A Confluence Of Fate

A Confluence Of Fate
Date of Scene:	24 November 2012
Location:	Baron Castle
Synopsis:	Chaos erupts in Baron as a number of plots crash together in the halls of power with all of the grace of a freight train.
Thanks to:	Pumpkinhead and Baigan, FOR AWESOME
Cast of Characters:	Mercade Alexander, Jasmine, Sarafina Carenze, Avira, Pumpkinhead, Maira, Baigan, Rubicante, King Mickey, Kaydin, Morrighan Alazne, Angantyr Vespar, Garland

---

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Today was a great day.

Why?

Simple! The weather was nice, it was quite peaceful, and of course, we can't forget the fact that Morrighan just acquired herself a lovely new maid to order around. Wait, what? A new maid?

Oh yes. We can't forget that very, very recently, Kaydin had returned to Baron with what the healer would say was the biggest catch they've had in a long time; Avira. Captured and ripe for the picking. Of course, the leader of VALKRI was given a simple choice. Either be tortured, submit to servitude, or be tortured WHILE wearing the maid's dress.

Needless to say, the easiest, yet likely the most humiliating option was chosen. And now we come to the sight of the elf gleefully strolling through the castle, giggling to herself like a giddy little schoolgirl. Behind her was the object of quite a few people's soon-to-be rescue attempts.

It was Avira.

In the most overwhelmingly girly maid's dress possible.

Focusing back on Morrighan, one would be able to see that she her her eyes on a peculiar sphere of light. And within that light was a still image...

...A still image of Avira in the exact dress she was wearing right now, and looking utterly embarrassed for it. Likely an image recorded for the sweet, sweet memories. "Oh dear, this is indeed the best thing that has happened to me in quite a while~!"

With that said, a glance was sent behind her to Avira, smiling sweetly despite what she was putting the shorter woman though. "Are you enjoying yourself, my lovely little maid? Hmm~?"

By this point, the two of them were descending the stairs down to the castle's ground floor. Various servants could be seen flitting about as they performed their given duties and guards were posted at various points...

Avira has posed:
THIS IS THE WORST DAY EVER.

Communication had been conspicuously silent from the VALKRI leader for a little over a day now. She had allegedly last been seen in the Dalamascan Sands and Valencia, who had woken up in an inn in Rabanastre, certainly had quite the story to tell. Though the newest member of the group hadn't seen the battle to its conclusion, the complete lack of Avira gave quite a hint as to what must've happened.

As the day wears on, she's still wondering if she shouldn't have pushed harder for the torture option. Pain was temporary. This humiliation would last a lifetime! Her own mood is in stark contrast to the cheerful dark elf ahead of her-she is grumpy and surly. Any grouchier and she might start manifesting tiny thunderstorms floating over her head. It's partly an act, though, for as she follows Morrighan through the castle, she's concentrating on the building layout.

"No." she grumbles, glaring back at Morrighan. Looking beyond the elf's grinning face, she takes note of that sphere of light. Her eyes narrow further and she edges closer, realizing that there's a still image of HER in that sphere.

Avira's eyes widen in horror. "What is THAT?" she points at the incriminating image. Well. She knew it was an incriminating image but she'd never seen such a recording device.

Maira has posed:
As could be expected, when Maira learned that Avira was arrested and taken to Baron, she was both extremely worried and very angry. Now, she'd never attempted to break into a dungeon before and rescue a captive, but there is a first time for everything right? Indeed, Maira hasn't done so bad thus far! First, she had to find her way to Baron. That took a little while. Then, she had to get into the city and to the castle. With all the myriad distractions on the way, this also took a while.

Cue flashback: "Ou, what is that delicious smell?"

"Nuts here! Get your roasted nuts! The King's nuts!"

Maira hands over money, unabashed as Uist silently facepalms.

Now, after her snack, Maira is sneaking into the castle. Without her ghostly friend she wouldn't have had a chance. With him though? Possible. Surprisingly possible. With a scout no one can see or hear, Maira moved in through a back way, stayed out of sight, and let Uist locate Avira then report back.

Maira is standing around a corner from where Avira and Morigghan are now, waiting and wondering what now. Once she attacks, surely Avira will know it is time to get out of there. She's not armed, but...well, she does have ARMS and thus, Avira can fight. Maira takes a deep breath to summon her courage, then rushes out from her hiding spot, her fist sheathed in fire, a spell ready to blast.

"Aviraaaaaaa! I'm here!" she calls, unable to hide her smile. Well, she got this far! She's pretty psyched!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Hours after his encounter Leida and the meeting with Garland.

Which, by the way, had done a number on his soul. Finally free from the strong urge to plunge his weapon into her, and completely try and destroy the body, freeing the heart...the only act he can see as a mercy to the poor fractured thing...

The thought haunts him, as he appears at the meeting spot with Avira.

"Huh. I wonder if she's with that Mercad guy again? Seriously. Mercad. That a stupid name." he says, sitting down. She'll be here...

An hour later, and he's kicking the door into Clan Dagna. What is odd, is that nobody is here, except wolves. He knows them, friendly with them despite his nature, and he moves to pet one... "Avira?" he asks, but the dogs whine pitifully to him. "Godsdamnit." he mutters.

Hours, after that, he walks up to the battlefield between Kaydin and Avira. Darkness was still there...faint, but not undetectable for someone with the right senses. The remains of ice magic, slowly melting bits of ice are seen here and there...and the wolves whine again. "Go back." he tells them...he has a trail...

Then he hell rides. He doesn't move through darkness normally, something pushes him to go /deeper/. A portal opens, and he steps through. Strains of darkness break around him as he tries to walk through the streams. He is looking for something specific...and THERE. The faint remains of a recent path...

Later...he lands outside of Baron, as far as he can go...too much darkness here to follow the trail any longer. However, the sight of the man leaving the portal gets...attention.

"Escuse me." he says, looking at one of the soldiers coming to see him, "I am looking for a Dark Knight. Would you happen to know where one is?"

One amused laugh later, and an understanding of just WHERE he is...

"Thank you." he says, to the guards just about to surround him. He holds both hands up, "Oh no, don't worry, I'll come peacefully." he says, and starts walking with them towards the castle.

Angantyr just has a smile on his face...the biggest smile he can as they would no doubt take him inside the castle...after all, he's just one guy. The entire army of Baron rests here...

And Angantyr just smiles...

Jasmine has posed:
SOME WEEKS AGO

Jasmine, going out of her mind in Balamb Garden's safe room, spends a few seconds watching the mighty Avira leap onto an airship and beat the stuffing out of the attacking Baronians. Though all this violence brings her great sorrow, she can't help but feel tremendous gratitude -- and a degree of awe -- at the woman's capabilities, and eagerness to stand beside SeeD against the Heartless. She draws courage from Avira's example.

RATHER MORE RECENTLY

Jasmine is running from Heartless, like you do, when she notices, from a distance, a niggling sense of Darkness -- and an especially familiar one. One that she knows personally, and one that isn't massive enough to be her hunter. That's still a fairly short list, since she's done a decent job of staying low to the ground, and so she adjusts her course to see what exactly's going on.

Imagine her surprise -- actually, you don't have to because it's easily describable, her dark eyes widen, huge and horrified, and she narrowly stifles a gasp with one hand -- when, screened by the trees, she spots a certain Dark Knight carrying a certain VALKYRI directly into Castle Baron.

There's really only one thing to do. The girl will not leave one of her allies, even one she's never properly been introduced to, to the hands of their enemies. It grieves her sorely to see any extant nation working with the Heartless rather than against them, but so long as Baron serves Darkness, she will oppose them. She cannot do anything else. And perhaps, in getting a closer look at them, she can get a sense of how best they might be redeemed...

...for to the princess, no path is so dark as to never be able to find the light again. All it takes is time and will.

Opening up the SeeD Infiltration Handbook (A Field Guide On Disguise And Impersonation From Archades To Zanarkand -- New Updated Edition!), she makes like Belle, and starts to read...

NOW

Step 1: Mug a Baron guard for his clothes and armor.
Step 2: Wish that she were two feet taller.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Save Avira.

Sometimes the classics really are the best.

Jasmine does not make a terribly convincing guard, and she daren't raise her helmet; her honeyed caramel skin is awfully foreign. She's more than a little short for a Stormtrooper. But through a combination of extreme sneakiness, blind luck and clever planning, she's made it as far as the keep.

Puffing up her armor-covered chest to full parade-ground attention, like she saw the other guards do, she salutes Morrighan very properly as the woman passes. Avira's extreme unhappiness and humiliation confuses her, but this reaction is hidden beneath that all-encompassing helm. She's like a miniature Garland, if Garland wore Baron colors and was tiny. The young lady is just glad to have found her captive ally.

Now, to wait until the two of them are in a more isolated loca--

("Aviraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I'm here!")

So much for the element of surprise. Still, she has one last card to play.

"Halt! Who goes there?" yells the 'guard' in a hoarse 'manly' voice to make Mulan proud, interposing himself between Maira and Morrighan.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
The entire army of Baron is here.

And that's why another man took a different approach. A confluence of chance comes together here in the hallso f Baron as a man and a Dragoon quickly move from disused hall to disused hall, working their way through the less populous areas using the knowledge the Dragoon possesses in order to reach the royal library. "This looks like the way." Mercade Alexander whispers to the Dragoon with him as he hunches in the shadow of a column. "The coast looks clear."

There's a shout of 'halt!' from a guard nearby. Mercade stiffens, blinking as he looks to see if they're yelling at him. "God, Baron hires their guards young these days..." He mutters to the Dragoon.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkx3KcO7TCs

A warrior, clad in darkness, sits in lightless room, drumming his fingers across an organ's keys. When suddenly--a soldier of Baron steps inside.

"Pardon for interrupting sir."
The warrior clad in darkness is silent.
"But it seems the girl who set fire to Lord Captain Baigan's face is trying to free our prisoner."
"...The one that we've been dressing up as a maid?" The dark presence asks.
"Y-yes sir."
"Hmph..." The warrior stands up. "I will tend to this incursion...personally..."

MEANWHILE

Dion Sarenze, a man in his thirties--maybe early fourties--and one of Baron's dragoons has been leading Mercade Alexander through Baron and more or less keeping him from getting skewered. The Mouse that was with them has gone missing.

Dion glances around the column to see what's what. "That's the girl who shot Lord Baigan in the face with a fireball..." He murmurs. "What is she doing here?"
Everybody knows about the girl who shot Lord BAigan in the face with a fireball. These stories have their way of getting around.
He peers around again at that guard, who seems to be behaving as a guard should but...

"That man...is a bit short for a guard. Don't recognize 'im." He breathes out and looks to Mercade. "I don't know what's going on, but you may have some cover for your presence here soon enough with any luck."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin had followed along with Morrighan and Avira the entire time Avira was here. When Avira needed to eat, he would give his share of the food to the girl and eat the gruel they usually serve to prisoners. He would also follow along to make sure Morrighan didnt kill her because he knew they would mount a rescue attempt for this woman and he wanted to be there so if such an incident happened, Morrighan would be safe. And so he clomps along, dark heavy black armor worn. When Maira comes and the guard halts her, he turns to look to Maira and sighs. "Please tell me Aerith didnt come with you, Maira." He says to the woman with the fireball in her hand, not seeming to give any notice to the guard stopping her.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"More like a little short for a stormtrooper." Mercade says jokingly, invoking his power of being in a modern setting and not having to deal with recent property acquisition problems.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"Sorry?" Dion asks but luckily his reference is totally okay because of Disney's recent acquisitions.

Of course Dion's player is glad that Mercade saw where he was going with this.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Avira's response was more than expected, causing the dark elf to giggle to herself in further amusement. "Oh my, you should cheer up! You look about as pretty as you ever will be right now! Ohohohohoho~" Bringing her free hand over to one side of her face, she let out a fit of haughty laughter. Once she managed to sober up, she reponded to the next inquiry rather easily.

Oh? This? Simple!" Raising the sphere to be better seen, she smiled sweetly again as she explained. "This is a memory sphere! It is a simple time spell used to capture moments and preserve them for as long as the spellcaster wishes. Quite convenient~" With that explained, the memory sphere was dispersed and faded out of sight.

It was at that moment that a loud yell was heard. "What manner of devilry...?" Morrighan muttered incredulously as she spotted Maira, fireball in hand. "...I-Is this a rescue attempt? Are you SERIOUS? Ahahahahahaha!"

Finding the notion to be utterly ludicrous, Morrighan burst out into a fesh fit of laughter as she stepped back, letting the guard take the initial offensive stance.

