"Let's get going." Rika said, before going through the portal that Aeva had opened. Lin followed behind, leaving Ace alone with Aeva. Was that it? Was he the odd one for being so unsettled right now? Had they simply not believed this woman when she told them that she was an omnipotent being? She was speaking with vague words on purpose, as if he was on a need to know basis. He had no choice but to trust her, because he did not want to find out what would happen to him if he crossed her. He glanced at her one last time before entering the portal, hoping she couldn't also pry into his head and read his thoughts. Exiting the portal he found himself in Port Royal, just as Aeva said he would. He had only ever heard of the world, and looking around it seemed the stories had done it a half-justice. The wind blew in the humid, salty air from the ocean, a welcome change from the arid, stale climate of Agrabah. The sea it's self could be seen in the distance, a vastness of blue that draped the edge of the horizon. You couldn't blame anyone for wanting to sail in this world after seeing that. "If the Empire won't give us trouble here, pirates will." Ace said, turning towards Rika and Lin. "She's right, it is dangerous here, we'd do well to stick together, especially considering how... foreign we appear." He said. His attention then went to the large mansion behind them, it overlooked the town, and it was abandoned. "Whoever lived here must have been important, I bet the empire's first order of business was getting rid of anyone that had influence here... So." He said, looking to Rika. "What's our plan? Go into town? We might need a change of clothes if we want to fit in." [center]____[/center] "I think so." Asahina said. She was slightly shaken up by the attack from the mechanical monsters. She had never seen things like them before, Heartless sure, but lightning shooting robots was something else. She had little reason to be confident in her fighting abilities, as far as she knew dealing with Jasmine's berserk state was just a fluke. She watched as Dominic fought off many of the robots, he was coating himself with electricity and moving quite quickly, she wasn't sure if it was some type of magic or martial art. Regardless, she had to help him. She was still uncomfortable using her keyblade, so she decided to use magic. She wasn't exactly a grand wizard, but she had learned all of the basics in the academy. She held up the palm of her hand towards a group of the machines, which seemed to be focusing more on Dominic at the moment. A swirling ball of ice shot from her hand, and shattered against a machine, completely freezing it, and slowing down those around it as frost clogged their parts. That wasn't all, a fireball followed the ice, exploding upon contact and tearing them to metallic shreds. [center]____[/center] Shizuka raised a brow at Cerden and Flora, the answer to her question reminded her of how things went om Agrabah. "Just how often do you bail him out of trouble?" She said, giggling at Flora. "If I didn't know any better, which actually I don't, I'd say you two were dating or something." She said, turning back to the ship's controls. She had successfully locked onto the empire ship's exit point, and were now on their way towards it. She she got out of her seat to prepare to land Flora asked her if she knew anything about the Caribbean. Does a bear play craps in the woods? "Huh?" Shizuka looked back at Flora and Cerden. "All I know is that it's a nice looking world, and has a pirate problem or something. I don't know if there's a factory or not." The ship exited warp space, and a clear sky could be seen outside the ship. "Looks like we're here... though it looks like there's no land near us..." Shizuka moved back to her seat, and lowered the ship. "Wait, what is that?" As she lowered the ship closer to the ocean she saw a large object that appeared to be resting on top of the sea. It was the ship they were looking for. "Whaaaaaaat." Shizuka was in disbelief, she had expected the ship to be long gone, not crashed in the sea. Even more unlikely, she saw that there were people on top of the ship, well, people and a bunch of machines trying to murder them, but still lucky. "Hey, get back!" Shizuka yelled into a receiver that blasted her voice to those below. Locking onto the machines, she activated the gummie ship's cannons, blowing away nearly all of the machines. "Hahaa! Where is your false machine god now!?" She cried out, as she took the ship in to land on the massive cruiser. She lowered the exiting ramp, and hurried down. Asahina stood dumbfounded as Shizuka ran up to her. "Hey, I know you, you're that girl that was always moping around the academy... you're the Princess of Heart!?" Shizuka said. Asahina looked away with a mixture of embarrassment and disgust. "I'd rather you didn't call me that. But thank you so much for coming." She looked back to the ship hoping to see Alem or the blond haired woman behind her, but they weren't there. While Asahina was busy sighing upon this revelation, one of the machines attacked her from behind. Asahina was aware of this, though Shizuka decided to step in regardless. Pulling out a bat seemingly from nowhere, Shizuka dashed forward and slammed the aluminum bat into the bot, sending it smashing into the floor. She tossed the bat off the side of the ship and looked back. "Hey, responsible adults, come and help, the red brick house is one of your buddies, right!?" [center]____[/center] Shinobu stood from his seat, an action that made some in the room flinch like startled kitten. Ryoko was more than accustomed to Shinobu's body language, however. He moved beside her and looked her in the eyes, she looked back. He began by criticizing the state of the empire's chain of command, considering Nomis's actions how could he not? He looked at her hands to read her, but she crossed her arms to hide them. Nomis had embarrassed not only himself but anyone that carried the title of general within the empire. And here she was being interrogated by her only friend because of it. [i]Of course it was cause for alarm.[/i] She thought to herself. But what was she supposed to do about it then? She hadn't even seen Nomis for months. Shinobu's mention of good deeds did not go unnoticed either. He was still under the impression that the empire was working in the best interests of the people, he had been lied too. She couldn't tell him otherwise now, it was too late, and there was no telling how it would affect their relationship. For the time being she would leave him in the dark. He next spoke of his position within Twilight Town, and it only made things worse. He backed the empire and was hated for it, yet he won the people over anyhow. [i]Of course he managed to do that.[/i] "Do you know what you are, Ryoko?" The question pierced her, and the silence only made it more painful. [i]A liar, a killer... someone that has no right to call you a friend.[/i] Many things crossed her mind, but Shinobu said none of these things, instead he complemented her. He criticized her for not doing what he believed she was capable of doing. She could no longer look him in the eyes. She lowered her head, and gripped her legs in a vice. This was what she hated about Shinobu. He could so easily dig into her skin and make her vulnerable. [i]But this is also why I admire him.[/i] This is why she couldn't be with him. She couldn't stand being with anyone that she couldn't dominate. [i]But I've always wanted to be with him regardless.[/i] She was furious, not at herself but towards Nomis. It was his fault that she was being spoken to like this, his fault that she was losing her controlled demeanor in front of Shinobu. "Could the rest of you leave? I need to speak with Shinobu privately." She said between clenched teeth. There was only one person that was allowed to see her like this, who had always been the one to see her like this.