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Post by hoodwink on Mar 23, 2019 0:41:50 GMT -5
Law crept across the tunnel, noting how the light shining through the openings in the cave were a deeper gold, rather than the clear light of daytime. Shit, it's already sunset? Pirates were typically more lively at night, as a general rule. It would be problematic if the whole encampment was up and about. Keeping his eyes on the large crates that lined the walls, the pirate held his breath. Meeting up with the green wolf on the other side, Law grinned in relief as his trigger finger relaxed, his grip still firm on the long gun at his side. Motioning for Strax to follow with his hands, Law began to creep around the tunnel bend, wondering what was in store for them.
Turning the corner, the two were greeted by a gigantic cave room. The tunnel they emerged from led to a dark and shadowed path to the right, the left leading towards a dimly lit area that seemed more open. Staying low to the ground, Law motioned for Strax to follow him down the right path. Duh... stealth mission equals darkness. Law wasn't an amateur to these sorts of things, going to where there was more light would just leave the two obvious intruders more exposed. The shadowed tunnel was dark, though luckily the pirate's eyes had adjusted to the dim cave light by now. It sloped upwards slightly, turning to the left. At the top, Law was surprised to see large gaping sections in the wall to their left.
It seemed that the two paths had been connected in the large room, most likely residing in the large skull head itself. Through the gaps in stalagmites that created a wall to their left, Law and Strax could see a vast clearing of cave floor, speckled with puddles of dripping cave water and raised platforms of stone. The ceiling had two large holes where the skull's eyes were, two smaller ones shortly following for the nose holes. These holes acted as windows, allowing the golden sunset to splash the empty cave with its orange and pink hues. All in all, it was rather breath taking. The pirate didn't pay it much mind, though.
What had Law's eyes fixated was the huge chest in the center of the room below, open and brimmed with glinting golden pieces. The treasure glimmered in the sunset light that washed over the hollow rock, causing the pirate's breath to halt. "That's it!" It was a whisper, breathed in awe as he licked his lips. His voice was low, luckily not echoing through the large cave, though it didn't seem like anyone was in this space. Do they not have any guards? Though Strax and him had snuck past many of the pirates or traps laid out to intercept intruders, the pirate found it incredulous that no one would post guards around the giant freaking pile of treasure.
-"Strax, do you think it's a trap?"- The wolf at his side may not be clairvoyant, but the pirate assumed a psychic would have even better intuition than himself. In Law's opinion there were two possibilities. 1.) There were guards posted, but they either shirked their duty or were somewhere that the two couldn't see, or, 2.) It was a trap, leaving the treasure seemingly unprotected to lure in foolish thieves. Damn it, if only I had a clue... For a moment, the thought of traps and danger caused him to wonder about his other comrades scoping the scene for them across the island. He shook off the doubt, figuring if they were in trouble they'd call Strax. Looking around the room, Law continued down the rounding tunnel that overlooked the large room. The shaded path led for a bit longer to the left before dipping down into rubble, leading down into the clearing by the dark and shadowed back of it.
-"If we're gonna go down, this'll be the spot to do it."- He kept his thoughts directed at Strax, thankful for the telepathic communication as the two skulked around. The rubble was heavily shadowed, as the tunnel had led them around the perimeter of the room to the back. The two could easily manage to make their way down the rubble, into the clearing and snatch the treasure. The question was how to escape with such a large trunk. Do I need all of it, or just a piece? Law truthfully had no idea how this 'immortality' thing worked, he just knew he wanted a part of it.
Turning towards Strax, he waited to hear the wolf's answer to his previous question before asking another. -"Hey...what are the chances you could teleport something to the ship, instead of someone?"- He had been struck by an idea.
As the two emerged from their hiding spot by the spotted path on the shore, a shift in pressure happened that most on the island were unaware of. It was a silent change, one that simply caused everything to seem...still. Silence floated over the island for a brief moment, just as horns began to blow. It seemed an alarm had sounded from the encampment, though the cause wasn't initially apparent. Neku and Charlotte stood closer to the pirate shelter than the shore, sheltered by many tropical trees that surrounded the island. "Ah!!!" A scream pierced through the air from the pirate encampment, a death thrall. It was a horrific shout, one that signified a certain doom.
Suddenly gunfire and cannon shots could be heard as torches began to light up from the lookout towers. Another horn blared through the sky, steadily transitioning from sunset into night as the stars began to grow visible. There were the pounding of feet hitting sand as suddenly a rather thin pirate emerged on the same path the other two stood. The man was ragged looking, his clothing tattered and fear wide in his eyes as he rushed towards the direction of Neku and Charlotte. "Heartless!! It's the Heartless!!" There was a mounting terror in the man's voice as he pushed past the two on the path, running towards where the other two pirates from before had come. "There's loads of 'em!!"
It seemed even immortal pirates were fearful of having their heart stolen. Heartless were not stopped by trivial things, such as seas or shrouds of mist or magical curses, they forced their way through any crevice of darkness they could find, on any world. Perhaps the curse couldn't account for the hosts heart being forcefully taken from them? For now it seemed a mystery as the pirate booked it towards the large skull head cave, waving his hands wildly through the air. Almost on cue, as the man disappeared around the shore bend, multiple Heartless began to emerge, surrounding the mystical woman and young mercenary. They emerged without warning, without sound, simply appearing from the shadows of the trees on the island sand. Their bright yellow eyes glowed with malice and hunger as they began to rush towards the two who's hearts they felt.
