Kingdom Hearts: Helix of Worlds

[Blackjackg]

Location: Absolutely Nowhere

Time: Absolutely Nowhen

A vast, rolling, featureless ocean stretches into infinity.

With a soft blinking sound, a round, purple-colored portal appears over the sea and Shiki Yunkei falls out of it, landing awkwardly in the stern of a yellow, four-man rubber raft that almost certainly wasn't there a moment before.

A heartbeat later, another purple portal opens with the same "bloonk" sound, dropping Cadet Dainouchi Yamato just as abruptly onto the bow of the raft.

The two have only a few seconds to feel the salt mist on their faces before a third portal blinks open a few feet off the starboard side of the raft, dropping a bluish-white humanoid figure directly into the sea.

[Yuki Akuma]

Dainouchi Yamato

"Gyah!" Thump! Or more... thombp? Whatever it was he had landed on, it was soft, and gave easily... but it was also hard and stiff. Somewhat confused, Yamato opened his eyes... and noticed that it was rubber filled with air. A rubber raft?

The boy sat up, checking himself for injuries - and realising that he wasn't wearing his Barrier Jacket anymore. In a panic, he checks his neck - but Lovely Heart was hanging there, safe and sound, making Yamato sigh with relief.

"...Where are we...?" He looks voer to the woman, apparently asking her. He then jumps as he hears something splash down into the water, staring out at it in confusion.

[Kasanip]

Shiki Yunkei

As soon as the purple mist had given way to air, Shiki tried to prepare herself for landing, but nothing could have prepared her for what was to come. Quite unceremoniously she landed on her rump on the rubber vessel.

"Oww! Wh-" Before she had time even to collect herself, another portal opened and a young boy landed on the other end, causing the boat to sway uneasily. Wait. Sway in what? A splash off to her right sent salty water across her face, and that's when Shiki knew she was completely, hopelessly lost.
"W-water? She exclaimed, to no one in particular. In utter disbelief, her jaw dropped as she looked around. The boy's question snapped her out of her daze, and she turned back to him.
"Hmm? Oh! Well...Where?...that's a funny question!" She laughed lamely, scratching the back of her head. "..'cause well you see..I have no idea." She offered remorsefully. Without missing a beat, Shiki pointed out at the water with a finger.
"Say, how deep do you think that is?" She asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

[Blackjackg]

In the course of his hurried check to find Lovely Heart, Yamato notices a charm that he doesn't recognize pinned to the front of his uniform like a medal.

About an inch and a half across, it's a dark blue circle with patterns and symbols that resemble a magic circle drawn on it in white. It seems to be made of glass or ceramic. It's attached to the fabric of the uniform with a simple carabiner-like clip and a short length of chain.

As she points out at the water, Shiki notices a charm she doesn't recognize dangling from her wrist. It's a rendition of a white bird in flight-- on closer inspection, a Mist Duck-- a little over an inch in wingspan. It's attached by a short length of chain, clipped to itself like a bracelet.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn swims around a bit, getting used to the waters... Are they colder or warmer than they should be? That is, compared to the climate he comes from.

He looks up at the raft. "Why don't you have pointy ears?" He asks. "Pah, apparently I'm not the only one they call a freak."

He goes down a bit, about twenty feet deep, before making a direct charge up. He leaps from the water and does a minor flip, landing in the raft. He's not all to concerned. He did want to get out, and this must of been the answer.

[Kasanip]

Shiki

Spotting the bracelet charm around her right, she paused, looking at it closely.
"Hey...this is new too.." She frowned briefly, but the charm was a pretty little thing, and it was not her greatest concern at the moment. She stared back down at the water...just as a strange monstrous humanoid popped it's head out. Shiki let out a small yelp and fell back awkwardly, bouncing on the rubber.
"Wha-?!" She exclaimed. Frantically she looked around, and then back at the kid.
"Say... you're not from here either, are you?" She asked, still looking around for that strange creature, her hand on her sheath.
...And off to the right the creature surfaced with incredible speed, flipping in the air and landing in the raft...which took the force of his landing and propelled Shiki into the air, dangerously close to the water's edge. She grabbed onto whatever she could to prevent herself from landing in the water...in this case it was the boy's jacket.
"Gaaah! That was close!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato

Yamato blinks at the new 'medal' pinned to his jacket, but pays it no mind, instead looking out across the water. Yamato stares at the creature as he asks his question. "Uuh... because we're not elves or vulcans?" He flinches back as Finn leaps out of the water, hand going up to the heart-shaped pendant around his neck... but before he can do anything, Shiki has grabbed his jacket, making him fall backwards in surprise. "Woah!"

[Jesse Drake]

Finn

Elves or Vulcans? What in the world was he talking about? "Well, you aren't pirates are you? My father told me about the pirates. Nasty fellows, rounded ears just like yours."

Finn looks at himself and back at you. "Well, suffice it to say, I'm not like the other Zora you've met. My father was a Hylian Hero. I know you've heard of Hyrule, right? Never been there before, but even I know about it."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato

The young boy's face is blank. "...Zora? Hylian? Hyrule? I... I think I've heard that last one. I've never been to that world, though... TSAB doesn't usually let cadets just go gallivanting across the multiverse however they please. I'm allowed leave to Earth every few months and that's about it."

[Kasanip]

Shiki

Shiki gave a sigh of relief and sat back, releasing the boy's jacket.
"Whew... sorry about that..." She offered, giving him an embarrassed grin. She looked between her two companions and then held up her gloved hands.
"Okay, we are obviously not on the same page here. So. Starting from the beginning with introductions. My name's Shiki, and I'm not from here. In fact, my home is a desert. Wait a sec, you said you're from Earth too? Multiverse?" She looks at the boy in confusion, and then looks at the zora.

"I uh... can't say I'm familiar with where you're from either...but if you're not hostile, then at least I can say.... we're all in the same boat, right?" Her face is a bright grin, as if waiting for the punchline to hit.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks at Yamato. "Well, something strange is definitely going on then. Ya know, when I was swimming, I didn't see a single sign of life. Not even small ones." He looks back into the water. Then he looked at Shiki. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Though I will say I'm a formidable Zora warrior. But it seems I'm as lost as you are."

[Yuki Akuma]

The boy suddenly snaps off a salute. "Cadet Dainouchi Yamato, B-rank, security number 3427-b." He looks down at his heart pendant again. "I'm... not really sure how much I should be telling civilians. Especially ones from Earth. That's sort of a... protected area..."

The cadet looks around himself at the empty. "...Lovely Heart, tell me if I say too much, okay?"

Surprisingly, there's a beep and a flash from the heart pendant. Words appear on it in white text, as a voice emits from it. It sounds mildly electronic. "Alright." Yamato strokes a finger affectionately against the pedant.

"...Okay. So. You know... okay. All that exists," he says, forming a sort of ball shape with his hands. "All that you can see. That's the 'universe', right? Every point you can access by travelling through space or time is your universe. However, there are other spaces you can't access through normal means - places that are shunted off half a second to the left or have a slightly different resonance frequency. I don't... really get the mechanics of it, but..."

He shrugs. "There are more than one world. They all float around in the same space, usually, but they don't quite... touch. You know?" He looks around himself. "I think we've all been transported to another world. I... I can't sense anything nearby, though. Not even when I concentrate really hard. It's not right..."

[Blackjackg]

As if the sea itself were thumbing its nose at Yamato's claim that there is nothing nearby, the small raft rolls over a swell and, as it slides down the other side, Finn and the Ground Forces Cadet can see something behind Shiki's head that most definitely was not there a moment before:

A kitchen, complete with floor, cabinets, and large appliances floats on the surface of the ocean not one hundred meters away from the small craft. Though it has no walls, the cupboards hang in the air where walls ought to be, just the same. A round-faced, round-bodied human man is washing some dishes at the sink.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn

Finn looks at the man. "Come on, can you paddle this?" At that, he leaps into the air and dives into the water. If they can't paddle, Finn'll pull the boat. If they can, he swims towards the man as fast as he can. If things start to look troublesome though, he'll come back.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato stares at the sudden kitchen. "Well that's... certainly not normal. Maybe this world hasn't fully formed yet?" He tilts his ehad, then takes the pendant off, getting to his feet - and standing surprisingly steadily in the little boat. "Okay. I'm gonna need to walk over there. Lovely Heart!" The pendant shines. "Set Up!"

"Alright. Stand by." The glowing becomes bright. "Set Up." And there's a sudden whirling vortex around Yamato. It vanishes after a efw seconds, leaving him wearing... entirely different clothes. He then promptly jumps out of the boat.

"Tension Platform." There's a faint pink glow around his feet, and he hits the water... and stands on it, as if it were dry land. Well, constantly-shifting dry land... He walks, slightly unsteadily, over to the kitchen, and knocks politely on the back of one of the cupboards. "Hello?"

[Kasanip]

Shiki

Shiki stares in disbelief at what just happened, but she shakes herself out of her daze.
"H-hey!" She cries out as the two leave her in the dust (so to speak). She sighes and looks at the water again before taking off her gloves, revealing strange markings all over the top of her hands. She gingerly sticks them in the water and is surprised to find it comfortably warm. Slow she tries to paddle the craft forward towards the others, pouting the whole time in frustration.

[Blackjackg]

The small raft has no paddles, so Finn pulls it along behind himself as Yamato walks ahead to greet the man.

Seawater splashes up over the edge of the blue-and-white tiled floor, though the kitchen is oddly stable considering the constant rocking of the waves. The round-bodied man is washing dishes with his back to the open side of the roughly-square room, the sleeves of his silk shirt rolled up past his elbows. At Yamato's knock, he turns. His face is plump and friendly with heavy, anachronistic sideburns and jet black eyes.

"Ah, you're here. Do me a favor and help me dry some of these while we wait for your friends."

[Yuki Akuma]

"Um." Yamato looks dumbfounded for a moment. "You were expecting...? Um. Y-yes, sir." He gingerly steps up onto the kitchen floor, testing it for stability before putting his full weight on it. The glow fades from his feet - they aren't even leaving wet footprints as he walks across the floor to obediently help the man was the dishes.

This was really very strange. "Um. Lovely Heart, storage form." The gauntlet on his right hand shrinks down into the pendant again, and he puts it around his neck.

[Blackjackg]

The smell of fresh baking pervades the kitchen emanating from what seems to be an electric oven. The man indicates a clean dishtowel sitting on the marble-topped island in the middle of the kitchen, and hands Yamato a wet mixing bowl. As he finishes up the rest of the dishes, he hums to himself a song that the Cadet doesn't recognize. He sets the last wet dish aside and pulls out the stopper on the sink as the raft reaches the edge of the tiled floor.

"Well, come in. Or aboard, as it were. Have a seat. You all have many questions, I'm sure."

[Kasanip]

As Finn pulled the raft up to the...kitchen... Shiki inspected the floor before gently stepping up onto it.
"Ah, excuse me..." She muttered sheepishly as she stepped up/in. She rubbed the back of her head with a hand.
"Erm... If I may be so bold as to ask. Where are we?"

[Blackjackg]

"That's a good question, sweetheart. Both the most pressing, and the hardest to answer."

He rolls down his sleeves, buttoning them at the cuff and takes a seat at one of the four stools surrounding the center island. By a wave of his hand, he indicates that you should all do the same.

"I've taken to calling it 'The Ocean Beyond Space and Time.'" He chuckles, almost self-consciously. "Not the most imaginative name, I know, but quite apt. This ocean, and most of the things on it, don't exist. At least, not in the traditional sense of the word. It's what is, outside of what is. I'm afraid that's the best answer I can give right now."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn steps in and avoids sitting anywhere near the oven. His eyes shift there again and again, as if he's worried about it.

He just sits and listens, until the mention of 'An Ocean', beyond space and time. "So, this ocean... It's not a literal term is it? I mean, is this that ocean?" He's clearly very confused.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato dries the dishes he's instructed to dry properly enough, and then takes a seat on one of the stools, looking confused. "This is... the gap between worlds?" He looks around, even more confused. "But... I've seen the void between worlds. It sparkles with every colour of the rainbow. And more besides. It doesn't look like this..."

