Shadows of the Past

*Artexi activities her armor and fires light rays from her glider*
---
*Monu gets up as well, while Safian heads over to the window*

Mortal opens the window for Safian, assuming there is anything to open in the first place, then begins to head out as well.

--

"Should we check it out?" Noct asked, looking over to the cliffs.

OOC: There is not, they are open holes in the walls.

*Lilith points everyone else, & then to the door. She then heads up to the...front desk, I suppose.*

L"Excuse me, I just had a couple of questions."

*Assuming that they do indeed go around back to pick up Safian, Thiera recommends that they stand in a line in front of the window to block it from view, as there are quite a few people walking up & down the street. She goes on to say that a few of them should face towards the wall, in case the lioness needs help, but a few should also be facing away, so as not to make people think that they're looking at something interesting.*
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*Suddenly, that light on the back wall begins to glow. Roatha turns around.*

R"Hey, what's this thing do?"

Braig<You tell me.>

*Roatha is shot in the chest by a laser. He takes a step back, raises his arms slightly, & splays his fingers. His mouth hangs slightly open & his eyes bulge. He's frozen in that shocked position as his body is converted into a series of particles locked in a grid. The laser then fires out rapidly, striking him several times in the head. Each time it does, a cube of information vanishes. In no time at all, he is reduced to nothing. By the time they figure out what's going on, Braig is running back up the exit.*

Braig<Be seein' ya! As if!>

*A steel door slams shut in front of the exit, & they can hear several more closing off the path behind it. Meanwhile, the laser starts on Azuma, freezing him in the middle of what I'm sure was a snarky comment, & causing him to start disappearing as well.*
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N"I'd say so."

*Nero lands, his glider glowing & reappearing in his hand as the Darker Than Dark. He then scrapes it along the cliff face. Suddenly, the cliffs rumble & the sand underneath him bulges. He retreats back to a safe distance as the ground organizes itself into a giant tiger head with glowing orange-red eyes & mouth, the mouth [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]*

N"Uh...Hell is this thing?"
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*Blinded, the Archravens fly in circles until they slam against the sides of the cave. However, once they do, the crystals come shooting out of the sides of the walls as giant spikes, all around Artexi & the Archravens, the cave slowly starting to look like [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].*

Taiyo goes on to face the wall, although pretending to be looking at something interesting is bound to attract attention.

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Azuma tries to make a snarky remark as he's being digitalized. Hitomi looks frantically at the ongoing process and goes to the terminal, hitting keys trying to stop the process.

*Monu faces the street, wondering why Taiyo is doing the opposite of what Thiera said. Meanwhile, Safian begins to slip out of the window*
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*Artexi zigzags around the crystals, trying not to get hit. She continues heading in the same direction*

Mortal can't help giggling at the thought out plan for sneaking around.

--

"I think you pissed off the desert," Noct said.

*Thiera & Taiyo presumably help stabilize Safian as she's trying to cart her fat ass out of the window. Then, one would hope that she uses her ability to hide herself as Lilith emerges, gesturing for them to follow.*
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*And she winds up over a field of lava. Up ahead, she can see a small crevice in the cave wall, with a gold light. But, in the meantime, a plume of lava shoots up in front of her. Additionally, a dozen Red Hot Chilis emerge from the lava.*
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"Well, it popped up when I hit it with the Keyblade, so maybe it's a door. Or a treasure trove. Or both."

*He shrugs, & heads on in.*
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*Senthose's voice emerges from the speakers.*

Senthose<That won't work, Hitomi. Only those who have my permission may use this terminal.>

*And so, once Azuma is finished being digitized, the laser strikes Hitomi.*
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] slumped against the walls of a small, squarish dark blue room with no visible exits. The only light comes from glowing lines along the edges. Roatha is now wearing the outfit mentioned in his sign-up, for The Grid.*

R"We're not dead...so, we've been transported somewhere? There are no doors...nothing to use the Keyblade on...did Senthose set this up? But why wouldn't he just kill us?"

*Artexi shrives to miss the plume, then fires at the Red Hot Chilis*
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*Safian does hide in the shadows, and starts to follow the group at a distance. Monu follows Lilith*

And so Taiyo follows Lilith.

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Azuma: "Maybe we're still needed. And what's with these stupid get ups?"

Noct follows, shrugging as well.

