Atlantis

[Bloodedge]

Vasyl didn't offer much by way of a reaction to Miki, or anyone else in the room for that matter, bar Diva. A brief moment of eye contact was shared between the males, prior to Diva going along with the others. Miki had chosen to take her strange pillow as a form of transportation, and Diva wasn't exactly going to walk to the edge of the capital either. With his frail body, he decided to instead make use of his magical abilities to levitate just above the ground for their journey. He seemed somewhat spaced-out the closer they came to Kaiba Seto, to such an extent that by the time he stopped and landed, he was looking out into the ocean as if hearing something distant.

Kaiba's foot ceased its tapping at long last. Finally, they were here. The plan could be set in motion now, if only after an exchange of information regarding the ideal approach. "You lot sure like to keep me waiting. The target is a Leviathan, kept in tact as much as possible. Ashikaga is going to use her looting skills to take valuable pieces from it. Tsuki, you'll make sure there isn't much moving it can do, while I use overwhelming force to keep its attacks at bay. Judging by what we've seen of your boy-toy, I'm guessing both of you should be able to accomplish that together. It would help if at least one of you had a method of keeping us alive in the water as well. Two of us don't have the privilege of gills, or whatever you Atlanteans are using."

[Apollymi]

Miki kept an eye on everyone with her as they moved. She took note of the fact that the closer they got to their point of exit the more spaced out Diva seemed to be. She began to speculate on why that would be, given what the lad had been through, and she could only hope that this would be the sort of monster slay she'd expected of it. Since the blonde lass had a good idea of what she needed to do, all she did was simply change her position atop her pillow and fish out a small pouch which she held in her hand containing a great number of shark's teeth. If she was going to have to use her abilities, she might as well make the most efficient use of the effort that she could. Seriri on the other hand, was left to a conversation with her brother which made her frown softly. Though she could do all he asked, she took issue with one thing in particular he said, and it was, his chosen reference to Diva. "Nii-san... that's mean. He's nothing like that. As for the rest, I can take care of it for the most part. And not to worry, I won't let you or Kimi drown. I can make sure you both can breathe without issue and heal any wounds you manage to get..." she said softly. She'd step towards the barrier and as she did, it seemed to glow and shift as it opened to let them outside doing so, she'd cast a strange magic which would envelope the heads of Kaiba Seto and Miki, in a thin film which worked a bit like the barrier of Atlantis itself including cycling fresh oxygen to the pair so they wouldn't run out of air while they were out in the open. "Diva, knows the way. I assume I'm buffed enough to move at above average speed..." mentioned Miki to which Seriri only nodded. "Hai hai..." With this she either expected the lad to give them a direction in mind or something to follow. Whatever the case, she was about as ready as she needed to be, and shifted her position back content to use her pillow like a wave board while they moved about underwater.

[Bloodedge]

"With how quickly you insist otherwise, I can't help but assume I'm right," Kaiba retorted. Frankly, he didn't care how his sister chose to view the male Atlantean. His only concern at present, was getting the job done. It would be a simple enough task, so long as everyone managed to do their part. Of the list, the one whose job he worried least about, was Miki. She'd always get things done. Diva was a wildcard, and Seriri fell somewhere between, albeit closer to the former in presumed quality. This could go well, he thought. Once given the ability to breathe, he hopped out into the sea, producing a card of Mana from the device on his left arm. That very card was thrown forward through the water, until his Magisteel Dragon construct burst forth from it.

In the meantime, Diva stepped forward as well. He appeared shocked, brought back to the current moment by an interesting claim by Miki. She voiced her knowledge that he knew the way, despite having no clear point of reference. It was true, of course. He did know exactly where multiple Leviathans in the surrounding waters could be found, but there was one in particular he would lead the way to. A veil of Mana enveloped the lad, shielding his humanoid body from the horror of drowning, in a method Atlanteans of old used as a conversion filter of sorts. With this, he could freely float through the waters without having so much as a sense of pressure or current. "It's o-... over..." he stammered, showing only minor improvement in his ability to speak since his practice with Hikari. Regardless, he led the way west of the kingdom. The Leviathan which posed the issue among the group of creatures, could be found ahead of them along this path. It wouldn't take very long at all to reach it, and it seemed far enough away from its brethren for things to work out well enough.

