Luculent Reveries

"Is that other world a yard sale?"

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"Told you so."

*Taiyo Keyblade appears.*

Ariel: <What's a yard sale? Is it true you two come from another world?>

Clegus: <Yeep.>

Ariel: <That's amazing! I wish I could travel to different worlds, see new places and meet new people...>

Clegus: <Well... if we can do it, why wouldn't you? Just keep trying!>

Ariel: <...No, it's useless... there's no way.>

Clegus: <That was as big a Dreameater as I've ever seen. Is anyone controlling them around here?>

Ariel: <Yes, an evil being by who calls himself The Evil Manta.>

Clegus: <Sounds kind of lame. Anyway, tell us where to find him so we can kick his ass and be done with it.>

Ariel: <I wish I could help you, but we haven't been able to find him anywhere... I know he's hiding nearby, but where?>

*A little yellow tropical fish with blue stripes swims out of a semi-broken vase on a shelf nearby*

Flounder: <W-We could try and ask King Triton, princ-->

Ariel: <No! There is no way I'm going back there. I don't need his help.>

=====

*Still praying*

"When you came here, you must have been turned into mermaids...does that mean, if I came with you, I would turn into a human?"
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"We had a chance to turn back, you know."

*Nero stabs at the Dreameater's head, but his Keyblade bounces off.*

Cyan<This one is but a phalanx. The real monsters will be in the Tower.>

*Cyan draws his katana & Flash Steps+ behind the centipede, removing all of the segments. However, the severed flesh just grows back together, reassembling the beast.*

N"No good. We'll have to actually destroy the head, not just decapitate it."

*Meanwhile, Celes stabs her sword into the ground, causing a plume of water to gush up from underneath the monster, dampening the sand, to stop it from burrowing.*

OOC: +=Flash Step is a Trope. I'm not referencing Bleach here. Although that is the Trope Namer.
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*Several pyreflies drift out of the statue & the scene shifts to a dark room where a man with long, silver hair & a long sword enters the Chamber of the Fayth.*

Sephiroth<The Chamber of the Fayth...where humans steal the knowledge of the ancients, to use for their own ends.>

*A little girl appears before Sephiroth, over the statue.*

Valefor<Not true. We willingly give our power to protect people from Sin.>

Sephiroth<The same Sin those inferior fools created in the first place?>

*The girl opens her mouth, then falls silent.*

Sephiroth<Humans never learn, no matter how many times they repeat their mistakes. Consumed by their pettiness--insatiable greed, misguided hatred, jilted pride--they quarrel with one another. Out of that senseless violence comes Sin, the product of their darkness made manifest. They nearly drive themselves into extinction, & still they do not cease. They ostracize the Al Bhed...sacrifice Summoners...return from the dead, only to perpetuate a spiral of death. That is what drew us to Spira. But humans aren't necessary.>

*Sephiroth raises his arms to the sky, a crazed look on his face.*

Valefor<I don't understand. You say Sin is evil...but all Sin does is destroy the very humans you hate. How can you use its birth to justify your looking down on them?>

*Sephiroth slowly lowers his arms, glaring at the girl.*

Sephiroth<Because of our superior power, knowledge, & magic...we were always meant to rule the world. But...if that is your final answer....>

*He walks up to his statue, raising his blade.*

Sephiroth<I...am the Chosen One!>

*As he plunges his sword down into the statue, the illusion ends, leaving behind only Valefor's voice.*

Valefor<I am the last remaining Fayth. Please, Allina...use my power. Stop Sephiroth. Find out who sent him here, & stop them, too. If you don't, there won't be a Spira left to save anymore....>

~Allina obtained the Aeon Valefor!~

"Maybe?"

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"And how do we do that?"

*Taiyo points her Keyblade at the monster and shoots a fireball at its head.*

Clegus: <Souldn't be a problem, he's bound to show up if we slay the octopus out there.>

Ariel: <I think it's a squid.>

Clegus: <Whatever, let's go!>

Ariel: <Sir, yes sir!>

*She rushes to the large boulder blocking th entrance and starts pushing it aside*

Clegus: <Wait, what? You can't come!>

Ariel: <Why.... n----not?>

*The boulder moves a little bit*

Clegus: <Y-You don't have a Keyblade!>

Ariel: <Watch me!>

*She swims back a bit and charges the boulder, making it roll out of the way. Afterwards, she just swims out and towards the open area where the ridge had cracked opened*

Clegus: <Wait!>

Flounder: <A-Ariel! Oh, this is not good-not good. King Triton will be furious.>

*He follows her, and so does Clegus*

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*She bows to the Fayth, a tear swinging at the corner of each of her eyes*

Allina: <Thank you... I promise--I promise I will bring peace to Spira.. once and for all.>

[Sephiroth, just like father... how could they?]