--

Mortal does as well, fanning herself with her hands, and trying to stop her shirt from clinging to her chest with sweat, "By the gods, it is hot..."

R"Never mind that. Let's get out of here."

*Roatha dismisses his Keyblade & holds out his hand. All that happens is that he looks shocked & upset.*

R"I...guess that Nero can't lend his Keyblade right now. Yeah. I'm sure that's it. I'll try again later."
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*This eventually leads them to a room consisting mostly of a series of stone ramps & landings suspended over the darkness of the unknown. Squinting in the light of the torches, they can see that there is an exit at each "corner" of the overall space, including where they just came from. But apparently that would be too easy, because dark flames that become Buckle Bruisers appear over the other exits, as Axe Flappers & Vile Phials float up from the darkness of the unknown.*
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*The Red Hot Chili float around the area, shooting fireballs at her. As the lava plume settles, another one bursts up underneath her.*
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"Well, I can't do anything about that."

*Lilith shoots ivy up over the wall. Pulling on it to make sure it's sturdy, she eventually dons her armor & climbs up. Once she's on the other side, she notices a guard patrolling, so she sticks close to the wall & runs behind a tree. Once there, she points to a small doorway that the guard is walking towards.*

Noct stares at Nero, then the exit, considering leaving instead of dealing with the enemies.

--

Mortal dons her full armor as well, finding that her head being covered helps immensely. She climbs up after, and follows behind Lilith.

Azuma: "Maybe he doesn't want to lend it out."

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Taiyo dons her armor and follows on up.

*Both don their armor, then Monu follows Taiyo up. Safian tries her best to get up after him*
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*Artexi speeds away from the plume and continues firing light at the Chilis*

*The next plume that reaches out is like a hand trying to grab her.*
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N"I'm pretty sure she's in here somewhere. It's faint, but I can feel it."

*A particularly eager Vile Phial charges his ass. He smacks it aside, & it lands on the ground, flopping around to try to get up.*
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*Once the guard passes, I presume they run to that door, which Lilith opens with a tap of her Keyblade. Inside is a cellar, which Mortal will recognize stores Greek wine. They can see another door on the other side before Lilith shuts the door & locks it again, plunging them into darkness.*
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"Well, what other option do we have? Do we have any attacks strong enough to force our way out?"

Noct goes over and stabs it a few times before it can get up, "I guess that means it is worth it..."

--

Mortal goes over to check the the wines, "This, this is like the stuff from back home. I should take a bottle and bring it back."

Taiyo: "It's bad enough we're already sneaking in here."

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Azuma: "There's another exit, maybe?"

<What the hell?!>

*Artexi flies away from the plume*
---
Monu:<Maybe you can buy some after we're done here.>

R"Look around you. There's nothing."
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*It disappears in a flame of darkness & with a sound of shattering glass. Nero hurls his Keyblade into a cluster of enemies.*

N"The question is, which exit do we want to use?"
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*And so a Red Hot Chili charges her from the front.*
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L"I think they might be right."

*Lilith shoots a beam from her Keyblade that illuminates the room & unlocks the next door.*

*Artexi charges it, firing her light*
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*Monu and Safian follow*

Taiyo follows.

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Azuma: "No need to rain on the parade. We're not going to find anything just by standing in place."

Mortal reluctantly follows as well.

--

Noctis shrugged, "Flip a coin." She then lunged forward and slashed at an Axe Flapper.

*The Red Hot Chili falls back into the lava. Another hand-shaped plume of lava appears in front of her, as the other Chilis continue shooting fireballs.*
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*Nero joins the melee, hurling his Keyblade again & then slashing apart a Vile Phial. The Axe Flapper that Noctis attacks lands on the ground. Another throws blades at them.*
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*Roatha materializes his Keyblade & swings it at a wall. It clinks & throws out little blue sparks.*
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*They emerge into the side of a dark hallway. As they do, several Floods & a pair of Buckle Bruisers appear around them.*

L"Looks like we're on the right track! The ones with shields should be week to mag--"

*She is hit in the jaw by a shield thrown by a Buckle Bruiser.*

Taiyo attacks a Buckle Bruiser with a stream of water.

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The two try walking.

Noct lowers the gravity on the projectiles, then tries to blow them off course.

--

"Lilith!" Mortal launched a fire ball at the Bruiser using the Majesty of Apollo, "Are you alright?"