Shadows Swarm

Safian:<I was afraid of that when I ran into Zirabi. Nala, if he won't tell you, he won't tell anyone.>
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*Artexi takes the mango*

<Uh, thanks? What are you doing here?>

*Axel points towards the gates.*

Axel<There's a cave out there, shaped like a tiger head. Full of treasure & magic items. Also a maze filled with booby traps. Senthose had me looking through it, for things we could use.>

*He shrugs.*

Axel<I didn't find much, until I came back here & saw...all of that. You & Nero stood out like sore thumbs. It was even harder to miss your fight.>
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*Presumably the birdies come back to report their findings.*

T"We found Rafiki. It looks like he's leading Simba somewhere."

L"Show us the way."

*So the bird flies off with a snake on its tail.*
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*His grin slowly turns into a glare.*

Dr. Facilier<Hold on, there...let me just help your friend, 'fore she gets impatient.>

*He snaps his fingers &, in a flash of lightning, the door changes into a glaring mask with glowing, purple eyes, & enormous, forward-raked horns. As the mask's sharp jaws open wide, revealing a portal of swirling green energy, 6 other masks burst out of the tree on either side of it, grinning madly. Small dolls of straw, with little black suits, shocks of red feathers for hair, & faces resembling Jack-O-Lanterns drawn on them crawl out of the dirt surrounding them. Pulling pins out of themselves, they begin to drum on their surroundings.*

Masks<ARE YA READY? BUM-BUM-BUM-BUM, BUM-BUM-BUM-BUM!>

*Euryale slithers back, but shadowy hands reach out from inside of the mouth of the giant mask. Despite not touching her, they drag her toward it. Initially, she tries to claw her way free, but as the masks circle the area, emitting sparks of red, violet, & green, Dr. Facilier pulls out a pocket watch & winds it backwards. Some of the sparks take shapes like elongated heartless emblems. Entering both the watch & Euryale, they burn symbols like chain links over Euryale's arms & tail, connected to an hourglass symbol over her heart. The singing & drumming reaches a crescendo as Euryale is lifted up to be pulled into the statue's mouth.*
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Oogie<Don't ignore me when I'm about to make you into Snake & Spider Stew! Rrrrrgh, this'll teach you some manners!>

*[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] &, with a jerk, the wheel begins spinning. At this point, they notice that the wheel alternates between red & green, with Taiyo standing on a red portion, & Roatha a green. The reds glow, & Taiyo feels a wave of heat. As well, a buzzsaw swings down from the ceiling, heading towards them while spinning vertically.*

Azuma spins around, summoning his Keyblade and hurls it at the door mask.

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Taiyo high jumps off of the panel she's standing on and blasts bubbles at Oogie Boogie.

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Hitomi follows.

*Monu flies off after Lilith*

Safian<Coming guys?>

*She says this to Tomin, Pumba and Nala*
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Artexi:<He was being an ass. Anyway, find anything useful? There's supposed to be something called the "Cave of Wonders" out there.>

*They all follow, eventually finding Rafiki out in the field.*

L"Where's Simba?"

*Rafiki throws up his hands, laughing.*

Rafiki<Gone!>
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*Roatha sidesteps the buzzsaw, noting the plume of fire that shoots up where Taiyo was just standing. The bubbles hit the shadows, causing them to dissipate & reveal a spiked fence beyond. Oogie twists the button that he pressed earlier, then runs behind some more shadow cover. The buzz saw turns so that it is horizontal & moves towards Taiyo & Roatha, though now at least the red panels have stopped shooting fire. Out of bloody nowhere, a green portal appears above the center of the wheel. Shadowy hands lower Euryale onto the center platform & chain her to it. She seems to be frozen at an unnatural angle, not taking breaths or even being affected by gravity.*
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*Everything, Keyblade, Euryale, voodoo dolls, & masks disappear into the Large Loa with one final note*

<YA GOT WHAT YA WANTED! BUT YA LOST WHAT YA HAD!>

*Meanwhile, Dr. Facilier pockets the watch & pulls out a deck of Tarot cards.*

Dr. Facilier<Boy, you asked me how you could trust me? Well, lookie here: The cards will tell the past, the present, & the future as well, & right now, they're tellin' you that she got just what she agreed to. See?>

