First Blood Shed

Taiyo takes Euryale's hand, looking relieved and then confused.

Taiyo: "Cuttlefish?"

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They pursue the Heartless and the fog.

Well, if they were going to get attacked by a giant squid he guessed that they'd have to figure out how to fight it when it came time to do so. For now, he was still just figuring out all of the different moves that he could do in this new mer-form that he seemed to be living in. It was interesting to say the least.

"Do all the movements just come from instinct? I seem to be doing pretty well, but you actually haven't gone out of your way to teach me anything so I assumed I was supposed to just be learning on my own."

Safian:<I guess our brains or something change when we transformed.>

*She does a somersault in the water randomly*
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*Monu takes off parallel to Lilith, weaving around the asteroids as well. As soon as the number of ghosts thins down to where he can destroy them with his spinning attack, he does so*
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Eve:<Yes, until we activate the device, you'll be open to magic attacks from Binah, however you will be able to retaliate in kind. And activating the device should not take long.>

E"It's an adorable little squid-thing. Sorry, I know you're all not used to swimming, that's why I suggest we hold hands when entering the current. Once inside, you'll want to keep your body straight. Since you won't need much force to move, you'll want to focus on using your fins to keep yourselves stable. You won't need to use your arms or, in Safian's case, pectoral fins, since you'll be holding on to a partner--I'll make sure your forelimbs are where they need to be."
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*The good news is that they've cleared the ghosts. The bad news is that the ship is now firing on them with cannons that produce huge shockwaves. It doesn't seem to be going for accuracy, instead pulverizing the asteroids into meteorites that fly out in all directions, making flying dangerous.*
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*While they're still a ways off, they realize that 1 of the Heartless is carrying a struggling person. Once the Heartless set down on the deck, the Captain & First Mate emerge from the Captain's quarters, behind the steering wheel. By the time the Order is close enough to make out their features, the anchor has been weighed & they're starting to shove off, when the First Mate points a pudgy finger into the sky.*

Smee<Cap'n, someone's following us!>

*The Captain rushes over to a table with a map & navigation instruments, picking up the telescope with his hand that isn't a hook, & pears at them.*

Hook<Flying children, eh? This has Peter Pan's stink all over it! You know what to do, boys!>

*[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The Air Pirates take to the sky towards them, along with new Heartless like flying pirate ships. Meanwhile, non-winged pirate Heartless aboard the craft turn cannons towards them & fire, with the exception of some who are dragging a struggling & screaming [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]] below deck & presumably some playing that music.*
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Zexion<What about the rest of the Order? How will we counter them?>

S<I've made sure that you have all seen their abilities first hand, but if all goes according to plan, you won't even encounter them?>

Lexeaus<...Do you mean to say that you expect us all to attack a solitary woman, whom you've nearly disarmed?>

S<Y'know, I thought you might have raised that objection, so I've prepared a little demonstration of just what a powerful magic-user can do.>

*And from his pocket, he produces Jafar's lamp, holding it over his head for all to see.*

Taiyo: "Oh. Umm, okay."

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Hitomi multi-casts Maelstrom towards the incoming Heartless while Azuma moves to avoid cannon fire, getting close to the ship.

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Xyukuse: "You want to skip the flair and get to the point?"

At this point the idea that he should have held a hand while entering into the current wasn't all that alien to him. They'd done everything else that she had suggested so far, so this didn't seem that bad on top of it. Leaning in, he seemed ready to accept whatever arm was given to him. In the process, he actually asked a thoughtful question.

"I was able to invite you into my home world, and now I am receiving the opportunity to view Euryale's. Will there eventually come a time that I can see yours, Thiera? Or, perhaps even Safian's?" Turning into a beast sounded exciting.

