Shadows Swarm

*Nero jerks away from her.*

N"I don't like him! What's the big deal? I'm gonna beat him up in the tournament, anyway!"

Phil<2 words: Disqualification! Anyhow, I still wouldn't do it. You won't hurt him.>

Herc<Plus, if you break a deal with Hades, you might die.>
==============================
*They arrive at the cave to find nobody there & no signs that any meat was brought there. Because of their frequent back & forth trips, the footprints around the site are a confused mess.*
----------------------------------------
Nala<Simba...what have you been eating out here?>

*Simba digs up a worm & holds it out to Nala. She recoils.*

Simba<Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it. They're slimy, yet satisfying.>

*Simba slurps up the worm like it's spaghetti.*

Timon<We taught him that, too.>
===============================
*They come to a hill that looks a bit like a witch's hat, surrounded by pumpkins. Once again, there are already Tentaclaws planted around, including one on the height of the hill's curve, & once again, Heartless emerge around them. This time, a quartet of Dark Corridors release Black Fungi. Euryale snatches one just before a Tentaclaw bites down, hugging it tightly.*

E"No! Bad plant! You can only eat the mean ones! Ahhck! This one's--ack--mean!"

*She coughs as the Black Fungus emits a cloud of poison. Meanwhile, the next one to be caught turns to stone & the Tentaclaw eventually drops it. Euryale tosses Judas the Mushroom into its waiting jaws, & it is devoured. Nonetheless, her coughing gets worse.*

Taiyo sets to patching Euryale up by getting her wet with a magical geyser.

Azuma: "White mushrooms good. Black mushrooms bad."

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

Hitomi: "That's idiotic."

*Safian looks horrified*

<I feel sick!>
===
Monu:<I guess they didn't find anything.>
---
Artexi:<That's only one word. Anyway, I wouldn't bet on us not being able to hurt him.>

E"Thanks...I think my coughing stopped...the pain, too."

*She rears up on her tail to avoid a poison cloud from another Black Mushroom. She summons her Keyblade & tries to bring it down with a 2-handed strike, but it just glances off the now stone mushroom, & she goes rolling, crushing some pumpkins.*

Sally<Are they too poisonous to be eaten?>

Jack<No, that one was swallowed, I saw it. They must not be able to eat them when they've turned to stone.>

*As if on cue, the other 2 turn to Stone. They lean over, waving their hands at the group mockingly. The 3rd jumps in the air, spinning & returning to its normal, squishy form.*
==============================
Herc<Well, in that case, I look forward to competing against you in the Games!>

N"Whatever. Just tell me when they are."

Phil<Your tickets are magically linked to you. Once we call you, you have a few days to show up for a match, before you're disqualified. You can fight as many matches in a day as long as we have opponents available, but you only have to fight once when called, to stay in the Games.>
========================================
T"So, do we just wait here for them?"

L"Only if we can do something that furthers the mission. Did you manage to read any of those books on the way to this world?"

T"Yes, & I think I have an idea. It's fairly crude, but we may be able to improve upon it, with time & practice."
-------------------------------------------
Timon<Oh, but you've got no problems with our bacon? In his case, LITERAL bacon!>

*He points down at Pumbaa's head.*
-------------------------------------------
*A bird stealthily darts from out from the tree line, snatching up Hitomi's glasses & dropping them into the ravine.*

Azuma: "I guess we ignore it and the plant will deal with it."

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

She waits for either Safian to return from her bad idea or the others to come find them.

Safian:<Yes, you're eating bugs. Lions don't eat bugs.>
===
Monu:<What did you find?>
---
Artexi:<Is there someplace we can stay or something?>

Phil<Well, I'd say one of the temples, or the lodges for my students, but you kind of burned both of those bridges.>

*Nero stares blankly at Artexi.*

N"...We don't need them anyway."

