First Blood Shed

*Eve stands near the anti magic fields, laptop in hand. She runs diagnostic checks on the three fields while tapping one of her feet on the ground*

Eve:<Are the Invisibles around, I don't see them anywhere.>

*She only barely glances around as she says this. Artexi goes and stands beside Nero, crossing her arms*
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*Safian disappears into the shadows and starts creeping towards the entrance. However, she stays far enough back that she doesn't stray too far from the others*
---
*Monu turns to look at Azuma and Hitomi innocently*

Taiyo looks a little flustered and somewhat embarrassed. Thankfully Euryale isn't the keenest observer.

Taiyo: "Th-thank you."

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Hitomi stares at her feet, trying to hide her face.

Azuma: "Umm...was that a bad suggestion?"

Hitomi: "N-no."

Sighing a bit, Kyohaku rolled his eyes. "Ugh, we're back to sneaking around again? I would have thought that these would have been the good guys or something." Eventually, though, he realized that like it or not he was going to need to get a plan. Making a gesutre that almost seemed like he was cracking his knuckles or something, he allowed his tail to shift ever so slightly. "It actually looks like Safian already has a plan. Maybe she could get us in somehow if she snuck in and then tricked someone. Nah, I guess that wouldn't work." He then blinked as a better idea started to come to him. "Actually, we can move up in the water, so couldn't we just float over the tops of them?"

*Euryale closes her eyes, purses her lips, & leans towards Taiyo while pulling her towards her.*

Th"Perhaps. Once a cloud passes on the surface, it will obscure the moonlight, and we should be safe from view."

*Thiera finally glances behind her, doing a double take at Taiyurle undoubtedly making out.*

Th"Oh, really, is this the best time or place for that?"
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*Peter Pan whirls around them, making an exaggerated kissing face.*

Pan<Oooh, are you kiddies in luuuurve? Ow!>

*Lilith had fired a series of seeds at his ass, then looked innocently away when he turned to glare at her. When he looked away, rubbing himself inappropriately, she snickered & lifted about an inch off of the ground for just a second.*
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S"They will be in the Realm of Darkness."

*Meanwhile, Xigbar looks for Xylophone & Vagus.*

Taiyo isn't listening because she's experiencing her first not awkward kiss.

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

Pan should consider himself lucky as previous iterations of Hitomi would have set him on fire. This one might as well.

Azuma: "Yes, what of it?"

And Azuma is not helping with Hitomi's phobia and anxiety. Making it worse actually.

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It should go without saying, they followed and are probably standing on Xigbar's blind side.

While that kiss wasn't awkward for Taiyo, it was relatively confusing for Kyohaku who still wasn't sure about this whole partnership thing, but it looked like the sort of thing that Tron and Yuri reportedly had done, so maybe it was even more common outside of the Grid than within it. Swimming over to Thiera, he looked toward her. "Maybe we should keep going for now."

*Monu looks at Lilith, smiling at her*

<He's lucky that's all he got.>
---
*Safian turns back to look at the others*
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Eve:<Yes, yes, of course.>

*She continues running the diagnostic tests*

Th"It looks like a fairly large cloud is passing. Let us rise."

*Euryale entwines the fingers of her right hand in Taiyo's hand, squeezing and rubbing her back with the left. She may or may not have hesitated when her fingers brushed the clasp of the clams. At Thiera's direction, she clicks her tail, sending herself, Taiyo, & the hot, steamy mer-action skyward. True to Thiera's word, they can faintly see a dark shape passing over the moon high above the water, blanketing the ocean in darkness, though they can still faintly see one another as long as they stay close.*
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*Daisy points them out to Xigbar.*

Xigbar<Oh, there you are.>

*He turns to Senthose.*

Xigbar<Hey! Big S! All the kiddos went potty & are ready to go!>

*Senthose, in turn, nods to Saix, who turns to the rest of the Organization.*

Saix<We will depart just as soon as the machines are declared fully operational. Proceed in an orderly fashion once inside the Dark Corridor. There will be a barrier of light protecting the Land of Departure from entry, which will require several Keyblades to unlock. Once inside, follow the lead of the closest members in proximity to yourself. Those of you who recognize the Inner Organization members, follow their leads and commands. Are you all clear on this?>
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*Azuma also lifts slightly off of the ground.*

L"I still can't fly, though...."

