In Search Of A Cure (Mission)

[tidus]

'Cause we're living at the mercy of the pain and the fear

Until we dead it, forget it, let it all disappear

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"Well, you better believe it will come in handy." Tidus countered Marluxia's point, after he had helped polish off the remaining Shadow Heartless, and watched as the man picked up a small, green mushroom. One of the Heartless had it, instead of them needing to collect it off the walls? "So that's what we're looking for to help this guy, huh? He'll be back to his old self and happy to be so in no time." he smiled and nodded. He followed after the pink-haired man and Rinoa as they entered the cave, looking around at all the different fungi on the walls, knowing it was not going to be so easy they would keep dropping off in one piece from Heartless like the last one. That's when the Heartless began appearing, and Brotherhood's aquatic shimmering reflected between his hands once again.

The Darkball ricochetted off the cavern walls, and Tidus was quick to dodge with his technique, but watched as Rinoa was not so lucky, and a claw from appearing Neoshadows concurrently attacking the herself and the males Tidus could only watch as she was struck down. "Rinoa!!!" he yelled, watching her reel backwards as the Heartless moved in with their claws as if about to snatch a heart emerging from her chest, reacting at the same time as a Neoshadow attempted to do the same to him. Immediately he used Dart and Weave, diving upwards to avoid the claw from the Neoshadow, before coming back down on top of it with a buzzsaw-like spinning motion from his blade. Even if his attack didn't hit or not, he raced towards Rinoa, fiercely guarding her unconcious form from the Heartless before sweeping her lithe form up off her feet and racing for the entrance to the cave. "Uh, I'll be right back!" he promised to Marluxia, seeing he had summoned a creature he had never seen before to assist him that did not look like a Aeon at all, carrying Rinoa back to town to deposit her somewhere safely in a hotel within the castle walls and locked key.

---

"Told you I'd be back!" Tidus promised, glad to see Marluxia was still alive when he returned. He literally charged in with Charge and Assault, smashing through Darkballs and Neoshadows as he rand and slashed through them with an aquatic trail behind him, while Marluxia was dealing with the Defenders. He had only been gone a few minutes, sweat lining his brow, having run there with the weight of an unconcious woman on his back and then run all the way back. He finally stopped running, panting heavily, his back no facing Marluxia's. "We can do this. Just like I looked out for Rinoa, let's watch each other's backs, and we might just get out of this with our hearts intact!" he said obliviously, not knowing Marly's true nature, watching the Heartless for their next movements.

(OOC: Sorry if it seems like I ditched you for a moment there Marly, but I got permission from Rinoa to move her safely out of the thread.)

---

Dart & Weave: Tidus dodges upward toward the opponent, giving him the evasion to avoid a offensive power aimed at him, then spins downward in several forward flips holding his sword out in a vertical spin. Resembling a giant pinwheel in motion, this attack upon hit gives him the option to inflict the status Chase, pursing the opponent into the air and attempting to hit them with his sword in a aerial 'duel' with the drawback that neither he or his opponent cannot use special attacks they would not otherwise use in this manner. Cooldown: Two turns.

Charge and Assault: Tidus charges his enemy, flipping upside down as he slashes his sword into them. Once it connects, a circle of water surrounding the enemy serves as a focus point, as Tidus loops around to slash through them for a total of five times. Cooldown: Three posts.

Hop Step: Finished cooldown.

Full Slide: Finished cooldown.

Spiral Cut: Two turns left to cooldown.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

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[Deleted]

OOC: I do apologize for the wait a lot going on as of late. Either way, let’s continue and have a good time :3!

IC: And so the Heartless made their appearance, the three warriors a little more on guard this time around and having expected it more so than earlier. The first to act had been Marluxia, the pink-haired man barely guarding himself in time from a Darkball’s attack, the Darkball seemingly intent on smashing his face. It was a stroke of luck to be sure but such luck could never last and Marluxia would soon begin to take a few blows as the greater numbers was a bit much for him to handle. That being noted, the claws of the Neoshadow that had attacked him would bite into his flesh, the attack being successful as the Neoshadow quickly retreated backwards to avoid a counterattack. Not that one would come immediately anyway as the pink-haired fellow had to evade yet another Darkball. It was after so that he would seem to express a bit of anger, ordering the Heartless to back off although such an order would have no effect. On the other hand, the technique he used afterwards certainly would, an Angel being summoned with this technique that released a bright flash of pink before emitting a shockwave. Said shockwave would knock back the attacking Neoshadow as well as the two Darkballs closest to him, smashing them into the wall and actually being enough damage to slay them.

Whilst this was good news the technique did nothing to stop the two Defenders attack’s from meeting their mark, Marluxia taking a fireball to his right arm and leg. Such injury would most likely hamper his movement later on when the adrenaline stopped pumping but for the time being he ignored it. No, instead he attempted to lash out back at the Defender’s although his method of attack would be quite ineffective. Indeed, if there was one claim to fame the Defender Heartless had it was that their shields were quite durable and could take even the strongest of attacks without faltering. Thus, a resounding ding would fill the cavern as the attack did little damage to the Defender and once Marluxia had finished his swipe would swing its shield at Marluxia to knock him back. Had it done so a bit earlier though, perhaps it could have spared the Neoshadow that had attacked Marluxia from death as the swipe still had managed to strike said Neoshadow.

Meanwhile, it would seem Rinoa was still not focusing on the task at hand and would quickly be swarmed by the Heartless that had attacked her. They had overpowered her it seemed and were quite intent on harvesting the heart she held but it would seem that the blond warrior on this journey was not keen to letting that happen. No, he quickly moved to save the brunette after dodging one of the Shadowballs that had bounced towards him and then slipping past the Neoshadow attacking him. He didn’t just slip past it though, he actually inflicted a fairly good amount of damage against it as well, the Heartless reeling back from the attack as Tidus picked up Rinoa. Rushing her over to safety before returning, the blitzball player quickly went back into the fray with yet another attack. This one was a bit more effective as it struck at numerous opponents and in doing so managed to kill the Neoshadow he had hit earlier as well as damage the remaining Heartless minus the Defenders. Things were certainly looking up for what was now a group of two warriors, the Heartless’ numbers slowly dwindling but they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Thus when Tidus had returned the remaining Heartless split into two groups, a Neoshadow, a Darkball and a Defender going for Tidus whilst two Darkballs and a Defender would be Marluxia’s opponents. Aside from the aforementioned shield bash from the Defender, the two Darkballs would move rapidly to smash into Marluxia once more but this time at different elevations. One would strike from low and the other high, attempting to disorient Marluxia a bit with the rapid movement as well as hopefully land a few blows. The Defender would stretch its arm out, reaching toward Marluxia before the teeth on the shield attempted to chomp on any part of the scythe wielding foe it could grab hold of.

For Tidus, his opponents would move a bit differently, the Neoshadow going to attack Tidus but shifting to the left and right to throw Tidus off as it came at him. When within reach, it would jump forward and attempt to swipe at his chest with both hands in an “X” shape. The Darkball would charge forward at Tidus, attempting to chop down on his head from above, perhaps curious if he tasted like Chicken. Lastly, the Defender would use its other elemental attack it knew, a chilling gust of air being breathed out of its shield in an attempt to inflict some Ice damage to the blonde.

Heartless Remaining

Darkball – Three remaining (1/2 HP on all)
Neoshadow – One remaining (1/2 HP)
Defender – Two remaining (3/3 HP, 2/3 HP)

[Deleted]

(No worries. I'm glad you stayed. ^_^)

After the brief conversation outside, the group had traveled into the cave to begin searching the darkness for the last two mushrooms. The progress was slow and even further slowed down by the appearance of even more Heartless and not just the normal weak variety either. No, these Heartless were the annoying sort. The ones that liked to bounce around, sneak, or defend themselves with deadly shields. The type that made being in a tiny space hazardous and agitating to deal with.

Yes, the situation was already working the Nobody’s nerves, but now he was beyond annoyed. He was furious. As the Nobody moved to unleash his wrath on the shadows that dared to attack him, he received injuries to his right arm and leg, the former of the two hurting the worse thanks to being cut and burned, but he paid it no mind as he continued to focus on the threats around them. Through the chaos, he was able to hear and somewhat see how the others of his team were doing. While the boy seemed fine, the girl was not proving herself worthy of a second chance. In fact, she was swarmed and knocked out.

