Banish the Darkness

Banish the Darkness
Date of Scene:	22 February 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - City
Synopsis:	The shadows over Fluorgis at last unleash their true power. The malaise which has so oppressed the once-lively citizenry suddenly condenses and then erupts in a dark rain over the desert, a veritable storm of Heartless weltering down upon the weakened city. With the light of the Fire Crystal flickering and its defenses depowered, Fluorgis's last hope and protection are the adventurers who have heeded her call. A desperate battle in the streets ensues as the siege -- and the Shadows Over Fluorgis plotline -- reaches its climax!
Thanks to:	Baigan and Jidro Gerrison
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Zia, Sarafina Carenze, Kurt Zisa, Vespa, Lenn, Aerith, Percival, Clayton, Dark Elf
Tinyplot:	Shadows Over Fluorgis

---

Kurt Zisa has posed:
The darkness gathers like a flood behind a cracking dam.

The shadows which once blanketed the skies above the desert city have gathered into a vast crackling orb, bruise-purple and night black, blotting out the sun and its light. The oppressive force that demon sphere emits has only intensified in the days since the culprit behind these phenomena was apprehended. Having gone unfed by the Obsidian Signets, the shadows have reacted dangerously -- as though this had been the plan from the beginning -- and Fluorgis called for help, asking one last time for adventurers from across the worlds to come to its aid, sensing that the siege would soon reach its climax when the darkness above reaches a critical mass.

That time has come.

The orb bursts, and shadows hail down upon the city. Though the citizenry strove to prepare for whatever dangers lay in wait, with Fluorgis asking the volunteer defenders to position themselves all over the area in case of any eventuality, none were prepared for the suddenness with which the Heartless descend. As the motes of shadow streak through the air, the opposite of shooting stars, they contort and take on new forms, splashing down in the shape of wriggling beady-eyed abominations which promptly begin to wreak havoc, seeking to slip their way through cracks in locked doors and closed windows and get at the faltering hearts of those who have stayed behind.

The electric lighting in these dark streets flickers sporadically, lending a surreal cast to the already hectic environment, the power channeled by the Fire Crystal from its secret location seeming to suffer from this outslaught. If the Heartless are allowed to have their way, this light might go out forever. But it is the fading light of hope within the hearts of the people which these monsters seek, and only those willing to risk themselves to defend this place can safeguard that hope.

Those splashes of shadow which land outside the city walls rise up as hordes which attempt to scale the walls and join the fray, forcing Fluorgis to commit a large portion of its own forces to protecting its borders even as enemies rampage within. It is forced to rely on volunteers to win the melee in the streets.

But high above, that giant orb still pulses, stretching as though something enormous is beginning to force its way out. And Heartless are not the only foe which has been drawn to this overwhelming darkness...

Aerith has posed:
Aerith came late. VERY late.

It wasn't exactly her fault though, she'd just come into the neighborhood. Word spread from the besieged city to Costa del Sol just before she was about to leave, and she felt it necessary to come over and help. Thus, she was here with her new staff in hand, and when she saw the dark orb above, she could do nothing but stare at it in awe. When it exploded, she was one of the first to engage, trying her best to disable as many as she could with each swing of her weapon, her face a placid mask of determination...

Vespa has posed:
Vespa says, "Hundres of heartless, one of me... Seem about fair odds right Al?", Vespa, the maid of the axe, say looking at her oversized axe. Unlike most people at the moment Vespa is walking toward The Heartless. She's not going to let anywhere else fall to The Heartless like her home was...

"We're going to be busy tonight Al.. Let's go!", and she charges into the fray."

Zia has posed:
"Ah'm fine." Zia protests, sitting at the table in the Shard Seeker's Headquarters. She's got bandages wrapped around places where she normally wears bandages, but these ones are white and clearly not just for aestetics. Stone sleep had done wonders for the worst of the damage she'd gotten while fighting against the undead horde that now occupies part of the Dalmascan desert. After having her unconscious form dragged back to Fluorgis by the templar, she hadn't woken until the sun stole her to stone sleep. Which probably caused no end of worry.

The white gargoyle looks down at a breakfast that is quite happy to see her, with two eggs and a pile of bacon shaped into a smiley-face. Clearly someone told a certain wolf that not everyone can live on bacon alone, as much as that might seem like heresy to him. "Eat." Skoll points at the meal with a spatula before going back to cooking more bacon. "Ah told ye, ye didnae have te come all this way jus' b'cause." Zia protests, only to get another half-stern look and a prod with the spatula this time. "Eat."

Zia picks up a piece of bacon, crunches into it, chews, and /stares/ right at the werewolf. See. Eating. Now quit fussing already. Her tail twitches. "Aye, next time Ah'll remember te speed dial ye in the middle of the bloody zombie apocalypse." She mutters sarastically. Hrmph. At least she didn't have to be awake when some poor Templar broke the knews of the attack, the loss of the temple, and her injuries to Faruja. That probably had not gone over well.

Then... the lights flicker.

Turning her head, the girl curses, getting to her feet. "Somethin's wrong." She turns talons clicking as she heads for the door. The white gargoyle doesn't look very imposing, wearing her father's mage robes and half of her body wrapped in bandages. The wolf moves to stand in her way, but Zia just gives him /the look/. You know, the one that wordlessly tells a guy that if he doesn't get out of the way, he's likely to regret it.

Hurt or not, foolish or not, Zia isn't about to let Fluorgis get taken. This has become her home and she isn't letting it go without a fight. "Ye want te know how te keep me safe. Kill some Heartless." Seems simple enough. She doesn't waste time. She just vanishes out the front door, climbing up onto the roof to get a view of the carnage from above and figure out where her powers are needed most.

Percival has posed:
Now Percival was very new to the whole waking up while there was still sunlight, and it was all very uncomfortable to him. But after he took his second sip from the mug of coffee and wiped away the cobwebs from his eyes, he realized something. This wasn't supposed to happen during daylight. And the whole blocking out the sun thing? It just wasn't an eclipse. He was no dullard, honest, it just wasn't something he was used to!

And so after his mug of coffee was set down in the Shard Seeker's garden for later retrieval, he climbed atop the building with renewed fervor which was obviously fueled by his righteous desire to protect others. Or maybe it was just the coffee.

Either way, he found himself atop the building in short order, taking stock of the situation. "Good morn...afterno...uh." Okay he was still a bit mixed up. "Good day Zia. Do you have any idea what's going on here?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
How long has Skoll been avoiding it now? To come to a place of rising darkness. Afraid of what it may do to him. But he's worried - he's been worried ever since he'd first caught ear of things going awry in Fluorgis. And while he'd like to think he could entrust the future of Fluorgis to his friends, he also realizes that this is exactly what he'd done around the time of Manhattan's problems. He only showed up during a few moments, and the final battle. Had he reacted earlier... maybe Avira would not have looked at him with those sad eyes when he'd mentioned the place during that date.

Skoll knows he has power. In a ways, he has the responsibility to use this power for good. But things are not always that simple when dark clouds roam over a city like that, and one's former employees trouble one with a collar such as the one he's wearing.

But when he'd caught ear that Zia had gotten hurt, he just knew he had to come over. He couldn't leave the gargess - who had protected him alongside Avira - to be in danger.

"Good." Skoll crosses his arms, his large paw moving up to the collar, and a small spark tazes one of his fingers to remind him of the danger of trying to remove this item in particular. "Nope..." He tries to make light of it. "Still not coming off. Glad it resizes with me though. Wouldn't want to be a big burly werewolf with a collar that's too small for 'im." He notes.

The werewolf then scootches his chair back and walks towards one of the windows and gazes outside. "There's a storm brewing..." He rumbles. "Dark shadows have come. Heartless..." The youth turns back to Zia, and then looks outside again. "You should stay here. I'll try to take care of this." He notes, but notices that the girl is already standing up to move past him.


