Son of a Beach

[Nasira]

It all happened so fast. The unrelenting storm, the disembodied taunting of an evil entity, the ice spike...it made a kebab out of that Freedom Fighter ship and...

No. Not him!

Nasira forced herself to stand, nearly slipping in the process. She took the rigging in one hand and placed the other on the taffrail. The rain stung her eyes, but she could not look away. 

The ocean dipped and parted. The ensnared vessels creaked as it surfaced to look over the skewer they hung from and the buffet table that was the ocean and beach. Fear caught the occultist by the throat. Blackblood or rebel, it did not matter. They were all prey. The monster's long, sharp teeth flashed like a star and darkness descended.

Then it went, taking the spire and Perthmail with it.

A numbness settled over Nasira like a fog. Perthmail was gone. She stared at the dark waves. How could he not be there? Her eyes grew dark and angry like the sky and sea. She willed him to surface, but Perthmail had never been a good listener. He was a smart aleck to the end.

"Perthmail." No one heard her - not even Nasira herself. She was not even sure why she bothered. Like him, the name was lost to the storm.

The ship suddenly reeled, and there was a loud snap. Nasira hardened her heart. Time was perilously short. She had to stay controlled. There would be time to mourn Perthmail later. She was so sad and tired, but now was not the time to succumb to sorrow. If she did not leave now, she would die. It was a harsh reality that chilled her more than the wind and rain. 

Nasira stole one last look at the spot Perthmail disappeared from, and with an effort, she turned to face Frollo. "We need to go," she repeated, controlling her voice tightly. She ached, inside and out, but the resolve to live had given her just enough strength to do what had to be done.

[Shanty]

Camera whirls swiftly, darting this way and that as the little silver bird is drawn into a grip. It seems she's surveying the situation, looking over the battlefield, searching for something.... 

There. 

A flash of orange, and the little machine darts from Jenn's grasp, darting into the jungle underbrush and landing at the tiger's feet, "Khan! Mister Khan! Retreat's been called, you need to get--" 

"You'll have to go through me."

Tiny, blue optics whirl to face the raging sea, only to freeze on the sight of the leviathan. It's amazing what detail the Captain seems to focus on while building; the little bird sags, as if in awe-struck terror. Shanty had seen creatures of this size before, but never so hostile. And she's seen some very hostile leviathans before. 

"Oh, Gods...."

[Crow]

  The colossal beast had towered over the waves, reaching until she had all but grazed the clouds. In one moment, she loomed like an ominous tower, and in the next, she was gone, taking at least two ships with her. One of which had been Perthmail's.

  Crow hadn't had much opportunity to get to know the old pirate. But he had found him interesting, to say the least, and it was more the pity that the opportunity was now lost. But Crow didn't have it in him to lament, and it was apparent as Diablo very nearly tossed himself from his perch. The wind whipped him around, taking the bird on an impromptu scenic route around the ship to avoid being utterly blown away. Even with the corvid's affinity for unpleasant weather, it was an effort to find a solid landing, and Diablo just about crashed on top of Nasira. But he found himself quickly enough, and facing the Overseer, the bird's beak opened. What came out was not a corvid's cry, but a man's voice.

  "Nasira, gather the crew. We're leaving now." At such close proximity, Crow's voice managed to cut through the storm. Diablo didn't wait for a response, and pushed off, only to flit from one Overseer to the next. The corvid found purchase on something attached to the good judge's hip: a thick, leather-bound book. Frollo often addressed the old tome as his bible, but to Crow, it was a direct link to Her Excellency's power. He would agree on one thing, however. This was salvation. Diablo pulled and struggled gracelessly for what felt like too long. Damn this rain. Damn this book. The corvid slipped, fluttered, and tried again. Every second felt like it was nearing closer and closer to death. To failure. Crow wouldn't have it.

  Thank whatever powers saw fit to smile on them in that instant, as the tome finally slipped free of its clasps and clattered to the deck. The pages fluttered wildly in the wind, stopping only when the corvid dropped the entirety of his weight onto the tome. With a few taps of the bird's talons, a portal swirled lazily into existence behind him. But it wouldn't be enough. The magic was guarded to prevent anyone not holding the book from seeing the portal, which wasn't exactly helpful when you were trying to make an entire crew escape. Ah well. Crow was nothing if not suited for the dramatic. The corvid's wings flapped, and the green magic around the judge's bible seemed to ignite, swallowing the bird and lighting the portal until it was a glaring green beacon on deck.

[Marahute]

Crimson hues widened in a mix of shock and horror as Marahute watched Silver's ship begin to careen towards the ocean. The giant golden eagle fluffed up her wings, despite the pain the action caused and prepared to swoop from her perch to make her way to Silver's aid but the sound of an almost ethereal voice cutting through the deafening storm had Marahute rooted to the spot. Her feathers ruffled and puffed out in a visual display of unsettledness.


