In a New York Minute: MAP - North

In a New York Minute: MAP - North
Date of Scene:	09 December 2012
Location:	Northern Manhattan
Synopsis:	Negaduck had launched a plan to destroy the northern section of Manhattan with his good friend Bob and with the aid of Mirage. The defenders, Tifa, Aerith, and Yuna, moved to stop the fiends. However, the heroes get a surprise guest who finally comes out of the shadows...
Thanks to:	Negaduck, Mirage
Cast of Characters:	Darkwing Duck, Tifa Lockhart, Yuna, Negaduck, Sho Minamimoto, Aerith, Mirage
Tinyplot:	In a New York Minute

---

Negaduck has posed:
Manhattan, what grand ol place! It's a shame, it'll go without a trace!
Destruction, is the name of the game, erosion, will be all the same!
From the sky, is the sight of a dot! Coming down, like an apricot!
Look up! There it is in the sky! Descending, from up very high!
It's a bomb, with a duck on top! OH GOD! IT'S CRASHING WITHOUT A STOP!

There is Negaduck, high into the sky. Where did he sail from? No one knows. All what is seen that through the stratosphere, Negaduck is riding on top of a bomb that is marked with a 'nuclear radioactive symbol' as well as the symbol of 'Pi' and a piece of Pie.

"WAAAAAHOOOOOOO!!!!"

Negaduck is riding the bomb, taking his fedora off and he swings it about.

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" In his hand, he is munching on a delicious apple pi~ as he drops down.

Where does the bomb land...?

MEANWHILE

There are officers standing guard. They are all about, trying to deal with the Heartless that are about. With the Heartless lurking about, the police have to be on their guard.

"...EVERYONE! BE PREPARED! THOSE DAMNED THINGS COULD COME AFTER US AT ANY MOMENT!"

"Sir...?"
The police look up and horror fill their eyes.

*KAAAAABBOOOOOMMM!!!!*

Everyone from far away can see the sight of a large mushroom cloud. Not only that, but the spreading of pie crusts and fillings.

The police have been scattered, explosions and everything making wrecks of the cars. Whatever was there is also coated with apple pie fillings. Maybe a bit of pumpkin spice pie.

"Wh--what happened?"

The lieutenant tries to pull himself up, "...Someone set us up the bomb, sir."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart knew there was more coming after last evening's mayhem. She didn't have much time to rest either, even if comfortable at the hotel, she still had the scorch marks from the fight, and generally more tired than usualy.

And also more angry.

She still doesn't understand what's going on, why they are attacking the city from that many angles. Its quite the annoyance, and she doesn't stand for that either, she's not letting an entire city of people get let to waste.

She wasn't close enough to be taken by the explosion, but close enough to see the pieces of pies flying everywhere "... Pies? What the..." She looks over to Aerith "That must be our cue." She means the explosion here. But if all it was is an explosion of flavor, she'd be fine with that ~_~

Mirage has posed:
Certainly, several Heartless DO lurk nearby, but just as the pie-filled bombs descend from the sky, the creatures suddenly seem to "rally" and swarm, taking advantage of the downed officers. The majority, however, rush for the 23rd Preinct headquarters.

It'd be a real shame if the police officer's 'base', so to speak, was annihilated. Within, the dispatchers have been working hard, nonstop, coordinating the various emergency responses. Technicians have been cleaning and assembling guns, keeping bullets in stock, riot shields handed out, and other amenities that the brave officers need. Though the situation has rapidly been growing dire, their determination has served as a beacon of hope and an example of Manhattan's fighting spirit.

It made Mirage SICK. Such heroism could not be allowed to continue.

"Hmhmm." she cackles in the wake of the pastry-powered explosion before her as she sits atop the very building the 23rd Precinct headquarters is held in. The very building she was just now direction massive swarms of crocodile Heartless to attack. "Well I guess that duck can be useful~"

Her jaws stretch open and her tongue flicks out, licking a stray bit of apple off her face.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blinked for a moment, wondering if he was quite insane... which she had no doubt of.

"Come on... let's take care of business. Again." Fortunately for her, no one had really marked her as a target, which meant she came into this fully prepared to stomp someone for their ignorance. Aerith was tired of this siege already, and wanted it to stop. The only way to get it to stop faster was to take this immediate and pressing issue off the hands of the police. So she strode in behind Tifa, her staff at the ready.

Yuna has posed:
Suddenly, Yuna.

She's an unassuming sight in a nightmare city of shadows and monsters; she seems to have missed the memo about blending in, because her deep blue skirt swirls around her with every measured pace, her pure white tie-on sleeves, descending into sakura pink, fly out behind her, and her well-worn traveling boots hit concrete with a steady tap tap tap.

The boots are pretty normal, actually.

Her rod is clasped loosely in her left hand, her wrist seemingly limp and fluid; not exactly a fighter's stance by any measure of the imagination. But the Al Bhed swirling green, and Spiran ocean blue of her eyes are calm, even grim; facing destruction on this scale is, in fact, the summoner's peculiar specialty.

There's no way to reach the bomb in time, it seems, but she arrives shortly thereafter. Recognizing Tifa, she gives her and the other girl a polite nod, then looks over what's left of the emergency services (translated into her mind as Crusader corps) outpost with a jaundiced eye.

"If we give them time to regroup, not all will be lost."

She raises her weapon... and waits for the tide to come in.

Sho Minamimoto has posed:
ELSEWHERE...

The malevolent maniacal Reaper, Sho Minamimoto, narrows his eyes at his target. He smiles, slowly savoring the moment as he prepares his plan of attack. Everything is meticulously calculated for optimal performance. He raises a knife, the unsuspecting target soon to face his true wrath.

There are two swift strokes, and the spoils of victory are lifted. A microphone is grabbed, and Sho begins breakdancing on the roof of the Manhattan skyscraper, devouring a perfectly sliced piece of cherry pie. "THREE! ONE! FOUR ONE FIVE!" Sho raps out, devouring the pie as he dances.

"NINE TWO SIX FIVE THREE FIVE!"

Because when you're Sho Minamimoto, /every day/ is Pi Day.

Negaduck has posed:
"...We get s--..." A pie is flung towards one of the officer's face, sending him flying backwards.

The chief blurrily looks up. He can see the feline enchantress. But then, a well known foe, or a surprise foe show up. The eyes widen. "It's you!!!"

Suddenly, music is playing in the air. A bit of bongo drums and trumpets play in the air.

Negaduck emerges trough the midst of pie explosion.

o/` "HEEEEEEEELLLLLLOOO!!!! o/`
o/` "GEEEEEEEEEEEEENTLEEEEEEEMEN!" o/`

He stands in front of the chief, both hands to hips.

o/` "All your town belongs to me! I will rule!" o/`
o/` "I will reclaim my spotlight!" o/`

He holds a sheet of paper with the list of Public Enemy #1, his face is pasted on #1.

o/` "Because I am cruel!" o/`

Then, he snaps his attention towards Mirage.

o/` "I am dealing with a cat, at least it's not a rat!" o/`

Negaduck rolls his eyes. He takes a whiff in the air, feeling the entire atmosphere.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods to Yuna as she gets to the scene of the explosion. Well, what's left of the area. There's pie pieces everywhere. Its like a a-pie-calypse.

