Showdown at Hollow Bastion [Castle]

[Castle]

He had to be careful not to get in the way of Emi's kali sticks, but fighting alongside her was doable. The battle rush began to return as they ganged up on the Heartless, leaving little room for it to retaliate. But, dang, this thing refused to die. Castle's knuckles were getting sore, even with the protection of the gloves. He had to be sure to keep his wrists straight so he wouldn't break anything.

Emi backpedaled, and this time, Castle had to step out of the way as she continued the assault with unnatural speed. Each hit landed, but the stubborn monster just refused to die. It seemed to have had enough of being beaten, too, because it took the opportunity of Castle not being right there to slip between them. It blurred out of sight again as its swiftness kicked in.

"Damn it," Castle muttered.

No sooner had he spoke than the Heartless came right at him. He tried to sidestep, but he felt it brush past him, and a shallow cut appeared across his midsection. It stung like heck, but that only made him furious again.

The Stealth Solider, having gotten a hit in, reappeared for a moment. Maybe it was getting tired, maybe it was just stupid, but either way, Castle wasn't about to let it vanish again. He threw another acidic orb at it, which collided with the back of its head and sizzled faintly. As the orb landed, he ran forward, jumped up, and drove the heel of his foot down onto the spot where the Heartless's stout neck met its shoulder.

Finally, the enemy went up in smoke. Castle didn't realize he was out of breath until his feet hit the ground. He glanced around for any other opponents, but there were none.

"About time," he said breathlessly, "You okay, Emi?"

--
Battle Report:
Castle used [Blue Bubble]
0 uses remaining.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Not another one...!
--

"Yeah, I'm fine,[/color]" Emi said, though the grimace on her face suggested otherwise. She gazed out at the Great Maw. They were still a ways away from the other side, having been pushed back by the Heartless battles.

She did a quick count. Let's see... back is definitely bruised, stomach too. Leg hurts, face hurts. Could be worse. It can wait until we get to town.

She looked at Castle. "You okay? It didn't look like you got hurt nearly as bad as I did... geez..." she sighed, rubbing her face. "You know, I really don't want to risk anymore battles. I'm totally exhausted. Let's go back to the ship and fly a little closer to town. Once we get there, we can get patched up and finally rest. Sound like a plan?[/color]"

She didn't give him much time to agree or disagree, just started walking- or limping- back to the Dark Depths where the gummi ship waited on them one last time. She was grumbling about that as they rounded the corner around the canyon.

The ship was still there, safe and sound like nothing had ever happened. Just when it looked like things were going to be okay... they got worse.

In between them and the ship, blocking their way, a huge dark pool formed on the ground. Emi took one step back. This was not good, not good, not good.

"Shit,[/color]" she hissed, looking up as the giant heartless took form. Not this again. She was still sore from the last battle!

Obviously, the Heartless didn't care. Fully formed, it was bigger than any Heartless Emi had ever seen. It was shaped like a snake, but a glossy black color. Unlike a real snake, this creature had two winged arms with fiber like feathers in many shades of red. It glared at them with glowing yellow eyes. On its chest was the red Heartless symbol.

Emi went for her sticks again. This was not going to be easy. In fact, she didn't even want to fight the stupid thing, but it was in the way of the ship and they would only be met with more Heartless in the Great Maw. No doubt this thing would chase them, too.

It wasn't attack quite yet, though it seemed to be getting ready to. Emi figured they had all of thirty seconds to prepare.

--
Battle Report
[Metalmark]
1 use left.
1 post until next use.
[Broken Silverdrop+]
2 uses left.
1 posts until next use.
[Swift Blow]
1 use left.
3 posts until next use.

[Castle]

"Sounds good to me," Castle said as he followed Emi back toward the gummi ship. Her limp and obvious discomfort worried him, but he didn't say anything. He just hoped she wouldn't hide anything really serious. Maybe he should keep an eye on her.

They made it back to the Dark Depths, where the gummi ship waited for them, devoid of Heartless. Or at least, devoid of Heartless when they first walked into the area. That quickly changed.

Castle's eyes widened as the monster took form. He'd never seen a Heartless that big before. He'd heard rumors of a pretty huge one in Traverse Town a few years ago, but he thought those people were exaggerating. What kind of thing had to lose its heart to form this?

