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[ Kyle's Chrysalis : Atlantis : Outside Throne Room ]

As if corresponding with the spontaneous burst of Darkness that occurred with Nicholas' transformation, something within the Obsidian Water Lily began to shift again. The budding blossom expanded just slightly in width, its petals growing ever-more-defined--so much so that now it looked like a true, massive black water lily bud, indistinguishable from the real thing by sight alone.

Simultaneously, the piercing violet eyes were accompanied by a different glow. It started like a faint flicker at first, but as the seconds passed, the white silhouette of a humanoid form could be seen within the black crystal. However, this entity was taller than Kyle, by a foot at least, and as such was slightly curled in the air, facing forward toward the seal and the battle in front of it. Its legs were more slender, its form more graceful in appearance--and from its back, curved around to its front like a protective shell themselves, sprouted not two, but six wings.

The entire angelic form was without detail; it was simply a glowing outline of light within the now-translucent chrysalis of malevolence.

The negative emissions seemed to grow exponentially, spreading the aura of anxiety and despair to within a radius of a few meters. A deep, low humming could be heard, making it seem as if the entire area was vibrating, trembling--not quite an actual quake, certainly not enough to hinder battle, but enough that it was at least noticeable.

[Artemis .:. Noelle ~ Atlantis ~ Outside Throne Room]

Artemis took immediate note of the changes in Kyle's chrysalis, turning to eye it. Elleon quickly evaluated Artemis' value against her personal involvement with Ajora's current scheme. It wouldn't matter much if she withdrew the Unversed at this point, even if Ajora chided her later. He wouldn't stay mad for long, she'd be sure of it. A dark portal to Artemis' side opened and the archer hopped through it. The moment it closed, her magic was no longer active, and her Ink dome disappeared, revealing Kyle's chrysalis and the fact that Kyla was gone.

Noelle smiled at Bobbi's comment, quickly distancing herself from the Venus fly trap and coming to the ice archer's side. After turning around again, the agromancer noticed the dome of darkness had disappeared. What really caught her off guard were the drastic changes to the strange thing that had swallowed up Kyle. Was he even okay? What was going on? Noelle had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but feel like he might not make it out of this one in one piece. And it just got worse as she looked on. Kyla was nowhere to be seen.

"This isn't looking good." Noelle glanced to Bobbi, still on guard, "Kyla's gone, Kyle's out, Matt is just barely keeping Alice at bay, that giant Heartless is still guarding the seal, I'm half spent . . . We might need--HOLY--!"

Noelle jumped as her Venus fly trap exploded. Nick was back, and angry as ever. Naturally he'd be targeting her. Lovely. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse.

"Uhh, guys!" Noelle called out over the charms, opening a link to all Earthlings, "Things aren't looking good here in Atlantis. We need backups, stat! Can either group send anyone?"

((Mod's Note: Earthlings from the Atlantica group would have already finished their Heartless battle and those who wanted to move on would have headed to Atlantis. They're currently on the outskirts of Atlantis, arriving through the cavern.))

[ Riku : Caribbean : Black Pearl Deck ]

The fight with the pirates had ended a short time ago. Will, near death, was made to stab Davy Jones' heart by Jack and Elizabeth--killing Jones, making Will immortal, and turning the tides of battle as both the Dutchman and Pearl converged on the East India Trading Company, destroying the vessel with ease.

Now, Will and Elizabeth were off on their island rendezvous, and those above had been waiting for an update from below. When they finally got one... it wasn't reassuring.

After Sora responded, Riku gave his own answer. "There's no way we could get there in time if we swam--and I haven't properly used a Corridor in years. Can you open one side while I try to link with the other? Then we can jump over and meet you there!"

[Kichi :: Atlantis :: Halfway to throne room]

Kichi heard Noelle's voice in his head. "Backup confirmed! I'm halfway through Atlantis, heading for the Throne Spire!" he replied, moving at top speed. He was sweating bullets from pushing his speed for so long.

'Will you be okay?' Bahamut asked.

'Hardly used my magic. It's just from keeping my legs moving so long, I'll take a quick breather before I get to the fight, and I'll be fine.'

'...If you're sure.'

'I've learned my limits pretty well, this shouldn't be a problem.'

