"I'll take care of it," Sedna said, directing her words towards Achelois, "Save your magic for later."

Being underwater had its conveniences. Gathering some water with her magic, she moved it over the injury on Sailor Enyalius' leg, and used Oceans' Grace 

Battle wrote:

Sedna uses Ocean's Grace (5 MP) on Enyalius 
How much healing?
--6
--CTRL 6
--MP 3
----Total of 15 HP healed

The poison remains;  Enyalius loses 2 HP

Enyalius released her breath as the cool waters started to make her wound tingle and seal up; when Sedna finished, there was only a pink-looking scar left behind; it would heal fully with time, or with a bit more magic, but what bothered her was that the burning hadn't stopped - it only seemed to spread farther from her leg. Puzzled, she hesitantly looked to Achelois before saying, "The wound is gone, but a burning sensation remains; I think the tips might've been poisoned." 

She kept calm; as far as she knew, not much could be done about it at the time; she would soldier on, with the occasional help of Sedna and Achelois to keep it in check, until they finished and returned to Pearl City; surely they would have an antidote made up for such a thing. Maybe they even carried it on them when they came down here - the guard, then...? She looked back towards the mouth of the pass, but she was too far away to stop what was about to happen.

The Guard wrote:

Much of the battle had taken place just out of his vision, but with the quickness that the warriors had taken down the enemy, he visually relaxed. He stopped glancing the way they had come, and grudgingly nodded and swam after Sailor Leviathan to give his official report. 

"We thought it was the Dragons that were causing the earthquakes," he began, swimming carefully between the mountains, "But when we arrived, they seemed just as confused and afraid as we were; some of the older ones, ones who knew Guardian Leviathan, were taking us to see their leader - something about how Guardian Leviathan could help; we were almost to their mountain home when something else crash-landed - in the chaos that followed, we were separated; Guardian Leviathan and Enoch were spurred forward to meet with the Litanu leader in secret, while we were cordoned off and put under dragon guard. The dragons were afraid of whatever had landed - the one that was on me, the one you froze back there, said that nothing bad would happen to us if Guardian Leviathan and Enoch did as they had promised and stopped the earthquakes, but it sounded like a covert operation to me, like whatever had landed and scared them so badly didn't know Guardian Leviathan and Enoch were even involved, like we guards were decoys --"

As they exited the pass, entering the site of the squid battle, the guard looked left, and, jaw agape, froze.

Battle wrote:

A monstrous eel darts forward down the path, aiming for the Guard!

Quote :

Only characters close to the guard's location - not behind him on the map, but either between him and the eel or below him and the eel - can attempt to save the guard! Preferably, characters who have yet to post, and thus whose places have yet to be changed on the map - Callisto, Nocturnus, Ribbon, Amatheia, Nix, or Leviathan.

As soon as Sailor Leviathan responded to the giant squid, Enyalius and a smaller group of senshi moved to attack it. It didn't look like they were in trouble, so Callisto stayed back and waited to see if they needed shielding. To her relief, and mild disappointment, the battle was over soon after it broke out. 

Leviathan spoke to the guard again and started leading them down the pass, only to be interrupted by a massive eel aiming straight for the fish-man they had found. This time with no hesitation at all, Callisto swam to intercept its path. She positioned her body in front of the guard and held out her shield.

"Callisto Major Guard!" A glimmering energy wall spread in front of her and the guard, interrupting the water current around them.

Sailor Leviathan's mind raced. Just what exactly was going on in the core? She could understand why Guardian Leviathan was asked to go, but why Enoch? She trusted there had to be a reason Enoch stayed. For a moment, she wondered if Guardian Leviathan instructed him to transform into Sailor Leviathan or another person to confuse the Litanu leader or whoever else was there. Enoch was an odd one. No other fish person had transforming abilities that she knew of. Every time she asked about it, Guardian Leviathan just shrugged it off, saying that it was a "gift of fate" that someone would be born with the ability to be a body double for the sailor soldier who was "too weak to not have one."

Her eyes widened at the sudden eel attack. Instinctively, she attempted to whip the guard behind her so that she was positioned in front of him, not realizing that Sailor Callisto dove in to save the day.

Amatheia had heard them talking about the ocean creature, most of the terms going over her head so to speak. Calamari, squid? But she moved forward and saw the creature, blinking a bit. She had hesitancy and again unsure on how to take the others inexplicable urge to attack everything. But Leviathan seemed to consider the creature worthy of killing, and it sounded like they could eat it. Prey then, and this made sense to Amatheia. She would dearly love to try an oceanic meal from a different culture.

