of air, before he was fully engulfed, the world around him muting, as he tried to think, something anything that would call to this... why was he here? he couldn't have been thrown at this just to die. Heroes in stories didn't die to villains.

Why were he and his sister special?
 

"Shania! Emrie! Come on!"

The silence was ... very nerve-wracking. Although Pocahontas couldn't read minds nor knew fully well what kind of person Kefka was, she could comprehend atmospheres, as well as said moods. Right now, it had just gotten incredibly tense. And that hadn't been felt by the princess until after she succeeded in shooting Kefka's arm.

"Come on! We need to go! Both of you!"

It wouldn't be until she felt herself back up on her feet that Shania finally returned to the here and now. She took note of everything - from Pocahontas' pleas to her brother guiding them away. Probably to finally take a chance and abandon the ship. But the other thing she couldn't help but notice ...was Kefka actually dancing?

"What does that mean?" she whispered to Emrie. "That's not just for the hell of it ... is it?"

Before she could get a reply though, she was shoved away in a vain, but valiant, effort to keep herself from the same fate that happened seconds later.

"EMRIE! AHHH!"

The cold water startled Shania more than much else. She could swim, most definitely. But Shania being able to swim whilst in trapped space? That ... was another story. And it was what made her instincts kick in as she pounded against the bubble, wincing as a sensation similar to glass painfully throbbed against her fists.

"John!"

Like Shania, Pocahontas could swim with ease. But when she saw even a knife was doing nothing ... she made no move to grab for Kocoum's dagger. The princess glared furiously at the implications of what Kefka had in mind, her back eventually pressed against one end of the bubble.

"Wait, wait, fine! Name your favor! Just don't kill him, please. Stop .... NO!"

There it was. The final hint neither John nor her brother would be shown any mercy. Shania whimpered, her head bowing as she stared at her hands. Her body trembled violently as she looked between the other bubbles and glanced up towards the sky.

Why? Why like this? Why against one of the few bastards who actually succeeded as a fucking villain?!

Shania's fists clenched tightly, her internal thoughts having turned into full-fledged screams at this point.

IF WE GOT HERE, THIS CAN'T BE A GODDAMN SET UP! WE CAN'T DIE LIKE THIS, CAN WE?!

It'd be faint to Emrie, but Kefka could definitely feel from the confines of Shania's bubble a new aura. What started as a weak tinge of power grew more and more, seeming to strengthen as each angry thought echoed in her head. Of course, it wasn't nearly as powerful or intimidating compared to Kefka's. Still, all things considered - including the fact no such sensation had existed before - it was definitely new. Something to note, if nothing else.

"Please stop. Spare them, please .... " Shania begged again. She remained quiet for a few more seconds before hastily adding, "You can even take me back! For your ... company. Just don't kill them, please ... "
 

"Oh no chance dear." Kefka said his tone jovial as he walked up to the sphere that held Shania. Something about it was peaking his curiosity, he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he wanted to observe it closely. "I told you at the start that my opening offer was me at my nicest, now you get to watch them die."

Emrie kept himself as calm as possible. struggling thrashing would only draw out the air in his lungs make him need to breath more. He needed to focus, his eyes were closed, he had to last, every second was important at this point. He needed something, something that would keep him afloat and awake. The sphere had enough space for him to keep his arms and legs completely spread out. So at least he was... well he wouldn't call it comfortable.

John on the other hand was thrashing, a panic ran through him and he was still trying to use the knife to cut at the sphere of water, thrashing and in doing so the edges of his vision were fading, he coughed and felt air escape his lungs. Water washing back into his mouth, and just like that he was drowning, struggling to take a breath, gagging against the water and finding no respite.

Emrie on the other hand was focusing. There was an energy about him, he could feel it, small tethered lines.

Was that what Kefka had talked about the strings that connected people to the world? Maybe it was just the water playing tricks on his mind, maybe he was just delirious, but with the sphere of water like it was, he couldn't hear the outside world, so everything all of his energy all of his focus was inward.

