In A New York Minute: The Manhattan Project - Docks Of Doom

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In A New York Minute: The Manhattan Project - Docks Of Doom
Date of Scene: 08 December 2012
Location: Manhattan - Harbor
Synopsis: Sho Minamimoto and Big Bad Pete make their appearance on the Manhattan Docks. In an attempt to break through the defenses and savage the storage and support from the harbor, they deploy Noise and Heartless! What will the heroes do to stop them?
Cast of Characters: Faruja Senra, Avira, Big Bad Pete, Maira, Sho Minamimoto, Navya, Palom
Tinyplot: In A New York Minute

Sho Minamimoto has posed:
The Siege has begun.

Maneuvers to put the people of Manhattan into Chaos over the last week have borne fruit. The morale of the city is shaken, only holding because of the efforts of valiant heroes who fought the darkness beneath Manhattan. Good people have been wounded or lost... But many of them have been saved as well.

From the Darkness of the Bay, hissing Noise come in a wave, black Taboo Noise swarming the area. The half-Graffiti, half black monsters attack, their highly durable forms resistant even to the lasers of Xanatos Enterprises. Their source appears to be coming in from out in the Bay. What could it be, with that strange chugging noise?

The Marines and naval forces begin working to fight back, but this is a different magnitude of enemy, an unexpected assault from an unknown quarter. With the chaos already in Manhattan, surely they won't be able to hold without help...
Big Bad Pete has posed:
BGM INTERRUPT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlM60Nwc6CE

A steamboat surges into the bay, covered with Knight Heartless and one (1) Pete! A gargoyle style Heartless spins the wheel of the steamboat, though it doesn't actually whistle.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR DEE HAR HARR HARRRR!" Pete cackles. slapping his belly with his hands. "Now this is what we call an invasion! This is shore one way to clear things up with Lady Maleficient! Once Manhattan falls I'll be back in her good graces, yessiree!" He scratches his butt for a moment before adding, "'Course that's assumin' nobody tries to crash the party..." He frowns for a moment before cackling again. "But who would wanna do that to poor ol' Pete?! HAAAAR DEE HAR HAR HAR!"

The steamboat Heartless leap onto naval vessels, assisting the taboo noise with their own strength. "That's some strange lookin' heartless we're dealin' with, but I guess company is strange bedfellows? Is that how it goes? Gosh now I'm gonna be wonderin' all night!"
Avira has posed:
This has been a very tiring week.

Avira has not left Manhattan since the call for mercenaries went out. She herself had a hand in the efforts to probe the darkness beneath Manhattan and halt the twisted experiments of Dr. Sevarius. A second rescue effort into the Labyrinth had bore some fruit but it was abundantly clear to Avira that quite a few people have been lost to this threat.

Her usual cheer at ADVENTURES! is greatly muted now. Something had changed. It could very well be a matter of stakes but there's clearly something else bothering Avira.

Today, Avira had rallied a few of her allies together beforehand, forming them into the small squad that comes with her today. Maira was a given. Faruja's inclusion because he was a huge badass and had something quite important that would clearly help here.

Avira stands on the docks, peering out towards the bay, which disappears into the darkness. From there comes Noise, Avira intimately familiar with their sounds thanks to a week of unpleasantness in Bramble Woods that Sho complicated.

Then the Steamboat crewed by Pete arrives. Avira lowers her binoculars. "Maira, Faruja. We gotta board that thing."
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Sho Minamimoto is sitting on top of the steamboat, arms crossed. He looks moderately bored.

"They're Noise, you bumbling yoctogram." Sho replies with only mild spite. "They're too zetta slow. I was hoping to see a lot more than this. But eh. A deal is a deal."

He narrows his eyes. "What the factor is this? Well, this might be almost inteesting. Let's test their limits." He stands, waiting for them to inevitably try to board and approach.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
Pete spends the rest of this round wondering what a bumbling yoctogram is.
Maira has posed:
Maira has been helping where she can and generally watching out for Avira. She can tell something is really bothering her friend, and it is more than the imminent fighting. Avira welcomed adventure, especially when VALKYRI was being paid for it. But this world...it is in great danger of falling to the darkness.

Maira likes Manhattan. The urban environment reminds her a bit of home.

Maira shudders a little as she stands beside Avira, watching the boat full of Heartless and other nasties arrive. "Not again. I'm better now...I'll protect it this time..." Maira says quietly, either to herself or to Uist, who stands beside her. His cold, ghostly presence always a comfort to her.

Another comfort, besides Avira of course, is Faruja Senra. He's a knight in shining armor, and he insisted on coming along when he heard what trouble there was. She's to stick close to him and Avira. They will all look out for each other.

Suddenly, she thinks of Ivo. What the heck!?

Shaking her head she looks to Avira. As if pulled by invisible strings, Maira straightens. She may be afraid, but she'll be damned if she's going to look it! "Lets do it."
Navya has posed:
It is probably not a surprise that Navya is somewhere where they called for mercenaries. She had never been to New York before though, so hey, she got to look around first.

This is most obvious because she has a baseball cap. It doesn't fit even a little bit. She is wearing it backwards and still has to pull it dangerously far back so that it isn't impaled on her horns; it's going to fall off if she turns her head too fast.

But that was before. Now is different. She looks as serious as she ever does as she paces along the docks - or paces before graffiti charges from the bay. After /that/ she swings her hammer around in a gigantic arc; even if Navya can't destroy the Noise in one blow, she can hit them hard enough that they get punted right back into the water.

She is not with Avira, but is probably being obvious enough about her dock-clearing to be spotted by her team.
Faruja Senra has posed:
With the Heartless on the horizon, in between lifting a gold-inlaid spyglass to the water past the docks, Faruja had been playing the part of Priest. Blessings, rousing speeches, and other such platitudes to uplift the hearts of any of those amongst the military forces that may have some sliver of Faith. They'll need all the encouragement they can get.

"..For the Lord is with you! And no matter the Darkness, no matter what vile Abomination stands before you, if ye but believe in the Lord ye shall be shielded! For the souls of the Faithful are beloved in His heart, and never to be taken from the loving embrace of His arms!"

One ear perks. Faruja nods to the young adventuress. "Quite." A whistle, and about ten seconds later, a shadow falls over the group. Arista lands quietly, without her usual snorts or hisses of derision. The great wyvern, white scaled and long, lowers her flanks as Faruja leaps atop her. A hand is offered to each of the women. Arista's eyes are filled with bloodlust, and her tail lashes, in anticipation of slaughter. Seh's all business.

Peer. A glance to the vaguely dragon-like girl, and the others might catch him mumbling something about 'scandal' and 'improper dress'. Still, the great warhammer has him at least smiling. It looks effective.

"Indeed, M'Lady Maira. We shan't fail here! The Lord shall shield our souls. We must tend to our bodies, or otherwise, destroy the demons and their summoners. This place cannot fall. Our lives mean nothing against the weight of an entire city."

When they're all aboard? With a flap of her wings, the wyvern sets off, climbing to a bird's eye view of the steamboat, poised to swoop down. The Noise they pass are pelted with Holy Spear techniques of various stripes, though the rat isn't wasteful. Most of his strength is saved for the battle ahead.
Palom has posed:
EARLIER

ansi(hr,"Destruction of nature, gather in flame! Fire!")] The heartless outside the elder's home is consumed in fire, and poofs away into nothingness. Palom lowers his staff and puts his hands on his hips. "Ha! These things are nothing!" A white mage and a black mage clad in the traditional Mysidian garb stand at his sides, looking rather more winded. They barely even notice Palom's boasting anymore. The two look at eachother, "Well... thanks for the help, Palom. Now you should--"

"Hey look, another one!" Destruction of nature, gather in flame! *FWOOMF*
"Another!" Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power! *KRAKOW!*
"Another!" Scatter your chilly sharp blades! *KSHHHH!*

Palom runs out into the night, sighting Heartless and blasting them. "Wait! Palom, come back!" one of the adults shouts, but the boy has already disappeared around a corner into an alley. Where he stops and stares. He's never seen anything like that...

