Julie
A dark portal would appear, and the first thing to come out of it was a dinosaur. Some kind of ceratopsid. He had a gnarly scar running from the right side of his frill, trailing all the way to his right eye - or where his eye *Used* To be.

Other than that, the collar around his neck was certainly attention-grabbing; beads of polished stones, with a trinket that appeared to be some kind of insect trapped in shining amber.

The dinosaur seemed fine, at first... But it was a delayed reaction.

When the world's ambient energy finally hit him, the beast nearly fell over! He managed to maintain his balance but black tar began to ooze from his nostrils, and more of the poison would leak from his maw.

The amber stone on his collar chimed incessantly - almost panicking - as the beads of the collar reformed into chains of insects, binding together to form a harness around the dinosaur's chest...

Then, as quickly as they appeared, the insects faded from sight again. Those with the right senses could detect that they were still present, they just could not be conventionally seen.

The strange symptoms would quickly fade, the pendant would stop humming, and the beast seemed fine again... Though, he didn't seem particularly bothered about what just occurred.
William
*Upon emerging from the Corridor, Zero is greeted to a disquieting quantity of darkness surging from Gursht. He quickly rips off his hood and blindfold, to be greeted by...*
Eric
"What the fuck?" *Toxic black gunk oozes from his orifices, and EE's insects desperately scramble to contain it.*

"Fuck the silence schtick; Gursht! Are you okay?!" *As soon as the harness forms, Zero rushes to the dinosaur's sighted side. He prepared a Cure cast, but hesitates. What if his darkness made it worse...?*
Julie
Gursht snorts, blowing away the last of the darkness. The dinosaur shook himself, but there was nothing left to shake off... So he stopped. He thumped his tail once. "Gursht is fine, Gursht is just sick sometimes..." He rumbled, again not seeming very bothered.

"Gursht is not in pain... But, Gursht is surprised that Moon-Moon can speak; Guess Moon-Friend really was just shy."
Eric
"Gursht. That's... We *Gotta* Keep you away from more darkness. That's *Really* Not good."

*He stuffs his blindfold into his pocket, waiting for ~~Ika~~ Kami and Suzuka to come out. They should definitely be around here somewhere... But sensing a Nobody and a Data Heart is difficult. He needs more practice.*

 "My name's Zero. If you'd prefer to call me Moon, though, go for it."
Julie
"...But, Gursht wasn't having problems with darkness before?"

Or maybe he was, he just didn't notice.

"...Zero? Gursht thinks that name is a little mean... Humans don't say very nice things about zeros... Gursht doesn't think Friend is a zero..."

Before he could say anything else, the pendant on his collar chimed quietly - almost beckoning. Gursht blinked "...Oh, EE wants to talk? But... EE can't talk like she did on the ship, she says she's too busy..."

...?

"Oh... Grab? EE says Friend should grab Gursht's collar."
Eric
"It's... Less about the negative meaning. Where I come from, we have a story about the number zero. The people who invented it fought for its inclusion, its right to exist. And, eventually, they triumphed. And mathematics was uplifted for it." *He smiles.* "After all... Zero makes it easier to express bigger numbers, like ten and a hundred. It makes computers work. It should be a good thing."

*At Gursht's request, Zero complies, hesitating slightly before gently placing his hand on his collar.*
Steve
...

...?

...!

*"....Hello? Hello I say - h-...H-...Hello - oh! Yes there's a connection. I see it now. Can you hear me? Forgive me; this is the first time I'm linking to more than just Gursht."*

A voice for only Zero and Gursht's ears; a young lady's voice came from the pendant - judging on voice alone, she wouldn't have been much older than 20...But who's to say these days?
Chong
*As soon as the link is established, EE and Gursht are both met with an absolute information overflow.*
Eric
*New voice, feminine, E.E., she/her pronouns. Does E.E. Stands for anything? E.E. Is Gursht's Keyblade's Keychain. Is she the Keyblade? That'd make her a talking Keyblade. Do all Keyblades talk? Kingdom Key didn't talk. Communicated, but no voice. Words popped into head. She's communicating telepathically through touch. Touch is necessary. Is skin conductive for telepathy? Are thoughts a form of energy? Laughter is a form of positive energy. Scream is allegedly a form of negative energy. Both are harnessable. Perhaps thoughts are too? Is the connection two-way? Can she hear these thoughts? Which thoughts? Do they have to be broadcasted, focused? How do superheroes communicate telepathically? There's the echoey effect. That's just conveyance. How do they filter out their inner monologue? Do they even need to? Does it automatically sort by intent? Suzuka's a telepath; maybe she knows. Where is she exactly? She should be around here. Yet to tell Gursht about her and Ika yet. Not Ika. Kami. Kaminari. "This is Kaminari, he's the Replica Dr. Z was going on about, don't tell Xion." Ha, yeah. That'll be a __perfect__ introduction. E.E.'s done with her introduction. How to respond? Simple greeting, try focusing thoughts through mouthing, 3-2-1-*

