First Blood Shed

With the game plan set, Taiyo swims to be near Euryale.

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Hitomi casts Stop Frame on the Phantom as if it'll do anything while using the Rainfall to cast Aqua Edge on Monu to show that Invisible what's up.

Cuts and scrapes appear on Azuma as he attacks with Invisible flying overhead with Darkness.

Azuma: "It's brown, so that'd be earth. Which unless Mickey has something, that's up to you."

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Likely annoyed by everything going on in this world, Vega suits up and attacks the Tentaclaw with Demon Fist.

"Yeah, that sounds like the best course of action, I'll stick with you and we can go with Ariel." Kyohaku blinked a bit, and while he didn't like the idea of splitting up all over again he really didn't see much of a way out of it for the time being. He figured that he was going to have to learn to live with the fact that their party would sometimes get larger or smaller to adjust to the situation that they were in. He also didn't really want to take his eye off Taiyo, since he figured that she might try to eat Euryale again when no one was looking.

*Artexi resummons one of her keyblades, then uses Sol's Might to cut the tentacles holding Nero*

Artexi:<Now you're going to get it, you asshole plant!>

*If Nero falls, she grabs him*
---
*Monu takes the damage, grunting slightly. He then pulls Lilith away from the Invisible charging him, sending the water disks from Aqualung flying at it. Once he has a clear stop at the Phantom's shield, Monu sends diamond shards at it*
---
*Safian stops her glider a few inches above the water's surface*

Safian:<One of you better summon your glider so I can transform.>

~Phantom: 11/12~

*There is no actual Invisible charging at him. The one that attacked him leaves him in critical condition, at the cost of its own life as the water shield tears through it. The Invisible flying overhead is struck by the water blades, stunned but not slain. Phantom is uninjured by all of the spells but the shards. After giving Pan a nasty gash, it flies away with him, a dark flame emerging from its hood as its shield changes to a golden white, which fades after being struck by Pearl to be replaced by a white shield, a wall of Dark Balls slowly emerging to bar their path. All the while, Lilith's heartless body is jostled around like a ragdoll.*
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*Artexi catches Nero after the shockwave from Vega's attack causes the plant to drop him. Surprisingly durable, her attack only sinks about halfway into its stock, & it is not until the plant is skewered by an ice spike from Daisy that it finally fades into the shadows.*

Daisy<Remember, there was another at the grave yard exit when we came in.>
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*Euryale surfaces, shaking off her hair & holding her arms out.*

E"Just do it, I can keep you out of the water 'til you're done."

Th"Kyohaku and I can help Ariel, if she can't swim without her tail."

Nodding a bit, he looked back and then finally just smirked. It was a non-verbal way of agreeing with Thiera. Whether the others had thought so or not, too, he actually thought that this had looked a lot cooler than just saying something as well to be perfectly honest.

Taiyo sure ain't gonna be able to hold no lion let alone a shark, so she just...I don't know keeps watch for things.

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From the Rainfall, Hitomi casts Thundaga while once again patching up Pan as well as Monu.

While that happens, Azuma flies under and around the Dark Balls, pursuing the Phantom.

Monu:<Azuma, physical attacks work on white shields!>

*Monu casts Cure on himself to help speed along the healing process, then carries Lilith over to Hitomi*

Monu:<Watch over Lilith for me while Azuma and I finish off the Phantom! Thanks!>

*Since she's still floating, Monu places Lilith next to Hitomi, then speeds off after Azuma and the Phantom*
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*Safian puts her front paws on Euryale, back feet still on her glider. She then starts to transform, jumping into the water next to Euryale when she's done*

Safian:<Thanks Euryale!>
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Artexi:<Ugh, we'll have to take it out before we get too close.>

*She adjusts her grip on Nero so Daisy can help lift him again*

*Nero groans as they set off.*

Daisy<Is he finally starting to wake up?>
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*Since the Glider is still just floating there, Ariel gingerly drops into the water, Thiera grabbing onto her right arm.*

Th"Easy, we have you."

E"Well, good luck with the pirates, I guess."

Th"Likewise you with the sea witch."

