high_seas | The Day o' Davy Jones

Oh wonderful. This just kept attracting more people.

"It is probably safe," Celestia said, before she tucked her own massive wings tight around her, then plunged into the water without hesitation.

Zoro looked at the water, contemplating. He didn't have a problem taking a swim either, and he could fight as easily underwater as he could on land, but Celestia's power and Lyrik's very existence were good reasons to let them handle it unless they called for help.

Meanwhile, he turned to this winged guy sitting by the water. Zoro didn't know him, he'd never seen him, but he didn't resemble any of the nightmare beasts he'd been fighting all day.

"What's up with you?" he wondered bluntly.

I wouldn't be so sure.

[he responded to Celestia without standing up. But as soon as she turned her back to dive in, he hurled an explosive fireball of black fire, which can burn and boil even water, at it. It'd impact just before she hit the water if she didn't do anything about it]

[he then stood up, glancing at Zoro disdainfully] what's up with me? Get in my way and you'll find out.

[he opened his paw to summon a wicked-looking weapon surrounded by some strange black magic that seemed to devour the light out of the air around it]

((Ooc: For organization sake were you guys wanting to adhere to a posting order or just wing it?))

Edited 2015-09-02 17:20 (UTC)

     Lyrik had been about to shout at Celestia to wait before the other figure cast some sort of spell. The young dragon yelped, staring a moment before he looked at catlike being.

     "What is your problem?!" he sputtered. Was this guy one of Davy Jones' minions?

     Since Zoro was addressing the guy, Lyrik turned his attention back towards the water, moving his hand. The water leaped up and gathered into a sphere to contain the black flames, and the boy flung it away from them, watching the hot water run off the walls.

Thank you, Lyrik! Celestia's bright form vanished into the water with a flick of her iridescent tail. Leaving friends behind to fight battles for her was not something she liked at all, but... well, in Zoro's case at least, she didn't doubt he'd prefer such a battle to coming for the crystal with him

Seeing that Celestia had gone ahead, Lyrik looked back to the other two before nodding. He knew Zoro could cover things. Hopefully there wasn't anything underwater like the last time, but the dragon wasn't about to leave a girl alone!

"Please try not to kill him, Zoro!" he said before turning to dive into the water after the winged pony, swimming quickly to catch up. It was so dark and it made him wish he had one of the Light Dragon's light orbs, but at least he could follow Celestia and that red glow, eerie as it was.

The Princess surged out of the water on the far end of the swim, gasping for breath as she stuck her head back into the air once again. Dripping and sodden, her wings plastered to her body and her mane and tail dragging, bedraggled, on the floor, she was as far from a picture of royalty as could be.

Unsteady on her hooves from a lack of air, she stumbled forward, he gaze fixed on the heart that pulsed before her. The very air hung thick with inimical power, pressing against her like it wanted to consume her. Maybe it did. The shards could corrupt and be corrupted.

Perhaps they could also be purified.

Celestia parted her lips, seeking for her voice, but for a moment it failed her. But she was a Princess, an alicorn... a Straw Hat, and there were people relying on her.

Softly, against the darkness, she began to sing.

Sometimes I lose the spark...
Living in the dark...
How I wish my song could be a sign.

The tip of her horn began to glow with sunlight as she found her center and her strength. Lifting her head, the alicorn put more strength into her words.

Sing it like a bird.
Sunlight in my words.
Learn to sing the golden sun to shine.

Shine on, shine on me.
Shine on, shine on me.

     Lyrik was more impressed that something so gangly can swim so quickly. If he'd known that she hadn't the ability to use magic to help her swim, he would have lent her his power. It wasn't obvious to him that she'd been holding her breath until he came up after her, seeing her gasping.

     "Uwah, you must have amazing lungs, Celestia..!" he couldn't help but sputter.

     She certainly had a one track mind though, already focusing on the source of that eerie red glow. Lyrik was surprised they hadn't even paused to take a look at it, but if this thing was just a gigantic version of the rest that they held- he glanced at the smaller ones he had on him, one still thrumming anxiously- then maybe they worked the same way?

As Celestia sings, the water around them will start to bubble and churn ominously. The pulsing red light seems to flicker for a moment, and the thumping sound stutters along with it before it picks up again in tempo, growing louder as the song continues.

The shard inside the heart starts to glow, matching Celestia's horn, and it almost seems to be vibrating from within its place in Davy Jones heart. Waves crash against the small bit of rocky ground they're standing on and as the crescendo in Celestia's song reaches its climax, the shard rips free of the heart, zooming toward the pair before slamming to a halt in midair and hovering innocently in front of them, pulsing gently—

And then the water in the cave explodes around them.

The heart left behind shudders angrily as a screeching sound bursts from it, then it crumples in on itself, shriveling and turning black, eventually crumbling until there's nothing but dust left.

Around them, the sea will quickly rise as the cave fills up. The walls rumble and shake, and the path back up to the forest quickly becomes blocked as the ceiling starts to rain debris.

You have two options...

Either you drown.

Or you escape the cave through the gaping mouth that leads to the open sea.

Better hurry up.