[[11 Enemies! 6 Shadow, 3 Pirates (the Heartless, not the people lol), 2 Darkballs]]
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Post by straxeragous on Mar 26, 2019 3:26:38 GMT -5
Strax looked to the large stone chest in the middle and thought deeply. -"I could do it, but I wouldn't be able to come back to get you, or the other two. I would be able to keep it safe on the ship and keep the telepathic link on if you wanted me to. I wouldn't even be able to teleport back though. It would take too much out of me and believe me, you don't wanna carry my heavy ass. As for this being a trap... maybe? Pirate captains can be cunning. Pirate crews are dumb as hell. So... fifty fifty chance on either. I'll let you make a choice on if you want me to take the entire thing." Strax looked to law for his choice on the matter.
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Mega
Dream Eaters
Posts: 145
Gender: Male
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Post by Mega on Mar 27, 2019 20:41:24 GMT -5
Charlotte was starting to think that they'd pull this off without a hitch. Some sea faring brigands these were. She was sure if there had been any problems on Law and Strax' end, they'd know about it. This was eas- and then alarms were starting to go off all over. What? She quickly got her answer at the declaration of Heartless. Of course those things were here too. "Guys, we got some Heartless. So whatever it is you're doing, do it faster please," Charlotte thought through the mental link, waggling one of her fingers about whilst chanting something under her breath.
A pentacle would appear in the Pirate's path, the one running toward the skull cave. Having a rough guess of how fast he would run to it, she timed her spell to go off at about the right time to trap him in a stalagmite of red ice. He had been too busy running that he hadn't bothered looking down at the ground. Well, immortality aside, they could get trapped. "Well, it'd be too convenient if The Heartless focused more on the pirates than us huh?" Charlotte deadpanned to Neku as her remark was proven right. Seemed a few were interested in one of them slightly more than the clearly frozen pirate.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Mar 28, 2019 16:32:23 GMT -5
Neku looked shocked as one of the pirates mentioned the sight of Heartless, and, as Charlotte had trapped them with them at the Heartless, with the focus of them being probably killed by them, he sighed uneasy. He held his sword tightly, and unsheated it, ready to battle.
"Well, I still need some warm-up" Neku said, somewhat amused, "And I do wanna prove that I can hold my ground. So why not? Bring your worse!" he taunted the Heartless.
He decided to tackle the Pirate Heartless on his own. They took notice of him rather quick, and readied their attacks towards him, to then quickly slash away. Neku raised his sword to block the attack and parry, effectively throwing them out of balance. Using the opportunity, Neku hoisted the heavy greatsword over his shoulder, and jumped high before crashing down onto them, taking them all down in that single strike. He smirked, pleased.
"Nice. It finally worked! That was one hell of a first Downstrike" he cheered. He quickly noticed that there were still a couple Heartless, "Welp... Can't be too easy, I guess. Oi, Charlotte, got any fancy tricks? I wanna see 'em before I get them all down!"
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Post by hoodwink on Mar 29, 2019 22:43:12 GMT -5
-"I could do it, but I wouldn't be able to come back to get you, or the other two."- The pirate grimaced as Strax's voice rang through his head. It seemed the pirate wouldn't be able to have his cake and eat it too, as the saying went. At the wolf's mention of the chances being fifty-fifty, Law rolled his eyes a bit, thrumming his chin with his fingers as he crossed his arms in thought. His options were very slim. Either he A) Try and take the whole chest with Strax, though who knows if the two could even carry it feasibly across the entire island and avoid the guards. B) He could in theory have Strax teleport back up to the ship with the loot, making his way back to the others and to the ship on their own. But the werewolf's teleportation was handy to keep as an 'Ace up the sleeve' in case things got bad. C) He could always risk taking some of the treasure. But what if the curse didn't work that way?
Mimicking a groan quietly in frustration, the pirate grabbed at his hair with both hands as he burrowed his face in the lush blue scarf around his neck. This is so annoying! There were still pirates out in the tunnels, meaning their way back was dangerous. If they tried to carry a whole chest back down...who knows how that would go. The pirate's thoughts were interrupted by shouting coming from the tunnels they had arrived from earlier. "Oi! The hell!" "It's the f*&$ing beasts, again!" Gunshots filled the tunnel and the ringing of metal mixed with shouting, all of which invaded the large and empty cavern the two stood in. Still heavily shadowed at the corner of the ledge, peering into the clearing below, Law held a finger to his lips looking over at Strax, pressing himself against the dark rock wall.
"Damned pests..." A low growl erupted through the clearing the two stood above, a shadow moving from the edge of the room near them into the center. The pirate hadn't noticed the figure earlier, as it had been almost directly below them, shadowed in the darkness. Sweat broke out on the pirates brow as he silently thanked himself for not just foolishly rushing down there. It seemed someone had indeed been watching the treasure, silently. Almost as if they had not want their presence to be known. Now near the large treasure chest, Law could make out the figure clearly.