It was clear that the voice belonged to the beast lurking beneath the swirling, tumultuous waters and that meant the threat of the beast was even more horrifying. Marahute spread her wings and forced herself to launch herself into the air with a sharp cry of pain as the movement jarred the wounds inflicted upon her wings. The wind roared around her and buffeted her as though she was a helpless leaf caught in a tornado and for a brief minute, Marahute struggled to retain enough control of her own wings to soar towards the Argentum 2.


When Marahute did finally manage to right herself in the air she immediately tucked her wings in close to her flanks to dive through the air towards Silver's ship, even as the monster speared the Argentum 2 once more with the giant ice spire, followed by the Lady Basilisk. A distressed cry left Marahute's curved beak as both Silver's ship and Perthmail's were raised into the sky as lightning lit up the obsidian clouds and thunder boomed louder than any cannon could ever fire.

Marahute's heart ached with regret as members of Silver's crew were tossed from the ship and plummeted towards the ocean below, their screams of fear snatched away in the roaring winds.


Another distressed cry left Marahute's beak as the sea monster descended back into the depths of the sea, dragging both impaled ships with her. Crimson hues quickly scanned the bodies that resurfaced after the monsters disappearance and for a heartwrenching minute, Marahute feared that her friends, her comrades, were lost to the murky waters until, finally, she caught sight of Silver holding onto Mulan. It was immediately clear that the ursid was struggling to keep himself and Mulan aloft and Marahute didn't hesitate to swoop down to them. She had to help them or die trying.


Sore talons hooked a length of floating ribbing and quickly she manoeuvred it to her beak before forcing herself to ignore the agony flaring in her wing as she swooped towards Mulan and Silver, draping the ribbing close to the pair and praying they had the sense to grab a hold.

[Nasira]

In a blur of iridescent feathers, the crow from before had manifested himself directly in front of the occultist. Eyes burning, Nasira blearily saw Diablo's beak open, but instead of a sharp "caw", the vizier's voice cut through the tenacious howl of the storm:

"Nasira, gather the crew. We're leaving now."

Diablo took to the air, flapping his dark wings against the wind and downpour. Relieved Crow had taken control, Nasira immediately set off to do what the vizier had commanded.

The overseer found what was left of the crew huddled in the ship's forecastle. It was not much drier below deck. Drops of lukewarm water leaked from the wood ceiling, and the floor was a slimy film, but there was no wind, and Nasira could actually see her surroundings. Compared to the tempest outside, the crew's quarters felt like a suite. The wayward sailors stared at her like a brood of hens cornered by a fox. They had abandoned their posts, but now was hardly the time to throw one's weight. They only had a small window to save themselves.

Nasira's voice cracked like a whip. "Follow me!"

They did not need to be told twice. The crew quickly followed Nasira up to the now slanted deck, and she led the way back to the quarterdeck the best she could. They made it back just in time to see Diablo open the bright green portal. "It's now or never," Nasira told them. "Go!"

As soon as the crew had gone, Nasira entered the portal, expecting Frollo and Scar to follow.

[Turbo]

Turbo seemed impatient, glowering as several dozen clumsily towered onto his back. He was part machine, so was somewhat resistant to tiring out more than a fully organic being might be. The insect virus didn’t appear to care this way or that if crew members were unable to hang on. He didn’t know them personally. His saving them was a means to an end; that was all.

If Turbo knew anything, it was how to get out when the going was good. The second the biological mass came toward the ship, Turbo accelerated. As if someone had floored an invisible gas pedal, his wings made a revving sound and he shot off. In fact, he went from zero to sixty so quick, it was a challenge to continue to hold on unless one had a good grip on something solid, like a divide in his carapace. Turbo figured he couldn’t be blamed if more fell off. After all, it was probably wise to get out of there quick. He didn’t exactly have a saddle, so his passengers were forced to make due.

He had no interest in checking in on anyone. He had a one track mind and he was on a B line for Agrabah. Though nothing, save personal tragedy, would stop him from dishing out one-liners like a terrible 90’s mascot.

“Wonder how weak you are to thunder, Gyarados?”

~*~

Something penetrated the wind. A sound coming from somewhere in the sky. It was bellowing laughter. The Gourmand expressed no fear; but what he expressed could only be called a severely twisted sense of happiness. His evil cackle was mirthful and sadistic all in one. And why wouldn’t it be? The Gourmand, at the very least, could appreciate a good show of destruction. He lived for it. Though, he much preferred to be the cause of it. A fist pounded against the machine, making a heavy sound. Although he was clearly hitting it very hard, neither it or his hand appeared to be getting damaged.

The cackling stopped suddenly. As if a switch had been flipped, he tilted his head down and the gravity of his bloodthirsty presence returned tenfold.

“I’m no land-dweller,” he growled.

