scorri

"Ahh ha... it's not that I don't understand what bodyguard means. I simply, don't like being restrained. A byproduct of my upbringing I suppose you could say. Adam was being overcautious anyways... We hardly encountered any danger until this final bit! Still," They took a step back and gave a sweeping bow. "I apologize for the stress that I caused you. It was not my intention, but simply a clash of my natural habits with your attempts to protect me." They straightened, spying one of the men that had joined them starting to head into the city. "Well! I'll leave you two to discuss specifics~" Luce spun around and started to head after the healer. "Oh! Mikhail! Wait up!"

"So sorry I'm not up for someone flirting in the middle of battle with an organization that stole and tortured my friend." Cin growled as he used the last of his vuln. "You're wasting your time with me anyways, so. I appreciate your help, we need what help we can get, but please focus on the fight not on me." Cin hold and vuln

"I'll be fine. There's too much going on to stop and chat." Cin pushed forward, irritation at this stranger's insistence bubbling up slightly through his anger. He grabbed a vuln, hoping that at least would get her off his back. That handled, he moved forward as Miria and Tanya handled the enemies in front of him. Good. The underground was going to pay. Cin to 5-27, use a vuln

"Not everyone, the Evokers needed time to recover after... everything." Cin's fire flared as he remembered the attack, but he growled, forcing it back down before he continued. "Everyone else is here though. The commander is leading the group charging the front. I'm here with others to cover this exit. I'm, glad you're alive. We're getting you out of here and wiping every one of these scum out." He was getting ready to head in there, to see Alvira, when all of a sudden a pink and blue haired woman appeared in front of him, talking about Jeremiah, and reminding him all too much of his first time meeting Siorel. "Uhm. Yes, I'm Cinaed. I doubt you have any business with me. I'll go let the others know that you're an ally." He turned, quickly heading back towards the rest of the group, calling out as he did, "Alvira is here, along with some other prisoners and two allies. At least... for now. Jeremiah and a pink haired lady. He's guarding our rear, so we're good to keep pushing forward. Lets do this." 4-23

Luce smiled, eyes starting to close as Eve reached out for their head, only to have nothing come of it. "Aw Eve..." Tail dropping, the cat turned to the newcomer with a sigh. It seemed Eve had made new friends since the last time they had seen her. "There was a bunch of fighting, though Eve missed most of that too. Oh! You missed my light show too~ I met some interesting folks along the way Eve! Including a princess, though she's off helping the ones who were running away." They paused, and then looked up at the ice pillars. "She managed to make these too. Such a display of magic, almost made me... green with envy. You know? Still, she left us her friend Ali, though seems like you know her already. Then theeeeere's uhm... Mikhaaaail? I think was his name. Also the swordsman who demanded I introduce myself without introducing himself first, so I don't know his name. He fought well though." As Luce was explaining things, Ichika came up, clearly eager to finish her duties of delivering the dancer to the city. "Ah, and this is Ichika! Adam hired her as my escort. Yes, this is Eve. You can be rid of me if you want, though... I think Eve might have an offer for you. If you're still willing to listen after putting up with me so long." Luce wasn't dumb. They knew they had rubbed Ichika the wrong way. Hopefully they hadn't removed any chance of her staying around, not after Adam had asked them to try and convince her to stay.