It was a large man, one that stood almost a foot above the pirate himself from the looks of it, hulking in mass beneath an old battered and bloodied black cape. At the mans side was a large sword, curved and threatening even in the scabbard. On his other side was a large blusterbuss, impressively powerful for what limited technology this world seemed to have. On his head the man wore a captains hat that was littered in slices and burn marks. It seemed that the captain before them had seen and survived many battles. Turning to walk towards the tunnel entrances, the large captain gave one longing look back at the treasure before his voice boomed throughout the caves. "KILL THESE CREATURES NOW!!!"
For a moment Law's blood ran cold as he looked over at the wolf, wondering what creatures the captain was speaking of. Are they being attacked? Too much was happening, it seemed that Law would have to make his decision now or never. The sheer size of the Captain was threatening, as well as the fact he was most likely immortal, too. Shit! They were in a dangerous spot, with the leader being so close to them and blocking the only apparent exit. Wait a minute...! Looking over at the green wolf skulking in the shadows near him, Law grinned devilishly as his blue eyes scanned the cave walls.
-"Strax! Pirates never rely on only one exit! Help me find a different way out of here!"- If the two could just manage to find a different way out of the large skull cave other than the tunnels they had come from, now littered with the pirates and the Captain, they could surely make off with the treasure before anyone was the wiser! Gripped with excitement, Law almost forgot an important detail as it suddenly dawned on him. -"Oh, Strax! Tell the others to stay away from here! I don't want them to run into the captain without back up!"- It was a chilling thought, squaring off against that gigantic of a man who was also immortal.
Tsk. What happened to bullets killing people? There was a bitter tone in the thought as the pirate began to scan nearby for an exit. The only ones he saw at the moment were the gaping holes in the wall above them, forming the skull's eyes. How would we even get up there...?
The pirate that had been running towards the skull cave was suddenly caught in the mysterious woman's spell, a large red stalactite of ice capturing him as he shouted out. The night roiled with an oncoming storm, the mist that surrounded the island only adding to the dark theme. Heavy clouds rolled through the sky, heaving with water that threatened to fall at any moment. Truthfully, it was quite the dramatic scene. "Oi! Wha's this?!" The pirate shouted out feebly as he attempted to move and found that he couldn't at all. His shriek rattled out as a few straggling Heartless began to near the heart they sensed. Gun shots could be heard all across the island, mingling with the shouts that ran across the night sky as the isle was put under siege by the darkness.
As Neku cleared out many of the Pirate Heartless, the Darkballs flung themselves in all directions through the thin shore forest. Aiming at the two equally, the large head monsters wore devilish grins as they flashed back and forth through the night. Another shriek was heard from the captured pirate, as a few Soldiers appeared and had made their way over to them. "Damn it! Why!! Even if the moon ain't out- why can these bastards kill us!?" It seemed the renegade was sobbing now. "I don't want to die yet! Not until I'm normal again!" The despair rang clear into the night as another shout soon followed it.
A single heart escaped into the night as the Soldier leaped up and snatched it, capturing the heart before it was allowed release. The pirate that had been held within the ice was no longer there, not a trace of his existence left behind. It indeed seemed that the Heartless could snatch hearts even from those who were immortal. More Soldiers began to appear as the Shadows melded into the floor, some escaping to go towards the encampment while others surrounded the other hearts they sensed. The island was filled with screaming and gun shots as the remaining Heartless surrounded the two.
The soldiers were the first to attack, leading the charge as they spun through the air with their dangerous talons. The Darkballs were quick to follow, hurling their large head-bodies in a rushing attack, one directed at each. What few Shadows remained leaped out in weak and fruitless attacks wildly.
[[4 Soldiers, 3 Shadows, 2 Darkballs]]
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Post by straxeragous on Apr 5, 2019 3:59:07 GMT -5
Strax looked around, not seeing much from his vantage point. He looked to Law, who hopefully had a better eye than him. "-Hey law, i think it would just be easier for me to teleport the chest up. I'm fairly certain you can sneak out quicker without a second person, and without having to worry about the treasure. I can't climb very well, and I think the only other ways out are through the 'eyes' of the rock. I'm making the decision. I'll take the treasure with me, you just focus on getting back to the airship."- Strax's eyes filled with resolve as he turned. He snuck to a different vantage point so that he wouldn't give away Law's position before taking off full tilt to the treasure chest. -"Aeroja!"- Strax casted a gale to blow away any traps around the treasure, and to knock the captain forward further into the hallway. He leaped onto the treasure chest, and before anyone could say boo, disappeared with it, contents and all.
As Strax appeared on the deck of the ship he landed with a thud, quickly changing back to human form before making his way over to the railing and vomiting over the side. He had used too much energy today, he needed to take a break. Using what was left of his strength he kept the "coms" open for his companions.
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Mega
Dream Eaters
Posts: 145
Gender: Male
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Post by Mega on Apr 5, 2019 13:46:14 GMT -5
Well, that was kind of sad. She'd probably feel worse about it if she didn't think that he deserved it. Some probably deserved it more than others but now was not the time to ponder morality. So two black balls, and ones that clanked. Charlotte took to the air, avoiding them all by simply flying up. Meanwhile, several sinister looking fireballs appeared at her back. She hurled the fireballs down at the ones that went after her, only missing the dark ball as it continued it's flying tackle. The shadows were definitely toast, and what few fireballs were left she chucked at the heartless going after Neku before landing again. "I think there's plenty of chances for that with the pirates hun," she commented as the Darkball started to fly toward her.