Skoll quickly gets in the way. "You shouldn't go Zia. You are in no condition." He warns her. His ears fold down when she gives him that look though, and the werewolf lets out this long drawn sigh of desperation. "Fine..." He mutters, standing aside.

The werewolf then quickly moves towards the main room following Zia, donning a red scarf that has been hanging on a coatrack to hide the metalic collar, and takes the ladder that gives access to the roof and comes to stand atop it.

As hurt as Zia is, he knows she can take care of herself. But he notes that not many people are here right now. And this is a /large/ sum of heartless. He's glad he need not spend the time to transform into a werewolf - already being in that form.

It actually seems that he was not the only one to take this roof. He ends up standing next to Percival. He doesn't know him, but clearly the guy knows Zia. Must be a friend then.

"Just call it day." Skoll notes. "And I don't know about Zia - but I'd sum this up in one word..."

"Trouble."

Dark Elf has posed:
Within the darkness, there is another presence. That overarching presence emanates throught the area. There is someone lurking in the total darkness. The cries of the people, the torment that is to ever arise. There is so much lingering presence as the Heartless is emerging.

And of course, there is the wonderful prize behind it all. Yes, that prize is something that the certain treasure seeker wanted:

The Fire Crystal.

And Fluorgis, being the place where the fire crystal is held, is the chose target of this disaster.

"OOOOOHHHH YEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH!! THE LAST TOWN HAD SO MUCH ACCURSED SINGING!"

From the sky, there is a looming presence. He seems like a short figure that is hunched over with a pair of spiny arms. His dark greyish skin gives his origins well.

It is the Dark Elf.

For those that are capable of feel the presence of magic, they can feel the unfantomable amount of magic radiating from the Dark Elf. It bleeds from him, almost oppressive.

His sharp eyes glare down towards the people below.

"CITIZENS OF FLUORGIS! I SEEK YOUR FIRE CRYSTAL! HAND IT OVER.. OR FALL INTO THE DARKNESS!"

Aerith has posed:
Smash, punch, kick, swing. Crush.

Stop them. Stop them from hurting anyone.

Aerith's face remained impassive as she whirled and twisted her weapon, causing one shadow after another to burst, clearing out a wide swath around her. But even before the voice spoke, she sensed him high above. Aerith's eyes snapped toward the new presence and narrowed as he made his threat. She uttered one single, solitary word as the Heartless regrouped.

"No."

Vespa has posed:
"How about I just kick your ass instead?", Vespa shouts up to the Dark Elf, then turning her attention to another Heartless cleaving it in two. She had no reasion to belive he would just leave if he got this Fire Cystal.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn has been working herself into shape with a purpose lately. And that purpose is here: Another all-out assault on the city the elf has made her home. She seeks out other warriors grouping up, and falls in with them, her staff ready. "No. Not this city. You will NOT take my home again." She settles into a stance, and produces crystals, releasing their energies, and with a spin of her staff, disperses it into a couple of the fighters.

Zia has posed:
The white gargoyle blinks, looking surprised to see Percival joining her on the rooftop. His flustering draws a quick smile that doesn't linger. As the werewolf joins the two of them, she nods once, affirming that 'day' is good enough. "Aye, trouble is suitable enough. Ah imagine ye still have tha sword tha Ah loned ye, lad? Yer gonna need it." Zia motions out towards the Heartless, both those attacking the walls and those already battling with the defenders within the city.

The sudden booming voice is enough to drag her eyes skyward, "Tha' right there would be wha we call 'more trouble'." At the very least, there is some relief to know what this is all about at last. All the rumors about her being some Princess of Heart, but it is clear that whatever is going on here, it has nothing to do with that. A fire crystal? She can figure out what it might be easily enough, but such things just didn't exist in her world.

Even so, her expression steels. "Ye will nae have anythin tha belongs te the people of Fluorgis!" She calls back her own defiance, although the shout is enough to make her wince. Maybe Skoll had been right, and she shouldn't be out here. Injuries or no, this isn't a fight she's going to miss. "Skoll, can ye see if ye can call up any of those demonic friends of yers." She's clearly talking about his ability to summon dark Espers. "Percy, yer wi' me. Let's see if we cannae take short dark and gruesome down a few notches."

Flaring her wings, Zia takes to the skies, trying her best to ignore the discomfort in her side as she calls the wind together, trying to send a blast of it towards the loudmouthed elf.

Kurt Zisa has posed:
At last, it emerges.

As fighting already rages down below, and the Dark Elf bellows his challenge, a great white armored knight sinks down from the black orb above, disgorged from the depths of darkness. Pale and gold, it is both noble and terrible to behold, far finer than any of the lesser amorphous forms below. In its six arms are clutched gleaming curved blades. From its girdle hangs its golden banner, emblazoned with the emblem of the Heartless, the champion of those who crush hopes and lay waste to worlds. Levitating, it slowly descends through the darkened skies, and the flickering lights below reflect off its burnished plate. Its feebler allies scatter beneath its booted feet, even them oppressed by its overpowering aura.

Kurt Zisa, swords glinting, floats meters off the ground, folding its steely legs in a meditative position, forbidding and unfazed by the battle raging below. For a few moments, it is still, as though awaiting some order from higher above.

And then, without further hesitation, it takes up one great Khopesh and cleaves a nearby building, sending stones and dirt tumbling into the street, eliciting the wailing of the citizenry.

OPTIONAL BOSS DETECTED.

Aerith has posed:
And then giant armored Heartless thing. Still, the cetra treated this new menace as nothing more than an extra target. Best not to lose focus in this situation after all... and an awful big target like that was hard to miss. So it was that she let everyone else take the elf, while she focused on tall dark and shiny with a pair of pale green spheres of force, aimed straight toward the thing's head.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
What is that /disgusting/ creature that keeps screaming in that awful voice of his? The werewolf's ears twitch painfully as its voice grates through the air. "Tssk, that one should never quit his dayjob to become a musician." He notes. But what was it muttering about the last town and /singing/?

Skoll immediately gets a fleshback to THE BACON SONG.

The right side of his eye twitches nervously. Never again! Never again shall he sing. Instead, the beast growls. The werewolf looks to his side when Lenn too joins him on the roof of the Shard Seekers HQ and lets her magic fall over him.

"Thank you Lenn." Her light is certain to keep some of the darkness at bay. "Trouble... I guess by that beast's call - you aren't the magnet today." The werewolf moves out one claw and lets dark lightning start crackling between his fingers. The werewolf then nods his head. "I will. And you - Gargoyle. Protect Zia - she's hurt already, and I don't want her to get even more hurt."

The werewolf then turns his gaze upon Kurt Zisa. Darkness. Incredible darkness. And far more - a heartless. He immediately can tell that this beast may pose an even greater danger than the disgusting monster.

"Let's bring some light to this place." The wolf then lets out a loud howl to the skies. The sky immediately begins to rumble. And between the lightning, a dark red flame appears! The clouds suddenly are forced to part, as a gigantic red bird appears in the skies, setting its eyes on both Kurt Zisa and the Dark Elf, and fans its wings - letting massive bolts of fire descend upon the both of them - and waves upon waves of fire continue to descend upon the Shadows and Soldiers that are littering the streets.

Clayton has posed:
Fluorgis calls for aid, the city of flames. Clayton answered on the promise of being payed a fine sum. But more than that, he had the desire to fight the Heartless and see exactly what the fuss was all about. Not a few at a time, but at their full strength. To experience the danger, gauge them fully, KNOW them. He couldn't quite say why, but these were compelling feelings. So he equipped himself as best he could, and joined up with several other mercenaries and hunters to storm the city.
He manages to find himself within the city, and immediately begins firing rapid bursts from his shotgun at any Heartless he sees. The thundering boom of his mighty gun echoes down the streets, announcing his presence to all. Percival may notice, considering they had just met the other day at Cloud Nine. "Tally ho!" he cries to the other fighters with him, including a certain winged Baronite. "Show no quarter for these savage monsters, eh? Hahaha!" Some cheer, as Clayton's charisma seems to be rubbing off on them.
He takes a deep breath, and exhales. Yes. This felt good. He fired absently and blows the head off another generic Heartless.