"Holy shit," he said.

Once the initial shock wore off, Castle steeled himself. He refused to be scared away by some big Heartless. He would never know how tough it was unless he fought it, right?

"Come on!" he shouted, and with that, he ran straight at it.

That was definitely not the best strategy in the world. The giant snake lashed out, its fangs bared. On a knee-jerk reaction, Castle jumped straight up, barely avoiding what could have been a very, very unpleasant bite. He turned the jump into an axe kick move, coming down on the top of the Heartless's head. However, it hardly felt it, retracting back into the position it was in before.

As it did, he had his feet swept out from under him and landed hard on his rear on the ground. He cursed and jumped back upright, but not without a muttered, "Ow..."

--
Battle Report:
Castle used [High Jump]
2 posts until next use.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Hey, what are you doing!?
--

Emi was impulsive, but even she knew what Castle had done was stupid. She couldn't help but cover her eyes with one hand to avoid watching Castle fail miserably. She was glad to see he popped right back up, but there wasn't any time for encouragement. The Heartless hadn't even been scratched by Castle's well-meaning attack, and it was time for a counterstrike. This time, however, it was directed towards Emi.

The monster attacked, slashing at Emi with one bat-like wing. It clipped her on the shoulder and knocked her several feet away, but she was able to get out of the way of the next strike. She ran away from its claws, and ended up on the opposite side of the battlefield as Castle. The Heartless swayed back and forth for a few minutes, allowing Emi some time to catch her breath.

"How are we supposed to beat this thing!?[/color]" she screamed across the battlefield to Castle. She was thinking about running, seriously thinking about it. Stubbornness, however- and the knowledge that only more Heartless lay beyond their only escape- kept her glued in her spot. Like Castle, she wasn't about to let this overgrown garden snake pull one over on her.

Before any plans could be made, the Heartless started to flap its massive wings and lift into the air. Emi groaned. "Oh, hell no! It can fly!?[/color]" she screamed up at it. She pushed her hair out of her eyes, the wind from the Heartless' flight causing it to get in her face and mouth.

I wonder if I can open another corridor, she thought, desperately trying to come up with some plan. Or maybe run up one of the canyon walls?

The Heartless was hovering vertically, and she realized what exactly kind of snake it was imitating: a cobra. Some image from some book or lesson in school told her that, and this cobra-like Heartless was spreading its hood trying to make itself look more intimidating. She glared up at it. I'm not scared of you, you dumb snake, she thought, but then it turned its head towards Castle. With a loud, ominous hiss the Heartless breathed out a cloud of darkness. It surrounded Castle to the point Emi couldn't even make him out anymore. By that time, she had already started running towards him and the Heartless had flown up into the air and was circling around them.

"No, no no no...[/color]" she huffed as she ran. The Heartless was diving now, going right for Castle who probably couldn't even see it...

--
Battle Report
[Metalmark] is available for use!
[Broken Silverdrop+] is available for use!
[Swift Blow]
1 use left.
2 posts until next use.

[Castle]

"I have no idea!" Castle shouted back to Emi when she asked him, probably rhetorically, how they were supposed to defeat this thing. It was huge, and thus far, it was practically untouchable. He was far from ready to give up, but he couldn't help but feel the slightest twinge of doubt.

Suddenly, it took to the air. Castle cursed silently. Would he be able to reach it if he high-jumped again? He wasn't sure he could manage another leap like that right away. He almost wished the thing would just keep flying, but unfortunately, it only went up there to hover in place. And now it was... turning toward him?

A cloud of darkness issued from its mouth. Before he could even begin to run, it enveloped him, and everything around him was blacked out. The darkness, or whatever it was, stung his eyes with startling intensity, and he reflexively rubbed his fingers across them.

He felt a rush of air. Part of him knew something was coming, but he froze. He still couldn't see, and he had no idea that the Heartless's jaws were fast approaching him...

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Emi to the rescue!
--

Emi didn't know what that cloud of darkness had done to Castle, but when the air cleared she saw him rubbing his eyes. That Heartless was going right for him. Why wasn't he moving? Could he not see the thing? Calling to him wasn't going to do much good if he couldn't considering he would probably just run right into its waiting mouth.