***"Hi. You're E.E., right? Nice to meet you. Is Gursht gonna be okay?"***

*Was that right? Did that work? Probably. Unless verbal communication is necessary. It could be that type of telepathy. What about train of thought? Is that audible? Today's a good day. Lots of learning. Lots of new information. Hopefully, a good few new friends. Gursht, Ika (not Ika, Kami), Suzuka. Plus Heart Containers! Maybe consider even distribution between both Replica Programs to ensure significant progress for everyone...*
Chong
*Zero's train of thought continues onwards, busy as ever.*
Steve
*"...Zero, you're going to hurt yourself - slow down. I see you have a lot of questions - granted, most of it came out as a garbled mess; BUT - I did hear your direct question. Gursht should be fine, I put the metaphysical adhesive back on there. I didn't expect to feel so much despair all at once, it's overwhelming here, even compared to the other worlds we've been to."*
Julie
Gursht might have heard the conversation... But... He might have also not really understood the conversation.

Or maybe he was just listening? Either way, he didn't comment on it. Any of his thoughts were a whisper in comparison.
Eric
*She can hear the train of thought. Slow down, focus on the color beige, listen, mouth responses.*

*"Sorry. I've never done telepathy before; most of that was for myself."*

*"The darkness here is deep. I sense it's even worse beyond the upcoming doors."*
Chong
*For a second, his train of thought begins to pick up again, before the color beige once again fills the gaps between his mouthed words.*
Eric
*"Keyblade Armor insulates against darkness. Are you able to materialize it right now?"*
Steve
*"Ah, well... Darkness isn't actually the issue, though it can aggravate the **Thing** By proxy. I think it's the intense emotions that often stem from the darkness, and the despair in this place is volatile. Even on other worlds it wasn't **This** Bad. Negative energy seems to be concentrated here specifically. I already have the armor ready but I don't want to attract too much attention yet; I have a bad feeling about this place... If it becomes too much I'll pull it up."*

A pause...

*"We shouldn't doddle for too much longer, I might not be able to help Gursht as much as I'd like while I'm doing my do-diligence. Gursht seems to like you enough, if the need arises - take a hold of my harness like reins, and I'll teach you a special trick that I know of. If the old stories of our world are true, it should come quite natural to Gursht as well."*

**``Gursht is now available as Zero's Mount for Destiny's Destrier``**
Chong
*Several images flash in Gursht and EE's minds in quick succession: a plastic recreation of a man riding a horse, sword in hand; a child playing with a plastic styracosaurus and tyrannosaurus in a mock battle, the styracosaurus eventually victorious due to their shield-like features; several moving pictures displaying other action scenes...*
Eric
*Beige. Beige.*

*"Sounds good. If you need any help with the **Thing**, E.E., let me know."*
Chong
*With a smile, Zero takes his hand off of Gursht's collar.*
Eric
"Hey, Gursht. I've got a few other friends somewhere around here. Wanna find them before we head in?"
Julie
If Zero was paying attention, he might've also seen a glimpse of something - as the scene of the dinosaur toys reminded Gursht of something as well...

A beast with blackened, fraying skin, but other features seeming distorted, like it could be *Barely* Remembered; like some other force prevented the picture from coming into clarity. It looked something like a theropod - walking on two legs - but the image gave a sense of wrongness.

It was brief, and disappeared altogether when Zero let go.

Gursht blinked, now mentally returning to the real world - he heard Zero speak to him.

"...Zero-Friend has more friends?" His tail lazily swung side to side, "Gursht would like to meet friends of Friend!"
Chong
*Then, a purple-haired girl and red-haired boy would turn the corner.*
Thomas
*Kaminari waved at Zero and Gursht, before he walked up to the two with Suzuka.*

"Hey Zero, sorry we weren't directly where you sent us through."
Debra
"Some locals came by and they looked pretty... Monstrous... To say the least, so we stood out of sight till we heard you. You calling this place 'Monstropolis' was very apt and on point."

*She turned her attention to Gursht, surprised for only a moment to see a dinosaur, but nonetheless she did a little curtsy and introduced herself.*

"I am assuming you are Zero's friend? My name is Suzuka and this is I- *Ahem* Kaminari."

*She said, as she motioned to Kaminari.*
Thomas
*Kami nodded.*

"It's nice to meet you."
Julie
"Kaminari? Oh, but Zero-Friend is named Zero; humans being named after squids isn't too odd. Kaminari-Friend it is! Zero's Friends are Gursht's Friends!"
Eric
"Ahhh, understandable. Jiminy's page on this place describes it as a world of 'monsters' that harvest scream energy to power their technology... Glad you two are okay."