Pan<Yeah, loser.>

*Lilith glares at him & grinds her teeth. He picks his ear, rolling his eyes away from her.*

Pan<That's not helpin' ya fly!>

*Lilith grinds her teeth harder, shaking in barely suppressed rage. Meanwhile, through the trees, they catch the occasional glimpse of the Ruler of the Sky looking around as it makes its rounds, as if searching for something.*

*As the others go up and around, Safian slips into the city through the shadows*
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*Monu gives Lilith's hand a squeeze and glares up at Pan*

Monu:<You aren't helping either.>
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*Presumably, Eve eventually finishes her diagnostic of the machines. When she does so, she closes her laptop slightly and nods at Senthose*

Eve:<Everything is functioning within normal parameters. I'll activate the first unit as soon as the dark corridor opens so you'll get as much of the hour as possible. I'll be monitoring the field and I'll let you know if something happens.>

*She looks down at the ground*

Eve:<...Don't get yourself killed. I don't say that because I'm royally screwed if you do.>

This mer-action, or whatever it was, deeply struck some kind of primal chord in Kyohaku. He found it absolutely terrifying. Apparently one of them was trying to devour the other, though he couldn't exactly figure out why that was. It made absolutely no sense since they came from a place with a whole bunch of food, and anyway he didn't really want to think that he could have actually witnessed one of his friends become the end to another one of his friends. That was a terrifying thought in its own right. While he wanted to stop it, he noticed that Safian and Thiera hadn't tried to. Does that mean if anyone got involved, they would then be doomed to be next? It was a scary thought.

Taiyo does indeed stick close to Euyale. Thankfully Euryale did not initiate sexy time as Taiyo is in possession of parts that are completely foreign to her.

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Azuma: "I can jump higher than this."

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Xyukuse: "No."

OOC: Not hard to figure out, Taiyo, just look at what she's rubbing up against you, & reciprocate.

*Azuma comes crashing right down on his ass.*

Pan<Hey, it's not my fault you people are so hopelessly negative. Maybe I should just forget it.>

*Lilith sighs.*

L"I'd hate to say it, but he's right. We need to try to think positive, & not get distracted so easily."

*Meanwhile, the Ruler of the Sky lets out an ear-piercing shriek & soars off to another island. Pan bites his lip.*

Pan<No pressure, but you might want to hurry. It's heading off for the Indian village. I'll try to slow it down until the rest of you are ready.>

*And so he & Tinkerbell rocket off after it.*

L"Well, maybe he's not completely horrible after all. But we're out of time. We need to help him rescue that village. We need to stop the Heartless here from claiming any more victims."

*And so Lilith slowly rises in the air, only noticing she's flying when she has to twist to avoid knocking her head on a branch. She stares at her dangling feet in disbelief.*

L"I'm--I'm flying!"
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*So if they all swim up & over the guards, they descend upon the streets of Atlantica. As that is enough stealth missions for 1 day, a mermaid with a red tail & a big, blond ponytail can be seen swimming agitatedly around the palace grounds. Spotting her, Euryale pulls her face away from Taiyo's, probably with a smacking sound.*

E"We'll continue this later. That's Arista, one of Ariel's sisters."

*And so, putting her arms to her side, she dives, swimming towards her. She does a double-take.*

Arista<(Euryale! What are you doing here, don't you know that Daddy banished you?!)>

*Thiera swims up alongside Euryale.*

Th"We are searching for Ariel."