*Euryale does a sort of wave with her tail before diving & gesturing for Safian & Taiyo to follow her. Thiera likewise begins swimming Ariel to shore.*
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*The dark balls are swiftly eliminated by the lightning, but the Invisible rockets down & slashes Hitomi with a broad diagonal strike from its sword. In the same motion, it spins, transitioning into a tail slash & a barrage of darkness. Some of the dark blades soar past Hitomi, heading towards Monu. Meanwhile, the dark flame spat by the Phantom makes a beeline towards Azuma. Seeing him approach from below, it rockets upwards. Pan tries to stab the phantom, but is unable to reach. The number on his head counts down to 9, then 8.*

Taiyo follows after Euryale.

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

As Curaja is a full-heal, Monu is wasting time, but thankfully there's no MP system. Instead he's dumping his catatonic girlfriend off on the physically weakest person around.

Rather than getting cut up, Hitomi uses Frost Surge as a reminder to anyone such as the Invisible, she's entirely helpless at close quarters then recasts Stop on the clock.

Azuma turns to avoid the dark flame and uses Dark Raid to catch up with the Phantom to bash its shield in.

*Monu reluctantly leaves Lilith with Hitomi, as he can't carry her and fight very well at the same time. He uses Aero Shield to block the blades, then continues after the Phantom, throwing his keyblade at its shield if he gets close enough*
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*Safian waves her tail at Thiera and co*

Safian:<Good luck!>

*She dives after Euryale, then starts sniffing around for Ursula's scent*
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Artexi:<I hope so.>

Naturally Kyohaku started to follow off with Thiera, figuring that adhering to their plan from before was still going to be the best course of action possible. "Let me know the moment you need me to do somethin', okay?" He was serious about that too. For the time being, he found this sort of swimming to be more or less effortless anyway, so he didn't think that there was too much of an issue.

*The Phantom darts back, tossing Peter Pan so Monu's Keyblade stabs into him instead, but the Oblivion crosses into the moonlight, projecting a shadow on the Heartless. It tries to scratch Azuma when he appears, but is not fast enough. The cage finally shatters, the shards twinkling out of existence. The Phantom convulses & flutters as if its cloak is empty. It begins to fall, its hood slipping away to reveal a pair of hearts, one that flies into the sky, disappearing into the darkness, the other racing back to merge with Lilith in a flash of light. She starts coughing & jerks around, trying to right herself. Meanwhile, the Phantom's cloak gradually fades into the shadows as it falls. With the Heartless dead, the spells it cast gradually disperse as well. On Hitomi's end, she manages to destroy the Invisible, but is still very cut up & burned, on the brink of passing out before Mickey casts a healing spell on her.*
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Th"Well, you could help with supporting her weight, then perhaps she would relax her death grip on my torso."

*As they drift towards town, the pirate ship [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], shooting cannonballs into the fort's walls. The soldiers up on the walls try to return fire, only for the Heartless above to dive, destroying their cannons & carrying them off. The ship lands on the pier, disgorging the pirates, as the sky continues to grow darker and it begins to rain.*

Th"Fantastic, as if we didn't have enough problems."
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*I can only imagine that Ursula smells like low tide masked with too much exotic perfume. Whatever the case, it leads further into the abyss, & in the general direction of Atlantica. While they're waiting around for Safian to catch the scent, the animals disperse, save for Flounder & Sebastian, who swim towards them. Euryale heads over to meet them, only for a lane of red lightning to shoot up out of the abyss & pierce her. Surprised & badly shocked, she flails around in the water, narrowly avoiding a 2nd strike.*
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*Naturally, once they step out into the graveyard, the Tentaclaw attacks Artexi, since I assume Vega is lagging behind. Of course, since they're literally crawling out of a grave, it's pretty cramped quarters.*

Taiyo swims towards Euryale, casting Curaga.

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While Lilith's flailing about is awful letting her go is probably going to result in her falling to the streets below, so despite being the least physically capable person in the area, Hitomi tries to hold on to her.

Hitomi: "Calm down."