Cursed it all! With one person out that meant the number of Heartless to deal with would increase for him and the boy. Not something he was looking forward to considering he was injured, but whatever. He’d be okay as long as he didn’t end up alone in this mission...something he was reluctant to admit to himself, but it was the truth at this point, so there was not much he could do except deal with it. Anyway, despite being down a person, his angel had managed to take out two of Dark Balls and at least damage the tormenting Neoshadow. As he moved towards the Defenders and made his attack. He heard the boy say the girl’s name and even heard attacking, but had no time to turn to see what was going on as his scythe was easily blocked by the Defender and its shield. Tch. No surprise there. Oh well at least as his scythe continue its movement it was able to take out the Neoshadow that had decided to continue to annoy him. So that was good enough.

Just as he was about to perform another attack, he heard a set of words from the boy that simply made him want to scream. He heard the boy say he was going to leave and come right back and while part his mind understood the reasoning behind such words, the majority of him was simply outraged at what he heard and the action that followed. The boy picked up the girl and dashed out of the cave, leaving the Nobody alone with the remaining Heartless. He abandoned me?! was Marluxia single thought of anger before he had nothing else to do, but raise his scythe to block a heavy shield bash from the Defender he had tried to hit earlier. If he had been uninjured, the stumble back would’ve been a bit more easy and gracefully handled, but as it was now his injured leg buckled slightly causing the Nobody to kneel slightly as pain shot through his leg and body from the burn. He didn’t cry out as he gritted his teeth before digging the handle of his scythe into the ground and using the reliable weapon as support as he pulled himself back into a standing position once more.

In pain and agitated at this turn of events, Marluxia position himself to take on the remaining Heartless. Alone or not, he would finish this mission. He was just planning his next move when much to his surprise…and relief…the boy, Tidus, actually did indeed return, coming through the Heartless with an attack of his own destroying some in the process. As the boy came to a rest at his back and spoke some more, a small smile crossed Marluxia’s lips.

It was ironic how the boy thought he had a Heart. No, the Darkness could not harm this shell that way, but it could destroy him physically if the numbers remained unfair.

Regardless of the differences, the boy had won the Nobody’s favor even more causing the earlier coldness to melt slightly as he nodded at the boy.

“Together then,” he said calmly and then after a moment of hesitation added. “…Thank you… For coming back.” The tone of his voice remained calm and even, but there was a rare hint of appreciation under that calmness that would shock those who knew him well, but let those who did not know he really meant what he said. It was…something new for the Lord of Castle Oblivion, but for now he didn’t mind letting this strange behavior come out just once, but then just as quickly as the small shred of emotion came it was gone as Marluxia focused on the enemy that was quickly changing their strategy, splitting into two groups to try and finish them off. As Tidus got the more diverse of the group, Marluxia focused on the two Dark Balls and the Defender before him. Trusting the boy to keep his back from harm, the Nobody could see by the positioning of the eyes of the Dark balls in the darkness just what they were trying to do.

Bearing his pain well enough, he shifted back slightly careful not to bump into the boy as he stood side ways, keeping his injured leg behind him and away from the more damage. As he did this, he spun his scythe as he shifted his weight forward onto his good leg using the spin to whack the one coming from a high elevation and then staying in motion turned slightly to avoid the low one as he brought his weapon down in a low sweep to knock it away. With any luck if the strikes had hit, the two Dark Balls would be destroyed; however, he didn’t have time to see what had become of the two as he quickly teleported away from the dangerous bite of the Defender’s shield. As the powerful jaws snapped at the spot he was in, it would find itself with a mouth full of flower petals instead of cloth and flesh. As for Marluxia, he appeared in another cloud of flowers petals behind the Defender. As he appeared, he gathered his strength and swung his scythe as hard as he could at the Defender’s exposed back aiming to damage and potentially knock the creature over or force the creature into a wall.

Sure, this move bothered his injuries, but he didn’t care as long as the Defender was taken out quickly. As the battle continued to rage, he could hear the other Heartless attacking Tidus and at the sound of the other Defender’s ice attack being released, he only hope the boy wasn’t caught by that one…not when he was beginning to slowly rely on the boy to aid him through this mission.

___________________________________________________________

~Cooldowns~[/u]

~ Teleport: Another dodging move. Before getting hit he’ll turn into a cloud of flower petals and reappear elsewhere on the field. It takes 2 posts for him to reuse it.

~ Circle Reject:[/u] Marluxia's giant Angel Nobody appears near a target that he chooses before causing a giant shockwave that both knocks over and cause light damage to the one unfortunate to get hit by it. It takes 1 post for him to reuse this.

~ Phantom Cyber:[/u] A powerful forward slash that causes heavy damage to what it hits. It takes 1 post to cooldown.

[tidus]

Waiting for the end to come, wishing I had strength to stand;

This is not what I had planned; it's out of my control

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(OOC: Sorry Felix, but because you missed the three day mark, you get one more warning before you're booted out of the thread for good... xD Just kidding. No problems here.)

"Tch, of course I cam back, didn't you hear I said I would?" Tidus asked rhetorically, in a cheerful manner, as they faced off again the Heartless back-to-back. He had been glad he had been able to take out the one Neoshadow, but while he was gone Marluxia had taken out three Heartless, so it was time to step up his game and to the plate! "Rinoa had us as support, and they were still tough enough to knock her out! I wasn't gonna leave you alone to them, no matter how confident I am in your abilities! Besides, that guy is still relying on us to get the mushrooms, I can't just walk away from that!" he rationalized. It was good to hear through Marluxia's cold exterior he had a heart, too. But time for talk was over, and the Heartless swarmed and came for them again.

This time one of each would come at Tidus, a Neoshadow bobbing and heaving at him while a Darkball pac-maned towards his head. The blond knew Marluxia was counting on watching his back for the moment, which put his Spry Striker fighting style at a disadvantage, as he couldn't use any evasive abilities. Or else risk the Heartless striking Marly's back, and he wouldn't have that. Changing tactics, he instead decided to use a wide and tall spell, since he had no obstacles before him save the Defender's shield which he would save for later. Tidus waved forward his left hand, casting Waterga underneath the Neoshadow, a tall pillar of water that would hopefully smack him from underneath and hit the Darkball in it's trajectory as well.

Now to deal with the Defender, and he looked over his shoulder for a second to see how Marly was doing and if he could team up efforts with him. Unfortunately, he had looked in time to see the extremely strawberry blond teleport away, to see a Defender coming to bite down where he had been and close to Tidus' own back. "Hey!" he yelped out in alarm, and in a apprehensive manner in protest to Marly, as if a 'What gives, dude?' Turning back to the other Heartless he was opposing, whether he had hit them with Waterga or not, he would jump up and plant his foot on the head of the shield of the defender and in doing so careful to miss it's sharp jaws. In that same moment the other Defender would breathe ice on him, icy breath striking the shield of the other defender but ice forming around the blitzer's own foot in mid-air, but he drove down with enough force to smash the ice leaving behind only the damage to his health the ice had caused. Pushing off his foothold on the shield, as Marly attacked his Defender from behind, Tidus would leap up into the air above them and cautious not to hit his ally would then use a devastating volley of Energy Rain to target his Defender as well as his comrade's.

Well, so much for watching each other's back...

---

Waterga: Being his element, Tidus uses this black magic spell whenever physical attacks just won't cut it. A pillar of water bursts from underneath the opponent wherever they may be standing or physically are, inflicting water damage around them instantaneously. Cooldown: Three posts.

Energy Rain: Tidus attempts to dive down on his opponent and land his heel on them, and once he connects he pushes off with that heal above them. Then conjuring up a non-elemental magic in his sword, four homing wisps of magic are released as he swings his sword and rain down on the targeted enemy. Also crushes guards if the enemy attempts to guard, block, or parry a blow. Cooldown: Three posts.

Dart & Weave: One turn left.

Charge and Assault: Two turns left.

