Company and Calamity

Not wasting any time, the Morningstar rushes forward and begins to barrage Katie with a strange mix of slow and fast strikes. Meanwhile for the group, a loud horn blares out as they narrowly avoid an oncoming train emerging from a tear in reality.

"Yikes!" Sky shouts as he steps out of the way of the train. "What in the world is happening?!" Life shouted over the sounds of the train. "I think these are rifts between dimensions, just like Hyrax made...but..." Kyuubi looked around "Probably a lot worse" Kyuubi grabbed his blades and braced himself for...something, he seemed to be thinking about something. on the other side of the train Sky holds onto Daybreak who watches the train whiz by "Are they okay?" He asked "Knowing them I am almost certain they are" Tide said. Daybreak shifted forward almost as though he wanted to grab onto it. Desire looked over at the Morningstar and Katie, "we can still help." Desire said "We look different but we're still the same as before" She turned to Life and Kyuubi "Yes but the question is...how"

"You are definitely NOT the same as before!" Katie throws the Morningstar as Syrix finds himself, once again, on the mannequin Kyuubi. The Morningstar exhales a flame at Tide before a familiar shape emerges from a rift and slashes at Kyuubi with a sword. The Prince of Monsters, or at least a controlled version, has appeared. It seems the Morningstar is weaponizing both memories and reality itself.

Kyuubi narrowly dodges the sudden strike "Whoa! Wait a minute!" Kyuubi draws his blades up in a defensive position "It's you!" Kyuubi says "I don't want to hurt you!" Kyuubi says. "Tide watch out!" Sky shouts. Tide looks over to see the approaching attack. Shade throws out a hasty barrier to block the oncoming attack as best as he can. Everyone on that side of the train duck down behind the shield. Syrix, rather frustrated slides off of the false Kyuubi "I can manage on my own thank you very much." he says to the statue.

The barrier Shade throws out seems to be composed of wind as it knocks away the flame. Similarly to Syrix, the false Kyuubi appears to grow frustrated just as Syrix does. Asriel wastes no time rushing Kyuubi with a flurry of slashes while a rainbow energy build up in the blade. The Morningstar seems to be cherishing the moment as the train disappears. Katie fires off a few pink clouds towards the other god, but he avoids them with as much grace as she can do.

Kyuubi does his best to counter the attacks as Asriel strikes repeatedly. Despite Kyuubi's mercy Asriel seems to refuse to listen. Desire and Life reach out to stop Asriel's assault with their powers. Daybreak looks over at Shade and then back to Sky "Did you...?" Daybreak starts to ask Sky "Uh, no I didn't..." Sky said "Shade just...""Oh Aurora, Please don't tell me..." Tide said. He took a breath and thrust his hand forward as he exhaled attempting to test his power.

Tide extends his hand, but instead of water emerging, the appendage around his neck shoots out and latching a hold of Shade. Katie throws blasts of purity which are mirrored exactly by the Morningstar's own chaotic attacks. Desire and Life reach out to Asriel, with some strange effects. Desire blasts a torrent of scalding water and Life throws out a rose that lands on the ground not too far from Asriel.

"Gck-!" Tide reacts as this strange new appendage moved, "NO!" Tide yelled in frustration "We've all swapped! gah! This can't be happening!" Tide shouts in frustration. Daybreak glances between everyone. He starts to see the pattern now. Shade has Sky's powers, Desire has Tide's, Life has Desire's, That was clear. Upon closer inspection the other swapped powers were easier to notice. Kyuubi must have swapped with the Hollow though he wasn't quite sure what it did exactly but the hole in his chest made it clear, The Hollow with Life. As an assumption, Tide must have swapped with Syrix which explains the appendage, Syrix must have gotten Kyuubi, as strange as that may seem though that might explain the fake Kyuubi. Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he panicked and looked down at himself. Realizing that he was entirely black now first made him panic that he had become Sunset but something wasn't exactly right and realized his rings were gone, he must have swapped with Shade? Then another thought occurred to him which put him into more of a panic, "Someone swapped with me!" He thought to himself. he slowly looked down and saw Sky's hand had a black ring around it and his breathing sped up "Something wrong Daybreak?" Sky said "S- Sky...listen to me..." he said "I-If you hear anything...words you aren't saying...d-" he choked a little "D-...Don't Listen" He said but Sky didn't seem to understand. Life looked startled by the rose, "That's new..." he said. He then attempted to send a vine out to grab at Asriel to make him stop.

Life's attempt at a vine only resulted in the rose infatuating Asriel with its scent. He sat on the floor and disappeared. The Morningstar made a noise that was akin to laughter. He really seemed to enjoy the situation. The ground's waves picked up pace.

