Descendants of Arcana Base

*Whip can't help but grin at the allowance and begins to tease her, however, he thinks better of it and instead clasps her hand with his other hand*
Whip: Don't worry. I'll make sure to come back in one piece.
*Whip draws Mana in and briefly presses against her lips. Then he pulls her closer into a small embrace*

Mana: *returns the hug, and over his shoulder she lets the expression of determination reveal itself as she faces the wall, but she arranges her features into a worried smile before she pulls out of the hug and punches the warrior lightly in the shoulder* Go kick some ass~

Verve: Let's go. Just walk through the walls, Whip. It will recognize your aura and let you through. *as if to prove his point, the fox walks straight into the walls, making the energy ripple like he's entering water*

*Whip nods to Mana and walks backwards a bit, keeping her in his sight as he pushes through the boundary*
Whip: ...I'll be back soon. I promise.
*He follows after the psychic fox, already beginning to unsheathe his bokken*

Mana: *as soon as her partner totally leaves the room, she goes around the room looking through the selection of books* It wasn't their best idea to leave me in a room filled with spellbooks...

[With Whip and Verve]

*The two are introduced to a troublesome sight of a few downed Descendants in the hall. When Whip exits, Verve seems to be getting over his shock and he examines his comrades*

Verve: ... *balls his fists in his anger and grits his teeth, standing up* You were right. They need my help. *his eyes scan the perimeter and he starts running down the hall* Come on!

AU Whip: Right.
*He quickly follows after Verve*
AU Whip: Can you sense where they are from here?

Verve: Yeah. That bat and her hedgehog friend are trying to make it to the exit. *his eyebrows furrow in concern* I can't believe they got this far... It should've been impossible...

Whip: Impossible is just a word.
*Whip starts looking left and right whilst he runs*
Whip: Is there a path we can use to cut them off?

Verve: *at Whip's words, his eyes light up literally with and idea* There is. *quickly takes a sharp left right into a wall but phases through it, heading towards the entrance by magical means*

*Whip, hesitance begotten, dives through the wall along with Verve. Deep within himself, a small, childish part of his being becomes excited by the occurrence, though for all the expression it altered, it may as well have not existed*

*Eventually, the two finally exit the water-esque dimension and find themselves in a narrowed hall, the same one Mana and Whip found themselves being escorted by Clear not too long ago*

Verve: *eyes narrow* They're approaching quickly...
: What are you doing here?!
Verve: *turns to find Vita marching towards them with a stern expression, to which the fox has to swallow to maintain his composure* V-Vita... *it doesn't work*
Vita: You were to keep watch over Mana and not to let Whip battle again! *looks to Whip sternly* And you! Why would you leave Mana undefended like that?!
Verve: She's in the records room protected by my magic-
Vita: You do not understand, Verve! *at this point, it is obvious that she's extremely worried and desperate because of the situation* Psyche has relayed information to us about the enemy! Kirai on her own is powerful, but with her partner, they're deadly. Unstoppable.
Verve: Vita-
Vita: *she clenches her arm tightly in worry* The reason why we are losing is because her partner cuts off all our senses. Sensing their auras are useless because we can't make left or right once we've been trapped in the darkness. And while our comrades are trapped, she lands the killing blows with illusions that are real.

Verve: *doesn't like the intel at all* Is there any good news to this?
Vita: *bites her lip* ...They're wearing down. Too much energy exertion I would assume.
Verve: *frowns but looks towards the end of the hall, his hands glowing slightly with energy* Then we'll have to do the best we can...
Vita: *eyes widen slightly* You're... You're fighting?
Verve: *smiles weakly* What? I was just supposed to drop Whip off and leave? *shakes his head* No. As long as you're here, I'm fighting for you.
Vita: *her breath catches at Verve's words, but after a moment of stunned silence, she overcomes her emotions and looks to Whip* Whip, whatever you do, whatever happens here, get back to Mana as best as you can. Verve's magic won't be able to stop Kirai's demon partner. He doesn't rely on magic. It's something darker and more sinister. He could get to Mana if he wanted.