Maybe he couldn't see the monster rapidly approaching, but she could and she wasn't about to let it hit a guy when he was down. She did the only thing she knew to do, not sure if it was going to be enough. Right before the Heartless attacked, Emi jumped in front of Castle and threw up her shield, bracing herself for impact. And boy what an impact it was. The Heartless' teeth banged against the shield, pushing Emi and Castle back. Her feet slid across the dirt and then she fell backwards, rolling onto her back and watching the Heartless fly back up into the air through the shimmery surface of her shield. Once again, her kali sticks had been knocked out of her hands. They lay on either side of her, just out of reach.

She propped up on one elbow and looked back at Castle. Was he okay? She was about eighty percent sure whatever that Heartless had done had blinded him, and the remaining percentage was screaming "OH MY GOD CASTLE YOU ARE SO STUPID MAN WHY DIDN'T YOU RUN!?"

None of that was said out loud of course; she didn't have the breath. She rose to her feet and dashed over to him. She waved a hand in front of his eyes and when he didn't respond, she had her answer. She grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, pushing him. "Get away until it wears off,[/color]" she screamed at him. She wasn't even sure if it would wear off, but there was no need to tell him that.

She turned and saw that the snake Heartless was back on the ground and slithering towards them. It looked angry. She gritted her teeth and went for her sticks only to realize they were back on the ground.

The Heartless lunged at her. She could only hope Castle was safe. She jumped out of the way of its teeth without recovering her weapons and now they were far out of her reach. She panicked. Normally, she wouldn't be entirely worried about the lack of weapons. Her hands were enough. Somehow though, she doubted they would be enough against this thing. Defenseless without even a shield to protect herself.

The Heartless turned on her again, angered that she had escaped once again. She was going to turn and run, open a corridor, escape somehow but the universe had other plans for her.

The power will be yours to call upon when you need it most. Of course. Arc's words came back to her clearly, like he was standing right next to her. She held out a hand and pleaded. Okay. I really need it now!

There was a bright flash of light and when that light receded, she could have cried from relief and happiness. A keyblade had appeared in her hands, glinting in the afternoon sun. Now, she wasn't defenseless. She took up a fighting stance, feeling a little bit awkward as she had never really used a single weapon like this.

She grinned. "Okay, let's see what this new toy can do,[/color]" she murmured and she relaxed, closed her eyes and opened herself to its power. Yes, even though there was a massive snake Heartless slithering towards her, she found peace. The tip of her keyblade glowed purple for a moment and then a swirling purple and black orb appeared over the Heartless' head.

Her eyes snapped open and she made a face, a slightly panicked face, and ran out of the way. She barely made it but to her delight just a few seconds later, the purple spell had forced the Heartless flat on the ground. It wiggled and writhed but couldn't get up, and it hissed in frustration and pain.

Emi couldn't hide the satisfaction she got from that and started to look around for Castle. She ran over to him.

--
Battle Report
[Swift Blow]
1 use left.
1 posts until next use.
Emi used [Broken Silverdrop+]
1 use left.
2 posts until next use.
Emi received Lacewing!
Emi used [Demi]
Lunatic Cobra is weak to gravity. Moderate damage.
2 uses left.
3 posts until next use.

[Castle]

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approach and stop before him. In the next instant, the force of an incredibly powerful impact knocked him back. He stumbled backwards for several paces, but managed to keep his balance. His hands flailed out in front of him, but there was nothing there, and he still couldn't see. However, the sounds of the Heartless were too close for comfort.

He heard footsteps again, and then Emi grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around, and screamed at him to get away. Evidently, she could still see.

There was nothing else he could do. Hating how powerless he felt, Castle jogged straight forward, slowing down periodically and holding his hands out in front of him. Finally, his fingers touched the wall of a cliff. He turned around and put his back to it. He blinked rapidly, hoping to have his vision magically return. He couldn't be put out of the fight this soon, or this easily!

Strange sounds issued from the direction of the fight. It sounded like a spell being cast, but he had no idea what kind. Was it Emi casting, or the snake?

"Damn," he muttered, slamming the side of his fist against the cliff.

There were those footsteps again.