SLIGHTLY LESS EARLY

The small boy wanders the lamplit cobblestone streets. What is this city doing here? It wasn't here before...

ALMOST THERE

"_Another_ city? How many more are going to merge with Mysidia?" He looks at the strange road of unidentifiable material, and starts to walk across it -- when there's a blaring horn and he stumbles back as some kind of chocoboless ground vehicle zooms past. "Hey! Watch it! Do you know who I am?!" But the vehicle has already zoomed off into the distance. Palom hmphs, and turns and walks down a random direction. Is that the ocean? It wasn't so close to the city before... Palom turns towards the docks. As he walks into the seediest part of town, from a nearby alley, a shadowy figure emerges... "Kid, didn't your parents ever tell you not to wander around here alone at night?"

NOW
Palom wanders on his way as the would-be kidnapper howls in pain and rolls as he's covered in flame. The young boy walks out to the edge and looks over the water. What strange boats... and the buildings here, are they made of _metal_? And then... things get a lot more familiar. Monsters in the distance. Men with strange magic fighting them. Strange people approaching with... heartless. _This_ he recognizes. "More of them..." he knows what to do. "The Genius of Mysidia is just getting started!" His little legs carry him towards where the steamboat is approaching...
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Sho has, by now, stood on the top of the boat. His expression is lined with anticipation as he looks upon several people he /really/ owes rampant beatings to. "An unexpected side bonus." He comments to himself. Pete doesn't get much acknowledgement from fellow villains in the best of times. Sho's infamously bad teamwork just accentuates that. He blurs, his body vansihing from atop the boat to look upon the incoming wyvern and the others. "We have a cargo for you and Manhattan!" Sho calls. "It's Noise! HAH! Merry Christmas, (Love < 0), Sho Minamimoto." Yes, he actually pronounces that.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
Pete is still confused by this yoctogram thing. "Hey hey! Hey you!" He tells Sho. "What is a yoctogram! Spell it out for ol' Pete wouldya?" He says. Sho starts shouting. "...Well obviously it's /noise/." He grumbles under his breath when he looks up and sees some sights. His eyes widen as he spots a rat and two lady callers!

"/Mickey/." Pete spits to the side. "Of course he'd come. Ruinin' all of Pete's fun! Well I'll show them." He crosses his arms and then pauses, realizing something. "Oi oi oi! That's the maid!" He strokes his chin with his big ol' hand. "Maybe she'll cook and clean for me if I capture her! That seems reasonable! Yessirree... Heartless!"

The Heartless ignore him.

"HEY IDIOTS!" Pete hops up and down. "AFTER THEM ALREADY! GARGOYLE HEARTLESS, ATTAAAAAAAAAACK!"

The heartless swarm up and swoop towards the wyvern, intending to make their trip bouncy--and if they aren't careful, they might be knocked down to the steamboat's deck! And if they're super unlucky, they might not even make it to the steamboat at all! CRIPES!
Avira has posed:
Before they depart, Avira does two things. One, she turns to kneel before a large husky-like dog at her side, ruffling the thick fur behind his ears. "Sorry buddy, you can't come aboard with us on this one. Stick around and clear the docks." Though with her hands, she's tapping the side of his face and pointing off at the Noise and Heartless on the docks. A swat to the back follows and the wolf runs off.

Second, upon spotting Navya, she shouts out to her. "Hey! Hey you!" she yells and starts pointing over at the heartless-bearing steamboat. "That! Get on that boat! That's the source of the Heartless and noise! Follow us in the air!" Avira's actually quite familiar with gria, knowing they're a powerful warrior race.

Avira mounts the wvyern shortly afterwards. It's a shame because normally she'd be so stoked and excited to be riding on a DRAGON. Right now, though, when so much was at stake, her focus was far too intense. It would only serve to intensify as they draw near the ship and Avira spots a set of familiar faces. Pete she remembered from Baron alright. That Baron incident was a very vivid memory of humiliation and inadventant best friend betrayal.

Sho...Avira had a special place in her heart for him. She'd recognized the taboo noise and realized that he might be putting in a showing. "..take us in." Avira growls, almost impatiently. Perhaps super impatiently because without warning, she leaps off the wyvern, whipping the Spine free. On her way down, she actually runs into a gargoyle heartless, but rolls over its wingspan as she continues to fall.

She doesn't yell out to give Sho a warning as she drops down onto HIS FACE.
Maira has posed:
As Faruja extends his hand to her, a manic grin appears. She's going to fly on a wyvern. SO. AWESOME.

She climbs aboard and settles herself behind Faruja, locking her arms around his waist to stay in place. As they take to the air, Maira begins to cast her protective magic. "Alright Avira....I know you want to go kick some ass, but be careful. I'll be looking out for you!" she assures her friend. She then touched Avira and Faruja on the shoulders and casts, channeling the fiery light of her magic into them.

Right in time, too. Avira sees Sho and jumps down at his face.

The gargoyle Heartless swarm, indeed making for a bumpy ride. Maira holds tightly to Faruja, though she looks a little shaken up. "We should try to stay together!" she calls to him, motioning that they should follow Avira.

For the first time, Maira takes a good look at Sho. Her jaw falls open slightly. "What...."
Navya has posed:
Navya is certainly a gria. Whether she's powerful or not is open to debate - but given the size of the hammer she's swinging around, she at least can't be /weak/.

Navya punts another one, putting her entire body into sending it flying, before she looks up, startled. She wasn't expecting someone to yell at her - but this isn't the bad yelling, this is something that's actually helpful.

"Right!" Navya tenses before leaping into the air; her wings beat wildly at first but do manage to hold her up. She's not very good at sustained flights, but just getting to the boat should be doable, even if she's going to want to land when she gets there.

Navya approaches. She is brandishing that gigantic hammer, and she charges (yes, while flying) the thing that looks most like the Noise she had already been attacking: the transforming Sho, who gets a single mighty swing with the blunt side of the hammer with enough force to spin Navya around through a complete arc. Her wings are still working pretty hard to hold her up, and she's unable to hover; she circles instead.

"I don't know what you are," she says to Sho, "but you're like the graffiti Heartless things! And I'm not a Radian! I'm a gria! What's a Radian?"
Palom has posed:
Palom stops and stares for a moment. Is that a _dragon_?! People are riding it... people being attacked by the heartless! Well, the enemy of his enemy... Palom draws back his hand. "Swirling bolts, gather and strike with power!" he thrusts out his hand, and there's a flash of light and a crackle of electrical energy reaching towards the sky -- and then out of nowhere, lightning coalesces out of the air and strikes at the gargoyles! (It's magic, so there's no risk of accidentally hitting the wrong targets. At least this time.)

The young mage takes a deep breath, and kneels at the edge of the water. "Effortless water, strike now with fury!" As he touches his hand to the ground, there's a flash of blue light... and then the water begins to freeze, forming a bridge towards the boat... and when it gets close, it suddenly rises into icy spikes that strike out at the knight heartless! The young mage hops down onto his new bridge and starts running towards the boat!
Faruja Senra has posed:
Slowly, ever so slowly, Faruja grins. A man, one he knows far too well by now, meet his sight...and speaks! "HERETIC SHO MINAMIMOTO! Cursed in the sight of the Lord! Your vile 'cargo' shan't win the day! Heathen! Blasphemer! DEMON! Pray the Lord have mercy upon your soul, for we shall not!" Templar are always good for yelling and righteous proclaimations, and even as he takes the group closer, he's screaming towards Sho. Pete for the most part is ignored. At first. Then, suddenly, Gargoyles!