Percival has posed:
Well first there was Zia, then there was an obvious friend of hers. He sizes up Zia briefly and notes that she looks like she's been through the wringer. And then her friend, who looked rather human, except for the ears and a few other canine like qualities about him and his manner of dress. He was sure there was some sort of story about that, having never encountered his kind, but right now was hardly a time for introductions.

And then the yelling. What in the world was it about? Singing? What did the creature have against singing? He couldn't quite place the origin or race of this creature either, but from what he could feel, he knew instantly that this creature was the source of much of the pandemonium.

He wasn't sure what the fire crystal was, or how the citizens of Fluorgis related to it, and while he had the desire to know so that he could take the time to analyze the situation further; he also knew that this was no time for hesitation. Fluorgis was bleeding, and the only way to stem the flow was cut off the attack at its source.

He didn't need to wait for Zia to give commands, he was already on the edge of the roof, his wings unfurled to their full span. With a leap, he was gliding alongside Zia. It was nearly automatic that he drew the sword that she had gifted unto him from its scabbard with his left arm, and hooked the shield onto his right. At first his path seemed purposeless, almost lazy, he eventually banks into a crosswind which allows him to pick up sudden speed as he moved in to aim a blow towards the Dark Elf's side. The path of his flight would then hook downward in an attempt to pass him, rather than hit him full on. It was as if he were treating the Dark Elf as a target on jousting field, and not a villain.

"My, but you are one foul creature. Will you give me the displeasure of your name? Assuming you have one."

His taunt had the purpose of attempting to draw away the Dark Elf's attention from Zia. She didn't look like she was at her best, after all. He didn't even need the prompting of her friend to know that he ought to give his all protecting her.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina also likes to get paid money for doing work. She didn't want to bring the airship over, however, because with the dark clouds of doom and death around, she imagines it would have not been very good flying over there and--besides--she ain't getting paid enough to risk the ship for the city. If she didn't think she could handle this without the ship she would have brought it over, but logistics is 90 percent of command. The other 10 percent is tolerating eccentricies.

"The Heartless are our foes." She says, "Nothing unusual except for numbers and strength. They're savage and will think nothing 'bout tearin' out yer heart." She says, looking about a bit. "But that big one..." SHe points towards Kurt Zisa. "Aye, we take that down, and we get a bonus for sure."

She gives a small nod to Clayton who seems to be a gentleman after all.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa ingores flying fellow, she can't reach him anyway ,and other are dealing with that loudmouth at the moment. She just going to deal with what in front and that was that huge patch of darkness, she swings her axe trying to hack away at it.

Dark Elf has posed:

The Fire Crystal is to be his. All his. Screw the king and everyone else. He wants immortality. Even an elf has a life of mortality, it is just not as short as humans. However, for everlasting life, immortality is required.

But then, people have gathered. They defy him. They... defy him?! DEFY HIM?! This is worst than the time that time he landed his way onto the ground, his glare is shot towards Vespa. "Is that so..?!" He sneers at the woman and then towards Zia. That is when he sensed her magic whisking his way. The explosion is shot forward...

He extends his hand forward to deflect the magic, "Hah! You are ten thousand years too young for th---..." He is suddenly into the air, his body already aching from the pain of that force of wind. "..Buh?" While in the air, he is assaulted by the bolts of lightning his way. A hiss is given at the bird. "....A Phoenix is called?!" He sneers, then his eyes drift towards Skoll. "Here, I was hoping Mist was burned asundered as that twit said he would do!" He growls, "Grrrr... this is worse than the time..."

FLASHBACK!

Back in Traverse Town...

Dark Elf: Grrrr, I will spy on these cretins---pfft. Maids?! What?!
Voice From Cafe: o/~ "You must always ask for bacon, it'll even help you befriend a kraken! and if your bacon is suddenly taken you must make sure it is never forsaken" o/~
Dark Elf: NO! NO! NO! NO! *bangs his head on the trash can, then spazzes out* OH WHY NO!

END FLASHBACK!

As Percival charged at full bore... His eyes locked towards Skoll.

It... is all making sense.

"YOU!!!!!"

His eyes drift towards Percival as he immediately comes up, the dark elf swinging his massive arm to deflect the impact of the blade. "My name is...."

Pause.

"...Astos... No, who the blazes names their kid Astos?!" Twitch. He doesn't remember his name!!! Grrrrrr! When he achieves immortality, he /WILL/ remember his name!

The power of magic ignites in his hands as flames roar to life. "...I will burn you all..." He descends towards the ground, then he snaps his fingers.

"Burn."

The flames ignite towards his points of target.

Kurt Zisa has posed:
The great armored Heartless abruptly summons a magical shield, seeming to react automatically as Aerith unleashes her powers, and deflects the young sage's magic, though she is too far from the terrible knight to suffer the consequences of his oppressive aura. Having defended against the first attack, however, Kurt Zisa is rendered temporarily vulnerable to attacks from other angles. Skoll's phoenix descends and its flames crash against the knight's helm, singing its noble white and gold into a sooty black as the Shadows and Soldiers beneath it are burned into a crisp, unprotected.

The knight begins to rise as it takes damage, automatically moving to a more defensible position, but the axe-wielding maid is too swift to allow Kurt to move out of range in time. She tears into the remaining Heartless beneath it and hews into its mighty leg, rending metal until darkness leaks out, like oil from some war machine. The enemy, of course, shows no pain. Instead, it raises his great Khopeshes and, with a dangerous whirring sound, suddenly begins to spin its torso about in a blur, swords hewing everywhere, tearing divots in the streets beneath as it assaults from above.

Zia has posed:
As much as there is no time for introductions, Zia has to depend on the others around her as allies for the time being. She can't pick out one face from another, although familiar ones fight amongst the Heartless as well as strangers. "Why in the world are ye tryin te talk te i--" Her question gets cut off as a blast of fire errupts towards her. There is no time to do much but sweep the wind in around her, but it can't cut off all of it. Pain lances up her arms, the bandages still wrapped there being left to tatters as the skin beneath it pinkens.

Hissing, Zia back-wings, her eyes flashing red as she pulls her arm closer against her. Recent experience is enough to make her close her eyes, letting an aura of wind whirl around her. The words are latin, but spoken so quicklly and softly that they're hard to follow. Around her, the air crackles with something else, some other sort of magical energy. It guards her even as she lashes out, raising her hand to call down some elemental force.

Almost as if the sky had heeded her command, a great blast of lightning hurtles out of the otherwise dark sky, seeking out the dark elf and trying to send him plowing back down into the ground below.

Percival has posed:
And so he passed by the Dark Elf harmlessly. Percival had to admit, he was passingly suprised that the Dark Elf was able to deflect the sword bare armed. Still it didn't change his trajectory as he circled around lazily for another pass. And then....

FIRE OH MERCIFUL GOD IT HURTS! .....That's exactly what he wanted to say, but his stoic nature prevented him from actually saying it out loud. Thankfully his shield and the speed with which he was moving blunted the force of the fiery missiles ever so slightly.

He snarled. It was his way of working through the pain. Noting the Dark Elf had made his descent, he decides that the loud mouthed little twit needed to be humbled. But how to go about it?

Percival decided upon a feint, as he swooped in for another 'full frontal jousting' attack upon the Elven mage. Instead of following through with it though, he aimed to tackle the creature's legs. Presuming that worked, he would literally try to toss the Dark Elf into the air. "Astos? More like your..." The word is lost over the din of battle. "...is toast." What came over him? He wasn't given to taunting, much less terrible puns. Something about the situation though just didn't work for him, and led him to taunt him in that manner. Whatever. Even if the Dark Elf didn't quite make it into the air, he was still ready to buffet the creature upside its swollen head with Zia's sword.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn continues to disperse that energy, her staff fully charged and whirling. "Keep it up... they won't hold as long as we will!" Her own self and Vespa are the targets of her protective energies this time...

