First Blood Shed

Looking at Sebastian, even Kyohaku smiled a bit and followed along. "Well, honestly you know I've warmed up a lot to Euryale and remember that even we didn't necessarily get along at one point, Thiera. I'm glad that all of our relations have smoothed out, honestly. If you want a team to work, then you gotta work at it too."

Swimmin' off to some reef.

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

Following assholes and whatever describes Tinkerbell.

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

Xyukuse groans as that means talking to that old hag.

Monu:<That sounds like a good idea. I'll search the wreckage of the boat, then meet up with you over in the direction we saw the pirates run in. Or you can search the boat and I'll go on ahead. Whatever you want.>
---
*Artexi looks over at Nero*

Artexi:<Should we go back?>
---
*Safian follows at the back of the group, since the fish will likely hate her*

*Sure enough, as they approach, Flounder wriggles free & colorful fish cautiously approach him from the coral to discuss the situation. They nod, swimming off to different directions.*

Flounder<Um--they say they're gonna spread the word.>

E"Great. Good job, Flounder."

Flounder<Uh--thanks.>
---------------------------------------------
Th"I did not say anything about Euryale one way or the other, but thank you."

Seb<Don' get me wrong, she's a nice girl, but she's got no manners. She's just like Ar-iel.>
=============================
L"Doesn't seem to matter. There don't seem to be a lot of Heartless flying about. I don't think they've spread very far into this world yet. The pirates must have acquired them very recently."

*Soon enough, they hear a faint ticking coming from the forest. If they peer through the trees, they can occasionally see a crocodile through the branches, swimming up the river.*
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N"I don't know...where are you going?"

*He turns to Roatha, who appears to be wandering of.*

R"Who knows? You gonna stalk me to find out?"

Taiyo: "Do we meet the others now or...?"

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

Azuma: "There's our beacon."

So he and Hitomi fly off after it.

Soon enough Kyohaku shrugged a bit, which had the after effect of swishing some of the water around him this way or that. "Hmm, well I guess I get along with her pretty well, then, because people say that my sense of manners isn't all that good either really."

*Monu nudging Lilith, pointing in the direction of the ticking. He then flies off in that direction*
---
*Safian grins at Flouder*

Safian:<You've been a great help!>
---
Artexi:<Nah. You'll turn up wherever we go, since you like to be a pain in our asses.>

*Flounder darts behind Euryale, who rolls her eyes.*

E"I guess so."
===============================
*Sebastian pokes him in the stomach.*

Seb<You should work on dat den, young man!>

Th"I believe the more immediate question is how we are going to alert the animals here."

Seb<Oh, dat won't be an issue--hold dat t'ought.>

???<Hey, Sebastian! Perfect timing!>

*A rather pudgy seagull swoops down, holding out its foot for the crab to inspect the object clasped within.*

???<I wanted to show you this brand new furgenburgen!>

Th"What in the world is a furgenburgen? That is an old dinner plate."

???<The humans use it as headwear to protect against the rain!"

Th"No, food is eaten off of it."
==============================
R"Is that what you think? Heh heh...well, g'bye."

*Roatha grins & steps into a Dark Corridor.*

N"I don't like the way he said that. The other Organization members begin splitting up & heading into other Dark Corridors, save those who are heading toward the castle, or just stand around like lost puppies (Vega & Xyukuse)."

Daisy<Excuse me, Miss Aurora, may I please explore the castle with you?"

*Daisy runs up to Keter, giving her a deep bow because someone taught her how to suck up very well. Keter turns, nodding in satisfaction, but fixing an unusually soft, frankly pitying gaze on her.*

Keter<You are among the precious few of this rabble that observes proper respect. If you continue on this path, many rewards await you. Unfortunately, I simply cannot allow these sacred halls to be tainted by such an unnatural creature as yourself. So for the time being, I must bid you farewell, but do not hesitate to beseech me in the future.>

*Keter pats Daisy's hooded head before she continues on her merry way. Daisy's lower lip starts to tremble. Zexion & Vexen pause only briefly to laugh at her. Lexeaus pats her on the shoulder--damn near knocking her over--& gives her a stiff nod before following them.*
===============================
*So they converge on this river & fly up it for a while. Sure enough, before long, they find the pirate duo trying to sneak off with a canoe they'd pilfered from the nearby village of teepees. Pan makes the shushing motion & starts to creep down, until Lilith grabs him.*

L"Hey, what are you doing?"

Pan<I'm going to poke that old codger in the butt with my dagger so he thinks S--Sm--Smee did it! Teehee!>

L"No you're not, that's stupid. What are you, 5?"

