In a New York Minute - Evacuation

In a New York Minute - Evacuation
Date of Scene:	09 December 2012
Location:	Manhattan - Central Park
Synopsis:	The defenders of Manhattan attempt to evacuate as many people as they can before it's too late; the Shadow Lords try to close the portal on them early, but cannot break through.
Cast of Characters:	Reize Seatlan, Faruja Senra, Tifa Lockhart, David Xanatos, Sarafina Carenze, Maira, Kaydin, Jafar, Minerva, Aerith, Angantyr Vespar, Captain Hook, Navya, CHIEF, Palom, Luso Clemens
Tinyplot:	In A New York Minute

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Captain Hook has posed:
After the destruction -- or theft? -- of the Empire State Building, the feeling of the battlefield that Manhattan has become has shifted considerably. A great many of the forces of Darkness, Heartless and Heartful alike, seem to have withdrawn... downwards, disappearing into subway stations, sewer grates or even rifts torn into the concrete, and whatever's below, by monstrous hands.

The extraordinary and obviously arcane thunderstorm has slowed to a miserable rain, mixed here and there with sleet. Dark green clouds still block out the sky, and the ground is as slick as can be

In this moment of relative (and it is only relative, the Darkness is rising and churning and monsters lurk in every shadow) respite, well-laid plans come into play in a magnificent display of logistics. Xanatos' goal: evacuate as many people as possible through the portal in Central Park.

Safety corridors are created on a number of major thoroughfares leading directly to Central Park, cleared of Heartless by flights of Steel Clan robots, and a blistering barrage of weaponry from rooftops that was apparently emplaced long ago, and held in reserve until now.

Teams of military and police, on everything from machine-gun-mounted motorcycles to armored trucks to tanks, are getting civilians onto those relatively safe corridors and moving them towards Central Park as quickly as may be.

The perimeter of the Park is something of a disaster to defend -- it's so huge -- but every zillion-dollar penthouse overlooking that famous view has been equipped with everything from laser cannons to ground-to-air missile launchers.

And the Park itself is a nightmare trying to give birth to a dream; thousands and thousands of people being shuffled through the winding paths into the great beyond that that Portal represents. It's a display of the best of humanity; lost children are helped through the portal by total strangers, hopefully to be reunited with their parents on the other side, but certainly not left to look for them alone. Those who stumble and fall are more rarely trampled than they are picked up by friendly, if terrified, hands. Even as Darkness closes in on the heart of Manhattan, hope has never burned more brightly through the actions of its defenders.

The Portal, however, is the weak link of that hope. It glows from within Cleopatra's Needle, the obelisk's many hieroglyphs darkly glowing with its energy. Whatever the Shadow Lords intend to do with the populace, they don't seem to want to kill them, but neither, apparently, will they let them leave. Closing the Portal is their highest priority, now. But to do so, they will have to break the final line of defense...

...every hero Xanatos could find to hold that line.

The remnants of the police, military and Steel Clan will see as many people as they can to the Portal.
It falls to the volunteers of many other worlds to keep that Portal open.
Thousands and thousands of lives are potentially at stake.

David Xanatos has posed:
Standing in a clearing, a man in red battered armor with silver steel wings looks over a crowd assembled there. His hair while still managing to look neat is slightly disheveled, but his look of fiery determination pierces into the minds of all who gaze on him. When he speaks, his voice voice carries evenly and clearly over the crowds that have gathered. For they have all, for their own reasons turned to listen to the words of David Xanatos.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for all you have done here. For every member of this great city, we are grateful." Xanatos pauses and looks to the swirling chaos of the skies and then with that slight grin of his back to those there. "I won't give you a long speech. No "Once more unto the Breach's," or anything so fancy. Instead I will tell you that you are all, everyone of you heroes. You have stood against the Darkness, no matter the cost to yourselves, and you have made such a showing that the Darkness now knows and FEARS every one of you. So I will leave you at this. Hold this line. Hold it, for the innocent, for the young, old and the frightened. Though the Shadow tries to envelope them, hold this line, here, now, and be the shining light drives them back to whence they came." With those words he puts on his helmet and nods to those there and turns to walk to his position where he can oversee the entire battle.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart is battered, bruised, burned, but still standing. Hand on her waist, she listens to Xanatos' speech. She was there since the first fight, and it all took its toll on her. But it doesn't matter, a few light wounds is nothing compared to the lives of thousands. She looks over to Aerith, who stood by her the entire time as well. She reaches a hand on Aerith's shoulder with a squeeze "Its the last stretch, all those people are believing in us, we can't let them down, can we?"

She takes a step forward, slipping on her battle gloves. This will be a tough fight, no doubt. But there's no place to run either, can only look forward, take care of what's in front, to protect those behind.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith smiled.

She'd never seen him dressed like this, but she was glad he was here. In fact, it was rather inspiring to see he wasn't about to go into some speech. It was a simple order; no, a request. Do not let them through. But someone would have to take the first step...

Aerith turned toward Tifa. "I want you to go find Maira and Avira, then come back to me. I've got a plan." She glanced toward the portal yet again. "Same as last time..." She took in a breath of air and shouted, "Lock it down! No Heartless gets in, no Heartless gets out!"

Luso Clemens has posed:
Having tended to his wounds and recovered from the previous battle in defense of the Empire State Building...which wasn't exactly successful, Luso was ready to throw himself back into the fray! This time as the last line of defense against those who would see Manhattan fall.

He was definitely much worse for the wear, but...He wasn't going to give up! Not while he could still breathe. Not while he could still move. It was just the way he rolled and it wasn't going to change any time soon.

Listening to the speech of David Xanatos, Luso nodded, mentally pumping himself up for what was to come. "...Nothing's gonna pass us! We'll take down the darkness and keep this world alive!" The Game Hunter, resting one hand onto the hilt of of his favored sword; The Kwigon Blade. His other hand was raised, clenching into a fist as a determined look crossed his face.

"Let's do this!" He cheered, trying to inspire new vigor in his allies.

"For the people! For this world!"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
It is one of those situations where much cannot be done. Reize and the Shard Seekers did what they could to defend the streets against the Heartls. However, the situation looks rather bleak. And yet, the man with the battered red armor speaks. Reize listens to the words of David Xanatos.

He shuts his eyes, turning over to face the crew behind him.

"Shard Seekers." The boy can only look back to his friends, shutting his eyes before he withdraws both of his boomerangs. "...Let's make sure everyone escape. No one will harm the people."

The expression tenses, then his eyes gaze ahead.

Maira has posed:
Maira is about as ready as she can be. Faruja has been kind enough (and likely embarrassed enough) to give Maira a spare set of clothing. She's wearing what appears to be green monk robes that are a bit short and decidedly tight across the chest.

To say that she is distressed is a vast understatement. She does not know where Avira has gone. She lost her. She was suppose to keep an eye on her...and she lost her.

Tears draw clean lines down cheeks stained with ash, but Maira stands firm with the friends and defenders they have left. She's bruised, broken and heart-sore. But she stands.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The orders came down.

Angantyr gets them, pausing for a moment, recovering from the wounds at one of the Shadow Lord bases set up. It was...an order alright, that what it was. Destroy the portal so that the civilians would be locked here, he looks grim for a moment, considering things. Fighting warriors, defenders? that's stomachable...the Shadow Lords probably wanted to take this place, take it over, he thought. He was not high on the list of knowledges, even as Garland's apprentance, and slowly crumbles up the piece of paper the orders came in on. "Yeah." he says to himself.

Now, at the breach. a dark corridor opens up, spilling out the Dark Knight infront of the defenders. The Mace slowly comes out, before he turns, back to the defenders and places the mace solidly into the ground. There are many things he would do, for money...

But he draws the line at killing the weak and innocent.

Faruja Senra has posed:
To say that Faruja had been through a rough time would be an understatement. the Burmecian had nearly been killed three times over during the events on the Docks. Only know is he able to fight in any capacity, only magic and Xanatos' technology having him here and useful. Beside him, clad in crosses and robes, stand several young Squires as well as his more regular compatriots, such as one Fire Lady and the Shard Seekers. Thankfully, he was kind enough to give her some new clothes.

The rat, in the back of his mind, takes a few 'rousing speech notes. It effects, the rat, and he even gives the man a salute. Rare, for a Templar to do so. The squires do the same. Faruja turns to his subordinates, well aware that in all likelyhood most will be dead by the end of the day. Crossing himself, he salutes them.

"Warriors of the Church, Templar in the making, there shall be no retreat until every single civilian and valiant hero here has left. Do so, and you disgrace us all. For Faram and country, Brothers and Sisters. Kill any who oppose you." Simple enough orders, and they're acknowledged with a 'Ser'.

Turning to Maira, he reaches over, rubbing her shoulder. "Be brave, Maira. We must win this day. Think of naught else."

To Reize, he smiles, spear in his claws and already illuminating the area with Light. "We come home victorious, or on our shields this day, Ser Seatlan."

Palom has posed:
It's okay Maira. You may have lost Avira but you gained an artillery weapon in the form of a small boy that Pete threw at you!

Palom is still trying to understand everything that's happening -- so this is _not_ a city that's merged with Mysidia, he's somehow crossed into another world -- one being threatened by dark powers tied to the heartless, and now people need a chance to escape.

If Palom has anything to say about it, they'll just blow up all the bad guys so these people can return to their homes!

But he can't help thinking back to the siege layed by Baron... He couldn't stop it...

And this looks worse.

But darnit, he will blow up as many of the heartless as he can!

Minerva has posed:
Minerva Minerva has also treated her sounds she's not got the bodice she normallty wears on she's got a I love Manhattan t-shirt on under her vest thanks to help from Luso scrouging they were able to patch themselves up get some food and even well something that wasn't rags for her to wear. What supplies they'd brought are gone to those people fleeing the city. Though a lot of the medical supplies did go to some of the cops and soliders to keep them in somewhat fighting. She's ready to keep fighting she's got to there's a reason she and those few who stood before LEXUS fled, they would have died pointlessly there they can still do some good there. The man in the strange armor is right, they are standing against the darkness. She has no idea if her world fought but this one will fight.

"Here we go again Luso."

Navya has posed:
Navya actually got through the battle with the Noise and their assistant Heartless without being badly hurt. Bruised, thrown around a few times, but mostly she was just tired.

She's still tired, but not so exhausted that she can't come to the last defense of the city. Navya's maul has been pretty handy to help clear things out, but now she's resting her weight on it, its hammerhead down and braced against the ground.

But at the words, she swings the hammer up, lifting it as if the oversized weapon weighed nothing at all and resting it against her shoulder. "They won't get past me," she says, firmly.

Captain Hook has posed:
The tenor of the evening has started to rally towards hopeful.

Here come the baritones.

At first, all that can be heard of them is a concertina, which someone pulls back and forth in a series of jangly chords. Then their gravely voices begin to echo...

o/` Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me... o/`

There's nothing sweet or fun about /these/ pirates; their song means business. But not half as much as their pirate ship, which explodes out of the clouds above, propelled by unfelt winds to make a pass directly above the Park and its Portal.

"AVAST, YE SCURVY DOGS!" howls their leader, who stands boldly on the prow, rapier drawn, moustache fabulous, white cravat fluffy, red coat flying out behind him. "GUTS AND GLORY! TAKE THAT PORTAL, OR WALK THE PLANK!"

Cannonballs start dropping, and for all their technological inferiority, a little bit of magic seems to more than make up the difference; they swiftly bombard the clearing full of heroes, and the explosions each have a howling, fiery face.

And then the wyverns come. Terrible Heartless creatures that make mockery of the noble Gargoyles of Manhattan, they fly out of the dark ship's hold in tremendous numbers. Many immediately set themselves to the task of taking out the anti-air emplacements around Central Park. Many more strafe the ground...

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina would like time to recover. But unforutnately, it doesn't seem like she's going to get that opportunity. STill ragged, she manages to find Maira through her aerial patrols and lands down near her--Dion Carenze dropping down a moment later beside her. He seems intent on staying close--for understsandable reasons.

"Maira." Sarafina says, smiling faintly. "And Sir Faruja...if I recall correctly?" She shakes her head. "Unfortunately, I'm still healing, but perhaps I can still be of some help?"

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin leaps out of the way of one of the wyverns before his sword comes flying forth to try and stab into the wyvern that tries to attack Aerith. He then leaps after her and pulls his sword back to his hand. "I could have sworn I said for you to avoid Manhattan, Aerith." He says. His helmet no longer was on his head and half of his dark metal armor was torn off with blood stains seen along it from injuries. He then raises his sword and swings it, sending a black blast at another heartless.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's first sign of the incoming attack was not the song or the orders. It was the incoming swarm of airborne Heartless wyverns. She would have none of it, however. The pack of them began to strafe the friendly forces, but while others would move out of the way... she would do something else.

One of them came a bit too low, and she took that as her cue. She leapt over the flaming stream... and right on top of the beastie. She pointed the staff at its head, point-blank, and gave it a good, healthy shock. "You're MY ride now, understand?"

Jafar has posed:
The legions of Agrabah are far afield this day. Manhattan is as strange a place for them as might be imagined, but their march does not falter amidst its skyscrapers. Their scimitars carve a path through the chaos, where necessary, their course to Central Park scarcely interrupted as they wash over the crashed cars and overturned food carts like angered ants. Tireless. Numberless.

Heartless.

Their Sultan, Jafar, rides his palanquin, borne on the backs of eight stout, fez-adorned Heartless, surrounded by clattering ranks of belegged pottery. With a puff of hot breath, he moistens the eyes of his hypnotic staff, then dabs them with his sleeve, admiring their polish, before setting the base of the staff down again and checking his progress through the city. Two odd yellow vehicles labeled TAXI are in the way of the palanquin, and a team of burly Heartless are busy rolling them aside.

Flapping determinedly, Iago catches up to the palanquin, laden down by a hotdog in both claws, which he transfers to the left foot so he can land on Jafar's shoulder with the other. "Jafah, you really gotta try this. It's some kinda sausage or somethin'."

"I thought you were going to fetch jewelry from that market stall," Jafar observes, eying the sausage with distaste.

"Oh, ya had to remind me... it's all fake! Buncha glass and gold paint! I mean, I know I was stealin' it, but I'm still kinda offended."

"And just what is it you are /wearing/, Iago?" Jafar inquires. His parrot is currently wearing an oversized pair of sunglasses and a white tee-shirt that says 'I <3 NY.' Based on its tiny size, it was probably meant for a pet dog.