Avira leaps off, even as claws rake the group, some of which pierce the Templar's golden-plated armor. Yet, thanks to the thunder crashing around them courtesy of one Genius Mysidian, it's far less than it would have been otherwise. Squeaking in rage, he turns back to Maira, frowning. It seems Avira's chosen their course of action. Magic washes over the group as Maira casts casts, further protecting them from harm as he brings himself and Maira closer, swooping and diving. Finally, with a frown, he squeaks. Too many Heartless. Grabbing Maira with one arm, he slings her over his shoulder, and he too leaps into the air from the back of his great mount! Glowing white with holy energy, his other hand clutches his spear, aimed for the controller of those Gargoyle Heartless! Pete, you've now been noticed.

"Black-hearted knave! WITCH! Pray now! Thy life's blood shall spill, and thy mortal coil cleaved!" Someone's in a rare mood today. Probably something to do with all the Heartless and Heresy around.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
Pete hadn't really noticed Palom, the Heartless do though! A bridge of ice forms towards the boat and the knight heartless see this as an opportunity to cross. They charge along the bridge but the spikes rip through them midcharge, tearing through several--though others, luckily, manage to escape being skewered. The knight heartless push through the bridge and into Palom. They don't seem to care that he's a kid which might be a sign of respect if it were not coming from mostly mindless minions. They stab viciously and wildly at him as he's quickly swarmed!

Faruja uses the opportunity to jump down with Maira, spear first. He slams the spear across Pete who youches in pain and stumbles back, a giant bandaid appearing where he was just stabbified. "Ooooooouch! OUCH OUCH! WHY YOU LITTLE--" He throws a punch into Faruja's face a moment after before thinking for a moment.

"Oi, when did Mickey start using spears?" He rubs his chin thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Awww shyucks it doesn't matter. I'm gonna make y'two pay for hurtin' me!"

And with that he roars, charging forward, intending to grab Faruja and swing him into Maira several times. Despite his goofy demeanor, he has brute strength and size--these things alone, even if he doesn't seem too bright, make him a dangerous opponent.

"Y'should just scurry off to yer little miceholes! Listen to your pal Pete!!"
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Sho gets asked what a yoctogram is.

He's also asked what a radian is.

With a sigh, Sho shrugs his shoulders, gesturing with his graffiti-limbs. "You know, this is why I don't like working with people. They're all SO ZETTA STUPID!"

Several Noise go flying past him, and Sho blinks. "What the hell?" He looks surprised as Navya wings another Grunge Wolf straight at him. His eyes narrow. "YOU'RE TOO ZETTA SLOW!" There is an explosion of movement, and before the wolf even nears him, Sho is gone, lashing past her with a hand outstretched, the graffiti transformed into a massive, monsterous claw that slashed into her as he passed.

Avira, meanwhile, has learned. She doesn't give warning, and Sho can't avoid attacks he doesn't see coming. Avira cleaves into him, creating a hiss of black energy that boils off of him as he draws back, wounded. "You again!" He says. "Don't you factoring hectopascals get the picture? YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR VECTOR!" He screams.

Faruja proclaims his inevitable judgement and destruction as a terrible heretic and blasphemer. Sho glares at Faruja. "You're pathetic. This world is garbage, just like your inane religion. SMASH! IT'S ALL GOING ON THE HEAP!" He raises his hands, laughing as he fires a series of energy balls at the assailants that curve in perfect mathematical patterns. That doesn't mean that they're easy to dodge, however...

"SINE! COSINE! TANGENT!"
Navya has posed:
Navya, by this point, has flown herself most of the way over toward Sho.

She does the last few dozen yards under assault from mathematically precise energy balls. The fact that they are mathematical is lost on Navya, who is not particularly educated - or, to be completely honest, intelligent, though if you tell her that she will probably get upset.

Such as now. "I am not!" Navya objects, though whether it's to 'slow' or 'stupid' is hard to tell. "And I was never even /in/ a vector, so there!" Definitely uneducated.

As she passes, Navya swings her hammer in an almost uncontrolled one-handed arc; it's not really meant to be wielded like this and the fact that she actually does anything successfully is a little surprising.

Navya is still not entirely sure what Sho is. She's a little worried about his strength, though, especially as he tears into other people. "I'll protect you guys," she says, though frankly Faruja worries her a little bit with his yelling about heresy and such. Also, her wings are getting tired so she'd better make it quick.

Raising her hammer high, Navya descends, trying to smack Sho toward the ground (or ship) by sheer force, which she has in spades. Descending after him, she reverses the hammer and tries a more careful hooking attack to keep him off balance and focused on her. /She/ can take it, after all.

Yes, even without armour. She's tough.
Maira has posed:
Whoa, aura of another powerful mage! Maira looks around, ready to see someone who looks like Merlin coming to aid. She is considerably wrong. Blinking, she takes in Palom. "....Huh," she says, then shrugs her shoulders. She'll have to speak with him after this! If she lives anyway.

Then, suddenly, she is being flung over Faruja's shoulder. She squeaks a sound of protest, but in the end she trusts him not to do something /too/ insane. When they land and he sets her on her feet, Maira regains her bearings and takes in the situation. Faruja is shouting a lot of impressive insults. Maira isn't sure what all of that means, though she trusts they are appropriate.

Before she can do anything else, they are assaulted on two fronts. You do not need to be a strategist to know that this is NOT GOOD. It is the opposite of good. It is bad-wrong. It is badong.

Then she is hit by the power of math (oh gods it hurts so bad), then pummeled WITH Faruja...which is even worse.

Maira almost goes down, right then and there. She hits the ground hard, and for a long moment she does not move.

Her chest heaves, breath coming hard to her as she summons her magic and forges the familiar connection to Uist. "Help me..." she pleads.

Bright healing light bursts from her, coursing over her body to heal her broken form.
Avira has posed:
Completing her arc, Avira drops to the topmost part of Pete's ship and balances herself there precariously. A quick check confirms that Faruja's sent his wyvern off for now and heroically jumped down with Maira in tow. That mysterious gria has followed as well, also encouraging!

"That's right. Me. What the hell do you think you're doing, teaming up with THESE people?" Even as she's talking, she's working, priming some of her magic. "You got a lot uglier, by the way."

Sine, cosine, and tangent are all words she wouldn't really forget. She can even visualize those particular curves in her mind. But as for practical application, it doesn't seem to help her avoid the incoming energy blasts. Instead, she steels herself and manages to lessen the blows. They still hurt, but they don't seem to sap her strength as much as they should.

In response, Avira jams her Spine downward into the ship's cabin ceiling for a few seconds, giving her the ability to shape her magic with both of her hands. First up, a small spear of ice is formed, fired off at the floating, mutating Reaper. A larger blast of ice magic follows that one.

Then she takes up her sword in hand again and swings it upwards, a sharp blast of air driven out, an extension of Avira's will.
Palom has posed:
Palom gets swarmed by heartless. His bridge is being used against him! He did not plan that far ahead! He doesn't really 'plan' at all.

The boy disappears among monsters and cries of pain. And then... from between the heartless, there's a twinkle of light...

#-1 INVALID ANSI DEFINITION: #FF8000/C00000 *KAFWOOOOOOOM!* There's a great explosion of flame, scattering knight heartless in all directions. The bridge shatters into unstable footing, likely dumping more into the water. And, riding the blast wave with his hand against the fire, is Palom! He's flung up into the air and does a somersault before landing on the boat. The young boy bleeding, his robes already tattered. He pulls out a small blue bottle and drinks it, some of his wounds healing, and wipes his mouth on his sleeve.

