Shadows of the Past

Taiyo looks at her tail, disappointed.

Taiyo: "It was like a dream come true being a mermaid and--"

She then looks to Euryale, smiling.

Taiyo: "Meeting one too."

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

Azuma: "Things."

OOC: Taiyo doesn't have legs! They were never turned back! Come on, is basic reading comprehension too much to ask?

E"Thanks. I'm glad to have met you, as well. Both of you. But I guess this is goodbye...unless--"

L"No, we can't turn you into a human. We are prohibited from meddling in the affairs of other--err--kingdoms, & changing the species of the inhabitants would most definitely qualify."
==========================
N"Are we going to have to beat the information out of you? 'Cause I'm oddly cool with that."

*As no one has dismissed their weapons yet, his just changes back into his own, while Darker Than Dark vanishes from Roatha's hand.*

"Aw, really?" Mortal asked, "But you should have seen the way she helped us out back there. We'd be better off having her along... Um, hello, by the way."

--

"I am too," Noct said, "Don't tempt me. Just tell me what is going on."

OOC: Motivation is the problem. Or lack of.

Taiyo: "Our first goodbye is our last...?"

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Azuma: "Sorry I'm not keen on blabbing to the Orginization."

OOC: Acquire the motivation.

L"You know what the Master has taught, & ordered. And not just that, it's a law that predates her. I'm sorry that circumstances have separated you."

*Euryale looks down.*

E"Me too...and I guess it is, so...I'm really going to miss you both."
=============================
R"Look, we really don't know anything anyw--"

N"Oh, like I'm supposed to believe that? You've been hiding stuff from me all night. What gives? I thought we were friends."

R"We are, but the Keyblade...it...."

*His eyes linger on the Darker Than Dark, before he looks down & away from Nero.*

N"It finally sink in to that thick head of yours? Yeah, your Witch of a Master lied. You weren't the only one chosen by the Keyblade."

R"That's not...I'm sure she would clear everything up...if you would just come to the Land of Departure, then--"

N"Yeah, not happening."

*Thiera steps in between them, holding her Keyblade in front of her, parallel to the ground.*

T"Then we can't say anything to make you happy. If you're really so interested, investigate it yourselves, like we did. If you want a fight, you can have that too. But we actually have somewhere to be, so it will be short!"

Taiyo: "Isn't there some way we can stay when everything is sorted out?"

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Azuma: "So let's mozy."

*Artexi crosses her arms, waiting for the fighting to stop*
---
*Monu and Safian both look sad*

Monu:<At least she won't be put into any more danger.>

Mortal frowned, but shook her head, "It is alright. We'll meet again someday, I'm sure of it. When that day comes I'm positive Taiyo and I will be thrilled."

--

"This is bullshit!" Noct said, "Just tell me! Do you think she is safe?"

T"How exactly are we supposed to know?"

R"If anything, you probably know more than we do. I mean, besides Xanatos, what enemies to Keyblade Masters could be lurking in this--"

*As he's speaking, a dark shape moves up behind him. Roughly human in shape & mostly clad in a black cape, it has clawed metal hands, & a blank, squarish face, also black, with ~6" long triangular horns sticking out of the back of its head at a slight angle. Unbeknownst to Thiera, it reaches out & jabs Roatha in the back, darkness spewing through him & out of his chest. He falls to the ground, unconscious, with darkness billowing out all around him.*

T"This what? Castle? City? ...Hello, Roatha?"

*Once Roatha is down, darkness & red energy swirl around its hands, forming into jagged, jet black lightning bolt shaped blades with red auras surrounding them.*
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L"Well, if you become Keyblade Masters...but there is still the problem of the sea apparently being hostile territory."

E"Exactly! If we're forbidden from entering each other's worlds, what future could we possibly have?"

???<Your dreams.>

*A man in a black coat is wading down the coast. Euryale furrows her brow.*

E"Well, that was unnecessarily mean."

???<Think of them as gateways to other worlds. That's what I did, & look where it got me.>

L"It can't be...Euryale, get as far away as you can! He's dangerous!"

