Elementary, my dear ponies

[notquitedracula]

Who: Soma and very, very open - preferably everyone who wants to help search for the elements.
What: The game is afoot, but it's not a foot, it's jewelry.
Where: Equestria, round and about (Library first)
When: A day or two after this and this
Warnings: Probable violence, possible language, and all the general character-specific warnings. May as well go ahead and say this one's party style, no posting order, since the idea is for everyone to split up.

Soma was finally used to the new world. He could hover, he could soar, he could even do a barrel roll, and weather manipulation was much easier than he had first thought now that he had an actual idea how it worked. And he'd even regained a couple of his normal abilities - namely, the ones that had worked with his Giant Bat form before, plus Black Panther. They were a little different, admittedly - most had been scaled to fit his new form, for example, and Bat had given him something like a sonar sense - but they were familiar all the same, and that made him feel much more at ease.

In the same vein, he'd acquired a new weapon from the Moogles; a nondescript katana, well made but entirely devoid of enchantment, much like the ones he'd found in the castle and subsequently sold to Hammer. He could live with that; it was short enough he could use it in this form, and that was what really mattered to him. It gave him something he could use without relying on his souls or the poorly understood magic of this world. And he had Yoko now, too; the Peepsta Hoo was a welcome addition to his team.

He'd asked for everyone to gather outside of the library tree, since that was where the Elements had been taken from. He had confidence in this group's capabilities, but there were far too few of them likely to be able to use the Elements present. If it came down to a big fight, well... they were going to need all the firepower they could get.

Comments

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas shrugged.

"No," he replied, an unintended whine in his voice. "But, this is only the first place I've really searched."

He watched as his mess was cleaned up, somewhat impressed. He hadn't really been honing his magic.

[lessabrasive]

Well, don't expect her to always clean up after you, kid!

"And plenty more still to go," she grimaced. Lin had made a point to practice with the magic this world had given her. It was strange to manipulate things that didn't align with her traditional element, but the Princess had assured her it was quite normal for unicorns. "I do think cupboards may be the wrong places to search, though. Unless there's any heart shaped objects in the building?"

She hadn't found any upstairs.

[seasaltkeys]

"I'm just checking everywhere. Even if I can't find the elements of harmony, the keyhole could also be around."

Roxas has never really encountered a keyhole in person, but he has enough of Sora's memories telling him that it could show up pretty much anywhere. At least, that's what it looked like to him.

"I think if we find it first, we might not have to go through the nightmares again."

[lessabrasive]

"But the dream keyholes so far have required something to be done first before they appear," pointed out Lin with a frown - thoughtful, not dismissive. "Which brings us back to finding these elements."

Still, she did shudder. "Hopefully we won't have to deal with that. But it'll depend on how soon we find them - we've multiple ones to find, and I doubt they've been hidden together."

[seasaltkeys]

"It all boils down to looking then," Roxas said, turning back to look in another box, trying to be careful in shifting the contents.

"It would help if we had a clue or something. I mean, they could be anywhere, right?"

His ears flattened in annoyance.

[lessabrasive]

"'To find the missing parts, look inside your hearts.'." There was an irritated stomp of a hoof, then Lin stepped past the colt and peered around the rest of kitchen area thoughtfully. "That's about all the clue we had. If it's metaphorical, I think we're going to be in for one hell of a week."

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas lets out an exasperated sigh. It always came down to hearts, didn't it? And what were you supposed to do if the status of your heart was dubious at best?

"I don't get how you could hide a necklace or a crown in your heart. That just seems dumb."

[lessabrasive]

That earns a bark of laughter, and Lin pushes past, her shorter, bobbed tail switching. "Well, this IS a land of magical talking ponies of questionable colour variety. And you're from a world with giant keys for weapons." So really, you're one to talk, Roxas.

A green eye glanced at him over her back. "I'm going to try the next building over. If we can't find the jewelry, then perhaps additional clues might be tucked away somewhere."

[seasaltkeys]

"The key's also a sword though," he replied, with a slightly pathetic argument. He looked around the room again. He'd been through all the cupboards and couldn't really see anywhere else to look.

"I'll come help. I don't think there's anything here."

[lessabrasive]

"So I've seen. But made with no kind of metal found in my world," Lin snorted, before pausing at the door, holding it open with a hoof rather than her pony magic. After you.

"I think Princess Celestia was of the opinion we won't find the physical objects. But I'm not sure how we'd find them otherwise." Except possibly while dreaming within the dream. ...Hopefully the Dreams during sleep weren't going to be a requirement, ugh.

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas sighed as he headed out the door.

"It probably means it works like a keyblade or something." If that was what Celestia thought, Roxas figured it might be true. She seemed like someone who was really wise.

"Like, the physical object is hiding in someone's heart and they need to make it come out somehow." In other words, something he probably couldn't access.

[lessabrasive]

Lin stares at Roxas as he steps on by, before shaking her head in slight confusion. He's very likely right, but.. "And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Bobbed tail switched irritably. "Unless your keyblades are required to do the unlocking, do you suppose?"

[seasaltkeys]

Roxas pauses, a weird expression on his face. He has memories of Sora doing that. Of Sora unlocking his heart in order to free Kairi. And how he was created.

"That's...not really a good idea. Unlocking a heart, I mean. If they come from the Heart the Elements of Harmony probably show up the same way the keyblades do."

[lessabrasive]

Well that made no sense. "And where exactly DO Keyblades come from?" Lin wanted to know. "Aside from some secret little order Eraqus mentioned."

Your universe is nonsense, by the way. At least hers has some semblance of order until she's canon-updated to next season.

Futile as the search might be, Lin wasn't quite ready to stop yet. "Let's try this one." The next building looked like some sort of fancy salon. Maybe there'd be a clue here instead.

[seasaltkeys]

"The heart, I think. I don't know, no one every really told me. I can just use one, that's all."

It's unfortunate that Lin is talking to the one person who really doesn't know that much. And leaving to find out that information really didn't work for him. As far as Roxas is concerned, he can use the keyblade because of Sora, and that keyblades are far more trouble than they're worth.

"Alright." He goes to open the door, making a note to try and be as neat as possible.

[lessabrasive]

The Heart. ...Right. "Your world really likes heart-related things," she said after a moment, pushing her way past some potted plants in order to move behind the reception's desk.

A pony spa. What a novel idea. The appointment book flipped open, careful page turning handled with telekinesis. "Hmm. Looks like there's a few rooms in here, baths to the right," she pointed with her horn, "and some storage rooms to the left. Which do you want?"

[seasaltkeys]

"Yeah, it does." A little too much in Roxas's opinion.

"I'll go look at the baths," he replied. He figured there would be less chance of him getting into trouble there. Or at least make less of a mess.

[lessabrasive]

Your world needs a new hobby. One that's a little less emotional. Or something.

The drawers next to Lin popped open, and Lin rifled through the contents until three keys floated out. The one with a blue tag then levitated towards Roxas. He could either grab it with his own magic, or hook it on his horn. "All right. I'll start with the rooms on the right; keep on moving through until we meet in the middle."

[seasaltkeys]

Everyone would appreciate that. This whole Kingdom hearts thing is just too much sometimes.

With a little bit of maneuvering, Roxas caught the key with a nod. It was weird, using magic ti move everything and it made him miss his hands. Still, after a little bit of fumbling he managed to open the door and enter the baths.

He looked around the room. Who knew ponies needed baths like these. He began searching through the various shampoos and soaps, looking for anything out of the ordinary.