Luso Clemens has posed:
Nodding to his newfound friend, Luso nodded. "I know we took a beating before, but it's not over yet!" He grinned and gave her a thumbs up. "Let's go all out and make sure that nothing else bad happens. It's the least we can do, right?"

With that said, Luso's attention was turned back to the appearance of dark figures. Certainly dressed just as weird as he was. There was no doubt in his mind that they were the enemy. Especially with the heartless swarming about. "Alright! Let's do our best, Minerva!"

And then came the attack. Luso though he was prepared, but....he wasn't prepared like this. "Guh!" The swarm of Wyverns manage to bowl the boy over, but just as soon as he is, he gets back to his feet. "Not bad, but not good enough! Lemme show you something!"

There was no time to play around. Drawing Flametongue, Luso began his strike. Dashing forward, he leapt into the air, crossing swords over before lashing out with a dual strike on the nearest Wyvern. Following that, he leapt from the back of the creature to strike at another.

The battle had begun.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart takes on the first wave of attack before she can take up Aerith on her idea for strategy. Swept up by one of those flying heartless, she eeps "Hey now, let me down!" Grabs the heartless by the arms, she pulls her legs up and kicks the heartless straight up under the chin, knocking it down.

Yet, knocking a flying one while still in the air is not a good thing either, for the landing that is. She eeps as she goes to crash land nearby, still stuck in the heartless' grip, landing with a oof. But hey, she's unharmed.

Until another one flies in and picks her up -.- "OH COME ON!"

As she ends up flying near a building, she kicks herself up, flipping on the back of the heartless to give it a punch behind the head "I said let go!" She gets in the same issue as last time, but this time she's not stuck at least. Even though she's airborne. She jumps back down to the ground before she's taken too far away from the portal.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The sands kick up, blasting the dark knight in the face. However, the dark knight did not stay still, he ran through the attack, breaking out the other side, and swings the mace around, aiming to send it into the heartless he was sitting on...and continues to bring it up towards the Wizzard himself. Angantyr doesn't stop, jumping forward again, and continuing to try and put the preasure on the staff weilding Jaffar by pressing the attack. The man swings again, swinging the weapon for his legs, before aiming to then send it down, a wave of darkness following the mace as he aims to crush him with the strike.

"Yeah. You call us these things, but what does it make you, praying on the weak and defenseless?" he says, "I don't usually get on a soapbox, but you know, I'll make an exception for you, twirly mustashe guy." he says, before spinning the mace once more.

The thing, easily beyond something a man should weild with one hand, and is easily held by him in a single hand. "Lets just skip the formalities and get to the part where you die."

Maira has posed:
Hope. Yes. She must have hope.

"We can do this," Uist tells Maira, a cool hand on her shoulder. She reaches back to pat his hand, which to most appears she's patting herself on the shoulder, but she has about zero *goosehonk* cares to give right now.

Her eyes widen when Angantyr appears nearby. She is very glad to see him. "Angantyr!" she calls, more hope returning. Then, Sarafina leans by her and Maira manages a small, tired smile before she leans in and hugs Sarafina. "I'm so glad you are here...."

Maira steps back as she hears the baritone voices of the pirates and Heartless approaching, followed by Jafar, who has the be the most ridiculously sinister looking person she has ever seen. There is one surreal moment in which she is sure she must be dreaming.

But she's not. Sand washes up over them. Maira shields her eyes but it still stung.

"I will do my best to help you all....my fire won't hurt you," she says, then begins to cast. Only her hand lights up as she draws a circle of flame around herself and those nearby her.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
The voices come. It is the sound of... pirates? Slowly, Reize is recalling a story of the pirates life. It was a tale that was so long ago. However, to see actual piraes, however... is phenomenal. Even more, it is up in the sky? Reize looks up at the floating pirate ship that looms...

"Shard Seekers! Mobilize! Lenn! Cast forth a protection spellf or us!" Even worse, those cannon balls are giving way to explode. "Lily! Cast me into the air!" The boy runs ahead, until Reize is caught dead first within the explosion of the cannonballs. Reize meets face first with incineration. The young boy is caught in the midst of the flames and explosion from the blast point. The magically enhanced blast sends Reize sprawling back, "Gaaahhhh!!!!" He rolls up in the air, then he grits his teeth.

The boy is bleeding pretty bad.

"Lily! Get me in the air!"

Reize is already springing up into the air, bringing his boomerang out. Counting on Lily to give him momentum into the air, the boy ascends high, shooting forth into the air whle throwing out a boomerang towards the upcoming ship. However, with the Heartless about, Reize needs to deal with them quickly.

As such, Reize instead swings out to start kicking on each one of them and use them as leverage to get up to the ship.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva had been lucky as heartless came, prehaps her shirt has some power to hide her from the heartless. She doubted that was true, but she's now charging into their ranks. She's had time to prepare for har attacks the Heartless come under assault her firsts are on fire as she strikes attemping to set all those whom come after ablaze with ire. She also contiunes to keep attacking as her fists seem to freeze, intent to blast the beasts down with icey cold and otehrwise wreck theri days.

Navya has posed:
The Heartless come. Navya is ready, judging by her posture -

No, wait, she's half-turning to try to stare at Luso. She knows that skill! That art! That's the power of a parivir! She opens her mouth to call something at Luso when he jumps into the air.

Navya gets a mouthful of sand. That's not all she gets; it gets in her eyes, her clothes, her hair. She sputters, unable to breathe and feeling like she's just stuck all her exposed skin in front of a sandblaster. Her wings beat to try to clear the air around her. It doesn't help all that much.

She spits, trying to stop choking and gagging. Unfortunately this also means she kind of weaves around, half-blind, instead of immediately joining the assault; when she does recover, she holds her hammer in front of her like she was going to parry, and picks up a fallen civilian with her free hand to set him on his feet. "No, you won't!" she croaks back. "And I'm not witless, either!"

Palom has posed:
Palom looks over as he sees the Heartless approaching and... carrying Jafar? How many people are able to control these monsters?!

Upon hearing Jafar's words, Palom opens his mouth wide to reply -- and gets a mouthful of sandstorm! "Ack! Pth! Gak! Pthooie! Gpthbbt!" He spits on the ground and wipes sand off his tongue. Then he looks up at Jafar and points. "You don't know who you're dealing with, mis--phbbt!" he spits sand out on the ground again, then conjures a little water to wash his mouth out and spits again. "*Ahem*! You don't know who you're dealing with, mister! I'm not a witless! I'm Palom, the Genius of Mysidia! I don't need an army of monsters to fight for me!"

David Xanatos has posed:
As the Cannonballs and fire and other sundry things hurtled at him by Captain Hook slam and land around him, David Xanatos grits his teeth. Typing a series of commands into the computer on his left arm, the man lowers the computer and looks to Hook. "All forces. Take out that Disney World, Pirates of the Carribean reject. Attack!"

Putting action to words, Xanatos leaps into the air and rockets toward Hook. His talons electrify, and he tries to slam into Hook wiht them, rending with those electrically charged blades, he leaps back, flairing his thrusters, to fire a hail of Laser bolts at the good Captain, and his crew.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Dion chuckles as Maira hugs Sarafina. "Seems like you've made a bit of an impression, Sara!"
Sarafina pinkens faintly, though she does return the hug--she's glad to see Maira's alright.
"Unfortunately," She says. "We can't stay for long-- If they seal off that portal, we're all doomed." Of course, they could save the Heart--but relying on a heroic success is not something an officer is allowed to do. Right now evacuation is the only option. She's too winded to battle for the Heart. But that doesn't mean she's too weak to handle her ideal situation--fighting a ship on the water.

Of course there's some trouble from sand blasting her, but Maira's fire--and Faruja's magic--protects her from the heaviest brunt of it. She brushes sand off her face and grunts lightly. "Dion, can you--watch over her?"
"Will YOU be careful?" Dion asks.
"Mm. Of course not. Carefulness is not my way. Being terribly reckless is." She says this, of course, though she hasn't shown much sign of it lately. Perhaps the apocalypse instilled some caution in her--or maybe what she considers reckless is not what many others deem as reckless.

She blasts off, heading straight for the ship even as sand blasts into her. She draws her chainsaw and flits towards Hook's ship, intending to cut through its sails--all the while, Dion hangs tight with the others.

"Thank you for your aid," He tells Faruja. "I will do my best to be of some assistance."

Captain Hook has posed:
Several people seem to have the idea of using the Wyvern Armada as airbikes.

This, it turns out, is not an amazing plan; Luso and Reize's stepping stone tactics are too fast to react to, but expecting them to cart someone around is overly optimistic. The one Aerith landed on screams in pain, to be sure, when she shocks it, but then erupts with thunder of its own, electrocuting her straight off of its back and into the increasingly chaotic crowds below. The rest seem to have similar plans in mind; electrified bullets pour from their strange faces, a vomitous barrage of firepower.

Still, they're beginning to fall in significant numbers. Tifa's immense beat down seems to achieve someone's attention, for another two Wyverns focus on her immediately, but Minerva's antipode of fire and ice blow them out of their steep dive; they go tumbling into Strawberry Field, digging up great gouts of dirt, but do not rise again. Kaydin's dark blasts account for one, right out from under Luso; still, the boy has managed to make it up the chain with good speed, even if Flametongue is having trouble finding its mark. Reize is right there beside him, boomerangs flying, smacking Heartless out of the air with great prejudice, and, buoyed by Lily's tremendous blast of wind, the two boys land on the deck of the ship at roughly the same time.

So too does Sarafina Carenze, who does, indeed, rip straight through those sails with mighty chainsaws; strange magic crackles from the tears, and Captain Hook scowls fiercely up at her. This is an unfortunate distraction, for David Xanatos' laser fire finds its mark with ease, forcing pirates to retreat beneath the wooden shutters of the cannon ports. His electrified talons pierce the good Captain's red coat, making Hook bellow with rage -- and fright.

"SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" he shouts, and an enormously potbellied fellow in a red cap and badly fitting blue-and-white-striped shirt comes scurrying out from a cabin. "Yes, cap'n, right away, cap'n, sir!" Mr. Smee is wielding a blunderbuss... badly... but the sheer enormity of its black powder explosion -- mixed, apparently, with shaving cream?! -- encompasses both of the boys, turning the deck slick beneath them, that they might struggle to stay on board.

Hook himself twists his hook savagely, trying to catch hold of the retreating Xanatos: "NOT SO FAST, YOU PITIFUL PRANCING PEON!" His rapier, meanwhile, points Sarafina out to his crew, and they start throwing everything and the kitchen sink at her.

Aerith has posed:
These dragons had no idea what she was capable of. How could they? They only responded to pain and hearts. So it would come as a shock when Aerith leapt off mere moments before the jolt of thunder was released, aimed at the dragon she once rode... and let loose a burst of flame. Oh she was still on her way down, but she smiled as she spread her arms and closed her eyes.

The confidence was rewarded when she landed on yet another Wyvern's back with uncanny timing.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin was falling down before shaking his head at the woman as she lands on another wyvern. "I swear sometimes your bless by fate." he mutters to himself as a bolt of lightning comes for him. He tries to turn in mid air and manages to do so thankfully, so he was only grazed by the thunderbolt. He lands on his feet and swings the chain once more upwards towards a wyvern which tries to hit one flying for Aerith before pulling the chain back, spinning again and hurls it at one attacking Tifa.

Faruja Senra has posed:
"No doubt you shall be! May the Lord be with you, Ser!" Faruja replies, not missing a beat despite the chaos going on around them. Neither do the Squires. Zealotry has its upsides, and high morale in even the worst of situations is one of them. Their calls of 'Witch', 'Heretic', 'I'll see you at the end of a rope, Sorcerer!' might be somewhat disturbing, however. In unison, the group lashes out at air with their weapons, yelling 'Shellburst Stab!'. Falling crescents of holy energy assault Heartless and sorcerer alike.

"Fine words from cowards who hide in the back lines amidst demons!" A glance to Maira and Palom.

"Lady, Ser, kindly make a PYRE of that man."

Flames. Flames surrounded him. That old fear seeps into him...for a moment. Maira's words hit him. These are the flames of a friend. They bolster him, strengthen him, protect him. A slow, calming breath. He can do this. He /has/ to do this. "...Hold the line."

And with that, he turns to his companions, casting Regen on several.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart doesn't get to enjoy her freedom for long, running back toward the portal after being carried away, she gets a few of those wyverns to bar her back, and send her flying with with their attacks again. Decidedly, she can't stay on the ground easily during this fight. She gets thrown back, but catches on to the high branch of a tree, vaulting herself, and attacking back at them with outstretched legs, hoping to bring down the wyvern with her back to solid ground. She's definitely not in her element in the air after all.

David Xanatos has posed:
The hook tears into armor that was designed to take balistics level weaponry. The man piloting the Powered Suit, lets out a little shriek of surprised pain. He lands on the deck and slides a on his feet a little and then rolls his shoulders. "Very well Captain. Perhaps we can act as gentlemen here. I am David Xanatos. This is /my/ city. I hereby make request that you and your crew leave. You enjoy money, you're pirates, so I give you money. You leave."

He raises his right arm and a small missile appears there as David Xanatos says: "To help you in your decision making process, allow me to introduce you to my friend. Captain of insignificance, this is technology. Technology this is a Captain of insignificance. I'm sure you will be the very best of friends." David Xanatos smirks beneath his helmet and then fires a small rocket. Right to Captain Hook's face.

Jafar has posed:
Jafar makes a brief arcane gesture as his enemies approach, and the red aura around him thickens with a sound like clanking metal. It is not a moment too soon, as Angantyr takes a flying leap over the Heartless surrounding the palanquin and pounds a skillful combination with his mace, battering away at the mystic shield as Jafar gives a single pace of ground, finally managing to parry a blow. "You," the sinister man sneers. "I have seen your face in a dream, dear boy... this is not the first time you have opposed me, but it /will/ be the last!"

The sorcerer has no time to ponder the threats of the Genius of Mystidia, or even wonder where Mystidia might be. Nor can he hypothesize what world might be home to the dragonlike Navya, because the dragoon-mouse Faruja and his pious squires begin to rain holy energy down upon him in bladed crescents. His Heartless, dull-witted brutes that they are, take the worst of it, and several clay pots burst open with a clattering sound as they are struck. Jafar himself needs to fend them off with his staff, stealing precious attention from his battle with Angantyr.

