First Blood Shed

*Monu dives after it, hurling his keyblade at its chest*
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*Safian dives into the shadows, not wanting to scare any merpeople*
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Artexi:<We need to make friends with someone with water spells or something. Shit.>

*A confused murmur runs through the pirates.*

<We're being attacked?>

<The fire can kill us! There must be a sorcerer nearby!>

Will<So what will you do now...Captain?>

Barbossa<What do you think, boy?>

*He lunges at Elizabeth, only for Jack to jump on his back like a spider monkey & pull his hat over his eyes. As he's wrestling with Barbossa, Will jumps down, taking Elizabeth's hand & leading her away. The pirates get over their confusion long enough to chase after them, but pass into the shadows once again. Barbossa stumbles back towards the pedestal with Jack on his back, & they once again turn skeletal.*
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*The Grim Reaper floats towards Azuma, but as it tries to slash him, Lilith rams it with her Glider & takes it into the sky, shooting into its chest, but they seem to just harmlessly pass through its ghostly body. The Gambler floats above the water & tries to dance out of Azuma's way, shuffling a deck of cards. Meanwhile, Thiera shoots Wisdom Shots at the Gambler that she has penned in.*
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*The Gambler hits the ground, dropping the coin. It weakly crawls towards it, most of its body broken up.*
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E"Ursula must have been turning the merpeople who agreed to her deals into polyps when they couldn't pay her prices. Guess it's a good thing we didn't smash any of 'em."

*With that, she swims upward.*
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N"I think Demyx doesn't completely hate us. Either that or he's just too lazy to fight over his Keyblade. Also, where are we going?"

*Presumably, they have crossed the bridge over the waterway & are now back at Curly Hill. With the Tentaclaws gone, a few scattered Creepworms seem to have come out of hiding, but there are no other Heartless that they can see.*

Taiyo swims after Euryale, mermaid not having the most exciting views from the back.

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Of course they assume it's a sorcerer the misogynists. Hitomi stops raining fire and resumes in her current position as it has so far not been discovered.

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Azuma casts Darkra on the Gambler.

Safian:<Yeah, she did turn me into one. Thanks again for saving me, Euryale.>

*She follows after the others*
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*Monu lands near the coin, picking it up before attempting to finish off the Nobody with diamond shards*
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Artexi:<I was just kind of wandering...>

*Monu's Gambler shatters & disintegrates into Nothing. He can't really see what's going on through the trees, but he can hear the sounds of battle going on over the next mountain ridge.*
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*Azuma's Gambler staggers before finally being ripped apart by the dark tendrils, dissolving into Nothing as its coin falls into the ocean. Up above, Lilith breaks off from the Grim Reaper as it becomes a trio of giant flaming skulls & chases her through the sky. Thiera, not being strong on offense, is still trying to defeat her Gambler.*
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*So Hitomi does nothing as Will & Elizabeth are chased by pirates toward the direction of the docks, leaving only Barbossa & Jack fighting in the gold chamber. Barbossa manages to throw Jack off of him & straightens his hat.*

Barbossa<C'mon, Jack, we both know this is pointless. Neither of us can kill the other. Not until the last of the gold is in the chest & the blood has been repaid.>

*Jack stands & dusts himself off, moving back into the shadows.*

Jack<Well, that's what you think. You see, I have a bit of a secret weapon.>
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E"No problem."

*Once she breaks the surface, she tosses her Keyblade into the air, where it becomes her Glider & hovers just over the waves. As she climbs on top of it, her tail shimmers & returns to human form & her armor begins forming over her.*
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N"I guess we should just return to the castle, then."

Taiyo does the same, shaking herself off when she gets on her glider. Whether it's necessary or just habitual is a mystery.

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Hitomi rains Fira spells on the pirates chasing Elizabeth and Will.

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Azuma dives in after the coin which considering his attire is gonna make life difficult.

*Monu picks up his coin, pocketing it. He then flies up above the trees, doing his best not to run into any this time. Once there, Monu heads toward the sounds of battle*
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*Safian summons her glider, then leaps out of the water, changing back to her original form before landing on the glider*
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Artexi:<Sounds good.>

*So they do that*

*Fortunately the coin hasn't been sinking for long, so even in the low light Azuma can see the glint & grab it.*
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*Up in the sky, Lilith is still fleeing the giant floating skulls while Thiera finally manages to force a Gambler into the wall formed by her Glider, destroying it. She dives, using Magnet to catch the falling coin, then pulls up towards Monu.*

Th"Don't attack it, it can't be destroyed!"

