Shadows of the Past

*Artexi jumps and charges forward, stabbing with Sol's Might*
---
*Safian activates her armor, dodges the bullet, then waits for the shields to go down, and breathes fire at them. Monu makes his way towards Barbossa, taking out all pirates in reach*

Taiyo attempts to swish away some of the ink. If that fails she swims up.

===================================

The two land and deglider, calling their Keyblades. Azuma takes after the nearest enemy while Hitomi fires at whatever shot at them apparently.

Noctis dive rolls forward underneath the laser to avoid it, and stabs the robot in the chest.

--

Mortal follows after Euryale, and keeps swimming upwards when she sees Ursula swing at Triton, hoping she wouldn't have enough time to swing at her as well. Mortal continues her speedy accent tries to stab Ursula in one of her eyes.

OOC: 10

*Thiera also lands & degliders. Xanatos ducks aside to dodge Artexi's slash, then spin kicks at her chest. Noct's robot explodes, as does Nero's after he dashes through it, cloaking his Keyblade in lightning & spinning it.*

N"I knew Roatha's Keyblade would be perfect for the job."

*Another pair of Steel Clan get blasted with lasers that cover them in crystal. They fall all the way to the city streets. Roatha lands near Nero.*

R"Yours isn't too bad either."

*Hitomi hits yet another robot as it's flying around to take aim at her & it crashes into the tower & explodes. One of the remaining Steel Clan swoops down & grabs Elisa's gun, crushing it.*

Elisa<Of course.>

*Demona fires at Goliath, but is thrown off when Azuma's attack knocks her laser cannon astray. Demona's eyes turn red as she hisses & grabs at him with her claws. The other Steel Clan lands & the only 2 not yet destroyed start fighting with Hudson, Broadway, & Bronx.*
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*Ursula yells & swats the trio away when she's stabbed in the eye. Without thinking, she swats them towards her trident hand.*
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*That's rather pointless, she just winds up waiting around while Barbossa shoots at her. After they've fought their way to about the center of the deck, Lilith grabs Monu & then grabs a rope hanging down from the sail, swinging over their heads & landing with Safian. Realizing he can't hide from all of them, Barbossa orders the Shoegazers to attack. They emerge & start stomping towards them like assholes, while the pirates try to make their way to the staircase, because they can't get a clear shot at them.*

Mortal braced herself against the force of the swat, then noticed the trident. "Taiyo, help me free the trident from her grasp," Mortal said, swimming over to Ursula's hand, and slashing down at her thumb.

--

Noct makes her way over to Elisa, and tries to behead the Steel Clan that attacked her.

Taiyo looks to see how Euryale's doing before striking Ursula's wrist.

===================================

Azuma ducks and shoulder checks Demona.

Hitomi fires at the Steel Clan.

*Artexi stumbles back, then throws her vines at Xanatos*
---
*Fire covers Safian's claws as she jumps on the nearest Shoegazers to maul them. Monu also attacks the charging ShoeGazers*

*The trident falls from Ursula's hand, shrinking as it goes. She lets out a big "no" as her body collapses in darkness. When it clears, Ursula is back to her old self, relatively unharmed, & Triton has the Trident.*

Ursula<Your Majesty, I can explain! You see-->

*Triton breathes a deep sigh through his nose & then points the glowing trident at her chest. She drifts back, shaking her hands in front of her.*

Ursula<No, wait!>

Triton<Ursula, for your crimes, you are henceforth banished from Atlantica! Never return to this Kingdom!>

*A lightning bolt strikes Ursula in the chest & keeps going, sending her flying across the ocean. She lets out another Big No as she goes.*