*He holds out a hand, opening a Dark Corridor.*

Herc<Benefits of your deal with Hades?>
==================================
*Thiera's Keyblade appears in her claw. From the tip emerges a swirl of letters made of light. She conducts them with the Keyblade until they spell HI LILITH, slowly orbiting the Keyblade. The Oathkeeper then disappears, reappearing in Lilith's tail with the message still orbiting it.*

T"Much like with the transformation spell, the letters can be made using whatever elements that a person has at his or her disposal."
--------------------------------------------
Timon & Pumbaa<HMPH!>

*They deliberately position themselves so that Pumbaa's ass is in Safian's face as they walk.*

Simba<Well, maybe if you were willing to try them, you could take some back to the Pride Lands.>
===================================
Jack<They'll just disappear if they're not dealt with, & attack somebody else.>

*So Euryale hurls her Keyblade at the vulnerable one & Jack forms flaming Jack-O-Lanterns with a flick of his wrist, throwing them at it. Euryale's hit knocks it on its ass & its head recoils with each pumpkin, but it survives.*

E"Wow, that thing is surprisingly durable."

*Meanwhile, the stone mushrooms casually walk up to try to flank Taiyo & Azuma.*

They call up their weapons and move away from the mushrooms.

Azuma: "The fact they can move in this state bothers me."

Multiple cuts and scrapes appear on Azuma, an orb of DARKNESS! appearing in front of him. With a swing of his Keyblade, he sends it towards one of the Black Fungi.

Taiyo casts Watera on the other Black Fungi.

Artexi:<But I wanted a vacation!>

*She looks at Herc*

<Nah, we could do this before.>
---
*Monu summons his keyblade and tries to copy her, using earth instead of light*
===
*Safian opens her mouth like she's going to champ Pumba's ass*

<There's still the problem of Scar.>

*She closes her mouth and looks behind her*

<Hitomi?>

OOC: Fungi is plural, you twit.

*Mostly because I don't want this to last forever, they happen to turn back to normal just in time to get hit with this shit. Euryale hand springs in the air, tossing her Keyblade again. This time, it comes down like a meteor, creating an enormous explosion when it strikes the Black Fungi, destroying them. Jack uses a flaming charge to attack the remaining Black Fungus, mostly for the purpose of knocking it into the waiting jaws of the Tentaclaw, which devours it. Euryale lands back near Taiyo with a heavy thud, coiling her tail to keep her balance, while out of the darkness of the dissolving mushrooms falls a peculiar stone resembling a Reflect Barrier & something resembling a toy laser gun.*
=======================================
Herc<Now that you mention it, it looks sort of like-->

*Nero tosses up his hands.*

N"This place is a sandy shithole with nothing going on, & I'm not stayin' here!"

*So he heads into the Dark Corridor that he made.*

Phil<Yeesh. He always like that?>
===============================
*Being rocks, the letters fall to the floor.*

T"It's, ah, easier to do with some than with others."

L"But you CAN make the rocks float, right? With practice?"

T"I don't see why not."

*Lilith flicks her tail, dismissing the Oathkeeper.*
----------------------------------------
*They all stop & turn around.*

Nala<Your friend's missing?>

*Surprisingly, Simba is the first to jump over everyone & start running back the way that they came.*

Timon<We'll just follow him. It's not that we don't trust either of you, but RUN, PUMBAA, RUN!>

*He tugs on Pumbaa's ears & the warthog turns & runs after Simba.*

*Safian races after them*

<I thought she was right behind us!>
===
*Monu tries to make letters out of clouds*

<That worked lightly better in my head.>
---
*Artexi rolls her eyes*

<Yeah, sorry about that. I, for one, am quite excited for the tournament.>

Azuma: "What are these?"

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

She is where was before at the log bridge that leads to where Safian and those other chumps went.

E"Why are you asking me?"