Whip: Like hell he will.
*Whip readies his bokken and rolls his neck in preparation*
Whip: I'm used to dealing with magic and it's pain. So...
*Despite the situation, he bares a cocky grin*
Whip: If her partner isn't even using magic, he won't even pose a threat~

Vita: *looks like she's about to reprimand Whip, but her attention snaps to the opening door across the hall*
Verve: They're here.

*As foretold, the same almost-obsidian bat from before comes casually strolling through the door, her nails covered in blood. She seems to be alone as she approaches the trio, stopping a short distance away, giving a malicious smirk towards Whip directly*

Kirai: Oh? Well what do you know~ The little boy with a stick for a toy has come to play again. *she gives off a demented giggle* Where's your girlfriend? I do hope I didn't send her crying after that whole event. *her hands spark with blue electricity and she looks at Whip derisively* I have to thank her for the magic she gave me after all~

*Whip's fury burns behind his calm demeanor, though he doesn't give Kirai the satisfaction of seeing his rage*
Whip: ....What about you? I heard you had a new playmate too. When do we get to meet him?

Kirai: Hmm, I'm not too sure. *taps her foot on her shadow, but there's no reaction* From the looks of it, either Kimi's too tired to play or he's gone off to find Mana dear~ *gives a wicked grin to the fox* You were a little late setting up that Protection spell. It's hard to pretend that she's hiding when in truth she's in the same place she has been for the past, oh, hour?
Verve: *narrows his eyes at hers*
Kirai: Oh well~ I'll just pay Mana a visit once Kimitsu's done binding her. *her eyes shine brightly with malicious intention* I'll make sure she'll beg like the pathetic little kitten she is before I finish her. *her nails elongate dangerously as she gives Whip an amused look* Would you like to watch~?

*Kirai's pricking and prodding causes Whip to drop any pretenses he held of calmness. His voice raises to a violent level as he grips his bokken tighter than before*
Whip: Shut the hell up!
*Ignoring any previous plans, Whip bursts at her, ready to run her through with his bokken in his reckless fury*

Vita: Whip!
Kirai: *gives a demented grin and takes flight, rushing to meet Whip with her sharp nails and swings them at him, her weapon extending sharply and quickly as the swing approaches Whip, more than five inches behind him*

Vita: *although she was going to help Whip, she snaps around and uses energy to block off an attack from-* Verve!?
Verve: *his eyes have gone red, signifying he's under an illusion as he moves into an energy charged kick at Vita*

*As close as he manages to get, he ducks and rolls just under the swipe and continues his charge, pulling back his bokken and swinging it at her with incredible velocity*

*Somehow, Kirai stops the bokken with her other hand, her crimson eyes glowing brightly with a blood red light, suggesting Whip's trapped in an illusion once more. The idea is proven by the rest of the hallway turning black, bringing her and Whip to the same area they fought before*

Kirai: You got away last time, but let's see how you fair without anyone's help~ *a twisted smile finds her face once again* I promise it won't take long.

*Whip twists his bokken backwards, keeping his enraged eyes on the bat and aware of the surroundings, or lack thereof, around him*
Whip: That's a promise I can agree to!
*Warring between strategy and vengeance, he becomes overcome with his anger and rushes towards her again, keeping conscious of any tricks she might try to use against him*

Kirai: *holds her hand out and unleashes a barrage of energy blasts that are reminiscent to bullets*

*Whip halts in place, though without time to dodge, he instead begins repelling the flurry with his bokken. This proves to be almost ineffective, as he's skimmed by a few shots and, once, take one to his off shoulder*

Kirai: *closes the distance as she shoots at him before her arm turns into a large snake that binds itself around Whip's body, constricting him as she pulls him up from the ground* Is this all you can do? This isn't even fun. *her trademark malicious smirk returns, filling the air with bloodlust* Don't make me compensate your pathetic performance by playing with Mana even longer~

*Whip struggles fiercely against the constriction, thrashing his body and legs as much as he can at her mercy*
Whip: I won't let you touch her for a second!
*He wraps his legs around her newly reptilian arm and twists, trying to bend the "body" of the snake between his feet*

Kirai: *cries out in pain when Whip twists her arm, and the snake retracts as her arm returns to how it is normally, but now it looks slightly out of place* Damn it... That shouldn't have hurt... I used too much energy...

*Whip lands running. As soon as he's within range, he jumps at her and slashes with his bokken*
Whip: Go to Hell!