*He flips the deck of cards like a flipbook, which shows Euryale being placed in Oogie's Lair by the Shadow Demons.*

Dr. Facilier<She's inside, & not doin' anybody any harm. Just like I said.>

*The Large Loa coughs & spits out Azuma's Keyblade, also emitting green wisps of energy that circle the doctor, causing his eyes & mouth to glow orange, & his mask to appear black. As he talks, a violet light radiates out of his pupils like the spokes of a spinning wheel, obscuring his nose & casting his tongue in a similar shade as it wiggles around inside of his head.*

Dr. Facilier<I hope you're satisfied.>

*He points his cane at Azuma as the wisps of energy recede, returning his face to normal like wiping soot off of a skull.*

Dr. Facilier<But if you ain't, don't blame me. You can blame my Friend on the Other Side!>

*He points the cane back at the Large Loa just as it disappears in another flash of light.*
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*He points at her.*

Axel<That's the one. I'm thinkin' of looking into genies. Unless maybe you've got something else in mind.>

Artexi:<I wanted to kick Jafar's ass, and the genie did go his way...>
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Safian:<Did he go home?!>

Taiyo runs to Euryale to try and free her.

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Azuma recalls his Keyblade and takes a swing at Facilier.

Axel<I've got time. Jafar's the one who stole your heart, right? Senthose mentioned him. Said his Heartless might be involved with Jafar.>
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R"Wait!"

*Roatha charges forward with Thunderwheel in an effort to block the buzzsaw, but it goes horribly wrong, resulting in Taiyo getting whacked with an electrified Keyblade & Roatha taking a glancing blow to the arm by a buzzsaw. Both hit the ground pretty hard, Roatha understandably bleeding. Worse yet, a fence rises to keep them from moving to another section of the wheel, while theirs rapidly spins towards the robot soldier things, which lower their guns at the duo.*
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*Dr. Facilier knocks it aside with his cane, shuffling around him with some fancy footwork. Azuma sees that his shadow does not follow, instead kicking Azuma's own shadow in the stomach. When the wind is knocked out of him, the doctor clonks him on the head with his cane.*

Dr. Facilier<Y'all should've taken my deal when you had the chance. See, I may not be able to conjure a thing for myself with voodoo, but let's just say I've made even more friends, recently.>

*A pair of Graveyard Heartless appear, floating on either side of him.*

Dr. Facilier<And as you can see, none of those fancy flowers were planted here.>
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Rafiki<Ran away! All the way back to the past!>

L"That's just what we need. Nala, you should go ahead, convince the lionesses to help fight Scar."

Nala<Yes! Yes, of course!>

*And so she runs off.*

Rafiki<If it's help you want, my friends can do more than just play music.>

L"The more the merrier."

*So Rafiki heads back into the jungle.*

Timon<Uh, & what should we do?>

L"You tell me."

Pumbaa<Right! We're comin', Simbaaaaa!>

*And so Pumbaa charges off, with Timon struggling to keep his grip.*

Timon<Pumbaa, slow down! His uncle's not goin' anywhere!>

Safian:<Well, what are we waiting for?!>

*She runs after Nala, trying to eventually reach her. Monu looks at the others and shrugs*
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*Artexi finishes her mango*

<Yeah. I like were you're going with this.>

Taiyo makes it rain as being a little wet beats being sore and bleeding.

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Of course there wasn't.

Azuma casts Darkga sending it at Facilier, the spell itself hitting the two Heartless being in close proximity to Facilier.

