Dawn of a New Day

[Oeilvert]

***From Dark Night in the Big Apple, in Manhattan***

A rippling pulse broke through the sky above the castle's courtyard, about six feet, or so, away from the ground. A green-robed man, tucked together in a fetal ball, cradling a small robot, was the first to come sprawling from the confines of this darkness, and went tumbling into a smoking mess.

The sun was just rising here in Adam's Castle, and when Masheck looked around all he could see was the aftermath of chaos and the optimistic household scurrying to fix things up. He set down Wall-E and surveyed the surroundings, tucking away Livevus, who'd grown tired, and withdrew his wand. He stayed crouched on his knees, and began tinkering with his golem.

"Everything all right, Wall-E?" he asked politely, hoping the robot wasn't too badly damaged. "I wonder where we are now...it looks like the devil broke loose."

[Sai]

"Close..." came a voice from above, and suddenly the mage would be joined by another. Sai would fall rapidly from the corridor, landing with a "thud" on his feet, buckling only slightly to accomodate for the impact of falling. He stood tall, brushing off his shoulder to be rid of some dust that had settled there before looking toward the aftermath.

"There was a battle here between good and evil..." he said in the usual, dry tone of his. He pointed out over the battlefield, where happy servants were hard at work. "The General of the Heartless began an assault on these people, and from the looks of things... was defeated..."

Here, Sai turned to face the gates, and began to walk in that direction. "Their ship is right this way..." he said, unaware that it had taken off already... The corridor remained open for one more traveller to come through... if she didn't, then it would close momentarily.

[Shego]

**From Manhattan: A Dark Night in the Big City**

[glow=green,2,800]"WheeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE~~" sounded a jovial heartless, falling through the rift before hovering over the ground. It is a good thing she automatically floated when she wanted to, or else she would of fallen hard on her rump, which would of hurt. She cackled a little, flying circles around the two mages and robot.

"Oh! We should do that again! Oh! and again and again!" she grinned to them, slowly descending to cuddle against Masheck, and then Sai. She then picked up Wall-E with little effort and spin in the air with him before setting him down.

The heartless thief was in her own little world, "It was great seeing my brothers~ Though..." she paused, a pensive look, "... I wonder why they said I was doing wrong..."

A pout.

"... wait... doing... I'm supposed to be doing something right now." Her eyes were wide, starring over to the two in question, "......do you guys know what that iiiis?" she grumbled, rubbing a little at her head, "This is so frustrating... maybe I should go and ask Shego, she always knows what it is..."

She followed Sai to see a bridge and nothing more. She looked to him, and then to the path, wondering if this was something important to him.

"Uhm...Yep!" she tried being positive, "That is one HECK of a bridge there, Atticus Nobody number twoo~ I mean WHOH... you can like...um.." she paused, " Land...something... on it. Not The Harbringer, though, something smaller...like...waaaay smaller."

Another pause,

"YAY BRIDGES!" she cheered, trying to make him feel better.[/glow]

[Oeilvert]

Masheck Octavian watched and waited for his apparent comrades to follow him through the rift before taking off to investigate. Soon Sai would arrive and explain the legend of the castle's condition. The Heartless seemed to be everywhere lately...

When they moved from their place in the courtyard, spiraling around to meet the sights of a colossal bridge the sorcerer rubbed his nose, and looked down to Wall-E and shrugged.

"You said there was a ship here?"

Locke squawked loudly on the mage's shoulder, a sign that he was chuckling inwardly. Had he spoken, no doubt the Heartless or Nobody would be eating crow for dinner that evening.

"It appears you have been...abandoned, Sir."

[Sai]

When Sai saw that the ship was in fact NOT there... he bowed his head slowly. He had no idea where they were, or even how to go about looking for them. Further, the majority of the notes were onboard with Daphne. He let out a sigh, his arms hanging to his sides as he thought on what course of action to take next.

Next to him, Ms. Go would go off on bridges and such, which Sai paid very little attention to. His mind was going over the next step, not what was happening here and now. Even Oeilvert got a word or two in at his expense, and that included the bird that housed his heart. If Sai had feelings to hurt, he might be very upset at their cruelty, but he didn't, so this was not an issue.

