Looming Shadows

*Lexeaus is utterly unphased. Or maybe it's just the effect of stop. Xigbar tumbles & vanishes. Reappearing walking along the roof, he fires a charged shot at Monu. The clones tear into Xaldin, widening his wounds, at which point he summons his lances to spin around him as well as a giant tornado. This proves ineffective when Euryale can just bash him from below with a stone spike, knocking him out of his wind & onto the floor, lances clattering around him.*

Xigbar<I'm not so sure we're going to win this. Maybe we should just get out of-->

*He is interrupted as Binah's Lingering Will hits him with a fireball, knocking him from the ceiling. The Bower of Doom now encloses completely around the Nobodies it has ensnared, a tight, thorny ball that wisps of darkness, moonlight, & fire emerge from. The plants rot away, leaving nothing behind.*
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<Understood, m'lady.>
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*Nero is standing, because he is healed.*

N"Just fine, actually. We should probably follow Roatha. The Organization needs help."

Considering that he had already been holding his keyblade before any of this happened, it hadn't taken Hinode very long to release a powerful Supernova attack. What he was trying to do was essentially create suppressive fire. He figured that launching something like that wouldn't actually hit anyone, but it would give plenty of room to Euryale and Taiyo to operate.

Then again, to at least some degree he was figuring that Binah already had some of this covered and figured that the situation was generally secure.

*Eve nods at it, then gets back to work on the box*
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*Artexi rises, blushing slightly, and summons her glider*

<The Order is repeatedly kicking our asses today.>

*She jumps on her glider and takes off after Roatha*
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*Monu slides away from the charged shot, then sends a wind blade at Xigbar's back. Safian roars in triumph, sending more shadow clones at Xaldin, then jumping on him herself, claws out stretched*

Azuma continues wailing on Lexaeus which at this point probably makes him look like a lunatic.

*After she mauls him for a bit, Xaldin lets out a strained groan as wisps of darkness, nothingness, & wind exit his body, blowing Safian off of him so everyone has a good view of him dissolving. Xigbar is actually facing Monu, so the wind blade cuts him across the eye. He grabs at it before disappearing into a Dark Corridor.*

E"So what do we do about--"

*Distracted by the explosion going off right next to her, she does not see the Glider barreling towards them. Of course, the Lingering Will blocks it with a barrier, only for Roatha to appear behind the armor & destroy it with Raging Storm, continuing onward towards Hitomi & Taiyo. Up above, more Gliders can be heard approaching.*

N"We have to get the others out of here before the real Binah shows up!"

*He fires purple lasers at the rest of the Order. When he gets close enough to Lexeaus, he drops down & opens a Dark Corridor for the Stopped warrior to fall into.*
==================================
*The Sorcerers sort of casually drift away.*

At first Hinode was probably listening to what it was that Euryale had stared to say to him, but naturally she was interrupted one might prefer to say. Regardless, her commentary hadn't been finished by the time that it seemed like they were in danger all over again. Assuming that Taiyo and Hitomi were safe, Hinode would have turned around and nodded, "I'll help in whatever way I can: just say the word!"

*Artexi rockets towards Demyx and Vexen, letting loose some laser bursts at the Order as she passes*

<Come on, let's go!>

*Safian attempts to land on her feet, claws digging into the ice to  steady herself. She fires a fireball at Roatha. Monu raises a granite shield to protect himself and anyone standing behind him from the laser shots*

Hitomi casts Stop Flow on Roatha, Taiyo casting Stop in another direction in the event he moves.

Azuma gliders up and speeds towards Roatha.

*Once Lexeaus is safe, Nero uses Dark Barrier to protect Roatha, which doesn't prevent Euryale from using another stonespike to knock him into a wall again. Nero then yells as Lilith rolls & nails him in the back with Resin Raid, but that doesn't stop herself, Hinode, Taiyo, & Hitomi from being struck by purple lasers. They don't do much damage, however heavy crystals quickly begin growing from the point of impact. They are then struck by Artexi's lasers, which hurt considerably more, burning off chunks of armor &/or flesh. Monu also notices purple crystals glowing on his shield, for whatever that's worth. Another portal emerges, out of which Thiera walks with a look of resolute determination.*

N"Hurry! She's coming!"

Azuma dispels his glider, ice forming on the Oblivion to smash through the barrier with Ice Breaker.

Hitomi casts Cure on herself and those around her who were struck by the lasers.