"It seems most of you have not made my acquaintence," Jafar observes in a courtly manner, his breath an icy mist. "Forgive me for the cold reception!" Closing his fist with a sweep of his cape, Jafar causes the grains of mystic sand to lock into place, then blossom in a great chain reaction into snowflake-like shards of ice. The dreamlike red glow that suffused Central Park turns to a chilly blue. Each snowflake is like a tiny little mine; when touched, it stiffens clothing and hair, bites skin, and creates artistic icy patinas on metal.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Lily is there to mend the wounds. Reize can take the comfort in that as well as the galing winds. The boy ascends higher, using those creatures as skipping stones. However, what comes to a more annoyance is the fact that a short, stocky man pulls out a blunderbuss.

Reize looks to the side to see a young boy like him as they move up. "Oii! I got an idea!" But then, he sees that the older man fires at them. The blunderbuss explodes.

The black powder/shaving cream-infused ound blasts the boy, yelping as he starts to descend. "..Gaahhhh!!" His eyes widen, "I'm falling...." But he quickly reaches over to his pouch to whip out his hookshot.

Whipping the instrument, he fires it up towards the ship to get him up towards the ship. "Hey!" He calls out to Luso. Then, the arm seeks to scoop him up to join him in the grand adventure of getting onto the ship. Then, the boy lunges forward, then his body disappears.

Reize utilized his speed to move up into the ship nd right behind Mr. Smee. Releasing his impromtu comrade in arms, Reize lunges to give Mr. Smee a surprise boot to the face as well as a spinning roundhouse. "YA!"
He hopes Lily will be alright. ...Unless she plans to fly up.

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Tch!" Luso hissed in annoyance, watching as his opening attack was dodged. But he wasn't out of ideas himself yet! Hearing someone call out to him, he turned to see Reize in the air with him. "Whoa! An idea? I'm all ears--"

And then the other boy went flying. "Holy--! Hey!" But he couldn't move to rescue the falling Reize as the heartless dove in for another attack. A spin was all it took for the attack to barely scrape by him

And now he was falling. It looked like it was gonna be time to land!

...Or not. WHOOSH came the chain of the hookshot, Reize rapidly rising into the air. "I get it now!" Smoothly grabbing hold of Reize the two of them burst upwards and then descended towards hook.

"You're mind now! Taste fire and ice!" Luso yelled crossing over his swords and then flipping before bearing down onto the captain with his combination.

Maira has posed:
Maira blinks to Sarafina. She's going off to be reckless!? "What!? Ugh! Be careful Sarafina!" she calls, then turns back to her business, which at the moment, is pretty consumed with surviving and keeping those with her alive as well.

When Faruja points out Jafar and suggests her and Palom make a pyre of him, Maira smiles a little and looks to the little, but powerful, mage. "Yes. Lets."

As if to try to thwart them before they even begin, Jafar turns the park to a winter pain-land. Sharp snowflake slice through her skin like shuriken. A dozen and more thin lines of blood surface on her skin as she tries to protect herself, but fails.

But what does one do on a snowy night such as this?

Light a fire.

A spark ignites, then catches flame, a small fireball sailing toward Jafard through the snow.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Never let it be said that Faruja forgets his friends. With the Shard Seekers, and...well everyone really having problems, the Burmecian turns his attention to healing. Chilly ice assaults them from the sorcerer. Taking it in the face like a real nezumi, it slices down his bandaged face to reveal the old wounds beneath. Ignoring the man's words for the moment, a pair of healing spells flash over himself, Maira, and Reize who seems horribly injured.

"You shall not fall just yet, Reize Seatlan! Hold thy ground!" He encourages, before turning back to Jafar. Grrrr.

"Your sense of humor, Witch, is dreadful! Ahem. HOLY EXPLOSION!" Falling columns of pure holy light scorch and blast a line fron the front most Heartless, aimed all the way into the back with Jafar. Should it hit, it may just feel as if his very soul is being clawed at with pure righteous contempt.

Then Maira speaks. Faruja nods. "Excellent."

Navya has posed:
Navya is only /part/ dragon. Maybe. Or maybe gria are their own thing; who knows?

She's certainly vulnerable to magic. It's hard to parry /that/ with a hammer, even if she'd like to - and she does try, swinging the maul through empty space as if trying to smash through the ice as it forms.

All this means is that her hammer becomes coated in the stuff, encrusted with glittering frost, and unfortunately so does Navya herself; she shivers as she starts to freeze, her horns icing over immediately and little icicles cracking off her wings when she flexes them.

"Th-th-that's not the worst reception I've ever g-g-gotten," Navya gets out, still trying not to freeze. She charges, because moving is the best way to keep warm; specifically she charges Jafar.

Navya leaps. She doesn't stay in the air very long though; she slams downward moments later, a descending two-handed blow with her maul to smash Jafar into the ground so hard it cracks, sending up chunks of rock.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr doesn't fall back, he doesn't defend, he only pushes forward. The snowflakes hit the man, exploding and tearing through him and his armor. Ice shatters over the man, cutting like swords deep into his skin, frostburn happens to run down his hands and body, but he still pushes forward. His eyes show no recongnition of Jafar, but he swings the mace anyway, trying to beat through the sheild protecting the magician. The man did not come out of that exchange very well, but he still stands, as he starts moving in again.

"Dreams? Sorry, but I don't have dreams of you. You're the wrong sex, and not quite fair enough for my tastes." he quips, "Perhaps a name you could give? I would like to know who I am going to brutalize...it's just cultured to do it like that!"

Then, ironically, he brings the mace down in a overhead smash, aiming to coat the man in a sickly green wave of darkness, before he swings upwards, aiming to tear through the barrier covering him.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva isn't alone today, she's got Luso who she considers a friend or at least someone she can trust with her back who will become a friend sooner or later. AS Luso moves in to fight his own battle along side who was that guy from the shard seekers. Oh well she's pretty sure Faruja whose clearly their leader will be able to tell her later.

She does notice Tifa has been fighting ands she's suprised the other woman clearly a a monk of some sort like herself this could prove to be interesting. She's also in the iar but she's got no problems about this she drops like a rock towards the heartless swarms and just starts punching as she goes as she lands she contiunes to strike rapidly with lighting flowing about both her fists this time.

"COME YOU FOWL CREATURES MEET YOUR END AT MY FISTS!"

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Jafar's magical sand latches onto Sarafina and, more importantly, her jetpack. This sends her crashing down to the ground, leaving her an easy target for Hook's cannons. She is blasted right out of the air and crashes to the deck, slamming heavily into the deck. Surprisingly, she doesn't end up as a blood smear. Instead, she shifts herself up into a standing position, rubbing at her forehead. She grunts lightly, pinching the bridge of her forehead. What's with all this sand?

She shakes her head quickly. No time.

Dion stays close to Maira, peering at Jafar for the moment.

Summoning up the power in her gauntlet, she charges...SMEE!...and just aims to punch the guy. Something about that face. She spins her chainsaw around trying to do as much damage as she can while she's stuck here.

Palom has posed:
Palom is... ignored! He hmphs and puts his little hands on his hips. Well then, it's time to show this Jafar just what the Genius of Mysidia can do! The boy sees the dangerous snowflake-ice-mines approaching, and conjures up a wave of flame to melt those around him. "Nice try! Now it's _my_ turn!" Palom raises his staff to the sky, magic power swirling around him, ruffling his cape and robes. Swirling bolts, gather and strike my foe! Then he points down to the ground. Revenge with a taste of your own darkness! And then the boy kneels and plants both hands on the ground. The ground itself shall rise up and consume you!

A cloud forms over Jafar and his heartless, lightning striking down upon them! Then dark energy rises out of the ground and tries to hold them in place as cracks run along the ground from Palom and begin to open up!

Captain Hook has posed:
The big picture is easy to lose in the chaos of the moment-by-moment events, but... the sky is full of fire. Laserfire, rocketfire, wyvern-breath; steel gargoyles meet Heartless in a clash of wings and claws, while those few souls left to man the roofs around Central Park frantically clear a path for the incoming civilians.

And they're still coming in, frantically charging towards the Portal in less of a controlled queue and more of a wave. Firemen pick up children and the elderly and charge across the sandy, icy battlefield, covered by the fire and ice and thunder of many of the defenders. Adults manage to make it on their own.

The heroes may be fighting for their lives, but they're fighting for a lot of other lives too. And they're winning, in that respect, as in the past several minutes a good thousand people have passed through that portal. The next wave of civilians arrives from the Central Park-adjacent subway, of all places, one of the lines sneakily cleared by Steel Clan when nobody was paying attention.

Back to the little picture...

Aerith falls onto a second wyvern, but the first one, still sparking from her Thunder, easily ducks under her stream of fire -- the second one flies up to expose her back to the first's fierce claws. Now that's teamwork! Then a wyvern goes crashing into the three of them, sending them all tumbling downward in a tangle of talons and wings. Kaydin's chain retracts, pulling the third one out of the mix, to crash into one coming up behind Tifa, as she very successfully suplexes a Heartless onto the ground and straight back out of existence. Minerva covers her as well, and the lightning arcs from fists to wyvern to wyvern to wyvern; they fall like rain. Retaliation against all four of them comes in the form of pots -- Jafar's pots, actually -- that some of the Wyverns are beginning to pick up and throw down. The pots have shadowy spider legs propelling them, and fearsome fangs. To be caught by one is a supremely unpleasant experience.

Up on the ship, Captain Hook raises his rapier and bisects Xanatos' rocket before it can even detonate, like a GIGANTIC JERK. Then he neatly sidesteps out of the way of the cannon his men were preparing behind him. "0 DEGREES ELEVATION! FIRE!" Boom. "You popinjay," says the hypocrite, fluffing his cravat with his hook, "Your money is only chump change compared to the power promised to us by our mistress...YEOOOOUCH!!!"

Luso has struck him in the rear, snicker-snack, and revealed his heart-studded silken underwear.

Hook objects, loudly. "SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Sarafina absolutely wrecks Mr. Smee's adorable red hat with her chainsaw. That pain may have been to his pride, but that's where most of his will to fight comes from; not an insignificant blow at all! He stumbles back, narrowly avoiding Reize's boot and counterboot, only to be absolutely drenched by Lily's unexpected deluge. He drops a black powder bomb on them both, trying to fall back to his boss. "Yes, cap'n! I'm a'coming, cap'n!" Up in the rigging, Lily gets swatted by that original concertina-player, who apparently uses his instrument for more than entertainment; he tries to break it over her head. "YARR!"

Far below, some Heartless crocodiles seem to have noticed the ship, and are staring up at it hungrily. Hook hasn't noticed -- yet. He's too busy laying about with his pistol, hastily drawn from his belt, trying to blast Xanatos and Luso away from him.

Jafar has posed:
Jafar draws in some of his snowflakes around a clenched fist and blocks the flame-ball from Maira with them. Unfortunately, the fire is stronger than his impromptu defense, and his hand is singed from blocking it, causing him to suck in a hiss. He uses what little ice he can gather to protect himself from Faruja as well, but again it is insufficent, and the holy energies feel like a judgement on his very nature. "Worthless rat! What will your god think when you kneel before a witch?" Aiming his staff at Faruja, Jafar summons red sands around the Burmecian's body, attempting to slam him down to his hands and knees.

This attention was ill-spent. Angantyr and Navya both leap into the air together; the timing couldn't have been better if they planned it. Mace and hammer both come down in two-handed blows, and Jafar is the anvil. He tosses up a rapid shield made of red sand, but it shatters with a glassy sound, and Jafar's tall, emaciated frame is slammed down into his own palanquin, which crunches beneath him under the sheer force, creating a bowl-like indent which Jafar is driven into. Only his sandy armor keeps him alive through this brutal assault, and his breath wheezes through thin lips as he endures the greatest injury he has yet sustained in his life of manipulation and intrigue.

Iago doesn't let Navya enjoy her victory for long, however; he chomps down hard on her ear even as the planks of the palanquin are settling down. "Nice wings, sweetheart," he compliments with a fierce grin. "You should try feathas next time, though!" Flapping about her face, Iago pecks rapidly at Navya's cheeks, still wearing his 'I <3 NY' tee and sunglasses.

Aerith has posed:
Suddenly, claws. And they hurt. They dig into Aerith's shoulders and back, and the dragon flies straight toward the ground, making an attempt to ram her into the grass and dirt, hard. She gritted her teeth, fighting through the pain, and made her best attempt to put a flaming ball of ouch right into its head. "Let me go!!"

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin watches the pots come and he pulls the chain back to regain his sword. Once gripped he leaps ito the air as the pots come down, leaping onto each pot and avoiding being grabbed by the shadowy legs. His ability to evade and jump would make many a dragoon proud as he manages to evade all the heartless. However hearing someone demand to let her go causes him to look back and for once, that calm expression he kept on his face was actually broken by rage as he leaps down towards the wyvern with a bellow as he brings his sword down to try and cleave the wyverns with the sword, body surging with dark power as he attacks.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
As Lily blasts up behind the group, Reize cannot help but to look at the young girl soar. "Whooaaa.." He marvels at Lily as she comes up, and then deluges the pirate assistant, "Thanks Lily!"

However, the bomb is rolling straight towards his direction, "What..?!" It explodes right in front of him, "Gaaaahhh!" Reize yelps a the bombblasts himback, but then he staggers aroun. The boy reaches for the hookshot, "Oh no you don't..."

The hookshot whips towards Smee, aiming to catch him along his legs. "Get over here!" Reize lunges forward. Should the hookshot wrap around the man's legs? Reize is about to come down with a knee and a nice smack of the boomerangs to the older man. He isn't going to let the assistant get to his Captain.
Then, he looks up to see the instrument player about to nail Lily with the instrument. "Lily, watch out!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart is taking them out as she can, but there's so many! She wishes she had more flashy magic like Aerith for times like this, so she could clean up large amounts of them at once. But that's not happening right now, she only has her fists and feet to use.

But she can play bowling though. When the next wyvern wave flies in to attack, the first one gets her in the chest. But before it can fly off, she grabs it by the leg, and uses it as a projectile toward the other ones swooping down. If she can take out a few of them with a single attack, it would certainly help the odds a bit, even if they aren't in their favor right now. But up to now, the line is holding at least, the heartless didn't manage to get to the people or the portal just yet.

David Xanatos has posed:
"So noted Captain." Xanatos says with a nod. "However there is something you /really/ should know." He stands aside and presses a controller on his left arm. "My ship is bigger than yours." He then presses two fingers to the side of his head. "Captain Takeda. Fire."

Rising out from behind a group of trees, one of Xanatos' air battleships, one of the five that helped defend the Garden, ascends and shimmers as its cloak is dropped. Turrets of the 15 inch variety turn and the cannons angle to have a perfect firing arc on Captain Hook, his crew, and the Wyverns. To assist those mighty guns, missile ports open, and anti-arcraft lasers spool up to act as point defense emplacements.