Arista<(SHHH! Look, I'm glad you want to help, but we don't really know much. We think she ran off with that Prince from the surface world she's enamored with. Daddy sent Sebastian and Flounder to keep an eye on her.)>

E"(What Pri--wait...there was a broken statue of a human in her grotto...I feel like I've seen him before....)"
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*Saix looks down his nose coldly at Xyukuse.*

Saix<Then I suggest you find someone who is & compare notes with them.>

S"It is said to never step foot into a battle that has not already been won. Even should Binah Psyche somehow prevail, there are measures in place to ensure the longevity of the Organization until I return."

Artexi:<You might want to invest in a kiddy leash for that one. He's hopeless.>

*Eve turns slightly pink*

<O-of course, I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have a backup plan...>
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*Monu floats into the air beside Lilith, grinning from ear to ear*

Monu:<You're doing great!>
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*Safian dicks around in the shadows nearby, not wanting to freak out the princess*

Taiyo: "Are we going to look for her?"

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Azuma takes Hitomi's hand and tries to look at her face, but she keeps turning her head away.

Azuma: "Come on, there isn't too much to be embarrassed about. If it helps, think of some fond memories of home."

And so she does that as it doesn't trigger her phobia.

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

Xyukuse: "I could make you into one."

It would have looked like things were safe right now, and fortunately whatever swallowing ritual was being worked through was over for now. None of his friends had died yet, but maybe next time he was going to have to stop it from happening. Following after them, Kyohaku wondered if he should have introduced himself to this Arista person. Well, he certainly figured that there wasn't anything to loose by it if she had any chance of understanding him. "Hey, my name is Kyohaku and I'm not naturally a fish." It seemed as good a line as any, and he didn't intend to hide like Safian had.

*Arista raises an eyebrow at Hinode, & Euryale & Thiera hiss out of the corner of their mouths "we are not fish, we are aquatic mammals!" & "you cannot tell people about other worlds!" respectively.*

Arista<If you're going after Ariel, can I come with you?>

Th"I am sorry, but I do not think that would be for the best. Your father would become suspicious."

E"Don't worry, we'll make sure Ariel is safe."

Arista<...Do you think she's ever coming back?>

*Euryale smiles & puts a hand on Arista's shoulder.*

E"I think she has proven that nothing can stop her from seeing the ones she loves."

Th"There is just 1 small problem: We still have no idea where she went."
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*Senthose puts a hand on her shoulder & smiles.*

S"There is nothing to worry about. Now, you may want to stand clear. Once the Heartless open the Dark Corridors, everything in this square will be dragged into the darkness between worlds."
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*Presumably thinking about books & being a huge disappointment to Azuma, Hitomi drifts several feet into the air.*

L"We should go stop the Heartless. They seem to have a handle on this, I'm sure they'll catch up with us soon enough."

*And so, flitting through the trees, she follows after Peter. However, it soon becomes apparent that they are much slower than he is.*

Taiyo: "Where would a prince be?"

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Azuma: "There you go, easy least nice and breezy."

Hitomi: "Come up here."

Making a gesture with his hands in the process, Hinode rolled his eyes and tried to get them all to calm down for him before he decided to reply to what it was that they were saying. "Alright, alright, enough already, I didn't mean to ruffle anyone's electrons, err...feathers, no wait I mean scales!" He decided that it might have just been best to shut himself up and close his mouth before he ended up saying anything else that might have gotten him into any sort of trouble. Kyohaku had a bad feeling that he was headed that way otherwise.

*Safian sneaks over to Thiera and starts nudging her from the shadows*
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*Monu follows after Lilith, glancing back at Hitomi and Azuma*
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Artexi:<You can sure try. It's your head.>

*Eve turns more pink and nods*

<Good luck. I'll be in my lab if something comes up.>

*Eve heads to the edge of the square so she can watch everyone leave. As soon as the dark corridor opens, she activates the first unit*

E"Gills. Scales generally do not move, as that would defeat their entire purpose."

Arista<Where did you say you were from again?>

Triton<Arista? Who are you talking to out there?>

E"Hold that thought, it's time for us to go. Don't worry, we'll figure out how to find Ariel!"