[Apollymi]

"Nii-san!~" Seriri sounded whiny and annoyed. Her brother of all people would say something like that. She didn't hold that kind of interest in Diva as far as she realized, in fact, she simply wanted to keep him as safe as possible, which was something rather odd for her but it wasn't romantic or anything. At least, not obviously romantic in the way that Miki and Kou were interested in each other. Whatever the case, everyone now equipped to breathe they'd depart the Kingdom. The words she heard next were from Diva who much to Miki's assumption did indeed know where to find their prey of choice. He headed west so did both of the young women, though Seriri had a comment to make. "Hm, seems like you are getting better Diva!~" she said with happiness at his progress. She might have to talk with Hikari and find out how she managed such a thing.

The creature came into view very easily as they followed this path. Kaiba had his Dragon, Seriri's staff had never moved and strangely her legs had transformed into the flipper of a true Mermaid. Miki wasn't sure what Diva had planned, but it wasn't as important as the large sea creature came into view. This one, was alone, completely. It had a large body long like that of a sea serpent with fin-like protrusions as underwater wings down its body. It's coloration was slightly off from what Miki expected and it seemed to be a dark purple in color glowing with some strange power as it moved in winding pattern seemingly agitated. Miki would prepare for battle after getting within range, once she had done this she abandoned her pillow, having it turn into a large boar spear with a broad blade and two rings at each end. It looked rather plain in this form, but looks were deceiving. She'd run her hand down this blade causing blood to well up in her hand and soon after several individual shark teeth would come out of the pouch in her other hand and she'd run her palm across them, coating them in her blood and causing them to take on the same sage green glow as her Mana. "I give my blood to the sea. Life for death, death for life. Rise and follow..." the words she spoke were not in a language most would recognize. Once again Miki was using the tongue of the Druids, and the native tongue of the Lich King to perform his ritual. Much to her surprise there was an immediate change. The teeth she used began to shift before her eyes. becoming complete skeletons of Mer-sharks, with rows of jagged teeth. As soon as they spawned they began swimming around her waiting for her next order. They retained the same glow Miki now had, a sickly green color on the border of life and death. A grin crossed her face, obtaining the crown piece from Atlantis had reduced the amount of mana she'd needed to waste to perform this ritual and beyond that they would do what she did, adding a great number of mouths and hands to her own activities. The agitated Leviathan, began to swim towards them closer and closer. But Miki didn't worry about this so much, she had a bit of faith... she'd continue her work and assume she could do so in relative safety. Miki gave the order to the Mer-Shark Bonemen who swarmed her by using her Gamma skill. "Fox Assault." This would cause the first set of Leviathan scales to find its way into her hand and begin revealing softer flesh beneath it. The creatures she summoned would begin doing the same collecting scales and flesh as the Leviathan screeched swimming towards the group at massive speeds. She had but a single job, she'd trust the others to take care of the rest, as she and her minions collected loot.

[Bloodedge]

Kaiba didn't bother spending much time on the discussion between Queen Seriri and himself; there were better things to be doing. With Diva leading the charge, he took hold of his Magisteel Dragon's talon to let it carry him through the sea, apparently having no intentions of swimming with his own body. In little time, they reached the mighty beast they were to fell. It wasn't quite the colossal entity Kaiba thought it would be, though it remained larger than his metal creature. It was still disappointing to view. Diva, on the other hand, seemed to suffer a certain amount of distress, or perhaps... remorse on the Leviathan's behalf. He viewed it as a melancholy existence as he held out his cube, knowing such a monster was likely to take offense to even seeing it.