[Kasanip]

Shiki sighs and perches on the last stool. She grits her teeth and tucks some strands of hair behind her ear. "Saa... So we are stuck outside of existence? How do we get back? Why are we here?" She raises an eyebrow and looks at the man, obviously not expecting a straight answer from him.

[Blackjackg]

"There are lots of paths between worlds, kid. And this isn't so much a between as a beyond, like I said before. Imagine the multiverse is... I don't know... a city. And all the different worlds are the buildings in that city. The void you're talking about is a road that leads to many different buildings. The Ocean, and yes, my aquatic friend, this is that ocean, is what's outside the city."

"The reason you're here is that, well... no sense sugar-coating it. Your worlds have ended. Everything you've ever known is gone." He pauses, adding gravely, "I'm sorry, I can't imagine how hard it must be to hear that."

He allows a long silence, letting the news sink in. There is a cheery "ding!" from the oven. "Oh!" says the man, "Who wants fresh muffins?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Cadet Dainouchi's expression goes completely blank for a moment. "I... what? No. That's not... th-that's not possible. That couldn't have happened. We were fighting those monsters... one of them must have just gated me here or something... no way anything could..."

He shakes his head. "...No. That's stupid. There were so many... Takemachi Nanoha. Fate Testarossa-Harlaown. They were... Yagamai Hayate! She's a triple-S rank! She was on world at the time, no way anything could have... possibly..."

[Jesse Drake]

"http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk255/salvymansalvy/images-1-1.jpgHa! Losers! Showed them, look who's still alive!http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk255/salvymansalvy/images-1-1.jpg" Sings Finn, obviously uncaring of his worlds discarding. Then he looks at the muffins... Are they still warm? If so, he'll turn it down. Otherwise he takes a huge victorious bite.

[Blackjackg]

The man attempts a consoling smile as he pats Yamato on the shoulder. "I'm afraid so, son. The creatures you fought are called the Heartless and they come to worlds like yours and devour them. They found your world and consumed its heart. Not just Mid-Childa either, but your Earth and every world connected to it. Once that's done, no force can stand against them. I don't expect you to be happy about it," he flashes his eyes in the direction of the singing Finn, "but if you search your heart, I think you'll know that what I'm saying is true. You are all that's left of your world. Well, you and that." he says, pointing to the strange charm clipped to Yamato's jacket. "It's a little piece of the heart-- the essence-- of your world that you brought along with you."

The muffins are indeed too hot for Finn's taste. "I'm sorry about that. You'll probably find something cold in the refrigerator... that silver thing there."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks at him with questionable intent. He takes a slow, guarded pace, and approaches the refrigerator. Taking a few steps back, he launches both his boomerangs at the machine, hoping to crack it open and claim its innards. Strange, but he's seen then again, dodongos and like likes aren't exactly normal.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just stares open-mouthed for a while... and then Fin attacks the refridgerator, making him leap up in surprise! "What the hell?!"

[Blackjackg]

The boomerang fins strike the refrigerator, putting serious dents into both sides and causing the door to loll open. Its contents include a bowl of potato salad covered in cellophane, two raw fish wrapped in plain white paper, and a number of bottled liquids.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn smiles. Just like he expected... Ya hit the baddy, and get what ya need. He grabs the fish, and tosses the paper aside, and then raises it above his head (http://www.entertonement.com/clips/twtbgpfqyt--Link-finds-an-itemLegend-of-Zelda-?fl_link=). "Thanks sir." He goes and sits down, eating the fish quietly.

[Blackjackg]

The man chuckles heartily. "Don't mention it. And don't worry about the fridge, either. Won't make a difference in a few minutes."

He smiles at the group sympathetically. "I know this is confusing, so I'll be as clear as I can. First of all, I'm called the Timebroker. I'm what you might call a disembodied intelligence. I don't exist in any world. Like this Ocean, I'm made up of roughly equal parts primal force and the collective unconsciousness of all the beings in the multiverse."

"Now, a Heart is what makes a world like the ones you come from what it is. The Heart of a world is its core, what gives it its essential nature. The Ocean Beyond Space and Time has no heart, so it doesn't exist. The water doesn't exist, the raft doesn't exist, the refrigerator doesn't exist, and the food doesn't exist."

He takes a large bite out of a muffin, as if in demonstration of something. "So you might as well enjoy it now," he says, dropping crumbs from his mouth "because you'll be hungry again once you leave."

As he speaks, you notice something in the distance: a ship, white or tan in color. It's hard to make out any details at this distance, but it must be colossal: big enough to eat most seagoing vessels you've encountered for breakfast.

"As I said before, your worlds have ended, because the Heartless have taken their Hearts. And by some sheer force of will, you managed to break off a little sliver of your world's Heart and bring it along with you." With his half-eaten muffin he indicates the circle, bird and ocarina charms that each of the travelers sports. "Which is probably what allowed you to stay alive, floating free in the ether between worlds. When I felt you out there, I brought you here. Because, well, you need to stop the Heartless and save the multiverse. And maybe, just maybe, you can bring back your worlds while you do it."

With that, he smiles smugly and gulps down the last of his muffin.

Illustration: The Timebroker
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/44/Timebroker.jpg/250px-Timebroker.jpg

[Kasanip]

Shiki took a long time to chew the muffin, at a loss for words. It was too much to take in so easily, but deep down...she had the horrible feeling that this man was not lying. Call it intuition or something else. She stares absently at the mist duck, and it hit her she might never see one again. She closed her eyes.
"...Stop the Heartless?" She asked softly. Rising, She stood and put her hands down on the table. A rueful grin spread across her face and she reached over to give Yamato's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze.
"I'm all for that. Let's do it. We'll beat these 'Heartless' and set things right."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just continues to stare for a moment. Then he takes that 'medal' in his hand, clutching it hard - protectively. "...Right. It's... this is the sort of thing I've been training for." He looks down, smirking a little. "And even if it wasn't... There's no way we'll let Yuecchi stay un-existing, is there?"

"No way, partner." The voice coming from the pendant is just as unemotional as ever, but this time it sounds much more... sure of itself.

The cadet looks out over towards the ship. "...So. I'm guessing that has something to do with it?"

[Jesse Drake]

Finn sat there. He tried to remember the good times... His father and him breaking vases by the beach, his mother and him singing all night long. Hell, most of the band liked him. It'd be unfair to let them stay nonexistent cause of a few jerks. Finn stood up and said "Then we have to do this." His voice seemed a little more sure this time. He looked at his pendant and his thoughts shifted to his father... when he wasn't pretending to be a Zora. The Song of Time played through his mind. It was a beautiful melody.

[Blackjackg]

"Hm?"

The Timebroker turns on his stool, peering over his shoulder at the distant ship. "Why yes, as a matter of fact, it does have to that. That, my friends, is the Maelstrom, and her captain is called Bloth. He and his ship are real, like you. They came here some time ago when their world was destroyed by the Heartless. He has a strong heart, that one. Wicked, but strong."

"He's a pirate, Bloth, and has a nose for treasure. Within days of his coming here, he'd found the only three Treasures of any value in this whole Ocean. Treasures that rightly belong to you, and that you'll need if you hope to succeed in your mission to restore your worlds. The first thing you'll need to do is retrieve them from his ship. Not to worry, though. You'll have the element of surprise. Floating in an empty sea for months, he and his crew have become a little complacent."

[Jesse Drake]

"Pirates!" Finn smiles. "I'll be back." He leaps high into the air and makes a perfect dive into the water. He goes rather deep, and decides to see what this ship has in the way of cannons and weaponry. He stays in the water and will only poke his head up after he's on the ships bottom side, and only enough to get a peak at it from above the water's edge.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato nods his head slowly at the Timebroker's words... and then Finn is just runnng off and jumping into the water. "Hey, wait a second! Haven't you ever heard of the word planning? Or teamwork?!"

[Kasanip]

"It's okay. We'll manage this just fine Yamato-kun. I think our blue friend is doing a little reconnaisance for us." Shiki says with a wink as she stands and stretches her arms back over her head.
"Now... If we could just get to the ship... But there's a lot of water between here and there."

[Yuki Akuma]

Kun? Yamato's face flushes a bit, but he coughs. He will never get used to girls calling him that. "Um. Don't worry, Yunkei-san. The water won't be a problem. I could carry you across it."

[Kasanip]

That prospect makes Shiki perk up quite a bit more, if such a thing is possible. "I've always wanted to fly." She mused, in a daydreamy voice. Teasingly she pokes Yamato in the chest. "Call me Shiki. I'm not that old."

[Yuki Akuma]

"Fly?" He blinks, then shakes his head. "Um. No. I... I'm not powerful enough to fly yet. But I can just walk across, it's easy. And I could use Sonic Move to make it quicker... although that uses up a lot of mana and I'm not sure I can gather mana here..."

[Blackjackg]

The ship is, as it seemed from afar, vast, and seems to be made mostly or entirely out of the bones of whales or other great beasts. Its forward hull resembles a great maw. It seems to have a row of bone-like guns on the deck, and several more rows beneath. From your vantage point at water level, the guns don't seem to be manned. In fact, you can't see anyone on board at all.

Back in the kitchen, the Timebroker clears away the remnants of food and dishes. He nods in the direction of the rubber raft. "You could always take that, if you're so inclined. Once you gain the Treasures, you'll be off to another world, so you won't come back here. I don't have much power to control things outside of the Ocean, but if you take this with you, I'll be able to help you a little in your next world."

He produces a golden card, the size and shape of a credit card, with a red oval image on the front. It has a magnetic strip on the back, but no other distinguishing features.

"It's called the Tallus Card, and it allows me to channel a little of my power into the multiverse. Now, don't dawdle."

Illustration: The Maelstromhttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/blackjackg/HelixofWorlds/maelstrom.bmp

Illustration: The Tallus Cardhttp://www.majhost.com/gallery/blackjackg/HelixofWorlds/tallus.jpg

[Jesse Drake]

Finn charges back as fast as possible. When he gets close enough, he peaks his head above the water and smiles. "So, are ya gonna be taking the raft, or are ya gonna use your Hover Boots?" He asks Yamato.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato takes the card, looking it over. He tilts his head, then taps it against his Device. "Storage." There's a faint 'ding', and the card vanishes into the stone. He then holds out his hand. "Hand Form." And he's wearing that gauntlet again.

He looks down at Finn, and frowns. "You're annoying. And it'll be faster to walk." He turns to Shiki, and chews his lip. "Um. What do you think weshould do, Yu- ah, Shiki-san?"

[Kasanip]

Shiki bounces lightly on her toes a few times, as if warming up. She gives a thumbs up.
"I'm ready! Thanks for everything gramps!" She says, offering a wave to the gentleman before turning back to Yamato. "Okay! So, how do we do this?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato rubs the back of his head. "..Uh. Well. Finn-san, what intelligence did you manage to find..? What does the ship look like? Did you see any of its crew?"

[Jesse Drake]

"No, but not for lack of looking. It seems the cannons are unmanned and the ship's crew not on deck." He doesn't even pay mind to being called annoying.

[Yuki Akuma]

"...Okay. We should probably head over there as quickly as possible and try to find out where the treasures are kept..." He chews on his lip. "Okay?"

[Kasanip]

Shiki pounds her knuckle into the palm of her hand. "Alright then! I suggest a two-sided attack. If Yamato can get me to the deck, I think we shouldn't have any problems." She says confidently. "I can draw their attention while Finn and Yamato find this captain person." She looks at the pair and holds her hand out.

[Yuki Akuma]

Cadet Dainouchi Yamato can't help but grin a little bit, working his fingers before folding them into a fist. "Right. Let's do this. Quickly, before we change our minds." He promptly picks up Shiki! He's... not very strong - he's just a kid. But he manages it, then looks off towards the ship.

His Device shines. Below him, a circle of pink light appears, filled with patterns that looks something like writing. The circle goes out to around five feet, spinning. "Sonic Move." The boy promptly bursts forward, jumping into the air as he sails across the water, the magic circle vanishing. "Tension Platform." His feet are surrounded in that pink blow again, as he lands from his jump and heads off towards the ship quite quickly. Superspeed 1 quickly.

