Showtime

[Atticus the Fallen]

The grand theater... the great Opera House of Hyperspace, formerly of Jidoor. Here, great plays... and some flops... have found a noble home. This stage had seen actors and actresses of great skill and of none whatsoever. But today, it would see something entirely different, from the dark, warped mind of Acteur De La Noir, and the first thing that had to come together for this grand vision to take place... was his actors.

And so, they would come. Some by ship, some by teleportation, some by corridor, and some by means completely unimagined. The firsts to arrive would step through darkness to come here from a place of non-existant light. Their gateway would appear upon the very stage that they would soon grace, swirling and warping and twisting into the shape of the fabled dark corridor. And from it... evil would enter this world of art and beauty.

The Fallen would make his appearance in this place once more. His presence seeming to darken the room he entered, and behind him he brought along another being of purest black. A master of darkness, so to speak, in the form of a young woman. Onto the stage they would step, the darkness closing in on itself behind them.

And there they stood, the first of a new cast of actors to give life to the vision of the director, their application for employment held in the clawed hand of the heartless monster who sought and end to all. An invitation from one of his own. He held it up, examining it once more before glancing around the vast, empty audience chairs, and taking in the images of men and women working to make sure the stage was set...

Here they would gather... and after... Showtime.

[HardeWare]

Hardeware bolted out of the kitchen along with several kitchen utensils that were following him.
"stupid shield's you chose this moment to polarise!"

the super's eye began to glow with an odd circuitry replacing his iris, in that same moment his shield shut down and the genius hit the floor, sending the utensils flying over him creating quite a racket.

Hardeware moaned and planted his face into the carpet. he let out a muffled.
"this is just not my day..."

[serpentoflore]

**From Dawn of a New Day, Beast's Castle**

Nivea found herself standing in front of a set of wooden doors. She touched one hand to it, taking a deep breath. Was this really the Jidoor Opera House? If it was, she was certainly not sure of what she would do.

"You can do it. If you do...then Atticus will reward us later. After all, once we kill Sai we can find our parents."

'Okay. If you say so Attra...' Nivea pushed the door open, walking in to see Atticus and someone she had not met before standing on the stage.

----

**From the Jidoor Opera House, Hyperspace**

Sarah stood beside the Impresario while the Actors were to arrive. Though it had taken a bit longer than usual, she had at least four rough compositions for Acteur and herself to look over. He had still not arrived, which worried her. Still, she had to focus on who would be there. She first saw Atticus, the one Acteur called 'Maestro' and someone she had never met before. She was about to address them when another person opened the door. Another person she had never seen.

[Ellin Destroix]

** From The Jidoor Opera House, in Hyperspace **

A corridor would open just next to the Fallen, a mist of purple and black would disburse and give way to the dark knight. At the sight of his presence, she bowed.

"Mister Atticus!" She gasped happily, seeing a woman next to him, she bowed again out of respect, "Oh, I'm sorry-- I didn't mean to interrupt your welcoming to The Jidoor Opera House, but an Idea came to mind, and I wished for your consent before going through with it."


The knight stood straight, with arms behind her back in a soldier like stand. Her lavender eyes showed much joy with the idea, "Permission to be able to record this master piece, so I could possibly show it to those at The Dark Margin, Ser." she started, a light blush, "I'm certain the younglings would enjoy seeing this play, and this way, they can remain safe and see something glorious from this world. What do you think? I am sure I can find the resources to do so... and they would just love seeing their hero on the big screen!"

[The Alexandrian Army]

The Red Rose was still a ways away from the Jidoor Opera House, but they were making great headway. As Ellis manned the helm, and her navigators were hard at work doing what they did best, there was one lonely soldier who'd been meandering of late through the ship, pondering and considering whether or not to confront General Beatrix.

Was she still evil? Was Agrias all right? Is this some type of game? She'd seen Agrias walk by at some point in her travels throughout the ship, but could it have been a phantom?

As she leaned on the observation balcony at the bridge, only three or four feet away from the captain's chair where sat the White Mage and nearer the vampire, Daphne had much to think about, and most of her thoughts revolved on Sai and his words.

A heavy sigh let those on the bridge know that she was upset, but it was an attention-grabber only by mistake; she sincerely missed her Nobody, and she wasn't one to show emotions publicly...so this was a bit awkward for her.

"Miss Abigail," she said, straightening up and wiping her face dry before turning to face the mage. She worked out her monotonous, calculating voice once more, just so she could be perceived as the quirky, aloof scientist once more.

