First Blood Shed

Taiyo: "It's a start."

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The two fly to avoid that nonsense.

Hitomi: "Stay back."

Those people best have listened, because Hitomi is casting Blizzaja while Azuma casts Darkga.

Safian:<That's what I was trying to tell you earlier!>

*She looks over at Kyouhaku*

Safian:<We'll have to change back to normal.>
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*Artexi waits to see what Nero will do, then does the same*
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*Monu nods and flies around to hem in the heartless from the other side. He uses Wind Raid on the thing's tail if he can manage it*

E"What? We'll just change back once we reach land. Anyway, we'll have to go south a bit to reach the current that'll take us back to Port Royal."

*So she turns & begins swimming in that direction.*
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*Hopefully Azuma's clinging tightly to Hitomi, or else he's about to be pretty damn cold. The Ruler's tail gets caught in some of the ice, but it soon screeches & breaks free. However, it's slowed down just enough for Monu to hit it. After avoiding water globules, Lilith adds a seedshot, & the skull shatters. The Ruler screeches louder & turns red, doing a sudden about-face to charge at her, even faster than it was before.*
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*Not wanting to look any more suspicious than he already does, Nero had helped break down the barrier. Now he takes to his Glider & flies up near the Dark Followers' heads. As they start to climb, there is a flash, & then enormous boulders fall towards them, Shadows rushing forward in a mass to sacrificing themselves, but once the dust settles, they witness a peculiar sight--rusty, dented & scratched suits of armor are rising from the rubble, bearing Keyblades that are just as broken up, all without Keychains. Then something like a shooting star flies into the clouds & speaks with a supernaturally booming voice.*

Binah<Did you not consider that this world held secrets you never knew? It contains its own Keyblade Graveyard. The members of the Order who have fallen since the Keyblade War long ago have left behind these momentos, to defend this world in its hour of need.>

*Senthose does look a bit surprised, but smiles when he looks up.*

S<So? Shambling suits of armor against true Keyblade wielders? It will be no contest. Wipe them out.>

*Nero starts shooting at the armors to weigh them down as Lexeaus, Saix, Xaldin, & a hoard of Heartless surge forward to fight them. A Dark Follower's chest glows & it tries to shoot a laser at Binah, but she swings her blade with expert precision, causing it to fly back & hit the great monster right in the eye. The other reaches for her & she ducks around it, spinning to slash down its length, the Invisibles darting up to swing at her.*

*Artexi also begins to fire on the approaching suits of armor*
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*Eve leans back in her chair, staring at the screen*
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*Monu follows the Ruler of the Sky, using Wind Raid on its back*

Monu:<Hey, over here!>
---
*Safian follows Euryale into the current*

Taiyo follows after Euryale.

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Hitomi repeatedly casts Stop, until it hits the Heartless while Azuma uses Wolf Storm.

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Xyukuse rushes into the fray, swinging with the Chaos Ripper and parrying with the Frolic Flame, letting loose with Stone Dragon Ascent or Akashic Torment every now and again.

Kyohaku followed along with Euryale, Taiyo and Safian, having wondered if they were going to be able to shift back or not. He was glad that she had brought up the fact that they could, considering that he thought that thing would have ended up being rather awkward otherwise.

OOC: How he thought Euryale kept switching back & forth is a mystery.

*Like being at an outdoor concert, a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] vibrates through the water, rattling their very teeth. They feel the wake of the beasts before the massive, 50-foot shadows sidle alongside them.*

E"Whales! They must be migrating! C'mon!"

*Excitedly, Euryale swims up towards what may be the ear of the head whale, & taps it to get its attention. She then points to each of the others in turn.*

E"Excuse me, Ma'am. My name is Euryale, from Atlantica. These are my friends, Thiera, Kyohaku, & Safian, from...a remote sea. That's Taiyo, my sweet sea star. Another one of our friends is lost--the 7th Princess of Atlantica, to be exact. Do you know about her?"

*The whale gives a slow nod.*

E"Great! Do you know where she went?!"