Spiral Cut: One turn left.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

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[Deleted]

And with Tidus having ran back into the fray, it seemed that our pink-haired scythe wielding Nobody was put at ease, far more ready to fight this onslaught of Heartless. In fact, a gratitude of gesture had even passed his lips but as quickly as it came the brief moment of emotion vanished. No, his attention went back to the Heartless attack him and with good reason now that they seemed to be coordinating their attacks a bit better. Yes, the two Darkballs headed Marluxia’s way came at two directions but it seemed that the Nobody was not about to fall to such a simple tactic. Instead of falling to it, he performed a feat of great handling with his scythe and spun it in front of himself effectively eliminating both Heartless. With those two destroyed and another attack coming at him, the pink-haired grim reaper teleported to dodge the next blow coming at him and get behind the Defender facing him. Quickly taking advantage of the position and the Defender’s confusion, Marluxia was able to successfully strike the foe in the back, causing it to stumble slightly and take a bit of damage.

Meanwhile, the blonde blitzball player would be taking care of his enemies whilst showing concern for his temporary ally. Indeed, instead of taking advantage of his agile body he stood his ground when the two Heartless attacked him and instead used a Waterga spell. This caused a pillar of water to erupt beneath the two, smashing them into the roof of the cavern and instantly snuffing out their lives. With that threat out of the way the blonde could focus on eliminating the Defenders, a task he set out to do almost immediately. Jumping up to avoid taking the brunt of the chilly ice attack that came at him, the lithe blonde instead only had his foot encased in ice as opposed to his whole body. It didn’t stop the man for a second though as he shattered the ice on his foot when he smashed it against the Defender’s shield, using it as a platform to jump above them. Barely avoiding hitting his head on the ceiling, the blonde seemed to defy the laws of gravity for a moment as he swung out his sword and he released a powerful attack. Said attack consisted four wisps of magical energy that split into groups of two and smashed the Defender’s from above.

This final attack seemed to be the end of the line for the Defender’s seemingly limitless endurance, the two Heartless vanishing into thin air soon thereafter. A moment’s reprieve would now be given to the two warriors as it seemed that no new Heartless were showing up for the time being. If they were smart they would take this miracle of a chance to rest up for considering their injures and the pace at which they had been fighting thus far, rest was certainly needed. Not only that, but they did have a goal that didn’t involve killing Heartless, no they had come here to find three mushrooms for a cursed warrior. Luckily for them, their search would be narrowed down due to the hectic battle they had just participated in, most of the mushrooms being destroyed. Indeed, a majority of them had been smashed thus narrowing the search for the next one down quite a bit and if the warriors decided to search during their little intermission they would surely find another mushroom similar to the one dropped earlier. They would only find one though for the rest of them had been otherwise smashed up, or destroyed during the scuffle in this cramped cave. No, if they wanted the last one they would have to venture deeper into the cavern… and perhaps fight the greatest enemies they had ever fought since entering this cave.

OOC: Giving you guys a moment to rest due to the smaller numbers now to make things a bit fair. You can proceed further into the cave after you find the mushroom but otherwise think of this post as a freebie to get your cool downs a chance to recharge and give your characters a breather. I will be introducing your last set of enemies in my next post.

[Deleted]

Marluxia had heard the boy…no Tidus. He could be called by his name now that he had gained a little of Marluxia’s trust. Anyway, Marluxia had heard the boy’s response to his words and had to get use to this idea that his guy was naturally upbeat and had a playful personality. In the past, no one would have been able to question the pink haired Assassin in such a fashion, but for one reason or another, Marluxia let the boy’s comment slid as he heard the tone in which the words were spoken in. Following the question, Tidus had given him a rather logical explanation as to why he came back. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe the Nobody couldn’t win alone, it was because he wanted to help and finish the job. While Marluxia didn’t it show it that simple statement had won the Nobody over even more over. While he certainly didn’t trust the blonde fully, at least he knew where he could look if he needed an ally that would least help him and stick by his side until the end.

In any case, despite how much the boy was winning Marluxia over, there was no time for distraction or planning. There were Heartless to contend with and it was rather rude to ignore guest, even if they were unwanted. No matter, they’d all return to the Darkness soon. As the pair took their position and the battle raged on Marluxia could hear the boy unleashing spells as his own scythe sliced through the Dark Balls with ease. Each were able to take down the less protected creatures, but the Defenders took a bit of extra work. As the two powerhouses made their attacks, one biting at Marluxia and the other seeking to freeze Tidus, Marluxia did indeed teleport away from the attack; however, this was not to leave the boy’s back exposed.

No. The move was more logical than that. The bite would come close to the boy, but it would not hit him. The Defender’s reach could indeed be great, but with the attack being aimed at himself, the snap would be more controlled, keeping the boy safe unless he back into it. Of course, he understood the boy’s outcry of shock and displeasure to a degree. They were supposed to be looking out for each other and quite frankly the move could be read as failing to hold up his end of the deal; however, a thing to understand is that in Marluxia’s head this idea had translated differently. He would indeed protect the boy, he had earned that after all, and to protect meant using the skills you excelled in. While Marluxia could indeed use his scythe up close and was moderately fast, he excelled in dealing heavy damage quickly before retreating to attack from afar. Meaning his defenses in up close combat were not as good as his offensive skills. Sure, he could keep a sword at bay, but have a wrestling match with a Defender while injured? He thought not, so instead of taking the chances of getting bitten or losing the battle against the Defender by trying to block with his scythe, he had teleported away, appearing once more behind the Defender before heading directly for the weak spot.

The technique work wonders. As he moved forward, he noticed his speedy ally had indeed gotten out of the way, but with a frozen foot it would appear. While at first this was bothersome, Marluxia was pleased to see that the boy had turned injury into a weapon to use against the Defender’s defenses. Between the boy’s quick thinking and the attack Marluxia had delivered from behind, the two Defenders, powerful as they were, had no clue to do. The slow reaction rate of the large creature made it easy to land blows upon the exposed back and Tidus’s powerful rain of energy sent the creatures back to where they belonged. Marluxia was breathing hard, more exhausted than usual thanks to pain; however, despite this, he didn’t let the weakness of pain show. He was much to proud to do that. So once the trouble was gone, Marluxia relaxed bearing his pain well enough as he switched his scythe’s weight to his good hand and arm, placing the tip up against the ground and leaned the slightest bit against it for support. With the injured arm and hand, he grabbed the light hanging on his cloak, thankful it hadn’t fallen off during battle and shinned it cautiously around the area taking in the mess around them. As he looked at it, he nodded inwardly as his mind began to form a plan. Alright, so the Heartless didn’t have the mushroom on them this time around meaning that the mushroom was either in this very section with them or further ahead. Hmmm…Okay then.

His attention turned back to the boy as he scanned him up and down, he seemed to be holding up, but seeming and actually being were two different things, so the Nobody did another thing that was unfamiliar to him.

“How are feeling?” he asked his tones still monotone although a hint of slight concern was within them. After the question had been asked, he gave the boy a moment to respond. Once that conversation had been done and a slight moment of silence had passed, Marluxia focused on the mess around them.

“That mushroom might be around here somewhere, so let’s shift through the mess to be sure it wasn’t missed,” Marluxia said before moving towards a small mess of crushed fungi that had been quite the tangle before hand. As he moved, he limped as pain went through his leg and he had to pause for a moment to let it pass, leaning against his weapon for support as he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, thankful for the darkness, his dark clothing, and the fact that his back was indeed to the boy. He didn’t cry out, but if the boy did catch anything or could see anything out of the ordinary in the dark, then he might be able to pick up on the Graceful Assassin’s pain.

In normal circumstances, allies would speak out about their injuries and even ask for help, but Marluxia? Marluxia was used to being alone and relying on nobody even when "allies" were present. While he did work on missions with others when he was with the Organization, he had never learned to truly work as one with those at his side. If anything, he used them as stepping stones to further his own goals. He didn’t know how to ask for help nor did he know how to complete rely on someone and pull off team attacks. That last combo had simply been good timing more so than anything.

In a nutshell, if Tidus and he wanted to complete this in one piece and with no more injuries, the pair would have to find a way to remain on the same page as the other if they were to be one unit….and to do that they’d have to plan. Not a big plan, just a simple one that would avoid near hits in the future and better team work. Sure, you could suggest something to the Nobody, but as seen in the case of "watching each other’s backs", the Nobody translated the idea of protecting another quite differently than the boy; however, this was a little hurdle the pair would have to figure out how to overcome together. If not solved they would continue to be two separate individuals with their own ideas. Communication was the key here, but the Nobody would not start that conversation. If anything it was up to the boy to express any form of complaint. Otherwise, the Nobody would see the way they had been working together as fine and would continue without a second thought of error.

