Shadows of the Past

*They soon manage to sneak into a back alley between 2 shacks. They can see the busy dirt road leading to the port, but there's enough shade that they'll be hard to notice, especially if using the power of darkness.*

L"Well, we're in, but we still have to figure out where that darkness was coming from. It's possible that the Black Pearl isn't even involved."
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E"It's not a problem, I'd like to get to know you, too. King Triton has forbidden us to intermingle with the surface world, so Atlanteans don't know very much at all about humans. Well, except that they keep killing us down here in the sea."
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*The guy comes around with disposable plates of pizza.*

<Sorry 'bout the wait.>

*As Nero reaches for one, he hears screaming, & turns to look out to the streets as a bunch of huge chunks of rock fall off of Xanatos's building & crush a car.*

N"Guess we'll be taking these to go!"

*He grabs his pieces & runs outside.*
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R"You would prefer it if she did?"

*Thiera looks around.*

T"Something's wrong."

R"What do you mean? This place looks perfect."

T"Exactly. No one's been using this furniture. The sinks are spotless, with no dishes. There are coasters out, but there's no wear on them. It's like no one's been living here, but someone's keeping it spotless anyway."

R"Well, maybe she moved out, & they're getting it ready for the next tenant?"

*Artexi grabs her slices and follows, eating as she runs*
---
*Safian sniffs at the air to see what's around*

Monu:<It's the only lead we have.>

Noct grabs her slice and begins eating, and slowly walks out to follow Nero and Artexi. Once outside she leans against the wall of the building, and continues to eat.

--

"Oh, I had no idea," Mortal said, "Well, trust me when I say Taiyo and I have no intention of harming anyone. Back where I'm from we used to tell legends about Mermaids. I've always thought they were so interesting. Mysterious beauties of the sea."

Taiyo: "I've only seen pictures in books. And they looked nothing like you do. They were really scary."

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

Azuma: "A little, yeah."

E"Aww, that's so sweet."

*Euryale hugs Mortal, then regards Taiyo with confusion over Mortal's shoulder.*

E"Why would you want to be a mermaid if you thought they were scary?"
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L"Right...so, I guess we'll have to start asking around about the Black Pearl."

<THIS IS THE TALE! OF CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW! PIRATE SO BRAVE! ON THE SEVEN SEAS!>

*Lilith looks to the street, where several others have turned to look in the direction of the town square.*

L"...Well, that was convenient. Monu, you look the least out of place around here. Go find that man singing the oddly romantic song. Safian & I will try to follow from back here. If we don't catch up with you once you're done questioning him, slip away somewhere secluded & send up a light for us to follow."
==============================
*Nero checks to make sure that everyone is gawking at the scene, then opens up a Dark Corridor. He heads through, leaving it open behind him.*

Female voice<Get back!>

*The crowd collectively scrambles away from the scene.*
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*Roatha turns to Azuma. Thiera looks to the door.*

R"Oh. Why?"

T"Well, I suppose our next step is to find the lord of the estate."

Mortal felt herself heat up under the unexpected contact. She couldn't help but hug back though, and felt herself calm down, and relax after noticing how natural it felt. She broke off the hug after a while though and let out an awkward chuckle, "I'd hug longer, but it is hard to swim and hug... these fins are new to me."

--

Noct continues eating her pizza, but quickly follows after Nero, not wanting to be left behind.

Taiyo: "I was sure they're not all scary."

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

Azuma: "To avoid the implication that this occupation is more glamorous than it really is."

*Monu nods and heads off towards the guy singing. Safian remains near Lilith, tail twitching slightly*
---
*Artexi follows Nero and Noctis though the corridor*

E"Well, we're not all scary. You'll see when we get to Atlantica."

*She dives over the continental shelf, & begins swimming into a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].*
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*They come in view of the town square, where someone in a black vest & chaps, with a white undersuit, but also wearing a pirate hat, is standing on the edge of a fountain & singing. He spreads his arms. Lilith turns to Safian.*

<FROM THE DAY HE WAS BORN! HE YEARNED FOR ADVENTURE!>

L"Wait here."

*She dashes forwards.*

<OH, CAPTAIN JACK! GIVIN' THEM WHAT FOR!>
=====================
R"Uh...yeah...let's just go do Thiera's plan."