*The whale shakes her head "no."*
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*The Heartless does not stop. Even when hit, the spell simply glances off of its carapace. Lilith tries to avoid it by darting toward the water, ducking around an ice pillar that shoots up in front of her, but isn't fast enough. The Heartless rams her leg, sending her spinning, skipping across the water as if she were a stone. Just as quickly, it turns around & darts for Monu. Even Peter Pan can't catch up with it.*
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*As magic is blocked, Xyukuse is simply going through the motions. The good news is that the Chaos Ripper is relatively good at cutting into the armor. However, the armors prove surprisingly intelligent, surrounding those who came after them & striking at their joints. Roatha responds to this by using Event Horizon, as even without magic to aid him, the jumping & force of the attack still prove effective. Lexeaus slams his weapon down to knock his attackers off-balance, while Saix simply uses a whirling slash & pushes through. Those immobilized by Nero are pretty much sitting ducks for Artexi, & reduced to piles of scrap metal in short order. But if they thought they were safe, they were wrong. A pair of armors generate Gliders roughly shaped like an Origami crane & a diving eagle, respectively, & dart after. Up above, Binah flares her wings, speeding back in an attempt to lure the Invisibles out of the safety of the barrier. It doesn't work. She soon discovers that it does not block their own dark powers, as several of them stab their swords into the ground, disappearing & reforming as a series of dark rings around her. With other Invisibles protecting them, each of the Dark Followers also reaches out to her while, from the direction of the Hall of Masters, an enormous Dark Corridor spits out the 3rd Dark Follower, which proceeds to smash the building with its massive fists.*

S<Even you cannot repel all of these attacks. So, what will you choose?>

*Safian states with wonder up at the whales*

Safian:<And I thought elephants were big!>
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*Monu casts Hawk's Dive on himself and darts away from the Heartless*
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*Artexi flies up to face the crane, firing on it*

OOC: Very sorry, but I'm not entirely sure what you're comment meant. He didn't know if Euryale would switch back when they got to land was the point.

Naturally Kyohaku followed through, assuming at this point that don't so wouldn't have gotten him killed or more accurately deleted in spite of the fact that he might very well have thought precisely that at one point. He was disappointed, though, when it had seemed like the whale didn't quite know where the Princess of Atlantica was headed off to.

Taiyo: "Do you know about Prince Eric?"

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

Hitomi: "Stay back."

They had best do so as Hitomi is casting Thundaja.

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Xyukuse gets out of that predicament by attacking the first suit in front of him with Swallow Fury.

*Hitomi lucks out once more, as her being roughly behind Monu means the Heartless comes close enough to be hit by a shitton of lightning. Screeching, it dives into the lake. Meanwhile, Lilith emerges, splashing around & coughing up water.*
===========================
*The whale shakes her head again.*

E"Oh...what about Sebastian and Flounder? Sebastian is a crab, and Flunder is a blue and yellow striped fish. King Triton would have sent them to make sure Ariel is okay."

*The whale kind of points in a direction with its flipper.*

<Following a big boat.>
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*As magic is still blocked, I hope he doesn't wait for the phasing to kick in. Those who aren't well suited to direct combat without magic try to assist using Strike Raid. The crane flexes its wings, causing it to suddenly shoot over Artexi & then dive down, attacking her with giant razor blades that it shoots. The other veers off to avoid Nero's attack, flying around the Dark Follower in an attempt to flank him. Once the rings of darkness converge, Binah activates Reflect, repelling them & shredding the Dark Followers' arms. As they pull back, she grabs hold of an arm, slashing Invisibles as she is pulled closer before stabbing the giant in the face. Via Dark Corridor, Senthose apepears on its shoulder.*

S<What's the matter? Not feeling talkative? Or are you just giving me the silent treatment?>

*Meanwhile, there is a large jolt of electricity from the Hall of Masters as the generator on the 3rd Dark Follower's back is destroyed. This is soon followed by a blast of light & the Heartless falling over. Senthose frowns.*

*Monu flies down towards Lilith, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her up out of the water*

Monu:<Breath, you're going to be alright. I'm here.>
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Safian:<How long ago did you see them?>
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*Artexi flies to the right, hoping the crane's momentum will protect her. She then fires on the crane again*

"If they're going near that boat, then that either means that they know where Ariel is and are tracking her, or someone is baiting them. Humans do consume ocean-going organisms, correct?" Kyohaku didn't exactly like the idea, but he figured that he might as well go off in the direction that they were being pointed in if Euryale and the rest of them ended up doing the same.

The two move about, keeping an eye out for where it might spring up.

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As getting shot isn't on his to-do list, Vega calls his Keyblade and enters the fray, cutting down the suits. Xyukuse continues as he was, hacking away and kicking at the armor.

*She is successful in shooting the Glider's wing, causing it & its rider to fall to the ground. Nero is not so lucky. Though he tries to use his shield, the Glider's sheer momentum breaks one of the wings, leaving him floundering in the air. As he is unable to use magic, he is a sitting duck as the Glider comes down for another strike. By this point, most of the Heartless have been slaughtered, but the Organization is slowly whittling down the armors & now the Dark Followers join in, smashing many with their fists. Meanwhile, Binah continues ignoring Senthose, standing on the Dark Follower's shoulder & defending against the lunges of the Invisibles. She then jumps off of its back, swinging at the Anti-Magic Field Generator, only for Senthose to follow after her, parrying her attack.*

