Rabblerouse (Y'all won) [[FULL]]

[Mega]

Charlotte's aversion to damaging Law's ship was not just being practical. She had made the mistake of... "messing" with one of her younger sister's things and had a traumatic enough experience to commit to memory a respect of other people's property. Seriously though, scaring her half to death with undead was going overboard. Speaking of overboard, this situation had well gone over it as she flew toward the apparent source of this madness, while avoiding the Tower. She didn't like Neku's suggestion but couldn't think of an argument at the moment. Really, she had been hoping that the Tower would be more enticed by the darkness up ahead. But that hadn't panned out the way she wanted.

"I really don't like the idea of that thing chasing one of us by themselves," Charlotte admitted, seeing the form of... something drawing closer. She'd try to get closer first before considering the idea more. "Okay... I'll see if I can draw it's attention. Should be fine since I can fly. Just don't die alright?" Charlotte said seriously. She didn't want to consider the ramifications of someone getting turned into a heartless/dying because she made a stupid decision. She'd find a place to let Neku down, taking off into the air again as she started up some spells.

She'd give of a visible aura of darkness- definitely trying to lure the tower tower her as several of her hellfire orbs appeared behind her. They were bigger and hopefully she could break that tower down abit as she started hurling the large spheres of hell fire into different segments, still trying to stay to avoid it as she did so. She made a mental note to try and learn more spells to deal with heartless in the future.

[therunawaygirl]

"Thanks! I owe ya one!"

Neku dropped down to the ground as Charlotte laid low, and immediately dashed to where Law and Strax were fighting. They had 1 of 2 options at that moment: either fight against that tide of Heartless and whatever caused the sudden earthquake and shaking, or run the hell away. He had to let them know.

He stopped as soon as he managed to see them, and saw the massive Heartless the Pirate Captain had become. He flinched, somewhat regretting leaving Charlotte on her own. But Neku couldn't help her in the air, so he had to take fighting in the ground. Still, the sight of that made him wonder which one was worse. Shaking those fears away, Neku grabbed his sword by its handle, and ran a bit more towards them.

"Guys!" he shouted, "Law! Strax!" Neku called them by their names. It was a first for him.

"I know you told me to stay with Charlotte, but we also got trouble on our end" Neku explained, "There's a massive tide of Heartless, and I left Charlotte on her own. I can't do much about it, alright? It kept chasing us in the air" Neku groaned, "I'll admit that much: I'm useless against enemies like that. But... I think I can help with this one. Mind if I lend a hand?"

[straxeragous]

Strax's eyes glowed brightly as he yarded on the cannon arm before tearing it off. Snarling he hears Neku speak and turns slightly to them. "Law, go help Charlotte, Neku and I will take the Captain. Return here once you have finished." Strax turns his attention back to the captain before tossing the arm back to the ground and pouncing on him. With a flurry of claws and teeth he digs, bites and tears at the captain. While distracting the captain, his hammer floats into the air before swinging at the captains back. "Neku, you can probably go for his other side and his legs" Strax manages to speak between bites. 

[hoodwink]

    W-woah... At the moment, Law was standing in the pouring rain watching a werewolf literally rip someone's arm off. The large Heartless roared in anger and pain, twisting away from the hulking green monster as darkness began to bubble and ooze around the wound. "Guys! Law! Strax!" Neku's voice dinned over the battlefield, barely audible over the raging storm and the werewolf's wrath. The pirate turned to look at the young mercenary, immediately seeing that they too seemed worse for ware. "There's a massive tide of Heartless, and I left Charlotte on her own." The words sank in to Law as he gripped the blade at his side, his blue eyes piercing the large Heartless Strax was fighting.

    "I'll admit that much: I'm useless against enemies like that. But... I think I can help with this one. Mind if I lend a hand?" It seemed that Neku hadn't lost spirit, despite the circumstances. He could make an excellent deck hand... The thought flittered through the pirate's mind as Strax shouted out from his struggle. "Law, go help Charlotte, Neku and I will take the Captain." Law grinned, giving the werewolf a 'thumbs up' before nodding and bolting across the muddy island shore. If he could make it to his ship, he could provide Charlotte with cover and deter the tide of Heartless from reaching the battle at hand. Despite the fact his clothes and armor were soaking wet, covered in mud and blood, Law moved as swiftly as possible. 