Luce to 10-11 Luce started to chase after the mage, assuming that Eve had the man in armor handled, but they paused as Eve looked their way, brown eyes connecting with their pink ones for a second. Damn. Time ran short it looks like... Mmm, hopefully this doesn't draw too much attention. A stray cat doesn't need that. They switched paths, instead darting in close to the man in armor, a light grin covering for the thoughts in their head. "Well now, here's an impressive set of armor. Still, didn't your mother teach you not to mess with things you don't understand?" They danced around the man until the wagon was between them and the rest of the party, and the grin dropped away as they quietly continued, "Or maybe you do know what you're messing with. So a choice. Tell me what you know and who sent you, and I'll let you live. Don't..." Their hand raised, light magic gathering in it, the threat clear. If it wasn't one thing it was another. "...I tire of these games!" He turned to the cat and pointed his spear out toward them. "You'll get nothing from me! You'll...!" He realized he was alone now after he got a good look at the battlefield, his entire unit had been decimated. "N-no, it can't be...this was a simple job..." Luce sighed, and shook their head. "So be it." They darted in past the spear, and reached out with the hand in which the spell was gathered and touched the man's breastplate. "Goodbye." To the others of the group, it all baldness in an instant. Luce disappeared behind the wagon and then a few seconds later an explosion of light magic burst out, sending the armored man flying a short distance back before he collapsed to the ground. The purple haired cat peeked around the wagon, eyes wide with a huge grin. "Whoooooa!! Did you all see that? That was crazy!"

9-7, light up Merc 4 "Aww, Eve... Calling me a stray cat makes it seem like I have no home. I have one, I'm just... probably not welcome there anymore. Still! Not the same. Hmmph." Grumbling, Luce made their way towards Eve, though they didn't follow all the way just yet. "Glad to have you and your new friend though. There are still a few too many of these guys for me to be comfortable." They quickly produced another spell, sending it ripping towards the swordsman approaching their group. "Hey, uh, Mikha... Mikeil... Mikhal? Mike. Mike! Ichika needs your help here."

6-20 As Cin turned the corner, he saw Alvira, along with several others that he didn't recognize. "Alvira! Are you OK? Are these people allies?" They didn't seem to be attacking her, instead seeming to talk to her, but he didn't trust it. Not here. Not now.

Luce to 7-5, blast Bandit 3 "Eve!~ Oh, lovely, glad to see you~" Luce waved to the pink haired woman as they slid past the bandit, blasting him with light magic along the way. They barely looked at the man, knowing their magic was going to strike true. "Sooooorry I'm late." They frowned, ears drooping slightly. "I did try but it's such a long walk. Plus there was, uhm, the whole bandit thing. Soooo, it's not my fault~ Right?" They smiled hopefully, appealing to the woman with a hopeful expression.

"Ah, lovely lovely, it's nice to see such a display of magic... You'll be alright to do another attack? I don't want to pressure you after what you said about your magic circuits, but, well, there are two beefy men with axes looking a little too threatening for me to leave you here in good conscience, you know?~" Luce spun past Alouette, light magic trailing behind them as they danced an intricate pattern, ending with a light tap on Alouette's shoulder. "There! Go on now, that magic should last for a few seconds longer at least~ Light on your feet and off you go~" Luce to 6-2, dance Ali

Cin to 3-22 fire punch the gunner "Get out of my way." His anger was growing. These irredeemable humans were keeping his friend from him. He was going to find Alvira. He had been too late to save her, but he would make up for that this time.

Miria to 3-24, wind edge the soldier

Iskra had somehow pulled further into herself during the conversation about killing people, knees tight against her chest and arms pulling them even closer. It wasn't that she didn't know it was going to come up. She knew she would have to kill people. Of course she did. She didn't have to like it, but she would do her job. Everyone talking about it so bluntly though, and all the emotions that came with it, that was the issue. She wanted nothing more than to be back in her room, listening to music. Still, seeing Louis be reprimanded and then for Esther to jab at her when she was already down... She'd started to open her mouth to say something when she was hit with Louise's emotions, the anger and frustration. She winced, head starting to pound, and closed her mouth, opting instead to carefully slide her phone out and type a quick message to Louise. [You're fine. Valid question and worries. Captain isn't mad. Esther just... annoyed? Something. Don't worry about her.] It was probably laughable, her telling someone not to worry, but it was true. Louise was just looking out for the group and shouldn't worry about Esther's jabs.

Cin to 3-25 "I'm going this way. There are more enemies to be dealt with."

