Another Tutorial [Open]

[Leo Forsythe]

The Sandlot was quiet, a rolled up piece of paper blew through the air, grass that had grown between the bricks rustled slightly, all was well, or as well as Twilight Town's Sandlot could be. That was until one of the walls seemed to ripple with some kind of darkness, and then with a surprised yell, out came a boy holding onto an umbrella. Rolling out of the hole and onto the streets of Twilight Town, he looked around for a second before getting up as the wall started to go solid once more.

"Nonononono!" he yelled out, smacking against it with his hand as it returned once again to solid form, locking him out of wherever he might've been trying to return to. Smacking against the wall once more, he turned around to look at the place he was locked into and sighed, "God I hope this is just another dungeon." He said, stepping forward into the center of the sandlot looking around. Poking at the cracks on the ground, his eyebrow went up slightly, "Either a deserted place, or one used to fighting, either is bad..." he said.

The answer showed up rather quickly, with the sounds of flitting in front of him. Looking up Leo could see the same thing that had kicked him out of the Laundromat Crypt. "Oh goody, you're here too." he said, readying his umbrella like a sword, "Fine, we can end this here then, if you so choose." Leo said, a familiar voice from nowhere shouting "FIGHT START!!!" as a blue circle appeared around Leo and the Shadow, the arena was set, it was time to face off.

Running up to the Shadow, Leo swung the Umbrella to the side, striking the Shadow before leaping back to where he was standing before. His turn taken, he waited for the Shadow, the creature surging forward before delivering a claw strike, sinking back into the floor and dashing back to it's starting point. "Even here, the same rules..." Leo said to himself as he ran out to the shadow and struck it once more, and once more leaping back to where he came from.

[Era]

With Lea and Xion behind them, Era's next priority was to help Marmadue and Lorena make sure that Asuka was brought to safety.

Exiting the sewer left one with a few different options as to how to get back to their underground fortification. She would have followed the straighter path, up through Market Street, had her ears caught the faint sound of something in Twilight Town's dark, still night.

"Marmadue," she commented gently, her attention already on the direction her feet were beginning to carry her. She knew that if he'd been daydreaming, like she sometimes did, that just saying his name would have called him to focus. "I swear I heard something down this way."

They had just come from here. But was Asuka the only survivor spat out here? Had they missed one?

Curiosity was overtaking her as she cautiously headed forward. A few more paces and she could see a boy battling a Shadow. Her gaze snapped over to the healer. "Be on guard." With that, she called forth the familiar, warm magic from within, feeling as the warm light radiated in her palms, covered her fists, and roiled up her forearms. And with springs in her feet, she was off to Leo.

"Hey, you need a hand?" she called out. It was then when she noticed how the boy seemed to pause between movements. It was an odd fighting style. Why does he do that?

She waited patiently for his response. He was keeping his own against the enemy, so just butting in without permission seemed a bit rude of her. So for now, she was on the sidelines, showing him she was ready to be called in if he wanted the aid.

[Leo Forsythe]

With the shadow taking another swipe at Leo before returning to it's spot all Leo could do, as always, was take the brunt of the attack. Looking over to one of the entrances to the lot and seeing the approaching group, he turned his head slightly confused. "Hey how are you moving right now?" He asked, letting his pose drop, it's not like the shadow could attack him, it wasn't it's turn.

"I'm still stuck like this, so how are you moving normally?!" He asked, more annoyed and confused this time. It can't have been that the curse over the town had been lifted, he was still turn based, if it was lifted he should be free too. Looking back to the shadow, he let out a long sigh before running up and swiping at it once more, leaping back into place like before.

This wasn't his town, they didn't follow the rules of his town, but this shadow at least followed the rules of the town. This just couldn't be! And with that thought the Shadow ducked into the ground and stayed there, leaving Leo with a free turn to prepare for it's next attack.

[Marmadue]

The trip back had not been very easy for Marmadue. While his nerves were better under control, that mostly was because he was too preoccupied with carrying Asuka. The girl was too injured to walk, too injured to always be aware of what was even happening around her, forcing the Yuke to carry her in his arms. Which was easier said than done, never having been particularly athletic. Luckily Asuka was small in size, but even that meager amount of weight was enough for his even more meager muscles to object! They burned and ached, but Marmadue was just going to have to force himself through it, squeezing the girl against him to try to make the journey back as stable as he could make it.

