Shadows of the Past

N"Yes, thank you. Hm...we could use a Dark Corridor, but I think it would be safer to see where we're going."

*His Keyblade appears in his hand, & he grabs the other end with his left hand. It then glows, growing & shifting around him to become his Glider. He hovers slightly off of the ground & starts firing lasers into the crystals, which so far just seems to be making more crystals, by making purple ones grow on top of the existing ones.*
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*Artexi finally makes it through to the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Leaning against the arch is a young man with black hair, a purple vest, & baggy, shaggy pants, wearing a red fez. He holds an oil lamp in 2 of his fingers & bounces it against his leg, staring at it in a depressed state. On his shoulder is a monkey in a similar vest & fez, imitating his demeanor.*
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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] rush in from down the hall. One pops open oaralike wings resembling solar sails behind him & takes to the air. The other tosses out a trio of black orbs at the group's feet. The orbs feature orange lights & beeping noises, which become more rapid.*

Tron<(They scout in pairs, but if you defeat them, they'll come after you in larger groups!)>
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*Following the Unversed, they wind up in a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] that I practically had to turn tricks to get a picture of. When the door slams shut, several more Floods rise out of the ground, & Jafar appears at the upper level out of a Corridor of Darkness. Jafar has a red parrot on his shoulder.*

Jafar<I was told you'd be coming. But you won't keep me from ruling this world.>

Parrot<Is that a lio--I mean, "Bawk!">

*Artexi flies down*

<Excuse me, do you know where we are?>
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*Monu and Safian summon their Keyblades*

Monu:<Is this the creepy vizier, Lilith?>

The two back off from what are obviously bombs.

Azuma: "Looks like we're following the shady character."

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Taiyo calls ups her Keyblades.

Taiyo: "That parrot talked."

"That doesn't seem to be making it better," Noct said. In an effort to seem as if she does more than just point out Nero's failures, she looked around, and gestured to the area they came from, "Maybe we could double back, and try to find another way around."

--

Mortal looked at Taiyo, "Safian is a talking lion. Shouldn't we be passed thinking talking animals are weird?" She then called her keyblades, and glared at Jafar, "You're never going to rule anything!"

OOC: I didn't say it, but Jafar's lab plays "Villains of a Sort."

L"This is him. Jafar, right?"

Jafar<What makes you interlopers think that you have the right to stop me?>

L"What makes you think that these Unversed can stop us?"

*Jafar smirks.*

Jafar<I don't.>

*He holds up his snake staff, & the eyes glow red. At this point, a cage slides open & a 15 foot black cobra as thick as a tree trunk slithers out. It rears up & hisses at them, flaring its hood, at which point they can see Heartless Emblems on either side of its face.*

Jafar<Destroy them!>

*The Floods each jump towards the nearest target while the Heartless's eyes glow red & fire quick beams at Monu.*
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N"That will take too long, & I know what I'm doing."

*Eventually, one of the crystals snaps & falls off.*

N"See?"
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*Roatha also backs up, then points his Keyblade at the entrance of the cell. It fires a beam of light that envelopes the door. The lights around it then go out, & it slides open. As the bombs explode, the figure rolls out of the blast, tossing a disc at one of the Black Guards. The attack catches it by surprise & puts a gash in its arm. The other one dives towards him, stabbing at him with the staff.*
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*The man & his monkey look up, surprised.*

Aladdin<We're trapped in a place called the Cave of Wonders. My name's Aladdin. I followed some monsters in here. They seemed to be after this, so I took it.>

*He holds up the lamp.*

Aladdin<But I guess, if you touch anything else, the Cave seals you inside forever.>

Hitomi directs her Keyades to fire at the Black Guard attacking Tron. As they likely have to go down that hallway, Azuma calls up his Keyblade and takes to attacking the other Black Guard.

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

Taiyo calls up her Keyblades and swings at the nearest Floods.

