[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/io96cQp.png[/img][/center]

[center][@Izurich][@Villamvihar][@Sonnambula][/center]

Olivia frowned upon hearing Wilhelmina’s distress, the kindhearted beauty completely clueless as to why her friend was so freaked out by Xolys’s efforts to protect them. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Creepy?”[/color] she echoed. [color=LightSkyBlue]“I-Is darling Xolys holding you a bit too tightly?”[/color] she inquired, her tone a mixture of concern and puzzlement. [color=LightSkyBlue]“I know you’re just doing your best to ensure Helmi won’t fall again, darling,”[/color] she added while smiling up at her eldritch companion’s misshapen head. [color=LightSkyBlue]“But could you perhaps loosen your grip ever so slightly?”[/color]

[color=MediumBlue]“Of course, my sweet,”[/color] Xolys replied. [color=MediumBlue]“I do apologize, Captain,”[/color] he told his terrified passenger. [color=MediumBlue]“I know you may still be somewhat uncomfortable, but please be assured that I intend you no harm. Indeed, all I do is with your continued safety in mind.”[/color]

Realizing the rudeness of her words, Captain Goodhope quickly apologized to her nightmarish protector, before asking that they focus their full attention on the Pageless.

[color=MediumBlue]“There is no need to apologize, Captain,”[/color] Xolys reassured her. [color=MediumBlue]“Your reaction towards me is perfectly understandable, although I thank you for your generous compliment,”[/color] he added. [color=MediumBlue]“You are truly a kind soul, much like my dearest Olivia.”[/color]

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh, darling!”[/color] the azure-clad beauty giggled, while a blush colored her cheeks.

Meanwhile, as they had steadily drawn nearer to the sky borne Pageless, an interesting aspect of its nature rapidly became apparent. Its “eyes” were actually nothing of the kind, merely clusters of glowing specks. Was this creature some form of bizarre gestalt consciousness, Olivia wondered, or was it perhaps just a distraction to conceal their foe’s true form? As it happened, the mysterious creature would soon provide an answer as it moved to attack Nessie. Thankfully, the redhead’s increased alertness, coupled with the creature’s noticeably slower speed, meant that she was able to dodge the attack, although not without getting a few scratches on her broomstick in the process. The Pageless then proceeded to swipe at Captain Goodhope. The shadowy creature was swift, but Xolys was swifter still, and thus was able to place one of his own twisted appendages between Goodhope and the creature’s claws. The Pageless vanished into the clouds soon after, but the eldritch monstrosity and the two Magical Girls that rode upon him still had time to make out just what they were facing, a spectral being with two clawed arms emerging from its cloaked form.

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Goodness!”[/color] Olivia exclaimed. [color=LightSkyBlue]“He’s quite fast! And he looks a bit like a wraith, or maybe a shade… Oh, but I just [i]love[/i] his tattered cloak! It makes him look very mysterious!”[/color]

The creature darted at them a second time, but a luminous barrier blocked its attack, causing it to pull back into the clouds once more. 

[color=MediumBlue]“My thanks, Miss Lumiere,”[/color] Xolys told their angelic team leader with a small nod.

A moment later, the glowing motes that composed the Pageless’s “eyes” dispersed in a brilliant flash. Under cover of this blinding light show, the vile fiend once again attempted to strike at Nessie, but as with Wilhelmina, Lumiere’s obelisk wings shielded the Lady of the Lake with a protective energy barrier. The angelic girl then gave the order to attack, and Xolys responded by firing a crackling beam of unreality at the cloud into which the Pageless had retreated. However, although the cloud was utterly unmade, the cloaked form of the Pageless was able to narrowly avoid the blast. Indeed, it seemed far too agile to target, although perhaps a greater volume of fire would leave it unable to maneuver? That said, Lumiere seemed perfectly content to allow the rest of the team to deal with this threat, and while the Lady of the Lake and the Master of Xhar’doth both possessed the ability to unleash powerful ranged attacks, those attacks didn’t have the greatest rate of fire, and there were still only two of them. If only Captain Goodhope’s offensive capabilities weren’t so lacking… Then again, perhaps there [i]was[/i] a way in which she could contribute…

Having apparently come to the same conclusion, the maritime maiden shakily noted that she could call upon the aid of her ghostly crew, but only if they had something, or some[i]one[/i] to bare them aloft.

[color=MediumBlue]“Captain,”[/color] Xolys intoned, his strong voice resounding in both her ears and her mind in an effort to cut through the howling wind and roaring thunder. [color=MediumBlue]“If you wish to summon your spectral sailors, I shall be most pleased to provide them with protected positions from which to fire upon our elusive foe,”[/color] the Master of Xhar’doth told her, even as his shifting form enlarged and reshaped itself to create the shielded depressions that would hold and guard Goodhope’s conjured crewmen. 

[color=LightSkyBlue]“Oh! That sounds like a wonderful idea!”[/color] Olivia agreed. [color=LightSkyBlue]“Don’t you think so, Helmi?!”[/color] she asked her friend with eager excitement, once again completely unaware of the terror said friend was probably experiencing…