He never was very fast, but now he was lagging behind more than usual. He was winded, his breathing getting louder as he gasped for air. Right now, his senses were of no use, forcing him to instead rely on Era and Lorena's. While normally Marmadue would have been quite cautious when he heard Era mention that she had heard something, right now all he could do was weakly follow her and try to keep up, wheezing on the way.

He was many paces behind before he caught up, and surely quite the sad sight as he finally could stop and try to catch his breath, his feathers sopping wet and reeking of that ripe scent of diluted sewer water. They had been to the sandlot before, and surely no one would have left their hiding place… Yet once the Yuke's sight started to get less blurry, he could see the shape of a person. A… New person, he was quite sure, as he gasped for air. And a monster! A small one, luckily, but a monster nonetheless!

Marmadue was unable to form words for a while, his voice reduced to wheezing, but… The scene of the battle was definitely odd. The motions were off and the flow was very stilted. The young boy and the Heartless both looked like they were stuck – until they weren't, before they became stuck again. But they weren't stopped.
"M-Miss Era," the Yuke gasped and coughed,
"Mayhaps… Distance should be kept," he continued, with a warning. Could that same strangeness affect Era too, if she got close? Could she make use of it by staying further away?

He was going to give it a try. Adjusting Asuka slightly to try to free a hand, Marmadue started to cast a protective spell on the young boy, something to protect him from the monster's claws.

[Era]

The boy seemed to be holding his own just fine against the assaulting shadow. That being the case, Era chose not to intervene. She had heard Marmadue’s worrisome warning and took that into account, although the situation didn’t appear to be innately dangerous... not to her anyway.

The boy had asked how she was moving? “How are you not?” A soft blink from the girl. It really was strange how he was locked in battle with the heartless. “I thought it was normal for everyone to battle with free action but I guess that just means I was wrong...”
What a peculiar situation to be in...

Marmadue’s condition had also not gone without notice, and she glanced back to see how he was holding up.

[Leo Forsythe]

"What do you mean how am I not? Do you not know about the curse?!?" Leo said, once more dropping his fighting pose to look over at the group, "And what is that!" Leo yelled out pointing at the Yuke that had entered the lot carrying someone. Watching it reposition the girl in his hands to start casting a spell, Leo was immediately on guard again.

Shaking his head to focus back on the shadow, he turned around and unfurled the umbrella, crouching down and getting under it, he got ready for the incoming attack by guarding. Though to outsiders, they might've just noticed that Leo was using an entirely normal umbrella to fight, and more than that, he is guarding the same way someone might protect themselves from rain.

With his turn taken all Leo could do was stay ducked down and guarding while the Shadow leaped out of the ground and towards him. Slashing at the polyester of the Umbrella, the shadow couldn't get through it at all. However even though the umbrella didn't take any noticeable damage, Leo still let out a grunt of pain, did he get hit while guarding? "I just need to finish this off, and then I can head on back and save Colridge, this is just a special enemy, I know it." He told himself before standing up again.

Presenting his umbrella into the air, "Absorb!" he yelled out, a glow from the tip of the umbrella as water in the area started to float up into the air and head to the tip of the umbrella. A small orb starting to grow from it, now it was the Shadow's turn.

[Marmadue]

Marmadue gave Era a look, rather confused by the whole situation himself as he started to work his magic. A curse did not sound good – and honestly, the fact that there currently was a battle happening right in front of them where one of the participants was a young boy who did not seem like a trained warrior also did not sound good, but the absurdity of the situation was preventing him from worrying for their safety. A battle that was slow and deliberate did not seem as dangerous as one where action was happening all the time, everywhere! Yet both sides were still taking damage. He had no idea what to think!

The Yuke had originally gotten quite the many stares when he arrived in Twilight Town, but by now it was rather rare and it wasn't the first thing he thought of when the boy exclaimed his shock. Marmadue looked down into his arms at the injured girl he cradled, covered in sewer water just like him.
"…An injured one," came his response, now much less wheezy after managing to catch his breath. Somewhat. His chest was still clearly doing a lot of work.

