First Blood Shed

*Artexi summons one of her keyblades, then sends vines to entangle Roatha and pull him away from Daisy and Vega*

Artexi:<What the fuck are you doing?>
===
*Monu nods*

Monu:<Of course, I had forgotten.>
---
*Safian tries to move out of the way of disks while remaining in the circle of flowers. She uses Fire Raid on the disks in an attempt to deflect them*

Azuma: "I got nothing."

Hitomi: "Neither do I."

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

While probably going to be unpleasant, Vega dismisses the End of Pain for the Darkest Fear and attacks Roatha with Reaper's Toll which probably doesn't aid Artexi at all.

*Rinzler catches the ID discs as they're deflected, but is not quick enough to avoid the explosion. After rolling across the ground, his armor cracked & gridlines blinking in & out, he uses Data Transfer again, appearing in front of the Commantis. It holds its claws in front of Rinzler as if protecting him & begins absorbs energy from its surroundings, which coils up around it in a helical structure.*

Th"It's trying to repair Rinzler! You should be able to use the energy against it!"

E"But--"

Th"If you fix Rinzler, Avici should disappear too!"

*Nodding, Euryale runs back over. She runs them both through with the Keyblade, at which point the data becomes a series of 0s & 1s. Guessing she's supposed to ignore the red ones, she presses the blue ones, & eventually the Commantis flies back, disintegrating into data. Rinzler falls over backwards, his grid lines first going out, then returning to their usual blue. The armor crumbles around him, revealing an unconscious & beaten-up Tron.*

Avici<SYSTEM FAILURE. CRITICAL. UNABLE TO RE--RE-->

*He drops Taiyo as the lightning cycles back into him & he explodes in a flash of light. Euryale tries to make her way over, but her adrenaline gives out halfway there & she falls flat on her face. Undeterred, she attempts to crawl the rest of the way. Seeing darkness threaten to pour out of the hole in the ground, Thiera fires a beam of light from her Keyblade into it, sealing the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]*

Th"Well--this fight could have gone better. But at least we're alive."

*Outside, they can see the battleship disintegrating into clusters of data. As the ships make their escape from it, their lights change from red-orange to blue-white. Also outside, the trio is destroying the last of the Heartless.*
============================
*And so Vega & Daisy are hit by bolts of lightning. Daisy convulses a bit, but weathers it fairly well. Seeing something coming, Roatha shifts his Keyblades to block the brunt of the explosion, but the force assists Artexi in dragging him back. Roatha takes a swing at her, which Nero steps in front of her to block.*

N"Calm down! You're going to get us thrown out of this world!"

R"Afraid to fight me even with all this back up? No wonder the Order rejected you."
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L"Okay then. See you guys later."

*She waves & heads back to the Arena.*

With the change in music, Kyohaku knew that it must have been close to being over if not over already. For now, though, he was clutching his side and desperately trying to stand as he used the Keyblade for support. Grimacing through his injuries, which perhaps made him look scuffed up more than hurt due to the fact that he was software and therefore produced no blood here, Kyohaku looked over toward Thiera as best as he could.

Suddenly grinning and letting out a celebratory yell, Kyohaku actually scolded what she had said.

"Could have gone better? My home is free for the first time in what seems like ages!"

Considering that a few seconds must have felt like an eternity for something made out of computer components, this probably did feel like an oppression that lasted forever to him.

The question was, though, now that it looked safe was Kyohaku going to stay here indefinitely or continue traveling on?

And the two go to follow up on that lead.

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

Vega uses Center to patch himself up, Daisy being not within punching him distance to avoid being burned.

They should probably be grateful Xyukuse is passed out in the gutter or wandering around to assist them in making asses of themselves.

Artexi:<No, we just don't randomly jump people, especially our allies!>

*Artexi summons her second keyblade and sends vines from it as well. She continues attempting to drag Roatha away*

Artexi:<Daisy, I still need to apologize to you got earlier. Just...hold on a moment!>
===
*So they go back, I guess*
---
*As soon as she's healed, Safian runs towards the injuried Euryale*

Safian:<I think we need a healer over here!>

Th"I would like to point out that we all nearly died & I can only do so many things at once!"