Anyway, when the pain subsided, Marluxia focused on the mess using his staff to shift stuff on the ground, avoiding bending and unnecessary movements as much as possible as he searched for the mushroom. Where was it?

((Tidus, you can find the mushroom in this room since I picked up the first one.))

[tidus]

Flying at the speed of light, thoughts were spinning in my head

So many things were left unsaid, it's hard to let you go.

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Tidus breathed out the breath he had been holding, as a sigh of relief in the dimly-lit cavern. His two attacks had managed to take out more Heartless than his previous attacks had, before he left the cavern earlier to make sure Rinoa was safe while she recovered. His attack had not just taken out his share of Heartless, but also had helped Marluxia finish his Defender Heartless off. He looked around, checking the shadows for more Heartless, and then untensed a little. He hobbled over to sit down on the ground against the cavern wall, and he was hobbling because of the foot that had been caught on the ice.

Such a high super-concentration of cold had made his foot go numb, that he couldn't feel his toes and his muscles ached. He supposed he was lucky that his foot hadn't frozen off alltogether, and he supposed some people would have liked that. But he could begin to feel his toes again, and he was able to scrup the frost off of his black and yellow shoe. He had walked over as any star athlete did if they got an injury on the field, resting the affected area but not acting as if the tenderized muscle was a big deal. He looked to Marluxia in hindsight, wondering if he had any injuries and if they needed to heal up.

Well, the Defender bite had indeed missed him, and Marluxia had made sure it had not gone any further. Both fighters had met the end of their unspoken deal, forged deep in the midsts of battle. But still, something was up with Marluxia. His first impression he was a cold, stoic person. But he had thanked him, and then he had actually asked how he was feeling. "Uh, apart from the freezerburn, okay I guess. Are yoooou feeling alright, Grim Reaper?" he chuckled. Not only at the new nickname, but he had said it in a tone that implied maybe Marly had taken a bump to the noggin.

Marluxia had given him silence though, so maybe he didn't take the humor like he had. Well, Tidus had gotten him to open up his heart, so at least he had that. The pink-haired man suggested they start looking for the other mushroom, and Tidus nodded once in agreeement. "Just kidding, Marluxia. I just hope we didn't crush them all in the fight." he admitted, looking at all the broken mushrooms. They needed a whole one apparently, so he began to look around on the other side of the cavern for a intact whole mushroom. He looked around the blue rock of the cave they were in deep within the Dark Depths, seeing a lot of stalks and caps that had been shattered and broken off.

But as he walked around, he finally spotted one - a small mushroom that looked exactly like the one Marluxia had picked up and had on his person, still intact and growing out of a crack between the cavern floor and a rock. He placed his thumb and the tip of his forefinger around the base of the stalk, and ever so gently tugged at it, until finally it came out with the roots intact. He lifted it up, and took it over to Marluxia. "I found one. Here... you take it. You keep it with the one you found before, and take this too." He produced a Potion, like the one Firion had given him once. "I saw you taking a few hits, and that limp. Even if you don't use it now, I know you'll know when to use it. Let's go."

Yes, he was going to have to watch Marluxia's movements and work in co-ordination with him; something told him the Heartless up ahead weren't going to be as easy as they ones they had just faced.

(OOC: I heard Selena say you don't need to buy Potions from the shop, so I figured it'd be okay to use a general one while we were resting. If not, Marly doesn't have to use it in the thread. Thanks a lot for everything so far guys. ^^)

Template made by Memzard of OTE

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[Deleted]

OOC: In terms of the Potion thing, I’ll allow it this time as I have been taking quite a bit of time to get you guys through this mission and it’s a first time thing. The reason why I don’t like it in general though is because if you allow one person to have a Potion, then the next person is going to have a Hi-Potion, or an X-Potion, or even bust out an Elixir. While missions are supposed to be easier, needless to say I don’t want their difficulty to be trivial and essentially be free money with miniscule effort. Plus in regards to Tidus, he does have Cura so he could have just as easily healed Marluxia with a Cura during the break time. If neither of you had healing spells, I would have had a Heartless drop a Potion or something if you had taken a bunch of damage as it be similar to them dropping life orbs like they would in the actual game. Regardless, let’s get this show on the road!

IC: And so the two warriors would rest, conversing a bit and seeming to have bonded a little closer whilst in the heat of battle. Indeed, it seemed some semblance of trust was developing between them as it would be necessary to survive this harsh and challenging ordeal. Finding mushrooms in a dark cave was hard enough but the fact that their progress was constantly hampered by Heartless only made it that much worse. Furthermore, the sorceress that had been with them had seemed to grow skittish at the sight of so many Heartless and had been overwhelmed by them. She had survived, but being down a man (or rather woman) didn’t help when trying to finish the task that they had been given. They had to save a broken warrior whose life hung by a thread, each passing second the curse on him remained his life was being drained away.

Yet they had managed to find a mushroom, in fact they had found two thus far and we’re well on their way to the third. Indeed, they had managed to fight their way to the deepest depths of the cave where the mushrooms grew a plenty in the damp and cold environment. Sadly though, this environment was also preferable for something else, a powerful creature that would prove to be the most challenging they had faced yet. It went by the name of Orcus, wielding a large sword that could make short work of any foolish enough to be on the other end. And that was the creature’s intention for once they had ventured into its lair, the beast would attack without hesitation. Or rather the beasts would attack without hesitation for there wasn’t just one but two of the creature dwelling in the darkest depths of this cavern.

One would fly swiftly toward Marluxia, swinging it’s blade at him horizontally, then in a diagonal across his left shoulder, and ending its assault with a stab aimed toward the Nobody’s gut. The other Orcus would instead fire several energy orbs from its hand, one half going toward Marluxia whilst the other half was aimed at Tidus. If struck by any one of these orbs, the warrior hit would have the Rewound Defense status effect applied to them similar to Meltdown.

Orcus

Orcus #1 (attacking Marluxia) – 10/10 HP remaining
Orcus #2 (fired the orbs) – 10/10 HP remaining

[Deleted]

The battle was over and a moment of rest was granted. As Tidus rested against the wall, Marluxia had asked how he was feeling not because he cared, but moreso because he wanted to know the status of the man he was beginning to rely on for this task. The question was unfamiliar turf for him thanks to not using such a tactic for so long. No, ever since he began his path on taking down Xemnas, such things as team work and watching out for an ally had become useless in the Nobody’s eyes. He only saw others as tools to be used until his goal was gained. He didn’t care if they were hurt or not. What mattered back then were the results; however, he had fallen using this sort of tactic and he found that ever since he was reawaken within the world, he could not repeat what he had done.

So while it was indeed a hard thing to do, the Graceful Assassin learned that he could get his way with patience and showing at least a bit of concern. The whole playing with folks emotions was a waste of time as he found that out with Olette. No, he had to learn to work with people so that they in turn would work freely for him. This way was much better than the alternative and used to be second nature to him when he worked alongside other Organization members in the past. ...Before greed had consumed him and made him quite the villain. It amazed him how easily the useful skill had been forgotten and now after not using it for so long, he found himself feeling a bit out of place and uncomfortable when he did use the tactic. It made him feelas if he was losing control somehow and the Nobody did not want that to happen.

Tidus’s joking and nicknaming didn’t help much and only resulted in coldness from the Nobody who did not understand jokes or even knew how to play along with them. A sad consequence from being empty, but Marluxia did not care. He hadn’t come here to play anyway. This was a mission and so the relationship between himself and the boy was a business one. If the boy translated this situation another way, then that was his problem. It would not fluster or hurt the Nobody to any degree if the boy became offended by the truth of the matter. They were not friends...just business partners on working together to see achieve the same goal. This was simply the Assassin’s way of life. So one just had to accept it for the Nobody knew not any other ways to live....or at least that is what he kept telling himself to avoid dealing with the "emotions" that would surely come if he considered this work further than that. He didn't need distractions. No. Focus!

In any case, after the silence had passed and Marluxia had suggested looking for the mushroom, he heard the boy moving before hearing his voice in the darkness. He heard him say he was just joking around before stating that he hoped they didn’t crush the mushroom they needed in the battle.

