Chaos on the Regnum Dei (Gantz/Zero)

[doctorzero]

"Activate the alarms and notify all the guards on that level! Double the security around Zero's cell and for God's sake notify Raleigh!"

"Figures that the one time he doesn't want to be disturbed that a freaking intruder would show up!"

"Could someone tell the ladies in the shower room to get dressed before pursuing the guy?!"

"THE HELL IS THE ALARM?!"

A monitor showing the words NIMRODS DETECTED began to flash as an alarm begin to sound.

---

"Alert. The Anti-Dumbass Protocols have been activated. Any personnel stupid enough to get out of the way before the crap hits the fan will be their own fault."

---

Lucas and Rosaline faced each other.

He realized that this was the first time the two had actually interacted with each other since they had seen each other. Lucas wasn't sure how to feel about Gantz having a girlfriend, but she couldn't be bad, right?

He cleared his throat and held out a hand. "Hi, I--"

They all looked up sharply as the alarm sounded. "What is that?" A.J. asked.

"Trouble," Max said simply, "As usual."

---

The boy looked away, embarrassed. Wait...

Was he slightly pink?

"Er, well, uh, sorry. I really have to stop being so vague all the time. I don't know WHY I...nevermind. You're right, I should be straightforward--"

And then there was a knock at the door. The boy froze up. “Uh oh...” He jumped out of his chair, looking as if he was going to run to the door and keep it shut--

Then it opened before he could move. Jaron and Gantz looked into the room, staring at them both.

Jaron spoke first. "Who are you?"

The boy fidgeted. "...I..."

"Raleigh?" Jaron guessed.

Gantz, Red, and the boy stared at him. Jaron shrugged. "Well, according to Max he was a woman once--Red?! You're awake!"

---

"Stay in here," Max said firmly.

"Wouldn't it be safer if they came along?" A.J. argued.

"Someone needs to stay behind when Tarosuke's woken up," Max pointed out. To Wally, Otto and Rin he said, "If Jaron and Gantz come back while we're gone, tell them things went wrong again and we went to try and fix it."

"Also, tell Gantz that his girlfriend went up ahead of us with Lucas and that he shouldn't kill us for putting them in danger," A.J. added.

"Rose and Lucas can both take care of themselves, A.J."

"We're on CRL's SHIP, you don't think they're be impeding doom?"

"Cheryl's right, you're such a pessimist."

---

Alex was running along just fine until he turned a corner and came to a complete stop.

"See," Evan began as he stood at the front of fifty fully armed CRL agents, "when you have a really, REALLY dangerous lunatic onboard, you make it a point to avoid having them break out. Or at least pack a lot of firepower. Little known fact."

---

"So," A.J. started as they ran down the hallway, "Any reason why you picked those three to stay with Tarosuke?"

"Wally's had a bad enough day already, and I doubt the other two would feel comfortable leaving him alone," Max explained.

"You sure?" A.J. asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Max insisted.

"Nothing to do with keeping them safe or anyth--"

"Is now REALLY the time?" Max demanded. A.J. wisely chose not to say anything else.

A.J. was right, though, Max thought. He didn't want Wally and Otto to be hurt.

They had said that they had died in this Gantz's timeline. He knew that the others would frown upon him for it, but he just didn't want any harm to come to them after the Mt. Bonsai thing.

That's rather funny, a small part of his mind said, coming from you.

He quite firmly ignored it.

---

Wilhelm snorted. "Rude."

He stood up and walked over to the bed. Good quality mattress and blanket. Weird. Was it a trick?

He pressed a hand against the mattress. Well, it didn't blow up on him.

"They give you a bed too, at least?" he asked Vanessa.

A small noise made him turn around. Something was outside of the cell--most likely out of his and Vanessa's range of sight. "What was that?"

[gantzgun74]

[From this point on the thread will be split into parts to allow a break on the part of the two RPers here. From here until the next marker, posts will be shorter to allow for more focus on central points. So without further ado.)