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Vega catches up easy peasy, jumping over them, switching to his Keyblade in midair. Touching down, he hits the Tentaclaw attacking Artexi with Fierce Demon Fang

"...you could have just asked nicely." Unfortunately it had looked like Kyohaku had matured enough at this point to catch onto the sarcasm that Thiera tended to use. Regardless he was actually soon supporting her weight as he was asked, hoping that he was doing this in a way that she would have found useful. "So you wanna take her or you wanna take the pirates?" He had plenty of experience dealing with pirates, but not actually this kind.

Safian:<Ok, I've got the scent! She's this...>

*She stops and turns in Euryale's direction*

Safian:<Euryale!>
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Monu:<Sorry!>

*He casts Cure on Peter before racing back to Lilith and Hitomi. Once he arrives, he helps the later stabilize the former*

Monu:<Lilith, Lilith it's alright. We've won!>
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*Artexi ducks to avoid Vega, then starts batting at the tentacles headed her way with Sol's Mught*

*Euryale wraps an arm around Taiyo's waist & motors her tail, pulling them out of the way as another lightning blast surges from the deep, displacing a stream of boiling bubbles that scald their skin. Deep in the sea, illuminated by the flash of burning red light, they see the vague shape of a merman.*
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Th"We can't do anything about the pirates, the clouds are blocking the moonlight, and even if I still had my Glider, it would be too dangerous to attempt flying up there and dispelling them We'll just have to focus on keeping the townspeople safe."

*She points to a spot on the beach obscured by a ship.*

Th"We'll swim over there to transform. Ariel, as long as you stay close to us, you should be safe."

*She nods, & Thiera begins leading them over there. Assuming they make it there without incident, Thiera helps Ariel crawl up to the beach, before dragging her own self out of the water, being sure to keep her upper body off of the sand. Her tail starts to unravel, allowing her to stand as the dress takes shape around her. Seeing the shivering Ariel, she brushes the sand off of her dress, then surrounds her in a fire ring to dry her clothes.*

Th"Those mermaid bodies are very well insulated, I felt no cold whatsoever."
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*Peter Pan pulls the Keyblade out of himself, surprised when it disappears into his hand. Lilith's coughing starts to die down, her breathing returning to normal as she pushes her bangs out of her face. She looks pretty pale.*

L"Well--let's find the keyhole, then."

*At her instruction, Mickey flies closer to the lock, where a small keyhole simply opens up. He points the Kingdom Key D at it, firing a beam of light. After the music & locking sound, the keyhole vanishes once more. Lilith looks at him, then Hitomi.*

L"Who are you? And why are you holding on to me?"
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*The duck prevents Vega from running into her, but allows the Tentaclaw to chow down on her shoulder. It recoils when Vega's shockwave hits it, then when Daisy joins Artexi by stretching her fingers & using an ice-empowered Keyblade slash. Together, the trio cuts the Tentaclaw down, & it dissolves into darkness. Meanwhile, Nero groans again, lifting his head. His eyes begin to flutter open & he presses his hand to his temple like he has a massive headache.*

Now Kyohaku was never really a fan of being told that they couldn't do anything about, well, anything. Nevertheless, he thought that it might have been best to actually listen for the time being. As a result he simply did his best to help Ariel along with Thiera, helping her in the process as she had asked for some aid with the mermaid princess previously anyway. For a brief moment he was going to express the temperature literally in Kelvin, but decided not to when speaking to Thiera. "Anything more I can help with? I guess I can't really make handy fire rings or anything like that."

Taiyo: "What's happening?"

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Hitomi lets go of Lilith as apparently Monu has her and holding her is strenuous.

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The Tentaclaw could have been destroyed easier, but everyone being clustered together keeps Vega from setting fire to it, so instead he goes ahead slightly so as to avoid any potential collateral damage should another appear. Which it will.

*Monu blinks at Lilith, but continues to hold on*

Monu:<...It's me, Monu? And, uh, I don't want you to fall. We're still quite high above the ground...>
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Safian:<It's some stupid merman attacking us!>

*She swims over to the pair*

Safian:<What should we do? Ursula's scent leads that way.>
---
*Once the tentaclaw goes down, Artexi dismisses her keyblade, then continues on*

Artexi:<Don't worry, you're safe. Just hold on, help us close.>

L"I'm fine. And not you, the--is that a mouse?"