Jack<They're Gummi Blocks. They fell from the sky around the same time that the Heartless began showing up.>

Sally<Father found a reference to them in one of his books, but it was very vague. All we know is that you can build things with them.>

*She heads over to pick them up & literally just puts them together. When she holds the gun part in 1 hand, the ball does not fall off.*

Sally<Really easily, actually. See?>

Jack<You can take them if you want them. You DID destroy the Heartless, after all.>
=============================
Simba<Hitomi, right? What's wrong? Why are you just standing here?>
--------------------------------------
*This is a bit more successful, but the letters slowly drift apart.*

L"I'll try."

*Summoning the Divine Rose, Lilith causes twine to grow around her Keyblade, with branches that spell out her name.*

T"I'm not sure if you should be relying on shortcuts. The spell is already not very efficient."
=============================
Phil<Tournament's not gonna start for a few days, Sweetcheeks. But I'd be glad to...show you 'round town.>

*He smooths down what little hair is on his head, takes her hand, & kisses it. Hercules turns away, scratching the back of his head & looking embarrassed. Meanwhile, the Dark Corridor begins to shrink.*

*Artexi smiles*

<Thanks for the offer, but I should be looking after my friend.>

*So she enters Nero's dark corridor*
---
Safian:<Where are your glasses?
===
<You're already better than I am.>

Azuma: "So it's like Lego."

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

Hitomi: "Waiting for the others to find us. And a bird took them and dropped them in the ravine."

T"Not really. She cheated by tying the letters to her Keyblade."

L"I don't remember you usually being this snippy."
-----------------------------------------
*Simba looks into the ravine.*

Simba<I can get them, but...what are glasses?>

Nala<Simba, it looks kind of dangerous.>

Simba<Nonsense. You just have to know your way around.>

Timon<I don't suppose you could stop leaving us with the carnivores, could ya?>

Pumbaa<I'd like that.>
================================
Sally<Something like that.>

E"Say, this looks like a dead end. How do we actually get to this tree house?"

Jack<Simple, we just climb the hill. You'll have to be careful to step around the Tentaclaw, though.>

*Euryale looks at Jack as he starts to walk up the hill, with Sally at his heels.*

E"...That doesn't actually go anywhere. Did I mess you up when I hit you in the head?"

*Euryale's mouth falls open as they reach the apex of the hill & it uncurls to create a bridge over the wall.*

E"Whaaaaa?"

Jack<Are you coming?>

*Euryale dumbly starts slithering up the hill, dismissing her Keyblade.*
=====================================
*Nero is on his glider in the Lanes Between. He looks over at Artexi.*

"...Jafar's back."

The two follow along.

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

Hitomi: "They're an object you won't recognize that are the same color as the sky."

*Artexi stops suddenly*

<Where.>
---
Safian:<We're not going to eat you. Really.>
===
*Monu chirps, which is probably a laugh*

<Bad Lilith!>

N"...Back. In his home world. Aggrobore or whatever."
=============================
Simba<You can trust them. My father's advisory was a little hornbill, & nobody ever ate him. Plus, I won't be far.>

Timon<Well...if you say so, Big Guy.>

*And so Simba jumps into the ravine, sliding down the rock until he reaches one of the sparse footholds & repeats the process.*
----------------------------------------------
L"Whatever. Where is everyone? They should have been back by now."

T"Maybe it's time to put the spell to its first field test?"
====================================
*The next area that they pass through, that bridge over the waterway, has Tentaclaws but no Heartless. Passing through here, they find Roatha sitting next to the rickety old bridge that leads to Oogie's Manor, staring up at it with a large burlap sack at his side.*

Artexi:<Agrabah. We're going to go kick his ass.>

*Artexi flies off towards her home world*
---
Monu:<Will you do the honors Thiera?>
===
Safian:<Oh, Zazu. Is he still...with us?>

Taiyo: "Are you all right?"

Azuma looks quizzically at the bag of mysteriousness.

Azuma: "What is this place?"

R"I don't know."