Part 1: The Brother and the Beauty

Rosaline cared for very little in the time that had been spent rushing through the halls of the Regnum Dei. Soldiers seemed to take them in with surprised expression, but anyone that tried to stop them would be promptly ignored. Thankfully there was a very small number of CRL goons patrolling the hallway they were going down.

And by they, Rosaline noted that she wasn't alone.

Mere seconds before the two could actually strike up a conversation, before Rosaline could get to know the wonderful young man that Gantz considered his little brother, the alarms turned and rudely interrupted them. She had been so looking forward to finally meeting Lucas... At least under better circumstances.

Still, he was right there, rushing along with her, easily keeping up even...

This seemed like as an appropriate time as any.

"So... Lucas right?" She smiled a bit. "You were introducing yourself earlier, but no worries there. Aaron has told me much of you." The two stopped upon rounding the corner, deciding to take a moment to catch their breath. She took a moment to smile a bit at the cute young man. Though she had few doubts that Lucas had likely grown taller, he was still around to Rose's rather petite chest in height. "I saw the way you, him and Jaron were talking back in the waiting room. You three are quite close by the look of things."

[doctorzero]

Continuation of Part 1: The Brother and the Beauty; Or, How to Connect With Each Other As You Run Toward Certain Danger

Figures that something bad would happen right when Lucas and Rose were about to get to know each other.

Lucas wasn't a cynical person--far from it--but sometimes he got the impression that the universe was out to inconvenience him in some way possible.

Well, he wasn't too far off the mark on that, but that's not the current issue.

Lucas hadn't had contact with Gantz since the Subspace Incident, so he had no idea that he had got himself a girlfriend. It was kind of awkward when he found out, to be honest.

But she seemed nice. He really would've wanted to get to know her better, but, well. Impeding chaos and all that.

His thoughts were interrupted when she addressed him. "Oh! Well, yeah. Gantz...well, he helped me during the Subspace Incident. I don't think I would've gotten out of it alive if it weren't for him. I owe him a lot."

He leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. "And Jaron...he took care of me after that. I didn't have anywhere else to go, and he said that I could stay with him if I wanted. I've been with him for two years now. He, Kaitlin and Max are wonderful people, really. I don't know what I would've done without them."

He looked up at Rosaline. "So, how long have you known Gantz?"

[gantzgun74]

A thoughtful hum was Rosaline's initial response. "About.... 2 years give or take?" She smiled as memories returned. "Ah I still remember how we first met-" She suddenly stopped as a thought occured to her. "Okay, not a good memory really... Things were complicated for us back in Ivalice at that time." Letting out a sigh, she went with a simple shrug. "But for all of that complication he still... Treated me like I was his equal, not as an-... Um nevermind."

She noticed his weird look. "I'm sorry but it's a long story. The main point is despite all of the circumstances, he still treated me with so much kindness, even if I didn't really deserve it at the time. And that compassion just stuck with me. We were friends from that day forward."

[doctorzero]

Two years? Lucas thought. That didn't seem to make any--oh, right, the dimensional thing. One of these days he was going to have to figure that out.

(Good luck with that.)

After Rosaline finished speaking, he nodded, smiling. "Yeah, Gantz is probably one of the nicest people I've ever met. He never treats people badly, no matter who or what they are." Unless they're Raleigh, he thought privately.

"He's a lot like Jaron that way. Jaron almost never gets mad at anyone. He's always trying to help people." He chuckled. "Probably why he admires Gantz so much. They're both always trying to make things better for people."

He fidgeted a bit. "...I kinda wish I was more like them sometimes."

[gantzgun74]

Rosaline couldn't help but help but smile a little at what Lucas said. "What makes you think you aren't already?" She patted Lucas on the head, as before continuing down the hallway with him. "From what Aaron tells me about you... I think your closer to that wish then you might think. I can certainly see it from where I'm standing."

As they continued down, Rosaline smiled a little more. "You just need to have a little faith in yourself. Faith that when it all comes down to it you will make the right choice. We all faced choices like that from time to time... All you need to do is choose what you believe in. Do that and you'll never go wrong."