*Zero then addresses Gursht directly.*

"So, uhh... Remember how Dr. Z mentioned a Replica in Traverse Town? And how he was being kinda creepy about it?"
Julie
OH! - Gursht remembers!" He snorted, nodding his head once. "...Do Gursht and Friends need to be worried?"
Eric
"No, it's, uhh... Well..." *He sighs, trying to word it.* "Kaminari and Suzuka are being hunted by him. So try not to tell Xion or any of the others about them."
Debra
"Thank you for the kindness Gursht. We would be very grateful if you were to do like Zero said. We just currently don't have any place to go, and Zero offered us safety in numbers."
Thomas
*Kaminari blinked a few times, clearly spacing out.*

"Squid? Oh... No that's uh.. Cala-mari. Not quite the same thing, my name means thunder!"

*He smiled with a laugh.*
Julie
Gursht nodded "Xion-Friend can be a little scary sometimes... She's very kind to Gursht, but Xion-Friend seemed more worried about hurting the or-gan-i-za-tion than helping people. Gursht hopes that changes, but Gursht won't tell."

He snorted, thumping his tail once "...If Zero's Friends have nowhere to go, Gursht can help look for somewhere - Gursht travels a lot! But Gursht needs his Gummiphone to work first, Gursht can't explore as well without it."

His attention turned to Kaminari then "...Oh! Not squid? Thunder - Thunder Squid? Gursht thinks Thunder is a strong name."
Debra
"That might align well. We will also be doing some traveling. Kaminari here has had some memory issues, so we're going places he's been, and will soon be trying to visit people he knew, in an effort to help. I'm not trying to rope you into our quest, but traveling as a pack would definitely prove to be safer the way the worlds are."

*Suzuka nodded.*

"We'll help all we can to get your gummiphone fixed."
Thomas
"A strong name huh? Thanks, I suppose. Does your name stand for anything Gursht? ...Your name is kinda fun to say."
Eric
"True," *Zero nods thoughtfully, walking towards the massive double doors leading to the Scare Factory.* "There's something satisfying about the way the 'err' rolls into the 'shh' rolls into the 't'."
Julie
"Gursht thinks so too! It's lots safer to travel in a herd! Sauria was really dangerous, especially if you were alone - only the biggest and strongest, or smartest, could travel alone. Something always wanted to eat you, big Meat Eaters would hunt us, land and water - but the ones in the water were scarier; you couldn't smell them coming!"

He paused, thinking on Kami's question "...Oh - "Gursht" Doesn't mean anything like Kaminari does. Gursht is the first sound the Egg-layer made at us, all of Gursht's Nest Mates were called that too. "Gursht" Should sound something like this..."

Gursht made a low rumble, something almost evocative of a cow growling like a dog, before he let out a loud *HUFF* At the end. "...But humans don't like making sounds like that, they talk like this! So Gursht made his name easier for the humans to say."

His good eye followed Zero's stride. Zero-Friend probably had the right of it; they should probably head on in.
Thomas
*He was taken a little aback by the noise but still smiled.*

"Oh, well, I still like your name! Noise or not."
Debra
*Suzuka trailed a little closer to Zero's walk, still keeping her eye on Kaminari.*
Thomas
*Noticing, he would follow the other two while still keeping with Gursht's pace.*
Julie
Gursht didn't walk too fast, he made sure to keep the same speed as the rest of his party. He would be right behind Zero when the boy opened the door... Gursht *Could* Try to open the door, but he didn't have any hands.
Mark
Upon opening the wide door to the factory, a large wave of negative smog blasts past the group- effecting most of them severely. If the ambient negativity in the world is violatile, the inside of the factory is near deadly. Those alinged with the light would feel sick, and weaker than before. Zero, however, would feel invigorated.
Willie
***__Alert!__***

*Those aligned with the light [Purelight, light wholes, dawn wholes, light replicas] will suffer a debuff of 15% to their stats while in the scare factory!

Those aligned with darkness [Heartless, dark whole, dark replica's] will again a buff of 10% to their stats!

Puredarks will gain a buff of 20% to their stats!