There was no reply from Bahamut, and Kichi powered onward.

{Kyle : Atlantis : Halfway to Throne Room}

Kyle was a slightly behind Kichi, trying to pace himself, although he probably wasn't doing a very good job of it. Running had never been a strong point of his. And he took pacing to have a similar meaning as walking. 'After this, we're devising a way to move from point A to point B without running.'

'Oh? So you'll be using the earth to move? Great. So what'll you do? Surfing on earth? Roller skates? Oh. Wait. You have no idea how. I'd say snowboarding but...heh. That was a bit of a failure there.' Hearing Midgardsormr snicker was more than a little embarrassing. Stupid memories and stupid summon who could look through them.

'Oh shut up. We'll figure something out.'

'Okay. Whatever you say. And what about the magic consumption? Sure, it'll be faster than running, but it'll still cost magic.'

'I dunno. There has to be something that'll let me get magic.'

'This might be your best plan ever.'

'Bite me.'

'I'll help you figure it out after the battle. Now push on and catch up with Kichi.'

'Yeah yeah.' Following that, he pushed forward, looking up to see what was ahead for them. It wouldn't be too long now. At this speed, it would only take a few more minutes. He couldn't feel anything aside from Kichi in front of him yet, but he figured it wouldn't take very long until things started coming clear.

{Dani : Atlantis : Halfway to Throne Room}

"Man," Dani thought to herself "Seems like all hell is breaking loose." She was currently walking behind Kyle and Kichi before both of them ran towards the throne.

"If I were you I would stop over thinking things are just follow them." Leviathan chastised from the back of her mind.

Dani sighed at her summon. "I guess I should." Dani thought before pushing off the floor in order to try and catch up to the two in front of her. "I just hope we make it in time to help."

[ Noelle ~ Atlantis ~ Outside Throne Room]

Noelle stayed on her knees, having a feeling she might be there for a little longer just to recover--she definitely wasn't feeling too great at the moment. She took the Ethers that Riku handed to her, nodding at his instruction. The agromancer was going to ask Matt how his magic levels were , but was interrupted by Ajora's appearance. Her heart filled with panic as he came up behind Matt, but faded as he disappeared without causing him harm.

"Yes, s**t like that does happen." Noelle panted, feeling okay enough to stand even if still weak. She couldn't stay down forever, but was going to have to keep her fighting to a distance. With the Ether, her magic would still be strong, but her physical reaction time wouldn't be enough to keep her alive.

'Bear in mind, human, wind is your natural enemy.'
'So kill him before he kills me, got it. This is going to be fantastic.'

"Hey, Matt!" The blonde called, thinking the Ether would best serve one of their strongest mages, "How are you on magic?"

[Tyue/Kyla : ????: ????]

For the first time since their journey began Carbuncle shared Kyla’s instinctive anxiety. Every second that passed by and she was still busy mending the torn flesh of her partners back, felt like a hundred years for her. It was taking far too long for comfort, and there was no telling what was happening to the others back on the battle field. Still, her main concern was healing Kyla, and drawing her back from the brink of death.

Every so often the creature glanced towards the woman seated in the chair; her ghostly figure was unnerving and curious. Who was she? Was she watching them or just...hanging around?

Was she involved with that entity that has currently taken residence in her partner? Tyue didn’t trust him, but it wasn’t like she had much choice now but to tolerate him. Maybe she was used to being the only other resident inside her friend’s consciousness and this invasion felt personal, but she still was wary about his true intentions. He could very well mean everything he said about wanting to protect the other Earthlings- but what about the rest? Kyla wasn't the only one who tried to see the big picture here. What was this persons plans concerning- everything. This whole adventure and their destiny here, what did he have planned for them?
“mmm.mmm..”

Kyla’s groaning sounded a little stronger now- that was good sign. “Soon, don’t worry Aibou, soon- we’ll be re-joining the others. I’m sure of it. Worse comes to worse you can always use your powers to teleport back to the throne room if I can restore your mana…right?”

As simple as it sounded Tyue had no idea where they were. What were the conditions of their position? What was this place and what forces governed it. Besides obvious reasons, something wasn't quite right about this location. Like it didn't feel real.