*Artexi looks over at Roatha, then slowly approaches Daisy*

Artexi:<Don't listen to Keter, she treats everyone like dirt. You're not unnatural.>

*She offers her a hand up*
---
*Safian grins fades. Now she looks sad and depressed*
---
*Monu crosses his arms and glares at Peter, then summons his keyblade and sticks it into the ground. The ground around the Pirates turns to quicksand*

Taiyo swims to Euryale, grabbing her hand and hopefully going in the right direction.

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

Azuma: "He's gonna do something stupid regardless."

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

Xyukuse follows those jokers like he belongs while Vega has nothing to do.

Originally he was going to say something about not being a young man, since he was sure had he stayed in Space Paranoids he would have at least received two updates and an expansion pack by now, but he figured Thiera would have had his hide. Therefore, he just nodded to Sebastian. "Hey, I'm a lot more of a people person now than I used to be really." He then glanced at the plate, "Maybe they were worried about getting rained on and held one over their head? It appears to have been manufactured from a quartz porcelain mix." Not too much different from the insulators on computer chips he thought.

Seb<You? Less of a people person? Dat's a scary t'ought.>

*Fortunately, Euryale is experienced in navigating the ocean at night, & leans to steer them in the proper direction, Flounder hanging off of her tail. They swim under the boat, surface, & arrive in time to see Thiera & Scuttle make a scene.*

Scuttle<(Psst! Sebastian! Why is Ariel acting so strange? She looks different, too...did she put on weight?)>

Seb<Dat's not Ar-iel. We tink da sea witch is holding Ar-iel captive on dat human ship. Dese folks're gonna help us rescue 'er.>

Scuttle<Oh...I guess that explains why she doesn't appreciate a new furgenburgen for her collection.>

*Still seething about the weight comment, Thiera splashes the water angrily.*

Th"I do not and cannot have such a collection! There is no such thing as a furgenburgen! That is just a dinner plate that somebody threw in the garbage because it cracked!"

*Suddenly, Scuttle grabs Sebastian & starts shaking him.*

Scuttle<Wait, did you just say that Ariel was kidnapped?! That's terrible! What are we going to do?! What! Are! We! Going! To! DO?!>

*At some point, he started tearing up & punctuating each shout he made by bashing Sebastian against the water.*
================================
Keter<Lexeaus, show the brat what happens to those foolish enough to try to sneak into my castle without first begging for my permission.>

*Lexeaus turns to Xyukuse & cracks his knuckles.*

Daisy<Don't patronize me, I know what people say about me behind my back. Like you! You think I'm a hideous deformation, don't you?>

*Nero notices the spindly finger being pointed in his direction & suddenly takes great interest in the clouds.*

N"Uh--no?"

Daisy<You hesitated! And you couldn't even make yourself sound committed!>

N"Yeah, well...listen, I think I should go after Roatha. He already tried to kill the gargoyles while they were sleeping, & if he tries something like that again while no one's around to stop him...well--yeah...."

*He scratches the back of his head & looks off to where the Dark Corridor was seconds ago.*
=================================
L"Not on my watch."

Pan<Aw, c'mon, where's your sense of humor? It's like you're grown-ups, or somethin'!>

*As Lilith soars down, he crosses his arms & pouts in midair. The pirates gradually slow & kind of march in place for a while, before suddenly stopping.*

Hook<We're not going anywhere! Smee, report!>

Smee<Err, aye-aye, Cap'n!>

*He peeks out from under the boat to look around, only for Lilith to punch him in the schnoz. As he's holding his nose, Hook asks what's happening, only for Lilith to tie both of them up in vines. She then flicks her Keyblade up, knocking the canoe aside.*

Hook<It's--it's you! How did you survive that blasted Heartless that wrecked me ship!?>

Artexi:<You shouldn't listen to those people. Or Nero, apparently. I said I wanted to be friends before, and I still mean that.>
---
*Monu flies out and lands beside Lilith, glaring at the pirates*

Monu:<Not only did we survive that Heartless, we just finished destroying it. Speaking of which, we have some questions about that that you're going to answer.>
---
Safian:<Don't worry, we've gathered sea creatures to help rescue Ariel!>
---
*Eve waits in the World That Never Was*

For the time being, Kyohaku rolled his eyes in a detached manner and gave an exasperated sigh at what Sebastian was saying about that being a scary thought. Eventually, thought, it looked like he was going to have to intervene to save the lobster. He did his best to get in there and pluck Sebastian up so that he wouldn't get shaken any more. "Hey, hey, knock that off you're gonna kill 'im at that rate!" Should he have successfully recovered the crustacean, he would have soon been trying to pet Sebastian like he was a small fuzzy animal for some reason. After what had just happened to him, it seemed apropos even if Sebastian had essentially insulted him only moments before that really.

