Stratos simply nodded as Karina introduced them to her friend. "Well, nice to meet you Vincent. Glad to hear that things with the uh, "dark creatures" have settled themselves as well." Stratos could only imagine that if it was a different world and Karina was involved in it, than it probably had something to do with the heartless. Thinking on it though they had gone to many different worlds and fought all manner of dark creatures already, Stratos can't remember ever having gone back to do a check up on how the world was doing. So that a world their group had gone to had actually been saved somehow put something at ease in his heart that he didn't even know was there to begin with. Hearing Vincent speak of Mickey did him some good as he was glad to know that the SOS wasn't just by themselves in this fight against No Heart. After Faust made his passing comment to Laguna, Stratos couldn't help but give a small confused chuckle saying, "well, it seems like a lot's happened everywhere." Looking to Beuce and Karina he said, "but there seems to be some kind of qualifier here before we get into the tournament proper. Honestly, I don't really know why but something feels pretty off with this whole thing, so why don't we try our hand at it?"
Well, since the World Record is now a thing and sign ups and all, I guess just sign me up to go beat down the Iron Imprisoner. Around.
Not much had happened between Stratos beginning to make his way to the arena and actually getting there. He was still, truthfully, feeling a bit out of it and didn't quite know where it was he was to begin with. But, that was likely all about to sort itself out. Instead, as the boy made his to the arena proper, he noticed not only some strange people standing at the front of it but also a plethora of others walking around. Though a lot of them definitely had a vibe about them that they did not belong here - like how most keyblade wielders felt. Including the people he knew to be keyblade wielders. His eyes lighting up as he made his way over, the boy called out saying, "hey Karina, Beuce!" Running over to the two, he said, "man, it's been forever since I last saw the two of you. Time sure does fly when you're being ejected out of a whale doesn't it?" The boy then noticed that one of the foreigners was actually right next to them and was talking to Karina. Looking to the man, he said, "oh, sorry about that, was I interrupting something?"
Stratos was around. Yeah, he sure was. He was, in fact, so around that it was possible to assume that he wasn't around at all. That's how around he was. It had been like this, more or less, since Neverland, where he had been around the whole time. As evident by him fighting the pirate captain. While he was around. That was him. Mr. Around. So around that he now was perfectly aware that he was in a Colosseum of sorts. Or a world that had something related to that. What a time to be alive. Which he was. And around. With that in mind, Stratos knew in his heart of hearts that he had to go to this colosseum. Alongside all of the party members that were also around him. Two of them, he presumed. As such, the around boy Stratos said, "alright, guys. Tournament neat. Me go." The boy paused, shaking his head and wondering why it sounded like his brain stopped functioning for a second only to say, "well, uh, let's get going."
After having gotten into a clash of blades with the pirate, who was unexpectedly a much better duelist then the boy was expecting, he was quickly knocked off his feet and onto the ground. Springing back up almost immediately, thanks to AJ's help, he let loose a burst of energy to fill up everyone's spirits. Stretching himself out again, twirling his keyblade around he looked to Ananta and said, "it's uh, just a warm up." Getting a spring back in his step as he watched Kaida let loose a flurry of blasts at the pirate captain. Getting ready to strike at the captain once again, Stratos took a deep breath and let loose a pulse of energy that invigorated his allies a a fuchsia aura appeared around him. As he did this, he then charged his keyblade up with a dark aura, going to blows with Hook yet again, before deciding to also take a more defensive approach, and ensure that Kaida wouldn't get hit with the same amount of punishment that he did. Stratos activated Rhythm Mixer Stratos used Splattercombo Stratos used cover on Kaida.
Stratos uses Combo followed by Cross Slash.