Not three seconds after Xanatos tells the ship to fire, the vessel, stenciled with the word "Persephone" on it's side opens fire. The gun fire is loud, thunderous, deafening and devastating as the artillery shells, missiles and lasers all converge on their targets.

"See Captain," Xanatos says with a smug look and folded arms, "The ladies lied to you. Size DOES matter."

Faruja Senra has posed:
"Kneel? KNEEL? Black hearted knave! By all means, cut me, slash me with your magic! Have your demons cleave off my legs! My heart and soul are the Lord's, and no matter how low my body may be brought, my spirit shall be infinitely higher than the likes of YOU!"

Just to prove his point, the rat digs in, shoved backwards several feet. Bones seek to bend, break, before Faruja slams down his spear. Even that seems to waver, magic slowly overcoming physical strength. But he's not alone. Two of his squires grab him, lending strength to him, and thus the rat is able to stand somewhat tall.

"Curaga!" He yells, focusing on more of his wounded companions.

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Pffft--! Ahahahahaha! Keep yapping! That's not gonna get you anywhere!" Luso laughed leaping aside to avoid the not-so-good captain's combination.

A glance was given to Reize and then to the others. It seemed like they were doing pretty well, people were escaping through the portal.

But now...

It was time to focus on the battle. "Hey! Pirate Loser! Lemme tell you the 12th Rule of Clan Gully; Don't say what you want to do, do what you want to say!" And with that, the boy sheathed the Kwigon Blade, instead drawing the Ogun Blade after and then dashing for Hook, preparing another combination of slashes.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Jafar reveals who he is to Angantyr.

Jasmine happened to, in a very short time, gain not just the respect, but the friendship of the Dark Knight. And here is the unsurper, the man that had ruined her family, put her on the run, and destroyed her home. His face darkens considerably, the reason for her nightmares was standing infront of him. The reason, she left because she did not want to involve them anymore.

There is a shattering point, a point that Angantyr has hit, as he growls...a gutteral thing escaping his lips, as...

Jafar could feel the darkness from him before, but now..? Now it exhudes like a well spring. The darkness in him only grows, but does not consume him. Not in the way it should, it is like it is almost a part of him. The darkness wraps around his body, consealing his form for a brief moment, before transforming the outer armor into an all encompasing plate. The dark armor, looking as if made of pure abyss itself, sends tendrils of darkness off of it. The helmet, snapping up at Jafar, glows a sanqune glow behind the visor.

"Good to meet you then, Jafar. I am Angantyr. Angantyr Vespar. I am the dark knight of Rabanastre, the scourge of Arcadia...and about to be your worst nightmare."

Maira has posed:
Maira was just getting started. That was the simple spark to light the fire. Still, it would seem the highly powerful child by her side is even more of a cannon than she. In other words, he doesn't have healing power.

Maira reaches up to cover her eyes again, flaring the circle of flames to protect herself and Palom. Searing hot air? Pssht! This is a girl who lights herself on fire on an almost daily basis.

Protecting herself from the onslaught of sand and heat, Maira calls to Uist. "Uist! Go to them!" she cries. Her ghostly companion speeds across the battlefield, unhindered, manifesting only when he reaches Angantyr and Navya. The ghost appears, incorporeal and cold, touching them both with the holy energy of Maira's healing. "From Maira," she tells them, then disappears once more.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina shouts, "THE HAT!" She catches the shreds of the red hat and looks down at it. The purple drop--it's ruined! She doesn't know a tailor who can possibly repair this adorable hat. She bows her head--as if in defeat--before a powder bomb erupts in her face, bowling her over. She shakes her head quickly, rubbing at her face faintly. She's really been knocked for a loop here! She better get serious. Return her attention to the ship rather than adorable first mates!

STanding herself up, she slings the chainsaw over her shoulder, dusting some more sand off her jetpack. She pulls on the string a few times before it finally sputters to life.

"Agaaaaaaaaaaain!" She yells, flitting down towards the ship. She lashes out rapidly with the chainsaw, striking at riggings, sails, and cannons--trying to cut down on the ship's power and ability to attack. The pirates can come later. WIth each strike, the chainsaw BRRRRRRMS loudly as the blades tear along.

Palom has posed:
"/This/ child has that sort of power!" Palom shouts back triumphantly, right before the sandstorm bowls him over and sends him rolling back towards the portal. Faruja's magic slowly heals his wounds, the bruises not as bad as they'd otherwise be. He stands up, wiping sand off himself. "If you're going to use your power like this... then you don't deserve it!" Palom focuses, maintaining the magical gravity field, while summoning up even more power to throw at the sorcerer's. Guiding light, take this monster's power away! Rasp! And the young boy sets as much magical force as he can muster to stripping away Jafar's gathered power!

Minerva has posed:
Minerva is not able to set the heartless on fire with her fists, still the heartless corcks keep coming for her and she keeps fighting the beasts. She keeps attacking the creaturess with her fists.

Captain Hook has posed:
'Zap!' 'Bang!' 'Boom!' Onomatopoeias are kind of inadequate to describe the scale of the explosion that courses over the field from the combined fire of the Persephone's lasers, missiles, and straight-up guns. Between that and the combined efforts of those still on the ground, the skies are, momentarily, free of wyverns.

But before we move on, let's take a moment to savor the carnage that Aerith, Minerva, Kaydin and Tifa inflict. The former's fireball goes directly to the head of the Heartless carrying her, exploding it; she is dropped like a rock, but fortunately very close to the ground. Kaydin's mighty strikes go straight through its corpse, before it explodes, his momentum carrying him into another four or five, which are conveniently bunched together for Tifa to bowl over.

She throws a gutter wyvernball, unfortunately, but they get blown up anyway, neatly corralled for Minerva's fists to mow down.

Captain Hook's ship, meanwhile, reveals considerably more impressive defenses than it had sported previously, when the man himself bellows, "BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!" Shadowy green-black energy, very much the hues that summoned the storm in the sky, courses over every last inch of it, from the smallest rope to the largest sail. This deflects Sarafina's chainsaw massacre, but she does seem to be draining a great deal of energy from whatever's powering that field; it's starting to sputter.

Then it winks out entirely, when the Persephone barrage hits it. The ship shudders wildly, tilting nearly forty-five degrees to port; a precarious angle to be standing on!

On deck, Reize clips Mr. Smee with the hookshot, but that's about it. As the ship begins to list, Smee grabs a rope with a practiced hand and pulls himself into the rigging. "Oops!" He's knocked over a bucket of knives, and they tumble downwards towards the boy. Lily's windhammer brains the concertina fellow -- he brings his instrument up at the last second, and it shatters dissonantly, the force of the impact knocking him off the mast entirely. "A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR M--AIEEEEE!" He falls onto the deck and begins to slide.

Captain Hook's moustache tilts rather violently with fury as Xanatos' play is revealed. "I'm afraid I'll have to disagree," he announces hotly, "It's what you do with it -- and you haven't done enough! MEN! THE STORM CANNONS!" He raises his voice even louder to warn, "JAFAR -- DUCK!"

Out of those previously battened hatches pop an entirely different set of cannons, each carved with the likeness of a dragon's head. Lightning crackles about them, as they charge... charge... then unleash a brutal barrage, cannonballs of pure electricity, on Xanatos' ships... and many people on the ground! One narrowly misses the palanquin, but hits a group of civilians trying to sneak behind it; very messy.

"I do what I say and I say what I do," he adds, stoutly, to Luso. "SMEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

He does Smee?

No, Smee does for Luso, as he comes dropping silently out of the rigging, to land with his considerably portly mass upon the boy. He smells like he hasn't bathed in a year. This is probably true.

Jafar has posed:
Jafar's lips curl back, revealing disdainful teeth. He takes far more satisfaction in humiliation than murder, and Faruja has denied him this pleasure by refusing to bow. Ah, well... he does take /some/ pleasure in murder. He raises his staff, looking to shatter Faruja's legs with his next attempt, but the energies he summons to do so are stripped away, suddenly, by the child mage. Jafar turns a furious gaze to Palom.

"Let me remind you not to /interrupt/, boy! And you, fire-witch, should be worrying about yourself!" The grass around the two casters' feet begins to crinkle, turning yellow, then erupts into an unnaturally red flame, coating a wide area around them and panicking the nearby civilians into an outright trample.

Iago faces off against Navya, dodging her backhand (but losing his ray-bans in the process), and goes in for more ear-bites. He's quite good at distraction, it seems; Navya may well be tied up fighting him for the remainder of the battle!

This leaves Jafar with only Angantyr within melee distance, and he faces the increasingly angry and empowered scion of shadow with an insoucient smirk on his skinny, goateed face. "Oh, have you grown fond of the poor girl?" He tuts softly. "A pity she cannot return your feelings... a low-born creature such as yourself. I suppose she told you she left to protect you? That is her way, just /dripping/ with compassion. Even though she is a being of embodied light who is disgusted at your very presence, she always keeps your feelings in mind. Oh, and do tell Hook I am most disappointed in his performance today, when you see him in a moment." Jafar swings his staff like a golf club, and the ground beneath Angantyr's feet erupts with an exposive force.

Aerith has posed:
And the dragon let her go. It was just two feet above the ground, but she still landed hard on her right shoulder, which already hurt like nothing else. She rolled twice, stopped on her back, and gritted her teeth as the adrenaline spike died off. Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good plan... but never mind, she had plenty more where that came from.

They were smarter than they looked. Good. That meant she could do something they wouldn't expect.

Standing from her position on the ground, she could feel the distinct aura of Kaydin as he tore into yet another one. It was more than likely from her being injured... though it wouldn't be that hard to fix.

"Don't worry about what they're doing to me, Kaydin," she muttered under her breath. "Worry about what I'm going to do to them."

Then she looked up... and saw what madness came before her. With a grimace, she got moving, ducking and weaving in between shots... and finally gets hit, or at least close enough. A cannon shot lands a bit too close, and Aerith is blasted away by the shockwave. It's enough to make her hurt all over again when she lands...

But she gets up anyway. "This guy is starting to annoy me." Aerith casts her healing energies, adding defensive wards to the mix. She had something in mind for them, but not yet...

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart isn't having an easy time with those wyverns, but she's not giving up at least. But when the ship starts firing at everyone below, that's not nice at all! She barely manages to get out of the path of the projectiles, but it still burns up her legs on the way out of the explosive results, but it could have been much worse. She grrs as picks herself up, and goes for the defensive a bit, needing a moment of breather before going into the offensive again.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin leaps out of the way by instinct and then he realizes he left Aerith. He tries to hurry to her but watches as she gets hit. He moves quickly to her side and swings his sword, sending a blast of energy for the ship before looking back to Aerith. "I am not going to leave your side no more. Let me protect you Aerith." He says as he then swings his sword once more at a heartless to take it out.

Palom has posed:
"I'll interrupt whoever I like!" Palom shouts back. He senses magic as the grass around him dries -- realizing quickly what happens, he freezes the ground below him into tundra to counter the flames. "You're just using your powers to be a mean jerk to people! You're taking these people's homes!" he gestures to the Manhattanites fleeing through the portal. "That's why I'm gonna stop you! That's the duty of Palom, Genius and future Sage of Mysidia!"

The young boy is so busy talking and throwing words at the dark sorcerer that he doesn't actually cast any spells, though...

David Xanatos has posed:
The Armored hulls of the Persephone and the Hades take the blasts from Hook's ships, if not like champs, then at least with less damage then Hook would have liked. For Xanatos' part he smiles beneath his helmet even as the chaos of those blasts wash over him and cause him some serious armor damage. Gripping the side of his now sparking armor he says calmly over the radio, Keep firing. All guns. If you run out of munitions, then ram this wooden pile of excrement. He then looks to Hook and speaks out loud to the man.

"I'm not sure I have given you a proper introduction. You met technology, and our two cultures are busy introducing each other to themselves," He gives Captain Hook a formal bow. "David Xanatos. At your service." As he straightens from his bow, he thrusts both hands forward, and the mother of all laser blasts erupts from his extended arms. The energy actually making a sonic boom as the light literally boils the water in the air, disintegrates air molecules, and and anything else in its destructive wake. There is a secondary booming as air rushes in to fill the gap created by the disintegrated air molecules. Xanatos stands to his full height and nods to Cook. "Feel free to surrender at your leisure captain. You have no idea how to use "it.""

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Yeah? Well--" Luso was forming a retort when the captain suddenly called for...someone? "Oh crap!" Too late to dodge. And Smee went bowling right into him. "Whaaaaaaa--!" The force of the blow sent Luso sailing over the side of the ship and back downwards to ground level.

"I'll get you for that lateeeeeer--!" The boy yelled up at the ship. After that, he turned in midair, sheathing his swords and then focusing on landing. He did so with relative ease.

"Alright! Time to focus! No use rushing in and losing again!" With that said, Luso rose back up to his feet and began to glow with an orange aura. He was preparing himself for what was to come. Either for him or by him!

Reize Seatlan has posed:
For a few moments, Reize tkes a look ahead down the ship, however, with Captain Hook over the commanding of the ship, well...

It is taking a fourty-five degree turn to the port. That turn makes the angle hard to hold onto. So, when the ship slides, so does the ability of Reize to maneuver around. He yelps when Smee's bucket o knives come down towards the boy, "Gaaaaahhhh!!!" Reize becomes pierced by all of the blades.

The boy is already worn and beaten. That cannon blast from earlier had already done him much harm. "GET BACK HERE!" Reize is running after Smee. And then, he arrives towards the Hook and Smee. Luso could use some help. "Ooii!!" He calls towards Luso, then he starts to shouts out. "Knight's Vow #31: No matter how mountainous the adversary, standing your ground is key!"

The boy steps into a stance, reaching out for a bag to toss. This time, Reize throws his boomerang to arc towards Smee, and then the boy charges straight at the older man. "Get off of him!"

"This is my will!"

As the boy extends his hand out...

His aura is glowing as the boy starts channeling the atmospheric energy. As the boy channels the energy, the boy shouts.

"Lily! Stranger! We can do this! All of us can!" He shuts his eyes, "So, let's make sure we can keep these guys from interfering with the people!"

No spell casting yet. However...

The light of the pendant is charging up, it gives off a radiant glow. That shining light.. may likely attact the heartless.

Maira has posed:
The fire, being someone else's magic, has some effect on Maira, though it isn't as painful as it could be, certainly. She seems resistant. They seem to be fighting fire with fire...and in that sort of battle? She's pretty sure she can take the cake.

Worry about herself? Well, of course, but Angantyr is up there, right in Jafar's face, hopefully kicking some ass as he is prone to do. It is pretty much his natural state.