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Ooooh, Skoll is NOT liking the way that Dark Elf is looking at him. He hasn't a clue what this Mist is that the Dark Elf speaks off, but when he says /YOU/ with such anger... but that's about when he realizes something. "You have like... no inner monologue, /do you/?" Skoll tilts his head forwards a little as he asks this, tilting his head. The Phoenix disappears back into the ether as he asks this, and as it leaps up into the air - it leaves behind a trail of ice as Shiva is called for, for a mere moment, and then drawn away once more. She doesn't even come into view - it's just her power that creates an icy updraft that attempts to snuff out some of 'Astoss power - and brings icicles to rise up around Kurt Zisa.

The beast then jumps out forwards as the Dark Elf's flames come forth, jumping straight through them. He 'blasts' the fireball apart causing embers to flicker every which way even as they harm the werewolf - and lands him right in the path of Kurt Zisa's blades. Skoll uses his massive claws to try and surpress them, but ends up just getting flung right back towards a Fountain and lands straight in it - breaking brick and sending water everywhich way.

The beast rumbles in pain, and slowly gets up, dusting itself off with its big paws... and then once again howls. A mist begins to rise from his muzzle as he howls. But this time, the howl isn't one of anger. The beast snarls at the Dark Elf for a moment amidst its summons, glaring at it, and then continues its howl. A howl far more musical. Far more... peaceful, yet no less dark. Almost like a song There are allies here, and this is a battle that may last for a while. So what better than to ensure they are all able to resist the darkness? And far more than that - a call to heal himself.

Suddenly, the ground at his feet breaks up, and a little black rabbit pops out and tumbles forwards across the ground once. There's a little red gem on its head, and yellow markings on its big floppy ears. It blinks profusely, goes 'chu'? when it comes to a halt, and then quickly runs up to Skoll and hugs against his leg for just a moment. Skoll leans in and picks up the little one.

"Go on, do your thing..." He whispers to it, before he throws it into the air...

And a wave of beautiful black-and-red light falls over this small area of Fluorgis, drifting its power down upon those Skoll knows to need it most. And with that wave dispersed, the Carbuncle disappears into the ether just like its other brethern.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith whirled her staff in a figure-eight, her weapon a blur as blows and swings are parried and deflected... all except one, which rams into her staff from the right side and knocks her back a severe distance. She rights herself in mid-air before making contact with the pavement, slid back on one knee, and shook her head to try and clear the cobwebs.

"Not bad... my turn now." Aerith channeled spirit energy from the very air itself, streams of light flowing through her for a brief instant before she charged, her weapon giving a brief flash of light for every swing she made.

Clayton has posed:
Clayton's gaze lands on the magnificent looking Kurt Zisa. His eyes widen and his sneer widens. "A bonus! Yes, that's what I like!" He proclaims with a laugh. He reloads the shotgun as perspiration begins to form on his forehead and arms. He runs forward, leaping over rubble or other detritus in the streets as he gets into firing position on Kurt Zisa, who seems to be concentrated on a few others already. He waits, until the monster isn't looking in his general direction.
Then he rolls out into a crouching position, firing rapidly with his shotgun three times at the giant monster!

Vespa has posed:
Vespa winces and she get knocked into the air the mecanhical monstority spins around, swords flying everywhere! The maid gets cut up but at least she on the ground again. Her head throbs a bit.

"I'm fine Al!", she says. "Let take the walking garbage can down!" She swings her axe again at Kurt Zisa

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
ROUND TWO REINFORCEMENTS

Sarafina, unfortunately, does not come equipped with gun and instead ends up charging into the fray. "I'll keep its attention! Plug it good!" Sarafina tells Clayton as she flies forward. Of course others already have its attention, but Sarafina figures hitting it really hard will lend a hand to the team one way or another.

She lashes out with her chainsaw, swinging it down in a heavy arc before lashing out with her gauntlet a few times, the right one glowing a bright red as it pushes power into Sarafina's body. Her arm her arm her arm, and so on.

"Wily one aren't you!" Sarafina says. "Speedy...will have to time my hits...and command my reactions properly!"

Dark Elf has posed:
There is a sinister, sadistic smile that creeps ont the Dark Elf when Zia manages to give herself over towards the group. With the woman creeping ito the sky and calling it under her command, that blast of lighting comes down to send him blasting towards the ground.

"Nggghh...!"

Music...?! That is why he suddenly let like he was weakening?!

"..NO!.... NO!... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" He turns his head towards Percival, who comes down with anoher josting attempt. He aimed to tackle him by the legs and knock him into the air. "RAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" And the sword hacks against him, spilling the residue everywhere. "Yrargggghhh!!"

He growls, then he clutches his head. "No.. No.. stop that music. Stop that music...."

His teeth grits. "Oh, it's time for you all to die..."

Suddenly, the Dark Elf whips out a guitar.

"o/` I have no time for this jive, so it's time for you to take a dive
o/` Don't want your music or lyrics, so I will tell you to hit it!
o/` DON'T NEED YOUR MUSIC! DON'T NEED YOUR CHEERS!
o/ INSTEAD YOU ALL WILL GET YOUR PAAAIINNN!!!!! o/`"

As the Dark Elf channels his magic once more, there is the presence of powerful erosion of energy in the sky.

"o/` I WILL BRING DOWN THE HOUSEEEE!!!! o/`"

Wailing on the electrical guitar, the rippling in the malaise-covered sky brings down lightning bolts at the heroes.

Kurt Zisa has posed:
Kurt Zisa, for all his heavy-looking armor, moves swiftly due to its control over gravity. Seated cross-legged as it levitates through the streets, it zips to the side as Clayton opens fire, its powerful aura activating as other enemies close in. But those its eyes, if it has any, are invisible behind its metal helm, its mask swivels to face the hunter, as though focused in on him even as other adversaries attack. The Heartless perk up, and though they are torn asunder by shot after shot, many of the smaller minions suspend their rampage to begin to close in on Clayton slowly, almost curiously, somehow eeriely drawn to him.

Kurt Zisa's ability to pay less attention to the other heroes relies upon the oppressively powerful shield that it is able to manifest seemingly at any time. When Aerith lunges toward it to attack, it again sweeps to the side and emits that incredible aura, though the sage is just out of range to be burned by it. Sarafina and Vespa are not so lucky, as the armor Heartless moves unceasingly, repelling them with its shield. Yet that magic is not so invincible as it seems, and the maid's axe is able to tear through with the fury of her assault, shearing into metal plates, more darkness boiling forth from Kurt Zisa's wounds.

Lowering its swords, the Heartless raises its other four arms, opening those empty hands and summoning orbs of fire and dark magic to it. Unleashing them upon the arrayed heroes, it then raises its two upper hands, causing the winds to stir about the streets, whipping up debris -- until the winds become a veritable tornado, threatening to cast all the assembled volunteers who happen to be the vicinity all over the area, against walls and through windows.

Zia has posed:
You know, the pun totally isn't what she would have expected from the usually serious young squire, and it quirks the corner of Zia's mouth. Maybe there's hope for him yet. Her eyes sweep over towards Skoll, who seems to be fairing far worse than some of the others. Worry passes across her features, but she doesn't have time for it to linger. As hard as it is to believe, she knows he'll heal, just as she will - well, so long as she survives this fight. "Tha's it. Keep it up." She calls out encouragement, but it doesn't come with the magical sort of inspiration that some others might manage.