Triton<The rest of you should do so as well.>

E"What?! They just saved all of our lives, shouldn't we be gratef-->

Triton<My gratitude is the only reason they are being allowed to go, & you are not banished as well! You deliberately disobeyed my orders, & brought humans to this kingdom. Did you think I wasn't familiar with the magics they used to transform themselves? There are stories written about those Keys--how they plunged the world into darkness, & fractured it forever. They almost did the same to this world! Those monsters were created by a Key just like theirs, I saw it for myself. If they TRULY care about keeping my Kingdom safe, they will leave it in my capable hands, & tell no one of this place! Since you led them here, you should be able to see them back.>
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*While they're busy with that, Lilith uses Ivybind on Barbossa's legs, parries his sword slash, then twirls her Keyblade so that it's in a reverse grip. With that, she plunges it into his chest. Barbossa stumbles backwards off of the deck & falls under the sea. When he does, the remaining Shoegazers go rigid & dissolve into dark flame.*
===========================
*Demona regains her composure & leaps over Azuma, grabbing Elisa as the last of the Steel Clan are destroyed & rolling. Elisa manages to kick her off, & they stare each other down, Demona's eyes still glowing red as she points to her.*

Demona<At least I will be able to do away with YOU.>

*Just then, a large section of the top tower begins to fall. Xanatos starts to run to safety, but a rock lands on his back, knocking him out. It then plows into the battlements that Elisa & Demona are standing on, causing them to break apart & tumble to the city below. Goliath jumps down, grabbing Elisa & then the side of the building.*

R"I'll go after Demona!"

Hudson<Lad...it's already too late....>

*Once Goliath gets back up & sets Elisa down, he looks back to see Demona buffeted with rocks & falling to her presumed death. He flares his wings & roars into the night, before seeing Xanatos stir & grabbing him by the collar.*

Goliath<She wanted me to destroy humanity.>

*He holds him over the side of the building. Xanatos at first looks surprised, but then smiles calmly.*

Goliath<I think I'll start with you!>

Xanatos<Go ahead. Without me, you'd still be gathering moss.>

*Monu moves over to Lilith*

<That was great! We should probably get out of here now...>

*Safian is still in a combat stance*
---
<If you want to kill him, maybe you should bash him against a wall or something. That way, we'll know he's 100% dead.>

Mortal shook her head, "No, wait, your majesty, forgive my boldness, but you must tell who, and where you saw this keyblade wielder. You have my word to keep your kingdom secret, but the fate of your world depends on this person being dealt with."

--

"So what?" Noctis asked, "Are they to ignore that you tried to have them killed because you also brought them back? That hardly breaks even."

Taiyo looks quite saddened.

Taiyo: "Sorry..."

===================================

Hitomi: "Will killing him undo the damage that's already been done?"

*Lilith fires off a quick salvo of seeds at the pirates, a few large flowers blooming from them & taking up the staircase. Of course, they quickly start cutting through them.*

L"Agreed. Take off back to shore, I'll hold them off, & take up the rear."
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<I know little. He wore a black coat, & came from the same shores that you did. You would know his circumstances better than I would.>
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T"She's right, Mr. Goliath, & it won't make you feel better, either. Just look at Demona. The men who killed her clan had to have died at some point, but it didn't save her from her loneliness & rage. If she hadn't fallen to her doom, I fear she would have one day been overtaken by her own darkness."

Elisa<And if you drop him, you'll be just the same as her.>

N"...Yo, Xanatos. If he drops you, do a flip on the way down."

R"Wait, we have to stop him somehow."

Elisa<I'm a cop, I can put him in prison for the stolen property.>

"Did you see where he may have been going?" Mortal asked.

--

"I'm sure Demona would have felt much better had she not been robbed of her revenge by time. The catharsis might have even mellowed her out," Noct said with a shrug, "But feel free to do what you want, I just want to get this whole thing over with."

<Or we could cut his head off just to make sure he can't cause more problems.>
---
*Safian breathes fire in the direction of the pirates, then jumps up on her glider. She starts heading back to shore. Monu also summons his and gets on, but looks rather concerned*

Monu:<Let me stay with you.>

Taiyo: "It was someone with the Orginization?"

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Azuma: "I don't think jailing him would do much or keep him out of anyone's hair for long."

Triton<I've now told you all that I know.>

*He swims back to the palace.*

E"Well...I guess I should lead you back now...."
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L"Just go!"