"Oh trust me, there is going to be plenty of time for that and you will love it, but right now you really should just sit back and watch the show, maybe say your goodbyes, not that they can hear you in there." He laughed his maniacal persona returning after his anger had seemingly passed.

The last of his air was leaving him now, Emrie wasn't sure how many seconds he was able to hold out, the ice water had been crushing him for who knew how long. His lungs were burning. But he was certain he was onto something.

He could feel something, not just from the ice water, but something else, his eyes turned towards Shania forcing them open so that he could look at her one more time.

John was still moving, still suffocating, drowning, but it would stop soon, the muscles growing colder.

Kefka smiled towards Shania. "Beautiful isn't it, this is one of those moments you will get to replay in your head every single day for the rest of your life, so really drink it in, take your time to appreciate it."
 

"Get away from her!"

Pocahontas grimaced, advancing as far as her prison would allow. She looked frantically around, feeling as hopeless as she had when Grandmother Willow was murdered. She couldn't just stand there. And yet ... if the sight of John was anything to go off of, Kocoum's knife wouldn't fare any better. It'd be worse ... wouldn't it?

Still ... better to try and fail than not make an effort.

Especially while her own jail wasn't nearly as full as those of the men's.

She reached down and pulled the blade out, slamming it as hard as she could with every ounce of strength.

Emrie ... John ... Pocahontas. This .... this is all my fault. I ...

Shania slumped down onto her rear once again. Shame started to mingle in with the increasing anger and even humiliation. She'd rushed this whole 'rescue' mission. Even if time was a bit hard pressed, she at least could have allowed herself and Emrie to go in with more than they'd ended up taking.

Now ... even if they somehow got out, he could die from more than drowning. Hypothermia, for example. Him and John both. Their death ... it would be all on Shania's hands.

"Go away," she whimpered, scooting as far back from the clown as the Iroquois could. Despite not being in danger of drowning, it almost felt as if her own life was ... flashing? Fast forwarding? It was definitely doing something odd. Was it even her life? The more Shania focused on the odd feeling, the more she realized ... it was ... something else.

Me?

Sorta. The short answer was yes. The longer one was ... harder to pinpoint. At least as far as 'how' or 'why' this was happening. But she, too, went back to remembering Kefka saying something about threads. Was this what he'd meant? Also ... he knew they were from a completely different dimension?

Her head lifted, revealing furious, terrified tears streaming down her face as she stared at Kefka.

"You're disgusting! A monster! How can you live with yourself?"

Shania shook her head defiantly, refusing to look over towards John and Emrie.

"I'm not giving you what you want ... "

... Are you changing the movies too?

... What do you mean?

Well ... if anyone in the real world was - or is - watching the Disney film, are they seeing what's happening right here?

No! Fuck no! That's too fucked up!

And yet, she had come into Jamestown finding almost everyone dead. Already, the movie would be very different ... if her guess was correct. Her hands gripped some of her raven locks, squeezing down tightly on them. Literally looking like she may rip some strands out from realizing she may also be at fault for changing the canon version of these fandoms. The original had been rated a G. Was she really going to be why it may shift to PG-13, if not R?

No, no, no, no! I don't want this! Someone help! Make this stop, please! There had to be a mistake!

The tears fell even faster. Shania's head felt like it was spinning ... as if her prison were more full of water than it actually was, and now she was - once again - struggling to breathe. She wasn't just getting desperate, she was losing sanity with each second that ticked away. Her chest rapidly rose and fell as Shania visibly hyperventilated.

What do I do? What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!

"Emrie, I ... I can't .... I .... "

Now she did pull, yanking a few onyx strands out in the process. But that was fine. Compared to the pain she was feeling with knowing there was nothing that could be done to save her brother or John ... losing some hair was tame.

"No more. Please, stop .... "

Who she was talking to was even her guess. Someone ... anyone. God existed here, didn't he? That was whom the British sang and hailed they sailed for; glory, God, gold, and the Virginia Company, so .... he was around. Wasn't he?