At least she didn't say that one outloud. She's had enough snickers from her choco suit and kweh-talking.

She moves quickly over to where Mirage is, but keepign some distance. She doesn't know who that cat-girl is, and she can't be sure she's not the culprit either. At least until she sees the duck-vilain. She rubs her temples a bit with a hand "Not him again." She didn't enjoy the Black Friday trampling she got last time thanks to him. At least he can't call out for sales again, unless its for exploded pie.

There's probably someone that would buy it though.

Mirage has posed:
Her eyes glistening with malice, Mirage watches the scene below unfold, amused. It wasn't just the panicked screams of officers as heartless crocodiles threw themselves upon them. It wasn't just the breaking of glass and twisting of steel as the soldiers of the Shadow Lords march on.

The sheer enthusiastic, hateful glee of Negaduck as he made his appearance was adorable. Invigorating. As invigorating as the beautiful world-ending lighting crashing around her, magnifying the dark powers of the feline enchantress even further. With a cackle, Mirage pushes off the building. She notably, does not fall, and simply floats there in the air.

o/` "Oh hello there, little duck!" o/`
o/` "I see you've got your self a reputation!" o/`

Green flames cover the sorceresses claws and with equal gleeful malice, she starts to rain destruction down upon the officers and those brave heroines that have come to assist them.

o/` "But you're a long way to evil incarnate~!" o/`

Negaduck receives a toothy, mocking grin from Mirage.

o/` "So make with the evisceration!" o/`

Aerith has posed:
The initial attack came from cat-lady first, and Aerith got a move on, running toward her instead of away. She rolled right underneath the magical attack, readied her own as she came out of it, and flung a sphere of ice right at her. No words necessary, just make these people be quiet and leave them alone.

Yuna has posed:
Fire streams at Yuna...

...and explodes around her, green meeting red, as an enormous monster bursts out of the street, sending chunks of pavement flying. Enormous muscles ripple underneath his brown skin, while cheerful flames account for his mane and drip from his fangs.

Collecting the green, he seems to somehow transmute it into a more natural shade, then hurls it back... with interest.

While behind Mirage, another aeon has appeared in a brilliant flash of prismatic light; rainbow feathers go flying as it descends into a steep dive, beak-first, at her back.

"Thank you," the summoner whispers to both of them. Then she sets her stubborn-looking chin, the dance that brought the two of them here stilling at last, and glares up at Mirage... opens her mouth... and sings.

Let it not be said Ruin is the only one with songstresses. Restoration's Got Talent.

o/` What can I do for you? I -- can't -- hear -- you!! o/`

Negaduck has posed:
Behold, a great horrible storm! To the duck, it is beauty that has formed.
The Quacking Chaos looks ahead, staring at the storm being fed.
As the shards of ice and darkness comes down, Negaduck can't help but go to town.
As bolts strike down towards Negaduck, the power expands to ensure his luck.

"o/` Pooowwweerrrr, I feel it's might! o/`"
"o/` I will share, my hatred of blight! o/`"
Negaduck cannot help but to cut his eyes at the sorceress as she tells him of his path of darkness.

"o/` Oh, don't worry about me now, oho no! o/`"
"o/` Before you even know it, ALL WILL KNOW!! o/`"

While the officers are trying to put up a fight, Negaduck is able to see the sight of Tifa. That girl who disarmed him. Oh no, Negaduck has not forgotten about him.

"o/` Mwahahaha! o/`"
"o/` Mwahahaha! o/`"

Negaduck runs over towards Tifa, likely hopping on and off of each officer along the way. When he springs off of the last guard, Negaduck is coming forth with a flying kick towards Tifa's face.

"o/` Oh I rememeber you well, you were sure swell, but I shall crush you and toss you down the weeeeeellllll!!!! o/~"

Flying webbed foot to Tifa's face.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
The barmaid apparently was caught off-guard, between the spells being fired off and her head-grabbing at having to fight a large bipedal duck (again), she would rather be anywhere else.

And then her foot slips on the remains of a pie crust, which doesn't give her enough leverage to actually avoid the quack-fu attack... she doesn't even think its proper martial arts.

At any rate, its face meets webbed foot, which is mostly like a slap when it hits flat like that. The SMACK sound is pretty loud too.

But then before the duck can land from it, she grabs it by the foot, lifts him up with her right arm, holding him there as she goes for a series of punches, using him like a punching bag "Bad duck! Bad! Kicking people in the face as a greeting is not proper for any kind of animal!" >_<# PunchPunchPunch, METEODRIVE.

Mirage has posed:
Ice magic strikes Mirage as she hovers in the air and she hardly seems to budge. It certainly does have an effect though, the next blast of green fire she was about to unleashed becoming snuffed in her hands. Sneering, she gestures at Aerith and a surge of darkness suddenly punches out of the shadows at the Cetra's feet.

o/` "Will they know, I wonder now~" o/`
o/` "Because it would be such a shame..." o/`

Mirage doesn't seem to notice the appearance of the aeon behind her, too focused on both her lovely singing and the curious, flame-encumbered monster that Yuna just summoned. Mirage holds her hands out, catching the returned fire in them with little difficulty, reclaiming the magic.

o/` "If you don't reveal your true self.." o/`
o/` "And give these worthless peons your real name!" o/`

Oh yes, Negaduck, Mirage knows you've been masquerading as your heroic counterpart lately!

She might be getting ready to say more but Valefore suddenly slams into her back. Unlike the previous two bouts of magic, this actually moves her in the air and she tumbles forwards once before quickly righting herself with an indignant look on her face. "You are THROWING OFF MY RHYTHM!" she hisses out of song at Yuna, rearing a hand back. When she brings it down, three clawmarks rend the very air before her, slicing through stone and police car alike where she hits. The other hand of hers sweeps around her, throwing back the enlarged fireball that Yuna had, in turn, thrown back at her.

To complicate the situation further, the crocodile heartless on the ground also start to turn on the pair of ladies that dare make a stand against Mirage.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's training with Tifa... was beginning to pay off.

This was in the back of her mind as she slipped the incoming claw swipe with uncanny grace... and prepared her next spell.

Aerith called forth the Lifestream with her will, channeling the pale green streams of Spirit Energy toward her materia and bringing another spell to the forefront. "Sorry, I'm not so good at singing." She lifted her left hand toward the evil cat lady. "But I can do /this/!"

Fire bad. Fire very bad.

Yuna has posed:
o/` I pictured myself somewhere far in my heart that day o/`
o/` It becomes dark in the distance, but I can no longer return o/`

Yuna blinks but sings on, as a pie-covered duck explodes with Quack-Fu onto Tifa, and narrowly sidesteps that fracas before she, too, is covered in clotted cream. Ifrit's bulk shields her from the worst of it; indeed, he yanks her straight out of the path of Mirage's retaliation as well, settling her lightly back down on her feet when the storm of Evil Incarnate's fury has passed. With his other hand, he swats those cat-claws of energy out of the air almost dismissively with his own, rather larger, monsternails.

Has Mirage's complaint about timing gotten Yuna to reconsider her actions? With a wave of her rod that's somehow worked into the shift of her hips that's in-time with her music, she releases Ifrit from the battle, turning o/` Thank you, my friend o/` into a quick vocal improv solo.