“Indeed that would be a problem,” Marluxia responded back, agreeing that the Heartless battle had made quite the mess of the place. It had crushed a large proportion of the mushrooms in the area, but despite how dismal the situation may have seemed, Marluxia was determined to check the remains for any signs of the mushroom, riding on logic and percentages rather than hope. The numbers were against them for sure, but there was still a small chance the mushroom survived the destruction, so with that in mind the Nobody had moved away from the boy, dealt with his pain, and began to search the rubble. Behind him, he could hear the boy moving about making his own search of the place.

Concentrating and being careful of his injuries, the Nobody moved the broken mushrooms careful and paused only when he thought he had found one similar to the mushroom he had; however, a closer inspection found the mushroom not to be the same. The coloration was different, so with a sigh Marluxia let the mushroom drop back to the ground and continued his slowly search of the area. This hunt continued on for several minutes in silence as the two men searched the area with no sign of the mushroom on Marluxia’s end. Thinking that the mushroom was indeed not in this section of the cave, he prepared to move on. He turned to tell Tidus to come along, when he found the boy coming over to him with something in hand; however, before he could become curious as to what it was, the boy spoke up telling him exactly what the object was. He had found the mushroom, then? Nice. Very nice; however, despite how pleased this made the Nobody, his face remained emotionless as he nodded at the boy’s find, holding out his hand and letting him drop the small object into his gloved hand. As he was putting the mushroom in the same hidden pocket as the other, he heard the boy speaking some more and looked up at him.

In the small amount of light the flashlights gave off in the gloom, he could see the boy holding out a strange vial he had not seen before. He took it cautiously and examined the content, recognizing the liquid inside of the vial as the healing type. A potion? Okay then.

“Right,” he said tucking the potion in his cloak for now. Despite being injured, he didn’t want to use the potion right then and there. As the boy had said there would be a time to use the item, but now was not that time.

After everything was said and done, Marluxia followed the boy deeper into the cave keeping his senses open for the Heartless within the Darkness. He didn’t want to get caught by an ambush again and he was for certain that if more of the creatures did appear it would be the stronger variety. On top of that, while a time limit had not been given, Marluxia couldn’t help, but feel like time itself was running against them. They needed to hurry and to do that, he and the boy would have to work as one if they were to survive this and get that last mushroom in a quick fashion. He didn’t want to find their client expired about time they got back. It would make all this hard work be a waste of time…and the Nobody hated his time being wasted.

In any case, the Nobody walked along side of the boy stopping only when he heard a disturbance in the area.

"Again," was the only warning he gave the boy.
As the air was disrupted by the sound of something flying through it quickly directly at him. Using the wind as a guide, the Nobody let the flashlight fall once more, the light briefly showing that his enemy was indeed rare pureblood Heartless called Orcus, a cousin of the weaker Invisible Heartless and unfortunately more obnoxious.

On instinct, he moved his scythe forward to block the first strike of the creature, holding his scythe firmly in both hands. There was a loud clunking noise that resulted from the sword meeting his weapon. Pain shot through his injured armed and leg, but the Nobody did not go down as he blocked it before quickly adjusted the positioning of his weapon as the sounds in wind change, signaling a change of the creature’s strike.

Again a scythe worked well as a guard; however, the last strike was trickier to block. As the creature moved forward, Marluxia shifted the weight of his scythe bringing the lower blunt half upward in a quick strike to block the blade and strike the creature all at once; however, he felt the blade tear through his cloak a bit, but thankfully the block caused the blade to go up and away from the Nobody rather than directly into him. It was a trivial price to pay for avoiding further injuries; however this was no time to celebrate the save.

If his blow to the creature was successful, then perhaps the creature would be knocked back; however, he didn’t have time to figure this out or see results as the second creature in the area fired attacks from behind the other.

"Keep clear of the blasts," he warned the boy, knowing all to well what being hit by these Heartless meant. As all this happened, Marluxia moved back carefully to avoid the blasts and pain from his leg being sure to position himself so that any blast coming at him wouldn’t hit the boy, as a result of the particular form of dodging, the blast missed him by inches. The last few blasts were close enough to ruffle the damaged sleeve on his injured arm and push back his pink colored hair as they whistled by uncomfortably close; however, he had managed to avoid getting hit, so he couldn't complain.

When the set of attacks had been done, Marluxia came to a rest slightly behind Tidus, a spot that was ideal for the more long ranged Nobody.

Coming up with an idea, Marluxia let go of his scythe with his injured arm and held it with the unharmed one. As he did so, he charged the blade up with pink energy.

“Tidus, make use of this next attack,” he commanded before swinging his blade downward three times through the air, unleashing three deadly blades of energy. The blades came from three different angles—one horizontal, one vertical, and the last at a diagonal slash that leaned towards he left-- and were spaced out in such a way that they would be able to hit both creatures...if successful.

Hopefully, Tidus who was much more quicker than him and better at fighting up close would be able to use the blades to his advantage and land strikes around the same time as the energy blades would hit. Perhaps their combined strength could bring the annoying flyers down….

(Ah okay. The potion issue is understandable, so I reacted to the situation accordingly. Hope the post doesn’t disappoint, so let’s keep having fun.)
__________________________________________________________

All attacks from previous attacks are ready to use again. Item gained 1 potion.

~New Cooldown~[/u]

Deathscythe: Marluxia will swing his deadly scythe three times in the direction of the opponent. When he does, he unleashes three powerful energy blades that correspond with each strike. These blows deal heavy damage if hit, so watch out for them. It takes 2 posts to reuse.

[tidus]

I know what it takes to move on;

I know how it feels to lie

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(OOC: Okay, no worries. Selena did say that's the reason why we don't sell Potions, Phoenix Downs and such in the shop, and Larxene was okay with a raid where a Zidane pulled a potion out from nowhere and used it on himself to create clone illusions, so you might want to talk to the other staff about maybe getting items like that to buy at the shop so they act like an ability. I for one would like that idea.)

Okay, so it was time to move on further into the cave. After giving Marluxia the mushroom and kindly his potion, he followed Marluxia deeper into the cave. When Marluxia called "Again", he could help but utter a confused "Huh?" before he heard the movements of the enemy too. It was two giant Heartless, a type he had never seen before. When they shot projectiles at them, Tidus leaped to the side and even backflipped to evade the damage, a projectile whistling by dangerously and ripping part of his overalls in the process.

He could see the pain in Marluxia's leg as he shifted his weight around, though, and felt somewhat guilty he hadn't used the Potion on Marly instead of letting him use it against his will. If he was being prideful to pretend that he wasn't hurt when he clearly was, it reminded him of his old man. And he wanted Marly to be like him, strong and able to take the punishment that was obviously being aimed at them right now. With a gesture of his hand, a sound of curative energy came followed by a green glow as Tidus cast Cura on Marluxia, moderately taking away the pain he must have been feeling in his legs. "You can thank or yell at me later, I don't care, let's just rid rid of these Heartless eh?" he suggested to the black-hooded cloaked man.

"I'm on it!" he replied soon after that to Marluxia's suggestion of making the best use of his pink projectile attack, his voice filled with determined enthusiasm. He would have to give his more powerful abilities a chance to recharge for a bit, and raced after the projectiles to stay behind them. He waited for the right timing, until whether they would hit the Heartless. Regardless of if they hit or not, he hoped he was doing what Marluxia expected out of him, using Sonic Buster on both Heartless as soon as the projectiles had collided so they would be no harm to him. He would charge forward through them as his blade attempted to cut through both, did a 180 and completed a line through them again, then did a last one-eighty and cut through them a third and final time having gained some elevation. The aquatic trail of his Brotherhood sword left behind a Z-like trail, and he flipped backwards in the air coming out of it as if he just finished kicking a blitzball, awaiting to see what the Heartless's next moves would be.

---

Cura: Two turn cooldown.

Sonic Buster:: One turn cooldown.

Waterga: One post remaining.

Energy Rain: One post remaining.

Dart & Weave: Finished cooldown.

Charge and Assault: Finished cooldown.

