15th Key Smash

[dork_of_keys]

[Sora is sitting on his bed, not really doing much of anything when he turns the communicator on. Sitting on the bed next to him is Toxy. The Toxiander is looking at something off to the side. A pair of eyes peeks over the side of the bed. They're the eyes of an Escarglow if anyone is familiar with them. Toxy seems a bit wary of the snail. Sora just watches for a moment.]

I'm pretty sure it was an accident Toxy. You did kind of startle him.

[Toxy makes a noise. He's obviously whining and any other Spirits watching at least will understand that Toxy is griping about having had Stop cast on him after startling the new Spirit shortly after it was made. For its part, the Snail Spirit does seem apologetic.

Sora leans over the side of the bed and pulls the snail up. Shortly after the Spirit is up on the bed, the top petals of a Wheeflower wander into view. The flower doesn't wait for an invitation and hops up onto the bed. It seems to think the snail's reaction was justified and at least it used a spell that doesn't do any damage right? Toxy crawls into Sora's lap, clearly pouting. The snail really is sorry and it says so.]

Come on, you guys, accidents happen.

[Toxy sniffs at the snail. The snail... doesn't sniff back, seeing as it doesn't exactly have a nose, but it looks closer at Toxy. Which looks weird since its eyes are on stalks and it doesn't really have to move its face any closer.

Sora turns and looks at the communicator. He doesn't seem surprised that it's on, but he doesn't say anything right away. Instead he turns back to the Spirits.]

Are we cool?

[The snail offers another apology to Toxy. The Toximander seems to accept it.

Now Sora addresses the communicator. His Spirits settle on their own conversation, mostly about what just happened.]

So uh... heh, this wasn't what I was posting about but it kind of happened. [he makes the vague gesture to indicate the Spirits, who are now thoroughly occupied with their conversation, even if Toxy is still in his lap.] Uh, anyway, I wanted to ask a bit of help on something to try to deal with that monster on the ship. I... kind of went there a couple days ago to try something, but... it didn't exactly work out. It might with better planning though?

Uh, we know it's fast, and invisible. What I was doing the other day was a little stupid among other things, but...I was going around the ship casting magic around, more or less at random. I figured if the monster didn't have any idea it was coming, it couldn't avoid it or anything and maybe I could at least do something to make it visible. And almost zapped someone else. Sorry about that, by the way...

But we got to talking. The spells I was using were mostly damaging area spells and Slow and Stop. So what I wanted to ask is who else knows any of these spells? Or has Spirits that know them? Haste would be useful too. I don't know it, but I know some Spirits do. And I don't know if we want to meet up and try to do some planning or what, but maybe it might help to know who can do what?

Comments

[skysmirror]

[Xion's thoughts on Sora going off by himself are probably clear from her expression. Original, what is she going to do with you?]

I don't know Slow or Stop, but I do know Thunder.

[dork_of_keys]

[He sees that look and he at least has the decency to look sheepish. Maybe he should have starting talking about the plan without mentioning that he'd gone alone? Actually, if he'd done that, what was to stop Edge or Carolina from telling, even though they'd both been doing the same thing?]

Hmm. That should still be helpful.

[A pair of eyes slowly moves up from the bottom of the screen. The Escarglow is curious. What is this thing and why is there a person in it? In the background, Sora just shakes his head and chuckles.]

Heh, I guess he wants to say hi.

[skysmirror]

[Considering that Carolina or Epsilon probably would mention it if Sora didn't, he was better off for being up front. Xion's expression softens a bit when she sees the sheepish look--she was really more concerned than angry.]

Yeah, maybe not as much as if I knew the others, but it's something.

[She laughs a little herself once she recovers from the surprise of seeing just two eyes.]

Most of them do. Does he have a name yet?

[dork_of_keys]

A lot of the Spirits know them. They're not really that hard to learn either.

[The Escarglow blinks. It's still curious about the device, but he has at least picked up that his person is talking to the other person. Maybe messing with it isn't such a good idea. Still staring though. Are there Spirits in there too?]

No, he doesn't. I'll think of something eventually.

[Probably something related to squishiness or being timid. As inquisitive as the snail is, he also startles easy... as Toxy found out the hard way.]

[skysmirror]

That's good to know--maybe I should try to. They sound useful.

[Not that the ones that she knows aren't, but stopping or slowing an enemy rather than outright attacking them could come in handy sometime.

In response to the Escarglow's curiosity, Axel raises his head from where he was resting in his usual position around Xion's shoulders. Barkley also took it the opportunity to peer into the screen and give a happy 'whuff' in greeting. Hello!]

Yeah, sometimes names can be difficult.

[dork_of_keys]

They are useful. Especially when the enemy is quick.

[It certainly is helpful to know.

The Escarglow says hello back, though he's still not sure how there can be a person and Spirits inside this little thing. Wait until he meets them in person. The Wheeflower has stayed in the background, still chatting with Toxy.]

I usually end up whistling for them to get their attention until I think of a name. It works, I guess.

[skysmirror]

Or invisible, like now.

[Maybe there needs to be a magic lesson?

Oh, yes, they should definitely meet in person! And they're not all really inside the little thing, the little thing just lets them see each other and talk--though they look a little smaller.]

I guess it does. I usually try to think of a name fast, but it doesn't always work.

[dork_of_keys]

That too.

[Maybe there does.

Huh. Weird. Then again, the snail's only been around for less than a day, so there's still a lot to learn.]