[Blackjackg]

It may be that our young Cadet underestimated the distance between the kitchen and the ship, but maintaining his Sonic Move-- in addition to carrying an adult woman-- takes its toll quickly. About 500 meters shy of the ship's port side, he is forced to slow, then stop. He remains standing, barely, on the surface of the water, his forehead dripping sweat and his knees wobbling with the weight. Who can say how much longer he can hold her...

[Kasanip]

Shiki was... blown away by the exhilarating speed. She had traveled fast, but even on her motorcycle across the desert wastes this speed was greater. But all too fast, she noticed Yamato was slowing down...And then he skidded to a stop.
She realized as they slowed that she was blushing lightly. It was of course, the first time she had been carried like that afterall. However, that feeling quickly disappeared. Shiki knew that strong as the boy may be, she definitely weighed a bit more than a ten year old. Just a little bit! She told herself silently.
"Err, umm... You okay Yamato-kun? If I'm too heavy you can put me-" She stopped as she realized that there was nothing but water for about 500 meters. "D-d-d-oown." She stammered, feeling the panic starting to set in. This was NOT going to plan.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato pants, visibly obviously very tired. "That was... very stupid. I just used up all of my..." He growls to himself. Stupid! But without the strengthening effects of Sonic Move he probably won't be able to make it to the ship. "...Well, the ship's closer than the kitchen now... Lovely Heart!"

"Load catridge." There's an obviously, audible clunk, as a half-hidden hatch snaps back. Inside the revealed compartment, a device very like a revolver clunks around, twice, the Device charging with power.

"Sonic Move!" And Yamato runs the rest of the way, skidding to a halt next to the ship and panting. "...I'm so glad Tension Platform doesn't take any mana to maintain..."

[Kasanip]

With an obvious sigh of relief, Shiki's smile returns, albiet embarrassed. She looks up at the side of the ship, examining it.
"You're really amazing Yamato-kun, you know that? This'll do just fine I think. If you give me a knee to press off of, I think I can make it to the top."

Shiki starts to climb the side of the ship, looking for handholds as she goes.

[Blackjackg]

Scaling the side of the ship is a simple enough process for an experienced climber like Shiki, albeit grisly. The hull is, as it seemed, built from the bones of great beasts.

Pulling herself up to the gunwale, she can see the deck is grungy and unkempt. The ship has two masts seemingly made from gigantic vertebrae. The smaller aft sail sits on raised area which also bears the ship's wheel. Three tough-looking pirates lay despondently about on the foredeck: two absently swigging from unmarked bottles and a third seemingly asleep. There doesn't seem to be anyone else above decks. A large hatch made of interlocking bones covers what might be a drop into the cargo hold, and a similarly made door leads underneath the raised aft deck.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato takes a few gulps of air, and then leaps at the hull, trying to scale it - the residual mana from that second cartridge, which he still hasn't used up, is keeping his body working mostly okay.

Body + Acrobatics: [roll0]

[Jesse Drake]

Finn swims up to the ship as fast as he can, and decides to leap up out of the water to get as much distance up as he can, before scaling the rest of the way. He worried a bit when Yamato stopped, but other than that, swims straight.

[Kasanip]

Shiki looks at the three pirates in turn, and decides they don't look too bad. She turns to Yamato and whispers softly.
"I'll go on up. Stay here until I find out how tough these guys really are." That said, Shiki takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Alright, here I go!" She mutters to herself as she pulls her aviator's goggles up over her eyes. She steps onto the deck and sprints quickly to the side of one of the ones whom is awake, and (hopefully) before they have a chance to realize what hit them, she'll have the tip of her sword sitting at the edge of his neck.
If they're anything like the desert bandits, then this shouldn't be too troubling.

[Blackjackg]

Shiki moves as swiftly and silently as the breeze-- or would, if there was any breeze to speak of here. She crosses the sawn-bone deck in a moment, and has her sword at the throat of a grubby, bestubbled and perspiring pirate. At the feel of steel against his throat, the man's eyes widen in fear as they dance desperately back and forth from you to his two companions. He lets out a quiet gasp and drops his bottle, but makes no other sound, waiting for instructions from you.

[Kasanip]

Shiki's eyes almost seem to glow a strange flare of blue and gold while a maliciously cold smile passes her face.
"You." She says calmly, passing her eyes across each one. "None of you move, and not a sound." She pauses for extra emphasis.
"Now," she says, turning back to her current prisoner. "You want to tell me where your captain is."

[Blackjackg]

The pirate under the blade of Shiki's sword (who, for the sake of simplicity, shall be known as Sweaty Pirate) sputters uselessly and waves his finger shudderingly in the direction of the door below the aft deck. The other waking pirate, who shall be known as Mustachioed Pirate, stirs at the sound of your voice and watches you with ratlike, calculating eyes. He licks his lips and glances toward the door. There is a tense moment.

Suddenly, the Mustachioed Pirate leaps to his feet and hobbles with surprising agility (considering his wooden leg) toward the door. "Alarm! Alarm!" he shouts in a heavy but unidentifiable European accent. "Sea wench! Bloooooooooth!"

The sleeping pirate stirs briefly when the shouting begins, but returns immediately to his coma. The Sweaty Pirate swoons, dropping clear beads of cold perspiration on Shiki's katana.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato looks down for a moment, then sighs, before leaping in and trying to get in front of the Moustachioed Pirate. "I don't think so..."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn smiles. For a split second, he makes his forcefield visible, only to draw attention to himself, and then opens his arms out wide and attempts to make himself seem like some sea monster. Here's the intimidate, using my body as I'm trying to scare the bejesus out of them.[roll0]

[Kasanip]

Her plan had already come apart perfectly. Silently Shiki wondered if her skill was being hampered by something in that water-filled nightmare of a world. Just as she prepared to block off mustachioed pirate's escape, Yamato appeared, and that's when she knew her plan had entirely come unraveled. Over the edge came the menacing Finn, and Shiki glared at sweaty.
"You. Go jump overboard and stay there until this is all over. You just might live that way." She commanded.


(Shiki will hold her action until either sweaty moves or Yamato's turn finishes)

[Blackjackg]

The sweaty pirate glances toward his fleeing crewmate, and takes a long, languorous look up the blade of the katana to the hand and the girl holding it. With the sudden appearance of two more assailants, he quickly makes up his mind. He gingerly pulls himself upright and hurls himself over the gunwale, with a short yowl followed by a distant splash.

He leaves in his wake a puddle of sweat, liquid from his bottle, and other fluids.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato can't help but grin at the Moustachioed Pirate, taking a half step back... And then he rushes forward the few steps between them, and brings his right gauntleted fist up for a nasty uppercut to the gut! That'll hurt if it hits...

Attack! With "Lovely Heart Smack" (weapon level 3) [roll0]

I'm not sure what the damage for that is. I don't have my book available. ;.;

[Kasanip]

Seeing Mustachio get past Yamato's attack, Shiki crosses the distance and performs a leap attack, coming down on the pirate from behind with her sword.


If this attack hits, then she will gain a +1 to damage multiplier, for a total of 8 with her level 3 sword... Here's to hoping she rolls better than before...
Shiki's Leap Attack: [roll0]

[Blackjackg]

Though he is surprised by the sudden appearance of Dainouchi Yamato, the Mustachioed Pirate is able to dodge to the side, neatly avoiding the punch at his gut. A moment later, Shiki's swift katana cuts deeply into his shoulder with a light spray of blood. The pirate bellows in pain, pushing past Yamato with a force born of adrenaline. He reaches the door and tears it open, drawing a deep breath.

"BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTH!"

[Jesse Drake]

Finn watches the man run off and smiles. He points his fins at the man as he's moving, takes a second to place the shot right. Then he launches his boomerangs as one (That is, they are one weapon anyways).

[roll0] (4 base, 8 ranged attack, 3 homing) and I have dead eye, which is for attacking fast targets, I'm not sure if it applies to moving targets or naturally fast targets, but it reduces penalties, if any apply. That's for 25 damage, I think. I don't think I get an attack bonus, but if I do I didn't factor it in.

[Blackjackg]

The fins criss-cross as they impact the pirate, sending two more spurts of blood in different directions before they return and reaffix to Finn's arms. The pirate's shout ends in a strangled gurgle as his eyes roll up into his head and he pitches forward into the darkness under the deck.

The sleeping pirate groans and rolls over, adjusting his hat to block the sunlight.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato lets out a startled yelp, and makes a grab for the injured pirate! Saving someone he just tried to punch in the gut? Sure! Why not?

[Jesse Drake]

Finn takes a few steps down and goes to see where the pirate was running. He leaves the sleeping man be, and goes down the stairs slightly. He holds his fins forward, ready to strike if it comes down to it.

[Blackjackg]

By the barest tips of his fingers, Yamato manages to catch the shirt of the falling pirate and redirect him onto the deck. A pool of rich red blood immediately begins to form where he falls. The man's breathing is ragged and dark red flecks spatter out onto his lips and mustache with every exhalation. He is unconscious and very near death.

Reaching the door a moment later, Finn sees it leads onto a set of stairs built, like the rest of the ship, from bones. They descend down into the darkness then emerge onto a corridor that is lighted with a dim, ruddy glow. There are the faint sounds of movement and voices.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato grits his teeth, kneeling down. "Guh.... this isn't good." He holds out his hand, the one wielding Lovely Heart. There's a satisfying clunk as it loads another cartridge. "Load cartridge. Healing." There's a soft pink light...

Yamato: little kid! He's not gonna let anyone die.

[Blackjackg]

The Mustachioed Pirate's wounds fade away with the pink glow from Yamato's Device. His shallow breathing becomes regular, then deep, though he remains profoundly unconscious. The reddish tinge of health returns to the pirate's rough cheeks.

[Kasanip]

Shiki looks embarrassed as she flicks the blood from her sword before resheathing it. She lets out a deep sigh as she pulls her goggles back down to hang around her neck. Even if they were pirates- mean, bloodthirsty killers or whatnot- it was almost murder just to cut one down as he ran for help. She watches Yamato use his power to heal the man and offers an embarrassed apology.
"I'm sorry. If I hadn't screwed up before, you wouldn't have to do that." She looks up to the doorway where Finn is looking around.
"The captain is supposed to be down below the...what's it called? The rear deck area. Let's wait up a minute." She puts her hands on her knees and looks at Yamato.
"Are you okay Yamato-kun?" She asks softly.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato slumps a little bit, but then manages to get himself upright. "I'm really not preserving mana well today. I hope wherever we end up has enough so i can recharge..." He looks down at Lovely Heart. "How're we doing?"

"Remaining cartridges: two. Recharge rate: nil. Ambient mana: nil." Yamato frowns.

[Kasanip]

"That doesn't sound too good." Shiki agreed. "Just stick close to me and we'll get through this just fine." She says with a reassuring smile. Standing up again, she turns her attention back to the entryway. Shiki exhales slowly, pulls her goggles back up over her eyes and rests a hand on her sword hilt as she tiptoes up behind Finn.
"Any idea how many?" She whispers.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn shakes his head "Maybe three." He looks back at the two, and says doesn't say anything else about the pirate. He thinks to himself "This isn't the wild ocean anymore. It's no longer kill or be killed. You've got to control yourself."

[Yuki Akuma]

"Okay. We'd better save these cartridges for when we really need them..." Yamato gets to his feet, looking down at the pirate, bfore following after Shiki.

[Kasanip]

"Okay... So, I'm going to sneak down there and try to get a real sense of what we're facing." She looks at the others and flashes a thumbs up sign, before moving forward past Finn.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn goes up to Yamato, letting Shiki pass him. That look on his face... Finn did not want him to be afraid of him. He puts his hand on Yamato's shoulder and says "I'm sorry, kid. I didn't think. I shouldn't have done that. Especially in front of a young child like yourself. Its just... All I could think about is my mother crying, telling me about how Pirates kidnapped my brothers and sisters once, and my father went and saved them of course, but the pain was still there. That clouded my judgment, and caused me to act rashly."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just looks up at Finn for a moment, then shrugs his hand off. "This isn't the time. Wait until after we've done what we're here to do."