Above them, the battle with Davy Jones rages on -- but, for a moment, Jones will lurch forward and collapse as though someone dealt him a particularly heavy blow. It's not his attackers, though, but rather a keenly felt sense of something very wrong happening. A cold feeling of dread that lances his chest, settling in the empty spot where his heart should have been. The heart that no longer exists... That has been destroyed by the very outsiders that he himself called upon to aid him in returning it to his rightful place through the blasted Piedra Roja.

Lucky for him, at least, that Cat provided him with this body to work with. This vessel that seems yet unwilling to give up.

Will an almighty bellow, he'll charge back into the fight, but it's different now. More will be able to land a hit, and the damage will be felt. Davy Jones is weakened, and now is the time to finish what's been started.

But, as with all injured things, he will lash out more viciously now. Dangerously. And he will be desperate to get his hands on the one thing that will finally, finally still be able to restore him and make him whole.

"Lyrik, hop on!" Seizing the shard with her magic, Celestia spread her wings in a shower of water. A rainbow formed around her in the mist, the light of her magic refracted. The music still thrummed in the air around them as she turned to the great cave opening.

Throwing his hands over his ears at the horrible sound the heart emits, Lyrik watched as Celestia was able to grab the shard from its place. He gulped as the water began to surge behind them, seeping about his feet.

He didn't put up much of an argument at the pony's order, running over to leap onto her back. "I'll take care of the water!" he told her, the air shimmering about them as the water would be kept away from them even once it filled the cavern.

As Lyrik deflected the magic and Celestia dove in, Zoro's focus zeroed in on the interloper. Whose crew was he from? Was he one of the monsters after all? That sword certainly had his attention, and his lips curling in a smirk as he drew Wadou Ichimonji and placed it between his teeth.

"Sounds like a deal to me. I'll be your opponent."

All the better to let the others get away, and do their thing. Zoro did not hesitate, springing from his place and slashing with all three swords, one after the other, to drive the winged stranger from the cave and away from his crewmates.

[Venour gave a snarl of irritation as he was prevented from going after Lyrik or Celestia by this unusual swordsman. He found his technique of using a sword in his mouth almost comical, yet he couldn't deny its effectiveness as he struggled to block all of the incoming blows with his black-glowing pole arm in this tight space. He couldn't use his wings here, either. He'd have to get out of the cave to fight this guy effectively....which meant the other two would get far ahead]

You'll pay for being a pain in my tail! [he growled as he swept a paw at Zoro, black fire blasting from it towards the warrior's face to back him up. When the fire cleared he'd see Venour's tail end as he ran to get out of the cave]

Zoro shifted to place all three swords in a joined block, letting the black energy hit and then deflect away to the side. It was a suitable distraction, he was still poised that way when his opponent fled. Zoro didn't usually pursue cowards who decided to run, but he had a strong feeling that this guy wasn't going very far. That, and he couldn't let him try some kind of sneaky strategy to get around him and chase after Celestia and Lyrik. So he ran after the winged guy, swords held low and ready in case he was ambushed just outside the cave.

[Zoro's instincts proved to be correct. Venour did stay close and did try to ambush him as soon as he emerged from the cave. He'd find the spear end of Venour's weapon thrusting at his side as soon as the malevolent cat had a clear shot at it]

A ping against his haki sense warned Zoro in time not to take a spear through the ribs, though the blade did rip through the loose front of his shirt as he jerked to the side to evade it. His boots skidded across the dirt until they found purchase, while he slashed downward at the weapon to deflect it out of the way and give himself an opening to charge the wielder.

His focus turned laser-sharp, his good eye following the movement in the dim green fog and his haki on high alert as he went back on the attack, bringing the two swords in his hands into a parallel position and swinging outward, from the side, in a Nigiri Hirameki. Whether or not it hit, he was already moving into the next move, bringing the parallel swords around to slash again in a diagonal Samon.

[his deflection knocked the spearhead aside, but the other more dangerous head now swing around towards Zoro. It ended up being blocked by his intended horizontal attack. Venour was slightly surprised by the speed of Zoro's follow up attack, though. He might not have Haki exactly, but he was a dedicated warrior who had spent much of his life in battle and training and had highly honed senses. Thanks to that he back flipped just in time to avoid being hacked apart by the Samon]

[he beat his wings to hover about fifteen feet in the air, glancing down as he felt a sting on his chest. There were two diagonal hairline lacerations trickling blood. He gave a disturbing grin]

Well you might be an annoying obstacle, but you're going to be fun.

"Fun, eh?"

Zoro smirked in spite of himself around the hilt in his mouth, but even when he was enjoying a fight, he still had his focus. He knew what he needed to do, and wouldn't stop until one of them was down. Preferably not himself, since he was there to protect his crew until they could complete their task.

An opponent in the air was no trouble to him at all. He twisted his torso and curled his arms over his shoulder, positioning the three blades in a spiral, and then spun outward all at once, flinging a swirling, spiraling, flying slash of cutting air toward his foe, warning as he did: "108 Pound Cannon!"

It wasn't at max strength, yet. Next time, it would be.

