Temple of the Seal(Perma-open!)

[nascent]

"Cordell! Kassom! Gonna want to back up for this one!"

Leaping out of the way of the incoming energy slash, Capt. Cordell rolled and came up alongside Mora in the relative shelter of the doorway. Kassom, on the other hand, was too close to the action: he veered hard to one side, but the razor-edged attack caught his upper leg and the side of his chest. Metal split and ruptured long enough for a gout of blood to erupt from both wounds before the over-skin sealed itself. The young lynx howled and snarled in pain like a wild animal, using his good leg to launch himself to one side and out of further harm... for the moment. First his arm, now this... with injuries mounting he'd have to get creative or risk his next one being fatal.

The wrist blades receded into the metal coating as he fell to the floor, and from the hand of his unwounded arm sprung a steel tendril. It lashed whip-like towards the two-sword Invisible, aiming to wrap itself around one of the the Heartless' weapons and, if possible, yank it out of the creature's grip.

Meanwhile, Mora had explained everything to Cordell and granted her the benefit of her... robot, monkey, thing. There wasn't really time to debate the creature's merits; as it clambered up onto the pirate's shoulder Cordell pocketed her depleted weapons and pulled a new pistol from her coat pockets, readying her cutlass with her remaining hand. With Alexis stabbing the beastie in the back and Kassom doing his best to occupy one of it's hands, that left a clear course of action.

"Go fer th' eyes Bao, go fer th' eyes!" Cordell instructed as she charged the Invisible head-on. "YAAAAAARRRRR!!!"

When the Invisible's sword came at her, as it inevitably would, her plan was to parry the strike with her trusty blade and then, in true pirate fashion, pump four shots of lead into the foe's neck point-blank while Bao clawed at its face. Swift, cruel, and decisive... even a Heartless, she figured, would reel from that.





(OOC: Twenty Munny to whoever first figures out what game Cordell just butchered a quote from. )

[prythian]

The Invisible shuddered under the assault. The sword stabbed in its back, the shots and creature clawing its eyes... it felt itself going temporarily blind, and felt rather than saw a sword ripped out of its hand.

It didn't like that.

A roar forced itself out of the creature before Alexis could rip up the sword as he had planned, and it stiffened as a proximity blast of darkness shot outwards from its body, knocking Alexis, Cordell, and Bao through the air. Cordell and Alexis both slammed into the walls... While Bao was knocked upwards against the ceiling. It knew that this was a fight it couldn't win... but maybe it could take at least one of them out.

The Heartless, for lack of a better term, went insane. It flew around the room at fast speeds in unpredictable patterns, triggering explosions of darkness from its body periodically. Whenever these explosions occurred, blasts of darkness shot out to home in on the enemies.

[Rocket!]

"Crap on a stick." Mora breathed. Zany Heartless were one thing. Overpowered freak of nature Heartless was another.

Blue magic swathed Mora as she flipped on her sheild and ran for Cordell and Alexis. The blue energy accumulated to the point of release, which Mora was more than happy to let it do.

Using her shield to buy time, and cover her allies as she went to help them, Mora placed a hand on both of their shoulders and let the magic force itself into their beings. The two allies were promptly fully and completely healed, as though they'd had a good night's rest.

If the Invisible tried to intervene, Mora would whack the bloody thing over and over and over in a mad fervor with her gigantic gun.

If the thing had the sense to let her do her job, Mora'll go to grab Bao and then make a run back to the entrance. Without Gravira, Mora was next to useless. That black monstrosity was too fast for her to track.

Only have one more use of that thing... Mora thought to herself as she made back for the entrance.

[nascent]

(OOC: Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to this.)



The situation wasn't good. The Invisible had gone berserk, flinging itself about at random and letting shock waves of darkness cascade from its body at random intervals. Early on in the fight Kassom found himself taking yet another hit as one of the blasts triggered right above where he lay flat on the ground. It was like someone had slammed down a giant hammer on his entire body, knocking the wind out of him and doing plenty of damage besides. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth as he coughed in the aftermath, the metal protecting his face parting briefly to let him spit out.

This thing... had gotten on his last nerve.

