Atlantis: Search for the Lost

[Shun]

((Round ends January 14th))

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M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D
"I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU ENDED UP SLAIN BY ONE OF THEM."

While his olive digits tapped a large door of wood, Mikhail sighed. Not that he was intimidated by the district's high death count, much less scared by it; something just didn't feel right around the atmosphere. He wrinkled his nose for a moment before pushing the gates leading to the Third District wide upon; it was quite small, just as he remembered it from his past visits.

Though he had not stayed away from Traverse Town for long, Mikhail's opportunities for adventure and recklessness were cut short upon Antique's awakening. And he didn't really miss such winds of freedom and danger anymore; the pyromancer had learned there were much better things than putting his life on the line.

The young man stepped inside the area, his eyes immediately eyeing the golden fountain ahead. His lips curved into a soft smile as he recalled those days where he had meditated beside it, around the time he had officially become the second of Jadis's apprentices. Those days had been quite delightful, but as always, there was a memory that ruined it all.

Rutherford's hands curled into fists as the memory of the obnoxious thief, Kousei, came to his mind. The boy had practically ruined one delightful day for Caxnon, Reiho, Antique and himself. Sapphire eyes narrowed as he recalled what he had called the maiden of blue: a monster.

But he was gone now, or so Jadis claimed. Mikhail had always wondered what the sorceress had done with the young boy but he had never dared to ask; after all, it wasn't actually relevant anymore.

The pyromancer continued to explore the short district, confident that his hydromancer friend, Max, was following close behind. He was quite sure Tendas didn't know as much about Traverse Town as he did so he immediately took the role of the "guide". Moments later he took notice of a rather long trail of demolished concrete; it surely lead to the escape pod they were looking for.

Mikhail wasn't sure why they were helping these people; from the looks of it, most of them were probably mercenaries of some sort. Instead of doing some good to the universe, perhaps they were actually harming it in some way. But, again, he just couldn't help himself from doing what he believe was the right thing to do.

"It's over here." he told his companion before starting to follow the path...

M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D
"MAYBE I'LL TAKE YOU THERE... SOMEDAY..."

[iuma]

Following the path would soon lead to the crashed escape pod. Leaving an ever increasingly deepening trail till the large metal wreckage was found. The friction of the hot metal and the cobblestoned pavement had already cooled off from glowing embers to a dark glassily state. With smoke trailing upward from the pod.

Gathered around the pod they found a small army of Heartless. Mainly Soldiers, Air Soldiers and a couple of Large Bodies. Encircling the far side like a pack of hungry wolves. Their attention fixed on their prey. The soldiers of the pod were huddled together with their backs to the pods. Holding up whatever weaponry they could muster from their pod. Scared they stared at the ominous black creatures that repeatably threaten them.

One of the Large Bodies slapped his belly, causing it to wobble hard and then started to charge them. Emerging from the masses of Heartless to finish the group off. The soldiers saw the large brute coming as they instinctively braced for its assault.
But before the Large Body could reach them. A kite shield appeared in it's way. With the emblem of a wolf's head howling at the full moon. The invulnerable stomach of the Heartless and the shield made contact, a shockwave erupted from the clash. Feet in metal greaves scraped over the floor backwards from the impact. But only several meters, until the Large Body was brought to a halt.

Pushing against the shield was a tall broad man in a silvery plate armor. Using the shield and it's entire body weight to prevent this and any other Heartless from reaching the stranded crew of the Ulysses. Gritting his teeth and letting out a ferocious cry the knight pushed the Large Body back. Freeing himself from the struggle and followed up with bash from his shield and a lash of his long sword to the Large Body's head. Jumping up and over the shielding belly as he toppled him over.
With the Large Body fallen on his back, the man in the plate armor steadied himself just below the neck. And raised his longsword high up, clenched the handle with both hands and pierced it ruthlessly into the empty head.

With a puff the huge Heartless disappeared in some stray whiffs of darkness and lingering energy. The wolf head shaped helmet raised again from the ground. As the knight stood tall, his leather cape billowing in the wind. While facing the overwhelming numbers that still stood before him.

Defending the crashed soldiers, was Sir Lucas Lunaris the VII.
When the pods crashed down, he had first headed to the third district instead of the zero district like many others. Arriving just in time right before the Heartless. Many had already fallen to his blade, but even he could not hold on for much longer.

[sumdood]

Max followed after Mikhail as they made their way from the zero district to the third in silence. Max let his friends lead the way, as he knew Traverse much better than he did, and in a short while, they found themselves standing before the large gates to the district. As Mikhail pushed the doorway open, Max readied his war pike I'm case Heartless decided to ambush them from the other side. However, the district was uncharacteristically empty, which was not a good sign for the refugees of the fallen ship.