"Emi? What the heck is going on?" he asked, turning his head in her general direction.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

You have to see it to believe it... oh wait.
--

"The Heartless blinded you. Just wanted to make sure you were okay,[/color]" Emi told him, between heavy breaths. "I pinned it down, somehow, with...[/color]"

Behind them, the Heartless was no longer pinned down and it was angry. Emi's spell had worn off, and... it was slithering away? That confused her, why would it do something like that? There was an open path to the ship now, but no time to get her cloak on an open a corridor. Maybe if she didn't have to wrestle with the cloak, but since she had a keyblade now, she didn't want to risk it. She grabbed Castle's wrist and dragged him a few steps, trying to make it to the ship. Maybe they could escape...

No such luck. The Heartless had just been positioning itself for a new attack. It swept its glossy black tail across the ground and right into Emi and Castle, knocking them off their feet and back towards the canyon wall. Emi hit that wall at full force and fell to the ground. She didn't get up. She was unconscious for all of maybe ten seconds before coming back around. The battles had finally caught up with her.

She was positive something was broken but thankfully, she remembered she had a hi-potion, which she withdrew from her pocket. It was difficult to do so (moving in any way hurt) but she finally fumbled it out and used it. It didn't take away everything, but it allowed Emi to get back on her feet and summon her keyblade once more.

--
Battle Report
[Swift Blow] is available for use!
[Broken Silverdrop+]
1 use left.
1 posts until next use.
[Demi]
2 uses left.
2 posts until next use.

[Castle]

"With...?" Castle asked, but Emi just grabbed him by the wrist and started to tug him away.

They only made it a few steps before he heard the Heartless slither toward them. That was the only warning he had before its tail slammed into them. It knocked the air out of his lungs, and then he collided with the canyon wall. Pain lanced through him, but he had no air to cry out with. It was hard to tell if he was knocked unconscious or not, but he could not recall dropping to the ground until he was already there.

He wheezed and bent forward, clutching the back of his head. Finally, the pain subsided to a point that allowed him to remember that they were still under attack. Using the canyon wall for support, he stood up and tried to look around. Everything was still dark to him, but he could distinguish a few shapes now.

"Emi? You're not dead yet, right...?"

Suddenly, she was right there. Castle blinked rapidly, his eyes feeling a little dry as the blindness wore off. His gaze traveled down to the key in her hand.

"...Huh? Oh!"

He remembered what Arc had done for her and immediately realized what that weapon was. So, she finally figured out how to use it. That would be extremely helpful. He looked toward the snake...

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Not this time!
--

"Okay, I have a plan,[/color]" she shouted. She had her face turned towards him but her eyes on the Heartless. "I don't think I can use it again just yet, but I'll use that same spell as before to pin it down. Then, we whack it silly and run like hell. Got it? Good.[/color]"

She ran off, avoiding slashes from the Heartless. How long will it be until I can use that spell again, whatever it was? she thought, nearly avoiding being impaled on those giant teeth. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too long. She wasn't sure how long she could make it running around like this. Her shields weren't much good and she was waiting to pull out all the stops when she had it pinned. So for now, she ran circles around it and dodged out of the way of its attacks.

She also wondered how long it was going to take for that snake to start flying again, or use the blinding cloud of darkness. She naively hoped it wouldn't use it again. No such luck; the heartless once again started flapping its freaky looking wings and lifted into the air. Emi knew what came next.

"Castle, run![/color]" she yelled, doing the same. She retreated as fast as she could away from the cloud and avoided being blinded because she'd recognized the attack from the first time it had happened.

Had Castle been as lucky?

--
Battle Report
[Broken Silverdrop+] is available for use!
[Demi]
2 uses left.
1 posts until next use.

[Castle]

There was no way he was going to let himself get blinded again. As soon as he saw the dark cloud leave the Heartless's mouth, he turned and ran as fast as possible. By the time the cloud actually went anywhere, Castle had ended up almost directly behind the Heartless.

He hoped Emi's plan would work. He still didn't know what spell she was talking about, but if it could pin this thing, that was good enough for him. Part of him really wanted to try and attack it directly again, but at this point, a larger part knew better. That snake had him outmatched. He hated to admit it, but it did.