[doctorzero]

Lucas turned bright pink from the compliment. "Thanks, Rose. Really."

He didn't know why he was so worried before; the two of them were definitely going to get along.

He doubled his pace, moving a little ahead of Rose. "Come on, if we hurry we might--"

And because I'm a sucker for dramatic timing, he very nearly ran smack into Zero as he turned the corner, stopping just when they were half an inch apart.

Lucas reacted without thinking. "PK LO--"

WHACK!

Lucas was knocked on his backside as Zero turned and ran in the opposite direction. "Ow--hey, wait, GET BACK HERE!"

How the heck did he escape?! Are Raleigh's guards that inept or something?!

(The truth is actually more complicated than that, but we'll get to it soon enough.)

[gantzgun74]

"B-but-!!" Rose looked REALLY surprised to see Zero out and about. "But I thought Gantz said that he was locked up!! How did he get out?!" From what she understood, CRL was a super prepared military group. Someone breaking out of their prison must've been unheard of!

She narrowed her eyes. Rosaline knew the danger that awaited in directly challenging Zero... But still, se had to do something, she and Lucas both needed to. "Come on, let's go after him!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part 2: The Runaways

As the alarms went on, Shantotto had long since left the room to Gaz, Jaron and the loathsome god so they could have their long sought after talk... To her, it made sense to her that the chaos would be a good enough oppurtunity to look around the ship.

So, Shantotto's eyes suddenly blanked out...

POOF!! And the Shantotto clone suddenly turned into a straw doll.

-----------------

Elsewhere on the ship another doll's eyes suddenly lit up...

And Shantotto appeared from it, smiling to herself as she started walking through the ship.

It was SOOO good to be her.

[doctorzero]

Part 2: The Runaways; Or, Sweet Merciful Christ, How Does It Keep Getting Worse?!

"Any idea what the problem is this time?"

"Well, Zero obviously broke out."

"A.J., how do you fi--"

"Oh, come on, what else could it be? You seriously have faith in the security here?"

Max thought for a moment. "Well, during the Subspa--"

"That was then, this is now, and I'm pretty sure the only thing that could make this worse is--"

The conversation ground to a halt as they turned the corner.



"BITCHES LOVE CANNONS!" Princess shrieked as she pull the trigger on the anti-tank rifle she was currently aiming at them.

Max grabbed A.J. as he ducked behind the corner. The projectile, rather than embed itself into the wall behind where they had just been standing, actually bounced off.

"--Princess with an anti-tank rifle," A.J. finished.

...

"Wait, WHAT is she doing here and WHERE did she get a CANNON?!"

Max peeked around the corner. Princess was lying on her stomach at the end of the hallway, aiming at them through the rifle's scope. Several crates of weapons and ammunition were piled behind her.

"How'd she even get onboard?" he wondered. "I mean, unless she can teleport--"

He paused. "You know what, let's just assume she can do that."

He withdrew as Princess finished reloading and fired another shot. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "We don't have time for this."

"Don't suppose it's too much to hope that she's the problem in question," A.J. muttered. "Or that CRL agents are going to come to our rescue."

---

Meanwhile...

Rachel facepalmed at what she was seeing on the monitor. "For the love of--"

She grabbed a microphone on the console. "Attention everyone! Princess has somehow--don't ask how--managed to get onboard and is heavily armed! You don't need me to tell you what to do when you see her. Fourth level, port side hallway. Get to it, some of our guests are in there!"

---

"Well, I guess we're wrong about that one," Max observed. "But I don't like the idea of wai--" Turning, he saw that A.J. wasn't there anymore. "Oh, for..."

---

A.J. strode down the hallway as Princess removed the spent shell from her weapon. The psychopath sneered at the sight of him. "Well, if it ain't the fake. Couldn't go crying home to mommy after that spanking, could you?"

"How the hell did you manage to get up here despite being sealed under thick ice?" A.J. asked, ignoring the question as he summoned the Blue Sonata. There was no way he was going to let her bring up the past again.