    Each step felt heavy, wet and sticky as the island attempted to such his foot back in with a gulping lurch. Making his way through the spaced out forest, Law continued to be grateful for his recent discovery. I can't die! Excitement coursed through his veins as he forced his body onward, moving as quickly as he could. After what felt like scaling a mountain, Law finally emerged at the foot of the shore where his ship could be seen, floating high above the island. With a broad grin on his face, the pirate gazed up at The Harpy, feeling a surge of pride as he gazed upon the ship that had carried him across many worlds and braved many storms. 

    Stay strong, Harpy! Aiming his hands toward the ground beneath him, Law summoned most of his energy into the spell he prepared to cast. Running forward as fast as he could, the pirate surged magical energy forth through his body as he shouted out his cantrip. "AERO!" The pirate hurtled through the air, bursted forward by a sudden magical gust of wind as he catapulted towards the ship. Heaving himself onto the deck, the pirate roared in victory as he collapsed upon The Harpy's mahogany wood. 

    Though he lay there a moment in the pouring rain, there was hardly any time to lose. Forcing himself up, the pirate continued over to the steering platform, kicking the engines in gear as the turbines began to rotate. Charlotte! Hang on! The ship started with hardly any noise, sailing through the storm.

---

    Roaring out in agony as Strax pummeled him with a barrage of attacks, the large Heartless continued to shape before the two. As thunder boomed above in the dark clouds, darkness oozed and boiled from what used to be the Captain. Slowly, the lower half of the man had been consumed, now one massive pile of darkness. It was truly a horrific beast, hulking in stature while moving on dark tendrils, long talons and bursting muscles that were wove of black and purple. 

    Its yellow eyes were fixed on the green beast attacking it. With a roar, a surge of pressure forced down upon the battlefield, cracking the island as sand and mud were flung through the air. After the immense pressure, the creatures arm shot forth from its stub, reassembling itself out of darkness as it lashed out at Strax. Rather than being a large cannon, this new arm was formed like a large curved blade. The strike was heavy, the long black blade swirling with dark energy as it aimed to strike at the Nobody.

    A roar of pure rage and bloodlust escaped his gaping maw.

---

    The Dark Tower was swirling and jerking through the air as it chased after Charlotte. Having successfully drawn its attention, the winged woman began to hurl a barrage of fire orbs at the twister. Though each fiery attack landed its mark, shattering away chunks of the Shadows composing the Tower into vapor, the Tower itself hardly seemed to get any smaller. Luckily, the impacts did throw off its trajectory, causing it to crash into the island shore, spraying up a mess of mud and earth into the air. 

    Winding through the sand and back into the air, the Tower spiraled after Charlotte, successfully distracted as it honed in on the heart before it. Rain continued to pour down as more of the island began to break apart towards the edges, lost to a sea of darkness. Luckily, where all the other commotion was happening, there was still plenty of earth left. It was only towards the encampment and the shore itself that was beginning to break away.

    The Tower recovered itself, twisting through the air back towards the winged woman, aiming to strike her from below as it weaved its way from its crash site back up towards her.

[Mega]

Charlotte was still dodging for her life, grateful that she stamina held up to this point. But her wings were starting to get sore, every breath she took hurt, and the world seemed to be getting swallowed by blurs. No wait, that was just her rain soaked vision blurring. There was just no way for her to deal with this really. All she could do was keep it distracted, and it hurt her pride! She hated feeling so helpless. And for some reason, her weary mind immediately thought of one of her sisters. She was used to dealing with giant monsters like this. Technically the tower counted more as a great multitude of monsters but she was getting tired, and thinking was not helping her not get eaten.

Speaking of, finding a brief second wind, Charlotte readied another volley of her enhanced Hellfiraga balls and hurled them straight down into the maw of the tower as it shot up from below her, moving off to the side and letting herself drop down as her fireballs ripped through the bodies before quickly dying out; mental note for later, exploding fireballs. Spreading her wings again, Charlotte forced her tired wings to lift her up back into the air. Law was going to take her someplace real nice after this... if she lived that long.

[therunawaygirl]

"On it!" Neku shouted eager, drawing his sword, "This guy's dead meat!"

