The Jidoor Opera House

[Secondary Characters]

"Well, you recognize within the glass the face of Maria, my...star performer. And, as we of the society what founded this House, know...the Oracle takes the body of the first infant to gaze into the mirror when her latest host perishes, and assumes their life. Maria--my daughter--glanced in at an early age and, well, thus was consumed by the Oracle's spirit."

He glared down the image within the mirror, who simply smirked back at him.

"Yes...and, well, the Oracle is the reason for...HIS birth, and for the terrible malfunction what happened to him during a surgery process in Vector. The Oracle foretold the end of our world, and it was by her hands Kefka razed it."

He let out a deep sigh. "This Oracle...when with a host...will not divulge her prophecies so easily as she would in spirit form alone, no. She will make it much more difficult and...attempt to terribly influence the most negative outcomes."

[Acteur de la Noir]

Acteur de la Noir listened to the story of the Oracle in silence, his eerie gaze passing between the elderly Impresario and otherworldly vision in the ornate mirror--the supernatural being who had taken on the flesh and soul of the stagemaster's daughter. When this information came to light, the Heartless puppeteer took off his hat and brought it to his breast--the classical gesture of expressing one's sympathies for a loss. The emotion was reflected in those ghostly yellow orbs which gleamed behind the theatrical mask...and, while Acteur was quite skilled at such performances, there was some genuine sympathy in this one. Perhaps it was because of his origins--all those old puppets, whose imaginary performances had brought such delight to the children of that world.

At the mention of the Dancing Madness, a sudden flicker of recognition caused those brilliant yellow eyes to pulse noticeably. Despite this, Acteur maintained his silence--to the Impresario, it would likely appear that he'd heard of Kefka Palazzo, and shared his dread. Little could he have realized that Acteur de la Noir was not horrified by this concept--that the Oracle's mirror had played a hand in Kefka's swath of destruction--but rather, intrigued.

At the end of the speech, Acteur tilted his head to one side and stroked his chin, pondering the matter. If the Oracle would not easily yield the future--and indeed, openly hinder the desired outcome--then the mirror's usefulness to the Heartless was in question. But mayhap it can serve our cause, he realized with a mischievous glee. Imagine, the heroes of Light following the counsel of such a manipulative presence...

Openly, the Victorian-clad puppeteer offered a shrug of those lanky shoulders, a sweep of the glove restoring his mask's trademark crescent-smile. "Never fear," he reassured the Impresario. "I'm certain we can find a way to make this spirit's unpredictable nature work for us. It all depends on the cast we assemble." Pausing, Acteur gestured to the door, back in the direction of the theater. "Speaking thus...what do you think of that lot, out there? The dreary mage, and his Greek friend in the classical garb? Might they have a part to play in your epic?"

[Secondary Characters]

"Honestly, Acteur I thought it was by some terrible bit of unlucky curses you spoke what caused those people to come here. And now that I know freak accidents brought the Grecian and his suit of armor, and the wizard was here for...precious information..."

He siezed the dusty cloak and folded it into his arms, letting out a big sigh as he stared into the eyes of the glowing visage of his Maria.

"They will be perfect. I have gone most of her life without having a fully-free daughter in my midst; I can live on. The darkness, Acteur, has never turned me away. Such is the reason I followed Master Xehanort's movement." He shrunk back into a chair. "Wicked, evil...but I was too tired to press on. Anyway, yes. They're perfect; now all we need is to gather the rest, hm?"

[Gabranth]

Gabranth having little concern to participate in such as a play, this seemed a waste. He now more than ever was after Hades and their bond.

Upon his walk to the shore outside of the Opera House, he say in the distance their ship had been pulled from the waters, how and what was going to fix it was still to him unknown. He turned to stare over the waters for a brief moment before drawing his swords from their hilts drawing them to the sides ... "Hades!" Gabranth had shouted, "Show yourself dog! A Judge Magister stands before you demanding your audience! Do not disobey me!" Gabranth stood still and calm in place as the wind was blowing through his cape and the water would wash before his feet. A calm demeanor his Judges helm was shown ... from beneath, hatred and pain were brewing.

[Hades]

At first, nothing would happen. The waves of the ocean would lap at the shore, and beyond the horizon, would spill out into hyperspace only to disappear into nothing. But there would be no other sound... no movement. It was as if Gabranth had been abandoned by the gods...