Charlotte's nails extended as she got ready, swiping at the Darkball only for it to shrink into puffs of smoke. And then it expanded again after Charlotte's claw went by, trying to bite her- where it was promptly smacked by one of her wings. That had been unexpectd, and she used one of her wings from being startled. Before the Darkball got another chance, she simply lounged forward with a flurry of swipes before cleaving through it. "W-well, that wasn't so hard," Charlotte remarked, trying to hide the fact that the thing had actually spooked her.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Apr 5, 2019 19:44:21 GMT -5
Neku chuckled, not paying attention to those pirates, one by one dropping like flies. He focused on the resting Heartless, particularly onto the Soldiers. He held his sword firm, and nodded at Charlotte.
"Nice! Can I leave those orb-like Heartless to ya?!" he asked, but it was more of a statement than anything.
Neku rushed towards the Soldiers, who already were on the attack. Neku blocked the attack, but failed to counter. Clicking his tongue with pure frustration, he steped back, his back cornered against Charlotte's ice wall. However, he had a plan.
He used the wall behind him to push himself past the Soldiers, his sword drawn in an arch in front of him.
Hopefully, that was enough to leave a clear opening.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 5, 2019 22:14:29 GMT -5
It took Law all of his will power not to shout out in surprise as the wolf at his side suddenly burst into action, his voice ringing in his head. -"I think it would just be easier for me to teleport the chest up. I'm fairly certain you can sneak out quicker without a second person-" As the wolf vanished to a different vanish point, his voice continued in the pirate's head as Law stayed silent, his heart racing as he wondered what his furry friend was about to do. -"I think the only other ways out are through the 'eyes' of the rock.-" It seemed that Strax had decided to do what he thought was best as suddenly the pirate heard and saw the wolf's plan come to action.
A streak of green blurred across the open clearing, a gigantic blast of wind erupting throughout the cave as a few minor traps were set off, such as minor explosives and hidden leg traps. Law had to grip onto the rocky tunnel wall to be kept from being hurled from his hiding position. Damned wolf!!! You're gonna get me killed! He heard a roar of surprise from the tunnel entrance, the gruff voice of the captain seeming to yell out in pain as he was hurled further down the tunnel. Just as Law looked back down to the clearing from his hiding spot, Strax sat on top of the chest, vanishing into thin air with it as the clearing emptied.
That was when he saw it. The shining glint. A few coins lay scattered in the clearing, most likely hurled from the open chest and onto the floor from Strax's earlier spell. It was risky, but Law found his body moving before he had really thought about it. -"Charlotte! Neku! Stay away from the cave! The captain is here, he's sending more goons to the town. I guess they're under attack or something? Did you guys blow your cover?!-" As he thought the jumble of thoughts to his companions through Strax's telepathic link, the pirate had made his way down the rocky rubble and into the clearing, bolting into the center past all of the discarded traps.
Hunching down and scooping up the few golden coins that remained on the floor, Law hardly was able to take the time to appreciate the intricate golden skull emblems on them as he heard a voice rumble through the cave. "INTO THE TREASURE ROOM YOU LAZY BASTARDS! NOW!" Yup, that was definitely the captain. Panicking a little, Law finally reached the other side of the clearing directly beneath the skull eyes. Footsteps could be heard echoing through the cave tunnels, the pirate knew he only had one shot at this. Having already shoved the golden coins into his jacket, Law aimed both hands directly beneath him as he summoned forth his energy, yelling out his spell into the cave as he leapt as high as he could, thankful for the long running start.
"Aero!" A huge gust of wind erupted forth, hurling Law up into the air as the gale seemed to surround him. As the pirate flew up towards the openings in the cave, beginning to run up the wall using the momentum as he reached out. Clutching the edge of the eye, Law's heart leapt into his throat as the thundering voice of the captain erupted below him. "THIEF!!! BASTARD!! IDIOT!!!" The smell of gunpowder erupted into the air as Law's ears burst from the sudden gun fire. Hoisting himself up onto the ledge of the large 'eye', the pirate narrowly avoided the bullets that ricocheted off of the cave walls.
Leaning over the edge, the pirate looked down at the massive captain and the small squad of pirates gathered around him. Holding up a hand, he felt himself grin broadly as he shouted out: "Remember, gentlemen! There is no pirate alive greater than Law Bourdon!" With that, the pirate leapt from the eye and out of the captain's sight, causing a roar of rage to erupt throughout the cave and echoing through the island. -"Charlotte, Neku, meet me near the ship! NOW!"- The thought echoed through his comrades minds as the pirate made his great escape.
Charlotte and Neku had done well for themselves, clearing out most of the Heartless as the rest of the island raged on in battle. The frequent gunshots and shouts from the nearby encampment had grown less frequent. Though the meaning was ambiguous, the ominous possibilities hung in the air. Which side was winning? Luckily, the two intruders fared fine against the numbers, only a few Soldiers remaining as Neku squared off with them. A thought erupted through their minds as Law's voice filled the 'com'. -"Charlotte! Neku! Stay away from the cave! The captain is here, he's sending more goons to the town. I guess they're under attack or something? Did you guys blow your cover?!-"
A few screams grew closer as a couple of pirates ran up the shore path that the two were fighting the Heartless on. Upon seeing the intruders and more Heartless, one of the pirates shouted out in despair. "There's more of 'em! Get 'em!" Aiming the flintlock pistol he was equipped with, the renegade fired at one of the Soldiers, the primitive weapon hardly doing anything to the creature other than causing it to lose its footing, falling into the sand. The other pirate was quick to betray his comrade, pushing the man forward further down the path as he turned to run back the way he had come.
