Madness! Madness I tell you!

[thirteenth_brat]

Who: EVERYONE... er, everyone in Alexandria anyway...
What: Storming the castle to find the Door the the Light
Where: Alexandria :|
When: The end of our confinement
Status: Open and ongoing
Note: It won't go anywhere if you don't tag in, people.



Roxas paced and checked over what few items he had in his possession. An assault on the castle was going to be rough as it was. It was complicated further by the fact that everyone was still sick and weakened from the miasma. Still, they had no where else to look for the answer to how they'd escape.

Not that they were rushing in completely without a plan. Everyone was divided into two teams: one to explore the lower levels and one to explore the upper levels. Supplies had been pooled and then distributed between the two teams as needed. The only really set rule was that the Keybearers had also been divide up between the teams with Terra, Ven and Aqua going with the upper level team while Roxas, Riku, the King and Kairi went with the Lower Level team. The other Princesses of Heart, since they weren't really fighters, stayed outside the castle with anyone else who could not or would not fight and were ready the tend any wounded.

Thankfully, while they couldn't get a message outside of Alexandria, they seemed to be able to send and receiver messages within. Computers would be a bit much and not everyone had their computer, but they'd been able to borrow a couple of cellphones. Each team had one so that they could contact the other team if they found what they sought.

Comments

Lower Level team

[thirteenth_brat]

((OoC: Have fun...))

While Roxas didn't trust Koios in the least, the suggestion that Sora might be somewhere in the lower levels of the castle was all he had to go on. That was why he'd volunteered for the team heading to the lower levels.

Of course, the darkened halls provided more hiding places for Heartless and other threats...

The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

It had taken some time and a lot of work, but Aya came prepared with more than just herself. Not only had she rounded up what crew she could track down but she had gone above and beyond, seeking out those capable of lending a hand. A dozen world's Denizens of Light were here, meaning at least a dozen world's heroes were around here. Gradually, they began to show up in the large square before the castle, directed there by Aya.

Hercules was there. As was Prince Phillup. Mulan with Mushu perched atop a shoulderpad. The Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. Howl. Jack Sparrow and William Turner. Aladdin. Jack Skellington. Balthier and Fran.

And yes, Balthazar, a student of Merlin with an uncanny resemblance to Nicholas Cage.

The end result was an all-out blitz that buffered the infiltration teams from the bulk of the Heartless employed to guard the place. Chernabog too, even, if he could reach them. All in all, Aya looked pretty damn pleased with herself as she strode through the halls with the other keyblade users. Things were looking up! Heck, even those damn head voices had shut themselves up while she was working.

"It's kind of sad." she remarks aloud, "I don't know Terra, Ven, and Aqua so well, not like the other Refs did. So they don't know who I am either, it seems." She shrugged a little and tightened her grip upon her unusual weapon, the Spine.

*plays epic music?*

[ariakitsune.livejournal.com]

"Y'know..." Aria started, having caught Aya's remark. "Most of us didn't really get to know them that well either."

Terra avoided them (probably because he thought they were nuts) but, she didn't know why Aqua and Ven were scarce or even if it was intentional.

She absently fiddled with her tiki-torch fire staff as she walked. It wasn't an ideal weapon but, it would have to do.

Re: *plays epic music?*

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

"Really? Kind of a shame, but maybe it's for the best. Y'know, so we don't wind up messing up their stuff too much. Good luck to them. Maybe they'll run into Xehanort."

Aya thought back to her rather unhelpful vision of Xehanort she grabbed earlier. It really didn't give any clues to location so she really couldn't say if he was in here with them or not. "I'm bettin' they'll definitely want a stab at him." Meanwhile, Aya pushed a little bit ahead of the group, confident enough in her toughness that she could take point. Part of her really just wanted to show off since it'd been well over a year since these guys had seen her fight.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Further down the hallways, hidden in shadow, was a single guard patrolling the floor. He was flanked by a Heartless and a Nobody - a Zip Slasher and a Miner - and he was heading straight toward the group.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

Having taken point, Aya was the first to spy the Heartless and guard-and also the first to react. A grin spread across her face and she advanced, "Alright let's get this show on the road-"

She stumbled a little, her face pulling into a frown, teeth gritted.