Turning, Sai faced the two of them and crossed his arms, one hand tapping at his chin through the red scarf he always wore. "It matters little..." he said calmly. "All this tells me is that they've already been expelled from this castle and are somewhere in Hyperspace aboard the Red Rose..." Looking over to Ms. Go, he shook his head a little. "You've forgotten already? You are a forgetful thing..." he said, then looked to Oeilvert.

"Regardless... I still need that note from there. Perhaps we can find lodgings in the village before attempting another pass at the library?" He thought a second, then added, "I saw your bird steal the book from that creature...does it still have it? Maybe there is a spell we can yet utilize..."

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]"A note?" blinked the Heartless, hovering in front of Sai with a questioning look, "What note?" she asked again. The heartless looked into her pocket and took out a nicely, triangle folded piece of old paper and she looked to it a moment. She frowned a little, and looked to Sai, "Hmm..."

She hovered a bit away, and she unfolded the note, and unwrinkled the tattered edges to make it look nice. She looked it over a little, before hovering back to Sai, a bit disappointed in herself, "Um... I was only able to get this paper... you see, a piece of my darkness fell on it... but I don't know if its the note you need..."

Her eyes formed crescents facing downward, "I'm sorry, I don't think I'm that much help, Atticus Nobody number Two..." [/glow]

[Oeilvert]

"Yes, he did," said Oeilvert, taking the book from the confines of his satchel. He looked over the ancient pages with mild interest as he flipped through the book, searching for a specific page. When he heard Miss Go speaking of a note she'd found he stopped a second, just looking at a page in particular, awaiting Sai to either confirm or deny the Heartless had found what he was looking for.

Again Locke crowed aloud, staring down at the exact page the sorcerer poured over. An instant later the book was slammed shut and buckled together, drawn back into his bag.

"Well even if the Notes you sought aren't in there, I've located a rather unique, powerful artifact. Give me some time to look it all over and I might be of some help to this expedition."

[Acteur de la Noir]

*From the Jidoor Opera House*

At that moment, a swirling vortex of blackness, tinged around the edges with dusky purple, began to whirl into existence. As the whirling void grew larger and larger, the astral aura that it gave off would make its nature immediately obvious--particularly to the Heartless Ms. Go and the Nobody Sai, both of whom had experience with this particular phenomenon. And small wonder...for supposedly-forbidden passageways between the worlds, the Corridors of Darkness had seen considerable use as of late. Undoubtedly, were there someone policing the use of these Corridors, there were going to be an awful lot of citations being written in the near future.

But that was neither here nor there; it had nothing to do with the lanky figure who stepped forth from the dark portal with all the cavalier grace of someone who wasn't just used to the rigors of the Darkness, but thrived within it. A scarecrow-esque physique, an elegant-yet-eccentric Victorian suit and hat of dusky purple velvet, a sable cape that was tattered at the hem, and a theatrical mask with a crescent grin, behind which brilliant yellow eyes gleamed with mischievous wit--to both Shego and Sai, they would comprise a familiar appearance. For they had both, at some point in their recent escapades, made the acquaintance of this most eccentric and cunning of Heartless...the Phantom Puppeteer, Acteur de la Noir.

Presently, Acteur took off his hat and swept into a bow, silvery-gray hair spilling down over his masked visage as he greeted her with the air of a gentleman encountering a dear lady. "Why, if it isn't the Mademoiselle Go! Surely, t'is been too long!" he declared jovially, his voice the very song of delight. Then he paused, looking up, a mischievous and enigmatic gleam in those ghostly yellow eyes as they met Shego's iridescent pools. "On my travels through the Corridors of Darkness, I've heard whispers here and there...but I must ask myself. However have you been entertaining yourself, these days?"

Another pause, and Acteur turned to look towards Sai and Oeilvert--the Nobody arch-magus, in particular--and let out a theatrical gasp, lifting his head to reveal a surprised expression on his ever-shifting mask. "And such droll company I find you keeping! Never a dull moment, is there?" A swipe of the gloved hand brought that signature crescent grin back to his porcelain visage. "No matter, no matter. I've an interesting proposal to offer..." He stopped, a mischievous gleam in those spooky yellow eyes as he shook his gloved finger teasingly. "But I wonder if you're willing to hear it, O humorless counterpart of my venerable master?"