Spiral Cut: Finished cooldown.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

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[Deleted]

OOC: WOAH I’M ONLY A DAY LATE ON THIS ONE GUYS I THINK I’M ON A ROLL X3! <3

IC: And so the battle began, Marluxia the first to act or rather be acted upon, an Orcus going for a three strike combo on the Nobody. Unlike when they arrived though, the pink-haired warrior was able to anticipate the attack and was able to block the strikes successfully despite his injures. What wasn’t as successful was his attempt to also retaliate against the Orcus that had attacked him, a simple flap of its wings helping it evade Marluxia’s simple attack. It also seemed that he was able to dodge the many orbs that had been fired at him despite his injury, a rather surprising feat if nothing else. Although perhaps not all too surprising, after all the blonde blitzball player had managed to assist his partner in this quest of theirs with a restoration spell aimed specifically toward the Nobody’s injured leg. Also like the Nobody, the sword wielding athlete had been agile enough to evade the orbs despite the fact they were in a rather cramped and dark cave.

Regardless, staying on the defensive didn’t seem to be their prerogative and thus the two moved to return the favor for this warm welcome. Indeed, the man wielding the large scythe used an impressive technique to attack the Orcus, attempting to position himself such that the attack would hit both. Luckily enough, because they were in that dark and cramped cave the Heartless were also at a disadvantage, not as able to take advantage of their proficiency in aerial movement. Thus, the blades struck home as did Tidus’ technique to follow up, rushing through them and cutting them several times. Not only did he cut them though but the blonde had managed to do so with such force that they were separated and slammed into walls rather roughly to be frank.

Needless to say, the Heartless did not appreciate such hard to kill prey and would up their game as well, now going for a bit more of a combo attack. Indeed, the one on the left side of the cavern would use the same orb attack as the other one did previously, seemingly adamant about landing the technique on both as it also spread out the attack. Meanwhile, the other Orcus who had used the orb technique earlier would instead vanish into thin air, almost as if he had fled from battle… but such a miracle would not happen. No, instead the Heartless had simply retreated into the Corridors of Darkness for a moment as its blade began to fly around the cave rapidly. The blade would attempt to impale the two warriors several times over, splitting up the strikes four between the each of them.

Yet that was not all, no that would be far too easy for these two to deal with and the sword would attempt to strike them if they evaded the orbs. Indeed, if either warrior moved to dodge the onslaught of orbs coming at them, the sword would attempt to flank them from a blind spot. This would prove incredibly troublesome as well as the fact that after the eight strikes had been attempted, the Orcus would return. He would make an explosive entrance as he retrieved his sword and slammed his blade into the ground causing a massive shockwave to erupt from where he struck the earth. If hit by it, the warriors would quickly find themselves flung into the walls of the cavern, perhaps a form of payback for the Orcus. Whatever the case, it would be interesting to see how these two dealt with the startling power of the Orcus Heartless that seemed intent on slaying them without any mercy.

Orcus #1 – 6/10 HP Remaining
Orcus #2 – 6/10 HP Remaining

[Deleted]

((I agree with Tidus. The availability of potions and other such items would be good, especially for those who don’t use magic, don’t have curing magic, or would prefer another option to the magic they have when dealing with certain characters.))

To say dodging and blocking with injuries while being in a tight space was an easy feat would be a lie. The ordeal was painful and the awareness of another body behind him or near him made the movements he made even more restricted causing those balls of energy to whiz by dangerously close, but thankful they had miss. He wasn’t sure how the boy was doing, but he didn’t hear any cries of pain or any complaints that would signal injury so he assumed the boy was fine for the time being. Good.

In any case, the powerful winged Heartless made their attacks and while the Nobody and boy had escaped injury by sheer luck, the twin Heartless attempted to do the same. The swing from the scythe while controlled missed its target as the flapping of wings and slicing of air instead of Darkness signaled the failure. Tch! Lucky, but not for long. As the Nobody came to a halt slightly behind the boy after carefully evading, he paused for a moment preparing to charge his scythe and within that moment, he heard the sound of a spell being used followed by the a strange yet soothing sensation in his leg. He felt the nastier of the two wounds heal up a bit and as the pain die away some he found that he could move better than before.

His blue eyes traveled in the direction of the light that marked where the boy was with a slight frown upon his face. It was not that the Nobody wasn’t appreciative of what the boy had done nor was the frown because he thought it was an attack on his pride. No, the frown was just one that simply stated that the Nobody did not know what to do in such a situation. He had too much pride to show weakness and in turn did not know how to say thank you or when injured when to ask for help. Sure, the boy had given him the potion, but he hadn’t used it because he figured that the potion might come in handy later, so he had saved it and fought through his pains. He figured if push came to shove and the boy remained unharmed, he could use the potion on himself after the battle was over to at least get through the pain until he could find a more powerful solution to the damage. After all, not being a healer himself, he was use to bearing through pain; however, the boy seemed to have a different thought running through his head and so had used the curative magic on him without permission.

Something that Marluxia was not used to having done, but considering that the boy was indeed his partner in this mission, he wouldn’t fuss about it. The action was done and while the Nobody never said thank you, he appreciated nonetheless. So when the boy spoke on the matter shortly after the action had been done, Marluxia said, “Fair enough.”

The simple phrase was spoken in his usual monotone way, but lacked the cold edge that usually accompanied his words, a sign he had accepted Tidus as an ally instead of just seeing him as someone along for the ride. It was the least he could do for the...what was the word? Kind? Yes, kind act. Anyway, after the brief exchange, the Nobody charged up his scythe and gave his command as he unleashed Deatscythe upon the two Heartless.

He was pleased to hear the boy obey and even more pleased when their combined efforts hit home, signaled by the noise the creatures were making followed by a loud thud as the two Heartless hit the walls of the narrow space. As pleasing as the small success was and how much light it did shed on the pair’s team work, upper ranking Heartless were not like the lower ones that allowed themselves to be smacked around as if it was no big deal. No, upper ranking Heartless were in a class of their own and able to recover from attacks no matter how hard one hit them as shown from the pair they now faced. Not only did the creatures recover. They retaliated in a merciless fashion.

Pulling a page from their own team work, the Orcus worked together this time. The first one began tossing the orbs at them once more seeming determine to make up for the failed attack from before. While this would’ve been easy to avoid on its own with careful movement, there was a second attack to worry about. The second Orcus simply vanished from view; however, Marluxia knew that the attack was far from over.

Unfortunately, thanks to the orbs and the now zooming about sword, Marluxia had no time to warn the boy of the danger as he instead focused on avoiding being sliced or whapped….a task very hard to do in a small space with little wiggle room. While the Nobody could indeed move better, the few dodges and misses were granted to him out of sheer luck. A few orbs missed him while the flying sword was accidently deflected when Marluxia moved his arm to balance himself as he continued to move. After those first few dodges, the Nobody’s luck changed. While he was able to dodge two of the sword’s attacks--only getting light cuts here and there as it passed by-- in all the chaos a orb clipped the injured arm causing the pain to flare up enough to be a distraction. In that brief unfocused moment, the Nobody heard the final sword attack cutting through the air as it made its towards him and did his best to move out of the way, turning to the side as he tried get as much as himself out of the way; however, the blade was able to catch him in his good arm cutting through the fabric of the cloak on his lower arm creating a thin line that caused blood to surface. The wound was minor, but thanks to the orb that had whapped him beforehand, the attack hurt a lot worse than it should’ve. On top of this, the orb caused a fog to cloud his mind making him slow to react to the creature’s follow up attack.

He knew it was coming, but could not will his body to move quick enough to defend against the explosive re-entrance of the Orcus who had sent the sword flying. Unguarded, the Nobody was indeed flung back by the powerful blast, getting burned slightly before hitting the cave wall with enough force to wind him. It never helps to hit the head on top of this and that is exactly what happened. While Marluxia’s backside suffered most of the damage. The blast was powerful enough to push the Nobody’s head back and into the stone wall. Moss covered or not, stone walls hurt…a lot.

The Nobody let out an involuntary yelp as the pain went through him and then he slid down the wall slightly, a bit stunned from the impact and having the air forced out of his lungs. The usually graceful flower wilted as he coughed, trying to gain air as he leaned against his scythe for support. It took him a few seconds to regain enough strength to focus on the situation once more. Focused, he quickly checked the damage on himself. For the most part he was fine, he was just sore and while his injured armed throb and the cut on his other arm stung, nothing was broken and thankfully the rocks weren’t sharp enough to impale him. Also he hadn’t been flung into Tidus since the boy was in front of him when the attack had happened. Speaking of Tidus, what had become of him?

