rikunobodyxiii

{Erinys: Radiant Garden} "If the Light Wielders are as good against Heartless as the legends say, the Dark Hide shouldn't hurt many of them." Erinys replied to Aurion, sounding defensive. Old Nick wouldn't have liked this tactic. But he was dead and not stuck in the Realm of Light. That Aurion seemed to understand should have been comforting. Should have been. Erinys followed after Aurion towards the castle. The sound of a fight faded behind them as the pressed on. It was a little hard going for the Noxling in her current condition, but they managed to make it to shelter without incident. "Need a...breather." She said, a bit out of breath. {Kira: Twilight Town} "I might if I didn't have someone interrupting me with questions." Kira hissed before continuing her scans. She was definitely getting signs of void use here, but it was a little odd. Not like previous encounters. Had something changed? If this was a new form, she just hoped it was a more stable one. But why attack this guy? He was a scumbag for sure, but why just him? This whole situation was weird. "Maybe you should go check on our 'friends' aga-" She whispered in frustration, but was cut off by bumping into a figure that wasn't there a moment ago. The robed figure's hand shot out and grabbed Kira by the neck before she could properly react, lifting her off her feet. "You are not welcome here." The figure said in multiple voices speaking in harmony. "You only disrupt a place you do not belong." "Run..." Kira managed to get out as she pulled out her pistol and fired into the robes figure at point blank range, getting zero reaction in return.

{Mariel: Isopolis} With Ahriman distracted by other attacks, Mariel recovered from her charge and went in for some more basic physical blows, but was blocked by the false god's wings. She was about to try to grab on with her good arm to pull him down or something when Rufus's blessings washed over her. She staggered back as energy poured into her, her body glowing with Light. The red light of the Sanguis Vindicta mellowed and mixed with the Light, leaving something not quite Mariel in control. The Sanguis Vindicta, a flawed weapon, was made perfect in the inflow of the wish. The rage with control. Cunning with power. The Blood Angel back up a little more as Ahriman changed form. As the dark power of the combined being swirled around, her own mad smile crept across her lips. This was what she was made to fight. The ultimate evil. And it would not find her wanting. "It won't be enough, fledgling!" The Blood Angel shouted back in response to Ahriman, her voice sharper and less halting as when she fought against the rage. As she spoke, it sounded like faint voices joined in, layering her damaged voice till it was a multitude. "We were made to destroy evil. Even as they chained us in fear, we never forgot! And after all this time, we finally get to end our duty with you!" Mariel's blood sang in harmony with her ancestors, with the soldiers who stood with her against the humans, with the echoes of the Sanguis Vindicta in all Guardian Angels. In her mind's eye, Mariel saw all of her fallen comrades led by the mad Asmodel around her. As one, they all drew in breath. The Blood Angel made to scream, and though her throat still couldn't produce a sonic attack, the voices of the Lost Legions sounded in her place. A devastating sonic blast, focused into a tight cone, ripped through the air towards Ahriman, the combined ethereal voices of the Legions packing enough sonic vibrations to level a mountain.

{Mariel} Mariel beamed at being told she would be getting a present. She didn't really expect to get any, so it was always a pleasent surprise when she got one. "Good thing I already have yours." She replied to Raiden. "Though not on me. I may have to spend most of the party going around giving gifts. I could give Father Christmas a run for his money." A mischievous grin spread across the Angel's face. "I even borrowed some of his wardrobe for the occasion."

{Erinys: Radiant Garden; Rising Falls} Erinys did her best to keep up with Aurion, though her body wasn't fully up to it. Still, she could hear the hum of engines and the beat of feet. She knew the legends of how the Light treated users of Darkness. They would be no kinder than Dramos, especially with what she was. She pushed passed the pain and the stiffening muscles to pick up speed. "Not enough." She thought. "Need to hold them up." Slowing down, Erinys pivoted around and thrust out her hands. They smoked in the light, getting a grunt of pain in return before darkness swirled from her hands. A door to darkness flickered into being, summoning a Dark Hide Heartless. The Heartless looks around in the unaccustomed light before settling on Erinys. She jerked a finger towards the Rising Falls, hoping that the Heartless would take the hint. It growled and bounded away towards the sounds of in coming vehicles. With a sign of relief, the Noxling Ronin turned and ran after Aurion, struggling to catch up. {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira bounded up the side of the building to the roof. With a flip, she landed on the roof and paused to scan for threats. None were found, so she moved on. She approached a skylight, pulling out a glass cutter from her pouches. She carefully cut a circle big enough to go through, using a suction cup to pull the removed glass out and set it down carefully. Dropping in with surprising silence, Kira took a moment to look over the room she was now in. It was the head office and apparently the scene of the crime. Disengaging her helmet, the Gunslinger pulled out a scanner to begin work on collecting clues. As far as the guards went, Aether heard the guard on patrol running to get down stairs were the control room and vault should be.

Oh, hate stomach bugs. Getting better from that definitely takes precedence to posting.

{Mariel: Kilkis Seres; Shops} "Hello, Ren." Mariel greeted with a smile. "I received last minute news that some old friends were arriving for the festivities. I couldn't pass up the chance to actually get them something." Her smile brightened as Raiden approached. It faltered slightly as she watched Odin and Ahriman walk away. What kind of company was Odin keeping now? "Glad to see you out and about, Lord Raiden." She said, brightening again. "It's a bit down to the wire for shopping, but still some good options left." Mariel wished she had the present she had for Raiden on her, but she could get it to him later. She had quite a few rounds to make this Christmas. "Who are you shopping for?" She asked, hiding her own interest as to what Raiden was getting Shiva.

All good. Happy Holidays!

Link did his best to position himself for what he hoped was the best spot for his toss. He sheathed his sword and cupped his hands for someone come step in them, when he would launch them up for Pit's part of the operation.

{Mariel: Kilkis Seres} In the guise of an elf woman, the Guardian Angel Mariel darted into one of the few shops still open. She had come ahead to Kilkis Seres to help with the security check, what with some many nobles coming for Christmas. But with routine checks out of the way, she was free to get some extremely last minute gifts bought. She had learned her mentor Barachiel and old friend Zauriel were also arriving, their duties allowing them to make it to Kilkis Seres for the first time in ages. She had gifts for others, but had not planned for the late arrivals. She easily discovered the gift for Zauriel. Her fellow Guardian Angel would have been a full on pack rat had he not the strict life style of a Guardian to live by. Though he did tend to help out in museums and art galleries in places he was stationed to fulfill his tendencies, he still kept a small collection of personal nicknacks in a specially made bag of holding. A snow globe of Kilkis Seres was the perfect gift for him. Barachiel was a different matter. Because of Guardian Angel tradition and duty, Mariel was not raised by her biological parents or even really knew who they were. As such, Barachiel had become the closest thing she had to a father. He had taken her under his wing and still provided sound guidance to this day. She wasn't sure she would have made it this far without him. What did you give to someone like that? She had seen other races face this quandary when buying gifts for their fathers. It had seemed like such an odd thing when observed, but she better understood it now that she was trying to buy a present for a father figure. Bewildered and fearing that all the options were woefully lacking, she choice a colorful scarf. Resolutely pushing down the doubt of her decision, Mariel brought her selections to the front desks. "Running late?" The owner asked, an elderly man with a twinkle in his eyes. "Sort of." Mariel replied. "Some out of town...family are coming in unexpected, and I have nothing for them prepared." "Lot of that going around." The man said with a wink. A quick exchange of coins, and Mariel was out in the streets again. It was so much easier shopping when she was in the guise of something else. Something about the angel wings that brought out too much stiff politeness from people. Now, to get these back to her quarters to wrap.

I could be down for a Holiday special.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} "Hence my comment of more brains." Ardyn replied with a smile. "In my experience, the intelligence to recognize when one is out matched is exceedingly rare. And don't be in too much of a hurry. We are playing someone else's game. Whether we go slow or fast, they can likely mob us at anytime. Moving along the board faster will likely only make us out of breath."

Link watched the demonstration impassively as he weighed the options. It wasn't a perfect solution, but they were rare things in his experience. And it's not like he hadn't done some crazy things in the shrines to get through them. "Might work." He conceded.

{Mariel: Isopolis} As Ahriman turned his attention to Mariel, she smirked. It looked like she struck a nerve. "Still flawed." She taunted as she continued to glow with stored Light magic. With a tentative hold on directing her own actions, Mariel managed to suppress the feral instinct to just charge. As the false god opened with his first attack, Mariel burned off part of her Light charge to enhance her speed, moving nearly 90 degrees on Ahriman. As he raise his hand at her for his second attack, the rage took charge and sent her hurtling at her foe. But there was still enough of Mariel to be clever. As the Void Shots closed in, she burned off more Light to speed up. She managed to blow past all but one, which caught a blow on her left arm. Jolted out of her Light speed, the angel made a strangled sound as the agony of the Void Shot wracked her. She stumbled in her charge, but the Sanguis Vindicta surged to keep her going. In the scant moments as she closed the last few feet, Mariel acted on instinct, running her right hand up her lacerated arm, gathering blood on it. As she neared Ahriman, her hand shot out to expel the rest of her Light charge at the combined being. The Light Magic mixed with the magic in the blood, turning it red with crackles of ancient energy running through it. The magics combined set off a powerful bolt of energy at Ahriman at close range. Mariel attempted to scream for more damage, but her ravaged throat still wasn't ready.

{Mariel: Isopolis} Mariel was raising herself up to continue Alderon’s beating when he delivered his kick. Forced off, it took a moment for the angel to recover, her fists clinched for the next attack. Alderon’s change of tactics scored him a hit with one of the lightning strikes, jolting through an outstretching arm. Adding more burns to that arm, the electricity coursed through her, affecting her heart rate. She collapsed to her knees as her body strung out on adrenaline and the Sanguis Vindicta fought to get her heart rate back down. The red glow partially faded from her eyes as she heaved a few breaths. As she struggled to recover, Arthynn made their move against Alderon. Mariel has recovered enough control to direct the rage away from the human king. He wasn’t the problem. Knowing this would be a temporary reprieve from the blinding madness, the angel got on her feet, eyes fixed on Ahriman. “Couldn’t the corrupted king and murderer that make you up inform your ‘infinite wisdom’ as how this was going to go?” Mariel rasped at Ahriman. “You may have power, but power alone does not make one divine.” Her words were labored, like she was fighting to keep them coherent. “Come now, Odin. I taught you better than that. That’s why you will always be a false god.” The red glow grew stronger in her eyes as Mariel built up light for another attack on Ahriman.

{Erinys: Radiant Garden; Raising Falls} “One moment.” Erinys said, giving the bright light outside her shady respite a weary look. The rags she was wearing wouldn’t protect her enough in the scorching light. Though she felt tired and drained, she mustered her power over darkness to create a dark coat around her. It was old magic, used by the Dark Masters Of Old to protect them from the elements. Not bothering to put her arms into the sleeves, she drew it in close as she mentally took stuck of what she was missing. All of Erinys’s gear was gone, particularly her armor and gunblade. She would need to make it scrounge replacements. At least she still had... Her face went rigid when she considered the prospect of having lost her Keyblade too. Dramos had tampered with her heart, and so had Aurion. Had that cost her more than she thought? She hesitantly reached out a hand and called out to her Keyblade. In a swirl of darkness, the Keyblade Tenebrex formed in her grasp. Letting out a breath she did know she was holding, she looked relieved at the sight of the blade. Well, at least it didn’t abandon her. Dismissing the blade, she pulled the hood up on her coat, pulling the coat close to her. “Alright, let’s get to that castle.” Erinys finally said, giving Aurion a nod. {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira scowled after Aether for a moment after she bounced off, but let the assassin do her job in peace. The minute or so of waiting was used watching for any other indicators of guards, but there seemed to be the only the one moving around. The Gunslinger didn’t look away when Aether returned. “Just so long as you are clean and efficient, I’m not worried about anything.” She replied. Silence reigned for a few more seconds as Kira waited for the guard to round a corner, going further into the building’s interior. “Go!” She hissed before taking off for the target’s roof.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} Ardyn dispatched one more of the monsters as he carefully observed how his two new "friends" fought, for future reference. If necessary. A particularly massive attack from Saber out the monsters on their heels. "How strangely intelligent of them." He commented casually, putting the knob of his scythe on the ground and leaning against the weapon. "Either they have more brains than at home, or who ever sent them has some sort of aversion to loss." Removing his weight from his weapon, he dismissed it and strode forward. "Sense anything else, your majesty?" Ardyn asked Saber with a smile.

Link was actually pretty pleased with the progress. The change from platforms to a "balance bar" was frankly a preferable option to what he thought was going to happen. But while he felt confident in getting across himself, there were some in the party he wasn't sure about. That pink dress Princess Peach was wearing didn't seem very practical for trying to get across on a narrow bridge. Pit spoke up with a question. Link raised his hand to indicate he was strong enough, though his expression made it clear he was a little worried about the "throw good" clause.

{Mariel: Isopolis} With the King at least temporarily subdued, Mariel turned her attention to the resplendent creature that once was her charge and a murderer. Like Alderon, there was a small part of her free of influence. That part mourned for Odin. She knew she couldn’t save him or perhaps even stop him. But even without the Sanguis Vindicta driving her on, she wouldn’t stop. Her glowing eyes went back to Alderon as he spoke. His words meant little to her in this state, but a word stuck. God. It was a term built in deep. But he seemed to be referring to the abomination that stole hope. That wasn’t right. “False god.” Mariel rasped through her damaged throat. She rushed the human king, getting inside his reach and tackling him as his blade came down.

{Erinys: Radiant Garden; Rising Falls} "There's more in the dark then just humans." Erinys shot back. "Heartless as a renewable army is what the Old Masters use to do." She glanced around through squinting eyes at their surroundings, clearly not liking what she was seeing. "Plus I'm willing to bet the Dark Realm breeds a hardier stock than those of the Light. And that's not the worst of it. Dramos has-" Erinys froze. She craned her neck like she was listening intently to something. "Something's coming this way." She said in a low, urgent tone. "We need to get out of sight. Know any place we can go?" {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira let Aether check her gear in peace as the Gunslinger continued to case the building. From the windows, she caught sight of lantern light. A minute later, she saw a night guard patrolling. When Aether reported what was in her bag of tricks, Kira hadn't seen any other guard. "Only one guard sighted." She replied. "I'd say assume at least one more in a control center. That should be on the first floor." She paused a moment as she put a few last pieces of a plan in place. "Alright, if your EMP can take out the motion detectors, then we go in on one of the third floor windows. I'll start checking for clues as you neutralize the guards. Lethality is up to you, just make sure they aren't going to disturb me. Works?" {Lamont: Radiant Garden; Borough} Lamont took Alyssa's grabbing his hand as a yes that she was still hungry. "Okay, come with me." He told her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. He had seen a little restaurant that looked reputable enough. He should have enough munnies to pay for a good meal.

{Ardyn: Crown City of Insomnia} Ardyn whirled around as the dark creature rose from the ground and attacked Saber. He relaxed as she handily dealt with the creature. "Nicely done." He congratulated, with a golf clap. The arrival of more of the creatures got an amused look from the Chancellor. "While not friends of mine, they might be based on my world. Creatures called daemons haunt the night of my world." Ardyn answered. Causally side stepping one of the creatures, Ardyn raised a hand above his head. In a swirl of light, a scythe appeared in his hand. He brought the weapon down, cleaving through the creature.

{Mariel: Isopolis} Mariel's attacks were blocked by Alderon's interference, being thrust back a few steps. Her baleful gaze fell on the human king, his words falling on deaf ears as she growled at him in return. She leapt at him as he brought his sword down for another attack. One of her scared arms came up, striking the flat of the King's blade with a back fist to deflect it to the side. Her other arm shot out in a blur, a fist clinched tightly aiming to strike him in the torso with the angel's considerable might.

Selective crumbling. How nice. Link gave the invisible bridge a sour look. Still, it was a way forward. "Sound out a path or follow carefully behind someone else." He called out. He walked over to Toadsworth, gave him a nod, then jumped for the bridge piece the mustached Toad had found. If he got good footing, he would try to find the next piece with his sword.

{Mariel: Isopolis} Mariel growled that her Light attacks weren't doing enough versus Nergodin. Her throats was too raw to scream, so she had to go with the basics. She dived on her target, not seeming to notice its altered form. She unleashed a flurry of blows, both punching and clawing at Nergodin with the strength of the crazed.

{Erinys: Radiant Garden; Rising Falls} "Yeah, that's him." Erinys growled her answer to Aurion's question. She gave him an odd look as he admitted he came here of his own free will. Why in the hells would someone want to come here. Even with Dramos around, this place was a scorching hell hole. But he seemed to be standing in light just fine. One more "gift " of her birth. "I got nosy and started digging into Dramos's plans." She said, trying to staying in the shadows. "I found something he didn't want me to. So, we fought, I lost, and he turned me into a bomb to hurt the Realm of Light with." Erinys fell silent as the memories of what Dramos did to her flooded back. She looked down at her hands, still trembling slightly from the energy release. She looked at her missing finger. An ingredient for the spell he put on her to turn her into a monster. "He's almost done back home." She added softly, lost in thought. "He's already moving pieces into place for his invasion of the Realm of Light." {Kira: Twilight Town} Kira listened to Aether's plan for entry as she looked over the building. At least she was a proper assassin, not one of those more in it for style and mystery. "Agreed." She replied with only a hint of reluctance. "I can probably erase any data once inside, in case they get lucky." She pulled out one of her pistols, and a suppressor from a pouch on her hip. "Usual fair for this kind of building should be cameras, motion detectors on the windows, and some discrete lasers in key doorways and corridors." Kira continued, screwing the suppressor on her weapon. "Munny should be in a vault, with its own array of security measures, but we shouldn't have to deal with that. Oh, and maybe some portal scramblers too. Got tools in your bag of tricks for stuff like that?"

{Ardyn: Crown City Of Insomnia} Ardyn smirked at the answers to his questions. So, some failed rulers. No wonder one of them wanted someplace new. Saber’s motivation was still a bit of a mystery, though he had the patience to tease out the answers he wanted. The announcement that there was someone following them didn’t alter Ardyn’s demeanor. He kept up a nonchalant gate as his mind considered what to do next. “Can you tell how far they are?” He asked quietly over his shoulder. “And keep moving. Don’t tip your hand till you are ready to spring your own trap.”