Spending 5 crowns on Strength Spending 5 Crowns on Defense Equipping Oblivion Crowns - 100 -> 0 HP - 100 (+6) - 100 MP - 7 (+2) - 7 Str - 45 - 50 (+7) Def - 34 -> 39 Spd - 50 (+4) - 50 (+5) Mag - 34 (+4) - 34 AP 77 (+3) - 77 (+7) Equipping Soldier
Stratos was only made more nervous and confused as AJ, who was also much smaller and younger looking, talked about playing a game. He hadn't figured they were playing a game before coming here, unless being inside of a whale was part of a strange game. The part of being rocketed out onto a ship definitely seemed game like though. Stratos briefly wondered if he was being left out of the know on some kind of special being eaten by a whale game that everyone else was in on, feeling a bit downtrodden by the idea. Even more so as the game seemed to already be over. The boy's thoughts on this were quickly returned to normal as he remembered they were surrounded by pirates and the pirates seemed to want to remind them of where they were and what their situation was. Stratos wasn't really sure who Jolly Roger was, unless it was the name of the person whose ship it was, (which Stratos likewise had no idea the identity of) and so the boy only shook his head nervously as the pirates started to make their way towards the group. "U-um, can't we talk this out? Um..." The boy began to back up, but given that they were surrounded the center was as far as he could back away, he didn't get very far. "Please, stay away..." The pirates didn't seem to really care about the request one way or the other, as their tall and gaunt figures, sneering faces and drawn blades slowly inched closer to them. Feeling cornered, the boy instinctively summoned out his keyblade and his fight or flight instinct seemed to very much lean one way over the other. As if done at the same instant the blade was summoned, a large ball of flame formed on the tip of the blade, and from it, shot out and off towards a pirate that was closing in on them. As the ball hit the pirate in the gut, it exploded launching him backward and knocking into someone else as he let out a pained scream. Closing his eyes through the whole thing, Stratos was only able to open them to see that his blade was drawn and smoking, and that one pirate was knocked out while another was getting the body off of him and standing back up. "Oh no, that's bad, that's bad..." The pirates's gleeful expression seemed to give way to one more of anger yet also still a fun loving look as a brawl was brewing. Letting out shouts, they charged the keyblade wielders, which prompted the young Stratos to dash away, dodging the blades with a strange deal of grace as he moved far faster than any child was likely expected to move. However, his coordination still left something to be desired, and he accidentally bumped into a different pirate in his mad dash away. The man giving him a toothy smile while he raised up his cutlass, Stratos let out a yelp as he vanished from in front of the man and appeared behind. A large slash mark appeared on the pirate as he was blown away but what appeared to be an accidental Zantetsuken. Pirates:18/20 Words: 535 Exp: 100 Total Exp: 100 Total Munny: 30
One thing lead to another and Stratos found himself with a very familiar sensation. Though the circumstances were quite different, from being ejected out of a whale to being on a boat while it happened, the feeling was all the same to him. That being, of course, of the crash landing. With the boat splintering apart and the group hitting the ground, Stratos let out a groan as he tried to pick himself back up. As the boy did so, he jumped at the sudden sight of the pirates all gathering around them. Backing off, though not for long as he jumped at the sight of more pirates coming from the other direction. Looking to the others, the boy was startled yet again by the sound of his companion's shriek as he looked to both Kaida and Faust. "Wait, why are you guys so- " he seemed startled once more as his voice cracked and it was a pit higher pitched. "Wait, why am I so small?" Looking at himself, Stratos was adorned in a white hoodie, with a body that looked definitely smaller than he last remembered. It was only at this point that he realized how tall the pirates were in comparison to them, and as the young renegade male made his way over to them Stratos started to flail his arms around wildly as if it would stop the boy. Instead, he then looked back up to the pirates, stepping closer to the center of the circle they were being surrounded in saying, "we're uh...we're not here to fight..."
Spending 600 Munny on Crystaline 600 Munny on Dolphin Kick 10 Crowns on Speed 30 Crowns on Resistance Changed stats Munny 2310 -> 1110 Crowns 40 -> 0 Spd: 49->50 (+4) Res: 20 -> 23
Stratos basic attacked parasite cage. twice. 49 * 2 =98 damage, woo baby.
With the gifts going through, the party launched yet another assault of items towards the multiple ghost copies, most of them finding their mark as the ghost writhed in pain from the assault. Diving into Aux, the larger keyblade wielder seemed to be out of his right mind, prompting Stratos to merely say, "oh not again." Thankfully, he himself was not the target of the attack, though the silver lining of this did little to actually fill him with relief as Beuce was leaped on and struck down by Aux. Though he had barely managed to hang on Stratos shouted out, "someone throw something at him." Manifesting yet another pocket of condensed magic into an item, this time one of much higher quality then the last, the boy tossed it over to Kaida yet again. Not wanting to deal with the ghost popping out and possessing someone else yet again as well, Stratos figured he might as well use the power bestowed upon him by his current job set. Channeling the magic into his keyblade, the boy waved it shouting, "reflect," causing a shimmering barrier to appear around all of them. Stratos used Gift on Kaida, and gifted her an Ultra Potion. Stratos used Reflect on the party.
Stratos was pleased to see that things had worked out as Kaida now no longer seemed to be possessed. There, was unfortunately, the now added problem of there being five ghosts in front of them. Seeing that he was already running dry on items, and thinking others might have been as well, he looked to Kaida and said, "hey, here!" Focusing his magic into his hand, doing something he had never done before, the boy manifested the magical force into an ether. It wasn't anything grand, but it was all he could muster at the moment. Tossing the ether over to Kaida, Stratos then tossed his hi-potion at one of the spectres. Stratos Gifted Kaida an Ether. Stratos used a Hi-Potion on Grand Spectre.