Pushing himself off the wall with a grunt, doing his best not to be phased by the moss and dirt mingling with the blood on his clothes, the Graceful Assassin glared daggers in the direction of twin Heartless before scanning the area for Tidus. Once he had spotted him thanks his flashlight, he nodded inwardly as he decided the best course of action in this situation.

Since he didn’t know the status of his ally, he decided to make use of two attacks that could be used to do three things at once— Distract, damage, and become the start of a potential combo attack. First step: Disorient.

Gaining better footing, Marluxia positioned himself so that the two Heartless were in sight. Well, what he could see of them at least which where their bouncing eyes in the darkness. There was no time or need to use the flashlight. After all, this particular attack was quite large and within the small space of the tunnel, the chances of it missing were slim indeed. With his mind set, he swung Dahila in a controlled fashion, so he wouldn’t hit the walls. He swung the scythe a horizontal arc first to the left then brought it back to the right and then left again. The motion would look like he was trying to fan away something, but that was far from what Marluxia was doing. Each of the four swipes, created air and flower petals that quickly gathered together and began to form into a giant twister that made a lot of noise and tugged at anything loose on the ground; however, the twister was not damaging to the cave or to Tidus as it filled up the cave and headed full speed towards the two Heartless at the end. If hit, the flying beast would be tossed about and knocked back by the power of the Gale of Severance. Perhaps the twister would bounce them around enough to make them dizzy or knock them into something; however, thanks to the darkness he would only be able to hear how successful he was.

While the big twister did its work, Marluxia charged up his scythe causing it to glow pink as the magical energy within it hummed. Once it was ready, he swung the scythe outward and three quick strikes. As he did this, three small tornadoes zigzagged their way to the enemy. Sure his Flower Storm was not as powerful as some of his attacks could be, but it would definitely get the job done provided the attack hit. In any case, what Marluxia was hoping for was this: if Tidus was hurt then the four twisters would be enough to get the creatures away from him and give him time to recover or be aided if necessary, but at the same time the attacks could be added onto if the boy was okay and able to fight still. Perhaps with all that wind and those flower petals coming their way, the Heartless would be unable to react quickly to what was happening and in turn be damaged…or better yet destroyed by the series of attacks; however, Marluxia wasn’t getting his hopes up too high. After all, these Heartless were not weak like shadows or dark balls, so they probably wouldn’t go down without a fight.
__________________________________________________________

Defense lowered thanks to effect of the orb.

Item In possession:
1 potion.

~Cooldown~[/u]

~ Deathscythe: Marluxia will swing his deadly scythe three times in the direction of the opponent. When he does, he unleashes three powerful energy blades that correspond with each strike. These blows deal heavy damage if hit, so watch out for them. It takes 1 posts to reuse.

~ Gale of Severance: Marluxia creates a massive, non-damaging whirlwind of wind and flower petals to blow a target away from him. It takes 2 posts for him to reuse it.

~ Flower Storm: Again from a distance, Marluxia will charge his scythe before unleashing three whirlwinds full of rose and blossom petals. These small vortexes follow a person in an attempt to capture them. If caught, the vortex will cause light wind and physical damage…if only one catches you. Sometimes getting caught can cause the other whirlwinds to catch up if they are still on the field. If this happen the damage increases leaning towards heavy by the end of all three; however, the vortexes teaming up on you is the least of your worries. While you are stuck in the vortex, Marluxia will charge forward and then when in range he’ll leap into the air before coming back down to slam his scythe down on the trapped victim for extra damage. It takes 2 posts to cooldown.

[tidus]

All I want to do is trade this life for something new;

Holding onto what I haven't got

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(OOC: Lol, well done.)

Still while in mid-air from his last aerial move, Tidus held his breath even though his and Marluxia's attack had been somewhat successful, having slammed into the Orcus Heartless several times. But they were far from out of the woods yet, and Tidus was doing all he could to evade damage so he would be able to last the rest of this deadly game. He didn't focus on Marluxia's reaction at all because of this reason, because if he allowed himself any distractions like if he were in a blitzball game this would be all over. It was this keen focus and concentration that came into play as the Orcus began firing multiple first of darkness, much like it's twin. Tidus ran to the side as he dodged the first orb, but unlike Marly he was not so lucky.

The next orb hit him in the shoulder, but the blitz 'junkie' as it were was struck by an orb in the shoulder. Still going he ducked under another orb that barely whizzed over and missed his head, but a fourth orb struck him in the leg. Buckling, the blitzer held out a arm as he went spinning and rolling along the cavern floor during his advance on the heartless. This did not help him in the slightest as the sword came whizzling past, cutting into his hip as he rolled to a stop and pulled himself up. He pulled his leg back and swiveled his body to the side as the sword sped past him a second time, narrowly missing the opportunity to slice off his leg.

He thought the sword for a moment was a boomerang-like effect with this new Heartless, but it was thing learning curve that made him misjudge the sword coming back and slicing through his unprotected shoulder. Noticing the sword was making sweeps to cut through him, Tidus watched it this time instead of the Heartless which orbs had now recided for the time being, jumping and leaping around the sword to dodge it in a fourth and final time. He panted a little, but despite the cut and bruises he was just getting warmed up with this! However, that warm-up would mean little as the sword surprised the both of them with it's finished manuver of a shockwave as it slammed into a stabbing motion into the cabin floor. The absolute force of the motion knocked his back immediately into the cavern wall, dropping down on all fours as undescribable pain raced up and down the nerves of his spinal cord.

Catching his breath for a moment, he had to laugh even a little at the impressive move because he was definately not familiar with that move as much as he was this improved species of Heartless. If Marly and him didn't counter-attack, they would end up like all the other people who had failed to return with the mushrooms the cursed man had. Fortunately, Marly seemed to cover him by ushering up a huge tornado followed by several twisters. This was an oppotunity for the blitz ace to help keep the team hitting back as hard as they were getting, and with a hand movement from the blond Marluxia could feel that his attack execution was becoming faster as a orange sigil of a clock formed underneath himself and Tidus in the form of Hastega. He couldn't let Marluxia attack on his own and knew he had to follow up with it, so he had something creative on his mind that would allow him and Marluxia to keep the pressure on the Heartless as the boy's hurricanes were blasting them into the back wall. Tidus shot out a huge fireball in the form of Firaga, aiming not at the Heartless but at the wind spells to ignite them into fire tornadoes!

Tropical storms relied on opposing pressurized balances of heat and cold, and from what he had seen Auron do with his Tornado Limit Break back in the day, he knew setting the magical cyclones on fire would pack a searing heat on the powerful Heartless as the pressure was applied on them to drive them back into the cavern wall. And if it didn't? Tidus had more where that came from and plenty of it. He would continue to smack them into the cold wall, even if they did their disappearing act. Waiting for their next move, he remained where he was this time, even while bleeding slightly and with some slight battle-damaged brusing posed to watch the movements of the Heartless for their next strike.

---

Hastega: Targeting all party members, Tidus uses this positive time magic to give them an extra cooldown for that turn for all abilities. For example, if Yuna used Trigger Happy, Lulu had used Fira and Tidus used Provoke on the last turn with all these powers having a two-turn cooldown. On his turn Tidus casts Hastega, and on everyone's next turn in addition to the normal one-turn cooldown being added, Hastega adds another one-turn cooldown in addition. This allows everyone in the party to have aforementioned abilities to be able to be ready to use again to attack on that turn. This power lasts for a short time though, so if they don't use it, they lose it. Duration: One turn. Cooldown: Three posts.
Note: The turn for Hastega to come into effect will start of Tidus's post/end of Marly's post. Meaning it will come into effect for Tidus this post first, then Marly before ending at the end of his post.

Firaga: Two post cooldown.

Cura: Finished cooldown.

Sonic Buster:: Finished cooldown.

Waterga: Finished cooldown.

Energy Rain: Finished cooldown.

Template made by Memzard of OTE

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OOC: Just because I like this attack I’m going to have it be the finisher and as I don’t want to keep you guys waiting any longer XD! Anyway good job Marluxia/Tidus you have finished the mission and I will be writing out a little bit about the last mushroom. You can RP out chasing the thief and handing the mushroom off to the warrior if you wish but if you don’t want to do something to detailed and just end it here that’s fine as well. Just give me your replies after this post either with you getting the last bit of RP out of this thread or just put in your replies, “MISSION SUCCESSFUL” and I will then award you the money you have both rightfully earned ^^! Was a pleasure and I hope to do it again sometime.