[Blackjackg]

Shiki makes her way down the steps. Though they threaten to creak, she is nimble enough to shift her weight quickly. She reaches the bottom of the stairs and emerges into the dimly lit corridor. It proceeds straight forward for a short distance, before opening up into some sort of intersection or foyer. The voices are clearer now, and their sources can be seen gathered together in the foyer. From her position, Shiki can see five male figures.

The first two are muscle-bound and barely dressed, seemingly identical twins with curly hair and particularly vacant expressions. Another is tall and almost skeletally thin, with long, curling fingers and a cruel-looking scimitar strapped to his waist. The fourth is short, perhaps as tall as Finn's waist, with a peg-leg, but he looks as tough as old leather.

The final figure, who speaks over the others with a throaty, booming voice, is enormous, standing well over two meters tall. His is built on a heavy frame, pale and scarred all over. His ornate cutlass is tucked into a sash around his waist.

The pirates argue amongst themselves, their voices hushed but urgent. The short pirate tries in vain to explain something to the twins. Suddenly, the giant pirate raises his hand for silence. He sniffs the air like an animal, but frowns. He allows the others to continue their discussion, though he hunts around with his eyes as they do so.

Illustration: Captain Bloth
http://www.piratesofdarkwater.net/characters/images/bloth.jpg

[Kasanip]

Shiki freezes in place as she spots the group from the shadows. Five of them would be a fight for certain. The big one especially seemed dangerous. Shiki figured he was probably the captain they were looking for. She looked at the corridor with a frown. Ideally if they were going to get into a fight, catching the enemy in a narrow hallway would be the best way to do it.

Still.. She needed to pass the plan on to the others, but that meant a climb back up the rickety old stairs. She gave a mental sigh. Shiki would try to get back to the base of the stairs and wave the other two down silently, trying to emphasize with a finger over her mouth for them to be quiet. That done, she would resume her place at at the edge of the corridor, hopefully in case something went wrong and the pirates decided to come over.

[Yuki Akuma]

Spotting Shiki, he tilts his head to one side, looking down. What's wrong? he asks directly in her mind. Aaaah, telepathy.

[Kasanip]

Shiki's eyes go wide with surprise as she hears the voice in her head. She squints her eyes and then a frustrated look crosses her face as she glares up at him. Her face certainly suggests she has no way to respond to his telepathy. She gestures for him to come down too, but puts her finger over her mouth.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato nods his head, and tries to make his way down to where she is as quietly as possible!

Body roll! [roll0]

[Jesse Drake]

Finn sneaks down, ready to face whatever may be down there, but he's not as sneaky as Shiki.

[Blackjackg]

As he makes his way down the stairs, Yamato steps on one of the creaky bone steps that Shiki had so carefully avoided, causing the sharp sound to echo down the corridor. Though Finn's stealth is not enough for to fool the huge pirate's acute hearing, it hardly matters.

With a wave of his thick hand, he sends the tall pirate and the short pirate scurrying off in two different directions, and the two identical pirates advance into the narrow hallway, one in front of the other.

"Stop where you are," the large pirate bellows in his deep voice, rolling his Rs menacingly. "I am Captain Bloth, and this is my ship. I suggest you surrender so we can speak, or we shall be forced to use violence."

The corridor is too narrow to fight shoulder-to-shoulder.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato sighs. "..I suck at this..."

When the captain speaks, the cadet tries to stand in front of Shiki and Finn, his chin held high. "Cadet Dainouchi Yamato, B-rank, Time and Space Administration Bureau, Mid-Childan Ground Forces division. We have reason to believe you possess something that rightfully belongs to the worlds of Earth, Mid-Childa and..." He glances over his shoulder to Finn, then looks back to the captain. "...wherever he's from."

[Kasanip]

Shiki visibly facepalms and steps around the young cadet to stand in front protectively, as best a smile on her face as she can manage. Her intention of course, is to keep the pirates stuck in the corridor should it come to a fight. For the moment she stalls for time.
"Uh sorry about that! Hello! I believe you must be the captain. In fact, this is good! It'll speed things up! Listen, we don't need to come to...violence," She says it as if the word was the last thing she wanted. "In fact, I believe you may be able to help us. You see, we're looking for some things that I believe you have in your possession..."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn just glares. He won't say anything, for fear of escalating a fight. He's shaking, clearly holding his boomerangs still. This isn't easy on him, but he won't make things worse. He refuses to.

[Blackjackg]

"A Cadet, eh? So some great military force has been mustered against me."

Bloth strokes his black beard, his shoulder shuddering with condescending laughter.

"I possess a great many things, rightfully belonging to a great many people. How did you plan on wresting them back from me, boy?"

The brothers have stopped advancing on you, holding their positions about three meters from where Yamato stands.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato pauses, looking down for a moment. He then looks upwards. "I could offer my services as a medic, if you have any medical problems that need addressing, in return for the three treasures you found within these waters. I could also order an extraction to return you to your own world, just as soon as I get home..."

He looks visibly perturbed as Shiki steps around him. "...It might not look like much, but I'm wearing a suit of armour. You don't have to be all protective..."

[Blackjackg]

Bloth's shoulders suddenly stop their shaking and he regards Yamato closely, pointedly ignoring Shiki and Finn. He contemplates the boy for a long moment, slowly stroking his beard. He then steps forward, shoving the musclebound twins out of his way so he towers over the young mage.

"How do I know you have that power?" he demands, his voice suddenly hard, almost desperate. "What assurance can you give that you'll keep your word, even if you do?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato tilts his head lightly to one side. "I... I don't know. I don't really have any way to prove I can do it other than my TSAB identification, and as you're most likely from a non-regulated world I doubt you'd accept that as proof." He sighs a bit. "You have my word that I'll do everything I can to return you home, but I'll admit that you don't have any reason to trust me. But if it helps I did heal that guard upstairs after we beat him up..."

[Blackjackg]

The milky eye of the pirate captain passes over Finn's face and Shiki's, studying them closely before coming to rest again on Yamato. He takes one knee, lowering himself down and leaning forward so his face in mere centimeter's from the Cadet's. His hot, foul breath offends the boy's cheeks. With a jiggle of his mighty jowls, Bloth takes a deep whiff of the child's scent.

There is the sound of movement at the top of the stairs. Turning around, Finn can see the thin pirate with the scimitar appear through the doorway. He draws his sword and advances slowly down the staircase.

Bloth leans back, studying Yamato again. He breathes a deep, throaty sigh. "You must understand my position. I can capture you, take whatever you have that I want, and throw what's left to the Constrictus. But, if what you say is true, I can't pass up this opportunity to return home. So I will give you what I want, if you can look me in the eye and swear that what you've said is true, and if you, Cadet Dainouchi Yamato, swear to do everything in your power to return me and my crew to our world, and to provide me with three treasures as valuable as the ones I give so willingly to you."

[Jesse Drake]

With a smug smile, Finn turns around and wags his finger... A jolt of electricity passes around his body for a second, then running his finger over his fin blade, as if to warn him. [roll0] Intimidate, that's using body, but since force field is mind, I'm not sure if that'd be it. It's a physical intimidation.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato grimaces a little but, but tries to hide his disgust. Diplomacy and all! He listens and watches, not even turning around to see the pirate drawing his scimitar. He looks down, then nods.

The gem of his Device shines, and in a pink glow his Barrier Jacket is gone, replaced by his uniform. He then stands to attention, and salutes. "I swear, on my honour, my family's name and the hearts of Mid-Childa and Earth, I will do everything in my power to return you and your crew home, and that I will provide you with three treasures of equal or greater value, in return for the three treasures you found within this ocean."

He can get pretty serious!

[Kasanip]

Shiki feels her heart leap in anticipation. The moment is a tense one, but she silently is cheering for Yamato. Shiki is actually starting to feel a little regretful that she had been treating him just as a kid. He really did have a good head on his shoulders, and his heart was in the right place.

[Blackjackg]

Bloth stands quickly, betraying grace that seems ill-suited to his massive bulk. He towers again not only over Yamato but over the others as well. "And may slippery sea-devils devour your uniform, your family and your worlds if you break that oath, boy."

He steps back, shunting the twins out of the way and indicates that you should pass ahead of him with a wave of his arm and a slight bow. "This way, honored guests," he announces in a mocking voice.

The pirate behind Finn is taken slightly aback by the fish-man's menacing demeanor. A moment later, he sheathes his blade, and holds up his long-fingered hands in a gesture of deference.

[Yuki Akuma]

Staggering a bit from the come-down from his Barrier Jacket - it provides much more than just protection - the cadet tries to walk confidently ahead. He mostly pulls it off, while looking up at Shiki. You okay?

[Kasanip]

Shiki's smile and the spring in her step suggests she's just fine. Looking down at Yamato, she turns her head slightly and raises an eyebrow as if asking are you? Shiki puts a hand out to help steady Yamato if he needs it, before calling back to Finn.
"Come'on Finn!" She calls happily. All the same, as they walk, she keeps her eyes open under those goggles of hers, trying to stay alert in case something goes wrong.

[Blackjackg]

The treasure room of the Maelstrom practically bulges with trophies and loot. Sea chests and loose coins and jewelry litter the floor, and every centimeter of the walls is hung with rich tapestries, plates, and the preserved heads of indescribable beasts. Three pedestals stand around the room, set centered a few feet from three walls. On them stand three objects made of uniform glossy bluish-green crystal that reflects white even in this dim light.

There is a powerful energy in this room. It creates vibrations in your mind, novel but not unpleasant. The Timebroker hadn't lied, these treasures do belong to you.

To the left, The Disc. It is large and slightly convex. "The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all."

To the right, The Rod. An unadorned shaft of crystal. "The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin."

Directly ahead, The Key. It is a long, heavy-looking object, probably not designed for opening any traditional doors. "The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction."

It's up to you who gets what. I've got an idea, of course, but I don't want to stifle your creative control. In any case, please keep any discussion on the matter out-of-character.

[Blackjackg]

As the three companions pick up the three treasures, the powerful vibrating sensation becomes much more intense, electrifying every nerve in their bodies. For Finn and Shiki, it's like the feeling of growing a strong new arm: novel, yet natural, almost intoxicating in its new-found potential.

For Yamato, the sensation is even stronger, a throbbing that verges on painful. For him, too, the sensation is akin to developing a new limb, only Yamato's has been brought forth without skin. A peculiar sort of feedback is resonating between Lovely Heart and the Rod.

Still, the sensation has an unfinished quality, like an uncarved statue or an unfilled template. Finn is the first to notice that at the base of the key is an empty loop, of the kind that something would clip onto. There is a similar loop at one end of the Rod, and at the edge of the Disc.

[Jesse Drake]

"Hm... Not complete, but good enough for me." Comments Finn. He looks at the pirate, as if to ask Now can we go?, but he doesn't say anything.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato holds up the rod, looking it over. "...This feels..." There's a beep from his Device. "Device-like properties detected. Commencing link-up with new Device. Stand by."

That pink magic circle appears around Yamato's feet again, much to his surprise. "...So I'm guessing these things are magical."

"Correct. Link-up established. Note: new Device is capable of being upgraded with insertion of new hardware. Scanning... new hardware detected. Please insert hardware into slot at the bottom of the new Device."

Yamato just looks confused, until he sees the loop and then figures the 'medal' on his jacket probably fits it. He clips it on!

[Jesse Drake]

First, Finn swings his blade around, and smiles. "I like this." Then, intrigued by what Yamato is doing, Finn follows suit. He takes his ocarina medal and clips it to the key blade.

[Blackjackg]

When Yamato clips his Magic Circle keychain to the end of the Rod, the uncomfortable feedback he had been experiencing crosses over the border into pain-- sudden and sharp, originating in his Lovely Heart pendant but cutting straight into his core. The pain is blinding, but mercifully very brief: practically instantaneous. When it passes, he finds himself clutching a Staff very similar in style to Lovely Heart, composed of dull grey metal with veins of pink energy running through it.

The Ocarina clips to the Key in a much less dramatic fashion, but no less wondrous. The Key transforms into a Keyblade stylized in the manner of a fishbone guitar, with six long strings running from hilt to tip.