But what he wasn't entirely sure about was whether or not his magic was working on the young boy…

[Era]

"Afraid I don't know about the curse you're talking about. You would probably be hard-pressed to find someone around her who knows about that, but we have several survivors... so maybe." Had something befallen this guy's home world? He mentioned another name that seemed like it should be a city or town: it also was unfamiliar to her. However explaining where he ended up would probably be easier once he was out of battle. That turn-based thing was just related to battle, right? Or is he always like that?

After a moment of standing awkwardly, being still unsure whether she should step into the battle or not, Era realized that there were likely better ways to use their resources.

She could still see Marmadue was winded, and honestly, maybe it would be better to reallocate.

The light in her palms died down, the last of the swirling glow glittering as it dissipated up her forearms. In a few easy paces she was back to Marmadue. "Would you like to trade off? If I take Asuka, you could focus on him." Era, after all, was not very well versed in any healing or protective magic. In her own mind, distance meant the rules wouldn't effect Marmadue: whether that was correct or just an assumption had yet to be measured.

[Leo Forsythe]

Leo continued to hold his Umbrella up, charging up his spell. Before either the Shadow or he could act however, a blue ring appeared out of nowhere, circling upwards around Leo before changing shape into a shield. "A defense spell? Was that yours?" Leo said, looking over at the Yuke in slight confusion.

Finally the shadow's turn, it charged forward, scratching at Leo, before hopping back into it's spot. "Alright, that's it!" Leo said, the ball of water on his umbrella fully completed, "Time to end this!" He said, an orange aura appearing around him before he jumped into the air, twisting and flipping expertly before landing in front of the shadow. Slamming the umbrella down on it just after the ball of water on the tip exploding over the shadow.

With that the battle was over, a small text box appearing before Leo displaying the munny and EXP he gained. "Munny, that's, that's definitely spelled wrong, and it's dollars anyhow." he said, before tapping the box. The box disappeared in a slight plink sound. The ring that had appeared around the battle now disappearing as Leo walked towards the group. "I just finished the battle, and I'm still not back, where am I?"[/i] he said, annoyed.

[Marmadue]

Marmadue indicated to Era that he had never heard of such before, either – nor had he heard of anyone who had experienced anything similar, but not everyone wanted to talk of their past lives. It was a sore subject for many, so it was better to not dig. The newcomer's situation was strange indeed, and he had some doubts about whether or not they could actually affect anything that was currently stuck in this curse, the flow of his magic feeling a bit strange… But it went through, enveloping the boy with protective magic. It even made him comment, questioning about the shield. The Yuke's hand was still glowing as he continued on keeping the spell up, giving a small nod.
"Ah, yes, that is… That is correct."

It was no wonder casting spells was difficult! He was winded and tired, and trying to make sure he kept his hand away from Asuka just in case she could have further reactions while also trying to hold onto her was not an easy task. Era offering to help was what he needed right now… Even if Marmadue felt a bit bad forcing her to exert herself as well.
"Ah… That would be… Excellent, Miss Era. If it is not too… Ah… Inconvenient," he replied, helping Era how he could in moving Asuka down.

And even better, the boy could handle a Heartless on his own. Marmadue could just focus on resting for a bit, the magic dying down as he allowed himself to stop focusing on it. He rubbed his sore arms and rolled his shoulders, even straightened his back with a few pops. Oh how glad he was that there wasn't too much more distance they had to cover…
"Ah," the Yuke was a bit apprehensive once the newcomer approached them and started asking the usual questions, looking down at Era. It was always difficult to explain. At least the boy could move normally now!
"It is currently not very safe here, young sir. It is of utmost importance to make, ah, a hasty retreat back to the shelter," he started, but… He didn't seem like he was in a rush to go anywhere, taking the moment to enjoy the lack of weight he had to carry,
"You… Seem to have just made your arrival, yes? There is the possibility you might be ah, stuck here for the time being, as us all. Might you be, ah, injured?"

[Era]

Era turned around so that Marmadue could place Asuka on her back. It would be easier for her to travel further this way.

