First Blood Shed

Taiyo: "Um, here she is?"

*Monu turns pink and smiles broadly, then summons his glider and follows after Lilith. Safian follows as well. When they land, both Monu and Safian dismiss their armor and gliders, Safian disappearing into the shadows. Meanwhile, Monu strides up beside Ariel*

Monu:<Good sir, I believe that this young woman will be able to help the primce, if you would allow her to see him.>

*The guard glares at Taiyo like she's some annoying kid.*

<I know what the Prince's fiance looks like, & this is most certainly NOT her. Still...I do feel as if I recognize her from somewhere....>

E"She was on the ship as one of the guests."

<Oh, I do recall, you are the young lady the Prince found by the beach before he became smitten by Ms. Vanessa! I had always taken you for a mute, but your voice seems awfully familiar...hmm...>

*He glances to Monu & then up to the ship.*

<I probably should be more suspicious, since you attempted to pass her off as the Prince's fiance...but I am willing to try anything that may restore the Prince. Head aboard.>

*So he stands by to let them up. Euryale takes Taiyo's hand as they head up. Ariel runs to Prince Eric, who is staring listlessly to the sea in the rough direction that Ursula disappeared to. She slows down as she comes closer.*

Ariel<What would I give, to live where you are...what would I pay, to stay here beside you...what would I do to see, you smiling at meee...?>

*Eric turns around, with an enraptured look on his face.*

Ariel<Where would we walk? Where would we run? If we could stay all day in the suuun? Just you & me--& I could be--part of your woooorld!>

*As the sun starts to rise over the water, they hear the voice of a familiar crab rising over the deck.*

Sebastian<Now's your moment...floating in a blue lagoon...boy you better do it soon, no time will be better...go on and...kiss the girl.>

*Slowly, Eric & Ariel lean in to lock lips, & soon afterwards are embracing. Eventually, Eric pulls away, shaking his head.*

Eric<What happened? Why am I on a wedding barge? Why is my memory so...fuzzy?>

Ariel<Don't worry, Eric...everything's okay now.>

Eric<You...you're the girl who rescued me. I feel bad not knowing your name.>

*She opens her mouth to speak, but as she does, everyone's favorite sea king bursts from the water, waving his trident to put everyone but Ariel, Eric, & the Order into a magic sleep. Sebastian is on his shoulder, nervously chewing his claw.*

Triton<ARIEEEL!>

*Worse yet, as the sun rises out of the sea, Ariel falls to the ground. Hearing the thud, Prince Eric turns away from the sea king to see her legs twisting together, growing scales as they turn back into a tail.*

Eric<You...and he's...are you?>

*He looks to the Order as he asks this, & Euryale raises her hand slightly.*

E"I am."

Triton<So, Miss Rakshashi & her friends from another world are here as well? I thought I had banished you, but I should have known you were a part of this.>

Azuma: "You were banished?"

*Monu smiles at the scene, putting his arm around Lilith if she seems agreeable to it*

Ariel<Daddy, I-->

Triton<Ariel, please, just let me finish for once!>

*Triton inclines the upper part of his body in some kind of weird mer-bow.*

Triton<I thank you for saving my daughter. From now on, you may come & go as you please, so long as you continue to use your keys responsibly.>

E"Th--thank you, Your Majesty!"

*He turns to Prince Eric.*

Triton<And what about you? It's obvious that my daughter truly loves you.>

Eric<I--I feel the same way, Mr....?>

Triton<King Triton. In that case, I suppose there is only 1 problem left...how much I am going to miss her....>

*He points the trident at Ariel, a swirling stream of water emerging that covers her tail, lifting her off of the ground as it moves up her body. When her newly restored feet touch the ground, the magic water thing solidifies into a shimmering dress, & the lovers resume their embrace.*

L"Well...we should probably leave you alone now. We need to move on anyway."

Ariel<Thank you all so much--you'll come to our wedding, won't you?>

E"Just send us the invitations by Moogle, & if I'm not dealing with an apocalypse, I'll be sure to be there. See you again soon, Ariel."

*Ariel waves as Euryale summons her Keyblade & opens a passage to the Lanes Between, Eric continuing to look extremely confused.*

With their congratulations out of the way, they armor up spooking the locals some more, Taiyo likely joining Euryale on her glider.