He doesn't seem to mind that he doesn't have a name yet, though.

[skysmirror]

[Add that to the list of things to do then.

Oh, he'll learn pretty quickly. Everyone does. If he wants to know anything, he can ask.]

I guess he's more patience than some others, then.

[dork_of_keys]

[So many things to do.

He will ask if he thinks of anything, yes.]

I guess he does. He's... he kind of startles easy? That's what we are talking about earlier.

[skysmirror]

[At least now they potentially have some time in which to do those things.

Great! Axel and Barkley's Person has the pieces to make an Escarglow; when she makes it, they'll let him know.]

Toxy startled him, right? What happened?

[dork_of_keys]

[Indeed.

Yes! There need to be more snails.]

Toxy startled him maybe... an hour after I put the pieces together to make him and he cast Stop on Toxy. I'm not entirely certain Toxy's gotten over it, but they seem to be okay now.

[skysmirror]

[Personally, Axel would rather there were more Hebby Reps, and Barkley wanted more Meow Wows, but each Spirit was probably biased towards their own kind.]

Well, at least they made up.

[dork_of_keys]

[That seems to be a thing with them.]

Yeah. I think it will be fine as long as they don't end up quarreling.

[skysmirror]

[Understandable, for them to want more of their own kind around.]

Yeah, arguing wouldn't be good.

[notquitedracula]

I know a type of Stop spell, and a lot of other things besides. I can also try echolocation, if anyone's willing to watch my back while I do it. Most forms of invisibility tend to work only in the visible spectrum, so you might also try to find someone with infrared vision - the ability to see heat.

[dork_of_keys]

Hmm. That all sounds like it can help. I don't know about having someone watch your back while you do something, though. There's been no warning at all when it hits, though. But maybe now that the ship's AI is working again, she can help with that.

[notquitedracula]

Maybe. I'm not terribly sure I trust an AI with that - they don't have such a good reputation where I came from - but we'll see. If nothing else, I can probably get myself out of any trouble I end up in.

How big is this 'Mother of Invention', anyway? All I've heard so far is the name.

[dork_of_keys]

It seems to depend on the world. I've met some helpful AIs and some hostile ones. Seems like they vary as much as people do.

Huh, it's supposed to serve as some kind of base, I think. It's got living quarters and stuff like that, so I guess it's pretty big. But some of it is closed off.

[notquitedracula]

I was talking more about scale than the overall size of the place. How big are the rooms, compared to what we'd consider normal as humans? And the doors, for that matter. Unless it can teleport, there's a good chance that whatever's there is using the same doors and other entrances as everyone else, which could give us an idea of its size.

[dork_of_keys]

It's about what we would consider normal. I don't think the monster is teleporting, though. It seems like it's from the same world as the ship and they don't have magic in that world. So, yeah, it would have to be using the doors.

It also hasn't attacked anyone on the bridge of the ship yet, if that helps any.

[notquitedracula]

[He considers the information for a few seconds, then nods to himself.]

Alright. So, here's my idea. There are parts of the ship that are closed off. We gather everyone up that we can, and we start from someplace where we can feasibly reach every open part of the ship by straightforward paths. Moving from room to room, we cover all the exits in each, splitting the group as needed to move into new areas and secure those as well. To do the actual searching, we'll need people who can use means other than sight to locate it. These... Komory Bats, was it? They might be able to lend those of us without that kind of ability a hand with that, if they're anything like normal bats.

By doing this, we can corner it in a dead end so that everyone can regroup and we can tackle it together.

[Video]

[duke_of_pook]

Er, I think I've been a little outta th' loop. [It's kind of embarrassing to say it was due to his bat swallowing his communicator, so he won't make mention.]

What monster are we talkin' about? And um, what ship for that matter?

[Video]

[dork_of_keys]

The ship is the third 'world' we have access to right now. It's a space frigate called the Mother of Invention. There's a monster on board that probably came for the same world as the ship and... it's invisible, really fast and hits like a truck. [Guess who has first hand experience with just how hard the monster hits.

While he's talking, though, a pair of eyes slide up from the bottom of the screen as the Escarglow decides he wants to say hello. Sora just sighs and shakes his head. Clearly, this was going to keep happening until the snail had gotten to meet everyone.]

[Video]

[duke_of_pook]

Gosh... And d'you have to fight it?

-oh! Hullo there, little guy! [He blinks, then smiles a little at the snail.]

[Video]

[dork_of_keys]

Well, we might have to get it out of the way so that we can find the Keyhole and open up the next world.

This Spirit's turning out to be a curious one. [The snail blinks back. He's probably smiling? Hard to tell with a snail.]

[Video]

[duke_of_pook]

[He looks a little confused.] Keyhole..?

[At least the snail seems friendly! And doesn't look capable of eating things like your hand or communicator. Fone gives a little wave at it.] Name him yet?

[Video]

[dork_of_keys]

Oh... I guess no one explained that yet. The Keyhole will open the way to the next world, but not until after we beat the guardian. The guardian might not show up while this invisible monster is an issue...

[Who knows whether or not it can hide stuff in its shell.] No, still thinking of a name.

[Video]

[duke_of_pook]

Whoa, wait, so on top of an invisible monster'ta deal with, there's a guardian to fight too? How d'ya fight them, with these little guys just like when fighting Nightmares?

[He nods. It took him a while to finally settle on a name for his komory bat. Speaking of which, the little guy squirms his way into the corner of the screen to gabber happily at the new Spirit.]