Whatever the case, there was still a job to be done. No, it seemed this sensation within Diva was exactly what drove him to participate in the defeat of this Leviathan. A glow erupted from the golden cube he held, and a specific series of Glyphs appearing on it resulted in the item segmenting itself into three. Diva spoke as his eyes shared the same glow as the cube. "Vyssiní Nóva!" he muttered in a tongue that seemed more familiar to him. Each of the cubes floating before him conjured a Guardian of Atlantis bound directly to the Artifact, and each of these Guardians were the same. Three purple cubes of Mana appeared, each surrounding one of Diva's companions on this quest. Functionally, they would act as one-way barriers, letting anything their bearers desired out while blocking entry. There was more, though. These cuboid barriers each had tails formed of numerous, smaller, more material cubes to assist the movement of those inside. They also had a pair of large, purple arm-like extensions with eyes at the shoulders, as well as at the ends of the extremities. Each left arm boasted a guillotine-like blade, and each right arm boasted a duo of blades that formed pincers. These Guardians would fight as well.

With that done, Diva produced an additional nine cubes, each with a copy of a different Glyph series. "Vijam!" he called out, making use of these additional cubes. Nine of the egg-like small Guardians emerged from these, ready to take an offensive approach at any given notice.

[Apollymi]

With the battle officially starting Seriri was left to watch as both Miki and Diva managed to do a great deal towards keeping them safe and starting the proper actions. Aside from making sure people could breathe she had no idea why she was actually here. The creature itself was quite large, but it didn't seem like so much of a problem for just that pair, with her brother here as well it seemed like she was just unnecessary. "Hm, this is strange... I can work with it though, Aqua Prison." she said softly. She'd take the opportunity to use water to help gather up all of the pieces of this creature being brought back to Miki, while simultaneously causing the water before them to move in response to the Leviathan's movements. Doing so caused it to be locked into a barrier in place unable to swim too much closer but also restricting the amount of space it had to move in. She created a large bubble around everything which the sharks and Miki's magic could go in and out of but that would hold the Leviathan's materials within. "Sou ka... that's pretty good. Arigatou..." Miki said to Seriri. "Hai hai... how's your hand?" she asked of the lass who'd cut herself to summon the sharks. "Oi, don't worry. I didn't choose a weak race... I regenerate on my own," she said while holding up her hand which only showed a very gentle line of red instead of an open wound, one which would soon disappear into nothingness as well.

Of course, given what Diva had done, Miki was relatively safe herself. Such a thing was rather strange but since it didn't require any more or less work from her this supposed shell she was in would do fine. His use of the Guardians of Atlantis was quite novel and Miki or rather Kimiko couldn't help but nod her head in approval. "Oi, that's really good. Defense for us, Offense for him... Diva's pretty fucking good," she commented. As the sharks she used grabbed pieces, each movement of them seemed to take various scales. But there was something strange here. This monster was quite a bit different looking than Miki expected. And beyond that it seemed like Diva was on a mission here the rest of them weren't aware of. She wondered if these creatures, much like the people of Atlantis had managed to be corrupted a bit by the goings on within the Kingdom. The creature itself though seemed to thrash about, aiming to move past the barrier created by Seriri all while being upset. Each time it moved, it began throwing water based wyrm like creatures at its attackers, taking out seven of the bone sharks with its disruptions. But because they were water they couldn't escape either. The destruction of the bones didn't seem to bother Miki, as they'd served their purpose, gathering large quantities of the outer body materials for her. The last two that made it back even managed to snap a few of its smaller wing like fins. That being said there was something now visible to Miki and it shared an eerily similar glow to the creatures eyes. "Hoh? It's mine," Miki said of the purplish scale located on the creatures back. As such she prepared to use her Gamma skill again by banishing that final set and reclaiming their Mana. "Return to the sea." she said having both of them disintegrate and her Mana return to the zone of influence around her. Now all she had to do was wait for the right opportunity and perhaps the ability to take from this creature this new thing she desired.

[Bloodedge]

Four people arrived at the Leviathan's location, and three were already making themselves useful in ways Kaiba did not expect from each of them. Miki managed to loot at a rate that surprised him, even for her. Seriri showcased the ability to support and restrain simultaneously, bringing what could almost be considered a grin to the older male's face. Meanwhile, Diva showed his capacity to attack and support at once, though Kaiba himself had no use for the Guardian surrounding him. Ah, but it was high time he did something as well. He could hardly afford to attack the Leviathan, lest he cause irreparable damage to the items they needed. The silver lining of this, was that the Leviathan was a beast at heart, and it would not take being stripped bare without fighting.