*She casts her healing flower ring around Taiyo & Euryale just as the former grasps the latter's wrist. Whether due to a time limit or because she can only cast 1 at a time, the ring around Thiera scatters on the wind. Fortunately, she's healed enough to pull her into a sitting position.*

E"She's alive!"

Sam<But what about--?>

*As the trio enter, Kevin races to Tron's side & opens an eye to peer into it.*

Kevin<He'll be fine. He's just rebooting.>

*Just then, the pillar of light emerging from the big hole in the ground flashes blue.*

Kevin<Don't be alarmed! This is just Tron's memories being restored!>

*And so as the aptly named [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] begins playing, a holographic image of Tron meets a much younger Kevin Flynn, hugs some female program in yellow, & is told by a slightly older Kevin Flynn that the system will be moved to the mainframe of Ansem the Wise. The scenes get slightly darker as Kevin & Tron are surrounded by a group of Black Guards led by a smirking Avici. The scene changes to a cell as Tron informs Roatha, Azuma, & Hitomi about Avici. Roatha uses the Keyblade to unlock his cell, then they flee, fighting Black Guards, then Tron is briefly reunited with the female program before he & the Order board a solar sailor.*

Azuma<Game Grid? Is that some kind of gladiator arena?>

Tron<Yes. Sark makes those of us who still believe in the users fight there.>

Roatha<"Believe in"? What are you, some kind of religious zealot?>

Tron<Well, that's what he'd say.>

*After disembarking, they fight a group of Black Guards, Tron squaring off against Sark.*

Sark<You're very persistent, Tron!>

Tron<I'm also better than you!>

*After catching Sark's disc, Tron throws his own, scraping Sark's head. As the evil program derezzes, they corner Avici, only for his ethereal blade to transform into a Keyblade.*

Avici<The balance of power has shifted.>

*Avici moves at a blurred speed, promptly laying out the entire Order & stabbing Tron in the chest. The image becomes hazy as Roatha reaches out to Tron & shouts his name over the garbled audio. The images finally disappear as the standard theme of the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] plays once more.*

Th"I had no idea Tron knew Roatha so well...if only he could be as easily reset...."
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*Nero pushes her away as Roatha burns the vines, retaliating with a fire whirl. When he rears back with his 2nd weapon, he finds it entangled in a vine from Lilith.*

L"Hey! We have a match coming up & we don't want it interrupted by any stray attacks. So why don't you idiots clear off?"

*When he turns to look at her, he also sees Phil & the gods watching from the stands, looking like they're about to get up & bust some hands. Roatha dismisses his weapons & stands up, shoving his hands in his pockets.*

R"Pf. Whatever. It's like I always tell Nero: Someone won't always be there to rescue you, Psyche. And then--h-hey, I wasn't finished yet!"

*Lilith has already turned & headed up to the arena.*
==================================
*It's not long before they see the world with the clock tower, in a blue & green nebula that looks like the bottom of the sea. However, a cannonball cuts them off as a giant [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] emerges from the clouds, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] flying off of it to rush them.*

The two scatter, Hitomi firing at the ship while Azuma takes on the ghosts.

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

Vega doesn't move in the event, Roatha does something stupid again.

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

Taiyo looks at Euryale groggily before throwing her arms around Euryale.

Had entire friendships been shattered and had people that he knew, both good and bad, disappeared from the Grid forever? Instinctively, Kyohaku padded himself to see if he were still there, which of course he was. Turning about, he noticed that the other members of his crew were still together, in spite of the fact that they were far worse for the wear. Still, they were alive and it looked like his homeland was actually free for the first time in a very long time.

"What happened to Tron exactly? Maybe we can restore him from a backup as well."

Turning back to Thiera, Kyohaku suddenly shook his head. "Don't waste your healing power on me. I did this to myself, and I'll recover." Frankly, he thought he was in bad shape, but he didn't want to take from anyone else if they needed healing.

*Monu glares momentarily at Roatha before turning and following Lilith*
===
Artexi:<Come on, let's get out of here before the gods decide to curb stomp you.>

*She turns to go*
---
*Safian slinks back towards Thiera, and rubs against her*

Safian:<We'll find a way!>

*Euryale does her best to hug Taiyo back before passing out. Meanwhile, Thiera absent-mindedly pets the cat.*

Th"Don't be ridiculous, I'll heal you just as soon as I'm finished with Taiyo & Euryale. Well, Mr. Flynn, how soon will Tron awaken?"