He fades into ghostly wisps of light that are EXTREMELY FAMILIAR to Aerith, then blinks out of sight, all at once.

o/` The shape I saw in my dream is different from everything o/`
o/` I become dizzy from reality o/`

Valefor, meanwhile, keeps up the offensive, staying in close and boxing with his bizarre feathered batwings; he skillfully avoids Aerith's shots as they come in, then swoops back in to pepper Mirage with obnoxious stings of laser fire.

As it turns out, this is because he's buying time -- on the ground, Yuna steps and swirls, her dance as ancient a ritual as the pop music isn't; past and future, unified within her slender frame.

A few sakura blossoms blowing by is the only warning, before the next level up in bodyguard assistance has arrived... and Yojimbo attempts to insert his wakizashi into Evil's face, probably with a muttered comment about how there's more than one way to skin a cat.

o/` The feeling of swaying in the real world o/`
o/` I don't want to lose o/`
o/` The only thing I can hear from my heart is to run o/`

She's not running. She never runs, except from the combined might of Bevelle, and that was running /forward/ towards her destiny in Zanarkand, not away. Some might construe this as a character flaw, though it fits in nicely with her general martyrdom vibe.

o/` You are not alone! o/`

Negaduck has posed:
After Negaduck manages to give Tifa a flying kick, the duck moves to land. However, Tifa manages to grab a nice hold of his foot before he can even make purchase to the ground. Once Tifa gets a hold of him and brings him within her pounding range, Negaduck grunts and oofs as she slams her fist upon him.

"You..." *POW!* You can see his eyes pop up. "STUPID--" *POWEYESPOP* "HAIRLESS" *POWEYESPOP*

Negaduck's going to drop the beats down. Or rather, an anvil.

Suddenly for Tifa, it's an anvil, which lands an inch nearby. Nevertheless, negaduck is sent flying across the ground with a harsh thud.

Of course, the music changes to a more popish beat. Negaduck grits his teeth.

o/` You know what cat? o/`
o/` You're correct now. o/`
o/` Time to toss this farce o/`
o/` Out. of the. Wind. Dow! o/`

The purple fedora is tossed up into the air, leaving for Negaduck to put his red fedora hat. As Negaduck bring his hat to his head, his head bows low.

o/` Time to shed the light. o/`
o/` To claim my fame. o/`
o/` And know the name. o/`
o/` Of Nega Duck! o/`

It becomes dark for one moment. Suddenly, spotlight, out of nowhere, shines down on Negaduck, who now sports his yellow suit Back up behind him are a small group of Shadows. The Shadows begin dancing as Negaduck walks over to Tifa.

o/` You hairless mammal, you got me good. o/`
o/` But it's time that we finally start cutting to the chase! o/`

He whip out a rocket launcher, pointing it towards Tifa.

o/` I am tired of this charade, it's time to educate you! o/`

And, multiple rockets are fired out. In the midst of it all is a chansaw that is flinging towards Tifa. All the while that Negaduck is laughing. There's even a flaming chainsaw.

Mirage has posed:
o/` "Feel free to hold your tongue, little girl." o/` Mirage sings to Aerith in a mockingly sweet tone. A hand is waved dismissively at her, giving off the impression that Mirage thinks the Cetra is clearly beneath her notice, even though she just dodged out of the way of her terrifying magic.

This arrogance gets her singed and results in a loud yowl from Mirage. Turning to face her fully, her eyes blaze with hatred.

Once that eye contact is made, Mirage's will suddenly plunges headfirst into Aerith's mind. The contact only lasts a second for Mirage, but what results for Aerith may feel like it lasts a lifetime.

Illusion settles in and all around her, the world fades away. There is darkness about her, but a familiar green glow beneath her feet. Familiar voices call out...the voices of the lifestream. They call out in agony and pain. They scream for salvation and cry in despair. Gradually, the glow fades, and as it does, the voices come together...

...and blame Aerith. Why didn't she help them? Why couldn't she save the planet? It wasn't enough. It was never enough. And now the world was swallowed by darkness, because she couldn't triumph. The lifestream's glow vanishes abruptly, leaving Aerith alone, in total darkness.

Then the small whispering movements of heartless start all around her, closing in, reaching out.

It's all an illusion, but it feels so real. Real enough to fool the body into believing that it is happening.

For Mirage, now that she's alerted to Valefor's presence, avoiding the birdlike creature becomes much easier. In short order, she demonstrates for Yuna that she can teleport herself short distances. Not only does she evade Valefor in this manner, but Yojimbo as well, his wakizashi meeting nothing but empty air.

o/` That's Mirage to you! o/`
o/` Remember, if you please! o/`
o/` Now if you don't mind, there is a hero here. o/`
o/` To be brought to her knees! o/`

Mirage vanishes again, though this time she appears directly in front of Yuna, mere inches away, looking into her eyes, a nasty sort of smile creeping up onto her face. "Your guilt..." she whispers, in an oddly knowing tone. "/Exquisite/." No illusion is brought before Yuna. Maybe one isn't even needed.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart acks as an anvil STOMPS down right in front of her, clipping her hand, making her drop the duck as she was using it as a punching bag. Well, there goes the advantage. She grrs, pulling back as the duck does the same, but only to see it... pull out a rocket launcher...

=_= Why did she have to fight that singing duck today. She wants to stuff him with a box of rusty nails, kick the stuffing out of him along with the rest and then plant his head over her fireplace. That'd be nice.

And then BOOM. The explosion sends her flying upward...

Right at the next building, she flips around before hitting it, legs dampening the impact as she lands on a small ledge there... and then rushes back down at the duck, leg first to knock that rocket launcher out of his grasp, and then kicking the duck himself as she lands, attempting to send the duck upward with her flashy kicks.

Aerith has posed:
The screams.

Again and again, they cried out for vengeance, restoration, help, death.

And they all pointed fingers at her, placing the blame, the ruin of her world, solely on her. She was responsible for them, she was to have taken care of them. But no, she had to collapse onto the street like a helpless child, writhing in pain and agony! Still they cursed her, blamed her...

And yet, she stood and took it, her features serene.

"If this is the best you can throw at me..." Her eyes narrowed with focus. "You'll have to do better than that!"

The illusion shattered, crumbled, and her world turned white... only for her to fall onto her hands and knees, physically assaulted by the mental torment. And yet it wasn't as bad as it would have been.

She stood and made to brush her clothing off. "Really now, you don't think I've been through that?" The materia flashed and glowed, and Aerith executed her defensive wards along with a healing spell. "The guilt? The suffering? I /felt/ my world die, I could /hear/ those voices more times than you could imagine." She stalked forward. "And you know what? They made me stronger for it."

Yuna has posed:
Mirage is absolutely right: no illusions are necessary.

Her words hit Yuna like a knife to the heart, a blow that no yojimbo can deflect, no matter how skilled. She staggers back, clutching her rod close to her body, hanging on to it for dear life, as a series of post-traumatic flashbacks surround her, more effective than any magic.