Taiyo: "We're going to rescue her."

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

Xyukuse calls the Chaos Ripper.

Xyukuse: "All right, big guy. Let's dance!"

He jumps and begins with Blazing Tempest.

*Lexeaus summons the Keyblade in mid-swing, aiming at his stomach. Also, Daisy fires an ice crystal at his back with a wave of her hand.*

Daisy<...Perhaps I could show you to my hometown, after we stop this jerk from attacking one of the few members who are nice to me.>

N"Oh, we're ganging up on Xylophone? Okay, let's make this quick."

*So he reaches out & casts magnet to hold him in place. Zexion watches with amusement from about a dozen feet away, while Vexen grows bored & accompanies Keter into the castle.*
===================================
*Meanwhile, Senthose emerges in Eve's lab, approaching her from behind.*

S<Yen Sid's student infiltrated our ranks. We defeated him, but he managed to escape with some sort of mystical artifact. Were you able to track him?>
===================================
*Sebastian's eyes roll around & he makes a noise like something is jingling around inside of him. Scuttle jumps on Taiyo's head & starts pulling her pigtails, only for Euryale to snatch him off.*

Scuttle<What?! Really!? How?!>

E"Will you settle down, already!? The prince on that ship is to be married with Ursula while she's in disguise. We need you to gather whatever animals you can find to help us get on that barge & stall the wedding for as long as possible. Then we can find Ariel, beat the sea witch back to the abyss, & sort this whole thing out."

Scuttle<Oh--yeah! I can do that! Yeah, yeah!>

*He shakes his head emphatically. Thiera looks around, & then points to where Search Ghosts are materializing in the distance, floating around while scanning the water with their glowing eyes.*

Th"It may not be so easy. I believe Ursula has realized that we are plotting her downfall."
=================================
Hook<Or what? You don't scare me!>

*Peter Pan floats down.*

Pan<No, but the crocodile that ate your hand does. Do you hear that ticking off in the distance? Either you tell us what we want to know, or you'll walk the plank!>

Hook<You wouldn't dare!>

*Lilith immediately snatches Hook's bindings, pulling him from the quicksand & floating over the river. The crocodile licks his lips & opens his jaws hungrily, the ticking growing louder. Hook yelps & flails, kicking wildly, but cannot get away.*

L"You know--all you're doing--is making it harder--to keep my grip..."

Hook<Alright, alright! What do you want to know!?>

L"Where did you get the Heartless?"

Hook<Another pirate captain!>

Taiyo grabs her pigtails and holds on to them moaning about ouchies and in case other weirdos try grabbing for the.

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

Azuma: "Does this captain have a name?"

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

Apparently grounded, Xyukuse calls the Frolic Flame to block Lexaeus's attack while spinning the Chaos Ripper to deflect Daisy's. He sends a Demon Fang towards Nero while conjuring up a ball of wind for Dragon Tempest against Lexaeus.

Eventually it finally had looked as though what was going on with that lobster had come to an end, which gave Kyohaku an opportunity to look over at what exactly had been happening with the Search Ghosts as well. Swallowing deeply, he shivered and soon shook his head, "Yeah, you're absolutely right. Are we going to evade them? If we take 'em out I bet that it would just convince her that we're hiding out over here or somethin'!"

*Artexi smiles at Daisy*

Artexi:<I'm sure we would enjoy that.>

*She summons her keyblades, points them at Xyukuse, then uses Venom Raid and Spark on him*

Artexi:<Although beating up assholes is fun too.>
---
*Eve jumps out of her chair in shock*

Eve:<Oh, you're back! Um, yes, I managed to track him.>

*She sits back down and taps a few keys on her laptop*

Eve:<He's in Neverland.>
---
Monu:<How did you meet him?>
---
Safian:<Stay away from any creature you haven't seen before. Ursula has lots of monsters helping her!>

Hook<I--well, I don't remember, you see.>

*Lilith drops him a few feet, suspended on another vine.*

Hook<Waagh! Alright, alright! We fought on the high seas, and he said he'd give me these "Heartless" creatures to replace my crew, if I agreed to an alliance! He said his name was Barbossa!>

L"Oh, why didn't I think of it before? The question I asked Hades didn't say anything about the states of places the sorcerers had already invaded!"

