Welcome to Gaia! ::

It didn't take long for the ship to reach Tia Dalma's swamp; not even the projected 3-to-4 hours. Due to the world amalgamation, many islands of the Caribbean had grown closer. It had only taken them an hour and a half, at full speed, to get to the voodoo-woman's house.

In that time, everyone had been completely replenished, their bodies back at full strength and their mana supply reaching the brim. Sora had given Anthony his Dress Sphere, and while the crew tended to go their separate ways, everybody at least got to know the newcomers' names, and the newcomers at least got to know theirs. The group explained the Dress Spheres, the summons they would eventually get, and the current scenario they were going through- about the world's status, their quest, and their sister quest.

As they draw closer to the dark alcove of Tia Dalma's home, the group wonders what lies next- after all, things hardly go according to plan. The anchor has been set; they will be getting on the dinghies in a matter of moments.

[[Voila >.>;; Now we can get things moving again. Please check the Speak Out post in case you haven't already.]]

[John.:Angel Grove:.City]

With the grasp of Cory's hand John was infused with the power of Cory's abilities in a dark blue and black light that burst out from his body. When the light subsided, John stood there flabbergasted that luck chose him to fight the good fight.

His armor was now a vast array of colors battling for dominance over his suit: John's electric blue and white fighting with Cory's dark blue and black. Cory's colors were essentially just darker versions of his own, which gave John a feeling of some sort of sick and twisted bond that the two might have shared given different situations...

Of course, situations like these don't come easy...

Standing there with his contrasting armor and emanating with energy, John scanned the area and targeted Bal-Hur right away. The gargoyle-like beast was easy spot.

"Iai smash!" John said as he readied his maul. In the next instant, John attacked in the blink of an eye.

[1 succeed: Double Damage, 2 Fail: No Damage]

{James : Caribbean Sea : The Challenger -> Dinghies}

James had spent the trip to Tia Dalma's in silence pretty much, after Anthony went away and Sayrike excused herself. He noted that she had a good work ethic, as she left to go check the rigging she had done. He leaned his back against the railing and just fell deep into thought regarding all kinds of different things, their new enemy, the avatar of Chaos for example. As well as the usual worry about their replicas. After their hour and a half long sail they reached the alcove where Tia Dalma's house was located. His hexagun back in his hand just in case. It would be pretty evident that he was on guard.

'What is going to happen while we're here...'

He thought as he began to clamber into one of the dinghies which they would use to row to land. The last time they had been in dinghies was to get back to the boat they had sailed to Terebinthia on, and he had been injured by the Noelle impersonator and had just laid in as they sailed back to the ship.

{Auron : Caribbean Sea : The Challenger -> Dinghies}

Auron had also remained silent on the ride, his eyes closed as he leaned his back against the wall of the ship that lead into the State Room. His massive katana, leaning against the wall next to him. He listened, seemingly without interest to the conversation between Kyle and the Captain. When they finally reached the alcove he simply raised himself up from the wall and made his way over to the dinghies, the large blade slung over his shoulders. He would be one of the last to board, making sure that everyone got off before he got in.

{Leon : Angel Grove : City}

{{Cue: Don't Be Afraid}}

Leon continued with his current tactic of furiously parrying, blocking and striking against the dark brawler, his pace seemingly picking up as Azrael's did. However, the observant eye would note that he was losing his ground, taking more blows than he was delivering and being able to parry fewer of the strikes, Azrael was just too fast. Then came the blade of wind from the Sylph, not only blowing the gunblader back somewhat, but slicing into his side, causing his breath to escape in a hiss. Still though he fought on as best as he could.

He began to pour energy into his sword, and it responded by beginning to give off a golden glow and increasing in it's size. This was a last ditch effort, the last of his energy would go into this attack. He was forced to endure the relentless of the brawler as he raised the blade high, pouring more energy into it, a beam of light rising from the blade.

"This is it!" He yelled, his eyes snapping open as he brought the blade down as quickly as he could at the replica.

The Blasting Zone coming down in a massive blade of light cutting into the ground for at least twenty feet from the blade's point, hopefully hitting Azrael in the blast. Leon's breathing was ragged as his gunblade fell from his hands and he fell to his knees and hit the ground, clearly tapped out.

[Dawn : Caribbean Sea : The Challenger -> Dignhies]

Dawn had remained in the crow's nest the remainder of the trip. Her mind drifting to various things, her mind escaping to a place other then this. When they finally arrived, Dawn climbed back down the ladder. Where she let out a sigh as others proceeded to leave the ship.