*Monu uses Hawk's Dive to get out of range, then uses Air Raid on the snake. Safian breaths fire on the nearest flood*
---
<I assume you touched somethin' then. Anyway, I can get you out of here.>

Mortal uses the Majesty of Apollo to create three fireballs, and launches one at any Flood that happened to be attacking her.

--

Noctis nods, "I'm sorry for doubting you, oh fearless leader. How long until we can move on?"

*The beams make red sparks when they hit the ground where Monu once stood. After getting struck with a few hits by surprise, it bats the Keyblade away with its tail, & charges forward as Lilith stabs the ground & branches emerge to pierce & destroy the remaining Floods. Thiera holds up her Keyblade & a gust of wind swoops around the group, just barely deflecting the snake towards the wall. She is then struck in the chest by laser beams from the eyes of Jafar's staff, & smacks against the wall with an "Oof!"*
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*The Black Guards prove to be fairly resiliant, the one attacking Azuma managing to bat him aside with its staff. Hitomi's is knocked back from Tron, who throws the disc into one of its wings, breaking it apart & causing it to drop back down onto the ground. Roatha swings his Keyblade, causing the Black Guard attacking Azuma to be struck by lightning & stumble back.*
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N"Gonna be a while."

*Eventually, they get through & fly into a chamber full of lava with a glowing exit at the end. Half a dozen Red Hot Chilis rise out of the lava around them.*
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*The man & his monkey stand up, eyes wide.*

<Really? How?!>

Hitomi fires at the downed Black Guard while Azuma rights himself. Dark energy swirls around Azuma's Keyblade which he swings sending a silouhette of a black wolf to ram the other Black Guard.

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Taiyo blasts the snake with a stream of bubbles.

<I have my ways. Unless you want to stay here...>
---
*Safian sends a stream of darkness at the snake, while Monu resummons his keyblade and uses Air Raid on Jafar*

Noct runs a hand through her hair, and sighs, "This never ends. I'm starting to wonder if the effort is worth it."

--

Mortal stabs the ground, using the Horror of Akrotir to create an eruption underneath the snake.

*Tron also throws his disc at the Black Guard that Hitomi attacks, & both Black Guards break apart into orange cubes of light, which blink & fade away after piling on the floor.*
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*The eyes of Jafar's staff light up & a translucent red barrier blocks the Air Raid. The snake screeches & coils as all of the attacks strike it, swinging its tail in an attempt to bowl everyone over.*
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*Aladdin is about to say something when Artexi is suddenly knocked off of her feet. Her nostrils are filled with a smell like burnt leather as she experiences searing body aches. She vaguely sees Aladdin crouched down & shouting, but his face fades away into a bunch of flames.*
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N"Don't be so lazy, it's just a couple of weak monsters."

*He fires off some lasers. Most uselessly impact the lava, but 2 Red Hot Chilis are encased in crystal & fall in. At this point, Artexi screams, & Nero looks up.*

N"Maybe we should skip them, anyway."

Noctis nods after blinding one, "You're right, it sounds like she is in danger."

--

Mortal forewent any sort of dodging and instead rooted herself, and spread her arms in an attempt to catch and stop the tail.

*Everyone gets back, then Monu and Safian attack the snake again*
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*Artexi looks around, trying to figure out what's going on*

Azuma: "Time to go if what this guy says is true about more coming."

And so they head down the hall.

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Taiyo conjures up a water wheel at the tail, hoping it'll stop it or something.

*Mortal & Taiyo are not enough to stop the tail, so they end up thrown against the wall. The snake twists its neck around & spits globs of poison at its attackers. Lilith heads over to heal Thiera while Thiera tosses a ring of flowers out of her Keyblade towards Mortal & Taiyo. Jafar waves his staff, sending basketball-sized fireballs after Mortal, Taiyo, & the Psyche sisters.*
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*They arrive at a 4 way intersection. The man runs past, & takes a left.*

<This way! Name's Tron, by the way!>
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*The vision fades as quickly as it came. Aladdin does not know this, & is shaking her.*

Aladdin<ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?>

*Nero & Noctis land nearby.*

They follow Tron, introducing themselves as they go.