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]"ACTEUR!" squeaked the happy Ms. Go. As if the day couldn't get any better, here appears the Theatrical Character of the Heartless. A good old friend of hers in another life. She ZOOMED passed the Silver and Green mages, and POUNCED the puppet happily, snuggling a little against his chest before standing at arms length away, "I missed you!" she would be smiling widely, if she had lips. Her crescents green pools pointing upward with glee.

"How have you been? What have you been up to- OH!" She gasped, hovering up and lightly tugging him to the others, "I must show you Atticus's Nobodies! We have been having a lot of fun! I can't remember what I am supposed to be doing." she frowned, showing she had a bad memory, "Something with a heart ..." she paused, "But anyways, Acteur, This--" she pointed to Masheck, "Is Atticus Nobody number one." and she pointed to the other, "and this is Atticus Nobody number two~ because I met him second~"

The thief let go of Acteur a moment, reaching down to pet a little at Wall-E's head, "This is the Companion cube they call Wall-E, OH!" she then pointed at the strange bird of the green mage, "and I think.......that is a retarded parrot. We've been going on adventures to find the ... ah..." she paused, her eyes growing clueless as she looked to the one named Sai, "...what are we finding again?"

[/glow]

[Sai]

Sai thought a moment in quiet before Ms. Go was so obliged as to hand him a rather curious item. He plucked the triangle of paper from her fingertips and unfurled it, finding that it was indeed the notes he had been looking for!

***Keyblade Notes #9 added to record!***

The nobody looked them over twice, satisfied that they were genuine. He was about to turn to the others before he noticed a corridor opening nearby. Quickly, he slipped the notes into his coat, not wanting to risk them being seen by those that freely use such things. His intuition would prove right, as Acteur stepped from the portal.

Sai watched as the two heartless greeted each other, one hand slipping into his pocket to wrap around his wand should he need it. This hasn't been necessary at all with these two yet, but no reason to not be careful. As the two had their conversation, Sai kept close watch until he was prompted to speak. Ms. Go had forgotten once again what she was doing.

"..." Sai paused, considering his words carefully. He didn't want Acteur to know, and go running off to tattle on them to Atticus. "We're finding an item for your nobody..." he said calmly, hoping to let it drop at just that. His attention now turned fully to the puppet.

"Say it and go," he replied, in response to Acteur suggesting a proposition. "I don't have time or patience for theatrics and suspense."

[Secondary Characters]

When they fell from the library into this new location, Wall-E was... disoriented to say the least! He'd let out a surprised "Whoo-ah!" as he looked around, clicking his hands a little in shock. Oeilvert set him down and made sure he was alright, which Wall-E was thankful for! He didn't want his gears to wind down any more, as frankly that design was just flawed from the very beginning! Then again, being solar-powered in areas where there wasn't much sunlight wasn't very smart either.

Wall-E began to rove around a little, wanting to help in some way if he could. He had for a moment gone away from the group in order to scoop up some debris, only to be reminded when his torso opened that the space he usually crushed garbage into cubes with was now filled with the various gears that made him go. He let out a little disappointed "Ohhh..." before leaving the pile where it was and roving back to the others.

On the bridge, Wall-E looked about curiously before whistling his approval. Ms. Go made her declaration, which he attempted to mimic in enthusiasm. "Ta-daahhh!" he called out when she said "yay bridges!"

Then, the portal opened again, and Wall-E wheeled behind Oeilvert for protection. Peeking around, he watched what Acteur said and did with some interest... wondering what was going on...

[serpentoflore]

**From World of Darkness: Forbidden Fruit**

Nivea fell from the portal, Attra insisting on changing before they entered the place where Sai could be. Picking herself up, she took a deep breath and looked around. Sai was a foot or so away, having landed somewhere that looked like a place from a fairy tale. It even had a tall castle to go with it. She would have moved forward if it were not for the strange conversation they seemed to be having. Her hands came together, waiting for a moment to talk to the group.