*Mickey turns around, dismissing his Keyblade & saluting.*

<Mickey Mouse, pupil of Master Yen Sid & King of Disney Castle, at your service!>
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E"Wait, don't gather in 1 spot, that's what he wants!"

*When the next bolt comes out of the deep sea, Euryale quickly swims around them in a ring, generating a whirlpool to deflect it back. He blocks with a sword of some sort, of which they now see he has 2. Euryale uses the distraction to address the others.*

E"He's using the light from the surface to find us! We need to obscure it so we can't be seen! There's only 1 person it can be, & I have a plan to stop him."
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Th"Just a moment."

*She peaks out from behind the hull.*

Th"They're gathering materials to fix their ship, that much is unsurprising. Most of the pirates seem to be ransacking the town at random...but they haven't stolen anything. They must be searching for something in specific. Someone up at the fort may know what they want. We should stay close, move in the shadows, and not fight them unless we absolutely have to."

*She grabs Ariel's hand, motioning for Kyohaku to follow, & scampers along under the pier. She points to a bunch of crates, in the direction they are heading, which the pirates are mostly ignoring.*
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*Back in town square, Daisy points out the lab. The quickest way to get there is to walk around the plaza, which will result in confronting 4 or 5 Tentaclaws at minimum, depending on how much they move around while fighting. If they weave around the square, they may be able to avoid some. Either way, unless they go up & over, it seems unlikely they won't have to fight at all.*

*Monu smilies, relieved that nothing is seriously wrong with Lilith. He cautiously lets go of her, but remains ready to grab on again if it looks like Lilith is going to fall*

Monu:<It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty. Can we do something for you, or are you just in the area?>
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Artexi:<Hey Vega, your glider got trashed, right?>

*She tries summoning her own glider*
---
*Safian fades into the shadows of the ocean*

Safian:<What's the plan?>

Taiyo swims far enough away to not be right close to Euryale, but still able to hear what she has to say.

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Vega: "Crashed it into the monster."

While he never liked being told just a moment, Kyohaku did take the opportunity to wait for her to give him further instructions. He also didn't like the idea that they weren't supposed to fight if they could avoid it. Nevertheless, he decided to just take the advice and continued to follow along in the direction that he was indicated to do so. Bleh, he hated this and wished that it had just been an open fight to begin with.

E"You're on the right track. I'll draw his fire. Taiyo, when you see him, cast spells from here. Safian, you sneak up to him & knock him out. But don't kill him."

*As she speaks, she dives, rolling to avoid more lightning shots. Of course, the figure is only visible when firing lightning, & seems to be swimming around down there, trying to get a clear shot. When she gets close enough, she dives on the figure. He blocks, but a wave of bubbles from behind her push him further down. Naturally, he retaliates with a lightning-empowered slash, but Euryale spins to use her water shield for protection.*
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*So they climb the docks & go sneaking around behind the crates. They spot a staircase at the far end of the pier, which leads to the city streets. Thiera spots a precariously perched crate & hurls her Keyblade at it so it falls on the pirates, then hisses for them to run. However, not long after they do so, they hear a pirate behind them shout "over there!"*
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*As I recall, her Glider was not actually broken, & probably has restored its damage by now. Daisy tosses her own Keyblade to the ground, where it turns into something like a coffin with what looks like a cross between her fingers & bat wings. The coffin door creaks open to allow her entry.*
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*He digs out the Star Shard once again. Lilith bows at the mention of a King.*

Mickey<The Star Shard brought me here. It musta known you'd need help.>

L"Well...thank you, Your Majesty."

Mickey<Aw, shucks, you don't have to call me that.>

*He puts the Star Shard away.*

Mickey<Since I'm here, I just want you to know that Master Yen Sid & I'll be lookin' out for ya. We're makin' arrangements to get you the best allies we can. In fact, I'd like to show ya somethin'. C'mon!>

*He flies down, gesturing for them to follow.*

Considering that the pirate's voice had seemed to come behind them, it would have soon looked as though they were surrounded. Looking around him quickly, Kyohaku was doing his best to judge if there were any escape around here. If there were, then he would have taken it right away and indicated to the others to follow along with him. Otherwise, he figured that he was going to follow whatever plan Thiera had come up with in turn.