"F*ck you, that's how." She grabbed another round. "Still playing second fiddle to the real asshole? Can't believe you're still going with the twin schtick, it's as unoriginal as hell. For f*ck's sake, you still got the same damn name as the prick."

A.J's brow furrowed. "Okay, number one, don't you DARE insult Jaron like that in front of me."

"I MAKE NO PROMISES!!" She pulled the trigger. A.J. simply moved to the side as the projectile flew past him.

"And number two," he continued, "I've actually been considering changing my name. Already talked about it with my friends, but haven't gotten the chance to mention it to my bro. Cheryl and Jennifer came up with it."

By this point he had gotten close enough to rest his foot on the barrel of the rifle, pointing his Keyblade straight at Princess's face.

"'Gerald's got a good ring to it. What do you think?"

Princess's response, as always, was to pull out a magnum out of nowhere and aim it at his nose. "F8CK YOU."

A.J. smirked. "Ah, but the sad reality is--I was never here."

Princess stared at him in confusion. "The f*ck?" She paused to contemplate this. Perhaps he was right--maybe this was all an elaborate illusion, constructed to drive her insane and question the nature of man.

...

"F*ck it, I'll just shoot your ass."

"BANG!"

Princess jumped a little. "What the--I didn't even pull the damn trigger!" She looked down the barrel.

No guesses on what happens next.

"I refuse to believe she fell for that," Max said flatly as she fell over, dead. Or unconscious. Hard to tell with her.

He looked at A.J., eyebrow raised. "Though...Gerald? Really?"

"What's wrong with Gerald?" A.J. said defensively. "It's a lot better than confusing me and Jaron all the time, isn't it?"

"No, it's a good name. Just...Gerald?"

"Oh, shut it."

[gantzgun74]

No sooner had AJ said that however, that a purple sphere of magical energy suddenly appeared around Princess, holding her into place. If either Max or AJ was familiar with magic, they would've recognized the spell as Bindza, a spell known specifically as a gravity powered container.

"Hohoho, a very good job indeed little fake,
The work was made to appear as easy as cake."

The two turned to find Shantotto walking up to the two. Grinning she turned to the magically trapped Princess.

"However, I am plugged in with information well enough,
To know that this one doesn't die like the normal cream puff."

If Princess had woken up to react to this...

ZAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shantotto sent 70 thousand volts (enough power to account for 30 Thundaga spells at full strength) through Princess, cooking her alive and knocking her out. Shantotto's response was quite ruthless yes, but if they had known her better they would've known that this too was typical.

"But moving on, perhaps this untimely arrival of great and unending frustration..."

At that moment, the two heard a voice behind them.

"May come as a timely oppurtunity, to post up my own well known citation."

When they looked they found ANOTHER Shantotto awaiting there, walking up to them.

"Perhaps I can accompany and assist you?
You may need me to prevent something from going askew."

[doctorzero]

Well, she's no CRL agent, A.J. thought.

Though now that he thought about it, she probably WAS an agent for all he knew. Mental note: Ask later.

"You're that person Gantz knows, aren't you?" Max asked after the shock wore off. He hadn't had much of a chance to speak with Shantotto since they boarded the ship, though that was partially because she had gone off on her own almost as soon as they were onboard. Gantz mentioned something about her being freespirited, or something among those lines. "We appreciate the help--"

"YOU appreciate the help, you mean," A.J. cut in.

Max gave him a look. "What, you're unhappy she cut short another tedious Princess encounter for us?"

"I did NOT say that."

"Well, you were IMPLYING it--"

"Not the point!" A.J. interrupted. It was clear he didn't like the 'fake' comment. He turned to Shantotto. "What're you doing here, and how come there are two of you?"

Max glanced at the unconscious Princess. "Zapping her like that was a bit harsh, wasn't it?"

"Max, this is a woman who tore an infant in half in front of me, and you think roasting her is harsh?"

"...point."

(don't have them leave that spot just yet.)