*Both father & son look in her direction, but before they can say anything, Tron groans & pushes himself to a sitting position, rubbing his head. Thiera clears her throat.*

Th"Mr. Tron, when you're feeling up to it, I need you to answer some questions about anything Avici might have told you."

Tron<Shoot. But don't expect much. Anything they considered important was set to delete when I was restored. What I remember most...are the victims.>
==============================
*Grumbling, Roatha turns to follow Nero & Artexi toward the stands. Daisy rises to her feet, stepping further into the shadows, putting her hood up, & pulling her arm deeper into her coat.*

Daisy<...Thank you.>
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*Meanwhile, as the battle music begins to play, the Order is joined by their team mates, & in a tornado of petals, Marluxia's team once again emerges. Marluxia smirks at them.*

Marluxia<Well, well, long time no see. As I understand, one of your friends was from this world. Tell me...do you even care that we have her?>

Larxene<Talk about Heartless!>

*Larxene shrugs. Celes & Onion Knight look curiously at their team mates.*

L"If you're so interested in talking, then--"

Marluxia<Actually, I'm afraid that is all I had to say!>

*He swings his scythe downwards, but it's a feint--when Lilith raises her weapon to block, he suddenly appears behind her, slashing in a whirling ball of pink blades. Fortunately, Cloud steps in to block, swinging his sword to off-set Marluxia's balance. Meanwhile Larxene charges at Monu, throwing spears of electricity at him, & Lightning shoots at the other 2.*
============================
*As Hitomi has to pull up close to the ship to shoot, it fires on her with all of its cannons, a veritable hail storm of cannonballs descending upon her. As Azuma only has the razor edge to fight the ghosts, he slices up several of them, but others flank him, attacking him directly & attacking the underside of his glider.*

Hitomi does a barrel roll to avoid the cannonballs and fires on the cannons. Azuma turns and swipes at the ghosts, angled to hit the one's below him as well as around him as he turns.

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

Vega: "You're welcome."

"...the victims are sadly the part that I think everyone is going to remember the best for a very long age." With that, he let out a very deep exhalation. Hinode seemed like he was going to reflect on the situation earnestly for once.

Eventually he shook his head and looked at Thiera. "Perhaps only after everyone else is; I don't want you to exhaust yourself before you get to all of them."

It would have seemed a part of Kyohaku's old programming was coming to the forefront once again. He was originally designed, of course, to be a security program, and now that old subroutine that regulated self-sacrifice was once again switched on.

"Is there anything else you think you'll be able to remember, Tron?"

*Artexi suddenly turns around, as if she suddenly remembers something. She gestures at Daisy and Vega while yelling*

Artexi:<Hey Daisy, come sit with us! We'll fine a place to watch out of the sun, if you'd like that. Your friend can come too.>
===
*Monu dives away from the Lightning spears, then sends a blast of wind in response*
---
Safian:<Hinode, you're just as important as everybody else. You'll get healed too!>

*Judging Taiyo & Euryale to be healed enough, Thiera next casts the spell around Hinode.*

Tron<Only...fragments. Of data. They leave me with the impression that Avici & his user had some larger goal. Something which is nearly complete. You should watch your backs.>

Th"I see. Then, if this world is safe, we should head out."

*Tron nods & stands up, walking over to the hole in the floor.*

Tron<Once I regain control of the system here, I can send you back to the outside world. But one more thing.>

*He turns back, & Thiera cocks her head.*

Tron<I know about what happened to Roatha. Avici's user somehow infected & repurposed him, the same way Avici did to me. I may not know how to restore him, but I'm sure you Users will find a way. You always do. If I find anything, I will be sure to let you know.>

Th"Th--thank you...Tron...."

*So, with a wave, Tron drops backwards into the hole. Thiera looks shocked, until with a flash, they all reappear in the lab, Cid falling off of his chair in surprise.*

Cid<Shit! Goddamn it! Stupid kids, not givin' me any warning before poppin' up out of fuckin' nowhere like that--do you want an old man to have a heart attack?! Yeesh, what happened to Boobs?>

Th"She's just asleep--& don't call her that! Is Tron alright?"