More Heartless began to emerge from the shadows. Though many were simple Shadows, weak in their own right, the number was impressive. The pirate hollered out as he slashed with his curved sword at the creatures, holding them back before the others pounced from behind. As the mob began to swarm the heart they had captured, more Soldiers and Shadows began to litter the shore, hunting greedily for more hearts. Wherever this island was, it seemed it was close to the darker parts of this world. The pirate's wails echoed through the night as the thick clouds began to pour a heavy rain. It seemed things were only going to get worse from here.
Law's voice erupted through Neku and Charlotte's mind, urgent and panicked, just as the Heartless began to emerge. -"Charlotte, Neku, meet me near the ship! NOW!"- It seemed their heist master had run into a few problems himself. The Heartless had sensed Neku and Charlotte, though the other pirate still remained, yelling as he scrambled to reload his weapon. The countless monsters began to leap and move at once as they pounced upon the three hearts resting on the shore, ignorant to the wrath that threatened to storm them from the cave. The roaring from before continued as gunshots were heard in the distance, towards where the large skull head loomed beyond the forestry.
"Screw this!" The pirate threw his weapon on the ground, drawing a small knife as he tried to run. Racing towards the looming skull in the distance, the pirate created a distraction as his sudden movement caused many of the Heartless to chase him. Others remained, beginning to inch and crawl their way towards Neku and Charlotte, but it seemed for the moment there was a gap in the pathway that led out of the shore towards the encampment. It was down there they could branch off to the right, emerging back on the shore that they had arrived on.
It seemed this was their chance for escape.
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Mega
Dream Eaters
Posts: 145
Gender: Male
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Post by Mega on Apr 7, 2019 12:06:38 GMT -5
Charlotte wasn't sure if Neku was messing with her or believed her, nor did she know which was a worse result as he finished off his batch. That was pretty neat, considering that ice would have probably burn through his shoes if they had been touching it for too long. Burning ice, very tricky stuff."No, it's the heartless like I 'said' earlier," Charlotte thought back with sass as she analyzed the situation. The whole island seemed to be descending into chaos as more heartless started appearing en mass- and it was raining. She was equally upset over the rain as she was with the horde of heartless appear on the island. What was making them all appear now? You'd think they'd have done it before now if these pirates had been here long.
Questions for later- no time to mess around. "Near? What about Strax taking you right to the ship?" Charlotte mentally questioned as she moved closer to Neku, away from the horde that seemed to be on the heels of one of the unfortunate pirates. They could definitely escape- considering Charlotte could fly. "Sounds like something went wrong. Let's not stick around for it to get worse- I'm already soaked as it is," she deadpanned to Neku as she picked Neku up and started to fly them both back toward the ship. She'd come back for Law if he took too long- assuming the whole island wasn't literally crawling more with these bug-eyed creatures than it already was.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Apr 7, 2019 18:52:07 GMT -5
"You don't need to tell me twice! Let's bail!
Neku let himself be picked up by Charlotte, and flew away to meet with Law and Strax, who was already in the ship. As for the pirate himself, seemed like he'd either messed up or got extremely cocky which, to Neku himself, was not a big surprise.
"Just what the hell did you do to screw up, huh?" he asked through the 'com", amused, "Did you take it right under their noses or what? You oughta tell us the story later, y'know."
He looked around as he 'said' that, seeing just how full of Heartless the island was. He clicked his tongue, seeing that, if they were to fight, it would be hella tough. He just hoped that they could jump on the ship and bail as quickly as they'd arrived.
That was probably wishful thinking.
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 10, 2019 10:02:56 GMT -5
What happened next, Law would remember forever. Specifically in nightmares. As the pirate made his escape, running through the pouring rain from the base of the large looming skull rock through the sand, there was a heavy thud as the earth shaked. Staggering a bit from the quake, Law turned to look over his shoulder as another loud thud rang across the island. There was a small crack beginning to form on the wall of the large cave. ”No...way…!” The realization of what was happening dawned on him as the pirate’s face twisted into an expression of horror. ”You’ve GOT to be kidding me!”
Law turned on his heels, running through the sand with all of the strength he could muster in his legs. -”Near? What about Strax taking you to the ship?”- Charlotte’s voice rang through the pirate’s mind, though he hardly thought of a response as he fled in terror. Just as Law reached the treeline of the spaced out shore forest, a final loud THUD rang through the island as a huge opening was blown through the wall of the cave. Standing amidst the rubble in the newly formed entryway was the large and imposing captain. The man was different though, taller and looming as darkness snaked over his form, his eyes beginning to glow a menacing yellow. He laughed menacingly, holding up his hands to the sky. ”This...power...!” Many hearts filled with darkness, paranoia, rage and greed have turned to Heartless before, but Law had never witnessed such a thing in person.