How fiercely she'd stood up for the fallacies of Yevon.
How, even with aeons, she couldn't stop Sin from committing massacre after massacre.
How, during two long Sendings, the faces of the dead of Kilika, of Operation Mi'hien, rose up to meet her, to surround her. Their hands tugged at her skirt and tore at her hair. 'Why must we leave our loved ones behind?' they asked. 'Who are you to take us away from them?'
How Seymour and Mika tried to use her for their own ends, and in so doing, revealed the cancer at the heart of her faith.
How Yunalesca shattered that faith completely, leaving her with no ground to stand on.
How Hades proceeded to shatter her world /literally/, and how she fell through the Darkness, having failed every single person in her world. Especially her friends, most of whom seem to have been lost forever.
But she imagines them there with her, and their eyes don't accuse. They open their mouth, and the words that come out are full of hope.
"You mustn't give up now." "Step it up, ya?!" "Stand ready, Yuna." "Yunie... we'll always be with you!!!" "Yuna... it's okay... to cry."

Tears fall from her polychromatic eyes, pouring down her high cheekbones, even after she closes them.

"I don't need faith in my lord," she whispers. "I have faith in my friends."

And a glimmer of light responds to her prayers, surrounding the three young women with the feeling of connection.

Yuna's eyes snap open.

o/` What can I do for you? I - CAN - HEAR - YOU! o/`

And the beat lives on...

Darkwing Duck has posed:
The site of the wreckage is a terrible sight indeed. Upon hearing of the various heinous actions happening over the course of the night, Drake Mallard - no, DARKWING DUCK has decided that he can no longer side aside and let these things continue on! The music resonates through the city, but the situation still seems dire. Especially with one Negaduck added to the mix.
It was a good idea to lay low while his name was dragged in the mud, perhaps, but it seems like even Negaduck couldn't deal with his own medicine, if one incident of /saving poor homeless puppies/ caused him to crack like this.
Perhaps it is that very moment when Negaduck reveals his true nature that a shadowy figure swings through the sky, hanging from a rope connected... somewhere up above, and a hand snatches the discarded purple hat out of the air - and that's when the shadow is gone.
Where Tifa had been earlier was perfect, however, and the exact spot Darkwing wanted for himself - the anvil makes a perfect 'stage,' in fact.
"I am the terror that flaps in the night!" That echoy voice can be heard throughout the area as plumes of purple smoke roll across the street, coming together to obscure his selected perch. A dark shadow can be seen within, sweeping that wide-brimmed fedora through the air and setting it upon his head with one hand, and he quickly sweeps the cape around his body, leaving nothing of his face visible but his eyes and mask.
He continues on, not even bothering to sing this time around, as the smoke clears out to reveal the duck dressed in purple and blues! "I am the vocalist who drowns out your wub-wub!"
Isn't this the same duck who has been said to be Public Enemy Number 1?
No! It is NOT. (even if he looks like him. sssh!)
"I am...!" He quickly poses, standing on the anvil, and throwing the cape out so that it billows behind him. "The -REAL- Darkwing Duck!" ---and he quickly points at his evil twin. "And I am here to stop your foul feloneous feats, Negaduck!"

Mirage has posed:
"Hmmmmm~" Mirage drawls as Aerith shrugs off the illusion with little issue. Seems that one is going to need a bit more elaborate stimuli to really shatter. "Well aren't you just so adorable and determined. I hope you enjoy going through that again." The enchantress sneers, "Because it'll be happening soon enough."

Defensive spells and healing? Well that was just completely unacceptable. Mirage makes a closed fist with her hand and murmurs something. Her magic responds in the form of a pillar of green fire that shoots up beneath both Aerith and Yuna. Strangely, the fire not only burns, but manages to feel slimy at the same time. Its as if it left behind an unwanted film on their skins.

Smiling still, she stalks after Yuna personally, hips swaying as she walks through the air about a foot off the ground. "It must be so hard for you." she purrs, "To keep on living with so much guilt." She reaches out to Yuna, her claws sharp, "Wouldn't it just be easier to give up? To remove the weight of responsibility from your shoulders?"

Mirage hears the words 'Faith in friends.' and her stomach twists in revulsion. Furiously, she backhands the summoner

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's face remained dispassionate even as her senses pinged the incoming attack. She executed a turn to her right, just as the gout of flame shoots up from below her. "You know... you really need to stop talking and /pay attention/!" The gems imbedded in her staff light up again... only for Aerith to let loose a wave of healing energies on herself, Tifa, and their new companion.

Then another duck comes in... and she shakes her head. "I'll let you deal with the annoyance... whoever you are." She had no time for formalities.

Yuna has posed:
Yuna only narrowly escapes the pillar of fire; it catches the edge of her skirt alight, but the crushing rain from the heavens douses it immediately, in a rare moment of 'something the Shadow Lords are doing today working out for her.'

She seems a little dazed as Mirage stalks after her, and winces at each of her words... but brings her rod up, at the last moment, to parry that backhand.

Then she twists it around behind her, and spins back out of range. Mirage may have stopped singing, but something about it just feels so... right, here in Phantasia Manhattan. She goes with it.

Besides, the song just got to the really good part. It's like it was written for Kingdom Hearts.

o/` The only thing I can do now is believe... o/`
o/` The truth is in my heart! o/`

Aerith's healing fills her with strength, and the arrival of Darkwing Duck, with hope. She smiles up at them, Spira's ray of light, and for once it is founded in more joy than the need to hide pain.

Ifrit and Valefor re-emerge from the ground with a vicious crossfire; the former summons a tremendous gout of fire that slashes across the field viciously, while the latter opens its beak, revealing an energy ray. It's a bird with a frekkin' LA-ZER, man. Said ray creates a giantic X with the fiery magic; the combined detonation is highly unfriendly, to say the least.

Mirage has posed:
Aerith's words seem to have the exact opposite effect on Mirage at the moment. Maybe it's because she's busy healing right now, but Mirage doesn't pay all that much attention to Aerith at the moment.

Not when she has a fun new toy to play with. Though yes, she did stop singing-or she just might be waiting on Negaduck to catch up before continuing. What was taking that duck so long anyway....?

Mirage glances over her shoulder and spots DARKWING DUCK. "Oho, so there are two now." she laughs snidely, fully recognizing this duck as the hero that Negaduck had been impersonating. Why, they could be twins! If Negaduck was a dopey hero FULL OF DISGUSTING HOPE.

So about that whole 'paying attention' thing...

Ifrit and Valefor converge upon her with twin blasts of magic that cross streams, with Mirage aimed at the center of the X. In the resultant blast, the feline enchantress disappears completely, a smouldering black spot left on the ground where she was floating seconds ago.

"Hmmm." Mirage says thoughtfully, now appearing standing atop the police headquarters building once more, dark power swirling around her. "Perhaps I should stop holding back."

Negaduck has posed:
As Negaduck launches Tifa into the air, the duck looks up at her, "VON VOYAGE, YOU HAIRLESS TWIT!" Negaduck sneers, then he smiles once more. Then, he starts to turn away from Tifa, discounting her the moment that she is supposed to hit it.

...
...

"WHY IS THERE NO SPLATTERING SOUND?!" Negaduck turns to see that Tifa rushes back down to him, moving to knock his rocket launcher off of his grasp. The impact sends that rocket launcher clattering tot he ground. "What?!" Then, Tifa is moving to strike him high into the air. That foot sends him striking pretty hard. His bill lifts up as he soars, "AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHH!!!!"