Nobodies are uneffected by the negativity!*

*Is it truly worth the risk to find a battery here?*
Eric
*As soon as the door opens, the smog slams into the group, heightening Zero's senses. This is comparable to the Realm of Darkness. It can't be safe for Gursht here.*

*He quickly turns around towards his group, then holds back laughter. Now's not a time to laugh. There's nothing funny here, just his friends suffering.*

"Fuck this. Gursht, you sure you wanna try and find a fix to your Gummiphone here?"
Thomas
*Kaminari would fall to one knee, data-like lines of light pulsing through his body. It almost looked like he was falling apart from some sort of decay.*

"O-oh man... This wave of negativity is comparable to that of fighting Inaxuma .." *Cough* "Its... A little hard to breathe."
Debra
*Suzuka knelt down behind Kaminari and placed a hand on his back.*

"This place is very dangerous... If we go through with this... Kaminari won't be any use to you both in battle."

*Suzuka looked ahead into the darkness of the scare factory... What Lord Amyrx said by even Lord Aspen would struggle against some of these worlds' threats... It had to be true...*
Julie
The dinosaur stumbled a bit, and the bugs would quickly work to re-weave Gursht's Chitin armor...

**``Keyblade Armor Active: +3% Defense``**

...Gursht managed to maintain his footing, though he still didn't look great. He was doing better than Kaminari in any case.

"Gursht does not expect others to fight for him. Gursht is strong - Gursht protects." He said in response to Suzuka, though his body language did display concern...

"...Gursht is not sure if Kami-Friend should be here long; he looks sick. If Zero-Friend thinks that the herd can find a better way to deal with this darkness, Gursht still thinks we should look when we can... Clean waters are guarded by the oldest Deep Jaws."
Eric
*Suzuka looks unaffected. Perhaps because she's a Nobody?*

"...I think I have an idea. Two, actually."

*With a flourish, Zero's coat flies off of him entirely, the sleeve held by a single hand. Beneath is a peculiar tee, dark jeans woven from a thick sinewey fibers, and a billowing royal blue scarf. A purple and blue nebula, complete with stars, is visible on the shirt, its features remaining constant from any viewing angle.*

*He walks over to ~~Ika~~ Kami, then hands the coat to him. Afterwards, he walks over to Gursht.*

"Hey, Gursht. Mind if I try something?"
Julie
Gursht tilted his head, as if trying to get a better look at Zero with his good eye. "...What does Zero-Friend want to try?"
Eric
"Currently, you're absorbing darkness and negativity without an outlet to release it. I wanna see if I can act as a conductor. Basically, uhh... I wanna soak up the ambient negativity so that it doesn't stick to you."
Thomas
*Kaminari would hesitantly put the coat on after Zero handed it to him.*

"Thank you, Zero. I.. I feel a little better now."

*He said as he put the hood up.*
Debra
*Suzuka helped Kami get back up to his feet slowly.*
Julie
Gursht made a made a low noise, but nodded "Zero-Friend is smart, Gursht trusts that Zero knows what he is doing."
Eric
*Yeah, that makes one of them. Zero nods to Kami, then slowly and gently mounts Gursht as E.E. Described. With a hand on the dinosaur's hide, he focuses.*

*Since becoming like this, he's noticed something. Darkness seeks to smother light. It wraps around it, chokes it... But it isn't stupid. Attempting to snuff out a light while weak... But attaching yourself to a stronger darkness, gives you a better chance. It's so intuitive, so obvious. And Negativity surely begets more Negativity in the same way. All he needs to do...*

*Images flash in Zero's mind. Sunset's lifeless eyes. Twilight's. Digging himself out of his own desert grave. Crushing dread as the scarab grasps Kingdom Key. His world crumbling before him. And many, many more, even before the supernatural became normal...*

*Grief, fear, anger, hurt. They bubble up within him, excreted through his pores as a black smoke. The ambient Darkness and Negativity stops its prior flow, spiraling into Zero instead of Gursht and creating a feedback loop. It's not enough to siphon the Negativity from Gursht, but it is enough to act as a simultaneous lightning rod and ground, that less Negativity flows into him.*

*Zero sucks in air through grit teeth. "Embrace the hurt, revel in it, become one with it, that your oh-so precious friends needn't. But what will it all be for when they leave like everyone else? When you're alone in the dark, what will-"*

"Everyone okay?" *He pours his darkness into a fireball, then focuses it in place, stoking and maintaining it. As long as he can maintain a Dark Fire cast, he should be able to vent the darkness effectively.*
Mark
As Zero draws out the darkness infecting gursht, he can feel himself grow stronger in the process. However, as soon as the ball of flame is formed and maintained, he can feel the newfound strength begin to leave him...
Willie
If Zero absorbs the darkness, the debuff given to gursht will act as a buff for Zero instead at the cost of intensified emotions. Regardless of choice, Gursht will no longer be effected by the debuffs brought about by the darkness in the area so long as zero stays within close proximity.
Eric
*As the strength flows gently out of him through his cast, Zero chuckles. Fuck it, Gursht is right. Zero-Friend __is__ smart.*