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[[Louis? : Core : Inside Kyla]]

The sprite spun around the pictomancer and observed the transformation, slowing to a stop and curling up into a ball, placing his chin on his knees, "Well, NOW you decide to talk..." he went quiet as he tried to interpret the words, making out some of it enough to put the pieces together lightly, making a simple exclamation in response making no facial expression beyond a blank stare, "Oh."

As it opened its mouth and roared at the group, he cringed, putting his tiny hands of his ears and floated backwards slightly. As the obnoxious shouting came to a close, the sprite shook his head, blinking quickly. He took a deep breath then roared defiantly in response giving a healthy dose of the bird with both hands... right before the pain spell plowed through his form scattering him into regenerating ashes again.

[Kyla: Core]

Kyla worked silently, casting on each of them, ignoring the stares, or bitter grumbles.
She tried to ignore it, turn herself off again. Then the other reason why she said those things came back to her-
‘Hell, I hardly know you, and I've never been one to assume, so don't accuse me.-‘

‘'We are here for you, and you are here for us.' We work together, we inform each other, and we stay alive.’-

‘one of those solutions is to rely on one another and confide in one another.’

‘"Don't stress. You're forgiven. You always will be."

….Liar

It’s all fine and dandy in the safety of the outside world but here, the stress revealed everything they said before or hinted or implied- wasn’t true. They had made up their minds about her already.
She applied his buff as she shook his head at her and turned away.

Liar.
Liars.
Liars…
Liars YOU LIED! LIAR!!!!

The word shattered across her psyche like a chorus of voices and her fingers fumbled for a moment as she applied the last buff to James, taking a final look over him to make sure he was alright. Her relief at least was there, coupled clashingly with everything else.

When she was done she wrestled the screaming in her head again and forced it to be silent. The weight in her chest felt very heavy and that too she pushed back almost physically as she seemed to step back behind all of them. It could be allotted to the fact ti was the best position for her, but to knowing eyes like James it was obvious she was giving everyone space, withdrawing…
She kept visualizing herself just turning it off. Shutting it down. Becoming still, letting nothing else immit less it be a distraction not just for herself but others. Let the rest be volatile, just turn it down. She kept trying- she HAD to! As she prepared her next set of moves, putting the new ability away (there was no way they’d ever use it)- she kept pushing the feelings down but they kept tryng to rise back up to the surface- to the top, right to the barrier of her skin, leaving in wispy froths of-

-wait…

They really were!?
The weight of them felt a little better as they were sucked out, but she knew that couldn’t be a good thing. What was Anima doing what was it-?? And then it looked at them with those seven evil eyes.

In those eyes she saw unseen horrors, the ones that kept her door open at night and the light on. She always feared the dark, and this was the perfect personification as to why. She’d never forget it. She couldn’t sleep knowing it was out there- here. With them.

She wanted to scream and as it unleashed it’s power and assaulted them with pain, she did- but to her own astonishment- she wasn’t paralyzed by her fear. She stared at the eldritch creature and gave into that fight or flight feeling, all her body kept screaming

Was fight!

Destroy it!

Fight it! Make it go away!

It can’t be allowed to be here, not here inside Kyle’s heart!


“No you won’t!!!” she screamed back at him alongside the invisible Louis sprite who gave his own version of defiance in the face of such utter terror. Somehow she was back, having moved forward without realizing it. Despite all reason to run as fast and as far in the other direction, she couldn’t stand the idea of this thing being here. It was like being locked in a cage with a ferocious animal, this feeling she knew very well.

Frantically she looked through her spells, nothing seemed good enough in the face of that thing, not by itself. She needed to fire more, this was the main baddy donw here wasn't it?
Birn strike lvl 1 was too weak. But she hadn't sustained enough damage for a limit break still. So-

Was this a joke? She had to be kidding herself.

Kyla brought out the spell she used earlier in the drop. It made sense- multiple projectiles, amplifying more than just her own, stacking. Multiple targets and or single target for multiple hits.

She’d do it as much as she could too for maximum damage!

Surely Noelle and Dawn would be ok soon and help.

…’Please.’ For heaven sake- PLEASE!!!!!

She almost begged, pleaded. She had said please before it didn't seem to matter.

Despite how little faith she had now. Like some abused animal going back to its master. It was pathetic. How many times was she going to keep trying?

As much as she had to it seemed.

As Joe hacked away as much as she could she finished the diagram and the grid reappeared. There was no time to explain, so she used the connect she prayed to God still worked down here despite the attacks or effects going on.
She sent a projection and a thought- as the grid of light expanded from her again.
This time it had a defined shape and style- reminiscent to what someone would know as the tree of life. Yggdrasil or the Tree of Sephiroth.

‘Aim for the circles.’ If Sora, and James who had used it once before, got the message, she they would receive her mental image of focusing on the rings that appeared on the branches and junctions.