Neku dashed behind the Heartless as it focused on Strax, and with a mighty blow, struck his legs, hoping to topple it once more. And even if it didn't, he got ready for another attack. He hoisted his sword, and attacked in a 3-hit succession, all of the attacks holding insane amounts of power.

"Demonic... Chaos!" he shouted, as he attacked for the last time. He looked at Strax, "We gotta end this son to help Law and Charlote. Ya with me?!" he asked, shouted, as he didn't let up his attack, "'Cuz if not, then I'm going all out!"

[straxeragous]

Though Strax looked to be an indestructible monster, he did still bleed. A slashing cut formed across his chest and he stumbled back. Strax called his hammer to his hand and launched back at the captain. He swung his hammer one way, baiting the captain to block before using his psychic powers to redirect the momentum the other way, catching a cheeky smash to the captain's unguarded side. "Don't mess with the psychic wolf" Strax taunted, amused by himself. Strax readied himself however. If the captain attacked either him, or neku, Strax would cast reflect to help mitigate the damage. 

[hoodwink]

    Law soared through the sky, a silent swift predator in the night. Though the rain poured heavily, The Harpy was hardly a fragile ship, unafraid of danger. The pirate steered his beloved through the storm with expertise, his hands steady on the steering wheel. He was a seasoned pilot, in his own right. The sky was his home, not theirs. Damned Heartless! They ruin everything! The Dark Tower emerged into view as Law turned his ship, firing its two side cannons with the control module next to the wheel. Bang! Bang! The advanced cannons fired honing missiles at the Dark Tower, exploding on impact. Many of the bodies shattered at the blows, the tower staggering only for a moment before twisting once more through the air. A moment was all Law needed.

    The pirate often boasted at how his ship was the fastest in the sky, proving it with the distance he closed within the small opening his cannons had given him. Spotting Charlotte, who fired off devilish fireballs at the Tower, causing it to stagger once more as Heartless fell from its form, Law's blue eyes widened in surprise. Why, she looks down right devilish~ The man laughed aloud as he soared The Harpy beneath the winged woman, allowing her to land safely onto the deck. Bang! Bang! Another blast of the ships powerful cannons caused the Dark Tower to twist and swirl in protest as it circled into the air. Shouting out to Charlotte, Law hardly felt the cold or wet rain as his heart lightened in relief.

    "Charlotte! You're incredible!" The woman had really shown her strength, holding off such a massive assortment of demons single handedly. "You'll be the most fearsome legend yet!" Another hearty laugh escaped him as the airship lifted higher into the air, above the Dark Tower. Though both had done their best, the creation of darkness still writhed and twisted with life as it circled below. Well...I don't want to fight that. Immortal or not, the Heartless were terrifying creatures, able to devour ones heart. Law had seen first hand how the immortality he had gained was useless against such demons. They really are the worst. The engine on the back of the ship burst as the turbines rotated, suddenly the ship was flying across the island, away from the Dark Tower.

        He had to go back for Strax and Neku. They were still facing off against that guy.

---

    A roar erupted forth from the Heartless' maw as it staggered from the blows to its lower half. As Neku followed up the attack with a combo, Strax attacked it head on with a powerful psychic attack. Taking heavy blows from both sides, the Heartless bellowed as a mighty surge of darkness blast forth around it. Strax's Reflect spell would protect him and Neku from the damage of the attack, though the sheer force allowed the Heartless some distance. Its yellow eyes glared as its head whipped back and forth between the two. It seemed staggered by being surrounded, having had its back exposed. Was it possible for a Heartless to feel frustration? Did they feel anything? 

    Pounding its large weapon like arms into the ground, darkness surged forth and poured from the large creatures arms, pooling forth from the wounded earth. Suddenly, the island clearing was a pool of Darkness, thick and heavy as it poured out from the Heartless. As the monstrosity created a small sea of darkness, so too did it have a vessel. A large ship emerged from beneath the Heartless, allowing it to stand safely on its deck as it rose them into the air. The ship was large and completely made of darkness, its bow a menacing maw of fallen pirates, groaning in half-life agony. There were also many Heartless, half absorbed into the massive ship body, waving their arms feebly. It seems the ship was crafted by not just the darkness from the Heartless itself, but the darkness around the island as well.