...But wait a second. That guard was a little too short now. Baigan would not have allowed someone as lacking as them into the ranks. ...and their voice was unnatural sounding. As if it were forced. Now, Morrighan may be haughty, antagonistic, and rather vain. But stupid was one thing she was not.

Subtly beginning to form a holy spell in her open palm, she continued to take steps back, dragging Avira back with her. "....And I see we have one more here for the rescue attempt." The white mage smiled in amusement still despite these hangups and glanced at the VALKRI turned maid. "...As for you, my dear. I certainly hope you know what to do now...Or else..." With her free hand, Morrighan pointed to her own neck, making circular motions in the air before lowering it. "...Now then. Kaydin. Take care of these fools will you? The BOTH of them." She added, referring to their short armored friend as well.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
Avira's response was more than expected, causing the dark elf to giggle to herself in further amusement. "Oh my, you should cheer up! You look about as pretty as you ever will be right now! Ohohohohoho~" Bringing her free hand over to one side of her face, she let out a fit of haughty laughter. Once she managed to sober up, she reponded to the next inquiry rather easily.

"Oh? This? Simple!" Raising the sphere to be better seen, she smiled sweetly again as she explained. "This is a memory sphere! It is a simple time spell used to capture moments and preserve them for as long as the spellcaster wishes. Quite convenient~" With that explained, the memory sphere was dispersed and faded out of sight.

It was at that moment that a loud yell was heard. "What manner of devilry...?" Morrighan muttered incredulously as she spotted Maira, fireball in hand. "...I-Is this a rescue attempt? Are you SERIOUS? Ahahahahahaha!"

Finding the notion to be utterly ludicrous, Morrighan burst out into a fesh fit of laughter as she stepped back, letting the guard take the initial offensive stance.

...But wait a second. That guard was a little too short now. Baigan would not have allowed someone as lacking as them into the ranks. ...and their voice was unnatural sounding. As if it were forced. Now, Morrighan may be haughty, antagonistic, and rather vain. But stupid was one thing she was not.

Subtly beginning to form a holy spell in her open palm, she continued to take steps back, dragging Avira back with her. "....And I see we have one more here for the rescue attempt." The white mage smiled in amusement still despite these hangups and glanced at the VALKRI turned maid. "...As for you, my dear. I certainly hope you know what to do now...Or else..." With her free hand, Morrighan pointed to her own neck, making circular motions in the air before lowering it. "...Now then. Kaydin. Take care of these fools will you? The BOTH of them." She added, referring to their short armored friend as well.

Avira has posed:
Avira audibly growls at the potshot about her own prettiness. That was just foul play! To top it all off was that long, haughty laugh she had heard far too often since she woke up in the Castle Baron dungeons. It was like anathema to her ears.

"...so it's just magic then..." Avira seems just a little bit calmer about this, though she doesn't enjoy the idea of that particular memory being preserved for as long as Morrighan wished it!

Then she hears the call of a familiar voice. "...Maira?" she says incredulously. "How did she...aahahaha! Of course, you both should have known that my absence would not go unnoticed." Now the tables are turned and Avira's mood picks up immediately, a sly smile on her face, "VALKYRI has clearly come to free me from your clutches!"

Even Avira thinks that short guard is suspicious, actually. She's been watching the guards in the castle too, of which there are many, and of which all seem to be pretty tall. Another rescuer, maybe? But she has no idea who it may be.

Morrighan drags Avira in close and is imparted with some...instructions? Vague, but her mind slowly begins to process it. She's well aware what that overt threat means, though. "Wait, you cannot possibly mean..."

She looks down at her outfit, then up at Morrighan, "In this?! How am I supposed to...and I don't even have a weapon!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The contingent of guards move to bring the man inside...perhaps he was a recruit, but you never know. He might also be a represenitive...

However, fate smiles on Angantyr as he is brought into the main castle area, Maira and a rather short stormtrooper are near...

Is that a maid outfit? Avira... he thinks, trying to not laugh... "It doesn't suit you." he says, calmly from where he was at, even as things turn violent. Even as Morrighan moves to drag his friend back...the holy power causing a slight frown on his lips. His eyes narrow...and then Kaydin moves to interpose himself...

"Oh. THERE is the source." he says, sniffing the air...satisfied. The air around him turns dark...tendrils of darkness tear around all about him, smacking into the guards around him, and start causing all sorts of problems...for them.

Then he is gone, a dark portal appearing right infront of Kaydin.

"You, are you the one who kidnapped my friend?" he asks, before his right hand, covered in darkness, aims to punch the man right in the stomach, before his hand, grabbing a wicked mace...mace with strange talon like spike on it, made for tearing flesh and armor apart. The mace moves down viciously, aiming to try and tear through the defenses of the dark knight, not even letting him answer. "If you are not, then I appoligize, but you are in my way." he shouts at Maria, "Hey! Don't just stand there! Get her before we're overwhelmed! I'll hold them off."

BGM Change: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e6Rog9FK9w

Maira has posed:
How was Maira suppose to know everyone else was going to come try to rescue Avira too? Not that it would have stopped her. Avira was pretty much the first friend she'd made since--bad things--and she was not going to sit by and let some other people do all the work. Avira was important to her. It was also import Avira knew she was important to Maira. While her plan was less the sophisticated, she should get points for effort and bravery! Yes, lets go with bravery.

When a guard stops her, yelling 'halt!' Maira skids to slow, but she's already in mid-charge. If Jasmine doesn't step aside, Maira is likely to clumsily bowl into her.

As for who goes there? Obviously, a maniac.

To Kaydin, Maira glares! It isn't exactly a scary look, though she is trying, and she is pissed. "Kaydin! No, she is not! Gah! Is that all you care about! You kidnapped Avira! I'm going to light a fire under you,' she informs him.

Oh sure. Morrighan laughs at her. Well, joke is on her! They are not alone! ...Apparently!

Maira gives the guard who stopped her a curious look, then looked past Avira to where Angantyr approaches to challenge Kaydin. Yessss!

Also, what in the world is Avira wearing!?

Right, business. Morrighan is threatening Avira. Why isn't Avira stomping on the woman's feet and running? Should Maira throw a fireball? Maybe better to protect some folks first from the crapstorm that is about to take place.

Jasmine has posed:
Baron hires their guards young /and/ hunchbacked, apparently. That or this guy is almost broader than he is tall, the back of his tabard sticking out behind him... while... wiggling... and... wriggling...

And then Jasmine's current steadfast companion, Junior the Dalmation puppy, drops off her back. He barks sharply at the elf, then piddles on the Baronian floor for good measure, to express his opinion of the place. Now there's a dog who knows how to do his duty.

"Can't pull the wool over /your/ eyes," Jasmine observes dryly when Morrighan calls her out, backing up into a readied stance. The helm still distorts her voice somewhat; not that her person is recognizable by more than one or two people here, but nonetheless. She badly misinterprets the message that passes between the white mage and Avira; it's unthinkable to her that the VALKYRI would fight her own rescuing party; and so it is that she tosses the woman her own sword, purloined from a certain guard out in town. "Clothes don't make the woman -- actions do!" she exclaims encouragingly. "It's time to leave this place... Avira."

Now she has a name to put to the face, that's helpful.

And then someone pops out of a dark portal, but appears to be at least nominally on their side -- even better.

"What? Oh, the helmet." It stays on. "Are you two going to make cracks or help?" she asks of Mercade, whom she recognizes from the arena, and the dragoon, who she knows not at all.

She herself doesn't seem to be especially slowed down by being disarmed, sinking into a fluid stance. The /armor/, on the other hand, has her moving far more jerkily. For the time being, she compensates by doing something totally nonphysical.

The room explodes with holy light, purest white, all colors and none, both to cover Avira's escape, per Angantyr's suggestion, and to protect her -- and Angantyr, and Maira. It feels rather like being plunged into a purifying flame, in a good way, one's inner fire bolstered to an essentially absurd degree. Hearts overflow with Light, capital L, as Jasmine finally bows to the wish of the power that surges inside her and lets it loose to do its work.

Whether she can control it remains to be seen.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade watches everything suddenly go to hell. "What the hell is going on here?" He asks Dion, and grimaces. "The woman in the maid costume is someone I know. Why would she voluntarily wear something like that, she's a warrior..." He narrows his eyes as Maira and others arrive to cause trouble. "Dion. I've got to help her too. I'm not going to make you get involved in this, you can still get out of this without having to betray your country."

The woman takes umbrage to the jokes. Mercade pops his head out from behind the column he was hiding behind. "Sure, I'm helping. Hang on a second!"

There is a pause as he ducks back in, and then begins strolling out. Calm. Smooth. Relaxed.

And then he narrarates. "The dame was trouble. That much was known from the start. A man couldn't look at her without knowing she was the kind of person who could make it and take it. A man could respect that. But like this... A man couldn't abide that. Not on the streets of Manhattan, or anywhere else."

He continues strolling towards Avira and Morrighan, a smile on his face. "The other one, however. That dame was trouble in an entirely different way. Her tongue of fire was well known to me by now, and her temperment smelled like the Bay after a bad night on the town." He winks at Avira, giving a finger-gun salute. "It looked like it was time for me to give a hand."

He leaps forward, his leather coat billowing outwards as he lunges for Morrighan and executes a flying dropkick at the harridan mage. "Did you miss me?" Mercade asks Morrigan pleasantly.

Rubicante has posed:
FAR BENEATH BARON.....

Rubicane gingerly plucks the crystal shard being offered to him from the hands of Sandy, the middle child of the Magus Sisters, the Esper trio Barbariccia has... recruited... to the forces of Zemus.

"Our Empress, like, told us to bring it to you?" Sandy explains, fiddling anxiously with her spear. It is always nervewracking to interact with one of the other Fiends, if only because she doubts they understand the complexities of the Sisters' 'arrangement' with Barbariccia.

"This," Rubicante rumbles, lifting the shard into the air to examine it. Normal material would burn away at his touch, but this... "This is from one of the Crystals of Planet."

"It, like, broke?" Sandy explains. "But it, like, it wasn't our fault? Our Empress just-"

"Be silent," Rubicante commands, almost as an afterthought. After a beat, he closes his hand around the shard; another beat, and blinding light begins to shine from his closed fist, streaming out from between his fingers.

As the light shines into Rubicante's body, his flesh boils and bubbles as his essence struggles to subsume the power of the crystal shard.

"I think something's wrong," murmurs Cindy, her basso voice tinged with worry. "We should do something."

"Let's sit on him and see if he pops!" Mindy shrieks, waving her dagger excitedly.

That's all they get to say before the light suddenly erupts outwards from Rubicante, consuming the Autarch of Flame and the Magus Sisters in an explosion of light.

This happens to involve making the dungeons of Baron shake like a motherf'er.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin looks to the being of darkness, and when the fist comes, he just side steps out of the path and when the mace comes he takes a step to the side to avoid the blow as he looks to the man. "You really are not good at this are you?" He asks before the light comes. He growls as he raises his hand to shield his eyes before his body begins to overflow with darkness to try and overpower the light.

"Enough." He says as he slashes his sword into the air, sending a massive blast for the mace wielder, Jasmine, and Maira, before moving with surprising speed to infront of Mercade, raising his sword to defend against the main but he is too slow and kicked back. He looks to the numbers before him and raises his sword. "Forgive me if I dont obey your order Morrighan, I think your safety is more important.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"Oh you know EXACTLY what I mean~" Morrighan spoke clearly to Avira, wagging a finger in mock admonishment. "As for your weapon..." With another snap of her fingers, The Spine was produced from a flash of light, falling and embedding itself into the floor point-first in front of Avira.

"...I do believe that will suffice instead of this piddly little sword our dear friend has tossed you now~?" The dark elf smiled gleefully, her crimson eyes twinkling with mischief. "Disobey and you know what will happen~"

With her threat clearly explained and the weapon provided, Morrighan turned her attention over to Maira who had come running into their vicinity. "Oh look, a prime target for you!" Yes, the healer was ordering Avira to engage in combat with Maira.

In the meanwhile...it would seem that she was going to have to support Kaydin. "Well, this certainly got strange fast..." Nevermind that mutt that just defiled the floor, there were more important things to worry about. These fools were going to be in for a nice surprise~

And then came an attack. "WHOA!" Panicking at the sudden attack, Morrighan scrambled back as Kaydin protected her. "You!" She shouted angrily, glaring at the detective angrily. "Have you lost your mind!?" Oh yes. This was a problem. Thankfully the dark knight was there to proect her. She'd have to return the favor. "Don't you dare fall on me now!"