Max followed Mikhail as they quickened their pace upon noticing this. They needed to get to those men quick or else they would be in trouble. It didn't take long for them to run into the first signs of the pod's passage through this area. As they came upon the jagged trail cut through the ground, Max felt the heavy pall of trepidation settle even more heavily on his shoulders. There definitely was something off about the third.

It didn't take long to see what. As the pod came in sight, him and Mikhail were greeted by the sight of the pod's occupants, huddled off to one side away from a large group of heartless, who were fighting a knight clad in bright silver armor. A couple of the men from the pod had some sort of weapons, contraptions made of wood and metal, that made loud cracks when used. They used them against the few small heartless that made it past the knight, turning them to black mist with one shot. However, what none of them had noticed was a large grou p of Neo Shadows, Darkballs, Wyverns, and Large Bodies coming up behind them.

"Looks like we made it just in time for the fun, Mikhail," Max said, hefting his spear up in both hands," Let's go lend a hand, shall we?"

At that, Max ran forward, his tatttered cloak flapping in the wind behind him and his armor glinting in the lamplight. He quickly gathered water, formed it into a large, solid sphere, and sent it hurtling into the heartless coming up behind the men. The projectile slammed into the black creatures, scattering them but doing little damage. However, the attack fulfilled it's purpose as it gained the Heartless' attention, and the creatures turned to face him and Mikhail.

"All right, Mikhail, it's time to roll," Max said, pulling his pike into a ready position and gathering more water to himself......

(OOC: apologies for any typos. I typed this up on my blackberry.=

[lucaspalmeirense]

It has been some months now, since Axel first departed from Twillight Town under the alter-ego of The Shark. Now, jumping from world to world, he searched answers for what were that mysterious weapon, "The Sharkblade". His wanders eventually took him to Traverse Town. He had been here for something arround a week, still, no one had a clue about the weapon. He was about to leave, when he heard noises.

Following them trough the Second District - and running from eventual creatures that stood before him. They where called... Heartless, was that it? Anyways, he finally arrived on the Third District, where more "Heartless" were rampaging against a... what the hell was that, a metallic pod? Well, doesn't matter. It seems that people were in danger. And he had made a promise. Never more a Innocent wiould die if he could stop it. With a mighty jump, the Blue Hero arrived at the middle of the heartless swarm. Some of the creatures, instinctivly, reatreated. With a spin, he striked some of the adversaries with the Sharkblade and, finally, retreated, standing beside the knight with shiny armor

- Hello, stranger. You look like you're needing a hand. Proceed? - Asked the Hero, standing in combat position

[Shun]

M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D
"I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU ENDED UP SLAIN BY ONE OF THEM."

((Apologies for the delay. Round Two ends January 19th))

It didn't take long for them to catch a glimpse of the metallic structure; the large escape pod rested in the middle of the district, shining in the moonlight as both Max and Mikhail approached it. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on; a group of five men watched in terror as the Heartless hopped toward them, their backs against the pod while the shock immobilized them.

Immediately drawing his blade to rush to their aid, Mikhail noticed another man among them. He stood tall against the creatures of dark, dressed in full armor of silver as he brought death to a Large Body. Rutherford knew this man; he was one of the Guardians. His lips curved into a smirk as he continued to watch for a moment or two. The wolf knight was still up and running and it brought joy to the pyromancer.

Turning his head, the man could see as Max unleashed a large orb of water at another group of Heartless who had obviously been wanting to join the party. But they wouldn't be the last to attempt to do so; they would need to get out of the Third District, and fast.

Mikhail looked at Sir Lucas once more, noticing that he had been joined by... a kid. His brow furrowed upon looking at his strange outfit; nontetheless, he seemed capable of aiding the knight. The pyromancer turned around, charging at the group that now eyed Max and himself. It would be best to quickly defeat the newcomers as they blocked the exit to the First District; again, it wouldn't be wise to stay in the Third District for long.

Upon sensing his presence among them, the Neoshadows slightly backed away. The part of Jadis that now resided within the crystal hung around his neck sure had its uses, being able to repel the weaklings among the Heartless.

A small sphere of darkness emerged from his free left hand, ready to be thrown at the slow group of Large Bodies and Wyverns. Before it connected, however, the orb combusted, creating a wide wall of dark fire to trap them for a while. Mikhail himself knew that they would eventually escape but at least it would keep them away for a while.

Looking at the group of Neoshadows once more, Rutherford delivered a couple of swift blows before sending a couple back where they belonged; back to the darkness. Jumping away to create some distance between the Heartless and himself, the pyromancer turned to look at Tendas before addressing him once more.