Blinking, his eyes softened, although it was a corrupt sense of sympathy as his tiny pupils scanned the corpses and broken ships. He sighed mournfully.

“How I wish I could have properly participated,” he lamented dramatically, before his voice became shriller, “But, the Gourmand is no scavenger.”

What sounded like a puff of air came from his machine as it lifted. He turned the steering handle and tilted the throttle, and his pod headed toward shore. The merman made his exit. It seemed like anyone who mattered was getting rescuing. And furthermore, there was nothing here for him. Though the Gourmand did hate to waste his time, he brought the pod to a stop above the jungle, and looked back over his shoulder, just to make sure he didn’t have to be held responsible if something happened to his allies.

[Mulan]

  Mulan was exhausted. The currents were too strong, and every muscle in her body was burning. She was too tired. It would be easier, she thought grimly, to just let the water wash her away. She was hardly aware of the new pulling sensation against the others, of something new fighting against the current.

"Hang tight, luv!"

  The surface of the water broke, and oxygen had never tasted so sweet. Mulan choked and sputtered, and it was all she could do to keep her head above the sea. Somewhere, an errant thought told her she should be thanking the Captain for saving her life, just as a wave caught her squarely in the face. Her focus returned to her. There would be time for gratitude later, when they were actually out of this hell.

  Relying on Silver to help her stay afloat, Mulan's eyes darted around, searching desperately for wreckage, or debris, or anything to hold on. Anything to help them survive the storm. Fortune had seemed to favor them that day once again, when what she'd been searching for was, quite literally, dropped in front of her.

  "Marahute!" In spite of their dire situation, Mulan couldn't help but grin upon seeing that the eagle was okay. In rough shape, but alive, and that counted for everything right now. Mulan forced herself to push towards the ribbing and held as tightly as she could. They may just survive this yet.

[John Silver]

"Marahute!"

“Ah thank the heavens!” Silver coughs, nudging the women as best he could towards the rigging before grabbing onto it himself, moving a little to cover Mulan so Incase the woman lost her grip he would be there to grab her. “Birdy! When we get back I’ll be sure to give ye a whole water buffalo if you want!” The ursid grins up at the massive eagle ever so thankful to her. He glances back towards the water catching glimpses of what crew members survived scrambled onto a half broken lifeboat. “We’ll come back for ye! Hang tight lads!”

[Keto]

"Such a proud creature, thinking you're welcome back here. How many ships will it take to get it through your stubborn little heads?"

Massive fingers gently cup underneath the shattered lifeboat, lifting it as the leviathan rears up against the tides in one smooth, fluid motion. If the mercreature was a number of stories shorter, it may even be described as lovely. But at her height, all that describes it is terrible. Awe-striking, and terrible.


A clawed hand carefully plucks one of the crew members from the lifeboat, causing the others to pull as far away from her as they can. At this height, it's be a suicidal notion to jump from her grip and into the sea. But with the creature and her teeth so close...

"How about I save you the trip, Landwalker~?"

In one swift motion, the lifeboat disappears into a fist, heralding a loud, grotesque crunch. Dark eyes shift as they're distracted, drawn in by an ill-conceived taunt. Ah, it's carrying survivors, too... Oh, so many escape attempts. Between that and that strange pulse of green... She had her work cut out for her.


Bloodied hand turns at the wrist, curling with a fluid motion as a finger extends in Turbo's direction. The storm seems to groan in response, and the clouds turn from their spiral to slowly follow the racer.

"Don't be so cocky, little bug."

The skies part with a sharp crack, and lightning dances along the underside of the cloud cover. As if a hound called to retrieve, the bolt begins to chase down Turbo and his cargo, crackling and snapping like the jaws on a beast. As it does, the creature turns fully towards Frollo's ship, prisoner still in tow. Waves groan and crash as she leans down, putting much of her weight on the deck and threatening to sink the vessel altogether. Wrist flicks lightly, and she tosses the Freedom Fighter past her teeth and slams shut, offering a sharp, wild grin to the crew below. Eyes scrutinize the crew, and her attention seems drawn to that strange, little book.

"Now, what do we have here...~?

[Claude Frollo]

And then there were 3 left . Frollo stood on his slightly tilted boat, amazed and somewhat terrified at the visage in front of him, Too much happened too quickly. Perthmail's death along with all the other soldiers who died was a serious blow to their forces and would be missed, Frollo more so out of habit, gave a prayer for his journey into heaven, Hopefully he finds peace there. As for Himself, He was not ready to die just yet. Diablo having disappeared to make the portal as solid was more of a curse if any thing as i caught this.... thing's attention...

Then it hit Frollo. Diablo was Maleficent's pet.... He chose to find a way to make amends at later time. "What we have is None of your damn business, Monster!" He yelled out the abomination.
Frollo rushes to the portal and yells out "Scar, if you are coming, now is the time to do it! We can't Stay much longer!"