Baigan has posed:
"So as you can see," Baigan is saying to the Alexandrian representative, the notorious captain's soothing and diplomatic tone, for all its intonations of grandiloquence, a radical contrast to the shrieks of rage he is better known for in his monstrous moments, "Castle Baron is an impregnable fortress equipped with an insurmountable security force."

The short and squat diplomat accompanying the Vanguard of Baron nods slowly.

"There is simply no way in which Queen Brahne could be under threat while here," Baigan continues breezily, his violet eyes proudly scanning the interior of the castle as the two of them descend down steps deeper inside. "You can have every assurance that she is safe as a guest of the King of Baron. I should think any doubts about the sanctity of our alliance are quelled," he then adds, flashing a thin smile which does not reach his eyes, as the two of them enter the hall, the sounds of a melee causing the Alexandrian envoy to peer forward from behind Baigan. "Now then, perhaps we should--"

Stop. Stare. Long stare.

"THERE IS NO DROPKICKING," Baigan roars at the mad assembled mass, "IN CASTLE BARON!"

As the fat little man flees in the opposite direction, Baigan begins waving his arms furiously, shouting to be heard. "What! What is this! Lady Alazne! Sir Kaydin! What-- who--" He takes a deep breath. "When did we get a new maid!?" That's what you're worried about!?

He'd say more, but he falls over, because there's an earthquake.

King Mickey has posed:
Suddenly, amongst the chaos that has begun to run amock inside Baron Castle, a strong tremor emits through out the castle! The quake shakes the foundation of the castle slightly though is clearly heard from the loud roaring noise. Its' origin appears to be hard to place though logical deduction could discerned it to be near the central area of the castle.

MEANWHILE, inside the Main Hall...

The large wooden doors leading into the outer chambers of the throne room burst open violently, slamming to the sides of the walls with great force! Not a moment later, what appears to be a brown bullet zips out from the entryway, just as the walls within the outer chamber slam together with tremendous force, emitting the great quake that shakes the entirity of the castle!

The bullet begins to slow as it touches the ground, a small cloaked figure can be made out skidding across the floor and with such graceful dexterity, manages to be able to spin himself around to face the exit. It's identity appears to be concealed though there is one discernable and quite obvious object that lies within his right hand, A Keyblade!

The cloaked figure appears to be breathing heavilly, attempting to catch his breath that was knocked out of him from the individual in the throne room from afar, "That... was close encounter number two... Way too close."

Avira has posed:
Everything seems to converge. While she recognizes Maira, it's actually a pleasant surprise to see that Angantyr has joined as well. But his comment on her outfit brings a bright red blast of embarassment to the huntress's face. "I know, right?! Well /I/ didn't pick it out!!"

Mercade was also a pleasant surprise...but at the same time, having HIM see her like THIS made her die a little on the inside. "Beat her awful face in, Mercade!" she cries out to him.

Jasmine tosses her a sword. Avira catches it, a look of horror on her face, "No-! You shouldn't have...!" But even that gets worse. Morrighan summons her weapon right before her and Avira winces. On one hand, she did need that back. On the other hand...

Morrighan smugly reiterates her threats and directs her attention to...oh no. Maira. "But..." her face pales. Her best friend calls out questions. Why hasn't she run away yet. Cringing, Avira reaches out and grasps the hilt of the Spine and yanks the unusual weapon out of the floor. "I hope Mercade breaks your jaw." she says resentfully before running.

No, she doesn't run away. The "new maid" runs at Maira, spine lifted high. But hey, this way Maira gets a small taste of the training Avira endures on a daily basis.

"MAIRA I'M SO SORRY BUT I CAN'T!!! DEFEND YOURSELF! NOW!!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Kaydin falls back right at just the right moment...something is said about being very lucky, and then he grunts as the man ignores his question...but given Maria's words, and those of others, his face twists into a malicious grin. The light shines everywhere, but he does not fear it...it courses through his body, fortifying him...but it does not diminish the darkness. Those who can sense the darkness...who are even remotely in tune with it...or opposed strongly to it by the light KNOW he doesn't simply weild it like a source. He /is/ a source...a font of darkness in the world of light.

"Cute." he says, as the man's blade aims to try and cleave, but instead of avoiding it, he charges forward, aiming to swing his weapon and bash it at the man's legs, trying to tear them apart. Instead, however, he pauses as the White mage goes to work...

The one holding Avira.

His thoughts are broken momentarily by the earth quake, forcing him to slam his mace into the ground to right himself...

Then Baigan, "Escuse me. One of your numbers has taken someone from my guild, without the right to do so...she is under my protection and I serve Garland." he says, calmly to Baigan. "Now, I will make sure to not kill him, so that you may have the honor of doing so yourself..." he says, with that same polite, calm...as the shadows around him deepen.

He looks at the White mage, "You would be wise to not do that again. Focus on your problems...or I will be yours."

It is the only warning she will get, before he jumps at Kaydin again, "YOU SHOULD WORRY ABOUT ME YOU WANA BE DARK KNIGHT! LET ME SHOW YOU HOW IT IS DONE!" he booms, before the mace moves again, aiming to swipe at his legs, followed by a wave of darkness aiming to grip at the man's body and drag him uncerimoniously to the ground...too focused on Kayin to see Maria be attacked by Avira.

Rubicante has posed:
Lenna, praise be to Allah, finds herself not far from the source of the light; she bursts into the cavernous boss arena containing Rubicante and the Magus Sisters just as the light is fading, leaving all four of them glowing with a faint blue haze.

"Ah," Rubicante murmurs, turning to face Lenna as she bursts into the room. "The Princess of Tycoon, chasing one of her baubles. Forgive me, YOur Highness, but you ar too late."

Rubicante tosses the shard casually across the chamber; it lands a few feet in front of Lenna and rolls, tinkling loudly, to a stop. It has been drained of light save for the last dim flickerings; is it enough for Lenna to use its power?

"I have no wish to fight you," Rubicante continues, stepping lightly forwards in front of the Magus Sisters, who draw back, deferring to the Fiend. "Your death serves me and my lord no purpose."

"But I know you will not surrender," he continues; his voice would be disappointed if it weren't so deadpan. "Even though I have grown yet stronger in reclaiming the energies of Planet from the remains of the Crystal. Perhaps," he muses, "A demonstration of my new powers will change your mind."

Rubicante raises his hands, the blue haze around him flaring up as he draws upon his freshly gained powers. He swings one hand forwards, to point at Lenna...

... and then suddenly lunges a step forwards, slamming a foot down on the ground, as he... begins to sing???

o/` WAR! HUH! Good God y'all! o/`

Even as he sings, his eyes widen in confusion, a rare display of emotion from the Autarch of Flame. What... what is happening? -- and, apparently, it hasn't affected just him, as the Magus Sisters swagger forwards behind him, proviidng a cappella instrumentation.

CLASS UNLOCKED : BARD

Oh, God dammit.

Rubicante would sigh, if he could... but at the moment, the invocation of the Crystal's power has him too compelled to continue singing.

o/` What is it good for? o/`
o/` Absolutely nothin'! o/`
o/` Say it-- o/`

Maira has posed:
She's not the only one with the protective spells apparently! Maira squints against the light that fills the hall, feeling a familiar yet unique warm wash over her as both her own and Jasmine's protection take effect.

Her eyes follow to wear the little guard looks and spots Mercade. Maira's eyes widen, as does her grin. Another very welcome face. She waves eagerly to Mercade as he approaches, stopping to listen to him...narrate? Maira tilts her head, blinking in confusion, but also appreciation. Mercade, you so crazy. When Mercade's kick connects with Kaydin rather than Morrighan, Maira feels a certain sense of satisfaction. Poor dark knight, but really? What could he expect?

Now, Maira needed to decide who to focus her own energy on. Morrighan seemed a good target, all considered. Since everyone else seemed to be determined to kick Kaydin. What is it about Kaydin that just seems so kickable?

Then, Baigain. Maira's eyes widen as she resists the urge to dive for cover before he sees her! No no no, she did not come all this way to cower from Baigan! Nope nope! And since she's already in Baron, Maira might as well.....she slings the fireball she had been holding, then turns her attention to Avira.

She smiles to her friend with such warmth and undeniable trust, ready to fight side by side and make their daring escape.

Then Avira picks up her sword and starts running toward Maira, looking as though she means to attack. This is so absurd to Maira that she cannot even register the words Avira is shouting. They reach her as if through water, muted and garbled. What....

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
The darkness approaches.

Dion doesn't get involved immediately. He is a patient man, watching Mercade as he jumps into the fray. He remains out of sight for the time being.

But the darkness approaches all the same. The warrior trumps down to the fracas, cape swishing behind him. He does, indeed, look for all intents and purposes like the High Commander Golbez of the Red Wings. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" He points a long clawed arm towards Avira. "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CLEANING MY WARDROBE?" He turns around for a moment and then looks towards Maira. "AND YOU--SETTING FIRE TO PEOPLE, YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED."

The mask scrunches up a bit before the man starts coughing and wheezing, holding at his side. "OH FRICK," He says. "HOW DOES HE--URGGGGHH..." Suddenly a large belly pushes out, distending Lord Golbez's clothes slightly. With a flailing of his hands, the dark warrior reaches up to the mask and whips it off, wheezing out and tossing the mask aside. "Had to keep my belly in like that for the whole day, you were supposed to wash and dry these, I was just keeping them safe for the laundrey..."

And then he looks up. The man in question really isn't a man, but rather--some sort of brutish...cat...man thing? Indeed, even as he manages to stand himself up, he's grinning widely.

"Aw who'm I kiddin'? I was waiting for a chance to prove myself to Lady Malificent! And look what I've got here, a whole bunch of interlopers!" He flexes his arms and lets out a looooooong yawn. "Course I'm already her number one man! I'm Pete, and I'm the BOSS of Kings! Nice to meet ya squirts! So who am I gotta pummel here?" He looks around curiously, tumbling a bit as another tremor hits the castle. He spins around a few times before he turns to face the Keyblade-Wielding Mouse.

"Hey wait a minute 'dare..." He says scowling, starting to tromp over his way. "What've we got here? This fella does seem familiar!!"

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin leaps high into the air, avoiding the attacks as he then lands near Baigan. "I was sent to capture the woman dressed as a Maid. It would appear these people are trying to rescue her sir. I do not believe there is a reason for you to become involved, though the one shining light is the princess that the vizier was after I believe." He says as he would move back to Morrighan before sending his sword to try and cleave through the man's defenses before sending a quick strike for the other dark knight.

Jasmine has posed:
Kaydin's attempt to overpower Jasmine's Light is an absolutely hopeless endeavor. The only winning move is not to play, when it comes to THAT game. And so he does, forcing her to fall back by attacking her directly; she only very narrowly avoids his blast, which, in passing, cracks off the badly fitting pauldrons, providing her with a little more freedom of movement. It also disrupts her concentration, especially in tandem with the rockin' and a'rollin' of the dungeons, which knocks her right on her butt.

That, unfortunately, does not make the Light go away.

No, with her momentary loss of focus, it starts busting out all over, like someone took the beams from the climax of Beauty and the Beast and turned the weather machine from 'dramatic' to 'ominous overdrive'.

FWOOSH! goes a dazzling ray of light, straight to Mercade's Heart, filling him with strength and courage like a shot of the finest whiskey ever imbibed in a Noir film.

ZAP! goes another, taking Angantyr from behind and spectacularly demonstrating that, in fact, Darkness and Light can coexist in the same body, twining gloriously around each other, becoming more than the sum of their parts. He may be a font of Darkness, but his opposite number doesn't shrink from challenging the purity of that Darkness, imbuing him with holy grace.

ZING! goes still a third, attracted quite naturally to the figure with the Keyblade. Light calling to Light, King Mickey feels the unmistakable touch of one of the seven pillars of the universe, her power joining to his.

Jasmine, meanwhile, is lit up like a Christmas tree, the armor practically transluscent around her as she burns with primal radiance. And that isn't going to change any time soon, because /her/ focus has gone towards Avira, forced to fight her best friend.

"Explain yourself!" she demands, admittedly somewhat imperiously; she gets on her royalness when startled. "Fight what controls you! You are a mighty warrior!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Kaydin throws himself in the way of Mercade, and he frowns. "What the hell are you doing?" He asks the Dark Knight of Baron, before he rebounds off of Kaydin and focuses on Morrighan. "Look, lady." He says, popping his knuckles. "People always say I'm a little crazy. I'm inclined to agree sometimes." He grins in anticipation. "I don't normally like hitting woman, but you're /really/ offended me with what you've done to my friend here." He then attempts to give Avira just what she wants by trying to belt the white mage a few times. Kaydin will probably hop back over to stop it like a doof though. He sighs inwardly.