And it was defeated. Perhaps she would try a piece before they moved on. But before she could move further, the guard was being attacked and defended against a very large eel. Her eyes widened a little, and now she felt no caution. Predators that could easily overpower were not something to take lightly.
She swiftly swam forward, eyes slightly narrowed as she prepared her attack, but quickly stopped, realizing she could not get to the creature.

For one thing, there were too many people in the passage. And it seemed Callisto had hold of the situation, holding a barrier up to block the eel. She frowned a little then gave a light shake of the head. "Perhaps we should move on quickly while we can?" She called out lightly in suggestion.

Enyalius's mind raced as Callisto managed to insert herself between the eel and the guard; thinking quickly, she used the telepathic connection to direct the team, her mental voice firm, loud, quick, and not one to ask questions of. 
'Callisto! Hold it there until the others make it through - we're not leaving anyone behind!' That was Nocturnus's cue to get herself and Ribbon out of that pass and with the group, ASAP; 'Nix, scout ahead and make sure we're not walking into a trap; if you see anything, freeze it to buy us some time," She didn't know much about Nix, beyond her ability to camouflage and freeze things, both of which were useful here. Leviathan had said to take a left; she'd need to know that both ways were clear to make sure this worked. She couldn't see Nix at that moment, so she hoped the senshi was already blending into the environment and quickly moving forward. "Once Nix calls the clear, Shadow and Oberon exit the pass and stick to the right and wait; Sedna and I will cover the left wall; everyone else, head left and stay close behind us. Callisto can back up with the retreat and just keep heading for the wall; once the shield and the creature clears the pass, we'll close in on its flanks and stab it before it realizes we're still around - we'll use material weapons over magic in close quarters to lessen the chance of accidents.


"If it doesn't intend to harm us, it shouldn't follow. Now go!"

It didn’t take long for battle to erupt, and as with the last time, it only took three senshi to bring down this creature, too. If all of them were so easy to dispatch, Nix would feel better about their chances.

She moved forward once the path was clear, was surprised by the sudden eel attack, but that was quickly taken care of, too. Next she heard the order to scout ahead and moved without hesitation, but still carefully.

She exited the pass and looked both ways. Both directions are clear. She narrowed her eyes into the darkness in the left path. The north one is longer though, and seems to join another passage. I can’t see that far ahead to confirm the entire path is clear. Do you want me to move further and make sure?

"For now, hang tight, keep your focus that way, and tell us if anything shows up," Enyalius replied, and made for the left side of the pass opening, showing the others, if they didn't catch, that now was the time to move. Still, with what Nix had said, she realized a small flaw in her plan and mentally amended, "Amatheia, take the right with Shadow and Oberon and watch their backs in case anything comes up that passage."

As she came out of the pass, made an obvious show of going right and, once clear of the line of sight of the enemy eel, spun to hover just beyond the opening, poised to strike once Callisto moved past and the eel's head was in sight.

Callisto winced as the eel crashed against her barrier at full speed, though she wasn't physically injured. The mental link she had with Oberon seemed to shake for a moment, and then it stilled again. She redoubled her efforts to maintaining the shield, and listened to Enyalius when she gave new orders.

"J-just tell me when I can start backing up..." she replied, agreeing with their new strategy.

Amatheia was not especially paying attention, watching the creature instead outside of the shield. How would it have grown so large..? surely there could not be enough prey in this region to sustain it. Though if there were the dragons, and the multiple limb creature the others called...what was it, Calamari? Then those would perhaps be big enough to suffice. She took in the details of the eel when she heard vaguely something about scouting and Enyalius' sharp mental voice ordering.

She heard her name and was instantly attentive, hearing Enyalius tell her to watch the right with Shadow and the senshi who had allowed for the mental communication. She hummed softly as she gave a mental acknowledgment and swam up then over the group. She continued to hum as she moved forward, glancing left and right before she set herself more towards the right passage at an angle, where she could look up and down along the way.

She relaxed as she realized now the reason for Enyalius calling for her. There was darkness, and of course she could see easily in the dark. So she was to guard Shadow and Oberon, who possibly could not see in the dark like her. Intrigued, she looked in the distant darkness for anything of interest or threat.

Oberon felt a certain relief when Enyalius was healed, but there was still a stinging sensation annoying him. Conscious there was little he could do, he compartmentalized it with the information he was receiving non-stop, filed under: 'don't open that door unless you want all hell to break loose'. The eel attacked and Oberon winced when Callisto blocked its way, their connection seemingly shaking in his mind. The constricting sensation against his ribcage worried him and his eyes went to the wall between the eel and them. He frowned but before he could do, say or think anything, Enyalius echoed in their mind with orders.