Now that... That was interesting. Luce looked back at the princess, their head tilted slightly with an eyebrow raised. Hmm... very powerful magic indeed. It was something to keep in mind but for now, there were more important things to focus on. "Yes, quite. Now, I did agree to try and stay behind you, Ichika, so as a heads up, I'm going to do my very best to remove that bandit from being a problem. I may need an assist however. Oh! And we should take a look in that wagon at some point, to make sure whoever is in there is safe~" With a grin, the dancer bounded forward, tail swishing as they raised their hand and pointed at the bandit. The prepared spell rushed out, followed quickly by a second. Luce to 5-4, light up the brigand

Cin was angry. No, that was an understatement. Cin was furious as they entered this stars-forsaken fortress, the place that the Underground had taken his friend. He clenched his fists, flames wrapping around them as he strode forward, rapidly becoming enveloped by them. He wasn't in control of them this time. He knew that. He simply didn't care. His anger was in control and that was fine. He could burn, for all he cared. All that mattered was not a single one of these rats being left alive at the end of this. Cin to 2-29, iron knuckle fire fist punch Mage 3

Iskra flinched when Louise brought her name up in her questioning of the situation, keeping her eyes focused on the hologram of a planet in front of her. I'm not the asset you think I am Louise... I can barely survive with these powers... The flood of emotions from her fellow pilots was pounding at her temples. Worry, anticipation, fear, anxiety, all of it tangled up in her head, to the point that it was hard to know where her emotions ended and the others began. Finally, she spoke, trying her best to push everything else away for now. "Mmm... e-even if I am a Newtype, I'm not... I'm still new. Not, disposable, m-maybe, but not... a huge loss, either. I-if something happened. I can't speak for Esther but... A-ah, not that I'm saying they're planning on us dying. Just that, I... am less valuable to CEN than you seem to be implying." She quickly shut her mouth, realizing she was contributing nothing useful to the conversation. Ugh... Idiotic...

Cin had been quiet, keeping an arm around Siorel as they listened to the conversation, until suddenly everything exploded. Apparently, one of Cass's men had been the reason the Underground had been able to pull off what they had. He growled, barely holding back his magic, hand clenching into a fist, but he knew his anger couldn't control him. Not right now. He needed to let the Commander handle it. Even as he managed to convince himself of this, he spotted Gean out of the corner of his eye, advancing on the man with her axe drawn. He reached out, grabbing onto her arm. "Gean. No. Let the Commander... She has the first crack at this. I know. Trust me. I know. But we need his information before we do anything else."

Luce sighed, stopping their forward path. Ichika was right. She had been hired to do a job and they weren't letting her do it. A certain man they knew would not be happy with Luce if he found out about this and so Luce watched the battlefield, looking for the source of the smoke and for any immediate danger until Ichika had caught up. "I will do my best to stay behind you, Ichika. However, there may be times in battle that I cannot depend on you to take on all the threats in front of me. Trust that I can manage in those moments?" It was strange. For just that moment, it seemed like Luce was almost a completely different person. Their smile was gone, replaced by a serious expression, and their relaxed pose was transformed into what was clearly a battle ready one. The faint glow of the light spell around their hand suddenly flashed, and the moment was gone, Luce suddenly all smiles again. "Right then! After you~"

"Hmm, introductions or go figure out what's going on... I'll stick with figuring out what's going on~ If you two don't want to join us because I didn't give my name, so be it! I suppose you'll just have to wonder if you could have saved anyone else while waiting for me to give my name~" Luce was moving the entire time they were talking, waving to the men as they started off. Thankfully, Alouette had caught up, and then spun around with a grin, walking backwards towards the fight. "Come on then~ Glad to have you with us. I'm sure your charge will do a wonderful job of protecting those fleeing if need be. She certainly seemed... capable~ Time for us to focus on those in front of us. Hopefully, for me, that will include Ichika in front of me. Otherwise, I'll probably have to deal with a lecture after this~" With that, they spun around, a spell starting to form around their hand. Hmm... time to see what my bodyguard is made of... Eve will want to know after all. Alouette, I'm sure she'll be fine, though I'll need to keep an eye on her based on what she said about her circuits. Those other two will either help or not. Hmmph. The sword boy couldn't even be so polite as to give his own name first. He doesn't deserve my name.