The brawl knocks open the throne room doors, and he looks in there. "BAIGAN!" Mercade roars, stepping into the throne room. Jasmine's power kindles the flame in his heart as he dramatically strides. His expression is grim, his eyes burning as he approaches the architect of the darkness of Baron. He points at the man, and cries, "You fiend! You cause innocent people so much pain... Your minions kidnap and torment for their amusement! You employ dark magics! You have evil men tranform others into monsters! YOU TAKE MEN'S SOULS, AND MAKE THEM YOUR SLAVES!" The last is delivered in a dramatic fistclenching yell...

He pauses. "Wait, scratch the last one. Wrong script."

That's when the earthquake knocks him over, and Mercade stumbles, totally thrown off his groove. DON'T HARSH THE GROOVE, MAN. BEWARE THE GROOOOOOOVE. "What the hell was that?!" He asks, moments before Mickey appears. "Mickey!" Mercade calls. "Good timing, now let's..." He crouches, suddenly interrupted by the LORD OF DARKNESS, PETEBEZ. Mercade stares at that. ".... Uhhhh..." He looks to Mickey, and then Pete. "This is getting complicated." He points at Pete and asks Baigan. "Are you taking orders from this guy?" He says, without drama. Just... confusion.

Garland has posed:
The darkness behind Angantyr - the shadow plastered across the wall - parts.

Or rather, it does not part. It opens, it gives way; it kneels before the will of a greater darkness, a creature of shadow as ancient as ancient can be. The darkness kneels, the world opens, and the armored figure of Garland rises from Angantyr's shadow, towering above his apprentice, his armored arms settled across his chest. Below him, the tear in the world seals with a silent whisper; Garland settles onto the now-solid ground behind the young man, surveying the battlefield even as his cloak settles onto the ground.

It is chaos.

So is he.

"What a mess," the armored man's voice rumbles as he steps backwards, out of the path of Angantyr's fight gracefully. The armored old man doesn't actually draw a weapon, nor make any aggressive motion; he simply strides away from the battlefield for a better vantage point. What he's looking for, or who he's looking for, it's impossible to tell.

That said, Jasmine and Mickey are probably not liking the feeling of horrible, overwhelming shadow that came with the old fallen knight, and Pete's probably immediately aware of the other Shadow Lord's presence as soon as Garland steps out of the Corridor. At least he's not getting involved in the fight yet...but who knows how long that will last?

HERO REINFORCEMENTS HAVE ARRIVED: G...GARLAND?

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"That's a good girl~" Morrighan spoke lightly, smiling as Avira dashed off to engage Maira just as she had predicted. "And now..." Her attention was turned to Angantyr next, smirking at his threat. "Oh my! I am so scared~!" She cooed, waving a hand dismissively at the man. She was not going to worry about him. After all, Kaydin had him under control.

Baigan's appearance couldn't have been more ill timed than it was right now. "Baigan you fool! I thought this castle was impenetrable! Do explain why all these fools managed to worm their way in!"

Her indignation was short-lived at the appearance of....wait, who the hell was that...dog-man? How? ...What?

Well either way, he seemed to be on their side, so...she would not stress the matter. In fact is there was anything she needed to stress about, it had to be that fool detective currently attempt do her harm...AGAIN. "Argh! What are you--"

Rubicante has posed:
When Lenna cuts him off, Rubicante actually sags slightly, as if physically released from some hold the Crystal's power on him. Behind him, the Magus Sisters falter in their a capella production and go silent... but don't go on the offensive.

Rubicante turns to look at them, as Lenna sings behind him, and just watches for a few moments, expression featureless.

After a few seconds, he prompts, "Do you not intend to do battle?" Hopefully a gentle nudge is all it will take to get them right to sorts.

Unfortunately, that turns out to be untrue; instead, Mindy cuts out her instrumentation to inform Rubicante, wide-eyed, "No! This is /forever./ /This is what we do now./"

Rubicante says nothing for several seconds, and then gives up, turning to face Lenna again. He sighs heavily - a purely human affectation for which he scolds himself mentally - and then steps forwards sharply again, raising his own voice once more as he calls up the Crystal's power once again.

o/` -- seen a man who looked so all alone; o/`
o/` Could you use a little company? o/`

Behind Rubicante, the Magus Sisters launch eagerly - perhaps /too/ eagerly - into ther role of a cappella backup.

o/` If you pay the right price; o/`
o/` Your evening will be nice; o/`
o/` And you can go and send me on my way... o/`
o/` I said you're such a sweet young thing; o/`
o/` Why you do this to yourself? o/`
o/` She looked at me and this is what she say: o/`

o/` She say there ain't no rest for the wicked-- o/`

King Mickey has posed:
Well, that certainly escalated quickly...

The cloaked form of King Mickey does not get a chance to react before being suddenly enveloped with the warmth of a princess' light. Standing from his croutched state, Mickey holds his hands out as the light begins to circle him, feeling empowered and invigorated by the light. However, there remains to be something different about this light. It feels pure and much stronger than the average individual's magic and then it dawns on him, . o O (.. Could it be? One of the princesses is here?)

The circling light begins to speed away, as if directing the King towards the source from where it originated! Mickey calls out with his squeaky voice , "Hey! Wait up!" and then begins to follow the light.

However, it appears The King has never heard about the light usually leading to dead ends and suddenly, finds himself facing an old foe as he rounds the corner. The mouse leaps back from being startled by the much larger form of Captain Pete, causing the hood of his cloak to fall from his head and revealing his identity. He manages to squeak out, "PETE!" before immediately going into a defensive stance, "What are YOU doing here?!"

As the King prepares for what may be a potential conflict, he suddenly shudders at the feeling of dread that emits not just from his foe but from a collection of dark sources through our Baron Castle. As if The King of Baron didn't give him enough of the heebie jeebies, this monsterous lot is more than enough!

Avira has posed:
"DEFEND YOURSELF!!!" Avira screams again, now in Maira's face. She can feel through her own weapon that Maira has not managed to evade the blow and immediately Avira feels like crap over it. Oh no. She can see it in Maira's face the sort of uncomprehending shock of what had just happened.

"Maira..." Avira begs, "You have to. Please!" One of her hands leaves the Spine and she shakes Maira a few times, glancing over her shoulder, hoping that Morrighan is too distracted to tighten the band. Snug enough as it was and it wouldn't take much more for it to start causing breathing problems.

"I can't!" Avira calls out, "I can't get it-urk." Seems she can't really say more.

Avira forces herself to back away, looking wistfully at Maira. Maybe if she just held back, used things that Maira could easily defend against, and made it /look/ like she was fighting? Maybe Morrighan would be fooled. Lifting a hand, she gathers mist and shapes it into ice magic. Surely Maira can easily defend low level ice spells, right?

Pumpkinhead has posed:
Dion continues to basically remain in hiding. TOo much is happening at once, it's hard to process.

"Eh?" The Pete says, arms crossing as he looks over to Mercade, a cocky grin plastering on its face. "Now don't say things that can get misconstrued! I'm just here to lend a helping hand, make sure everythin' goes all nice and smooth-like."

He turns his head confidently to the Mouse despite him being a keyblade master. "Well I sure was right now wasn't I! The Steamboat King here himself!" The...whatnow? "What brings you down to these parts? Don't think this is your castle now is it?" He laughs heartily and slaps his knee. He's not just old school, he's practically oldest school.

He straightens up. "Well like I was sayin', making sure this laundry was all nice and dealt with, you dig? But--" He pauses. "I think Lady Maleficient will be much more happy if I bring her a PRINCESS OF THE HEART over tighty whiteys now won't see! And one of the seven if I don't miss my guess, and ol' Pete's rarely wrong about these sorts of things 'cause he knows what's what, got a good eye this Pete. Now, forgive my manners, my old boy, but I'm gonna get a little rough here, what we call getting the ol' jump on someone."

And despite announcing this, he intends to chop Mickey upside the head, heft him up with one of his hands and fling him right towards Jasmine, and charge forward after him in an attempt to flat out tackle right on through 'em!

Baigan has posed:
Baigan shields his eyes against the shining light, hissing rather unlike a man as he squints from his position on the still-trembling ground. Slowly he hefts himself back up to his feet, glaring as he stares venomously at the melee that is progressing in the castle. In /his/ castle. In the castle that he has sworn to defend. When Kaydin weaves past enemy attacks to obediently, if briefly, arrive at Baigan's side and report, the Captain's eyebrow--

"Excuse me, Sir Kaydin?"

--begins to rapidly twitch.

"On /whose/ orders did you abduct this woman? Of what use is she to Baron? Your actions have brought chaos into our halls!" His voice begins to raise. "You have shamed me in front of a vital ally to our nation! You have endangered our security!!" He shouts this as though it were the worst possible sin a man might commit. "IN WHAT SENSE--"

His skin begins to mottle as his fists tremble.

"--IS THERE NO 'REASON FOR ME TO BECOME INVOLVED'? YOU HAVE INVOLVED ME!"

He sweeps his arm out, whole body trembling. "I /am/ the security of Baron! My sole task is to be her shield, and that of His Majesty! How did this happen!? What of our glorious kingdom!? And /why is our captive fighting for us/?" Actually, that's a fair question.

Morrighan's words seem only to infuriate him further. Typically, Baigan fears and avoids the Dark Elf, but his curse mingled with his maybe-actually-justified anger voids all trepidation. "/You/ explain how these fools got here!!" he shouts back at her over the brawl. "Were you the one who ordered this 'maid' seized!? You will have to explain yourself to Lord Golbez! And you just try explaining /anything/ to Lord Golbez!!" Even now, over the earthquake and the clash of steel and the flare of spells, a solemn organ can be he heard faintly in the distance.

But it's when he looks back in the melee's general direction that Baigan does indeed see that the Princess the Vizier had sought is present, and for a moment his eyes narrow; for a moment it seems as though he might begin thinking rationally.

And then Mercade starts talking.

"It's /you/!" he roars again at the detective, body spasming in sheer fury. "You and your /Manhattan friends/ have meddled in Baron's affairs for the last time! This so-called /Xanatos/ is the reason why our otherwise /invincible/ armies have been humiliated twice now! But your technology is nothing in the face of the glory of Baron. I will raze your pathetic city," he's screaming now, spittle flying from his lips, "AND ALL OF THE XARBUCKS!" His Rage Meter maxed out, Baigan's very form begins to contort, stretching, arms elongating. "WHAT ISSSS A MAN!? A MISSERABLE PILE OF SNACKLETS!!!" Transforming into his giant snake-man mode, scaled head brushing the ceiling, he glowers beady-eyed down at Mercade. There's a moment of silence. "Asss in, little ssnacksss," he explains. "I'm referring to your limbsss--"

He too, however, is cut off when none other than LORD GOLBEZ-- does not actually appear. Both he and the Detective stare blankly at Pete, Baigan's maddened googly eyes briefly still, even his normally talkative snake arms silent. And then...

"LORD GOLBEZ! NOOOOOOOOOO--"

He is cut off when Maira's fireball crashes into his face.

When the smoke clears, tears are streaming from three sets of eyes -- including his hands, that is -- and washing away the soot. "You've been cursed, transssformed into sssome sssort of hideous pig-monsters! But do not fear, Massster Golbez! I, Baigan, ssshall sssslay the enemy, and sssave Baron!"

Whereupon, screaming incoherently, Baigan lunges forward and, as is his custom, opens his maw wide and attempts to eat Mercade's face. In the meantime, one snake arm with a monocle lashes over in Maira's direction, perhaps distracting her from Avira's assault. "Forgive my insolence in intruding on your emotionally-charged duel," Sir Snaggletooth says politely, monocle gleaming by Maira's face, "but I must avenge the Captain for your fireball. You understand, I trust," he adds in a genteel tone, before attempting to sink his fangs into his shoulder. On the other side, Baigan's second snake arm is a little less urbane. "Hey, babe!!" The Snakesuation shouts by Jasmine's face, gold tooth gleaming, attempting to grab her arm and drag her toward the towering monster. "Let's party!!"

Yes, indeed, let us party.

Rubicante has posed:
Rubicante is not a man who enjoys things - he nipped that in the bud a long time ago - but it is... a novelty, he must admit, to engage in such an unusual form of combat.

And that, he has come to realize, is what it is; it is a battle, if not one fought with sword and spell.