S<Sorry, can't let you do that, Master Psyche.>

*Suddenly, he notices a diminutive Organization member running up the field behind his forces. It materializes a golden Kingdom Key, slashing through Heartless like butter, before doing an impressive spinning leap many times its height to the Dark Follower's head, where it strikes down the Invisibles using Circle Raid.*

Squeaky<You take care of him, Master Psyche! I got this!>

S<Where did you come from? How long have you been following us?>

*Without waiting for the figure's answer, Binah spins around, hurling Senthose into the hill side hard enough that he bounces several yards up its face. She then lands in front of him with a crash, fishing the end of her hair from within her helmet & slicing through it with the Keyblade.*

Binah<You want to talk, Senthose? I have just 1 word for you: Bind.>

*The hairs in her hand become razor wire, flying forward to stab into his limbs & tighten around him.*

Binah<So you have an anti-magic field. But I wonder if passive enchantments could be taken INTO it?>

*She waves a hand & suddenly the armors become visible only by their footprints & faint red auras. The next one Roatha tries to slash catches his blade & tosses him like a football, where more armors wrestle him to the ground. Another parries a Dark Follower's fist, while Lexeaus's & Saix's next strikes are parried & they are slashed across their abdomens by nearly invisible blades.*
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*Meanwhile, Thiera is reaching out to another whale like she wants to touch it, but can't bring herself to do so.*

E"C'mon, Taiyo, don't be shy, come and meet the whales before we have to leave."

*The whale barely opens her mouth, speaking with her same low, strange song.*

<Hours ago, but others more recently, still moving with the waves.>

E"I think Kyohaku is right, they're tracking that boat. That must be where Ariel is."
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*It eventually comes up many yards farther from the island, shooting at them with Munny again. Lilith uses her Lotus shield on Monu. Peter Pan stupidly tries to take some coins out of the sky & ends up being shot into the water, Tinkerbell having to drag him out.*

L"I'm fine--don't worry."

Since Euryale had encouraged Thiera to meet up with the whale before they left, Kyohaku had decided to do something somewhat similar himself. Looking toward the other, he blinked and waved a bit. "I'm glad that I got to meet you guys. I think we should follow the boat now, though, if there's any chance that Ariel ended up in there!" He actually seemed to be warming up to the idea of communicating with ocean-going life.

*Monu grins at her*

<Good to hear!>

*He tosses his keyblade at the Ruler of the Sky, using Wind Raid on the thing's tail*
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Safian:<Yeah, the sooner we get going, the more likely we are to find Ariel!>
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*Artexi turns and fires on the glider speeding towards Nero*

Artexi:<Nero, look out!>

It should not need to be stated that Taiyo is not being shy on account of willingly talking to the whale and pretty much always being beside Euryale who is all up in the whale's face.

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Hopefully everyone is as far away as they seem as Hitomi casts Thundaja while Azuma casts Darkja, the status ailments having no chance of activating, making the gesture pointless.

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The two jump back from their targets, Xyukuse jumping over the armor.

*The gesture is pointless because the beast is way too far to be hit by any of those. They are pelted with coins, though Lilith's Lotus shield deflects some of those headed to her & Monu. As this is working well, the beast keeps shooting at them.*
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E"Kyohaku & Safian are right. Thank you for your help. Goodbye!"

*Euryale swims off. Thiera follows, after briefly patting a whale. The whales sing them off.*
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N"King Mickey?"

*Nero fires off some crystals, just enough to make the Glider go off-course. A Dark Follower punches it, shattering it & its rider. King Mickey ducks & weaves around Strike Raids from Axel, Xigbar, & Xaldin.*

Xigbar<Hey, now, get down from there, it's dangerous!>

Mickey<O-kay!>

*He jumps down to the generator, slashing it several times until it is destroyed, then jumps back up to stab the Dark Follower through the head. It, too, dissolves into a massive stream of darkness. Several of the Organization members surround Mickey.*

Xigbar<Too bad that wasn't the active generator.>

*He darts, weaves, & guards against their attacks, while the armors surge forwards. Meanwhile, Senthose breaks free from Bind, his wounds closing, but not before Binah uses her enchantment on herself.*

Binah<Keter will have destroyed the 3rd Dark Follower soon. Then she will have no choice but to join us.>

*She slashes the ground, sending boulders at Senthose, who weaves through them, using Thorn Beams to grab 1 & throw it at Binah, now in the air. Binah cuts through it & releases a stream of fire, which he blocks with a shield before grabbing her with Collision Magnet & pulling her towards him. She cuts it just in the nick of time, skirting back.*

S<You can't dodge forever. Soon your forces will be eradicated & the generator will be in range to block your magic.>

The*Now that Nero is safe, Artexi turns her attention to the remaining armors. She begins to fire on them*
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*Eve watches as the generators go offline as they are destroyed, nails digging into her thumb*
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Monu:<We need to get closer to hit it! Lilith, can you fly by yourself?>

*He moves slightly to avoid the munny coming his way*
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Safian:<Thanks!>

*She swims off after Euryale and Thiera*

"Yeah, I appreciate all the help!" Kyohaku then waved for a moment or a two as he began to swim off with the others, chasing Euryale, Safian and Thiera in turn.