Cordell, after getting blasted into the wall, had made haste to the magician's side. She fully expected he'd be the one to end this with a spell or something, and she didn't want to be caught in the crossfire when he did. Either that, or magically shield himself from the rampaging Heartless. The young captain was aching badly enough from that last attack, and wasn't eager to expose herself to another blow. Her decision proved propitious when Mora stepped in and healed the both of them; when this fight was over, she'd see to making that girl and honorary member of her crew as thanks (not the Heartless variety, of course).

"Kassom!!"

Oi, it figured! In came the furry rogue's sister, hammer in hand. Cordell groaned in annoyance -- the LAST thing they needed right now was more people in here. What if the Heartless decided to let go completely and self-destruct?! There was no stopping the girl, though; enshrouded in flames, she charged the Invisible head-long with a wide stroke from her large hammer.

"Iris, don't be a fool!" Kassom managed to cough up the words, but only after his sister's attack. Then Ilaelis cut in. "Let US handle this!"

Clenching the fist on his good arm tightly, Kassom threw what looked like nothing more than a punch at the air -- well, aside from the rippling energy that flowed from it. The Pulse Aura was aimed straight at the Invisible; if Iris' attack had even just gotten the thing to stop moving for a moment, it had a good chance of hitting its target. All he needed to do was pin this Heartless to the wall... closely following the Pulse Aura, the wounded lynx whipped his arm in a wide arc and sent three long, spear-like shafts of metal flying at the enemy, using up all the metal he had on hand in one single desperate attack.

Kassom would unquestionably be hurting in the morning... presuming they won this fight.

[Akito]

Alexis let go of his sword and let himself be flung across the room, though, before he made contact with the walls, his Aegis shield erected autonomously to protect him from that tidbit of blunt damage. Honestly? He was barely hurt. Magical abilities were never the best move to use against him, though when Mora healed him, he barely felt anything either. But he was grateful nevertheless, if only for the gesture.

Alexis looked on with a mix of awe and pity. A candle shone brightest right before it goes out, after all. This power was the result of its desperation, it would need to be put to sleep. Alexis suitcase flew out and would continue pestering the Heartless, smothering forward in the thing's face and covering its field of vision. It could still go berserk, but it would so so blind.

In the palm of his left hand, Alexis drew his weapon Si Felice. The magic shield with blades jutting out from it, began to spin rapidly becoming akin to an eight pronged windmill. Holding it up like a discus, Alexis let loose the spinning windmill (SHURIKEN!) and threw it towards the Heartless, over Iris' head, cutting a swathe to split the being in two, ironically exactly where Alexis had originally stabbed it; the abdomen (With his sword presumably still stuck in?).

[prythian]

The Invisible shuddered, knocked backwards by the Pulse Aura and the three spikes found their way home. The hammer attack and remaining attacks by Alexis hit it as well, wounding it farther. For a moment it stood there, motionless; weapons sticking out of it whilst it bled liquid darkness. And then, something unexpected happened. A slit appeared on its blank face, a mouth opening up. It paused, as if gathering strength, and then spoke in a loud whisper.

"He is..."

The Invisible then shuddered again, halting midsentence and bending over. A dark energy gathered about it, purple smoke trailing off of its body. The mouth opened again, but the Heartless could not speak any longer. "..." And then, its body erupted in far larger explosions. 3 explosions shot forwards, breaking rock and blasting through the roof of the temple. When the smoke faded, the Invisible would be gone, and the two swords it had used dissolved into nothingness.

All that would be left was one sword... embedded in the floor with a pool of liquid darkness surrounding it.

[Akito]

He is...?

Alexis braced himself during the ensuing explosions, being mindful to stay further away from the source to avoid the worse of the collapsing rocks. When the events settled and but a dark pool was left, Alexis gazed but momentarily at the dark abyss. And his brow furrowed. Dirty and dangerous, this puddle was. He could feel it, his ability to sense magic warned him of this seemingly harmless puddle.

Conveniently, a new sky light had already been formed by the previous explosions. Alexis would not have to worry about incurring damages as he formed a magic circle directly beneath the puddle. From that magic circle, a cylinder shape of Destruction energy blasted upwards to obliterate the dirty smear from his presence.

[nascent]

"Is it over?" Cordell asked out loud, watching as fresh dust settled in the aftermath of Alexis' magical coup d'état. She tucked away her pistols and coughed. "That scallywag sure as took 'imself a beatin', that's fer sure. All this fightin' best prove worth it..."