*So, extending her arms into a breast stroke and flicking her tail, she torpedoes out of there. Thiera does her best to imitate her.*
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*They once again hear the Ruler of the Sky's theme as they catch up with it, finding Pan hacking away at 1 of the skulls on its tail. As indicated, it is approaching a village of teepees on another island. The monster swerves, swishing its tail at Pan. He effortlessly barrel rolls away, but it launches some kind of large water globule at the Order.*
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*Meanwhile, Azuma floats a few feet higher.*
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*All around them, Heartless begin sinking into black puddles, which join & expand. The Dark Followers place their hands on the ground and, rearing back with their other fists, physically punch through the dimension. The Organization finds themselves falling into a black void, until they simply stop, as if suspended by an invisible fluid. Senthose immediately sets out, following the bobbing golden eyes of the Heartless.*

Taiyo gets on out of there."

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The two take off after the others.

*Monu flies around the water goblet, then summons his armor and keyblade. He then joins Pan in attacking the skull on the tail*
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*Safian swims off after Euryale, staying in the shadows*
===
*Artexi summons her armor and keyblades, then follows Senthose. She remains close to Nero*
---
*Eve jogs back to her lab, and plugs her laptop into her main computer. She then opens the unit performance information on her main screen, and finally sets the system to alert her when the rest of the Organization returns to the world*

"Alright, gills, whatever..." Kyohaku was originally just going to let the subject drop anyway, but then it looked like something had happened that would have given him no choice but to do so at this point. Darting upward and then more importantly outward after Euryale, it had looked like they were all going to need to relocate pretty quickly. He always got a little concerned, admittedly, since Safian was hiding around in these cases, so he never knew if he had missed her or not.

*They manage to make it up & over the guards & back to the cave, luckily finding that Glut has returned to his territory.*

E"Oh--oh!--OH!"

Th"Do I even want to know what is happening up there?"

E"I remember now! Back when you first came to this world--well, not you personally, but you get the idea--there was a human man that Ariel & I rescued from drowning."

Th"Do you remember his name?"

E"He introduced himself, but there was a lot of other stuff going on...the pirates wanted to ransom him...they said...his name was...Eric! Yeah, that was it--Prince Eric!"

Th"So he should be at Port Royal?"

E"Maybe, I don't actually know where his Kingdom is. Considering it is not a part of the ocean."
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*As promised, they eventually reach a brilliant wall of golden white light, sealed by a giant keyhole. Senthose summons his Keyblade, most of the Organization following his cue, & shoots black energy into the hole. Whether or not the others help, the wall cracks & eventually shatters, granting them passage. Soon enough, they see light, & the Dark Corridor lets out, the Organization emerging from the lake at the Land of Departure. It doesn't take long for an enormous white fireball to fly towards them from the castle atop the mountain, but of course it fizzles out before it even reaches them.*

N"I can't even see her from this distance."

S<We'll have some climbing to do. Some of you should attack from the air, but don't get too close. Should you leave the anti-magic field, you will almost certainly perish.>
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*Lilith does likewise, but they find they can't really catch up with it. Eventually, Hitomi & Azuma arrive on the scene.*

L"Perfect timing! The monster is too fast, we'll need to hem it in."

*Lilith does not notice that the globule hits the ocean & an enormous ice spike erupts from it, aiming for Azuma & Hitomi. Also, the Ruler of the Sky fires more globules at the Order & Pan.*

Well, at least it had looked like Glut wasn't going to be bothering them for the time being, but he had a bad inkling that something else was soon going to be an issue. Regardless, it looked like they had to track someone else down. "How will we communicate with land-dwellers once we get to Port Royal? We could always talk to people there and ask if Prince Eric is around, but I'm not sure if we can do that in these bodies." Realizing how touchy everything that he's said about them had been taken thus far, Kyohaku rolled his eyes and tacked on a bit extra to what he was saying. "No offense of course."