In what had been the most bizarre display of offensive prowess that Stratos had ever bore witness to, it seemed to be weirdly effective at bringing the ghost down. So much so that it seemed to start off its own attack at full speeds. With the ghost striking at Kaida, and seeming to possess her, Stratos couldn't really do much but brace himself from the attack as lightning struck the whole party. Wincing in pain from the attack, Stratos got his keyblade ready saying, "sorry Kaida, but I think I'm going to have to- " he then realized that he had chosen the power to heal this fight, and thus his offense was severely lacking. "...Going to have to....Think fast!" And with that, Stratos threw another potion at Kaida, moving to heal the damage he had just taken as well from her attack. Stratos used Hi-Potion on Kaida Stratos used Curaga on himself.
Spoiler: A five year grudge laid to rest
A lot of stuff had happened. Stratos was in a whale, which was a new and kind of gross experience to tell the truth. As it had turned out, neither he nor Beuce were the only ones trapped in this whale either. Soon enough, the duo was met up with the others of the SOS squad, with specifically Luna coming to greet them. They also seemed to have two others kids with them, having a relationship that Stratos could only have a sense of familiarity with, that seemed to be looking for their friends. While Stratos could empathize with the Sora kid, the others were quick to give him a good pep talk, and after that was done, it turned out that both he and Riku had keyblades in their possession. Dumbfounded by the whole thing, it had seemed that they were going to go fight some heartless - in a whale - which was something that Stratos could use to get himself back into the swing of things. Strange as it may sound. Following after the others, he was stopped by the sight of two poisonous looking heartless with a ghost in the center of them. Watching the Sora boy drop a potion on the ghost, and seeing it recoil in pain from it, Stratos said, "alright. That's new." Getting ready to focus it down, Stratos flared up his metronome aura, as the power of it flowed into all of those around him. Looking to see Kaida, Beuce and Aux near him, he said, "hey guys. Long time no see. Or, well, small time no see I guess. Care to go ghost hunting?" As he asked this, Stratos pulled out two glass bottles filled with healing liquid, that he then promptly tossed towards the Grand Spectre. Stratos used Hi-Potion x2 on the Grand Spectre.
Apologies for doing this to you after just editing but here you are. Another batch of musical missions Aloha O'e - 1(+1) Crowns, 200 Munny Burning Love - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Suspicious Minds - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny You're the Devil in Disguise - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Colors of the Wind - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Just Around the Riverbend - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny In Summer - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Let it Go - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny How Far I'll Go - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Shiny - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny We Know the Way - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny You're Welcome - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Les Poissons - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Part of Your World - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Gotta go my Own Way - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Bet on It - 2(+1) Crowns, 300 Munny Total Crowns 31+16 = 47 Total Munny: 4700 New Totals: Crowns: 50 Munny: 5060 Spending 50 Crowns on 5 Speed Spending 1250 Munny on Howling Winds and 1500 on Ice Barrage Crowns: 50 -> 0 Munny: 5060 -> 2310 Speed: 44 -> 49 (+4) (reeeeeeeeeeeee)
Gonna spend money on 4 Hi-Potions (600 Munny) and the Companion Keyblade (3500/2 for monthly sale, so 1750 Munny) So that's 2710-2350 so 360 Munny left over. Also spending 30 Crowns on 3 points of speed. 33 -> 3 Crowns left 41 (+5) -> 44 (+5) Crowns left Equipping Companion And unequpping player pin MP: 7 (+3) -> 7(+2) Str : 45 (+5) -> 45 (+4) Speed: 44 (+5) -> 44 (+4) Magic: 34 (+5) -> 34 AP: 84/75(+15) -> 69/75(+3)
"Owwww...." The boy groaned as he started to get awake. The last thing he knew that had happened was that he had managed to solve an issue with some kind of volcano, nature god and set things on that world right. Then, they had gotten onto a raft and on their way on the sea to the unknown, they had been caught up by yet another kind of roadblock of sorts. He had blacked out from there, but waking up he felt somewhat sore and his surroundings didn't feel like...any kind of ground. Sitting back up, he looked around to see one of his fellow keyblade wielders, though not any one that he had been with recently, saying, "Beuce?" Confused as to why he was suddenly here alongside him. Standing back up, the boy stretched himself out before looking around. To say that where they were was different would be a bit of an understatement. Trying to shake himself out, the boy looked back to his friend and said, "Beuce, where uh, where are we?"
Stratos seemed a bit surprised at what Marx had to say on the matter of the goddess, realizing that he was suddenly in the presence of someone quite important to the workings of the world. However, as Kel made his comment about saving her, Stratos simply shrugged to the man, not really sure what the proper conduct around a goddess actually was. It felt awkward to him bowing to someone who they had fought not a minute ago whom had been doing their utmost to kill them, and this being his first time in front of a goddess he wasn't entirely sure what proper protocol was. So, he instead dismissed his keyblade and just sort of stood there awkwardly. 5/30