        It seemed that a Heartless might show someone's true nature, after all.

[Mega]

Charlotte really wanted a hot bath with some wine and a good book right now. She had a moment to admire her handiwork, which didn't amount to much as it seemed to reform itself again. Yup, exploding fire balls, or maybe a super lightning bolt. Learning spells outside of her affinities probably didn't matter now if she wasn't on her own world. She was brought out of her musings at the deafening sound of cannons, quickly followed by the tower being bombarded and twisting in response. It was The Harpy! She could almost completely forgive Law for all of this trouble. Almost.

She didn't hesitate to land on deck when the chance presented itself, fighting every urge to just collapse into a heap to maintain her image. "I'll forgive you for making me wait. But you still owe me after this!" Charlotte called to Law in good humor. She was too tired and busy fighting that fatigue to notice anything immediately different about Law. Plus there was still that tower, probably a good idea to keep an eye on that and deter it if it came after them.

And then there was another horrible looking ship only her baby sister would find appealing was rising. "Goddess damnit," Charlotte swore under her breath.

[therunawaygirl]

At first, Neku was confident in his chances of winning alongside Strax. But as the attack pushed the creature back, and the damage mitigated by Strax's Reflect, all turned upside down. The Heartless Ship, massive as it was, with the milions of wailing cries and shadows, soared across the black sky like nothing. And Neku had no other reaction but to flinch.

"W-What the hell is that?!" he shouted, stepping back, "It's massive! How the hell are we s'possed to fight something like THAT?!"

The sight was too much for him to handle. Not once before had he felt that feeling of despair and fear before... But once. Before that moment, Neku had only been truly afraid once.

"It's just like... When Tori and I..." he recalled to himself.

The night where he split up from one of his friends, and was sent across worlds, in a never-ending travel. The sight of the Heartless Ship was just like the sight of the enemy that forced him from his friends and home.

Neku was truly terrified. He kept stepping back, not knowing what was behind him. Purely out of fear, he was unable to do anything but try and look for a way out.

"N-Now what do we do?!"

[straxeragous]

Strax growled out of irritation. This thing was proving to be far more irritating than he thought it would. He dropped his hammer, which fell out of existence into his pocket realm for his weaponry. 

"W-what the hell is that?! It's massive! How the hell are we s'possed to fight something like THAT?!"

Good question. Strax inhaled and was about to offer some bullshit determined answer when he heard the ship rushing its way back with a whole tornado of heartless behind it. Strax grabbed Neku by the shoulder and flung him with most of his might into the air, aiming to land him on the ship. 

-"Law, Charlotte, CATCH!"- Strax roared into their minds before turning his attention back to the rising Heartless ship. He leaped up towards the ship, grabbing onto what he could and climbing his way onto the deck. As he brought himself over the guard railings he readied himself by teleporting his sword and shield onto himself, along with some specially made spartan armor, fit for a werewolf. 

"C'mon you damned creature, you think you can handle me?" Strax taunted as he put himself into a defensive stance, pushing psychic energy into the shield to make it bigger.

[hoodwink]

The Harpy moved swiftly across the shattered island. Law looked out below to witness how the entire area was beginning to break apart in darkness. Just what was that Captain messing with?! Law hadn't heard anything about Heartless in regards to the island. None of this had gone according to plan. What the hell is going on?! Wheeling the ship through the storm, rain continued to pour as Law shouted over the raging weather at Charlotte. "Hey! You should rest! Get below deck!" The woman had held off the Dark Tower for much longer than he himself could have single handedly. He was sure she was exhausted. The torrent of rain didn't help, either, causing both to be soaked and wet to the core. Somehow, Law didn't feel a single shiver of coldness on his bones, though. As the two soared through the skies, they were able to find Neku and Strax by the massive sea of darkness that was beginning to pool and form, a large dark ship rising onto the new tide of darkness. "What the-!" Suddenly, a booming voice interrupted the pirates thoughts.

