Shadows of the Past

*They laugh at Monu & Mortal, pulling out muskets & knives. Lilith slashes at one, who blocks, & then the chaos ensues. Another comes in to shank her from behind, while a quartet take aim & fire at Mortal & Taiyo. A couple start making their way to the water.*

<Oi! It's Prince Eric, capture him!>

E"You'd better go."

Eric<But what about the rest of you?>

E"I think we'll be fine."
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R"Well, now that we're all unimpressed with each other's company, mind telling me what you're doing here?"

N"Whatever I want. Hey, you notice this ugly bastard?"

*Nero climbs onto the battlement beside the statue, & points to it with his Keyblade. Meanwhile, it's quickly getting dimmer.*

<(I think he's really cool...)>

*Artexi pats the statue on the nose*
---
*Monu activates his armor then uses Hawk's dive to increase his speed, and charges the one trying to shank Lilith, slashing with his keyblade. Safian, still hidden in the shadows, also activates her armor, then slowly stalks forward towards the men shooting at Mortal and Taiyo*

Since bullets probably still hurt, Mortal dives out of the way, then begins to charge the ones making their way over to the water. When they meet she swings Guardian Soul into one of their knees.

--

Noct just shakes her head at what Artexi said, and begins to make her way over to a wall without any statues so she can lean against it.

Taiyo dives and rolls, getting in a kneeling position, she points her Keyblade at a pirate and fires off a stream of bubbles at it.

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Azuma: "Watch it come to life and not take to kindly to you."

*The sun is now completely down.*

N"Yeah, okay. It's not so scary. Bet I could win in a fight!"

R"What are you--"

*Nero rears back & swings at the statue's face. However, at that moment, the stone falls away from the statue in chips as it grabs Nero's wrist & flares its wings. It lets out a loud, echoing roar, with other roars coming from around the castle. Needless to say, Nero is shocked. Then the figure grimaces at him, & casually drops him off of the building. Roatha runs over to look over the edge.*

R"NERO!"

N"I'm FINE. You worry way too much."

*He turns around to see Nero step out of a Dark Corridor. The figure looks over his shoulder & growls. Roatha decides to back away from him.*
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*The pirate attacking Lilith is knocked away. Lilith angles her blade & slices at her pirate's head, but he ducks. Before he can stab her, she resummons her Keyblade in a reverse grip in her other hand & jams the hilt into her stomach, knocking her back. The pirate Mortal is attacking sees her coming & backshuffles, aiming his pistol at her. His friend is blown away by a stream of bubbles, & so Prince Eric runs away.*

<You, go after Prince Eric, you, get reinforcements.>

*Those pirates run off to do their tasks, & then the idle pirate runs towards Lilith.*

<Hi! What's your name?>

*Artexi waves at the figure*
---
*Safian clenches her muscles then leaps forward, aiming to land on the pirate's back. Then she starts clawing him. Monu makes sure the pirate he attacked is staying down then charges after the ones following Prince Eric*

Noct facepalms at the lady trying to introduce herself to the monstrous gargoyle thing. In a way, she is thankful, as it overrides her initial response of shock. Pushing herself off of the wall she was leaning on she looks at the creature, then looks around for the source of the other roars.

--

Mortal encases her arm in stone, then uses an explosion to propel herself over and deliver a punch to her pirate's face before he can get his shot off. Assuming that works, she begins to make her way to the pirates going for reinforcements.

Taiyo fires another stream of bubbles at the pirates chasing Eric.

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

Azuma: "Told you it wouldn't take kindly to that."

*It's good that Taiyo's doing that, because Monu is tied up with a pirate restling him & trying to flip him over on his back. The one Mortal attacks just turns around & shoots her so that she ends up stumbling & falling down with a nasty wound.*

L"Hold on just a second!"

*Lilith blocks an attack from a pirate & then uses both hands to push him off. She fires a bunch of seeds at him to keep him at bay, then runs to Mortal's aid. The other pirate she was tied up with is being mauled by a lion that seemed to materialize out of goddamn thin air.*
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*The figure glares at Artexi. Noctis can't see the sources of the other roars immediately.*

<My kind have no names. But you humans call me "Goliath.">

R"I'd say Azuma's right. You almost killed someone!"

N"Well, how was I supposed to know the statue was alive?!"

*He points his Keyblade at Goliath, prompting another growl.*

R"That's not the point!"

<I see. I'm...Art, it's nice to meet you!>

*Artexi holds out a hand to the figure*
---
*Safian continues mauling that guy until he's ether dead or not moving. Monu knees the pirate in the stomach then tries to stumble to his feet, before slashing at the pirate's neck with his keyblade*

Mortal is shot, and in pain. She holds her side, and staggers back to her feet. She uses her keyblade to help prop herself up when it feels like she is about to stumble over again.

--

"Perhaps provoking the beast is not the smartest course of action, Nero," Noct suggested.

Taiyo continues firing bubbles at the pirates chasing Prine Eric, pursuing them in the process.

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

Azuma: "Will you put that thing away?"

*They abandon Prince Eric & start shooting at Taiyo, strafing to avoid her bubbles. The pirates that Monu & Safian are fighting eventually stop moving. Lilith reaches Mortal & holds a hand out to her side. A golden flower showers it with healing pollen. Meanwhile, the remaining pirate seems to retreat, but tosses a flare in the air, which explodes brightly, leaving a cloud of smoke in a vaguely skull shape.*
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*Goliath glares at "Art" & then Noctis.*

Goliath<My kind are no "beasts," & we no longer trust humans.>

N"And I didn't provoke anyone!"