Jack<This WAS Oogie Boogie's manor, but Oogie is gone now. Now the only people who live here are Locke, Shock, & Barrel.>

Sally<What's in the bag?>

R"Candy. I told them they could have it back after they cleaned up all the messes they made. But I might have decked one after she tricked me with a bag of bugs. Don't know. Memory's hazy."
================================
T"If you insist."

*She summons the Oathkeeper & makes it spell out "Where are you?" It & the message then vanish in a flash.*

T"This method can likely only handle small messages, though."
------------------------------------------
Nala<Last I knew, but with Scar in charge, I'm surprised he lasted this long.>

*The Oathkeeper spontaneously appears in Safian's mouth as a message takes shape in front of her face.*
==================================
*As they land outside of the town's gates, they hear music that isn't coming from inside. Nero turns around, peering off into a distant cloud of sand.*

N"What the--"

Chorus<MAKE WAY, FOR PRINCE ALI! SAY, "HEY," IT'S PRINCE ALI!>

N"Ahhh!"

*Nero jumps back & falls on his ass when a drill bursts out of the sand below him. It floats into the air, revealing that it has a broadly smiling face with a curly beard on it. It then turns into a tornado of blue smoke, which coalesces into a spinning blue genie. He abruptly stops.*

Genie<You 2 look like you would make good dancers!>

*Pointing at each of them in turn, he blasts them with purple lightning, which, in a puff of purple smoke & white sparks, changes their Organization robes into stereotypical belly dancer outfits made out of the same material, with the zippers & ties turned into their belts.*

N"Now, wait just a--"

Genie<No time! The big show's already begun!>

*His arm grows to push them both forward as he snaps the fingers on his other hand, somehow causing the palace gates to slide open. Meanwhile, a parade approaches, headed by an elephant.*

*Artexi nearly falls over laughing at Nero*

<I wish I had a camera. Noct would LOVE this.>

*She moves to dodge Genie's hand*

<Almost worth it.>
---
*Safian spits out the Oathkeeper*

<Looks like a message from Thiera! I mean, it looks like her keyblade.>

*Not sure how to send a message back, Safian roars as loudly as she could*
===
Monu:<Think that's them?>

Azuma: "So they're not here then?"

Taiyo: "At least we found Roatha."

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

Hitomi: "Rafiki sent us to find Simba."

*She does not succeed, & is dragged along for a song & dance number. Once the parade is stomping through, the genie's tail turns into legs, his skin becomes more human, & clothes grow over him; white pants, gold shoes with curled toes, a long sleeved vest to match those, & a hat sporting a red feather. He then goes to harass other people on his way through, but they can't see very well past the bell players, sword throwers, & other dancers, waving their cloths.*

Genie<Hey, clear the way, in the old Bazaar, hey you, let us through, it's a bright new star, oh come, be the first, on your block, to meet his eye! Are you gonna love this guy! Prince Ali, Fabulous He, Aliababwa!>

N"What the fuck is going on here?!"

*A pair of dancers crack their cloths like whips, ensnaring Nero & Artexi. Releasing them with a flick, they make them spin in an impromptu dance.*

N"Oh!"

*Nero points up to the palace window, where they can sort of make out the Sultan, with Jafar behind him.*

Genie<Prince Ali, Mighty is He, Aliababwa! Strong as 10, regular men, definitely!>

Old Man<He faced the galloping hoards!>

Kid<A hundred bad guys with swords>

Man<Who sent those goons to their lords?>

All + Chorus<Why, Prince Aliiiiiiiii!>
===================================
R"Nah. They went off in a...bathtub."

E"What?"

Sally<Locke, Shock, & Barrel have a walking bathtub that they ride around in."

E"...This place is weird."
===============================
L"If it's not, we could probably take 'em."
----------------------------------------
Nala<Rafiki? Who's that?>

*Timon & Pumbaa jump.*

Simba<Hey, is something wrong up there?!>