That is, until a familiar voice came from behind him. "Yanno, Gabby... there's an easy way to get out of this whole deal..." the lord of the dead chuckled, leaning against the gummi ship casually, as though he'd been there all day enjoying the scenery.

"I told you that you're gonna be the one to off Jerkules for me, buddy boy, and I meant it. Everywhere you go, everything you do, I'm right beside ya making sure the worst possible thing that can happen does and at the worst possible time..."

Hades stood fully, walking forward slightly with that twisted grin on his face. He waved his hands slightly as he spoke, as was his nature. "Or, you could, I dunno... DIE... but hey, options babe..." he chuckled... waiting for his answer...

[Acteur de la Noir]

Acteur nodded in agreement, his yellow eyes glittering with obvious delight. So many things working out in his favor, lately...for one thing, the old Impresario was no stranger to the darkness; moreover, he welcomed it with open arms! And wonder of wonders...he hadn't just known Xehanort, the Seeker of Darkness--he'd been one of the pioneer's followers! Such a fortuitous twist of plot! Unless Acteur was very much mistaken, here he had an individual who would be quite indisposed to aiding the Heartless, however indirectly. And, perhaps, a future theater to call home--a place where he might perform indefinitely; he and Sarah together...the Artists of Darkness...

Acteur blinked at that thought, finding himself somewhat nonplussed. Curious, but she'd entered his thoughts quite a bit, as of late.

Putting it aside for the moment, the Heartless puppeteer adopted the posture of a philosophical thinker, stroking his narrow chin and flicking those keen yellow eyes up towards the ceiling. "Forsooth, Maestro," he hummed aloud. "But first, they must be found. Never fear, though--such a feat is not beyond me, daunting though it may seem! But take heed..." Acteur paused and thrust outan open palm in a cautioning gesture. "...Interrupt not the performance, monsieur! To track the cast across the worlds is a feat like no other!"

With those words, Acteur de la Noir thrust his arms out to his sides and bowed his head, his spooky eyes glowing with unearthly radiance as the rest of his visage was hidden beneath the dark shadow of his hat. His bony fingers, sheathed in those white theatrical gloves, began to dance of their own accord--swiftly, and with a rhythm that was bizarre, disjointed...and yet, somehow, elegant. Had the Impresario any mystical senses, he might detect the slender astral 'threads" that extended from Acteur's fingertips, spreading off into the furthest corners of the room where the shadows were darkest.

Those "strings" were the representation of Acteur de la Noir's powers as an arcane puppetmaster--the manifestation of his connection to his lesser brethren, those Heartless he employed for all manner of purposes. Of course, since Acteur was casting his scope of manipulation so wide, he wouldn't be able to do anything complex--such as, for example, ordering high-ranking Heartless to go fight battles that were Worlds away...but to contact those ever-humble Shadows, asking if any of them had spotted those who served as Sai's companions? Surely, this simple act was not beyond the Phantom Puppeteer?

As for those who would serve the "antagonists" of the drama--Atticus, Meadowsong, and the rest--Acteur would contact them directly. But first things first...where were those misguided servants of the Light?

[HardeWare]

*WHAM*
HardeWare had hit his head for the fifth time.
"great, cramped spaces, just what I needed"
the super looked over the damaged internals, occasionally tweaking with parts.

Hardeware slid out of the ship and stumbled to his feet, he patted the side of the ship his remaining eye blinked and his replacement did the equivalent.
"looking good, should be up and running in no time... or I could tweak some of the systems..."
the super quickly dived back into the ship with a goofy grin on his face, ready to 'tweak'.

[Gabranth]

Gabranth stared an Hades with an utmost contempt as he spoke. Though little could Hades see this through his steel visade. Once he finished speaking, Gabranth remembered what Hades had said about not being able to kill Hercules directly, so he walked up, toe to toe with Hades, knowing he couldn't physically kill him says a God's rule. "Do not hold me to the likes of normal man ... God, my hatred alone is enough to quell your wrath." Gabranth turn 180 degrees holding is back to Hades and taking a few steps forward. "We are not on your ground any longer ... God" Gabranth showed Hades only his side in a quick turn, point Highlander right beneath his chin. "Know this, we will have our moment ... "

Lowering his weapon Gabranth began to walk back towards the Opera House. Still unsure of his true goal ...

[Hades]

Hades smirked a bit at Gabranth's action. It was clear the Judge Magister was getting more and more frustrated with every action. And still, Hades would just stand there with that grin spread across his face. The blade fell from his face and Gabranth tried walking off, but Hades would only call after him. "Yeah, walk away... that always works!" he mocked, his arms crossing.