IC: The results of the rather devastating combo attack made by the Heartless were rather evident, both the warriors having taken a considerable amount of damage. Indeed, far more difficult than their previous challenges, the two Orcus were foes that were merciless and would not fall to the two very easily. No, they would have to step up their game if they wished to survive this ordeal and continue to work together if they wished to win. Because more so now than before, the two Orcus were incredibly adamant on slaying the two opponents that had invaded their quaint and humble abode. Yes, they certainly wished to destroy them and harvest the hearts of the warriors strong enough to actually injure them, a feat not easily accomplished. Or rather the heart of the blonde one anyway, as far as they could tell the other was a creature with no Heart much like them.

It was of little consequence though, what mattered was the present and how they would react to the attack that was being unleashed. Yes, despite their rather successful attack it seemed the two warriors were far from giving up and both had stood back up ready to fight. The pink-haired one was the first to act; tossing a giant gust of wind at the two of them that made their wings a disadvantage. Indeed, their wings only made such an attack more effective as they were sent crashing into the cavern walls with a rather large amount of force. As if that were not enough, even more wind-based attacks were sent their way as they attempted to regain their bearings, the two caught in the attack. Indeed, both Orcus were caught in all three of the tornados, spinning about madly and being cut by the petals that had gathered in the small tornadoes Marluxia had created. They were now rather incapacitated and to make matters worse it seemed the blonde had just the technique to make this situation even more dire for the powerful Heartless.

Without hesitation, the blond warrior shot a giant ball of fire at the two that were caught in the twisters, causing a rather large explosion. It was so large in fact it would be rather surprising if the two DID NOT have their backs slammed against the cavern walls again. Indeed, while a rather effective way to make use of Marluxia’s attack, it seemed that the blonde had been a bit hasty in his application. Whatever the case, with that final attack it would seem the two Orcus were actually defeated, not even those powerful Heartless able to withstand such an attack. The evidence would be shown when the wind and fire dissipated leaving behind no trace of the two Orcus that had proved so troublesome. This would most likely garner a giant sigh of relief from the two although the other adverse effect of Tidus’ quick-thinking would garner something else.

Indeed, for the explosion that had taken place actually destroyed nearly all the mushrooms left in the cave, charred far beyond being even semi-useful. How they would react to such a twisted turn of fate would be rather entertaining but after however they reacted, a single strand of hope would emerge. Oddly enough despite all the ruckus that had gone on in the cave and the ludicrous amounts of Heartless inside, a small squirrel was also present. The squirrel in question had been following the warriors from the beginning it seemed and had managed to pick the last mushroom they needed during the battle. Holding the mushroom in its tiny hands, it stared tentatively at the two for a moment; almost as if it were aware they required the mushroom. Tilting its head slightly, the squirrel would put the mushroom in its mouth as it quickly took off, attempting to escape the cave with its tasty treat. One could only hope for the cursed warrior’s sake that the two would be able to catch the hungry squirrel and retrieve that mushroom.

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(This is just a wrap up post for the mission since it seemed unfinished in my head without it. In any case thank you both so very much for doing this mission with me. It was fun, so perhaps we can do this again another time. ^^))

Well, the good thing was that within the darkness of the cave, the first of the twisters easily found their mark, a pleasing thump and screech of pain from the Heartless proof enough of the attack’s success. The success only continued as the injured creatures screeched even more as they were caught within the trio of whirlwinds that had followed the first. On top of this, Tidus had recovered from the explosion and added onto the damage by casting a powerful fire spell at Maluxia’s whirlwinds. In turn, the mixture of wind and fire created a giant explosion that was blinding and painful within the darkness, the force of the attack’s power knocking Marluxia over despite his best effort to stay standing. Staying sprawled on the ground in a sitting position for a moment, Marluxia let his eyes readapt to the Darkness as he let the ringing in his ears from the explosion pass. When all was quiet again and only the light of the flashlights remained, the Graceful Assassin picked himself up using Dahlia for support as he got to his feet once more. His body ached and his arm still throbbed from the injury, but at least he was alive and after finding his ally within the dark, he relieved to see that he too was alive. As he observed his ally,he took note of the injuries on the boy before reaching into his robes where he found the potion the young man had given him earlier within a hidden pocket. He pulled out the vial and examined it careful to make sure that it was still intact and the liquid within still safe. Content that nothing had been damaged or split, he took a few steps towards Tidus, closing the distance before he held out the potion to him.

“Here, you seem to need this more than I do at the moment,” Marluxia said in his usual monotone voice before dropping the potion into the boy’s hands. Whether he used the potion or not was up to the boy. Marluxia knew he had healing magic, but at the same time the gesture was more than being concerned about the man’s well-being. No, this action was a rare thing to come from the prideful Nobody. The action was a way of saying thank you for the healing from earlier, but also the flower’s way of accepting the blonde as an ally that he could trust a little and perhaps call to his side in the future.

Regardless of the meaning behind the move, the Nobody performed the action in his usual emotionless way, his eyes turning to the disaster zone that was the remainder of the cave shortly after the action had been done. The fire and wind, while helpful, seemed to be a force to powerful for the fungi in the area. Everything had been burned to a crisp by the flames and what had survived was not useable at all. A disappointing thing considering all the trouble they had to go through to get this far and find the two mushrooms they had. He hated not being able to complete the mission more so than failing to save someone’s life. While he had indeed helped his ally, the facts still remained that the Nobody had not yet learned to undo selfishness.

If he failed the mission, he would get no reward and his point that he had been trying to prove from the beginning would not be able to be fulfilled. He would have to face humiliation and the Nobody wanted none of that….Still there was nothing he could do if the item they sought had been burned to up in the process of trying to survive. He supposed he should be happy that they were alive, but that fact did nothing to take away the man’s moodiness. He had wanted to win not lose.

Well, that’s that, Marluxia thought bitterly as the beam of his flashlight swept over the destruction of the fungi in the area. Sighing inwardly, he turned to Tidus and opened his mouth to tell him that it was time to move out; however, he stopped as his light revealed a strange furry creature…holding a mushroom in its small paws looking over at them. Shock and triumphant flooded through the Nobody all at once freezing him to the spot for a moment and causing a tense moment of silence to fill the cave as the Nobody stared at the creature in disbelief. As the moment passed and the shock wore off, Marluxia took a step forward to retrieve the mushroom, but then said creature turned thief as it began running off with the mushroom. Outraged, Marluxia was able to snap back to himself as the squirrel became a target now. No animal would taunt him in such a fashion and escape with a prize for doing so! He simply would not allow it.

“That little rodent is getting away with our prize. Come on, Tidus!” he snapped at his ally, agitated with the situation before heading after the squirrel. It took a lot of chasing and stumbling about before Marluxia finally cornered the creature and after a brief struggle…and a small bite, he managed to get the mushroom from the squirrel intact. Releasing the squirming rodent, he watched the creature go before, looking around the area he was in now.

Back outside,[/i] he thought relieved and then found himself waiting to see if Tidus had made it out of the cave or not. He didn’t exactly check to see if the boy followed and now that he was out, he couldn’t help but wait for him. Why did he do this when he could’ve easily left him and went on his own back to the town, the Nobody did not know nor did he care to try to figure it out at the moment. He was just happy to be almost done with the mission.

Once the boy caught up (if he did), Marluxia would show him the mushroom before turning and leading the way back to town where their client waited. Back at the bar, the usual bar goers were shocked to see them back alive and even more shocked when the pair handed over the mushrooms to the cursed warrior. After the thank yous had been said and a reward given, Marluxia prepared to leave Radiant Garden, giving his ally in all of this a nod of thanks and farewell before vanishing into the shadows of an alleyway.

If one were to follow to see exactly where Marluxia had gone, there would be a Corridor of Darkness hiding within the shadows only noticeable to the curious. Instead of snapping shut quickly like most did, this one stayed open for a few minutes as if it were waiting for something or someone. Another strange gesture of thanks perhaps for the boy or perhaps a slow closing portal no one could say. However, whether something entered the shifting portal or not, the Corridor eventually closed leaving Radiant Garden quiet once more.

Marluxia has exited the thread.[/u]