As Negaduck soars in the air, reeling from the pain, Negaduck is imagining many things. Ahh, sweet death. Sweet destruction. Destroying everything in his path. Then, the thoughts of shipping LEXUS to Abu Dhabi while Garland, Maleficent, and all of the Shadow Lords are bowing before his greatness.
KABOOOM! Those lasers and the eruption of flames does its mark on Negaduck. As the cross-fire release those X style magic, the cross-blast leaves Negaduck' suit an entire mess. Negaduck himself is fried. And yet, he dreams big.

...Yet, all what snaps him out of his delusion is the sound of a familiar voice.

'I am the terror that flaps in the night!'

The eyes snap open.

O_O

As Darkwing Duck finishes his introduction, Negaduck, in mid-air, is starting to become consumed with that black energy. Negaduck, However, is finding himself erupted with that dark energy that seethes over him. As the light continues to fade from his body, his eyes become red.

"Nooo... No..... No.... no no no no...."
"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Negaduck sets himself upright in mid-air, both arms spread about as the darkness dispels around him. The darkness flows around Negaduck. Gone is that yellow and red color. Within Negaduck, the body is black and the eyes are glowing white. He is somewhat similar to the FIRST Negaduck that Darkwing Duck met.

"....I will show you all what happens when I get serious..."

As a hand rises, Negaduck ends his finger pointing towards Tifa and Darkwing Duck. From underneath him, the dark portal ripples open. Heartless are erupting and casted out like locusts. The darkness is drawing out towards Darkwing Duck and Tifa. As the Heartless roar into existence, they ripple and tear out to the group. Some of them are even wielding chainsaws.

"Fall into the Darkness...!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart cartwheels off to the side after sending the duck flying with her strong kick. Well, not quite literally flying, this duck doesn't fly, but still ends up being airborne...

And then another duck joins in.

She looks at Negaduck.
Then at Darkwing.

Then at Negaduck again.

"... Are you two related? Like illegitimate brothers or something?" ~_~

Nevermind that, she has a duck to took up either way. She takes a moment to ready up some spell, trying to ready for the next attack instead. Sometimes you have to take a step back to better attack after all. She helps out by spreading it to her allies at the same time, since everyone has been getting battered up.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and fired up one of her spells. "Good. Don't try all that nonsense again, you won't get anywhere." She unleashed a sphere of flames again, hoping to make Bad Kitty up there lose her cool. All the while, she steeled herself, preparing for something big...

Yuna has posed:
Yuna frowns, worriedly, at Negaduck's transformation and thinking with portals -- nods gratefully but solemnly, in turn, when Tifa fills her with magic as familiar as an underwater kiss -- then looks up at Mirage; she's a little put out that Ifrit and Valefor's stream-crossing, in Manhattan, didn't summon a trademarked tire mascot (or at least hit the catwitch!) but it singed Negaduck, and that's not nothing.

"You know what?" she asks, finally setting her feet in a firm, Let's Get Serious stance, overcoming the worst of her pain, "So should I."

That's right, kids, she's not left-handed /either/.

Spinning her rod, an ice-cold breeze makes a left down Fifth Avenue and pours between the buildings, fanning Aerith's flames. It catches frozen rain in midair, and intensifies, and when Shiva finally appears, she's about twice as large as normal.

Sharing a grin, aeon tosses veil to summoner, and summoner catches it gracefully.

Then the fayth that struck down Seymour (the first time) tosses her heavy, manibraided hair, and blows Mirage a little kiss.

Before the torrential blast of ice has even had a chance to clear (and reveal whether or not the sorceress is trapped inside it)... it's shattered from above, Yojimbo, who never really left, stepping back out of the shadows katana-first to make his mark in the most dramatic -- and deadly -- fashion possible.

Over the bell-like tone of the explosion, in a sort of soprano descant, Yuna belts her little heart out:

o/` The feeling of swaying in the real world o/`
o/` Holds me up o/`
o/` You taught me everything I know o/`
o/` That is me now o/`
o/` So, I am not alone! o/`

Darkwing Duck has posed:
See? Yuna's got it right! It takes a great and awesome hero like Darkwing Duck to inspire hope in people! He's just amazing like that. He even takes a moment to give Negaduck that broad smug grin as he sets his fists at his sides, in a very heroic manner. ...but it doesn't last long.
He loses the poise entirely as Aerith doesn't know who he is. "Didn't you hear me!?" He doesn't sound so much like a hot shot, this time, waving a fist in the air. "I am the terror, and all of that! You know... that's what the speech is for and all!" He doesn't get to finish until Tifa asks her question and Darkwing just... stares at her.
"This is all your fault, Negaduck! You shouldn't hav-" He suddenly cuts off with that ever-so-brave, "eep!"
Rule #1: Never stop paying attention to Negaduck. Especially when he's angry. Because an angry Negaduck does horrible things. Like. What he's doing now. Uh... There's a quick, seething breath as the duck panicks a bit at their new situation. "We'll talk about this later!!" Darkwing has a quick shout to Tifa, before he quickly starts to scramble and dodge, and avoid the summoned heartless. He let one world get swallowed into darkness. It's not going to happen to another while Darkwing Duck is here! ...at least, it won't once he's done running away.
Heartless scramble and grab, and attempt to swipe and cut. Darkwing somehow, manages to get through, even some catching onto that awesome cape, unfortunately... but he remains unscathed! He pulls out the gas gun and quickly fires it into the crowd of Heartless - the cartridge flies through the air and explodes, getting glue all over them. "Why don't you stick around for awhile?!" He reloads the gun and whirls around to take aim at his arch-nemesis! --and shoots a classic bomb in Negaduck's direction. The fuse sizzles away as it soars through the air, while Darkwing calls out in a sing-song voice, "Hey, Negsy! You shouldn't let your temper blow up like that!" o/`

Negaduck has posed:
The look on Negaduck's face is filled with a snarl. The anger is erupting along Negaduck as he finds that the Heartless, all soaring towards Tifa and Darkwing Duck, do not make their purchase of intent. In the face of this situation, Negaduck's eyes are glowing red.

"You useless...."

The glowing red eyes soon loom over towards Tifa and Darkwing Duck as they still remain before him. Tifa's question earns a snarl from Negaduck.

"Are those jugs in front of you where your braincells are at?! That dweeb and I are not brothers!"

The darkness erupts around Negaduck, then he descends towards the ground completely. Upon his landing, Darkwing Duck pulls out his gas gun. "Oho... that little gun. What do you thin---GHNK!!" That glue makes its mark on Negaduck, having him stick into the air. And then the classic bomb has him soaring to the air, "ARRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Then, Negaduck draws the Heartless to come back to him. Upon signal, all of the Heartless return to their master. As they form into a giant plane, Negaduck is just releasing a blast of a giant anvil towards Tifa to knock her down. And should that be successful...

"PERHAPS IT'S TIME TO STEAMROLL YOU BOTH!"

Negaduck's going to run both Tifa and Darkwing Duck with the tank.

In the meanwhile....

His eyes draw towards Yuna.

e_e

For now... *KAMIKAZE ON TIFA AND DARKWING*

Mirage has posed:
Calmly, Mirage lifts a hand and parts the magical fire around her form, the flames sent by Aerith barely doing much to deter or even hurt the enchantress.