*The warning comes too late as he grabs Euryale by her shoulder, dragging her out of the water. She punches at him, but he bats away her fist with his free hand, black, white, & gray thorns coming together to form a [url=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110202213353/kingdomhearts/images/3/38/Two_Become_One_KHIIFM.png]Keyblade in a reverse grip. Without preamble, he plunges it into her chest. She tries to grab it, but is just not fast enough. Her eyes lose focus & darkness sprays out of her. Mortal & Taiyo have doubtless now found out that they can barely move on land, half of their bodies still being dead weight. When he lets go & dismisses his weapon, her arms fall limply to her sides, & she begins flopping & gasping like a fish out of water. Lilith materializes her Keyblade & holds it towards Euryale. Lights shine at the tip & from within the mermaid's chest. Her movements, & the darkness, slow. The figure is already about 30 feet away, walking back from the direction he came.*

L"Senthose, wait! Senthose! Damn it--Monu, Safian, you're the fastest, you go after him."

*Safian summons her gliders and leaps on, breathing fire in the direction of Senthose. Monu throws his keyblade, using Wind Raid*

Monu:<What do you know of this man's abilities?>
---
*Artexi slashes at the New monster with Sol's Might*

Taiyo screams and attempts to drag herself to Euryale.

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

Azuma charges the whatever, swinging while Hitomi takes a shot at it.

Noct would have laughed had she not been so shocked. Noct dashed forward, and slashed at the legs of the monster.

--

"No!" Mortal shrieked. She summoned her keyblade and began using it as a crutch to make her way down the shoreline, "You whore's son! Come back here! Taiyo, give me my fucking legs back!"

L"Little busy right now! She looks like she's turning into a Heartless. You 2 should go into her heart & help fight back the darkness."

*A beam of light emerges from Euryale's chest & forms into an ornate red door with stained glass windows.*
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*The monster jumps over them. Thiera turns around to see what everyone is attacking. She then uses her Keyblade to stabilize Roatha. Just like with Euryale, a door forms over his chest.*

T"Roatha! Someone needs to go inside of his heart to see what's wrong. Hitomi, you're closest! Azuma, you stay here, I need someone I can trust out here."

Having not known she could turn people into things in the first place let alone reversing the process on such short notice, she continues to crawl and eventually swims towards the door.

Taiyo: "Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay!"

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

Azuma: "You trust me?'

Hitomi looks at Thiera like she'd beem asked to do a cartwheel or something before proceeding through the door.

*They continue attacking Senthose*
---
*Artexi sends her vines at the monster to grab it*

"Taiyo, legs-- Oh, damn it!" Mortal grumbled to herself as she crawled over as well.

--

"I just don't think she has a choice at this point," Noctis said, jumping up after the monster, and slashing upwards at its torso.

*It flips & spins, slashing through the vines & blocking Noctis's attack before landing back on the ground. At this point, it handsprings to get back on its feet. As its cloak billows, they can see that the armor is a fairly standard Keyblade Armor design, with 2 exceptions--its feet have talons, & there is a Heartless Emblem on its chest.*

N"I'll go in too!"

T"You know, I really don't think you should."

N"Try & stop me, Blondie!"

*He holds his Keyblade up over his shoulder.*
=========================
*Senthose catches the Keyblade.*

Senthose<You can have this back after I'm done with it.>

L"Something's not right...."

*He swings with Monu's Keyblade, erecting a stone shield to protect himself from Safian's attack.*
=========================
*Hitomi floats down through a black void, a faint light shining down from somewhere undefinable overhead, illuminating a stained glass pillar below. The top of it contains her, facing away, with a gray background. When she touches down, she can faintly hear [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] as well as whispering voices. A murmur rises above these, unidentifiable except that it's masculine.*

<You're here at last. I have something for you. But first, why did you come back here, after all of these years? Was one Keyblade not enough for you?>
===========================
*Taiyo floats down towards a stained glass pedestal. Lying on the bottom is an image of Taiyo with Kitters in her left arm, her right arm reaching up to Euryale, a worried expression on her face. Euryale floats near the top in her mermaid form, upside-down, with her arms hanging limply under her, her eyes closed. A circular area between them shows the forest near Halloween Town, the curly hill visible in the distance. To the left of this is a pink circular region containing a bust image of Azuma, to the right, Hitomi. The background is predominantly blue, but the lines in the glass are pink. It is ringed with pink paw prints. As with Hitomi, she can faintly hear [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] & a voice, although hers is definitely Binah's.*