"Beast was not meant to be derogatory," Noct said, "And I don't blame you, humans are assholes."

--

Mortal takes a deep breath, and stands straighter, "I apologize. I wasn't able to avoid harm, and I wound up just getting in the way." She then looked up, "I also appears that more of those bandits shall be coming."

Taiyo drops to the ground, still firing bubbles.

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

Azuma: "Don't blame you. Especially when you meet one that's waving their weapon around all willy nilly."

<We're not all bad though...>
---
*Monu gets up and starts pursuing the pirates, as does Safian*

*Goliath folds his wings around him like a cloak. He walks back to where he was sitting, resting his claws on the battlement.*

Goliath<Once, I trusted humans with my life. My kind were their protectors. They hated & feared us, but there was one whom I called a friend. He is the one who named me.>

N"Well, there you go."

R"I think there's more to the story, Nero."

Goliath<He betrayed us. And as a result, nearly all of my clan was destroyed. Even...my Angel of the Night....>

*Thiera walks over to put a hand on his shoulder, but he waves her off, something which causes Thiera to start & Roatha to materialize his Keyblade. Goliath turns back to them.*

Goliath<The few who were left were betrayed again. A Magus cast a spell that would have us to sleep until the castle rose above the clouds. I thought that we would slumber forever.>

N"Okay, obvious question--why didn't you?"

Goliath<That I do not know.>
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L"Mortal, you may be used to fighting for yourself & your glory, but we work as a team. They wouldn't have invented cure spells if Keyblade Masters could avoid harm."

*More pirates approach from down the beach, firing at them. Others run out from over the hill.*

L"How many are there?!"

<Well, you're above the clouds now!>

*Artexi points over the edge*

<I'm sorry evil humans tried to destroy you before, but we're different!>
---
*Safian sinks back into the shadows and starts stalking her next victim. When one presents himself, Safian does teh same thing she did before, complete with mauling. Meanwhile, Monu, dives out of the way of anyone firing at him, then engages the nearest pirate, slashing at his neck*

Taiyo dives to avoid any shots coming her way and charges a pirate, swinging her Keyblade at it.

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

Azuma: "So somebody picked your castle up and moved it atop skyscraper? Why?"

Noct fights against her urge to point out "Art" wasn't a human, and instead says, "So, the other roars I heard. Those are your clansmen? How many of you survived?"

--

"You're right," Mortal said, "I'm just not used to it I suppose." When the reinforcements arrived Mortal armors up, and tried to avoid the hail of bullets. When a pirate gets close enough Mortal snatches the ruffian by the collar, then headbutts him and throws him into another pirate.

*What actually happens is that Safian is partially surrounded, shot at, & has a pair of pirates attempting to throw a net over her. Monu brings a pirate down as Lilith twirls through the ranks, stepping & turning to avoid knife thrusts. She keeps hitting them in the legs with her Keyblade, which has the added benefit of creating thorned vines to bind their feet to the ground. Some of these pirates sneak off towards Euryale & grab her arm when she decides, too late, to try to swim away.*

<Well, wot have we got here?>

*Meanwhile, Mortal & Taiyo quickly bring down their opponents, but find themselves surrounded by pirates advancing on them with knives drawn.*

<Nice & easy, now....>
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*Goliath looks down. Meanwhile, a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] is walking out of a nearby archway.*

Goliath<Too few.>

???<That would be me. The Magus who cursed you wrote the story down in his spellbook, which recently came into my possession. I was fascinated, & wanted to see if it was true. My name is David Xanatos, & I would like to be your friend & ally.>

*He holds a hand out, which Goliath stares at.*

Goliath<I'm sure we have much to discuss, but for the time being, I must see to my clan.>

Xanatos<Of course. Take all of the time you need. And my apologies, I did not expect anyone to make it this far up without my security detecting them.>

*He gestures towards the Keyblade Wielders, whom he then turns towards.*

Xanatos<Now...mind explaining what you're doing here?>

*Artexi shrugs*

<We came up for the view. It's quite nice, don't you think?>
---
*Monu attacks the next pirate, while Safian roars and tries to avoid the bullets, then roars and sends a scream of fire to burn though the net*

Mortal looks over at Euryale, and screams, "Hey you vile scum! Leave her alone!" Angered at the complete lack of honor to attack an unarmed bystander, Mortal encases her arms, and weapon in stone, and puts her arms in front of her, and, using a series of explosions to distract those surrounding her, then another to propel her forward, attempts to plow straight through the fuckers and make her way over to where Euryale was being accosted.

--

"Suffice to say, our business has nothing to do with you, and this meeting is simply one of coincidence," Noct said.

Taiyo takes a wide swing, hoping to hit multiple of the pirates surrounding her.

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

Azuma: "Long story. Probably not worth telling."

*Taiyo's Keyblade is long enough that this works. Mortal plows through them as they pull Euryale out of the water, in all of her half-fish glory, & she flops around, waving her tail through the air.*

Pirate1<What the...what should we do? We still going to mate with it?>

Pirate2<If it's a fish, we could eat it.>

Pirate3<I say we mate with the top half, & eat the bottom half.>

E"You're all such charmers."

*She smacks the one holding her in the face with her tail, causing him to drop her.*

E"Screw it."

*She jumps back out of the water, tackling the other guy, then swings her lower body, knocking the 3rd pirate into the water with her tail. The pirates attacking Safian dive on her & start stabbing her. Seeing this, Lilith runs over.*
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*Goliath flares his wings & jumps off of the building.*

Xanatos<It's coincidence that you're tresspassing on my property? On the contrary, I think that's exactly my business.>