[Kasanip]

"It's like...being born again." Shiki mutters to herself in surprise. "It's...the potential, I can feel it's anticipation." She says softly, looking at the disc. Upon witnessing the changes the other two had, she looks to her Mist Duck charm.
"Well, I might as well see what this does too then." She says wryly, and attaches the charm.

[Blackjackg]

The Disc, too undergoes a miraculous transformation. It becomes a Shield of gold-colored metal, slender and well-balanced. Ribbons of white and deep red cloth crisscross it and dangle free from the bottom of the shield. The Mist Duck keychain flies proudly from its lower edge.

Witnessing these marvelous transformations from the door of his treasure room, Captain Bloth's face is a grotesque mixture of amazement and avarice. His eyes betray a question of whether his choice to give up such implements was wise.

As the strange tingling sensation the travelers have felt since entering this room gives way to warm comfort, another odd feeling takes hold: like a fishhook painlessly tucked behind the navel, drawing them forward, upward and out of phase. Suddenly the treasure room, the Maelstrom and Bloth's leering countenance are gone and they are passing, swiftly and straight this time, through the purplish ether.

I'll leave it here for a few minutes so we can deal with any mechanical bugs or other such issues before beginning the First World (dun dun DUUUUUUNN!)

[Blackjackg]

With a slight jerking sensation, Finn, Shiki and Yamato find themselves crammed into a tight space. About one-by-two meters, hemmed in by light blue walls that don't quite reach the floor or the ceiling, and dominated by a large white toilet set in the center. Yes, it becomes clear to those who are familiar with such things that they are in a bathroom stall. The door is closed, though not latched.

Startlingly, though perhaps fortunately due to the cramped quarters, their marvelous new weapons have not appeared with them.

There is the sound of a door opening, and a few breakfast cereal O's come flying into the room, settling on the bathroom floor. A gruff but slightly tremulous voice is heard whispering melodically "Heeeeeeere, Blackie Blackie Blackie. Here, boy."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato oophs as he ends up scrunched up against the other two, still somewhat dizzy from the sudden journey. That was not like riding in a dimensional ship...

The staff is far too awkward in here, so he lets go of it - and it vanishes into a mote of pink light, which promptly flies into the Device around his neck. He then opens the door and tries to get out!

[Kasanip]

Shiki grimaces and yelps in surprise. "What the heck?" She mutters, forcing herself out of the awkward tangle they appeared in and stumbling out after Yamato gets the door open. What a terrible place to appear...

[Jesse Drake]

"Where are we!" Roars Finn. He's very confused. "My axe! Where is it!?!"

[Blackjackg]

The door is challenging to open, as it swings inward and there is little room to do so, but open it does, spilling Shiki and Yamato out into the lavatory. The room is long and surprisingly clean, with at least a dozen identical stalls and sinks. At one end of the long room, a vaguely humanoid creature stands, holding the door of the bathroom open.

The creature is tall and thickly built, nearly as large as Bloth. It wears no clothes, but is covered with a thick, soft-looking blue fur. Its head features a fanged mouth and two crooked horns. At the sight of the two young humans, its eyes widen in horror. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGH!" it screams, scattering a handful of cereal O's as it nearly falls over itself to flee the room.

Illustration: The Creature
http://home.student.uva.nl/gavroche-marie.abels/images/monsters_inc_sully.jpg

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just stares after the creature for a while. "...I don't even care where we are anymore. I need to find somewhere to sleep."

[Kasanip]

"Gaaaah!" Shiki screams in surprise at the blue furred horror, stumbling back as she pulls herself off the floor. She instantly reaches for her katana, and finds it's not there! "Wh-wh-what's going on?" She stutters, obviously completely not of her normal good-natured composure. Though after this day, who could possibly blame her? She points her finger at the monster as she tries to gather her wits about her.

[Jesse Drake]

"What was that!" Asks Finn. He leaps out of the 'stall' and looks ahead. "Where are we? What's going on!!!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato, for his part, is totally blasé - if a little tired. "What? You didn't think all the inhabitants of other worlds would be human, did you? Anyway, I've seen weirder familiars than him..."

[Kasanip]

Shiki glowers at Yamato. "Well I hadn't given it much thought!" She answers petulantly. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, finally seeming to recover herself. Shiki rests her hands on her hips as she looks to where the blue creature ran out.

[Jesse Drake]

"It's not him that bothers me... It's that." He points to the toilet. "There's not gonna be a hand in there is there?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato stares at Finn for a while, then makes his way out of the bathroom to look around and see where the blue furred guy ran off to.

[Kasanip]

Shiki rubs the back of her head as she grimaces at Finn. "No, it's just a restroom stall." She sighs. "Where'd my sword go? And for that matter, my shield?" She mutters to herself. "Hey Yamato! Yamato-kun! Wait up!" Shiki calls, hurrying out of the room after him.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn runs after them, taking the toilet paper from the stall and dropping it in the toilet, just in case.

[Blackjackg]

Emerging out through the lavatory door, which bears a logo on it resembling a three-legged monster with eyestalks, the travelers find themselves in a wide hall. It is empty and echoey, clean, polished and dimly lit by backup lights. A poster hangs on the wall, depicting the same blue monster they saw earlier giving a thumbs-up, with the slogan "Scare Safe!"

An eerily familiar black creature sits at the end of the hall to your left, gazing inquisitively at you with unblinking yellow eyes. Suddenly, it turns and disappears around a corner.

Illustration: Another creature
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdomhearts/images/thumb/d/df/Shadow.jpg/180px-Shadow.jpg

[Jesse Drake]

Finn sees the monster and a knot ties up in his stomach. "It's one of them... Though when I saw them they looked a bit different. It's one of those things that got me exiled." Finn clenches his fists tightly and he grits his teeth. "It's one of those little monsters!" He calls, pointing it out. He starts to follow it, not really thinking.

[Kasanip]

Shiki skids to a stop as she spots the creature Finn was talking about. She instinctively reaches for her sword again and then groans in frustration.
"We can't let it get away now, let's go!"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato stares after the strange creature. He then looks up at the other two, and nods. "Let's go!" And he's going!

[Blackjackg]

The footsteps of the runners echo through the silent hallway as they chase their quarry around the corner. Another long hallway stretches neatly away from them. They can hear the sound of frustrated grunting further down.

"Hey! Get back here... I'm going to be in so much trouble..."

Clearing another corner, the source of the sounds becomes clear. The blue-furred monster they terrified earlier is trying to catch the Heartless creature in his terrible paws, but it is proving too swift, dancing out of his reach and slipping from his grasp.

Responding perhaps to a semi-conscious impulse, or to the presence of a Heartless, the Keyblade, Shield and Staff come to the companions' hands.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks at his 'axe' and smiles. Now things were gonna get interesting. He starts to play a few notes, nothing special. Then he raises the blade and gets ready to charge forth.

[Kasanip]

Shiki's surprise at the appearance of her shield turns to relief, and then at least partial satisfaction. Well, at least this will help some. It doesn't look like this one little creature is worth too much effort. She looks between the black creature and the tall blue one, and then at her companions. She shrugs and then steps forward.
"Excuse my interruption," She says calmly, stepping carefully up to the blue creature. "But, this little thing is quite dangerous, so if you'll hold on one second..." She says, and then when she has the chance, smashes the shield down onto the heartless like a boot on a bug.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato looks at the staff that just appeared in his hand. "...Weird little Device. You're not supposed to just appear like that." He watches Shiki with slight amusement.

[Blackjackg]

Shiki lifts her Shield from the floor, noting that the little Heartless is gone. In its place, a small wisp of shadow that clings to the floor and the Shield, and then is gone. The blue monster, pressed back against the wall, looks at her aghast. "Y-you killed it!"

In a moment, he regains his composure slightly, though he remains physically withdrawn from Shiki. "Where did you come from? From the same door it did? You have to go back before someone sees you or I'll be in so much trouble!"

[Jesse Drake]

"Calm down Big Blue, we didn't come from a door." Assures Finn. "Where are we anyways? We just kinda... came here."

[Blackjackg]

The blue beast looks at Finn, as though noticing him for the first time. "Oh, thank Godzilla. You're a monster. Nice guitar, by the way. Are you new here? I'm James P. Sullivan, but my friends call me Sulley. Are you a scarer? Do you know where these C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N came from?"

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato looks rather bemused. He looks up at Shiki. "Children? Aren't you at least a teenager?"

[Jesse Drake]

"Um... Actually, they came with me from this ocean... I'm Finn." He extends his hand to shake Sulley's. "And while I've been known to make pirates shake in their boots," He smiles at that, "I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean by a Scarer." Looking around again, he asks "Where did you say we were again?"

[Kasanip]

Shiki blinks and silently looks herself over once, before pointing at her chest questioningly. "C-H what now? Are you calling us children?" She starts to disagree, but then looks at Yamato, and then works her jaw awkwardly.
"Er, well... Anyway, no. We didn't come from a door. Did these shadowy creatures...heartless? Did they come through a door?" She asks the blue creature.

[Blackjackg]

"Er... yeah. We're in Monstropolis, in the main building of Monsters, Inc. We provide all the Scream that keeps Monstropolis running. I was here late doing some paperwork, and I saw someone had left a Door out. When I opened it up to see if anyone was there, that little creature-- you called it a Heartless?-- slipped past me. I'd been trying to catch it so I could put it back before anyone noticed. Then I ran into you and... you know the rest. But, what are you doing here?" He gasps, a look of wild terror crossing his face, "You're not from the CDA, are you?"

[Jesse Drake]

"No, no... I'm guessing since they are here, your world may be in danger as well. Have there been many instances like this?"

[Blackjackg]

Sulley shakes his furry head. "No, nothing like this, that I've ever heard of. Did you say the world could be in danger? But... you killed it, right? So we're safe now, right?" He attempts an optimistic smile, but with his fangs, it simply looks terrifying.

[Kasanip]

"What's the CDA?" Shiki muses aloud. She looks like she's pondering something, though she still listens to the conversation with interest. She starts to look around the area.
"Hmm... The world could be in danger... I wonder where that one came from?" She looks at the monster.
"I don't suppose you could show us where you found the heartless, could you?"

[Jesse Drake]

"When I fought these in my world, there were alot more than one. I doubt they are gonna send a single one out." He looks at Shiki. "She's right. It may be a good idea to show us where they came from."

[Blackjackg]

"S-sure," he says, starting to lead you down the hall. "What are you guys called? Do... do humans have names? I don't really know much about children except what scares them."

"The CDA is the Child Detection Agency. They're a bunch of really important monsters who make sure that no children ever make their way into Monstropolis. When they find one, they... mm, never mind."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn laughs. "I call that one Yamato, and that one Shiki. And I don't think she's really a child though. She's what's called a young adult."

[Kasanip]

"Riiiiight. Guess we should try to avoid them for now." Shiki mutters in response to the comment on the CDA. "As Finn said, nice to meet you." She says on an upbeat note, hesitating before offering her hand to the monster. "We 'young adults' generally are more concerned with other things than monsters... Most of the time." She adds in hindsight, thinking back to the deserts of home. She could hardly describe herself as having an 'average' young adult lifestyle, even in the context of her world...

[Blackjackg]

"You-you're sure you're not a child?" Sulley asks before reluctantly taking and shaking Shiki's hand. He is visibly quite relieved when nothing happens. His paw, large and clawed though it may be, is quite soft and warm. "It's nice to meet you, Shiki."

He attempts a grin when he faces the young Cadet. "You too, Yamato." He does not attempt a handshake with the younger human, merely giving a small wave.

They arrive at a huge metal door, which opens when Sulley punches in a code. Ahead, the travelers see a vast room. Though dimly lit, they can see at least a dozen standing brackets, set to hold something the size and shape of a door. A massive, darkened television screen hangs on the wall just above and beside the entrance.

Sulley whispers, though his gravelly voice still carries in the wide room. "This Scare Floor is closed for the night. When I came here, I found this do-- Wait, it's gone! Oh no... that means that someone was here! Maybe they saw it... maybe they saw you! Oh no no no, we've got to get out of here!"