"I was wondering, have you seen Sai at all since we left Prince Adam's world? I can not, for the life of me, locate him. I've got much to discuss about his situation and would like to speak with him...and also, what can you tell me of what's going on aboard the Red Rose? How is the general? What exactly happened? Are we even safe? And why do you hold the Pin of Authority? Did the general give up?"

An interesting question. Could Beatrix' motives of late be some puzzle pieces leading up to her vanishing for good? Was her redemption not recognized?

"Hm..."

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Linda sat in the common room reading a book the soldiers had picked up on one of their many assaults throughout the worlds, flipping quickly through the pages while her closer comrades sat and conversed quietly. There was a big fuss going on about Nexus and how he was a man, and attractive, too! Linda paid this no mind, seeing as she had no desire to love.

"So what about you, Maria? Didn't you say that you wish you had a man?" asked Sharon, who took a bite from her watermelon grape glacee.

Maria simply nodded, but then shook her head with a wince on her face. "It's not that I don't want to marry, but if you remember Claudius, back in Alexandria--the book keeper in town? He was my only real love and now he's dead. Why search for someone new?"

"Well love comes and goes."

Here Linda glanced up from her book. "I disagree," she stated simply, placing a marker between the pages and slamming it shut. "If you find true love, then it lasts forever. People who slide away from that are called 'Settlers'. They settle because that's all they really can do."

"Huh?" exclaimed the two others.

"Yeah...look at General Beatrix, for instance--"

"But she was in love with Captain Steiner!" interrupted Sharon.

"--anyway, look at the general. No, no she wasn't in love with him. She thought she was, but that's because anyone receiving a love letter in all of that confusion, what with all that was happening after Her Majesty Queen Brahne's death...I could clearly see why she'd assume to profess her love. But he's a man in love with only his work. He's sexist, too. The general's not stupid, but look at her and Lady Oaks. They're perfect for each other. I see them, but I'm unsure if they've professed yet their love for one another...but they are definitely a match made in heaven."

"And this is coming from someone who doesn't even believe in love," whispered Maria.

This was about all the conversation that happened before everyone decided to turn their attention to Nexus and Ria, simply because the young Alexandrian was causing a fuss over being embarrassed. They wanted to see how this would play out.

[Atticus the Fallen]

Atticus looked to Ellin a moment. This was one among the light whom he tolerated to some degree. She cared for his kind... so he had no real reason to consider her an enemy... aside from her awkward way of treating those who worship the light as equals. They were not. They were murderers in his eyes.

She asked him if she could record the session, his eyes turning to the immaculate opera house around him to appraise the situation. This place... was neither dark nor light... but something inbetween. At first, he was opposed to the idea, for fear such exposure to the light could injure, even severely harm the younglings... but this place...

Atticus looked once more to the dark knight, and nodded. "Fine..." he said simply, his attention swiftly being drawn to an opening corridor nearby...

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From the confines of the corridor, another would approach. He was every bit the balancing side of the dark one, wearing silvery robes rather than midnight blue. His demeanor was nonthreatening, though strangely dull. His one visible eye stared forward, his hand seeming to gently rest over a pocket on his coat. There was tension here... as Sai stepped onto the stage.

Unclasping his pocket, he allowed Locke to breathe, or escape if he deemed necessary. His other hand would slip into his pocket, reaching for his wand in case it was needed. "You..." he said sternly, quickly looking around. There were others of the dark here... was this an ambush?

[Hercules]

Hercules had been busy doing all the heavy lifting since he last spoke with the impresario. He hoped that his show of good faith would yield good things, but who knows if that would work. Now, he was walking down the spiral staircase which lead to the scaffolding, wiping some sweat from his brow. "And we're SURE we don't need that statue?" he asked a nearby stagehand, who seemed all too eager to use the human forklift.

Herc sighed, stretching a bit before seeing the cast begin to assemble. He smiled a bit, then made his way onto the stage proper. He spotted Sai, waving happily. "Yo! Sai!" he said, then put a hand down on the wizard's shoulder... except it wasn't Sai. The Fallen would come face to face with the Demigod, causing him great amounts of confusion.

It wasn't until he saw the REAL Sai that his baffled expression left. He snuck away and ran over, clapping the man's shoulder. "Hey man! You keep coming and going, don't you?" he said, then looked around. "I'm still waiting on the ship to get fixed... any luck with your thing?"