*Monu and Safian armor and glider up, then enter the portal, waving as they go*

*As the portal closes behind them, they realize that they have entered near a small set of land masses & a crooked [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], with the spire roof depicting stars & moons.*

E"What's this place?"

L"I've never actually been here before...but I'm pretty sure it's Master Yen Sid's tower."

E"Oh yeah, you've mentioned him before. Is he a friend of your mom's?"

L"He's retired now, but he was a Keyblade Master before Mom was. If we're here, he must have something important to say."

*Sure enough, in a star-shaped window, they can see a tall, bearded man in wizard robes matching the spire of the tower motioning for them to fly in.*

Monu:<Mickey was his student, correct? I wonder if this has something to do with him.>

*Monu and Safian fly inside*

Having a good guess what it's about, Azuma and Hitomi try to mentally prepare for the worse.

*Hopefully once inside they have the sense to dispel their Gliders & armor. Lilith & Thiera start to bow, but Yen Sid holds his hands up in a stopping gesture.*

Yen Sid<Please, let us dispense with the formalities. I am afraid we have grave matters to discuss. You may wish to take a seat.>

*He waves, & in puffs of blue smoke, armchairs of various colors (& 1 large cat bed) appear behind them. Shrugging, Thiera, Lilith, & Euryale sit down. Yen Sid sits down at his [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], waving his hand again. This time, each of them is awash in glowing white sparkles, causing them to be healed & refreshed as if they just had a full night's sleep. The wizard closes his eyes & breaths in deeply through his nose before opening them again.*

Yen Sid<First, we must speak of the Organization's plans. It troubles me that they have been experimenting with creating more dangerous Heartless. I fear they are gathering forces for an assault.>

E"Maybe they're going to attack the Land of Departure."

*Lilith & Thiera shoot her a look you might send the way of someone speaking in a movie theater, but she doesn't notice them & Yen Sid shakes his head.*

Yen Sid<No. I am afraid that leads to the second matter. I have kept some very important information from you. Worse yet, I have sworn some of your friends to share in this shameful secret. I will not ask forgiveness, only that you understand that I acted in accordance with what I believe would have been your mother's wishes.>

*Lilith sits on the edge of her seat, gripping the arms tightly. Thiera, having already guessed what is coming, sits back with a look of horrified disbelief.*

L"You mean you haven't been able to communicate with her? Did something happen?"

Yen Sid<The reason why the Organization will not be invading the Land of Departure is that they already have. They arrived with a force far in excess of what we had anticipated, so I sent King Mickey to assist her. Unfortunately, we found the last remaining Keyblade Master, Keter Aurora, to be conspiring with the Organization. Though they fought valiantly, King Mickey was defeated, the Star Shard returning him to safety, and Senthose survived what should have been a fatal blow, unharmed, through some unknown means. After this, he personally murdered Master Psyche.>

*Lilith stammers, then shakes her head, grinning & chuckling.*

L"Is this some kind of joke? Or maybe a test? Of course we haven't lost faith in the Order, Master. There's no way that Senthose could ever defeat Mom--I mean, Master Psyche. She's the Mistress of All Magic, that doesn't make any sense!"

*Euryale looks around in confusion as Thiera continues to be non-responsive.*

*When they arrive, Safian bounds over and curls up in her cat bed, while Monu sits beside Lilith. When they hear that Binah has died, Safian's fur stands on end, and she hisses. Monu sits stone still, staring at Yen Sid*

Monu:<...You...you can't...>

Taiyo seems disappointed that she doesn't get the bed, but after taking a seat it seems incredibly minor after what Yen Sid said.

Azuma: "I see no reason why this would be a test or why both Master Yen Sid and King Mickey would ever think of such a thing."

*Lilith shoots Azuma a threatening look.*

L"Nobody asked you! Are you seriously suggesting Senthose could possibly defeat Mother?! She makes Hitomi look like a birthday magician! Senthose is just some punk who took his Keyblade & ran away halfway through his training!"

Yen Sid<I know this must be hard to accept, but it is imperative that you know what has become of the Land of Departure & the necessary next steps. You may use the mirror I once used to communicate with the Successor, if you wish, but it is far too dangerous to take you to where the Hall of Masters once stood.>

*Safian growls*

Safian:<Why didn't you let us know what was going on? We could have been there!>

*Monu just sits there in shock*

As there is clearly no reasoning with her especially when any encounter with Senthose's Heartless didn't end well for them, but the cognitive dissonance is too strong.