Then, just as she's about to start chanting a different spell, a bunny comes hopping over. Peering down at it, "Well, hello again." She offers to the summon, who hops up into her arms, nuzzles her cheek, and then darts back off again with a wiggle of a small fluffy tail. Of all the dark summons that the werewolf is able to create, this one certainly is the one that seems the most harmless. In fact, the burns on her arm feel a bit better, as if Carbuncle's magic holds back the pain, if only a little.

Of course, that's when she's struck by the sight of the dark elf whiping out a guitar and starting to... sing. Ugh. Her ears fold down. Maybe her own knowledge about lightning manages to keep her safe when the bad singing turns into an attack. Either way, she manages to catch hold of one of the bolts, curling it in her own hands as if it were something that cuold be molded to her will. Raising it above her head, she slings it down towards the elf, hoping to catch him in the back mid-epic guitar solo.

Aerith has posed:
One can't avoid everything. It's a fact of life and a very frightening one. Aerith makes her best attempt at getting out of the way of that massive magical storm, but it bears down on her anyway, and she is forced to the ground in a heap. Again the world spins as she attempts to gather herself, blindly reaching into one of the pockets of her shorts for a clear blue vial. Her hand wraps around it after a bit and she uncorks the potion, taking a good drink of the stuff.

Right, somewhat better.

Moments later, she gets to her feet and prepares yet another assault... this time preparing something special for later.

Percival has posed:
And now he's singing! And jamming on an electric guitar. The sheer awfulness of the music might have knocked him back on its own merits, but instead it happened to be bolts of lightning. He raised his shield reflexively, and was about to begin the words of a prayer....

But come on, it was a bolt of lightning, he didn't even have the time to think the first word of the prayer before it hammered him. There were some vague thoughts of giving thanks after the fact for the fact that he wasn't grounded. Oh nevermind, here came the ground.

Slamming into the ground hard, he lay still for a time, and then a while longer. Perhaps the thought of 'not' getting up crossed his mind briefly.

Very briefly, as he found himself using the sword to pry his way to his knees, and then to a standing position. He was still somewhat dazed by the rough landing, but he had enough sense to raise his defenses and offer some sort of feeble defiance after the fact.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn pulls out some more crystals, again, as she charges her staff once again, launching the full force of the charge at Skoll to try to recover the nearly-fallen friend.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa says, "Come on! Come on Come on!", Vespa shouts swinging her axe defleting the incoming magical orbs. Her, everyone attacks are getting thought the golem's shield. She keeps up assault hacking away at the mechanial machine."

Clayton has posed:
Clayton snorts as his shots miss. The thing may be very large, but it was fast. That meant even more trouble. But that was okay. Clayton liked a challenge. Gradually, however, he notices that the common Heartless, and Zisa himself, are staring at him. He looks about, noticing that he is surrounded. Those glowing beady eyes all fixated on him. "...what the devil?" he utters softly. He hates those stares. Why are they staring? What about him? His agitation begins to grow. He fires at them wildly to scatter them away.
Then the tornado forms, and Clayton is swept into the air, snapping back to the situation at hand. He takes shelter on a rooftop, keeping himself low and pinned to the side as the attack howls over him, clutching his shotgun with his heart pounding. If he survives this day, he'll have enough to buy a manor house in one of the worlds he's been eyeballing. A nice incentive.
When the winds begin to die down, he leaps down into the streets once more. He runs, firing off a quick shot from his gun and then suddenly leaping to a new vantage position, firing a more precist shot at what he believes to be a less armored spot on Zisa's body.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll watches the Dark Elf without regret. It is complaining about his howling - a song of summing - as it is 'music'. And it is... weakening!? The beast squints his eyes and realizes that clearly, this creature cannot stand music of some sorts. But then why does it start...

Actually, no, it starts playing that guitar, but it's terribly off-key. At least, it's a terrible song. Could be worse, could be Celine Dion. But the monster's music is more than just noisy wailing! Its music summons lightning from the heavens! Skoll stands there, wide-eyed, just as not one, but many strikes converge in on him and /stab/ through his body.

The Lightning flickers through his body, the scarf starting to burn on its end, and the beast is even brought down to his knees as the collar sparks up with its own electrical field, thinking that Skoll is trying to remove or destroy it. The beast lets out cries of pain, but remains 'kneeled' and on his feet. In fact, he begins to rise, no matter the singed hair.

His eyes flicker red for a moment, and a mist escapes his lips as the creature's anger grows. But this 'darkness' that comes with those red eyes is immediately dispelled as Lenn draws her healing magics over him. One can see his body relaxing quite visibly, and a sigh of relief lets more mist escape his lips.

Fenrir. Such is the name of the beast he howls for, singing a song of wolves. He calls out loud for the Summon, while spreading his arms and concentrating on the dark Esper. He continues to sing that howl, and the clouds break up once more. But this time, not to bring forth a being of fire.

This time, a moon shines through, letting its pale light shine upon Skoll. And the mist from his muzzle comes to surround his body, Fenrir's gift of power surrounding him. And when Skoll finally opens his eyes again, they seem to hold a mix of two entities. "Let's bring the Elf Down."

The werewolf leans down, and then grins. "Hey Elf... who'se..." He mutters, and then darts forwards. And he begins to sing...

"o/~ Whose afraid of the big bad wolf!?
The Big Bad Wolf o/~"

He comes in, jumps mildly, and then with enormous magical power, swings for the Dark Elf's head.

" o/~ THE BIG BAD WOLF!?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf!? o/~"

" o/~ Tra la la la la o/~ "

With each La he smashes his fist forwards.

" o/~ Long ago there was a dark elf
A little fugly dark elf
For the big, but very big, very bad wolf,
He did not care himself o/~ "

Thus proceeds more punching, after that little interlude during which Skoll tries to breathe in its face, his fists laced with Fenrir's power.

" o/~ Tra la la la la
Tra la la Tra la la
Tra la la la la la la la la la la! o/~"

The beast then rears his fist back one more time, the head of Fenrir appearing in magical mist atop his right fist.

" o/~ Who's afraid of the big, big, big, big, big Bad.... o/~"

And he throws it forwards with all his might, trying to uppercut the Dark Elf and lets Fenrir's power escape him, to crash through the Dark Elf and hopefully smash it to pieces.

" o/~ woooooooooooooooooooolf! o/~ "

Dark Elf has posed:
Dark Elf is busy going heavy metal.

Complete with screams.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

He had enough of the annoying music. It is time to create dischord. So, as he seeks out the great dischord, Dark Elf does find himsel at the mercy of Zia. When he attempts to bring his guitar out to deflect the bolt tossed at him.

*DUNT!*

And then, the werewolf creeps forward. The moon shines as he calls upon the power of the Dark Esper. The elf....

TWITCH!

"RAAAARRGGGGHHHHH!!!" He clutches onto his head. "STOP THAT ETERNAL WRACKET!" He snarls. "Raaaaaaggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" The Dark Elf is cutching into his ears. He jumps over with that dive. "NOOO!!"

*WHAM!*

The punch sends the Dark Elf's head creening to the other side, looking lopsided. Saliva drops along the other side and there is even a tooth flying from the initial strike of he fist. He stumbles bckwards, and is now caught into more punching. He staggers back, the had of Fenrir appearing against his fist...

 !!!!!

WHAM!

That fist comes forth as a massive uppercut towards the elf's chin. His head rears back from the impact, his teeth coming together before another tooth comes flying out. His head is rearing back and he twitches and spasms while mid-air.

Grugghhkk....

The Dark Elf is bleeding profusely. Badly, his face is stained with blood as he staggers up. "Grrrr. Why... Why won't you die...?!" He sneers, then he flicks his hand into the air. Calling upon the forces of darkness once more, he descends towards the ground.

"....I WILL ERASE YOUR EXISTENCE!" Then, his eyes fall towards the werewolf.

"Especially /you/!"

The flames ignite into existence once more. This time, a hand points towards Skoll, Zia, Percival.. and....