"We need to get those men out of here, and fast. Trust me, you don't want to be here when all the Heartless and their grandmas join the feast."

M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D
"MAYBE I'LL TAKE YOU THERE... SOMEDAY..."

[lucaspalmeirense]

(Since it's "Round", and with time to end, we still have to follow the Posting order or not?)

[iuma]

The daunting Wolf Knight held his ground with great resilience. Facing the swarming Heartless with great determination. But their numbers were to great and the odds severely against him. This much was clear and yet no single sign of retreating or fleeïng emanated from Sir Lucas. No failing of hope or courage, no chance granted to despair. For he was all that stood between the spawn from darkness and the lives of innocents. He would fall before they would reach them.

The loud sound of a splash of water erupted behind him. In a reflex he raised his shield in front of him while jerking his helmet back to see what it caused. Fearing that Heartless had emerged from behind and had conducted a surprise attack.
By raising his shield in front of him while doing this, he was no subject to attacks of opportunity that might occur from the Heartless in front of him while he glanced back to see what was going on.
Heartless had snuck up from behind and they did launch a surprise attack. But the hydraulic explosion wasn't of their making, it had foiled their attempt instead.

The soldiers that were huddled with their backs against the pod screamed and ducked while droplets of water washed over them. But they were truly startled by the sight of the Neoshadows, Darkballs, Wyverns and Large Bodies that were so close to them now. Aware that they had been very close in losing this fight and their lives.
Gritting their teeth they used whatever firepower there was left to fend off the ones that were still crawling toward them. But the little ammunition that they carried on them was rapidly being depleted now.

Sir Lucas's eyes however trailed the source of the water blast, wondering who performed such a powerful feat. Seeing a knight in glinting armor and a tattered flapping cape with a spear rushing to his aid.
A light shock overcame Sir Lucas, while realizing that again he sees a fellow knight not from his world. And again this knight possessed the ability for elemental attacks.
His attention was then drawn by the accompanying figure, recognizing him while an euphorias feeling of relief washed over him. It was the young knight Mikhail, with whom he had fought alongside with before and recruited him for the Guardians.
Sir Lucas was confident that Mikhail and his friend would suffice in battling the Heartless in the rear. It was only unfortunate that he distance has left them outside of his hearing range. As he could not follow the conversation the two had.

This all transpired in a mere moment. As battle causes to make thoughts race fast inside Sir Lucas his mind. Quickly turning his head to check on the Heartless beyond, the sight of a young men dressed all in blue with some white accents caught his eye. With an incredible powerful jump he dove right in the midst of the soldiers, swinging around an odd looking weapon and quickly retreated till by his side.
The tall silvery knight looked down on the shark like helmet of the helpful stranger.

Jan 15, 2011 9:17:33 GMT -4 @lucaspalmeirense said:

"Hello, stranger. You look like you're needing a hand. Proceed?"

Finally help had arrived. He had not been fighting this war needlessly. His faith in the goodness that lingered in Traverse Town had been proved. Sir Lucas did not need to stand alone.
His limbs were aching, his hands and feet were sore from the fighting. Standing beside The Shark, the Wolf Knight dropped down on one knee. His heavy shield resting on the ground. The tip of his longsword stabbed in the ground as he clenched on to it for support. The helmet hanging low while his shoulders and chest moved up and down from his heavy breathing. His vision started to become unfocused and blurry.
Finally help had arrived, finally he could afford to give in to the fatigue. For long had he fought the beasts without pause. Locked in a deadly stalemate. Since alone he could not guarantee a safe escape for the crashed men. He could only protect them until help would arrive.

It was thanks to the presence of Axel that Sir Lucas could endure this moment of weakness. But now it had given him the opportunity to catch his second wind. Sniffing in deep strokes of fresh air through his nose, the Wolf Knight became clearheaded again and invigorated. Raising back up from the ground with replenished strength. Raising back up till he once again stood tall and mighty.
The wolf head's shaped helmet turned to the sharked shaped helmet. Hidden behind the black visor, Sir Lucas gave Axel a nod of his head. an acknowledgment to him as a brother in arms.

Facing the army of Heartless now again. Sir Lucas took a battle stance of his own. While from the group of enemies in front of them. The flying Air Soldiers started to gather and prepare their move. Like a swarm of bee's they flew up and massed in numbers. Cluttering the evening sky like an ominous cloud of evil. Then they dove down upon the two. Like a swarm of locusts, driven by their insatiable lust for hearts.
With a mighty battle cry, Sir Lucas braced himself and used his sword and shield to withstand the attack. Not yielding a single step as the plague of flying adversaries buzzed around him.