Taiyo waves as she swims off after Euryale.

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The two fly about, Hitomi firing Wisdom Shots into the Heartless while Azuma closes the gap with Darkness Raid and follows through wit a Frigid Blast.

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They resume backing up due to the selective magic jammer keeping them from dealing with clearly superior niggas.

*Euryale occasionally readjusts to follow some strange rogue wave, until eventually, as they approach the shadow of a large boat, a fish frantically swims towards him with a crab clutching his tail, pursued by 2 Jellyfish-looking creatures.*

Sebastian<Ruuun, mon!>

*Instead of running, Euryale grabs the incredibly weak Heartless & bashes them together, destroying them. Their would-be victims double over behind Euryale, wheezing.*

Th"It seems we've located the Heartless. Fortunately, whoever summoned these 2 was not planning on them encountering anyone who could fight."

*She turns around, frowning.*

Th"Should I do something to help?"

E"I've learned to just let them ride it out."

Sebastian<T--tanks-->

*Upon looking up, he does a double take, pointing his claw at her.*

Sebastian<Euryale! Wha--what are ye doin' out here?>

Flounder<Is this where you went after King Triton banished you?>

E"Not quite. I met some new friends, and we came to find Ariel. This is Kyohaku, Thiera, Safian--"

*Flounder tries to hide behind Sebastian.*

E"And Taiyo, my little cuttlefish."

Sebastian<Well, yeh've come to da right place!>

Flounder<We h--heard Ariel's voice, but when we w-w-went to see her, those weird creatures attacked us out of n-nowhere!>

Sebastian<Oh! Where're me manners? I'm Sebastian, the King's right hand mon & court composer! De pleasure is all mine!"

*He holds out a claw for them to shake. Flounder just waves nervously from behind him, & tries to make himself look smaller when he spots Safian again.*

Flounder<N-n-nice to m-meet you all--eep!>
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L"Yes."

*Evidently the other pair plows through the coins, sustaining many cuts & bruises, but eventually Hitomi's shots start to land & Azuma erupts from the shadow his Darkness Raid cast on the ocean. Its 2nd of 3 skulls cracked, it sets off flying again, moving generally away from them.*
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*The armors, she finds, take more punishment before collapsing. Several hurl their Keyblades in her general direction. Forced to land, Nero flies into the general direction of the Organization. This startles Vexen, allowing Mickey to push past him. Nero, now on the ground, turns his Glider back into the Keyblade & throws it at him. When he gasps & clutches his side, the King's ears perk & he deflects it back into the ground without looking.

V"Idiot! Your inability to hold in your feeble cries allowed the enemy to escape!"

*As King Mickey jumps up towards the 2nd Dark Follower, Axel attempts to pursue. Meanwhile, the Organization members on the ground are forced with the choice to either be overrun by the near-invisible armors or fall back. Either way, Dusks & Creepers emerge to support them. For their part, Saix & Lexeaus block & try to push through, aided by a barrage of Strike Raids from the Organization.*

Binah<If you were relying on your army to rescue you, I do not believe that is coming.>

*Stomping, Senthose kicks up a lot of dust. Binah waves it away with a blast of wind, but by this point, he has surprised her by emerging from her shadow. Thorn Beams encircle his blade as he slashes down & across, breaking most of the armor of her torso & dispelling her invisibility. She punches out & though he blocks with a small circular energy shield, the aura covering her fist flashes & sends him flying. She follows up by waving her Keyblade, sending another Bind spell after him, which he disables by sucking into a Dark Corridor.*

*Safian waves with one of her front fins*

Safian:<Don't worry, I promise I won't eat you.>
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*Monu slowly lets Lilith down so she can fly on her own, still holding on to one of her hands. He then casts Hawk's Dive on himself and flies after the Ruler of the Sky*
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*Artexi flies away from the keyblades and lands near Nero*

<Get on! We need to get you to a Moogle!>

*If he does do that, she takes off in the direction of the Organization moogles*

Whenever Euryale would adjust, Kyohaku went with her. He assumed that the others would have too. This was her home so he assumed that she would have been able to navigate it well just like he did back on the Grid before. While he would have gladly helped out when it came to the Heartless, it didn't look like she had needed any assistance. Should he have been allowed, over time, he would have gladly shaken the claw that Sebastian had offered to him. "Hinode Kyohaku is the name." He tried to wave over to Flounder, assuming that he would have been less threatening as he looked like a koi fish at the time.