It didn’t matter which one they picked, anything, any one fo them would do- and hopefully do a LOT.

[Kyla has learned - Arbor de Unitas ]

This would deliver a much stronger punch if they combined their remaining attacks, as seemingly the only ones still able to do it.

{James : Core}

James remained focused on the creature before them, not willing to give it an inch again after his tremendous mistake before. That was the last time he would allow himself to think with his heart in the face of an obvious enemy. He watched as the remaining attacks unleashed seemed to have no real reaction from her, impacting but not really doing much in regards to damage. That was when things got strange, time seemed to stop for Anima for a moment as it remained there, unmoving. He looked to his allies briefly, more than less he was unaware of the discontent between them having been consumed by his pain. He had heard them yelling at each other after he had been captured, but that was about all he knew. He looked at Kyla as she recasted her buff on him, she had moved back from them, physically and he had a feeling emotionally too, she was withdrawing as she had said she tended to do. He wanted to give her some sign of encouragement but there was no time and he quickly turned his focus back to Anima

The corsair's eyes narrowed warily as he watched the black veins began to cover Anima's form, pulsating ominously. Then Anima took in a deep breath and as it did so it seemed to draw out their darkness, black energy seeping out of the corsair and the others, temporarily amplifying the feelings of disappointment in himself that he felt before it faded and with her inhale draining all other feelings from him aside from one... fear. Unbridled terror the likes of which the corsair had never felt before, his hands shook causing his hexagun's chain that was attached to the butt of the gun to clink and rattle loudly. He could feel the darkness all around them, thick, palpable, intoxicating as if the very air around them was tainted by it causing the corsair to shiver.

As Anima's head lowered it seemed it's agony had ended... and then an demented grin spread across it's face and it's eyes opened and the corsair eye's widened in shock and horror as he looked into seven eyes, the same seven eyes that the beast Kyla had showed him, had. Then it? they? the corsair wasn't sure who or what began to speak, many voices all at once, seemingly from all around them, a cacophony of voices all at once spoke even though Anima's mouth did not move at all. As the voices spoke the corsair felt his instincts try to kick in, to flee, run or rather fly away as fast as he could to get away from this unnatural horror. A sickening pale glow flew past them along the "walls" of the corridor, he assumed to cut off any chance of escape, not that the gunner's body was responding to what his mind and every fiber of his being was telling him. Now he understood why the others had felt the way they did in regards to him not witnessing the creature they had faced... the sheer power behind it was terrifying to say the least.

Then it stopped speaking and it's eyes flashed and the corsair recoiled in pain as the Pain Attack struck his body. No visible sign of the attack, just the sudden burst of pain immediately followed up by an unnatural screeching sound that forced the corsair to cover his ears in pain whilst recoiling further back as the roar itself seemed to cause pain. Other than that though it seemed to have no other ill effects. If Noelle and Joe were affected, Joe at least wasn't showing it unleashing more of his usual furious kicks while Noelle threw her spear, a bit out of place, but not uncommon.

{{Cue: We Have to Defeat It

The corsair floated there, pondering for a moment what attack to throw, against the Darkness the Purifying Helix was best, but did it have enough punch? He wasn't sure, that was when he heard Kyla's message 'Aim for the circles,' right as the grid of light began to expand from her again. She didn't have to ask for the corsair's trust and at the moment this combined attack was definitely the best course.

We won't let this end here! The corsair shouted in defiance at the creature. As he raised two elemental cards in his left hand.

"Light Shot!" he yelled, firing off the first one, a bright bullet streaming a trail of light like a tracer round into one of the circles. Fire Shot! He shouted unleashing a ball of fire into another one of the circles. He hoped that the others would cine back to their senses in time to hopefully contribute as well, but if not the corsair had done what he could.

{Bobbi, Demyx, Zell, Red XIII .:. Disney Castle Town .:. Fairgrounds .:. Dancing Area}

"Sure thing, buddy," Zell said immediately, completely missing Joe's discomfiture. He was polite enough to take a step away, though. "You should learn to pay more attention to your surroundings, though. It's safe enough here at Disney, but out there? Man, you'd be Heartless bait if you don't keep your guard up!"

From Joe's other side came the exasperated sigh that was quickly becoming a bad habit of Nanaki's. It was almost an immediate response the second Zell took a breath to speak. The beast looked up at Joe, his eyes full of sympathy for the Earthling.

"I apologize on Zell's behalf," he said, throwing a quick, reproachful glance to the oblivious conductor. "He is a rather social individual, and can't seem to understand why one would desire their own personal space."

Bobbi snorted at the voice in her head, who had been polite enough to manifest somewhat so she didn't have to imagine what he looked like. But his reaction to the situation struck her as ludicrous. Dem, her boyfriend? She'd sooner be shot! Sure, he was cute and all, but he'd drive her nuts in a heartbeat and a half if she let herself get too emotionally involved with him. Besides, there was that whole Nobodies-don't-have-hearts thing; kinda put a damper on romantic notions.