"It might not be today, or even tomorrow, Gabby... but when the time comes, you're gonna be responsible for Herc's death... And when that happens, you get cut loose, free as a bird. In the meantime, I'm gonna hound you until time's up!" He looked at his nails here, chuckling. "Or did you forget there's a time limit?"

[Gabranth]

"Or did you forget there's a time limit?" Gabranth stopped in his tracks on the way back to the Opera House. Hades had his attention. He slowly lifted his head to the sky and gave a long drawn out sigh. "What time limit? You spoke of no such thing." said Gabranth with utmost contempt.

He turned facing Hades standing what was a few feet away, "Explain yourself Hades. To kill Hercules was the deal. I did not take a God even one as ... lamentable as yourself to be a hypocrite." Gabranth stood awaiting an answer to this turn of contract. At this point Gabranth became for the first time quiet nervous at what Hades had said. He was not about to go back to that dreadful underworld nor did he plan on meaningless death. This might be something he'd have to bring up to Hercules, or better yet Maleficent.

[Hades]

Hades chuckled, then tapped at his chest, indicating the place where Gabranth kept concealed the golden disk that Hades had given him as his ticket out of the underworld. Should Gabranth take it out and look at the thing, he would find one side as plain as he had originally seen it, but should he look at the other side, the one he had never bothered to examine, he'd find a small carving in the shape of a triangle, and a shadow spreading from it in a certain direction, no matter which way you turned it in relation to the sun.

"It's called an un-dial, genius. What, you think I was gonna sit around waiting for Hercules to die of old age while you took your sweet time?" The God chuckled again here, walking up and tapping the device. "This is my insurance to make sure you do what you're told. Do the job, un-dial winds down and nothing happens. Don't do the job, and when time's up-BAM! You're styx-fodder again!"

The un-dial, as it was called, showed that the shadow was roughly at the 11 o'clock mark on a regular clock, but because it moved in a fashion similar to a sundial, it would be the reverse, apprximately the 1 o'clock position. "And it's not long, buckethead. I'd say you've got another week tops, but after that if you haven't made your decision... I make it for you!"

Hades laughed a bit, always loving a good turn on people who think they've got things under control. "So, that's the rub. Either kill Herc or don't, either way someone's got an appointment with Charon in the near future!"

[Gabranth]

Gabranth always had a feeling something about this deal with Hades was to perfect. Little did Gabranth ever suspect that the coin had any sort of time. "A week..." He muttered to himself.

He looked up at Hades and merely said "Plenty of time ... God." Gabranth once again turned and walked from Hades back to the Opera House, and find Hercules. "And Hades..." Gabranth said with his back turned. "Let your plans be as dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt. Remember my words, God."

Gabranth had nothing more to say to Hades. It was clear to him now, his goal was to break Hades apart. Hercules was after his lover and the chances of him getting Zeus to do anything in such a short time seemed slime. Maleficent, this person he must find.

Now at the entrance to the Opera House, he had to find Hercules, and mention his dealings with Hades and the man who was fiddling with their ship.

[Hades]

Gabranth made his final comment and walked off, leaving Hades standing there. His smirk would fade into a sneering frown and for just a moment, a flash of angry red would overtake his usual "cool blue". His fist would ball up, and he'd grumble a bit. "We'll see who 'falls like a thunderbolt' around here, rust bucket..." he grumbled, then looked over to Hardeware busily working on the ship.

"Hey there, tech-head..." Hades said, floating up to the hatch and looking up into it, trying to spot the super at work. "Name's Hades, Lord of the Dead, hihowyadoin'. Listen..." he called up, with all the fast-talking slickness of a used-car-salesman. "How bad do you want off this sand lot, big guy?"

[Acteur de la Noir]

As Acteur poured himself into his art of Heartless Puppetry--casting out his commands and directions to those humble Shadows, across the worlds--he became less focused on the here and the now. Before the Impresario's eyes, the Heartless puppeteer would be as motionless as a scarecrow...and indeed, with his lanky figure so eccentrically-clad, head bowed low with his arms flung out to his sides, Acteur de la Noir did indeed bear a passing resemblance to one of those timeless defenders of the fields. There was little sign that he was aware of anything around him--or, for that matter, even alive--except for the eyes. Set out amidst the shadow cast by the wide brim of his hat, those eerie yellow eyes pulsed and flickered in a strange, rhythmic pattern...to a more scientific mind, it might have represented Morse code, or a similar pattern of communication. But, to those who studied the ways of magic, the way Acteur's eyes glowed was evidence of magic at work.