In an instant, her good mood was gone. Infuriated, she took out her irritation on the Nobody ahead, being slightly familiar with the 'Miner' type and even recognizing it as one of Koios's personal Nobodies. It did make her wonder a little if he was being full of it earlier and had no intention of allying with her. "Shut up!" She blurted out, driving the point of the Spine at the miner.

[thirteenth_brat]

Roxas shook his head at the stumble. Apparently Aya didn't quite have everything together yet. As long as she could fight, though, it wouldn't be a problem. After a small debate, went for the other figure. It wasn't a Heartless or a Nobody and while he knew from experience that Zip Slashers were nasty little pieces of work, he was pretty sure the Refugees could handle them. This other figure, though, seemed to be commanding the Heartless and the Nobody both. That didn't bode well.

'Not that anything ever does bode well for us,' he thought with a certain amount of bitterness.

[ariakitsune.livejournal.com]

Aria frowned at the Zip Slasher. It wasn't a type of Heartless she had much experience with.

She squawked when it lunged at her. It was lucky that her staff stood up to its attack. She'd never really used it for blocking much before.

Luckily they had a tendency to pause after attacking. Unfortunately she only managed to give it one good thunk with the staff before it was attacking again...

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

The Miner made a quick dodge, letting Aya's momentum carry her behind it before turning, glass-tipped pickax driving upward in a smooth arc.

The Zip Slasher spun in retaliation, blades flashing green. It took but a second to reorient itself before lunging once more.

Upon noticing the Keyblade in the boy's hand, the guard froze, eyes narrowed. He'd expected that Sora's friends would come for him sooner or later, but never this quickly. It should have taken them longer to figure out where he was being held... unless someone had betrayed them. He glared at the group before turning to run and alert the other guards on the floor, leaving the Miner and Zip Slasher in charge for now.

[thirteenth_brat]

"Hey!" Roxas dashed after the guy, cursing under his breath. The last thing they needed was for the enemy to send for back up.

Of course, another reason to follow the guy was that doing so could, hopefully, help in locating Sora.

[ryuuzoku-aya.livejournal.com]

Aya was pretty curious about that guard too. Was he human?

She was quick to swing herself around when her target suddenly sidestepped on her, having been confronted with this kind of evasion before. Her weapon swung with her in a wide and strong swipe, intercepting the pickaxe before it could knock her upward and swatting it aside.

Not one to waste close quarters, she swung her other hand in, curled into a fist, to punch the Nobody in its approximation of a head.

"Roxas!" she called out, following up her punch with an upward swipe of the Spine, "Don't run off without us!"

[ariakitsune.livejournal.com]

"Roxas!" Aria called almost the same instant as Aya.

The Zip Slasher occupied her enough that she couldn't try to follow him right away. She didn't know if it would but, she was pissed off enough to see if Stop would work on their opponents.

She gathered the energy for a Stopga while blocking the Zip slasher's latest attack and released it when it paused. Hopefully the spell's range was enough to get the Miner as well. If the things weren't immune it would make this battle much easier...

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Time stopped around the Heartless and Nobody alike.

The guard, however, remained unaffected, and continued his retreat. He raced around a corner and his comrades came into clear view, obviously startled by his sudden appearance.

"Intruders," he shouted at them. "They've come for the boy! Call the Heartless and Nobodies; we'll need reinforcements!"

Upper Level team

[fox_the_kitsune]

Fox went with the upper level team, more hoping it'd be further from trouble than anything else. It wasn't much more brightly lit than the lower levels, but it was preferred.

She wouldn't have been surprised, though, if the density of Heartless was the same all over.

The mission's to fight to be free again

[hyperpsyche.livejournal.com]

Ren idly propped her weight against her staff as she looked up toward their destination. "Well, on the bright side, all those stairs should do wonders for our legs and butts," she cracked before getting a little more serious.

"Are we really ready for this?" she asked quietly, feeling the boost from adrenaline and fury start to fade in the face of what they were about to take on.

[amys-keeper.livejournal.com]

Jalen answered Ren's question without thinking.

"Probably not." He mentally kicked himself, adjusting his grip on his sword. "But we'll manage." He added, following Ren's gaze up the stairs. There was no other choice.

[belegwen.livejournal.com]

Mabry followed the others quietly, clinging to her canes and struggling to keep up.

((I will not post again unless there is a specific need I see myself as needing too fill--still crazy busy, so no one should wait for me to tag. I'll insert myself if necessary.))

