Looming Shadows

*Artexi jumps on one as well*
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*Monu looks over at Azuma momentarily, then back to Lilith, still looking concerned*

<I'm sure we will find something there.We should keep moving encase more of them show up.>

*Safian starts licking a paw, staring between the humans*

Having indeed noticed precisely what those were, Hinode winced and decided to clue the other two in, "Those are the monsters that Avici was spreading all the way around my 'hood! He made them on The Grid! These are the things I think I fought the day that I met you two before I blacked out."

Th"Those are most definitely Heartless."

E"I'm sure we can take 'em."

*Euryale starts forward, but Thiera grabs her shoulder.*

Th"We don't need to, Heartless usually aren't very intelligent. If we can just barge through, we can eliminate them after we've taken care of Avici."

E"Unless the Organization is with them."

*She points to where Artexi & Roatha are riding in on some of the Heartless.*

E"That's Roatha, by the way. I think the girl is named Artexi, or something like that."

*Roatha jumps off, summons his Keyblades, & spins in the air, immediately sending a pair of lightning bolts hurtling towards Thiera.*
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*Meanwhile, Vega passes by a storm drain grate, hearing splashing in the tunnel below.*
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L"We'll take a shortcut."

*Lilith tosses her Keyblade on the ground, wherupon it becomes the familliar metal flower that folds around her to become her Glider. She then launches almost vertically upward, aimed for the peak of the tower.*
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*Unable to cartwheel in the air, Xshittyname is blasted to shit with lightning. The wisp lands in front of him while he's barely able to move, becoming the shimmering image of Maleficent.*

Maleficent<Are you ready to accept my tutelage now, Child? I warn you, you will not have another chance.>

He hammers her with Stone Dragon Ascent.

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Azuma gliders up and follows.

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Vega lifts up the grate and enters as there are very few options of what could be making those noises.

"Thiera, does that mean that's what Avici was making? Was he...making Heartless on The Grid?" He seemed wide-eyed for a moment, but also felt a little more confident considering that he had, in that case, taken them beforehand. Summoning his own Keyblade, he jumped forward, doing his best to deflect the bolts that were aimed at Thiera.

*Monu and Safian also summon their gliders and follow*
---
Why...?

*Artexi jumps off the heartless and summons her keyblades, using Venom Raid on Euryale with one keyblade and sending vines from the other to entangle Thiera*

*Thiera dismisses her Glider to use Reflect to protect herself & Euryale.*

Th"I am not familiar with what you are referring to, but that seems likely."

*Seeing as they are now surrounded by Heartless, Euryale stabs her Keyblade into the ground, using Geo Impact to destroy them. Of course, the Heartless keep swarming around them, Magnum Loaders taking swings at whomever they pass & Strafers firing lasers. Roatha spins his Keyblades & fades into darkness, suddenly reappearing behind Hinode.*

R"Whoever you are, take it from me: You joined the wrong team."

*Pillars of lightning gather around him & he dashes forwards, heedless of the Heartless he destroys in the process, their hearts floating away to parts unknown.*
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*As they get up to the tower window, the Order sees the results of Xyukuse's attack unfold. Maleficent's image shimmers slightly.*

Maleficent<Foolish boy, you've chosen your own demise!>

*The image explodes in Xyukuse's face. Even if he manages to protect himself from the shockwave, it scatters green fire everywhere, which quickly begins spreading. Pete jogs towards the room's exit.*

Pete<Hey, wait, awhat bout me?!>
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*Up ahead are Cloud in AC attire, Squall, & Yuffie. Cloud hears Vega enter first & turns around. Squall follows suit after grabbing Yuffie's shoulder to get her attention.*

Cloud<Told you we'd get caught.>

*Cloud & Squall each put a hand on their weapons. Yuffie jumps.*

Yuffie<Don't look at me, I've snuck in here TONS of times! It's your fault for splashing around in those big honkin' boots of yours!>

Squall<So what now? Who's attacking? Just what are you guys up to in this castle?>

Soon enough, Hinode had dismissed his own glider and joined the other two at their side before he raised his own Keyblade hoping to block whatever Roatha planned to assault him with. If he got an opportunity, then soon enough he was going to use Pulsar to launch a counterattack of various bits of energy. Fight fire with fire was an excellent maxim to describe his tactics.