*The healing rain washes over Taiyo, but Roatha is too far away. He takes no notice of this, moving to push Taiyo behind him as he's getting shot at & using another Thunderwheel. He takes a swing at the robot, but the wheel spins away too fast for him to hit. Oogie tosses a pair of dice in the ring & they can see that the part of Oogie's shadow shield that was destroyed earlier has regenerated.*

Oogie<What? Snake eyes?! RRRGH!>

*He jumps, causing the arena to shake & the dice to fall over.*

Oogie<Ha! Eleven!>

*In the fenced off portion of the arena that they are in, there appears 3 Gargoyles, 3 White Knights, & 5 Shadows. One of the Gargoyles grabs the dice & starts flying back to Oogie.*
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*He falls to the ground with several gashes, disappearing into a Dark Corridor.*

Facilier<Maybe I'll just leave this to the Heartless.>

*Meanwhile, the Graveyards barely react. Their lids open & headstones come out, as they float towards him.*
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*Axel takes a bite.*

Axel<Lead the way, then.>
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*And so, after running through canyon & desert, they wind up back at a cliff overlooking the parched Savannah, where they catch up with Simba. He looks back when he hears Timon.*

Timon<Yeesh. We're gonna fight your uncle for this?>

Simba<Yes, Timon. This is my home.>

Pumbaa<Then we're with you all the way, pal!>

Simba<Thanks.>

T"So what changed your mind?"

Simba<I had some sense beaten into me. Literally.>

*He rubs his head.*

Nala<It's great that you're back...but I'd better go on ahead. They're counting on me to get the lionesses to fight the Heartless.>

Simba<What are Heartless?>

L"You'll recognize them when we see them."

Taiyo blasts the Gargoyle taking the dice to Oogie with bubbles.

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Azuma closes in on a Heartless and takes a swing at it.

*Artexi starts off towards the castle*
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Safian:<If you haven't seen one before, it's probably a heartless. Nala, do you want me to come with you?>

*The Heartless once again basically ignores him as he puts another hollow gash into it. The other Graveyard moves around behind him. Ghostly shapes begin emerging from both graveyards.*
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*It weathers the attack & gives Oogie the dice through a small opening in the darkness shield. The various Heartless try to jump on them, Taiyo getting most of the Shadows & the 2 other Gargoyles & Roatha getting the remaining Shadows & the 3 Wight Knights slingshotting themselves at him. Roatha charges an orb of light on the tip of his Keyblade briefly & slams it into the ground, causing white pillars of light to spiral around him for a few feet, causing his attackers to impact it & stumble. Some of the light seeps into his wounds, causing the bullets to fall out & the holes to close.*
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*When they arrive at the gates, said gates are flanked by 2 guards. One is Razoul, & the other is the fat one. Razoul draws his sword & menaces them with it.*

Razoul<And where do you 2 street rats think you're going?>
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*Lilith hisses.*

L"Don't forget that you have a job to do with the Order."

Artexi:<Jeez, we were just looking around.>
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Safian:<I know, this is just my home. I want to help my family.>

Taiyo slashes at the Shadows with one Keyblade and shoots a lightning bolt at a Gargoyle from her other Keyblade.

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Azuma spins around and slams his Keyblade on the ground, sending a geyser of energy at the Heartless.

Razoul<Well, look elsewhere! You don't belong here!>

*Axel leans over.*

Axel<(Well, what do you think? What should we do next?)>

Razoul<What are you whispering about?!>
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*That Graveyard is blown back, but the other one is now buffeting him with a spinning barrier of ghosts.*
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*Taiyo hits a few, but is quickly dogpiled. Roatha Firewheels over to her, loosing a fire funnel to burn the Heartless just over her. 3 of the Shadows burst from where Taiyo had nearly cut them in half. The Gargoyles fly off, but not before catching slightly on fire.*

R"Look, we're not going to win unless we work together! I can only hold them off for a few seconds, so let's think of something!"

Oogie<You're not going to win at all! And how long can you hold off THIS?>

*Oogie runs back over to the buzzsaw control, so it now drops towards the stopped Euryale. Meanwhile, the Wight Knights jump to Roatha's back & the 2 remaining Shadows move underneath his Fire Funnel, while the last Gargoyle begins gargling darkness.*
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L"We have a mission to find the black lion & hopefully cut off the Heartless from this world."

Taiyo: "What about rescuing Euryale?"

Taiyo drops a fireball on a Gargoyle which explodes hitting those within six feet around the initial target and makes a mad dash for Euryale.

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Azuma closes in on the Heartless he had attacked previously and wails on it, minor wounds closing up due to HP Gain.