... And fight, it did. Wyrms being sent the group's way was just the opportunity Kaiba Seto needed to command his Magisteel Dragon. "Burst Stream!" he commanded, prompting his summon to spew white Mana from its mouth at each of the Wyrms individually. Few managed to make it to the group before the blast targeted them, but Diva's Guardians seemed to be holding strong.

Something caught Miki's eye. She wasn't alone in her observation, though; Diva saw it as well. The mere sight of it caused the lad to flinch. Soon enough, though, he regained his composure and resolve, knowing this segment had to be removed from the beast at all costs. If Miki wanted it, she could certainly have it. All he had to do was support her attempt to remove the oddity. And so, the winged egg-like Guardians were willed forward, their singular eyes trained on the Leviathan as they entered Seriri's barricade with it. All nine formed a circle around the Leviathan, linking their Mana to one another while looking inward. They collectively cast a Drain spell at their focal point, sapping excess Mana in an effort to make Miki's claim a bit easier as a task.

[Apollymi]

All of the others seemed to be hard at work, but it wasn't until the emergence of the water wyrms that Kaiba himself got involved. Or rather, got his beast of a 'Dragon' involved instead. A large stream of energy passed by both Miki and Seriri as the lad aimed to take out his targets. This was turning out to be quite the simple raid, even if more than half this party wasn't quite ready to move on. Seriri wasn't at all surprised by the amount of power her brother possessed, that being said, to see his mechanical Dragon in action was quite inspiring for the lass. "Sugoi!" she managed. Beyond all of this, it seemed to be the case that everyone was going to end up doing what they wanted. Strangely enough when Miki was trying to gather the necessary energy to take the item lodged within the Leviathan's body, Diva was working towards weakening the area, thus making it an easier task for her to achieve. she realized this only because she was able to commit to the action long before she thought she'd be able to. "Diva has support too! This is awesome... Arigatou!~" she seemed strangely pleased as she did exactly the thing she set out to do. "Fox Assault!" the cry of this particular attack would pull this purple scale like thing directly from the body of the Leviathan with a strange effect on it. As it came into Miki's possession, the Leviathan's eyes lost their angry glow. At the same time it seemed to be rapidly losing its ability to move, but this didn't seem sad. The scale itself seemed to have been the base of the extra Mana and aggression this creatures body had within. Its will to live was fading and this much Miki could tell from her Death Sense. Even so, it seemed to be relieved as if it was ready to die at this point. Already being drained of its energy there wasn't much left for it to do, it's life was ticking away in increments as it let out one final cry which filled the silent seas with its strange song. "I don't know if this is sad or not," Seriri said finding the whole thing to be strange. Soon after this all eyes were on Diva, Miki had gotten the extra object she'd come for, and started the looting, but she couldn't actually kill the creature without causing significant extra damage to its body. As such she'd leave that to someone else, she figured at the very least, Diva would likely be able to finish draining it to death without causing it extra pain.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed that bit of support was all Miki needed to finish the job. This Leviathan in particular was no evil force, but instead one mislead, darkened to its very core as if diseased in some way. The removal of this odd scale repaired the issue, leaving the creature mentally in its true state, albeit dying over time. The eggs, or 'Vijam' that surrounded the creature, faded and returned to their resting place in Diva's cube, while Diva himself floated toward the Leviathan. He hadn't placed himself within one of the barrier Guardians, and this was precisely why. He needed to reach out, to touch the Leviathan, to share extended contact with it while easing its pain. "... Na eíste se iremía, aderfí," he said calmly and concisely, one hand rubbing the creature's face. Diva was nothing, if not filled with empathy for this monster. He needed it to pass in a pleasant manner, and his touch would ensure that. The very same glow which encompassed him to provide a protective veil was now stretching its way along the Leviathan's form. This time, it held the purpose of quelling all pain in its target, allowing it time to slip away with utmost comfort. That wasn't all, though. Diva still held the Cube of Atlantis, as it had come to be known. The moment this Leviathan lost the last of its life, its essence would be taken into the cube, where it could live alongside the Atlanteans and associated sea creatures of old. "Ypóloipo."