"YOU!" He points at Pete. "So YOU'RE the one sending these 'heartless' into Mysidia! It's time for you to feel the the sickness you've brought into the world!" The young boy raises his hands. The staff briefly seems to be made out of stone, and there's a flash of sickly purple light from the other hand. Purple bubbles foam up and pop around Pete, magic disease trying to assault his flesh and turn it brittle...
Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja has been through quite a bit, but /this/ is new. The stab has the Burmecian grinning. Up close, he's nothing at all like Mickey; bandages, robes, armor, and the burning fire of a zealor in his single eye. The effect is somewhat muted, however, as he's grabbed and swung about like some small flail or whip. Made of metal, fur, and rat.

At least he doesn't lose his lunch from the spinning. Even as he's twirled about, he's concentrating, growing slightly brighter as he casts healing magic upon his two wounded companions and himself.

But the rat's spinning trip as a living weapon is cut short. As he comes 'around, the Burmecian thrusts out a clawed foot, catching one of Pete's shoulders. While it doesn't hurt, it's more than enough leverage for the rat to use his Dragoonly legs, kicking off into a backflip that rips off one of his robe's sleeves. Landing in a graceful arc, he stands in front of Maira, glancing back to her.

"Maira, do not move from my back. Lady Arista and I shall protect you." A shadow looms, and the wyvern lands, taking up the rearguard of the magess. Hopefully the strange ability of Uist and his own magics can get her on her feet. Arista roars a challenge, the great beast snapping her teeth at any Heartless who get too close.

To Sho, the rat glares. "Fah! The Lord is immortal, as is the Church! Demon, you shall be nothing more than another Heretic before an Inquisitor's noose!"

Then, there's Pete. "'Pal'? Hardly! The only bond I pretend with you, /Ser/, is that of executioner."

His spear thrust before him defensively, he nods to Maira. "...Burn him."

A glance, and Faruja frowns. A...child? Blast! Unfortunately, it seems he can't tend to the boy just yet. At least the child's alive, and apparently with more than a little magical power.

"Child!" Pause. They need all the help they can get. "...Fight well, brave child. May the Lord bless us all." He'll Warp the boy out if it comes to that.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
There's heartless everywhere, Sarafina manages to avoid getting hurt too much from the firepower unleashed by the heartless, but the bulk of her attention is focused on the Baronites. There should be plenty dealing with the Heartless but if this keeps up, her attention might be forced upon them.

She spots Mickey coming down. "A keyblade? Is that Sora?" She pauses, and then realizes--no--this is the man her husband told her about. Well the mouse he told her about. "The Mouse." She says quietly. "With the keyblade we might just stand a chance after all!" She raises her head. "RALLY FORTH!" She shouts. "PRESS BACK!"

Kaydin doesn't counterattack Sarafina but Morrighan does. Her magic is unleashed upon Sarafina who does not seem to have uch magical capabilities. But that doesn't mean she can't be speedy. She spins around in midair, the flash of magic spiraling past her. "We will not just survive! We will defeat you! You and Kaydin are a pair imitation of Commander Cecil and Rosa!"

"CAN YOUR LORD MAKE MY TUMMY FEEL BETTER?" Pete asks of Faruja.

MEANWHILE, one of the gargoyle heartless shoots some fireworks about, they spin around wildly, threatening to crash into our heroes! Other Heartless continue to lash out towards those mean people bothering poor old pete*

*Note from the editor, this pose seems to be biased towards Pete. Please take with a grain of salt.
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Sho gets hammered into the ground.

There is a satisfying crunch as Sho is driven into the top of the steamboat. He grunts, bouncing off of the top and flipping in the air to land on one knee. "Not bad." He says, moments before he is riddled with ice magic. The frosty blasts form up over his body, encasgin his arm... And he clenches a fist, shattering it as more of his body vaporizes away. "Like you have room to talk. Did you make out with a lawnmower?" He replies to Avira. As for why I'm here..."

He grins, maliciously. "I made a deal. It all balances out."

Sho rises, his body shimmering as his form shifts... And becomes a massive black feline form, the lower half of his body made of writhing black noise-graffiti. "YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT, WOULD YOU?" The huge form of Leo Cantus hisses, before it launches at Avira, unleashing a massive spinkick at her at high speed, aiming to launch her at Faruja and Navya, moments before he has a group of Metal Corehogs rain down a series of deadly spines among them to explode while adding blasts of his own! "VELOCITY!" He yells, followed by, "INVERSE MATRIX! TANGENT!"
Big Bad Pete has posed:
"Aw man!" Pete says as Palom comes crashing down on deck. "Young children, the most dangerous force on Earth!" He grins suddenly. "But of course nothin' ol' Pete can't handle!" But then, suddenly thanks to Palom's magic, a rumbling in his tummy! Pete's eyes widen and he rushes to the side of the boat to start vomiting.

"CAN YOUR LORD MAKE MY TUMMY FEEL BETTER?" Pete asks of Faruja.

MEANWHILE, one of the gargoyle heartless shoots some fireworks about, they spin around wildly, threatening to crash into our heroes! Other Heartless continue to lash out towards those mean people bothering poor old pete*

*Note from the editor, this pose seems to be biased towards Pete. Please take with a grain of salt.
Maira has posed:
The magic from her bond with Uist, as well as that from the benevolent knight Faruja is enough to get Maira back on her feet. That was very close. Faruja's advice seems very wise now. She scurries to stand behind him, the wyvern at her back.

Set him on fire.

Faruja's words register and her magic responds. Maira raises her hand, a fist sheathed in flame is then leveled at Pete. "FIRE!" she screams, as her attack launches, headed straight for that big, cartoony mug.

Then, to add insult to injury, she takes a deep breath then leans forward and....spits on him?

Oh yeah, and its poison.

A crack of purple lightning catches Maira's attention and her eyes are drawn toward the sky.

Terror strikes her. She feels it in her marrow. This is familiar. So familiar. "No...no no no!"

She looks around then, scanning for Avira. She has to keep an eye on her!
Palom has posed:
Palom glares at Pete, failing to detect and sarcasm. "That's right! I'm Palom, the Genius of Mysidi--aah!" He turns and runs from the heartless, running around the boat until he finally ducks between Faruja's legs as he runs past the friendly rat. When he realizes the heartless haven't followed him, he turns and sneers at Pete. "I'll give you more than a tummyache! I'm just getting started! Revenge with a taste of your own darkness!" He raises his staff in the air and it glows black (yes, glows black, shut up it's magic) and then he slams the tip down on the boat. He raises his free hand behind him "Destruction of nature...", and there's a red flash of light in his palm before he makes a throwing motion at Pete, then "...raze my enemies with fire!" raises his hand up in the air followed by another flash.

A tiny hole seems to open in the deck below Pete, within it is the pure black of nothingness. The deck creaks as magical energies try to grab him and take hold, pull him down to the deck, crush him. A flash of light appears, like a twinkling red star, hitting the deck next to Pete and exploding... before the fire is sucked up into a whirlwind of flame that tries to engulf the Heartless's commander!
Navya has posed:
Okay that's just getting freaky.

Navya has never seen anyone change their body like that before. It's kind of gross. She stares for a few moments before she realizes that Avira is being launched at her.

"I got you!" Navya spreads her arms wide and braces. She really /is/ strong; Avira slamming into her doesn't move her more than a couple inches. Navya sets her down on deck before twisting, using the flat of her hammer to deflect one of the spines from the Corehogs in more or less Sho's direction.