[Jesse Drake]

"Huh?" Finn looks at Sulley and frowns. "How'd you lose a door? Better yet, how could someone take your door?"

[Blackjackg]

Sulley speaks hurriedly, visibly agitated. "There's a machine that brings doors here and then a light goes on and you can enter into the human world and come back and there was a door here and that Heartless thing came out of it only now it's gone so that means someone must have sent it away and we don't have time for this we have to go!"

He grabs Shiki's hand and tries to pull her toward the door. "We'll go to my place. I've got food, and Mike's there. Mike will know what to do."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just looks intensely amused by Sulley - although the thought of there being more Heartless does worry him somewhat. "...I remember when they came to Mid-Childa. There were hundreds. Maybe thousands. And not all of them were that small..."

[Kasanip]

Shiki suppressed the urge to whistle as they entered the darkened room.
"Wow... I guess there's no techno taboo on this world..." She whispers to herself, intrigued by the door explanation and the strange technology around. As Sulley takes her arm she starts to stutter.
"Wha? Wo-woah!" She trips and stumbles in his wake as she is jerked away. "H-hey now! Just relax o-okay?" She says, trying to regain her composure. "It's not like we've been caught doing anything bad, right? We'll get the heartless before anyone notices."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn nods. "Fine by me... But what would happen if someone caught a glimpse of these two. Just curious."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just follows along, using his staff as a sort of walking stick - he's still pretty tired. "I hope you have a spare bed, too. I think I'm about to collapse, honestly..."

[Blackjackg]

"No, you don't understand. You don't have to do anything wrong. Humans aren't allowed in Monstropolis. Especially children. They're..." Sulley pauses, then leans in close to Shiki while keeping an eye on Yamato. "They're dangerous!" he hisses. In any case, he releases her wrist and takes several deep breaths to try and calm himself.

"Hundreds of them? Thou-- no, it was just the one. Unless... what if more of them came through while I was trying to catch that one? Oh no."

At Finn's question, his eyes widen. "You're right. Can you guys try to look more... furry? Or scaly, maybe? ... Gelatinous?"

[Kasanip]

Shiki raises an eyebrow, but her expression doesn't change. "Dangerous?" She looks back at Yamato. Yeah, actually he is pretty dangerous, but I don't think he's normal exactly...Well, what do I know about normal? I'm here on a monster planet with a fish-man and a magic boy who's probably smarter than me.

"I'm afraid I'm not the least bit scaly or furry. If we had some sort of supplies to work with I might be able to fashion-up the most unconvincing costume, if necessary." She shrugs.

[Jesse Drake]

Thinking for a moment, Finn comments "If ya got an umbrella, I may be able to give us a little cover. But only when we get outside." Tales of his father's journeys come to mind, as a song he remembered from childhood floated to the surface of his memories. The song was used to bring storms... clouds, rain, wind. The whole experience. Maybe if he tried, he could play it himself.

[Blackjackg]

"Well, I guess you'll just have to try to stay out of sight." he says, unconvincingly.

On the way out of the large building, he procures an umbrella. It is clearly one intended for young monsters, as it has a smiling face painted on it, complete with horns that stand up and fangs that hang down. Rather cute, in a perverse sort of way.

Sulley pokes his head out of the door into the street. "It's not too busy out there, but we're going to have to be really careful if we don't want to be seen."

[Jesse Drake]

The rhythm of the song flows through Finn. One second he's looking out, and the next, his fingers are moving in an eloquent manner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znio6fc7Wfo). The sky starts to darken, and then seconds later rain starts to poor. It's Finn's intention to slightly distort the visibility of his compatriots.

[Blackjackg]

Hunched up underneath his small umbrella, Sulley leads you through the dark, rainy streets of Monstropolis. As you go, you see all manner of strange, misshapen citizens flee from the sudden cloudburst. One creature holds two sections of a newspaper over its two heads.

The rain certainly does its job of distracting onlookers and obscuring their sight. With the rain for cover, Shiki can move like a passing shadow, unseen by all. Yamato, too, does a fine job of ducking in and out of sight, sometimes avoiding being seen by the narrowest of margins.

"We're almost there," Sulley notes, pointing out a tall grey building looming nearby. As they approach it, Yamato notices a monster in a long grey trenchcoat, watching him with at least two dozen eyes writhing about on long eyestalks. In unison, the eyes all narrow at him, trying to discern what exactly he is.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato is rather perplexed as Finn begins to play his guitar-key-sword-thing... and even moreso as it starts raining! "You... you can do magic by playing a guitar?" He's never heard of that before.

As the trenchcoated monster glares towards him, Yamato gives him a glare in return!

[Kasanip]

Shiki suppresses a shiver as she moves about in the shadows, a few meters off of the group. The rain had been a welcome distraction, but she was from the desert...this kind of rain was unusual.

"Good deal. The sooner we're out of this rain, the better..." Shiki responds softly to Sulley's comment

[Jesse Drake]

Finn smiles. "This song is an ancient one passed from my father onto me." He continues to play in the rain, not paying attention to the others around. When Sulley says his place is close, Finn thinks he'd like to meet this "Mike"... an odd name for a monster.

[Blackjackg]

The monster's many eyes widen and he scurries away, drawing his trenchcoat tight around him.

Sulley works a large key into the exterior door of his apartment building, then herds the young travelers quickly into the lobby. A short elevator ride later, and they stand together in a corridor several stories up. Sulley leads them to a door and opens it slowly.

"Mike... you home?" he whispers into the apartment.

No one replies, so he leads the companions in. Sulley offers a quick tour. "Mike's room, my room, kitchen, bathroom... do you want something to eat? If you want to sleep, you can."

[Jesse Drake]

More carefully now, as he's getting the hang of how things work, Finn heads to the fridge and creaks it open. If there's any fish, he'll grab one. Otherwise, he'll grab some juice or jello, or anything cold and refreshing.

Then he turns to Sulley. "You say kids are dangerous? How so? This one's never seemed that way." He nudges to Yamato.

[Blackjackg]

Sulley leans in conspiratorially. "Their touch is poisonous. One touch of a finger can kill a monster. That's why we've got to be so careful when we scare them. If they touch you... poof. Dead. Having him here is almost worse than the Heartless! If the CDA find out somehow..." He shakes his head, as though unwilling to even consider the possibility.

[Kasanip]

Shiki does all she can to contain her amusement at the comment while giving Yamato a sly look from under her dripping hair.
"You're poisonous are you Yamato-kun? I bet the girls love that." She looks around the room once and nods in satisfaction. "I don't suppose you have a towel I could borrow, do you?" She asks Sulley as she slips her jacket off, revealing her tanktop and a black tattooed "1" on her upper arm. She points to her soaked hair with a chagrined look, as if no other explanation was needed.

[Blackjackg]

"Uhhh, yeah," the big blue furry monster mutters as he disappears into the bathroom and returns with big blue furry towel, which he tosses to Shiki. He wanders to the window, peering out at the wet street, seemingly lost in thought.

"D'you think any more of them got out?"

[Kasanip]

"Maybe." Shiki says as she towels off. "Actually, I'd rather we do run across some more, because it's better to fight the enemy you can see than the one that is hidden." She muses aloud.

[Yuki Akuma]

While Sulley isn't looking, Yamato reaches out to poke him in the arm. Just to see what happens.

[Blackjackg]

At Yamato's touch, the monster reaches back and scratches at his arm. He slowly turns, looking down at the young mage, then suddenly screams in horror and flees, tripping over a large recliner in the process landing prostrate on the floor with a blanket over his head.

After a few tense moments, he realizes he is not dead and stands, taking the blanket off of his head. "Huh." he says simply.

[Jesse Drake]

"Well, now that that's over, maybe you could just tell the CDA there's no problem with children and heartless monsters are destroying your world and we can be on our way." Finn says, a slight sarcastic overtone in his voice.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato waves his hand vaguely. "Yeah, thought so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to sleep. I feel like I've run three marathons. Consecutively. While carrying Shiki."

[Blackjackg]

Sulley ponders Finn's suggestion, rubbing his chin dubiously. "I don't really think that would work... but maybe..."

He turns to Yamato, nodding sympathetically. "You can sleep in Mike's bed," he suggests. "He's about your size." Turning to the other two, he offers "One of you can take my bed, if you want. And the couch is comfortable enough to sleep on too. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight anyway. Maybe I'll watch some tv."

[Jesse Drake]

"Sounds fine with me. I'll stay up with you. Maybe you could explain some of these things to me. Like what's a TV?"

[Kasanip]

At Yamato's comment, Shiki looks up from where she's sitting with a raised eyebrow. "I don't weigh that much." She mutters. For a ten-year old kid though, she had to admit that he had performed a very strenuous task, and quite admirably at that. Her expression changes to a look of contentment, at least for the moment. "Honestly with all of the running around and adventuring we've had today, I'm not all that tired. Yet I suppose it's better to sleep when you can." She offers a cheery salute.
"Since you were kind enough to offer your hospitality, I'll take the other bed. Night boys!" She says, before disappearing into Sulley's bedroom.

[Blackjackg]

Shiki finds Sulley's bed surprisingly comfortable, though it is inundated with downy blue hairs. Mike's bed, in contrast, has a deep, egg-shaped indentation that forces Yamato to curl up into a ball in order to feel comfortable.

Finn and Sulley stay up late into the night, talking. Sulley explains what Monsters, Inc. is: a sort of power plant that produces energy by processing the screams of children from another world. He describes his role as a sort of local celebrity, as the top scarer in the most prestigious scream plant in Monstropolis. He explains what a television is, as well as introducing Finn to bottled soda and indoor plumbing, including why hands do not emerge from toilets.

Finally, Sulley nods off to sleep in his chair. A short time later, some kind of commotion comes up outside. Something is flying by with a loud thump-thump-thump-thump like a giant bird. Spotlights shine from these birds all around the neighborhood, up the walls of buildings, even Sulley's apartment building.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn goes out the window and takes a look. He's not sure what they are, but they look like something he's seen before. He knows he could get it, if he wanted to. But that's not important right now. They don't seem dangerous.

[roll0] Mind roll, to see if I notice anything interesting, I don't think I'd add anything. I assume these are helicopters, and he'd deal with them like peahats, if necessary.

[Kasanip]

Hearing the commotion outside, Shiki rolls out of bed and lands in a crouch on the floor. She reaches for her sword, but swears quietly and puts a hand across her face, rubbing her eyes. Of course it's not here silly. She reaches instead to her belt, lying under the pillow, and pulls it around her waist, still crouching. She then checks her gun and holds it in a two handed grip as she presses her back against the wall next to the window in the room.
"Anyone else awake?" She calls out to the other room, hoping they can hear her.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato wakes with a start! The bed wasn't particularly comfortable, anyway, so he wasn't sleeping deeply... but he still manages tof all out of bed with an audible yelp!

He gropes around for Lovely Heart, and issues the Set Up command - because it's faster than getting dressed.

[Blackjackg]

In the street below, by the waving spots of light, Finn can make out some misshapen yellow forms moving about. The lights continue to pass over the building.

As Shiki and Yamato appear in the room, there is the sound of a key entering the lock to the corridor door. It creaks open.

"Sulley, are you up? There's a big brouhaha outside. Apparently some goon saw a human child on our street. Can you just imagine--"

The voice stops as the figure comes into view. He is small and round-bodied with slender limbs, one large eye and a gaping mouth. Sulley, apparently a deep sleeper, continues to doze in his easy chair.

Illustration: Mike Wazowski
http://www.herbalinfusions.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/mike-wazowski.jpg

[Kasanip]

Shiki looks like a thief caught with her hand in a cookie jar for all of a second, before she relaxes and lets out a deep sigh, holstering her pistol on the back of her belt.
"As expected of late, perfect timing." She remarks. Shiki looks at Finn and sticks her thumb in the direction of the new arrivee. "I think you'd better talk to him while we wake up fuzzy Sulley here." She offers a cheerful wave to the green cyclops, and then trots over to Sulley and pokes him in the arm.
"Oy. Come'on, wake up. I think you're roommate is back."