[gantzgun74]

Shantotto appeared rather amused at AJ's frustration, but of course, that was how she was; ticking people off meant she had control over someone else, and control meant they were opt to listen to her. Putting this thought aside though, it was... certainly different to find these two here without their little friends. Weren't they the ones that believed in strength in numbers?

"Why are there two of me? Oh my my my what a silly question.
The better question is why you don't have a similar concession?"

The first Shantotto standing near Princess spoke simply as if this was the most obvious thing on the planet. The second Shantotto meanwhile walked up to the two grinning.

"Truthfully, It is a special skill I have, to be able to appear in several places at once,
A skill you, him or anyone else would greatly benefit from, hohohoho, little dunce."

AJ likely fumed at this, but Shantotto #2 ignored him.

"I have several of these magical copies on board this ship,
Each one I can activate on a whim, each one ready to outstrip."

With a grin, Shantotto #2 regarded Shantotto #1 with a rub of her chin.

"Hmmmm.... My, my, Note to self
#1 requires physical change herself."

[doctorzero]

Max threw a hand out to stop A.J from stepping forward and clobbering Shantotto. "How about we NOT try to anger the powerful sorceress right now?" he said to him, frowning. A.J. glared at him for a brief second, then stepped back.

Minor crisis averted, now back to the big one. "Shantotto, do you have any idea what's going on?" Max asked her. "We were on our way to check--"

BANG!

None of them (except maybe Shantotto, but you know how she is) had noticed the bright red ant-like creature sneaking behind Max. The thing exploded before it could leap onto him.

Miranda stood behind Shantotto, holding a smoking handgun. Several other armed agents were standing behind her. "Sorry we're late, we had an issue getting here."

"An ISSUE?!" Max stammered. Having a bullet fired near your head would be enough to cause anyone to wet themselves (though why his hearing isn't impaired I have no idea). "Couldn't you have WARNED me that you were going to fire that thing? I thought we were under attack again!"

"We still are, actually," A.J. observed, looking over his shoulder.

Max turned. "What do yo--oh, you've gotta be kidding."

More red ant-like creatures were emerging from the floor, crawling towards them with their yellow eyes fixated on them.

"Heartless?!"

"Okay, your security sucks," A.J. said to Miranda.

"YOU try having contingency plans for something that can violate the laws of causality at a whim," Miranda countered, shoving A.J. aside as she and her agents opened fire on the creatures.

"Okay, you," she started, throwing a radio to Max, "take this, grab your friend, and go. If you see Zero, you run in the opposite direction, got it? Don't even think about fighting him. I want you to get to Raleigh's room and tell him what's going on, or at least give him that radio so I can talk to him."

"I don't even know where--" Max started.

"I'll give you directions on that, now get going!" Miranda snapped. "I don't know how many of these things are on board."

Max hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. Just...I don't know, don't get killed, alright?"

Miranda scoffed. "I seem to remember you and me trying to beat the crap out of each other before. You lost, last I checked. I'll be fine."

Max glared at her, then his gaze softened. "Yeah, well, you're nicer than the other CRL guys. I guess I never had any hard feelings there."

Miranda paused. "That's--"

"Can we GO, please?!" A.J. demanded, grabbing Max's arm. "I thought we were in a hurry!"

"Okay, okay! Wright--"

"Down that hallway," she replied, pointing. "Oh, and Shantotto, if you plan on going with them, leave a duplicate here, I want to talk to you about the local indestructible bitch here."

[gantzgun74]

Shantotto let out her traditional laugh at Miranda's suggestion.

"Hohohohoho! Why, leave a duplicate here,
Why leave one... When more you can fear!?"

At that moment, more magic blasted out.

"STONE! SHIVER!!! BURST!!!"

A third Shantotto joined in on he brawl, blasting the bright red heartless aside, as more joined in. The Shantotto standing near Princess let out a laugh as she turned to the double near A.J. and Max. Shantotto copy one nodded and led the two away.

"Come along little tourists, come along with me,
We simply must find the loathsome god immediately."