WHAT THE ACTUAL F&*@!?!?!?! Law gazed in horror, having turned around due to the large quake and sound the eruption had caused. The massive man slowly stepped out of the large hole and onto the island sand. His voice was rasp now, each step a powerful yet shaky one as the man lurched forward, yelling after his enemy. The massive captain was now even taller, his form a massive hulk of black and purple muscles that formed from the darkness within. Roaring into the downpour, he seemed quite menacing. The other pirates were pouring out of the doorway only to scream and turn around at the sight. It seemed this wasn’t normal.
S...so scary!!! He hadn’t even registered that his body had moved, sprinting through the space between the thin tropical trees as he lunged and hopped over any branches in his path. Law fled through the forest, reeling from the sight of a man suddenly turned to darkness. What happened?! None of the other pirates seemed to be relying on darkness, why was the captain? What’s going on?!
Quickening his pace, Law headed towards where they had all landed on the island shore.
The storm surged with lightning as the rain continued to pour down upon the island. It seemed that something had shifted on this place, as the darkness was teeming as a sunderring CRACK!!! rang through the sky. As the bolt of lightning lit the downpour in a brilliant light, an immense tower of darkness seemed to erupt forth from the encampment, twisting through the air and seemingly flying through it. As the tower snaked through the air, it twisted and closed in on the two powerful hearts it sensed.
As Charlotte and Neku began to fly off from the island sands and into the downpour, the twisting tower of darkness rushed towards them. Once it became close enough, the two would see it was an immense tower formed of Heartless. Hundreds of Shadows had seemingly formed together, swirling into one massive unit of darkness that thirsted for hearts.
The Dark Tower twisted and tilted towards the two from the side, attempting to close in on them and devour the light that shone from within. It sped through the air as lightning bolts crackled and snapped around them during the downpour.
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Mega
Dream Eaters
Posts: 145
Gender: Male
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Post by Mega on Apr 11, 2019 11:37:12 GMT -5
Charlotte would hear the rumbling of rock from somewhere, not knowing what was going on through the downpour. Was probably related to whatever Law was doing- maybe he set off some powder kegs in his escape or something. No, that didn't explain the sudden sense of dread and goosebumps. Being part demon, she was more sensitive to things that went unnoticed by most people. It was like a 6th sense kind of deal.
And then she noticed that the little buggers were more or less banding together to create a... giant snake-like thing. Tower? Tether? They were trying to eat them was all she cared about, flapping her wings harder to try and delay what was probably the inevitable. This had gone from exciting to terrifying- they could actually die now! She pulled Neku up, basically holding him close with her tail wrapping around them. "Try not to throw up!" Charlotte warned him as she took a sharp dive, narrowly avoiding the tower of Shadows. It twisted back around, again narrowly missing as she rolled under it before rising back up. There was the ship! Hopefully Law and Strax could help them deal with this before they took off.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Apr 11, 2019 20:02:18 GMT -5
Neku looked around after hearing the rumble coming from the cave, and perked to see if he could see something from there. But his view was immediately switched to a GIANT WHIRLWIND OF HEARTLESS heading their way.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" he shouted, completely shocked.
He then glanced up to Charlotte as she mentioned trying to not throw up, and was swifly pulled into a sharp dive towards the ship, at a distance. The Demon Tide was trying to get them, but Charlotte was quick to avoid it. Seeing that his arm was free in a sense, Neku gritted his teeth as he reached for his sword, trying to unsheath it in the midst of the dive and not hurting Charlotte. Once done, the blade sparked in thunderbolts, and Neku let the blade down, to then raise it up to the height of his chest. A thunder-imbued Shockwave slowly made its way towards the Demon Tide, trying to at least delay its attacks.
"Urgh... I hate this so much..."
Why did he sign in, again? Definitely not for that.
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Post by straxeragous on Apr 12, 2019 2:35:01 GMT -5
Strax heard the commotion over the "comms" and looked over the side of the ship, seeing the large whirlwind of heartless and a lot of dark energy coming from the captain. Strax turned to his handiwork, having latched down and covered the treasure as a Bard nobody was busy playing music to return Strax's strength. Strax shook his head and dismissed the bard early. "I gotta help law. It looks like Charlotte and Neku can handle themselves for now, but Law isn't going to have an easy time with that captain." Strax breathed a heavy sigh before focusing. He shone with a brilliant green light as he transformed into his Hybrid Werewolf form. In his hand a large Adamantine Warhammer appeared, its silvery metal shining in the dim light. Strax leaped off the side of the ship, swinging his hammer downwards towards the captain as he fell. "Polyphemus Shockwave!" Strax growled out his attack as he smashed the hammer into the captain, blasting out a 100 meter shockwave of psychic energy, blasting away foliage, rocks, and other enemies, along with the epicenter smashing into the captain. Strax positioned himself between the captain and law. "Sorry for abandoning you earlier Captain Law, I had to rest." Strax emphasized the word "captain" to try to intimidate the other captain.
(Comms are now off.)
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 12, 2019 11:25:21 GMT -5
It seemed all hell was breaking loose across the island. As Law ran for his life through the spaced out island forest, he saw many dead Pirates or fleeing Pirates that were running from Heartless. Luckily, due to his pace and the confusion, many of the dark creatures didn't bother him much. "Raaaaaaaarrrrrrghhh!!!" An eruptive shout echoed behind him, reminding the pirate to push his legs harder as he forced himself to run faster. The massive Captain followed not far behind, consumed in a heavy darkness that morphed his shape and size. His movements were jerky, his top half becoming consumed by the darkness.