*Timeskip! Allina comes running to Auron, Tidus, Ramza and Thiera at the village's entrance, smiling*

Allina: <I'm ready!>

*Thiera points at Ramza & Tidus.*

"Ramza. Tidus. This is Allina. Now, what do we do when we're at Bevelle?"

Ramza<We should suspect that the enemy has already breached & reversed the defenses. Bevelle is a fortified city, I presume?>

Auron<Bevelle is surrounded on all sides by water, reached by a long bridge. It has many cloisters & dungeons, & is protected by heavy Machina artillery.>

Tidus<Oh, I know!>

*Everyone looks at Tidus.*

Tidus<Err...Allina just got that Aeon, right? Valefor, I think? Anyway, we could use it to enter the city. It flies, remember?>

Ramza<Then we should strike from the rear. They'll not be expecting us there, & that is where their guard will be lax.>

Auron<Valefor can only carry 3 in flight.>
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*Euryale swims out of the cave as well.*
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*The monster rears up, screeching, its head on fire.*

N"Guess that armor doesn't protect it from magic."

*Nero hurls his Keyblade into its lower jaw. Celes & Cyan leap into the air, slashing it from either side.*

"Christ, she's a strong one."

*Mimiru swims out of the cave.*

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*Taiyo shoots another fireball at it.*

*Upon arriving at the site, they find the water to still be a bit dark and blurry, but the place is otherwise pretty calm. Ariel darts into the ridge*

Clegus: <... What are you doing!?>

Ariel: <There's nothing here!>

*Her voice echoes out of it and soon she swims back out*

Ariel: <This is weird. It must've gone somewhere while-->

*They hear an explosion and the ground shakes a bit. A couple of mermaids come swimming out of a tunnel in the rocks down below, screaming frantically*

Ariel: <Atlantica!>

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Allina: <Then it's settled, let's go and kick that Sephimoth's ass!>

*When they emerge at the High Bridge at Bevelle, they find that it's nighttime, white mist drifting all throughout the highbridge & the city.*

"Some of us should probably attack from the front, but who?"
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*The Bloodworm explodes into crystal rain, leaving a clear path to heavy oaken doors.*

N"You couldn't get those open? Why didn't you just burn them?"

Celes<Anything you do to the doors is reversed. You end up attacking yourself. And the locks cannot be picked.>

*Nero shrugs, holding up his Keyblade. Both doors fly open as Celes & Cyan stare at the event with slacked jaws. The interior is a two-floored room that is entirely made of metal. Near the door is a ramp leading to the next floor, which is all metal bridges, but also has clear glass pods interspaced throughout it. On this floor is a hole in the wall.*
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*Euryale takes off towards Atlantica.*

*Mimiru swims towards Atlantica, tail swinging up and down rather than side to side so she's not going very far very fast.*

"Damn it, I'm not a good swimmer even with a tail!"

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"This place seems... homey."

*They arrive at a large underwater kingdom. A huge grey squid-like monster is swinging its tentacles at a tower, smashing it. Its head is a large silver knight helmet, with red spikes around the neck area, big glowing blue circles peeking from behind the visor holes for eyes, and a circular mouth with sharp teeth hidden by the tentacles, beneath the head. It roars loudly as the mermaids swim away every which way, shrieking and screaming.*

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Allina: <I don't know, should I summon Valefor yet?>

Auron<Yes. One squad will ride Valefor & attack from the rear. The other will stage a frontal assault.>
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"We have to stop it! But how will we fight it while avoiding its poison?"
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N"Well, nothing attacked us...I guess we'll just keep going until we find Kefka or the Dream Core."

Cyan<Pray tell, Sir Nero, what is a Dream Core?>

N"Long story, forget it."

*When they enter the next room, they find the room from Wonderland with the giant table. The chair can be jumped to with great difficulty. A large Dreameater Glyph hovering over the table immediately dissolves, spreading mist throughout the room as the woman from the Dream Core in Miguel enters behind them.*

???<Hey...what are you kiddos doing all the way out here?>

"Swim around it?"

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*Taiyo stares blankly at the person then looks at Nero.*

"Who is she again?"

Ariel: <This might help, but it won't last for too long.>

*She holds her hands out towards the group and each of them is surrounded by a glowing sphere-shaped barrier. Ariel swims forward, towards the Dreameater, still too busy smashing things to notice them*

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Allina: <Okay!>

*She summons Valefor, scene I won't describe for obvious reasons. It lands next to her, cawing, and she climbs onto its back*

Allina: <Soo... who's coming?>

Ramza<I offer my services. Please allow me to fight by your side.>

Tidus<Hey, man, lighten up!>

Ramza<I-->

Tidus<I'll go with you too. Guess that leaves Auron with Thiera. Don't get any ideas, old man!>

Auron<Hmph.>

T"...Ideas?"
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*Euryale swims toards the building the Dreameater is terrorizing & slams her Keyblade into it, causing rock spikes to emerge from it at the Dreameater's face.*
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N"Y'know, it's probably better that you don't know. So, what are you here for, anyway?"