*Artexi freezes upon seeing the lamp. Her eyes widen and her hands begin to shake. Eve, meanwhile, prepares for her role in the demonstration (getting ready to activate the device if they are going to test it etc) she has one*
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Safian:<I better be in front 'cause I can't hold onto anything.>

*She turns her head to look back at Kyouhaku*

<I'd love to show you my world sometime!>
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*Monu flies away from the larger, more dangerous pieces hurling at him, looking for something large enough to hide behind*

S<Take some Ritalin & listen to soothing ocean sounds, you angry little ankle-biter, I'm getting there.>

*He twirls the lamp around his finger.*

S<This, for those who do not recognize it, is an old fashioned oil lamp. However, this particular lamp contains not oil, but a magical wish-granting entity known as a genie. It was recovered from Agrabah by our very own Axel, Nero, Artexi, & Noctis-->

*He gestures to them each in turn with his free hand, including a cloaked figure who may or may not be Noctis.*

S<--& the spirit inside was formerly the kingdom's treacherous vizier, whoops tautology. But that is a story for another day. In the meantime, what you need to know is that I've found a use for it as a training tool. When I rub the lamp, the spirit will be released, & I will become its master. I will then proceed to use the 1st of 3 wishes that I am owed to turn the monster against all of you, & your task will be to subdue it. This creature comes closest to Binah Psyche's mystical prowess of anything that I know of, so it should tell you why we're going to all of this trouble over a single woman.>
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*Euryale impatiently grabs Safian's fin with her other hand, & Thiera in turn grabs onto Safian. I suppose she offers her hand to Hinode in turn.*

Th"I suppose you could, but I very much doubt that you would enjoy it. Besides, for the time being, other worlds demand our attention."

*Assuming everyone now has a buddy, Euryale directs them into the current, & they find themselves suddenly pushed along by the water. As they enter the open ocean, they can see lights besides the moon, as bioluminescent jellyfish & other organisms drift through the still waters to either side of the transatlantic current.*

E"Those are jellyfish. They're pretty to look at, but don't touch them. They give a nasty sting, & some can even kill you. Luckily they're too fragile to travel strong currents like these."
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*Guess what, just more rocks. Lilith shoots at some asteroids coming towards her, before diving to get out of the asteroid belt, snaking along to avoid the ship's fire. When she levels off, she proceeds towards it in the same snaking pattern, firing at its cannons.*
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*The ship Heartless hang back, shooting at them. The cannonballs that miss them splash into the water & tear up the harbor.*

Hook<Heartless! Come out!>

*More Heartless, shaped like cannons, spawn on the deck, firing at them until it's like trying to pass through an iron curtain. The fog in front of the ship swirls into kind of a spiral shape, & curiously the scenery on the other side is a jungle archipelago, which the ship begins heading towards.*

Safian:<Hey, why wouldn't he enjoy it?>

*She might look extremely offended, but then again it's hard to tell on a shark*

<Why are they called 'jellyfish?' They don't look like fish to me.>
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*Monu flies away from Lilith, attempting to direct some of the fire towards himself so that Lilith can take out the cannons*
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*Artexi might have reacted more to the mention of Noctis, however the thought of fighting Jafar blotted out everything else.  She summons her keyblades and yells up at Senthose*

Artexi:<Release him so we can kick his mother-fucking ass already!>

*Eve, on the other hand, looks less than thrilled by the prospect if she has to be involved*

"Yeah, why exactly wouldn't I enjoy it?" Kyohaku crinkled up his face, hoping to get some sort of rise out of the other two with this. "Well, anyways, I guess I should focus on this for the time being like you said." He indeed did take her hand, figuring that they were all supposed to have buddies as it were. "At one point I think that all creatures in water were called fish. Killer whales were called Blackfish and mollusks that could make ink screens in the water like squids and octopi were called inkfish." Kyohaku neglected to mention that the only reason he knew that was because he saw it in a spell corrector dictionary in a computer program.

Taiyo hangs on as the only aquatic creature that matters to her is Euryale. Swamp Gal is cool too, I guess.

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Azuma flies higher, Hitomi casting Blizzaja.

E"I don't know. They've been called that since as long as the records show. Speaking of octopi & squid...."

*Thiera immediately starts looking around for a giant squid, but Euryale directs them out of the current. Breaking formation--but still holding on to Taiyo--she dives. Thiera follows, & Euryale lets go of Taiyo's hand as she searches the rocks of the sea floor. From the light of the moon & the glowing animals, they can see that a reef is jutting out of the abyss, covered in strange, colorful, & twisted shapes, a bit like trees & bushes, but unlike anything on the surface. Euryale scoops up a small octopus in her left hand & grabs a squid in her right. They shoot out clouds of ink, briefly flaring their tentacles, but Euryale begins massaging them, & they calm down.*

E"This is an octopus, & this is a squid. Depending on the type & age, they can be smaller than my thumb, or the size of a small whale. Most don't glow, though. We'll probably find a cuttlefish around here, too. You can pet them, if you'd like."