-"Law, Charlotte, CATCH!"- Law's hands reacted, steering his swift airship through the sky as Neku was vaulted onto its deck. Well, about as safely as one could being hurtled through the air by a massive werewolf. As Neku crashed onto the ship, Law raised a hand while hollering: "Welcome aboard, matey!" There seemed to be a jovial tone in his voice, despite the raging storm and gigantic Heartless ship beneath them. Where is that fur ball? The gigantic pirate ship crafted of darkness swayed on the raging sea of darkness that crashed over the island. From above on The Harpy, Law made out a green armored figure on the deck of the dark ship below. Strax! The werewolf had seemed to only push himself further, squaring off against the Captain one-on-one with sword in hand. Groaning, the soaked pirate put his face in his palm as he shook his head. "That guy just doesn't know how to make a team effort~" There was a light hearted tone in his voice. Admittedly, he had grown fond of the furred bastard.

"Alright then, I guess I should help him out~" With a laugh, Law wheeled his airship around the large ship below. Bang! Bang! Firing the cannons from the control module near his steering mechanism, the pirate was merciless as he barraged the Heartless ship with weapon of his own design. Hopefully the rocking of the ship from the impact would help Strax more than hinder him. Law had a plan, though. "Neku!" The pirate had cupped his mouth, hollering from the pilot platform at the stern of the ship. "We gotta get Strax!" He wasn't sure why the werewolf was hell bent on fighting that damned Heartless. He wanted to go. They had the treasure.

Wheeling The Harpy through the storm and around the battlefield, Law shouted out in surprise as the Dark Tower twisted through the sky, missing the ship by a breath. I thought I'd buy us more time! It seemed the demonic tower was truly a testament to the darkness' strength, winding through the air after the ship still. Dodging and turning the swift airship, Law gritted his teeth as he prepared for an epic ship battle. I'll have to find an opening to board... If they were going to get Strax off of the island with them, they would have to board the ship. It wasn't really an option not to.

Luckily, plundering was Law's specialty. 

---

The Captain roared in rage as Strax emerged on the deck of the ship, rain thundering down upon them, soaking the deck of the dark ship. The floor beneath the werewolf was shifting, crafted by the Heartless' own will and power. As the armored beast taunted the Heartless, it readied itself. One of its massive arms formed into a sharp dark blade at the end, curved and menacing. The other took the form of a massive hook. It seemed Heartless could be cliche, even if they couldn't feel anything. Just as the two began to square off, the entire ship lurched and rocked as cannon fire blasted into its side. The ship wasn't made of wood, so nothing splintered or shattered. The blasts simply caused some of the mass of Heartless and fallen pirates to shatter off, falling into the dark sea to be used for later. All in all, it seemed the Captain had a pretty good battlefield set up.

His own feet melded into darkness as they formed with the dark deck. The Heartless suddenly was a blur of speed as it seemed to simply be moved across the ship floor it had molded into. The large hook of its right arm was speeding towards Strax's abdomen, aiming to gouge through the armor and gut the wolf completely. Its left arm shot in a diagonal front slash, aiming to either crush or slice at the beast's shoulder. A weak point. 

Pirate's loved weak points.

As this all happened, the boat would rock and jolt from some of the cannon impacts. It seemed Law hadn't anticipated for the Heartless to be able to mold to the ship deck. Knocking the Captain off balance wouldn't work here. The demons leg's had become a mass of darkness that seemed to come up from the ship and mold to it. It simply moved across the ship deck as one with it, using its home field advantage rather well for a mindless bloodthirsty monster.

It seemed Heartless could also be innovative.

[Mega]

Charlotte had taken this time to atleast catch her breath, which helped partially clear her vision- still felt like she was inhaling fire though. "You'd be lost without MY help," Charlotte joked back in response to Law telling her to get below deck. It was important to stay positive if she had to take anything away from this entire ordeal. And then hearing Strax, she rushed over just in time to have Neku land on her. Well, into her rather. She lost her balance and they both crashed into the deck in any case. "That could have gone better. What's fuzzball doing?" Charlotte questioned with a slight wince.

And a chill would run down everyone's spine, starting from the top of their head. The more perceptive would get the feeling of something watching them. Strax would feel an obvious mental presence from the depths of his mind, a cold and intrusive presence. Like inhuman eyes glancing through his mind for... something. It was only for a moment, and it seemed like the intruder realized they had been noticed and quickly withdrew.