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Groaning about her ouchies, Taiyo catches the ring.

Mortal shakes her head, "Won't be trying that again." She took the ring, then, when she looked up and saw the fire balls, she used her remaining fire balls to collide in mid air.

--

Noct cracks Aladin in the head with her keyblade after hopping off the glider, "Shaking her won't make things better."

*Safian sends a stream of fire to counter the poison, then sends some at the snake's eyes. Monu assists Lilith in healing Thiera*
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<Guys, I'm fine.>

*Artexi struggles up*

<What are you doing here?>

*The flowers then emit a warm light & scent of lavender that heal the pair. Jafar tries a bolt of lightning on Mortal instead. The snake fires its eye beams at Safian, the fire dropping out of the sky & clattering on the ground as pebbles as it passes through them, while the snake tries to slam its upper body into Monu, Lilith, & Thiera.*
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N"Looking for you."

*Aladdin lets go & grabs the shaft (heh) of the Keyblade. The monkey screeches angrily at her.*

Aladdin<Hey, watch it!>
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*They exit the building, which turns out to be a large gray tower, & find that the outside is a bunch of rocks floating in midair over a chasm with a faintly glowing ocean. Along the horizon is a city scape with several lights coming from it.*

Tron<It's good to meet you all. Now, we do have one problem: We'll need to hijack the next Solar Sailor or Recognizer to get out of here.>

R"Wait, what's a Solar Sailor or a Recognizer? What is this place? Who are the guys who attacked us? Do they work for Senthose?"

Tron<Have your memories been rewritten? I don't know who Senthose is, but the Black Guards work for a program named Avici. He suddenly appeared several cycles ago, & has been attempting to reformat The Grid. This is the Central Computer Mesa, where most of the system's functions are handled. If you want to conquer The Grid, it makes sense to start here. Recognizers & Solar Sailors are types of ships. You'll know them when you see them.>

Azuma: "That sounds very time consuming and complicated. Unless our own mode of transportation isn't viable."

Azuma tries to summon his glider.

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

Taiyo shoots a stream of water at the snakes face.

*Monu grabs Thiera and Lilith then pulls them to safety. Safian jumps back and fires darkness in retaliation*
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<Noct, leave him alone please.>

"I hit him once, get off my back," Noct said poofing away her keyblade, "And don't touch that, it is dangerous."

--

Mortal couldn't think of a way to stop the lightning so she just dives forward out of the way.

*At this point, the Heartless is oozing darkness from a number of gashes on its face. It goes for broke & tries to bite the trio it's attacking.*

Jafar<I won't let you ruin my plans!>

*He waves his staff, & out of dark flames around the snake emerge 10 Unversed--4 Chrono Twisters & 6 Hareraisers.*
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*Artexi's vision mists up as though she's just been splashed in the face by a bunch of water. She briefly sees Lilith, Tiera, & Monu huddled on the floor, & then a lion roaring at her, before the vision fades.*

N"So, where are we?"

Aladdin<It's called the Cave of Wonders. I guess it turns into a death trap if you touch any treasure besides this.>

*He holds up the lamp.*
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*The Keyblade remains a Keyblade. A deep, loud, yet faintly nasally voice chimes in from above them.*

???<We have jammed that program!>

*Tron scowls.*

Tron<Sark.. Avici brought him back from the trash to serve as his Number 2. Not the MCP, though. Guess he's afraid it would be too much to control.>

*A [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] descends. When it does, the bar on top moves down the legs, & this [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] steps out of it, flanked by 4 Black Guards. As he makes that gesture, the BGM calms back down.*

Sark<That, & he will become the new MCP. Even greater than the one who came before.>