"Umm, shouldn't someone get the others who are resting?" Dawn said, she paused putting her hand on the daggers she carried, "I'll do it!"

Not waiting for anyone else to volunteer, and moving ahead of Noelle, she ran down below deck to the crew's quarters where she remembered Louis and Jacob were resting. When she got in her eyes drifted between the two of them, unsure of which one she should wake up first. Dawn looked over at Louis, she wondered how well his wounds were healing. She slowly started over to where Louis was resting, and was about to put her hand on his head, but stopped her self. While she gave herself a mental kick and a physical slap to the forehead.

"Baka!" she said in a loud whisper.

[Alan :: Angel Grove :: City]

Despite the pain, Alan's mind was clear. Or, maybe, it was because of the pain. He struggled to break his arm free of the wires, but they were surprisingly strong. With every pull, the pain intensified, but Alan did not abate. He had always prided himself on his ability to brave pain. If he failed now . . . if he lost to an attack that focused mainly on pain . . .

And yet, he could not break the wires by his own strength.

Kyla cut some of the wires holding him up, causing his body to shift tortuously. It made the pain worse, but weakened Kai's spell's hold on his body. Leviathan had a similar effect. There were only a few wires holding him up now.

Alan shouted mightily, immersing his right arm in magical flame as he ripped it forward in a final effort, backed by his allies, to free himself. It was not the wires that gave, however, but his flesh. His wound opened by the gyrating of the wires and of Alan's body, the wire tore through Alan's flesh and powersuit entirely, freeing his arm in rather gruesome display. The pain intensified.

Alan grabbed a nearby wire with his free (but injured) hand, and pulled himself forward, twisting with all his might. And, lo, the wires gave way. His flesh was still punctured, but he was no longer suspended in the air. He landed as inelegantly as could be expected.

Alan's mind raced furiously as he did his best to catch himself up to the situation. Kai was under attack from afar. Probably Seymour - no one else had access to that kind of magic. Dani was unhurt. Kyla and Riku were in similar situations to himself. Kai had her defenses back up.

Should Alan take over healing? There were a number of injured already, including himself. No . . . he had said he would work to neutralize Kai. The replica had the advantage of speed (as well as power and, well, being better), but as long as she remained on the defensive, her actions would be limited. Besides, the fact that she kept putting up barriers implied that she might be physically weak. He would have to do something about her defenses first.

Alan scrambled to his feet with surprising alacrity considering his bloodied state. He dashed forward and seemed to grab the air in front of Kai. Then, using Counterspell once more, he pulled back, as if peeling off some sort of covering. Of course, he was actually grabbing the strings of magic supporting her enhancements. He was mostly trying to remove her Shell and Reflect. If he got her Protect spell, too, so much the better.

Alan spoke in the minds of his allies:
"Pain is nothing. We can do this. Forget everything and ATTACK!"

Because of how the Trinity Charms worked, Alan's emotions would have transferred over as well: it would feel to the others like a smoldering fire refusing to be extinguished despite the mighty wind. Even as it damaged his body and made moving difficult, the pain acted as fuel for his spirit. He was going all out, now, and it reflected in his communication. Already, he had begun to prepare his next spell.

[Teh Swamp? ~ The Challenger]

Noelle walked past a groggy Jacob and Anthony as she made her way to the crew's quarters, smiling softly as they shuffled topside. She knew that she should have gotten some rest as well, she had yet to recover fully from her four-day "overnight" jaunt, but knew it wasn't going to happen in that dingy room. She was a picky sleeper, and if she wasn't in a comfortable environment, nothing short of sheer exhaustion would get her to catch some z's. As she walked into the room, she saw Dawn there looking somewhat tentatvie.

"Everything alright?" The agromancer asked in a low voice.

[Swaaaamp? ~ The Challenger]

Noelle glanced from Dawn, to Louis, then back to Dawn, then shrugged uselessly. They didn't really have a choice, they needed to get a move on and get to Tia Dalma's. It was unfortunate that he couldn't rest more, though, he probably needed it after the fight he had. A comical solution came to her but she decided she had better not voice it. Cutting loose the hammock and carrying him along wasn't such a great idea.

"Well . . . I mean, there's not much we can do. We can't leave him behind. Who knows where this visit to Tia Dalma's is going to take us, and how urgently we'll have to go." She said, still speaking softly, "We had better wake him. He needs his shirt back anyway . . ." Noelle finished sheepishly, holding up his mended shirt.