*As the pirates break through & rush towards them, Lilith jumps overboard. Her Keyblade glows, folding around her & turning into her glider as she goes. She skims the water & takes to the sky.*
===========================
Elisa<Too bad, that's the law. Acting like vigilantes won't solve anything. Eventually, someone else will just take over Xanatos Industries. At least if Xanatos is in jail, we can keep tabs on him, & what his company is doing.>

*Goliath eventually tosses Xanatos at Elisa's feet.*

Elisa<You made the right decision, Goliath.>

T"If Xanatos manufactured Heartless, that explains what damaged the barrier. The barrier fragments became those blocks, which Xanatos used to build his robots. The Heartless & the robots were both destroyed, so this world should be safe now."

R"So, case closed?"

T"Except for the missing Keyblade Master, & where the Unversed came from. But I don't think we'll find those answers here."

Taiyo: "I guess we didn't help as much as we would have liked."

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Azuma: "Next world then?"

*Monu follows behind her, with Safian already pretty far out*
---
<Can we at least kick him in the balls?>

"Nonsense," Mortal said, following Euryale if she decides it is possible to swim and talk at the same time, "We were able to take the trident from Ursula, and keep this kingdom safe. I'm proud of what we accomplished, though I wish we could have done more..."

--

"Missing?" Noctis asked, taking a step towards Thiera, "What do you mean missing?"

E"Mortal's right. Ursula would have managed to fool Ariel without you, & I couldn't have stopped her on my own. I could barely keep up with the 2 of you. So, I don't blame you for what happened."
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*Lilith dives down, heading for the beach.*
======================
*Elisa grabs Xanatos by the arm, dragging him to his feet & cuffing him. She then turns to Thiera & Noctis.*

Elisa<I get the feeling there's more going on here than what you've told me. I followed up with that tip, & no one's seen that woman in months. After it became partnered with--get this--Xanatos Industries.>

Xanatos<I have less to do with it than you might think. It's true I had my suspicions that the requests that were coming to my office were abnormal, but as I recall, looking into things like that is your responsibility.>

T"Requests like what?"

Xanatos<Renovation work & replacing furniture in her apartment, mostly.>

Elisa<His story checks out. Apparently, she left most of her company decisions in the hands of the board, after the partnership & subtracting Xanatos for repairs.>

R"So they're covering up a struggle & a disappearance...probably someone who knows her, but has our...unique abilities."

<Is that a yes or a no?>
---
*As do the other two*

Taiyo: "But we got you in trouble. I'd have liked to stay here for a little longer too."

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Azuma: "Orginization or...?"

"Don't sell yourself short, Euryale. You were great," Mortal said with a smile, before turning to Taiyo, "Anyway, there can hardly be time to relax so soon. We still have to meet with Lilith, and the others to see how they managed with the pirates." She then looked over her shoulder at the kingdom, "It was a nice place, but I can't wait to see what else the fates have in store."

--

"How long was she missing?" Noctis asked.

OOC: I can't get any chat programs to work right now. Which doesn't matter much, because I have to leave anyway.

*Shortly after they de-armor, Taiyo & Mortal, not used to coming ashore without legs, are washed up like garbage. Euryale stays just outside of the tides, burying her tail in the sand so that it looks like she's lying down in the surf.*
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Elisa<That's all I know. Excuse me, I have to get Xanatos out of here. Goliath, maybe we could meet again tomorrow morning &-->

Goliath<At night. How about there?>

*He points to the clock tower as she heads back into the building.*

Elisa<I should have known.>

Hudson<It will be dawn soon. Perhaps we should send the other humans away, as well?>

Goliath<That won't be necessary. I trust them.>

Hudson<And when did your attitude change, hm?>

*The various Gargoyles each head for a battlement & jump on top of it, taking scary poses for some reason. As the sun comes up, their flesh is again petrified.*

R"Huh. I guess we'll just catch them later."

N"Hopefully they taught you a valuable lesson about friendship & whatnot. Tell us what you know."

"Well, that was attractive..." Mortal muttered with a frown, and small hint of blush, feeling kind of like an idiot in front of Euryale.

--

"Everything," Noctis said, "Starting with what you want with this woman?"