Cid<The fuck's a Tron?>
=============================
*Larxene jumps, closing the distance in a lightning charged dash, & slices at him with whirling blades of electricity. Meanwhile, Marluxia sustains a rather grisly stab wound from Cloud, who is in turn forced to roll away from a downward slash from his Keyblade, which fires a blast of pink light & petals along the ground. As Celes closes in on Lightning, locking swords with her, Onion Knight leaps, firing meteors at the pink-haired warrior. Meanwhile, Lilith slips to Marluxia's side & stabs him.*

L"Where is Mortal!?"

Marluxia<Lost forever in the darkness! As you will soon join her!>
---------------------------------------------
*Daisy looks inquiringly at Vega.*
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*Hitomi blows up some of the cannons, but the ship keeps firing on her. Azuma is having moderate success destroying the ghosts, but his flopping around is causing him to drift away from the battle & towards an asteroid belt.*

Rubbing the back of his head with a bit of a blush as Safian addressed him, Hinode actually decided to ask something of the lion. "Mind if I were to ask you a favor? I consider you my friend at this point, and I'm sure you think the same of me, right? Feel free to call me by my given name. Hinode is actually my last name." With Thiera then focusing on him, it seemed like his shoulders relaxed a bit and he slowly moved forward. That had certainly felt a lot better, even though he was braving his injuries quite well before that anyway.

Looking around himself, the program soon enough found himself back in Cid's lab, and the first thing he did was to instinctively look down to his hands to see if he were still glowing or once more looking like flesh. He still honestly found the look of actual organic flesh rather unnerving to tell the truth.

Hitomi continues evasive maneuvers, firing at the ships cannons. Azuma rights himself and heads back to the fray.

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

Vega shrugs as it does not matter.

Safian:<Uh...Ok, Kyoukaku. You know we're all your friends, right?>

*In the real world, Safian lands gracefully on her feet and growls at Cid for his "Boobs" comment*
---
*Artexi continues pointing and waving*
===
*Monu jumps backward and raises a diamond shield both for projection and so his attacker can slam into it*

*Cid calmly blows smoke in Safian's face as the computer starts beeping. Thiera looks at it to see a close-up of Tron.*

Cid<Ah, blow it out yer ass.>

Tron<Greetings, friends! I am happy to report that the system is back on-line. I am ready to assist in repairing the castle & defending it from Heartless & other invaders!>

Th"That's good to hear, & I'm glad you're alright...but what about Sam, Kevin, & Quorra?"

Tron<They're free to come & go as they please, but right now, we've got a lot of catching up to do.>

Th"That sounds familiar. Once Euryale wakes up, we'll have to head out. But we'll be back to check up on things. It probably couldn't hurt to have Cid upgrade our Gliders either."

Tron<Then best of luck to you. May you see many cycles to come!>

*He holds up his hand. Thiera smiles & presses her hand to the screen.*

Cid<What the fuck is wrong with you? You're smudging up the screen, goddamn it! Shit!>
=============================
*Like lightning, literally, Larxene darts around to the other side & slashes at his back. Meanwhile, Lilith is forced to beat a hasty retreat from Marluxia as he spins his Keyblade, creating a tornado of petals. But once she's free, she starts firing on him & Larxene with thorns, aiming specifically at Larxene's feet so she's not at risk of hitting Monu. Cloud comes to Onion Knight's aid, deflecting the meteors back at him. As neither Lightning nor Celes can get an edge--the latter ducks the former's bullets & uses Runic to prevent her from casting magic--Celes tries to maneuver her towards the flower tornado.*
----------------------------------------------
Daisy<What does that mean?>

N"Are we just gonna hang out on the stairs forever?"

R"Well, I'm not."

*And so Roatha rudely pushes past them.*
================================
*It apparently recalls the ghosts to Hitomi, as she is wrecking its shit. So instead it fires at Azuma while the ghosts rush her from behind, fanning out in an attempt to surround her.*

With a bit of a smile, Kyohaku nodded to Safian and exhaled. "I guess I just didn't know it at first. My friends before we got together were, well, different. Remember those light-cycle bikes that we had to ride around before?"