As the young pirate complained, Iris was busy picking her brother up off the ground. Kassom was in rough shape; a few pieces of roof debris had fallen on him from the Invisible's death-throes explosion, adding to his already numerous injuries. Cordell watched her stubborn rival get hoisted onto his sister's shoulders and couldn't help but scoff. "Aye, th' Heartless wasn't the only one either! Hah!"

"Stow it, pirate girl." The furry rogue grumbled, Ilaelis still speaking through Kassom. "Someone's gotta handle the front lines and take the hits... gah, good thing this boy heals fairly quick."

Iris laid him down along one of the nearby intact walls. "Just relax, Ilaelis. I'll go get uncle Vates -- he'll use his magic to heal my brother."

"Like heck! I'm not becoming one of that wacky coot's experiments, and neither is my thrall! I'll take my chances the old fashioned way, girl." He looked around. "Doesn't look like we saved all that much of this place, though. Dang, that's one big-*** hole..."

"Hmm... I wonder if'n the monks'd be willin' t' part wit th' ginormous gem they 'ad on th' roof..." The pirate captain wondered, a sly grin on her face.

[prythian]

((Still waiting on Rocket, but I'll go ahead and post the results of Alexis's attack.))

The magic shredded the darkness, tearing it into tatters and making it disappear with sheer force. The sword, however, appeared to not be affected by the magic at all. It remained embedded into the ground, not deep enough that it couldn't be removed. Darkness spread outwards from the point of impact of the sword, creating the pool once more.

[Rocket!]

"Y'know, I've still got another shot of healing left in me." Mora interjected. Slipping Bao into the calm haven that was a small pocket on the inside of her cloak pocket, Mora couldn't help but wonder about the whole bloody "He is..." thing.

A deep frown creased her face slightly as one of the less pleasant thoughts occured to her. He... as in Mister Butt Ugly Heartless Summoner Guy?

That is, until Alexis tried to go to town on the thing's sword. Darkness seeping out of anything is usually bad. Otherwise, it's just wierd.

"Hey-- hey! Big evil sword at ten o'clock!"

[Sorry for the wait!]

[nascent]

Ilaelis groaned, half from annoyance and half from pain. "Yeah, we've noticed that, kid."

Sword in the ground seeping an unhealthy supply of darkness... dang, it just went from one thing to another lately! First a hard-as-nails fight, now an open wound in the Temple that was leaking Heartless juice like a ruptured water pipe! The Kinzoku scowled, suspecting the worst. His ancient powers were still beyond his current reach, but his survivor's instincts were going nuts about how risky that sword could be. What if, for instance, the Heartless was planning to regenerate itself? A wholesale blast of magic hadn't stopped it... something was VERY wrong with this picture; his every gut reaction was screaming at him to be cautious.

He extended one hand, more to help focus his weary mind than from any kind of necessity -- this wasn't magic, after all. Resonating with their master's will, the metal that had been shattered and scattered by the Invisible's self-destruct act rapidly liquefied, pooled, and flowed over the Temple's floor towards the sword. It was as flat to the flooring as possible, attempting to slide underneath the darkness that was flowing onto the floor. Making a fist, the demon of metal willed his element to surround and envelop the sword, forming a perfect bubble around it and hardening, a solid half-inch thick barrier almost three feet in diameter.

And now, the tricky part...

Within the bubble of metal, a slim tendril reached down from the top and coiled around the sword-hilt, slowly lifting it upward as metal stretched and flowed to fill in behind it. If it worked, it would be a perfect seal . . .

IF it worked.

[Akito]

"Oh?" Alexis did not look surprised. Something that could resist the breakdown of its core? Was the sword regenerating? Or did it also exist in a different plane of being, thereby bypassing the laws of destruction? He was tempted to study the thing. It was a dark magic, perhaps as deep as that of the Old Ones. Alexis crossed his arms in mock interest, it was a shame that he would have to get rid of the object befo- Oh ho, it seemed someone else beat him to it.

The sorcerer shrugged mentally and let another handle the problem "I'll leave it to you then,". It was unlike him to exert himself for something that he is largely uninvolved in. Besides, without going to the trouble of invoking any complex sealing rituals, Alexis would've simply blasted from the other way. Downwards into the ground the sword was implanted. The sword might not be affected, but the earth and stone it sat upon would be disseminated; forging a great deep hole if Alexis fired for a while with which to bury the accursed sword.