Artexi:<(Let's sneak in.)>

*She turns around and starts walking away*

<Such ruffians!>
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*Monu lands on Safian's shoulder*

Safian:<I understand.>

*Roatha turns around, radiating light. He stabs the ground, emitting a column of light that knocks the Wight Knights back, then is up with Taiyo & Euryale in a flash. With the buzz saw right on top of them, the Ultima Weapon glows & retracts, being replaced by the Oathkeeper. One of the Gargoyles that Taiyo didn't blow up shoots a blast of darkness at them & the Shadows continue moving towards them from inside of the floor.*
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*That is not a bad idea, but it is greatly mitigated by the fact that the ghosts swirling around the Graveyard hit like a ton of bricks. And, of course, the other Graveyard is trying to sandwich him in with the same attack.*
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*Thiera's head feathers perk up & she lets out a little squeak.*

T"Roatha's in trouble!"

L"If you've swapped Keyblades, then that's all that you can do, for right now. We all have a specific task, so let's go."

*So they begin pouring over the cliff & into the Savannah.*
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*Axel follows.*

Axel<If we could get up to one of these roofs, we could probably go over the wall, easy-peasy.>

Taiyo blocks the attack with one Keyblade and hurls the other at the Gargoyle.

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Azuma erects a wall of darkness around himself and moves around behind the Heartless and points his Keyblade forward gathering dark energy and unleashes a Dark Flare at the two Heartless.

*Safian glances sadly at Pride Rock, then follows*
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Artexi:<Why not find a deserted alley and use my glider to get up?>

*Taiyo soon finds out that a one-handed block isn't enough to stop a giant buzzsaw. Fortunately, Roatha uses Reflega, & the buzzsaw skims over them, the resulting explosion putting some cracks in it. The Gargoyle is sliced in half, releasing its heart, & the orb of darkness fades away.*

R"I've got Euryale, you take the Heartless!"

*The trio of Shadows emerge around them, the remaining Gargoyle is still flying around in a panic on account of being on fire, & the Wight Knights start running towards them, flailing their arms, when Oogie points at them.*

Oogie<Stop foolin' around & get 'em! They can't escape ALL of my traps!>

*While he's talking, he uses his other hand to manipulate some controls behind him, causing several enormous, knife-like blades to descend. They turn, aiming inward, for the Keyblade Trio.*
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*Azuma is able to successfully destroy the Graveyards, but the music from inside gets louder as a flying heartless, like a ghost made of metal, flies in, with Locke, Shock, & Barrel riding in a cage hanging from its underside. Shock also has a black eye.*

Barrel<Look at what we got!>

Shock<Can't push us around so easily now!>

Locke<Hey, let's make it eat him!>
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Axel<Could do that, too. Mine's a little flashy, though.>
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Timon<That music...yeesh, it's like a complete change of atmosphere.>

Nala<I know what you mean, it's horrible. Scar calls it "Be Prepared.">

Pumbaa<Be prepared? For what?>

T"Heartless!"

Nala<I really don't think-->

L"No, Heartless, right there!"

*She points with her tail to a trio of Living Bones in front of them. A Bouncywild also swings down from the trees behind them. It makes a "come closer" gesture" off to its left & a duo of Power Wilds emerge. Beside the Power Wields, they can see a quartet of Yellow Operas appear. Behind this group, they see Corridors of Darkness emerge all over the Savannah. Lilith coils & materializes the Divine Rose, & Thiera the Ultima Weapon, struggling to fly higher with such a massive Keyblade as her head feathers perk up.*

L"Call the other lionesses! We're starting this fight!"

*And so Nala roars out an SOS.*

Now Taiyo is torn between dealing with the Heartless or trying to stop the blades coming at them, holding her Keyblades to either defend or attack something.

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Azuma: "Looks like Roatha didn't hit you hard enough."

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Hitomi calls her Keyblades and fires a barrage of Wisdom Shots at the Powerwild calling them on.

*Safian lets lose a roar as well, then her body is covered in darkness as she jumps on the bouncywind, attempting to maul it to death. Monu summons his keyblade and soars into the air, sending diamond shards at the Yellow Operas*
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Artexi:<I can't think of something better.>