*Monu freezes and stares at the image*

<Maleficent!? She must have been who you were dreaming about!>

Safian:<Well, the organization guy didn't get very far, did he?>
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*Artexi resummons both keyblades to her hands, then hops around on the backs of the heartless until she's close enough to Euryale to use Vampire Hold on her*

It is probably not a good idea to attack given how close Hinode is to Roatha, but the two ready their weapons none the less.

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Xyukuse hurls his Keyblade at Pete.

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Realistically the tunnels would be too narrow for either of them to use their weapons effectively or in Cloud's case, at all, but there's no way Cloud is going to get pubstomped in this setting.

Vega arms himself with the Darkest Fear.

Vega: "That is none of your concern. Leave or be destroyed."

*Pete is struck in the back & topples the rest of the way out of the exit.*

L"Probably, she could have easily drawn out the Dream Eaters...as for that guy, he's not worth putting ourselves at risk, but if one of you can put the fires out, he'll be a lot easier to capture this time. I just need a clear shot with my Resin Raid."
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*He can block Roatha's charge easily enough, but he's still being zapped by the pillars of lightning rotating around him. That is, until Euryale spins around, causing a stone pillar to shoot out of the wall & knock Roatha into the opposite wall, Thiera using Magnet to absorb the seeds being shot at them & the Heartless around them. Roatha leans against the wall & laughs. Those not fighting become punching bags for the Magnum Loaders & targets for the Strafers, who seem to be moving in odd back-&-forth patterns.*

R"Didn't even think about twice about wearing that 'armor' they gave you, did you?"
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Squall<Go talk to a wall.>

*Yuffie jumps again as Cloud & Squall get their weapons into position.*

Yuffie<What's that thing he's got?! I want it!>

Cloud<You don't even use swords.>

Yuffie<Then maybe I'll sell it! Or--or just keep it as a trophy!>

Of course the pillars of lightening cause Hinode great distress until Euryale and Theira are able to take care of the situation. With him panting, Hinode again looked up and wiped a small amount of blood away from his mouth with the back of his armored gauntlet. Narrowing his eyes as Roatha taunted him, he started to scramble to his feet again, "Believe me, I only do things I want to, not because anyone else were to tell me to do them!"

Taiyo stands close to Hitomi who uses Frost Surge to pummel the Heartless and knock them away. Taiyo follows through with attacking them with Waterga.

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Xyukuse opens a Dark Corridor and decides to go home.

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Vega slams a fist on the ground, a localized quake (Lich) hammering the trio.

*Artexi dark corridors behind Thiera and slashes at her back with a light covered keyblade, using Spark Raid on Hinode with the other*
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Safian:<I got nothing, sorry.>

*Monu shrugs his shoulders apologetically*

<Same with me, unfortunately.>

*Thiera falls to the ground with a pretty nasty burn on her back. Euryale shouts & water dashes at Artexi, spinning like a drill. While she's preoccupied, Strafers shoot at Thiera. I guess Taiyo's attacking...something. It's a single-target attack against a group, but whatever.*

R"And how would you know? They brainwash you to make you think you're following their commands based on your own will. Why do you think I quit? No, wait, don't tell me--I 'turned evil, because magic'? Does that even make the SLIGHTEST amount of sense? It sounds like a story a 10 year old would make up!"
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*Elsewhere, Cloud's sword glows with energy before he slams it to the ground, releasing a Blade Beam that counters the force of the quake, causing the ground to explode in a pillar of debris. Squall dashes across the chasm with his Gunblade thrust out as Yuffie jumps in the air & throws a shuriken.*
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L"It looks like he escaped anyway. Maybe we should just continue onward."
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*The Dark Corridor spits him out in some back alley in the Dark City, at which point a hoard of Shadows & Neoshadows emerge from the ground.*

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense, which is why I don't believe it." Hinode gritted his teeth as he motioned up from his own pain and got into position to swing his Keyblade once again as soon as he were into position to do so. "I don't know what is that drove you evil, but I don't think it's magic. You choose to do what you do with your life. I only listen to myself, and I can tell myself that you're bad to the core."

Gritting his teeth again, he swung the aforementioned blade. He might have been right or he might have been wrong, but he did know one thing - he wasn't acting just because someone told him to. He was acting this way because of what he saw infesting The Grid.

Taiyo attacks the Heartless with Thundaga, Hitomi using Thundara.

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Xyukuse uses Akashic Torment when the Heartless close in.