[Apollymi]

"Aww..." Seriri said as she watched Diva ease the suffering of the creature he was now touching. Miki also took a moment to note the actions of the lad and she appreciated his sentiments. Knowing what he'd been through already, she figured he had some kind of special connection with the creature whose essence he took to add to the Cube which was the artifact he held. "Sou ka... nice too. Plus..." Miki said. Overall, seeing Diva in action let Miki know that Seriri was in good care with the lad here. She could happily go on about her adventures without worry that her good friend would be in any more trouble. Moving right along, she'd have but one more thing to say. "Oi, Tsu-chan, you're on support duty right? Take the body and these scales to the shop you let Hisakawa set up," she said to the other girl who shrugged. "Hai hai...Nii-san do you did me to do anything else?" she said happily. "Nice job out there," Miki said as she pushed her hair out of her way. "Anyways, if that is all I was needed for. I have some stuff to do, so I'll catch the rest of you later..." Miki intended to do a bit of further investigation of the map she'd discovered. And then return to her own room.

[Bloodedge]

As the Leviathan's soul transferred into the Artifact, the cube segments returned to one. The other Guardians vanished as well, and Diva coddled the cube as if tending to the Leviathan and those who resided with it in the afterlife. A tear was shed for their former plight, but it was all over now... for now, even. The remainder of the Leviathan's body could be used in whatever way the others needed, but Diva was satisfied exclusively by what he managed at the end of the battle.

Kaiba Seto did far less than he imagined he'd have to, and it was... refreshing. So refreshing, in fact, that Seriri's query in the aftermath was something he didn't have any form of snarky comment toward. "Nothing at all. Good work today," he said, giving about as much of a compliment to the group as he was physically capable of. The entire group could carry on with their business as intended, with Kaiba knowing there was more for Bulma and himself to do. Perhaps... Diva could be of use, as well. Indeed, he'd have to see about the lad's involvement after returning to the tinkerer. First, he'd have to finish making his way back after banishing his Dragon.

[Apollymi]

It seemed that everything was in order. And Kaiba even managed to give something of a compliment to the group at large, though it likely wouldn't seem that way to those who didn't know the lad. But his younger sister seemed to beam with excitement at the lad's words, as if she'd been given a present or perhaps the entire world. In fact, she was elated and would continue to be for the next few days.

And a few days later Miki would be found in her room again. And once again she had in her hands the golden ball that she'd been given as a present. It was already open and projecting the map around the room. She'd visited the place closest to the orb itself and noted that it was the Dungeon they'd originally used to reach this Kingdom. Upon going there, she'd been able to enter it again without any issue and she'd looted it quite a bit more while she was there. "Alright, I've been to that place. So it shows me Dungeons and lets me enter and exit them. Even lock them up... that's pretty cool," she said finally doing something strange and poking the map image of the same golden ball she held in her hands. Doing so caused something strange to happen and Miki was transported into the space which was marked by the map. She landed on her butt in the middle of a white room and there was nothing to be seen here, except a podium. "Hoh? The map leads to a room... and there's a thing in the room. And it's for me?!" she seemed excited about the prospect but also a bit nervous. 'What do I do? Do I get up and go look at it? Wait calm down.' The girl said to herself.

[Bloodedge]

In this few days, Kou remained unconscious. His Mana had become less unstable than it had been days before, though its consistency was quite... different to what he'd come to produce since entering the world. Gone was that air of mysterious being beyond his human part, leaving what seemed to be more like a mutated human than anything. He wasn't awake quite yet, but he did seem rather close to consciousness at last. Sadly, Miki was soon gone from beneath his head. At least the reason was her teleportation to the treasury he designed for her sake. Veritably empty though it may have been at the time, the single podium at the center contained a necklace with an unorthodox type of charm attached. Rather, it could more easily said that instead of a charm or pendant, it possessed a puzzle of sorts: a helix puzzle in varying layers. Upon being unlocked, it would take on a new form that was an Artifact in its own right. Had Kou been awake, he would have been capable of explaining this... but no, he wouldn't have done so regardless. This was the remains of his self-offering to the lass, in response to her doing the same previously.