[Ellin Destroix]

Ellin clapped her gauntlets once together, and gave Atticus a bright grin. "Excellent!" she cheered, before turning in place, needing now to find the resources to do so... Time was almost up to prepare, and she had a lot of work to do. She even had to find this Lady of Time, before Showtime, and had no clue HOW to get to her.

For now, she had to do what was possible to do, but before she could travel further, a new person stepped into view... a mage in silver! She noticed his hostility toward the Heartless Hero, and before any attacks would take place, she stood between them, her hands extended in a welcoming manner, "AH!" she called out, trying to get his attention, " Welcome to The Jidoor Opera House, Mister Mage! Please, enjoy your stay." she would rest her hands against her sides the moments the signs of offensive where gone. "Much work to do, um, please, if you are here by Invitation, seek Mister Impressario, he should have some more details."

The knight bowed politely to Sai, and left to find what she needed... a camera!

[serpentoflore]

Nivea's eyes looked towards the stage, walking halfway before she sat down in one of the audience seats. She didn't want to get in the way of whatever was going on. She sat softly against a seat, making sure she had not gained too much attention.

---

Sarah felt a bit blank at the new face. Perhaps Acteur had not sent for her and she had come by mistake? She had no idea what the case could possibly have been to have such a strange, yet right now normal looking visitor come to the Opera house. Looking towards Atticus and the one called Sai, she became confused. Why did they look so similar? "Greetings." Sarah spoke, bowing lightly to the people on stage. "I welcome you to the Jidoor Opera House."

[Oeilvert]

When Masheck stepped out of the rippling Corridor of Darkness manifested by the Nobody Sai he kept close, making sure to hold onto the other's shoulder, in case he became lost within the dark. He'd since drawn his wand in case, as Sai had, and even peeked over the Nobody's shoulder when Locke was checked on.

Seeing that he was fine Masheck relaxed, lowering his hands and looking around the Opera House. What struck him as odd was the variety of different sorts of people popping in and out of the place. What a crew! Whistling, he held up a hand and waited for Locke to fly out of his confines and perch. When done the sorcerer tilted his head to his companion.

"So this is where we're supposed to be, then? I wonder who all of these people are? Why we're here? Hm..."

He turned to look behind him, to see if he could gain insight from Miss Go; oddly enough she was nowhere to be seen and Masheck informed the Nobody, suspecting something because of it.

"So what next?"

[General Beatrix]

Beatrix awoke to the sound of a pretty voice humming a tune from the home world; she sat up slightly, not wanting to alarm whomever was moving about her suite, and pulled the curtain aside; it was a lonesome-looking young soldier, just finishing dusting the vanity table and mirror across the room and moving over to sweep the floor.

Slowly the general crawled from her bed and moved over to the changing screen, unseen by the maid. She pulled out a pressed, clean white uniform jacket, this one she recognized as the Black Heart powersuit...but it was white now, and instead of the Heartless emblem emblazoned on the chest...it was a blue heart. Beatrix was confused but put this on, anyway, as it was clean and quickly donned her boots and gauntlets. Finally, as she popped out from behind the screen she grabbed her sword belt and did the buckles, and made her way out of the room both silently and hastily. Again, she was unseen.

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Arriving on the bridge Beatrix met Daphne, Lilith and Abby, all engaged now in conversation. She made sure not to be seen just yet and hid behind the tall curtain bearing the Alexandrian Coat of Arms and waited. Hearing that the Opera House was just in sight she made a "finally!" fist-pump and continued standing there in silence.

[Leckseeuh]

// from the dark corridor | the dark margin //

Holding Atticus' hand through the dark, a young but mature woman stepped out from the dark corridor. Her pitch-black hair fell in front of her eyes, which peered out through the dark. She let her hand fall from Atticus', quickly folding them over each other and looking around the room.

She had no fear, but she didn't know anyone here; she stayed within a few feets' distance from the taller Heartless.

What do we do now? She muttered, looking around at all the strange people around. Well, she wasn't much different from them. But still, she wondered who these people were. Maybe a few looked familiar, but she pushed the thought aside and stayed close to Atticus.

[Sai]

Sai was forced to end his aggressions toward his Heartless. Between Ellin, Sarah, Hercules, and Oeilvert... he really didn't have the focus he needed to deal with such uncomfortable closeness. Looking first to Hercules, he stared at him a second, with that strange, expressionless appearance in what was visible of his face. "I don't believe in luck... but I was successful, yes..." he tapped his coat, then immediatley moved to the next distraction.