Life looked highly confused now, "That's not what I..." "We've all traded abilities!" Daybreak said running over to join the group along with Tide, Sade and Sky. The Hollow seemed to be full of energy. Syrix looked around at everyone "Wait" he said "If that's true than...what did I get?" he said. "My guess...Kyuubi" Daybreak said. Syrix looked at the false Kyuubi "R-really?" he said, he sounded excited suddenly and a wide grin came across his face "OH YES PLEASE!" he shouted. Kyuubi turned to look over at the Morningstar "I suppose you'd find this funny..." Kyuubi spoke with such a bland and bored tone that everyone seemed shocked by how emotionless he sounded. it was at this moment that Sky glanced down at his wrists and realized that those new designs weren't just for show and he froze for a minute "Uuuuhhhh...mmmmm..." he seemed to want to say something but couldn't...it seemed that now that the had become more aware of their predicament they were starting to act slightly different as well.

An alarm clock fell out of a rift, temporarily stopping the Morningstar's laughter. Once it rang, he burst into even more fits of laughter as he began to appear all around the room, most of them doubled over or rolling on the ground. The ones that weren't were walking up the walls, falling through the floor, or shape shifting into different shapes which were foten times just reflections of the group. Katie was having a hard enough time going against one Morningstar, now there were dozens of him and more and more popping up.

They all looked around except for Kyuubi who just kept starring at where the Mornignstar he was talking to was. "Let me handle this" Syrix said. He sat for a moment before turning to Kyuubi "Uhhhh any tips on how to screw with time?" he smiled sheepishly and Kyuubi shot him a look which was even more intense now that he seemed so emotionless. "Is that a no then?" he said still smiling awkwardly. Sky seemed to be shaking for some reason and he looked like he was in pain, his right hand slowly rose up as though he was in a classroom. but instead of asking a question his hand closed into a fist and he let out a scream. Suddenly a huge burst of light energy pulsed out with immense force all around the room. everyone, including the group, was blasted away. The group crashed into one another as they where blasted away. As the group went sailing away from Sky they were suddenly grabbed by a collection of vines that placed them on the ground and fortified them to stop them from flying away. It was the Hollow, it had somehow mastered Life's skill with absolutely no training. The pulse emitted from Sky had spread and somehow hit every Morningstar in the room including, unfortunately, Katie as well.

Katie was knocked over, but the Morningstar was in a much worse shape. With Sky's blast, the clock has shattered, also breaking the flow of time, forcing the Morningstar to recollect himself and all the damage he took in a single instant. He seemed to be breaking down. Small chunks of his body were breaking off and splatting on the ground. He seemed both excited and in an immense amount of pain.

Sky's hand opened but it was still shaking. Sky stopped screaming but he seemed to be crying. Kyuubi was panting, he suddenly started feeling like himself again although, everyone else seemed to still be scrambled around. He was rather confused, the hole in his chest seemed to have mended somehow, he looked down and found that there was a symbol in place of where the hole used to be, he tasted what seemed to be blood. He looked over and found that Desire had what seemed to be a bite mark of some kind on her leg. he must have bitten her by accident while they were spiraling out of control. The vines the Hollow was using to protect everyone went away "I feel different..." he said "Yes" the Hollow said, it turned to Kyuubi "Hollow bite power. Hollow borrow power from bite" The Hollow gestured to the symbol on Kyuubi's chest "You have Hollow power. Hollow power get you other powers." Kyuubi started to understand, he now had the power Desire has currently because he bit her by accident. Sky stood absolutely still but his breathing was shaky, "Is...Is Sky alright?" Desire said pointing at him, some members of the group moved over to him "You alright?" Kyuubi asked, but Sky didn't reply, he kept crying, his hand still pointed upward...

Kaite was shaky and rose slowly seeing the Morningstar falling apart. She took a few steps back away from him and quickly glanced to the group. "Brace yourselves everyone." The tiles under everyone's feet made a click sound. The Morningstar looked up to the group, his skull seemed to be slipping slightly and he looked a bit droopy.

Sky dropped to the floor on his hands and knees, still crying. The hollow acted the fastest and created a shield of large, thick trees around the group with vines dropping down from the leaves. Daybreak knelt down in front of Sky "S-Sky...Just hold on..." he whispered "M-My head..." he whimpered "I-I don't...I don't w-w..." he put a hand up to his head. the group prepared themselves although they weren't quite sure what may be coming.

The tiles beneath their feet rose into the air, forming large pillars. The Morningstar’s body was composed of a dense black sludge, which began to break down. In a massive tidal wave, the Morningstar’s body filled the space below the group just an inch below the tiles. The room melted away and the group found themselves stranded on little platforms in an ocean of sludge. Long pseudopods rose from the inky ocean and lashed at the group. The Morningstar’s skull could be seen drifting around and occasionally sliding up the sickly tendrils.