*She sticks her Keyblade's point at Nero's chest. He, Cyan, & Celes tense up, grabbing their weapons, as she twists it around, smiling.*

<Click. Relax, kiddo, I'm just here to take down Kefka. Now, look sharp, looks like he's making a Dreameater.>

*Sure enough, the Mist was coalescing back over the table, forming into some hulking shape. They weren't quite sure whom it had touched before doing this.*

*Mimiru swims behind the Dreameater, her tail going left then up.*

[Kind of getting used to this swimming stuff.]

*When she's nearby, she slashes.*

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"She said she's here to beat that clown, why not let her do it?"

Allina: <Alrighty! Off we go, that bastard's waiting!>

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*The Dreameater's head is one giant iron helmet so the hits don't really hurt it one bit. It growls and swins a tentacle at Euryale, trying to grab Mimiru with another one, and holding onto a tower with the remaining four.*

Clegus: <I am seventeen kinds of useless underwater, I tell you.>

*He swims over to the tower and slashes at one of its tentacles. Black ink starts flowing from under the tentacles around the tower*

OOC: It's not in the bestiary yet. >.>

"Looks like I'm not much better!"

*She swims back & swings at the tentacle attacking her.*
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N"In case you've forgotten, it takes 2 of us to seal the Dream Core."

<Heh, you're actually gonna go through the trouble? Look at this place, it's gone. The only thing that could save it now is Kingdom Hearts.>

*The Dreameater turns out to be a 20-foot dragon-like creature with a spear. It immediately rockets towards Taiyo, stabbing at her abdomen.*
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*Around the back, they find an entrance to the inner sanctum.*
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*As Thiera & Auron step forwards, the mist becomes 6 Aeons of Sin.*

T"Well, these don't look too tough, do they?"

*Auron cleaves 2 in half with a single swing. Thiera blasts one, knocking it into another. Yet another is destroyed when it leaps at her from behind & becomes incinerated by her fire shield. Auron leaps, stabbing the last one through when he lands. They both continue running along the Highbridge.*

Auron<Don't get cocky. They'll get stronger. They always do.>

T"Mhm. Got it."

*Mimiru slashes at the tentacle coming at her.*

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*Taiyo's Keyblade appears and she attempts to shield herself with it.*

*Raven quietly follows Auron and Thiera.*

*The ink spreads around until they can no longer see each other--or anything else. The Dreameater lets go of the tower with two other tentacles, lashing its four free tentacles around, one of them slamming Clegus into a building down below. With the massive Dreameater hanging from it with only two tentacles, the tower starts swinging*

=====

*Valefor lands and Allina walks in*

Allina: <Come on, let's find him.>

"I'll make sure no one's in the tower! You destroy the Dreameater!"

*Euryale finds any entrance she can & swims inside.*
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*Thiera, Auron, & Raven keep running. As they get at the end of the bridge & into the city proper, a barrier erects itself at the doorway to the inner sanctum. 6 Aeons of Sin emerge. After that, 3 Dreameaters like fist-sized ticks appear.*
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*Inside the Inner Sanctum, they find several clergy members slain. An image of Sephiroth rises out of the floor.*

Sephiroth<I see...so that's a Keyblade...& I suppose you must be its chosen wielder? Hmph. It makes no difference. I no longer need Maleficent. I understand my destiny now...& very soon, you will understand yours, as well.>

Tidus<No way! This is MY story!>

Ramza<I humbly beg your pardon, Sir Tidus, but I believe this is Lady Allina's narrative.>
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*She's successful, but the Dreameater flings her back into a wall. It whips its tail out, catching Nero in the stomach & sending him flying. Celes holds out a hand, firing a barrage of ice crystals at its face, as Cyan blocks the tail from hitting him. Lilith materializes her Keyblade in a rain of flower petals & points it at the beast's wing, black thorns appearing around it & constricting.*

*Mimiru swings her Keyblade around in a vain attempt to sweep away the ink from in front of her.*

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"...Owie."

*Taiyo stands up and points her Keyblade at the Dreameater shooting a fireball at its face.*

Raven: <What are these things...>

*Raven summons his Keyblade and gets ready for a fight.*

*She finds the tower to be empty upon entering through the window. The walls and ceiling collapse and the whole tower starts falling*

Clegus: <Euryale!>

*He swims back up but the Dreameater lets go of the collapsing tower and grabs him with a tentacle, squeezing him extremely hard. He's barely able to breathe. Two of the Dreameater's free tentacles dart towards Mimiru like arrows*

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Allina: <You!>

*She materializes her Keyblade, looking at the dead clerics, and points it towards Sephiroth, causing a non-elemental explosion to burst around him.*

Allina: <Flare!>