*With her tail, she gestures to the array of creatures beneath her. A cloud of colorful-but-not-glowing fish dart away from her tail.*

E"The leaves are algae, & the things that look like tall, twisted rocks are coral. All of that's good to eat. The little glowing creature inching along is a slug--not the frilly thing, that's a flatworm--& the shelled animals are crabs. The star-shaped things are, well, star fish or sea stars."

*Finally, she uses her tail to slap what seems to be a rock, but then releases a bunch of bubbles.*

E"This is called a tunichate, if you break it open, it also has food inside."

*Thiera drifts about, looking at the sea creatures, & then the taller mountains in the distance. She points.*

Th"Those strange, green peaks that look like towers & roads--is that Atlantica?"

E"Good eye. Yes, that's our kindom. Er...my old kingdom...."
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*The flying Heartless, covered in ice, sink into the sea, but once the ship is through, the fog begins to swirl, closing the portal.*
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L"We're in luck, it looks like about half of the guns have already been taken out."

*She strafes around, blasting. When a wheel on the ship explodes, it decides it's had quite enough of this shit. It turns about, & then the bow falls, revealing a giant skull, which Lilith is barely able to roll away from as it gnashes at her. She then turns around, leading it towards the asteroid belt.*
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*He points the lamp at Artexi.*

S<Second verse, same as the first. I don't want our pet genie wrecking up The World That Never Was. So we're taking a little field trip, to the Keyblade Graveyard.>

*Summoning the Two Become One in his free hand, he shoots a beam of light that materializes a huge, rusted iron door in thin air.*

S<Opening a Dark Corridor large enough to accommodate us all would be less than ideal. Of course, we'll be using the Heartless to get to the Land of Departure, but first things first.>

Taiyo looks about at the creatures, most of which are scarier than anything Halloween Town has to offer.

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Azuma dives into the portal.

By this point, most of Kyohaku's inborn fears were gone while at the same time it had looked like Taiyo had grown some new ones. It was certainly ironic to say the least, considering that he was supposed to be the person who had been afraid of these things for the longest time. Regardless, he moved over, hoping to soon find one of the creatures that he could pet. He had assumed that the previous offer had been suggesting that he could have pet a cuttlefish, had he been so gifted as to see one. Admittedly, he was thinking that it might not have been the best to approach a squid just yet since he wasn't experienced enough for that at the present time.

*Safian starts looking around for her own octopus to nudge at with the front of her snout*

Safian:<I never knew so many creatures lived down here.>
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*Monu chases the skull, using his spinning attack on the back of it*
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*Presumbly they head through the door, Eve looking slightly annoyed*

*Everything flutters the Hell away from Safian because she's a damn shark.*

E"Oh yeah, the ocean is full of life. But your species eats a lot of others, so--y'know."

*She lets go of the creatures & starts flitting through the algae. Eventually, she floats out with her arms wrapped around a big [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] almost half of her size.*

E"Gotcha! This is a cuttlefish. They usually live in the reefs, see, so that's why they often have a stripe pattern like this--it helps them blend in."

Th"This is all very fascinating, but shouldn't we be focusing on the mission? Protecting Atlantica?"
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*The portal closes behind them, & they are now in the midst of a large jungle archipelago. The ship resumes firing at them.*
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*Lilith once again dives out of the asteroid field, spins, & fires. Between both of their attacks & the asteroids now careening into it, the rest of the ship's guns explode, the mast is broken off, & eventually the skull shatters. The flaming wreckage of the ship "sinks," dissolving into darkness & releasing hearts as it goes.*

L"Well, that wasn't so bad. Shall we keep going, then?"
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*They emerge onto a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] In the background, they can see large craters & canyons carved into the landscape from the ancient Keyblade War. Closer, they can see where the place gets its name: Hundreds, perhaps even thousands or more rusted Keyblades are jammed, point-first into the ground, as if marking the places where their wielders fell. Without exception, the keychains have all broken off & are nowhere to be found.*

S<Stay back. These lifeless keys used to be full of power. United with the hearts of their masters. But when Kingdom Hearts was lost, this is all that remained. But enough ancient history-->

*After walking a few yards away from them, & as the remainder of the Organization files out & the doors close & collapse to join with the rusted sand beneath their feet, he turns to face them, holding up the lamp again for them all to see.*