Perhaps this is why, when Lenna interrupts him, he recoils, as if struck. She advances as she sing, and Rubicante backs away, driving the Magus Sisters with him. Song, he must admit, is the weapon of Man, not of Planet. He is at a disadvantage here...

... but Rubicante has never been one to let the inherent weakness of his nature drag him down.

So, just as Lenna has backed him to the wall behind him, Rubicante goes on the offensive, launching a counterattack that is - quite literally - charring, as he throws open the cloak draped abot his body, giving Lenna an eyefull of his nakedness and casting a wave of heat across the chamber, transparent flames flickering across his body.

o/` -- alone in desperation; o/`
o/` Now the time has come! o/`

Backed up by the humanly impossible high-speed vocalizations of the Magus Sisters, Rubicante begins his offensive, stalking forwards towards Lenna one step at a time as he sings, with the Sisters trailing behind him.

o/` Lost inside; you'll never find! o/`
o/` Lost within my own mind! o/`
o/` Day after day this misery must go o~on! o/`

Rubicante isn't a very emotive singer, but he has a beautiful voice, and he can sure project; his vocals drift up out of the cavern, echoing through the battlefield that has become Baron Castle.

o/` So far awa~ay we wait for the da~ay! o/`
o/` For the light source so wasted and go~one! o/`
o/` We feel the pa~ain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days! o/`
o/` Through the fire and the flames we-- o/`

Maira has posed:
Now, Maira feels an ominous energy as Garland appears, but the source is unknown to her. She's just a bit busy here BEING ATTACKED BY HER BEST FRIEND.

Maira is struck down, shocked, hurt, and confused. Avira is still screaming. This time, the words make it through the haze of shock that has formed a fog around Maira's mind. Defend herself. She has to defend herself.

As Maira stumbles back from the attack, she brings up her hands to defend, using fire against ice. Most of the spears melt against her flame, one pierces through, scraping her arm and drawing a thin line of blood that rises to stain the ivory fabric of her shirt.

Then, snakes. By Holy, is she HIGH? What is going on? She stares at Sir Snaggletooth with an expression of pure confusion. Then, the other appears and....suddenly reminds her of Ivo?

Maira is overloading on stimuli. You know what happens next.

The girl ignites, her magic exploding from her in a bright blast of magical flame almost as bright as Jasmine's pure Light, though Maira's is considerably more flammable. The flames lash out at her attacks as if they have a mind of their own.

Garland has posed:
Light calls to light, but darkness knows the light as well; it knows the Light all too well, for it is the Darkness's ancient and mortal enemy, and its appearance cannot help but perk Garland's interest. Such a force of Light...perhaps a Princess of Heart, or a Keyblade. Fascinating.

Garland would have to investigate. However, there's no time for that at the moment. You don't tend to investigate such things in the middle of the fight; afterwards, yes, while all the heroes were milling about with uncertainty in the aftermath of the battle. Garland slowly reaches upwards, drawing his sword from the shadows; the massive, segmented slab of metal suddenly falls into his hand, and he shoulders it as though it were nothing despite its enormous size. For Angantyr, this was old hat; he'd seen that blade a million times. Avira had seen it once, ever, when he attacked her in the jungle.

Neither of them had ever seen what Garland does next.

The sword splits down the middle. It separates into two smaller blades immediately, one in each hand; this alone would be a shocking new development, but it is when the swords suddenly extend, stabbing outwards towards Avira and Baigan as if to intervene and direct their attentions away from Maira and Jasmine as Garland strides forward, that is the real shock. The blades extend wholly mechanically; as Garland draws the swords backwards, he snaps them back into his hands, closing them together into one massive blade.

The power of the crystals echoes through him, and Garland reaches forth to channel it into his hand, and...

o/" "KNOW." o/"

His voice is a deep, dark, and terrible baritone, and thankfully it doesn't cross over with the other song; it simply echoes through the chamber as he walks towards the fight, massive mechanical sword slung over his shoulder. It is a slow, deep, distinguished chanting, the kind of thing you might hear in a church, if that church was raised upon shadows and lies.

o/" "KNOW MY NAME." o/"
o/" "LAMENT" o/"
"LAMENT THE END OF DAYS" o/"
o/" "I AM GARLAND" o/"
o/" "AND I ARRIVE" o/"
o/" "FLEE, AND YOU MAY YET" o/"
o/" "REMAIN ALIVE." o/"

He doesn't seem particularly surprised that he's singing. Nor does he particularly seem to care that his singing voice sounds absolutely nothing like his real voice.

It sounds kind of like Tim Curry in an echo chamber.

And that's terrible.

King Mickey has posed:
The Steamboat King's arch-enemy wastes no time getting to work and does he! Pete successfully slams Mickey across the head, dazing the mouse before getting picked up! Mickey regains his senses just long enough to realize he is off the ground! He flails helplessly, "Uh.. Would you possible want to rec-- WAA---!"

The Mouse is suddenly launched with a powerful throw, screaming across towards Jasmine and slamming into her with a loud, "OOPH!", before tumbling into a giant mess of limbs.

However, Pete's onslaught is not finished as before long, the hulking brute comes charging into both him and Jasmine both, sending them spiraling sprawl once more!

This is a great combat debut, no!?

A short time later, King Mickey manages to bring himself to his senses, glancing up to see himself entangled with Jasmine. He shuffles his way out and then turns to the princess, asking her, "Are you alright? That was quite the spill we took."

While trying to check on Jasmine, Mickey quickly makes a quick scan to look around where his Pete had ran off too, only to see the reptilian form of Baigan, lurching out to try and snag Jasmine. He blurts out, "Hey!", appearing plainly distracted from his original intention of finding his enemy and preparing to go after Baigan!

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"WHAT!? You want ME to explain this nonsense to Lord Golbez!?" Morrighan shot back up to Baigan incredulously. "Have /I/ ever tried explaining anything to Lord Golbez? Have YOU every tried explaining ANYTHING to him!?" Getting angrier and angrier instead of reeling back in fear at her superior's transformation, she stood her ground arguing in the middle of this massive melee. "ALL HE DOES IS PLAY THAT INFERNAL ORGAN OVER ANYTHING YOU TRY TO SAY! WHY DOES HE DO THAT!? HOW DOES ANYTHING EVEN GET DONE AROUND HERE!?" Yet despite all their bickering, she still moved to support him and the others on their side with her magic. "WHATEVER! JUST DO YOUR JOB!"

Here we go. Time to do her own job now. Yes, even Avira needed to be supported so long as she was fighting on their sight. "And YOU! My lovely little maid! Fight harder! I see what you are trying to do!" And with that demand, the dark elf subtly tightened the collar's hold on Avira, cutting off her air supply just a bit more with the added effect of causing it to glow even more. Anyone with even an average sense of holy magic should be able to sense something off around Avira's nect area...

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin remains close by to Morrighan, looking to Angantyr with a emotionless gaze as he pulls his helmet off and reveals himself, hurling the spiked helmet at the mace wielding man before moving to send two quick strikes for him, stabbing strikes meant to be accurate and not powerful. "How does it feel..." He asks as he continues to stab at him. "To be backed to a corner?

Jasmine has posed:
And then all hell breaks loose.

That's unfair, it happened a few rounds ago, but Jasmine very nearly faints from the sudden pressure of Garland's Darkness jangling in her mind, on top of Rubicante's distant signature and Pete's very up close and personal presence. Her head spins. She retches, certainly, their auras hitting her like a body blow. It is cloying and toxic, and she can hardly breathe. Garland's speech actually makes things worse, every last syllable like knives cutting into her soul.

And then she gets hit by a flying mouse. She was an easy target, lying there. "I'm okay," she reassures Mickey softly, when asked, her voice barely audible above the din of battle, but containing within it a combination of pain and pure determination. Yeah, she's okay.
And then her arm gets pierced, brutally, by Baigan's snakearm. See above statement, add a moment of PTSD from one too many hits from /another/ snake. Her blood that roils around his fangs, disturbingly, seems to burn away the poison even as it tries to enter her system. Smoke rises. It probably isn't a pleasant feeling for either of them. Jasmine's certainly screaming.

The Light responds the only way it knows how, magnifying in intensity roughly a millionfold, from 'totally ridiculous' to 'patently absurd'. It's like somebody dropped a nuke, without the destructive force. So, like a pinch from Ocean's Eleven, except with the lightshow.

BE.

In other words, it's really its own thing. Castle Baron gets to taste the rainbow as the explosion of Light travels outward from the Princess, in total, somewhat frightening silence. It leaves nobody untouched -- everyone can feel the Light within them jumping at the call, their innermost Heart responding to its clarion call. For some, this may be an inspirational, transcental experience. For others, it may be thoroughly unpleasant, as a side of themselves that they try to ignore or repress rears its head gloriously.

It is most strongly attracted to Jasmine's three Dark assailants, who have all hit her at least once in the past minute; Pete, Baigan and Kaydin feel the Light pouring into them, burning away their impurities, attacking their very essence, demanding that their cosmological balance be restored. At the very least, this is highly distracting.

Jasmine herself forcefully grips the energy pouring through her, the end of the conduit that she's become, and wrenches her gaze towards poor beleaguered Avira. That glowing choker catches her eye; quick on the uptake, she manages to direct some of her primal force in the woman's direction. "Be free," she whispers, and a prayer from her lips is often a promise. "Dark Knight," she adds in a choked, exhausted voice, which could mean about eight people right now but actually means Angantyr, "Please... help her."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade sighs. This is getting complicated as hell. "We wouldn't have 'meddled' if you didn't attack us in the first place! Just because you had no jurisdiction to arrest someone in another world? You're being petty." He points dramatically at Baigan in the ancient Wright style. "You won't harm Manhattan! You're going to conquer it over my dead body!"

And then Baigan transforms. "Okay, uh... let's renegotiate those terms a bit-YIPES!"

Baigan's face-eating power is intense, and Mercade displays considerable agility in the art of 'get the hell away from the snake man' as he leaps for one of the baroque pillars and rebounds to grab onto a hanging banner. "Okay, Baigan. I didn't want to do this but you forced my hand." He grins down at the snake. "I just got one question for you..."

He kicks off of the banner, flying theough the air as he flip,s quickdrawing his dual pistols.

"Are you ready to slam jam?"

Bullets hail, raining down as Mercade drops, skidding and tumbling between the legs of the snakeman and kicking upwards, driving a hail of gunfire up in an attempt at airjuggling the man before he speeds out the other side, launching to the opposite side of the hall in a rush.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Avira's plight finally catches his eyes...he turns towards Avira, who is fighting...horribly, at Maria. The faint glow of the spell on her neck catches his eye...damn it! The line of magic is easily drawn now...and the White Mage gains his ire...he glares right at her, but for a moment he swallows his rage. Taking a breath...Garland can feel the spike...as can every Dark Knight, warrior of darkness, and light sensitive person. But pure willpower keeps him in check, and then... Kaydin comes at him.

Kaydin comes, and he LAUGHS...those words...they are just hilarious to him. He swings, trying to throw Kaydin back...he avoids the blow, but it was enough! The space that he needs even as wounds open up along his body, breaking through the armor as he continues to laugh...

"Oh you adorable little puppy of a man you!" he laughs.. Then...something happens...a bright light snaps him back to what is important, channling through his body...he can feel it, Jasmine's power mixing with his own.

The darkness does not shy from the light, nor does the light get consumed...instead he sees the spell...

"Sorry Avira, that I wasn't there when you needed me...but.." he says, running at her and vanishing. "I'm here now! SHATTER THE BONDS OF LIGHT!" he shouts...aiming to send the powerful fist into the spell binding her neck...it's going to hurt, but it should also, thanks to Jasmine, be what she needs to act of her own will.

The magic backlashes though, sending him back and breathing heavily.

"Ow."

Rubicante has posed:
Rubicante is driven back a step by Lenna's counter; when he is, he almost steps on Mindy, who squawks and dives out of the way.

By the time she gets back on her feet - with some help from Sandy, who has to bend doubele to reach that low - Lenna has started belting. The Magus Sisters collect themselves into a brief huddle, whispering to each other furiously; after a moment, Sandy leaves the huddle to whisper to Rubicante,

When all is said and done, the result is that about a bar before Rubicante jumps in to interrupt Lenna, the Sisters have started their instrumentation... especially Cindy, who is in charge of the very distinctive bassline.

o/` -- the best place around... o/`
o/` But some stupid with a flaregun... o/`
o/` Burned the place to the ground! o/`
o/` Smo~oke on the wa~ater... o/`
o/` And fire in the sky~y-- o/`

Pumpkinhead has posed:
Dion sees Baigan turn in a snake man with snake arms.