"AND YOU, ELF! THAT'S RIGHT! I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU! YOU WILL ESPECIALLY BOW BEFORE MY MIGHT!"

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina is too busy getting her ass kicked to worry much about Clayton who seemed capable to her. She is surprised as Kurt Zisa avoids her initial stike and, shortly after, clobbers her hard--she barely gets a punch through before she crashes to the ground--partially on fire. She does not get up immediately.

She groans, pained, rolling onto her back, the jetpack making this rather awkward in of itself. She sits herself up dizzily and then groans up into a standing position. "Ngh..." She manages. She shakes her head rapidly. No, no time to be stunned. Not against this.

Sarafina lets out an angry angry roar, literally smashing her own fist into her chest a few times. This is not because sh eis actually bestial, but it is what she used to do when she actually served in the military, to inspire and to inspire fear. The latter might not happen, but for herself, it gives Sarafina just enough energy--

--to fly forward, raise her chainsaw in the air, and slam it rapidly across the giant Heartless, trying to literally sever parts of its body from the rest of it in heavy, brutal strikes. For Kurt Zisa surely it is easy to evade. But if it doesn't---well, the chainsaw isn't made for people.

Kurt Zisa has posed:
The implacable armored Heartless is slowly being torn asunder, as swift as it is and as formidable as its aura is proving to be. Vespa fearlessly bats away its magical assault and tears into Kurt Zisa's shield again, sparks flying as one of the knight's metal legs now dangles, half hacked away, revealing nothing but an amorphous black mass within it, eeriely contorting. Yet it continues to move as swiftly as ever, Aerith's staff strikes glancing off of it as its burning aura continues to push the brave sage away, Vespa managing to avoid the brunt of Zisa's shield as her mighty axe strikes through it.

Clayton's shots are precise, in keeping with the hunter's expert skill, and Zisa's blurring form only narrowly manages to avoid them this time, one shot dinging the side of its helm as it nearly careens into the side of a building in order to evade. Yet the little Heartless continue to harry and pursue the hunter, seeming to prefer him even to the innocent hearts that lie in wait locked within the surrounding homes, forgetting their previous prey to crowd around him, perhaps doing something to throw off his aim. For all they crowd around, they are not particularly aggressive. They stare, instead, with their beady yellow eyes, watching Clayton unblinkingly. But what do they see?

As for Zisa, seeming to sense the gathering of great power, it swiftly turns as Sarafina rockets toward it, roaring mightily, her chainsaw whirring with obvious intent. Kurt Zisa is an emotionless monstrosity motivated by nothing but a relentless hunger and extraordinary speed and power.

Nevertheless, a giant sweatdrop drips from its helm.

It surges upward, the pavement cracking beneath it as it rockets up and just narrowly allows Sarafina to pass beneath it, avoiding both a horrible fate and what was surely going to be a horrible sound, because if you thought nails on a chalkboard were bad... As it moves, a pulse of magic issues forth, striking Sarafina with a distant form of its suppressive aura, as though seeking to stifle that incredible fighting spirit she wields.

Upon doing so, Zisa will descend in all its wrath. Swords brandished, it begins to hew away at the pesky foes who have surrounded and dared to oppose it, sweeping with its mighty Khopeshes and threatening to strike the heroes into the air, smash them down to the ground, and slice them to ribbons!

Zia has posed:
You know, it might be strange that Zia has heard Skoll sing twice recently, both times at wildly inopportune times. Then again, she's starting to get used to the fact that this odd, mixed-up world seems to invite musical interruptions. Luckily, it seems that his voice not only earns money for charity, but also irritates elves. It's a win-win situation.

Of course, with Percy grounded, and Skoll hurt quite so badly, there isn't anyone up in the air to keep Zia from taking the next blast of fire. This time, the pain is just that much worse as she braces herself, looking at the charred bits of flesh on her forearms. With the bandages burnt away, the scars of past wounds are visible easily enough, although one motion covers them beneath the robes she's wearing - which now have a few holes from where they've caught fire. Wincing, the gargoyle backwings, trying to keep herself airborn.

The wind circles about her again, this time trying to move defensively, trying to protect herself with the knowledge that this one was dangerous, not just for his lack of singing skill. That same magic that seems to protect her, also lashes out, sending a hard blast of force down towards him. "Ye willnae be erasin anyone."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll poses awesomely, even turning around for a moment, after he's properly /whacked/ the Dark Elf. The wind even picks up his scarf for a moment, letting it whip around for that moment. That's about when Skoll turns around and glances back at the angry dark Elf. "I suggest you leave, monster. That was me holding back." He reminds it. "I have plenty more songs... like this one about /BACON/." The werewolf smirks... as far as a werewolf /can/ smirk.

The werewolf flexes his fist, then turns around and grimaces as more flame comes his way. He throws one fist forwards, letting darkness lash out through the flames to the Dark Elf, while turning around. He grits his teeth and closes his eyes as the flames wash over him, but keeps walking forwards.

"How about I sing some more for you, while my friends take care of you?"

But instead of more disney-song, he howls that same song from before. Remember Carbuncle? It suddenly appears from within Percival's bronze cloak! It just... suddenly pops its head out... and then jumps out. It quickly climbs on the Gargoyle's head, and then begins to... mime.

CARBUNCLE:
> ATTACK
> ITEMS
> MAGIC
> MIME --> SONG --> "Everybody was Kung-fu Fighting" <<
MAGIC

And so the little critter begins to swing its little cute paws around, punching and kicking, while its magic once again fills the area. And somewhere out there, behind that magical place called the fourth wall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4iE7PuPslA

And it just keeps on dancing and hopping around, jumping and running between people's feet, after hopping off of Percival's head.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn goes back to her game plan from before, switching the crystals again, and launches energy again, this time going for Sarafina and Zia, protective energy falling over both of them.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa says, "Oh this is going to sting.." Vespa says and it does as she is slashed repealy by the mecha-beast's swords. She hasn't fallen yet thought.

"Fall damn you fall!", she says gripping her massive axe with both hands swing it hopefully smashing Kurt's defences."

Percival has posed:
Still dazed from his sudden descent, Percival barely noticed the Werewolf ROCKING OUT, or the rant from the irate Dark Elf. It was perhaps for the best that he didn't see the Carbuncle jump off of hims head.

And then his world became fire. Stoicism or not, he was howling in pain.

And through that haze of agony, he noticed Zia still gliding about.

Something in him just gave out. His eyes began to glow stark white, part of the heritage and legacy of his race, and in a moment he was down on all fours. With an animalistic roar of fury, he was charging forward at the spindly Dark Elf.

There were no rational thoughts any longer, but something in his mind instinctually registered that that one was the one that had caused him such pain. And then he was upon the Dark Elf, and an onslaught of foot, fist, fang, and talon began. There was no method to his madness, he was quite literally just trying to stop the creature that had hurt him. The rest of his attack was censored from those who might be faint of heart, presuming he even reached the Dark Elf.

Aerith has posed:
This time however....

Aerith does not respond. She does not attack. She simply stands there with her eyes closed until the final moment, when the swords descend. Then... she simply moves to where a sword isn't, finds the gaps between each successive swing until all the moves are spent, leaving one very wide opening. All the while, the healing magics rained down on her, restoring her wounds for that one instant she needed... to do what she had to.

Aerith ends atop the back-side of one of the blades and runs up to the mechanical Heartless, her weapon whirling fiercely as she unleashes a series of strikes, ending in a leaping overhead smash!