*Artexi keeps moving as fast as she can towards the remaining Organization members, opening a dark corridor so they can fall through as soon as she can. Safian turns to chase Artexi, sending a fireball in her direction that Artexi moves to dodge. Monu lowers his shield and uses Wind raid on Roatha*

Well, it might not have done a great deal of damage, but Kyohaku certainly didn't enjoy the rays by any means. It sort of stung emotionally too owing to the fact that light, not too much unlike the power in those lasers, was something he was supposedly a master of. Regardless, he suddenly had something more serious to deal with in the form of those crystals. Fortunately it seemed that Hitomi had cast cure on him while he was using his Keyblade to deflect what blasts of Artexi that he could have.

OOC: I'm on my temporary connection, and I'm sorry if the post is at all screwy.

*Demyx & Vexen fall into the Dark Corridors to safety, but as Nero is having difficulty moving due to the resin hardening around his limbs, Lilith shoots vines around his throat & starts pulling him towards her.*

L"You're not getting away again!"

*He responds by beginning to sink into the shadows. Meanwhile, the crystals continue to grow, affecting the balance of the afflicted. Euryale tries to move towards Artexi while using the handle of her Keyblade to bash the crystals off of her. Roatha uses the Omega Weapon to hit the shaft of Azuma's Keyblade & knock it aside, using the Ultima Weapon to deflect Monu's attack back at him. As Thiera uses Magnet in an effort to hold him in place, Binah emerges, pointing her Keyblade at Artexi.*

*Artexi drops into a dark corridor, causing Safian to roar in displeasure. She reappears beside Nero, flinging acid at the vines with one keyblade, and stabbing the other into the ground, causing protective vines to sprout around herself and Nero*

Artexi:<Go, both of you!>

*Monu summons his keyblade back into his hand, then sends a wind blade at Roatha. Safian starts trying to get through the vines protecting Nero and Artexi*

Naturally it seemed that the biggest thing of importance to Hinode at the moment was doing his best to alleviate the crystals that were growing on him in turn, though he was somewhat able to maintain his balance a bit better as a result of the fact that he was primarily a digital creature that looked at the world through numbers and measures as opposed to the organic way that the others did. Regardless, he was soon doing his best to aid Euryale once more when he was granted the opportunity to do so.

OOC: I'll be gone most of the day tomorrow & Harley has had most of the week, so I'm just doing this now.

N"I can't leave until I'm sure Roatha is gone!"

*Lilith hacks through the vines on the other side with poisoned slashes, so Nero grabs Artexi around the waist, using Dark Splicer to appear near Roatha. Binah adjusts her aim & fires a pulse of light that knocks them out as they tumble through a Dark Corridor. Said Corridor swiftly closes.*

E"Damn it, we lost 'em!"

Binah<We can still succeed in our objective. Come, the computer room is this way.>

*She turns to leave, but Euryale & Lilith go to Thiera, who is staring at the spot where they disappeared, instead. When they try to touch her shoulders, she jerks away & follows her mother.*

OOC: Apparently they forgot to connect the Internet at the place I'm staying until we finalize a house. I hope that this post is alright.

"We lost them?! Well, how are we gonna catch up again?" Once again some of that notable famous aggression that Hinode was known for was showing up again. Regardless, he looked back and still cemented himself as a team player with the next bit. He followed Lilith and Euryale over toward Thiera. "Uh, is there something I should know about when it comes to her shrugging us off like that?" Even he thought that was admittedly a little weird.

Azuma: "We find out where they're hiding."

Presumably Hitomi & Taiyo can dispel the crystals through restorative magic.

*Monu follows slightly behind Lilith, looking from Hinode to Thiera*

<I think it would be best it you gave her some space right now.>

*Safian trots up behind Thiera, but doesn't say anything*

OOC: To be continued in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

*The crystals, as it turns out, dissolve into darkness when exposed to dispel magic, but the more they've grown, the harder they are to get rid of. Euryale starts to lean over to whisper in Hinode's ear, but Lilith holds her back & does it instead. So she goes to help Hitomi & Taiyo break the crystals off.*

L"(Roatha was closest to Thiera before he was corrupted by darkness. She takes it personally every time we fail to get him back. And before you joined, we had an argument over whether or not it was okay to kill evil doers, so I don't think she's too happy with Mom right now.)"

*She points ahead to Binah in case he can't figure out whom "Mom" refers to.*