"...idiot captain," a voice stated simply in Law's mind. And then a shot rang out very close to the ship as a blueish-white ribbon of light shot out from The Harpy itself. The shot went straight through part of the captain's body before the projectile took a sharp turn for another go, this time aiming to dislodge him from the ship itself before piercing through the ship. It seemed to be slower as it did this a few more times before simply vanishing into the aether. A single, red cat-like eye would be peering out at Neku and Charlotte from a dark corner of the deck for a moment before fading into the darkness.

"Wow, Law use that weapon more often!" Charlotte called out after seeing the shot, only shivering once from whatever just happened. But she dismissed it as just being cold from being soaked from the rain.

[therunawaygirl]

Neku had barely a chance to move. Strax grabbed him by the collar of his jacker, and threw him towards the Harpy, without second notice. He could've sword seeing the Heartless' anger through those yellow orbs it had for eyes, before he landed heavily into Charlotte. He groaned, a bit pained from the forceful landing, but he immediately shook his head, and looked forward.

"W-What do we do now?!" he shouted, looking at the Heartless Ship, "At this rate, we'll---"

A shiver. A quick, sudden shiver, one Neku was very well used to. He flinched, eyes wide open, and turned back, to find... Nothing. No one. What was that...? That sense of dread was very similar to the Headhunters' glare back at his home, their eyes ever looking for their Target. He grabbed his sword's handle, just in case, scouting for whatever that was.

"Wow, Law! Use that weapon more often!" Neku heard Charlotte calling the captain out, seeing how a strange shot had gone to attack the Heartless and its ship. Neku shook his head, and ran towards Law at the wheel.

"Hey, what do we do?!" he asked, urgent, "Strax still down there, but... If we shoot from here, won't the shots get him? Grr..." Neku looked towards the Heartless ship, his eyes with a hint of worry, "Dammit! What are we gonna do now?!"

[straxeragous]

Strax felt the slash and stab of the various weapon arms come in contact, and reacted quickly enough. He teleported behind the Heartless turning his sword and thrusting it into its back. Strax's shoulder bled from the slash, luckily he had teleported quick enough to not allow the captain to gut him.  Strax felt a presence trying to peer into his own consciousness but didn't worry about it, knowing nothing could get in. His eyes widened as the blue-white ribbon of light blasted through parts of the captain, Strax used his psychic powers to maneuver himself out of the way and up into the sky. 


-"Keep that up! Fire away, I can dodge most attacks you throw at the captain. I am Psychic after all."-  

Strax looked at the captain and the deck of the ship. He threw his sword and shield off to the sides, letting them go back to his pocket dimension. He summoned the Warhammer back to his hands. He floated there, readying himself for an attack. If the captain tried to hook him in the stomach again, Strax would hammer it away, even if it meant taking another slash.

[hoodwink]

    Reeling the ship through the storm and around the battlefield, it was taking most of Law's concentration to dodge the Dark Tower that continuously twisted through the air. The rest of his remaining focus was on firing the cannons upon the Captain and their ship. "You'd be lost without MY help!" Charlotte's retort caused the pirate to laugh loudly, slapping a knee as he shook his head. "Ah, Charlotte~ If that isn't the finest answer I've heard~" It felt good, being back on the ship with everyone. Well, almost everyone. Strax squared off against the Heartless one-on-one, a thought that Law didn't relish. As The Harpy narrowly avoided another collision from the Dark Tower, a deep chill ran through Law's spine.

    "...idiot captain," There was a voice that wasn't his whispering in his mind. It didn't sound like Strax, either. Suddenly, a blue shot erupted forth from the cannons, despite the fact Law hadn't pressed the 'FIRE' button on his control module. "What the-?!" The pirate's head whipped around, following the blue-white ribbon that seemed to lance through the air and through the Captain. From above, Law witnessed the shot circle around, attacking the Heartless for multiple turns as it soared through the air. "Wow, Law use that weapon more often!" Charlotte's voice seemed distant, foggy. What was that? The pirate knew better, he himself had installed and upgraded his cannons. None of them could fire anything quite like that.