[at the sight of such a terrific attack, Venour laughed. He could dodge before it was unleashed, but he wanted the exhilaration of matching his power against it. It had been some time since he'd fought against an opponent like this]

[flapping his wings rapidly, he rose as he gathered black fire in his paws, condensed and explosive. He spun in the air, releasing the fire around him in a circle that exploded outward as it was hit by Zoro's attack. The collision of the attacks was violent enough to vibrate the air and cause a small shockwave, kicking dust and dead leaves up on the ground below]

[Before the dust had settled, Venour's weapon came at Zoro from its obscuring haze. He was rapidly attacking at close range, first with one end of his weapon and then the other, occasionally throwing a punch or kick through as well as he wound up for a more powerful slash. The smell of blood was in the air though, and perhaps Zoro's quick eyes would perceive the feline hadn't totally avoided damage from his last attack. His wings and legs were bleeding a bit]

Taking his hits head-on was usually a sign of either great competence or great foolishness, and it was impossible for Zoro to tell which it was until after the battle was over. He pressed in hard and fast even as the dust cleared, meeting that attack with his own strikes and slashes, parrying rather than blocking. He moved easily in sequence, one-two-three, gauging his enemy's strength level before ramping it up again. He broke his own rhythm with a step to the side, changing the momentum that quickly so he could change the direction of his block and set himself up for a bigger move.

Two swords were out to the side, giving Zoro room to twist himself again, but in a completely different stance, arcing them over his back and perpendicular to the one in his mouth. He charged, cutting through his own path and bringing the swords over and down all at once in a Tora Gari.

[Venour showed his experience with how fluidly and naturally he seemed to move while fighting. He used the motion of each parry to bring another attack around without missing a beat. He didn't seem caught off guard when Zoro changed things up either, rolling into another attack]

[his attack ended up functioning as a block at first however, as he brought the halberd-like head of his weapon up against Zoro's descending Tora Gari. He was impressed by the swordsman's sheer physical strength, which he had to acknowledge exceeded his own. His weapon was smacked down to the ground but he stepped back to avoid the force hitting him directly, quickly gathering explosive black fire in his paws for a close up double-palm attack at Zoro's chest right after his swords swept down and past]

[after his attack there was some loud noise and commotion in the direction of the cave. Wether it landed or not he'd back off a moment, using his wings to make a suitable gap between him and his opponent as he glanced that way and saw the cave crumbling]

Uh-oh, aren't your friends in there? Pity...[he gave a mocking smirk as some far off roar reached his ears as well and he wondered if it had come from that huge apparition he'd seen in the mists in town before coming here]

Zoro kept powering through, dropping into a crouch on the other side to evade the flame (if only he had learned how to cut fire by now!) and then whirling around to send another flying slash at the wingy guy - a whole tornado of them, a Tatsumaki spinning across the ground and slicing anything in its path. But that left him stationed on the other side of the clearing, with Venour between him and the cave mouth.

Zoro's brow furrowed for the briefest moment before his expression eased out, not quite a smile but not worried. "They're not weak," he grunted, "they can look after themselves." And with that he charged again, not wasting any more time or momentum. Sure, they could take care of themselves, but he would go and check anyway. Three blades criss-crossed, he spun as he moved, forward, and then through the path, not stopping until he was back on the other side of Venour. "Crossing the Six Paths!"

Six simultaneous slashes. Rokudo No Tsuji was a finishing move, and with all the power in his arms, Zoro could at least trust that it would slow his enemy down long enough for him to check on the cave.

[he was still at close range when Zoro sent his tornado of flying slashes, and this time he blocked them with a magic of his own that had a similar effect- sharp blades of dark wind generated from his claws as he scratched at the attacks coming at him]

That confident in them, are you? Then I don't suppose you're intending to run off and check up on them or help them the first chance you get. [it was a technique of Venour's to get into the head and under the skin of more mentally weak opponents to psyche them out, but he didn't expect it to work here so he didn't go very far with it]

[Venour was impressed by Zoro's next move, sure that he must have used it to finish many foes...but he was truly underestimating the cat if the swordsman thought it would bring him down. Still, Venour had enough time by now to gauge Zoro's strength and speed and know that he did not want to try to block that. So with a sense of urgency, he performed a shadow teleportation, a potentially tiring magic he was not a master of]

[he used the magic to reappear in the shadows of the nearby trees, from where he calmed himself long enough to sense his goal, that pulsing magic he was after, had left the area... meaning he had little reason to stay here and fight anymore. In fact he should probably check on his crew. Not that he was very loyal to them all, but there happened to be one he'd prefer not to die]

Looks like that's all the time we have to play today... I'll leave you to pick through the cave's rubble so you can find the crushed remains of your friends.

[with that, he made to fly off in the direction of town]

Dammit, teleporting was no fair! Zoro could tell that his blades did not make contact with anything, but as he planted his feet and twisted to go and finish this off, he heard the call from the trees and looked up to see the winged silhouette against the sky.

Well, then. He had bought his crewmates time. Maybe it was enough. He sheathed two but kept Shuusui out as he ran back toward the cave to make sure.

The Day o' Davy Jones

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

fight thread here

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject