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

[mountain_sage]

Having learned of the events of Cyrus's disappearance and the subsequent rescue mission, Saleh headed for the Coliseum as quickly as he could. While he didn't know Frog or Cyrus, he had spoken briefly with Hades, who hadn't really earned his approval. Perhaps the kidnapping didn't concern him directly, but how can he just stand by knowing that someone was in trouble?

When he arrived at the Coliseum, Saleh quickly entered to catch up with Frog.

"Hey...I hope I'm not too late."

[skyboundknight]

Kain had been waiting for something like this to happen. Maybe he even wanted for some sort of rescue party to come along so that he could have the satisfaction of beating them up. This side of him was even more prone to violence than usual, after all, wanted to taunt and destroy his enemies at all costs.

So as soon as he saw the rescuers approaching, a cruel expression came across his face. He grabbed his spear and headed off to face them.

"It took long enough."

[rebornaninsect]

Golbez stood some distance behind Kain, and did not move forward to block the intended rescuers the way the dragoon did, though he rested his attention on them. He remained silent through both Kain's words and Hades' statement and heckling. Only when they had finished speaking did he step forward, lightning crackling around his hands.

"Do you believe you can rescue your friend?" He said, staring directly at Frog.

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

[mountain_sage]

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

[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