*He opens the door & heads out.*

T"Hold on just a second, we should lock up behind us."

*She points her Keyblade at the door they came through & fires a beam of light at it. They can hear the click of a lock.*
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*When they emerge from the Dark Corridor, they arrive up on top of the castle to find Nero locking swords with what appears to be a gargoyle bust. In his other hand are the 2 pizza slices, overlaid atop one another & folded. He takes a bite, not noticing the other gargoyle bust spinning towards his back, swinging an axe. Also, around them, little shadow things begin emerging from the ground. A red gargoyle with a beak of sorts flies overhead, dropping a small armored person from the rooftop*

Taiyo follows.

Taiyo: "Do they all look like you?"

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

The two follow.

"Wow, this place looks... amazing. I never would have imagined something like this existing so far underwater," Mortal said, following as well.

--

Noct is legitimately impressed to see Nero eating pizza the correct way, and rushes to his side to defend him from the second Bust. She blocks the axe with her keyblade, then boots the bust creating a gust of wind to put some distance between them, "I've got your back."

<So do I!>

*Artexi summons her keyblade, then runs upt o join the other two, holding her keyblade in front of her*
---
*Safian does that. Meanwhile, Monu approaches the man*

<Excuse me, Captain Sparrow.>

N"Great, thanks."

*Nero keeps clashing blades, getting nowhere. Naturally, all of the Shadows jump towards them, slashing with their claws. The red Gargoyle circles back & lands. He keeps backstepping to dodge the axe swings.*
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R"So, I guess we just go down the halls & start knocking on doors until we find the landlord."

*They head off to do just that.*
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E"Well, not exactly like me."

*Ariel swims up to them, followed by a yellow flounder with blue stripes.*

Ariel<There you are! Why didn't you follow me when those humans started approaching?>

E"Oh, they started asking questions. I didn't want to make them suspicious, so I tried to act normal."

Ariel<So you talked to them? That's amazing! Just don't let Daddy know.>

E"Her father is King Triton. And they're, uh, from out-of-town."
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<A MYSTICAL QUEST! TO THE ISLE OF TORTUGA! RAVEN LOCKS SWAY! ON THE OCEAN BREEZE!>

*Lilith walks up, pointing.*

L"His hair is blond. I think this man is inebriated. Excuse me, can you tell us where the Black Pearl is harbored?"

<KIRA NIGHTLY! CAPTAIN JACK, JOHNNY DEPP!>

L"Please try to focus, Sir."

<DAVEY JONES, GIANT SQUID!>

L"COME ON!"

<Whaaat? It's over there, somewhere."

*He points.*

<Thank you Good sir.>

*Monu waits for Lilith then starts off in that direction, Safian creeping though the shadows in the same direction*
---
*Light covers Artexi's keyblade and she slashes at the shadows attacking her*

Noct holds her hand out, causing one of the shadows to begin falling slower in the air. She then jumps up, holding her blade out, and spins until she reaches the shadow at which point she slashes through it with a spinning swing.

--

"From far, far out of town," Mortal quickly confirmed, "I'm Mortal. It is nice to meet you, Princess...?" She let it drag out as a way of asking Ariel's name.

Taiyo: "I'm Taiyo."

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

Azuma: "Wouldn't there be a directory somewhere like around the lobby with all the tenants names and the like?"

*They stop, & turn around.*

R"I guess we could look. So, in that case, we just need to find an elevator."
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*The Shadows attacking Artexi blow apart. The Shadow that Noctis attacks is thrown away, knocked on its back. Others claw at her & Nero, who just shoves what's left of his pizzas into his mouth, though not in time to keep from being stabbed in the stomach by the gargoyle-heartless.*

Red Gargoyle<Hey, you need some help?>

N"Woiwii."

Red Gargoyle<What?>

*He ducks under an axe swing, grabbing the shaft (heh), he tries to toss it over him & off of the building, but it turns out that the Heartless can glide, & makes a 2nd pass at him.*
==========================
Ariel<Ariel. It's very nice to meet you. Would you like to go exploring with us?>

E"Actually, they wanted to see Ursula. So I was just taking them there."