Clayton has posed:
Clayton shouts in irritation, but finds he cannot actually shout - for his voice has been muted. Nothing. He screams, then turns to see the Heartless continuing to mess with them and screams at them, but he is still voiceless. Even his gun is now silenced as he fires to keep them at bay! This is most irritating...and their stares continue to distress him. He starts to remember things he heard about the Heartless, their very natures. His hand instinctly goes to his chest, then he wipes the dark thoughts away.
No time for dilly-dallying, he has a big armored thing to bag. Unfortunately he is sidetracked by his sudden fame with these monsters, as Kurt knocks him suddenly into the air and slices into his body. Clayton does not wear armor, so the flurry of strikes slices through his clothing and cuts the skin, blood flying from the wounds before he's knocked back DOWN and bounces off the ground, just to get more swords slammed into him! Clayton rolls away and gets back up, bleeding and looking quite annoyed at being run roughshod by Kurt. He yells something at it, but it's probably full of bad words.
Luckily, he just planted a package of poisonous dust at Kurt's feet, which bursts open and showers it with highly toxic chemicals. Clayton, this time, takes especially careful aim with his gun as he tries to fire buckshot at one of Kurt's wounded areas for maximum damage. He takes the rest of the moment to quickly duck behind a building and take out some crude bandages, patching his worst cuts up.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
SArafina is buffed up by ... someone? Sarafina doesn't actually see just who did it--she glances around but doesn't get a good sight of Lenn--she's having enough time seeing in front of her as is. But there is the side effect of her hit by that aura once more--sarafina doesn't know how to deal with that shit. SHe drops into a crouch, hissing through her teeth only for swords to start hewing down at her.

With a swing of her chainsaw, she just DEFLECTS the giant blade from her body.

"RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" She yells and then forgets the damn chainsaw. "I don't need that for youuuuuuuuuu!!" She yells, eyes blood shot as she slams her fist into Kurt Zisa hard enough to send it flying back.

"You'll pay!!" Sarafina adds, gauntlet glowing once more as she dives into it with a series of quick(er) strikes, just plowing into it punch by punch like a maniac.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn looks over to Dark Elf. "Wait... I remember you... I think you were there... You helped them destroy my home!" She pulls out a large crystal, and tosses it up, before shattering it with a swing of the staff... The energy explodes around her. "And now you came to destroy my new one, and all my new friends! I WON'T ALLOW THIS!" Her hair is billowing out behind her as she spins around and points the staff, firing a treetrunk-sized beam of energy at the Dark Elf. "YOU ARE THE ONE TO VANISH!"

Dark Elf has posed:
That threat.

The threat over the song of bacon drives /fear/ into the Dark Elf. There is a very blank look that he gives, his mind mentally going back to the very day he was spying on the maid cafe. And then, that accursed song. "Noo...."

"No... Anything but that! ANYTHING!"

And when the little Carbuncle appears, well...

He stares. Twitch. Twitch. Music? The little /cute/ creature is singing?!

Twitch.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

That annoying, incessant voice! He clutches his head, trying to claw his brains out to numb him against that painful, cute song. He hates cute things. He hates music. He hates it all! The Dark Elf's eyes glower, but he can feel /every/ ounce of power slips away. This allows Zia to nail him with a lashing. "OW! THAT HURTS!!"

And then.... Percival comes in.

tHis eyes widen.

CENSORED! Clouds of smoke are placed into the fray. The Dark Elf is getting assaulted...

The Dark Elf is crawling out of the major assault, looking battered, beaten, and weakened. "...Why....?" He grits his teeth.

"The music... the annoying heroes..." He snarls, "...What else can go wrong...?!"

Unknowingly, he is crawling right towards Lenn.

He looks up at Lenn.

"....Wh----whhh..?!"

His eyes widen as the beam enulfs him.

"Heugagh----AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

And his form fades from sight..

However.... This message is for all to hear.

I will remember this... You have not seen the last of me...

Kurt Zisa has posed:
Kurt Zisa tries to escape.

But even its supernatural swiftness is inadequate to the task of avoiding the heroes' fury. None of them are felled for good by the armored Heartless's powerful assault; they rise, stronger than before, and the giant knight is no match. As Vespa raises her great axe, the levitating knight lifts up, only for Sarafina to vengefully punch it in the direction of the attack and its leg to thus be caught on the downswing, and the mighty maid not only tears through Zisa's defenses but flings it back down to earth, sending it crashing against the street and rending off one of its legs entirely, the empty greaves skittering across the cobblestones. Wobbling, it begins to float upward again, but not before Aerith can rush up the blunt side of one of its scimitars and pound away at it, denting the armor until the side of Zisa's helmet caves in. Pinned in place by Aerith's assault, Clayton's trap then activates beneath the Heartless and his shot strikes home, blasting off one of Zisa's six arms; the pulse of its oppressive aura is more limited than before, and does not reach Clayton this time. The metal monstrosity is falling apart, but still it can rise, shaking Aerith off at last and coolly beginning to lift off again -- and then visibly quickening its pace upward as Sarafina hurls herself at it yelling, narrowly avoiding her and emitting a pulse of its aura rather prematurely.

Is it... is it scared of Sarafina?

But as the Dark Elf fades into the void beneath it, and the ranks of the Heartless around them have thinned considerably, Kurt Zisa must lead the assault. Though heavily battered, leaking darkness like a sieve, it raises its Khopeshes and descends again, streaking down like a meteor as its swords lash out -- and then, powered by a surge of gravity magic, it slams against the streets, the ground quaking beneath everyone on the ground, and seeks to slam everyone who has dared to oppose it thus far against the walls of the surrounding buildings.

Zia has posed:
If the situation weren't quite so tense and life threatening, Zia might be amused by the antics of the little black rabbit summon. Some day, she'd have to ask Skoll about that creature, and perhaps about the rest of the creatures that rise at his call. She smirks, head tilting, watching the little rabit mine around to music. Seriousness? Pssh. Yeah, right.

Whatever it is, either the force of the bunny or something more primal, she watches as Percival seems to give up fighting with that borrowed sword in favor of his natural weapons. From above, she can watch as so they seem to have the Dark Elf under control. Her eyes sweep those still fighting Heartless, and then move towards the large form that the others seem to be fighting.

Whatever this creature is, be it Heartless or something else entirely, it seems to be just as much of a threat as the Dark Elf had been, although thankfully it isn't singing. As it comes in with an attack, she triggers her own. It had been saved up for Astros, but one baddie is as good as another. Wincing through burned arms, Zia summons what looks like a miniature storm just above one sweeping sword.

Maybe if she hadn't been hurting, it might have taken full form, but instead, it just sort of hovers there, raining on Kurt, and occassionally zapping lightning at the swords. His own personal emo cloud.

Aerith has posed:
She'd seen that move before. Twice.

Aerith's lips curled into an almost serene smile as she evaded the dance of swords again, launching herself into the air via a kick off one of the blades as they came down to impact the ground with a thunderous wave. She aimed toward the giant Heartless with her right hand.

"Do forgive me... but it's time to say good night."

A sphere of energy the size of a wrecking ball launches toward Kurt Zisa, straight to the top of his head!

Vespa has posed:
The sounds of metal clashing against metal is heard as Vepsa swings her sword in front of her defletcing the Kurt's incoming swords.

"Nice Try but it my turn now!",the maid says dryly, slashing and hacking some more on Kurt.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll scratches himself behind his head a little when the Dark Elf finally goes down. "Geesh... was that bacon song really /that bad/?" He contines on to wince when Lenn decides to further shatter the Dark Elf, only to be forced to listen to it call out that apparently it would show up again in the future. Tssk.

The werewolf then glances back towards Kurt Zisa, the massive Heartless, which is still keeping the others at bay. It must be one heck of a heartless to keep itself alive during the assault by so many. He considers butting in, but he soon finds himself kneeling to the floor, little sparks flickering from his collar. He's still quite hurt. And he knows that Zia is up to another nice burst of magic. Or rather, cute little thundercloud.

"Talk about a local storm..." He mutters to himself. Welp, better make himself at least a little bit useful!

It takes him a moment to actually get to his feet. As much as he's looking just a bit burnt, the werewolf has taken /quite/ a beating, and he's not without some serious pain right now. But he figures he's still better off than Zia right now. And he can't have her showing him up!