Navya grins at Avira, before looking concerned. "...You okay?" she asks, turning back toward Sho. "If you need to, stay behind me, I can take it! I'll show him what I can do!"

Once again, Navya attempts to draw fire to herself. Her charge is remarkably subdued; she thrusts the hammer forward like it had a spike on the end (it doesn't) to try to force Sho back, then swings vertically to slam him into the ground. After that she pauses a moment, apparently expecting some kind of counterattack...
Avira has posed:
Healing, especially from the likes of Faruja is completely appreciated. It's only now that she realizes it came from him and not, say, Lily. Who is not here.

"No! And shut up, they're charming!!" Avira yells out defiantly, concerning her scars, pointing the Spine up at the Reaper. She doesn't even lower it upon the mention of the deal, but this does make Avira's eyes narrow.

Any eye narrowing is completely overriden as Sho completely transforms into some massive black Noise-beast. She is shocked, unable to really respond to him, except to attempt to dive out of the way by leaping down onto the ship. This doesn't work at all and instead, Sho spinkicks her down into the Gria that came to help them. It takes her a moment to realize that Navya actually caught her and she didn't slam into the deck

Dazed and stunned for a moment as she stares up at the sky. Overhead, she sees the stars starting to disappear. Those clouds slowly starting to spiral outwards from a point within the city that she cannot see at the moment.

Her stomach twists. "...no...no, not again..." she murmurs, completely missing Navya's question at first. "...not here..not again.."

Then she seems to come to and shakes her head, looking at the gria. "Thanks. N-no, I'll be fine. I'm tougher than I look."

Her grip tightens upon her weapon and she charges, the blue glow of her ice magic almost blinding as it encases the length of her serrated blade. Within her, her heart surges, calling out with her unrelenting will.

Her charge suddenly changes angles, Avira aiming to flank Sho and not follow up at the exact same spot Navya does. In fact, she seems to be using the gria as cover to get in close and relentlessly stab the Noise-form Sho with the ice-encumbered blade. Much as before, she doesn't shout at the Reaper, trying to work the divided attention against him.
Faruja Senra has posed:
A glance upward. The sky rains violet lightning in the distance. A foreboding feeling grips the Burmecian's body. He shakes it off. A matter for another time.

Smirk. Pete vomits. "A simple mixture of Antidote herbs and tincture should clear the problem. Such a pity I've none on my person." Pete might here slight jangling as a breeze ruffles the rat's robes. He has about five of each on his person. And none for Pete.

Heartless. The gargoyles shoot fireworks, crashing down towards Faruja and his charge. Shifting, he lashes out at the little incendiary device. Several have their fuses cut. One remains, and explodes as the rat turns his gaze. Taking it right in the face, blood drips down an old wound reopened, hood blown off and old burn wounds that took his eye revealed. Wiping it away, the Burmecian chuckles. "...Pathetic."

Maira begins to panic. A tail grips her arm after she applies Burning to their opponent. The spitting gets a wince. How rude! He can't quite get himself to berate her for it, though. "Be calm. /That/...shall be an issue for another moment. First, we end the advance of these ones. Priorities. Focus on the task at hand." Voice taking on a calm, slightly forceful note, he slides into the role of a squad leader for the poor mage hiding behind him.

Faruja chants again, the falling body of Avira seemingly ignored for the moment...as it seems a certain Gria is well up to the task of catching her! The rat smiles. "Excellent catch, dear warrior!" He compliments.

Once again, playing guardian, magic washes over the boy and the wounded Avira. Then Palom scurries between his legs, guarded by one short rat and quite a bit of wyvern.

Suddenly, corehogs! Arista roars, twisting around, her tail battering the beasts away from the trio underneath her protection. One of the creatures ends up in her jaws. Snap! Maul! Thunk! Gulp. It's greedily consumed.

"Perservere, oh valiant warriors! The Darkness shall pass! Yes! Show no fear!" Inspiration, ho~.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
"Your lord is a jerk!" Pete decides. "But my lady..." He says.

FLASHBACK

Maleficient shouts, "Pete you idiot get over here!"
Maleficient shouts, "Can't you do anything right???"

THE PRESENT

"My lady is a sweet and wonderful ruler!" He laughs heartily and slaps his belly once more, wiping spittle off his mouth even as more magic crashes into him, comically detonating across his body--but not seeming to cause serious injury. He rolls his shoulders back and says, "I think it's time I /get serious/." He says. He looks up, noticing the sky and laughs again. "HAR HAR HAR LOOK LIKE THIS WORLD IS JUST ABOUT READY! Just like the Lady predicted! Gotta use your noggins, kids, use your brain muscles!"

And with that, Pete runs forward, intending to trample THROUGH Faruja and stamp his feet on both him and Palom!

He doesn't seem terribly disturbed by Maira's spit. He's probably had worse spit on his face before.

"Heartleeessss! Get 'er already!" A swarm of gargoyles fling themselves down, intending to crash into Maira's body and send her into the water!

"You're really on fire!" He says. "You really should /chill out/. Stop drop and roll, that's the way to deal with fires!"

Pete drops down and starts rolling dangerously across the deck of the ship.
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Sho turns burning white eyes on Navya. If nothing else, he's not Heartless. Ish.

What does your body's form mean... if you have no body?

"YOU SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT YOURSELF, YOCTOGRAM." Leo Cantus pronounces. The Corehog spine lodges into Leo, exploding and inflicting minimal damage. Navya follows up with another ground strike, but Sho blurs, his massive form defying physics as he whips past once again, the weapon only barely glancing off of him.

At least he's... not invincible, right?

Avira strikes at Sho, but the icy blade strikes... And stops, caught by Leo's claw. "YOU'RE EVEN MORE ZETTA SLOW THAN USUAL." He growls faintly. "NOT FEELING WELL, HUH? I CAN FIX THAT EASILY ENOUGH! HOLD STILL!" He raises a massive claw to prepare to strike down Avira, but then..

Then Faruja heals her. Leo looks over there, glaring at the rat. "I THINK IT'S TIME TO SEND YOU TO MEET THAT GOD YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT." He hisses, before blurring...

And appears over Faruja, his hands burning with static and hissing power. "INNNNNNNNNFINITY!" He yells, a burning wash of destructive force pounding down repeatedly upon Faruja's position. A moment later, he plunges down, dropping in a spinning kick as he hammers into the cneter. "DIVIDE... BY... ZEROOOOOOOOOOOO!" He howls, emitting a massive sphere that blasts outwards... and then contracts to an infinitesmaily small point as the released power implodes upon itself for massive ratdamage!
Maira has posed:
Maira has tears in her eyes, but she nods to Faruja as he encourages her. This is not happening. The talk on the radio, the memories of world's going dark....Her worst memories are boiling to the surface. The screaming, the panic, the chaos and the pain. It was overwhelming. She fought, until there was nothing she could do but run. It was all ending...

She screams when the Heartless barrel into her, flinging her off the boat to crash into the water. The Heartless rip and tear as bubbles escape her mouth, sinking...into cold darkness...

Maira squints her eyes shut, the light in her bursting in a brilliant and vibrant flame that cannot be contained inside. It bubbles over, and Maira steams--then /shoots/ out of the water and back onto the deck of the ship. "It is NOT happening here! I will fend off the darkness if I need to light up the night itself!" she cries, then bursts into a flame so bright she's like a lighthouse on the sea.

She positions herself around Faruja and begins to cast. She does not need the incantations that Palom uses. Her fire magic is wild in nature, following her will. She channels it with pure NEED. She couldn't let this happen again.

Before her, flames surge and mold themselves into a giant hammer of force and flame, looking large enough to be wielded by a god. It smashes down on Pete with vengeance.