[Shun]

((No, feel free to post Shark))

[lucaspalmeirense]

And there were "pops" and "paps" and shots and booms but The Shark didn't cared for any of the sounds of the battle. The proud Wolf Knight had gone to ground, exhausted from the ordeal he had been for so long. It was the Hero's time. Holding his ground, he did his best to protect the Knight. The Hero's movement were agile, precise and strong, and somewhat elegant to watch. He wasan't stingy on acrobatic moves, either. From enemy to enemy, the Sharkblade rose and fell, bringing and end to those dark adversaries.

Finally, one big, round, dark ball-shaped enemy bounced. The Hero faltered in the stance, and a second strike sent him flying backwards. Still in midair, he managed to recompose himself and ground safely. However, the creature was still alive. Giving one bick fowardstep, he pointed the Sharkblade to the Adversarie.

- Water BULLETS!! - Shouting into the sky his mighty attack, a array of bullets made of water came from the Sharkblade, hitting the Heartless. With a puff, he disappeared.

Now, the mysterious Wolf Knight regained his strenght and, once again, rose up. Axel immediatly joined him, as the Air Soldiers where rising in the sky. The Shark was curious about that Knight, but that was not the best time for presentations. There weere two problems: Heartless blocking the exit, and heartless coming for an attack.

- And here goes nothing!

As the Air Soldiers fell, The Hero once again pointed the Sharkblade to the sky and released an array of bullets against the Heartless, trying to make them retreat. The Hero had beem really absort in protecting the Knight for now, so, it was just now that he noticed more people arround here. A guy with black hair.

- Hey, you - he shouted, so the ally would listen - If we hold-em back, do you think you can clear the exit?

That asked, the Shark once again focused in making the swarm of creatures stand away.

[sumdood]

"We need to get those men out of here, and fast. Trust me, you don't want to be here when all the Heartless and their grandmas join the feast."

Max looked over at the silver knight and the guy in blue that had come up beside him. They were getting seriously swarmed while both him and Mikhail were wrapped up with this group. They needed more help than a couple of people clearing out enemies behind them.

"Agreed. I'll carve a path for you to get to them. They're getting hit too hard. They can't last much longer without more help. Get yourself up there. I'll take this little band of miscreants here and then cover you guys' retreat," Max said to Mikhail as the group of heartless began rushing towards the two. Max gathered another volley of water spheres and sent them flying into the heartless, straight down the middle of their group. It scattered them, making a path straight between them towards the pod and the survivors fighting for their lives.

"Go now! I'll keep them occupied!" Max said, drawing his sword and rushing forward with both weapons in his hands. As he did, he decided to use a little bit of that magic Merlin had taught him and send an Aero spell at the heartless. The burst of wind left his hand holding the sword and hit one of the Neoshadows, but unfortunately it wasn't strong enough to do more than knock it over. He grumbled to himself as he watched the result of his attempt. He still had some work to do in that area...

Then he was on the Heartless, and every thought other than the fight left his mind. He ran straight past one of the Darkballs, burying his war pike deep in its face as he did. He left it as the heartless turned back to mist, using his sword to cut down a couple of Neoshadows that leapt at him as he continued running. He aimed his sprint straight at one of the Large Bodies that had ignored his attacks and continued for the small band of surviviors. Once he got close, he leapt up, using a burst of water to lift him high into the air. He landed hard on the Large Body's back and buried his sword in its back to keep himself on it.

Then he started a brutal relentless barrage of punches to the Heartless' head, using powerful bursts of water to make them more damaging. He kept pummeling its head until it fell to the ground, turning back to black mist. As his feet touched back down, he sent another burst of water into the heartless to keep their attention on him and started cutting through them back towards his pike.

He glanced at Mikhail as he did. He had better get himself through here. He didn't want to end up being Heartless food again for nothing.....

[lucaspalmeirense]

(Just posting to say that I'll be out until day 26. Going to the beach

So... don't wait my posts for the next round.

See ya when I come back o/)

[Shun]

M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D
"I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU ENDED UP SLAIN BY ONE OF THEM."

((Apologies for the delay. Round Three ends January 23rd))

Mikhail nodded, turning his head to glance at the other two. Unfortunately, the distraction he and Max had created didn't stop the other Heartless from targetting those near the escape pod. If the pyromancer wasn't fast enough, the slim chance of having Sir Lucas and the teenager become Heartless food would turn into a reality.

He watched as the hydromancer used his abilities against the enemy, admiring the fact that he had recovered from his near-death experience by now. Suddenly, just as Moses had split the Red Sea, Max created a free path among the Heartless for Mikhail to cross. Offering him a thankful nod, Rutherford did not hesitate to rush through the narrow path.