So, in honor of beating things up, the werewolf decides to draw on his magic one more time for the day, and just kind of starts running. He runs straight for Kurt Zisa, makes for a short jump into the air, and then tries to smash his fist down on one of its sword-hands with all the might he has - in hopes of divesting it!

Clayton has posed:
The gravitic attack sends Clayton flying abruptly into the air, but luckily for him he manages to grab hold of the nearest roof and hoist himself there, successfully evading Kurt's final attack. At last, he can feel his voice return. "I'll take that arm as a trophy, you can count on that!" he yells at Kurt while reloading his gun. At least the HEartless aren't crowding around anymore. The hunter feels much more at ease. Now he can fully enjoy this.
He aims right at Kurt and fires two shots at Kurt, then reloading again as he tosses an ace up his sleeve: a stick of dynamite! He lights it using the hot end of the shotgun barrel, then tosses it at the monster. It's an explosive gift.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina isn't really a berserker or anything. Really. Honest. She continues trying to to just punch the Heartless, but she whiffs with a fateful punch--the shockwave slamming her so hard she goes flying back. For a half second that semes like an eternity, Sarafina isn't even concious. She blinks blearily, staring up into the air, she tries to remember how exactly she got up there. Couldn't have just been the shockwave. Gravity magic? Gravity magic.

She ignites the flame in her jetpack, steadying herself in midair.

She breathes out. Finish this, finish this, she's gotta hurry up and finish this.

"Aura be damned!!" She yells, flinging herself forward--aiming to fly...above Kurt Zisa.

"I AM SARAFINA!" She yells. "THEY CALLED ME SARAFINA THE WESTERN WIND! I WILL SHOW YOU WHY!!"

She spins in place, spinning the chainsaw around her body--a whirlwind of force quickly ripling around her and expanding outward--threatening to catch hold of Kurt Zisa and spin iat around, the wind lashing out rapidly around her body--the wind that is actually her chainsaw, spinning so quickly the whirlwind ripples out and around her body, herself in the epiccenter!

"We're going to eat well tonight!!" Sarafina yells. She isn't losing points on determination.

Lenn has posed:
Lenn watches the Dark Elf's body vanish under the light she puts out, and hears its final words. "If you'll be back, I'll be... here..." All her energy spent on that single burst, she simply collapses to the floor, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

Percival has posed:
And Percival sort of, snapped back into reality all of a sudden. He felt exhausted, and looked out of joint with the happenings all around him.

First he groped about for the discarded sword and shield, and after a time, found each of them, securing them both safely. Then he seemed to realize that there was a chunk of Dark Elf flesh in his teeth. His bowels roiled, and then he loses his lunch, mixed with the smell of cofee on the ground below him. After gagging until there was nothing left in his stomach, he stands up.

The gargoyle takes his time surveying the battlefield, and realizing that the battle was over, and that noone was seriously injured, he began to walk away until he was out of sight. He didn't deserve to participate in any sort of victory celebration after all.

Vespa has posed:
Vespa holds herself up with her axe. "I'm exasuted, A bath be nice tooo.", she looks around at the damage the city has taken. "I am definely not cleaning this up..", the maid with the axe says.

Zia has posed:
It's hard to stay up in the air, especially with the fierce pain in her arms and the lingering aches from the previous day's misadventuers, but Zia does one more sweep of the city. Guards and volunteers have managed to clean up some of the smaller Heartless, much to her relief. Then, exhaustion seems to set in. The gargoyle decends down onto the streets, trying to catch her breath as her talons brace beneath her. Maybe walking home would be a good idea. Her blue eyes scan for Percival, but he's already gone. At first, she doesn't see Skoll either, so the girl just starts making her way back on unsteady feet.

Kurt Zisa has posed:
Kurt Zisa descends with a wrathful assault, but it is all for naught. Almost all of his adversaries manage to scamper out of the way of his mighty attacks, and moms are tough, so hitting Sarafina barely even counts. Kurt Zisa, half-mangled already, floats there, half-blasted helm creaking around as it rotates, surveying its lack of damage. Sure, it's caused some devastation in the surrounding architecture, but it was really looking forward to smashing someone right through a wall, and it just didn't happen. It's so... it's just so...

Rain begins to fall on the armored Heartless, as it slowly lowers its head, slumping slightly as it floats there silently in the street.

...so depressing.

Then a bolt of lightning, attracted by the metal of Kurt Zisa's swords, zaps its arm. And then another bolt of lightning, attracted by the metal of, uh, the rest of him, zaps it again, its whole form trembling as if paralyzed -- and momentarily unable to raise its defensive shield.

Aerith's sphere of energy tears the rest of its helmet right off. Vespa's axe shears off its other leg, and Skoll's magically-imbued fist rends off one of Kurt Zisa's arms, sending one giant Khopesh crashing to the ground. Clayton's parting shots blast a hole in the armor's main body, within which the tossed dynamite neatly lands.

Hessssss....

Sarafina's chainsaw promptly smashes into the great armor, and as he spins, the giant knight whirls around helplessly, until at least it rips free with the horrible sound of shearing metal, sending hurling into the sky--

BOOM!

--where it explodes into a million pieces.

VICTORY!

Now for the dodging shrapnel mini-game.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
With the 'fall' of Kurt Zisa, Skoll lets out a breath of relief. From the corner of his eyes, Skoll notices that Lenn was a bit 'too' relieved with simply the fall of the Dark Elf however. Having used all that energy for that final strike, she must have exhausted herself. He can't blame her really; after all, if this Dark Elf had anything to do with the end of her world...

Well...

He knows he would probably do the same.

The werewolf slowly wanders the elf's way and then carefully tosses her over his shoulder, before noticing the dire state Zia is in. He quickly paddles over to her side, and then glances back to the others. "Thank you all - for protecting these peoples' homes." He calls out to them, before taking Zia's arm like a gentleman and helping her to the Shard Seekers HQ...

Where she's going to get a /look/ for getting herself hurt again. And bacon. Because bacon will help her heal.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith lands from her airborne position, safely atop one of the discarded pieces of armor once Kurt Zisa is down for the count. The bruises and bumps however start to get to her as she feels the exhaustion take over. Maybe it's time to get away for an extended stay at Costa before she goes back to Goug, for real this time.

With that, she heads toward the first remotely familiar face... which is of course, Sarafina. "Thanks for your help... I don't think we've been properly introduced." She smiled, and it was weary, but genuine. "I'm Aerith."

Clayton has posed:
Clayton ducks to avoid the shrapnel, but takes a big chunk as a trophy before hopping back down to ground level to join the victors. "Ahhh, now that was an excellent hunt!" he says. "Sent those blighters to hell, didn't we? Ahahah!" He took a deep breath, smiling. This made him feel 20 again. Something, however, still nagged at his mind. A faint itch. He was sure it was nothing.

Dark Elf has posed:
Though both leading offenders have been defeated, the looming darkness continues to pervade the air. Just above the sky is the sight of the airship. The malaise overcomes the sky, creeping over its shadow.

Although the darkness is thinning out with the defeat of the forces on ground, the malaise grows stronger.

This leaves the people in panic. However, a light shines from near the airship, as the sight of a glimmer radiates. It is a star that breaks through the darkness.

The combined light that comes from the airship in the sky is slowly casting away the darkness. The forces on the ground and the sky have worked together to fend off the darkness. Slowly, but surely, the malaise is detiorrating.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina lands and thrusts her hand into the air for about six seconds as the victory music plays, possibly just in her head, and then lurks off to the side to tend to her many, many wounds.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blinked for a moment, then sighed with a shake of her head. "Guess not..." She huffed as she turned back toward the way she'd come... only to find herself a bit too tired to go the extra miles. Flowergirl peered toward the Shard Seekers headquarters. "Any bed will do about now..." With that, she made her way to get herself tended to.