What she's far more concerned about are these magical beasts that Yuna is capable of commanding. Now Mirage is no stranger to magical beasts-but normally, she does not encounter someone who is capable of interacting with so many different ones. Summoners as they were in the World of Ruin, simply did not exist in Agrabah!

Ice may be the answer to Yuna and Aerith's woes. Mirage has already demonstrated capability of manipulating fire. The enormous blast of ice from Shiva does accomplish exactly what she had intended. Left behind on top of the building is an enormous ice crystal containing Mirage, frozen in a shocked pose with her back slightly arched and her claws in the air.

Yojimbo steps forward, draws his sword, and there is a flash of light. The top half of the ice crystal slowly slides down and hits the roof. However...

...the crystal is empty.

"That was unpleasant."

Her voice comes from behind both Aerith and Yuna now. Should they turn in enough time, they'll notice that Mirage still has ice clinging to her clothing. But just as they turn, they'll also find themselves on the business end of her glowing green clawmark blasts. Even if they don't hit, the magic continues, bisecting what remains of police cars were left, smashing into buildings and taking out the host of front windows to the 23rd.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart jumps on top of the tank as it rolls toward her. What's with this duck anyway, its all heavy artillery and what not. She's not used to this, but she's managing up at least. She lands on the canon, and runs along the tube toward Negaduck planted on top of it.

You know what's coming next, right?

More punches and kicks off course. "I wouldn't know if you're brothers or not, you look at the same with different clothes, that top hatted duck had more difference than the two of you!" She sends a low kick to the duck, hoping to knock him off its feet before punching him back down unto the tank's reinforced armor.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith gets knocked back by the force of the claw swipes, falling onto her upper back as the damage hits home. Yet and still she gets up, her face a mask of determination. "Was it now? Then you're gonna love this!"

She called forth the Lifestream... only for all of the materia in her staff to go dark, the gleam from the gems shutting off. It seems even they have abandoned her...

All except one. The one in her ribbon, which now lights like a beacon.

"You remember all that talk about me being stronger because of what I've been through?" She smiled, and it was not at all pleasant. "Here's the result."

She raised her right hand and, without pretense or flourish, called up a sphere of pure light, pale blue mingled with white, and fired.

The results... could potentially be devastating.

Yuna has posed:
When Shiva and Yojimbo visit great violence upon Lady Bastet, Yuna doesn't smile, but she does look grimly satisfied. When the voice comes, the three of them are ready for it, not at all surprised that this creature, like the grand one they're accustomed to, has a lot of fight in her -- Shiva breathes another great blast of ice to intercept some of the blasts, and Yojimbo parries most of the rest, but neither of them escape totally unscathed.

They both fade away, into more of those quietly howling motes of light, leaving only the summoner behind, so tiny in comparison, standing firmly between sorceress and the last of the Crusaders.

She faces Mirage and salutes her with the rod -- holding it horizontally across her face, and running one slender hand from end to end.

The feeling of rising power is palpable; already the very air vibrates, hairs stand on end, and the sad remnants of the precinct wondering if /this/ is the way the world ends.

Mirage has posed:
Holy looks like it definitely hit, but much like before, the enchantress seems to have barely budged. Her fur, however, is standing on end, not unlike what an agitated cat might do when sprayed with a squirtbottle. "You clearly have not suffered enough." Mirage pronounces condescendingly.

Funny Yuna should mention the world ending.

"Let me change that." Mirage lifts her hands, inky darkness swirling around her claws, which spreads out suddenly.

Both Aerith and Yuna, seperately, will find themselves completely alone on the abandoned streets of Manhattan. These streets look exactly as they did seconds ago, with the officers, Heartless, dueling ducks, and Tifa removed. The silence is incredible, stretching on for a few seconds before it is interrupted by the shifting of crumbled bricks. The sky above has gone completely dark, the moon and stars missing.

Then they see it. That spreading, circling cloud originating from the Empire State building. Sound, perhaps true sound, begins to return as lightning strikes between the clouds, then down from the clouds to the skyline. Buildings begin to crumble.

The shadows move. Thousands of yellow-eyes peer out from them. They peer from every doorway, every window, around every corner. In that instant, they both know. This is the population of Manhattan.

This is their fate.

They do not cry out in despair like this, their great yellow eyes uncomprehending. There is only one thing they understand, and that is both Yuna and Aerith are baring light-filled hearts. In this world of darkness, such a thing could not persist.

The Shadows of Manhattan surround them in their perspectives, chasing and clawing until they are corralled with nowhere to go. Then they pounce, weighing down each woman, clawing and reaching for their light.

'Outside', Mirage floats overhead, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Darkwing Duck has posed:
"This gas gun," Darkwing says, with that overbearing smug tone seeping into his words, "-can be part of your undoing, you maligned miscreant!" The heroic duck quickly jabs a pointing finger at Negaduck. "We will not let this city fall to y--"
KERSTEAMROLLED.
As the tank rolls on by, the flattened duck lets out a squeak of pain. "---d- do you think t-that can s-stop Darkwing-----" Guh.
Maybe it can...
Yeah. This is really painful. Give him a moment. He'll be back on his feet once he manages to pull himself together again.
Once Darkwing gets up, he staggers around a bit... but it's not too much to keep him from shooting the gas gun again at the passing tank. ...or more like the ground below the passing tank. And slick it up with oil. Try braking now, Negaduck!! Which should lead him to drive the tank straight into one of the nearby buildings that is somehow miraculously standing - it's very likely to topple what remains over onto the tank, as well. It should slow him down for the moment, burying him in bricks and masonry.

Negaduck has posed:
Tifa has earned Negaduck's wrath. It is not hard to tell, but.. Negaduck is now focused on trying to destroy everything in his sight. He can see hat Tifa is now moving to try to come up towards the cannon of the heavy artillery. When she swings her foot with the low kick, Negaduck sends Negaduck sprawling, before her fist strikes upwar to send the duck flying against his re-inforced armor. As Negaduck summons the Heartless, he snarls holding his head dizzily. He can feel the blurriness of his vision coming as small chicks flutter around his head. In the meanwhile, Negaduck is forgetting the fact that he's controlling the vehicle. And when that oil slick takes Negaduck, the dark mallard finds himself waking up to see that the wall is approaching.

O_O!!!!

***CRASHHHHH!!!!***

Everything is toppling over Negaduck, leaving him buried inside. After a few seconds, an explosion occurs, tearing everything asunder as Negaduck starts stomping out.

"Grrr.."

As the darkness swells up in Negaduck, that festering rage grows exponentially as he moves closer towards Tifa. However, there was a certain person who he had not forgotten.

No, his eyes direct itself towards Yuna, who earlier summoned her Aeons to turn him into a fried duck. He was barely conscious, due to his delusional musings. However, he starts recollecting everything now. His fist tightens, turning towards both Darkwing Duck and Yuna.

"Grrr.."

The hands manifest an eeriely dark glow. Lightning erupts from both hands then he starts summoning them that force to send them against a separate sewer hole.

"Fall...! THIS PLACE WILL BECOME RUINS ONCE WE ARE DONE!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart is still on top of the tank when he drives into the building. She fortunatly was paying enough attention to get out of the way before she get buried down with it. She moves away, and waits for the next move...