Ellin quickly informed them of where they were to go next, which Sai immediately noted. Unfortunately for himself... he would have to deal with the impresario once more. She left, and next was Sarah, merely greeting them as she joined the assembly. Sai nodded to her before looking to the mage-turned-crowperch behind him. "Next, we find this impresario and find out our instructions, obviously..." he said, then made to leave the stage area, every once in a while casting an untrusting glance back to the dark creatures nearby...

Jumping off the stage unceremoniously, Sai began a single-minded march toward the Impresario's room. If he wasn't there, he'd check the lobby, then the loft, then the backstage area before returning to point 0 once more. Systematic... calculated. Sai style.

[Atticus the Fallen]

Atticus watched with some amusement at the hostility of the Nobody. He knew all too well what this creature wanted... he wanted his heart back. How cute... But that wasn't going to happen. One of his hands would begin to stretch, the pointed claws of his fingertips extending in a deadly fashion until Ellin called an end to this hostility and let them know what they were to do.

The Fallen nodded somewhat, his hand relaxing as he watched the Nobody address his group, then rudely walk away. How like a being without a heart... That having been said, Atticus would nod to Sarah, holding up his invitation. "We've been summoned..." he said, his voice returning to that strange everywhere-at-once way it did whenever he was not in the world of darkness. "...but thank you for the kind introduction."

He began to turn his attention to Miiaxra behind him, taking note of Nivea sitting in the audience. Apparently, she was tailing Sai, but it was hardly enough for his tastes. A secret message sent to her through the darkness would alert her to his displeasure... merely a pang of emotion, really, but one that would make even the most hardy shiver in terror...

Looking to the woman behind him, he would nod and speak softly. "Now... we wait. We've been invited, after all... so, this Impresario person must be aware that we'd be coming..."

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail watched with some sense of inward satisfaction as the Rose finally began to lower into the atmosphere of the Jidoor Opera House. She yawned lightly, having not had much sleep in the past 24 hours, but she'd make do. Right now, she was needed as a commander, a guiding light to the others, if temporarily. She smiled a bit, happy to know she could serve now that she had some sense of self-worth. She had to thank the miss one day...

Looking up when she was addressed, Abigail blinked then gave the woman a soft expression. "You don't have to be so monotone, Daphne. I know you're concerned, honey..." she sat back a little, looking forward and sighing. "I haven't seen Sai, actually... but I'm sure he'll show up. He doesn't seem the type to break his promises too easily, and if you're helping him I know he'll make himself known promptly." She gave Daphne another smile before holding a finger up as she continued.

"As for the status of the crew... We've just arrived at the Jidoor Opera House, having received word of an item of interest that could help us determine our next move in our struggle against the forces of darkness. Beatrix is a-okay but very tired from the events that transpired in the castle. While she is recooperating, she's placed me in charge, thus the pin. She has not given up, just needs a break, everyone is perfectly safe, and I give my word that everything is back to normal."

She tried to sound strong... like she knew what she was doing, but part of it she wasn't entirely sure herself. All she knew was that she would work to make sure everything was "back to normal" and that they were finally going to be okay. Until then... she had to work hard.

That having been established, she needed to get to work. She stood up, waving out an arm to make sure everyone's attention was on herself (a move she had seen the general do once or twice, in fact). "Alright, everyone!" she called out, her voice carrying a maturity she had been lacking until just recently. "Prepare for landing, make sure everyone is back at work. I want a messenger prompted and ready to go in two minutes. Whomever is alerting that person, take this..." she held out her invitation for it to be collected here.

"I want them to look presentible, and to head down to the Opera House to inform whomever's in charge down there that we're here by invitation and are awaiting authorization to land. Also, I want someone to find and inform Nexus, General Beatrix and Lady Agrias that we've arrived and should be landing soon. Flight team, standby for further instructions, everyone else, if you're not directly involved with ship operations, I want you to make yourselves presentible and fall in in the main hangar bay. We're going to go in looking our best!"

Abigail took a breath, nodding firmly before doing the salute she had seen the others do many times before. She hoped that they saw this as her attempt to thank them for their cooperation and to assert her role as acting commander. "Dismissed!" she called out, then smiled to Daphne. "That goes for you too. You're head of the science team, right? Could you get them and yourself ready for me?" she asked sweetly before looking to Lilith.

"If you're still hungry, why don't you run down the medical wing now?" she asked, making sure Lilith was prepared before they landed.