"...What." He says from his hiding spot. Baigan getting fireballed in the face again will be sure to make its rounds around the castle again.

Pete is briefly stymied by Baigan's reaction, unsure what to make of it at first before realizing that this is something that's working out in his favor. "Ah yes," He says perhaps not realizing that horrible pig-monster is a bad thing? "Save Baron, Baigan, we are counting on you." This might be very suspicious because Lord Golbez? Count on Baigan? Crazy--but crazy enough to work?!

"Snake arms..." Dion murmurs shaking his head. Now he's seen everything. "Why is ... why is everybody singing?"

Pete does have to admit though, "If we have those nifty collars why don't you take it off that maid and put it on the Princess?" He doesn't know much about VALKYRI it seems, but he does seem to know a lot about 'The Mouse'. He hasn't given any names but has called him 'Steamboat King' which might have some meaning to it.

Pete, surprisingly enough, does have a strong heart. He's just something of a bully. The searing light does seem to distract him enough as he charges, causing him to spin out of control and crash into a pillar.

NEARBY: A gate to a treasury opens up, revealing three treasure chests--already opened by that dastardly and thieving Cecil Harvey--to all.

Pete falls flat on his back, birds flying around his head, chirping. "Ughh..." He groans. "Enough of this. I call upon the power of the Heartless and whatnot! Go! Capture the princess! Help me you idiots!"

He stomps his foot rapidly against the ground. The Heartless start appearing along the castle grounds. Pete rubs at his eyes as the majority swarm towards Jasmine, trying to catch her but others--well, even if Pete wasn't directing them, Mickey has a keyblade--and they're hungry for his delicious and yummy Heart. They charge at him, biting and clawing!

Once Pete can see again, lying there, he notices Garland attacking his new best friend Baigan.

"Oi oi, what're you doin'??" He says. "We're supposed to get the Princess not attack our allies! Didn't you get the memo? Hold on I have it in one of my pockets. Confound it, where does this man keep his change...?"

Maira has posed:
To further reinforce the thought that those nuts she ate was secretly sprinkled with LSD, people are singing. GARLAND, is singing. What a voice he has! It makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. It makes her soul tremble. But there he is, his swords swinging, attacking Baigain (which is good!) and Avira (which is very, very bad).

Maira registered being bitten, but no venom seems to have slipped into her bloodstream, burned away as it was by the purifying flames that consume her and burn everything within three feet of the mage.

This is wrong. Everything. Avira shouldn't be attacking her. Not for a moment does Maira think she is betrayed. Something is wrong. A magical impression lights on her senses, drawing Maira's attention to the band of magic around Avira's throat. Like a leash. She's collared like a beast.

Once more she is pleased to see Angantyr appear, and in her current state, she seems to know what he intends and stands back to let him do it, a torch in human form. They are all looking like they could use some help. Maira begins to channel her cure magic, the bright light spreading from her to wrap Avira and Tyr in its warmth.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin leaps back to Morrighan and unravels the chain as it is wrapped about his arm. "Are you alright, Morrighan?" He asks as he would ready himself to defend the white mage, keeping her close to him so she would remain somewhat safe. He then swings the sword and lets it go flying for th dark knight, pulling the blade back once it struck to hurl it again at him. It was then he swung the chain as black energy flowed along the blackened chain and blasted out at the sword for Angantyr.

Avira has posed:
A strangled noise escapes Avira, at first not due to the constricting magic around her throat, but from that hurt and confused look that Maira gives her. Even her meager ice attacks aren't entirely defended against but it is some promise to see Maira actually fighting back this time, first with a little bit of fire, that Avira recoils after. Then even MORE fire follows and the huntress/maid cries out in pain. Some of the more frilly portions of the dress smoulder and turn to ash, gnawing small darkened holes in the outfit.

She sees Garland approaching and recalls his earlier words well. Fortunately, there was nothing preventing her from switching to a defensive position, twisting her body so the projected pieces strike the fleshy parts of her shoulder rather than something more vital. This is a bit fortuitous, actually, because while she wanted to hold back against Maira, she literally could not hold back against Garland. If she just switched her attention over to him, then...!

Through the chaos, Avira can hear Morrighan screeching after her, demanding that she fight harder. A second or so later, the magic around her throat constricts and the woman coughs out in pain. "D..damn it..." she sees Baigan's snake come to take a bite out of Maira and growls, her throat rumbling angrily against the magic.

Then she feels that pressure start to fade. Instinctively, she looks over at Jasmine, staring for a long moment before Angantyr is suddenly in her face.

Punching her in the throat.

"NGGGGH!" She grunts, head snapping backwards. The holy magic that had been laid there a day or so before flares up brightly before dispersing-an event that Morrighan would certainly feel. Reeling, Avira reaches for her throat and rubs it. "Angantyr..."

Maira's healing magic wipes away any of the lingering pain from that punch. Avira's hand tightens upon the Spine, then relents, only for her to transfer the weapon to the other hand. Slowly, she turns to face Morrighan, the woman that had ordered her arrest, thoroughly humiliated her, and forced her to attack a friend.

"RAAAAAAAARRRRGH!" she screams in maidenly rage and charges the dark elf, throwing her much tinier body at the white mage in a very primal and very unrefined tackle.

Pumpkinhead has posed:
"Oh I suppose that's why we don't put those on the Princesses of the Heart." Pete says as an afterthought.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"I am just fine..." Morrighan replied to Kaydin, narrowing her eyes as she witness Angantyr attempting to shatter the bonds of the spell around Avira's neck. "........Well...!"

This was a problem. Her spell was broken! And there was no way to reapply it unless she actually had direct skin to skin contact with Avira's neck. Which was not likely to happen....at all. "KAYDIN. HELP. NOW." She demanded, panicking quite clearly as the raging midget charged right for her. Of course, the first thing she did was hide right behind Kaydin. Nooooo way was she going to engage in direct combat! Nope!

Baigan has posed:
All he wanted to do is eat some heads.

Then it had to get all /complicated/.

Well, in all fairness, it was relatively complicated in advance, but Baigan, having entered total rage mode, seems to have lost track of most of that. Still weeping over the fate of Lord Golbez (?) and having conveniently forgotten all about the escaped Alexandrian representative, he lashes out in all directions, but the ever-slippery Mercade manages to leap away and evade his main jaws, much to his eternal consternation. The successes of his snake arms offer some consolation, as Sir Snaggletooth hefts Maira briefly into the air and Jasmine is heavily struck, tearing some of the Baronian armor from her, sending the stolen helmet skittering across the stone. But it is the detective that concerns Baigan most.

"Blithering idiot!" he howls at the gun-toting investigator over the din. "You ssscum are just pawns in a greater game! Your world interfered in our affairsss asss ssoon as this 'Xanatosss' technology wasss ssent to halt our advance on the Diasss Plainsss! The fleet at Balamb Garden is the lassst ssstart! We are not primitivesss, boy, not foolsss! BARON SSSHALL EMERGE TRIUMPH-- gyyeeaahh!"

Jasmine's light -- it is blinding.

Cringing, squealing in agony as a pure force wracks his curse and hate-addled form, Baigan releases both women, and exposes himself to assaults on all fronts. Maira's fire knocks Sir Snaggletooth's monocle clean off and sends that snake arm flopping dazedly back toward Baigan. And as Garland marches in, the Snakesuation, skewered, panics and, without any orders from the Boss, just explodes right then and there, right next to Garland's hand. And as for Baigan himself, he screams again as, defenseless, the airborne Mercade's bullets pierce him again and again, causing the snake-man to be knocked off his feet and eventually crash to the ground.

"...d...damn you... all...!"

Baigan rears to his feet, as the stump of the Snakesuation begins to regrow.

"YOU RABBLE!" he screams, spite rushing in to fix the 'damage' that Jasmine has done to his blackened heart. "I WILL BRING /ORDER/ TO THE CHAOS! I WILL CRUSSSH ALL DISSSENT UNDER MY FOOT! AND AT LASSST, BARON SSSSHALL REIGN SSSUPREME!"

The words of Lord Golbez (?) cause Baigan's abominable breast to swell with pride and renewed morale. "Yesss, my lord!" he exults, choking with emotion. "Victory ssshall be oursss!!"

It is due to this inspiration, and only this, that the Snakesuation is returned to his former glory just in time to lunge in both directions. "Hey, buddy!!" the gold-toothed snake arm who only recently exploded himself /at/ Garland now shouts to Garland. "Impersonating Lord Golbez is against Baronian law!!" Meanwhile, Sir Snaggletooth lunges in Mercade's direction, monocleless and decidedly displeased by all this. "Good sir!" he announces. "Enough talk!! HAVE AT YOU!!" That's more like it.

King Mickey has posed:
Castle Baron has turned into a complete and utter chaotic warzone! Light clashing against Darkness! Good clashing against evil! Friends are clashing against Foes, and even some other friends but what have you!?!

Nonetheless, the combat is insanely chaotic. What makes the situation worse is that the fact that the heroes are on their enemies home turf! Then, Captain Pete decides to make the situation EVEN worse by inviting the Heartless to the fray!

King Mickey watches as Jasmine is torn away from his side and then proceeds to be involved in a flourish of enemy attacks. He reaches out in vain towards her and exclaims, "Princess!", the heroes need to rally! They need a plan and fast!

First things first! Gotta gain a foundation! Mickey takes his opportunity to do just that. As the renegade heartless come towards him, The King quickly brings Star Seeker back to his side and proceeds to masterfully evade his attackers!

Leaping about to safe distance, Mickey looks and spots a sturdy vantage point to start his attack! He begint to twirls the keyblade within his hand as light from the surrounding city begins to collect around the key, giving off a brilliant light. Once enough has been gathered, Mickey shifts the keyblade upward, gathering all the light into a single ball before calling out, "GO! Starlight Arrows!", then the ball of light bursts into numerous arrows!

The flurry of arrows scatter everywhere, striking the Heartless but also streaming for Pete and Baigan!

The King is not done just yet! He leaps back into the air, thrusting the keyblade outward to gather his own internal light into a massive blast. The light shines brilliantly, much brighter than the arrows from before! He thrusts Keyblade upward once more and calls out,

"HOLY!"

Soon after, a bright flash of light bursts through the main hall and the dungeon areas!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Avira is free...

Angantyr smiles at this...it is a soft and kind smile.

Not a typical smile for him...then Kaydin is back on him, striking at him. he moves to defend, but the attacks run home...reminding him that he's in a fight. Heartless swarm towards Jasmine, but then suddenly he is there, swinging his massive mace and easily clearing them out, but not before they tore through him. He is really hurting...the light shaking his darkness for a brief moment...but like a very powerful flame it rekindles. And BURNS brightly...more brightly then it did before as he slowly turns towards Kaydin...and then the Dark Elf.

Then...then something strange happens. The darkness warms around his body...the darkness merges into his armor, surging through him and finally connecting his armor into it...it becomes a full plate like armor, but the darkness swarms about it. Whisps of energy pooring from it as the visor comes over his face, only a red glow from beneath it.



Then he moves, The attack is quick...quicker than he SHOULD be. The darkness shatters the bonds of light for a brief moment, before he speaks, "UNLEASHING!" he says, and then swings the mace once.

The force of the strike litterally shatters the floor, as a wave of darkness swarms across the area, aiming to catch both healer and Darkn Knight in their wake as he drops the mace, aiming to grab both...with this now terrible clawed hands...

"DIE!" before the darkness that he dropped exploded with hundreds of clawed hands, each one aiming to shred the two apart.

Jasmine has posed:
Jasmine smiles rather wearily as Avira is released from her bonds in an admittedly more painful fashion than she would have wished for, but... she seems to have shaken it off okay. She nods at the woman as she charges, great satisfaction in her eyes.

She staggers back to her feet at last, only to fall back against the onslaught of Pete's summoned Heartless. Until Angantyr lunges in to defend her; she looks up at him gratefully, and briefly places a gentle hand on his arm. A shock runs between them, Light and Darkness protesting this grateful minor intimacy, but she ignores it.

All the while, the Light's still pouring through her, a floor-to-ceiling pillar, so fiercely as to leave Jasmine-shaped afterimages on anyone who looks at her directly, which is somewhat helpful in maintaining within-the-seven-of-them anonymity, such as it is, when Baigan knocks off her helmet. Still, that gigantic mane of hair, bound in two huge napkin rings, is pretty distinctive; and let's face it, so is her attitude.