S<Let's direct our attention to more current events.>

*With the fingers he's not using to hold on to the lamp's handle, he rubs the side, at which a twisting cloud of flaming smoke emerges from the spout. It bulges & solidifies into a red genie with pupil-less yellow eyes, a dark ponytail, & an evil looking beard. He stretches & laughs in a voice that shakes the landscape, opening his mouth wide to reveal sharp teeth as the clouds in the background swirl & bathe the landscape with blood red lightning. Nero & Daisy shiver, likely for different reasons, as Senthose stuffs the lamp back into his pocket.*

Axel<Man, was he always that powerful? Hard to believe we took him down.>

N"So what you're saying is that we didn't get it memorized?"

Axel<Cute.>

S<I appreciate someone who makes an entrance, but if you ask me, this is all just a tad over-produced.>

*He holds up a hand in a gesture meant to imply a "tad" of something. Jafar slowly stop cackling, crossing his arms. He gazes at the crowd, lingering especially long on Artexi, Axel, & Nero--who shivers again, & looks away--before drifting down & turning to Senthose, his lip curling into a sneer.*

S<I trust that someone with your "phenomenal cosmic power" heard my 1st wish?>

Jafar<Yes...you want me to attack your Organization, correct? The Organization that you are the head of?>

S<To be more specific, you are to subdue the Organization, re-entering the lamp when I call off the battle, which will not constitute a 2nd wish.>

Jafar<Would you also like a foot rub with that?>

S<Perhaps later. For now, I wish for you to fulfill the request that I just outli-->

*Jafar thrusts a palm out towards Senthose &, a second later, a burst of fire flies from it, dousing Senthose & continuing on for what seems like miles. When the flames clear, Jafar sees that he is standing unharmed within a crackling white barrier of energy, & frowns.*

S<Oh, you are just a treat. A real go-getter. Glad I hired the right man for the job.>

Jafar<I am no mere man. Not anymore. And you may refer to me as Lord Jafar.>

S<Well, then, Lord Jafar--you know what to do. As do the rest of you. Best of luck, then.>

*So Senthose disappears into a Dark Corridor as Jafar lazily turns to the rest of the Organization, looking not at all intimidated, but rather incredibly bored.*

Taiyo: "It's huge!"

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Azuma continues flying to avoid the attacks trying to get closer to the deck, Hitomi casting Blizzaga for days.

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Xyukuse gliders up and flies up, shooting at Jafar's face.

Regardless of what Thiera had said about them needing to focus on this, Kyohaku considered this to be part of an education in a field that he was sorely lacking in. Considering that he wasn't designed for water, this was something that he figured he had needed to study. Looking back carefully, he gently approached the aforementioned cuttlefish. "Am I allowed to pet it?" It seemed like Euryale had mentioned that before, but he was still going to ask before he had actually tried anything. He didn't want to scare away any of the animals that he wasn't still all that familiar with by any means.

Safian:<Oh,...right. For once I kinda hoped everything wouldn't be afraid of me. But Thiera's right, we should get on the mission.>
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*Monu smiles at Lilith and nods*

<Lead the way.>
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*Throughout Jafar's whole introduction. Artexi was getting increasingly red in the face, hands shaking as she holds her keyblades. She glares defiantly up at Jafar*

Eve:<Well, let's get this over with quickly.>

*Artexi starts by using Spark and Venom Raid on Jafar. Eve summons her keyblade but doesn't attack*

<Oi! The name's O'harris, yeh rotten bahstahds! And I'll be havin' yeh know that I am a healthy body weight!>

*O'harris the cuttlefish shoots ink at Hinode & Taiyo before fucking off. Euryale swims over to scrub off the ink that got on Taiyo.*

Th"It spoke. Naturally."

E"I'm sorry! Like most things in the ocean, they range in size depending on age or type. O'harris was a big guy, but some cuttlefish are smaller than my fingers."

*Thiera looks around.*

Th"I don't see any Heartless or Unversed...is it possible that Ursula & Barbossa aren't even in this world at present? Or are we simply misunderstanding their true plans?"
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*She can't see it. Because armor. They descend upon the same city that Azuma & Hitomi entered into, at which point the Gliders begin to vibrate.*

L"The Keyblades are responding--there must be some kind of portal nearby."

