The New Zodiac Braves

Mimiru Pummels the Chocobo and makes her way to the Squidmen.

Taiyo moves in and attempts to tame the wild beast.

*Safian and Cassandra follow along, walking near Roatha*

And so they conga line out of there.

*The worst of the blows miss the Chocobo, but instead of following Mimiru, it opts to hop down & heal the Red Panther. The Vampire Cat rubs its face against Taiyo's leg. By the time she gets close enough to use Aurablast, the Squidraken have beaten Azuma near-death.*

~2,1~
===========================
*Meanwhile, the rest of the group is enjoying a leisurely stroll through the forest. Aroma has her thumbs under Euryale's hauberk because that's where her shoulder blades are.*

E"I wouldn't worry too much, I think you give great massages."

Aroma<Thank you, I'm glad someone likes them.>

L"So, where HAVE you been since you awoke?"

R"Just around Lesalia, asking about what had been going on, what Senthose was up to, & so forth. Apparently, my information was lacking, because I didn't know that he was going to fight you. How did you manage to kill him, anyway? Did he really have metal men, & a dragon? I heard a lot about a ninja he worked with, what happened to her?"

*Safian and Cassandra listen intently*

"The ninja committed suicide in an attempt to kill Mortal," Noct said as she got a piggy back ride from Sab, "And yes, he did have metal constructs of some sort. They hurt."

Mortal was wondering how long the conga line was going to go on for.

Azuma heals himself with Chakra. Mimiru attacks a Squidraken with Aurablast.

Taiyo pets the Vampire Cat and begins a Mincing Minuet.

*The Squidraken turns & tries to ink her. The others continue beating on Azuma, the Red Panther dashing over to join the assault. The rest of the grop appears near the bridge.*

~1,0~

"Should we help them?" Sab asked.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. Besides, we're in a rush," Noct said, "We can't just stop and help everyone we see."

Mimiru closes in on the closest Squidraken, punching it in the back with Pummel.

Azuma continues trying to keep himself healed via Chakra.

*He keeps healing the squids, making it harder to take them down. The Red Panther jumps on Mimiru & starts clawing her. Meanwhile, way up at the top of the falls, the Red Chocobo's spirit crystallizes. Euryale heads over to Taiyo, since they need to cross the bridge anyway.*

E"Hey, is everything okay?"

~0~

Taiyo: "They're having a little trouble down there and I can't really get down there fast enough to try something. And he/she is probably hurt pretty bad too."

She indicates to her new furry friend, the dance continuing.

Mimiru attacks the two monsters with Whirlwind while Azuma uses Purification on himself.

Zac draws his pistol and is about to go and help out when he stops himself and looks to Lilith for approval. When Mortal begins making her way over to help Mimiru, Zac follows, feeling justified now that he isn't the only one. Should they be close enough Mortal attacks whatever monster Mimiru just attacked with a double slash, and Zac shoots the other one with a barrage.

Noct floats off of Sab's shoulders and begins dancing a Slow Dance.

E"I'm confused, the cat's not your enemy?"

*The Red Panther & the Squidraken both fall dead, but Azuma is struck down. The Mindflayer uses this time to back up & attempt Mind Blast on Zac. Should it connect, he is afflicted with Berserk. A Chocobo corpse near Taiyo produces a crystal & Taiyo's new Vampire Cat eyes it hungrily.*

L"Well, it looks at though you have our help now."

*Seeing that the Mindflayer is the only monster left, as the Chocobo is running away, Roatha & Lilith make no move to help out.*

~3,3~

Mimiru goes to Revive Azuma.

Taiyo: "Not for a short while."

Taiyo looks from the Vampire Cat to the Crystal.

Taiyo: "Go get it...boy...girl..."

*As long as she has a clear shot, Safian charges Bolt and aims at the Mindflayer*

Zac shoots a barrage at the Mindflayer after getting closer to it. Mortal starts to return to the others.

*It goes to eat the crystal up, returning to full health. Riddled full of bullets & electrocuted, the Mindflayer falls. However, the bolt also strikes, & brings down, the newly-revived Azuma. Then a bunch of stolen treasure starts floating in the water.*

~3,2,2~

the battle is won:

<Sorry!>

*Safian casts raise on Azuma*

Cassandra:<Can you be a worse shot?>

Safian:<I didn't know he was close enough to get hit.>

Taiyo: "Thanks. But not you."

She points at the dink who killed Azuma then faces the Vampire Cat, making motions for it to come to her.

Mimiru: "Thanks..."

Mimiru uses Revive on Azuma as it'd be quicker than Raise and unlikely to be botched by some dink mage.

"Don't mention it," Zac said, "If everything is alright, I think we'll be on our way now."

*The Vampire Cat cautiously slinks up towards Taiyo.*

L"What he said."

E"W-wait! Sorry."

*She nods to Taiyo & then runs after Lilith & Zac, who are crossing the bridge. Siegfried chooses to jump across the stepping stones in the water below, which makes it difficult for Aroma to keep hiding behind him.*

~2,1,1~

Noct, Sab, and Mortal also follow along on the bridge.

Taiyo crouches down and scratches the Vampire Cat's chin.

Taiyo: "I think I'll name you Kitters."

Newly revived, Azuma sets off to collect the treasure, Mimiru heading for another chest while Taiyo and presumably Kitters go to regroup with the others.

*Lilith & Friends move aside a fortified wall, hiking up a hill to get to a gate. By the time they pass through it, Aroma is holding her shaking knees & breathing heavily.*

Aroma<Can we just...take...a quick...break...?>

*Euryale & Sieg turn around to look at her, while Lilith & Roatha just keep going.*

L"Come on, we still need to get out of the city & pass through the Tor to get to your castle."

E"But Lily, either way, we need to spend the night there."

L"I just want to get set up as quickly as possible, & by the way, don't call me that."
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*By the time they've finished collecting the treasure, the other groups are gone.*

~1,0,0~