[Oeilvert]

'Retarded parrot!?' he thought angrily, Locke sharing the very same feelings. The crow squawked, its shoulders hunching and its feathers ruffling. The sorcerer simply brought up a hand to smooth them down, giving him a calm "shhh...". He then knelt down beside Wall-E and patted the golem on the head, looking him over.

How would he be able to set this creature free from its tick-tock prison? Perhaps something in the book would tell him, or he might seek out someone with more power.

He turned and watched as Acteur De La Noir stepped out of the portal and conversed with both Heartless and Nobody, uninterested in their conversations; nor was he really interested when Nivea came toddling over, keeping out of their small group until things settled down.

"Well, Wall-E," he said quietyl, winding up the robot's gears again. "For now we just wait and see where these people take us next, hm? What do you think, Locke?"

[glow=green,2,300]"Really, I'm indifferent,"[/glow] replied the bird, speaking aloud for the first time since Oz. Masheck nodded.

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E nodded somewhat when Mashek bent down to care for him. He seemed a bit worried about the conversation and how it was going. That is, until the wizard waved it off and consulted the bird which actually spoke in return! Wall-E let out a loud, surprised "WOAH!", his attention falling fully onto Locke!

He roved a bit closer, standing on "tip-toe" so to speak by moving his treads out further. He waved lightly at the bird, then pointed at himself. "Waaaawwlll-eeeee" he introduced himself over again, unaware that Locke had this ability all along! He then sat back down properly, and waited...

And waited...

When he didn't get an immediate response, Wall-E would wave his hands about with little impatient "oo!" sounds before reaching up and hitting the play button on his instrument panel. Instantly, a recording would begin to play out:

"Put on your Sunday clothes, there's lots of world out there!"

Being the zealous little collector that he was, Wall-E had recorded the little song during the scuffle in the library. He now waved his arms lightly, 'dancing' in a way to the music before gesturing for Locke to join or sing, or both! He froze in spot, anticipating something while the song played on. After a moment, his fingers would even flex in a "come onnn" sort of way.

"Ahh?" he asked, hoping for Locke to join the fun!

[Acteur de la Noir]

Acteur de la Noir looked from Shego to Sai, his keen yellow eyes glittering intently. As always, he found himself amused by life's little plot twists--could one have a pair who were any further opposite of one another, in terms of behavior? All the same, there were some sobering elements that came with this development. While Shego's rebirth had given her such a marvelous perky streak, it was also quite evident that her ability to reason and her powers of memory were currently in question...and if Sai's nature as an echo of Atticus allowed him to manipulate her thus, then there was no telling what secrets he'd managed to glean from the Heartless saboteur--or, for that matter, what purposes to which he'd put her. Can't have that, now can I?

But first things first. He had a task to perform, after all...

Shaking his head with theatrical lament, Acteur clicked his "tongue" at Sai in a chiding manner. "Tsk, tsk...ever intent to play the straight man, I see," he observed of Sai. "Do you know, t'wouldn't hurt to try your hand at a smile, every now and again--like this!" Pointing to the upraised corners of his mask's crescent-moon grin, the Heartless puppeteer chortled with mischief-laced mirth. Then, with a sigh, he swept one of his palms across his mask, changing his features to a gloomy frown. "Alas, if you so insist, I'll be straight to the point--I've a favor to ask, after all..."

With that, Acteur de la Noir spread his arms wide. "Nothing up my sleeves, and..." There was a deft flick of both wrists, and a pair of neatly-folded letters materialized in his gloves hands--letters which were, in turn, handed to both Shego and Sai with all the sharp punctuality of a royal messanger. "I think you'll find the information within most enlightening," Acteur noted, his ghostly eyes glittering with madcap delight. "Motivation for joining a performance tends to be."

Then the Heartless Puppeteer turned his attention to Shego, restoring his jovial smile with a wave of his glove. "I'm on an errand in Atticus' service myself, milady...perhaps thou wouldst accompany me? I daresay our esteemed savior would see it as a service to himself."