Suddenly there was a powerful force erupting down from the sky as Law heard a familiar voice ring through the island. "Polyphemus Shockwave!" The pirate whipped his head around, turning behind him as a sudden burst of wind forced him to throw his arms up to shield himself. Law was pushed back, though kept his feet planted firmly in the sand, skidding backwards rather than barreling over. "Sorry for abandoning you earlier, Captain Law! I had to rest." Strax landed in between Law and the Captain, readying a large Warhammer in his hand while standing taller than usual. The werewolf was in a humanoid wolf shape, covered in green fur though standing with hands and feet, readying a battle stance.
"Haha!" Law punched the sky, jumping in excitement as he drew his weapon from the holster on his hip. The Captain was laying on the ground, sundered from Strax's surprise attack, which had all the gravity and weight of his leap from the ship behind the powerful hammer strike. For a moment, the pirate wondered if the Captain was dead. Darkness began to pool and bubble around the hulking man, causing Law's stomach to twist in knots at the sight. Aiming his long gun in his right hand, the pirate took careful aim before releasing a few burst shots at the already wounded Captain.
The bullets hissed through the air as smoke erupted forth from the barrel of his sophisticated gun, a loud BRRRRRAAAAAATTTTT filling the air as he did so. The Captain jolted and flinched under the barrage of bullets, though the darkness continued to roar and grow in convulsions. Soon the Captain was entirely covered in the darkness, a large dark figure looming up from the gigantic crater Strax had left in the island. The Captain had become a full Heartless. Before the two was a massive Heartless, bigger than both of the tall warriors combined. It was a hulking figure, with a square and ragged jaw and long talons on one hand. The other hand was a gigantic looming cannon which was currently aiming towards the two.
"Oh shit, run! Strax!" Law jolted forward before he really knew what he was doing. He supposed he had grown fond of the wolf, who had showed incredible loyalty and dedication to the heist, as suddenly the pirate was pushing Strax out of the way and taking aim at the Captain in his place.
BRRRRRAAAAATTTTT!!! CRRRRRRRAAACK!
The two released their fury through their weapons. Law fired off more burst shots at the hulking demon, who had in return fired off its large arm-cannon at the pirate. The hulking Heartless lurched backwards from the shots, its yellow orb like eyes scanning the two ahead of it. It seemed to have damaged it but only mildly, as it had hardly made a sound.
Law on the other hand was much worse for ware. A large hole gaped through his torso, allowing one to look through his stomach and out his back. Smoke and darkness drifted from the rim of the wound, a large dark cannonball burrowed into the sand behind Law. Blood splayed over the sand, mixing with the pouring rain to create a thick brown mud beneath the pirate as he lurched down onto his knees. His piercing blue eyes seemed softer for a moment as he stared dumbfounded ahead of him, not really seeing anything but the large Heartless ahead of them. For a moment, the pirate lifted a hand from his side to the wound, feeling the space that should have been his stomach.
"W-wha...?"
The Demon Tower snaked and twitched its way through the air towards the two. Charlotte managed to pull off some impressive aerial maneuvers, despite Neku's protesting as the two worked to avoid the massive swarm of Heartless. Demon Tower's were a sign of a powerful presence of Darkness, calling more Heartless than usual to a single area to converge and form the monstrosity. As Neku slashed out with his large sword, making sure to avoid his comrade as he did so, a large thunder shockwave erupted towards the Demon Tower. It connected with a loud CRACK! as the attack found its mark. Though the bolts crackled and singed against the Demon Tower, the twisting monstrosity kept reeling through the sky after the two as they flew.
The two were near the ship, which hovered still and silently in the air not too far away. The thick rain clouds continued to pour, though the lightning seemed to be avoiding the airship mysteriously. The mirrored hull on the back allowed the ship to seemingly repel the elements of nature, as it was still in pristine condition, albeit dripping from the rain. The large Harpy sail billowed wildly in the chaotic storm winds, the turbines spinning at a steady pace. It was truly a sight for sore eyes. It didn't seem like anyone else had made it to the ship yet.
Off in the island forest, near the shore, the two could manage to make out a tall pillar of darkness vapor swirling through the air from the forest beneath them. It seemed to be coming from a certain pinpoint. The island itself was beginning to break apart, the shore and caves beginning to become sundered apart by the rampant darkness and the storm. If either of the two had stuck around their home world long enough to see its downfall, the scene would most likely remind them of that. Where the island began to break apart was in the center of the encampment, now over run and swarming with Heartless. It seemed a strong sense of darkness had called forth a terrifying amount of the creatures.
The Demon Tower twisted, circling around to attempt to close in on Charlotte and Neku again. It seemed the two would either have to hold their ground on the ship or keep attempting to evade and attack it in the air. Neither would be easy.
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Mega
Dream Eaters
Posts: 145
Gender: Male
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Post by Mega on Apr 13, 2019 11:53:55 GMT -5
Charlotte was less than thrilled with the situation too. Her clothes were now soaked, she was cold, there were heartless- most of which were now a swirling tower, and now the island was getting torn apart! "Where is HE?" Charlotte hissed, her less pleasant heritage creeping into her voice as she concentrated on staying away from that swirling mass. And she still had Neku which meant using her magic would be tricky. She wanted to land on the ship but that seemed like a really bad idea for the simple reason that there was this giant mass of heartless. She didn't know how durable Law's ship was but didn't want to put it to the test unless she needed too.