[Blackjackg]

The little green monster jumps when Shiki pokes his furry friend. "Whoa! Hey! Hey! Whoa! Whoa! Don't touch him! You'll kill him! Unless... Holy Monsters, he's dead! Stay back or I'll scream!"

At that point, Sulley is roused, scratching his arm idly. The cyclops stares in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. "Hey Mike," says Sulley sleepily. A moment later, his eyes open wide and he launches himself out of the chair. "Mike, stay cool. I can explain. They're friends. Just shut the door and try not to scream."

Outside, the helicopters begin to peel away from the neighborhood. After calming Mike down (somewhat), Sulley invites Shiki and Yamato to return to bed, then proceeds to explain the night's events. For several hours, they discuss what their options might be, from going straight to the CDA and explaining everything to trying to track down whoever brought in that door.

When morning comes, Sulley tiredly suggests that they all return together to Monsters, Inc., to try and find out if any more Heartless have escaped, and perhaps try to find a door out of Monstropolis for the young travelers to take. He asks what they think they should do.

[Jesse Drake]

"I'm down to beat more heartless." Finn comments. "Where can your doors take us? Do you have one to Hyrule?" He asks, though I know there probably isn't.

[Kasanip]

Shiki looks all the more energetic in the morning. She crossed her arms across her chest as Sulley explained their late night discussion.
"Well, naturally we should make sure there are no more heartless running loose, though if the door came from Monstropolis, then that is the most likely place they will be." She shrugs.
"Of course, since it's daytime now, don't you think we'll stand out like a sore thumb?" She asks dubiously.

[Blackjackg]

"Hy... rule..." Sulley murmurs quietly to himself. "I don't know. Most of our doors lead to the same world. We usually just call it 'the Human World.' But there are other doors, special doors that lead to other worlds. You need special clearance to get those cards, though."

He falls silent at Shiki's reminder, exchanging a glance with Mike. The latter begins to speak slowly. "We could... disguise you? I could use one of my old Hallowe'en costumes and-- no, never mind, they all look like humans. I'm out of ideas; I'm pooped."

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato yawns as he gets up - for the second time. This time he gets dressed properly, though, and wanders back into the main room. "...Yeah. I don't think you'll have any doors to our worlds. They were destroyed by Heartless after all..."

[Kasanip]

Shiki gives Yamato a concerned look. "You okay Yamato-kun?" She asks curiously. "It may be a bad time to ask, but I don't suppose you can conjure up a magic disguise or something..."

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks around, looking for anything that could be used to disguise the two. Is sully big enough that two people could stack into like one of his suits or jackets or something? Maybe use a mop as a wig? Or something...


After a moment of looking, Finn finds a few objects he finds would make a convincing disguise. He takes a mop, a couple of oranges, a marker, and the trenchcoat. He draws pupils onto the oranges, and glues them to the mop head. Then he suggests Yamato stand on Shiki's shoulders, and hold onto the mop with his dear life. "We've got to make it back. I can cloud the sky up again, but we need all the help we can get." He remembers the birds in the sky, with their shining lights. It was scary, so he wasn't gonna take any chances.

[Kasanip]

Shiki looked as though she'd just bitten into sour fruit. Her body language, as she kept her elbows on the table and propped her chin on her hands, also suggested a bit of dubiousness as to whether the disguise would look. She looked over at Yamato and raised an eyebrow.
"I don't mind carrying you. Then we can call it even for before." She said with a grin, recalling the heroic feat Yamato had pulled on the pirates. Heh, they never even saw us coming.
"I donno if they'll fall for it... I mean any half-decent sensors operator would see through it." She leaned back and ran a hand through her hair. "I can't think of any other options though." She said with a shrug.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato shakes his head, frowning. "I can't do illusions. And even if I could, Lovely Heart was designed as a combat Device, so she wouldn't be able to do the math properly and I'd have to do it. Do you have any idea how hard spell math is?"

Yamato looks at this 'disguise' dubiously. "...Well it's better than anything I can think of..."

[Jesse Drake]

"It's all I can think of." Comments Finn, a little shocked. He'd of bought it...

[Blackjackg]

Mike and Sulley exchange a dubious glance. The smaller one waves his hand encouragingly. "Well, try it on," he says. "Let's see how it looks."

Creating this "mopster" costume will require a mind or soul roll on Finn's part. Good luck.

[Blackjackg]

To say that the final result is slapdash would be an understatement. The mop head and its orange eyes hang lamely over the ill-fitting jacket. It will take some excellent pantomime to sell this costume, and it won't hold up under any close scrutiny. Which is not to say that it couldn't work, but Mike and Sulley remain dubious.

[Kasanip]

Shiki stares at the costume through gritted teeth. "This is going to be so embarrassing." She says with a sigh. She forces herself to stand up and take the jacket.
"Okay...well... Let's give it our best." Shiki says, trying to sound enthusiastic. She takes her belt and fixes it so it hangs from her shoulder and across her chest, so that her sword and gun sit vertically and don't disturb the coat. She wraps the giant coat around her like a cloak for a minute, takes it back off, and then looks over at Yamato. "Alright, I guess it's time to get suited up." She kneels down like she's waiting for him to climb on her back.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks down as the two don the costume. He's a bit bummed that it's not an awesome disguise.

He plays his git-fiddle the second they step outside, making it rain. So what if the people of Monstropolis get flooded? And the meteor man lynched.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato just stares for a few minutes, looking rather horrified. "...Oh God. I hope we don't run into anyone I know..." He climbs up onto Shiki's shoulders, shooting death glares at Finn. "If we get caught, Finn, we're beating the crap out of you. Just so you're aware."

[Kasanip]

"You can count on that." Shiki adds with a malicious smirk before she pulls the coat around her. "Okay...I'll leave one button open here so I can actually see where I'm walking. The rest is up to you Yamato." She says, voice muffled by the coat.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn nervously looks around, and adds a wistfully adds a hat to the disguise... But it doesn't help, so he tosses it aside. "I'm not sure I can accept that." Stammers Finn.

[Blackjackg]

At the sound of Finn's guitar, the sky immediately darkens and rain again begins to pour. The water soaks into the dry mophead that disguises Yamato's face, causing rivulets of residual grime to course down his cheeks, oddly adding to the monstrous effect. Sulley and Mike together lead the group through the wet streets to the front doors of Monsters, Inc.

Inside, the scene is chaotic. Monsters of all descriptions hurry back and forth in the lobby area, looking busy. A handful of creatures in yellow rubber suits wave curious-looking devices at the walls, objects, and monsters, though most of the monsters seem to be purposefully avoiding their attention.

"CDA," mutters Sulley through clenched fangs, "we'd better get to the Scare Floor."

He and Mike make lead the travelers into a long corridor and back to the gigantic door. Sulley punches in the code and the doors slide open to reveal dozens of CDA agents going over the Scare Floor inch by inch with their instruments.

Illustration: CDA Agents
http://www.hyenastormcub.com/themes/monsters/cda09.jpg

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks at Sulley. "Do they know all the employees here?"

[Blackjackg]

Sulley shrugs, shaking his head. He seems reluctant to enter the room.

[Kasanip]

"Well, we've come this far already." Shiki murmurs softly from under the coat. "We'll improvise if something bad happens." She whispered to Yamato, an evil grin on her face that was utterly lost by virtue of the fact no one could actually see her. If they catch us, Yamato will just scare the daylights out of them anyhow with his "poisonous" touch. Hehe.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato is being silent - he really seems to be in over his head here. He was trained as a soldier, not an infiltrator!

[Jesse Drake]

Finn walks away from the others and quietly approaches one of the CDA agents. "Hello... What's going on here?"

[Blackjackg]

Sulley and Mike watch in silent horror as Finn approaches a squat, long-armed CDA agent.

The monster looks up at Finn's approach, staring at him through an unblinking red porthole in the front of his yellow suit. Without a word, he raises his beeping instrument to scan the half-Zora, and it continues to emit its cheerless beep, mixed with a light, hazy static sound. Other agents observe the exchange.

There is a click, and an officious voice emits from the suit. "A child was spotted in the area last night. Have you seen any suspicious activity?"

Meanwhile, at the door, Mike and Sulley continue to gape at Finn's audacity. A deep, fatherly voice from behind them makes them both jump. "Sullivan, Wazowski, did no one tell you? The Scare Floor is closed until further notice. What else could go wrong?"

The voice came from a terrible looking, yet well-dressed monster with many eyes and six arachnoid legs. Sulley turns to face him. "Mister Waternoose, sir! Umm..."

Illustration: Henry J. Waternoose
http://l.yimg.com/eb/ymv/us/img/hv/photo/movie_pix/walt_disney/monsters__inc_/waternoose.jpg

[Jesse Drake]

"What! A child?" Finn looks at the men in shock. "Did someone find a door open or something?"

[Blackjackg]

Once again the squat monster regards Finn suspiciously, bringing his instrument up suddenly, like an accusation. Once again, it hums with the hazy static sound, then beeps. Several other rubber-clad agents approach Finn, forming a wide and rough circle around him.

"Do you work here?" one demands.

[Jesse Drake]

"Me... Actually, I was wondering what was going on. I sit outside and play my guitar, but they let me in to use the restrooms." Finn shows his guitar and plays a little rift. "Please don't out me for my curiosity." Finn looks at the men and thinks. "I'm actually leaving now anyways. I was just being nosy." Finn tries to leave now.

[Blackjackg]

The yellow-encased monsters stand together between Finn and the door, passively obstructing his path out of the room. The commotion has attracted the attention or Mr. Waternoose, who scuttles onto the Scare Floor. "Do you know this monster, Sullivan?" he asks.

Sulley and Mike step fearfully onto the Floor behind Waternoose. Their speech is a symphony of hemming and hawing.

"Um,"
"Er,"
"Well,"
"See,"
"Hmm,"
"Hrrr"

Suddenly, another of the CDA agents' devices emits a heavier static. It's pointed in the direction of the door.

Finn's guitar strings vibrate ominously, and Shiki and Yamato feel a tingling in their hands, as if their weapons were trying to appear.

[Jesse Drake]

"Heh heh... Is there someone in charge I can get ahold of." He's a bit nervous. "Head of the CDA..."

[Kasanip]

For all she could, Shiki tried to will the shield to not appear. If it did right now...Well, it wouldn't be easy to explain. She tried to relax, keenly aware that any extra attention wouldn't do them any good. But why was the shield reacting? Could it be...the heartless?
"Yamato-kun...do you see anything?" She whispered up, as quietly as she could.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato forces the staff back - it wouldn't be a good idea for it to appear right now. Shiki's question derives a frown from the boy. I can barely see anything under this mop! He's trying to make out what's going on, searching out with his mind to see if there are any minds in the Scare Floor.

[Blackjackg]

Yamato reaches out with his extra sense, easily picking out the familiar minds of Finn and Shiki. There are a number of others out there, as rigid and clamorous as a chorus of cymbals. There is also a sort of hollow emptiness that keeps attracting Yamato's mind, like the spot of black on a white surface that constantly draws the eye, making it difficult to continue the search.

The CDA agents continue to close in on Finn. One, a large monster with three arms and multiple red portholes, suddenly begins to move strangely. His limbs writhe and sway erratically, yet fluidly; an eerie, mocking dance. The other agents, distracted from their intent encircling of Finn, back away from the madly dancing monster. To their horror, the yellow rubber suit inflates like a balloon and explodes, scattering scraps of rubber all over the scare floor.

On the place where the "monster" was standing, a mass of huddled Heartless shadows spread out, charging in all directions, the violence of their claws belied by the calm disengagement of their unblinking yellow eyes.

Violence! Initiative, please.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks at the men around him. "I'm not gonna fight you." He steps aside and shoots his boomerangs at two of the heartless. [roll0][roll1], using my attack two targets power, so I take no penalty to that. I'm picking off two heartless on the edges.

[Kasanip]

Hearing the sounds from under the costume, Shiki groans. "Sorry Yamato, I think it's time for us to show ourselves." She apologizes, before kneeling down to let Yamato off. She reflexively calls her shield to her arm and raises her goggles, as a fierce grin graces her features.