The group looked on, stunned by what had occurred "Aurora help us..." Desire muttered. The Hollow calls forth vines to counter attack the pseudopods that were headed for the group "Anyone got any bright ideas?" Tide said, there was a bit of a worried tone in his voice which seemed a bit odd for him. Sky seemed unaware of his surroundings "We have to try something!" Life shouted "Yeah, but what?!" Syrix shouted "With all of us swapped around like this...""You must try!" The Hollow replied. Kyuubi looked around at the area trying to come up with a plan, Seeing the skull of the Morningstar he decides to steady himself, "well...it's worth a shot..." Kyuubi says. he takes on a stance he saw Tide do once. he feels the energy of water flow through him and the symbol on his chest begins to glow as an orb of water forms in between his hands. He takes a deep breath and the water turns to ice "please work..." he mumbles as he volleys it as an icicle spear towards the skull. Meanwhile Sky's crying seems to have changed somehow "I....C...an't..." he utters, the crying he makes sounds weak and pitiful, however he starts making another noise as he sobs, was that...a chuckle? no one but Daybreak seems to notice...

The spear if ice lands and shatters against the skull. There is a resounding hissing noise as the skull retreats. One of the pseudopods forms wings like the Morningstar as the skull takes its place. The figure swings at Kyuubi before a few nee platforms emerge from the sludge. Rifts open up around the area as an Echidna plops onto one if the new platforms. His eyes shine purple as he quickly peers around the area. Katie fends off a few of the pseudopods before looking around the group. The Belphegor’s Prime and the Grand Colossus continue their brutal fight.

Kyuubi staggers backwards from the sudden attack, Desire catches him before he falls over "that seemed to work" Kyuubi muttered. he stands back up "That was very impressive but now isn't the time for praise. We've got some more company" Tide says gesturing to the echidna that just appeared. "just what we needed..." Shade says sarcastically. The group looks around for where the skull of the morningstar might have gone. Shade takes a deep breath and leaps off the platform onto another one much further away, assisting himself by using a gust of wind to give him the extra boost, Life prepares an attack to cover shade just in case something tries to attack him. Desire and Kyuubi nod to each other, the Hollow gives them a bit of a bridge to jump onto another platform. Sky starts to speak again, "I...I can't believe it... he mutters, Daybreak turns to look at him "huh?" Daybreak says, very confused. Sky doesn't look up but repeats himself "I can't believe it... he says again "You...you..." Daybreak hesitantly steps towards him "S-Sky?" he says. Sky seems to chuckle "you look good in black..." he says, "w...w...what?" Daybreak takes a half step backwards...

Katie suddenly throws something towards Daybreak as she wuickly wheels around the block a few attacks. The Hyrax Echidna begins to hop from platform to platform while exhaling his signature gas from both mouths. The gas form large clouds that begin to drift around. The skull can be seen drifting towards another tendril.

Life, instead of attacking decides to volley a few roses that land near the separated members of the group, the roses begin to suck in some of the air nearby and they begin to absorb the gas let out by the echidna. Desire and Kyuubi both blast twin water pulses at the echidna in the hopes that they can launch it away and make it go away. Shade sees the Morningstar and he attempts to blast a pricing wind at it before it can drift too far. Meanwhile Sky begins to stand up "are you deaf? Why do you make me repeat myself so much?" He says "I said you look good in black..." He smiles "You should wear it more often" the whites of Sky's eyes become pitch black and his irises change to an odd combination of gold and purple, much like "S...Sunset...". The Hollow, who was standing nearby Daybreak notices the item dropped by Katie and snatches it as Daybreak is a little preoccupied.

The Hollow feels untold power course through him as the item forms into one of Kaite’s sticks. The Echidna is doused in water to the point where he falls through another rift. When the echidna departs, a long serpentine form of the Corrupted Hyrax plots into a larger platform. It unravels its wings and sharpens its claws on the platform before its eyes shine purple and it roars to the groups, slithering across platforms.

The Hollow perks up a bit and looks intently at the stick, the Hollow looks out and sees the corrupted Hyrax and thinks of what to do. Kyuubi and Desire retreat away from the serpentine creature onto platforms further away from it. Syrix and Life both advance onto a closer platform and Life attempts to bind it down with vines covered in roses, Syrix charges forward swinging the swords at it as he approaches. Tide and Shade keep track of the skull as Shade attempts to attack it every opportunity he gets. Daybreak backs up to the edge of his platform, not taking eye contact off of 'Sky'. 'Sky' suddenly throws his arms outward and he is consumed by negative energy. once the energy clears Sunset stands in Sky's place. he looks almost identical to Daybreak, especially now that Daybreak was colored black from the power switching. "T-this is a nightmare..." he mutters to himself "For some" Sunset laughs "For me, however, It's a dream come true." he smiles a wicked smile. Daybreak starts shaking his head as he tries to back up but realizes he has run out of room to retreat "T-this...can't be happening..." he stammers.

The skull is hit again and again as it attempts to merge with a pseudopod. The Corrupted Hyrax begins to smash platforms it crosses over and violently tear at anyone in adjacent platforms to it as it passes. Seeing Sunset, Katie does a quick channel and swaps places with Daybreak, who is now a decent distance away. She brandishes her tonfas and stares down Sunset.