*Meanwhile, tracking the others to this location & with the absurd speeds that Gliders can travel in the Lanes Between, Euryale & co. fly down from the atmosphere.*
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*The pirates barely even seem to notice the flames, but register them enough to look around & spot Hitomi.*

<'Ey, is she the one wot's been lobbin' fireballs at us?>

<Won't matter soon.>

*A pirate aims his musket at her, & on cue all of the other pirates with muskets or crossbows also take aim. Meanwhile, Barbossa looks over.*

Barbossa<So you have some kind of magic. Won't be doing you much good. But I'll still be needin' the Turner boy, so if you won't step out of my way, I'll just have to pin ye to a wall!>

*He thrusts at Jack, who parries & slashes wildly. Barbossa ducks & shoulder-rams him, knocking him off of the pedestal.*
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*They arrive to find Luxord leaning against the wall, arms crossed.*

Luxord<There you are. Finally. Senthose is insisting on a meeting, but in the Gray Area instead of the Altar. Says he has updates as well as assignments.>

Not being present to hear Thiera, Taiyo takes action and goes to ram the Heartless while with the coin in hand, Azuma swims back to the surface.

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Thankfully muskets aren't known for their resilience, so while falling back, Hitomi multi-casts Maelstrom on the pirates which while ineffective against them won't make their muskets usable as is the flaw of such weapons.

Artexi:<Thanks for letting us know.>
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*Monu flies in Lilith's direction, casting Hawk's Dive on her to increase her speed. Safian launches some fireballs at the monster before flying towards Thiera*

Safian:<What's going on?>

*Taiyo impacts a flying skull head on & her Glider is completely shattered. Euryale races after the falling fool, reaching out when she gets close. Fortunately for them but unfortunately for Safian, the latter catches the ghouls' attention & they come shrieking after her.*

Th"Uh...short version, short version...the pirates & that Heartless were turned undead by Cursed Gold. The pirates can be damaged in their true forms by magic, but the Heartless seems invincible until the gold has been returned, along with the blood of everyone who stole a piece."

*Meanwhile, Azuma is presumably bobbing on the surface, watching this all unfold.*
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*That wouldn't really do anything to the crossbows, but fortunately the waterwhirl sort of knocks them all around, perhaps giving her time to come up with a better plan. Jack grabs Barbossa's pant leg as he tries to leave, knocking him over.*
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L<T'was the hand fate dealt me.>

*With that, Luxord starts making his way up the stairs.*

Artexi:<I guess we should head over there. Unless you want to go find a healer first.>
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*Safian dives away from the skulls, yelling back to Thiera*

Safian:<How are we doing on those two things?!>

*Meanwhile, Monu flies back towards Thiera*

Monu:<Do we have all of the coins?>

Taiyo reaches out to Euryale because there is no way she would have saw that coming, but at least she wasn't the only one to attack it.

Meanwhile Azuma treads water, looking for something to climb on.

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Hitomi casts Blue Moon on a handful of the pirates as if it does succeed in rendering them vulnerable, the light should be enough to effect the majority of the group if not all of it.

From there she casts Thundaga on them.

*Nero turns to Vega.*

N"Hey, didn't you say you had a healing ability?"
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*Euryale hefts Taiyo aboard, seating her behind her on the Glider. She then pulls up before she would have hit the water, soaring over the half-sunken boat that Azuma just climbed down from a minute ago.

E"So what's going on here?"

*Lilith comes up in her Glider, the top petals peeling back just enough for her to address them.*

L"The pirates are immortal undead thanks to Cursed Gold. We can injure them in the moonlight, but not that Heartless. Hopefully we have all of the coins now, we just need to take them back to the chest. And hopefully Will & Jack gave it some of their blood."
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*Being a fairly small projection of the moon, it only adequately illuminates 4 or 5 of them. Of those, the one struck by lightning collapses into dust, while the rest are hit by rocks & left limping, spitting up blood. Fortunately for Hitomi, at the moment the pirates are too dumbfounded & muttering about what this could possibly mean to do the smart thing & attack. Meanwhile, Barbossa elbows Jack in the face when he attempts to tackle him.*

Barbossa<You idiots! Magic must be able to destroy us in spite of the curse! Kill the girl already!>

Since I guess the broken up ship is viable to climb on to, Azuma does that.

Azuma: "Then we need to get into the cave."

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Hitomi casts Blue Moon on some more pirates then rains Fira on them.