    "Hey, what do we do?!" Neku had rushed over near Law, panic and desperation mingling together in his voice. "Strax is still down there, but...if we shoot from here, won't the shots get him?" There was a churning in the pirate's stomach, one that made him feel uneasy and nauseous. Something else had fired that shot. Whatever it was...luckily it seems to be on our side, for now. Wary but no longer unnerved, Law simply smiled and flashed a golden tooth at Neku, winking as he rested a hand on the young merc's shoulder. "Don't worry about that fur ball, he'll be fine."

    Law may have met Strax the same time he met everyone else, but he had learned to realize the strengths of that pesky green wolf. "A few shots won't hurt him at all! He's a psychic werewolf, remember? He'll be fine!" There was a confidence in his tone that rooted to his core. Strax had already proven himself on multiple occasions to be the crew's top fighter, as well as an Ace up their sleeve. Not only did the werewolf have brute strength and power, he was also able to control psychic energy. The combination was a terrifying one, and Law found himself once more thankful for the fact the large green wolf was on their side. 

    The Dark Tower crashed against the side of the ship, forcing it to lurch and rock in the air. Luckily, the ship itself was more than sturdy, not a single piece splintering off as the mass of Heartless grazed its side. Shit! I gotta pay attention! There had been too much going on, Law had forgotten about the tower that twisted through the air, attempting to sink them. Gritting his teeth, Law fired off his ship cannons into the Dark Tower, causing it to stagger as he circled around, lowering himself to get a better aim of the Heartless ship.

From above, he could see Strax floating in the air, wielding his mighty Warhammer as he squared off against the Captain. 

---

    The Captain roared out in agony and surprise as the blue-white ribbon shot through the air, piercing directly through him. The shot seemed to be acting with a mind of its own, as it cartwheeled through the air in order to strike the Heartless multiple times. With each attack, the large Captain would shout out in pain and rage, slashing out at the missile to no avail. Roaring out in frustration, the large Heartless slammed its hands towards the ground, plunging them into the ship deck made of darkness. Dark tendrils shot forth from the deck, wrapping around the Captain to protect him from further damage due to the fiery ribbon as the rest began to rise through the air, lashing out at the nearest thing they could find.

    Many of the thick tendrils shot out towards Strax, who had taken to the air due to his psychic ability. The massive tentacles of darkness shot out, attempting to beat Strax out of the air or crush him in their grip. The movements of the tendrils were fast, blurs and streaks of black that shot through the pouring rain towards the beast. It seemed the Captain was hardly done yet. Around them, the sea of Darkness raged on, devouring most of the island at this point. What had originally been a small island with a large cave and a moderate encampment now stood a broken pile of rubble, discarded and disarrayed by the darkness. 

    Above, The Harpy soared in small circles, aiming downward in order to fire off the cannons towards the ship of Darkness. The Captain looked up towards it from his shelter of dark tendrils, firing one of the tentacles up towards the ship with surprising speed. It seemed the Heartless had grown greedy. No longer was it focusing just on Strax, but also on taking Law and the rest of the crew down with him!

[Mega]

Charlotte had to keep from falling over again at the sudden lurch of the ship, looking over as the Demon Tower was blasted by all guns before returning her attention to Strax and the captain below. It was hard to make out but she thought she saw tentacles from that ship. And sure enough, tentacles launched toward the ship. Charlotte cast her fireball spell again and cast a barrage of hellfire orbs to ward them off for the moment. But this was going no where, they were being attacked by a giant heartless ship and a swirling mass of heartless. And her clothes were ruined! Why did Strax even need to be down there?

She'd start quickly casting another spell, using the chance she got by blasting the tentacles. A reddish pentacle formed beneath The Captain's feet before a stalagmite of red ice formed around him and his barrier. But this wasn't your run of the mill ice. Rain hitting it would instantly evaporate and start causing steam, anything flammable immediately near it would also start burning against the rain putting it out again. But more importantly, it trapped the captain; for the moment. "STRAX! GET UP HERE SO WE CAN GET OUT OF HERE!" Charlotte tried to call down to him. The red ice was already starting to chip and melt. It wasn't a very long spell.

[therunawaygirl]

The tentacles shooting from the ship... The storm around them, and the Heartless aiming to strike the airship down... It was all too much for him to handle. Neku soon dropped to his knees, holding his head between his hands, and losing hold of his sword, his only source of strength. Neku closed his eyes, and yelled loudly, maybe in frustration, or maybe out of fear. His voice broke soon after, and he shook in fear, unable to stand back up.