A pity, perhaps this other person had more grace than someone as vulgar and violent as he, he thought.

[prythian]

The sword as it was pulled suddenly exploded outwards in a burst of darkness, the darkness of the pool erupting and seeking out a specific person inside the Temple.

However, the metal seal that Kassom had put around it worked perfectly, and the darkness was contained within the sphere, dissipating after mere seconds and the sword breaking apart into nothingness. However, the sheer strain of holding in all that power would most definitely backfire on Kassom very painfully.

A monk, meanwhile, approached the group. ". . ." He bowed his head. "We thank you for the aid you have given us. The Orias wishes to speak with you." Two more monks came from behind, supporting a deeply wounded monk between them. His arm appeared to be broken, and a large wound was oozing blood from the middle of his forehead, running down between his eyes.

[nascent]

Painful was exactly the right word for the situation, as what Kassom and Ilaelis experienced in those moments of holding back nigh-interminable darkness was akin to a severe electrical shock. A Kinzoku's metal is like an extension of the self, like thoughts to the mind or blood to the veins... normally the reaction wouldn't have been quite as severe, but both host and demon were exhausted and wounded, neither one prepared for the sheer fury that assailed the carefully erected seal.

Kassom's body jolted, became rigid; his hands dug into fists so tight that blood flowed from the palms of his hands. He sucked in a sharp breath and held it, the strain evident on his face. Remarkably, the lynx's fur color even reacted -- flickering spasticly between deep scarlet and gritty steel-gray, the latter being a sign of Ilaelis' influence on Kassom's person. They were weakening, both of them, and it took every last ounce of willpower to hold out until the darkness had neutralized itself.

It was the longest few seconds of both their lives.

When it was over, Kassom went completely limp. His strength was gone, utterly and completely. His breathing was short, ragged, like he'd just run a marathon; his gaze was blank and emotionless. He seemed half-dead.

"Somebody... get that thing out of here..." He muttered, right before the monk walked over. Iris, seeing her brother's state, wasted no time and rushed the hollow metal orb out of the Temple as fast as she could manage. After how hard they'd fought, no chances were being taken.

"We thank you for the aid you have given us. The Orias wishes to speak with you."

Cordell, who had just been watching her rival's agony until now, perked up when she heard that. The monks brought a wounded man forward; it was hard to tell how severe his injuries were, though it was obvious he wasn't in good condition.

"Hmm, hold on a sec. Didn't that bloke in the desert Temple call 'imself 'Orias'?" The young captain inquired. "But this's THE Orias now...?" She paused for a second, then a sly grin crept up onto her face. "Heh, heh heh -- I see what ye did thar. Clever, that."

"So... what happens now?"

[Akito]

Alexis pulled out a convenient little handbook from one of his back pockets. As Kassom writhed in agony, he casually flipped through the pages in search of the appropriate chapter. One of the spells he never quite got down, a spell in direct opposition to his affinity. Healing. The act always cost him more than it did most, always disagreed with him more. After all, when Destruction is at your core, Repair is your enemy. Alexis envied the Avian healers of Aria, or the Priestess of Loi, they had a praiseworthy power.

Finally stumbling upon the page he needed, Alexis studied it for the barest of seconds before closing the cover shut and tucking it back whence it came. He then approached Kassom's ragged body and tried his hand at what the other person had did for him a while before. With his right index finger, the sorcerer drew a magic circle of what seeemed to be red static. It took the design of a rather decor, resembling very vaguely a dove in flight within a bound circle.

A flash of light later and a healing spell on Kassom would be cast, revitalizing him to 100%. Unless Alexis messed up the spell, of course. It wasn't his forte, there was a slight chance he might've erred and turned Kassom into some sort of marsupial. When that seemingly didn't happen, Alexis took a step back and smiled, "Please be grateful to me," He said curtly.

Alexis assented to the Monk's invitation, it seemed that this Orias person could no longer afford to be as tight lipped as he had been, "My good Captain, I never thought I'd hear a Pirate say that. We act without thinking, of course, and follow blindly the flow of events," Giving bad advice was one of Alexis' special skills.