The next part of the magical combo starts as a mere point of bright light at her finger, ET style. Until it shoots forth like a bullet and blooms like a rose of flame upon impact.
Navya has posed:
The downside to using a gigantic hammer like Navya's is that it's a little awkward to redirect in a hurry. Navya swings past Sho and fails to get a solid blow in, the weight of the weapon pulling her forward.

She practically wrestles it under control, glancing up and around - and catching sight of the sky. Her face whitens. She's from Ivalice.

"Okay," she says, sounding a little uncomfortable. Not /pained/ - she's not badly hurt - but definitely uneasy. Her allies, temporary and new as they are, are starting to go down. "I'm not going to let this happen. You hear me? Not this time! A hero - a hero shines brightest when everything is dark!"

Navya winds up. It is a slow, deliberate process; she pulls the hammer back as far as she can, well over her shoulder, carefully avoiding tangling it in her wings as she runs after Sho. "And you are ON YOUR WAY OUT!"

Navya plants her feet. She skids several feet anyway, her entire body twisting with the effort to slam that hammer through the massive arc it's describing with every ounce of force she can muster. It only goes once, a single gigantic blow with the improbable strength her body contains to launch Sho up, up, and away, into the starry sky.
Avira has posed:
Sho is extremely yelly in this form, Avira realizes, but that's not what's bothering her right now. He caught her weapon easily and not even all of her strength can push that attack through. Though he raises his claw at her, Avira calmly and quickly reaches behind her to produce her small buckler shield. She braces, waiting for the strike to come.

But it doesn't. Sho fizzles out from before her and strikes at one of the lifelines that had been keeping her going through the fight. "FARUJA!" Avira cries out, wheeling to run after him. It's too late though-she wanted to nail Sho before he unleashed his energy, but she just can't make it in time.

The momentum she's built keeps carrying her forward, a silvery sheen enveloping her entire form as she takes to the air after the floating reaper.

Her first blow comes in the form of a downward stab, the Spine held with a two-handed grip. Her particular way of holding it enables her to tear the weapon backwards, as if making a rowing motion, to worsen the wound. With an easy twist of the hands, the Spine is "racheted" into a horizontal position, just as Avira lands. When her feet hit the deck, she launches upwards again with a powerful drive-by stroke.

From the other side, she mirrors the action, striking out again. When she lands, she flanks to behind him, reaching out to grab the Noise-form reaper by the tattoo tail. She pulls, not to drag him down, but to pull herself up into him where she can ram the Spine through his back with one final blow.
Palom has posed:
Palom grins as Pete's exploded... and then his grin turns upside-down as Pete appears unharmed! D: "What _are_ you?!" the young boy asks... only for Pete to come rolling towards him! "No!" He thrusts his hand out, and a small wall of ice rises before him -- but Pete smashes right through and rolls over the boy, who's flattened to the deck. "Owwwgh..." He slowly pushes himself up. "Do you know who you're dealing with?! I am Palom! Genius of Mysidia! And I'm going to make you pay for sending Heartless into the city!" He points dramatically.
Faruja Senra has posed:
"And /whom/, may I ask, is this sweet, exhaulted Lady of yours?" Faruja inquires, forcing down the venom his words have otherwise contained up until now. The guy doesn't seem too bright, this Pete. Maybe he can snatch some information out of this battle. If he survives.

The odds of which sink dramatically not moments later as Pete prepares to get things done. By crashing straight into him! The little rat is very nearly turned into rat paste by the trampling, only saved by the wings of his ever-loyal wyvern. Still, by the time Pete's done with him, he has suspiciously Pete-sized bootpring marks on muzzle, chest, and face. Not to mention an arm dangling in a rather unnatural angle, even for his race. That spear is gripped in one hand, the rat's eye going wide, as he struggles to get up. Maira goes over the edge. "No!"

But the magess saves herself, shooting out of the water and back on deck like some sort of cork out of a wine bottle. Shuffling about, leaning against his wyvern as he catches his breath, the Burmecian turns from Maira's great flames. Despite the fear he still feels, the knowledge of a friend being nearby bolsters his Heart.

Ratdamage done. Power beyond any he'd seen in even the strongest of Church Holy Knights rains down upon the Burmecian. He moves to prance away, but there's simply too much. The ratling takes it on the chin. Arista flaps away after a yelled order from the rat in Draconic. It saves her life, judging by the pure force of burning mathematics tearing into reality and the ratling's body. When the rain ends, he sputters and coughs, armor ripped away and chest singing. Old wounds are torched again, and already in dire need of seeing to. The amount of infection could kill by itself.

Then the kick comes. Wham! Right on the already broken arm's shoulder. Bone cracks audibly, a squeak of pain exiting the rat's muzzle. A sphere erupts, and Faruja's world is turned to pure pain for mere seconds. It feels like an eternity.

Silence, eerie and total. The steamboat, cartoony as it is, is torn and shredded; a hole opened up into the deck below. Steam rises, blackened cartoony metal smoking where Faruja stood, obscuring the area. Ominously, blood runs down the hole opened, spreading from where Sho had attacked him. More than enough to kill any nezumi.

Light. Pure, blessed Light erupts, blowing away the smoke. Faruja's body is bloody, battered, yet the burning radiance of a Holy Knight on his last legs holds him up. The Burmecian laughs, coughing out red, as he points his spear at the pair of vile Heretics.

"Holy....Explosion!"

The Light shines, slamming down from the sky on Pete and Sho, seeking to engulf them with righteous power.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
PALOM USES BRAG.
"R...really?" He says. "...But what's Mysidia?' Pause. "AND I KEEP TELLIN' YOU!" He stomps his foot angrilly. "That wasn't me! I never heard of this Mysidia! Why don't you go pick on someone your own size, squirt?!" Does this dialogue make any sense? Well, his biggest nemesis IS a mouse so maybe he has a skewed opinion on these matters.

Of course Pete doesn't seem unharmed for much longer, but his cartoonish nature does seem to make him unnaturally resilient.

"I KEEP TELLIN' YA, LADY MALEFICIENT! Gosh Mickey, you should know all about her alread--" He pauses for a moment, squints tightly as he examines the rat. Something about him seems off. Distinctly unMIckeylike. All this light magic does seem like Mickey, but he never really talked like this now did he? And for that matter, Mickey would never break the steamboat, now would he? In fact--

"AHHHHHHH!! MY BOAT!!!" Pete shouts. "YOU--YOU--YOU AREN'T MICKEY AT ALL! YER JUST A RAT! AAAAAAAAAAAARGHH!!!!"

Pete charges for the rat, even as a holy explosion slams into his chest. Pete bursts into flames but he keeps moving anyway--the light only doing normal damage, despite working with the Heartless--he doesn't seem to have taken in enough darkness himself to really be deemed 'dark'. Indeed, he just seems to basically be a big ol' bully, and maybe not all too bright at that.

He does however manage to grab ahold of Faruja's tail. He swings Faruja around above his head and then flings him into the water. "MY BOAT!" He shouts, turning around only for Maira to smash him into the air with a giant ol' hammer! "ARGGGHHH!!! CHILDREN!!! MY BOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" He wails. "Y'LITTLE MONSTERS! INGRATES!"

Maira unleashes the rest of her flames against Pete's heartless, decimating them! Pete tumbles down, seemingly down for the count. Seemingly defeated--

Palom points dramatically!

Pete lands on him.
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Navya brings up her weapon, preparing to assault Leo Cantus with her intense power. The weapon hisses throughthe air, and Sho looks up, eyes turning towards the path of the weapon, The air screams as Navya and her hammer crush it out of the way, seeking to obliterate Sho in one terrible strike.