Then, after an unknown matter of minutes, Acteur straightened up again, his keen yellow eyes gleaming intently as he brought his hands in front of him with long, narrow fingers extended. They writhed and danced, pulling on those slender astral "threads." In response, the shadows in the room would thicken, becoming darker and stretching forth to cover more of the Impresario's chamber. Further and darker...and then, from those inky depths, new forms would rise. Small and child-like, but with wiry bodies that were hardly human--limbs that ended in three-fingered claws, perfectly round heads with angular, tapering antennae, and no features save for those perfectly round, brilliant yellow eyes. From shadows, these creatures had come...and "Shadows" were the name they were known by.

Emerging from the darkness, they advanced into the room, scampering towards Acteur de la Noir...lesser creatures gravitating towards a strong shepherd. For his part, the eccentrically-clad performer did not seem shocked by their presence--indeed, he spread his arms out as though welcoming old friends, and the smile on his mask had never seemed more appropriate. Acteur turned to address each of the Shadows in turn, seeming to understand their peculiar, silent language--the way they danced and bobbed about, their antennae waving and flicking with great animus. Tilting his head this way and that, the elegant puppeteer hummed thoughtfully, sounding delightfully pleased by what he was hearing, so far.

"Hmm, I see, I see," the puppet lord mused, his voice taking on a tone almost poetic:

"Some of our cast have gathered in a modern city of sins and midnight,
protected by guardians of flesh and stone.

Others have flocked to a kingdom most ancient and fantastic,
the first of fantasies final, but never alone.

A few others have gathered at a garden that was once our bastion,
now changed by heroes to a radiant tone.

Two have split up to a land, each--one which resides beyond the looking glass,
and another of tribal throne.

And another group which resides in another castle,
where allegiances have changed, and some fights..."

Here, Acteur paused, turning his gaze to the last of the Heartless--one who was dancing about with much greater excitement than the rest, the yellow orbs of its eyes wider than its brethren.

"...bitterly..."

Acteur knew this one--he'd given it a very specific task; to watch over...her. And from what it was telling him, she'd been caught up in her own drama...and now stood poised on the verge of a choice that would change her life forever...

"...won?"

...and perhaps lose herself, in doing so.

"...Mon dieu..."

For a moment, Acteur stood there in silence. He didn't know what to think. All he knew was that he had to be there. He had to help her decide. Once, he might have watched idly as this took its course, and perhaps even helped it along...but somewhere, somehow, for whatever reason, things had changed. Now, faced with the prospect that a song might be altered--or silenced--for all time, Acteur de la Noir felt compelled to act. If asked for a reason, he couldn't have given one. It simply was as it was.

The Heartless Puppeteer looked up, presently--and, as his mask emerged from the shadows, the smile seemed a bit too wide--as though it were somewhat forced. "Well, I must be away for a moment, Maestro!" he declared rather brightly. "People to recruit, loose ends to tie tightly! Never fear, I'll keep you appraised!"

With a tip of the hat and a snap of his fingers, Acteur de la Noir opened a Corridor of Darkness--a swirling vortex of blackness, mixed with penumbral purple. It was through this portal that the Shadows disappeared...and, a few moments later, Acteur followed them, engulfed in the whirling vortex. Then it sucked inward on itself, closing and vanishing altogether.

And so, the Impresario was left to his own devices. For the time being. For surely, Acteur de la Noir would return.

[Hercules]

Hercules... hadn't moved much from his spot in the empty audience. Frankly, he was annoyed that everyone seemed to change their attitudes so quickly in theater, but hey... that's showbiz. The honest truth of it, though, was that he was NOT looking forward to telling Gabranth that it looked like they were stuck until the performance was over with. He just knew he had a butt-chewing coming his way of Philoctites porportions.

He leaned back with a sigh, trying to get his head clear. About the time he did that, though, he'd spot the armored judge heading his way. With a wave, he greeted him. "Hey, Gabranth..." he said, a stupid smile crossing his features, the kind he got when he didn't have good news to share, but wanted to put a good foot forward anyway. Never worked.

"Sorry, but I can't get anyone to budge on letting his get out of here any sooner. They say that we gotta play along with-what's with you?" he noticed Gabranth was holding himself a certain way. "Bad news...?" he said, not knowing what to expect.