And still, nothing happened. No bright light enveloping them. No change of scenery, nor the bubbles disappearing like she'd wanted or half-expected. No other characters from any Disney film or even Final Fantasy game appeared to slay Kefka.

It was just the four of them. Stuck. Imprisoned. Dying.

"No. No, no, no, god no."

The same aura that had started out as faint was getting stronger. More powerful ... very likely due to the sea of emotions Shania was damn well nearly drowning in. If this were an anime or TV show, what started as a barely visible aura would become much more noticeable around the younger Iroquois.

"Not like this, no ... no ..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As that last scream rang out, the bubbles all vanished. Simultaneously.

Shania blinked, looking incredulously around. But she didn't remain on her ass for too long, either. She scurried quickly over to Emrie, knelt down, and put one of her brother's arms over her shoulder. She glanced over, seeing that Pocahontas had wordlessly grabbed onto John and was holding him the exact same way.

"RUN!"

Thankfully, Shania didn't need to repeat the word, as Pocahontas had already been darting for the edge of the ship, with Shania very close behind the princess. And once they got to the side ... both jumped off, allowing themselves to collapse into the ocean. Neither woman, however, immediately re-emerged from under the waves.

Under the water, Pocahontas guided Shania so their heads would lightly touch the lower half of the canoe. Much like she'd done when playing in the lake with Nakoma at the beginning of the movie.

Shania shakily nodded, understanding why she'd done this instead. If they started immediately moving, Kefka could simply hurl spells at them. This way .. it allowed them to either make him think they'd drowned or result in Kefka going to search for them. Regardless, it'd give them a chance to be clear and away from their foe. Once they were clear, they could get in the canoe and row away.
 


Emrie and John would feel their watery prisons break, droping to the ground like husks both of them lost focus as they started to cough up the water in their lungs, Emrie having taken in less was first to recover, but it didn't last long, He felt an arm grab him, and then suddenly they were being pulled and helped to jump over board.

From one watery prison into the frozen ocean with barely a second to catch their breath did not sit well with either man, but they understood that right now they needed to get away.

Kefka watched in a moment of dull surprise. He watched the girl overpower his spell, counter it, and for a moment watched as they gathered themselves up, He moved his hand to cast something a new, but was stopped by a sudden flash of pain from the gun shot wound that he had suffered knocking his concentration.

When they finally got to the air pocket and Emrie and John were able to finally take their first full breaths of air there was a moment of hacking coughs. John put his arm over one of the seats of the Canoe so he could better stay afloat as the stronger of them started to move the boat out of the way, and Emrie's entire body was shaking and cold.

Neither the sphere of water, or the ocean had been particularly warm for him, especially with nearly drowning. He looked at Shania, a soft smile on his lips. "Good counter spell."

Emrie's voice was weak, cracked, and oddly dry, sea water didn't exactly make for a good drink after all, but he recognized more or less what Shania had done. "It was just for a few moments while I was drowning, but I could see everything." He wasn't entirely sure how to explain it, the magic she had channeled, the way Kefka had manipulated the elements, he had seen and for a moment understood how it worked, but not much more than that.

Then when the water had broken all that understanding had left with the moment of panic that the air had given him.

John was coughing, still, but Looked to Pocahontas, a small smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Have I mentioned... that I love you?" He said softly, that had been one of the things he had realized while his life had been falling apart around him.

Emrie chuckled at that for a moment, it was a light moment after their near death experience, but neither of the men were able to steer the canoe the way it was. When they finally got out of the water far enough away from James town that the fear of being followed wasn't much. They flipped the boat. Emrie again offering his lap as a seat with his sister.

When they were sequestered and safe, he looked to his younger sister. "Proud of you." He muttered under his breath, his chest upon her back, his eyes sunken and tired, wanting to sleep, yet his arms held onto her for what warmth she could offer. His voice meant more for her to hear. "When we get back to camp. I want a fire."
 
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