As it is for Faruja, who is a holy knight whose spirit will not be dampened by Jafar's arrogance and dark-hearted cruelty.

By this point of the battle, Maira's magic is full to bursting. She is ready to overflow. It has been decided between her and Uist that it is no longer worth it to restrain herself.

Maira ignites. Not only do flames break out over her body, but the fire around her that Jafar summoned begins to bend toward her, swaying like trees in the wind of a hurricane. They are being drawn in, absorbed, it would seem, until the fire dissipates. "Be calm! Don't let them put you into a panic! That is what they want! Keep moving through the portal, we're here!" she calls to the civilians, standing like a beacon as she beckons to the portal.

Then, she turns her attention back to Jafar. "Hey. Stop throwing around my friends," she says, then launches herself at him with a quick burst of Air, making herself into a burning meteor that sails straight for the cunning sorcerer.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr tries to challenge the attack, but for his efforts he is throw straight up, the explosion ripping the ground beneath him assunder as he flies right towards Hook's ship. Growling, the memories of their last parting run through him, a little bit of bitterness is there...but it is overpowered by the value of the friendship he had formed with her. However, friendship doesn't stop momentum, growling as he continues to fly...

"Ugh...dam-damnit..." he says, before...

Your weak, boy. If you do not control the darkness, it will control you. If you do not bend it to your whim, it will bend you. Do not fear what it is, make it your own...and you'll have a power that nobody will stand up to.

You have light in you, Angantyr, no matter what anyone says.

Angantyr's body hits a dark portal, gone...for a brief moment, it looks like he ran.

Then, right above Jafar, another Corridor opens up, spilling out the Dark Knight as he flies down right towards Jafar...

"I SAID DIE YOU SON OF A *GOOSHONK*!" nearby the old lady with the goose laughs like a madwoman, before rushed into a portal.

He swings, the massive mace comes down with both hands, aiming to put as much force behind the thing as he could, before spinning around once. His right hand, formed into a massive claw, aims to tear through Jafar, as darkness and life force would seep through the claw back into Angantyr.

Then, all around him, the ground turns dark red, before a barrage of crimson claws tear through the ground, aiming to repeatedly slash and thrust in Jafar's general direction, before he crushes the man down with the massive claw.

He stands, overflowing with darkness as he stares towards the would be king.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Wince. Faruja stands before Maira, glaring out at Jafar as he harms friend and compatriot with an explosive golf swing. "Maira, stay behind me!"

"A Lady and a child are not playthings to be swatted at! I see you possess neither honor nor manners!" His Squire companions roar out their approval as they assist in purging various Heartless that harry them from Jafar's group as their superior focuses on keeping people alive. One goes down screaming to jaws, before the others whirl. The downed one thrusts his weapon into the beast's body, while the others stab their longer spears into the creature...then further, finishing off their mortally wounded friend. He dies with a smile, having done his duty. Better a death by the hands of companions than demons.

The Burmecian surveys the battlefield. Teeth gritting, he looks about. Many are on their last legs. And Faruja is furious. No. This will not happen! It CANNOT!

Faruja's light, that of a candle in the darkness, grows. Claws pierce through metal and into his own flesh as he clenches his fist. Casting his gaze about, he looks to his friends, those fighting, and to the man who calls this place home. The small bauble, crystal, embedded in the cross upon his neck, glows. Home. Memories of all of those lost, all of those he cared for comes flooding back. Taken. Taken by men like these arrayed before him. The rat's eye opens, and he speaks, voice clear above the din of the fighting.

"DEFENDERS OF MANHATTAN! Comrades, friends, fellow warriors, mages of renown unequaled! Today, YOU are the vanguard against the darkness! The single bulwark that stands between the fall of this world by predators, brigands, and heathens! They come here, to take the homes and lives of the people here! Who amongst you have lost friends, family, your entire lives to GARBAGE such as this?"

"Will you stand for this? WILL YOU!? Who amongst you has the strength to stand, to bleedd, to DIE on your feet? I say ALL here have that strength! For the LORD is on our side! And HE watches over us, and our deeds to day! If we fall, if we falter, if we fall here then we fail GOD! Will any of you stand for that? I, for one, SHALL NOT! Defenders of Manhattan, CRUSH EVERY LAST ONE OF THESE HERETICS UNDER YOUR BOOTS!"

Minerva has posed:
Minerva is looking at all teh heartless she cuts many down but more remain. She is fighting with every she has the heartlerss are everywhere she flips into the air lands on the ground and causes a massive shockwave about her, intent ot knock the beasts back. She's then upon them her fists lashing out with strike after strikes as she calls out.

"Come and face your end beasts! I will not go quietly my world's blood calls out for justice!"

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
"This is no normal ship!" Sarafina shouts. She is able to draw some power off of the ship, but she can tell she's not making much purchase against the vessel itself. To be fair to Sarafina, she never had to fight a MAGIC pirate ship before. 'Still..." She murmurs. "AT least there's some ... effect."

She takes a moment to recover before dropping down suddenly, heading down for the deck and putting her chainsaw before her, spinning around in a corkscrew strike! "HAAAA!" She shouts. Perhaps she can strike a little bit of fear into the fearful. The chainsaw may not be a crocodile, but it does have many...teeth.

"Pirates!!" She swears unhappily. "Take down one crew, another ten show up!"

CHIEF has posed:

CHIEF was going to just sneak away. He lost his chance to get a tank and this meant he probably should just stick to taking things from the Grid and bring them to the users realms. However on his way back to hiding; along with 'licking' his wounds, he ran into someone.

Another Program...

There was a deal attached to this meeting, a sweet, sweet deal that he couldn't really turn down. He aid this LEXUS in what the Shadow Lords were doing, and he would get access to his ticket to and from the Grid; long as he just 'help out' when requested, beyond this he be free to do as he pleases.

Working with others was never his thing; Even more so when there was users involved; but sometimes you just gotta play 'nice'.

So walking down the streets of chaos toward the heroes who protect the portal comes a man standing around 6'3, wearing red sunglasses, a black leather duster, and green, glowing lines across what looks to be a black body suit. On his feet a pair of black steel toed boots with several belt buckle straps.

As he moves in closer, he lights up his cigar, while a dark smile starts to cross his face. Once the cigar is light, he takes a puff from it, before reaching down to his side unhooking his pulse rifle to his hip. Then raising up his hand to the air, flicking a bit of the ash to the side, CHIEF speaks up loudly over the wake of destruction, "Ladies and Gentleman! The secrete boss has arrived!"

Not that he was really a secrete boss; nor was this a game; but he may as well have fun with this while he can.

Captain Hook has posed:
Captain Hook is blasted against his own railing by Xanatos' immense laser beam. "I, Captain Hook, require no such tomfoolery! Sirrah, I believe you are COMPENSATING FOR SOMETHING!" he bellows, throwing his comparably tiny rapier straight at a chink in the man's power armor. If it hits, it explodes with watery force, to choke and drown the man within the machine. Then he glances over his shoulder.

"Hey, kid," Hook calls after the falling Luso, sending a couple shots from his pistol after him for good measure, "Thank Jafar for me -- the look on his face when that little mage boy smacked him in the kisser really brightened my day!"

Someone is just ASKING for a little bit of poetic justice, his back turned towards the Shard Seekers and all.

Looking over the rail, he notices Angantyr sailing towards him... and then away from him. "Hmmmmmmmmmm," he muses, stroking his moustache with his hook, twisting and turning it. When it releases, the hook starts to sketch paths of darkness through the air, in fairly complex little scribbles.

Smee, meanwhile, has been both shoved and boomeranged into Sarafina's chainsaw, which has first claimed his hat and now makes quick work of his shirt. It might have been kinder to the world if that hadn't happened, his pasty white flesh is not a sight for sore eyes. His adam's apple bobs up and down violently, his eyes rolling with fear -- this lady, quite frankly, scares the duty out of him. He's browned his shorts.

The Captain doesn't really appreciate this assault on his first mate, and finishes his midair artwork with a flourish of his hook; portals appear under Lily, Reize, Sarafina and Xanatos -- if they fall in, they'll all fall out below the ship, through a second portal, that sends them all on a trajectory towards each other in midair, preferably magic-, boomerang-, chainsaw- and laser-first. As a final coup de grace, attracted by the light of Reize's pendant, wyverns gather to blow them out of the sky while they're exposed.

Down on the ground, Kaydin and Minerva take out some of the last few visible Wyverns. The few that remain are somewhat bigger and stronger than the rest of their bretherens. The lieutenants, perhaps, or at least the veterans. Who knows how many hearts they've consumed? They open their fanged mouths, and out pours a barrage of grapeshot, to rip and tear and maim the flesh that keeps them from their prey's Hearts.

Jafar has posed:
Jafar feels a certain level of resentment toward Palom's power; the vizier worked so hard for his power, whereas Palom is likely a natural talent of some kind. At least the young boy seems fairly distractible; he is free of Palom's interference for the moment. Faruja seems more intent on aiding his friends (and practicing his public speaking skills) which Jafar has no objection to given how many foes he's having to deal with at once, but he can't resist a taunt. "Had enough, rrrat?" His 'r' rolls deliciously. "Hoping to go back to fighting pirates? I suppose that is what your parents raised you to do: scavenge from the bilge."

He has more witticisms for Faruja, but they are cut short as Maira rockets through a ball of superheated air. Jafar brings up his staff in a horizontal, two-handed grip, blocking the impact with a disk of magical power, but it still bowls him over, sending him right through one of the intact pillars of his palanquin, the wood splintering noisily as he is driven along the ground.

A low, gurgling growl rises in the sinister man's throat as he throws his cloak to the side, rising battered, with cape smoking from Maira's flame... only to face Angantyr falling at terminal velocity, mace at the ready. The vizier throws all of his power into forming a thick, powerful disk of sand-magic to shield himself, but the mace smashes it like a hammer through a glass window, barely seeming to slow as it rips across Jafar's jaw. His defensive field keeps his head from being ripped clear off, but it doesn't prevent a loose rope of dark blood from being hurled from his lips. A swipe of infernal claws opens Jafar's side, and as he staggers, bloody blades rip from the ground itself. He shatters a few with a hurried swipe of his staff, but others gouge his thighs and side, and he staggers back in a loose, dazed posture.

"Jafar! Take 'em out, boss!" Iago squawks, before Navya drags him back into their vicious duel.

"Miserable wretches!" Jafar wheezes. "Rats and children should stay out of this!" Dozens of gleaming scimitars slice down from thin air all around Palom and Faruja; they form a close circle around both, close enough that they may well draw blood, but their main goal is restraint.

"And you!" Jafar fixes his bloodshot eyes on Maira. "You need to cool off!" Jafar's jaw drops low with the last word, and he vomits forth a stream of glistening blue frost, which blasts out like the venom of a spitting viper, dense and powerful.

Finally, he turns to Angantyr. "As for you, boy... you! Will! BOW!" Jafar slams his staff down with both hands, its butt striking the ground, creating a cylindrical indent where it penetrates the dirt. Instantly, the ground around Angantyr is pounded into the same cylindrical indent, only much larger; it is as if a staff the size of a building was slammed into that point, and the resulting shock ripples across the entire park, shaking many civilians off their feet.

Imagine how it feels at the center.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced toward Kaydin. "You asked me something earlier. Why I'm here, why I chose to fight." Aerith smiled. "I'm not even going to try asking you the same thing, because I already know the answer. These people trying to escape... they don't have anything to do with this." She turned her attention back to the battle at hand. "They're trying to escape, get somewhere they won't have to suffer. And I've taken it upon myself to see they get to that portal behind us." Flower girl strode forward as she took out one of her flasks and drank it, tossing it to the ground in front of her and crushing the glass beneath her shoes. "Besides... my friends are here."

She sees the grapeshot coming, trusts in her barriers... and lets it hit her.

The explosion is deafening as she gets knocked into the air, the blue sphere shimmering bright. One of them launches up to meet her... only to get a facefull of ice, only for that frozen face to get blasted apart by fire.

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Urgh!" This was becoming crazy! He couldn't get a move in edgewise with all the action going on around him. Hook's barrage of bullets strike all around Luso, striking him at various points. "Gah...!"

Panting heavily, Luso went down to one knee, glaring up at Hook's ship. The captain was too out of range to bother trying to retaliate. Rather, he was going to focus his attention on a different target. CHIEF's entrance was noticed by the hunter, and he mentally groaned. But there was no time to despair! Even if he was going to go down, he would make a valiant effort!

Rising back up to his feet, Luso reached behind himself, drawing Flametongue and pointing it outwards towards the heartless remaining. "Let's go!" And then he broke out into a dash, wielding flametongue and lashing out in a flurry of strikes. "Hiya!"

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin evades more and more of the heartless some more and listens to Aerith in time to watch her go flying. He unravels the chains and hurls the sword at more of the wyvern. "I am here because I gained my power to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I sold my soul for power to protect people, I wont use it to hurt those people I wish to protect." He says as he pulls the sword back and hurls it again. "I think though I will be needing a new place to stay now." He calls out.

David Xanatos has posed:
Water. That is what Xanatos sees, and given the NBC nature of his Power Armor, he is also currently drowning. He falls through the hole in the ship and can only think to himself, 'I really need to learn magic.' as he tumbles toward the ground he fires his thrusters and stops actually trying to breathe. Which is in and of itself a special hell. He lands safely on the ground and then rips the helmet off. Water sprays as the seals are broken in the armor and he takes a deep gasping breath falling on all fours. He brings two fingers to his ear again and calls out: "Hades! You're up! Sink him!"

On those words, the battleship that had been there since the beginning unleashed it's special version of hell on Captain Hook's ship. Turrets rotate and missiles and cannons begin to hammer at Hook, Heartless and the man's ship all at once. That deafening thunder hammers through the air, the air that people breathe literally vibrates form the concussion of those weapons firing and their impending impacts.

While the Hades begins to hammer, Persephone begins to bring itself into position for a follow up attack. For his part Xanatos, his fingers still to his ear, says calmly, "All team leaders, this is Number One. Give me a status report." He looks up to Hooks ship and narrows his eyes.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin evades more and more of the heartless some more and listens to Aerith in time to watch her go flying. He unravels the chains and hurls the sword at more of the wyvern. "I am here because I gained my power to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I sold my soul for power to protect people, I wont use it to hurt those people I wish to protect." He says as he pulls the sword back and hurls it again. "I think though I will be needing a new place to stay now." He calls out.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
The people need them. All of them need the heroes. This is something that his father would like to see: People banding together. Yet, beyond the ground, he can hear a distinct voice callin out towards hem. It is that familiar zeal. It is a very comforting voice that speaks to them all.