Finally, though, he came to focus on Cid with a frown, "Knock it off, alright? I don't want you using that kinda language around my friends." At one point in his life, those would have probably been fighting words, and it seemed that he still had plenty of that rabble rousing within him after all.

Focusing then on Tron, Kyohaku nodded his head in a farewell salute, having only now really come to know the great hero of the Grid. He decided to give him a proper send off, until next time anyway.

"Tron, in case I don't see you again, 010001110110111101101111011001000010000001001100011101010110001101101011."

Hitomi pulls up firing as she flips her glider around. Azuma meanwhile ducks and weaves to avoid the projectiles.

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

Now they're loitering.

*Safian hisses and moves away from the smoke, then looks at Hinode*

Safian:<Oh yeah, those things. What about them?>
---
*Artexi yells at them again*

Artexi:<Well, come find us if you wanna hang out! Hope there's no hard feelings between us!>

*She heads out after Roatha*
===
*Monu turns and parries the strike with his keyblade, then sends diamond shards at Larxene*

Cid<Didn't know talking lions could hiss.>

Tron<You too. End of line.>

*As the computer shuts off, Thiera starts trying to drag Euryale from under her arms. Meanwhile, Cid has pulled a new cigarette from the pack on his head, lighting it with the old one, & flicks said old one in Hinode's general direction.*

Cid<What's that? You wanna go, tough guy? I'll have you know, I'm handy with a spear. Come outside, I'll whoop your chickenshit ass clean off, then charge you double for the Gummi you need to find it again!>


Th"Never mind the senile old codger--"

Cid<Make that triple.>

Th"--just help me transport Euryale to a bed, she weighs a ton."
===========================
*Larxene opts to backflip through the air, throwing knives at Monu in a fan formation, which generate a kind of electrical net between them. If it makes him feel better, the rest of the team isn't faring any better. Onion Knight has become a ninja for some unexplained reason, appearing behind Cloud in a puff of smoke & slashing him up with dual swords. Lightning tried to roll past Celes, but was kicked to the ground & is now being attacked by a tidal wave from the latter's sword. Finally, Marluxia teleports above Lilith, who realizes she has been backed into a corner. She does manage to block his dropping attack, but is thrown against the wall outside of the arena & knocked out. Soon nymphs come to collect her.*

Phil<Team Apollo is on the defensive! Looks like this might be a short match, folks!>
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*Meanwhile, sparing a few last furtive, confused glances at Vega, Daisy follows the other Organization members.*

Daisy<Looks like those Order bullies might finally suffer a loss. But why are we still hanging around HIM?>

*Roatha sits next to Demyx, who hangs his head in a gesture of moping after the former uses lightning to snip the strings on the latter's sitar.*

Vega<I can't say most of this "Order" has particularly intriguing abilities. The boy who used darkness & ice wasn't particularly adept at either, compared to myself or Nero. This girl's command over plant matter is impressive, but not on the level of our estranged Marluxia. Of them, only the girl who seems to have disappeared after the altercation with the dead deity seems to have potentially promising research prospects.>

*He looks over to the judge's box.*

Vexen<Their deities...now surely they have prodigious specimen value.>
====================================
*Unfortunately, while Hitomi can shoot at a slightly longer range than Azuma could attack, she can also only fire ahead of her, so soon the ghosts mob her. The ship also makes a sudden turn, bumping her & sending her hurtling out towards space. Still firing on Azuma, the ship also rushes him.*

Hitomi attempts to collect herself while Azuma moves to avoid the ship and aid Hitomi.

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

As Taiyo is apparently done laying around with Euryale, she helps Thiera drag her away like a corpse they're going to hide in the cellar.

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

Vega follows as intended he just wasn't vocal about it.

"You do that again...do you have any idea what damage nicotine can do to semiconductor components?!" Despite Kyohaku's hot temper, and the fact that computers and cigarettes really weren't the best of friends, he decided to ultimately take Thiera's advice and instead help her move Euryale to a bed rather than engage Cid. That being said, he felt that doing so was more or less against his better judgment to be honest. He was starting to really not like the old man for what it was worth.

"Tell me she's going to be alright..." The wistful way that he had said it made it almost sound like some sort of a hopeful ultimatum.