The weapon comes within centimeters of him, the huge Cantus being already blasted backwards momets before he moves, impossibly,, his form leaving afterimages as it barely skids past him, shattering into the floor and leaving a massive crunched hole through the floor. The shockwave from the blow blasts Sho backwards...

And into Faruja's explosion. The burning light scorches into Sho, searing through his defenses and burning portions of him away with brilliang waves of holy energy. Sho yells out in pain...

And Avira comes down, punching the Spine into Leo Cantus, driving it into his body and forcing him to drop away, blackness flying in all directions as she rips the weapon out and dash-strikes through him. He falls backwards, his body shimmering back into his normal, human form as he grimaces in pain, wounds on his body leaking wisps of energy.

If you needed any more proof that he wasn't human, there it was.

The graffiti leaks from his arms and legs, reforming into the massive wings as he pulls them back in and away. "I've had enough of this. I'm not going to die to you bastards. Thankfully, I have something handy for this!

That's when the Taboo Noise descends, Popguins launching from the water to strike while Choirfrog and Carcinopunks clamber onto the decks to swarm down the heroes with leaping and claw strikes!
Navya has posed:
Swarmed by Taboo Noise, Navya reacts much less well than she did when she was fighting just Sho. There's just so many of them, and though her weapon is very good at wide, sweeping strikes - well, they're faster than she is.

Also, she's just strained herself to deliver that killer blow. The fact that it didn't actually /hit/ does not make it easier to recover! Worse, really; Navya is off balance. She staggers right past Avira.

Navya vanishes under a cluster of Taboo Noise with a yell. Nothing happens for about five seconds - before the pile explodes, Navya's wings beating as hard as she can. A literal windstorm rises from her, a sudden whirlwind to clear the area and leave her rising, breathing hard.

"Get him before he gets away!" Navya looks around for Leo Cantus, through the crowd of Noise. He's got to be there somewhere...
Maira has posed:
Everything has gone to chaos. Maira can barely follow what is happening. She feels like her mind is burning away under the power of her own magic. "We...have to do this..." she says, her voice barely a whisper. But Uist hears.

His cold crashes into her, but does nothing to dull her flames. The only thing it cools is her mind. Maira closes her eyes for a brief moment, and when she opens them again they are serene, yet passionate.

Uist's battle instincts take over them, and Maira dodges nimbly as Pete attempts to use Faruja as a weapon once more. She watches the rat knight go down, Maira horrified, but Uist reigns her in, keeping her under control. Cannot panic.

Now, she runs to Faruja, dropping down on her knees beside him. She places her (flaming) hands on his chest as the flames flicker white and green, her healing surging into him like a cold fire. "No you don't. Rise again, warrior. The battle is not yet ended," she says, though it doesn't quite sound like her voice.
Palom has posed:
Palom sweatdrops. "W-what? But... you're commanding the Heartless! Who else could it be? Y-you're just trying to trick me, aren't you!" Palom huffs.

And begins to realize that his new allies seem to have gone overboard, including that handy white mage. He's going to have to do something... fast.

Palom begins to gather power. "Inscribe the dark power into decaying-- woah, hey, what are you--!?" Palom turns and tries to run, having a sudden attack of cartoon physics as his legs race but he goes nowhere!

***THUD!***

Palom is smashed through the deck. There is no sign of the boy for a moment, then... Ice breaks through the deck in another spot, and there's an explosion before Palom's flung out the hole to land, fuming. "rrrrRRRRRRRAAAAAGH!" He pants for breath. "Now... YOU PAY! Behold the power of PALOM, GENIUS OF MYSIDIA!" The young mage raises his hands to the sky, energy gathering over his head and flaring red.

"FIRE OF THE STARS! AWAKE, AND DELIVER MY JUDGEMENT! FIRAGAAAAAAAAAA!"

Palom swings his staff to point towards Pete, and the glowing ball of magic above him seems to shoot a tiny spark -- on impact, it explodes, again and again, like a firework or some sort of cluster mortar -- and then the young mage sweeps his staff around, more sparks flying out to hit the heartless, and the noise... and Sho! "This ends now!"
Faruja Senra has posed:
Smirk. It actually worked. Faruja has a moment's self congratulations. "Much obliged."

Unfortunately, after taking his explosion of much Holy without seemingly too much harm, the great bully pushes forward. The rat is grabbed, and the flaming Pete swings him about in a blurr of Burmecian. He's tossed into the water, skipping like a stone several times before seeming to float there. Luckily, all that heavy armor's gone or he'd sink like a stone.

The Templar no longer rises. The wyvern flies off, skimming the water and snagging her master by the tail, depositing him back on the steamboat. Just is time for Maira to run up! A voice, distant yet full of strength, floods into his ears. Something about it seems familiar. "...Father? Mother?"

Wounds slowly heal, curing the more life threatening of them as Arista adds her own breath to the deal. An eye flutters open, and a pained gasp overtakes him as sensation returns. He feels like his body is on fire, particularly on his broken limb. Reaching out, he gets to his feet with the help of the Fire Lady, the rat managing a smile to Maira.

"Forgive me, that I could not protect you further. Thank you, my friend."

Palom lights up the remaining Heartless, and Pete. Faruja snorts, flood dripping from his nose, and not from any women this time.

"Fah. Pathetic coward! Fleeing a battle yet dealt with."

Turn. His eye narrows, glaring at Pete. "As for you, Witch..."

Even deprived of his spear, now shattered into several pieces, the rat grins. Flexing his hands, now only covered with the sharp talon-like portions of his gauntlet, he charges! Weaving, leaping, and ducking around the Heartless that get in his way, he kicks, lashes, and bites at any in his way. Eventually, he'll reach Pete.

Claws lash out, golden-covered ebony tips sharp as steel and twice as piercing. Teeth snap and bite. Face, chest, arms, legs...his strikes aren't that of a disciplined warrior. This is a more natural, instinctual act; borne of anger, hate, zeal, and pain. It's like watching a wild, cornered animal tearing into its prey.

"DIE!" One final leap, and his body glows white! Plummeting down from the sky, he aims a kick for Pete's head, seeking to literally evict the bully from his own ship physically.
Big Bad Pete has posed:
Pete stands himself up dizzily, rubbing at his face. Palom slams him with a glowing ball of light. It sets Pete's head on fire. He really needs a paper bag becuase he thinks he's getting an asthma attack now! He breathes heavily, wheezing, smacking Palom but he's clearly weakening. "HEARTLESS! HELP ME YOU IDIOTS!"

But the only Heartless left is the one tying to steer the steamboat away from the harbor.

"WHAT!!" Pete gasps. "When did you! ARGGH!!" That last 'ARGGGH!!' comes from Faruja snapping him in the face with a foot which does, at least, smother the flames out but mostly just leaves Pete dizzy.

"I AM NOT A WITCH, I AM A PETE! GET!"

He grabs at Palom, intending to use him as a little boy club against Faruja.

"IT!" He runs for Faruja, intending to jump on him and just flat out sit on him.

"RIGHT!" And then he flings Palom for Maira, intending to konk her a bit. 'Stop healing 'em! I don't got a healer, not fair!"

A green light puck flies from Pete towards Sho. "SHO! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I CAN'T SIT ON HIM FOREVER!"

He stands up and then sits on Faruja again. "AND MY BOAT IS FULL OF FIRE!"
Avira has posed:
That hole in the ship that Navya creates worries Avira for a few seconds. Then she remembers that this isn't their ship and it didn't seem to go all the way through.

No matter though. Aviva brings pain. Enough pain that Sho is knocked out of his Noise form back into the human Avira more readily recognizes her as. 'Get him!' Navya cries out. Before he gets away. Avira's about to comply, raising her Spine when the Taboo Noise comes.