It is that same voice that has been their stalwart protector. Faruja. The Shard Seeker's sentry and avenger. However, Reize, channeling the spell, is now calling forth its power. As that glowing start swirls aroun him, Reize can feel the powerfuls spell grow.

 !!!!

The portal ripples open, tering the boy off from under his feet and he strts descending towards the ground. However, as the Wyvern is moving towards the boy to take him out from the sky, well....

Reize is already aiming to plant both feet against the creature's face as he starts off towards the air. He is using the monster as leverage to take him up into the sky and back into the ship.

"I am Reize Seatlan, leader of the Shard Seekers. Our purpose is to find the worlds that are missin because of you all." And then, the tarot resonates with a brighter glow, "However, in that respect, our other purpose is to PREVENT other worlds from becoming like the missing one from the likes of you!"

Sometimes, it is the star that burn the brightest.

Reize tosses the tarot into the air, letting the essence spin around before it bursts into fragments. Three balls of fire swirl around him, then they converge into one massive fireball. "Flickering flame.... burn!"

"FIREBALL!"

And that flaming ball soon erupts towards the good Captain.

If that is not enough, Reize is dashing straight towards his direction, boomerangs drawn and he dashes past him to start swinging the weapons his way. If that isn't all, Reize spins around and he spins with like a top.

A spinning roundhouse kick and a hook kick from mid-air is seeking to strike the Captain down.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart sees that the wyverns are almost gone now, and she's pretty glad about it too, although what's left are mounting quite the offense, not wanting to go down without a fight. She's thrown up in the air again... this is happening a bit too often really. She grrs, flipping around, and then landing up on top of a nearby branch. She she might as well clean up what's left of the heartless here. The others seems to have things under control at least. She swoops back down to the ground, sending up uppercuts to the flying menace "Go back from where you come from!"

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina doesn't really mean to scarify the Smee he just seems to naturally be drawn to her weapon. OF course, she must admit, he must be rather skilled for he keeps just /barely/ avoiding her strikes. What marvelous movements! What horrible smells!

She needs a moment to take another breather, at which point, a portal appears underneath her.

"Ha?!" She says.
Then she falls inside. "Ugh!!"

He is then sent through the portal, and then is flung towards Xanatos! She smacks into him but she, at least, takes the brunt of it--her chainsaw, thankfully, doesn't hit the dude.

She shakes her head dizzily and then drops down, her eyes narrowing sharply as she drops down for the ship again.

--Intending to smack it across the broadside with enough force from the chainsaw that it knocks it partially out of the water--and her follow through--

--is a pure whirlwind that appears around her, spinning with the chainsaw as the winds that surround her expand outward in a vicious eruption of slicing force!

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja turns his head, that familiar light of Reize's crystal shining. They're all here, fighting, and in some cases dying. Faruja turns to the man who enters, and bold speaks. The Burmecian spits on the ground. "Another for the pyre." Reinforcements. Yet, victory is in their grasp.

The Burmecian is assaulted by gleaming scimitars, fending off most with his spear in deft stabs, parries, and spins that leave a white after-trail. Still, one sinks into the chest, causing him to cough up blood. His companions aren't faring much better. Motioning to the boy, the rat barks. "Protect the child!"

And so, the squires move to Palom's defense.

Maira is off like a rocket. The Burmecian's ear perks, hearing the Vizier's words as he swats away a rending scimitar aimed for the head with his gauntlet. For all the distance between the pair, for the rat, it may as well have been a few inches. "..." Silence. The glare he gives Jafar is one of absolute hatred. Body stiff, he makes only the most minimal of movements to deflect them. For this brief moment, as he pours hatred in Jafar's direction, the world contains but him and the man who just insulted his fallen parents. One of the Squires, an older blonde human, turns to her superior. "S...Sir?" She'd seen that look before. Faruja glances back, eye burning with rage. "...Protect the young man with your lives. If I find him dead, then you shall know my wrath."

A few incantations, and swirling white light surrounds the Burmecian. "Warp."

Even as light radiates from the ratling, he's sucked in, vanishing from the bladed restraints put upon him.

That vortex of energy reappears, inches in front of Jafar, and the rat fades into existance. His voice, usually so fiery, is nothing but cold malice. "My name is Faruja Senra of Burmecia. Temple Knight of the Holy Church of Saint Ajora Glabados. My parents were wyvern farmers. We lived humbly, simply, and with honor. Until humans came. You greedy, debauched, honorless humans. These humans took away everyone I ever knew and loved." He pauses, glancing back to the rocketing form of Maira. He smiles.

"Call me what you wish. Call me weak, a rat, vermin...anything at all. Please."

"My parents, however, ARE NOT YOURS TO INSULT YOU FARAM DAMNED HERETIC!"

Faruja ends his words with a simple thrust. In that single thrust, all of the anger, the pain, the rage the hatred he's harbored for the humans who hurt his people explodes in pure burning Holy energy. Uncontrolled, undisciplined, its an act of desperation and hate. Jafar just /had/ to go and make it personal.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva is still aware of Lusp fighitng and noe she realises why she just went so all out upon the Heartless the other monk apprently was also a mage of some skill and she's quite thankful. She'll have to thank Tifa if they both surive this fight. She beging to focus but something doens't feel right even as holy energy charges into her fist. Her hand is burning with holy magic and it's loud roar tells her to grasp victory against the darkness. She launches into a rampage against the heartless, massive shockwaves go everywhere as she just unleashes all of the force of her power upon the creatures of the night.

She's breathing raggedly as she finished up the lighting attacks, she'd moved like she was water flowing about, over and through the enemy but then she stops in her tracks she can somewhat call upon the darkness and control it to a limited extend she feels something something so terrible waking up under the very ground. Something that feels more horrofic than the heartless has come an the bold monk just freezes as she says.

"It's coming..."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The force of the staff comes down at Angantyr. His mace, however, instinctively swings upwards. Dark power channeling through the mace as he takes the blunt of the magical assault head on. The forces collide for what seems like an eternity, the ground shakes, as it breaks and bends...it splits and shatters...but Angantyr stays on his feet, and eventually his right hand punches upwards, the same darkness channeling through it, to corrupt the spell...

Before the force of the spell fianlly SHATTERS on Angantyr's defense. The Dark knight shakes for a moment...it wasn't easily done, but he had done so, the physical effects on his body was mostly exhaustion from trying to do such a stupid move. He grunts...and then looks towards Jafar.

"No." he says, defiantly, as he unleashes a wave of dark flame from his hand, aiming to consume Jafar in the dark burning cold flame, before he dives in, Aiming to smash the mace downwards once more...

And swings the mace upwards, a hungry maul of teeth rises from the earth, aiming to consume the would be sultan.

"DIE!"

Maira has posed:
Maira slams into the barrier Jafar erects to protect himself, but the force of her blow carries through none the less. Maira lands on her feet and stands straight, her presence...changing. While she does not actually grow, somehow, she seems taller. Her aura whirls with the bright light of her Heart, swirling together with a darkness from the ghostly presence that protects her.

She screams as the blast of cold is turned toward her, though it does not completely defeat her flame. Much of the ice turns rapidly to steam as the fires around her heat up to blazing.

It seems to be time to let it all loose. She doesn't have much left. But she has enough for this. Maira opens her mouth, letting out an operatic yell as wings of flame form upon her back, her form blurred by the bloody, glowing mist that is currently Uist--the two juxtaposed, light and dark, heat and cold. Maira slings a large and very nasty fireball at Jafar. It is a choking heat, stinging with rage, blossoming like a deadly flower that lights up the night.

Then, the misty form that is Uist detaches from Maira, rushing Jafar, his ethereal mouth posed to emit a fearsome battle-cry as he seeks to plunge straight through Jafar, passing through skin and flesh, through bone and marrow....passing through the darkness of his heart and ripping some of his life out as Uist comes out the other side, before returning to Maira--transferring that life to her.

Palom has posed:
Scimitars appear and slash at Palom! He runs around in circles trying to dodge them, but again and again they cut into him, tearing up his robes but fortunately not cutting too deep. Still, Palom cries out in pain -- that really stings!

After the scimitars are done, Palom rises, his robes soaked with blood around the wounds. "You..." The boy stands tall and glares at Jafar. "You want _so badly_ to _hurt_ these people... to take their home! Why?! Why does it matter to you?!" The boy shouts, tears of anger and pain welling up in his eyes. "If all you want is hurt and pain and darkness..." Darkness begins to well around the young boy.

"Then THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA GET!" The boy screams, and holds his staff in both hands before him.

Reaper, show this monster what awaits him!

The darkness around Palom dissipates, and a shadowy figure with a scythe appears momentarily over Jafar -- chilling him and trying to drain away his life before fading, to make him feel weak and old -- and then magical energy continues to bleed out of the young mage and gather in his staff as he focuses it. "As long as you use your power for evil and darkness... people like me will stop you!" He steps forward and levels the staff to point at Jafar.

Inscribe the power of destruction into decaying matter! The ultimate spell of Mysidian Black Magic... FLARE!

And then there's a brief sense of things falling apart, as Palom's magic tries to rip matter apart and release that energy in a mighty explosion around Jafar! (Fortunately, magic just plain ignores the rules of nuclear physics, so this explosion is much more localized and doesn't irradiate everyone around)

Ursula has posed:
First Persephone; now, Hades may not be a planet anymore, but it's definitely a battleship. Its broadside on the pirate ship is devastatingly effective, as is Sarafina's, if not broadside, chainsawside.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT!

The bottom /falls out/ of the ship, pretty much literally cleaved in twain. Oddly, it doesn't fall like splinting pieces of wood, but rather is rapidly disintigrating into little bricks, kind of like LEGOs, for the Manhattan-literate.

By the time it's reached the ground, there's nothing left of it but little puffs of Darkness. Good thing, too, because the fight down there is /fierce/. Minerva's holy shockwaves mix with Aerith's fire and ice with concussive effect, scattering Heartless left and right! Luso and Kaydin fight practically back-to-back, their swords hurled and swung, clearing a path for those subway-arrived civilians, who vanish through the portal gratefully. Tifa uppercuts the very last lieutenant, and then, finally, things fall /silent/ down there.

Well, except for the screaming, crying citizens of Manhattan, but at least they're marginally safer right now. Several thousand more make a break for the portal, pouring across Central Park in waves.

Up in the air, Reize's fireball -- as enhanced, dramatically, by Lily -- consumes Captain Hook in roaring flame. The boy's kick cracks loudly against the pirate's fabulous schnozz; he may well have broken it. "AH WON FUGET DIS!" Hook screams furiously. However, as he falls through the air, with the rest of his crew, they also disappear, each falling into their own individual portal, which quickly wink out of existence.

Is it over?

Aerith has posed:
Aerith landed, her defenses shining for a few more moments as she watched the pirate ship, heartless, and even that man named Jafar get blown to pieces. Her eyes closed as she sighed, relieved that it was... momentarily over. She was nowhere near relaxed. In fact, she kept her senses tuned even as she healed herself.

Aerith opened her eyes and immediately sought out Tifa. They needed to regroup, big time.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart had just finished cleaning up some of the last wyvern, so she's seen jogging back to the portal "Phew, looks like we did it. At least the portal got protected." She has no idea what's going on behind the scenes though, for her its mission accomplished.

CHIEF has posed:

CHIEF watches as the heroes wreck the stuff out of the group LEXUS wanted him to aid. He actually stops in his walk, moves the cigar to one side of his mouth to the other before canting his head to the side. In this programs mind, users being crushed by users made his life ever so much easier.

After all, he didn't /have/ to really raise a finger to high to help and since things seems to go the other way now, CHIEF just decided to rest the pulse rifle on his shoulder, take a puff of his cigar and see just what would happen next.

If he had to move in to attack; he would without hesitation, but really...

He was in no rush. Nope. No rush at all.

At least he can enjoy the fireworks and pirates falling into portals.

"Oh well, I guess this makes my job easier. I wonder if I can find a shop around here with grenades or some such.."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
There was a degree of satisfaction as Reize had done his damage towards the Captain. The ship itself seems to be breing down, crashing onto the surface. Reize is already reaching for Lily to carry her into his arms. He looks up at the Captain as he flies off, glaring, "Good!"

Tag Captain Hook on the list of folks Reize has earned a grudge against.

...Let's hope that the Wild Saurian, Captain Hook, and Goug Zolom do not tag-team on the boy. Nevertheless, as the descending ship comes, Reize leans forward to scoop Lily into his arms into a princess carry, "Let's go!" And he leaps off, bringing his way to land on the ground with his girlfriend.

Luso Clemens has posed:
Luso's attacks cleaved into the remaining heartless with a satisfying squealch, downing it for good. "...Oh man! I did it? Hah! I did it!" Leaping back from the range of attack, Luso found himself back to back with Kaydin, panting heavily and looking about to survey their battle situation.

It wasn't good. Not by a long shot.

But even then, he grinned confidently and held Flametongue at the ready.

"So, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding. You ready for some action?" The boy asked, not looking at Kaydin and keeping his eyes on the scattered forces and CHIEF. A chuckle is then given and he speaks again. "How many did you get? I bet I got twice as many as you did!"

David Xanatos has posed:
Taking a deep breathe, Xanatos nods and listens to the radio chatter going on around him. But that isn't enough for him. He hits his thrusters and leaps/flies to the nearest rooftop to get a look at this, his city. His armor is battered and he is sopping wet, and he is clearly determined. Changing frequencies he speaks, alone on this rooftop listening to the battles being waged in the city, he looks out in every direction. Everything is going as he planned, but this was still his home. He takes a depe breathe once more and speaks softly. "Owen. This is Xanatos. Are they safe?"

Jafar has posed:
Jafar is smirking confidently, as he watches Angantyr struggle against his unstoppable power. Mere muscle, braced by mists and shadow, cannot compare to Jafar's sheer elemental might. His eyes widen, however, as his arcane force begns to crackle, then is diverted, hammering a second cylinder overlapping the first, a Venn diagram where both halves are labeled "Failure" and the overlap is "Shame."

"No... impossible!" Jafar protests, and his dismay distracts him. He hurls up another barrier for Angantyr to shatter; this one holds up much better, taking a few blows before Jafar's body takes the last, inflating his cheeks with violently expelled breath.

One moment, Faruja is trapped behind a wall of swords, the next, he is stepping through the air itself, fur and steel alike glinting with holy power. Jafar turns to face him, but the spear punctures his side before he can even open his mouth. His knees lose strength as he gazes, speechless with rage, at the Burmecian's face. Has he learned a lesson about taunting Faruja's family?