Orders he obeyed as soon as they were in the clear, the fae taking the requested position. Amatheia had already swum there to guard their back and Oberon knew Shadow would be reinforcing his side soon. He gripped his swords tightly, readying his body and mind to the fight, taking in the calmest of them so he could keep himself balanced.

There had been a battle, but they had stayed out of it - she was only too happy to do so; she had come to help but if they didn't really need her to help at that moment, she wasn't just going to try inserting herself in - that'd be rude and unnecessary. When Leviathan and the guard started moving forward, she did her best to 'swim' along, keeping up with the rest of the group, holding Nocturnus's hand. She wanted to make comments to her, to see if Nocturnus thought this was as weird as she did, or that the dragon business had been as sad as she felt it had - even talk about the guard, and how Leviathan was acting strangely around him, but she kept quiet as they made up the rear of the group, afraid to think her thoughts loudly - she had found it was really only the louder, more intentional thoughts that made it into other people's minds - or speak out loud in case it drew unnecessary attention to them, or herself in particular. She didn't want to seem stupid and she didn't want anything overhearing her that shouldn't be listening in. 

She had been looking forward when Leviathan had suddenly pulled the Guard backward, protecting him with her own body as Callisto shot forward and out of sight, and then for a moment they had all been glowing with bronze-colored light, and her heart skipped a beat: the battle wasn't over yet. 

Enyalius's commands cut through the panic in her head, giving out clear instructions with a reason to back it; she physically nodded when she heard what the rest of them were intended to do, and squeezed Nocturnus's hand to indicate that she was ready to get out of there and move back quickly, so the rest of the plan could happen!

Ribbon is following Nocturnus!:

Summoning her weapon once more, Sedna easily followed Enya's instructions. It was clear that the other senshi was a vetran in these types of situations. Making sure to keep herself within range should Enya need help but far enough away that she could easily use her halberd without risking accidental injury towards her companion, she moved forward, following the left path. Once they reached the pass, Sedna placed herself beside the other senshi in a way so she had plenty of room to move her Halberd without hitting or interfering with Enya. 

Nix, are you able to see how far the path goes?

Sailor Leviathan almost lost her breath. What was she thinking? If Sailor Callisto hadn't been there, who knew what would have happened? She couldn't understand. Why did she do what she did?

"W-what?! No! You just told me to protect you, so I did! T-that was nothing, not like what Shield Girl did! Now come on! Let's go, whatever-your-name-is!"

She blushed terribly and started to push the guard through the pass. She couldn't believe what he said. She didn't want to believe it. Was she actually different from before? Was she more like the others now? The thought disgusted her.

She finally focused on what the others were doing and became very concerned. What if they went too far? What if they bumped into Guardian Leviathan and Enoch before she did? She couldn't trust them, but she felt she had no choice.

Do what Brawns For Brains says! she shouted mentally. For once, she's on track! After you go left down the path, turn right! There should be an opening on your right when you continue!

Understood, Nix replied to Enyalius’ instruction and stood facing the northern branch, with her back to the other senshi beginning to line up behind her. She trusted them to deal with things happening in that direction as she focused on the two branches in front of her, one to the right and the other further ahead.

She was momentarily confused by Sedna’s question but decided to repeat herself since all the telepathic back and forth was probably confusing to keep track of.

As I’ve said, I can’t see that far ahead without moving further because it’s dark. But I’m currently standing before another branch to the east.

Seeing that she was not necessary to this quick escape plan, Achelois followed the others past where Enya stopped.

Shadow hurried towards the right side of the mountain pass, readying his sword. If this was the electric eel mentioned in the crone's warning, then there was no room for fooling around. For all of the difficulty he and Enya were having with cooperation, the plan to leave the eel exposed to a vicious ambush was quite sound.

His eyes turned back to the passage, waiting for the crucial moment to strike.

Sailor Nocturnus

Hearing Enyalius' instructions and feeling the pressure of Ribbon's hand, Sailor Nocturnus nodded and ran. It was the one thing she was pretty good at, apparently. They hurried past Callisto and her barrier, which held back the eel, and did their best to maneuver into the group to stay somewhat central. It wouldn't be a good idea to allow anything to sneak up on them. These twisting pathways among the mountains felt like just another variant on the maze. She wasn't about to rush blindly into danger, still remembering the battle with Flax.

She assumed a defensive posture; with Enyalius' comment about physical weapons, she wouldn't be able to assist.

