Shadows of the Past

*Artexi stands up*

<We need to go help Lilith and the others. They're in trouble.>
===
*Monu uses Hawk's Dive then pulls Lilith and Thiera away from the snake, which is then blasted by Safian*

Azuma: "Why does everyone in this world look like they're wearing crappy costumes?"

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

Taiyo sends a water wheel at the snake.

Mortal creates an eruption of in the center of the group of Unversed hoping to damage as many as possible.

--

"Oh really," Noct said looking at it, "Looks like just a regular old oil lamp."

Sark<World? Don't tell me...you claim to be Users...?>

*Tron turns around.*

Tron<Is that true? Are you Users?>

R"Users? You mean these?"

*Roatha's Keyblade appears in his hand.*

Tron<What is that?>

Sark<It doesn't matter! Prepare yourselves for immediate deresolution!>
=======================
*Now a bunch of flaming little rabbit things are running around, flailing their ears & probably screaming silently. You fucking monster.*

L"The sand in those hourglass things is actually running down. And stop pulling us around, that's why we keep winding up cornered on the floor!"

*Sure enough, the snake has cornered around them. It shoots its eye beams at Thiera, who shoots a Blizzard at it. Big rocks then start raining down on them.*

T"Ow! Ow! Bad idea! Bad idea!"

*The Hareraisers that weren't wounded walk ear over ear towards Taiyo. Two of the Chrono Twisters try to wedge Mortal between them.*
==========================
Aladdin<Yeah, I don't know why all of those monsters were after it. They might come back, by the way. We've already driven them off twice.>

N"And why the Hell would we want to help them?"

Mortal pelts one with a fireball, and cross slashes at the other with her keyblades.

--

Noct, having just read-- I mean, having just realized what Artexi said, responds, "Yeah, I'm with Nero. Why would we want to help them?"

Azuma: "Probably means people from the outside."

The two Keyblade up, Hitomi firing on Sark.

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

Taiyo double slashes at the rabbit thing.

<Because they're fighting the person who removed my heart.>
===
<I couldn't just leave you there!>

*Monu casts Fairy Aura on the trio. Safian pounces on one of the chrono twisters surrounding Mortal, flames covering her claws*

*She knocks it back, but more rabbits jump on Taiyo, hitting her with their ears, which are surprisingly strong & also make shallow cuts. Thiera runs to block when Jafar tries to blast Mortal in the back. The Chrono Twisters are shoved back, & in the case of the one Safian is attacking, falls down. Lilith somersaults away from a blast from the snake's eyes.*

L"Half of you deal with the Unversed, the other half focus on the snake!"

*Soon after she says that, she attempts to block the eye beam with her Keyblade, at which point it quickly turns to Stone. She drops it, & attempts to resummon it, but all that happens is that the snake hits her with its tail hard enough that she breaks the ladder at the end of the room. The other 2 Chrono Twisters float towards the door as the sand in them begins to run out. Of course, the burning Hareraisers are still hopping & rolling around.*
============================
N"How could you possibly know that?"

*Aladdin puts his hands on his hips.*

Aladdin<You don't seem like you're missing a heart to me.>
=============================
Tron<You mean to tell me...you ARE Users?>

*A Black Guard steps in front of Sark, using his staff to block. The other 2 take to the air, while the remaining runs after Tron. Sark himself steps out from behind the Black Guard & throws his disc at Roatha, who blocks it. Sark rolls to avoid the deflected disc striking him, & instead it cleaves off part of the ground before returning to his hand.*

R"They're just evil programs, so I say we destroy them & take the ship!"

Tron<But if you're Uers, why don't you just derez them all instantly?>

*Tron grabs the staff of the Black Guard who attacks him & punches him in the stomach. As the guard doubles over, he kicks his legs out from under him, & draws his disc. The flying Black Guards swoop over Azuma & Hitomi, dropping a bunch of bombs.*

<I keep seeing though something's eyes. I'm the one attacking them...>

*She looks away, then to Aladdin*

<Not physically, really.>
===
*So Safian mauls the fuck out of that thing. Monu casts Fairy Aura on Lilith before running over to her*

"Wait, but, why does that matter to us," Noct asked, "Do you want revenge or something? Why not just bank on them to win?"

--

"Lilith!" Mortal stood, and charged at the snake, covering her keyblades in stone, and bringing them down onto the snake's back.

Azuma dodges and erects a wall of DARKNESS! to shield Hitomi.

Azuma: "Not a good time for technicalities."

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

Taiyo swings her Keyblades about at the rabbit things.

*The snake hisses in pain, having been cut nearly in 2, & turns to bite her. The rabbits that were burning stop burning, but don't get very far as Thiera's Blizzard takes them out. Seeing that Monu has Lilith taken care of, she turns to use Blizzard on the Hareraisers that Taiyo throws back. With the other 2 Chrono Twisters' faces almost visible, black orbs like ticking clocks appear over the heads of Mortal & Taiyo. The one Safian mauls eventually dissolves in dark flames, while the last heads towards Monu & Lilith. Lilith just coughs, hacking up blood & other unpleasant fluids.*
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*The Grid being a very dark place, the dome is strong enough to withstand the blasts, so the Black Guards circle overhead. Roatha strikes the other one with lightning. As Tron is about to finish off his opponent with his identity disc, the Guard rolls & trips him. Finally, Sark hits Roatha in the chest with a disc, putting a large glowing gash in him & knocking him onto his back.*
========================
Aladdin<It still doesn't make sense. Why would you want to help people without a heart? How could you have friends?>

N"They both have valid points, but Noct's is less hokey & doesn't involve helping people who clearly hate our guts, so I say you listen to her."