[Apollymi]

Miki wouild have appreciated having Kou around to question a bit. Though she didn't know if he'd answer her, she'd enjoy just having him there while she rambled until she came to something resembling an answer. "Okay, deep breaths. It is just a room after all. But why a room?" she asked herself as she stood, markedly avoiding looking at that center podium for just a second. "This place is really huge. Like a vault or a storage locker. If I can go back and forth here, it'd be a great place to hide all the loot I collect. And hell even somewhere to store all the coins I definitely shouldn't be carrying around..." she mused. This place seemed infinite to her, the space felt much larger than even she could see, but the room itself didn't seem abnormal. "It's bigger on the inside." That saying was a bit strange, she'd only heard it in a particular sci-fy show she watched from time to time, that she happened to be a bit behind on at present. Too bad, this place didn't have tv, it could have given her something to do while she was bored before.

As she mused over this she steeled her own nerve, finally making her way over to the podium but still not looking directly at it. "Okay, okay. You're a big girl... the worst it could be is like a letter that says fuck off, right? That'd be fucking heart breaking. So as long as it's not that... we can deal with it... Miki!" she'd said her original name but it seemed that the Nexus wasn't accepting that as belonging to her anyways. Regardless, she looked towards the podium and found a piece of jewelry. This wasn't uncommon. Kou was particularly gifted at making such things. In this particular case, it appeared to be a necklace with a strange pendant on it. It being here meant it was for her. "Wheew. I really psyched myself out there. Then this is for me too? A gift within a gift... and a puzzle within a puzzle..." she said moving around the pieces that made up the pendant but not being able to simply shift them. She'd never completed this type of puzzle before. She wondered over the significance of it, as she picked it up. She got a feel for it with her hand and came to know that it too was something greater than it appeared. "Well its obviously for me. I'll figure it out. I guess the space might be too? I mean, he wouldn't have made it possible for me to get to it, if he didn't want me to have it, right?" she asked herself. Whatever the case, having claimed this thing she came for, she'd continue looking at the podium finding it to have a strange groove within, every similar to the one created by her interaction with the dungeon. "Hoh? Is this how I leave then? I guess I am done for now..." her other hand had the golden ball within, and as such, she placed it into the space when she did, it lit up, and before she knew it, she was placed back where she'd been in the world before this moment, though a slight change in position had occurred. Instead of being under Kou's head and acting as his pillow. She was now left standing atop the bed, with her legs on either side of Kou's face, she might have been worried about this lad getting a very intimate 'up-skirt' view of her, but as far as she knew he was still sleeping. "Jeez, if I had known that would happen, I would have done it after getting out of bed," she muttered to herself.

[Bloodedge]

Kou had no concept of existence in his lack of consciousness, but it seemed that was beginning to return to him. Naturally, it came together at a strange time. He began to feel the touch of consciousness, all because he felt... movement? Something was pulling him down, as if the very thing supporting him was being compressed around his location. 'Did I finally black out?' he wondered within the confines of his own mind. He entertained the thought that he'd lost consciousness, and Hikari had fallen onto a bed next to him. But... no, that wasn't right. It definitely felt like, if it was a bed beneath him, there was someone standing above him. Indeed, there had to be a foot on either side of him. Perhaps it was Hikari, waiting to gloat over something the moment he woke up. Having this in mind, he opened his eyes slowly, anticipating the tanuki's face to be right in front of his.

Alas, this was not the case. When his eyes opened, there was something in his line of sight... but it wasn't Hikari at all. It wasn't a face either, no; this was the underside of... Miki? That was undoubtedly the voice he could hear as he stirred. It hadn't taken him long to realize what he was looking at, but he also couldn't bring himself to look away. Instead, he sat there with wide eyes and an open mouth, clearly nothing short of dumbfounded by what was happening in these waking moments. "Uh-... ah... eto..."