Note to self, she thought quietly, not sharing with the others. Maybe get some kind of sword thing? Almost everyone else has swords. Maybe sailor soldiers who are not "in training" get swords? Ask later.

'They're clear! Bring it back!' Enyalius mentally called to Callisto, and prepared to attack as soon as the creature was clear of the rock.

"Okay..." Callisto started floating back towards the wall where the trench split into two paths, taking her barrier with her.

Amatheia continued her humming, which increasingly seemed to be something she did unaware. She peered into the darkness calmly then blinked, rearing back defensively when she saw another one of the creatures from before. It went past her fortunately, but others were not lucky. She saw it hitting Shadow and now the gentle calmness she had had vanished in an instant, replaced by an icy demeanor. This was not the bubbly princess senshi who looked at the enemy, it was a warrior.

She had no doubts from before of Leviathan's attitude towards these things, so felt no guilt as she raised her arms up. Her eyes narrowed, all business as she focused her attention on the vampire squid. “Shard Mist Shower!” She sang full throat now, and her cry descended into vocalizations as she swirled her arms and hands above her head as if she were creating a storm. The water around her began swirling gently, gathered by her magic, moving faster and faster.

Then she pushed her arms in an arc at the vampire squid, sending the current she had crafted at the squid. As the water flew, icicles formed in the water with needle sharp points and razor edges.

Attack!:

The coordinated ambush had been a resounding success! Yet there was no time to celebrate, for a second squid had just appeared. This day was just getting better and better! If the bizarre cephalopod hadn't just rammed Shadow into the corpse of the eel, he might have stopped to ponder whether or not he had been its intended victim. He issued a short telepathic call, warning the senshi closest to him of his intentions.

Get ready, Oberon; this may not be a pleasant sensation.

He had no interest in being injured any further; preventing such harm would surely be more effective than letting it occur in the first place. While the squid flopped around to further threaten him with tentacled arms, Shadow summoned up dark energy and hastily formed it into a shield.

"Twilight Fortress!" 

OOC:

Is everyone alright? Sedna asked through the link. She could hear both Amatheia and Shadow calling out attacks. There must be another enemy that had appeared. Unsure if she should move in to attack or to heal, she waited to hear a response from her comrades.

He winced when the eel collided with Callisto's shield again but was ready for its arrival. With the four of them prepared, it took no time to get rid of it. He barely had the time to nod at Enyalius - a nod that probably meant: 'good insight and strategy' before Amatheia's reaction to something turned his attention behind them.

He leaped out of the way.

I will live.

He assured Shadow, though slightly concerned, filtering sensations from emotions between his mind and theirs. The fact the other used dark energy unnerved him, bringing him back to a battlefield on the moon, but as there was no time to reminisce about one of the worst times of his long life, he steeled his mind, focusing on the threat at hand.

He plunged after Amatheia's attack, trying to drive both swords in the squid's body and pull at it, hoping it would maybe give Shadow some room to get out of between both creatures.

We are in rather charming company over here. Though I would suggest, if help is given, not to crowd the already filled rocky alley. It is a marvel no one actually got hit by friendly fire yet. In such closed space, might I suggest weaponry?

Eshana moved forward with her Halberd carefully maneuvering around the dead Eel and Shadow. Thrusting her halberd, she aimed to hit the vampire squid.

Sailor Nocturnus

Nocturnus maintained her defensive posture, keeping her eyes alert for any activity that might signal yet another monster. There was nothing she could do to help with the vampire squid. The risk that her attack might accidentally injure one of her allies was just too great; she couldn't take that chance. She made sure to keep herself slightly in front of Ribbon, just in case they were ambushed somehow.

At the least, she would continue to protect her friend. In a way, it was also the best way she could currently serve Sailor Leviathan. If she couldn't join in the battle for the planet, at least she could protect someone the other girl cared about.

Why, then, was he feeling the stinging effects of a second injury? He had kept his eyes on the squid the entire time while raising his shield. The monstrous mollusk was getting ready to follow up its attack, but otherwise did not threaten him with its tentacles.

Shadow let his eyes drift downward for a moment, then frowned. Oh.. that would be why. At least that's not my dominant hand.

Though Amatheia rushed to aid him, the squid's proximity to Shadow ensured that both of them were exposed to the siren senshi's volley of ice shards. His left arm had been slashed by a number of the supercooled razors, with a smaller needle of frozen water having jabbed into his shoulder.

Grasping his sword with both hands, Shadow jabbed the weapon up into what he hoped would be the softest portion of the squid's body.