Demyx, meanwhile, was wiping the snow Bobbi had hit him with from his face, and had completely missed her moment of amusement. Once he was snow-free, however, he turned and grinned at Dani.

"So you know, you could have asked me for a dance, Dani," he teased, knowing full well Dani had been dragged onto the dance floor against her will; he'd watched them as they had passed by. "Besides, it's only appropriate someone who actually knows how teaches you how to dance!"

"Excuse me?" Bobbi asked, crossing her arms and leveling a sarcastic glare at the Nobody. "I was doing just fine before you came along." The barely-concealed smirk belied her supposed indignation; she was merely giving Demyx as much crap as humanly possible. The fact that he grinned and winked at her showed he was playing along, and she couldn't hold back a laugh any more.

[Daniel, Lucil : Basalisk Aircraft : In Transit]

"...And you just pop these disks into a machine and ... you play a game on a screen?"

"yea, pretty much." Daniel shifted uncomfortably.

"Why not just go outside and do the same thing?"

"Well... sometimes the 'game' is not possible normally? Like everything I am able to do now", the spellblade gestured with his sheathed blades, "magic and crazy acrobatics and ... and... well, everything that has become normal for me. It wasn't like this before. Games were just a fantasy. A get-away"

The huntress tilted her head slightly, concern spreading across her face, "And you escaped in these fantasies often?"

Daniel visibly winced, " Sounds bad when you put it that way, but I enjoyed it. Earth felt so... small. Before it fell, I mean. Why go outside? Everything has been done already. Worlds like this one felt so much more alive and interesting."



"We're almost there."



The Spellblade Turk stood up and carefully crossed the aircraft to look over Shen's shoulder. The vines and thorns were a glaring oddity, but the castle dominated the landscape and Daniel's attention.

"Woah. What is this?"

[ Sora ; Dawn : Core ]

As the mystic assault struck her, Dawn felt little actual pain but quite a bit of knockback, completely interfering with her dancing.

This was only further compounded by the sudden roar paralyzing her, leaving her defenselessly hovering in midair.

Sora was lost, momentarily locked in time (or so it seemed) as everything grew worse before him. This was the monstrosity Riku had explained to him. This was the presence they had all felt, the power they had all been forced to face.

In that moment, he was brought back to the destruction of his home. The fear it infused within him.

His grip on the Keyblade tightened and his eyes narrowed in raw determination. The others began their various assaults, Kyla shouted, and for a brief moment, Sora couldn't decide what to do. He wanted--needed--to fight, but just charging at it when some of his teammates were down seemed risky.

That's when Kyla's grid appeared--and he briefly flashed back to earlier in their drop.

Almost uncharacteristically, Sora smirked at the dark entity before him, Light focusing on the tip of his Keyblade. For a good moment, he charged...

With an angry shout, Sora thrust the key forward, and a large spell of his own appeared: Ragnarok, a twenty-projectile spread of pure Light. Though each projectile was fairly weak, it was together that they became devastating--and with Kyla's junction...

The sudden addition was exponential. Twenty projectiles struck the grid, and twenty branches and circles suddenly grew outward, expanding the spell's growth immensely.

[[ Ragnarok: 20 projectiles, 3 MS per hit, Light elemental ]]

[Kyla: Core]


A wave of relief over her, not too much, but enough-
They got it, that’s what mattered. James didn’t even hesitate, it was exactly what he needed, and each time he fired a shot another branch to the tree’s grid was added, bursting forth like a sudden explosive growth. The junctions connected and split out and the spells light grew in intensity.

Light.

Fire.

The keyblader beside them was holding it’s gaze and that look between them triggered the beast to act! Sora charged his blade- and suddenly the hands came forward and attacked them with a barrage of Dark Firagas! Kyla braced herself and felt the overwhelming surge of energy as Sora injected his spell into hers with 20 more projectiles!

With each projectile that was projected into each circle, a new branch was added! The tree grew and grew and interwove themselves until Kyla could feel it had built up the charge.

The pictomancer braced herself- The magic would hit- but NOT before she let hers go too!

With a pulse of light, like an electric current, The tree ignited and from every circle junction a projectile born from the attacks added plus her own launched themselves with an amplified zeal and they soared at Anima like a massive barrage of missiles!
Just as she saw them meet their mark, the dark magic hit- and she was greatful she had Wallza equiped.


[[ NOTE: For reference, the total projectiles fired are 5 non-elemental (Kyla; cumulative 18 MS), 3 Fire Shots and 3 Light Shots (James; cumulative 108 MS), and 60 Light-elemental bolts (Sora; cumulative 180 MS) = 71 total projectiles, total 306 MS.

Please don't forget to take into account energy cost. Kyla pays half of every projectile, and the users pay the other half of their respective projectiles. ]]