"ENOUGH!" she yells, at much at the power surging through her as at the Heartless and their masters. Closing her eyes, screwing up her face in an expression of fierce concentration, and finally, finally, takes full command of the Light. "YOU SHALL NOT HAVE THEM!" Presumably she means 'you' as in the Darkness, and 'them' as in her allies. Baigan's fury seems to have only stoked her resolve, and she stands her ground, now, straight and tall. No longer shall she be wielded by her power.

Condensed from a massive bonfire into laser-like intensities, she spreads her fingers and sends the full force of the wishes of all the children of the universe into those who need it most: the brave Maira, who was forced to face her friend; Mercade and Angantyr, who have defended her through thick and thin, with gun and mace, words and deeds.

They feel their wounds begin to heal, and the radiance remains about them afterwards, a palpable shield against the Darkness rising from so very many sources in the room, Heartless and Chaos, dogthing and snakething.

In a slightly more normal voice, though still very loud, she calls over the din: "Everyone! Our objective is won, please FALL BACK!" She herself begins to, out of the path of Maira and Mickey's massive destruction.

Even now, a princess /always/ says please.

Morrighan Alazne has posed:
"Wha.....Whaa......Wha......?"

That was all Morrighan could utter as Angantyr's terrible swarm of clawed hands came whirling for both her and the dark knight.

Kaydin had managed to dodge upwards and manage to lessen the damage just a little. ...Morrighan on the other hand was left totally open. Like a deer in the headlights, the wave of power totally enveloped her.

She didn't stand a chance. She just wasn't built for this sort of thing. Not at all. Once the terrible attack had passed, all that remained was the unconscious form of Morrighan lying on the castle floor, wounds all over and her usual white ensemble in shreds.

It was quite over for her if it wasn't obvious before.

Rubicante has posed:
Rubicante yields in distaste to Lenna's song; it is more truly from the heart than any she has unleashed so far, and that is... regrettable.

Singing with such naked emotion... there's no hope for this girl.

He doesn't retreat in the face of it, but he does... wilt. Of all of ths girl's humanity, her relationship with her father is something he can relate to. He, too, has a creator, a being who brought him into existence, to whom he owes the utmost loyalty and obedience.

But he suspects their creators did not see eye to eye.

And so, when he sees an opening, he strikes, like a God damn snake bard.

o/` Ho~ow they survi~ive so misguided is a mystery~y... o/`
o/` Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to o/`
o/` lift an eye to heaven conscious of his fleeting time here... o/`

o/` Cut it all right i~in two~o... o/`

Rubicante steps forwards, spreading his arms wide and straight-up wicked belting.

o/` Cut it all ri~ight in two~o! o/`
o/` Cut it a~all-- o/`

Garland has posed:
Baigan's explosion smashes across Garland. He doesn't stop walking; slow and purposeful, the armored knight continues his stride uninterrupted, emerging from the smoke of Baigan's self-destruction. The man was no weakling, that was for certain; whatever this 'Golbez' was doing in here to his servants, it had made them strong. Garland might have to look into it later; for now, however, Baigan's shout is unheeded. Garland passes by Baigan, walking directly to Pete without a second glance; as he passes by Baigan, Garland whispers something to Baigan, his voice so quiet that only Baigan can hear, yet nonetheless rising above the tide of the battle on truly vile dark magic.

Garland continues walking, then stops next to Pete. He levels his invisible gaze on the fat fool, darkness rolling off him uncontrolled; it's like a cascade of shadow and destruction, of black emotions and vile, world-crushin desires. He simply stares at Pete for a very, very long time, looking at the fat dog of a man before turning away to look at King Mickey.

"I was not aware that we were allied to Baron. Perhaps you should inform your own allies of your machinations the next time, Pete. We might have ..."

Garland shrugs and leaves the thought unfinished. He watches his apprentice wield the full power of his training; he watches the Princess of Light and Angantyr break the chains; he watches the valiant struggles, the powerful heroes, the mighty forces of Good and Evil clash.

Just as planned.

Garland slides out his hand at Baigan; magic is simply brute forced upon the knight, but to what end besides a clothing change? .

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin tries to leap out of the way of the clawed hands, but in the end they grab him and slam him down into the stone flooring hard enough to crater, armor breaking once more. When the attacks got hit, He groans as he staggers to his feet, gripping his sword. Seeing the elf fall causes his eyes to widen. It was then as if a darkness bomb drops because the dark knight now radiates darkness as finally an expression is seen on his face: Rage. Not mindless rage, but Focused rage.

Avira has posed:
Avira splats innefectually against Kaydin, failing to strike her /real/ quarry, and glares at him. "I won't forget. You might have been following orders, Kaydin, but you've showed me just how far you'll go to follow your oath."

She's punched down to the ground and reels, shaking her head. "In whatever /future interactions/ we have, I will keep this in mind!" He might as well not hear it because he's suddenly leaping up to try and avoid Angantyr's attack. Morrighan doesn't seem so lucky and a second later, Avira sees her former captor sprawled on the floor, her robes in shreds.

Standing, Avira places a a hand to the side of her mouth, "Ohohohoho~" Yes! She is mocking that laughter she has been subjected to all day. The laughter quickly stops and she looks down at the dark elf. "I quit, by the way."

Satisfied, her attention now turns to Baigan who 1. Bit her friend Maira and 2. Just tried to kill Mercade. THAT'S NO GOOD!

Maira has posed:
Massive destruction is what is going to happen here. If Maira's clothing still exists it cannot be seen, for the flames surround her and flicker so brightly it is akin to looking into the sun. Even still, she feels Jasmine's energy wash over her. Maira looks to Jasmine, smiles, "Thank you. You should stand back a moment," she tells her, her own voice serene...but there is an echo, a deeper voice mingling with her own, and this one is filled with rage. It is a very disturbing juxtaposition.

Maira raises her arms as her flames burst outward, forming wing-like shapes on her back that stretch and burn the walls and carpets as they brush against them. At the moment, Maira has no concern for property damage.

She rushes forward on those flaming wings, charging toward Kaydin, her eyes strangely calm as she attempts to bowl over him, taking some of his life force with her.

She keeps going, her next target Baigan. She stretches her arm out toward him as she descends with all her flaming fury.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr slowly turns towards Kaydin.

"How does it feel..." he says, to him... "To be cornered." he grins...it is not a kind feature, but also hidden behind his helmet. The words are not kind, they are spoken out of a sense of malice.

As Kaydin tries to set up... Angantyr's shadows try and grip him...dragging him back to the ground roughly, before he dives towards Kaydin...his mace leading the way as he aims to drive it into his body, as the spikes extend...aiming to sink into the flesh of the dark knight...and drain EVERYTHING from him.

"I said I wouldn't kill you...and I'll make good on that promise. Not today...and if you EVER cross me again, you pathetic puppy of a man..." he lets the threat drop...

Pumpkinhead has posed:
"Wh--well, we're the same sorta crowd, and someone's gotta teach 'em to use Heartless responsibly, and who better than ol' Pete?" Pete is feeling a bit brave because of Baigan propping him up so much, otherwise his response to Garland would probably begin and end with 'oh hey I just realized I had something to do far away from here'. He isn't scared, of course, it's just two tough and awesome folks like themselves don't need to be dealing in the same circles, wouldn't be fair to Mickey and folks you see.

Pete, worrying that Garland may have put Baigan in a Maid Outfit quickly turns his head and says, "Of course by Pete I mean Golbez." He adds. "...Confounded curse magic tripping up my words!"

He nods slowly, approving of himself.

Mickey chooses that point to clobber him with a huge burst of holy magic, searing through Pete painfully. "YOOOOOOOOOWCH!" He says as he's blasted over onto his back. He groans and lashes out with a hand, retrieving a paper bag.

He breathes into it rapidly, eyes bulging out from pure rage but eventually the bag pops--it's not enough! NOT ENOUGH!

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He shouts. "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

And he starts slamming his fists into the ground rapidly with his fists in the biggest and babyiest temper tantrum of all time. "SO CLOSE TO NABBING THAT PRINCESS! AND THAT MOUSE LOOKING DOWN ON ME!" SLAM SLAM SLAM. The slamming of his fists is enough to send large chunks of ceiling dropping down towards, coincidentally, Pete's enemies! And of course there's still Heartless remnants to worry about.

He breathes in and out afterword, calming down. "Achem." He says. "Y'might be a King, but you think you can stop us with a keyblade or two? Heh heh, we're craftier, tougher, and downright meaner, my pal! Run around now if you want, you'll pay for it later!"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Maybe I'm a pawn. Maybe I'm not." Mercade says, spinning his guns. "I'm just fighting for what I believe is right, the safety of innocent people. Baron doesn't need Dias Plains. It doesn't need to assault the Garden. We intervened because of your threats to attack. In other words... All of this is on your heads."

He points a gun, just as Garlans washes past him.

Baigan he can understand. His mind is mortal, a normal man's, but he can grok a three-headed snake thing. He knows how to fight that.

Garland's mere wake causes his soul to quail and mind to shudder back, in the same way that animals sense evil and the darkness. Despite having the magical senses of a brick, the force Garland exudes causes him to react on a primal level. He shudders, his aim wavering, hesitating for the critical moments as Garland approaches Baigan and gives him his 'blessing'.

Mercade's expression goes grim. This is going to be ugly.

And then the snakeheads tear into him, ripping him into the ground and crushing him. He screams in pain as he is savaged by the beastial heads. and he trembles, wrenching him away from the fanged maw with wounds all over his body. Can he even possibly hope to beat Baigan in this state?

The light of the Princess shines upon him, and his wounds heal in holy light. The energies invigorate him, forifying him against the horror that sapped his will and his ability to fight. He prepares to attack, but Jasmine calls for retreat. He holsters his guns. "I'll be right there!" He calls back to Jasmine, an he pulls his shotgun, racking the pump with a satisfying KER-CHAK.

"Avira, hope you're doing all right!" He calls over his shoulder. And then he launches in, diving into the mass of snakeheads just as Maira hits, blasting through the wash of flame with the HOT BULLETS OF SHOTGUN TO DIE.

"AS LONG AS WE STAND TOGETHER, YOU WILL NEVER TRIUMPH, YOU SNAKE!"

Baigan has posed:
Baigan sees the world through a fevered haze. Lord Golbez is exhorting him to fight on. His worst enemies are here. But the reasons why he hates them-- they're all beginning to swirl about in his tortured mind. Baron is all that is on his mind. Baron. Baron! Baron's glory! Its almighty will must conquer all foes! All these people-- their very existence is a threat to his kingdom. That is why he must defend against them. /That/ is why they must be destroyed.

/All/ of them must be--

Howling, trembling, as bullets rain down on him, as fire tears into him, the serpentine Baigan is at the pinnacle of fury. He can feel the Darkness flooding his veins, driving him onward, onward. It controls him, he is its vessel, all for Baron. But this is the first time he has /noticed/ it, seen it for what it is. He pauses, hesitates, confused. And it is then he turns, and sees that Garland, who he had lashed out at before, has placed his hand upon the snake just before vanishing.

Baigan's body pulses once.

Then the shadows begin to gather. As though leeched from his very body, Darkness manifests, accumulates, forming veritable plate mail of pure night, eventually coating almost all of Baigan's elongated form. Even his snake arms have little helmets. And for the first time, he feels some iota of /control/ over that which rages through him, allowing him to gaze clear-eyed once more at the world, as he used to, along ago, before resentment consumed him.

> Baigan's job has switched to Dark Knight.

Armored Baigan pauses, silent, and there is an odd lull in the rampage as he does so. He turns toward 'Lord Golbez', gazing with an eerie calm for a few moments, and then...

"You are not Lord Golbez," he says to Pete, without ire. "You are an imposter. Leave this castle, now, pig-man, before my venomed fangs find you."

He turns then, gaze sweeping his foes, dwelling on Maira and Mercade, who have dared challenge them to his face, and then toward the fallen forms of Kaydin and Morrighan, in dire straits indeed. "...I would prefer to eliminate you all here," he says coolly, and though his voice is as pompous as ever, he sounds human again, maybe as he once did as a courtier, in days long gone. "I believe Baron would be best served if none of you remained. But I must protect Baron's people." Instead of striking back at those who have assaulted him, he moves and positions his huge body in front of the fallen Dark Knight and White Mage. "That is my sworn duty. I am a shield, not a sword." That's news to everyone here. But he's always believed it, even when he's crazy. Especially when he's crazy.

It's just actually true again, for a moment.