As Shantotto Copy 1 ran off with AJ and Max, and Number 3 was helping with the heartless, Number 2 looked to Miranda with a grin as she kept the Bind spell on Princess strong.

"Well, do go along and speak you're peace commander,
And do be quick about it, lest to these beasts we let pander."

[doctorzero]

Miranda smirked as she ejected a bullet casing from her weapon. "I think I'm going to like you, Professor. Let's get moving--if you can move that barrier with her in it, take it with us. Oh, and don't forget to zap her if she moves, she's cost me a LOT in the past."

---

Meanwhile, Max fumbled with the radio as they went. "Okay, where's the on switch on this thi--"

"TURN TURN TURN!" A.J. yelled. Max looked up to see that the hallway before them was practically packed with red Heartless.

"Detour time!" he declared, grabbing A.J. and Shantotto (holding the radio in his teeth, believe it or not) and ducking into a nearby door, slamming it shut behind them.

A.J. looked through the porthole to see the Heartless surge past. "Think Miranda and her men can take those things?"

"I've seen her in action," said Max, fiddling with the radio. "Don't underestimate her, she could take on Mewtwo and win. And they've got two of Shantotto's...clones? Whatever they are."

"That reminds me, you need to teach me that trick," A.J. said to Shantotto.

"Don't you have difficulty remembering how to use Shadow Clones?"

"Oh, zip it."

Max opened the door and looked out. "They're all gone. Let's get going."

As they continued, A.J. asked Max, "Haven't you gotten that to work?"

"Hold on, I'm not--there's the on button." As they turned the corner, Max continued, "Hopefully Miranda's not too busy with--"

THWACK!

A fist broke through the radio and slammed into Max's face, knocking him backward. The same fist grabbed him by the collar and swung him over the assailant's back, slamming him into the ground.

"Oh, SON OF A--" A.J., unforgettably, didn't get the chance to draw his keyblade before the attacker shoved their foot into his face.

Max coughed as he began to get up. "Ow...what was--"

"AAGH!"

He looked up to see A.J. thrown against the wall, dislodging a painting that was hung there. "A.J.! What--"

His voice died in his throat as he turned to see their attacker.

"YOU--?!"

The assailant ignored him and fled down the hallway. "Wait! COME BACK!" Max got up and began to pursue them.

A.J. got up and summoned his Keyblade. That was-- "Well, don't just STAND there, come on!" he snapped to Shantotto. He ran off after Max.

---

Part 3: In Which CRL Agents Don't Get Paid Enough For This Crap

I don't care who you are, you cannot say that being faced with fifty fully armed men and women (one of which was packing a RAIL GUN), all of which having their sights set on you (partially invisible or not) isn't intimidating.

"Alright, whoever you are," Evan began, taking out his custom Arthurian Pistol and adjusting it, "You have three seconds to ditch the invisibility and start telling us who you are and what your deal is--"

"Along with how the hell you got onboard!" one of the agents, Keith, added. Several others nodded in agreement.

"Right, thanks for the reminder--or else we are going to start shooting--"

"And will not stop until we're sure you're no longer twitching," said another agent, a Belle Doyle.

Evan nodded. "Words to live by, that. Anyway, we have all had a VERY stressful day--"

"Like you would not believe," grumbled Anthony (the agent with the rail gun).

"And none of us wants to have to deal with yet ANOTHER damn problem after all of the crap we have had to deal with." Evan finished. He glanced back at his men, expecting someone to speak up next. When none of them did, he turned to the faint purple shimmer before them.

"And before I forget, this--" he held up his Arthurian Pistol. "--uses VERY big bullets and can work very well on anything it hits, and if you happen to SURVIVE it you are going to feel it for a while. So either stop being the invisible man or else you are going to resemble swiss cheese."

Evan did not like bad days. And when bad days happened, he had one specific principle in mind for them.

Ensure that the problem was solved as quickly as inhumanly possible, or if that couldn't be achieved, bring out the old mega-violence, which he had only done a total of twice in his life.

Things tended to die when they happened.

"ONE--"