Hitomi fires at the Black Guard circling her. Azuma sets to attacking Sark with the whole wolf silhouette nonsense.

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

Taiyo runs off to attack the Chrono Twister as destroying it might make the clock dealy go away.

*Artexi crosses her arms*

<I want to make him pay for stealing my life from me.>
---
*Monu uses Air Raid on the twister before running over to Lilith, casting Fairy Aura again. Safian sends a stream of darkness at the snake*

Noct just kind of looks at her, "So, you're going to help these people even after what Senthose said?"

--

Mortal dodges the bite, then looks over at Taiyo, "Hey, what is that thing over your head?"

*Maybe, but a few attacks are not enough to destroy it. The clock shatters into crystals, which rearrange in a complex shape around Mortal & Taiyo, & fade away. Mortal & Taiyo are now standing awkwardly, frozen in mid-speech, as the Chrono Twisters teleport towards them & start spinning to attack them. The parrot is making punching motions on Jafar's shoulder.*

Iago<Give 'em the left, THE LEFT!>

Jafar<Cease you're prattling, can't you see that this is no time to cheer?>

*He gestures towards the Heartless. The snake tries to slither towards Safian, but breaks in half before it can get to her, both halves dissolving into darkness. A Heart floats out of it, off towards the unknown.*

Iago<So...run away, shouting threats as we go?>

Jafar<Indeed. I will have my revenge, once the lamp is in my possession.>

*Jafar & Iago disappear into a Dark Corridor. Thiera angles herself so that she can shoot a Blizzard to push the Chrono Twister away from the helpless Mortal. Lilith shakily rises to her feet.*

L"Thanks."

*She hobbles towards Taiyo, slashing Hareraisers as she goes. As most of them are heavily wounded, they dissolve in 1-3 slashes.*
==========================
N"So, let's wait until he destroys them, then gangstab him."

*Artexi sees Mortal dodge her strike, followed by darkness ramming into her face & Jafar opening a Dark Corridor & backing into it. Then her field of vision goes completely dark before returning to normal.*
===========================
*Assuming Hitomi has the good sense to aim in the direction of his flight, she knocks the Black Guard down, whereupon he hits her with a swipe from his staff. Sark uses the disc to block, then throws it at Azuma. Roatha gets up, the lines on his outfit red again, & charges forward with spinning Keyblades wreathed in lightning, knocking back the Black Guard in front of him & destroying Tron's opponent. Tron looks a little shocked, but hurls his disc at the other Black Guard all the same.*

Hitomi casts Blizzard on the Black Guard assualting her, repeatedly.

Azuma blocks and counters.

*Artexi looks at Noct*

<I would, yes.>

*Back to Nero*

<That works.>
---
*Monu runs after Lilith, slashing at any enemies that come without reach. Safian roars in triumph before attacking the Chrono Twister bothering Mortal*

Mortal is frozen.

--

"Alright then," Noct said before pointing to the street rat, "What about boy wonder?"

*Hitomi's Black Guard breaks apart. Before he can even get to Sark, Azuma is struck in the leg by a disc. Sark rolls out of the way to avoid a cross-slash by Roatha.*

Tron<The way to the Recognizer is clear! Let's take it before Avici shows up!>

*Tron runs to the ship.*
=======================
*With Thiera's help, it's destroyed. Thiera casts Cure on Lilith as she passes. As the Chrono Twister moves to attack Taiyo again, Lilith secures it in place with Ivybind & then starts shooting seeds at it, a trio of flowers exploding across it.*
=======================
N"What about him?"

So they follow Tron, Azuma presumably stumbling about.

Artexi:<I said I'd help him out of here.>
===
*Monu throws his keyblade, using Air Raid on the remaining Chrono Twister*

Noct looked at Nero and gestured towards Artexi, "I had a feeling we were about to get roped into doing something with him. Lo and behold."

N"Shouldn't be a problem. We'll just use a Dark Corridor, drop him off back at Agrabah, & then go do something else."

Aladdin<What's a Dark Corridor?>
=========================
*Lilith also moves in to attack up close. Eventually, the Chrono Twister is destroyed, & Mortal & Taiyo regain movement, slowly at first. When it fully returns, they begin recoiling for each time they were hit. And feeling the pain. Mortal randomly feels a healing spell halfway through that mess.*
=========================
<UNAUTHORIZED PROGRAMS ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS RECOGNIZER A01!>

*The ship shoots an orange laser the size of a tree trunk at them. Tron dodges it & hops aboard, fiddling with the controls. Roatha is still swinging wildly at Sark, throwing lightning bolts at him. Sark throws the disc, which he knocks aside with Ultima Weapon.*

Tron<Roatha, we don't have time!>

*Roatha hesitates. He hurls the Omega Weapon at Sark, then runs towards the Recognizer.*

"Don't worry about it," Noct said.

--

Mortal is kind of overwhelmed by the sudden jolt of pain, then sudden splash of healing. She felt a bit embarrassed for liking the feeling, but quickly shook her head, and tried to get back into the game. "Where did Jafar go?" She asked after looking around.