As for broaching the subject of this guy's arrival to Twilight Town, Marmadue seemed to be doing well at introducing the issue. She nodded in soft affirmation at his statement. Her mind wandered forward while they idled in the Sand Lot. Did they have any other doctors that she knew about? Era had very basic first aid skills, nothing advanced. She remembered the medic she'd been working with when the Nightfall first happened, but had she seen anyone from the infirmary since they evacuated to their safer location...

Then her gaze turned back to Leo. "You wouldn't happen to be a medic by chance, would you?"

[Leo Forsythe]

"Not safe? What do you mean by that? Is there some monsters around?" Leo asked, looking around the plaza for any other monsters that he might recognize, "And what do you mean by stuck? I gotta get back to the dungeon, how long am I gonna be 'stuck' here?" He asked, not fully realizing the predicament that he was in. "And no, I'm not really injured, my HP's down but that's not really something to go to the Hospital about, I'll just need some food and I'll be good, maybe a glass of Lemonade?" He said, questioning himself at the end as he leaned on the Umbrella casually.

"Medic? No, I don't know have any healing skills, just combat ones." he said while shaking his head at Era, "Don't even have Status abilities, just generally whacking with an umbrella." Looking back to Marmadue he tilted his head, "You uh, what are you?" Leo asked, having not gotten an answer when he asked earlier, though he had been in combat then.

[Marmadue]

"Ah, yes. U-Unfortunately, there are copious amounts of dangerous beasts roaming this forsaken town – much larger in size than the one you ah, already happened to meet, young sir," Marmadue explained – the boy got it right on his first try, so perhaps he had connected the appearance of one monster with the presence of others already. He rubbed the back of his head when the topic of being stuck came to the forefront, however, glancing in Era's direction. He never wanted to say that return was impossible… Especially when he didn't want to believe in such himself!
"Ah… I fear it may possibly be a long time, unless… Unless the two will find a way," the Yuke looked down. He didn't even know if he should keep his hopes up about their situation changing, but he wanted to believe that Lea and Xion could do something to help them all. He didn't really have an answer, giving a small shake of his head.

But if his words were confusing, they certainly were no match for the young newcomer's! Marmadue didn't quite understand everything that seemed to be completely normal to the boy, even looking in Era's direction to see if she perhaps understood these aitchpees, or whatever they were. And he was quite certain they had no lemons…
"I-I see, ah, yes. Unfortunate," the Yuke mumbled, perhaps to himself. Asuka could have used someone who wasn't only good at magical healing, but they would just have to do what they could…

But he did raise his gaze from his feet when a question was asked, about… Him. Marmadue tilted his head.
"A-Ah, yes. Pardon me. I would be ah, a Yuke. I realize we have failed to make ah, proper introductions. I am called Marmadue – I am certain the circumstances for our meeting could be more pleasurable, but let us make do."

[Era]

She had been listening to what Leo said, although some of the things he mentioned didn't make much sense to her either. At Marmadue's subtle gesture, she returned with a puzzled expression and a big of a shrug of her shoulders.

Era also began moving while the conversation ensued, fairly sure that the others would be close behind. Perhaps it wasn't too unfortunate, there was one survivor she'd remembered who had a better medical knowledge; she'd remembered working with him briefly, but hadn't remembered if he'd decided to join them when they moved the sanctuary.

Her attention shifted back to the others after a few seconds. Ah, yes. On the topic of introductions... she was fairly sure it was her turn to go next. "And I'm Era." It was short and sweet, but it didn't really need to be more than that.

[Leo Forsythe]

"Bigger than that one? So it's not just a special battle..." Leo said, sighing as he looked around the town. He had to wonder why it was so dreary around here, but how the Yuke spoke about it made it seem like it was always like. "I'm gonna be stuck for awhile then, who are these two?" He asked, noticing Era starting to walk away from the conversation, Leo starting to walk himself to keep up, sheathing his umbrella onto his pants seemingly.

"Oh uh yeah, I'm Leo," He said, taking a hand out to shake the Yuke's. "Sorry I got a little bit annoyed back there, it's been a bit since I've been able to actually move normally in battle, so it was a bit surprising." He said continuing to walk with the group. "Uh, anyway, where are we going?"