Popguins pile onto the spot where she had been standing. The voice of King Mickey shines through during this dark hour, though Avira can hardly pause to listen. When she does, a carcinopunk nearly dices her in two with a claw. Just barely, Avira avoids this, her skin left with a sheer wound in its wake.

Drawing a deep breath, she drops the Spine for a moment and forms her hands up into that of a bow once more, aiming the creeping ice-projectile at Sho once more. She doesn't stop with just the arrow, again following up with a much stronger blast of ice magic.
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Sho is already bailing, Navya.

Noise explodes as she blasts out of the pile, the creatures streaking through the air and dissolving into static.

Sho glares as he floats up into the air, and a light puck flies towards him. He sighs and just folds his arms as the puck flies past him. He doesn't even bother catching it. DENIED, FO' SHO.

The air then explodes with flame as Palom trails Firagas straight up through the sky towards him. Avira rains a series of ice shards through the air as well, but the combination of fire and ice doesn't work well for Avira, as Sho blurs himself out of the way of the strike, smouldering. He grimaces, hanging in the air... And turns away. "Okay, enough playing with you guys. Have fun with the Noise. The deal isn't worth this." He waves. "Ja ne... Yoctograms." He blurs, and bolts away, while Taboo Noise begins to close in, seeking out the weakest ones in their hunger to consume Soul.

A moment later, a massive Neoclassical Drake descends, hammering down upon the group and roaring, while Death Metal Minks sweep in around from behind. They are, however, only the vanguard, as the Noise swarms, rising and striking together in a horrible wave of doom...
Maira has posed:
Maira smiles gently to Faruja, nodding her acknowledgment. "Go. Kick his ass," she tells him, and that voice is all her own.

She watches Faruja go, gearing up for what she can do next. Everyone is hurting. Everyone struggles. Ah...but there is a light in the sky, and the voice of that mouse she met in Baron with the keyblade. Hope surges through her. They will fight! They will WIN!

When Pete addresses her, telling her to stop healing Faruja, she narrows her eyes. "Not fair?...." Maira asks.

NOT FAIR!?" Uist screams. Then, he surges from Maira in a ghostly, incorporeal form of blood-red mist, crashing through Pete and ripping through the essence of him, tearing him apart and taking a chunk of Pete's life with him when Uist comes out from the other side.
Palom has posed:
Palom grins, and starts laughing as the world explodes around him. "Ahahahahahaha! You couldn't stand up to the might of--" !! 'How are you still up!? Get away! Freezing wind, come down with aaaaaaaaah lemme go lemme go!' Palom is then swung around like a little club, "Ow! Ow!" and then flung, "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Owowowowowow hey!" he protests as monsters nip and bite at him on his way to colliding with Maira. "OOMPH! You should catch softer..." he protests, weakly...
Faruja Senra has posed:
HEARTLESS ON HIS EVERYTHING. Faruja goes down under a wave of the beasts, squeaking and lashing out savagely. Consciousness fades, the ratling smiling despite the pain. "...You have lost this day Witches! Well worth every drop...*cough*...of blood." The Templar goes silent for a second time.
Navya has posed:
Navya can still make the suggestion.

She isn't going to chase Sho down though. She can't. She's still being assaulted by Noise - though not as much as her allies are. Which is not what she was going for. They're supposed to come after her!

"Hey!" she yells. "Hey! Leave them alone. It's me you're looking for! A parivir defends the weak and injured!" Not that Navya is a parivir. She has absolutely nothing in common with one; no katana, no mystic sword arts, no nothing. But she has a hammer.

And when you have a hammer, Noise look an awful lot like a nail.

Navya swings horizontally this time. She's not going to put another hole in the deck because she's basically spinning, using the hammer to clear the area around her in massive sweeping arcs. She can't quite hit one at Pete too (yet) but she can at least knock the Noise away from those it's menacing - Faruja, Palom, Avira. She's good at that.
Avira has posed:
"Damn!" Avira swears as Sho remains unstruck due to incompatible magic collision in the air. She'd yell at that kid right now, but her focus on Sho persists. Not to mention the Taboo Noise that swarms soon afterwards seems to be wrecking that kid something fierce afterwards. "Next time you won't get-"

FWOOMP. A Neoclassical drake plows into Avira, nearly knocking her clear off of Pete's steamboat. Shieking, she manages to cling to the Taboo Noise's face to prevent herself from being knocked down into the water. Frantic scrambling follows and Avira manages to claw her way onto its neck, grabbing onto its horns with one hand, holding onto the spine with the other.

If the Noise was still coming, Sho might have drawn one of those graffiti things to make it happen...and that must've been on the ship. So obviously, "THAT SHIP HAS GOTTA SINK!" She cries out, swatting the Neo-classical drake with her spine and yanking its horns downward, forcing the Noise to plow itself down into Pete's ship.

Faruja being down really worries her, though. Would the Wyvern know how to act on its own and get him out of there?!
Big Bad Pete has posed:
"HEY KNOCK THE PUCK BACK YA JERK!" Pete shakes a fist up at Sho but Sho probably can't even hear him. "Rggggghh!!"

He turns his head and sees a ghost. He blinks at the ghost a few times.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Pete screams, grabbing an oar from a nearby heartless. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He rows rapidly. The steamboat is falling apart enough that this is actually viable. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

He looks over his shoulder, Uist is still chilling him with his spectral essence, drawing in his life energy. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

HE ROWS FASTER.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Uist follows.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!"
HE ROWS EVEN FASTER!
UIST CHASES.
"GHOST GHOST GHOST GHOST AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
ROW. CHASE.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
The steamboat vanishes in the distance, Uist returning to Maira. Pete doesn't even notice.
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
("aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!")

Yeah he's gone.
Sho Minamimoto has posed:
Navya doesn't have the equipment of a Paravir, but she seems to have the soul of one. The hammer sends Noise flying, scattering them ans getting them away from Faruja and Palom and the others, giving them a critical chance to fall back and rally. Avira follows up, launching and using the Noise as a conveyance with epic flipping and Shadow Of the Colossus moves, as the Neoclassival Drake roars! It tries to shake her off but plows into the boat, helping it along before it explodes!

At that, the rest of the Noise break and fall back, melting into the general Heartless populat... But at least the docks are safe.

At a heavy cost, but safe nonetheless.
Faruja Senra has posed:
Thankfully for those still on the boat, wyvern to the rescue. Arista picks up Palom, Maira, Faruja, and nabs anyone else without some method of getting back to shore.
Navya has posed:
Navya can fly all on her own.

And she does, lifting off into the sky once the boat starts to a) sink and b) get rowed away. She can get back to shore on her own... and she's not /that/ badly hurt. Just a little tired. "It's sinking on its own!" she yells back at Avira.
Avira has posed:
Avira's madness works! Or, it at least helps the boat sink. She really just wanted to drive a dragon into a ship for that moment and managed to succeed. Before the impact, she does leap off and roll across the deck of the ship. Of course, this leaves her on the deck of a sinking ship about to explode.

Thankfully, Arista comes to her rescue just before that happens.

Navya is given a thumbs up after Avira manages to climb onto the back of the wyvern since Arista will need her claws to grasp Faruja and Palom. "Good job!" she calls out tiredly, "The name is Avira, by the way, thank you for your help!"
Navya has posed:
Navya keeps pace. More or less. She has a tendency to drop down and then practically claw her way up (well, with her wings) on sustained flights; she's glad she's worked hard at this lately.

"I'm Navya," she says, thumping her chest with her free hand. The other one still has the giant hammer in it. "I wasn't going to let them just - just take over like this!"