"How long do we have to run around this thing?" he wondered in a swift mutter.

The Heartless slithered back onto the ground. Castle started running again, skirting the edge of the cliff to avoid being hit by its tail. The monster's interest seemed trained to Emi as it prepared for another attack. Without really thinking, Castle ran up and kicked it.

"Hey! Over here!" he shouted.

He didn't really expect it to turn around. He quickly backtracked, and the Heartless lunged forward with its fangs bared. He jumped out of the way and let its face hit the dirt.

"Yeah, that's right," he taunted quietly as he dashed away from it.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Killing time...
--

Emi watched Castle's little diversion and burst into loud, obnoxious laughter. "Hahahaha, that was awesome,[/color]" she muttered. If they had been closer together, she probably would have high-fived him or something.

Time for a test run. She lifted her keyblade and pointed it right at the Heartless, trying to cast the same spell as before. Nothing happened, and she almost got swatted into the canyon wall again . She tumbled out of the way, sliding across the hard ground and found her footing once more. Still no good; hopefully that purple orb hadn't been a one time thing. That would be very bad. There was still one strategy to be considered, however. That is, if the two of them could put their stubbornness and pride away and agree to get the hell out of their while they could. They could, in theory, wait for the thing to fly into the air and then make a run for it towards the gummi ship.

Of course, then they would have to deal with getting the gummi ship started. And avoid attacks from the Heartless. And Emi was a terrible pilot. And then, of course, there was always the possibility the thing could just follow them and destroy the town.

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all.

--
Battle Report
[Demi] is available for use!

[Castle]

It didn't take long for the Heartless to go back to attacking Emi. She still wasn't ready to cast that spell yet, it seemed. How much longer would they have to keep this evasive-manuever thing up?

At least the Heartless hadn't gone after the gummi ship yet. Castle didn't know how much damage the ship could take, and he didn't really want to find out the hard way. Unlike Emi, who, for all he knew, would be perfectly fine if they ended up staying here for an extended period of time, he was sure that if his only way off this world was destroyed, he would go nuts. Then again, she did have those portal things that she didn't seem to like to use very often. Maybe she could show him how to make those sometime.

However, he would still rather lose the ship than lose Emi. Castle ran a few steps toward the Heartless again and shouted, "Hey, ugly! The distraction's over here!"

He wound up having to dodge a claw. The second swipe almost brushed the front of his shirt, and he stumbled backward and nearly tripped over himself.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

What, I actually have a battle strategy!?
--

After running around, Emi decided it was time to try that spell once more. Castle was doing a great job of distracting the stupid thing and so she took a step back, lifted her keyblade and braced herself.

To her delight, the moment she cleared her mind and focused her energy, that same purple glow appeared at the tip of Lacewing and the same orb appeared over the Heartless' head. The Heartless was forced to the ground, a great cloud of dust rising up at the impact.

Emi coughed and held Lacewing in both hands. The dust cleared quickly and she closed in quickly. "Come on, before it gets up![/color]" she shouted to Castle. Might as well get as much damage in as possible and for that she was going to need more speed. Again, her keyblade began to glow purple, this time as a faint fog that surrounded it. She attacked twice as fast now, slamming her weapon into the snake over and over again.

She had to admit, she liked having a single weapon. It allowed her to be more vicious, she supposed. More brutal. But that was her style. She got a delicious satisfaction from it. It was so nice to hit something like this again, and for a good reason. No fear of repercussion.

She was so focused on it that she barely noticed Castle fighting beside her.

--
Battle Report
Emi used [Demi]
1 use left.
3 posts until next use.
Emi used [Swift Blow]
No uses left.

[Castle]

For a second, he was worried that his stumble would leave him open for another attack from the Heartless. It did, but that didn't matter because the creature was suddenly slammed into the ground. He closed his eyes against the cloud of dust, and when he looked again, he noticed the orb. Emi's shout snapped him back into focus.

"Finally!" he said, grinning savagely.

That was a pretty useful spell, when she could actually use it, but he had no idea how long it would last. Until then, he wanted to do as much damage as possible. He and Emi attacked at once, and he was hardly aware of her presence, totally focused on attacking the currently helpless monster.

His hands were starting to hurt, but it was hard to care.