<You wish to be connected to Euryale's heart. We can do this. But when we do, you will be tied also to the darkness. It will try to connect with the darkness in your own heart, & drag you down into the abyss as well. Are you ready?>
===========================
*Lastly, Mortal floats down to her own pedestal. The background is predominantly orange & red, mimicking the rays of a sunset, which emerges from a circular section at the center, depicting the Olympus Coliseum. An image of Euryale "floats" near the top in her mermaid form, upside-down, with her arms hanging limply under her, her eyes closed. Mortal reaches out to her from the bottom, where she sits in her typical attire, a determined expression on her face. Arranged in a star around the pedestal are 5 circular regions containing smiling busts of people she knows. Starting clockwise from above Euryale; Binah, Taiyo, Monu, Lilith, & Safian. The glass here is colored yellow, with the a cloud & thunderbolt faintly visible behind them. The "picture" regions are connected with ring of yellow Marks of Mastery. As with Taiyo, she can faintly hear [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] & Binah's voice, which says the same thing to her as it did to Taiyo.*

*Monu tries to summon his keyblade, while Safian flies over the stone and shoots a sphere of darkness at Senthose*
---
*Artexi slashes with Sol's Might*

Noctis uses Shadow of a Doubt to blind the Heartless, hoping to give Artexi an advantage.

--

Mortal looked around, trying to understand exactly what it was she happened to be standing on. "Wher-- Master Psyche?" When what Binah said registered to Mortal, her face set into an expression of resolve and she took a step forward, "I am ready. I won't lose to the darkness!"

Taiyo: "Yes. I'm not afraid."

Although she says that, her voice trembles.

I can do this. I'm a big girl.

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

Hitomi: "Two Keyblades?"

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Azuma runs around behind the thing and takes a swing.

<If that is what you wish.>

*A Keyblade falls from the sky, embedding itself in the pedestal, over the area between Hitomi's shoulder blades.*
=====================
OOC: This is the same for both Taiyo & Mortal.

<She is up there.>

*In a series of flashes of light, a series of disconnected stairs of stained glass similar to the background of the pedestal appear, curling up into the darkness towards a faint light in the distance. Incidentally, she realizes that she's had her legs ever since she passed through that door. However, dozens of shadows are moving down the staircase, like pools of oil.*

<Take your time. Don't be afraid.>
=======================
T"Wait!"

*While Azuma's off doing his thing, Nero swings his Keyblade into the heart-door, causing it to fly open. Worse yet, the armored figure sinks into its shadow, causing Artexi & Azuma to hit each other.*
========================
*Monu fails. Meanwhile, Senthose slashes away the dark orb & then uses Circle Raid against Safian.*

*Artexi glares at Azuma*

<Watch it.>

*Artexi stares at the shadow, watching to see if the figure will reemerge*
---
*Safian soars out of the way, then breathes fire again. Monu's face has turned white, and he stares at Lilith*

<I can't summon it...>

Mortal furrows her brow, and summons her armor, and keyblade. She begins running up the steps to meet the shadows head on, using Majesty of Apollo to create 3 fire balls, which she launches into the crowd of shadows to thin their numbers.

--

Noctis couldn't help but chuckle at them, but tried to stay on the look out for the monster, in case it should reappear and attack.

Taiyo gulps and dons her armor and runs up the stairs, attacking the Shadows as they appear in front of her, bypassing those that she can.

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

And so Hitomi approaches the Keyblade, reaching to pull it out.

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

Azuma backs off.

*This proves ineffective until they actually start coming out of the ground. Once Mortal is on the steps, a few slip behind her. One particularly ambitious one slashes at her ankle.*
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*Taiyo's strategy proves a bit more effective, though a Shadow leaps at her from behind.*

<Behind you!>
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*It emerges near Thiera, who blasts it with ice to push it back. When she does, though, Roatha begins to sink into a pool of darkness, so she quickly points her Keyblade back to him. Nero heads through the door.*
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<Now that you have it, remember these words: The closer you are to the light, the greater your shadow will become. What's this? An intruder approaches?>
================================
*As Senthose can redirect the Keyblade, trying to do 2 things at once proves to be her undoing, & the Keyblade comes back around & slashes her engine. Meanwhile, Senthose just bats the fire away by spinning his own Keyblade.*

L"Senthose is a lot more powerful than you. You'll be much weaker until he relinquishes it."