Leaping away upon reaching its end, he glanced back just in time to watch the hungry sea of Heartless fill that clean gap among them. Mikhail ran to join the other two as he tried to avoid worrying about the friend he had left behind. Sir Lucas and his "friend" were taking care of a lustful pack of Air Soldiers. Sapphire eyes narrowing, the pyromancer touched the ground with his palm to feed the ground some of his energy.

The boy in the blue suit addressed him but Mikhail didn't care enough to reply right away as he rose. As he stomped the ground with his foot once, a wide wall of bright fire emerged in front of the nearby group of Heartless, similar to the one he had created out of darkness moments earlier.

"Holding them back will not be enough. We should all make our retreat to the First District while we protect these men." The man turned his head to look at the frightened expedition members, offering them a smile before addressing them. "Ms. Helga Sinclair sent me to find you. We shall take you some place safe from these creatures."

"Sir Lucas, cover the left flank. You, protect our backs. I'll take the right flank." Motioning for the Ullyses's crew to follow him, Rutherford rushed back to the place where Max was fighting another pack of Heartless. Once he was close enough, the pyromancer shouted. "Max! I need you to open that path again!"

Trusting that his friend would yield and do as he said, Mikhail walked into the sea of darkness, slashing and pushing back any Heartless that hadn't been scared away by the hydromancer.

The door was straight ahead...

M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D
"MAYBE I'LL TAKE YOU THERE... SOMEDAY..."

[iuma]

Sir Lucas fought off the Air Soldiers as best as he could. Feeling their hands, feet and wings clawing, kicking and cutting against his armor. His shield kept most at bay as his long sword swung through the air, cutting down Air Soldier after Air Soldier. But no matter how many fell to this blade, the threat remained pressing down on him.

Then the bright light and warmth of fire washed over the knight. As he surprised took a step back and gazed at the burning wall that separated them from the Heartless. Despite the flames spewing out hot, it would not hold these creatures for long, but this far into the battle, any pause is more then welcomed.

Turning his helmet, the Wolf Knight noticed to his luck that Mikhail had joined them. Creating the chance to converse on a plan. With a short nod Sir Lucas spoke:
"Praise be to the Lunar Goddess for thou timely arrival, Mikhail. Lets be swift!"

The wall of fire was already dieing down. Sir Lucas quickly scouted over the battlefield. Taking in account the expedition members, the blue kid and the knight standing near their destination. The one that Mikhail called out to as 'Max'. Seeing as they were ready, and the fire collapsing behind them, it was now a matter of seconds to act. Any hesitation would disturb their window of opportunity and chances of success.

With a burst of strength, Sir Lucas started to run to his position. Joining Mikhail in the fray of darkness. Trusting on the other members to do their part with his heart.

A group of Heartless Soldiers were moving in from the left side. Immediately the Wolf Knight dashed into the group with a shield bash shoulder tackle. The Soldiers were knocked in disarray like pins hit by a bowling ball. Standing over some of the dazed Soldiers, Sir Lucas fought bravadoes against them. Hacking with his long sword at one of their heads. Then leaning back and kicking another back into darkness. The ones that came in with their spinning kicks halted by his shield and shrugged off as others were squirming under his feet. Screaming it out with every swing to add power to his attacks and help ignore the punishing beating that he had to endure himself.

[Shun]

((I'm terribly sorry for the delay, I shall have a post up later today))

[lucaspalmeirense]

(Hold Yer horses, I'm back xD.)

- Got it. - Said The Shark, in answer to Mikhail. Guard the backs, that was pretty important. With a foward dash, he positioned himself behind those two strange fellows. The fire-boy called the wolf-Knight "Lucas" and Lucas called him "Mikhail". Good, now we have names.

- I guess i haven't said that yet, so, you guys can call me "The Shark". - That said, is was time to protect Sir Lucas and Mikhail, since the fire wall finally went down, releasing an army of remaining Air Soldiers, and other adversaries. A Sharkblade hit sent a Neoshadow flying over a Dark Ball, and another swing of the powerful weapon cut a Air Soldier in two. But that was little, too little, for that great swarm. It was time to fight hard. It was time to use Magic.

- Water Morph! - With a hand sign, The Shark condensed a lot of water arround him, making eight ice replicas of the Sharkblade. Then, with a shout, they advanced, each one acting individually and striking adversaries on their own. All of them were beingn controlled by the Shark that, at the same time, was hiting any enemy that appeared in sight. With the help of the eight blades, everyone's backs were safe and could focus on opening an way out of this hell.