"Please... Someone..." he thought, shaking, as his demons crawled from the back of his mind, "Make this stop... Somehow, someway... I can't handle it any longer..."

Neku shook his head, losing himself to his fears. It was all too similar to his past, in a situation where a loss, or even death, was more likely than success. Neku didn't want to see anything like that again.

"Please... Make this stop..." he muttered, uneasy, shivering in fear.

It was odd, seeing him like that, unlike his usual sassy, sarcastic self. It seemed that even the strong-looking ones were able to be broken... But not for long.

Neku shook his head, and recovered his step soon after. His eyes were teary, and he did look troubled, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He didn't want to see another one die in front of him... He couldn't. He looked at Law, firm.

"Law! Lend me your gun!" he demanded, "NOW!"

[straxeragous]

"Ah son of a bi-" Strax exclaimed before cutting himself off by teleporting in front of the darkness headed towards the ship. "Aeroja! Reflect!" Strax dual casted his spells, causing the blast from the Air to push the reflect shield back launching Strax back to the ship, hopefully they could escape this beast. Strax grabbed the railing as it came up and maneuvered himself onto the deck before collapsing to it. "Law! I'm spent, any more and I'll fade from existence. Get us the hell out of here!" Strax sat immobile on the deck, using what little energy he had left to keep him from falling off the side of the ship. His wounds were bleeding, as were his ears and eyes, from too much use of his psychic powers. "Charlotte, do we have a bed I can bleed on?" Strax snickered a little at his own wording. "Is neku okay? I threw him kinda hard, I hope i didn't hurt him. I just didn't want to strand him down there, or get him killed...."

[hoodwink]

    Law was reeling from the events of this heist. Nothing had gone according to plan in the slightest bit. At least I got the treasure... The truth of the immortality had proven itself to the pirate, though he had no idea about its origins or tolls. For a moment, chaos enacted among the ship deck and the crew. As the Dark Tower reeled through the air, twisting for another attack, Neku seemed to lose all hope, collapsing on the ship deck. Perhaps he is too young for this life... It wasn't a thought of judgement or disapproval, simply a sad matter of fact that entered the pirate's head. Perhaps I'll wait to see if I should recommend him that option. Future plans would have to wait, as Neku was shouting out for Law's gun.

    Perhaps the teen hadn't lost heart, though Law hardly had time to adder before the ship lurched with sudden weight. Strax clamored onto the side, heaving himself over the railings to collapse on the deep red wood that marked the ship deck. It had been a strategic color, meant to hide the presence of blood well. The werewolf seemed to be in quite a state of disrepair, croaking out to Law in a weak voice. Without heeding the crews momentary reunion, the Dark Tower twisted through the night sky, reeling with the roaring thunder as it ready itself for another lunge at the ship. "EVERYONE'S ON DECK?!" Law shouted out, roaring over the rain and thunder.

    It was time they left this place. Spinning the steering wheel of the ship, The Harpy turned to avoid the collision of the mounting heartless, lifting itself in the air in a swift spinning motion, aiming its bow for the sea away from the cursed island. "F*@& THIS PLACE, WE'RE OUTTA HERE!" Having gained what he came for, the pirate steered his ship from the decaying island, which readily collapsed into a dark abyss as the Captain roared out from his dark ship. Leashed to the dark sea it had created, the Heartless had no hope of following its prey through the air. Having made many adjustments and improvements to the airship, Law utilized the swift engines and turbines that sped the crew away from harm, towards the dark mist that swirled and raged around the island.

    Though the sky was filled mostly with Thunder, Law was wary as he sped the vessel through the storm. Rain poured and drenched him, though the pirate seemed immune to the effects of such pale elements. Roaring over the noise of the raging wind and storm above them, his voice boomed across the ship. "EVERYONE HURT, GET BELOW DECK! ANYONE ABLE, PROVIDE COVER!" The Dark Tower was still reeling through the air behind them. Raging at having missed its target, the mass of heartless spun through the air towards the ship. Luckily, it seemed the airship had speed on its side, though the winds and rain from the storm were deterring them greatly.

    Law gripped the steering wheel with both hands tightly, slicing through the air with precision and expertise that showed years of study and dedication.