Probably not.

Maira's screech is accompanied by the howl of heat-disrupted air as her fireball smashes into Jafar, probably forcing Angantyr back. It looks, for a moment, as if he has been burnt to ashes, but then his black cape is thrown aside from its shielding position, and he fires a burst of force straight through the approaching Uist. It does nothing to slow the creature--he can hurt intangible beings, but only if he uses the right method--and it rips through Jafar's lanky frame, dragging life energy with it as he exhales a gout of smoke. Apparently he absorbed much of the flame to save his life... and he doesn't handle it nearly as well as Maira. He drops to one knee.

Then Palom, to put it simply, causes everything around the Sultan to explode. The ground is destroyed, the air consumed, and Jafar's greatly weakened defenses are battered about along with his body. He looks exhausted, burned, bloody, and most of all, offended.

Iago has many talents, but discretion is one of his finest. Having disengaged from his draconic foe, he lands on Jafar's shoulder expectantly. Jafar raises his hand, even that motion costing his pummeled frame, and tosses a vial of pink dust at his feet, where it combusts into a massive and choking cloud of smoke, with arabesque curls and patterns.

When it disperses, he is, of course, gone.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin hurls his sword at a group of heartless, the sword running them through before he pulls the chain back and it rewraps about his arm and he readies his sword. "I guess I can stop playing around if you are going to give it a serious effort." He says calmly, he was breathing hard about the same as Luso but he kept the calm expression on his face. "I will take you up on that bet. Shame you are already losing." He says, not turning his head and keeping an eye on the remaining forces.

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
The battle--is it winding down? Is it over? Sarafina rubs at her eyes. This has been the roughest fight she's ever been in, she thinks, and she's been in many rough fights. And for a pirate ship, this was seriously packing heat! However 'comical' their actions may have been, well, just because something is comical doesn't mean it's not dangerous.

She almost, in fact, misses it. But she has also seen plenty of ships fall apart before in her life.

And the way this ship is falling apart is not like anything she has ever seen before. In fact, it makes her wonder, why did they get this ship to manhattan in the first place. She even asked about it before, if she could get her airship through the portal--and no, it's stuck in the World of Ruin. And this ship should have been stuck in the world it had come from too.

She knows of LEGOS by this point in time, having been in Manhattan long enough. She drops down and snags a few pieces with her hands--carefully so as to not break them further.

This battle, whether it's won or lost, for battles in the future, this may be a vital clue to bring the fight back to the Shadow Lords. She flits away--too tired and broken to keep fighting, but she can evacuate with her family, make sure MAira is okay. The TDA? She'll just have to have faith in them.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blinked for a moment as the woman with the chainsaw flew off, her eyes narrowed as she tried to track her retreat from the field. Just as well, she'd ask who that was later. "Tifa, find Maira. See if she's okay."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods to Aerith "Alright." She doesn't know what's coming up, she won't argue with Aerith's judgment either, there's too much going on after all, and Aerith is more perceptive thans he is. She runs off, looking around among what's left of the people. At least most of the citizens managed to evacuate safely.

Luso Clemens has posed:
"What? You were playing around? Heh! I then I guess I have to get serious too!" Luso spoke good naturedly, despite his fatigue. He sheathed Flametongue and then drew the Kwigon Blade and Kotetsu, dual wielding them together.

"And hey! I'm just...I was going easy on them, yeah!" Lifting the hand that was carrying Kotetsu, Luso rubbed the underside of his nose with his index finger, continuing to grin. "I'll blow past your score before you know it!"

At that point, he had noticed Reize and Lily landing and waved over to them. "Hey! Thanks for the lift earlier! That was an epic move actually!" Lowering his swords back into ready stance, he then asked the other boy. "Where can I get me one of those things, huh?"

Palom has posed:
Palom grins as he watches his power unleash upon Jafar. THAT'll teach that big meanie!

Once Jafar has flead the field, Palom walks up to Maira since she's the closest (sort of) familiar face. "Do you fight these guys all the time? Is this world safe now?"

Kaydin has posed:
"Something as powerful as what he did probably means it is one of a kind. Though I wont argue if more can be gotten." Kaydin says as he keeps his sword ready as he gazes about. "It isnt over. Orders were to shut the portals at all cost so this is probably just the calm before the storm. More will be coming soon." He says as he looks about. "Find what healers we can and get those injured battle ready again. It may be best though for those who are severely injured to get out of here with the rest of the refugees." He says to those who can hear him.

Minerva has posed:
Minerva has just snapped out of her stunned horror and no is looking to see who still stands she's alive a bit battered but she can keep fighting. Well battered compaired to everyone else now. She's trying to gather up with the others. "LUSO!?? Where did you get to." Tifa is spotted while she's searching. "Thank you, your aid was well placed. Still I not seen many monks with some skill at Magics."

Maira has posed:
Maira is....well, okay is stretching it. She's alive. She will need a good bit of time to recover from this ordeal once the adrenaline has left her and exhausted and the full extent of her wounds set in. She has been riding the tide of her power, but as Jafar disappears, defeated by their combined efforts, Maira's burning focus is beginning to ebb. Uist has used a great deal of the energy available to him, as well as a large amount of Maira's. Funny, she is never really sure who takes power from who.

The flames subside, seemingly absorbed back into Maira's body. Of course, this means she has ruined yet another outfit. The tatters of Faruja's bowered robes hang from her form. She stumbles, looking toward Palom. "Have to keep the portal open....so many people...I...." and then she stumbles again, swooning.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Once the Boy with the Long Yellow Scarf lands, he would set Lily down, but she seems very comfortable around him. So, he keeps holding onto her with a sigh. However, it is a sigh in good spirits as he keeps a smile on his face. Truth be told, Reize is in pretty bad shap as well. However, he is glad that everyone manged to pull through.

When the boy address them, Reize waves at his direction. A grin widens, "Oooi! Thanks!" Then, he starts waling up to the other boy, "Uhh, I can ask Skoll to craft one for you. I am sure I can make some deals with him in order to get one crafted!"

He extends a hand towards the other teenager's way, "I'm Reize Seatlan! Pleasure to meet you!"

He looks over to the resting girl, "This is Lily."

And a familiar face arrives in his sights, "Oooi! Tifa!"

Faruja Senra has posed:
The fact that Jafar spoke not a word upon his royal arsekicking handed to him by the team of rat, dark knight, boy genius, and fire lady does much to life the rat's spirits. Feeling his blade stab into flesh? Even better. As Jafar makes his break away, the ratling lifts up the tip, licking the blood away. He's sure to let Jafar see it. Then, as the man fades away in smoke, the rat spits it out. "Fah. Disgusting. 'Tis the taste of snake upon it."

Thankfully, the rat's rage quelled, he turns to his allies. Particularly, Maira. He rushes over to her.

"My dear friend, I do not know what that was, but it was far too effective for your own health. Allow me see to your injuries." COMMENCE HEALZ. Also bandages. And gentle rubs to her whiskey colored hair. Someone's /worried/.

The Squires too are at work, kneeling over their dead. Prayers, and crossings are given as they show their respect to those who lost their lives to defend this place.

Faruja's ear perks as he listens to the radio. Hope, so high, slowly dims a touch. His jaw sets. Turning to Maira, he shakes his head. "We...must...damnit."

He reaches forward, catching the woman as she swoons, tending to her and throwing his own robes over her body.

"I know not what goes on below, my friend. But I shall see you to safety. And I shall guard this place with my life, on my honor as a Temple Knight of the Church. And as a nezumi."

He turns to Palom. "Young Master Mage. Excellent work. Forgive me, but it seems these dark times are yet to continue. Shall you continue to lend us your aide in defending the people here?"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr watches as the Wizzard went down...

Don't leave wounded deer, as he moves to land the finishing blow. However Jafar was smart, he knew magic, and knew that the best way to tick your enemies off is to always be prepared. Poof!

And now Jafar was gone, pink mist causing Angantyr to cover his face and move away, cursing slightly that he could not finish the job. However, he was at his limit. He falls to a knee, mace falling on the ground as he doubles over in exhaustion. He needs a break, and a cure...and a hot bath with a beautiful woman.

In that order.

Maleficent has posed:
Is it over?

At first, things seem that way -- screams start transforming into cheers, to some extent. Thousands of citizens make their way through the portal in a far more orderly fashion; whatever else anyone can say about today, this group has, without a doubt, saved many, many, many lives.

But then the laughter starts. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It's female.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It's low, husky. Then high and grating; lady's got /range/.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

It will not stop.

The skies above are suddenly revealed, stars revealing themselves one by one as that dark storm condenses into a single point, right where the apex of the Empire State Building used to be...

Aerith has posed:
The darkness rises.

Aerith glanced up toward where the tallest point in the city used to be, her eyes wide with shock... but not surprise. This was stronger than anything she'd ever sensed, and as the storm brewed, she twirled her staff into a fighting pose. "Here they come again!" she shouted. "Ready your weapons!"

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin coulda sworn he said something about them not finished attacking yet and low and behold, there was a evil voice in the air. He readies his sword as he watches the storm cloud. "My suggestion about healing the injured and the extremely injured retreating? I think people better get to it."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart waves to Reize, but that's just in time for the darkness to rise up.. "Uh oh..." She motions to Reize and the others nearby "Let's regroup together, we're going to need to work together more than ever now." She doesn't like the looks of this now. She wants to go back to Aerith as soon as she can.

Palom has posed:
Palom looks a bit confused at Maira. "Are you alright?" Imagine, channeling some kind of Dark Firaga being enough to make you collapse! Fortunately, Faruja catches her so Palom doesn't have to try to. He looks up at the strange rat-man, and nods. "Of course. What kind of future Sage would abandon them?" He looks around at the civilians hurrying into the portal. "How many people even _live_ in this city? How did they all _fit_? Is it... some sort of magic, that makes buildings bigger on the inside?"

The young boy looks around at the laughter. "Who's that?!" He looks up at the strange sky, eyes following the dark storm. "Is something coming?" He clutches his staff in both hands, watching. Waiting.

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Oh man, you could do that?" Luso asked, stabbing both of his swords into the ground and free up his hands. "I've got the gil if this Skoll fellow needs payment though! The Clan's treasury is pretty big after all!"

He spoke with a bit of a proud air to it, grinning happily. Upon hearing the introduction, the boy reached out and took Reize's hand in a firm handshake. "The name's Luso! Luso Clemens, Proxy Leader of Clan Gully! Nice to meet you, Reize."

Afterwards, the hunter heard Minerva's voice and looked off in her direction. "Heeeey! Over here, Minerva!" He called out, waving to get her attention.

And then came that grating laughter. "What the--? Who is that!?" Luso demanding looking off in the direction that the Empire State Building /used/ to be. ..It only reminded him of his failure against LEXUS.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja's ears fold back. Laughter. That /laughter/. It's possibly the worst thing he has ever heard in is life. For a rat with such long and sensitive ear, it's like nails scrabbling at a chalkboard. Turning about, lifting up Maira in his arms, the Burmecian glares out at that Darkness coalescing.

Temple Knight Faruja Senra has had quite enough.

"LORD IN HEAVEN, YOU DAMNED HERETICS ARE NOT ONLY OUTRIGHT EVIL, BLASPHEMOUS, AND MURDEROUS, BUT YOUR VOICES SCRATCH AND CLaW UPON THE SOUL! WILL YOU SHUT UP WENCH!?!" For such a tiny rat, the Burmecian's voice carries. He hopes

Faruja nods to the Sage-To-Be. "Sage, is it? How rare. You shall do this 'Mysidia' proud no doubt." For once, there's no sarcasm. The boy may be arrogant, but he's powerful, and has the rat's respect.

"Yes. Come. Let us get the injured out of here. Then, we sell our lives dearly. Come! Know you a warp spell?"

Faruja doesn't wait for an answer. He simply calls upon white magic, and warps himself and his unconscious charge closer to the portal, beside his Squires. The rat raises his voice again. "Lady Gainsborough, Lily, Lady Lockhart, Ser Seatlan! Come! Together we must stand, my friends! 'Tis not yet done."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
And... that laughter occurs.

Reize offers a frown, turning his head towards the direction of the Empire State Building. That laughter drives a shudder from the boy. Not only that, the stars are revealing themselves as the darkness condenses into a single point.

He clutches onto Lily, looking over his girlfriend. "...Lily, let's get ready to stand..." Reize is approaching Faruja, "Let's do this."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Slowly, Angantyr stands up. The laughter tells him that the woman fate has chosen is less beautiful, and more raging bitch.

"Oh no, I couldn't just get a nice young pretty thing..." he says, and then looks at Faruja.

"YEAH! WHAT THE RAT SAID!" he shouts at Maleficent.

"Seriously though, you could have just shortened that to shut the *goosehonk* up." he quips to Faruja.

"So. What are our chances?" he banters to him.

David Xanatos has posed:
David Xanatos's eyes go wide for the briefest of moments before he clears his throat and collects himself. With a hanged head he says softly, "No Owen. It wasn't your fault. It was mine." He sighs and then closes the frequency. He re-opens aohters though. Despite the news he recieved, he had a job to do. So he looked out over the city and began to organize troop moevements.

Faruja Senra has posed:
A glance to the Dark Knight. "...Perhaps. But I find verbosity drives the point home oh so much better." A pause. Sigh.

"Frankly? Pitiful. Mercenary, you have fought well. Nay, Ser. We shall need that 'power' of yours once more, I do believe."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced at Faruja. Oh, for the love of... he'd have to sit there and take it for now, because his whole world would come crashing down if she told him that Kaydin had effectively defected. His words weren't lost on her, and she'd promised he'd always have a place with her and Tifa. Even if Pixi disagreed some. For the moment, she jogged over toward Faruja and nodded before pointing her staff in the direction of the ominous clouds, her stance firm and confident... despite the overarching fatigue she could sense from /everyone/.

Oh yes... time to dig in.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Don't call it that. Call it what it is. Darkness. I use darkness. Hell, I am darkness." Angantyr shrugs. "So that's a thing. It's been apart of me sense I was born." How much longer, he wondered...how much? The mace comes down, ready to be used once more.

"Well, if we are going to go down...lets go down slaughtering as many heartless as possible...for all the good that it'll do."

Palom has posed:
Before the boy can respond, Faruja teleports away with Maira. Palom casts Warp, and follows!