Hook<Err, wha...?>

L"Never mind that! Where did Barbossa go? He must have left you a way to contact him!"

Hook<I just--I just give messages to the Heartless, they know how to find anyone!>
==========================
S<I see. The device must lead him to worlds being invaded by the darkness. How perfect. In that case, there will be no need to do anything about him.>
==========================
Scuttle<Aye-aye, Cap'n!>

*Euryale tosses him & he flies off. Euryale is the next weirdo to grab Taiyo's pigtails--or at least the parts that are exposed--stroking them.*

Th"It's true that destroying the Search Ghosts will probably alert Ursula to our location, but we need to prevent them from spotting Scuttle. We can retreat under the waves once he is safe."

*Having said that, she starts firing Wisdom Shots at the first Search Ghost to look up.*
==============================
*Xyukuse can't reach the ground to use Demon Fang, because despite how many times the word "grounded" was thrown around, I never said that. Once he moves the Chaos Ripper, Lexeaus follows through with his earlier attack, bashing him into the ground at which point a crater forms. Even if he chose to follow through with Dragon Tempest, Lexeaus would weather the attack, whereas Xyukuse does not have enough hands to continue blocking after Daisy. The result is an incredibly bloody, winded delinquent lying on the ground, with a searing pain in his chest & limbs & swimming vision. Lexeaus stands over him, pointing the Keyblade at him.*

Lexeaus<Stand. Down.>

"Alright then, I'll do what I can for you two. I guess I should probably prefer an open fight anyway." Once more he would have made a comment about heuristic or polymorphic software, but he figured that was better left unsaid. Therefore he simply did his best to unleash his own assault with his Keyblade, hoping that Pulsar shots might be effective for the time being.

*Eve nods, sweeping hair out of her eyes*

Eve:<So...how did it go?>
---
*Artexi walks over closer to Xyukuse, still pointing her keyblades at him*
---
*Safian fires an orb of darkness at the Search Ghost Thiera attacked*
---
Monu:<Could we use a message to lure Barbossa here?>

Taiyo is less put off by Euryale holding her hair, although kind of reluctant given that a goddamn searat ruffled it up.

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

Azuma: "How long could that take?"

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

Xyukuse picks himself up, not being one to take orders and just plain being too angry all the time like a lanky Incredible Hulk to care.

Xyukuse: "Who the hell do you think I am?"

Shakily, he raises the Frolic Flame, pointing it at Lexaeus, firing a Spike Whip into him and reeling himself to, intent on bashing Lexaeus's head in with his own.

*Lexeaus does not even let him stand. The second he sees that Xyukuse is trying to pick himself up, he thrusts the Keyblade into his chest. Xyukuse first falls unconscious, then dissolves into bits of nothing, darkness, fire, rock, & wind. Lexeaus dismisses his Keyblade, crossing his arms & grunting.*

Lexeaus<If you are lucky enough to return, come back with a bit more loyalty, & a lot more common sense.>

N"So Xyukuse has been returned to the darkness whence he came...well, let's go clean up the other Psycho Twin's mess."

*He reopens the Dark Corridor that Roatha left through.*

Daisy<Wait...that music...why would your friend be going to Halloween Town?>
==============================
*From his perspective, Xyukuse continues falling through the darkness of infinity, breaking apart as he goes.*
==============================
L"No good. The Heartless are controlled by the will, the spoken orders are unnecessary if the villain is focused enough. We won't be able to guarantee that this 'Captain Hook' isn't double-crossing us."
==============================
"As I said, the battle was already won before we even entered: Binah Psyche is dead. I did not even have to use the full extent of my counter-strategies."

*Senthose suddenly looks behind him, as though he heard someone calling his name.*

"...It seems that small-minded child, Xyukuse, has gotten his Nobody form destroyed. Frankly, I'm shocked it took this long."
==============================
*Euryale gives Taiyo a quick kiss on the forehead before joining the team in assailing the Search Ghosts with projectiles, in her case rocks. The Heartless try to swarm them, but are unable to get past all of the projectiles, & are soon destroyed.*

Each member of the team seemed to be using a different class of projectile, that was for sure, and his own blasts were far different from the rocks that Euryale seemed to be using. Regardless, Kyohaku himself kept on doing his best for the time being, hoping that the three of them in turn could take care of the situation. Having practiced with this Pulsar technique for quite some time now, his aim had certainly improved quite a bit for sure. Eventually it looked like the job was done and he lowered his blade. "We better get going fast in that case."