Ariel<Are you sure? I've heard she doesn't like to be disturbed, unless you can pay well. What do you need her for?>
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*Sure enough, navigating the alleys, they eventually find a ship with pirates getting it ready to set sail--mostly boarding cargo, but also checking ropes & sails, & attending to some cleaning. There isn't too much cover on the docks themselves, just a few crates at the opposite end. Of course, because of the pirates, there aren't really many people in the area.*

"There are some things we want to ask her," Mortal said, "Wait, how much munny does she usually cost?"

--

Noct stabs at the wounded shadow, then slashes in a wide arc to beat at the remaining shadows that are clawing at her.

*Monu turns to Lilith*

<What's the plan now? Do we walk right up to them?>
---
*Artexi repeats the attacked, this time aimed at the heartless attacking Nero*

Taiyo: "They probably don't use Munny here."

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

And then they go looking for an elevator.

OOC: Why the Hell is everyone disregarding that Munny is a near-universal currency?

Ariel<We do, but she charges a lot. Probably more than you have on you. But I've heard she also trades for things she finds interesting.>
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L"I don't want to fight a whole pirate crew, especially one with that kind of influence, with half of our members. But I don't know how we'd sneak aboard the ship, or how we'd guarantee our safety once we did...we could try to get them to invite us, I suppose."
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*The Shadow that Noctis stabs explodes. Whether she hits them or not, the rest are flung away from her. The gargoyle-heartless turns towards Artexi, but Nero forms a claw of darkness on his free hand & grabs it, quickly spinning around to his other side. The claw explodes, hurling the heartless into the Shadows that attacked him, which all burst into dark fragments. He uses Dark Raid to hit the Heartless that the other Gargoyle is fighting, before continuing to hack at the Gargoyle Knight, holding his stomach wound with his other hand. The Gargoyle spins, using its tail to smash the bust, & a black, cloud-like Heartless floats off into the night. The Red Gargoyle lopes over to them on all fours.*
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*Once in the lobby, they eventually find this mythical registry.*

R"Alright, looks like she lives in a building just down the street from this one. Top floor, penthouse, just like Dawn's."

OOC: Fish people don't know economics.

Taiyo: "Interesting?"

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

Azuma: "Doesn't even live in the building they own? That's kind of odd."

*Artexi runs over to Nero*

<Nero...speak to me!?>
---
Monu:<Yes, that sounds like our best bet for now. It's just...um...>

*Monu looks away*

<These are pirates. You know what they're known for.>

*He shrugs*

OOC: It isn't odd at all for a landlord not to live in their building as it means more rent income for them. Especially common in higher end neighborhoods. What you're probably thinking of is the Superintendent, which is basically a resident that the Landlord hires to direct in a managerial sense, and supervise the day to day dealings of the building.

"I wonder what we could trade with her..." Mortal thought for a second, "I suppose we can ask once we get there."

--

Noct looked at Nero, "You'll live." She then looked over at the red Gargoyle, "I presume you are Goliath's kin."

OOC: I got something right! My mom watches all of those "buy/renovate/whatever the living space" shows, which while incredibly grating, has caused me to pick up a few things. One is that landlords usually have a home of their own, & are looking for a new space to rent out for extra money. And Harley, quit being racist.

*Nero stabs the gargoyle bust to finish it off while the Red Gargoyle flares its wings to knock the remaining shadows aside. Another Possessor flies off into the night.*

N"I was stabbed in the stomach! Frankly, I'm lucky these coats are more durable than they look."

Red Gargoyle<Yes. Do you not heal when you sleep?>

N"Wha--NO, of course not, what kind of question is that?"
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T"Alright, but let's think this through, here. We're going to need a good story for why we're asking about this woman. And it would probably be best not to go as 1 big group of 4."

R"Maybe we could claim there's some kind of emergency? Send half of us off to the police."

T"I don't know...that sounds like it could get us into trouble."

R"But it's basically true. We're good, concerned citizens. Who just happened to break into her penthouse."
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Ariel<If you want to take the risk.>

E"Maybe you could come with us? You're the King's daughter, after all, she can't get too fresh with you."

Ariel<I guess that's true...okay, I'm in! Maybe I can get her to read my palm, or scales, or something.>
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L"Yeah, I thought about that. There's no guarantee that we could assure our safety for long enough, once we're on the boat. But if we can just get out to sea, I guess we could use our Gliders to turn the tide, if you'll pardon the pun. But, whatever we're going to do, we'd better do it fast."