returning to the underworld

[swornoath]

WHO: Frog, Hades' minions (Kain, Golbez, anyone else?), and anyone who wants to accompany Frog. He won't say no to any help he can get.
LOCATION: Olympus Coliseum
TIME: Some time after this post.
WHAT: Frog has an inkling who might be responsible for Cyrus' disappearance. Before he can reach Hades, however, he's confronted by two of his followers

Comments

keeping all this in one thread to avoid any confusion!

[swornoath]

Frog didn't so much as glance behind him as Saleh arrived; his attention was focused solely on his enemies ahead. "As do I," he said, with no small amount of bitterness. Hopefully neither were too late to save him.

As Kain appeared, Frog was surprised. The dragoon's intent was plain to see, and yet... Frog had expected better of a knight, if not of someone like Golbez. It seemed many people in these other worlds were truly not what they seemed. "Are these your followers, Hades?" he croaked in response to the heckling, Masamune in hand as he stared down his enemies. "You've a shameless notion of revenge. Cyrus had no involvement in the deal!"

At Golbez's question, Frog raised his sword. "Yes." The sight was almost comical -- a frog thinking he could fight an enemy covered in armour, and at least four times his height. For ten years, Cyrus' death has been his greatest regret, and his own cowardice and inaction had been part of its cause. He never allowed himself to fear an enemy ever again, and that would not change now. His appearance simply worked in his favour when his enemies underestimated him.

Tensed and ready to avoid any incoming attacks, he responded, "Go now, and I will permit you to leave unharmed. My quarrel is solely with Hades."

[mountain_sage]

Saleh nodded towards Frog as they started to proceed, but stopped when Kain appeared. "It's you..." he muttered softly.

He had no response for Golbez's taunt. He recognized both Kain and Golbez, though he did not know them by name. "They've surrendered themselves to darkness," he warned.

Kain had outright admitted to the belief that darkness was far stronger than the light. Golbez was less obvious, but Saleh had picked up on his statements suggesting that he had given up as well. But if they had surrendered to darkness and were now following Hades, did Hades have some sort of connection with the darkness itself? It was something he would have to ask once all of this is over. For now, he needed to concentrate. Fighting off both Kain and Golbez would be no easy task, and who knew what awaited them in the Underworld?

Saleh glanced around as he heard Hades' voice, but ignored the taunts as he restored his attention to the foes in front of him. He gripped his staff, ready to move or defend if necessary. One thing was certain; he wasn't going to make the first move.

[skyboundknight]

Kain eyed both of them. His contemptuous glare was hidden behind his helmet, but the sneering could well be seen. He felt that he could take these fools down without any trouble. "You're both weak, relying on the light... I'll show you the true power of darkness!"

He gave a glance at Golbez, and a gesture indicating his intent to start this. Kain had been looking forward to such an opportunity, after all. So he sprang up into the air into a Jump, soaring down toward the enemies, targeting Saleh.

[oxidating]

Kain and Golbez were not the only people working for Hades. There was a third - the one who took Cyrus - and she was in the shadow of the bleachers, unflinching, lying in wait to make her move. Whether it was for stepping in whenever the other two failed to stop the frog they didn't exactly do a great job ejecting her from the Underworld, after all, or to launch attacks on his unsuspecting allies. She could really go any way and enjoy it.

For now, she just watched, amused at the spectacle. And she was dead silent, so as not to spoil the surprise.

[mountain_sage]

Saleh tensed up as well as Kain launched himself into the air. He kept his eyes locked on the dragoon, trying to pinpoint the angle at which he was attacking...until he realized that Kain was coming down right at him. Saleh quickly dashed to the left several feet to avoid the blow, and then turned to face Kain again. He still refrained from attacking, as he was mainly here to provide support for Frog. He also wanted to observe what both Frog and his opponents were capable of before making a reckless move.

[swornoath]

Frog watched as Kain took to the air. So the knight was capable of jumping as high as Frog could? Saleh did not seem to be any kind of melee combatant, so he needed to get Kain away from him before he could land a hit.

So Frog dragged him away -- quite literally. Like he was snagging a fly, and not a man in armour, his tongue whipped out to grab one of Kain's legs, and pulled him towards Frog with surprising speed. When the dragoon was close enough, Frog released him and aimed a sword thrust at Kain's side.

Cheating, maybe, but hey, when you're a frog, you need to play to your strengths! But against a larger and heavier enemy like Golbez, the Tech would be useless.

[skyboundknight]

Did he really just use his... his tongue? Ugh. Distasteful. But before Kain could make a snide remark on that, he was yanked roughly toward the amphibian. He made an effort to pull away and avoid a blow that would have ended it entirely- but he still came away taking a pretty bad hit.

"Pitiful, that you must resort to such tactics. I suggest you go back to the swamp you crawled out of."

He was starting to imagine severing that tongue of his, but for now he had to try something else. Kain focused and unleashed Cyclone on Frog, sending a strong blast of wind at him.

[rebornaninsect]

Golbez did nothing to come to Kain's aid when Frog snagged the dragoon out of the air. If Kain couldn't take care of himself, then he wasn't worth the time being spent rescuing him. Kain had to prove himself as a minion- that was the way things had always been. That hasn't changed just because they're on a new world.

So instead of directing his attention toward Kain and Frog, Golbez turned instead toward Saleh. The robes and lack of any sort of blade indicated some sort of arcane support, one that would best be taken care of quickly. He cast Thundaga, sending the lightning bolts toward Saleh- hopefully before either of the two heroes could react.

[mountain_sage]

Saleh had been busy watching the battle between Kain and Frog, he didn't see the Thundaga spell from Golbez until the very last split second...which, unfortunately, was not enough time to avoid it. The lightning bolts coursed through his body, sending the sage flying a good ten feet away, crashing roughly on the ground.

Thankfully, his magic resistance allowed him to recover quickly from the attack. Picking himself up, he glanced at Kain and Frog once again. The two seemed to be deeply locked in battle, so Saleh would concentrate on dealing with Golbez for now. He stepped towards the large armored figure, stopping at an optimal distance to cast his spell. Finally, Saleh brought out his fiery red tome and cast his Elfire spell...

[swornoath]

Frog didn't bother to dignify the taunt with a retort -- there wasn't an insult he hadn't once heard already. He tried to leap out of the way of the gust, but it still caught and hurled him through the air. He landed hard, but like Saleh, got quickly back to his feet.

Once Saleh had cast his Elfire spell, Frog followed it up by casting a Water II spell. It sent a huge deluge of water crashing down on both Kain and Golbez, but would leave Frog and Saleh unharmed.

[skyboundknight]

The Water struck harshly, throwing Kain completely off his feet. He managed to hold his breath enough to get through the watery onslaught, at least. He also made sure to force himself back onto his feet once it was over. He'd not want to appear weak in front of Golbez. But he was clearly very shaken up by the attack.

Hmmph. It was clearly time to show these fools just what the Darkness was capable of. Kain took up into a Jump, but this time, as he soared into the air he glanced around, focusing on the Heartless he could see up there. Naturally, those of the air always seemed to have the best affinity for him.

This time, as Kain came down, spear focused on Frog, he was followed by two Air Soldiers and a Tornado Step. Kain focused, just as he'd been practicing since learning from Hades... He commanded the Soldiers back up and out of the way for the moment, first letting the Tornado Step take a Propeller Charge at Frog. Then he let the Soldiers in to swipe at him. This would give him time to recover for the moment... and hopefully impress Golbez.