But she could also not keep dodging it forever. "Unless you have a better idea, I think we should find the others. I don't want to risk damaging the ship," she said managing to dive under the tower again. She could feel herself getting disorientated now. She also hadn't yet noticed that the mental comms they had was gone, and barely registered that there was less of a mental presence now. Trying to not get eaten by Heartless and all. She decided to go follow that dark vapor- might have seemed counterproductive but since she didn't see Strax on the ship, and Law was still missing, that seemed like a better place to look.
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Post by therunawaygirl on Apr 13, 2019 15:54:43 GMT -5
Seeing that the Demon Tide was still on their tail, and after trembling, Neku nodded. It was better to find the others in the middle of that mess.
"Oi, Charlotte, lemme down" he said, "Imma just hold you back like this. Don't worry, I can get over it. Just lemme down, and take those things however you want!"
Still holding onto his sword, Neku was trying to find Strax or Law around, but couldn't see them amidst the storm. He could just hope they were fine...
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Post by straxeragous on Apr 14, 2019 3:31:55 GMT -5
Strax roared with anger at seeing Law hurt so badly. He throws his warhammer aside, causing a small psychic blast about 3 feet in diameter before stepping over Law to get to the enemy. Strax, being in a blind fury, swings a hand at the throat of the Dark Captain. Providing he caught the throat, he would use his other hand to grab the cannon-arm and he would pull. Strax's intentions were to remove the arm, and then beat the dark captain with it. "I'll kill you for that!"
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Post by hoodwink on Apr 14, 2019 10:39:39 GMT -5
Every sound was a dim echo in Law's ears. He saw the hulking werewolf lurch forward towards the Captain, but couldn't really hear what his comrade was shouting. For a moment, the pirate simply looked down at the gaping wound for a moment. I don't...feel...anything? For a moment, Law wondered if this was how he died. Despite the gaping hole in his torso, the pirate felt fine. Blinking a few times, the pirate wondered why he didn't feel cold or sleepy, either. Both things he had heard were fairly normal for one to experience on their death bed. The large Captain becoming a Heartless roared out as Strax charged him, gripped by the throat by the massive werewolf.
As Strax began to pull at the large dark cannon arm of the Captain, Law slowly got to his feet. Without even swaying a bit, the pirate was back up on his feet as the wound in his chest, as well as his clothes, began to close back up. A wicked grin emerged on Law's face as he gripped his Gunblade firmly in his hand. Hm...doesn't look like I can get a clear shot. The werewolf and the half-heartless were currently struggling. Strax had the Captain by the throat and was yanking at his cannon arm while the Captain began to swipe furiously at Strax with his other hand, which was littered with large dark talons. Not wanting to accidentally shoot Strax, Law flourished the long gun in his hand. As he did so, the weapon seemed to unfold and transform into a long black and gold blade.
"Thanks, Strax!" The pirate rushed forward, his blade at his side as he lunged to block the Captain's other clawed hand that was coming for Strax. The sheer strength of the Captain was intimidating, as despite the guard, Law was forced against Strax and almost hurtled off his feet. It seemed the Captain was a powerful foe, even before the darkness in his heart began to transform him. Roaring in frustration, the Captain's eyes glowed a brighter yellow as suddenly a powerful surge of darkness erupted forth from the man. The powerful area attack flung Law backwards through the air as he crashed and tumbled through the wet sand. The rain continued to pour, thunder booming above them in the clouds as the pirate spit out mud from his mouth.
"Urgh...damn it! This guy is strong!" Law felt exhilarated. The coins in his jacket pocket jingled as he patted them, a broad smile on his face. I finally have done it! I'm immortal! The wound from earlier proved it to him. The coins really were magic. Despite the pressure the Captain was putting on him and Strax, there was a fiery confidence in Law. As he readied his weapon once more, a single thought rang through his mind, giving him a steady flow of vitality.
I can't die!
As Charlotte wove through the air, dodging the Demon Tower with grace and finesse, Neku and her headed towards where the large dark vapor was forming. There was a loud roar and a tremor sent through the island, visible by the trees on the shore that shook with the ferocity of the Captain's rage. As the winged woman and merc in training neared the forest line, they would be able to make out two small figures and one large one in the clearing. The Demon Tower twisted through the air, attempting to seek out the two hearts it had just missed a moment before.
The large cyclone of Heartless careened and twisted towards the two, thunder boomed and lit up the pouring night sky. Despite the raging storm, the airship the two had been headed towards seemed fine. Floating idly in the air, the ship's billowing flags and sails were the only sign of the storm affecting the ship. It seemed Law's tireless work and upgrades on it had paid off, as it was certainly able to stand the test of the elements. Though Charlotte couldn't possibly know it, if Law had known about the pains she had gone through to avoid damaging the ship, he would have most likely confessed love for her on the spot.
Heading away from the ship and towards the large dark presence that seemed to be causing most of the ruckus on the island, Neku and Charlotte dodged the Tower and the rain as best as they could as they fled. Though they were still a bit too far away to immediately make out Law and Strax, the sheer size of the Captain was obvious as he stood in the rain, a hulking mass of darkness.
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