Luce smiled brightly as Ichika chased after them, waving happily. "Oh yes, of course~ I'll stay behind you. Probably. Unless there's a better option." They turned back to the carriage, spotting Alouette clearly getting ready to fight and their smile widened. "Oh good! It looks like we won't be alone either. Excellent~ I hope the princess stays safe though. This sort of thing isn't the place for her, don't you agree?" Luce turned back around, ready to start moving forward when suddenly they were addressed by a part of a pair, a young man holding a staff. "Oh! Delightful, just what we needed~ Yes, come along. The carriage is fine for now, though we should keep an eye out on it. Don't want the people left inside getting hurt. You'll come with us though, yes? Help protect this poor dancer as I try and help rescue these people? I do so appreciate it~"

Iskra jumped slightly when Leon suddenly addressed her, but she managed to collect herself and give him a small wave. "Ah, uhm... yes. You too. I, uhm, hope that today's meeting will be i-informative." She smiled politely and then turned back to the front of the room, bracing herself as the rest of the group began to join. There were so many emotions beginning to build up; anticipation, fear, nervousness, excitement, it was all just so much. She took a deep breath as Ion, noticing the tension starting to rise in her owner, stretched across her shoulders and began to simulate a cat's purr. "Mmm... thank you Ion..." She pulled her knees up to her chest as Sia entered the room, followed quickly by Kazue, and waited. The debrief would have to be starting soon now, and they would find out what awaited them on Jupiter's moon.

"Mmm?" Luce frowned, looking out at the sight of smoke and battle. They shook their head, seemingly unimpressed. "Tch, no no, this simply won't do~ This festival is meant to be a time of peace and happiness. Your Highness, I believe you have it right, that you should escape, however, it would weigh so heavily on me if I simply fled and did not at least try to help these poor innocents!" They grinned, pulling out the tome they had carefully tucked away, and opened the door. "Right then! I assume you'll be coming with me Ichika? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, and would make sure you still got your pay, but it will be much more interesting in this direction than just fleeing~" With that, they ducked out of the carriage and began to move towards the commotion.

Iskra slipped into the briefing room, headphones on, though she was currently not listening to any music. There weren't many others present, Louise being the only other pilot, and so Iskra had her choice of seats. After a small wave to her friend, she settled into a chair at the edge of the group. She would be in the back, but still able to see everything and it would provide her a quick escape at the end. She pulled her knees up under her jacket, huddling on the chair as she stared at the projection in front of her. So close... What will happen there? Peace keeping can mean so many things... She was used to finding the hidden meaning behind polite words, but this one was impossible without further context. Just what was facing them on this ancient moon?

"Mmm. I need to be alive to help get those taken back." The lack of confirmation about staying safe was blatant, but Cin couldn't promise that right now. Not after how strong their enemy had been. If I can't keep my companions safe, what's the point in keeping myself safe? Why bother protecting myself if it means I lose those I care about? He shook out his arm, looking it over. The wound was gone and the only thing left were phantom pangs, reminders that he had been hit again by a pure weapon. The healing had come quickly enough that there wouldn't be any actual effects, but his mind couldn't help but remember the corrosion. "Thank you Renais. I should go check on Siorel. I'll meet up with the rest of you soon. Commander... I'm sorry. We'll get her back. I swear it." He nodded to Tasha before heading out into the hallway. He paused outside the Evoker's room, staring at the bodies and the broken door. His fist suddenly shot out, slamming into the door frame again. "DAMMIT!" It was as much of an outburst as he could allow himself. He took a deep breath, shoving the anger down as far as he could before heading back to the room he had shared with Siorel. Walking in, he saw her where he had left her, curled up under the blankets. "Siorel..." He sat down, gently starting to rub her back. "I... I'm sorry. I had to go... For what little good it did. But I had to try and help. I'm sorry I left you alone here though." Have to do better. Protect them all. I have to.