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Vega: "Yes, but it only effects the user and is harmful to those that are too close to them."

*Safian is still flying around, trying not to get caught by the heartless*

Monu:<We better hurry. Euryale, can you fit Azuma as well?>
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Artexi:<I really think we should just go find a better healer.>

*Those that Hitomi has set on fire start to flee in random directions. The rest ignore them, those with melee weapons charging towards her, fanning out in an attempt to surround her. Others make distance from each other & aim their bows at her. Barbossa manages to get free from Jack, swiping his sword to keep him at a distance. Standing up, he laughs.*

Barbossa<You should know by now, Jack, that you're not the only pirate here who wields secret magics.>
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E"Not really, no."

*Lilith is already heading into the cave, because every second out here is increasing the probability that Hitomi will be overwhelmed & they'll be killed by an invincible Heartless.*
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N"Or we could NOT waste a bunch of time & expect me to limp halfway across the castle, I could use that, & the rest of you could just walk away."

Daisy<You seem irate.>

N"Yeah, well, evidently you've never been poisoned."

*Artexi crosses her arms*

Artexi:<Fine, you two do that.>

*She stomps off in whatever direction she's supposed to go*
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Monu:<Well, you got here on foot, so I suppose you should be fine to get back that way.>

*With that, he summons his glider and takes off after Lilith. Safian follows as well*

At this point, Azuma's glider should be accessible, so he gliders up and heads to the cave.

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Hitomi backs away towards the way she came in, casting Blue Moon on the crossbow wielding pirates and following through with Gravity Well as the force if it doesn't destroy them should fuck up their weapons.

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So Vega presumably swaps Keyblades with Nero. Hopefully he has seen how Vega works to know what to do.

*Hitomi is backed against the wall & the pirates are spread out enough that she can only hit 1 or 2 of them with that spell combo. Fortunately, Lilith comes zooming up, the others hot on her tail. She shoots the roof over the pirates leaping at Hitomi with melee weapons so rocks fall, forcing them to lose time as they fight their way out of the rubble. She then rams a crossbow-armed pirate, sending him sprawling into another so that his shot flies wide over Hitomi's shoulder. Meanwhile, Barbossa holds a hand in the air, gathering darkness in his palm that forms into the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]. It shakes its tail, the lantern gathering all light from the moon, as well as Hitomi's projection of the moon, into itself. It then jumps & starts scampering across the far wall, visible only by its eyes & tail. Euryale heads after it, breaking down the rock wall with her Glider. The clang of sword fighting can be heard nearby. Thiera lands near Hitomi, dismissing her Glider & bestowing them both with Aeroga.*
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N"Thanks."

*He then awkwardly waits for them to leave so he can heal himself, though Daisy hesitates, looking back & forth.*

Daisy<I think she's mad at you.>

Taiyo blasts at the Illuminator with Bubble Blaster when it is presumably within range.

Hitomi: "Thank you."

Presumably Azuma enters, not making a spectacle.

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Not being a moody teenager, Vega goes to the altar or wherever the fuck, I don't remember.

*Monu lands next to Hitomi and Thiera, then uses Avalanche on the pirates. Safian pursues the Illuminator, firing several fireballs at it*

*The Illuminator proves itself very agile, jumping to some distant corner of the room so that the attacks burst harmlessly against the cave wall.*

E"Damn, I guess we're gonna have to corner it!"

*Euryale swerves to follow it, Lilith approaching it from the other side & firing, at which point it skitters up the wall. More yellow eyes opening on the ground & in the air indicate there are Heartless in the cave.*
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*Thiera erects a tower shield of fire to prevent the pirates from approaching, shivering as she hears the howl of the Grim Reaper, its ghostly fire lighting up a thin slice of the area around it.*
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*Once healed up, Nero follows, & after a lot of walking, they eventually meet back up in the Gray Area. Most of the Organization is gathered either on the furniture or just standing around with drinks, while Senthose is staring out the window.*

Taiyo casts Force Arrow on the Illuminator while Hitomi casts Thundaga on the emerging Heartless, Azuma adding Wolf Storm while keeping an eye on the direction the Grim Reaper is coming from.

*Monu stabs his keyblade into the ground, turning the ground underneath the pirates into quicksand*

Monu:<We need to get the coins into that chest!>
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*Safian flies at the heartless from a direction not covered by someone else, firing on it with her glider, then with more fireballs*
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*Eve stands a foot or so behind Senthose, hands folded behind her back. Artexi throws herself on the nearest available couch*