"We will meet again, Princess," he then says to Jasmine. "The Vizier wants your head, and I intend to be a worthy ally to him, for Lord Golbez, and His Majesty, and Baron. But today is not the day I shall seize you. Nor you, Detective, even if your city and this 'Xanatos' is a blight upon Baron's future."

He crosses his armored snake arms.

"Go."

There's a long pause.

"Yeah, get out of here!" chips in the Snakesuation.

One snake arm promptly explodes, sending dark plate everywhere, which evaporates into wisps of shadow, as Baigan continues to stare deadpan forward, as though nothing had occurred.

Rubicante has posed:
Lenna counters again, with her stupid 'emotions' and 'feelings' and 'hoohah', and Rubicante finds himself scrabbling to keep his metaphorical footing. Where song came easily to him before, it is harder, now; he must reach for it.

The Crystal's power... is it fading? As Lenna sings, Rubicante glances back at the Magus Sisters; they, too, seem to be fading, and not just because some of them are out of breath, /eat a salad Cindy./

How curious, he thinks, turning his gaze back to the singing Lenna. What power does this girl hold, that the Crystals of Planet so favor her?

He isn't beaten yet, though.

o/` -- baby baby... o/`
o/` How was I supposed to know? o/`
o/` That somethin' wasn't right here? o/`

o/` Oh baby baby... o/`
o/` I shouldn't have let you go... o/`
o/` And now you're outta sight babe~ o/`

o/` Show me how you want it to be... o/`
o/` Tell me baby 'cause I-- o/`

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Holy crap. That huge armored guy knocked the crazy out of him. That makes him at least ten times more dangerous!" Mercade exclaims.

He pauses. "Oh, he's not going to instantly kill us all. I'm cool with that." He blinks. "You know, Baigan, I like you better this way. Try to stay sane a bit longer, all right?" He turns, and begins making his way out, looking over in the direction of the hidden Dion Carenze. Dare he address the Dragoon when people are paying attention? He chooses not to. The Dragoon will be able to make his own choice. He looks to the others. "Come on, everyone, let's go before Baron's defenses actually rally and swarm us under."

King Mickey has posed:
Holy flourishes through out Baron Castle, driving away The Heartless though there is still plenty to do before the heroes can get out of dodge! As Jasmine takes the reigns attempting to rally the heroic forces, King Mickey takes charge in finding an escape route for the group to get out of here! The King watches Pete flail around from his holy blasts and takes the opportunity to head for the one area Baron forces would least likely expect them to take: The Front Gate! He makes his way across the main hall and opens the doors leading out into the courtyard!

With the chaos that is ensuing around the castle, guards that are supposed to be at their designated posts have been called off to secure other areas around the castle, leaving the main gate unguarded for but a few soliders since it was secured initially at the start of the chaotic mess.

Before being able to enact his plan, Mickey finds himself under siege by a raging Captain Pete, who is starting to go wild crashing into walls and the like. However, while his arch-enemy is in a berserker rage, Mickey attempts to dodge, leap, and rolls out of his opponents way. A few of the hits graze him, causing him to flinch but manages to get a lucky break and rushes out into the courtyard! Having gotten away from Pete for the moment, He storms the gate, taking the front guards by surprise!

*SWISH!*
*CLANG!*
*BOP!*

A few moments later, The King manages to non-lethally dispatch the guards and looks over the front gate, locked! He points his keyblade towards the gate, watching as the magic begins to swirl around and before long the gate is covered in light. The gate begins to raise and the King motions from afar for heroes to come forth, meanwhile preparing for any more oncoming attackers!

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr's body slowly returns to normal...the shadows breaking as light from Jasmine finally reaches him. He looks down at Kaydin. He kicks Kaydin once, "Yeah, well, I don't usually leave wounded deer, but right now.." he says, "my word is worth more than your pathetic life." he says, and turns towards Baigan, who graciously lets them leave. He bows once to him, "Thank you." he says, the gesture was important, and one he took to heart. And he moves to meet up with Jasmine, Avira, and Maria. "Thanks, you two.." he says towards them, and then looks to Avira.

"...Nope, still doesn't suit you."

Pumpkinhead has posed:
"For your information," Pete says, blaming Garland for everything. "I am not a pig-man, I am a Pete!" He preferred Baigan who liked him :(. He whips off his Golbez uniform, revealing his zippertastic armor. "We depart! Heartless!! TEN HUT!"

They intend to march right out the front door. Maleficient isn't going to be happy that a Princess of the Heart escaped but well, he has to pass on this info. Being willing to tell Maleficient bad news is part of why he's her number one guy! Of course, it's not always fun being a dark fairy dragon's number one guy.

He's already dreading it.

Dion Carenze on the other hand slips out during the chaos. He's seen enough. More than enough. More than, really, he's wanted to see.

Jasmine has posed:
"You're welcome," Jasmine murmurs in response to Maira, carefully shifting out of the way of All The Fire Forever. "I'll do that."

Then Pete drops a ceiling on her.

A good half of it is vaporized by the burning light surrounding her, but the rest is more than enough to bury her, and she disappears entirely for several desperately long moments.

Then, with a puff of dust, she bursts out of it with a punch Jean Faraven would be proud of, or at least not deny association with. She's just barely on her feet, but just barely, today, is going to have to be enough. Bowed but not broken, her spirit totally uncowed, she gives Maleficent's servant a long, dismissive look, then turns away.

Jasmine faces Baigan stolidly, the fires of creation lending her five-foot-nuthin' form a little height, her personality lending her a lot of majesty. She wears authority like a cloak; it's easy to imagine her as a Queen sometimes, and now is one of those times.

"You are wrong, your grace," she intones gravely. "Jafar is a pretender to the throne of Agrabah, and shall do you false, as shall all those who consort with Heartless." She casts a finger at the sky, presumably above the castle still and quite visible through the broken ceiling, unless things have gotten REALLY funky. "How many stars have winked out within the last year alone? Make no mistake... the Heartless, and those they serve, will not rest until they have consumed all worlds. You may delay Baron's destruction by siding with them, but you also guarantee it."

She tosses her head imperiously, her hair bouncing awesomely, her headband, crowned with its teal gemstone, refracting her light into rainbows, rainbows everywhere.

"But it is never too late to turn back from that road. If you wish to open negotiations, we will always welcome you as a friend, for all those who wish to live under the sun and stars are united, in the end, against the threat of the Heartless."

The Light continues to coruscate from her, but it's starting to dim. At first, this might imply that it's going out, but no -- she was just SAVING IT UP. It launches what might as well be a blinding grenade at the assembled Baronians and their allies, to cover the retreat.

"Follow the Keyblade wielder! Everybody out!" she suggests to the group, doing just that... rather slowly, and with a limp, but nonetheless. Angantyr also receives a soft 'Thank /you/,' and a few more murmured words, but her focus now is on retreat.

Maira has posed:
When Baigan surprisingly doesn't retaliate, Maira begins to move back toward her friends, glancing over her shoulder and one wing of flames toward Baigan, her expression thoughtful.

It would seem the fight is done. They've rescued Avira.

Now that the danger has passed, or at least paused, the girls sways a bit where she stands, smiling toward Avira, Tyr, Jasmine and Mercade. "We did it..." she says as he flames disperse, the weird bond she'd formed with Uist for those last attacks easing, leaving her voice her own. And her confusion and exhaustion too.

Also, she's sort of naked. She tries to cover herself, but she's too exhausted to be too troubled by it. Of course, it isn't the ideal time to be thanked by a handsome man. Sigh! Maira walks toward the door opened by Mickey (a whole other subject she's going to have to think about later!) grabs a curtain or tapestry from the castle walls, wraps it around herself, and goes to make her exit.

Rubicante has posed:
Sure enough, Rubicante can't find an in to Lenna's song; he can feel the power of the Crystal seeping out of him, across the chamber, and into Lenna. When she pulls off her big finish, he sags heavily onto one knee, staring wordlessly across the chamber at her... and then, slowly, dissolves into embers as he flees the scene.

This leaves the Magus Sisters standing there, shuffling their feet awkwardly and looking back and forth between each other and Lenna.

After a few second, Mindy shrieks, "GENE, PLAY US OFF!"

This draws Lenna's attention, for the first time, to the corner of the chamber, where a Flan sits on a stool in front of a small piano. At Mindy's command, it flops forwards onto the keyboard and begins rolling back and forth, creating a cacophonous storm of notes.

While LEnna is distracted by the piano-playing Flan, the Magus sisters flee the room, running straight past her on their way out. Cindy is the first in the doorway, and she gets stuck, causing a brief traffic jam until a shrieking Mindy throws herself bodily into her oldest sister and sends the trio tumbling out of the chamber in a mass of limbs.

Avira has posed:
Avira's about to join Mercade as backup when Baigan suddenly loses all aggression and starts being reasonable. "Well I was brought here against my will and would be overjoyed to leave this castle, thank you very much." She huffs through her nose and folds her arms over her chest before heeding Mercade's advice. Time to leave.

Mickey has, impressively, cleared the way. Without any further hesitation, she follows the mouse with the keyblade.

"I /know/ Angantyr." Avira flushes bright red as her dark knight guildmate points out her attire yet again. "This is /not/ my profession! ..ahem." Quickly, Avira moves over to the briefly naked Maira and serves as a physical censor bar until a curtain is procured. Just like a good friend/big sister-type figure.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade wastes no time in leaving with the others. He claps Maira on the shoulder in victory as they head for the exit, and he grins. "Good work, Maira! You were awesome!"

He takes a moment to jog over towards the side of Avira. "So, are you okay, Avira? Things got rather confusing in there." He looks over Avira for a moment. "Ummm... nice disguise!" He says, giving Avira the benefit of the doubt.

Maira has posed:
Maira looks up toward Mercade, smiling widely, blushing too. "Th-thanks! So were you! ....What were you even doing here?" she thinks to ask now. "What were any of you doing here for that matter..."

Garland has posed:
Garland gives the group of fleeing heroes a long, thoughtful look. A Princess of Heart, and the King of Disney...both worth having Words with at some point or another. As Baigan makes his declaration and the group retreats, Garland waits for Pete to make his leave beore doing the same, striding into the hall the opposite direction of the heroes and vanishing into the Darkness.

As he had expected...his Apprentice's kidnapped little friend had proven to be far more profitable. Perhaps Garland would have to engineer further such events in the future, but for now, he was happy to profit off the mistakes of others.

Besides, how could the Shadow Lords expect cooperation if Pete and the others bungled everything and pulled strings when all they would need to do is ask? Really, were Garland and Maleficent the only ones with any sort of foresight in this organization..?

King Mickey has posed:
As the objective of the 'operation' appears to be successful, the heroes are beginning their retreat towards the front gate. However, it appears Pete and The Heartless have the same idea as their opponents.

In order to give the others necessary time to retreat, King Mickey takes it upon himself to intercept Pete's forces, along with a little payback of his own for Pete's temper tantrum earlier! The mouse speaks no words and goes right to work! With an impressive display of dexterity, the Keyblade Wielder launches a full scale assault on the heartless by leaping into the fray. Flashes of light burst within the conflict and little shadowy figures go flying, until directly before Pete is the mouse he, oh so, despises!

"Sadly, I can't let you go this way, Pete. This exit is for heroes only!", states The King before he rushes at Pete swiftly! He disappears to the naked eye, unleashing an relentless barrage of slashes from his keyblade against his nemesis!

Before long, The Mouse appears quite aways up from The Captain, keeping a steady balance on top of a rope that is stretched between the castle walls. Beneath him is a large net of crates. The King smiles, looking down at his opponent and with a casual tap, touches the tip of his keyblade upon a small lock.

The small lock resides with a light click and sends the crates falling down upon his opponent and any remaining heartless!

Pumpkinhead has posed:
"Wh--" Pete says.

And then a bunch of crates tumble onto him, crushing his heartless instantly and pinning Pete under a whole bunch of crates. More birds flit around his head.

One of the soldiers takes a picture from a Manhattan cellphone so he can upload it to Mickeydickery.com

"I'll get y'for this, Steamboat King! Nobody humiliates Pete twice!" It's true, usually it's more.

THE DARKNESS RESCUES HIM.

Jasmine has posed:
Jasmine, very briefly, smiles over at Avira, surrounded by her friends and allies -- shining, shimmering, splendid, nearly as much as the radiance that had encompassed her, which has finally, through considerable expenditure of will, been forced back beneath the surface. "I'm glad you're safe," is all she says.

Up on the walls, her eyes linger on the mysterious Mickey, but once it's obvious that he's well away, and able to safely withdraw, she nods.

Then she turns to Angantyr, and departs swiftly in his company.