Sarafina Carenze has posed:
Sarafina Carenze lands near Palom and Maira. "We're running out of time! We have to get out of here!" She says because that's her role in life, saying the things that nobody wants to hear. The dark storm--is just another sign of things getting way out of hand.
"But the evacuations..." Dion says.
"We're out of time." Sarafina says. "Judging from what I'm hearing on the radio, we're /not/ winning that fight over the Heart. Homes can be remade and reclaimed, lives cannot. We're lucky to have managed to get as many people as we have."

Kaydin has posed:
"Get out of here. Everyone." Kaydin says as he walks ahead towards where the laughter is, gripping his sword tighter. "Everyone get out of here now! She will kill you all if you do not flee!" He bellows as he remains between the people and where Maleficient's voice is heard. One lone Dark Knight against all the shadow lords.

Yes he is probably that dumb.

Palom has posed:
Before the boy can respond, Faruja teleports away with Maira. Palom never learned that spell, what with his focus on exploding people -- so he runs after them as fast as his little legs will carry him!

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's eyes narrowed. "You really are asking for it..." She walked forward, right next to him. "If you're going to try and hold them all off by yourself, you need someone to support you, you idiot." It'd be the first time she'd called him that. "It's a noble thing, but... you need to show restraint."

Minerva has posed:
Minerva stops cold at the laugh she looking aroudn somthing else is coming. They managed to deny the darkness some of the people of this world. She takes adeep breath and focuses. "It seems our fight is not yet done. Ser knight I stand with you." In another time, in another life they might have been enemies. In this life they are allies. She moves to help one police officer up and get him moveing. "Come, you done your part." She's ready to fight however but it may be time to flee.

Maleficent has posed:
The spark of violet energy just hangs there, in the air, pulsing ominously. Gale-force winds begin gusting down the streets of Manhattan, no actual storm required, sending debris into the air. Some of it is quite deadly.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"That isn't nobility. That is stupidity." Angantyr says, and turns away. "I am not leaving yet, but I am not fighting a battle that we can't win. We are going to get out who we can, and that's all we can. Doing anything more than that is arrogance." he says, to the people assembled. "Lets go."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart doesn't know what's going on, and she hasn't found Maira either, but she found Reize and Lily at least, so she brings them back to Aerith, if they should follow at least "I don't know where everyone else is, but I don't want to get too far away from the portal right now...

CHIEF has posed:

CHIEF has gone somewhere. Where ever he is gone is no longer known. So whatever threat comes forth, CHIEF may or may not get to witness it.

Though most likely, he has pulled up a lounge chair, with a drink of some kind, and is watching the show from a distance.

There may be Chips also involved. The ones with the waves and have a cheesy taste.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded. "We'll have to do something about anything that comes our way then." No matter what it might be... But she still considered herself Kaydin's friend. "Look, as arrogant as he is, your fellow knight has a point. We're not going to get anywhere like this... and if we leave here, even one of us, this park is theirs."

Faruja Senra has posed:
"Yes. Yes, I understand the distinction now. What you speak of as Darkness is often referred to 'Abyssal' within the Church. Do remember that."

Perk. Wait. A voice...is that...?

Kaydin. The Dark Knight. From Baron. Fighting alongside them? For one long, long second Faruja finally registers the man's presence. Turning, he just /stares/, jaw dropping.

Thankfully, there are Squires about to take both the dead bodies and poor Maira. Faruja finally snaps out of it, saluting them. "...Take Brother Holgresh and Maira home. Nay. /Templar/ Holgresh. Remember him, for his single life has saved more lives than can be counted this day. A true martyr. When the Lord takes us, may we all die so honorably." Reaching into his robes, he pulls out a tiny silver cross, pressing it to the fallen Squire-now-Templar's chest. "Leave. All of you. That is an order." Poor Palom! He'd have warped the boy with him if he knew.

Now free of dead friends and unconscious friends, he offers them all a wave. "And send the Lady Inquisitor my apologies for missing tomorrow's poker night."

Warp! With a swirly vortex of white light, he's right beside Kaydin. The Dark Knight gets a glare. "...Betray us, Knight of Baron, and I shall rip your throat open with my teeth. Otherwise...perhaps there is hope for you yet. Die well."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"...." Reize looks up towards Lily, hearing her whimpering. He sighs, then he looks up towards the sky. "..Yeah. There is no rest for the weary. Not this time. We have a lot more ahead of us, it seems." He frowns.

And then Kaydin shows up. Reize's eyes become intense. The boy fully keeps an eye on the man for a moment. But soon, the boy shakes his head. This guy...

Nevertheless, all what he says..

"Thanks for your help."

Then, the boy looks over towards Faruja and the others, still watching everyone evacuate. While Reize leads Lily ahead, Reize cannot help but look at the ominous sky. "...I don't like this." He looks back towards Faruja, "..." Reize is under a difficult choice. The place is likely to be consumed by the Heartless. However, this is their stand against it. They have to keep them from destroying it. They have to.

David Xanatos has posed:
David Xanatosstays where is atop his building looking toward that light, and the sound of laughter. He narrows his eyes but his typing commands into the console built into the arm of his power armor. Steel Clan, what is left of them, swoop in and begin grabbing the farthest people on the safe avenue of approacha nd rocketing to the portal. Then after depositing them, taking off to grab yet more people.

"I'm sorry." David Xanatos says softly to himself. He looks over at the commotion caused by Aerith and Kaydin and narrows his eyes some more. He's half tempted to shoot the Black Knight. He was part of the reason the defenses failed the other night. Maybe they would have won this farce if he hand't been there. Maybe for that alone he deserved to die. But for now, he could use him.

Leaping from the building he lands in front of the Black Knight, his pony tail snapping in the breeze and just STARES with those eyes, eyes have likely sized the man up, and torn apart all of his weaknesses. He ignores everyone there as he speaks evenly. "Stay." He says the one word like a death sentence. "Stay and slow it down. And if you /survive/ choose your side. I had too." He makes a fist and electricty crackles along the talons. "I chose, and I stayed though I could have gone /anywhere/. Now it is YOUR turn. Stay. But then choose. May god help you though if you /ever/ stand in my way again." He then walks past Kaydin, the armored shoulder trying to ram him not so lightly as he walks past.

"The rest of you!" Xanatos says as he walks toward the portal, his Steel Clan grabbing people. "Get people through the portal. Carry them if you have to. But I need you for the Coalition, so that this will /never/ happen again." Xanatos turns from where he stands at the Portal and looks at every hero he can see. "Don't be fools and Martyr yourselves. You will gain nothing but death. However if we work together, we can turn this defeat into a victory." He gestures to the people still running through the portal, "But these people need your protection. Not one confused Knight who is trying to do right. So come with me. Survive. Survive and with these events in your hearts, live to fight another day."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced toward Xanatos, her eyes wide. "You can't be serious..." She turned to face him. "Is it really that bad?" She'd seen a game of chess before, how it was played. This city was about to get captured, a very important capture at that. A high-value piece. But if they were being told to retreat... there was another play to be made. "I'm not going to do this lightly... tell me we're gonna take this place back."

Kaydin has posed:
"I want everyone to get out of here so I can fight without worry that I should have protected them." Kaydin says before turning to the rat. hearing what he said and then when xanatos approaches, he just maintains eye contact, not flinching, not backing down. "That was my plan. Now get everyone out of here." He says as he rams his shoulder back against Xanatos as if ordering the man back just as intently as he continues to walk towards the laughter.

Luso Clemens has posed:
Luso is more than willing to defend lives, but even he knew when enough was enough. He had not been able to explore all of Manhatten in the time he had been there and even then, there was a lot of people to be seen. At least before the crisis started.

"...I'm all for fighting till the sword is exhausted, but...Is it really any good if we all fall with the world now?" He asked, listening to Xanatos' words. "......" What to do? ...He wanted to hear the others.

Palom has posed:
Palom may not entirely comprehend the idea of something he can't defeat, at least not in an immediate emotional sense. He may need to be bodily carried through the portal. This may be pretty much what the other Mysidians did with him during Baron's siege.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods as she hears Xanatos. She's fine with that. She moves to the back of the line of people, helping those that are slower to get through faster. She can carry some, she can push some when wheeled, either way none shall be left behind. Xanatos always had some better plans in mind. A city can be rebuilt, but the people don't come back to life.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr carries Palom with one hand, pointing him away from him. "Just keep firing that way kid." he mutters, before walking back towards the portal.

Palom has posed:
Palom is the best handheld weapon. Any heartless he sees get exploded, frozen, shocked, and/or sucked into the ground.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Kid, we have to team up more often. I will call you Palomaga." Angantyr says, with a weird grin.

Maleficent has posed:
The sparkle of violet light suddenly, and without warning, plunges into the ground somewhere across the island. There is no explosion.

But when the Darkness comes, it comes all at once.

It seeps up from the ground, and no sooner has it reached street-level do the many skyscrapers start collapsing; windows fall, then entire floors crumble. They turn into shadow even as they sink away.

And out of that shadow rise thousands and thousands and thousands and /thousands/ of pairs of little yellow eyes. There is no one left to save.

The portal is beginning to warp and rend, pushed to its limits by the cataclysmic forces literally tearing Manhattan apart.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Xanatos' words have the rat smiling. Ahh, he could learn to like this man. At least until he tries to order everyone out. Ordering. A Templar. To Retreat. To say the President gets a glare would be an understatement. But then tactical sense kicks in. A counter attack. Martyrdom wars with sense. It's a stalemate.

Faruja glances to Kaydin. "Leave, stay, all the same to me. But if you must die here, you shan't do so alone. Worry not. I shall carry news of your repentance to the Lord personally. Mayhap he will forgive you of your crimes. Or you may live, and we Crusade against these heathens. The choice, is yours."

It seems Faruja has left his own fate in the hands of a (former?) enemy. What will he do?

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"...What in the hell..?" Angantyr says as he looks towards...

Oh god. The city...it is...

"What...have..." he says, in utter disbelief. Without thinking he throws Palom through the portal, and leaps in after him. He can feel sorry for himself later...living to fight another day was in the cards for him. Xanatos said something about a group...but for now, he'll worry about not being a heartless.

Discression being the better part of valor and all.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Meanwhile, Reize is exhaling a sigh, looking towards Lily and Faruja. The leader of the Shard Seekers is taxed. This is a bad situation. Reize looks ahead to see that things are looking bleak. A faint smile is given.

"Let's go, Lily...." He begins to help usher her out along with the citizens that should still be around. Reize is going to do his part to make sure none of the people are left behind.

"Shard Seekers, getting the people out is our priority."

However, this time....

This is the first time that Reize had come to witness a world falling before him. The first time his world was taken, he was away from it all. However, to actually witness it.... He can only start to feel for the people as the horror sinks in. He turns Lily's head waay to keep her from seeing the rest. And it is time for them to go.

But Reize knows, in the end, they will have to restore it. They have to.

Aerith has posed:
Boom.

Aerith's eyes widened. Xanatos... had called it right. It was all for nothing, they had to go... and for some reason, Kaydin was about to stand against all this, by himself. It was a one way ticket to the Promised Land. But would she let him? Honestly, could she? Tactical sense warred with his status as a friend, someone she understood.

The friend part won.

"We've come too far... for you to just die here." With that, she would attempt to put her shoulder into his armor... and PUSH. "Move to the portal, you stubborn, ignorant, headstrong fool! This is the end of your fight for now!" She grimaced, grunted. "You are better to us alive than dead, so MOVE!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Before he leaves, "Look. I am okay with Kaydin staying here and dying. I am completely okay with that. We will mourn your sacrifice."

Minerva has posed:
Minerva is about defending lives herself but he knows there comes a point they have to worry about their own surival if the Heartless get them too what can they do for the next world they will not stop them anyhow. "Luso dying here will surve no purpose the heartless will not stop here. She looks to Faruja and everyone else now. "WE ALL MAKE HASTE! We have lost go now or we simpley feed the Heartless." She'll walk over toe Faruja he's needed to contiune the fight she just looks at him for a moment. She mocves to strike a pressue point on Faruja and drag him away through the portal.

Luso Clemens has posed:
".......Crap." Seeing the sight before him. The image of the city twisting and changing...and the sight of thousands upon thousands of blinking yellow eyes. "......I think it's time to get out of there! We're definitely no match for that! C'mon Minerva! Everyone! Let's go!"

True to word, Discretion is the better part of valor. Time to move.

And so Luso turned tail sheathing his weapons and then running for the portal. Without a second thought, he leaps in, and is gone soon after...

Faruja Senra has posed:
"So this is the fall of a world. I hadn't noticed last time amidst the screams of my dying friends and the flames burning my flesh." Faruja manages to deadpan the entire thing as he watches a world break apart. Yup, he's totally going to stay here with Kaydin, just as he said. Stubborn knight go~

Or he means to. then there's a pressure point being struck. Faruja goes limp in Min's arms, exhaustion of two days worth of horrible injuries catching up. "...M'Lady. Had I the strength to do so, I would claw your beautiful face." Then...faint! The Templar's strength finally gives out. Thankfully, even with the plate armor, he's relatively light. Tiny rat.

David Xanatos has posed:
David Xanatos doesn't even look back. He jsut walks toward the portal a confident stride in his gait. He says nothing else, he doens't look back as his world, his home, his life, literally falls apart and is destroyed by the Darkness. He just walks. He doesn't turn around, but he stops at the edge of the portal and side steps to allow others past. He looks up, but stands there. Listening, taking in the sounds. Hearing who all is leaving. Who is staying.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin looks to Aerith, and seeing as she wont leave and she pushes him, he doesnt fight against her as he is pushed into the portal, instead letting her make the choice for him on staying or going and since she seems to wanna go, why not.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith just about SHOVED Kaydin through the portal, then took one last look at the dying world... and a sob threatened to tear itself from her. "I will find you... all of you... and make you regret this." With that, she made her hasty retreat!

David Xanatos has posed:
When nobody else comes, Xanatos shakes his head. "All the world is a stage." He says softly. "And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts," He looks over his shoulder and nods once. "I will be back. Just as I planned." And then he steps through the portal.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr Vespar has retreated from the area, leaving himself open to Kaydin, Han Su Li, THE DARKNESS, CHIEF, Zargabaath, Oathkeeper, Ansem the Wise, Lionheart, Minerva Palom, Nacos, Aerith, Jafar, Sensitive New Age Dark Knights, Faruja Senra, Sarafina Carenze, EXCALIPOOR!, Oswald, David Xanatos, Luso Celmens, WORDS ARE HARD, Lily, Reize Seatlan, Old White Dead Men Ruling Spira, Tifa Lockhart, Maleficent, Omninious Laughter, Sho Minamimoto, Heartless 98, and Viewers Like You!