Which comes as negaduck turning Termiator or something, walking out of the pile of rubble. At least he doesn't have a robotic eye (or does he?)

But seeing that he turns toward the others, that's not good with the barmaid. She needs to clean his clock before he does anymore damage, or pulls out any other heavy artillery.

She brings both fists to her side, closing her eyes and focusing as both gloves start glowing now.

And then she launches herself. Using all of her speed, she rushes the caped duck (the evil one that is), and brings both of her hands at the same time, a double-hammer Final Heaven, releasing the energy of two attacks at the same time straight into the duck's body.

And as the duck is sent flying backward, Tifa makes her best impression of a DBZ speed teleport, appearing behind him before he hits the building, and meeting him with the strenght of another explosive fist. Sure, it negates the 'flying back' momentum, but it drives yet another explosion into Negaduck. She hopes that will be enough!

Darkwing Duck has posed:
There is a moment of success as Darkwing watches the tank go driving into the building. "Welp. There's that, at least." And he dusts off his hands. He should know better, however, once the bricks explode away and he flinches, using an arm to bring his cape up to try and shield himself. Somehow, anyway. Whatever's happened to Negaduck has made him that much trickier to deal with, in the end.
This isn't going to help much, though! The daring duck is quick to realize that Tifa is not going to be Negaduck's target again. It is, in fact, him and one of the others there. It's for that reason that, once his arch-nemesis starts calling on that force of darkness, Darkwing Duck twists around with the gas gun and fires off a grappling hook. He uses it to hoist himself into the air and swing past Yuna, and sweeping up the summoner and to lead her out of the way of Negaduck's incoming attack. Of course, it means that everything falls onto him, but he can take it! ...he just somehow took a tank running over him.
Once the duck has landed, he sets Yuna aside, and braces himself before firing the gas gun again, but not at Negaduck. The attack is meant to strike a transformer hanging precariously from a power pole, tipped dangerously over by the wreckage and the tank. Of course, this would cause the transformer to fall, hit the ground, and explode right by his angry adversary!

Aerith has posed:
And then they pounced, and all was darkness for several moments... Until Aerith began fighting her way out, using her staff for once to beat all the shadows back. Aerith does not escape unscathed, yet through some effort of sheer will alone, she perseveres. In bad shape, but she perseveres, the light of her heart still intact. and so she readies her magic yet again, knowing full well it may not save them this time. She used it anyways.

Yuna has posed:
This time, Yuna doesn't have her aeons to protect her. She doesn't have her Guardians, or her memories of them; that particular ward against despair is not unlimited, and is currently exhausted in its emotional potency. Thinking of them only makes her heart feel like a dull ache.

She has only herself.

The shadows close in around her, ripping and tearing, shredding her spirit as effectively as her flesh. She falls back against their assault, the form of her stance shot all to hell... then stops, and stands firmly, brandishing the rod in a banishing gesture, as she remembers who she is.

Hero. Summoner. Doormat.

Her father's daughter.
Her people's pride.
Lulu and Wakka's little sister.
Auron and Kimahri's surrogate child.
Rikku's cousin.
Tidus'...
...love.

She opens her heart to that feeling, after having put it aside over and over again with only the rarest of lapses. It's a painful one; he is gone, lost to the Darkness. There's been no word of him in months, and she fears the worst. But her love for him is worth that price; worth any price, save perhaps her own life, which she'd give, even now, if it would fix anything.

With that change of heart comes a little... perspective. The Heartless no longer seem as numerous, the situation isn't so hopeless after all -- with a sweep of her rod, she flings the strange little creature away.

Darkwing sweeps her out of the path of even darker lightning, the wrath of Negaduck, which she never would have seen coming, as distracted as she was overcoming Mirage's assault. Perhaps she's not so alone after all. She bows to him gratefully, when all is done, and the look in her eyes makes it clear that this act of kindness will not be forgotten.

And then she begins the intricate, breathtakingly lovely movements of Spira's art performed at its highest level. The greatest of the many ghosts who dwell in her spirit responds.

Not one portal but several form, consecutively, in the air. Their violet-gold light catches on the skyscrapers', setting everything aglow. Then the great Bahamut crashes through all of them, shattering the magic and making it part of himself, all at once. Landing, he digs all four feet into the ground to brace against the force he's about to call, spreads his glorious rainbow wings, and the strange, intricate golden wheel hovering above his back whirls...

...while energy gathers in his mouth, of all colors and none, the Divine Judgement of Bevelle.

Megaflare sweeps across the battlefield, missing cops by inches, Yuna's control over Bahamut exquisite.

/This/ is the way the world ends.

Negaduck has posed:
His focus was off of Tifa. This as not a good thing. This gives her ample time to take her attention on him and wail him hard. Once Tifa launches off with her fist of fury, Negaduck is slowly turning towards her direction.

"Now, I shall deal with---"

WHAM! She manages to slam Negaduck back with the impact of her two hands. That double hammer flips his bill as he is sent flying backwards. This gives Tifa the chance to blur her speed out to take Negaduck from the back, the explosive fist snaps across his back, sending him blsting straight onto the ground.

*KAAAABOOOOOOMMM!!!*

Negaduck, however, is starting to emerge from the ground. Unfortunately, Negaduck is not situationally aware at the moment, so that transformer that hits the ground next to Negaduck?

*KAAAABOOOOOOMMM!!!*

Negaduck is sent flying across the ground, the impact sends him singing around the vicinity and he lands with the harshest thud. He is emerging once more, this time, even more furious han before. As Negaduck holds onto his remote control, his fist tightens and his teeth bares. They reveal those sharp edges of the predatory monster.

"I had enough..."

From his hand emerges a remote control.

"Once I press this button, I will turn this Precinct into ashes."

As Negaduck points up to the air, there is a blimp slowly forming into view. It looks like a giant Heartless. As that giant Heartless is floating along the air, on the top of it reveals to be large bomb. That bomb has the nuclear symbol. No pie. No pi. Just a huge thermonuclear bomb.

"MEET H-BIO OMEGA MOBILE BOB!! Just one drop and this place will be complete ashes! GOODBYE, YOU D----?!"

Lo and behold, the Great Bahamut emerges from the sky. As the large dragon begins forming from htose several porals forming, Negaduck's eyes widen at the great dragon looming before him. And when the energy gathering in its mouth...

The megaflare launches off. It tears asunder the entire atmosphere as the earth erupts. As he energy concentrates near Negaduck...

His eyes widen as the light consumes him.

As the light fades away...

The darkness imbuing Negaduck fades away.

"...Y---you win... this time... dweebs..." He coughs up smoke.

Thud.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart phews as we get one well-cooked duck from the combined attacks. She might have opened it up, but the final blow is given by Bahamut. Which is quite the impressive sight, she had never seen the king of dragons herself. She looks up at the damage it causes, and then down at the fried duck, picking him up by the neck with her hand "Well, guess he's 'well done' now." Might as well keep a hand on him in case of more troubles... maybe she should turn him up to authorities even. She looks toward Darkwing, that seems to know him better than she does.

Mirage has posed:
So far, Mirage has discovered that Aerith seems to have three settings: fire, ice, and heal. This is useful information she can likely exploit later...when she's not being set on fire, at least.