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Vega jumps towards Squall, attacking with Dragon Dance.

*Monu nods and they continue on*
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*Artexi leaps away from Euryale, entangling her in vines from one keyblade and then throwing more life draining seeds on her with the other*

*The Heartless that don't get hit just wait for the storm to subside & descend upon him, clawing at him.*
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Yuffie<Hey, ease up!>

*Yuffie holds her shuriken up, casting a cure spell on Squall.*

Cloud<It'll be a while before I can use another Limit!>

Yuffie<Got it!>

*Once Squall has been thrown away, Yuffie runs along the wall to get behind Vega. Cloud jumps up, launching an upward sword swing at Vega.*
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*Euryale tugs at the vines to pull Artexi towards her. Gathering rocks from the ground to orbit around her Keyblade like little meteors, she aims a Hammerblow at her. Meanwhile, Roatha blocks with the Ultima Weapon.*

R"So you CHOOSE to die a failure--congratulations!"

*He stabs at Hinode's abdomen with the Omega Weapon, also firing a beam of lightning from the tip. Meanwhile, Thiera grits her teeth & forms a ring of healing flowers around herself & Thiera. She looks up as the last of the Heartless dissolve.*

Th"There were so many of them...why did they stop coming?"
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*As they near the top of the tower, a serpent emerges & blows fire at them. Lilith swerves to avoid it & the creature begins circling the tower's peak. The dragon is about 20 feet long, serpentine & a splotchy pattern of blue & grey. Its horns sit on either side of its head & are curled tightly, while a hammer shape is on the end of its tail. Peculiarly, it seems to be wearing plates of samurai-style armor, with a gas mask concealing its face. Perhaps stranger still, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] seems to be coming from it.*

*Light covers Artexi's keyblade, cutting through the vines. She then parries Euryale's keyblade with Sol's Might. A serpent grows out of Artexi's other keyblade and exhales a paralyzingly gas onto Euryale*
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*Monu and Safian swerve to avoid the fire, Safian returning fire*

Hitomi casts Curaja on Hinode while Taiyo moves to get behind Roatha, swinging with Tiger Blade.

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He attacks with Air Flair.

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Azuma moves to avoid the blast and get in close at the back of its head to ram it.

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Vega drops down on Squall with Eagle Fall as Dragon Dance doesn't knock anything away and follows through with Shattering Demon Fist which would knock down Squall and Yuffie if she's in range which she probably isn't.

"If I am to die a failure, then yes I do personally choose to die a failure!" Hinode grunted for the time being, doing his best to deflect the other's Keyblade with his own weapon and only release of energy. Though he was doing everything he could to avoid getting stabbed straight through the abdomen, he was going to do as much harm to Roatha in the process if he had indeed gotten hurt.

*Euryale grabs Artexi around the waist with her legs & flips to throw her into the ground. She then uses waterspout to dispel the gas.*

Th"Be careful not to hurt him too badly!"

*Roatha has no defense from being smacked up by Taiyo & then back down on the ground. Thiera squints when he stabs the Keyblades into the ground during his fall, darkness pouring down their length.*

Th"Back away from him! HURRY!"

*Pillars of darkness expand out around him in a circular explosion that cracks the nearby stone.*
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*The Aero spell is somewhat able to compensate for Xyukuse's diminished movement, but his attacks are still sluggish. A pair of Neo Shadows take advantage of this & leap to grab his arms. A 3rd sinks into the ground, emerging underneath him in a rushing attack.*
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*Lilith fires at the opposite end of the dragon that Safian is shooting at to box it in. As a result, it swerves up so that it's vertically aligned & spins around, creating a tornado.*
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*Cloud turns his blade slightly to the side at the last second, but still probably doesn't do as much damage to Vega as being smacked into a ceiling by a big metal club should do. Yuffie drops to the ground, picking up Squall & throwing out a flash grenade, which of course explodes just after Cloud puts his goggles on.*

*Artexi rolls when she hits the ground, leaping back on her feet. She uses Spark Raid directly on Euryale's chest, waiting for the seeds to start taking effect*
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*Everyone flies away from the tornado, Safian continuing to fire on the dragon*

While Kyohaku never thought of himself as a coward, he was not going to ignore the advice that Thiera had decided to give him for the moment. He jumped out of the way and tried to put some distance between himself and the individual that the other had warned him about. Having blinked, he turned away from the dark pillars, "What's going to happen Thiera?!"