*Following the directionality of the vibrations leads them to what appears to be some fog, which swirls as they approach, opening up onto the ship battle. Lilith crosses through, & opens fire on the mast. While this was going on, Hook had done an impressive leap onto Azuma's glider, draw-slashing him with his rapier & withdrawing what appears to be a present with a fuse from his coat. On deck, there are few Heartless remaining, & almost no cannons.*

Hook<Do something, Smee! Get me a stronger Heartless!>

*The darkness from the slain Heartless flows off of the deck & seeps into the ocean.*
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*Jafar holds a hand up, deflecting the lasers shot at his face. Every other attack just sort of bounces off of him. When Xyukuse gets close enough, Jafar administers an electrically-charged backhand. His other hand, he raises to the sky, causing the ground underneath the Organization to rise as a series of plateaus. The Organization summons their Keyblades & shifts into battle stances.*

Axel<Last time we beat this guy, we snatched up his lamp! Where is it?>

N"I think Senthose still has it!"

R"Maybe YOU weaklings needed that, but there's nothing that won't break if hit hard enough!"

*Exchanging Keyblades for Glider & armor, he flies down after Jafar.*

Taiyo tries to wipe the ink off.

Taiyo: "They're not all like that, right?"

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Hitomi directs a Keyblade to block the attack and follows through directing them to use Aqua Sweep.

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Xyukuse moves upward to avoid that silly stuff before getting back on the desired trajectory and face shooting.

Safian:<I think we kinda deserved that. It wouldn't hurt to make a quick check of the city to make sure everything's fine.>
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*Artexi armors and gliders up as well, then follows Roatha and begins firing on Jafar*

Artexi:<Of course Senthose has his lamp. It would be too easy otherwise!>
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*Monu flies down to the deck and uses his spinning attack to destroy the remaining heartless*

"What happened exactly?" Hinode was brushing the ink away with his hand, which seemed to stay quite suspended in the water in front of him due to a difference between it and the density of the water itself. "Was he actually offended by the comment that Taiyo had made or something like that?" Then again, he could understand that. Kyohaku wouldn't want someone saying that his file size had grown to be too large and had to be trimmed down. He figured that would have been much the same sort of thing.

E"I guess he thought you 2 were making fun of him. Of course cuttlefish aren't all the same."

*She drifts back, squinting at Taiyo.*

E"You're not...cuttlephobic, are you?"

*Meanwhile, Thiera decides she's had enough of their antics & swims off towards Atlantica.*
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*After he destroys a few pirate Heartless, the remainder charge Monu, jumping & swinging their swords. Hook is knocked off of the Glider, rolling back down on the deck, but the present he drops explodes, damaging them & the Glider, including the thrust, which causes them to spin out of control towards the water. Meanwhile, the darkness bubbles out of the water, carrying with it a treasure chest, skulls & other bones, swords, & a crown, which assemble into the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] of the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. Glowing red, it rushes Lilith.*
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*Xylophone may have avoided the brunt of the attack, but the peripheral lightning & wake of the swing still damage the Glider's thrust. By the time he gets back on-course, he's slower, & shooting Jafar still does nothing. Raising a hand, Jafar causes a series of boulders to rise around him. Pointing at the various Organization members each in turn, he flings them at him. Roatha swerves around one & uses his explosion attack as he streaks past Jafar, but it still does no visible damage. It's not until Nero flies up, shooting him with crystals that something finally happens, & Jafar sags towards the ground.*

N"If we can't damage him, maybe we can immobilize him, unless--"

*With a roar & a flex of his muscles, Jafar smashes the crystals, growing into a giant as the lightning builds around him.*

N"That."

*Underneath them, the ground begins to break apart, exposing bubbling lava. From the plateau, Daisy & Vexen hit Jafar with ice blasts, which still don't do damage, but do seem to cause him to flinch. Lexeaus counters the boulders by smacking them back--which again break harmlessly against the genie--& Luxord flings cards, which grow & surround him in a whirling sphere.*

Taiyo: "Cuttlephobic?"

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Azuma attempts to maintain control to land on the deck, Hitomi holding on to him for dear life.

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Xyukuse jumps from his glider towards Jafar, dismissing it. Keyblades drawn in a position to stab into him.

On the ground, Vega calls his Keyblade and attacks with Wind Blade, aiming for Jafar's face which he is doing a lot to protect.