Yen Sid<You were already in the midst of battle when the Organization made their move, which we believe they had planned on. Further, even if you had been there, I doubt it would have made a difference. We estimate the Organization has between 20 and 30 members, at the very least, along with their legions of dark minions. Senthose himself has proven to be a surprisingly capable fighter, forcing me to relocate my tower some months ago. Moreover, we do not believe the Organization displayed their full might during the invasion.>

Th"Are you saying--that not only could Mom not defeat Senthose--but neither can you?"

*He strokes his beard, peering thoughtfully into space.*

Yen Sid<Whatever power Senthose has obtained since casting his heart aside & becoming a Nobody--knowing that will be the key to defeating him. Of that much, I am certain. It is for this reason that Master Psyche and I decided that it was of the utmost importance that we never ally in battle, lest we both fall and leave you without guidance. I would have nevertheless acted quickly to whisk her away from danger, however-->

L"I don't need to hear any more explanations! I--I know it's not your fault, Master. If he arranged that much in advance, of course he would have set up a magic block. No one knew how far he had gone--but I see it now."

*She squeezes the right armrest while burying her face in her left hand and sobbing. Euryale is too far away to comfort her & getting up would make things awkward. She turns to Thiera, but Thiera waves in a negative signal, so she looks to Taiyo instead.*

Th"He would not have been able to arrange any of it without Keter's help. To think that she was that resentful at being passed over as Successor...."

If Euryale is too far off, Taiyo is even further off. She expected to say how life is absurd and stuff or something?

*Monu puts his arms around Lilith, gently holding her against him. He looks like he is about to cry too. Safian's head and ears droop, and she curls up into a ball*

Safian:<Keter always acted like a jerk to me...I can picture her secretly being evil all this time...>

*Euryale frowns at Taiyo being totally unhelpful.*

Th"The Land of Departure, what is its current status?"

*The wizard leans back, steepling his hands.*

Yen Sid<It is no more. There is special knowledge that the Order presents only to those who have shown the Mark of Mastery. However, given the extenuating circumstances, I think it best that you know: Should the Land of Departure ever be about to fall, then in order to prevent it from falling into the clutches of those who would use it for evil, it is possible for the bearer of the Master Keeper to transform the world into a labyrinth that may only be fully explored using that key. That world is now known as Castle Oblivion. Brace yourselves...you may find what you are about to see to be quite shocking indeed.>

*He turns & points to the star that the Land of Departure orbits, & a fog begins to form at the window, rapidly magnifying that section of space until they see the legendary [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Lilith peeks through her fingers, & immediately recoils.*

Yen Sid<Somewhere deep within, Keter Aurora & others from the Organization search for the Keyhole, that they may regain control over this land. But even if they search forever, they will never find it without the Master Keeper. You will learn more about this castle when the time comes that you must return to reclaim it.>

Monu:<Where...where is the Master Keeper now? Do you have it?>

As Mickey never spoke of the Master Keeper, they don't know anything about it.

Yen Sid<I am capable of using it. That particular Keyblade is considerably more fickle than most: It will only respond to the call of those deemed worthy by the previous Successor of taking up his or her mantle--temporarily, in my case. I look forward to enabling one of you to fill that role as soon as possible.>

L""Nobody can replace her."Th

Yen<...In any case, the time has come to attend to more current events. I believe that the Organization will have 2 primary objectives henceforth: Gathering their forces, as previously mentioned, & moving to capture the Princesses of Heart. Just as soon as I have determined the movements of the Organization, I will send you out to counter them whilst I continue to organize our allies. I am sorry, but we haven't the luxury of a reprieve at this time.>

E"Uh...Master Yen Sid, Sir...what about our other friends, can you tell us what happened to them?"

*Euryale fidgets uncomfortably in her seat. He turns to her, shaking his head.*

Yen Sid<The young man you brought to me is assisting King Mickey in his myriad of quests. Roatha was present at the Organization's invasion, still under the thrall of darkness, but I lost track of him after that--the Organization's Stronghold is blocked from any attempt at locating it--& I am sorry, but there is still no sign of Mortal. She is most likely still with the pair that splintered off of the Organization, wherever they may be.>

Taiyo: "So Roatha could still be alive?"