(Hold Action until after Sulley)

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato leaps off Shiki's shoulders, throwing the mop head aside. He holds out his hand, summoning his staff with practised ease. "Okay, let's see what this baby can do!"

"Spell software detected. Area-of-effect attack spell. Electricity element."

"...Good idea. Go with that!" He holds up his staff.

The gem-like patterns on the staff flash, and a vaguely masculine - as opposed to Lovely Heart's feminine - voice emanates from it. "Thunder."

Well, you know how this attack works... you made it. Obviously, doing my best not to hit anyone but the Heartless...

[roll0]

[Blackjackg]

Finn's fins strike true, neatly slicing into two Heartless and returning to him, trailing smoky blackness in their wake. The Heartless hobble on just the same however... until the air darkens (perhaps only by comparison) as tiny bolts of brilliant lightning rain down from the ceiling, striking at each individual shadow. The preternaturally swift beings dodge to the best of their ability, avoiding all but three of the bolts. One of the shadows, struck by both a fin and a bolt, falls and bubbles away into nothingness.

Sulley charges into the fray with a roar quite unlike the soft-spoken monster the group has come to know. He pounces on a Heartless, his black claws seeking to rend it, but it slips from his grasp as he crashes to the floor.

The CDA monsters, faced not only with a human child but with creatures of viral shadow, fall into a panic, attempting to flee the room. The eleven remaining Heartless, quickly identifying their assailants, turn their eyes toward Finn, Yamato and Sulley.

[Kasanip]

With a wild grin, Shiki is there among them: one knee on the ground with the toe of her boot dug in, and a wide low stance that looks like she's ready to blitz. Right now her eyes are wide and focused as she tracks all of the foes in front of her, calculating... Ready to jump in to shield one of her teammates should the need arise.

(Full Defense, and prepare to guard against the enemy attacks against her teammates!)

[Blackjackg]

By the time Shiki can react, the Heartless are already upon her friends. Finn rolls to the right, avoiding one set of shadowy claws, only to find Shiki in front of him knocking aside two more with her shield.

Sulley accounts well for himself also, batting two shadows away with his claws as though they were mosquitos. Shiki successfully interposes herself between him and a third assailant, stopping its assault with ease.

Meanwhile, Yamato finds a shadow has slipped past his guard, raking him viciously across the chest. The claws tear through his uniform but don't penetrate the skin, instead raising painful, dark welts where they pass. Despite the sharp pain, Yamato knocks away a second assault.

Sorry for controlling your characters, there. If you want anything changed, make a note in the OOC forum. Next up: Finn, Yamato, Sulley, Shiki, the Heartless.

Since all the Heartless look alike and don't really show battle damage, trying to hit a specific one (say, one that's already been damaged) requires a successful Mind (Vision) roll. To save time, just roll it along with your attacks. If you succeed on the attack but fail the Mind roll, you hit your target, you just targeted the wrong one. Make sense?

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks at the enemies around him. He starts tearing away at them. He doesn't care how many there are, or who was hit.[roll0][roll1], two targets so no penalty, as I perform a large, wide swing around me.

[Blackjackg]

Finn's first scything fin cuts clean through one of the Heartless, dispersing it in a bubbling splotch of shadow. His second cuts nothing but air.

Yamato's up next. It would save me a little time if you could note the damage for the particular weapon you using when you roll. Remember, this is
(Weapon Level x Damage Multiplier) + Base Attack Stat.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato cringes as the Shadow slashes at him, making him yelp and jump back slightly. "That... really hurts..." He sounds almost like he's about to start crying.

But instead, he takes Lovely Heart from around his neck. "Let's not let them do that again. Set Up!" "Stand by... Ready. Set up."

Settu Appu!

HP: 35/45
EP: 50/50 (+0/50)

[Blackjackg]

Sulley leaps forward, lashing out again with his great black claws, but the sly shadows slip away at the last moment so only the barest tips of his rending claws clip a shadowy body.

Ten shadows remain, and the CDA agents have all fled the room, leaving Shiki, Yamato, Finn, Sulley and Mike alone with the Heartless.

Shiki's up next!

[Kasanip]

Shiki stifles a curse and takes three steps before pulling a handspring over one of the heartless as she doubles back.
"You okay Yamato-kun?" She yells over her shoulder, holding her shield at the ready.

(Same plan as last turn - full defense and prep to cover her teammates as they need it)

[Blackjackg]

Mike and Sulley do manage to avoid the harmful claws of the Heartless shadows, though the latter does so with no small amount of running and yelping.

Shiki is like the desert wind itself, blocking not only the attacks against her, but protecting Yamato and Finn as well. The moment she skips away from the half-Zora to face the next onslaught, however, a shadow leaps into him, raising ugly blood-filled welts with its tiny dark claws.

Finn takes 6 points of damage, and can take his turn.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn looks around. It's time to try something new. He concentrates for a moment, then lets out a surge of electrical energy from his body. [roll0] for 19 Damage. Also, 38/44 HP for me.

[Blackjackg]

Finn wreathes himself in a bright electric field, while another shadow slips nimbly through Sulley's claws. The dratted things keep turning two-dimensional and running invincibly along the floor to pop up elsewhere.

With an almost inaudible whirr, and with alarming speed the massive double-doors that granted the only obvious access to the scare floor snap shut, effectively trapping the travellers in with the Heartless and the two monsters.

I've skipped Yamato's turn. If Yuki wants to do a descriptive post or something that's not an action, he can feel free to do so. Meanwhile, it's Shiki's turn.

[Kasanip]

She tosses a glance over at Finn, more than a little surprised to see the field shimmer around him.
"He had a personal shield this whole time?" She muttered to herself, a little peeved that she had been spreading herself thin trying to cover the lot of them. "We don't have time to keep playing around like this!" She shouted to her companions. And at least in her mind, she was right. She could continue the dance for quite some time longer, but eventually the attrition of blows would catch up. With gritted teeth she flicked the shield up and swung it full into the face of a heartless before her, before skidding back with it up and ready to defend.


Shiki's attack:
[roll0]
Shield Hit Damage: 26


(ooc: No full defense this time, but she will still try to defend her allies - just at the penalty instead)

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato's body is sheathed with pink light...

His clothes suddenly strip away, and his Devices float up out of his hands. And, just as suddenly, his Barrier Jacket begins to 'build' itself up, from the lower layer of shorts and t-shirt, then swiftly followed by the jacket, socks, boots and headband. Then, Lovely Heart comes floating down, and breaks apart!

It then reforms as a gauntlet. Finally, Sage Heart snaps down, and suddenly flashes - its greyish 'veins' suddenly turn pink.

All this, accompanied by this song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-fBNjzjxdM). (Please ignore the AMV. Also, this isn't actually playing in the game-world, sillies.)

[Blackjackg]

Not only does Shiki manage to protect herself effectively from the two Heartless that attack her, she also manages to protect Finn's otherwise unguarded flank from the second shadow that creeps up on him while he knocks away an attack. Yamato and Sulley guard against the assault of the Heartless without difficulty.

Mike, however, fares less well. While Shiki does stop one attack against him, she is too late to protect him from the first attack. The claws cut deeply into his rumpled hide, raising the same ugly welts that have stung Finn and Yamato.

Gah! Busy semester. I'm still committed to this game, but responses will likely continue to be slow. Finn and Yamato are up next.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn swings his blade at the heartless, swinging wildly. He doesn't care which ones were hit, but he maneuvers to hit the ones attacking Mike.[roll0][roll1] against the two closest to Mike.

[Blackjackg]

The Keyblade-guitar neatly slices through both Heartless, reducing them to naught but simmering patches of shadow.

Yamato!

[Yuki Akuma]

As the pink glow fades, Yamato is standing there in his Barrier Jacket! He looks quite heroic, really... He spins the staff deftly in both hands, then point it at a Heartless at random. "Let's see what else you've got!"

"Fire."

The recoil takes Yamato quite by surprise, to say the least...

[roll0]

[Blackjackg]

A ball of fire, hot enough to briefly raise the temperature in the melee by a few degrees, shoots from the tip of the staff, but misses its intended target by a fair margin and leaves a large char mark on the far wall.

Another Heartless scampers away from Sulley's vicious claws. He appears to be becoming quite frustrated with them.

Shiki!

[Kasanip]

Shiki pivots on her foot, and with the momentum from her twirl, she swings her shield back into a heartless, before throwing herself into a roll, trying to keep her eyes on the rest of her teammates amidst the chaos. The grin never leaves her face, especially not after the impressive fireball attack of Yamato-kun.


[roll0]
Shield Damage: 26

basically the same thing as last time, with hopefully better results~

[Blackjackg]

The slippery shadow once again turns two dimensional and slides away on the floor. They regroup again for another attack.

You're whittling 'em down! Only eight attacks this round, three against Finn, two against Yamato and Sulley, and one against Shiki.

[Blackjackg]

Although, by virtue of the group's quick reflexes and Shiki's vigilant defense, the Heartless were unable to land so much as a single blow, the remaining eight shadows have formed a large circle around the combatants.

Once again, the order is Finn, followed by Yamato.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn grins. "This isn't so tough!" He swings his blade around to hit any nearby heartless, any two of them, since he's not paying attention to which one's hurt. [roll0] [roll1]

[Yuki Akuma]

"Round Shield." A circle of magic glowy... stuff appears by Yamato's left hand, easily deflecting the attacks of the Shadows. "Yeah, from now on, I'm putting my Barrier Jacket on before we go into combat."

He spins the staff around, pointing it at a random Heartless. "Okay, last spell! Let's see it!" "Blizzard."

[roll0]

[Blackjackg]

Finn's keyblade catches one Heartless full in the torso, cleaving cleanly through it and reducing it to bubbling shadow. A second skips lightly away from the blow, only to walk directly into a large, circular blast of frost emanating from Sage Heart. It staggers, its black body stained by white frost, but somehow remains standing.

Sulley's claw strikes out into the circle, but its lack of contact suggests it was more of a warning strike than an attempt to hit any particular foe.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shiki spies movement just beyond the circle of Heartless, yet she sees nothing when she turns to look at it. Could it have been a wave of magic from Yamato's staff, or a trick of her eyes?

Shiki!

[Kasanip]

Shiki pauses for the briefest of seconds to glance in that direction again, before swinging her shield around and attempting to smash one of the heartless like a bug to the floor.


Attack [roll0]

do I need to roll an awareness check?

[Blackjackg]

Shiki's clobbering attack leaves the buglike black shadow staggered and disoriented, but not out yet.

That sighting was the result of your previous awareness check. You can make another if you want to keep looking. Meanwhile, there are two attacks each at Finn, Sulley and Shiki, and one at Yamato.

[Blackjackg]

A quick shadow slips past Finn's defense, but shocks itself on his electric force field, its claws causing a slight disruption in the integrity of the field. Shiki comes to his aid and knocks a second attack away before it can come near. Yamato and Sulley successfully fend off further assaults.

As she tries to pick out the source of the movement she saw earlier, Shiki almost effortlessly stops two attacks against her. She does not see the phenomenon again, however, but she is struck in the side by something. Something that she can't see. Though her leather jacket takes some of the force of the attack (and is unfortunately the worse for it), her skin is scratched deeply. And unlike the slashes of the Heartless, this one bleeds.

Yamato's forcefield takes 13 points of damage, and Shiki takes 16. Finn is up next, followed by Yamato.

[Jesse Drake]

Finn grunts a vicious rumble. "These punks are annoying." States captain obvious. "Is there anything else we can do?"
At that, he spins around, swinging Indigo eagerly and recklessly. He doesn't care who he hits, as long as it's one of them.
Okay, here are attack rolls for two random heartless [roll0] [roll1]

[Blackjackg]

A shadow flattens itself against the floor and slips under the first pass of Finn's blade, but the corrected swing cuts another straight through. It fizzles away.

[Yuki Akuma]

Yamato (who doesn't have a forcefield - he has armor and a shield) spins the staff around in his hands lazily, not seeming to really care about the Heartless around him. these small fries... how did they manage to beat so many other Mages? There must be stronger ones...

He spins the staff around once more, then plants one end down on the ground, hard. "Thunder!"

[roll0]