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

Footsteps echoed through the halls a level or two above the approaching Refugees. Someone up there is getting restless.

[le-king.livejournal.com]

"That's right," King Mickey said firmly. "We'll find a way."

Kairi nodded from beside him, her smile echoed by those of the other Princesses following them. Belle offered a hand to Mabry as they walked onward. "We're getting close," Kairi said, looking up the stairwell. "The Door shouldn't be much further now." The Princesses all murmured their agreement.

They were simple words, but they put hope into Mickey's Heart. The fact that they hadn't run into any opposition just yet only motivated him further, but he froze as they reached the next landing, holding out a hand to signal a stop. "Someone's up there," he said quietly. "We'll have to be a lot more careful from here on out."

skipping to the Door to Light

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

The Refugees continued their climb, and before long, they reached their goal. Unfortunately, they were faced with another obstacle.

"Well, well, well." A tall young man paced in front of the Door before them, bouncing a Keyblade on his shoulder with every step. He brushed long bangs out of his eyes before turning to face them fully, grinning widely in anticipation. "I wondered when things would start getting interesting."

Without any more warning, the Key Bearer lunged straight for them.

[amys-keeper.livejournal.com]

During their progress up the stairs, Jalen had moved closer to the front of the group, and now, at last confronted with a human enemy, anger surged through him. His worry for his wife and son knifing right through his common sense, he raised his sword and charged at the other man.

[fox_the_kitsune]

The problem with Jalen's response to this situation was the fact that their opponent was a Keybearer, ergo, he was no pushover. An evasive move seemed a wiser choice and Fox did just that.

As to the Keybearer, he met Jalen's blade with his own, parrying and deflecting the attack off to one side while side stepping the other way and letting Jalen's momentum carry him past. He tossed a Firaga Jalen's way, but didn't bother to see if it connected as he continued into the midst of the Refugees to take them on.

"Fuckmints," Fox hissed, noting how nonchalantly the Keybearer tossed the big guy aside, "What else could go wrong?"

[amys-keeper.livejournal.com]

It wasn't until his blade met with the Keybearer's that Jalen realized what a mistake he'd made. He'd never actually fought anyone chosen to wield a keyblade, not even mock battles. He should have been prepared, but his anger had gotten the better of him. As his momentum carried him past his sidestepping opponent, he nearly stumbled into the Door. Seconds after that the Firaga that had been cast collided with part of his left arm. The rest hit the door but left no mark.

Hissing in pain, Jalen dropped his sword and swatted his arm until the fire was out, then immediately fumbled for a potion. The pain began to recede somewhat once he'd downed it.

You are an idiot, and at least two people will beat you for it. Three, if Eli were old enough.

Not sure which encounter he was dreading more, Jalen retrieved his sword and began to move back toward the others. He was definitely learning some type of magic if they lived through this.

[wr-npc.livejournal.com]

The young Keybearer couldn't suppress a dark laugh at their plight. Sure, they needed to get to the Door to Light. He knew that; it was why he'd been posted there, and given his favorite toy to play with.

These Refugees were nothing. The only ones he had to worry about were the other Keybearers and the Princesses... but those idiot girls had no idea how to open it on their own. So, based on the information he'd been given, there were all of two threats in the group gathered before him: the mouse and the girl in pink. He pulled a small, black stone from his pocket and threw it into the air, eyes on the King and Princess. A sudden howl echoed through the halls and the stone began to glow. It was only seconds before a large, black wolf appeared from out of the stone, baring its teeth at the Refugees and their allies. The man only paused for a moment to grin at Fenrir before renewing the assault.

[fox_the_kitsune]

As if a dark Keybearer wasn't enough of a threat, the bastard had a summon? Lovely. And if Fox was properly informed, it was Fenrir. A dark summon when darkness was at something of a peek to its power. Fucking lovely.

Fox rather wished she hadn't forgotten her bow and arrows aboard the Swift. They would have been awfully helpful right about now. Still, the Holy enchanted katana, even weakened, might be helpful here. Now if only she could get close enough to it to to get a hit in. Which might not be that difficult, as Fenrir seemed to be focusing on the Refugees. Likely, the Keybearer was seeking out any other Keybearers in their party.

"Blegh." Fox tossed a Fire spell at the wolf's head, wanting its attention so she could try to stick it and find out in her sword would be as helpful here as she was hoping.