Kind of a shame. Mirage had enjoyed that illusion. Mirage wishes she could have made it last a little bit longer, but circumstances made that untenable as both Yuna and Aerith manage to overcome the visions of the future with their inner strength.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick." Mirage scowls at the very thought.

Her thoughts are rudely interrupted as the most magnificent of beasts is summoned by Yuna, far larger and far more powerful than the ones before. Even Mirage gives pause to stare up at it with curiosity for a few seconds.

Curiosity satisfied, she promptly tries to evade the gigantic laser that sweeps over the field, fired from the dragon's mouth. She even teleports, but somehow the Megaflare can even strike her when she is in that mysterious "between" plane of existance. Blasted backwards, Mirage embeds into the side of a building, creating a cat-shaped crater in her wake. "Grrrr..." she scowls, pushing off, floating into the air again. Her hands raise.

Then she notices the smoking form of Negaduck, crumpled on the ground. A pause follows and she begins to think.

Mirage teleports her way over to hover above Negaduck and reaches down, easily grasping him by the collar of his cape and lifting him off the ground. "You will owe me a favor, duck." She's not giving him a choice. Owing Mirage favors is never a good thing.

Mirage levels a sneer at the remaining heroes, lingering for a long moment on Yuna in particular. "Next time we meet, I'll peel your resolve away like an onion."

Then, quite abruptly, she tears open a corridor of darkness and slinks through.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glares at Mirage as she makes her grand exit with their roasted duck in tow, and whirls her staff beside her. Oddly enough, the materia in their slots have restored their glow.

Aerith sighed, her shoulders sagging in relief. Being intense for that long was hard, and someone who could show you your worst fears, the worst possible imagined future, was bad news. Next time, they'd have to be a bit quicker, but she was right about prioritizing her.

Aerith turned toward the girl with two distinct eye colors and smiled. "Thanks. That pulled us out of the fire there." Flower girl took a few steps toward her. "I'm Aerith Gainsborough."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart blinks as the duck is plucked away from her hands before she can do anything about it "Hey, come back here!" But that's wasted breath on a closing portal. She grumbles a bit, kicking a piece of pie off her boot. She moves over to Aerith and Yuna "Thanks for the help." She actually finishes the fight in better shape than she started it, oddly enough, thanks to the helpful healing and a bit of skillful dodging along the fight. "Hope that's the last we see of that duck... and pie bombs.

Yuna has posed:
The retreat of Mirage is met with simple relief; Yuna can't conjure up any fiercer thought on the topic, pushed to the limit as she was by the terrible sorceress.

She lets Bahamut fade after a few seconds; she's done more summoning in the last few minutes than in most of her pilgrimage combined. She holds onto him, and herself, exactly long enough to rest one hand gently on one of his massive talons, look up at him, and, presumably, thank him, though the words they exchange are too quiet to hear.

He fades out of existence shortly thereafter. Shaking her head, which sends the beaded strand in her hair clicking across her bare shoulders, she summons the focus to acknowledge Aerith's introduction. It takes a moment, but when that moment arrives, her bow is as graceful as any she's ever delivered. Her tones are about three degrees more formal than the average bear's, though not unfriendly. Remarkably, she doesn't sound tired at all, though that's almost certainly a sham, considering her condition.

"I am the summoner Yuna, from the isle of Besaid. It was an honor to fight alongside you. You both," she adds, when Tifa approaches.

Glancing over her shoulder, she frowns at the wreckage of the precinct. "I am going to tend to the survivors," she announces quietly; perhaps she's out of aeon-juice, or at least needs a ten minute 'break', to the extent that being a medic -- or a Sender -- is a break. "Please excuse me."

Off she walks, staggers really, barely keeping herself upright, but managing somehow.

Darkwing Duck has posed:
"What?! That's cheating!" Darkwing is clearly upset at this new development --about the mobile bob, at least. You can't have flying heartles- wait. This IS Negaduck. He cheats all the time! It just's SO irritating everytime it happens! And he probably would be more worried about things- if Yuna hadn't decided to back things up. There's an impressed whistle. "Nice! Great work!" He'd high-five her, except he's running over towards his evil twin to try to do all of the apprehension thing. ...except that Mirage beats him to the punch!
Darkwing skids to a stop as she picks Negaduck up off of the ground, and takes off. There's a moment with a slow breath. The duck looks upwards, while his back is to the others. Then he turns around with a big breath, and a broad grin. "Yep, yep, yep~ Yet another day--" He pauses. Then looks around at the already wrecked area. "---mostly saved with the help of Darkwing Duck!" He points upwards.
...look at the bright side. At least he's not taking all of the glory. (Not yet. It's kind of hard to figure out how to take credit for a dragon getting summoned, really.)

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced toward Yuna, worry etched in her features. Yuna... was not all right, despite the appearance of being so. Clothing tattered, a slight sway in her walk from exhaustion... she could feel her fatigue, no use hiding it. But she wouldn't comment, for now. Instead she turned back toward Tifa and squeezed her right shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Right, we did it again. I think we're building up quite the win record!"

Aerith glanced over her right shoulder for a moment at the caped crusading... duck. And with his declaration of victory, most of it bought by him, she shakes her head with a chuckle. "What, are you going to pass out autographs now?" She shook her head. "Don't answer that. Thanks for the help."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head, and loosk over Darkwing as well "Thanks for the help. Are you sure you're not related to that other one?" She has to ask again. ~_~

Aerith has posed:
Aerith smiled. "He's not. The other one was crazy and full of himself, this one's just full of himself."

Darkwing Duck has posed:
As Aerith asks about the autographs, Darkwing seems to brighten immensely! Someone actually asked about autographs?! "Why sure, I can--" He's already reaching into his coat when she says 'nevermind.' It almost seems to deflate the duck entirely. Aww.
There's a deep sigh, then he looks at Tifa. "...what? No. You know. All good /superheroes/," --this is emphasized with a dramatic flourish his cape! "--have their evil twins! He's just mine!" Easy enough of an explanation.
At the comment on being full of himself, though? Ow. There's a wince. "....hey." That might have hurt as much as the tank!

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart scratches her head a bit at Darkwing mentions about evil twins "... Is the other way too?" So there'd be a 'good Sephiroth' around too? She's not so sure about that really. "Well as long as you're good, that'd fine anyway. You should rest up, looks like you got hit pretty badly there."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith sighed and headed for the exit. "We all do... Speaking of that..."

She shakes her head. "No, never mind. I don't think I'm up for healing anyone right now. Tifa, let's take a breather at the hotel."

Darkwing Duck has posed:
"--I..." Darkwing pauses at Tifa's question. "I don't know, really. Maybe?"
At the suggestion of resting, the caped crusader says, "That's okay! It takes more than a tank to take down Darkwing Duc--" Thumping his chest with a fist actually hurt. "...-ow." The speech is never finished.
When he speaks, there's an almost sheepish sound to it. "...just... let people know that the /real/ Darkwing Duck helped you out this time around, okay? Negaduck's a jerk and has already done a number to my reputation."
Once all is said and done, however... he grabs hold of his cape and twists it around his body. "I, Darkwing Duck, must continue to fight the good fight for the sake of Manhattan!" There's a billowing puff of smoke right after that, and when it dissapates, he's gone.
(To find a place to rest for now. He lied on not needing it.)